Suchergebnisse

The primary purpose of this study is to obtain trustworthy data from the status and opinions of graduates which will serve as a basis for the general improvement and reorganization of the curriculum of the Central High School. For example, in one procedure of making curriculum revision, the school system as a whole participates under the guidance of a special curriculum worker in co-operation with men and women in the community. The writer also recognizes that one of the best measures of the effectiveness of a school and its curriculum is found in the success and opinions of a school's graduates. In attempting to consider a curriculum that is more adapted to the needs of Central High School students who upon graduation (1) begin work, mainly in the City of Galveston, (2) marry and enter upon homemaking, (3) continue advanced study in higher institutions of learning, the writer is guided by what prominent educators have said concerning the place of the secondary school in preparing students for life and living. Dewey, in setting forth "Social Efficiency" as the foremost aim of Education says: 1 If an individual is not able to earn his own living and that of the children dependent upon him, he is a drag and a parasite upon the activities of others. He misses for himself one of the most educative experiences of life. Ultimately, social efficiency includes good citizenship. For it means neither more nor less than capacity to share in a give-and-take experience. It covers all that makes one's own experiences more worthwhile to others, and all that enables one to participate more richly in the worthwhile experiences of others. Thus, we cannot escape the conclusion that when the curriculum in the Central High School is made broad enough and inclusive enough to make provisions for developing varying degrees of abilities in the above indicated three areas, the Central High School curriculum will function more effectively in the lives of the pupils as well as in the life of the community which the pupils serve. The problem undertaken in this investigation is a status-study of graduates of Central High School covering a five-year period, from 1932 through 1936, from three points of view namely: (1) those who went to college; (2) those who went to work; and (3) those who married. Since, by far, the majority of Central High graduates reside in the City of Galveston, this study is limited to this area. 1 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, New York: MacMillan Company, 1916, P. 151.

Building no. 02. The Regiment House has been called by many names. Although small in stature, it has a diverse history. Not only has its use and title changed many times since it was built, it has also misled some local historians into reporting it as being located at different places. Once affectionately known as "The Little Chapel at Fort Brown," it originally stood with its back to the Rio Grande and faced the parade grounds near the present Gateway International Bridge and Customs facilities. Sources noted it had "been moved from its original location to a point near the international bridge." Another account described the chapel as once being located near the Jefferson entrance and used as a school for African-American soldiers. These minor errors that crept into historical record made Building No. 2. an interesting study. There were actually two chapels; each one moved one time and still in use today. The first chapel was originally built to be used as a school and library. In 1889, plans were originally designed for it to be made of wood. However, a hurricane in 1880 may have convinced the Army that a brick building would last longer. Maps showed that building No. 2 was built between 1882 and 1884. It was used as a school until 1907. Between 1907 and 1922 its use is uncertain. From 1922 to 1941 it was used as a Post Chapel, N.C.O. "Bachelors'" Quarters, Officers' Guests Quarters, Post Office and N.C.O. Quarters, and the Chaplain's office prior to October 1941 as will be explained later. Earliest Post Engineer's records show that a single 20' x 30' ft. bedroom and 16' x 18' living room comprised the floor space with an open porch. At that time it listed a capacity for 50 persons. "The larger room was the chapel's auditorium, while the smaller room was its vestry." Later records show the building was divided with a hall to make three bedrooms and small kitchen to house a single family by 1938. It was also painted at one time. By then, the. porch was screened. In 1951, the Little Chapel at Fort Brown was remembered at the time for being a "popular place for weddings of soldiers and local girls" when it was transferred by the city of Brownsville as a museum to the Brownsville Historical Association. The BHA restored the building and opened it in 1952. The BHA was organized in 1946 and granted a charter by the state of Texas in 1947. They were granted use of the Chapel as a museum for 50 years. However, by 1958, the Stillman house at 1305 E. Washington Street was purchased by Chauncey Stillman, a great-grandson of Charles Stillman, and donated to the BHA as their permanent home. When businessmen in downtown Brownsville heard about this, they petitioned to oppose the BHA relocating there under the charge that "a museum would stifle the growth of the immediate area." The BHA restored the home and moved in by 1960. Now with the expanded Brownsville Heritage Complex, the BHA continues to organize a wide range of activities to promote local history and preserve historical records. From 1960 to 1991, Building No. 2 was used as an office for the General Services Administration (GSA) and a tool and maintenance building. Little maintenance had been done on the building and after thirty years of neglect, the building had seen better days. In 1992 when expansion of the U.S. Customs facility would require that it be removed, the "Little Chapel" was suddenly in need of a few small miracles. Mark Lund, Director of City Planning, (Heritage Officer for Brownsville at the time) had first hand experience from the initial dismantling, storage, and restoration of Building No. 2. He stated that the city had a contract with the GSA to remove (demolish) the building. When the Texas State Historical Commission became involved, the "Planning staff and Heritage Council persuaded the City Commission to intervene such that the building's demolition (disassembly) was done carefully to allow it at a future date to be possibly reassembled." The GSA was anxious to remove Building No. 2 because it delayed construction by standing in the way of a road that had to be widened for trucks to make a sharp turn from the bridge for inspection. Once the Historical Commission was satisfied assessment requirements were met, the process to demolish was approved. When the city was contracted by the GSA to demolish Building No. 2, Mr. Lund involved the Heritage Council and Planning Director Joe Galvan, who spoke with Butch Barbosa of the City Commission, to find what could be done to save the little building. Bricks were not numbered as previously believed. Instead, temporary workers were hired and instructed to carefully remove the bricks and place them on pallets to be stored for future use. The City Manager, Kirby Lellijedahl, sent Parks Department trucks to transport brick and wooden pieces, which were labeled and protected by tarps. There was no funding to immediately relocate the building. One ideal plan was to situate the building near the entrance at the Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course as a visitor's center. Until Building No. 2's fate would be known, components would be temporarily stored in Brownsville Compress warehouses free of rent for several months by compress owners. After several months, the city was asked to begin paying rent. Since the building was eligible to receive funds from the Community Development Block Grant – Community Development Funds (CBDG), approximately $1,200 was used to keep the parts in storage until it could be decided where it would be rebuilt. Around this time Los Caminos Del Rio was producing a film to highlight significant architectural buildings along both sides of the Rio Grande Valley to be aired by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). The Dallas-based philanthropic Meadows Foundation supported this production and representatives were visiting Brownsville. After learning about Building No. 2, they advised the City to write a formal grant proposal. Once funding by the Meadows Foundation was assured, TSC got involved with the Texas Historical Commission and the City Planning Department in planning a new site for the building on the historical campus. TSC officials must have considered Building 2 as an inherent part of the historical assemblage of fort buildings and that it would be turned over to them, even though it had fallen under ownership of the GSA and later, transferred to the City. The project was entitled "Building Number Two" by the City and an Inter-Local Agreement was signed between the City and TSC under which the City would pay all costs once a $50,000 grant was secured by the Meadows Foundation. Construction was to be supervised by Heritage Officer Mark Lund and progress of the work would be reported to Michael Putegnat, TSC Executive Director. Once the job was completed, the City would "turn over title and control to TSC. Costs involved for TSC would be time and landscaping." Bricks were delivered near the parking lot on the site it would be rebuilt. This pile caused rainwater to flood the parking lot and Michael Putegnat, was pressured to correct this situation. For a short while, stagnant water became known as "Putegnat's Pond." Bricks had to be reset aside to allow for proper drainage. During reconstruction, the contractor became dissatisfied with the amount of his reimbursement when the small building proved to be a bigger challenge than he anticipated. He had stored some of the wooden pieces from the Brownsville Compress in his garage and held up construction. Mark Lund was faced with two problems: One was to hire a new contractor to complete the half-finished project with the amount of funds that were left over (most contractors would not want to bid on a halffinished job) and the second was to get the wooden pieces back. Lund had the police called in as a precautionary measure to ensure parts would be delivered. The Parks Department was used again to deliver wooden parts to the second contractor, Carroll Adams, who saw the project to the end. (His nephew, Jearel Adams, worked on the Cavalry building). Some wooden pieces had become damaged from being taken apart, stepped on, or exposed to moisture. Carroll Adams, having worked on historic building restoration jobs before and seeing Mark had been scraping pieces of interior wood trim so that they may be used again, took it upon himself to purchase wood pieces with his money to see the job be done correctly. Another obstacle to rebuilding was met below the ground on which Building No. 2 now stands. Because of its heavy 12" brick walls, a continuous concrete brick foundation had to be placed below the ground. Utility pipes obstructed digging and created problems for re-builders: Boxed openings were made in the reinforced concrete foundation. Steel pieces were placed on the top of the openings after the concrete cured. This was done to handle the loads of substantial masonry walls. The City sidewalk crew (under the direction of Santana Vallejo) built this concrete foundation. They did very well in dealing with the challenges presented by the existing utilities. The foundation design was done by the City Engineer, P. J. Garcia, P. E. The private contractor was hired to do the subsequent work… after the foundation was completed. Mark Lund also had the odious task of placing insulation from the crawl space beneath the floor of Building No. 2. Work was completed by 1993 and it now sits near the Art Annex Building No. 89. Most peculiar about this building is that there is no historical subject marker on the Little Chapel for visitors to inform them where the building was once located, what it was used for, and to memorialize the people who all worked together to save it. A second Post Chapel (Building No. 62) once stood in the area between Tandy Hall and the Lightner Student Center, next to the Post Theater. This chapel was the actual "Regimental" chapel. It had a larger capacity to hold services for a larger number of men. The large wood-frame structure with a steeple was built in 1941 and had a 350 person capacity. It measured 81'-3" long and 37' wide. The Quartermaster record lists it as a "temporary" building and classify it as a "Regimental Chapel" on the floor plan. It was dedicated on Sunday, October 26, 1941. There was a movable altar for Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant services. Before that, services were held in the service club near Building No. 2. Chaplain Stephan K. Callahan moved his office from Building No. 2 into the new chapel the following Monday. In 1947, the two chapels and other buildings at Fort Brown were declared surplus property by the War Assets Administration (WAA). An appeal was made to the WAA to secure Building No. 2 (The Little Chapel) as a museum for the BHA that had just had its first annual meeting at the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce after being chartered by the State of Texas. Immaculate Conception Church bought Building No. 62 for the St. Joseph Church on the corner of Sixth and 555 W. St. Francis. Luke Waters of Harlingen took the job of moving the building from the fort to its new site. For a job that would have normally lasted a few days or couple of weeks at the most, it actually took nearly five months. It was a burden Mr. Waters carried to the end. Waters began the task in October of 1947. To move it presented a problem because streets were only 30 feet wide. Weighing 150,000 pounds, it was moved by heavy trucks. Telephone cables were either lowered or raised to make way for the chapel. Electric lines were also cut. This upset some people who found themselves temporarily without electricity. The weather caused the greatest problems. Whenever it rained, the job would be halted, as the earth was too soft to move over without getting the load stuck in the mud, which it did at various points. The "front end" was pulled out of one of Water's trucks. Two winch trucks were damaged and cable lines broke several times. Mr. Waters also broke his arm in a fall on January 2nd. Asked if he remembered the exact route that was followed in moving, his reply was "I certainly do. I'll never forget it." After leaving Fort Brown, the building proceeded on Jefferson to East Ninth, turned north to Madison, west on Madison to Seventh, north on Seventh to Van Buren, west on Van Buren across the Southern Pacific railroad tracks to Ninth, south on Ninth to Jackson, west on Jackson between the Resaca and City Cemetery, across Palm Blvd. to West First, south across vacant lots to Jefferson, west on Jefferson to W. Seventh, south to Elizabeth, east to half-way between W. Fourth and Fifth, west again to Seventh, south on Seventh to St. Francis, and finally to its destination at W. Sixth and St. Francis. For the "wandering church" to reach its destination, brush had to be cleared on some vacant lots to move it. It finally reached its destination on February 17, 1948. Father Chateau officiated services and Father Casey was appointed first pastor in 1953. It remained a parish until 1962 when a new church was built across the street. Research material showed that historian A. A. Champion and his wife, Isabel, were members of this church. The church has been covered in brick with an addition on its west side and the steeple has been removed. It now serves as a youth center for the church. ; https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/ftbrown/1511/thumbnail.jpg

Building no. 62. Constructed in 1941-10-10. O.q.m.g. plan no. 7033-787-1; Regiment chapel. The Regiment House has been called by many names. Although small in stature, it has a diverse history. Not only has its use and title changed many times since it was built, it has also misled some local historians into reporting it as being located at different places. Once affectionately known as "The Little Chapel at Fort Brown," it originally stood with its back to the Rio Grande and faced the parade grounds near the present Gateway International Bridge and Customs facilities. Sources noted it had "been moved from its original location to a point near the international bridge." Another account described the chapel as once being located near the Jefferson entrance and used as a school for African-American soldiers. These minor errors that crept into historical record made Building No. 2. an interesting study. There were actually two chapels; each one moved one time and still in use today. The first chapel was originally built to be used as a school and library. In 1889, plans were originally designed for it to be made of wood. However, a hurricane in 1880 may have convinced the Army that a brick building would last longer. Maps showed that building No. 2 was built between 1882 and 1884. It was used as a school until 1907. Between 1907 and 1922 its use is uncertain. From 1922 to 1941 it was used as a Post Chapel, N.C.O. "Bachelors'" Quarters, Officers' Guests Quarters, Post Office and N.C.O. Quarters, and the Chaplain's office prior to October 1941 as will be explained later. Earliest Post Engineer's records show that a single 20' x 30' ft. bedroom and 16' x 18' living room comprised the floor space with an open porch. At that time it listed a capacity for 50 persons. "The larger room was the chapel's auditorium, while the smaller room was its vestry." Later records show the building was divided with a hall to make three bedrooms and small kitchen to house a single family by 1938. It was also painted at one time. By then, the. porch was screened. In 1951, the Little Chapel at Fort Brown was remembered at the time for being a "popular place for weddings of soldiers and local girls" when it was transferred by the city of Brownsville as a museum to the Brownsville Historical Association. The BHA restored the building and opened it in 1952. The BHA was organized in 1946 and granted a charter by the state of Texas in 1947. They were granted use of the Chapel as a museum for 50 years. However, by 1958, the Stillman house at 1305 E. Washington Street was purchased by Chauncey Stillman, a great-grandson of Charles Stillman, and donated to the BHA as their permanent home. When businessmen in downtown Brownsville heard about this, they petitioned to oppose the BHA relocating there under the charge that "a museum would stifle the growth of the immediate area." The BHA restored the home and moved in by 1960. Now with the expanded Brownsville Heritage Complex, the BHA continues to organize a wide range of activities to promote local history and preserve historical records. From 1960 to 1991, Building No. 2 was used as an office for the General Services Administration (GSA) and a tool and maintenance building. Little maintenance had been done on the building and after thirty years of neglect, the building had seen better days. In 1992 when expansion of the U.S. Customs facility would require that it be removed, the "Little Chapel" was suddenly in need of a few small miracles. Mark Lund, Director of City Planning, (Heritage Officer for Brownsville at the time) had first hand experience from the initial dismantling, storage, and restoration of Building No. 2. He stated that the city had a contract with the GSA to remove (demolish) the building. When the Texas State Historical Commission became involved, the "Planning staff and Heritage Council persuaded the City Commission to intervene such that the building's demolition (disassembly) was done carefully to allow it at a future date to be possibly reassembled." The GSA was anxious to remove Building No. 2 because it delayed construction by standing in the way of a road that had to be widened for trucks to make a sharp turn from the bridge for inspection. Once the Historical Commission was satisfied assessment requirements were met, the process to demolish was approved. When the city was contracted by the GSA to demolish Building No. 2, Mr. Lund involved the Heritage Council and Planning Director Joe Galvan, who spoke with Butch Barbosa of the City Commission, to find what could be done to save the little building. Bricks were not numbered as previously believed. Instead, temporary workers were hired and instructed to carefully remove the bricks and place them on pallets to be stored for future use. The City Manager, Kirby Lellijedahl, sent Parks Department trucks to transport brick and wooden pieces, which were labeled and protected by tarps. There was no funding to immediately relocate the building. One ideal plan was to situate the building near the entrance at the Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course as a visitor's center. Until Building No. 2's fate would be known, components would be temporarily stored in Brownsville Compress warehouses free of rent for several months by compress owners. After several months, the city was asked to begin paying rent. Since the building was eligible to receive funds from the Community Development Block Grant – Community Development Funds (CBDG), approximately $1,200 was used to keep the parts in storage until it could be decided where it would be rebuilt. Around this time Los Caminos Del Rio was producing a film to highlight significant architectural buildings along both sides of the Rio Grande Valley to be aired by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). The Dallas-based philanthropic Meadows Foundation supported this production and representatives were visiting Brownsville. After learning about Building No. 2, they advised the City to write a formal grant proposal. Once funding by the Meadows Foundation was assured, TSC got involved with the Texas Historical Commission and the City Planning Department in planning a new site for the building on the historical campus. TSC officials must have considered Building 2 as an inherent part of the historical assemblage of fort buildings and that it would be turned over to them, even though it had fallen under ownership of the GSA and later, transferred to the City. The project was entitled "Building Number Two" by the City and an Inter-Local Agreement was signed between the City and TSC under which the City would pay all costs once a $50,000 grant was secured by the Meadows Foundation. Construction was to be supervised by Heritage Officer Mark Lund and progress of the work would be reported to Michael Putegnat, TSC Executive Director. Once the job was completed, the City would "turn over title and control to TSC. Costs involved for TSC would be time and landscaping." Bricks were delivered near the parking lot on the site it would be rebuilt. This pile caused rainwater to flood the parking lot and Michael Putegnat, was pressured to correct this situation. For a short while, stagnant water became known as "Putegnat's Pond." Bricks had to be reset aside to allow for proper drainage. During reconstruction, the contractor became dissatisfied with the amount of his reimbursement when the small building proved to be a bigger challenge than he anticipated. He had stored some of the wooden pieces from the Brownsville Compress in his garage and held up construction. Mark Lund was faced with two problems: One was to hire a new contractor to complete the half-finished project with the amount of funds that were left over (most contractors would not want to bid on a halffinished job) and the second was to get the wooden pieces back. Lund had the police called in as a precautionary measure to ensure parts would be delivered. The Parks Department was used again to deliver wooden parts to the second contractor, Carroll Adams, who saw the project to the end. (His nephew, Jearel Adams, worked on the Cavalry building). Some wooden pieces had become damaged from being taken apart, stepped on, or exposed to moisture. Carroll Adams, having worked on historic building restoration jobs before and seeing Mark had been scraping pieces of interior wood trim so that they may be used again, took it upon himself to purchase wood pieces with his money to see the job be done correctly. Another obstacle to rebuilding was met below the ground on which Building No. 2 now stands. Because of its heavy 12" brick walls, a continuous concrete brick foundation had to be placed below the ground. Utility pipes obstructed digging and created problems for re-builders: Boxed openings were made in the reinforced concrete foundation. Steel pieces were placed on the top of the openings after the concrete cured. This was done to handle the loads of substantial masonry walls. The City sidewalk crew (under the direction of Santana Vallejo) built this concrete foundation. They did very well in dealing with the challenges presented by the existing utilities. The foundation design was done by the City Engineer, P. J. Garcia, P. E. The private contractor was hired to do the subsequent work… after the foundation was completed. Mark Lund also had the odious task of placing insulation from the crawl space beneath the floor of Building No. 2. Work was completed by 1993 and it now sits near the Art Annex Building No. 89. Most peculiar about this building is that there is no historical subject marker on the Little Chapel for visitors to inform them where the building was once located, what it was used for, and to memorialize the people who all worked together to save it. A second Post Chapel (Building No. 62) once stood in the area between Tandy Hall and the Lightner Student Center, next to the Post Theater. This chapel was the actual "Regimental" chapel. It had a larger capacity to hold services for a larger number of men. The large wood-frame structure with a steeple was built in 1941 and had a 350 person capacity. It measured 81'-3" long and 37' wide. The Quartermaster record lists it as a "temporary" building and classify it as a "Regimental Chapel" on the floor plan. It was dedicated on Sunday, October 26, 1941. There was a movable altar for Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant services. Before that, services were held in the service club near Building No. 2. Chaplain Stephan K. Callahan moved his office from Building No. 2 into the new chapel the following Monday. In 1947, the two chapels and other buildings at Fort Brown were declared surplus property by the War Assets Administration (WAA). An appeal was made to the WAA to secure Building No. 2 (The Little Chapel) as a museum for the BHA that had just had its first annual meeting at the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce after being chartered by the State of Texas. Immaculate Conception Church bought Building No. 62 for the St. Joseph Church on the corner of Sixth and 555 W. St. Francis. Luke Waters of Harlingen took the job of moving the building from the fort to its new site. For a job that would have normally lasted a few days or couple of weeks at the most, it actually took nearly five months. It was a burden Mr. Waters carried to the end. Waters began the task in October of 1947. To move it presented a problem because streets were only 30 feet wide. Weighing 150,000 pounds, it was moved by heavy trucks. Telephone cables were either lowered or raised to make way for the chapel. Electric lines were also cut. This upset some people who found themselves temporarily without electricity. The weather caused the greatest problems. Whenever it rained, the job would be halted, as the earth was too soft to move over without getting the load stuck in the mud, which it did at various points. The "front end" was pulled out of one of Water's trucks. Two winch trucks were damaged and cable lines broke several times. Mr. Waters also broke his arm in a fall on January 2nd. Asked if he remembered the exact route that was followed in moving, his reply was "I certainly do. I'll never forget it." After leaving Fort Brown, the building proceeded on Jefferson to East Ninth, turned north to Madison, west on Madison to Seventh, north on Seventh to Van Buren, west on Van Buren across the Southern Pacific railroad tracks to Ninth, south on Ninth to Jackson, west on Jackson between the Resaca and City Cemetery, across Palm Blvd. to West First, south across vacant lots to Jefferson, west on Jefferson to W. Seventh, south to Elizabeth, east to half-way between W. Fourth and Fifth, west again to Seventh, south on Seventh to St. Francis, and finally to its destination at W. Sixth and St. Francis. For the "wandering church" to reach its destination, brush had to be cleared on some vacant lots to move it. It finally reached its destination on February 17, 1948. Father Chateau officiated services and Father Casey was appointed first pastor in 1953. It remained a parish until 1962 when a new church was built across the street. Research material showed that historian A. A. Champion and his wife, Isabel, were members of this church. The church has been covered in brick with an addition on its west side and the steeple has been removed. It now serves as a youth center for the church. ; https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/ftbrown/1388/thumbnail.jpg

Issue 1.6 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; A. M. D. G. Review-for Kengmus. NOVEMBER 15, 1942 - How Voca,tions Grow . Thomas S. Bowdern Do We Need Direction? . ,John E. Coogan Plenary Indulgences. . Thomas A. O'Conn'or ¯ Sanctifying Grace~ . Leo A. Coressel .Perfection and the Rellgi~)us - " Commun;cations Book Reviews Ouestions Answered. Decisions of the Holy See .Index to Volume One I Nu~s~ 6 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME I NOVEMBER 15, 1942 NUMBER 6 CONTENTS COMMENTS~The Editors . .- . 362 HOW VOCATIONS GROWmThomas S. Bowdern. S.J .364 TWO CATECHISMS . 375 DO WE NEED DIRECTION?---3ohn E. Coogan, S.'J . 376 PLENARY INDULGENCES FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY-- Thomas A. O'Connor, S.J . 382 SANCTIFYING GRACE, A PRICELESS REALITYmLeo A.Coressel, S3.39.0 FRANCIS DE SALES AND THE LITTLE OFFICE .3.9.9 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS--Augustine Klaas, S.2. 400 BOOKS RECEIVED . 406 COMMUNICATIONS (On Spiritual Direction) .407 BOOK REVIEWS-- THE ART OF LIVING ,JOYFULLY. By the Reverend Henry Brenner, O.S~B4.16 CATECHISM COMES TO LIFE. By the Reverend Stephen Aylward : 416 SAINT THOMAS AQiJINAS MEDITATIONS.~ By the Reverend E. C. McEniry, O.P. 417 "DRAW NEAR TO HIM." By Sister Mary Aloysi Kiener, S.N.D. 419 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND THE VOWS. By Monseigneur CharlGesay 419 LA VIE DES COMMUNAUTES RELIGIEUSES. By the Franciscan Father4s21 MARY IN HER SCAPULAR PROMISE. By ,John Mathias Haffert 426 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 36. Right of junior member of family to vote .". . . . 422 37. Crozier Indulgences . 422 38. B~ll during the Angelus . 423 39. Reading of Decrees of Holy See . 423 40. Stations conducted by Sister Superior . 424 41. Residence of Sister Catechists . -. . 425 42. Re-election- of Councillors ¯ . 425 DECISIONS OFTHE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS427 BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS . ~ 428 INDEX TO VOLUME I . 429 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, November, 1942. Vol. I, No. 6. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and Novemberl at The College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Ma~r's College, St. Marys, Kan-sas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January "15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editoriai Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.,J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.,J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Copyright, 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotation~. of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a ~'ear. Printed in U. S. A. The Editors WE CLOSE this first year of .publication with a sincere "Thanks be to God!" When we finally decided to publish this magazine, the future had begun to look very uncertain. Shortly after we had announced publica-tion, the United States entered the war, and the uncertainty was increased. All through the first year we have felt the uneasiness characteristic of an.y "small business," because of the difficulty of obtaining materials. However, we still sur-vive, and we thank God and trust the future to Him. Our subscription list has increased gradually with each number. At present it is sufficient to guarantee our finan-cial security unless prices change very radically. From an apostolic point of view, we should like to see the list con-tinue to grow because there are many other priests and religious-who would, we think, find the REVIEW. helpful. We are grateful to our readers for their cooperation, and we ask prayers for God's continued blessing. . Vocations OME years ago Father Thomas S. Bowdern, S.J., com-bined educational necessity with apostolic enthusiasm by writing his doctorate thesis on the subject of religious vocations. The result of his efforts was a formidable heap of typewritten papers that make .two thick bound volumes. A small section of the thesis was printed; the remainder was kept from the public eye. The editors of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS paged through another section and found that it made interesting and profitable reading, provided One could distract oneself from such distressing technicalities as charts, graphs, and tables. We are publishing that section (minus 362 COMMENTS the technicalities) in the present number. We trust the readers' reactions will be as factorable as ours. Father Bowdern ~published the principal conclusions of his thesis in The Queen's Work. Later that same material was reprinted in a small booklet entitled A Study ot: Voca,. tions. Father Bowdern has a limited supply of the book-lets and sells them to interested parties for ten cents a copy --about cost price. If you wish a copy, write to: The Rev-erend Thomas S. Bowdern, S.3., Dean of the G~aduate School, The Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. Spiritual Direction ] N THIS. ISSUE we continue the discussion of spiritual direc, t~on. Father John Coogan, S.J., of the University of Detroit, contributes a brief articleon an aspect of the ques-tion that should not be ignored in our discussions. " Besides Father Coogan's article, we print some rather lengthy communications. We trust that the readers will not find that this gives them too much of the samd thing. We consider this an important subject; and we think it well to treat it thoroughly now rather than let it drag on indef-initely. A few more articles on the same subject will very likely be printed in subsequent numbers. After that (in compliance with a suggestion made by a priest in one of the present communications) we shall try to give a useful sum-mary i~f all articles and communications. One of the most helpful letters printed in the September number was from a Brother. The present issue contains no communications from Brothers. We realize, of course, that spiritual direction as a problem is much more keenly felt by Sisters; nevertheless, if the Brothers hav~ either sug-gestions or problems, we shall appreciate their communica-tions. It wofild be desirable to consider all aspects of the question of spiritual direction, of religious men as well as of religious women. 363 'l-low Vocal:ions row Thomas S. Bowdern, S.,J. SOME years ago, the editors of The Queen's Work sought to keep in touch with the thinking of modern Catholic youth by a series of questionnaires. During the school year 1928-1929, the questionnaire included a few questions calculated to reveal the attitude of the Cath-olic student world towards vocation to the priesthood and the religious life. The results were most interesting. They stimulated the present writer to push that part of the inves-tigation still further, but from a different angle. He chose for the subjects of his study, not students in high school and .college, but" the young people who had already chosen reli-gious vocation and were either novices and seminarians, or already young priests, Brothers, and nuns. To interview in a short time an adequately large num-ber of seminarians, young priests, and religious scattered all over the United States on the subject of their vocation, it was necessary to resort to the questionnaire method. There is much that can be said for and against, the questionnaire. And it has all been said. The writer was encouraged to think that he could construct a questionnaire that would meet the best specifications sufficiently well for his purpose. With the assistance ofp~ofessors and friends in St. Louis ~3niversity, he developed a questionnaire that seemed to be complete enough to yield satisfactory data and yet not so lengthy as to arouse prejudice. In 19.30, sample copies of a rnach-tested questionnaire with an explanatory letter and a.return postcard were sent to the superiors of 650 seminaries, novitiates, and mother-houses listed in the Official Catholic Year Book of 1928. About 160 replies were received accepting the invitation to 364 HOW VOCATIONS GRO~V cooperate and requesting packages of quest!onnaires. During 1930, .7,500 questionnaires were filled out and returned by .2,500 men and 5,000 women. Replies were received from ten major seminaries, seven preparatory seminaries, twenty-five religious orders of men and twenty of women. Of the religious orders of men, five were com-munities of Brothers. Among the women, several orders each included independent branches of the same general order. One strong objection was advanced against the validity of the data that might be received; it was thought that seminarians and novices might be tempted to say what would be calculated to please their superiors. In this case, however, there seems to have been no restraint imposed or suggested. The writer doubts that superiors exercised their rights of censorship in the matter of the vocation question-naire because several packages of returned questionnaires were received with each individual response in a sealed enve-lope Of its own. From several large groups individual questionnaires were returned individually by mail, although that meant considerable expense for postage. Most convincing of all was the utter candor of the replies. Some were almost too candid, attaching vocation stories that we~?e almost general confessions--the way Catholic young people are willing, on occasion, to write or talk to a priest. They all knew that they were writing to a priest and a religious, and, of course, their confidence has been scrupulously respected. The questionnaire had ten general divisions: 1) Family and Home Life; 2) Reading; 3) Social Life; 4) Socie-ties; 5) Schools and School Life; 6) Your Vocation; 7) Obstacles to Vocation; 8) Vocations of Companions; 9) Aids to Vocations; 10) Your Own Vocation (in story form). 365 THOMAS S. BOWDERN In this article, omitting the first five general divisions, which deal with the external circumstances of vocations, we enter a soul, if that is possible. From the inside we look out upon the world through the eyes of the boy who became a priest o~ Brother and of, the girl who became a nun. They will try to show us how they discovered Vocation coming into their lives and how they recognized it, saw it was for them and chose to embrace it. First Thought of Vocation When do Catholic boys and girls first think of a reli-gious vocation? Our survey showed that the first thought of vocation had come by the age of 10 to thirty-nine per cent of the boys and thirty-two per cent of the girls;, by the age of 14, to seventy-seven per cent of the boys and sixty-four per cent of the girls; and by the age of 20, to ninety-seven per cent 'of the boys and ninety-four per cent of the girls. From this it would appear that the thought of reli-gious vocation comes rather early to Catholic boys and girls--and earlier to the boys than to the girls. These were first thoughts; the vocational decisions were usually made much later. Three-fourths of both boys and girls questioned reported that their vocation was of slow growth without anything sudden, certainly without anything sensational, about it. Moreover, most of them considered the step for a long time before actually making it; in fact, four-fifths of those reporting stated that they spent more than two years in considering the important step. These facts should calm those who are likely to be disturbed by misgivings that.vocations are too apt to be the result of unreflecting adolescent impulse. How many Americans take that much time to think and pray before they get married--or divorced? How do boys and girls get started to thinking about a 366 HOW VOCATIONS GROW religious vocation? The leading occasion of the boys' first thought on vochtion was a .'"Talk on.Vocation." For many boys such a talk started their first thoughts toward planning their future careers. For many, tog, such a talk brought the revelation that the priesthood was a possibility for them. So high did boys place the priesthood and so far beyond their own reach that many said they were. fairly stunned the first time they learned that such a grace could be hoped for by tbem.i A close s.econd to "Talks on Vocation" was "Serving Mass" as an occasion for the first thoughts of the priesthood or the religious life. Seeing another boy like themselves and well known to them being accepted for the priesthood or the religious life was also a powerful inspiration: Nearly half of the boys who reported on this topic got their first inspiration from "Talks on Vocation," "Serving or Assisting at Mass," from the "Vocation of Another," or from a "Desire for Penance." With the girls by far the most frequent source of inspi-ration was the sight of another girl entering the convent. A strong second was the '~School Atmosphere" and a close third was the "Good Life ~f Another." These three occa-sions account for 43 per c~nt of the "first thoughts" of the girls. From this it would seem that girls are powerfully moved by example, much more so than the boys. What i's Vocation? When these young people, and some of them very young, thought about rel,,~gmus vocation, what did. they think vocation really was~ More than half answered this question; and a tabulation of results shows that most of them began with a very sound and sane idea of vocation, a bit hazy perhaps, at least in its expression, but fundamen-tally correct. However, a less correct idea--that vocation 367 THOMAS S. BOWDERN is something vague and miraculous and mysterious--was held by some 22 per cent of the boys and 19 per cent of the girls. A few failed to have any proper appreciation of vocation. They said they thought the religious life was just college life of a sort--a mistaken but pleasant notion as compared with the view that a religious vocation is just a lot of unpleasant sacrifice that some luckless wights are called upon to suffer by fate. It must be added that all these thoughts were first thoughts. All these boys and girls had ample time to learn better and more clearly the nature of a religious voca-tion. Nevertheless, our study does show that some instruc-tion is necessary. At proper intervals sermons and talks on vocation should be given to instruct the faithful, young and old. Motives The life of a priest or a religious is not all sacrifice that keeps human nature in an agony of crucifixion. It has its attractions. A rather large number of boys and girls frankly admitted that, at least at first, they were drawn to the religious life b-y" its merely natural attractions: for instance, its opportunity for a fine education, travel, adven-ture, and so forth. A vocation founded on merely natural motives would not be a true vocation at all. A person who decided his vocation on such motives alone could not per-severe, certainly could not live a worthy religious life. But then we must remember again that these young people had time and opportunity to learn better.The questionnaire showed that the motives which finally influenced their choice were much more substantial. Both boys and girls were influenced most of all by the spiritual security which a religious vocation.seemed to hold out. The boys were next attracted by the supreme privi-lege of the priest, the power to offer the sacrifice of the Ma~s, 368 How VOCATIONS (3ROW This would not influence the boys who planned to be Brothers, nor could it interest the girls; butall again agreed on the next dominant motivemthe desire of a consecrated life. By this they meant a life lived entirely for God, utterly devoted to Him, a complete giving of themselves to Him in love and service. This motive, worthy of the gredtest saints, ran high with both boys and girls. If we. are awed by this consuming love of God, this surprising spiritualintelligence and supernatural wisdom in our boys and girls, we must remember that this generation is, the fruit of early and frequent Communion. Pius X prophesied: "There will be saints among the children." The other motives hardly need special comment. And yet, it is worth noting, in a sex-mad century, when young people are overstimulated and even seduced by the environ-ment created by their elders, that love of chastity is a motive mentioned frequently by the boys and especially by the girls. This love of chastity which the love of Christ inspires in the hearts of Catholic boys and girls is accepted in a religious vocation as a life-long obligation and conse-cration. Incidentally, it might be mentioned here that this inspiring love of chastity was not a love of the"unknown." Our study showed that the candidates for the priesthood and the religious life gave the obligation of chastity seri-ous and considerable thought. The natural difficulty of a life of virginity, the heroic self-denial it demands, the sac-ritices it imposes, furnished 56 pet cent of the obstacles to vocation mentioned by the boys and 42 per cent by the girls. Sustaining Influence In addition to their own thoughts on such a "life probl.em," it seemed more than likely that there was some person whose influence had sustained or encouraged the 369 THOMAS S. BOWDERN growing determination of these boys and girls to choose a religious vocation. They were invited to report who or what was the most potent influence toward their choice. From the responses received, it would appear that mothers are more ready to encourage their sons to be priests than they are to encourage their daughters to be nuns! While the boys were most often encouraged by their mothers, the girls were most often encouraged by nuns. As a potent vocation influence among the boys, nuns rank second with fathers a very dose third. Twelfth on the boys' list was the Religious Brother; but this posi-tion should not be underestimated, as it is evident that the opportunities of the Brothers would be relatively few in comparison with the opportunities enjoyed by others. Among the girls, reading was placed second, with mothers third. A glance at the percentage shows that the girls mentioned nuns as a vocation influence more than twice as often as they mentioned their mothers. Do mothers appreciate the religious life as a vocation for their daughters? Another interesting fact that appears from this study is that fathers were rated third by the boys, but only ninth by the girls as a vocation influence. Most Helpful Reading Rea.ding ranked high as a vocation influence for the boys (fourth) and especially for the girls (second). As this was anticipated, the boys and girls were further asked to state what particular bit of reading gave the inspiration or encouragement. Biographies of saints were first by a. wide margin. A distinct second for both boys and g~rls was the Life of Christ, with the Imitation of Christ a close third. The New Testament was placed fourth by the boys who answered. If it is the Gospels that made the impres- 370 How VOCATIONS GRO~ sion, then probably this data should be combined with the report on a life of Christ because, after all, the Gospels are biographies of Christ. But even when so combined, the Life of Christ runs a slow second to the biography of a saint for both girls and .boys. Should it not be the other way? Should we not encourage rather a biography of Christ than that of a saint? Modern Xaviers? One of the classic stories of vocational influence is that of St. Ignatius Loyola saying quietly, but repeatedly, to St. Francis Xavier, :'What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" That thought finally buried itself so deeply in Xavier's heart that it changed his life and led him into the priesthood and the religious life and finally into his extraordinary and glori-ous career as a modern St. Paul. Our boys and girls were invited to report if any such thought had a similar influence on them. It seems not. Grace can work like lightning; but usually like nature, which it perfects and elevates, it works slowly, imper-ceptibly. In such circumstances, no single thought would become focused with the clearness of the thought that won Xavier to God's service. However, in one point we do seem to have a lot df Xaviers in the modern world. Xavier resisted the thought that St. Ignatius persistently pushed into his mind. He argued against it. He fought against it. But finally, this arrow of thought that was tipped with the grace 0f God pierced all the defenses of selfish human nature and won him for God. Among our boys and girls, a big majority felt that their vocation was the triumph of grace over their weakness, ignorance, sinfulness, reluctance, or lack of generosity. THOMAS S. BOWDERN That was the majority, but a very comfortable minority felt that persevering prayer had won their voca-tion for them. They had wanted a religious vocation, had feared that Go~t would pass them by or that their own unworthiness might lose this favor for them, and so they "had prayed the longer." Favorite Saints We have already seen that the inspiration of the per-sonality and example of some saint ranked high as a voca-tion influence. The boys and girls were further asked to report on their favorite saint. It is interesting to note that the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, the Little Flower, and St. Anthony are universally popular and in almost that order. St. Aloysius and St. Rita are the other saints ranked among the first ten by both boys and girls. The chief reason among the boys for the choice of the favorite saint was that the boy bore the saint's name. A close second was the attractiveness of the saint's personal-ity or virtue. The chief reason among the girls was the saint's career; the second, the saint's personality or virtue. The third reason with the girls was the fact that their favorite saint answered their prayers. Only in fourth place was the reason that the girl bore the saint's name. The fact of a saint's being a patron in Baptism weighed much more with the boys than with the girls. Favorite Devotions Learning to live with God, the art of prayer, is a most important spiritual accomplishment. We are taught its beginnings by being trained in ways and means of "raising the mind and heart to God." The Church, as a spiritual mother, is alert to make prayer as easy and attractive as possible. Unobtrusively and persuasively she suggests or 372 How VOCATIONS GROW approves many devotions or exercises of piety, designed to appeal to a great variety of tastes. Of course it is not pos-sible, and happily it is not. necessary, for each devotion to satisfy all tastes. What devotions attracted and satisfied our vocation boys and girls? For about 90 per cent of the boys and 94 per cent of the girls who answered, they were devo-tions that centered around our Lord and His Blessed Mother. It is interesting to note that the boys were almost equally divided between devotions to Jesus and devotions to Mary, whereas the girls b~r a large majority inclined to favor devotions centered around Christ. In particular, devotion to the Blessed Virgin was first with the boys; devotion to the Sacred Heart, first with the girls. About 60 per cent of the girls favored devotions centered around our Lord, about 35 per cent devotions directed toward the Blessed Virgin. Fostering Vocations One final insight into the attitude of our vocation boys and girls. Since many of them had companions who had abandoned the idea of a .religious vocation, they were invited to say what they thought could or should have been done to confirm these companions in their first choice. Only 31 per cent of the boys and 17 per cent of the girls answered this question, but those who did answer were in remarkable agreement as to their chief recommendations. All agreed that the thing most needed to prevent the loss of vocations was encouragement from older people, whether parents, pastors, Or teachers, and prayer on the part of the boys and girls themselves. Next to these two things they demanded a more vital Catholicspirit in the home itself, with good example in Catholic Faith and Catholic living given by the parents. The fourth recom- 373 THOMAS S. BOWDERN mendation of the boys was "Better Vocation Guidance" and the fifth was "Better Interpretation of the Saints." .The girls gave the same two reasons, but in reverse order: they were of the opinion that a better and more human interpretation of the saints and of sanctity itself is a.far greater need than better vocation guidance. Both boys and girls agreed on their sixth recommen, dation, namely, that there should have been more easily available "Information"--not an erudite or subtle ,expla- :nation of the.mysteries of the spiritual life or the secrets of prayer, but information, just plain, ordinary informa-tion. ,To be a priest or nun, "What do I do? . Whom should I see? . Where do I apply? . When do I start?" .These are the obvibus, practical measures that are all too easily neglected. In drawing up fi concrete program of means for fos-tering and furthering vocations, the bo~rs favored practi-cal, active, almost material measures: while the girls favored prayer, reading, and spiritual means. The boys were for publicity and propaganda, with sermons to explain arid exhort, followed up by practical information, strengthened still more by good example from priests and religious, who are then t6 promote vocation in an indi-vidual way by informal talks and private conversations. Also they are not to ldold themselves above and aloof from boys, but are to welcome intimate contact and association with them. The girls, on the other hand, advised a more qui~et and spiritual-procedure. They would encourage first of :all prayer for God's.grace land meditation on the .things .of God, with the inspiration of genuine good example from the nuns. The nuns and others should speak a seasonable word. of encour~gement, and priests., should, instruct and inspire with sermons on the nature and excellence of reli- 374 How VOCATIONS GROW gious vocation. The effect of the sermons should then be deepened and strengthened by~ a~ generous share of g~0od reading. Priests and nuns, their natural spiritual guides, should guide s6uls to find vocation more skillfully than they have done and be on the alert to spread the practical information that will take the vagueness and the ~mystery out of the necessary steps of leaving home and entering a novitiate. " The spiritual vitality of all this, said the girls, should be strengthened by frequent Communion and by retreats, the whole to rest upon the solid base of ~a really Catholic home where culture and sanctity can be breathed in with the air. It is more than ten years since this survey was made. One is apt to wonder if those vocation-subjects who out-lined such zealous programs have since done their full share in putting them into effec!! TWO CATECHISMS Catechism teachers will be glad to know (if they do not already know) that Father Aioysius J. Heeg, S J,, has prepared a Reoised dunior Edition of his little hook. desus and I. This revised edition is really two books in one. It is so designed as to incorporate not only the well-known narrative text of desus and I. but the new question-and-answer text of the First Communion Catechism prepared from the recently revised Baltimore Catechism. The book represents an attempt to give the child the best possible start in his study and tsractice of religioh. It is meant to be used in the first two grades, re-gardless of the texts to be followed later on. It is also' meant for those children beyond the second, grade who are late in starting their religions instruction. Pub-lished by the Loyola University Press, Chicago, Ill. Information on this text and on various practical helps for teachers of it may be obtained from The Queen's Work, 3742 W.Pine Blvd., St. Louis. Mo. Someone has also given us a copy of the illustrated edition~ of M~ First Com-munion Catechism, prepared by Ellamay Horan, Ph.D., Editor" of the $ournal of Religious Instruction and the Co-author of the Kingdom of God series. The text is simple: the illustrations are most attractive. Published by W. H. Sadlier, Inc., New York and Chicago. Do ~Y/e Need Direction? John E. Coogan, S.J. AFUNDAMENTAL question in any discussion of spiritual direction of religious has to do with the need of such direction. Among some religious of today there has grown up a feeling that the age of spiritual direction is passed; that it belonged to the "horse and buggy age"; that the modern religious, equipped with multiple credits and degrees, is well able to guide himself. Religious of this modern mind are inclined to look upon those who seek direction as lacking in spirit, or as "mys-tics" nby which term they mean top-lofty persons whose feet are not solidly set on the ground. Sometimes those who think thus lightly of spiritual direction are in posi-tions of authority. When their subjects fail to obtain the needed spiritual direction from their ordinary confessors and ask other means, permission is given with evident reluctance. Historians tell us that in the England of Queen Eliza-beth it becanie a government policy to make poor-reIief so humiliating that it would not be asked. Similarly, religious ¯ are'sometimes granted needed opportunities for spiritual direction so grudgingly that they prefer to be deprived rather than seek grudged permissions. Concerning such slight esteem for direction that does not chance to be at hand, one thoughtful nun has recently written: "There is a school of thought in our community which holds that since spiritual direction is not ordinarily avail- . able to religious engaged in such work as ours, it is indica-tive of presumption and singularity and entirely contrary to the spirit of 'simplicity' .which we inherit to seek it by 376 DO WE NEED DIRECTION? extrao.rdinary means. That school of thought considers itself representative of our intangible. 'Spirit,' the non-possession of which renders one anathema in this life and possibly in the next." , It is difficult to account for such easy foregoing of direction. Certainly the whole Weight of authority is against unnecessary self-direction, in every age of the Church. St. Alphonsus tells us that in his own day some religious wished to live without a director, imagining that with rules and superior they needed no other guide. But the saint continues, "They err: for along with the rules and the superior, nuns should have a confessor to direct the interior exercises, and to admonish and guide them, even in what regards their exterior employments." We need not remark that St. Alphonsus is the prince of moralists; that he here speaks of all classes of religious women, giving no least suggestion that any one is above the need of a director. And while he agrees that God will supply where guidance cannot be had, he warns us, "To refuse the. guidance of a minister of God when it can be had, is an act of temerity which the Lord will punish by permitting the soul to fall into many errors. God could guide us all by Himself, but to make us humble He wishes that we submit to His minis-ters, and depend on their direction." St. Francis de Sales, like .Alphonsus a Doctor of the Church, and a model director, complains too that "there are some persons who pretend they will not resign the con-duct of their souls to any but only to the spirit of God." They err, Francis declares, since "the manner by which God guides us is only that of obedience. If you take not that road, there is nothing but error and wandering." St. Philip Neri used to say that "there is nothing more dangerous than to direct one's own conscience." St. John of the Cross declares that "not to submit to the judgment 377 JOHN E. COOGAN of a confessor is pride and want of faith"; and he solemnly adds, "They who obey. a spiritual father cannot err." St. Bernard urged the need of a director upon learned as well as ignorant, declaring that he himself stood in need of a director; that in fact, "He who guides himself has a fool for a disciple." The same emphasis upon direction as needed even by the learned we have from the sainted Dominican, Vincent Ferret: "He who has an adviser whom he absolutely obeys in all things, will succeed much more easily and quickly than he could if left to himself, even if. endowed with quick intellect and possessed° of learned books." The need of even the virtuous for a director is the teaching, too, of the spiritual writers of today. For example, Father Henry Davis, S.J., the English professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, tells us simply that "A confessor who hears the confessions of very devout people has a duty of directing them to spiritual perfection." And Father W. E. Mulroney, S.S.J., says, "The confessor must tactfully let it be known that he is more than an absolution machine; that he intends to be helpful as a director." Monsignor Kerby, late editor of The Ecclesiastica! Review, urged the need of direction even for priests, telling us that "Spiritual direction should never be separated from confession . . . Among the major joys of life for a priest may be named the consciousness that there is one human being in the world to whom entire confidence is given, one whose knowledge is complete and who knows in fullest degree the weakness and the strength, the triumphs, defeats, aspirations and sufferings of the penitent's life. A confessor whose spiritual direction is a source of strength to his clerical penitent, becomes to him almost a deputy conscience, a source of wisdom and comfort at all times." (Cf. "The Priest as Penitent and Confessor,". in 378 DO ~rE NEED DIRECTION? The Ecclesiastical Review for November, 1935.) The moral teachings of the Church come to us indi-rectly through approved spiritual writers. But regarding the need of a director, Mother'Church frequently speaks for herself. To cite only two declarations, the first being from the Council of Baltimore: "Let the priest who goes to hear confessions seriously ponder over these offices of judge, shepherd, physician, and father, and endeavor, as far as in him lies, to fulfill them in deed and work." Finally, and of even greater importance, our Holy Father, Leo XIII, in his encyclical against a heretical spirit of false indepen-dence and naturalism, against the whole Protestant spirit hostile to direction, a spirit ominously called in the encycli-cal, "Americanism," warns us that "God in his ~infinite Providence has decreed that men for the most part must be saved by men, 'in order that,' as Chysostom says, 'we should be taught by God through men.' . . . This manner of acting has invariably obtained in the Church. All without exception who in the course of ages have been remarkable for science and holiness have taught this doc-rine. Those who reject it assuredly do so rashly and at their peril." To this unanimous testimony of the learned and holy regarding the need of a director, we may add a few con-siderations from reason. Father Poulain, S.J., the author-ity on pra3?er, here remarks that the confessor "has devoted himself to theological and sometimes to ascetic studies, which his penitent usually has not done." And even should the penitent be more thoroughly v~rsed in these sciences than the confessor, still "God blesses obedience and the humility from which it proceeds." A director enables the penitent, adds Poulain, to profit by the common lesson of experience that "even in temporal affairs it is prudent not to trust to our own guidance." To the contention that 379 JOHN E. COOGAN he who declines human direction has a director in.God, he rejoins: "By a similar principle it might be proved that God usually compensates for the absence of missionaries among the heathen, and that it is therefore unnecessary to concern ourselves as to their conversion.''1 St. Francis de Sales, too, argues the need of a director from the fact that we cannot see ourselves as we are, bin-dered as we are by a certain veiled, unsuspected compla-cency; and he demands, "Why should we wish to consti-tute ourselves directors of our own souls when we do not undertake the management of our bodies? Have we not noticed that physicians, when ill, call other physicians to determine what remedies they require?" A further argument from reason for the need of a direc- ¯ tor may be drawn from the fact that few can do their best altogether unobserved. There is an ancient proverb that ~hestrongest urge in all human nature is "to sit down." There are few things in the natural order so powerful in drawing out the best that is in us as the interested gaze of a pair of friendly eyes. No racer long maintains a ~elling pace, no high jumper lifts himself to heights untouched, without a witness to his efforts. And, speaking now of women, the great Mother Stuart gives as one of their most subtle but damaging faults their "emotional current which is satisfied with feeling acutely, and stops short of trans-lating generous emotion into act"; their "wide-spread shrinking from responsibility and mental effort, the tend-ency to drift"; so that, as she sums it all up, "Someone who will make us do what we can is our chief want in life." We can with slight modification apply to all religious what the zealous Josephite, Father W. E, Mulroney, says 1Of. Chapter xxvi of The Graces of Interior Prayer (London, Kegan Paul, 1928). Poulain is speaking primarily, but not exclusively, of mystics. In the Preface he says explicitly that a director is needed for all spiritual questions. 380 Do WE NEED DIRECTION.;' of the nuns' need of a .director: "A little thought on the subject of Sisters' confessors will bring the realization to every priest that in this case the hearing of confessions involves also direction--that is, if the confessor desires to be truly helpful. The mere recital of slight imperfections which constitutes the average confession of Religious Sis-ters, followed by absolution, without any direction or stimulation towards higher endeavor, usually leaves the Sisters with no incentive for perfection. Their medita-tion and spiritual reading lack that personal element so necessary in most cases for advancement. We are human, and human nature usually needs the impact of human na-ture to excite progress. To know that someone knows us, to know.that someone expects us to advance, seems for the average person a necessary condition for progress in spir-itual things.''2 With the Oratorian, Father Frederick Faber, we must say: "It is certainly to take a yoke upon ourselves to have a director. But unless we are prepared for it, it is really useless, not unfrequently worse than useless, to attempt a spiritual or interior life. We may possibly be safe without a director, if we choose to sit down in the dust and ashes of low attainment; but not otherwise." In view of such weighty insistence upon the need of spiritual direction, is the religious to be thought presump-tuous and singular who makes measured use even of extra-ordinary means? Surely the ordinary confessor is the pre-ferred source of direction, other things being equal. But rather than go without interested and adequate direction, is a religious not rather to be commended for making such measured use of even the extraordinary confessional aids offered by Canon Law and the Religious Rule? 2For this and other references to Father MulroneF, confer "Confessors of Sisters," in The Homiletic and Pastoral Reaieu~ for May, 1929. 381 Plenary Indulgences t:or !:he Souls in Purga!:ory Thomas A. O'Connor, s.J. ~REQUENTLY we are reminded of the suffering souls in Purgatory. Time and time again we resolve to do all we can to aid them by our prayers and. by the gaining of Indulgences. This year there come to mind not only the sixty-eight who were said to die every minute throughout the world, but also the soldiers, sailor~, and fliers of every country: soldiers, falling machine-gunned in a rain of steel'; fliers, hurtling through space, their planes afire; sailors, blown to bits by torpedo explosions, or trapped in sinking ships. War means death. Death means Purgatory. Purga-tory means souls suffering the temporal punishme.nt due to their sins. If the doctor in the first-aid station and the nurse in tile base hospital, heroically working to ease the pain of the wounded or to save the lives of bullet-torn, powder-burned bodies, deservedly win our admiration; cannot we emulate their valorous service by our own efforts to help the Holy Souls who look to us from their beds of pain, and longingly yearn for the hour when they will enter into the eternal rest? Since a plenary indulgence remits.all the temporal pun-ishment due to sin, obviously plenary indulgences will most help the Souls in Purgatory. A religious in the performance of his daily spiritual duties is,in aposition to help the Holy Souls as no one,else can.~ A large number of)ndulgences-Tple~ary indulgences ---can be gained by a religious Without assuming any addi-tional practices or the recitation of burdensome prayers,. 382 PLENARY INDULGENCES Perhaps the only .condition necessary will be the saying of prayers for the intentibn of the Holy Father at each of one's regular visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Of course, prudence and moderation should always mark the practice of gaining indulgences; If sanctity is "sublimated common sense," then in this, too, common sense will be a-safeguide. The indulgences spoken of here, with few exceptions, can be gained by all C.atholics, not only by religious and cIerics. To Gain an Indulgence 1. One must be in the state of grace to gain anindul-gence. The reason is that indulgences remit the temporal punishment only of those sins whose guilt has been for-given. To gain a plenary indulgence there is required also a detestation of all venial sin, since otherwise the temporal punishment of those unforgiven venial sins would remain Untouched by the indulgence. Hence can be seen the value of an act of contrition for all venial sins before performing the prescribed prayers to which is attached a plenary indul-gence. If one does not gain a plenary indulgence, he can gain a partial indulgence according to the disposition which he has. 2. A general intention of gaining indulgences must be had. That intention suffices which is once made and not sub-sequently retracted. A good practice is to renew one's intention occasionally, even daily, to gain all the indul-gences one can. 3. The conditions prescribed for the indulgences must be fulfilled. The prescribed prayers must be recited orall~t; that is, no~ necessarily out loud, but by forming the words with 383 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR the lips. One may, however, gain the indulgence attached to the saying of an aspiration by reciting it mentally and not orally. 4. Plenary/ indulgences are generally granted "'under the usual conditions.'" "'Under the Usual Conditions'" These "usual conditions" are Confession,-Communion, Visit to a Church, and Prayers for the intention of the H61y Father. A. CONFESSION: This condition is fulfilled for the gaining of ordinary plenary indulgences: a) either by those who have the habit of confessing twice a month unless legitimately impeded; or b) by those who have the habit of receiving Holy Com-munion daily (5 or 6 times a week). For others the con-fession may be made on any of the eight days preceding the day on which the indulgence is to be gained, or on any of the seven days fo!lowing. (Note: One Confession suffices for the gaining of all plenary indulgences during that time.) B. COMMUNION: Holy Communion may be received on the day previous, on the day of the indulgence itself, Or within one week. (Note: One Holy Communion suffices for all indulgences which may be gained during that time.) C. VISIT TO A. CHURCH: -The visit may be made to any church or public ora-tory, unless one special church has been designated. For religious, any chapel in which they fulfill their obligation of hearing Mass suffices. (Note:"Unlike the conditions of Confession and Communion, the visit, when required for plenary indul-gences, must be repeated for each indulgence gained.) 384 PLENARY INDULGENCES D. PRAYERS FOR THE INTENTION OF THE HOLY FATHER : 1. One Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory will fulfill this condition. Any other equivalent prayer may be sub-stituted. (Note: But when toties quoties indulgences are granted for visits to a church, th~ Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory must be said six times; and no other prayers may be substituted.) 2. The prayers must be said orally. 3. These prayers for the Holy Father must be repeated for the gaining of each plenary indulgence that requires this condition. Some Easilg-gained Indulgences For convenient reference, we are giving here a list of plenarq indulgences, most of which can be easily gained by religious. The "usual conditions" are required, unless otherwise specified. We do not guarantee that this list is complete. The numbers given in parentheses after eacl~ indulgence refer to the authentic collection of indulgenced prayers and works published by the Vatican Press in 1938: Preces et Pia Opera. The list is divided into four groups: I. Several Times a Da~t: A plenary indulgence may be gained everg time the following works are performed or prayers said: 1. "'Toties Quoties'" indulgences, e.g. on All Souls' Day. (544) At each visit one must say the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory, six times for the intention of the Pope. 2. Stations of the Cross: (164) All tha, t is required is that one with contrite heart move from station to station ('unless said in a group pub-licly), and meditate on the Passion. No visit or other prayers are required. 3. RosaGI in Presence of Blessed Sacrament: (360) 385 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Five decades suffice for the gaining of the indul-gence. The Blessed Sacrament need not be exposed. No other prayers are required. II. Once a Dag: 1. Prayer Before a Crucitix, "En Ego . ." (171) No special visit is required. 2. Stations on a Communion Da~/. (164) This indulgence is over and above the plenary indul-gences for the Stations themselves. No visit or other prayers are required. 3. Prayer to CHRIST THE UNIVERSAL KING. (254) "O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee King of the Universe. All that has been created has been made for Thee. Exercise upon me all Thy rights. I renew my baptismal promises renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps. I promise to live a good Christian life and to do all in my power to procure the triumph of the rights of God and Thy Church. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee my poor actions in order to obtain that all hearts may acknowledge Thy Sacred Royalty and that thus the reign of Thy peace may be established through-out the universe. Amen." 4. Holg Hour. (139) No other visit is required. -. 5. Recitation of the Divine Office before the Bles-sed Sacrament. (674, 678, 697) No other visit is required. This indulgence is for clerics, religious women bound to recite the Divine Office, and novices and scholastics of all religious institutes of men. 6. Each Communion Da~/ for those who have made the Heroic Act. (547) III. Once a Week: 1. Each Monday/by those who have made the Heroic Act, if Mass be heard for the Poor Souls. (547) 386 DLENARY INDULGENCES 2. A Dait~l Visit at which 5 Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glorys are said in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, and I Our Father,Hail Mary, and Glory for the intention of the Pope. (121) IN. B. This indulgence can be gained by those who because of sickness or for some other good reason cannot visit the Blessed Sacrament, provided they make a spiritual visit and.say the prayers above mentiofied. (122)] 3. The Aspiration "'M~t Lord and M~t God" if said every day during the elevation or during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. (107) Prayers for the Holy Father are required, but no visit is necessary. IV. Once a Month: We give here a partial list of prayers and aspirations to each of which is attached a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, provided the prayer be said daily for a month. A. Pra~ters 1. The Angelus ("Regina Coeli" at Easter time). (300) 2. "'Soul of Christ, sanctffg me" etc. (105) 3. "0 Lord, I am not worthg'" etc. (three times) (129) 4. "'Angel of God, mg Guardian dear" etc. (415) 5. "'Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes'" etc. (25) 6. "'Out of the depths I crg unto Thee" etc. (539) (N.B. Or 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, with "Eternal rest grant unto them~ O Lord," etc.) 7. Litang of Loretto (ending with the prayer "Con-cede"). (290) 8. Litan~t of the Sacred Heart. (213) 9. Litan~t of the Saints. (640) 10. "'Remember, 0 most gracious Virgin Marg,'" etc. (309) 11. "'Hail, Holtl Queen, Mother of merc!t,'" etc. (301) 387 THOMAS A, O'CONNOR 12. "'We fig to thai protection, 0 hol~! Mother of God,'" etc. (302) 13. Mental prager daily for fifteen minutes. (641) 14. Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. (289) 15. Little Office of the Immaculate Conception. (328) 16. St. Thomas Aquinas' Pra~ler dfter Communion "Gra-tias tibi ago," etc. (132) 17. Spiritual Communion. (135) 18. St. Ignat.ius' Suscipe "Take and receive, O Lord." etc. (39) 19. Each First Fridag for those who receive Holy Com-munion and a) Are present at the public prayers said in honor of the Sacred Heart; (N.B. No other visit is required). b) or if prevented from attending the public exercises, they. recite privately prayers in reparation to the-Sacred Heart, visit a church and pray for the intention of the Holy Father. (220) B. Aspirations 1. "0 Crux, ave, spes unica." (157) 2. "(]or Jesu, flagrans amore nostri, inflamma cot nos-trum amore tui." (194) 3. "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine." (196) 4. "O sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore, grant that I may love Thee ever more and more." (193) 5. "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us." (211) 6. "O Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in Thee." (195) 7. "Jesus, Mary, Joseph." (256) 8. "My Jesus, mercy~" (55) 9. "Mary." (268) 388 PLENARY INDULGENCES 10. "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to three." (325) 11. "Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation." (352) Conclusion A religious is in an excellent position to gain many plenary indulgences, and to apply them to the Souls in Purgatory. For example, everyone who is a daily com-municant can gain 8oe plenary indulgences each day by the following comparatively simple practices: a) Say the Stations. By doing this one can gain two plenary indul-gences, one for the Stations themselves, the other for saying them on a Communion day. b) Say 5 decades of the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament. c) Before leaving the chapel after Mass, say the Pra~ler Before a CruciSx and add the prayers for the intention of the Pope. d) At another visit during the day, say the prayer to Christ, the Ur~ioersal Kir~g and add prayers for th.e inten-tion of the Holy Father. These practices not only involve little or no extra burden for most religious; they are also devotions that can be a great help toward maintaining a fervent spiritual life. Needless to say, many other ways of multiplying plenary indulgences can be calculated from the lists that have been given. This can be left to individual devotion. One cau-tion might be in order: namely, the gaining of indulgences should not be allowed to become a sort of obsession that ruins one's peace of soul. However, granted that one is able to preserve a wholesome mental attitude, .this parting suggestion may prove helpful: Form the habit of saying 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory for the intention of the Pope at each visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Other-wise many indulgences may be lost because of the omission of the prescribed visit and prayers. 389 Sanctifying Gracer A Priceless Re~li~:y Leo. A. Coressel, S.J. THE present-day Liturgical Movement has as its slogan: "It is the Mass that Matters." And rightly so, be-cause the Mass is the most sublime of all acts of cor-porate worship. But if one looks to the internal disposi-tions of the soul and to its right relationship with God, it is sanctifying grace that matters. For without grace the soul is in a state of enmity with God and spiritually dead. Sanc-tifying grace is so important that its presence or absence at the moment of death spells the difference between success and failure of life. Sanctity and perfection, moreover, are measured not only by the habits and acts of virtue but also in terms of sanctifying grace. The greater the measure of sanctifying grace in a person's soul, the holier and the more perfect he is. Sanctifying grace is a priceless treasure; yet to under-stand and appreciate its reality is admittedly a difficult task. In the first place, we are prone to think of the soul in the state of grace in terms of freedom from mortal sin. This perhaps is due to the elementary catechetical training of childhood, when the great mysteries of faith were proposed in a manner befitting our abilities. We were then impressed with the idea that in Baptism the soul is washed free from sin, that in the sacrament of Penance we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. Less prominent in our minds has been the idea of the realness of this great grace. Then, too, as is the case with other truths of our faith, we have no immediate experience of sanctifying grace. We do not see it, we do not smell its fragrance. Nor do we even understand it 390 SANCTIFYING GRACE fully. With or without sanctifying grace our personalities, actions, and thoughts are apparently the same. Despite the~e difficulties a study of sanctifying grace is well. worth our while, because of the place it holds in the economy of salvation. Take, for example, the redemptive work of the Savior. A major elemen[ of its meaning is lost, if we forget that it was to restore sanctifying grace to fallen man that Jesus Christ was born into this world; that He lived, suffered and gave His life on the cross. King by divine right, He was born in a stable that He might clothe us in the divine royalty of grace. For thirty years He led a life hidden at Nazareth that we might find glory before God by means of His grace. His pierced hands and feet and side on the cross are so many voices suppliant of sanctifying grace. To make men sharers of His grace, Christ established a Church and instituted seven sacra-ments. Furthermore, the actual graces, which are con-tinually poured out on man in divine munificence, have as their chief purpose to prepare and dispose the soul for sanc-tifying grace, to effect an, increase of it, to preserve it and bring men finally to their ultimate goal and perfection-- life with God in eternity. God's Greatest Work If we.wish to attain to a better realization and appre-ciation of sanctifying grace, we shall do well to follow a child to the baptismal font or a penitent in mortal~ sin to confession. When water is poured and the words are said or when sacramental absolution is given, a truly wonderful change takes place. If our eyes of faith were illumined with an innermost vision of the mysteries of God, we should be privileged to see a work which, under one aspect, St. Thom-as calls greater than the creation of heaven and earth. In answer to the question whether the justification of the 391 ungodly is God's greatest work, the Angelic Doctor says in part: "A work may be called great in two ways: first, on the part of the mode bf action,, and thus the work.of crea-tion is the greatest work, wherein something is made from nothing; secondly, a work may be called great on account of what is made, and thus the justification of the ungodly, which terminates at the eternal good of a share in the God-head, is greater than the creation of heaven and earth, which terminates at the good of mutable nature.''1 We may think of all the treasures of earth; the gold and silver extracted from its depths in Alaska, California, and Colorado; the oil pumped in Oklahoma and Texas; the diamonds mined in Africa: the pitchblende so rich in radium, in Canada. We consider the vast coal deposits and veins of iron and copper, not only in the United States, but in the whole world. Raising our eyes to the heavens, we see the sun, the moon, Mars, ~lupiter, Saturn, the~ Milky Way, and we peer at the stars beyond, stretching countless light years into. space. All these owe their existence in some way to God's creative ~iat. Yet these and all other bodies of mutable nature are of less importance, of less value than sanctifying grace by which the ungodly are justified. That this tremendous value is often not appreciated is shown by the fact that many are only too willing to barter this treas-ure for a small sum of money, for a passing pleasure, to satisfy a vain ambition, or to become more popular in their own little circle of friends. Holding the middle place between the angelic world and brute matter is man, composed of body and soul. Coming from the hands of God graced with intellect and will, he is superior to the rest of the visible world, inferior in nature only to the angels and God Himself. His natural 1Summa Theological 1, 2, q. 1 13, a. 9. Literally translated by Fathers of the Eng-lish Dominican Province. 392 SANCTIFYING GRACE powers of intellect have carried him to the heights and erected monuments as memorials of his genius. In the universities and towns and countryside he has philoso-phized and sought to .unlock the secrets of nature. But. however greatman's natural intellectual gifts, they are of less value than the sanctifying grace in the soul of a newly baptized infant. In the course of centuries the world has witnessed the greatness of character and soul of hero and saint, canon-ized and uncanonized, of lay person and cleric, of a Lin-coln, a Magdalene, a St. Francis of Assisi, a Xavier, a Plus XI. Yet all their n~tural greatness is as nothing compared to the sanctifying grace in the soul of a repentant criminal led to the electric chair or of an unkempt half-wit shuffling along the streets. It is clear, then, that some magnificent reality is pro-duced in the soul when sacramental absolution is given to a person in mortal sin. Grace is a reality in the fullest sense of the ~ord and in the same sense that man, a rose, or God Himself is real. It has physical being; it is a permanent thing that w~ll last until destroyed by mortal sin. It is spiritual like the human soul; not material like the body and other visible things. Sharing the Dioine Nature That sanctifying grace is a reality and a priceless one there can be no doubt. We can perhaps improve our under-standing of it bya consideration of the effects it works in the soul. Among many others, there are two effects which are outstanding, namely, that of sharing the divine nature and that of adopted sonship. It is necessary to restate here certain truths which but recently apeared in this REVIEW. The issue of September, 1942, contains an article on the supernatural life in which 393 LEO A. CORESSEL Father G. Augustine Ellard gives a .rich and inspiring treatment of our sha~e in the life of God. Yet we believe that a brief return to this same topic is warranted by its sublimity as well as by the purpose and setting of this article. In his second epistle St. Peter tells us of our share in the divine nature: "For indeed his divine power has granted us all things pertaining to life and piety through the knowl-edge of him who has called us by his own glory and power mthrough which he has granted us the very great and pre-cious promises, so that through them you may become par-takers of the divine nature, having escaped from the cor-ruption of that lust which is the world" (2 Peter 1:1-5). In weighing the words of St. Peter we must not think of the divine nature within us as the gold plate of a statue hiding the dross of baser metals beneath. The truth of the matter is that we are internally changed by it. Just as the life principle of an orchid gives color and texture and shape to common chemical ingredients making of them an orchid, so in somewhat the same manner, sanctifying grace, which is a principle of divine life, deifies us mortals, making us godlike. The Fathers of the Church insist on this point of deifi-cation. St. Athanasius remarks: "He (Christ) was not, therefore, first man and then God, but first God and then man in order that He might rather deify us." St. Augus-tine describes the process of deification as follows: "He jus-tifies who is just of Himself, not from another; and He deifies who is God of Himself, not by participation in an-other. But He who. justifies, also deifies, because He makes men sons of God through justification." From St. Cyril of Alexandria we have words too pertinent to omit. Christ, he says, is fashioned in us when the Holy Spirit infuses a certain divine form by sanctification and justice. For thus 394 SANCTIFYING GRACE there shines forth in our souls the impress of the substance of God as the Holy Spirit moulds us anew by sanctification in Him. From these testimonies it is dear that God gives a share of His nature to raise men up to be like unto Himself. He does this by means of sanctifying.grace. This grace is regenerative, effecting that men are reborn, not of flesh and blood, but of God. As a result they share His nature just as any child shares the nature of his parents. "But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, then not by reason of good works that we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us througFi the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit; whom he has abun. dantly poured out upon us through ,Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that, justified by his grace, we may be heirs in the hope of life everlasting" (Titus 3:4-7). "To as many as received him, he gave the power of becoming sons of God: to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (~lohn 1:12-13). Deified by grace, man is disposed to lead a godlike life. His person and actions are poles apart from those of a man in mortal sin. He is a new creature, created in Christ ~lesus. He is godlike in person, endowed with a principle of divine actions, actions which bear an intrinsic relation to his su-pernatural destiny. There remains the question of the manner in which we share the divine nature. We are deified, it is true; but in what sense? We are made godlike; but what precisely is sanctifying grace which effects these marvels? We know the nature of the soul which moulds matter in the form of man. What rhea of sanctifying grace which deifies us? Here we are face to face with a mystery, the ultimate under-standing and vision of which we must leave to eternity. 395 But the main outlines are quite clear and these we shall be content to sketch here. The divine nature of sanctifying grace certainly does not imply identity with the uncreated divinity itself. About this there can be no argument, for to hold such an opinion would make one guilty of Pantheism, which is ruled out even on grounds of right reason. Rather, our deification is effected by a created gift, which we know as sanctifying grace. By reason of this gift we begin to share, in a dim and imperfect way, the life to which it ordains and disposes us. This is nothing less than a share in the inner life of God as He is in Himself, a share in that knowledge and love and possession common to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which is proper and natural to them alone. It is a share in that which is divine, a face to face vision, love, and pos-session of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. On this earth our share is as a seed, the seed of God, as writes St. John: "Whoever is born of God does not commit sin; because his seed.abides in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (I John 3:9). It should be noted that these words do not mean that a person in the state of grace cannot commit grave sin. Rather they are to be taken in the sense that sanctifying grace will remain as long as man does not make himself unworthy of it by mortal sin. Indeed, as long as one lives up to the ideals set before him by grace, it can be said in a true sense that he. will not and cannot sin. What is quite clear from the words of St. John is that the seed of God is planted in souls. It is left to their ten-der care, to be nourished, to be guarded, to be protected from the blight of mortal sin. By spiritual efforts that seed can be made to grow to the full stature of its inherent potentiality. Just as favorable conditions of sun, air, and soil will cause the acorn to grow to the full grandeur of an 396 SANCTIFYING ('~RACE oak, so this divine nature of sanctifying grace, carefully guarded and nurtured unto God's judgment seat, will win for the soul its fullest flowering and fruit in the possession of God as He is in Himself in the beatific vision. In a word, divine life is already had on this earth, although imperfectly. There is sanctifying grace, a new nature, a share in the divine nature and a principle of divin~ life. Corresponding-to that principle is a knowl-edge of God by divine faith, a desire of attaining Him in eternal life by hope, and a love of friendship. In heaven faith will yield to vision, hope to possession, while love will be intensified a thousandfold. Thus the. soul enjoy-ing the beatific vision shares the divine life of God in the most perfect way conceivable, which only God could plan and bring to execution. Adopted Sonship Another effect of sanctifying grace which powerfully portrays its reality is adopted sonship. A consideration of it will bring out at the same time in still clearer relief, our participation in the life of the divine society of God. Adoption is the installation of an outsider as a son with the right of inheritance. That God does adopt the just soul as His own son is clear from the words of St. Paul to the Galatians: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that he is no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir also through God" (Galatians 4:4-7). Consider fora moment, ari example of human adop-tion. Mr. and Mrs. Johns, either because they have no 397 LEO A. CORESSEL ¯ children of their own, or out a burning desire for an-other baby in the home, decide to adopt James, an orphan six months old. After the due formalities of investiga-tion and law have been fulfilled, James is taken home and installed as a son. Yet there is a world of difference between this case of human adoption and that of God in which the just are made His sons. In human adoption there is no question of an inner change in the infant; it is no more than a mere external legal transaction. James does not become the real son of his foster parents; they only consider him so. But when God adopts us He communicates a new nature, a share of His own, whereby we are deified. We are internally changed for we are born of God and become His sons in a real sense. Now we have God as our Father so that we can say in very truth: Our Father who art in heaven. As adopted sons we take our stand with Jesus Christ the Only-begotten Son. A Son by true eternal generation, the Second Person is such by nature. Born of God by the regenerating powers of grace, we are sons by adoption. "But if we are sons, we are heirs also: heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided, however, we suffer with him that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:17). This inheritance is that crown of ¯ glory which God has prepared for those who love Him. For it is the eternal incorporation into the divine family of the Three Persons in the beatific vision, where the redemptive work of the Savior reaches the peak of final, definitive perfection. From a consideration of these dynamic truths two very practical conclusions stand out. First and foremost is a sense of righteous personal dignity as adopted sons who are sharers in the divine nature. It is a sense of dignity that should inspire us to a filial relationship with God, too busy 398 SANCTIFYING GRACE as sons about the things of our Father to be engrossed in creatures for their own sakes. It should inspire us to see others as actual~or potential members of the same divine family. The second conclusion is a very high regard for and appreciation of the reality and true value of sanctifying grace. If what has been said is true, then with just rea-son could St. Thomas write that, considered in the light of the effect produced, the justification of a sinner which terminates at the eternal good of a share in the Godhead is greater than the creation of heaven and earth, which terminates at the good of mutable nature. Think, then, in what a work we are already cooperating with God when we effect an increase of sanctifying grace in our own souls, an increase as it is of divine nature, making us more godlike. Think, too, of our work with our fellow-men, our good example in inspiring souls to repent of their sins and enter into the light of divine grace, our prayers and works for sinners and infidels and heretics, our apostolic duties of teaching, counselling and advis-ing. They all play their share, small though they may be, in restoring and increasing the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of light and life .and grace, in our own souls and in those of our fellowmen. FRANCIS DE SALES AND THE LITTLE OFFICE An article in the January n'umber of this REVIEW (p. 58) carried the statement that St. Francis de Sales gave his Sisterhood the Little Of?ice of the Blessed Virqit~ because the Divine office was then under censure by French Bishops. Father L. 3ac-quiet00. S.F.S., objects to this statement--and rightly so, because St. Francis's own testimony is against it. According to Father Jacquier, the reasons given by St. Francis may be summed up as follows: 1) The difficulty of reciting the Great Office with the proper pro-nunciation. 2) It is better to recite a short office slowly and with great piety than to slaughter the Great Office ina hasty and unintelligible way. 3) In the Visitation Order are received feeble and sick persons who would find extraordinary difficulty with the Great Office. , 399 Pert:ection I:he Religious Augustine Klaas, S.J. ACATHOLIC who strives steadfastly to do as much supernatural good as he can in the particular circum-stances in which God has placed him has attained to spiritual perfection. In his daily life, such a one practises many virtues, above all, the virtue of charity, which, when possessed through sanctifying grace and exercised to the utmost, is the quintessence of perfection. The more this love of God increases in his soul; the more it permeates his every thought, word and deed; the greater will be his per-fection arid the more closely will he be united to God both here on earth and hereafter in heaven. Spiritual perfection, then, is gaged principally by one's affective and effective love of God for Himself and of all else for His sake. It includes both the precepts and the counsels. It has as its sublime Exemplar, Jesus Christ Himself. V. The Religi'ous State, the "'State of Perfection" Spiritual perfection may be achieved in any state of life. There is, however, one state of life in which perfection can be attained to more readily and easily, because there the ,means to it are more abundant and efficacious: the religious state. In this state one normally tries for perfection more earnestly and reaches it more frequently. So true is this that theologians have not hesitated to call the religious state the "state of perfection," that is, a stable manner of life in which one makes profession of pursuing perfection. This 1This is the last of a series of three articles on Perfection. Though a part of a series, the article is complete in itself.--Ed. 400 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS pursuit of perfection, however, is r~ot carried on in any manner at all, but in a certain definite way, namely, by observing the evangelical counsels, which can be reduced to the three main ones, poverty, chastity and obedience. The practice of these three counsels as a means to per-fection was substantially recommended by our Lord Him-self. When the rich young man said, "All these (com-mandments) I have kept: what is yet wanting to me?", Christ answered: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treas-ure in heaven; and c6me, follow me" (Matthew 19:20- 22). A little later He declared to his disciples: "And every one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father or mother, or wif~i or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlast-ing" (Matthew 19:29). In these two texts are clearly pointed out the counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedi-ence: poverty, in selling "what thou hast"; chastity, in foregoing wife and children: obedience, in following Him in all things. The history of those who have heeded this divine call is a glorious one; it is an integral part of that mark of holiness which distinguishes the true Church of Christ from its many counterfeits. It must be admitted that these counsels can be, and sometimes are, practiced outside the technical "state of per-fection." What makes the religious life a real "state of perfection" is the ~ows by which the religious obligates himself to observe the three evangelical counsels. It is these vows which give to the religious life that stability without which there can be no state of perfection. Canon law expresses this doctrine succinctly when it describes the reli-gious state as "the firmly established manner of living in community, by which the faithful undertake to observe, not only the ordinary precepts, but also the evangelical 401 AUGUSTINE KLAAS counsels, by means of the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, . . " (Canon 487). Hence, according to Canon Law, a religious institute is "every society: approved by !egitimate ecclesiastical authority, the members of which tend to evangelical perfection, according to. the laws proper to their society, by the profession of public vows ¯ . . " (Canon 488). Public vows are of the essence of the religious state. There is no obligation to enter upQn this state of life. It is utterly free. Christ said: "If thou wilt be perfect." It is a counsel, not a precept. I may take it or leave it, even when there is the dearest evidence that God has given me a vocation. Contrary to what is sometimes heard on this point, I can save my soul and .even attain to perfection, although I do not follow the higher call. True, there is a precept to love God to the utmost and upon doing that depends mainly my perfection, but there is no precept to vow the following of the three evai~gelical counsels as a particular means to attain to the perfect love of God. The way of the three counsels and vows is doubtless the best means of all for that purpose, but it is not an indispensable means. There are saints who have reached the highest sanctity outside the religious state, outside the "state of perfection." It may even happen that a person living in the world may be far more perfect than a religious in the "state of perfection," because the norm of perfection is not one's state of life, but charit~t. However, it cannot be denied that perfection outside the religious life is ordinarily more difficult to achieve; hence it is an extremely hazardous thing to refuse to answer the dear call of Christ to the reli-gious state. It is the religious who has the best chance of loving God to the utmost,, because he has freely adopted the best means to that end, namely, the persevering practice of the three counsels under vow. 402 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS VI. The Religious State and Cbarit!t What is the relation of the religious vows and rules to charity, the essence of perfection? Saint Thomas answers in the Summa Theologica (II-II, q. 186, a. 7) that "the vow of religion is ordained to the perfection of love as its purpose, and all the other observances of religion are ordained to the carrying out of the vows." The vows and rules are, therefore, means to the perfect love of God. Something done under vow is more perfect than a simi- 1;it thing done without the vow, all other things being equal. Let us suppose two teachers employed in a high school: the one, Father Spencer, is a religious; the other, Mr. Jones, is agood Catholic layman. Father Spencer and Mr. Jones teach their classes daily in obedience to the presi-dent of the high school, who is also Father Spencer's religious superior. Father Spencer has the same merit for the exercise of his virtue of obedience as Mr. Jones has, but in addition he has also the merit 6f the virtue of religion, the most excellent of the moral virtues. By reason of his vow, his act of obedience is more pleasing to God and manifests greater love of God than does that of Mr. Jones. The fact that Father Spencer is under the obligation of his vow to obey, does in no way diminish the merit of his act of obedience. Obligation does not decrease merit, as some have tried to maintain, alleging that without the vow there is greater liberty and from that standpoint greater merit. This is not so. Does a mother caring for her sick child (a serious obligation for her) merit less than when she gives a beggar an alms to which she is not obliged? She is free to omit the second, but not free to omit the first. This comparative lack of freedom in no wise lowers her merit. The martyr is obligated under pain of mortal sin and eternal damna-tion to profess his faith and to die for it, and yet there is 403 AUGUSTIN~ KLAAS no more heroic act of love nor a more meritorious one than martyrdom. Nor does what is done under obligation necessarily proceed from fear; it can and should proceed from love. Such are the vows of religion. They are assumed out of a great love of God; they are observed faithfully on account of this same love. The very perpetuity of the vows implies a great love of God. Two young men not subject to mili-tary service volunteer. The one does so with the under-standing that he may withdraw from the service when-ever it pleases him; the other, for the duration of the war. o Hasn't the one who enlisted for the du~ration shown greater generosity and love of country? By his vows the religious volunteers for God's service in the state of perfec-tion for the duration of his life. Spiritual writers have compared that act to martyrdom. It is a most sublime act of the love of God; it can merit a reward akin to that of martyrdom. If we examine these three vows more intimately we see that they contribute immensely to progress in the love of God which is perfection. Negatively, they remove from the religious the three principal obstacles to spiritual per-fection: "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (I ,John 2:16). Voluntary poverty does away with the inordinate love of and solicitude for tem.- poral things: voluntary chastity banishes all carnal dis-order and the worrisome care of family: voluntary obedi-ence, being a continuous exercise of humility, removes pride, the misuse of liberty, and all anxiety as to the best use of our liberty. Not only do these vows remove bar-riers, they also positively foster in us the love of God; in fact, they are a constant and uninterrupted exercise of that love. in the religious state there are also many other acts, which are not commanded by vow, but only by rule. In 404 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS most religious institutes the rule of itself does not oblige under sin, even venial sin, yet the acts performed according to the rule have the full merit of the virtue of religion. The vows and the rule are the means ~oar excellence of advancing in charity, the essence of spiritual perfection. ¯ Some of the general advantages of the religious state, the "state of perfection," may be noted. The religious state is a safe haven from innumerable dangers to the sou!, and a powerful aid to the acquirement of virtues of every kind. After martyrdom, it is the most perfect act of charity, because in it the religious gives his all to God for-ever. Indeed, as already mentioned, the religious state is a kind of real martyrdom, bloodless and less terrifying, but more painful by reason of the length of time involved. It is a holocaust, not merely offered to God, but consumed utterly in the fire of His love. It is a kind of second bap-tism, removing the punishment due to previous sins, as St. Thomas asserts (Summa Theoloqica II-II, q. 189, a. 3). It is a perpetual exercise of the virtue of religion, the highest of the moral virtues. The religious state also effects immense good for the neighbor, both spiritually and temporally, by prayer, by good example, by works of charity, as history eloquently attests. Finally, its rewards are the greatest: a "hundredfold" in this life and in the next a huge share in the eternal joys of heaven. Of course, as Bede Jarrett, O.19. says, "it may be said quickly to all this that religious life cramps the soul, shuts it in, hampers its free development; and the answer would be presumably to admit the accusation. Religious life does shut in the soul; but only as steam is shut in and cramped that it may work the more. A man may give the steam ample room for free development, but only at the risk of finding it useless tohim; if he can somehow cloister it narrowly it will work the harder. The flaring jet of gas, 405 AUGUSTINE KLAAS blown widely by the wind, has no doubt scope for its free movement, but (if the fantastic expression be allowed) clothe it with the habit of religion and it will become, as incandescent, a better source of heat and light. Perhaps in some such way the spirit of man may nee~t a cloister and a habit, the restraint of vow and rule, in order that it may be fuller of energy and intense existence, live more com-pletely and earnestly, affect better, its dutiful purpose to give light and heat in the world about" (The Religious Life, p. 49). The personal aspect is well expressed.by these words, often attributed to St. Bernard: "Is not this Religion-holy, pure and immaculate--in which a man lives more purely, falls more rarely, rises more quickly, walks more safely, is sprinkled with the dew of grace more abundantly, rests more securely, dies more confidently, is cleansed more quickly and is rewarded more copiously?" A religious need never look wistfully towards some other state of life, foolishly day-d~eaming of what might have been. His is a lofty state of life. His is the royal road to spiritual perfection and the highest love of God. Let him tread that road humbly and gratefully. Let him walk courageo~asly and generously in the footprints of Him Who repeats daily in the heart of every religious, "Come, Follow Me." BOOKS RECEIVED THE MEANING OP THE MASS. By Paul Bussard and Felix M. Kitsch, O.F.M. Cal). P.J. Kenedy ~ Sons, New York. ANSWERS. By Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. Salvatorian Fathers, St. Nazianz, Wis-consin. MY SILENT PARTNER. °By H. J. Heagney. Salvatorian Pathers, St. Naz~anz, Wisconsin. THE BOOK OF CATHOLIC AUTHORS, By Walter Romig. Walter Romig ~ Company, Detroit. A LETTER FROM LISIEUX. B~r 2ohn Mathias Haffert. The Scapular Press, Sea Isle City, N. J. MOMENTS WITH GOD. By Edward F. Garesche, S.J. Bruce Publishing Com-pany, Milwaukee. 406 From Prles~s Reverend Fathers:' A rather indispensable requisite for direction in the confessional is to allow ample time for the hearing of the confessions. If this time is barely adequate merely to hear the confessions, little direction can be given. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I have been interested in your discussion about the direction of religious, particularly of Sisters; and having had some experience in the matter I thought I might contribute my mite to throw light on the subject. Comparing my experience among the various members of many communities I find that in certain communities the matter of direc-tion is a usual one, whereas in others it is hardly ever used. This has led me to the conclusion that the traditions of the community imbibed in the novitiate have something to do with the use or non-use of direction by the Sisters. It seems, therefore, that the novice-mistress will have very much to say whether.and how the Sisters of her community are going to seek the benefit of direction. It would seem to me that the novice-mistress should teach her charges about the nature, value and method of spiritual direction. Father Fab~r's famous chapter on the matter in Growth in Holiness will be a big help. The thought also occurs to me that it would be well to draw up a symposium of the various ideas suggested, in a final summing up paper by the Editor, so that the conclusions will be easily and quick-ly apparent. Signed, etc. Reverend Fathers: Penitents that are seeking direction will be inclined to respond to a confessor who, they are convinced, possesses among other things a sympathetic understanding of their individual needs. Upon the shoulders of Fr. A, however, rests the burden of proof, and this can hardly be accomplished by silence. Since it is true that he cannot 407 COMMUNICATIONS begin to assume real guidance until he has first ascertained the work-ings of God's grace in a particular soul, his prime task is not only to show evidence of personal interest, but also to provide opportunities for self-revelati0n. The tenob of a confession, even though it contains only "ordinary human failings," should suggest the topic for a simple instruction of a psychological character, calculated to show how these faults develop or how the opposite virtues may be strengthened. Probably nothing so encourages penitents as to hear a description, however brief, of a condition similar to their own interior activities; to see pictured before them, as it were, their own feelings and thoughts which are often difficul~ for them to express in language. This is especially true of those penitents who feel that they are deriving no fruit from their prayer, and think they are making no progress in perfection. An instruction of this kind, given with prudence and gentleness, may do much to invite spontaneous openness towards Ft. A. Fr. A, when all is said and 'done, may-decide to limit.himself;- ¯ after hearing a confession, to a few pious phrases and admonitions. He may even speak sublimely about the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Eucharist, or the Sacred Humanity of our Lord. To be sure, this practice is very praiseworthy and ought to engender devotion in a general way. But let us refrain from calling it "Spiritual Direc-tion." Wise guidance demands an intimate knowledge of the main factors in a penitent's past life: of present faults, virtues, habits, dis-positions, temptations, etc., which cannot be garnered magically out of the air. And it stands to reason that these spiritual hors d'oeuvres are destined to fall far short of any real plan of direction, to say nothing of their inefficacy to provide a substantial diet for each indi-vidual soul. May we add that in the direction of penitents who are composed of bod~/and spirit, it is essential that a good confessor ground him-self well in the fundamentals, at least, of human temperamental traits and the organic and nervous funetions of the human frame. Not all failings are the direct result of bad will or the blandishments of the devil. Let Fr. A examine himself on whether he has ever attempted to corrdct, by spiritual remedies, a meditation made poorly because of physical fatigue or severe mental strain. With this last thought in mind, besides the bibliographical suggestions made in the previous issue of this REVIEW one might profitably recommend to any con- 408 COMMUNICATIONS lessor, as a supplement to his spiritual wisdom, such books as: Psgchologg of Character, by R.'Allers: Lindworsky's Psychologg of Asceticism and Training of the Will; McCarthy's Safeguarding Men-tal Health; D. yon Hildebrand's In Defense of Purity; the excellent study of characters (as a basis for spiritual activities) in one of the appendices to Tanquerey's Spiritual Life; and any standard works, e.g. Gray'~, on Anatomy and Physiology. Signed, etc; Reverend Fathers: The authorsof most of the communications in the S~ptember REVIEW, especially the priests, seem to think that the priest should always take the initiative in giving spiritual direction to reli-gious; and they find fault with youk Father~ A for not doing this. But I think that much can~be said on Father A's side. Not all reli-gious are interested in getting spiritual direction from their confessor. Furthermore, as for those religious who would appreciate some spir-itual direction, why should not they take the initiative? Why shouldn't they presume that the priest is willing to help them until he shows that he isn't? Why should it be necessary for a priest to deal with mature people as he would with a child and ask such ques-tions as, "Is there anything that is a source of anxiety to you?°'- "Is there any way I can.help you?" etc . I propose these difficulties sincerely. I think that spiritual direc-t'ion is a two-sided affair, and that in general the approach should be made by the penitent, not ~he priest. There is no comparison between the retreat-confessor and the ordinary confessor. At the time of retreat religious are particularly susceptible to good advice, and the conferences of the retreat are often occasions for seeking counsel. The ordinary confessor has no such external helps. Signed, etc . From Sisters Reverend Fathers : As a suggestion concerning the problem of direction by the con-fessor, I would say that religious should be taught how to go to con-fession. We were taught when children, "Say what sins you have committed and how many times," and that is perhaps all many of us did before entering a convent and even continue to do. If, after entering upon the religious life, confessions would be made differ- 409 COMMUNICATIONS ently, as they should be according to books, and retreat conferences~ it would be helpful to be told what to tell in confession besides sin. Another thing: Many of our difficulties are with superiors and members of the community, and to seek direction the Whole story or part of the story would have to be told. "As this means bringing the faults of others into one's own confession, spiritual direction is often skipped, and one plods along perhaps on the wrong road. But what can one do? Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I wish to say that for many religious, spiritual direction is simply out of the question because of the custom of having the pastor serve in the capacity of confessor. I do not say this by way of criticism, but it is a simple fact that this custom does give rise to an embarrassing spiritual predicament. I'm certain that many souls would be eter-nally grateful and that a revival of spiritual fervor would be effected in many convents if this custom could be changed. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: As I have been fortunate at different periods in my more than thirty years in religion in receiving valuable direction from the ordinary confessor, and also have hungered for it for long stretches and now rejoice in three and a half years of satisfaction, may I try to make this available to other sisters? "How to get together?" If possible, a word from the confessor on his willingness to give personal 'he!p any time wanted. If that is not suggested, then the sister should ask straight out for help, or-- if she wants steady, consistent supervision--for direction, and express her readiness to be a real child in candor and obedience. If at any time ~she does not seem to get the confessor's meaning, or if she feels the advice is not fitting her, she should say so, knowing that both want to make the necessary adjustment for real help. She can certainly say when advice has helped her and where a point is often repeated ask to have it more fully developed. Sometimes a "light" or a resolution from her meditation or day of recollection may be a God-sent hint, and the confessor can help her to use it more effectively. I think the weekly confessor's direction can not be substitute~l 410 COMMUNICATIONS for by advice in the anfiual retreat or by an occasional visit from a special confessor. Its unique advantages seem to be: 1) consistency through ups and dgwns; 2).more balanced judgment of what should be striven for; 3). convincing encguragement and reproof; 4) the sister's confidence in knowing there is one who knows her to help in an emergency. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: Your article.Spiritual Direction by the Ordinary Con~:essor in the July issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS has greatly interested me and a number of Sisters who have just returned home from the various brands of summer sessions. Among those who read your article; the consensus of opinion seems to be that we ask for and receive educa-tional guidance more readily and effectively because we understand how to state: our problems in that field, a thing with which most of us have difficulty in spiritual guidance. Nearly all Sisters have read Saint Ignatius, Saint Francis de Sales, Faber, Dora Marmi.on, Tissot, et al. ; so generally we have s6me background, But we simply do 'not know the procedures for the practice of regular and consistent spiritual guidance: As far as I can judge, all our confessors have been Father A's, but the net result in guidance is indefinite and without satisfying.resultl, at least in my case. A few model "opening exercises" including hints on the amount of background, if any, which is needed, and other essential details for the presentation of one of the "practical situations" would glad-den the heart of any of us as well as give the Sisters' ordinary con-. fessor a real "starting point'." ~ Having missed the ordinary confessor, I steppe~t into the confes-sional of one of the parish curates to make my weekly confession. "Jt{s't what progress have you made during the past week in the prac-tice of . . . ?'' I was not prepared to give a definite account. The expecthtion of an o~casibnal qhestion of ~this""t~;pe would hel~ in many ways and provide an opening. Signed, etc. Reverend Fathers': ~ I am speaking for all,the members of our small community, ten religious. We.have been without any real spiritual direction for a 411 COMMUNICATIONS long time, and our positive suggestion would be this: Let the con-lessor give a few words on the saint of the day, virtues to be imitated, etd., or on the Gospel for the Sunday. This direction need not be specific direction for one special individual, but a general one suitable for all. We do hope to receive some direction in the confessional, if not weekly, at hast occasionally. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: Your case of Father A was so well put that I almost sympathized ~with him. Yet I do not see how timidity can be an excuse for one so zealous. Even if it were, it would not answer in many cases. If direction is "the methodical, regular instruction given by a person with grace of state to an upright and generous soul to help her advance in solid piety and even toward perfection," how could so many priests --"persons with gra.ce of state"--be unable to fulfill this office? If they.are unable is it not rather because of their lack of interest in the spiritual life than their lack of preparation to undertake the work of helpful confessors? Father A may be excused because of timidity. That is surely not the reason the great number of confessors rarely give more than absolution. Why should they be so timid on spiritual matters? And if they hesitate to attempt to find out whether their advice would be received by us, what of our timidity about asking help occasionally from one who never gives more than he must even when he is asked and sometimes cuts us off sharply with no help whatsoever ? Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I have read all of the comments on Confessors of Religious and ¯ Confessions by Religious. May I add a few running thoughts? 1. The kindness and patience of confessors even after hours in the confessional is really remarkable. The readers of this REVIEW must confessthat ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they have met with utmost consideration. 2. Penitents should forget the phrases used in prayer-book examinations of conscience and really tell what they did as it hap-pened, e.g., "I got angry and slammed the door." I will admit that it is not so genteel as, "I became impatien~ and broke silence," but it gives .the confessor a better idea of the incident and is more humili- 412 COMMUNICATIONS ating to the" penitent. Humiliation fosters spiritual growth better than consolation and generalities. 3. Personally, I like a comment on the confession I have made. and would welcome a suggestion for a weekly or a monthly practice. I must admit an abrupt question makes me mentally blank: but a suggestion to report on my particular examen at my next confession would make me do some spiritual work. 4. Sisters would do well to keep silence about their confessions and their confessors. If I were a confessor I should not like the advice I gave repeated at community recreation. 5. Most of the Sisters are very appreciative and very grateful to their confessors for the generosity shown by them in accepting the arduous, assignment of "ordinary" confessor. If all cannot be fatherly and psychological and very energetic and alert; we must admit that all, or nearly all, are earnest and devout, and above all. patient. 6, Both confessor and penitent will be more at ease if they are unacquainted outside of the confessional. 7. Better guidance can be given if the penitent will present her-self "regularly" to the ordinary confessor. A Sister " Reverend Fathers: It is the experience of most of our houses that there is a real need for spiritual direction in the weekly confessions. Without this there is a tendency for the Sisters to put work first and spiritual exercises second. Routine confessions with little or no practical advice are of little help. Some years ago, in one of our houses, the confessor, when first appointed, gave each of the Sisters a subject for particular examen and insisted that they report to him each week regarding the subject. In less than a month there was a marked difference in the spirit of that community--so much so, that the superior said that, had the confessor remained six months, the community would have been a community of saints. (The Father was only replacing.) In another community, the retreat-master carried the theme of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit all through the retreat. The confessor took it up and encouraged the Sisters in its practice afterwards.In that com-munity charity reigned supreme. 413 COMMUNICATIONS If confessors could lead their penitents in contemplative com-munities to God through self-forgetfulness, they would be of the greatest help. These souls can reach the heights of. perfection if they can be persuaded to fix their attention on God instead of self. Thank you for this opportunity to express our opinion on an important subject. A Mother Superior Reverend Fathers: As religious, we really wish and seek for spiritual guidance and more or less expect the confessor to be the one to guide. In many cases we do not know how to go about it: in other cases, when this guidance has been asked for and there is no follow-up, we lose heart. Again, we may have waited for weeks or months to seek advice or help from a certain confessor (for instance the retreat-master), and here were treated lightly or hurriedly. Is it any wonder that one loses heart and makes the weekly confession just the mere recital of one's sins and imperfections, and many times just a repetition of last week's story? To advance in our spiritual life through our confessions there must be interest and patience off the part of the confessor and the penitent. If the confessor is interested, he will find a way that will lead the penitent on to greater holiness and peace of heart. The religious herself will want to improve her spiritual status and will work at it with heart and soul, if she finds in her confessor this inter-ested guide: In my mind, there is no place where a priest can do as much good as in the confessional, since there he speaks directly to the soul, to a soul that is eager to reform and advance, therefore to a soul that is more open to suggestions, etc. In the many confessions that I've made, those that gave me the greatest help were those in which the confessor came right back at me with something that I had confessed or asked me if there was any-thing in which he could help me. To this day the help I received on those [eu~ occasions still urges me on. If spiritual guidance will do this on rare occasions, what would it not do if given oftener? Now comes the question, "How can this be brought home to the confessor who is not in the habit of doing this?" Also, how would one work out a plan for nuns like the one given by the Brother Novice Master? A Sister Superior 414 COMMUNICATIONS Reverend Fathers: This letter is the result of discussions carried on by a large num-ber of nuns representing many small communities. What we say will offer no "positive suggestion," but if may throw light on the reason why the religious community often does not take the initiative in seeking spiritual direction. 1. Most sisters do not like to take the initiative in asking the confessor for guidance unless he assures them by an invitation or some remark that he is willing to do so. Among the reasons for this timidity, a predominant one is the time element. For instance, here are some situations that present the "time" difficulty: The confessions of the sisters are heard shortly before Mass, or shortly before the priest's supper time; or the priest must go immediately to another convent for more confessions; or the priest has to drive quite a dis-tance over bad roads and if delayed he would have to drive in the dark. 2. Sometimes the ~isters feel that they cannot express their diffi-culties to the more learned confessor. 3. In a small group of sisters, some who would like to seek guidance do not do so because they fear that others would be sus-picious of such souls. 4. The question of charity presents a particular difficulty: These matters are hard to formulate without reflecting on any individual, especially in a small group of sisters. Many sisters think they may never ask questions about such things in the confessional, as this would be a violation of charity and a mark of disloyalty to their own community. Signed, etc . [EDITORS' NOTE: Some of these communications had to be slightly shortened and certain points were omitted. The omission is only temporary. The points will be included in the summary to be given at the dose of these discussions on spiritual direction. Readers who have anything further to say on the subject of spiritual direction are encouraged to send in their communications as soon as possible. Address them to: The Editors of Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas.] 415 Book Reviews THE ART OF LIVING JOYFULLY. By the Reverend Henry Brenner, O.S.B. Pp. 138. The Grail, St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1942. $1.00. "The aim of this book is to give concisely and in an interesting form for the usual reader the various helps recommended in quelling the mental and spiritual disturbances of human nature." The quotation is taken from the jacket of the book. The book itself contains thirty-seven brief essays that mostly concern what we are wont to call the "natural ~iirtues"--for example, cheerful-ness, patience, meekness, composure, and so on. The author's general plan is to recall an incident from the life of our Lord, then to give some ~ommon-sense advice on the virtue illustrated. The book is not specifically directed to religious; some of the applica-tions would not concern them at all. But a large percentage of the essays could be used profitably for meditation.--G.KELL¥,$.$. CATECHISM COMES TO LIFE. By the Reverend Stephen Aylward. Pp. 189. Catechetlcal Guild, St. Paul, Minnesota. $1.00. Regardless of how good' a teacher of religion you already are, we believe that you will be the better for the reading of Father Aylward's book, Catech~'sm Comes to L~'t:e. Catechism is not dead, and it does not require a miracle to make it come to life, but in some classrooms it appears dead just because teachers fail to make use of such methods as are explained and recommended in this most recent contribution to the field of catechetics. .Father Aylward rightly maintains that if the teaching of. tell- ' gion is really to be made to live it must be animated in two ways: "Animated with the spirit of Christ's holiness. Animated by the methods of Christ." Referring to the imitation of Christ's holi-ness he says: '~'Love and humility--this is the hidden and abso-lutely necessary foundation of any good Catechism teaching. The loving and humble heart speaks the universal language of child-hood. The teacher with a childlike heart has the great and enduring secret of making Catechism live and become beautiful for children." Among the methods recommended are four main types of examples: doing things, drawing things, showing things, and telling, things. As the author himself states, his book "is an intro- 4.16 ~ BOOK REVIEWS duction to a method of visual education, applicable to every major problem in the Catechism, which can make religious doctrine interestingly clear to all age-groups. Since it is an introduction it would be impossible to give detailed illustrations and treatment of every Catholic doctrine, but sufficient examples and explanations of the method are cited to give you all that is necessary to make yourself a practical catechist." No doubt the author of Catechism Comes to Life would be one of the first to admit the general saying that all comparisons limp. This should be noted especially in making use of his unique method of applying chemistry in teaching the sacraments. Like-wise no one should fail to notice Father Aylward's warning that not all his methods are equally applicable to all age-groups'. There is however sufficient material adaptable to all age-groups to war-rant recommending this book to all teachers whether they be in elementary scl~ool, high school, or college.--A~. J. HEEG, S.J. SAINT THOMAS AOUINAS MEDITATIONS. Adapted from ÷he Latin of Rev. P. D. Mezard, O.P., by Father E. C. McEnlry, O.P. Pp. xlv -k S:~6. College Book Company, Columbus, Ohio, 1941. $:}.00. This is an important book, especially for priests and religious. Father McEniry, in his preface, gives the following description of its contents. "These meditations may truly be called a compendium of the Summa since they are culled mostly therefrom to the number of some four hundred and arranged, with references to the original, for daily use throughout the year . . . "During A~dvent will be found excerpts from St. Thomas on the Incarnation. These are succeeded by sections on the Birth of Our Lord, His Infancy~ and Public Life. The time df Lent is taken up with reflections on Our Lord's Sufferings and the 'Death on the Cross. Afterwards with the Risen Christ the new life of regenera-tion through grace, through glorification and inspiration of the Holy Ghost,-~ and through the Eucharist are successively treated, ending with the Feast of the Sacred Heart. "In the second part, extending through July to Advent, will be found five sections dealing successively with God and His Attributes, the purgative, illuminative and unitive ways of spiritual advance-ment and fina|ly St. Thomas' treatment of the four last things. Succeeding the meditations proper will be found seventeen topics for 417 BOOK REVIEWS spiritual retreats from the Angelic Doctor, with Thomistic pr~yers, the. entire work standing forth as a real synopsis of religion and of the spiritual life." Reference to the doctrinal and ascetical soundness of such a book would be, quite obviously, superfluous. We have here the antithesis of pietistic effusiveness. Consequently, it is felt that a Word of caution is in place for those who may be unacquainted with the "Summa. St. Thomas, in writing that masterpiece, did not intend primarily to prepare a collection of meditations. His main intent Was to instruct, to teach Christian doctrine, rather than to motivate. 'Consequently, 'the selections offered in the volume under discussion are expository and instructive, but they contain very ¯ little by way of explicit practical application to life. The one using the book is left to his own resources. That is a very good thing, provided he is sufficiently skilled in the art of mental prayer, and realizes the inadequecy of intellectual effort unless it results in acts of the will. And even the intellectual content of very many selections included in the volume is to be discovered only with difficulty. The difficulty arises, it seems to this reviewer, first, because the selection is not.seen in its context. Frequently St. Thomas is answering a series of objections against the true doctrine, and the full force of his answer cannot be appreciated without an. acquaintance with the objections. In the second place, the translation is rather stiff and stays too close to the Latin idiom to make for smooth reading. It is no easy task to turn the concentrated phrases of the Angelic Doctor into idiomatic ~nglish, but one wishes that more of an effort to do so had been made in the present instance. At the same time, appar-ent carelessness in punctuation might have been avoided. The fol-lowing sentence, from p. 175, is not an isolated instance: "And he is said to deserve it, inasmuch as his unjust will, is chastised thereby." And the reader will be hard put to it to glean any meaning from ¯ this sentence, found on p. 287: "But because this union is the effect of charity from the fervour of which man obtains forgiveness, not only of the guilt but also of the punishment, but according to the measure of his de~rotion and fdrvour." Of course, by checking the passage against the original Latin, it is discovered that somewhere in transit the entire main clause of the sentence was lost!. Let these few observations suffice to show that the book is not 418 BOOK REVIEWS without shortcomings~ To all who have been thus forewarned, it is highly recommended because, in the words of Father McEniry,.it does stand forth as "a real synopsis of religion and of the spiritual life."mC: DEMUTH, S.J. " "DRAW NEAR TO H!M." By Sister Mary Aloysl Kiener, S.N.D. Pp. 165. Frederick Pusfet, Inc., New York, 1942. $1.50. I have ~truggled through books of r~pute in the spiritual life with less pleasure and profit than I read Draw Near to Him. Sister Aloysi ~as some worth-while messages, on Communion, on the Cross, on Sacrifice. Am!d the many ecstatic expressions of an overflowing heart.are thoughts that remain in one's mind as vivid.ly as ~i shout during sacred silence. Such are her comment on the fact that Christ gave Himself as our food in Holy Communion: "We should have con-sidered it blasphemy for a mortal even to propose such a cotirse of action tb the Son of God"; this laconic but memorable statement:' "Thereis nothing spectacular about the simple injunction: Follow Me"; and lastly, "Our happiness w~ill always be commensurate with thd perservefing energy we bring to the business of carving sanctity out of the timbdr of life, painfully, perseveringly." Sister A1oysi could,in general, have devoted more attention to those religious who are struggling along wkhout experiencing deep interior consolations. Some effort might have been made to solve the conflict that must arise in those who, at one and the same time, wish to follow Christ in" "derision and shame," as she suggests, yet must, for Goffs glory, use their talents in a way to bring the applause of the world. The section on suffering migh't have been improved by more insistence on cf'Jeerfu! suffering. Especiglly. worth-while is her explanation of the Catholic teaching on daily Communion as opposed to ~he Jansenistic view. -~B. FAHERTY, S.J. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND THE VOWS." A treatise by Monseigneur Charles Gay, Bishop of Anth&don. Translated from the French by O.S.B. Pp. viff -{- 276. The Newman Boo~ Shop, Wes÷m[nster, Maryland, 1942. $2.50. An introduction ~ on the Religious Life and a separate treatise on each of the Vows f6rm the contents of this book. Treating of poverty; the author outlines the moral obligations of the vow, 419 BOOK REVIEWS then dwells on the motives for observing perfect poverty. He fol-lows somewhat the same method regarding chastity, giving first the concept, then the motives. Obedience he subjects to a pro-longed analysis that deals successively with .the obedience of our Lord, the principles on which obedience is founded, advantages flowing from its observance, and the duties imposed by religious obedience. The treatises on poverty and obedience contain many good points: for instance, the six motives for practising poverty are inspiring, and the discussion of the foundation for obedience is well calculated to impress the reader with respect for good order and authority. However, these good points are offset somewhat by the fact that the wordiness and long paragraphsmake for tedious reading. The section on chastity is a distinct demerit of the book, in this reviewer's opinion. Like many others who write lyrically of this virtue, Monseigneur Gay uses words and definitions inaccurately. "As a natural virtue," he writes, "it (chastity) may be looked upon as a kin~! of royal habit of the soul, by means of which she keeps all the acts of the body, even its slightest movements, com-pletely beneath her sway." Again, in summing up, he says: "Chastity, properly speaking, and looked at on its practical side, is only a religibus respect which the soul has for her own body, for the love of God Whom she has espoused in ,lesus Christ: and there-in is the actual matter of the vow of Chastity." These are not merely isolated statements: they are typical of the author's treatment of the conc.ept of chastity. The concept is not correct. We are, of course, justified in using "reverence for the body" as a motive for chastity (as St. Paul did); but we are not~Justified in iclenti~:~/ing chastity with the control of or rever-ence for the body. Chastity is but one of the virtues that concern the control of the ~body; it has to do with the control of only one specific function, and not with all the movements of that function but only with such as are voluntary. Souls who have to struggle to preserve their chastity would get neither help nor consolation for the vague and hll-embracing notion of chastity given in this book: souls inclined to scrupulosity might be harmed by it. The translation of this work was published in 1898. This seems to be a re-edition of that same translation.-~G. KELLY, S.,J. 420 BOOK REVIEWS LA VIE DES COMMUNAUI:f-S RELI~IEUSES. By ~he M~nor~e Franc~s-cans of Canada. This promising new magazine for. religious communities is a thirty-two page monthly (except July and August) in French, issued in Montreal at the annual subscription price of $1.25, and directed principally to Canadian religious. The editor is Adrien M. Malo, O.F.M.; the publication secretary, 3ogues Mass~, O.F.M. On its advisory board of three is Bishop 3. C. Chaumont. In the maga-zine there are various departments: history, canon law, spirituality, liturgy, etc.---eleven in all, covering every angle of the religious life, each in charge of an expert. The format is neat; the type is easy to read; the cover, designed by a young Franciscan, is attractive, but somewhat somber. The first number, September 15, 1942, has an introductory let-ter of commendation from 3. M. Rodrigue Cardinal Villeneuve, O.M.I. of Quebec and contains some excellent articles---on the early religious of Montreal; on spiritual theology, of which an entire course is outlined for succeeding numbers; on the juridical aspect of reli-gious life; on the novitiate according to. the mind of the Church; on the Mystical Body and eucharistic liturgy, the latter by Archbishop Georges Cabana. Book reviews, a chronicle, and a question box complete the contents of this first issue. The Vie has already been well received. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS wishes it continued success and heartily commends it to all who read French. Moreover, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is privileged to unite fraternally with the Vie in striving to achieve the two objectives laid down in the foreword of the first number: the proximate one of giving to religious communities that Life which Christ came to give to mankind so abundantly (John 10: 10), and the ultimate one of pre-paring for Christ a "Church in all her glory, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but . . . holy and without blemish" ('Ephesians 5:27).--A. KLAAS, S.J. NOTE: For the review of Maql In Her Scapular Promise, by John Mathias Haffert; please turn to p. 426.reED. 421 Questions and Answers 36. If there are" two or three members of the same family in a r.eligious congregation, does the junior member lose the right to vote in com-munity affairs? The general law of the Church has no particular regulations regarding two or more members of. the same family who are pro-fessed in a religious institute. It would notseem to be just to deprive a religious who has made profession of perpetual vows of his right to active voice (the right to vote)in community affairs. Some approved constitutions limit the right to passive voice (the right to be voted for) in the case of near relatives to the extent of not allowing two brothers or two sisters of the same family to be elected councillors at the same time. Such a partial limitation of passive voice would not seem to be contrary to the spirit of the Code. The approved consti-tutions should be followed in this matter. 37. Please explain +he Crozier indulgences, and tell us which priests have +he faculty 1o bless rosaries with these indulgences. The Crozier indulgences are a special indulgence of five hundred days granted for the recital of each Pater or Abe on a rosary of the Blessed Virgin especially blessed for this purpose. It is not necessa.ry tO say the entire rosary of five decades, nor even one decade, in order to gain the indulgence. It is gained every time that either a Pater or an Ave is said on such a rosary. Nor is it necessary to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary in order to gain this indulgence. While it is a general rule that one can gain only one indulgence at a time for the performance of a good work, still we have an excep-tion in favor of the Crozier indulgence by reason of a special privi-lege granted by Pope Pius X on June 12, 1907, whereby the faithful may gain by one and the same recitation of the rosary, both the Crozier and the Dominican indulgences, provided the rosary has received both blessings. In this case, however, the conditions for gaining the Dominican indulgences must be observed: five decades of the rosaiy must be said on the same day, though the decades may be said at different times: and one must meditate on the mysteries of the rosary. 422 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS While the privilege of blessing rosaries with the Crozier indul-gence was restricted for many years to the Crozier Fathers (Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Order of the Holy Cross), Plus X granted the Father General of that order the power to d~legate any priest to bless beads with the Crozier indulgences, and later he granted the same faculty to the S. Congregation in charge of indul-° genres. 38. If ÷he Angelus is said at a time other than when the church bell rings, is it necessary to ring a small bell while saying it? No, that is not necessary. In 1884 Pope Leo XIII granted the indulgences to the faithful who, for a suffcient reason, either could not kneel while reciting the Angelus, or who could not do so when the church bell rang. The latest decree on the subject, issued by the Sacred Penitentiary on February 20, 1933, is given in the official col-lection of ihdulgences (Preces et Pia Opera, 1938, N. 300) as fol-lows: "To the faithful who recite the Angelus . . . at dawn, at noon, and at eventide, or as soon after these times as 'they can, is granted: an indulgence of ten years as often as they do so: a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, if they have-recited it daily for an entire month." It is a laudable custom, however, to ring a small bell if the r.eli-gious community recites the Angelus regularly at a time which does not coincide with the ringing of the church bell. 39. What is meant by the obligation imposed upon superiors by canon 509 "to have read publicly the decrees ordered by the Holy See to be so read"? From time to time the Holy See issues decrees regarding religious institutes, and occasionally in the decree itself orders that it be read publicly in each community at least once, or even every year. Thus, before the new Code of Canon Law went into effect (May 19, 1918) there were three decrees which had to be read every year in every religious community, and which were usually pri.nted in the book of rules and constitutions. These decrees dealt with the account of conscience (Quero~,dmodam of Pope Leo XIII), the confessions of religious (Cure de sacramentalibus of Plus X) and the frequent reception of Holy Communion (Sacra Tridentina Sgnodus of Plus X). These decrees need not and should not be read any 423 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS longer, since the matter contained in them has been incorporated into the'Code, and has been changed in some minor details, so that the original decrees no longer fully express the mind of the Church on these subject~. Canon 509 re~ers therefore only to new decrees which have been or will be issued after the Code. At present there is only one such decree which must be read in its entirety to religious clerics at the beginning of each year. This is the decree concerning the clerical and religious training of subjects destined for the priest-hood, issued by the S. Congregation of Religious by order of Pius XI, on December first, 1931. It will not be out of place here to quote the first part of the canon referred to i "Every superior should promote among his sub-jects the knowledge and the execution of the decrees of the Holy See which concern religious." This refers primarily to decrees which deal with the obligations of the religious life. But it will be very useful and at times necessary for superiors to inform their subjects of other decrees which have an immediate interest for religious, although not issued by the S. Congregation of Religious. Such would be decrees which regard indulgences, the liturgy, and any others which grant privileges to the faithful at large. 40. In some communities of women, the superior conducts the Stations, or the Way of the Cross, in the same manner as the priest for his con-gregation. From this practice two questions arise: I. Is not this prac-tice on the part of a woman a violation of the law of the Church which forbids a woman's conducting services in the church or chapel? 2. Do not religious who remain in their places lose the indulgences granted ÷o those who make the Stations? Generally speaking, one of the conditions for gaining the indul-gences attached to the devotion of the Way of the Cross is that the person who wishes to gain them must move from station to station. However, the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences (Decr. auth. n. 210) granted the favor that in the public practice of this devo-tion, where disorder might arise, it is sut~cient that a priest accom-panied by two acolytes go from station to station and recite the usual prayers, the congregation answering from their respective places: in which case it is advisable that the people rise and genuflect at each station with the priest. On February 27, 1901, the same S. Congregation granted a similar favor to the Marist Brothers 424 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS whereby they could gain these indulgences if only one person~. (for example, a brother of the community) made the round of the sta-tions, the rest of the community remaining in their places. The condition laid down in this grant was that there was a lack of space in the community chapel for all the religious to move from station to station. On May 7, 1902 this same privilege was extended to the chapels of all religious women, under the same conditions. 41. Is it advisable to permit Sister catechists who 90 to mission places during the summer to llve in the rectory or to board with seculars during the time they are teaching catechism in the parish? The good done by religious in conducting so-called oacatior~ schools, that is, teaching Christian doctrine to children in parishes and missions in which there is no parochial school, is of the greatest value to the Church, and should be duly appreciated by religious superiors. Difficulties must be met with, and the problem of housing the reli-gious is a serious one. Since there is no general legislhtion in canon law covering this case, we may follow the norm of canon 20 of the Code which directs us to follow directions laid down by the Church in similar cases. We have some such norms in two instructions of the Holy See regarding religious who are away from home on a begging tour (see canon 624). For such religious women the Holy See prescribes that they

Issue 1.4 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious JULY 15o 1942 Direction by the Confess0r" ~ " " ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ The Editors Self-Knowledge . Patrick Perfection and the Relicjious . Augustine Klaas Mqral Beauty in Our Duties to God "~" Gera~d Kelly The General Chapter of Affairs ~ Adam C. Ellis The Precious Blood . Malachl J. Donnelly The Rural Life Apostolate . John, L. Thomas St. Boniface and Giff-Excl~anges . ~., Gerald Ellard Book Reviews Questions Answered Decisions of the Holy See VOLUME I NUMBER 4 FOR RI:::LIGIOUS VOLUME I JULY -15, 1942 NUMBER 4 CONTENTS SPIRITUAL DIRECTION BY THE ORDINARY CONFESSOR The Editors . ,218 BOOKS RECEIVED . 222 SELF-KNOWLEDGE--Patrick M. Regan, S.J .:. . . 223' FRANCISCAN ,STUDIES . 232 PERFECTION AND THE REIAGIOUS--Augustine K]aas, S.J. 233 MORAL BEAUTY IN OUR DUTIES TOWARDS GOD Gerald Kelly, S.J . 244 PAMPHLET REVIEWS . '. . " . 252 THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF AFFAIRS IN A RELIGIOUS CON° GREGATION--Adam C. Ellis, S.J" . . 253 THE PLACE OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE Malachi J. Donnelly, S.J . 259 THE CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE APOSTOLATE---John L. Thomas, S.J2.63 GIFT-EXCHANGES IN THE CORRESPONDENCE OF ST. BONIFACE Gerald Ellard, S.J . 271 BOOK REVIEWS : MARCH INTO TOMORROW. By the Reverend John J. Considine, M.M. 281 WATCI21 AND PRAY. By the Reverend J. E. Moffat, S.J .281 IN THE SHADOV~ OF OUR LADY OF THE CENACLE. By Helen M. Lynch, R.C . " 282 I PRAY THE MASS. By the Reverend HugoH. Hoever, S.O. Cist. 283 MODICUM. By the Reverend Athanasius Bierbaum, O.F.M. ". 284 HOMILETIC HINTS. By the Reverend Albert H. Dolan, O. Carm. '. 284 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 24. Indulgence on Day of Investiture or Profession . 285 25. Obligation to Perform Penance for Violating Rule .285 26. Community. Prayers when Chaplain Opens Tabernacle . 286 27. Vows when in Danger of Death . 286 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS287 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, July, 1942. Vol. I, No. 4. 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, Kausas, 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, 8.3. Copyright, i942, 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. Spiri!:ual Direction by !:he Ordinary Con~:essor THE EDITORS 448 ' UR confessor never say, s a word to us. He just gives absolution, and lets us go. He seems to have no time for us." Thus goes a complaint which, though not exactly common,, is frequent enough to indi-cate a problem that calls for a solution. The problemm a very important one in the religious lifemmay be clearly stated in two brief questions: Does the Church wish ordi-nary ~onfessors to give spiritual guidance? If so, why is this office at times neglected? There seems to be no valid reason for. hesitancy con-cerning the answer to the first question. The Church does wish that, in general, the ordinary confessors should give spiritual direction. The law that these confessors be care-fully selected indicates that they should be able and willing to give direction; the law limiting their number indicates the desirability of uniformity of direction. This does not mean that the ordinary confessor must give spiritual direction to each of his penitents every week. But surely it means that at times during the course of a Yea'r all religious will have the opportunity of benefiting by his counsel. Otherwise large numbers of religious will find their opportunities for direction limited almost exclusively to the time of their annual retreat. Such once-a-year direc-tion was never the ideal; and in these days of large retreats it is even less desirable than formerly. The second question is not so readily answered. We know that some rellgi0us, disappointed over. the fact that the confessional has not proved to be the source of guidance 218 "DIRECTION BY THE CONFESSOR they had expected, are in~lined to. answer: "The confessor isn't able to give direction. He's not sufficiently interested in.us to give ~us his time~". Reasons such .as these may be valid for some cases--though certainly it is not for us to pass judgment on any individual case. It is possible for a priest to be incapable of fulfilling an office to which he has been ai0pointed, and it is possible that capable priests will neglect their duty. Such. failures will never be wholly elim-inated so long as God chooses to carry on His work by means of human instruments. If inability or negle.ct of duty were the only possible explanations for deficiency in regard to spiritual direction, there would be no good reason for the present editorial. But we. are convinced that in many cases there is an entirely different explanation. We think that a situation may fre-quently arise in which the confessor is both able and will-ing to give direction and the community is eager ~o receive it, yet no direction results. Consider, for instance, a case like the following: Father A is a zealous and capable priest. Any of his intimate friends would consider him well-equipped for the office of ordinary confessor of religious. He knows how to direct souls in the practice of virtue, how to encourage the downhearted, how to help those in occasions of sin, and so forth. He has a great esteem for .religious; he knows that the Church wishes them to receive direction and that of all people they are perhaps the most deserving and apprecia-, tire of any spiritual help a priest might give them. He has resolved that, if ever he is made an ordinary confessor, he will do all he can to live up to the Church's ideal. To this end, he has at times made a particular study of the prob-lems that might be peculiar to religious: for example, dif-ficulties with obedience and common life, temptations 219 THE EDITORS against vocation, discou.ragement over lack of'progress in general and over "failure in prayer" in particular. The time comes when Father A is appointed an ordi-nary confessor." Full of zeal, he takes his place in the con-fessional for the first time. One after another the penitents come, and, almost before he realizes it, .Father /~ hears a voice say, "I'm the last one, Father." As he leaves the con-fessional, he notes that he has heard about twenty confes-sions in twenty-five minutes. The speed of this first experience is not lost on Father A. He is chagrine.d at the thought that he seems to have fallen into the one fault that he was always Warned to avoid: he had given little more than absolution--scarcely a word. of counsel or encouragement. He consoles himself, however, with the reflection that this wasonly the first time and that in future .there will be more opportunity to help. Yet week follows week; and there never seems to be any "opportunity to help." Alarmed by his repeated failures to give direction, Father A pauses for self-examination. All his fine ideals seem to have been merd theory. No one asks for direction; no one seems to need encouragement or special :guidance. Perhaps he should take the initiative and give some hdvice, even though none is requested? He has read about this often, yet he finds that now When he faces a practical situ-ation h~ is puzzled. What should he say? In the average confession there are a fewsmall things that might be termed ordinary human failings, even of the saints. None of these things seems to be an apt starting point for any kind of per-sonal advice; yet Father A wishes his counsel to have some kind of personal bearing. He does not wish to impose his own ideals on other souls. He would feel very "artificial" in giving general advice that he feels sure the penitent knows already. 220 DIRECTION BY THE CONFESSOR The self-examination proves of no help. Father A de-cides to wait a little longer. But in the meantime the delay is having its effect on the community. Almost without their realizing it, the members begin to .think of their confessor as "an absolving machine.'~ Those Who have real problems take them to an occasionalconfessor or simply save them for the annual retreat. We have outlined one way in which it can happen that, though a community wants direction and the confessor wants to give it, nothing comes, of it. The community and the confessor are like two friends who have had a quarrel and then go for months without speaking, though each one would be delighted to renew the friendship. ¯ There may be many other ex~planati0ns for lack of direction by the ordinary confessor; yet we believe that cases like that of Father A are not uncommon. In other words, we think that often the only reason why direction is not given is that the community and the confessor fail to ';get together." The confessor does not know how to make the approach: the community does not make it for him. Such a situation is deplorable; there should be many ways of avoiding it. Surely this is a problem, a problem of sufficient importance for sincere and wholesome discus-sion. We think that our REVIEW offers an apt medium for such discussion; hence, now that we have at least par-tially outlined the problem, we turn to our readers and ask for suggestions. We are willing to allow some space in subsequent issues of the REVIEW for communications on this subject, and we hope that our readers are sufficien.tly interested in the matter to discuss it among themselves and to send us any suggestion they deem helpful. This is not a contest. It is a cooperative movement for progress in the use of an important means to peace of soul and self-sanctification. Concerning the communications THE EDITORS sent to us, we wish to make the folloWing observations: :1) Letters will be welcomed from anyone: priests, in-dividual religious, or religious communities. 2.) We seek positive suggestions, not mere negative criticism. By positive suggestions we mean anything that may throw light on the problem outlined and make for a better understanding between confessors and religious. 3) The subject of the confessional is always a delicate one; hence we wish it clearly understood that we are con-fining this discussion only to the gendra! point of spiritual direction, methods of giving it, of profiting by it, and so. forth. 4) Communications, will be printed without names and without reference to places. 5) The communications should be as brief as the sub-ject- ma~ter will permit. We may find it necessary to edit them a bit, even to digest them. But the substance will al-ways be given. 6) Address communications directly to The Editors of REVFEW FOR RELIGIOUS, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. BOOKS RECEIVED (To be reviewed later.) OUR MODELS IN RELIGION. Marist Brothers. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. THE DIALOG MASS. By Gerald Ellard, S.J. Longmans, Green ~ Company. New York. THE SOLUTION IS EASY. By Mark Schm~d, O.S.B. Frederick Pustet. New York. 222 Selt:-Knowledge Patrick M. Regan, S.J. ALL Religious realize the importance of self-knowl-. edge in the spiritual life. Though one can make some progress toward perfection .without adeep fund of self-knowledge, still it is safe to say that a comprehensive knowledge of one's personal talents or lack of them can be a powerful foice for advancing the soul in sanctity. We are filled with admiration of Christ in all His words and works, but we must remember that one of the secrets of His influ-ence over the hearts of men is His absolute, unerring cer-tainty about Himself, His mission, the prophecies concern-ing Him. This looms large in the narrative of His life, help-ing to explain at every step the reason for His perfect man-ner of acting. A boy of twelve, His explanation of the tragic sorrow He had brought Mary and Joseph, the simple declaration that it was His Father's business, cannot but convey the strong impression that He was so infallibly sure of Himself that neither sorrow, tragedy, nor any calamity could be allowed to interfere. In His dying hour, "all is consummated" is the public avowal for all men of all time that He knew to perfection every step of the way, that nothing unforeseen had ever happen.ed in His life. But Christ is not only to be admired, He is also to be imitated as far as possible; hence with His grace our kn0wledge of self will contribute its share to our success in the work of life. ' On the other hand the .New Testament is careful to re-cord not a few of the tragedies that followed on the lack of self-knowledge. Even after all Christ's training, .Peker had so little Understanding of himself and his weakness that not even a divine revelation of his impending fall gave him 223 PATRICK M. REGAN pause. Had he just a glimmer of self-knowledge, the warn-ing ofChrist would have struck home. How well Judas might have profited in acquiring an insight of his own char-acter, had he but heeded the loving instructions and friend-ly warnings of the most perfect of all spiritual directors. Numerous other examples might be cited to show how our Divine Lord esteemed self-knowledge and the importance He attached to it. And justly so, since it is a fundamental necessity of the spiritual life, without which perfection be-comes so difficult as to be practically unattainable. It is se!f one must pilot alone to the shores of eternity, and to do it securely and with a degree of success, one must make cer-tain he knows that self quite thoroughly. Even from a purely natural sta.ndpoint and on its own merits, this science of our own personality is most desir-able. One can hardly pick up a modern magazine or book without finding references to its need and desirability; hence the numerous plans for developing personality, and charts for rating it. Again,.to cite but one example: in a large city a very capable psychologist of reputation and experi-ence has a large clientele of business men who seek her aid in getting an insight into their characters. One of them, echoing the opinions of the rest, declared: "I know my business, Father, she has the stuff; it is not a racket, for-tune- telling, or anything of the sort; the vision she gave me of myself was i~asily worth the twenty-five dollars she charged, for it was worth thousands to me in my business." Advantages t:or the Religious. It is a great advantage to know yourself,, even in a par-tial, elementary way. Though to a religious it may not be worth much money, still it can save, much valuable time, pre.vent tragic mistakes, relieve one of.much worry and anxiety. How many ~eligious pursue a will-o'-the-wisp 224 SELF- KNOWLEDGE for many a year, which they fancied a necessary virtue or accomplishment. How precious.little, after all, is needed' to sanctify yourself, provided you are certain of what tab ents you possess and make efficient use of them. In this connection the recollection of St. Joseph of Cupertino im-, mediately flashes to mind. His biographers tell us his utter lack of human,knowledge kept him out of one religious order and caused his dismissal from another; yet he built his sanctity on this very defect. One talent--he realized his .great deficiency; b.ut with that one talent he reached the heights. It is not how many talents one has received, but how skillfully and efficiently he uses them that sanctifies. Religious are always eager and zealous to acquire self-knbwledge, t14ough not always so eager and zealous for the work entailed. An instruction or exhortation on the sub-ject so deeply interests them that they will almost certainly seek a special conference with the director for further per-sonal instruction. Regtettably, however, far too man~ labor under the delusion that the director can furnish a perfect insight into self for the asking, that out of the abundance of his genius.and experience he will unfold their whole souls before them to impart comprehensive enlight~ enment on their own mysterious selves. Would the task were so easy! Such an attitude betrays a misunderstanding of spiritual direction, shows a leaning toward excessive passivity and lack of initiative in the spiritual life; every-one should expect to shoulder himself a good. portion of the burden of his own spiritual direction. Yet this very ¯ defect brings out another advantage of self-knowledge. One who has made progress along that line will be able to cooperate intelligently with helpful advice imparted, ia fact will be more capable of enlightened reception of direc-tion offered. Countless persons would quickly reach heights of perfection, if mere passive, receptivity of spiritual guid-. 225. PA'~VRICK M. REGAN ante were sufficient; they are expert at doing just what they are told, provided they do not have to think for themselves in the process or take the initiative. If Providence would furnish tl~em direction requiring nothing more than .that they follow it blindly, they would soon be perfect. But God ordinarily demands that we do some of the leading,, some of the guiding ourselves. The more perfectly one knows his soul, the more perfect will be his performance ~in guiding it and being guided on the. path of sanctity. How necess.ary is self-knowledge for a religious appears from another angle .to which atter~tion is called by Rev-erend Mother Stewart, R.S.C.~I.: "In general, books for spiritual training direct their treatment against strongly-marked and outspoken faults, and take for granted that severe treatment and explicit methods will deal with them. But a whole class of subtle faults that grow up in the shade are not taken into account. Now, in books for spiritual training, it is quite possible to break down a nature of less resistance, by guiding it along lines destined for one of stronger make, and leaving it without knowledge of prin-ciples for its own guidance. It may remain ignorant of its own faults and defects, because they have not come within the scheme that was drawn up for others." (Tbe.Societ~ of tt2e Sacred Heart, p. 82.) Since we cannot demand Pen-tecostal miracles from the Holy Spirit constantly, we must conform to the ordinary way of Divine Providence, and temper and adapt the general doctrine according to our own needs and 'capabilities. This requires a knowledge of our own individual selves. Still another advantage is that when one knows himself, not perfectly it may be: but sufficiently for forming a work-ing hypothesis at least, he will not dissipate his energies, pursuing what may be impossible for him, or quite un- 226 SELF-KNoWLEDGE necessary in his particular vocation. He will also have a strong in~entive to strive .hard to, advance, his goodquali-ties encouraging him tO make sacrifice, his defects urging him forward to strengthen the weakness of character. What is more, he will get at the root 6f the trouble, instead of spending much time and effort on surface symptoms only; it will be pride, envy, sloth, or some other fundamental tendency that he will effectually check, and with each con-quest many surface manifestations such as uncharitable-ness, impatience, intellectual dishonesty, and the like will vanish. Finally, this understanding of self will help very much to understand others, to grasp their problems, sympathize in their troubles, and thus promote the spirit of charity in the soul. One cannot understand the heart of another who does not first understand hisown. There are few religious who do not, at some time or other, have to make some con-tribution to. helping other souls by means of direction. The long, trying novitiate of learning to dirett ond's own soul is the very best preparation for aiding others to advance in God's service. It is the best antidote to a shallow, super.- ficial view of lif~ and of those who share life with us, since it widens and deepens our outlook on everyone and every-thing we meet along the way. Nature ot: SelF-Knowledge. Precisely what is this self-knowledge of which we hear so much? Fundamental as it is, a starting point in our spir-itual life, we should aim at clear ideas of what it is and wl~at it involves. It is the understanding of a particular person, my.self, whom I know through my virtues and defects, my natural and sup~rnatura! talents, my likes and dislikes, m~r own personal life history. We may expand these ideas further. It is' tl~e understanding 6f my own per- 227 PATRICK M. REG~q sonality, especially in the light of the fact that there is ab-so! utely no possibility of there ever being another person-ality exactly like mine anywhere in the whole of cidation. Since my personality is such a unique thing, so different from every other, so isolated from all others, I am the only one, except Almighty God, who can hope ever to acquire a very intimate knowledge of myself. From another point of view, self-knowledge may be said'to be an understand-ing of my life, but not just that; it is seeing my life with a particular pattern or design running through it, my own personality. Hence it is much more than knowing what is found {n spiritual books about the principles and practice .of. asceticism. These stop short at the threshold; I alone can enter in to apply the knowledge to self, observing the effect on all that lies hidden within. Moreover it is much more than knowing faults, defects, sins, virtues, successes; it is the understanding of the person who has these defects and achieves these successes, and the intimate personal explana-tion of them. Many are prejudiced against self-knowledge, even fear to undertake the task of acquiring it; they. misunderstand it. It is not to be confused with morbid introspection-- that avid, uncontrolled interest in self which excludes all else and can be so harmful. No; the. acquiring of self-knowl-edge postulates not only looking inward, but also consid-erable looking outward to God, to our neighbor, and to our models, the saints. Nor does ~he study of self neces-sarily mean constant, cold analysisof selfl for the Very reason that it can also be accomplished by noting the vir-tues of others that impress us and reveal how much we fall short of perfect design in our own lives. Self-analysi~ can be a considerable aid to self-knowledge but it does not lead to it infallibly. Some are expert at analyzing themselves, 228 SEL~-KNOWLEDGE but their self-knowledge is mediocre; while others have a deep knowledge of self, with very little power of self-analysis. Difficutt~/ Perhaps for the majority of people the greatest prejudice against self:knowledge is founded on the difficulty of ac-quiring it. Studying self is something like studying a great painting or other work of art: no matter how expert your. judgment, as long as you are dose to it, you see only the details, hence are incapable of appreciating the whole. His-. tory furnishes the same phenomenon: we are too close to present e~cents to fo~m a true estimate of them in their his-torical perspective. That is e~actly the problem in the pres-ent case: to get far enough way from self to admire the beauty or observe the blemishes in that work of art, A valuable suggestion comes from our Lord Himself in His admonition: "First cast out the beam from .thy own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly, to cast out the speck from thy brother's eye." It is also possible to withdrawfrom self.in several waysto observe self through the eyes of oth-ers; these we leave to a more specific treatmen~ of methods of learning self. Christ's admonition calls attention to a basic difficult~ in the labor of gaining knowledge of self: very likely for years we have been nourishing a flattering opinion of self without even suspecting how dark the picture.°is, so that it is far from easy to face the unpleasant reality. Self-love jealously guards its own achievements, by demanding repression of what is painful, and by enlisting self-deception to hide the reality from us. What chance, then; has self-kriowledge, the truth that disregards praise or blame, the essence of humility that unmasks self for what it really is? Finally, proficiency in this science requires such perse- 22'9 PATRICK M. REGAN vering effort that the tedious task is.ultimately either aban-doned altogether, or only half-heartedly performed. The effort is wearing, too, in that we must observe not only sins and defects which are mentioned in confession, but also other things--talents, likes, dislikes--which not only are not matter for confession but have been ignored so long that they have become part of us; perhaps even, we have never adverted to them. When we are on our guard, how well behaved we are, how humble, how meek, how retiring our evil tendencies, pride for instance, But when. the will is off guard, the mind not intent on self and motives (which is about ninety per cent of the time), how unconscious we are whether it is pride, sloth, or perhaps even a virtue pro-pelling the stream of our thoughts. In a word, it all seems so difficult and complicated, we want to .give up before we ever get started. Simplification. But the difficulty and complexity must not be overrated. After all, weknew eno.ugh of our own intellectual, moral, and physical endowments when we entered religion to make a decision without qualification or condition; affecting the whole of our natural life. Moreover, to acquire a knowl-edge of self sufficient for all practical purposes is far from an impossible assignment. We should expect that; surely God would make such a valuable asset in the spiritual life quite accessible to all.earnest seekers after perfection. As a matter of fact, the whole pro.cess can be considerably sim-plified. For instance there is a remarkable unity in the spiritual life, on which fact we may base our plan for sim-plification. Withthe virtues, for instance, the acquiring of one in its perfection will involve the acquisition of nu-merous others. Thus St. Paul, writing on charity (I Corin-thians 1.3 ), speaks of it as being patient, kind, not envious, 230 . SELF-KNOWLEDGE not .pretentious, humble, not ambitious, not .self-seeking, not provoked, thinking no evil, not rejoicing over wicked-ness, rejoicing with the truth, bearing with all things, be-lieving all things, hoping all things, enduring all thingi. Surely Paul must mean that genuine charity brings in its train all these other virtues. And anyone who has taken St. James to heart on the control of the tongue; will have more than a theoretical knowledge that "if anyone does not offend in word, he is a perfect man" (James 3:3). It is well also to keep in mind with regard to our faults that their number is not infinite, nor even legion; in fact, all are aware-that they can be reduced to the seven capital sins, as they are called. Some of us may be prejudiced or even frightened by such terms as "capital sin," or "ruling passion." In this case, let us dispense with such terms and choose something like "predominant tendency." Surely none will find it beyond him to admit that one result Of original sin has been that we have strong tendencies toward evil, no matter how far we have advanced in perfection. However, we are not so .badly off that all seven of these tendencies strive together and constantly, like an insuper-able force, to drag us to the lowest depths Of every sin and degradation. Many spiritual writers maintain thereis one evil ten-dency that predominates, .one at the root of most of our defects and imperfections; that, if we work diligently at controlling this one, we need scarcely expend any time or energy on the rest. Thus the:Directory of the .Spiritual Ex~rcises of.St.Ignatius (d -13). bid.~ ~he retreat-roadster: '-'. give l~im.[the retreatant] also the particular, ex-amination; explaining tb hima.t, the Same time that in every man there is Usu.a!iysome .one fault 0ilsin @hich is th~ chief one, and is the cause and root ofmany others. And although 231 PA'~RICK M. REGAN in some persons there may be several chief sins, yet it is best to choose some one, and bend all our efforts to rooting it out." Thus the task of planning our spiritual campaign is greatly simplified: it hinges on determining what ten-dency to. evil dominates us in the various-acts of daily life. This should not be too hard to determine. Surely it is at least the "beam th'at is in your own eye." Yet to some it may still appear too hard a task to be.described as simple. More specific methods of determining the predominant ten-dency would be a great help, and these will be furnished in a future article. Meanwhile, taking a.lead from St. Thomas, who traces a!1 seven capital sins back to pride, no one will be far wrong who decides that pride is his predominant ten-dency. Studying and observing .self with God's grace and 'understanding, wisdom and other gifts of the Holy Spirit, he is due for a revelation how much pride really does domi-nate his whole character. He will be astonished at the amount of self-deception that has crept into his life, moti-vating his actions. If he alternates this observation of the depths of pride in his makeup with several weeks of the practice of humility, he. will perceive himself actually mak-ing unexpected prggressi as he draws toward the goal of honesty with self. Once he is honest with himself, he is ready to undertake in earnest the acquirement of a deep knowledge of self. Franciscan Studies Franciscan Studies is a quarterly review of the sacred and secu-lar sciences that serves as the official organ of the Franciscan Educa-tional COnference. Publication of the Studies began in 1920, but it was only recently that they were converted into a quarterly review. The review, is characterized by thorough scholarship. The annual subscriptign price is 5 dollars. Further information may be obtained from The Secretary, Franciscan Studies, S~t. B0naventur¢ College, St. .Bonaventure P.O., N.Y. 232 Pert:ect:ion and !:he. Religious Augustine Klaas; S.3. THE ultimate goal of.life is our maximum union with / God in the Beatific Vision. Since sanctifying grace is the measure of this divine union in heaven, it must be our ceaseless endeavor on earth to augment it as much as possible in our souls, by the worthy, reception of the sacra-ments and by meritorious activity. Hence, our spiritual perfection may be said to consist in a firmly rooted disposi-tion t~o do the-maximum supernatural good of which we are capable, both the good that is of precept and, what is more difficult, the good that is of counsel.This maximum good, however, we are to accomplish, not in a wholly indi-vidualistic way, but normally as corporate members of Christ's Mystical Body, the Catholic Church. At first sight, the effort to do the maximum good would seem to be impracticable. A successful modern play exhibits the havoc wrought in one family by a teen-age youngster who sets to work with determination to do as ¯ much good as possible on every occasion. The results of this youthful resolve are indeed neive-wracking for the other members of the family and highly humorous for the audience, since teen-age youth is not noted particularly for prudence and good judgment. The effective performance of the. greatest possible good requireS the balanced exercise of the virtues, above all, the supernatural ones, both theo-logical and moral. The theological virtues--faith, hope and charity--and the moral virtues clustering about the 1This is the second of a series of three articles on Perfection. The firs~article, which dealt with Perfection in General, appeared' in the March issue. The present article treats of the Essence of Perfection. Though a part of a series, the article is complete in itself.--ED. 233 AUGUSTIN~ KLAAS cardinal ones of prudence, temperance, justice and forti-tude, all perfected and. directed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit,omake up our spiritual perfection. Do we not judge of a person's perfection mainly by his exercise of the vir.- tues? The Church estimates the heroic perfection of one she wishes to raise to the honors of the altar by thoroughly investigating his practice of the virtues, according to the procedure drawn up by Pope Benedict XIV. The saintly Contardo Ferrini, to mention only one example~ notes down with customary perspicacity his "continuous approximation to infinite perfection," by means of "growth in virtue: vigor of faith, joy of hope, fervor of charity, profound humility, angelic purity." Spiritual perfection and a permanent disposition to exercise the vir-tues to the utmost are one and the same thing, for it is by the strenuous practice ~of these varied virtues that we do all the good of which we are capable, and thus achieve the greatest possible increase of sanctifying grace, the measure of our eternal bliss in heaven. Among all the virtues that grace the soul, is there one more important than the rest, one that embodies the very marrow of perfection, one which, if practised faithfully. will bring in its train all the others? What virtue contains the essence of perfection? III. Ped, ection, Its EssencemFalse Notions Before we select the virtue containing the true essence of perfection, we must consider some errors. We shall not. dwell upon the opinions of those pseudo:scientists and philosophers who consider all virtue, but especially that found in the saints of the Catholic Church, as just so much hypocrisy, abnor.mality, or perversion. Their ignorance, prejudice, and lack of scientific method are appalling. Nor shall we delay to discuss the errors of those who contemn 234 PERFECTION AND "THE RELIGIOUS ~the characteristically. Christian virtues .because theii mis~ taken ideologies have led them .to place what they call perfection in the wrong virtues or .in pseudo-virtues. Such are, for example, in our own. day, the Communists and the Nazis. " The virtues lauded by these ideologists are those~of pagan materialism. Some err i.n overemphasizing the pas-sive virtues, and then we have Quietism; while others stress unduly the active ones, and ther; we have what. Leo XIII called Americanism. Both these extremes have. met with positive disapproval, by the Church, because fundamentally they disturb the delicate balance between divine grace and human nature. We shall not delay on these. " What we are chiefly interested in are the ordinary mis-taken notions of the essence of perfection found among Catholics and even sometimes among .religious, at least in practice: They. are generally a matter'of, misplaced empha-sis, In the case.of religious, these errors are occasionally the result of faulty information imparted, to them in their earlier years, or ~more often, I am inclined to believe, they are due to a wrong interpretation, of ideas and practices found in the biographies of the saints. Although there has been great improvement in recent years,~ still many of these lives of the saints leave much to be desired from the point of view of accuracy and perspecti.ve., To secure interest and dramatic effect, things wholly accidental are played up undu!y, to the obscuring of essentials; certain particular means, espe.cially of a heroic kind, are over-stressed to the minimizing and.~even obliterating of the saint's all-important purpose. Thus, the striking and extraordinary tend to throw the spiritual .life of the saint completely out of f0c_us and hence it is .no. wonder-that ~the essence of per-fection is often, misconstrued by the uncritical reader. ~ Wha~e~cer the cause may be, i.tis a fact that some think that perfec.tion consists in long pr.ayers, particularly, ificon- 235 AUGUSTINE KLAAS templation, with accompanying ecstasies, revelations, and other charismatic gifts. Or again, some consider perfection as essentially a matter of penances and mortifications, with emphasis on the heroic ones and still more emphasis on what they like to call "the folly of the cross." It is true that heroic penances and extraordinary gifts of contem-plation are intimately connected with spiritual perfection and that they abound in the lives of the saints, but they do not essentially constitute perfection. They~ are effective means to perfection, but, after all, only means. The stead-fast use of them may indicate a high degree of perfection already achieved, but definitely they are not the essence of perfection. Others are inclined to place the essence of perfection in spiritual or even sensible consolations and. consider the presence of these as indicative of spiritual perfection attained. The greater the consolation, the greater the per-fection, so they think, forgetting that one can be perfect without great consolation. At least, perfection is entirely independent of the fluctuations of spiritual and sensible consolation. Then, there are those who, like the Pharisees of old. place perfection in the meticulous outward observance of the letter of the law--a certain kind of extreme formalism. Our Lord has expressed in no uncertain terms His estimate .of this type of pseudo-perfection (Matthew 23:23-28). Neither is the observance of the three evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience the essence of perfection. These vows are a most important means to perfection, and centuries of religious life bear witness to their efficacy; but they are not the only means, for there are numerous saints in heaven who never took these vows. And I dare'say that there are peopl~ in the world who, without the. vows, are living lives of greater perfection than many religious do 236 j~,. PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS with them. Nor does. spiritual perfection consist in works of zeal, the intense exercise of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, This restless apostolic activity may :be motivated by great interior perfection, but it does not con-stitute perfection essentially. Nor is perfection a kind of liturgical estheticism. These liturgical "thrills'.' are not necessary, though the right, intelligent use of the liturgy is a means to spiritual perfection sanctioned and often praised by the Church. Finally, we come to the good people who seem to equate perfection with the gaining of the maximum number of indulgences, or with the joining of as many religious societies and sodalities as POssible, or with making a record number of novenas, or with the greatest and most varied accumulation of medals, prayer-books, rosaries and holy¯ pictures. They forget ~hat there were thousands of saints in the Catholic Church before most of these things came intouse. St. Francis de Sales, in a famous passage often quoted, pillories the common inclination to judge of perfection according to one's own Pa[ticular character and tempera-. ment. He shows clearly that overstressing the wrong virtue as the essence of perfection frequently has Unfortunate reac-tions in the practice of the other virtues. The passage appears in the first chapter of his Introductior~ to the Devout Life. I cite it, asking thereader to remember that for St. Francis the words "devout" and "devotion" are the equivalent of "perfect" and "perfection." "Aurelius was wont to paint all the faces in his pic-tures to the air and resemblance of the women whom he loved, and so each one paints devotion according to his own passion and fancy. He that is given to fas.ting holds him-self for .very devout, if he do but fast, though his heart be full of rancour: and though he dare not moisten his tongue in wine or even in water for fear of transgressing s'obriety, AUGUSTI'NE KLAAS yet he scruples not to plunge it in the blood of his neighbor, by detraction and calumny. Another will account himself devout for reciting a great multitude of prayers every day, although afterwards he gives his tongue full liberty to utter peevish, arrogant, and injurious words among his famil-iars and neighbors. Another will readily draw an alms out of his purse to give it to the poor, but he cannot draw any gentleness out of his heart to forgive his enemies. Another will forgive his enemies, but will not make satisfaction to his ~reditors, unless forced by the law to do so. And yet all these persons are, in the common est.imation, held to be devout, though .they are by no means so. The servants of Saul sought for David in his house; but Michol having laid a statue in his bed, and having covered it with David's apparel, made them believe that it was David himself sick and sleeping (I Kings 19:11-16): even so do many per-sons cover themselves with certain external actions belong-ing to holy devotion, and the world believes them to be truly devout and spiritual; whereas in reality they are but statues and phantoms of devotion." The various opinions cited above err by overstressing things good in themselves and highly commendable when used prudently and wisely. These practices have their place in the quest for perfection, but their place is that of means to an end. True perfection consists essentially in none of them. IV. Perfection, Its True Essence The true essence of Christian perfection is charity-- the supernatural love of God for Himself and of all else for His sake. But this charity, containing the very marrow of perfectign, is not a low degree of charity, but maximum charity. A great sinner newly converted to a better life has the .charity that necessarily accompanies the state of sancti- 238 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS lying grace, but no one would say that he is very perfect. This minimum degree of charity is not sufficient, nor indeed is that charity enough which coexists with a habit of delib-erate venial sin and unmortified passions, it is maximum charity which constitutes the essence 0f.spiritual. perfection. St. Paul eloquently stresses the primacy of charity in the spiritual life. He calls it the. "bond of perfection" (Colossians 3:14) and the "fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13~10). Without it, he declares other virtues, even though heroic, to be as nought: "And I point out to ¯ you a yet more excellent~way~ If. I should speak with the tongues of men and of angel~, but do not have charity, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymb~E And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and "all knowledge; arid if I have all faith so as to move mountains, yet do not .have charity, I am nothing. And if I, distrilsute all my goods to f~ed the poor, and if I deliver~my body to be burlied, yet do not have charity, it profits me nothing . So there abide faith;hope and charity, .these three,; but the greatest of these is charity" (I Corinthians 13). St. ,lohn, too, sings a paean in praise of charity in his Epistles: "God is love, and he who abides inlove abides in God, and God in him" (I ,lohn 4:16). But it is from the lips of Our Lord Himself that we have in clear and unmistakeable language the doctrine of maximum charity as'the essence of perfection. I cite the text from the Gospel of St. Matthew (22:34-40) : "But the Pharisees,-hearing thfit he had silenced the Sadducees,' gathered together. And one of them,-a doctor of the Law, putting .him to the test,, asked him, 'Master, which is .the great commandment in the Law?; desus said to him: 239 AUGUSTINE KLAA$ "Thou shalt love the Lord thg God "with thg whole heart, and with thg whole soul, and with thg whole mind. This is the~greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, . Thou shalt love tl~g neighbor as tbg. self. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.' " The Fathers of the Church. have many passages con-firming and elucidating the same doctrine of charity. Let us hear St. Augustine, who says in his treatise On Nature and Grace: "Incipient charity is incipient justice; advanced charity is advanced justice; great charity is great justice; perfect charity is perfect justice.'" St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theotogica (II-II, Q 184, Art 3) notes that "primarily and essentially the perfection of Christian life consists in charity, principally as to the love of God, secondarily as to the love of our neighbor." And in his treatise on the Perfection of Spir-itual Life (Chapter I) he states that "the spiritual life con-sists principally in charity . . . He is simply perfect in the spiritual life who is perfect in charity." Suarez likewise teaches this (The Religious State, Chapter I, Section 3) : "The perfection of a thing consists in its union with its last end. Our last end is God, Who is manifested to us by faith. Our perfection therefore consists in union with God: and it is charity which unites us with God. The essence of sanctity and perfection,, and the perfection of Christian life, consists therefore in .charity and the perfec-tion of charity." Of the more modern theologians we may cite Tanquery (The Spiritual Life, p. 158): "But what degree of charity is required for perfection? . Charity so 240 PERFECTION AND TIIE RELIGIOUS well established in the soul as to make us strive earnestly and constantly to avoid even the smallest sin and to do God's holy will in all things out of love for Him." ¯ - It is now clear that. the essence of spiritual perfection is charity, the maximum charity of which we are capable according to our particular capacities of n~iture and of grace. What does this maximum charity include? It includes, .of course, the infused virtue of charity, but this alone is not sufficient: A newly-baptized child has the. infused virtue of charity, but it cannot be said to have attained to the perfection we are considering. Neither does a.high degree of infused charity suffice. A religious, for example,: may l~ad a very fervent life for many years and then unfor-tunately fall .into a state of tepidity and laxity in which he may commit many imperfections and venial, sins. If he does ¯ .not sin mortally, he will be possessed :of a great amount of sanctifying .grace and concomitantly a high degree "of infused charity, but no one would say that such a religious is leading a life of.perfection. Charity as an infused virtue is required but is not sufficient to constitute the. essence, of perfection. ¯ In addition to the highest degree of infused charity of which we are capable, there .is required also the maximum activity/of charity. There must be in the s0ul a permanent disposition to perform as many acts of supernatural charity as we can and, in fact, do govern all our actions by the vir-tue of charity. Charity must rule our actions as intensively and as extensively as possible. Does this mean that acts of the other virtues, such as faith, hope, humility, penance and the rest, are to be excluded? By no means. A priest in a Certain widely-read modern novel is likely to convey a wrong impression when he says: "If we have the funda-mentals, love of God and love of our neighbor, ,surely we're 241 AUGUSTINE. KLA/t$ all right." As though the possession of the true faith, for .example, were of minor.importance! No--faith, hope and the other virtues cannot be left out; they must be prac-tised, but they should be practised as much as possible from the motive of charity. As Suarez so cogently remarks: "The perfection of Christian life includes not only the per-fection of charity, but the perfection of the other virtues; charity being their end and crown, .or complement of per-fection . Other virtues contribute towards perfection as they are the instruments of charity; and to charity, as it is essential perfection; they add an accidental perfection." That is why St. Paul says (I Corinthians. 13:4-7): "Charity is patient, is kind; charity does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, doesnot rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices ~vith the truth; bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." In a word, the other virtues may be said to belong to the integrit~t of perfection. Charity at a maxi-mum is its essence and charity must rule all the other vir-tues like a queen. If charity abounds in our souls as an infused virtue, if charity .governs our actions as intensively'and as exten-sively as possible, then indeed we shall be perfect. Then we shall be doing the maximum good. Observe a child who. loves its mother with all its heart. Doesit not strive ear-nestly to avoid whatever will displease her, and does it not do positively all it can to please her, out of love for her? So shall we avoid the slightest sin and imperfection and do all the supernatural good we can, if we love God with our whole heart and soul and mind. Love is the keystone of perfection. He is perfect who isperfect in charity. St. Francis de Sales neatly sums UP our doctrine on the 242 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS relation of charity to perfection, which he .calls dev0.t!o.n; "True and living devotion presupposes the love. of God; nay rather it is no other" thing .than: a true love of God; yet not any kind of love; for, in so far as divine love beautifies our souls, and makes us pleasing to his divine ¯ Majesty, it is called grace; in so far. as it gi~ces us strength to do good it is'called charity; but when it.reaches such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only do good, but do so carefully, frequently, and readily, then it is called devotion . And since devotion consists in a certain excelling degree of charity, .it not only. makes us ready, active and diligent in ~observing the commandments of God; but it also prompts us .to do readily and heartily as many good works as we can, even though they be not in any sort commanded, but only counseled or inspired .,. In fine, charity and devotion differ no more, the one from the other, than the flame from the fire;, inasmuch as charity, being a spiritual fire, when it breaks out into flame, is called devotion: so that devotion adds-nothing to the fire of charity, sav~ the flame which makes charity ready, active, and diligent, not only in observing the commandments of God, but in practising the heavenly counsels and inspira-tions" (It~troductior~ to the Deoout Life, .Chapter I). So far we have considered perfection in general and in its all important essential element, charity: In a con-cluding article we shall apply these thoughts to the reli-gious state. How is the religious to do the maximum good and practise the maximum charity? 243 Moral Beaub/ in our Duties toward God Gerald Kelly, S.3. IN HIS TREATISE on the Blessed Eucharist, St. Albertus Magnus offers this humble apology for the limitations of his work: "Even though we do the best we can, yet in treating of God and the mysteries of God we but babble like babes." In this respect, anyone who tries to work out a scheme for the positive and insp.irational treatment of the Commandments that enunciate our duties toward G0dwill very likely feel a certain kinship to the great Dominican scholar. These Commandments touch on sublime truths, "on-God and the mysteries of God," and it is difficult to speak or write of these truths in words that offer more than a glimmer ofsatisfaction. Because of the difficulty of treating the, subject ade-quately, I prefer to consider the present article merely a series of "notes" on our duties to God. The ideas are not fully developed; but they do, I hope, offer some material for that prayerful study of the Decalogue which, according to The Roman Catechism, is so desirable. Perhaps too, the general plan given here will be of service to teachers who desire material for presenting the positive background of .the various Commandments before explaining the prec.epts. and prohibitions contained therein. Reason and Faith Our duties toward God are epitomized in the first three . Commandments of the Decalogue. These Command-ments, in turn, are summed up and perfected in the first of the two Great Commandments. In terms of the virtues, these Commandments refer principally to acts of Faith, 244 MORAL BEAUTY IN DUTIES TO GOD Hope, Charity, and Religion. The following notes will show, in a somewhat sketchy fashibn, how the practice of thes~ virtues.is associated with the Commandments, .and will indicate, at least imperfectly, their power for contrib-utifig to the moral beauty of the universe. Our duties toward God flow from definite relation-ships that exist between.ourselves and God. The first step in the appreciation and observance of such duties must be a knowledge of these relationships. This knowledge is obtained through reason, and especially through Faith. Even .reason alone can tell us much about God and our-selves; from the visible things of this world, as St. Paul declared, it can penetrate to the invisible things of God. Reason can discover the existence of God and can paint a very sublime portrait of His perfections. Nevertheless, much more important than mere reason, is the knowledge that is ours through F~aith, In the first place, though reason can (perhaps I should say could). attain to a vast fund of knowledge about God, yet it is a simple matter of fact that the difficulties are so great that unaided reason falls into many and grievous errors in its search for God. The knowledge of Faith is free from these errors. Furthermore, even the most highly developed human reason, working under the most favorable natural circumstances, is held within decided limits in its quest for the truths about God. It cannot penetrate the veil of mystery; it cannot even suspect the reality of the inner life of God or know of the divine scheme which actually pre-vails in the universe and which is expressed in the mysteries of the Supernatural Life, of the 'Incarnation, and of the -Redemption. These truths are known only through revelation, and they become our own personal knowledge only when we accept God's revelation by making an ac't of Faith. 245 GERALD KELLY 'Faith, then, is the first step in the appreciation and .intelligent observance of our duties toward God. By Faith we know what God really is and what we are. It is scarcely necessary to enumerate here the sublime truths of Faith. They are contained substantially in the Apostles' Creed; they are unfolded in word and gesture and song in the liturgical ceremonies by which the Church teaches her chil-dren. But it should be mentioned here that any growth in Faith, any progress in the knowledge of God and' His perfections which comes through reading or study or prayer is not only a fine practice of the Commandments but isalso a most excellent preparation, for .living in the spirit of the Commandments. And as for .teaching, we teach the Commandments best when we ourselves know God inti-mately and when we impart this knowledge to our pupils before telling them that they must do this, they must not do that, and so forth. Through Faith we are made aware of a vast number of relationships that exist between ourselves and God. He is our Creator, our Helper, our sovereign Lord, our Redeemer, our Best Friend, our Father, our Goal; and so on. Yet, if we carefully examine these relationships, we shall find that, roughly speaking, they can be grouped under two heads: some emphasize our union with and similaritg to :'God, others emphasize the distinction and distance between ourselves and God. Suppose we consider first the relationships of distance~ and distinction. These present a grand picture of God as the Being of supreme excellence and absolute dominion and ourselves as creatures who d.epend utterly upon Him. This is a true picture; it is decidedly appropriate that we ~recognize it and lead our lives according to it. Down to the very core of our being we are creatures; and any act of 246 MORAL BEAUTY IN DUTIES TO GOD Ours which expresses this relationship to God is in perfect harmony With our natures.¯ : ¯ ¯ .Creqturely .Acts Among these creat.urehj acts, the simplest and most ¯ fundamental is that of adoration. The essential charac-teristic of adoration is perfect homage, the homage due to God alone. It is the acknowledgement of God's supreme excellence and-our absolute dependence on Him. It may be expressed internally by a simple act of the will, or it may be externalized by various gestures, such as the genuflec: tion; or it may seek outlet in the other forms of worship known as the prayer of praise, the prayer of petition, the taking of vows and oaths. Basically, these various acts are but modifications of the one fundamental act of worship. The prayer Of praise is adoration with emphasis on the acknoxvledgement of God's excellence; the prayer of peti-tion is adoration with insistence on our dependence. A vow ~is adoration expressed by partial or total consecration of oneself to God;an oath is adoration in that it pays tribute to one aspect of divine excellence, God's infinite truthful-ness. The worship of God must be not only personal and individual, but social as well, for we depend on God not merely as individuals but also as a community. And social worship demands a fixed time for its exercise and. definite forms for its manifestation. Hence the propriety of days set aside as God's days, days on which acts of reli-gion and rest from 'merely. secular occupations play the principal part. Hence too the need of that chief of all social actsof worship, sacrifice, a commonact of adoration by.which the.whole community, through its legitimate .ministers, makes an offering to God as an agknowledgement ¯ of His :supreme,dominion over the community"and of 247 GERALD KELLY the complete dependence, of the community .on, God. Social worship, from the very fact that it is external and common, must be regulated; and what norm is more appropriate than that which Almighty God Himself has established in giving us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in founding the Church with power to regulate this act of worship and to establish minor forms? Adoration in all its forms is reserved to God alone. But it is natural enough that in the sphere of religion we should find a condition similar to that which exists in practically all secular governments and which, if history, tells us rightly, is well-nigh as old as government itself. Earthly rulers have their ministers, and it is an accepted custom among men to pay honor to these ministers according to their dignity. In much the same way, God has communi-cated His excellence to creatures in varying degrees-~-a fact Which forms the basis for the special acts of veneration that we pay to Mary and the saints. This seems so reasonably in accord with human practice in other matters that one is apt to wonder why people at times strongly object to it. We honor Mary and the .saints because they reflect the divine excellence in a special way; we direct petitions to them because we know that God, Whose special friends they are, wishes to honor them by granting His favors through their intercession. God, the saints of God--and now a brief word about reverence for the things of God. As we pay Him supreme worship, it is surely the appropriate thing to show a special reverence to all the things connected with that worship: for the house of God,~. for the Sacred vessels, for the persons consecrated to Him, for the Word of God, and of course for the~Holy Name of God. All these things represent God, and in honoring them we honor Him. :The acts of virtue thus far enumerated are more fully 248 MORAL BEAUTY IN DUTIES TO! GOD explained in any theological treatise on thevirtue of reli-gionI. These acts, like the virtue of justiceamong human b~ings, all emphasize the distinction between ourselves and God. As such, they are distinctively creatttrety acts. Love and Hope Yet, though we are distinct from God, we are not wholly different from Him; though an infinite distance separates us from Him, yet in a true sense we are one with Him. Even reason tells us of ~ similarity to God that is ours in the possession of intellect and free will, and of a special yearning for God which is a property of our Spiritual and immortal souls. But Faith, in giving us.a knowledge of the supernatural order, tells us of a similarity to God and of an ultimate assimilation to God which reason could not so much as suspect. We are children of God, share~s in His own Divine nature, members of the Divine Family, with the destiny of sharing His own happiness in the Vision Beatific. The distance of creatureship is bridged by the inti.m.acy of friendship; and, though submissive worship is never to be neglected, yet in the present order it yields the primacy to filial love in our dealings with God. Since God has chosen to deal with us on' terms of loving friendship, it is most appropriate that we live according to this relationship. To do so is to live a life of Charity. This expresses itself in various ways: it rejoices in the perfections of God; it labors for the fulfillment of God's designs; it accepts God's gift of Himself and gives self in return to God. It flees from sin, strives for closer union with God and for perfect conformity to the will of God. Especially does it contemplate God-made-man and strive, as all true love 1For a splendid treatment of the virtues, confer The Fullness of Life by Walter Far-rell, O.P. Confer also The Catechism of the Council of Trent (The Roman Cate-chism). 249 GERALD KELLY does, for perfect imitation of Him and for~,the growth of His kingdom in the hearts of men . : Though our union with God has already begun, it is still imperfect and breakable. ~ To preserve it and increase it unto the perfection of heaven is difficult; without the help of God, it is impossible. But God in His fatherly goodness has promised not only this help but a reward as well for our cooperation. Since we know His goodness and His power and His unwavering fidelity to His promises, it is fitting that we trust Him, that always in perfect confidence we stretch out our hands to Him as a child reaches but for ¯ his parents. Such is the worship of Hope. Devotioia All the acts thus far enumerated are in perfect accord with the Commandments that contain our duties to God. To perform such acts, to cultivate such virtues, is to live in the spirit of these Commandments. This is not a dry, mechanical process; these acts do not issue from a sterile soul. They presuppose inthe soul a certain disposition that theologians call deootion. Perhaps it is well for us, particularly if we be educators, to realize that many people have.a false idea of religious devotion. They look upon it as something sentimental, something highly emotional, something they might want to experience only when their friends-are not present. That is a silly notion. In all Other affairs deootiorl has a lofty signification. Men speak with respect and awe of the soldier who is deooted to his country, of a husband devoted to his wife, of parents devoted to their children, of a doctor devoted to his duty, and so forth. In all these uses, devotiorl means something solid---a spirit of self-sacrifice and of true heroism. Yet, in the religious sphere the word has a "fluffy" 250 MOR~L BEAUTY IN DUflES TO GOD ~onn0tati0n;the mere accidentals are ffequently mist'aken for. the isubstance. ~ )kS a matter of~ plain .fact, religious ~devotioriis ~he highest of all forms Of :devoti0n. It is a. ready will to wor-ship God, toserve and love Him as. He deseives. It is the most appropriate and the h0blest form of hero-worship. Itis God-worshipmthe perfect willingnes~ to acknowledge God for what He is and ourselves for what we are. It is the first fruit of a lively Faith; and the very Soul of all the other acts of virtue, enumerated here. A life lived, according to the pattern sketched in this article is a beautiful life. The .greater the number of men who lead such lives, the more does moral beauty shine resplendent in the universe. To labor for this in ourselves. a.nd others is our apostolate. The Church and Moral Beauty 0n¢ concluding word: Nothing so strikingly illustrates the true beauty of worship as the living Church herself. It sometimes impresses and consoles our people when we show them that through membership in the Church they help to conserve this beauty in the world and are thus contributors to a spiritual achievement of almost unbelievable gran-deur. Thoughout the world they have built magnificent churches where the one true Sacrifice, as well as other forms :of worship, is offered. This worship is onduct~ed wi.th exquisite pageantry and with the finest of this world's goods. Daily and hourly in the. name of the Church, there ascends to God the most reverent of all prayers, the Divine Office. Our Catholic people have a wealth of reli-gious festivals in honor of God and His Mysteries; they venerate Mary, the Mother of God, and the angels and saints, His special friends; they cherish the written word of .God and reverence the living teaching authority that He 251 GERALD KELLY established. They have doctrines and a Moral Code of -tranScendent b~auty. They have a priesthood dedicated 'wholly to ,priestly work. Thousands of their men and women are consecrated to Goal by vow. In toil and sacri-rice, they have built countless schools to safeguard the reli-gious education of youth; and there is no work of mercy e~cluded from the~stupendous program of ~harity that~the Church is ever conducting. All those things blend together to form the sweet incense of worship that is constantly being offered to God through the Holy. Catholic Church. It is a living, expres-sion of the first table of the Decalogue and of the Great Commandment of Love. PAMPHLET REVIEWS Martyrdom of Slovenia, by dohn LaFarge, S.d., is a p.amphlet .re-print of three articles from America. It gives a graphic picture of Catholic Slovenia, peaceful and progressive before the German inva-sion but now subjected to terrorizing persecution. Proceeds go to the general relief of Slovenia. The pamphlet may be ordered from American '.Slovene Parish Relief, 62 St. Mark's Place, New York City, N. Y. Price: 5 cents each. Meditorials, by Paschal Boland, O.S.B., is a small booklet of brief, well,expressed thoughts for 'prayerful .reflection. It may be obtained from The Grail, St. Meinrad, Indiana, 10 cents a copy. ,252 The h,p!:er o[ At:t: irs in a Religious Congregation Adam C. Ellis, S.3. ~i A_ FTER kh~ cl~apter of elections, is finished, it is c~s. ]-~ tomary to hold a chapter of affairs (business l~apte.r) under the presidency of the newly .elected superior general. In this chapter the more important matters con-cerning the welfare of the institute as a whole are consid-ered. Agenda ~t: the Chapter.of Affairs ~ We may conveniently divide the subject-matter of this, business chapter into three classes:. 1 ) affairs which require the permission or approval of the Holy-See; 2) other important matters pertaining to the general welfare of the institute as a whole; 3) propositions ,~ubmitted to the general chapter by individual houses and subjects. I. Affairs which require, the permission of the Holy See: Such are, for example: the division of a congregation into provinces; the revision of the boundaries of provinces already established, as well as the establishment of new provinces (canon 494) ; the establishment of houses in mis-sion territories subject to the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith (canon 497, § 1) ; the erectibn of new novitiates, or the transfe~ of .an existing novitiate to another house (canon 544); the assumption of a debt, or the sale or mortgage or property, when the amount exceeds 6,000 gold dollars (canon 534). 2.-Other important affairs: Under this head would come. questions of finance, of discipline, and of good works. A word about each. Questions of Enance. Under the old law the Holy See ~253 ADAM C. ELLIS 0r,.the ~Bishop determined the amount of the dowry, the amg.unt:eadh :houie was to.contribute to the support of the general curia an~d of lnembers'in trai.riing, and so forth. The present policy of the Sacred Congregation of Religious is to allow~the general chapter of a congregation approved by the Holy See tO determine these amounts, thus avoiding the n~cessity, ofrecuiring to. the HolySee for dislSenshtions required b~r .the changing financial status of an~ institute. He'nce the gener.al chapter will determine the following points: the amount of the dowry to be required of postu-lants; the amount of money each house is to contribute to the motherhouse for the support of the superior general and his officials, and for the support of novices, religious who ~ire studying, and so forth; the amount of money the supe-rior general may spend with the consent of his council, as well as the amount he may sper~d without such consent: similarly the amount which provincial superiors may spend with and without the consent of their respective councils: the amount for which local superiors must obtain permis-sion of the superior general for extraordinary expenses as ¯ well as to contract a debt. Matters of discipline will deal with the observance of the constitutions and customs, the development of the ¯ spirit of poverty, obedience, and the like, as well as the suppression of abuses which may ~have crept in. ~ ¯ Good works embrace the particular end for which the congregation was established: teaching, the care .of the sick, and the like. Hence the general chapter may discuss the work-that is being done, new works to be undertaken within the limits of the purpose of the institute, changes, which may be~desirable,~new methods to be adopted. 3. Propositions of individuals: Every ,member of the institute, as well as the individual houses~with their mem-bers, has a right to, submit propdsitions for the" considera- 254 CHAPTER OF AFFAIR8 tion of the general chapter. Individual communities and their members will submit their propositions through the delegates who represent them. These propositions should contain suggestions for the betterment of the congregation as a whole, and should not be devoted to the private affairs of. individuals. All propositions submitted should be caref~ly collated, and submitted to the general chapter in the manner described below. Pretiminarg Work o~: Committees ~ In order to save time and to dispatchthe business of the chapter of affairs in a competent manner, it is desirable that one or more committees be appointed either by th~ chapter itself or by the superior general and his council. In a small congregation one committee will suffice; a larger ~ongrega-tion, especially one divided into provinces, will find it helpful to appoint several committees: for- instance, one .for finance, a second for discipline, a third for propositions, another for good works. These committees will hold pre-liminary meetings in which they will discuss the matters submitl~ed to them, word them in a brief but clear state-ment, giving reasons for and against their acceptance. The committee on.propositions will consider all the propositions sent in and collate them, p.utting a~ide for the time being. those of minor, importance or of a personal nature. A list of even these latter propositions should be read to the chal~- ter at some time or another before its close. The chapter will then decide whether or not it wishes to consider any of them. Some of the propositions will have been included in the matter of other committees and may be omitted. Discussion ot: Proposals The superior general will read aloud the proposals formulated by the committees, together with the reasons 255 ADAM C. ELLIS - ¯ for andagainst them, one question, at a time. Discussion is now in order. Every meinber of the chapter has the right to speak on the proposition if he wishes to do so. Usually the capitulars are asked in order of seniority to express their opinion: They should address their remarks to the president of the chapter. After all who so desire have expressed their minds in turn, the president may call for final remarks before the proposition is put to a vote. Each speaker should first obtain permission from the pre-siding officerl then state his opinion calmly, objectively, and briefly. The president will then sum up the arguments, pro and con, arid put the proposition to the chapter. Manner of Voting in Chapter of Affairs All ques.tions are decided bya majority vote, that is, by one more than half the number of capitulars present. AI.1 matters of greater importance should be decided by secret ballot. Though any individual capitular is not obliged to vote, he should at least turn in a blank ballot. In minor matters, or when it is evident from the dis-cussion that there is little or no opposition to a proposal, the vote may be taken by holding up hands or rising to express an affirmative vote. Any member of the chapter, however, may demand a secret ballot on any proposition. When this occurs, the president will put the matter to a vote, and if the majority of the chapter vote for a secret ballot, it must be taken, otherwise a standing vote will be sufficient. I~ case of a tie vote on any proposition, the president of the chapter may decide the matter if he wishes to do so: It may be well to remark here that it is not necessary for the general chapter .to pass on all the proposition.s sub-" mitted to it. Instead, it may vote to allow the superior general and his council to decide the matter ,in question. 256 CHA~TER OF AFFAIRS This will be the case especially when~ further information.,is:. needed upon a certain subject, or when future: circhmstances may alter the state of the question proposed. :. Changes in the. Constitutions The general chapter has no power to change the con- ", stitutions or to inteFpret them.~ Hence, if it seems desirable. for the general welfare of the institute that such a change should be made, or if some point in the constitutions is not clear, the chapter'of a pontifical institute may vote to ask the Holy See to change the constitutions which it has .approved, or to interpret such constitutions. In the case of a diocesan congregation, such a pet)ition should be addressed to the Bishop of the diocese. But if the congregation has houses in more than one diocese, the Bishop of the diocese in which the motherhouse is situated will have to obtain the consent of all the other ,Bishops in whose territory the con-gregation has houses before he can make any change in the constitutions (canon 495, § 2). Ordinances oF the General Chapter While thi~ general chapter of a religious congregation has no Idgislative power, and cannot, therefore, make laws in the strict sense of the term, it has dominative power over all the members of the institute (canon 501, § 1), and may issue ordinances which are binding upon all, provided such ordinances are not contrary to any laws of the Church or fo the constitutions. Such ordinances should be few in num-ber and really necessary for the spiritual well-being of the institute. They. remain in force until the following general chapter, and are binding upon all the members of the insti-tute as soon as they are promulgated by the superior gen-eral. No legislation imposes a time limit .upon the general 257 ADAM C. ELLIS : dhapter of, affairs., But underI normal, conditions, ,especially ¯ for.a congregation whose constitutions have been approved by the Ho. ly See, this chapter should be completed in.three or four days. Rarely would all the subjects mentioned in this article be discussed in the same chapter: in fact, it may even h'appen that theosubjects proposed for discussion are so few that the chapter can finish its business in one or two .sessions, A majority vote of the chapter members is suf-ficient for adjournment. When the chapter of affairs has concluded its business, a short special session should be held for the signing of the minutes. Every member of the chapter should be present in order to ~ffixehis signature thereto, and these minutes should be carefully preserved in the general archives. The members of the chapter should remember that they are bound by secrecy regarding the matters discussed in.chapter until the promulgatibn of the results of the chapter are made by the superior general. Even after such promulga-tion they should observe secrecy as to details regarding names and matters discussed or voted upon in chapter. Confirmation of Acts of Chapter of Affairs In the case of a pontifical congregation, the acts of the chapter of affairs need not be submitted to the Holy See unless the constitutions require suclq confirmation. In the case of a diocesan congregation, the local Ordinary may reserve to himself the right to confirm tl~e acts of the chap-ter of affairs. If he has not done so, there is no obligation .to submit the acts of the chapter to him for approval. In .both cases, however, as was stated above, individual propo-sitions implying a change in the constitutions or an inter-pretation of them must be submitted to the Holy See or to the Bishop, as the case may be. 258 The Place ot: :he Precious Blood in I:he Spiritual Lit:e Malachi J. Donnelly, S.J. IT IS A COMMONPLACE that the frequently occurring cloys the~ inquiring mind. The infrequent rainbow will stir the s6ul to its depths, the ever-recurring sunrise leave it cold and unaroused. But, who will say that the bow in the skies outshines the brilliance of the early dawn! Even so in the spiritual life, it is often enough the unusual rather than the solid doctrine that attracts our moth-like, unstable souls. The sure cure for this human weakness is frequent meditation on the fundamentals of our Faith. The many facets of the Catholic jewel must be examined up-close. Our goal must be not knowledge, but realization. As the author of the Spiritual Exercises puts it: "it is not an abun-dance of knowledge that fill~ and satisfies the soul, but to feel and taste things internally." The purpose of this essay is to set forth a few doctrinal observations concerning the Precious Blood, in the hope that frequent meditation on them may enkindle within our hearts a great devotion tb that red stream of divine love which wrought our salvation. It is a dogma of our Faith (hat the Son of God assumed as His very own a complete human nature. This is a fun-damental principle in considering the Precious Blood. Scientists tell us that the blood-stream is devoid of life. Hence, did we not have the defined truth that the Word possessed a complete and integral human body, we might wonder concerning the union that exists between the Pre-cious Blood and the Son of God become Man. But our 25.9~ ~ALACHI J. DONNELLY Faith teaches that the Word assumed not only flesh and soul, but also the human blood-~treaml ~' Scripture speaks of the flesh and blood of our Lord in the same terms: "Therefore because children have blood and flesh in common, so he .in like manner has shared in these; that through death he might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver them, who throughout their life were kept in servitude by the fear of death" (Hebrews 2: 14-15). Again we read: " . . . . the Church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). St. Peter writes: "You know that you were redeemed from the vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, not with perishable things, with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" .(I Peter 1:18-19). Scripture, then, is too explicit to allow any doubt about the intimate union between the Precious Blood and the Person of the Word. Wk have it,therefore, on the word of God that our sal, vation was accomplished by the Blood of the Lamb. To this Blood is ascribed an infinite value, for the notion of redemption and satisfaction as effec~ed by 3esus Christ is inseparably linked with infinite value. Now, if to the Blood in itseff is attributed the infinite price of our redemp-tion, this is possible only if the Blood is hypostatically, or .personally, united to the Person of the Son of God. From the words of several General Councils defining that our Lord had a corriplete and integral human body, from the testimony of Scripture which attributes our kal-vation to the Precious Blood (the Scriptural testimony was repeated by Clement VI in his Jubilee Bull of 1349), we may conclude that to the Precious Blood may be accorded the same worship that is Offered to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For both were personally united to the Son of God. 260 THE PRECIOUS BLOOD IN THE~ SPIRITUAL LIFE Let us turn to the Mass. When the priest at the altar says those memorable words, "for this is the chalice of my blood" and so forth, what ieally happens? To answei this we must go back to the. Last Supper, for what ,Jesus did at the Supper the.priest does at the Mass. When, on that most solemn evening, 'jesus took the ctip of wine into His holy and venerable hands and said: "All of you drink of this: for this is mybloodof the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto, the forgiveness.of sins" (Luke 26:2), what really.took place? Now, 'jesus, as the Son of God, can tell naught but the truth. When, itherefore,. He said, "this is-my. blood," a gieat and Wonderful change took place, th~ one and only event of its kind in the history of the world up to that time. What He held in His hands; after these words, was no longer: wine. No, it was a cup that con-tainedHis, most Precious Blood. Beneath the'appearances of wine was contained, as the Council of Trent teaches,~ Christ's own.Blood--and with the Blood, His Body,. Soul, and Divinity. At the Supper the Blood was shed mystically or sym-bolically by the separate consecration of the wine and biead. By this the bloody death of the morrow was symbolized. At the Mass the same holds true, for the Mass reenacts what Christ did at the Supper. The Mass and the Supper are, after the rite of Melchisedech, an unbloody sacrifice: the-sacrifice of the Cross is according to the rite of Aaron, a bloody sacrifice. After the Supper, 'jesus continued to offer Himself to His eternal Father. The bloody sweat in the Garden, the scourging, the crowning with thorns--all were outlets for that great sacrificial .stream of love in the red current ~of which the sins of the world were swept away" as driftwood in a swollen river.' 7Fhen on Calvary, in asublime finale of divine love, the Sacred Heart was emptied~of that most 261~ MAI~ACHI! 3. DONNELLY precious burden, the cleansing Blood of the immaculate ¯ Lamb of God.In this bloody consummation: of the Savior's .sacrifice our.redemption was achieved. It but required the extrinsic a~ceptance on the part of God, that the sacrifice be fordver complete . By the Resurrection the Precious Blood was again united to the Sacred Body and in the Ascension ,lesus was taken-into Heaven, where, as '.'the ¯ Lamb that was slain," He forever pleads our cause. In the Mass, as the Council of Trent teaches, we have the same sacrificial Victim as was immolated on Golgotha: and the same One now offers by the ministry of priests, Who then offered Himself on the Cross, the sole difference being in the. manner of offering. No longer is the Precious Blood drained from the Sacred Heart, but forever will that red current flow through the living Body of 3esus. In the Mass, as at theSupper, there is the mystical, or symbolical, shedding of the Blood in the separate consecration of wine. The species of wine, in its sacramental signification, more directly signifies the Precious Blood; although, of course, we must ho!d that the whole Christ is (equally) present under the sacramental veil of either species. In our spiritual life, then, it is dear what an important role devotion to the Precious Blood should play. The spir-itual life is possible only through Grace. Grace, however, is had only through tapping tl~e great reservoir of the merits of Christ. And the merits of Christ have been won by the ¯ shedding of His Precious Blood on the altar of the Cross. ¯ From His pierced Sacred Heart poured forth the scarlet laver that satisfied for our sins, reddemed all men, merited grace by which we are justified. Indeed, we have been redeemed at a great price. Would. that we could all "feel and taste internally" those words of St. Peter: "You know that you Were redeemed . notwith perishable things, with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." 262 The Catholic Rural Life Apostolate John L., Thomas, S.J. THERE are at least two reasons why religiousshouldbe ¯ well-informed regarding the Catholic Rural Life Apos-tolate. First, it is an apostolate, one of the very impor-tant forms of Catholic Action being conducted in this country today. Secondly, many religious, particularly those teaching in the rural schools, are actually engaged in the work of the apostolate and are in a position to accomplish great good in its behalf. For these reasons, a brief exposition of the Rural Life Apostolate seems appropriate here. Since the best expres-sion of the apostolate in our country is found in the work of the Catholic Rural Life Conference, I feel there is no better way to present the position of the Church in the rural crisis than by explaining the organization and aims of the Conference. The Catholic Rural Life Conference Tile Conference started in 1923 as a voluntary asso- Ciation to cooperate with the Rural Life Bureau of~the National Catholic Welfare Council. Six Bishops and sixty delegates, from eighteen dioceses met at St. Louis to discuss plans for the future. Since then thi~ conference has ignr othwen" ctoou bnetr yo.ne of the outstanding Catholic organizations What are the problems it attempts to solve? They can be put under three heads. First--pastoral and missionary. Eighty per,cent of our Catholic population live in the large cities. This means that the remai.ning twenty per cent are spread throughout the rural sections. Or for. every 263 ,JOHN L. -THOMAS 800,000 Catholics in the cities there are only 200,000 in the country. Hence, facilities for a Catholic education are frequently lacking. Perhaps we can realize the problem better this way. There are about 18,150 parishes in the United States. Only 8,000 of these have parochial schools. This.means 10,000 groups without schools. Furthermore, of the 2,952 counties in the United Sta.tes, 1,022 have no resident priest; 500 more bare none in their rural sections. The Conference is striving to remedy the disastrous effects of these conditions--that is, it is making the Church more effective by building up parochial schools, when this can-. not b~ done it promotes vacation schools .where e~ch year ¯ over one quarter of a million children are given, a religious training. Study clubs and correspondenc,e courses are used to instruct those who can be reached in no other way. It should be noted here that the Conference is the only agency under the huspices of the Church thathas specifically inter-ested itself in the rural Catholic.school. Advantages to Church The second task of the' Conference is to demonstrate the advantages rural welfare brings to the Church. Since the Catholic population in the United States is eighty per cent urban and Since the larger cities fail to reproduce themselves by thirty per~cent, ~it is clear that the continued existence and prosperity of the rural parishes are necessary for the physical existence of the Church in this country. Whether we like it or not our large cities are the grave-yards of the race. Even at the present birth rate, for every 10 adults in the city there will be only 7 in the next genera-tion, 5 in the third, and 3 ~ in the fourth, a decline of two-thirds in a century. For the country the rate runs: 10, .13, 17,, 22, giving an increase of one hundred percent in a cen- 264 THE RURAl. L~FE APOSTOLATE tur~y. And the Catholic Church is s.trong in the cities! Her strength is her weakness. Of course, there are individuals .with ostrich_-like instincts who refuse to look at these facts. Others contend these figures are not true for Catholics. Hard, cold facts, however, prove there is little or no distinction between the drop in the urban Catholic birth rate and that of others. As a prominent weekly somewhat cynically remarked: "Despite the Catholic drive for big families and no birth control, United States' Catholics are not fully reproducing themselves except in the country parishes--and more than eighty per cent of the Catholics of the United States live in cities." Leclercq, in his excellent Work, Marriage and the Family, clearly points out the seriousness of this prob-lem for the West in general: "The second half of the 20th century Will witness the population battle. On its out-come, more than on any other factor, will depend the future of civilization." Bishop O'Hara, treating this same subject, says: "The misfortune of the Catholic Church in America is that it is not strong in the country, that it is not at the natural source of population. The result" is that it is not the bene-ficiary of that natural process but has to fight its way against the decadent influences of the city in building up a people to the Lord. The most shortsighted should see how its influence would be multiplied if, instead of having .roots in merely a few hundred strong country parishes, it could possess several thousand such sources of population-." Monsignor John "Ryan has said in this regard: "To the extent that the Catholics migrate to the city more rapidly than non-Catholics they render inevitable a decline in the Catholic population and its influence upon American life." Besides being the source of population the rural parish is the milieu where the Catholic religious ideal of the family JOHN L. THOMAS finds perhaps its strongest support. This is the contention of the many Bishops and religious leadei~ in. the field today. As Father LaFarge has stated, the strength Of ~he rural, life mbvement is its stubborn insistence on the one fundamental point at issue in ,the world today: "How can best condi-tions be provided fo:r the religious salvation of the indi~ vidual family?" Bishop Vincent Ryan expresses the same general idea: "Essential for the preserVation of our civilization are the sound principles of rural living advocated by the Confer-ence." And Bishop Muench: "True civilization is rooted in' family culture. Without it civilization cannot endure; without it civilization will decay and .die. Alive to th~s great truth the Conference bends all its activities towaid the preservation arid promotion of family culture." Monsignor Ligutti, writing on the work of the Con2 ference echoes the same sentiment: "The Conference con-tends that for the full development of the human person-ality .and the greater good of the family, rural living with its WholesOmeness, integrity, ~ and responsibility is the most desirable mode of life. The Conference contends that the welfare bf the Church and the maintenance of a democracy depend on a balancebetween people in cities and people on theland--a 50-50 ratio rather than the 80-20 ratio of today." ¯ ~Bishop O'Hara has well summed up this point: "The Conference aims to build up in ti~e United States 10,000 strong country parishes and to anchor on the land a larger percentage of the strong, vigorous and intelligent boys and girls, who were born there." He goes on to say that the Church'sinterest in.agriculture arises from the altogether unique relationship ~which exists universally between the agri~cultural occupation and the central institution of Christianity, nay, of all civilization, namely, the family. 266 THE RURAL LIFE APOSTOLATE Now since the learning and experience of these Cath-o! ic leaders enables them to speak with authority, it must be evident to all that a primary source and ideal of Cath-olic parish life is the rural parish. And the aim of the Conference to convince leaders among the clergy and lay-men of this truth and to build up a rural youth convinced of the dignity of their calling, is a noble apostolate indeed. Catholic Agrarianism The third task of the Conference is Catholic agrarian-ism-- that is, to work not'merely to prove the value and dignity of rural life, but actually to conserve and promote rural life. Here the question is not what rural life can do for the Church but what the Cl~urch can do for rural life. As Father LaFarge.has pointed out: "There is a real threat of revolt among rural groups today.Communism can penetrate and demoralize rural America." Pius XI has indicated this danger on a general scale: "The greatest care must be exercised in behalf of the humble classes, especially the farmers and laborers. The Church is concerned at the great dangers by which their souls are increasingly men-ace&" The cause of the danger in this country--its primary source--is farm tenancy. Vanishing ownership is the menace stalking through rural America today. In the last 55 years tenancy has increased from twenty-five to forty-two percent.of all farmers. It is still on the increase. In other words nearly half of the farmers do not own the land that they work. We have only to reflect how simple it' would be for these tenants to become tenants of the govern-ment rather than of some insurance company or. bank, to .realize how easily the change could be made to the Soviet plan viewed with so much favor by many leaders today. That these conditions are contrary to the social 267 JOHN L. THOM,~S teaching of the Church is.clear from what~ Leo XIII has written: "Our first and most fundamental principle, wl~en we undertake to alleviate the conditions of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property. The law should favor ownership and its policy should be to induce as many people as possible to become owners." Pius XI, after speaking of "the immense army of hired rural laborers, whose condition is depressed in the extreme, and who have no hope of ever obtaining a share in the land,", says: "Unless serious attempts be made, with all energy and without delay, to put them [principles leading to wage: earner ownership] into practice, let nobody persuade him- . self that the peace and tranquillity of human society Can be effectively defended against the forces of revolution!" He has given the reason .for the seriousness of the agrarian problem eisewhere, saying: "Land is a nation's primary wealth andagriculture its most natural, vital, and impor-tant industry." Consequently, trouble in this field means a disruption of the very foundations of society. His Holiness, Plus XII, says of land and the family: "Of all the good~ that can be the object of private ownership none is more conf6rmable to nature . . . than the land, on the holding of which the family lives and from the products of which it draws all or patt of its subsistence . As a rule only that stability ¯ which is rooted in one's own.holding makes of the family the most vital and perfect and fecund ~ell of society . If today the concept of vital spaces is at the center of social and political aims, should not one, before all else, think of the vital space of the family and free it from the fetters of conditions which do not permit even to formulate the idea of a homestead of one's own?" , Therefore, Catholid agrarianism in the United States has a twofold job: To promote the ideal Catholic rural 268 THE RURAL LIFE APOSTOLATE community, and to propagandize for those essential norms of social morality which govern rural welfare wherever found, and which can be subscribed to by all persons whose minds have not been corrupted by atheism and materialism. These two aims interlock. Since the Catholic rural com-munity cannot function in a vacuum it must unite with other upright rural forces which are working for the com-mon end of social justice. It does this by organizing cooperatives,credit unions, study clubs, and by promoting a spirit of brotherhood and neighborliness. It maintains friendly relations with other rural life associations and endorses and sponsors all projects looking to the true uplift of the rural population. This leads to frequent contact with non-Catholics and opens up .an immense field for true conversions. Several Bishops have stated that they consider no field more fruitful in con: versions than this apostolate. Conclusion These, therefore, are the main rural life problems the Church must face: 1) pastoral and missionary; 2) edu-cating to values of the rural parish as the source of Catholic population and ideal family culture: 3) Catholic agra-rianism working for ownership of the family-sized farm. The efforts being made to meet these problems are clear from the four working aims of the Conference: 1) to care for the underprivileged Catholics living on the land; 2) to keep on the land Catholics who are now there; 3) to settle more Catholics on the land; 4) to convert the non-Catholics nowon the land. This is the rural life apostolate. These are its prob-lems and its aims. Itis an apostolate to save the Christian family, to .work for conditions which render the existence of the Christian family possible, and to reeducate people to 269 JOHN L. THOMAS ~the true values in life, that is, a reaffirmation of the impor- .tance and primacy of the human person threatened on all sides. .~ It is an aposto!ate that demands work. and study. Pius xi, pleading for more social action in generaLhas written: ,"No easy task is here imposed on the clergy, wherefore, all candidates for the sacred priesthood must be ,adequately prepared to meet it by intense study of social matters.'[' What is said here of candidates to the priest-hood must be applied to all teachers in Our Catholic schools for they tbo must be prepared to instruct Christian youth 'in the true principles ofCatholic action as outlined by the Church. Since the rural life movement is one form of this Catholid social action strongly urged by-the hier-archy today, it too must be studied and promoted by all Catholics. ~ It must be obvious to everyone that much can be accomplished for this apostolate iri our schools. Not, necessarily, by the introduction of new courses, and new textbooks, however. Rather, a sympathetic and intelli-gent understanding .of the importance and seriousness of the problem will enable the capable teacher to reorientate existing courses. At any rate, efficient teachers,~and we have many of them--will find some way to achieve the aims desired. Pius. XI, in regard to the whole social question of which this apostolate necessarily forms a part, has written these stern words: "No stone, then, must be left.unturned to avert these grave misfortunes from society. Towards this one aim must tend all our efforts and endeavors, sup-porte. d by assiduotis and fervent prayers to God."'"And he adds a thought that must be uppermost in the mind of each 6f us: "For with the assistance of Divine Grace, the destiny, 9f~ the human family lies in our ~hands." 270 Git:!:-I::xchanges in t:he Correspondence of $t:. Boniface GERALD ELLARD, S.J. NO OTHER literary likeness, they say, ~can compare with a collected correspondence for providing a realistic .portrait of their writer; equally true, i.t.~). would seem, that not even thebest of letters can dispense with gift-giving in some fashion as a natural expression of ~,. friendship. "Love consists in mutual exchange on either side," as tl~e whole world knows. How this tendency of nature is to be supernaturalized is a page of the science of the saints that all engaged in the pursuit of perfection must carefully study. Happy those in whom this "supernatu-ralization process" is effected as completely and as grace-fully as in the case of St. Francis Borgia, of whom it is recorded to his credit that he "retained through life the most tender and active affection for his children. A packet of their letters to him from 1566 to 1569 has been found, full of minute detail . Presents go to and fro. The General sends his son a map, and a watch . His daughters, in the charming and unchanging manner of nuns, send him jam.s and sweets and syrup of orange-flowers and corpobals and beg 'one little Hail Mary' . . . This article proposes to select from the extant corre-spondence of the great Saint Boniface, Apostle of Germany, passages in which his genius for human friendship is illus-trated by the exchange of gifts. For antiquarians, of course, these letters have a many-sided and engrossing interest; but for putting Boniface before us in his best human light, for making him a living and loving friend among friends high and low, this little store of gifts cancels out the differences 1C. C. Martindale, Captains o[ Christ (London: Washbourne, 1917), 44, 45. 271 GERALD ELLARD of twelve hundred years; we see him twin of any twentieth century noble friend. Bishop Daniel of Winchester, who had once been Boniface's "beloved master," in his old age addressed him as "my hundred-fold dearest friend"; in fact, ohe might say that the entire Boniface correspondence glows with the ardor of the love he'evoked. Still, the great-est monument of his lovableness is, I think, the fact that in " a correspondence extending ovei thirty-five years, roughly half of the personal letters:speak of the receipt or despatch Of some "gift, small indeed in itself, but token of a great affection," as the Bishop of LeiceSter once phrased it. Let us see Boniface in the midst of'his gifts; no picture of him is better! Desire/:or Books . There are gifts and gifts, but those Boniface received most gratefully were books. The r.e~luests he made most frequently were for more and more books, the latest books, the best books, in "all the branches that bore upon his sacred ministry. His letters show how he came by them. In one of the very first letters of the corrd'spondence, an English nun by the name of Bugga writes to Boniface, or Winfled, to congratulate him that the death of King Rathbod (719) opened the door of the Gospel in Frisia. She continues: "Know also'that the Sufferings o/: the Mart~trs which you asked me to send you I have not been able to get, but as-soon as I can I shall send it. And you, my best beloved, comfort my insignificance by sending me, as you promised in your dear letter, ~ some collection of the Sacred Writings. "I am sending ygu by" this same messenger fifty solidi and an altar-cloth, the best I can possibly do. Little as it is, it is sent~with great affection:''-°~ ~Epist VII: the letters are quoted, unless otherwise stated, as translated in The Let-ters of Saint Boniface° XXXI, Records of Chrilization, (New York: Columbia University, 1940). In the remainder of this article, these letters will be referred to by Roman nu~merals placed .after each quotation: ~ . , 272 ST. BONIFACE AND GIFT-EXCHANGES Another .life-.long friend of Boniface was the English Abbess Eadburga; to whom he wrote, about the time he became archbishop: "May He who rewards all righteous acts cause my dearest sister to rejoice in the choir of angels. above because she has consoled with spiritual light by the gift of Sacred Books an exile in Germany" (XXII). 2ustly famous in the annals of his mission is the request of Boni-face that this same Eadburga prepare for him a copy of the Epistt~s ot: St. Peter in letters of gold: "I pray to Almighty God, the rewarder of all good works, that He may repay you in the .Heavenly mansions and eternal tabernacles and in the choir of the blessed angels for all the kindnesses you have shown me, the solace of books and the comfort of the vestmentss with which you have relieved my distress. "And I beg you further to add to whatyou have done already by making a copy written in gold of the Epistles of my master, St. Peter the Apostle, to impress honor and rev= erence for the Sacred Scriptures visibly upon the ca.rnally-minded to whom I preach. I desire to ha~e ever present be-fore me the words of him who is my guide upon this road. I am sending by the priest Eoban the materials for your writing" (XXVI). ¯ Saint Peter's Epistles. in gold lettering on the finest parchment were doubtless very imposing, but Boniface felt very keenly the lack of a ~handy code of canon law to appiy the lessons of Holy Writ according to the mind of the Church. Not a few of his requests touch upon his uncer: tainty concerning marriage within the forbidden degrees of kinship. TtJis i~ reflected,, for instancd, in an urgent request of Archbishop Nothelm of Canterbury for a papal docu-ment he had already sought fruitlessly, at Rome: a"Vestimenta'" in the original, usually rendered as we have given it, but ~ometimes translated as "garments." Here I depart from the Columbia University rendering. 273 GERALD ELLARD "I beg that you will procure for me a copy of the letter containing, it is said, the questions Of Augustine, the first prelate and preacher of ~he English, .and the replies of the sainted Pope Gregory [the First]. In this writing, it is stated, among other things, that marriages between Chris-tians related in the .third. degree are lawful. Now will you cause an inquiry to be made with the most scrupulous care whether or not that document has been proved to be by the aforementioned father, Saint Gregory. For the registrars say that it is not to be found in the archives of the Roman church among the other documents of the aforesaid Pope" (XXIV). Reverence for Bede Among the writings attributed to Boniface are fifteen sermons, but their genuinity is.questioned because-they "contain no quotations, from Holy Scripture . and the books for .which he asked, such as the Spiritual commen-taries of St.Bede, would seem to-point to a different man-ner of preachi"ng. "* The critics are sceptical if these ser.- mons¯coutd be by Boniface in view of such passages as this, written to a~former pupil of his, now an abbot (we know not where), Dudd by name: ¯ "Try to support me by pouring out your prayers to God and help me with the Sacred Writings and the inspired treatises of the Holy Fathers.- Since a spiritual tract is well known to be a teacher for those, who read the Holy Scrip-tures, I beg you. to procure for me, as an aid in sacred learn-ing, apart bf a treat{seupon the Apostle Paul, which I lack. I have-tracts upon two. Epistles, one upon Romans, the other upon First Corint.hia,ns, Further, whatever you may findih your church library which you think would be useful to me and Which I may not be aware of or may not .4Day-Bet~en, .$a_int Boniface (MilwaUkee: Bruce, 193~), 166. . : 274 ST. BONIFACE AND GIFT-EXCHANGES. have in written form, pray let me know about it, as a loving son might do for an ignorant father, and send me also any notes of your own" (XXV). Then there was his epistolary campaign, so to speaL to get something of the writings of Bede, of whom the more he heaid the more eager he became to read. First he mentioned the matter somewhat casually in a long and very weighty letter to Egbert, Archbishop of York, near which city Bede had recently died. The letter opens with a grace-ful acknowledgment: "When I received your gifts and books I lifted my hands and gave thanks to Almighty God who ha.s given me such afriend in my long wanderings " and then passes,to its serious business. At the end. comes the reference to the "lector Bede": "I beg you also to have copied and sent to me some of the treatises of the lector Bede whom, as we learn, divine grace has endowed with spiritual intelligence and permitted to shine forth in your country, so that we too may profit by the light of that torch which the. Lord has granted unto you. "Meanwhile, as a token of fraternal love, I am sending you a copy of some letters of Saiht Grdgory which I have obtained from the archives of the Roman church, and which, as far as I know, have not yet reached Britain. "If you so order, I will send more, for I have received many of them. I am sending also a cloak and a towel for drying after washing the feet of the servants of God" [as the ceremonies of Maundy Thursday prescribe] (LIX). Archbishop Egbert sent on "gifts and books," but fresh canonical problems having cropped up meanwhile, Boni-face appeals for fresh guidance "to his friend in the embrace of 1Qving arms, his brother in the bonds of spiritual broth-erhood"-- and then reverts once more to "Bede, the in-spired priest": "Now we exhort you with eager desire to comfort our ¯ ° 275 GERALD ELLARD sorrow, as you have done before, by sending us some spark from that light of the Church which the Holy Spirit has kindled in your land: namely, that you will be so kind as to send-us some portion of the treatises which Bede, that inspired priest and student of the Sacred Scriptures, has put forth in his writings. Most especially, if possible, his.Lec-tior~ ar~l t:or the Year, which would form a convenient and useful, manual for us in our preaching, and the Prooerbs Solomon. We hear that he has written commentaries on this book" (LXXV). This letter from Boniface, a life-long abstainer, closes with the note: "We are sending you, by the bearer of this letter, two small casks of ~ine, asking you, in token of our mutual.affecti0n, to use it for a merry day with the breth-ren." The.next request was addressed directly to the Abbot of Bede's beloved Wearmouth: /" "Meanwhile we beg of you to.be so kind as to copy and send us some of the treatises of that. keenest investigator of the Scriptures, the monk Bede, who, we.have learned, shone forth among you of late as a lantern of the Church, by his Scriptural scholarship . . . "As a token of our deep affection we are sending you a coverlet, as they call them. here, made of goats' hair, and beg you to accept it,-trifle though it is, as a reminder of me" (.LX). When advancing age had dimmed the apostolic Arch-bishop's sight, he was stillbeset with countless ecclesiasti- . cal problems--and an insatiable desire of sacred learning. In a long letter of inquiries to the patriarchal Bishop Daniel of Winchester, Boniface's pen touched the old man's heart with this passage: "There is one solace in m~i mission I should like, if I may be so bold, tO ask of yOur fatherly kindness, namely, 276 ST. BONIFACE AND GIFT-EXCHANGES that you send me the book of the Prophets which Abbot Winbert of reverend memory, my former teacher, left when he passed from this life to the Lord, and in which the six Prophets are contained in one volume in dear letters writ-ten in full. If God shall incline your heart to do this, you could not give me a greater comfort in my old age nor bring yourself greater assurance of reward. I cannot procure in this country such a book of the Prophets as I need, and with my fading sight I cannot read well writing which is small and filled with abbreviations. I am asking for this book be-cause it is copied clearly, withall letters distinctly writteri out. "Meanwhile I send you by the priest Forthe~)e a letter and a little gift as a token of my sincere affection, a bath towel,° not of pure silk, but mixed with rough goats' hair, to dry your feet" (LI). Correspondence with Rome Boniface was on truly filial terms with several Popes, especially with Gregory III and Zachary. When the last-named was raised to the supreme pontificate in 742, Boni-face's felicitations were supported by: "some trifling gifts, not as being worthy of your Paternity, but as a token of our affection and devoted obedience, a warm rug and a little silver and .gold" (XL). In the face of Boniface's silence in the matter we might add that he also sent some couplets. proof that the schoolmaster of old had not lost his delight in versification. Did Boniface ask for books at Rome? Quite frequently, it would seem, but not always with immediate success. Pope Zachary sent him, ,on request, a carefully-marked copy of the Canon of the Mass, so that Boniface's "Holi-ness would know where the. signs of the Cross should be made during the recitation of the holy Canon" (LXXI). 277 GERALD ELLARD Such a request was not,hard to fulfill, as every altar had its Missal, but when Boniface asked Zachary's Cardinal-Dea-con Gemmulus for a copy of the Registrum (Correspond-ence) of Pope Gregory I, a vast collection of documents, that official pleaded ill-health for delay in complying with the request, sending .some exquisite incense meanwhile: "We are sending by youraforesaid priest some cozum-bet of a marvelous fragrant odor, which you may offer as incense to God at Matins or Vespers or at the celebration of the Mass" (XLIII). By and by came many letters of St. Gregory I to Boniface, as we have seen above. Before continuing our theme, we might recall in pass-ing that the earliest lives of St. Boniface reflect about as much concern, at the time of his martyrdom, for the recov-ery of his numerous books, as for the honor of hi~ sacred body. Whatever may have happened in the Hitlerian up.- heavals, several of Boniface's own books have been pre-se) ved at Fulda through all the intervening centuries! His influence has gone out through those books to the endless glory of Christian culture. To return now. to our gifts of fragrant spices: The same Cardinal-De,icon mentioned above, in giving Boni-face an account of the Roman Synod of 745, in which some of his most vexatious problems were handled, speaks with joy of having been visited by English nuns "with introduc-tions to us from you," and then adds that note without which these letters would be incomplete: "We have received also the gift you sent us--a.silver cup and a piece of cloth, a gift doubly precious to us as coming from so honored a father. Though we cannot repay you in kind, still we send in exchange" of loving remembrance four ounces of cinna- " mon, four ounces of costmary, two pounds of pepper, and one pound.of cozumber'" (L). Sweet ~as these spices ,were, the letters accompanying 278 ST. ~36~qIFAeE AND GIFT-EXCHANGE8 them were of the plainest garden variety, so to speak, in comparison with those sent Boniface by a later archdeaconl the Greek Theophylact, whose flowery epistles are the de-spair of translators. One wades through a good deal of high-water rhetoric before landing on this bit of welcome simplicity: "A little gift of blessing as a souvenir of our friendship: cinnamon, spice, pepper, and incense in a sealed packet" (LXVIII). But the "ambrosial goodness" makes for sticky going in the letter that concludes with this Hel-lenic honey: "With these preliminaries we greet your most holy, nectar-sweet divine fatherliness and pray that with God's favor you may receive your eternal reward and may win the desired verdict as your welfare may require. We are sending you a little gift of. spices, cinnamon, and storax, as largesse from the Blessed Apostle Peter and. beg you gra-ciously to accept it" (LXIX). If the "duration" of today lasts very long, perhaps we shall revive thi~ custom, among our very dearest friends, of sending a little packet, well-sealed, of spices and pepper. A letter from some of Boniface's priests to his friend, Abbess Cuniburg, says most respectfully: "Some little gifts accompany this letter: frankincense, pepper and cinnamonma very small present, but given out of heartfelt affection" (XXXIX). To a Cardinal-Bishop of Italy Boniface once sent "a bath towel, a face towel, and a little frankincense." Again: having a ,request as urgent as it was delicate to make of a priest named Herefridmnamely, that he personally read to his royal master, King Ethelbald of Mercia, a scathing re-buke of his vices--he ends his appeal with this gift-offer-ing: "We are sending you, as a token of sincere affection and of our blessing, a napkin with a little incense" (LVI!I). And we may. well bring thislitany of gifts to 279' GERALD ELLARD a close by recording that on another occasion Boniface him-self dispatched to this same King Ethelbald: "as a token.of true affection and devoted friendship., a hawk andtwo falcons, two shields and two lances;~ and we beg you to accept these trifling gifts for the sake of our affection towards you" (LV). "Your generous gifts, and affectionate letter," "this little gift, unworthy of you,'" "these little tokens of affec-tion," "that I may have you always with me," this was the language of those holy human friendships in Christ cher-ished by St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany, with such pon-tiffs as St. Gregory II, St. Gregory III, and St. Zachary; with such prelates as St. Egbert of York, St. Nothelm of Canterbury, .and St. Cuthbert of the sameSee; with such missionary-bishops as St. Lul, St. Eoban, St. Witta, St. Burchard; such abbots as St. Wigbert, St. Sturm, and St. Wunibald;. such nuns as St. Eadburga, St. Thecla, St. Wal-burga, and the dearest of them all, his kinswoman, St. Lioba, whom Boniface wished to have buried even in his own grave at Fulda. Saint Boniface, befriend us, and forget not the-land of your labors! 280 MARCH INTO TOMORROW. By the Reverend John J. Consldlne, M.M. Pp. 87. The Field Af-~r Press,. New YorE, 194.2. $2.00. With the daily press and current books, so filled with the marches and exploits of death-dealing armies, it is pleasure unbounded to read the history of a corps of gallant soldiers whose campaign is designed to bring lasting peace and life eternal to as many peoples as it can conquer. "March into Tomorrow" is the Maryknoll odyssey from the meeting of Fathers James Walsh and Thomas Price in Montreal in 1910, to the present day when over four hundred men and women, in the midst of total war, are being all things to all men of the Far East, sacrificing all and counting as gain only the benighted souls they can save for Christ. It is a personal introduction to the Maryknoll battalion of Christ's far-flung army of heroes, their hardships, their methods, their small victories. Enriched as it is with interesting pic-tures and enlivening episodes from the lives of the missionaries, it is a book to be read and kept as a priceless document of Catholicism,s progress today, and as a record of a completely American endeavor in the spreading of Christian culture and civilization.--W. M. GENG-LER, S.J. WATC~H AND PRAY. By the Reverend J. E. Moffat, S.J. The Bruce Pub-lishing Company, Milwaukee, 1942. $1.2S. " " This little work was conceived and planned as a help to religlou~ in making their monthly recollections. The general theme running through the whole of it is death, its significance for religious, and the preparation that they should make foi'it. Corresponding to the months of the year, there are twelve chapters. Each of these could be used for spiritual reading at the time of the monthly recollection, and at the end of each there is a brief outline of the reflections arranged in the form of points for meditation. In keeping with the gravity of the general theme, death, a very serious and earnest tone characterizes the thought and feeling of the work. One Who ~makes use of these readings or meditations will be readingor meditating, to quote a phrase that recurs in them, "in the light of the candle of death." Most of the subjects are suitable for any month, but there is a 281 BOOK REVIEWS certain amount of adaptation in them to the time of the year. Thus, for January, the chapter is entitled "Thoughts for the NewYear"; for December, "Sursum Corda," reflections on the eternal reward that religious may look forward to; for November, "Have Pity on Me, at Least You, My Friends," on purgatory, or on being delayed in one's journey toward life everlasting. Naturally enough, death sug-gests the divine judgment that follows, and this is handled in the chapter for October, "What Did You Treat of in the Way?" Perhaps the most concrete and the most highly encouraging of the subjects treated is that for September, "I Will Spend My Heaven Doing Good upon Earth." Vividly to visualize the death-scene of St. Therese of Lisieux and to realize the significance of that celebrated program for life after death should be a great consolation for any fervent religious and a most potent incentive toward becoming more fervent and.holy and supernaturally effective. Religious who make their monthly recollections in accordance with "Watch and Pray," and take its clear and practical lessons to heart, may feel sure of a peaceful and fruitful life, a happy death, and a very rich eternity. ¯ G. A. ELLARD, S.J. IN THE SHADOW OF OUR LADY OF THE CENACLE. By Helen M. Lynch, Religious of the Cenacle. Pp. x;i; -I- 249. The Paulis÷ Press, New YorK, 1941. $2.00. The seal upon the cover of this well-written book contains some adapted words of Scripture which epitomize the work of the Reli-gious of the Cenacle throughout the world, but more particularly in America during their first fifty years just completed: "They continued with one mind steadfastly in prayer with Mary" (Acts 1:14). Under the saintly guidance of Father John Peter Terme, the Vener-able Mother Th~r~se Couderc, a truly humble woman, valiantly founded the new society amid many difficulties and contradictions. The first Cenacle, St. Regis House, opened its doors at La Louvesc, France, in 1826. The work soon became international. In 1892, Mother Christine de Grimaldi, with three companions, arrived in New York, .there to establish the first Cenacle in America, another St. Regis House, with many a hardship and privation. Thence the society spread, until today there are no less than seven busy Cenacles in the East and Middle-West. The Religious of the Cenacle can be 282 BOOK REVIEWS justly.proud of this concrete result of fifty years of determination, steadfastness, and prayer in the shadow of Our Lady of the Cenacle. What is the work of the Cenacle religiofis? In the words of the author, they "devote themselves to spiritual works of.mercy, through Retreats for Women and the teaching of Christian Doctrine to adults and children." Their women's retreats have made them pioneers and 'leaders in the retreat movement and in Catholic Action in Ameri-ca. Pius XI, himself the director of the Milan Cenacle for thirty-two years, once addressed these words to Mother General Marie Majoux in a public audience: "You will have realized that in preparation of that encyclical (Mens Nostra-~on retreats) We had the Cenacle in mind. It was there ~ indeed that We learned by experience the great good which" is effected by the Spiritual Exercises." The harvest of good reaped by the Cenacle Retreats is indeed great. Thousands of women have been led by them to lives of greater perfection. The Cenacles have been the nurseries of hundreds of vocations, some to almost every religious congregation. Hence, all religious will join in congratulating the Cenacle for what is narrated in this modest but splendid anniversary book. Eileen Duggan, the New Zealand poet, writes of Mother Th~r~se Couderc: "She whom they called the silent Mother, the woman in the corner, has withthe faggots of her humility, made a fire that will last and whose burning brands will start strange wood in countries she was not destined to see." The strange wood of America has caught definitely that fire and its flame will spread still more mightily as the,years march on to the century.-~A. KLAAS, S.J. I PRAY THE MASS. A Sunday Missal arranged by ÷he Reverend Hugo H. Hoes, er, S.O.Cist., Ph.D. Pp. 447. Catholic Book Publishing Com-pany, New York, 1942. $.35 to $3.50. This new missal contains the Masses for all the Sundays and principal feastdays of the year, as well as the Nuptial Mass and the Mass for tl~e Dead. The Introduction contains a brief explanation of the meaning of the Mass and a description of the vestments and sacred vessels. It also includes a liturgical calendar good for ten years.: In the supplement are morn.ing and evening prayers, and good sug-gestions and prayers for Confession, Communion, the Way of the Cross, First Friday, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The headingl in the book are printed in red; the translations of 283 BOOK REVIEWS the New Testament are taken from the Revised English E~dition. Before each Mass is a brief, well-chosen "Thought for Today"; after the Mass, a "Thought for th~ Week." This missal offers everything that could be desired in a small book of this kind. As indicated above, the prices .range from $.35 to $3.50. The volume sent us for review is bound in black imitation leather and is priced at $1.10. It would be appropriate for anyone who is not inclined to extravagance. MODICUM. By the Reverend Athanasius Bierbaum, O.F.M. American Edition by the Reverend Bruno Hagspiel, S.V.D. Pp. ix + 204. St. Anthony Guild Press, Paterson, New Jersey, 1941. $1.00. This small book contains twelve monthly recollections for priests. The author has made a fine choice of subjects fundamental to priestly life, and has developed each subject in a complete, orderly, and interesting fashion. His choice of Scripture texts and other quo-tations is apt, and his applications are thoroughly practical. With Modicum, we might mention another small book for priests by Fathers Bierbaum and Hagspid, Seekinq Onlg God. This latter work, published in 1938, is an excellent little treatise on the interior life for priests. Modicum is clothbound: Seeking' Onl~t God is paperbound. Both books should be helpful to priests seeking aid for self-sanctification. They may be obtained from the publisher or from The Mission Procurator, Techny, Illinois. HOMILETIC HINTS. By the Reverend Albert H. Dohn, O. Carm. Pp. 71. Carmelite Press, Encjlewood, N. J. 50 cents. Priests and seminarians interested in a scientific study of preach-ing will find this booklet helpful. As the author states ifi the Intro-duction, the book contains all that his experience tells him it is "'nec-essar~ for the student to know abou

Issue 2.2 of the Review for Religious, 1943. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MARCH 15, 1943 "Prudent Use Of Confession Privilecjes ¯ . . The Editors T,heParticular Examen . Timothy Brosnahan '-Hi~ldeh Saint of NaZareth ,. Matthew Germlng Mani~esta÷ion of Conscience . Adam C. Ellis Divine Priestly Vocation . James T. Meehan Recommended Spiritual Books ¯ ¯ . Adgustine Klaas ; Communications Book Reviews Oues+ions Answered Decision~ of the HOI~ See VOLUME II NUMBER 2 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME II MARCH, 1.5, 1943 NUMBER CONTENTS THE PRUDENT USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES--The Editors74 SOME NOTES ON THE PARTICULAR EXAMEN-- Timothy Brosnahan, $.J . , 85 BOOKS RECEIVED . : . 90 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH~Matthew ~3erming. S~J .91 SUPERIORS AND MANIFESTATION OF CONSCIENCE-- Adam C. Ellis, SJ . 101 THE DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION--2ames T. Meehan, $.J. 109 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS--Augustine Klaas. S.~J. 117 COMMUNICATIONS (On Spiritual Direction) .123 BOOK REVIEWS (Edited by Clement DeMuth, $.J.)-- Soul Clinic; Chapters in Religion: A Short Breviary for Religious and the Laity: The Our Father: The Spiritual Direction of Sisters; A Book of Simple Words: The Pater Noster of Saint Teresa; Ten Blessed Years: Happy Hours with Christ: Hope of Life; These Two Hands;-The Way of the Blessed Christ: The March to Liberation; Maryknoll Mis-sion Letters; Mary of the Magnificat; Praying with. the Povetello; The. Commonwealth ~ of Nations and the Papacy . 130-139 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE . ~ . 140 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-~ 8. Questions in Confessional after Absolution . 141 9. Manifesting Community Difficulties to Confessor . 141 10. Differefice between Permission and Dispensation . 142 11. Power of Blessing Beads with Crosier Indulgence . 143 12. Studi.es during Canonical Year . : . . . 143 13. Superior's Obligation to Mail Letters .143 14. Use of Convent Chapel for Portiuncula Indulgence . 144 15. Genuflecting when Blessed Sacrament is Exposed . 144 16. Genuflecting before Holy Communion .144 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, March, 1.945. Vol. II. No. 2. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May. 3uly, 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, 19420 at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.2., G. Augustine Ellard, SJ., Gerald Kelly, S.'j. Copyright, 1943. by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this ~eview and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. The Prudent Use ' ot: Con[ession Privileges The Editors WHtiEoNn, wwee cinointifainteedd tohuer dOiswcun srseimona rokfs s tpoi rdiitrueaclt idoinre bcy-the ordinary confessor. As a matter of fact, the Code of Canon Law grants to .religious many privileges of confessing, under certain circumstances, to other _priests. Some of our readers have suggested that, before concluding the discussion on spiritual direction, we should explain the prudent use of these privileges according to the mind of the Church. The suggestion appears very practical. Since the pub-lication of the Code, much has been written in explanation of the meaning and extent of these privileges; but compara-tively little has been said about their prudent use. For the sake of clarity, we shall firgt consider the confessors of Sis-ters, then apply our remarks, with the needed qualifica-~ tions, to the confessors of religious men. ¯The Ordinary Confessor The. conc.ept of the. ordinary confessor of Sisters. according to the mind of the Church, is a basic one to this entire subject. He. is not to be a mere confessor, This expression might sound shocking, if taken out of its con-text. Penance is a Sacrament; and as a Sacrament it is pro-ductive of graces which in themselves are more fruitful for the human soul than is spiritual counsel. And the greatest' work that a priest does in the confessional is to give abso-lution. There should be no mistake about that point; the sacramental value of absolution should never be placed be- 74 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES low spiritual advice, ~nd the first purpose of every penitent should be to perfect his disposition for the fruitful r~ceptic;n of the Sacrament. BUt religious are not ordinary penitents. They belong to-the spiritual elite of the Church. They are supposed to strive after perfection; and, they are entitled to the means conducive to p~erfection. One,of these means is the oppor-tunity of having expert spiritual guidance. True, to some extent this guidance is embodied in their rule, for .the rule contains the plan of a perfect life. Also, guidance is fre-quently available through their superiors. Despite these helps; however, all will experience, at least at times, the need of counsel that only a priest can give. It is the mind of the Church that in each community of Sisters, this priestly counsel should be given normally by the ordinary confessor. In making this legislation, the Church intends to provide the Sisters with direction that is capable, consistent, and uniform. It should be capable, because of their special position in the Church.; it should be consistent, because this is generally needed for progress; and it should be at least relatively uniform because of their uni-form manner of life, and because in their communities they live in very ~lose contact, and great differencesof direction could make for disagreeable situations.° Such is the ideal. It is not always realized in practice. Eccldsiastical superiors have no special charism that pre-vents them from making mistakes in their appointments: and at times they must appoint ordinary confessors who they. realize do not measure up. perfectly to the canonical standards. Like the rest of us, they cannot give what they do not hard. In these situatioris the Sisters must be both fair-minded and patient. If possible, they can avail them-selves of the other privileges given by canon la~; when this i~ impossible, they have every r~ason to trust in God. 75 THE EDITORS Extraord[nar'g and Retreat Confessors The Church also prescribes that Sisters have an extra-o~ dinary confessor, and a practically universal custom pro-vides yet anoth'~ confessor at the time of retreat.-. It may be well to consider just what use the Sisters are expected to make ofthese opportunities. Regarding the extraordinary confesssor, it id .not expected that everyone wilt wish his. advice, nor should be expected that he will volunteer direction to all. He given to all to safeguard the opportunity of .the few who may need his help. In a community .in which all find the ordinary confessor satisfactory, the work of the extraor-dinary could well be limited to hearing the 'confessions anal. giving absolution. The pru. dent use of the opportunity of consulting the retreat confessor is a subject as difficult as it is delicate. Let us begin by stating that some Sisters need this opportunity.° very much. They may have been in a small community all ye~ir, without an ordinary or extraordinary confessor in whom they had confidence and with relatively01ittle oppor-tunity of p~:ofiting by the various privilegCs accorded by canon law. Perhaps many problems have a~cumulated: perhaps, too, if they do not get help during the retreat in planning for the future, then they will never get.tit. Sisters belonging to this class should feel perfectly free to discuss .-their problems and plans with the retreat confessor; and he, on his part, should be quite willing to give all the time and help he can. The.case is different with the Sisters who have a good ordinary confessor during the year. All other things being equal, his-guidance should be sought in preference to that of the retreat confessor. The Siiters may say, of course, that at time of retreat they make a "yearly review"; but does this review necessarily bring ~up new problems? Or 7'6 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES again, they may say that during retreat the~ must plan f6r the future, and that in this planning they will need some guidance. This is true, but it can be overdone. They might discuss the general notion of this plan with their ordinary ¯ confessor before ~hey leave¯ for retreat. Unless the retreat is marked by very special inspira, tions, one can usual!y predict ahead of time along what line one is going to need a reno-vation Of spirit. Furthermore, when the plan is made, if one ¯wishes approbation for it, is it not better to.get th~ approbation from the priest who knows one and is to guide one in the keeping of it rather than from a priest one may never see again? Special Confessor or Director The foregoing are the confessional opportunities regu-larly provided for all. Many will find them sufficient for their needs and.ideals. Yet, there will always be a few who will need the habitual help of another priest, and many "who will rightly desire the opportunity of occasionally going tO another. The Church has provided for both kinds of exceptions to the general rule; and we can consider now the right use of these exceptional privileges. Roughly speaking, those Sisters who wish the habitual help of another confessor may be divided into two classes ¯ that can be exemplified as follows. Sister A does not wish to go to the ordinary confessor at all; she wants a substitute confessor for herself. Sister B is willing to confess to the. ordin~iry confessor at the .customary times; but she also wishes to go to confession periodically (say every week or ¯ every month) to another pr~iest. To the ordinary, Sister B. merely makes her confession; with the second priest, she discusses her spiritual life more in detail._ In other words, Sister B wants an extra confessor, who is to serve mainly as her spiritual adviser. Cases like these, though exceptio, ns to the general rule, 77 THE EDITORS are not to be branded as "singularities."" Considering the wid~ differences: of human temperament and hi, man needs, it is not surprising that even an excellent ordinary confessor will not satisfy everybody. The Code (in canon 520 § 2). takes cognizance of these diversities, by instructing the local Ordinary to be gracious in granting the request of such Sis-ters when they ask for a special confessor or director. In making this wise provision, the Church is not cater- ~n.g to the mere whim or caprice of the Sisters. The latter are to have a serious supernatoral reason for making their request. "In general, these reasons may be summed up as follo.ws: the Sister finds it extraordinarily difficult to mani-fest her consciende sincerely to the ordina~ry confessor, or she honestly judges that it would be to the greater good of her soul to have another confessor or director. The law pre-sumes that the Sisters give the ordinary confessor a fair trial before requesting another confessor or director. The canon law does not authorize the Sister to appoint her own~ special confessor or diiector. The appointment ¯ should come from the local Ordinary, upon her request. The request itself might take one of these two forms. The Sister might merely ask for the special confessor or director and leave the choice to the local Ordinary; or she might havea definite priest in mind and ask for him. In the sec-ondcase she is not fJ~ee from personal responsibility in making the choice. Naturally, the Ordinary Would not approve the choice if he knew the man to be incapable of fulfilling the office, but on the other hand, he is not alw.ays able to discern the hidden motives that might lie behind such a request. The Sister herself must judge that the choice is really for her spiritual good. Extra-confessional Director What of the Sister who makes her confession to the 78 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES ordinary confessor, but who wishes periodically to discuss the affairs of her soul with another priest, outside the con-fessional? Note that this case is different from that of Si~ter B, previously outlined: Sister B wanted direction in con-fession; in the case we are now considering the, direction is entirely separated from the confdssional. A few eminent canonists think that, since the director in this case is not to serve as confessor to the Sister, the .case need not, strictly speaking, be referred to the local Ordinary. We do not share this opinion. We think that, since this. second priest is really to serve as the Sister's spiritual direc-tor, he should be appointed by the Ordinary. ¯ However, even those who, in a spec.ulative way, hold the more lenient view on this one point, admit that the case involves serious . difficulties and demands special safeguards. It is a generally recognized ascetical rule ~that the con-fessional is the proper place for the spiritual guidance .of women, This rule is not absolute. It admits" of excep-tions; and no doubt there a're cases in which a Sister can receive more apt guidance outside the confessional. But these exceptions are rare, and the dangers involved should be recognized. If the Church demands certain quaIities of virtue, prudence, and maturity of the ordinary confessor, with much greater reason would she demand them of an extra-confessional director. If there is danger of wasting time in the confessional, there is much greater, danger of doing so outside. If an inordinate personal attachment might arise even from the confession.al, there is much more danger of this when the safeguards of the confessional are abolished. We wish to be correctly understood in this matter. It is wrong to be constantly suspecting people; and much-harm has come to many earnest souls through rash suspicions and rumors. But it is foolish, and may be quite wrong, for Sis- THE EDITORS ters to cherish the notion that, simply because they wish to discuss their spiritual life, these meetings never involve danger. In this matter, a bit of self-suspicion at the begin-ning can save a great deal of self-reproach at the end. V~rl~atever may be said tl~eoretically about the need of the local Ordinary's.permission for this extra-confessional director, it is certain that no Sister could adopt the practice of meeting her self-chosen, extraZcor~fessional director with-out at least the permission of her owri superior. The supe-rior should weigh this question very carefully. In practice, she could seldom give a confident judgment without con-sulting the local Ordinary, especially when the parties fare young and the visits frequent. Occasional Cont:essors Ttie number of Sisters who desire a special confessor or direc~0r is comparatively small; the number of those who might want the opportunity of occasionally consulting another priest besides the ordinary confessor is rather large. To guarantee the latter as much liberty of conscience as pos- /sible, the canon law provides for supplementary and occa-sional confessors. The supplementary confessors are appointed by the local Ordinary, assigned to definite houses or groups of houses, and given the special jurisdiction required for . hea'ring the confessions of religious women. The religious are free to summon any one of these or the extraordinary confessor. Not mhch need be said concerning the prudent ¯ use of this privilege. Since the confessors are designated by. the Bishop himsdlf, it may be presumed that they will be capable men. The principal danger of abuse would come from the Sister herself, were she to call for them needlessly, or at a needlessly inopportune time, or pi~rhaps from an unreasonably long distance. 80 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES In a large city, the privilege offhd supplementary con-fessors may have much practical value; but in general rfiost Sisters will'find the very wide concession of canon 522 more useful. ¯ Canon 522 allows Sisters to take advantag~ of the opportunity of confessing to any priest approved in the diocese for the confessions of.wgmen. The priest need not have the special approbation necessary for the confessors Of Sisters. The canon does not give permission to leave the house or to set aside the order of the house or the prescrip-tions of rule; but it does allow the Sisters to take advaiatage of any legitimate opportunity of confessing when they are outside the house, as well as to a priest who happens to be visiting the convent, or even of calling a priest to the con.- vent. In all cases, .the confessionmust be made in a place which conforms with the legislat!on of the Church for hearing the confessions of women. One phrase in canon 522 calls for particular attention hi, re. This privilegeis accorded to the Sister for her "peace of conscience." This phrase has b~en discussed and redis-cussed by canonists. Authorities now commonly agree that any confession seriouslymade satisfies this demand, in so far as the law is concerned. But the spirit behind the law must be kept in mind when we ,are considering the prudent use of this pri;cilege. Evidently, in framing this law, the Church did not wish to do away with all the prescriptions and counsels that she had laid down for the proper direction of Sisters. Certainly she ¯ does not wish by this one canon to set aside the maxims of Sound Catholic asceticism; and ~most certainly she does not wish to justify a departure from the more basic and neces-sary principles of moral theology. From both the canonical and ascetical points of view it is a mistake for a Sister'to go to another confessor for advice 81 THE EDITORS or to confess things that riaturally call for advice, if her ordinary confessor would prove equally satisfactory. The difficulty proposed or the matter confessed may be the very thin.g that the ordinary .confessor should know in order to give her progressive and helpful direction. Of course, there are occasions when the ordinary is not available. If, on these occasions, the Sister consults another confessor, she will be acting according to a sound ascetical practice if she refers the matter later to her ordinary confessor. The mistakes made in the use of this privilege can vio-late not merely ascetical principles, but also certain basic principles of m~ral theology. Perhaps We ~an illustrate by an example. Any priest knows that young people who are geowing addicted to certain bad habits are .prone to "shop arounff'maS.-the saying goes--for an "easy" confessor. In doing this they make two serious mistakes. They go from one confessor to another with the result that none of these transitory confessors can give them real help; and, when at last they settle on .the "easy" one, they choose him precisely because he does not have the qualities that a helpful con-fessor should have. Writing in the Comrnentarium Pro Religiosis for June- July, 1926, Father van Acken pointed out that some reli-gious who experience difficulties with regard to ~he ~eligious life in general or in regard to one of the vows in particular, are apt to make this same childish mistake. They need sympathetic direction, it is true, but also expert and firm direction. Because they fear this, they avail themselves of the privilege of canon 522 to "shop around" for a confes~ sot who will ask no questions or make no firm demands of them,. This is the gravest of all the abuses that can result from the imprudent use of the privilege. Needless to say, the Church never intended this favor to be a source of the loss of vocation and even a grave danger to the soul. Reli- 82 'UsE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES gious in extreme difficulties of this kind, more than any., others, ne, ed the help of a man who knows the demands of .the religious life. If they cannot get it, then God's grace must be sufficient for them; but if they deliberately avoid it. they expose their souls to extreme peril. Apptication t6 Religious Men Provisions for confessors of religious men follow the same general lines as the legislation for Sisters: In lay insti-tutes of men there must be one ordinary and one e, xtra-ordinary confessor for each housE; and the local Ordinary is to grant a special con.lessor to the individual religious who asks for one. The Code is silent about extraordinary and special confessors for professed members of clerical institutes; but it seems to be the common practice to pro-vide these. All religious men may confess to their priest superiors who have confessional jurisdictioh; and all have the privilege of confessing to any priest having the faculties of the diocese, even though not .specially approved for religious. The prudent, use of these privileges is governed by the same general principles we have explained in treating of the privileges of Sisters. By way of br.ief and practicalsum-mary, we may say that these principles are aptly indicated by two words: competence and consistenc~l. In regard to the principle of competence, religious must bear in mind that the Church, in allowing them to confess to all priests with diocesan faculties, does not thereby approve all these priests for the direction of religious. This applies .not only to diocesan priests but also to members of one's own institute. Some lack the experience, or the right attitude, or some other quality needed for sure guidance in certain delicate problems. To be more concrete in a matter of such great impor-. 83 THE EDITORS tance, let us say quite candidly that there are some prob-lems that a young religious must take particular pains to face and solve honestly. Notable among these may be mentioned a strongly rebellious spirit, a fundamental inability to live and work harmoniously with one's breth-ren, a genuine weakness in regard to temperance or chas-tity. To embrace the religious-statk permanently and above all to go on to ordination in" the face of serious doubts in such matters is wrong. The competent confes-sor knows this and will put the proper alternatives squarely before his penitent. Another confessor might fail to recognize the case as truly serious, or, if he does rec-ognize it, might be too hesitant in asserting the remedy. The grave .results of what is falsely termed "kindness" in this matter are too well known to need comment. As for the principle of consistenqt, we have already ¯ indicated that; even in the ordinary affairs of the spiritual" life, it is unwise to shift confessors or directors needlessly. In serious matters such as those mentioned above, this shifting will amount to gross imprudence, if it means that a religious goes from one confessor to another to the extent that even a competent confessor would not have the opportunity of recognizing a difficulty as habitual. Conclusion ¯ Although some of the statements made in this a'rticle may sound rather severe, yet we did not make them with the intention of minimizing the privileges granted by the Church. Rather, our one desire was to make these privi-leges more useful I~y showing how they fit into the entire scheme of canonical legislation and approved asceticism. 84 Some Notes on the Part:icular l:::xamen Timothy Brosnahan, S.J.~ | N OUR spiritual life two sacraments pla~r a most impor- I kant part: Penance, which cleanses our souls from sin and gives us special graces for self-conquest and the rooting out of irregular affections; and the Holy Eucharist, which unites our cleansed souls to God in charity. Corre-sponding to these two institutions of Christ are two exer-cises of our religious life of the highest importance: exam-ination of conscience and meditation. By the first we are. helped and prepared for the worthy and efficacious recep-tion of the Sacrament of Penance, as well as for reaping the fruits of past confessions; by the second we are disposed and prepared for union with Christ in the reception of the Bles-sed Sacrament. The examination of conscience, therefore, mawr be called our daily Penance; meditation the daily com-plement to our Eucharist, and even our spiritual Eucharist itself when we cannot receive our Lord bodily. This parallelism between the life of the Church and our religious life and this. perfect adaptation of one to the other is worthy of note and is a comfort and an inspiration. these two exercises are performed faithfully, our advance-ment in perfection is assured and our~vocation and salva= tion are secure. On the contrary, the neglect of these exer-cises is the beginningof our loss ot~ earnestness and of the spirit of our vocation, with all the consequences that are entailed and that follow, slowly sometimes, but inevitably. 1Father Brosnahan died many years ago. These notes were culled from one of his conferences sent to us I~y Father Francis P. LeButie, S.J., who styles himself, "Father Tim's literary executor."~ED. ¯ TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN One part of th~ daily examination of conscience adopted and encouraged by most religious founders is the practice of the particular examen. Indeed, fidelity, to its use has become.a distinctive virtue of a fervent religious; neglect of it, or at least of something similar to it, is almost invariably followed by a loss of spiritual progress and is indicative of faltering interest in the affairs of one's soul and ¯ in the spirit of the religious vocation. The particular examen is preeminently a reasonable and businesslike manner of proceeding to uproot faults and to implant virtues. It is, if you wish, a species of spiritual bookkeeping, and as such has sometimes been lightly spoken of. Yet, if the children of this world, who are wise in their generation, keep their books, why should not the children, of light? The businessman who fails to keep his books or fails to balance them at stated intervals is, we are t'old by men conversant with mercantile affairs, a prospec-tive bankrupt. Such a man, if known, would get credit from no bahk. The practice of the particular examen is indicative of a sincere, painstaking, and businesslike desire of increasing in spiritual riches and of removing spiritual waste from our lives. It is a.small thing, yet its practice calls for much vir-tue. Its practice, therefore, even independently of the results it produces, would normally be a sign of virtue, self-control, and will-power. Usually the reason why we fail to.practise it is that we are not quite ready to overdome ourselves. The particular examen deals with one thing at a time, with an individual and distinctive virtue, vice, or fault. The first and main feature of the examen is the choice of this virtue to be'practised or fault or vice to be eradicated. Whether virtue or fault, this subject should be concrete, well-defined, with a real personal meaning in our livds. We 86 THE PARTICULAR EX~MEN have to avoid the vague and generic, the occasional and the abstract. Is it desirable, for instance that we should grow in charity? A little study will tell us whether we should aim at practising it first in words or in our manner; or again, if'in words, whether our efforts must be .general or rather directed towards some in particular with Whom we come into frequent contact, and whose views or manners annoy us. And so of any other virtue, One might as well choose Christian perfection as the subject for his particular examen as,. say, humility. But to choose to exercise definite ~humiliating. acts or to submit to .definite humiliations arising from the'criticism of others or from repioof or correction by superiors, is another and a concrete matter. According to many spiritual masters, there is in the soul of each of us one ',root defect," that hinders perfection and .which, if unchecked, disposesto sin. The fault is not neces-. sarily great in itself; but it can have very serious effects, like the defective cog that makes a machine wobbleand finally break down. ! On the negative side, the principal aim of the particular.examen should be the eradication of this fault. How can we detect a fault of this kind? We may know it from our distractions; for example, what is the usual motif, as musicians .say, of our thoughts when we are wool-gathering?' Or we may know it from our troubles; for example, what kind of discomfort most ~annoys us;. or in what' are we most apt to seek consolation or recreation when distressed or fatigued? Or, strange to say, we may.know this fault if we know our natural virtues. Each person has certain natural, dispositions that ~on-stitute his own personal temperament; Among these traits, of character there is generally a dominant natural virtue that can be perfected by grace and be the foundation of sanctity.-. Thus the saints differ ~¢astly in their charac- TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN teristic virtues because in them grace did not destroy their individuality but perfected it. This distinctive natural virtue, besides being the foun-dation on which one can build his perfection, is also a clue to his faults: and from these faults it must be purified wben it is transformed into perfect virtue~ If we consider the cardinal virtues and the virtues connected with them, we ~shall find that the distinguishing mark of on.e person is natural prudence, of another self-restraint, of another courage, of another justice. But real virtue avoids excess or defect, is balanced and adjusted to other virtues. If a person has only one of these naturally virtuous character-istics, we may rightly say of him, "I fear a man of one v~rtue"; for truly, besides being very often a bore, he is not to be relied on in a situation of any complexity. He will. ride his natural virtue complacently and freely, when it should be bridled by other virtues. For instance, if your special trait of character is pru-dence, there is danger of your over-exercising it about some special need of body or soul and of falling habitually into the vice which is called "prudence of the flesh," which is" in reality distrust .of God's providence over you and a selfish regard for your own temporal well-being. Tl'iere is danger of your becoming unduly solicitous of your health, your reputation, of what you call your rights. There is danger of your becoming timid, overcautious, distrustful, crafty and politic in your dealing with your equals, your superiors, even with God and your own conscience, by habitually using indirect, underhand and. political means of bringing about your own designs. If your special trait of charadter is justice, honesty or fairdealing, as you may call'it, you are likely to confound truthfulness with undue frankness, to assume to yourself the .mission of showing up frauds, whether these be THE I~ARTICUL&R EXAMEN externs or fellow religious. Also, you are likely to act as if ¯ you had a special vocation to g6 about, hunting for an underdog to defend, though as often as not you get the dogs mixed up. You pride yourself on being an honest man; and as a consequence of this you are hard in your "dealings with others and harsh in your judgment of them. Your sense of justice has made you so upright that you dispense with prudence, humility, kindness, even -with justice itself. You are a knight without-fear, perhaps, but not without reproach. If fortitude is your special trait of character, you are apt to be bard to govern, OVer-bearing, self-willed, impa-tient, irascible, rash, and intolerant. In your. own judg-me~ it, of course, you have a "strong charact~)": yet. to others youare simply stubborn, hardheaded, and intract-able. If you are a teacher, your will must be law for your unfortunate pupils; your only idea of remedying their defects is to crush them into subjection or to get them expelled. If you are a prefect of. discipline, your ideal is not a parent dealing with children, but a policeman dealing with law-breakers; and. the young people who are under you are apt to leave the institution with very ugly .memories of it. If your characteristic virtue is temperance, perhaps you hav~ the defects of this virtue. Your self-restraint, gentle-ness, meekness, may degenerate into weaRness or coward-ice; and, rather than run the riskof disturbing the serenity of your temper, you will avoid duties that call for strength of character, or even cooperate with what is .wrong rather than incur,the criticism or displeasure of "others. The foregoing are the defects most likely ~o be associ-ated with imperfect hatural virtues. The elimination of these, defects is a necessary condition for°perfecting the 89 TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN ., virtue; and the particular examination of conscience is an-approved and effective method of elimihating such defects. 1Nlaturally, this mere removal of defects is not the ultimate goal of the examen; it is but a step towards union with and imitation of Christ in the positive practice_ of the supernatural virtues. Books Received (From December 20, 1942, to February 20, 1943) THE AMERICA PRESS. New York. Shinin9 in Darkness. New Edition by Francis. X. Talbot, $,J. $2.00. His Father's Business. By Robert F. Grewen, S.,I. $1.50. We Wish" rb See desus. By Paul L. Blakely, S.,I. $2.00. The Followin9 of Christi Trans-lated by 3osephMalaise, S.3. Purse Edition: New Printing. $1.50. B. HERDER BOOK CO., St. Louis. Chapters'in Religion. By Rev. Carlton A. Prindeville, C.M., S.T.D. $2.00.'~ The Our Father. A Course of Sermons. By Most Rev. Tihamer Toth. $2,75, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY PRESS, Chicago. Moral Guldi~nce. A Textbook in Principles of Conduct for Colleges and Uni-versities. By Edwin F. Healy, S.3., S.T.D. $2.00. Teacher's Manual for Moral Guidance. Free with class-room orders. P. d. KENEDY ¢d SONS, New York. Hope of Life. By Sister Monica, PhlD. $1.35. THE BRUCE PUBLISHING CO., Milwaukee. The Larks of Umbria. By Albert Paul Schimberg. $2.75. For Heaven's Sake. By the Reverend Gerald T. Brennan. $1.75. The Commonwealth of Nations and the Papacy. By Kurt F. Reinhardt, Ph.D. $ .25. SHEED ~ WARD, New York. Mary of the Magniticat. By Elizabeth Hart, M.A. $1.00. FREDERICK PUSTET CO., Inc., New York. Soul Clinic: By Two Sisters of Notre Dame, Cleveland, Ohio, $2.00. Prayin9 with the Poverello. By Sister Mary Aloysi Kiener, S.N~D. $1.50. THE" NEWMAN B~)OK SHOP, Westminster, Md. The Path of Humility. By the author of Spiritual Progress. Reprint. $2.00. THE FIELD AFAR PRESS, New York. Maryknoll Mission Letters. By Maryknoll Missionaries. $ .50. ,JOSEPH F.WAGNER, Inc., New York. The Better Life. By the Reverend Kilian ,J. Hennrich, O.F.M.Cap. $2.50. FROM COMPILER, 431 George Street, Braddock, Pa. " The Epistles and" Gospels. For the Sundays, Holydays, Various Intentions and Speci.al Occasions in the Catholic Church of the Greek Rite. Compiled by the Reverend ,Julius Grigassy, D.D. $1.50. 90 Hidden Saint of Nazareth 'Matthew Germing, S.J. THE p~erogatives of' St. Joseph, spouse of Mary and foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ, were explained in an article that appeared in an early number of this REVIEw1. The purpose of the present article is to direct attention to certain traits of character in this great saint and to offer a few comments on some Of hi~ virtues. The character of a saint, like that of any other man, has its natural elements that have not a little to do with " his sanctity, often giving it a special form or cast or inten-sity in some specific direction. Holiness, we .know, does not destroy natural gifts. It purifies and elevates them, holds out worthy aims and motives, and directs natural ability into wholesome channels. We know a great deal of. the natural disposition.s of Saints Peter andPaul and John, because thb writers of the. New Testament tell us much of what these saints said and did. They tell Us very little, ~in any direct way, of St. Joseph. St. Matthew (1: 19) mentions that he was "a just man," which is the scriptural way of saying, that he was a virtuous man. The same evangelist indicates in connection with the above statement that he was not a m~in who. acted hastily or on impulse, by saying, "he thought on these things." Joseph therefore deliberated when face to face with importa.nt decisions. In this respect he was unlike the impetuous Peter. From these and a few Other brief expressions foti~d in the Gospel We reasonably infer that St. Joseph was natur-ally a rather quiet, silent, and unobtrusive man. He mo~'es ~t. Joseph°s Title~ to Religiou~ Hoaor by Aloysius C. I~emP~r, S.J., v01. I, i~1~.74-84. ¯ ." 91 MATTHEW GERMING through life unobserved. Not a single word of his is recorded in the Gospel narrative. This is quite remark-able in view of the position he held in the Holy Family. He reflects, he acts, he wonders, at the momentous events that happen in his family and in which he plays an important part, but he is never the spokesman (cf. Matthew 1: 19; 2: 14, 21-23; Luke 2: 33, 48). Indeed, ,Joseph's very silence might be thought-to account for the late growth of devotion to him in the Church. The first two or three centuries after the Apostles tell us nothing of St. ~loseph. His name is not found in the early calendar of the saints. However, this is suffi-ciently accounted foroby the circumstances that in the early centuries of the existence of the Church, only martyrs received public veneration. Some of the Fathers of the Church do indeed speak of him and his prerogatives, but beforeth.e, days of St. Bernard (1091-1153) devotion to St. ~losepb seems to bare been almost entirely of a private " character. A church was ~ledicated to his l'ionor for the first time in the West, in the year- 1129 at Bologna. His feast, though celebrated by local churches in the middle ages, was not placed in the Roman calendar .until the sec-ond half of the fifteenth-century. Thus Gospel-and tra-dit'ion combined to invest the spouse of Maryand devotion tO him with an atmosphere of obscurity and silence that . lasted over a thousand years and is strongly suggestive of the hidden life the great patriarch led while on earth. But the bumble ~loseph was not to remain in obscurity permanently in the life of Christ's Church on earth. God's ways have always been to exalt, in due time, him that humbles himself. For the past five hundred years devo-tion to the foster-father of our Lord has gone on increas-ing by leaps and bounds until today it stands in popu-larity next to that of the Mother of God herself. And, as 92 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH if the Church wished to make up for the late recognition he received in thedevotional life of the faithful, the. supreme Pontiff Pius IX made him Patron of the Univer-sal Church and accorded him a second feast to do him honor under the new title. There is much in the life and character of St. Joseph that does not lie on ~he surface,- but is discovered by reflec-tion on the scanty items the evangelists have recorded of him. If we take into account these few. items and with them the delicate demands of the position he had to fill in the lives of Jesus and Mary, we shall be convinced, I believe, that St. Joseph must have been a man of sensitive and profound faith and of constant devotion to prayer. Had he not been so, it is"scarcely conceivable that infinite Wisdom would have selected him for the office he held. On reading what is said of Joseph in the Gospel, we cannot fail to see that he was always docile and obedient to legitimate authority, no matter how its commands were made known to him. This obedience had its roots in faith. A deep faith that had developed into an ever-present sense of the fundamental truths of revelation was the dis-tinctive mark of ~11 the patriarchs of old, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the rest. Strong characters these men were, and strong their faith and trust in God. So too was it with St. Joseph, who forms the connecting link betwedn the great saints of the old dispensation and those df the new. There was no weakness in him. Once the. will of God was .clear to him, he never hesitated. We see this illustrated at his very first appearance in the Gbspel nat- ' rative when an angel of the Lord bade him not to fear to take t6 himself Mary his wife. Again, his faith is mani-fest in the trying circumstances under Which .he traveled with.Mary to Bethlehem " in obedience to the decree of a pagan emperor, and in the command he received at night /V~ATT~-IEW GERMING ~to take the Child and his mother and fly into EgypL By faith hd saw God and God's will in the little duties of his life no less than in the important charges entrusted to him. Apart from a few ex, traordinary events, that life of his was, externally, a very ordinary one. His' daily ioutine at Nazareth was much like that of any other 3ew of the poorer class who was head of a small family. It consisted of his daily work as a carpenter, little deal.ings with the townspeople, his converse with 3esus and Mary, probably a little recreation at the end of the day, and the weekly Sabbath-day rest. Common and monotonous it was, one might say. So it would have been, had not the light and strength of faith been its animating principle. Faith in God permeated St. 3oseph's habit of thought, was his support and source of joy: God and His fatherly providence, the angels in their constant errands of mercy and love between heaven and earth, the souls of his saintly ancestors in the other world, the great spiritual truths revealed to the patriarchs and prophets, all these were as real to him as the sky over his head or the material house in which he lived with 3esus and Mary. By faith he knew that Mary was thd chosen spouse of the Holy Ghost, and that the Boy who daily lived in his presence, growing into manhood under his very eyes, ~vas the promised Messias, the very Son of God. ° He had heard-holy Simeon say: "Behold, this child is set. for the fall arid for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted" (Luke 2: 34). The words never passed from 3o~eph's memory. He pondered their meaning. He thought of them when he saw the Child at prayer and at play, and later when he 'observed him at work and noted his ~ready and humble obedience, and the wisdom and grate that' became manifest with the passing years. To the purely human eyes of the neighbors, 94 HIDDEN SAINT. (~F NAZ,~RETH and even to "his brethren," Of whom the evangelist was to say later that they "did not believe in him," JeSus was just "the carpenter's son"; Mary, the mother of a some-what unusual young "man, nothing more. But to the supernaturally enlightened mind of St. Joseph, Jesus was the Redeemer of the .world, the long expected of. nations; Mary, the mother of the Son of God. . These were the mysteries in the midst of which JOseph moved and lived at Nazabeth. We have no natural means of ascertaining tee effects on his interior ,,life of this daily and hourly contact Wi~h the supernatural: Only the Holy. Ghost, through the power of His grace coupled with pray- 'erfUl consideration on our part, can reveal them to us. But ¯ we know that Joseph was a thoughtful, man, endowed with a reflective cast of mind. He prayed and meditated. And what is of much greater consequence, his soul,.was enriched with marvelous graces. This means that he had and"che.rished holy thou~16ts and desires, was the daily recipient of lights and inipirations from above, was ever growing and rnatfiring in holiness in the very noonday light of faith. Faith and the spirit of faith, thus highl~r developed in. the soul of the spouse of Mary, found their natural expres-sion in prayer: We said above that he must have been devoted to prayer; he was a man of prayer. In one sense, everyone must be a man of prayer. Prayer is a funda-mental duty of man. The reason is simple. Every intel-ligent being must worship God, that is, acknowledge his dependence on Him as the Creator and Lord of all things, and thi~ is prayer.Everyone must praise God, reverence His Holy Name, and this is prayer. All men must give thanks to God for the gifts and benefits they receive from His hands, must petition Him for help and grace, implore pardon for° their sins and infidelities, all of which is prayer. /V~IATTH EW GERMING :Prayer therefore is a duty incumbent on everyone, and to this extent everyone must be a man of prayer:. But when we say of St. Joseph that he was a man of prayer, we mean much more than that he fulfilled this ,genera[. and fundamental duty. We mean thathe put in ¯ . practice the scriptural exhortation to pray always, to pray without ceasing (Luke 18: I; I Thessalonians 5: 17), and he did so before either our Lord or St. Paul had explic-itly enjoined it. He lived in the spirit ,of prayer. The thoughts and sentiments of his heart were habitually directed to his Father in heaven in a conscious attitude of faith and hope and love, of praise and thanksgiving, of petition and oblation of himself and of all he did. This means muchmore than praying well at stated times of the day. 3oseph did that t6o, as did all God-lea.ring men in Israel. They were bound to do this. But St. Joseph made the whole day a prayer. Whether he was with ,Jesus and Mary in their house at Nazareth, or working at the carpenter's bench, or talking to a neighbor or customer, or trudging along the dusty road'on one of the three annual pilgrimages to the holy city, he bore himself with a composure and recollection that gave evidence of his prayerful soul. One may say, how could it have been ¯ otherwise? Was h~ not blessed with the companionship of Jesus and Mary? Very true. He saw and touched . what the patriarchs and prophets before him had longed to see and had not seen. And yet, he lived by faith and received the reward of faith. With his ,bodily eyes he beheld Jesus, the Son of Mary: by. faith he believed that this same Jesus was the Son of the living God. Certainly, the wondlerful circumstances in which St.~ Joseph lived at Nazareth were most favorable to prayer and piety and to holiness of life in general.Cath-olics in the world of the twentieth century will probably 96 ~' HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZ~.RETH -say the same. thing of the circumstances in which, religious live in their several communities today; and if they do, they are right. A great happiness.and a fertile opportun-ity for sanctification it is to live in a house in which our Lord dwells. But we must remember that while it is a privilege and a grace, it .is also a responsibility. The ques-tion whetherwe are profiting.by this'opportunity as well as 2oseph profited by the blessing that was his while he lived under the same roofas Jesus and Mary is a matter that desdrves our frequent consideration. We can be cer-tain that he availed himself in full measure of the holy example of the Blessed Virgin to bdcome more like to her 'in angelic purity of heart, in modesty of demeanor and, most of all,in ardent love for God and man. He was an apt .subject f0rlearning from the Immaculate Virgin and her divine Son. He was humble, single-minded in out-look, silent and recollected, docile to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost. He was the head of the Holy Family. In legal form and rank, the order of precedence-was Joseph, Mary, Jesus. But in respect to holiness of life, the order was the reverse, thus: Jesus, Mary, Joseph. These three represented the highest summit of holiness ever attained, or possible of attainment on earth~by any-individual or a group of individuals. They may be said to h'ave consti-tuted the first religious community in the Church, St. Jo-seph being the Superior; and they set up a singularly high ideal of perfection for the imitation of all succeeding com-munities. Dail~r prayer is an essential function or practice of every religious community. Among the Jews the recital of set prayers, whether in the family circle or in the syna-gogue, was chiefly the duty of men. Women and children joined in. It may appear astounding, but it is true that we are in possession of a prayer which was said by St. Joseph MATTHEW GERMING twice every day, morning and evening, from the time he was able to read until the day of his death.~ It is an inspired prayer, taken from the' books of Deuteronomy and Num-bers2. and was the first prayer taught to Jewish children. The opening verses read as follows: Hear, 0 Israel, The Lord our God i~ one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, And with thy whole soul, and with thy whole s,trength, And these words which I command thee this day Shall be in thy heart, And thou shalt tell them to thy children, And thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house And walking on thy journey, Sleeping and rising. And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy band, And they shall bd and shall move between thy . eyes. And thou shalt write"them in the entry " And on the doors of thy house. The recitation of this prayer twice a daymthe entire ;~.~prayer Consists of sixty-one linesmwas obligatory on. all the men in Israel, and it is thought that our Blessed Lord Himself said it regularly. The great commandment of 1ov~ is stated and then.emphasized by an injunction that calls for frequent, if not continual meditation on its con-tents-- the obligation of centering all one's thoughts and desires and love on God our Creator and Lord. No doubt ~-Deuteronomy 6: 4-9;" 11: 13-21; Numbers 15: 37-41. On this whole subject cf. Willam: MarF the Mother of Jesus, translated by Eckhoff. p. 143, ft. 98 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH there were God-fearing J~ws all over the world who made a serious effort to comply with. this precept.~ This i~ pre-cisely what we have supposed St. Joseph did habitually in the course bf his every-day life. He furnishes religious of every order and congregation a perfect pattern of prayer, and not only of prayer, but of every kind df virtue. We must not fail to take into account the fact that St. Joseph was'a workman. He handled the implements of daily toil, enjoyed little or no leisure, was industrious and contente.d with his occupation. Work is the law of life. It absorbs a. multitude of troubles, mental and physi.- cal. Many people would be more happy if they worked more and talked less, in imitation of our saint. He spent his days in hard work, in poverty, obscurity, and prayer, and in this way fulfilled admirably the duties God had laid upon him. At the present time it is almost taken for granted that great things can be accomplished only by means of wealth and position and influence with the mighty. So it is with the material ~nterprises of this world. But in the realms of the spiritual, .earthly norms are reversed. God often chooses men destitute of the means which, humanly speaking, ma~e for success and through them achieves great spiritual results; "that no flesh should glory in hissight" (1Cor. 1: 28). He did this in the case of St. Joseph, the Cur~ of Ars, Th~r~se of Lisieux. It is true that in many other instances our Lord has deigned to make use of the services of men and women of outstanding natural ability and varied human acquirements for the spread of His kingdom on earth and the glory of Hi~ Holy Name. But in all such cases natural endowments were accompanied by a high degree of the love of God and' of prayer, profound humility and obedience. These are the virtues that make for the success which alone counts in the eyes of God. MATTHEW GERMING In these dreadful times, religious may well turn with increased devotion to the patron of the universal Church and implore his intercession. By fervent prayer to him and by the practice of the lowly virtues of humility, obedience, and poverty that distinguished his career on earth they have it in their power to .do much for the cause of Christ and His Church and for the spiritual and temporal wel-fare of millions of souls. Pamphle÷ Notices The Maryknoll Bookshelf, Maryknoll, New York, publishes four catalogues of mission plays and appropriate musical selections that you might find intere.sting. The catalogues are listed as follows: Book I: Mission Plags for Children (3 cents) ; Book II: Mission Plags for Young People (6 cents) ; Book III: Mission Plags [or Col-lege Groups and Adults (8 cents) ; Book IV: Musical Selections Suit-able for Mission Plag Programs (3 cents). Write to: Marykn011 Bookshelf, Maryknoll, New York. Concerning Mail We are doing our best to get the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS to you on time. But postal delays are almo.~t inevitable these dhys, especially in regard to second class mail. We want you to notify us when you do not receive your copy of the REVIEW, but, in view of the transportation difficulties, we ask you to wait a week or two beyond the normal time for receiving your copy of the REVIEW before yoti write to us. 100 Superiors and Manit:estation oJ: Conscience Adam C. Ellis, S.J. FROM early Christian times it was customary .for those who wished to attain to perfection to seek out a ma-ture and experienced guide with whom they could treat of spiritual things and .to whom they revealed the secrets of their souls so that he might give them wise and practical direction. Thus, many hermits in thel deserts of Egypt, upon le.arning of the holiness of St. Anthgny, moved their cells to that part of the desert where he dwelt, in order that they might have the benefit of his spiritual direction. When the first monasteries, or groups of monks living in common, were established, the Father Abbot was also the spiritual guide of his subjects, ,who freely made known to him their anxieties and spiritual problems. Thus, by custom, the practice of manifestation of conscience was introdu&d into the religious life and eventually became a matter of obligation in. many institutes. Meaning of Manifestation To manifest one's conscience means to reveal to another person the inner state of.one's Soul in order to obtain advice and guidance regarding the doubts and difficulties of the spiri.tual life. The phrase, "inner ~tate of one's soul," com- .prises not only one's fault~, bu.t also the various inclinations one experiences towards both good and evil, the trials and temptations one must undergo, the difficulties encountered in the practice of virtue, the inspirations and good desires one has received from God. From this description it will be seen that the purpose of manifestation ofconsdence differs from that of Sacramental Confession. The essential purpose of confession is the for- 101- ADAM C. ELLIS giveness of sins: the principal aim of manifestation is spir-itual direction." In other words, one.gives the director a complete and clear insight into ,his ioul, so that the director may help him to correct his faults, 6vercome his evil ten-dencies, correspond with the inspirations of grace, and prac-tice virtue more effectively. This difference of purpose does not mean, of course, that the account of conscience need be separated from con-fession. It can be made in or out of confession. When made in confession, it becomes a natural supplement to the so-called confession oi~ devotion and supposes a regular con-fessor who also fills the role of spiritual director. Usefulness of Manifestation All spiritual writers admit the beneficial effects of the account of conscience when given freely and sincerely. It has always been ~ecognised as one of the principal means to progress in the spiritual life, no~ only for religious, but for persons living in the world as well. It is the neces.sary pre-lude to enlightened spiritual guidance. In worldly matters it is normally considered a wise thing to consult others. We give our family doctor'a sincere account of our. bodily ailments, as well as of any s.ymptoms which may help him to understand our physical condition better. In every-day business matters we consult our lawyer to be certain, that .our actions do not fall afoul of the law, as well as to pro-tect our rights. How much more eagerly, then, should we seek counsel in the matters of highest importance, those of the soul? Moreover, the most enlightened spiritual director V.dll be very much limited in his direction, unless his con-sultant gives him an intelligent insight into the state of his soul. -But all good things can be abused. And the fact that the practice of manifestation of conscience was made obliga- 102 MANIFESTATION OF ('~ONSCIENCE tory i~y rule in many lay institutes did ,give rise to such abuses, since all the necessary safeguards are not at hand in the ~ase of lay superiors. Pope Leo XIII issued a decree on thissubject on Deeember 17, 1890 (Quemadmodum),in which he ~mentioned three such abuses: lay superiors required,, directly or indirectly, avowals which by their nature belonged to the tribunal of penance; they restricted too much the freedom 0f going to confession; and they reserved to themselves, in the matter of receiving Holy Communion, a direction which belongs for the most part to the confessor. To remedy these abuses, the Pope forbade all lay supe-riors (both Brothers and Sisters) to induce their subjects to give their intimate manifestation of conscience to them. He also ordered deleted from all constitbtions; directories, and custom books of all lay orders and congregations of both sexes every direction pertaining to the intimate manii~esta-tion of heart and consclence to lay superiors. In 1901 this prohibition was extended by the Sacred .Congregation of Bishops and Regulars to masters and mistresses of novices" in lay institutes (Normae, N. 79). Finally, in 1917 the Code of Canon Law extended the prohibition to all reli-gious superiors, even to those who are priests. Does this mean that in modern times, the Church has changed her mind in regard to the value of manifestation of conscience for religious? A careful study of canon 530 will give us the .answer. "All religlous superiors are strictly forbidden to induce their subjects, ih any way whatever, to make a manlfesta÷ion of, conscience to ÷hem {c.anon 530, § I). "Subjects, however; are not forbidden to open their minds freely and spontaneously to their superiors: nay more, it is desirable that they. approach their superiors with filial confidence, and, i.f the sup6rlors be priests, expose to them their doubts and troubles of conscience also (canon 530, § 2)." 103 ADAM C. ELLIS Explahation of the Law All reli~Tious super.lots are forbidden: The term supe-riors must be understood here to include those to whom, the Code gives that title, that is to say, those who govern, the institute, its provinces, and its individual houses, as well as those who take their places, s6ch as visitors, vice-provincials, vice-rectors, and the priors of abbeys. To induce their subjects in ang manner'whatsoever: The term subjects includes not only the professed reli-gious, but novices and postulants as well, since they are subject to the domestic power of the superior, oT6 induce in.ang wag whatever, is a summary statement of what the decree of Leo XIII (Quemadmodum, n. 2) gave in detail: "His Holiness formally forbids superiors, both men and women, of whatever rank or preeminence, to seek, directly or indirectly, by precept, counsel, intimidation, threats, or flattery to induce their subjects to make the said manifes-tation of conscience to them." Superiors may not, there-fore, show a marked preference for those of their subjects who do freely and spontaneously give them an account of their conscience, nor may they treat with ic01dness those subjects who refrain from giving such an account. The law does not forbid superiors to inquire delicately concerning the reasons for the sadness or trouble that they see afflicting their subjects. To make such inquiries may at times be an obligation of charity; b.ut the superior must be careful not to insist if he sees that the subject prefers not to explain the source of his condition. To matte a manifestation of conscience to them: We have already explain.ed that manifestation of conscience means the revelation of the inner state of one's soul. It does no~ include the chapter of faults, customary in many insti-tutes, because this is limited to external faults and to vio-lations of the constitutions that can be noticed by others. 104 ~NIFESTATION OF CONSCIENCE N~r does it include the canonical visitation of religious made by their own °religious superiors, as prescribed by canon 51 l, because the object of the visitation is external government (cf. canons 513 ands618, § 2, 2°). ' , Subjects, however, are not forbidden to open their minds freely and spontaneously to their superiors: What ~s forbidden by the law is all force or inducement on the-part of the superior, not the free and spontaneous manifes-tation made by the shbject. Nay more, it is desirable that they approach their supe-riors with filial confidence: Hence it is not only.licit for a religious to make a manifestation of conscience to-his superior, provided he does so freely and spontaneously, but it is recommended as ~sometbing desirable. There should exist between superior and subject that fine rela-tionship which exists in the model family between parent and child. What is more natural than that a son or daughter go to father or mother for advice in time of.doubt or trial? Similarly a religious will usually find a sympa-thetic counselor and a prudent guide in the person of his superior, especially in regard to the spirit of his institute and the proper understanding of the rules and constitutions. The superior has the added advantage of knowing his sub-ject, at least from his external conduct, a point of view which the confessor often lacks. This filial confidence in superiors is necessary and help-ful ~n other matters as well: Superiors are human beings; they can and do make mistakes occasionally. Misunder.- standings may arise, which can be cleared up easily if a religious has the good sense to go to his superior 'and talk matters over with him. On his part a religious may fail by avoiding his superior. If this be the case, it is difficult to see how mutual confidence ca~i exist. The probabilities are that the superior will not know his subject, while the 105 ADAM C, ELLIS latter will be inclined to criticise his superior, or at least grumble because he is misunderstood. The only remedy for such a situation lies in a frank unburdening of his mind to the superior. He will find that the superior will be relieved to find outthe true state of things; and superior and subject will become better acquainted with each other for their mutual benefit. It is desirable that, if the superiors be priests, the!t expose to them their doubts and troubles of conscience also. We have just seen that, in a general way, the Church recommends the voluntary manifestation of one's con-science to the superior. However, in regard to "doubts and troubles of conscience," the Code makes an important qualification~ It positively encou.rages religious to mani-fest even these to priest superiors; regarding lay superiors, it does not positively .recommend such intimate manifes-tation, though it does not forbid it. What is meant by "doubts and troubles of con-science"? The expression certainly includes all doubts hnd anxieties concerning sins. It seems also to include other questions of c~nscience which, because of their diffi-culty, importance, or .uncertainty, require the help of one who is well-versed in moral and ascetical theology--a quality that may be lacking even in very holy lay supe~ ¯ riots. If their superiors are priests, religious are recom-mended by the Churchoto give them their fullest.confidence in all matters pertaining to their spiritual life. Every-thing else being equal, they will find no more sympa-thetic friend and prudent counselor than him who has only the best interests of each individual member of his community at heart and who, as a priest, is the repre-sentative of the Master of the Spiritual Life, Who came that men may bare life, and havre it more abundantly. 106 If the superior is not a. priest, he should remember that the Church does not encourage subjects to give an account of their doubts and troubles of conscience to him. Hence, ordinarily he will advise the subject who wishes to do so to consult his confessor or .spiritual director in these particu-lar matters. On the other hand, he should gladly receive the spontaneous manifestations made by a subject regard-ing other matters of the interior life. This is quite in accord with the mind of the Church, provided always that the subject does so voluntarily, without any urging or coercion on the part of the superior.~ When subjects come freely and spontaneously to the superior to give him an account of conscience, he should receive them with fatherly kindness, listen patiently and at length, and question them Prudently in order to obtain all the information necessary to give them wise .counsel: and direction. Both superiors anal subjects should remem-ber that all matters talked of in manifestation of con-science are safeguarded by the highest kind of professional secrecy, though not by the sacramental seal, unless it hap-pens that the superior is a priest, and the subject mani-fests his conscience to him by actually confessing to him. Novice-Master and Manifestation The.mas~er (mistress) of novices is not a superior in the canonical sense. For this reason, commentators on canon 530 are not agreed that the prohibition of this canon applies to him., Despite this controversy, it is certain that' he cannot demand of his novices a manifestation of such things as normally pertain to the Sacrament of Penance. In the case of a lay master of novices, the decree Quemad-modum denounced this as a grave abuse and the Normae, N. 79, explicitly forbade it.As for priests, the Code even forbids them to hear .the confessions of their novices 107 ADAM C. ELLI, S except in certain special cases (c.891); it is evident, there-fore, that they may not demand such intimate revelations outside of confession. Nevertheless, the ,master of novices must ha~e some rights of inquiry. He alone has the right and obligation of providing for the formation of the novices; he alone is charged w.ith the direction of the novitiate(c. 561). Under t~is personal guidance, the canonical year of novi-tiate has for its object the forming of the mind of the nov-ice by means of the study of the rule and constitutions, by pious meditations and assiduous prayer, by instruction on those matters, which pertain to the vows ~ind the virtues, by suitable exercises in r.ooting out the germs of vi,.ce, in regulating the motions of the soul, in acquiring v,rtues (c. To attain these objects of the novitiate, there must be mutual confidence between master and novice;' and the novice master must be free to inquire about things which pertain to his office and do not border on confessional mat-ter. Such objects of licit inquiry would be: one's reactions to. his brethren and common life; his progress in prayer; attraction to certain kinds of spirituality; qualifications for certain offices; difficulties with the rule, and so forth. The novice, on his part, will best prepare himself to become a fervent religious by being frank and open with the master, whose only task is to train him in the way of the religious life as outlined in the rules and constitutions of the institute. 108 The Divine Prie t:ly Vocation James T. Meehan, S.J. WHAT is a vocation to the priesthood? The frequent repetition of this question, together with questions about the r.eligious life,, is the natural accompani-ment and aftermath of vocation week. In REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS for January (II, p. 25), Father Risk indicated clearly the essentials of a vocation to the.religious life. The present article is concerned with outlining the approved Catholic notion of a vocation to the priesthood. Different Theories From the seventeenth century to our own the general idea was that vocation exclusively concerned God and the individual soul of a candidate. Others must leave every-thing to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. If God wanted a boy for the priesthood, God would call him in a secret but unmistakably plain manner. No one should interfere in the process. No one should presume to direct a young man into the priesthood for fear of intruding some-one who did not have a divine call. Early in the twentieth century occurred a change in vocation thought. Vocation, according to the new opinion, is not a secret process in its entirety. In fact, the principal element is not the least bit secret. The principal element in vocation:is the public, official, canonical invitation issued by ecclesiastical authority. This public call, together with the actual rite of ordination, constitutes one as called by God, "as Aaron was," with a divine vocation. Advocates of this idea found support in the important Roman decision1 of June 20, 1912, which states: "1) No .!Acta Apostolicae Sedis, IV, p. 485. Kempf's translation of ~'ermeersch: Religious and Ecclesiastical Vocation, Herder, 1925, p. 26. " 109 JAMES T. MEEHAN one ever has any right t0.ordination antecedently to the free. choice of the bishop. °2)The requisite on the part of the one to l~e ordained, which requisite is called sacerdotal voca-tion, does not consist, at least necessarily and ordinarily, in a certain inclination of the subject or-in inducements of the Holy Spirit to enter the priesthood. 3) On the contrary, in order that one may be rightly called by the bishop, nothing further is necessary than the right intention together with fitness (based on the .gifts of natureand of grace and sufficiently confirmed by a good life and the required learning), which give well-founded hope that he will be able to fulfill the duties of the sacerdotal state properly and observe the obligations of that state holily." One would think that this decree should settle the question. Yet the older notion of inner attraction would not easily down. Some authors tried to reconcile the two theories by saying that the call of the bishop referred to external ritualism but that the inner call was presupposed. Others held that the call of the bishop concerned the external.government of the Church, while the interior call belonged to the sphere of conscience. Today, of course, all writers'are agrded in accepting 1) suitability, 2) right intention an~l 3) canonical call as the dements of a divine priestly vocation. But there remain a gre.at number of excellent priests and religious who still-hesitate about sug- ~gesting the priesthood to likely boys. Reflection on the origin and growth of their own vocations complicates the matter. Perhaps not a few such priests and religious are convinced--and rightly so--that they followed the higher call under the inspiration of a special favor from God. It seems almost that God had drawn them forcibly and irresistibly to this life work by a spe.cial attraction, an infier divine.call, which they dared not resist. In order to clear away obscurities and relieve the hesitancy of such" 110 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION .per.sons a. brief historical treatment is in order. Before the seventeenth century no mention is made of the priestly vocation in the sense of an interior call. The priesthood was a public office. Its members were recruited according to need by the ruling bishops. Young men of sufficient knowledge and piety were trained, somewhat after the manner of apprentices, in the cathedral rectories. In due time they advanced to the priesthood through the several stages of minor and.major orders. The notion of a neces-sary interior call would have struck those ages as a novelty. The Council ot: T~ent Theoretically, certain qualifications of learning and virtue were always demanded; yet, long before the Coun-cil of Trent, grave abuses in this matter had crept into the Church. Especially grave was the selling of the priest-hood, abbacies .and prelacies, or the granting of such dig-nities as court fa-Cors. Trent ifisisted on the personal quali-fications of candidates. We find these qualifications suc-cinctly expressed in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, written at the express command of Pope Paul V. Here we read: "The burden of this great office should not be rashly imposed on anyone, but is to be conferred on those only who by their holiness of life, their knowledge, faith and prudence, are able to bear it.''2 So far, so good! Yet, fitness and interior dispositions, which all consider as necessary prerequisites of a vocation, gradually gave way to an interior divine call of a special sort as the essential criterion of vocation. Why was this special interior call demanded? For answer we turn to the condition of the Church in seventeenth-century France, cradle of the new theory. The reform decrees of Trent were welcomed in 1573 2Translation by MeHugh and Callan,p. 318, Wagner, New York, 1923. 111 JAMF~ T. MEEH~N by the Assembly of French Clergy,, who petitioned the king for the erection of seminaries in accord with the intentions of the Council. 'However, France was being torn apart by the bloody Huguenot wars. The Church was ba.dly dis-organize. d and demoralized. Twenty-eight episcopal sees had no.bishops. In 1595 matters were even worse. After "r~conciling Henry ~IV with Rome, the Papal Legate Wrote that only forty-three out of one hundred and forty dioceses had .bishops. And of that paltry number few were intelli-gent. They were lax in the conferring of Orders. ¯ Hence many priests were ill-prepared, too young, ignorant, or ordained without proper canonical titles. Seminaries su¢h as we have today were simply non-existent. Saint Vincent de Paul suggested the first remedy for this deplorable condition, namely, eight-clair retreats later extended to three months---consisting of an hour's lecture in the morning on the principal points of theology and a similar evening lecture on prayer, virtues, and qualities of the priest. Small, informal discussions throughout the day supplemented the lectures. Priests in charge of these so-called retreats were anxious that only fit subjects be pro-moted 'to Orders. Yet how" eliminate the unfit? To solve this knot.ty problem, vocation was gradually given a new meaning. No longer did it mean the active call of a bishop but the passive reception of a special inner experience in the soul of a candidate. In due course this experience was labeled as "divine vocation by attraction," and still later it. became the focus of the attraction theory of vocation. Unless the candidate experienced such an attraction and proved ~t tothe satisfaction of the seminary,he should not be ordained. Here we have an ingenious device to weed out unworthy candidates. With it bishops could gracef~ully dismiss such persons, even despite the insistence of rich and powerful ]~enefactors. 112 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION The "'Attraction" Tbeorg Now for one word' of caution before explaining the attraction theory. Note that attraction can be taken to mean: 1) the definite, continuous inclination, let us say, to become a priest; 2) the phenomenon of a more or less mystical experience of God palpably, as it were, drawing the soul to a higher life. Certainly attraction in the first sense Often plays quite a pa.rt in one's choice of vocation. Talents, education, family background, reading, personal observation, or even some chance conversation may arouse such an attraction for any life work. Provided one's qualifications are such as give prudent hopes of success in a w6rk, the attraction towards that work is a good sign that one will do well in it. So much for attraction in the ordinary sense. But what about its function in the attrac-tion theory of vocation? For a priestly vocation, proponents of the attraction theory demanded the extraordinary. Since this is a pecu-liarly divine work, one must take special care to investigate the divine decrees. He must be assured of his election to the work by more than human prudence. He must have a peculiarly divine sign that. he is called. One must be attracted by a special inclination, a special invitation of the Holy Ghost. Authors speak of this special attraction in various ways. They call it a sweet impulse of grace, an interior sentiment, an inward, deep, lasting, constant, strong, abiding force. M. Olier called it a "movement of God who carries the whole soul and inclines it to this divine profession, not by sentiment, nor different starts and jumps, but by His dominion descending to the roots of the soul in stable and unchanging consistency.''8. This is a cardinal point in the theory: divine vocation was dis- -tinct from the qualifications of suita, bility and right inten- 8Quoted by Lahitton, in La Vocation Sacerdotale, Paris, 1914, p. 6. 113 JAMES T. MEEHAN tion. It came prior to the~bishop's call in the name of God. It was. required in addition to what the Church " demands for valid and licit ordination. Seminary direc-tors had to investigate this "vocation" and make sure of its authenticity. The True Catholic Notion Against this theory of "inner" .vocation stands the Roman Decision of 1912,. quoted towards the beginning of this article. In the same~year an Italian Catechism of Pope Pius X stated that."nobody can enter orders of his own will but he ought to be called by God by means of his own bishop, that is, he ought to have a vocation with the virtues and aptitudes required for the sacred ministry." Inthis catechism vocation is equated with call by the bishop, after the bishop has become, convinced of the vir-tue and aptitudes of the candidate. Pope Pius XI in 1935 ¯ issued his glorious e.ncyclical on the Catl4olic Pri.esthood. Thereifi we read that "a true priestly vocation.is not established so much by some inner feeling or devout attrac-tion, which may sometimes be absent or hardly percep-tible; but rather by a right intention in the aspirant, together with a combination of physical, intellectual and moral qualities which make him fitted for such a state of life. He must look to the priesthood solely from the noble motive of consecrating himself to the service of God and the salvation of souls; he must likewise have, or at least strive to acquire,, solid piety; perfect purity of life and sufficient knowledge, as We have explained . Thus he shows that he ,is called by God to the priestly state." .To sum up, we may say that there are three approved ways of considering or speaking of vocation to the priest-hood. The vocation may be: 1) Germinal; or 2) Inte-rior: or 3) Canonical. 114 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION 1) Germinal vocatio~ is mentioned in canon 1353. ¯ 'Here we read that "priests, especially pastors, must make special efforts to preserve boys who show signs of an ecclesiastical vocation from the contagions of the world, to form them in piety, to initiate them in the study of let-ters, and to foster in them the germof a divine vocation." FatherVermeersch tells us that this germof vocation means the dispositions, inclinations, and actions which give pru-dent hope that the boy is or Will become suitable and.that he is not altogether opposed to the idea of the priesthood, It is evident that parents, teachers, confessorsand others would do a glorious work for the Church by awakening ambitions to the priesthood in such boys. 2) Interior vocation goes a step beyond the germinal stage. It consist~ essentially in this, that a young man is able and willing to assume the office of the. priesthood if the Church will accept him. Evidently the grace of God is present; but it need not .manifest itself in any extra-ordinary way. In practice, there is sufficient sign of a real interior vocation in the following case. The time comes when a youth must make up his own mind about his work in life. He needs information about the requirements and opportunities~ of. several occupa-tions. He must consider them in the light of his owri tal-ents and .inclinations. He must-weigh befoie God the pros and cons of entering upon a definite life-work. If he is wise, be will seek advice that is sympathetic and expert. Above all, if he is thinking seriously of the priesthood, he may need the guidance of a regular confessor for several months in order to gain some assurance that h~ can qu'alify for Holy.Orders. If, after prudently ~onsidering his case, the confes~o/judges the penitent is suitable, then the lat-ter may make up .his own mind and calmly apply for admission to a seminary. If he measures up to entrance 115 JAMES T. MEEHAN standards and is received, his very admission to the semi-nary gives him a relative and provisional certainty of ¯ vocation. If he makes the.seminary course creditably and continues in his conviction that he is fitted for the work, he may make his final decision to become a priest. One who acts in this way knows as surely as he can know any-thing of the future that God is giving and Wiil continue give him all the graces necessary for the .worthy reception ,of this great Sacrament. 3) Canonical:vocation is the external call to the priest-hood which comes towards the end of long preparation. During the years.of training .the candidatehas developed in virtue as w~ll as learning. He has fulfilled all the. require.ments of Church legislation to the satisfaction 6f seminary directors. He has given proofs of his suitability for the great privilege and work of the priesthood. Then only does he receive his divine priestly vocation, which is initiated by an official notification that he is to be ordained, and which is completed by the actual co.nferring of the ¯ Sacrament through the hands of the ordaining prelate. Vocation Booklet Father Thomas Bowdern of the Creighton University, is a worried desu(t! He wrote a thesis on vocations and published his main conclusions in a little booklet entitled Ji Study of Vocations. We recommended the booklet in the, November, 1942, number of the REVIEW. Many of our readers wrote to Father Bowdern for copies. He mailed the copies; but one package was returned to him. The label was missing; hence, he does not know whom he has involuntarily defrauded. Hence the -.worry;. If you wrote for booklets and didn't get them, please notify Father Bow-dern. Incidentally, we may add that.Father Bowdern still has a limited supply of the booklets. Price: 10 cents a copy. Address: Rev. Thomas S. Bowdern, S.ff., The Creight~n University, Omaha, Nebraska. 116 THE following booklist, together with the list previously pfib-fished (Cf. Vol. I, p. 105) presents a fair cross-section of the best sl~iritual writers and their works in the English language. Almost every spiritual topic is represented. No doubt, there are some omissions and there will not be full agreement on certain particular selections. However, it is hoped the lists, as they stand, will be of some assistance in building up the spirituaFlibrary. A word about the Scriptures. The Bible is, in a way, the spir-itual book par excellence, which every religious should know .thor~ oughly, especially the New Testament. To this end a good com-mentary is invaluable--such as the Scripture Manuals of Madame Cecilia, the commentary of Fathers Callan and McHugh, or the one recently published under the auspices of the Confraternity of Chris-tian Doctrine to accompany the revised edition of the New Testa-ment. The Old Testament will lose some of its formidableness if it is approached through selections such as are found in Mothe~ Mary Eaton's "The Bible Beautiful or ArChbishop Goodier's The Bible for Every Day. I prefer, howevdr, in my lists, to. classify the Bible as primarily a meditation book, or rather, as the meditation book, to which the religious should return again and again for the light and encouragement needed to carry out his sublime destiny. --- AUGUSTINE KLAAS, S.J. ANONYMOUS The Secrets of the Religious Life, edited by the Rev. Oliver Dolphin. (A sparkling gem of wisdom three hundred ¯ years old.) ARNOUDT, P. J., S.J, (1865) The lmitbtion of the Sacred Heart of desus. (Written in the manner of Thomas ~ Kempis) ATHANASIUS, SAINT (3 7 3) St. Anthony the Hermit, translated by J. B. McLaughl.in. (The life and spiritual message of the patriarch of all religious. ) 117 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS BAINVEL, JEAN V., S.J. (1937) The Devotion to the Sacred Heart. (The most complete sys-tematic treatise on the subject.) BEAUDENOM, L. (1916) The Path of Humility. Spiritual Progress. 2 vols. ., These excellent books are published anonymously in English. The latter work treats of the progressive use of Confession and Spiritual Direction. *-BENSON, MSGR. ROBERT HUGH (1914) The Friendship of Chribt. Christ in His Church. Paradoxes of Catholicism. BUCKLER, HENRY REGINALD, O.P. Spiritual Perfection through Charity. Spiritual Instruction on Religious Life. Spiritual Considerations. Spiritual Retreat. All are s61id and substantial. CAUSSADE, JEAN PIERRE DE, S.J. (1751 ) Self-abandonment to Divine Providence. Spiritual Letters. , Corn:oft in Ordeals. Ordeals of Souls. Progress in Prayer. The Workings of the Divine Will. The classic writer on abandonment to the will of God. OHAUSZ, OTTO, S:,J. (1939) The Priest and Saint Paul. Light and Shadow in Religious ~'fe. CONSIDINE, DANIEL, S.J. (1923) The Virtues of the Di'vine Child. Con~dence in God. Delight in the Lord. Words o:. Encouragement. EATON, ROBERT, OR. The Sanctuary of Strength. The Ministry of Reconciliation. In Newness ofLife. Divine Refreshme~. The Sword of the Spirit. " The Man of Sorrows. The Garden of God. The Forty Days - " EHL, ANTON The Spiritual Direction of Sisters, translated b)r Felix M. Kitsch, O.F.M.CAP. (A valuable book for superiors.) 118 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS ELLARD, GERALD, S.d. Christian Life and Worship. (A fine sketch of the liturgical backgrounds bf spirituality.) EYMARD, BLESSED PETER JULIAN (1868) The Divine Eucharist. 4 vols. (A Eucharistic saint writes on his favorite topic.) FENNELLY, BERNARD, C.S.SP. Follow Me. (A comprehensive study of the religious vows from, the canonical and spirit.ual viewpoints.) FILLION, LOUIS C., S.S. (1927) The Life of Christ. 3 vols. (Critical, scholarly, and very read-able. ) FROGET, BARTHELEMY, O.P. Thd Indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Souls of the Just. (A classic treatise on the supernatural psychology of the soul. Bede 3arrett, O.P., has summarized and adapted it in his "Abiding Presence_ of the Holy Ghost.") GERTRUDE, SAINT (1302 ?) The Exercises of St. Gertrude. Love of the Sacred Heart. The True Prayers of St. Gertrude and St. Mechtilde. GIRARDEY, FERREOL, C.SS.R. (1930) Conference Matter for Religious. 2 vols. (This compilation contains a mine of material for the supe'rior's periodic instructions.) GIRAUD, S.M., M.S. (1885) ~ The Spirit of Sacrifice, edited by Herbert Thurston, S.J. GROU, JEAN NICHOLAS, S.J. (1803) How to Prag. Manual for Interior Souls. The Interior of desus and Mary. 2 vols. The Characteristics of True Devotion. Meditations on the Love of God. Self-Consecration. The School of desus Christ. Spiritual Maxims. HILL, OWEN, S.J. (1930) Cbarit~l and Our Three Vows. 119 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS JAEGHE'R, PAUL DE, S.J. One wi?h Jesus. The Virtub of Trust. An Anthologg Of Mgst'icism. JARRETT, BEDE, O.P. (1934) The Religious Life. (An attractive brief history of the develop-ment of religious life.) KEMPF, JOSEPH G. New Things and Old. (A psychological treatment of some important aspects Of the religious life.) LAI, GAETANO CARDINAL DE (1928) The Pas'sion of Our Lord. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. LEHEN, E. DE, S.J. (1867) The Wag .of Interior Peace. (For the scrupulous.) LEHODEY, ABBOT VITAL, O.C.R. " The Wags of Mental Prager. (One of the °best treatises on the subject.). Hol~t Abandonment. LEPICIER, ALEXIS HENRY CARDINAL (1936). Our Father. Jesus Christ the King of Our Hearts. The Mgsterg of Love. The Eucharistic Priest. The Fairest Flower of Paradise. Behold Thg Mother. Go to Joseph. LESSlUS, VENERABLE LEONARD, S.J. Virtues Awakened. .: Names of God. (This work will help one's knowledge of God.) MASSON,YVES E., O.P. The Christian Life and the Spiritual Life. ascetical theology.) MASTER OF NOVICES The Presence of God. Novices of Our Lord. Both are popular books in novitiates. MCELHONE, JAMES F., C.S.C. Particular Examen. (1623) immensely to deepen (An introducti6n to 1'20 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS MCNABB, VINCENT, O.P. The Science of Prayer. The Craft of Prayer. The Craft o'f Suffering. Mary of Nazareth. MAUMIGNY, RENE DE, S.J. (1918) The Practice of Mental Prayer. helpful treatise.) MERCIER, D. CARDINAL (1926) Retreat to Priests. God's Way of Mercy. God's Good Cheer. The Life of Our Lord. MEYER, RUDOLPH J., S.J. (1912) The Science of the Saints. 2 vols. 2 VOLS. MIRIAM TERESA, SISTER, SISTERS OF CHARITY Greater Perfection. (A very lucid and (1927) SCHWERTNER, THOMAS M,, O,P, The Rosary. 1933) 121 SCHRYVERS, ,JOSEPH, C.SS.R. The Gift o/: Oneseff. Our Divine Friend. PARSCH, DOM PIUS, O.S.B The Liturgy Of the Mass. Guhte to the Liturgical Year. The Divine O~ice: How to Say It Devoutly and with Pleasure. Commentary on the Little O[[ice B.V.M. These bo6ks are both scholarly and devotional. PETER OF ALCANTARA,, SAINT (1562) Treatise on Prayer and Meditation. ROCHE, ALOYSIUS The Light of the Anxious Heart. Splendour of the Saints. Bedside Book of Saints. The Things that Matter. Fear and Religion. ° ROUVIER, FREDERICK, S.J. (1925) The Conquest of Heaven. (An important little treatise on per-fect charity and perfect contrition.) SCHARSCH, PHILIP, O.M.I. Confession as a Means to Spiritual Progress. SCHEEBEN, JOSEPH M. (1888) The Glories of Divine Grace. RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS SCUPOLI, LORENZO, THEATINE ( 1 610) The Spiritua( Combat: (An oldfavorite.) SHEEN, MSGR. FULTON J. The Mystic'al Body of Chri'st. The Eternal Galilean. SKELLY, A. M., O.P. (1938) Conferences on the Interior Life. 4 vols. Retreat Conferences for Religious Sisterhoods. Conferences on the Religious Life. STEUART, R., S.J. The Inward Vision The World Intangible. Temples of Et, ernitg. STOCKUMS, BISHOP WILHELM The Priesthood. Diversity of Holiness: In Dive'rs Manners. " The Four First Things. Spirituality of the Priesthood. Vocation to the Priesthood. STUART, MOTHER JANET ERSKINE, R.S.C.J. (1914) Highways and By-ways in the Spiritual Life. Prayer in Faith: Thoughts for Liturgical Seasons and Feasts. 2 vols. Two SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME Soul Clinic: An Examination of Conscience /:or Religious Teachers. (A practi_~al .study of the p~ychological. approach to the spiritual problems of religious.) VERNET; FELIX . Mediaeval Spirituality. (Covers the important spiritual writers of the mediaeval Church and giyes a clear outline of ti~ir teaching.) VINCENT DE PAUL, SAINT (1660) Conferences to the Sisters of Charity. 4 vols. Letters, edited by Joseph Leonard, C.M. St. Vincent de Paul and Mental Prayer, by 39seph Leonard, C.M. WADDELL, HELEN The Desert Fathers, edited in the Catholic Masterpiece Tutorial Series. (From the Vitae Patrum, agreat work of mediaeval piety, are translated choice selections revealing the deeds and maxims of the early desert religious.) 122 ommunicaiJons [EDITORS' NOTE: Limited space forced us to omit some points from letters pub-lished in this issue. Most Of these omitted points were repetitions: the other, com-ments will be referred to in our concluding editorial. With the present number, we conclude the communications .on the subject of spiritual direction. If possible, the editorial, summing up the discussion, will be pu~blished in the May number, o We are grateful to our readers for their ¢oopdration in this matter; and we hope that some good will come from it.] '., From Priests Reverend Fathers: My experience of some twenty-five or more years df spiritual direction of nuns and as a retreatmaster has taught me among a good many other points, the following concerning special direction: 1) The initiative should be taken by the penitent or "~piritual . cfiild," not by the confessor or diiector. I have never forgotten the. principle that our Master of Novices gave us with particular reference to Sisters: "Let them find you; don.'t you go looking for them." 2) It seems to me that everyone needs some special spiritual direc-tion during a certain life period--usually a critical life period, when-ever that may be. It is different with every individual. Also, such critical periods, presenting serious problems, may recur: and each time some special direction may be necessary or advisable. But I believe that the director fosters "spiritual babyhood" if he fails to train his charges to stand on their own feet and solve recurring problems (most of which will be along the same lines) with the help of the solutions and counsels received in the past, and tb apply the same old principles to the solution of such new difficulties as may arise. 3) It is my experience that many Sisters want to consult a "special confessor" concerning problems that they could easily" settle either by themselves, with the aid of principles known to them, or by a talk wlth the superior or with another Sister. These are too ready to find the ordinary confessor "ufisatisfactory." 4) As I said, I think it likely to happen to any individual tha~ on occasion he will need special help. And in this regard I should ' like to say that I have found it hard to understand how so many superiors readily avail themselves of this opportunity, yet make it very' difficult for their subjects to have the advantage of ~he same privilege. I consider this ~iltogether uncharitable, to say the least, if not unfair and unjust.~ Signed, etc. . . 123 COMMI.~NICATIONS Reverend Fathers: The confessor oi rel.igious should have a definite plan for the execution of.his task. His program must have but one objective: the increase in his penitents of an intimate union with God. Since this union is achieved principally through the exercise of the supernatural virtues, it seems that goodspiritual direction should partake of an intim, ate and personal acquaintance with the content of Ascetical and Mystical Theology. ~Many .religious, it is true, know these things theo/eticaily; it is the confessor's business to help. them to repeat tl~em systematically and l~racticall~/. I suggest the following method. If the penitent presents some special probl~m, then let the confessor deal with it in a specialized a~id personal way. If there are no special p~roblems, then the con-fessor should tie. prepared to give a two-minute talk on some topic of Ascetical Theology: These talks must be planned and given sys-tematically. In a few words the donfessor should present to each penitent a succinct notion of his subject. He should make it practical and especially directed to stir the soul to ~ction in a given avenue, or at least to inspire the penitent with greater love and generosity in the service of the Master. He .would thus teach a certain part of Asceti-cal Theology and at the same time .help the penitent to conceive a greater and truer sorrow for sin. As a supplementary measuie, the confessor might see that the community has a solid ascetical manual, and suggest the reading of the pertinent pages of the manual for thgt particular week. Also, he might !uggest the subject spoken of as the subject for the particular examen or for some practice of mortification to be chosen by the peni-tent. The following of such a manual ~rould furnish material for at least three .years' direction; and if. the religious penitent "did not ~receive such systematic direction, why. could he not supply it for him~ self? On the occasion of confession, each penitent could study the manual and apply it in the above-mentioned fashion. To give but one illustration. The first step in the spiritual life is the purification of the soul. This is "accomplished by. a positive means, prayer. There is vocal prayer, as well as mental prayer. To do either well, one is in need of a method: The soul is also purified by a struggle against all sin by patient and constant mortification of the passions. There is enough matter in this paragraph for spiritual direction for an entire year. Two months or more could be spent 124 COMMUNICATIONS on the topic of meditation. It is a question of treating a very small portion of each topic at every confession. If one would wish greater clarification, we could offer the following .example:" prayer--con-sider the notion of prayer: its necessity; Christ's example of prayer: the fruits of prayer: the ideal prayer, etc. Signed, etc . . Reverend Fathers: I should like to make these few observations that longexperi-ence has taught me to be practical in regard.to the direction of reli-gious in their weekly confessions. 1. The ordinary confessor is supposed to be a director, but this does not mean that he is expected to give diiection every week. Nor does it mean that whenever he gives some admonition it must have a distinctively personal application--though this latter is desirable. 2. The initiative for spec!al personal direction should usually come from the penitent: but the confessor may be expected to mani.- fest in a reserved, dil~lomatic way .that he is willing eventually to undertake such direction. For a newly-appointed ordinary confes-sor to.tell his penitents bluntly that h'e is eager to do this would be imprudent, also embarrassing for many, e.g. for those who, for one reason or another, do not care to have any personal guidance. "This becomes a nuisance on the whole community, when ordinary con-fessors are changed frequently, and each new one wants a complete manifestation of soul from each penitent. At most, a brief.presenta-tion of tendend~s and leanings of the penitent is sufficient as a basis for safe guidance. 3. Though we cannot question the need of some spiritual guidance, yet the need can easily be exaggerated, especially by Sis-ters. In some senses, religious need much less personal direction than" do those who strive for perfdction outside religion. If they keep their vows and rules faithfully, are conscientious in following their daily routine, listen attentively to the sermons, instructions and conferences given them, and are submissive to their legitimate supe.- riors--they are by these very things following the lead of the Holy Ghost. Signed, etc. 125 CO/v~d~r~ ICATIONS From Sisters . Reverend Fathers: It is my suggestion, as a means of approach, that the confessor give to each penitent, for the first two weeks, a s~ntence or two of a more general, type on a mystery or a saint whose feast occurs during the week. This may help to give a feeling of confidence that the con-fessor is not in to6 much of a hurry and also that he is willing to be helpful to every one. The third week he may begin to give more specific and personal direction based upon the material confessed. This method may give those who desird direction and are not too timid an opportunity to take the initiative and profit by direction. Those who are more timid will have gained enough courage and con-fidence to take the initiative. Those who do not desire, or at least claim that they do not desire, direction, may be won over, since the confessor did notcommence by dictating to them. These souls'~eem to resent going to a confessor, even set a barrier, if he gives the least impression that he" is to dictate to them. If they do not get that first unpleasant impression they more easily fall in line and profit by the direction. Many times they" will not admit it or even fully realize that they are being directed. I wonder if penitents realize the harm'done by gossipy talk about the sacrament or confessor. Some religious have refrained from going to certain confessors because some soul-repeated the direction which was meant for no one else. If each penitent would keep to herself or himseif what is personal direction or reprimand, less harm would result. Let each one learn for oneself whether or not certain confessors are helpful to them as individuals. Whatever may seem to be resented by one may be greatly appreciated and desired by another. A Sister Reverend Fathers: Fr'om my own experience, may I make this one little suggestion to priests who want to give helpful direction to Sisters. I think that priests sh6uld remember that we are not as learned in spiritual mat- . ters as they are; therefore, it is not always enough merely to tell us what our troui31e is. It is frequently necessary to give a little expla-nation of the nature of the trouble, so that we may see for ourselves why things go wrong and how we are toact. A Sister 126 COMMUNICATIONS Reverend Fathers: It seems to me that the question of the necessity of special: spir-itual direction is in danger of being overstressed onone side and not su~ciently understood on the other. In his Spiritui~t Conferences, Father Faber says: "Sometime~ people go to confession only for the purpos~ of direction. They use a great sacrament merely as a handle or. occasion for something else, for another purpose; ihdeed .a very good one, but a very inferior and subordinate one." Father Faber thinks this fault more common with converts: but I think that it is not infrequent with some Sisters. A Mother Superior Reverend Fathers: There is just one point that I sincerely trust you .will bring out before you close, .namely, that any soul. who practises sincere devo-tion to the Holy Ghost and aims at acquiring a spirit of abandon-ment will always receive spiritual guidance when it is needed. We should all like regular help; but women must be careful not to seek it too much, for, while gratifying, it is not always necessary. Where I am we have schools in so many towns where only the pastor is available that it takes much faith to be resigned: yet, if a miracle is necessary God will perform it for any religious who prays, to the Holy Ghost and practises .abandonment. I have also experienced this when seeking to assist children to return to "God after, a first mortal sin. A Sister Reverend Fathers: In view of past experiences as Mistress of Novices and Abbess of a community of contemplative nuns, I shouid like to express an opin-ion concerning the spiritual direction of nuns. It seems to me that there has been so much written on the subject that it has caused confusion in many minds. We are a strictly clois: tered order, but we enjoy the liberty of conscience that active, unclois-tered religious do, in so far as that is~" possible. However, we have little occasion to know any priests once we have entered here, with the exception of our confessors, retreat-masters, and chaplains--and the latter generally do not hear our confessions. This gives us little choice for confession or spiritual direction other than the priests we thus meet in the course of'our religious life. We may ask for a special spir.- 127 COM~IUNICATIONS itual director and l~ave him come every week. This has been done; but imagine if each of our 40 or 50 Sisters m~de such a demand! They all have the right, if one has. One might thinl~ that cloistered religious shciuld t~ke their-ordi-. nary confessor for ~piritual director. But I have not found many of thes~ wiio understand the enclosed contemplative life. Confessors are apt to judge their penitents' difficulties and trials from the standard of tl~eir own experiences. 'Hbw else can they judge them? Yet, to und'~rstand the enclosed life fully, one must either live it or have unusual depth of understanding. Is the result, then, that we cannot get or do not need spiritual direction? I should say it is neither. Cloistered religious need spiritual direction, but not to the extent that is g.enera.lly implied¯ I think that in general ."over-direction" has .done more harm than insufficient dire~tion. Of ~ourse, I cannot speak for active, but only for contemplative, ~eligious. The following about explains our case:The circumstances of our .daily lives and our daily trials, etc., are pretty much the same. over a period of years. Our occasions for practising virtue, breaking rules, etc., arc also about the same. Our life is not monotonbus, as s0ir.- Jtual writers so often pityingly tell us it is. We who are called to it and live it know it.is not. It is full from morning till night, ~nd monotony finds no pla.ce in it, in spite of the sameness of people. place, prayers, and. work. . (Can the.~spiritual life ever.be monot-onous?) This brings me to what I want to say: that, though we all heed spiritual direction, we do not need it week. after week or even month after month. Based on past experience, [ feel safe in making the statement that the fervent religious is the one who' needs the least direction. She who is faithful to the. inspirations of grace, to her duties; to the self-abnegation required of her to live in love" and h~rmony with her f~llow-religious, generally knows by the light of the Holy Ghost,- the directions of her rule and her superiors, what she is to do-- provided, of course, she has been properly instructed in her novitiate days, Her' iiaterior advancement is of the slow, quiet and, I might add, safe kind: her occasional difficulties "are generally solved between ¯ herself and her confessor, retreat-master, or superior. What of the one whose step grows lax, whose petty jealousies, .pride, self-love, self-will, and lack of self-denial create constant trouble and difficulties' for her? She needs direction, indeed: but she 128 COMMUNICATIONS needs more to take hold of herself and make herself realize that no spiritual director can make.her holy, but only herself~ by doing the things she knows full well she should do. She makes difficulties for herself and others, then looks for a director to get her out of them. She spends long periods in the confessional; and often this has just the effect' it should not have: it gives her an air of importance, a notion that she has a :'special" mission in life, instead of humbling her. It seems to me that when direction has this effect it should be brought to a quick termination. I do not mean to say that spiritual direction is unnecessary. But I think that when the saints spoke of its necessity they did not always mean that it must be given by word of mouth. Our found-ers, whose spirit is contained in our rules, give us their directions and demands in those rules. Also, we have spiritual reading and medi-tation, or should I say interior prayer: and we have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I do admit that the scrupulous religious may"need much direc-tion; and I think that superiors should be considerate of them and get them a suitable director. Also I know that there have been and still are extraordinary souls who need extraordinary spiritual direc-tion; and may God bless them with an understanding guide. Then there are the problems that at times will confront a mistress of nov-ices- or superior. These must be gone over at length; though gener~ ally they do not fall under th~ heading of spiritual problems, except in so far as .superiors must act according to justice and their con-sciences. This is particularly true of such" problems as cannot or had better not be discussed at a council meeting. Perhaps I am only trying to be important by airing these views to you. Forgive me if I am; and drop this into the waste-basket. A Mother Superior 129 SOUL CLINIC. An Exam;nation of Conscience for Religious Teachers. By Two Sisters of Notre Dame, Cleveland, Ohio. Pp. x -{- 200. Fred- ~ erick Pustet Co., New York, 1943. $2.00. The first part of this excellent wori~ is entitled, "The Psychologi-cal Approach to our Spiritual Problems," and it begins by laying" down "General Principles." The great purpose of religiousteachers is to cultivate a Christlike character in. themselves and in their stu-dents. The. general formula is: motives, ha,bits, character. Motives may be bad or good, natural or supernatural, and one's habits and character will be just such i~s one's motives. Motives reach the will through the mind and heart. Motives of a particular kind will be accepted if they be considered sufficiently valuable. If the mind be kept filled with true values, good emotions naturklly will arise in the heart, and good attitudes in the will. If these be maintained, good habits and a good ~haracter are the result. Hence, to form a Christ-like character; appropriate, as far as possible, Christ's ways of thinking, His .estimations of values, and the emotions of His Heart; Christlike habits of will and a Christlike character will follow. - "We have failed to stabilize our wills by fusing them with the Will of God ¯ . . And why .d~d we so fail? Because we did not build up strong motivation on the basis of Christ's thoughts and emotions. To express it in another way, we failed to use the time for meditation, .reading, examination of conscience, to fill our souls with the thoughts ¯ and emotions of Christ. We did not convince ourselves of the great-ness of eternal values: divine love, everlasting riches, hohor, and pleasures. These considerations would have furnished us with pow-erful motives to command our Weak wills' to seek,the things° above as our Lord enjbined repeatedly" (p. 13). Another idea from psychology of which much use is made is the theory of instincts. Three of these are discussed at some length, namely~ the superiority instinct, the social instinct, and the self-preservation instinct, called also the reproductive or love instinct. The writers point out the original divine purpose of these fundamental ¯ human tendencies, the deviations to which they are.only too liable, and the ways in which they ought to be re-directed and sublimated to supernatural .ends. 130 BOOK REVIEWS Several¯ tables of motives, natural and supernatural, of the habits of a Christlike personality,~ and of the values, transient-and perma2 nent, are given to aid thdse who will seek in this book a method of therapy for their moral maladies. .Under the heading, "Mary in Character-education," the character of the Blessed Virgin is sketched as exemplifying, ideally and con-cretely, the psychological and spiritual principles and methods pro-posed. This treatise, a!ready very good, could be made still bett~r ~much more emphasis were placed on the cardinal importance of ade-quat'e, realistic appreciation of the greatvalues, both in initiating good habits and in strengthening them. One statement that is made and. repeated seems to call for a theological comment. Though the worth of natural motives is well expressed and the utilization of them by Christians is not at all discountenanced, it is said that they are not meritorious for eternity:' But, to.judge from the autho.rity of t.heo- ¯ logians, all who are in the state of grace may hope to find that all their deliberate actions, except only their sinful ones, have merited an in-crease of grace and glory. It would be more surely correc~ to say that to act from merely natural" motives ma~t not be meritorious, or, if supernatural motivation be required, then in all probability the con-dition will be verified in a person acting well while in the staie of grace. The second part of the book gives twenty-five detailed examlna-tibns of conscience, personality, and character. These are designed and arranged both so as to correbpond to the sequenceof the ligurgical year.and to cover the chief points that one must keep in mind to re-model one's personality and build up a character that is like to.that. of Christ.~G. A. ELLARD, S.J. CHAPTERS IN RELIGION. By ÷he Reverend C. A. Prindeville, (3.M., S.T.D. Pp. 354. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1942.$2.00, ¯ A book which attempts to review the.whole of faith and morals in 350 phges is bound to be superficial. Theology cannot be packed into a match-box or sketched on a thumbnail. But what the Cate-chism does, in a pamphlet, for the child mind, this moderately.sized volume does, without the Catechism7s interplay of question and answer, for the more developed adult comprehension. One cannot but marvel at the author's ability to say so much in so few words. 131 BOOK REVIEWS. The book begins by showing what the Church teaches about God, the one nature and the three Persons. ,In brief chapters it proceeds to narrate what revelation'states about Creation and Orig-inal Sin, the Redeemer and His Mother, the Church, Grace and Vir-tue, Sacraments and Sacrifice, the Ten Commandments. It ends, as is right, with the Last Things. Ari index makes the work prac-ticable for reference. The author's grasp of theok)gy is extensive and profound. But he has seen fit to disclose his vast knowledge in a language of ou.tmoded rhetoric which writers of. Catholic books sometimes think must be used. The infinite beauty of G6d is brought out by com-parison, witb""gorgeous sunsets and starlit heavens; the majestic heights of the mountain range, the ocea'n in its va, rying moods of calm or storm, the alluring loveliness in the human face and' form,'" and so on, in words solemn and trite. There occurs even an occa-sional "pe.rcbance." The style is generally clear but dry. Priests and religious are sometimes asked to recommend for con- .verts o~ inquirers a readable b6ok that presents Catholic" doctrine with completeness but brevity. They are embarrassed when they " cannot, and wish someone would write such a work. This volume is almost the answer to their prayer.--C. VOLLERT, 8.J. A SHORT BREVIARY F.OR RELIGIOUS AND THE LAITY. Edited by ,. the MonEs of St.' John's Abbey. Pp. 766.' The Lifurglcal Press, lecje~,ille, Minn. Second edition. 1942. $2.85. ~ By way of providing a Lay Brothers' Office, the monks of St. ~lohn's Abbey have abbreviated the. breviary. They put us all in their debt by thus giving us the cream of t~e entire office, in an . ¯ ,arrangement wisely built up mostly of the Psalms carefully selected, even slightly annotated by rubrication. It will indicate their pro-cedure to sthte that the short Matins have three Psalms and one les-son. Lauds and Vespers each four Psalms, all the other Hours one each, but with the structure and arrangement, and spirit, of the entire Office carefully preserved. The book's vhysical features seem perfect:~the paper is good; the type clear and sharp; the printing in black and red: the binding~ in stout leatherette with four sewed-in ribbon markers; and for a price well within a po0r'man's pocketbook. These facts have !32 BOOK RE'~iIEWS helped sell the first edition in short order: a much larger edition now issues from the press. We have lately heard of religious congregations adopting a modified form ,of Divine Office in lieu of the 'community prayers' formerly said daily in common. We venture to predict, that this Short Breviarg will offer strong incentive for further such adop-tions. But ~a~ide from such common use, the book will provide any one, priest, Brother, Sister, with prayer-book and meditation-book needs, and offer a chance to sample that endless round of psalmody, so conspicuous in the" official homage paid by the Church to God. --- GERALD ELLARD, S.J. THE OUR FATHER. B'f the Most Reverend Tihamer Toth. Translated by V. G. Acjotal. Edited by the Reverend Newton Thompson, S.T.D,~ Pp. 314. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1943. $2.75. The experienced reader knows that he must frequently make allowances for published sermons. In its original setting, a sermon may leave nothing to be desired: from the printed page, it too often makes one regret that he can only read wl~at was meant to be heard. For those unacquainted with Bishop Toth's writings, we give assurance that his published sermons labor under little if any handi-cap. To read any one of them is to come under the spell of a wise, experienced, holy, very practical friend and counsellor. His Excel-lency is never the conscious orator. Rather he. is the shepherd of gouls, on!y concerned that the living waters of God's truth be made available for his charges. He is clear, orderly, interesting, with special talent for apt illustration or anecdote. Because the style is so simple, direct, informal, the reader easily becomes an attentive listener in the presence of a master conversationalist. This, the ninth volume of Bishop Toth's sermons to be made available in English translation, contains twenty-eight sermons on such fundamemental subjects as Belief in God, Life Worthy of Man, Our Father, Creator and Lord. Children of God, Brotherhood of Man, Brothers of Christ, Heaven or Earth, Suffering, Honor and Praise of God, Art and Habit of Prayer, and Intellectual and Eco-nomic Life. Taken together, the series comments on the text of the Our Father, although each sermon is a unit by itself. The book is highly recommended for either community or private spiritual reading, and for meditation subject-matter.--C. DEMUTH, S.J. 133 BOOK REVIEW~ THE SPIRITUAL DIREC;TION OF SISTERS. By the Reverend A. Ehl. Adapted from the German by the Reverend Felix M. Kirsch, O. M. (~ap., Ph.D., Llff.D. Pp. xlx + 483. Benzlger Brothers, New York. $3.75. In its six major divisions this .compact but comprehensive man-ual treats of Religious Vocations, the General and Special Problems pertaining to the Direction of Sisters, the Principal Mean~ e~ployed in their Direction, Canonical Regulations concerning Sisters, and the Obligations of the Vows. A brief introduction explains some can-onical terms. Father Kirsch has'jUdiciously adapted the material to American readers and has added a valuable bibliography. In general, the book is excellent: complete, sound, practical. An enumeration of its specific good pgints would be too lengthy. Suffice to say that it should be very helpful to confessors or directors of Sis-ters, as well as to all priests and seminarians. By reading it, ,supe-riors of Sisters would get a better understanding not only of the work of the confessor, but of the whole religious life. o ¯ It seems advisable to indicate here some points that might puzzle the reader. The author is too much addicted to "must": he does not distinguish with sufficient care between what he counsels and what he really considers of obligation. Moreover, although he apparently wanted to help. the average priest commissioned with the spiritual care of Sisters, yet the comprehensiveness of the work and the indiscrimin'ate references to "the priest," "th.e confessor," "the spiritual director," create the impression that he has in mind a priest who spends his whole time in a convent.~ In fact, the seminarian anal young priest might be con'fused, even discouraged, by the mul~ tiplicity of details. Better for them to read the book for the general impression, then return to the details when this knowledge is required. Regarding the confessor in particular, the author seems prone to have him mix too much in external affairs. As one instance of sev-eral, I cite the following: "The confessor should not dismiss lightly the complaints that may be made by the superior on the above points (i.e. abuses regarding religious exercises), but should diligently inquire into the matter." I fail to see how a confessor is justified in using the complaints of-the superior as a handle-for any ques-tioning of. his penitents.---G. KELLY, S.J. 134 BOOK REVIEWS A BOOK OF SIMPLE WORDS. By a Sister of Notre Dame (de Namur). Pp. 240. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1942. 1;2.00. In simple words the author has given us the~ result of much study--study of the peisonality: of Christ. Thecharm and natural-ness of an essay are brought to this series of spiritual reflections. The book might be said to tell the ~tory of Christ's public life. It is selective in that the author has ~hosen from the Gospel story inci-dents revealing the facets of the personality of Christ" too often over-looked or little realized in our reading of the evangelists. A careful,. . prayerful reading of this book will give more than knowledge: it is meant to lead the reader to ~ personal experience of Jesus Christ.' Lacking entirely the formalism of 'a manual, the book should prove in~erdsting and profitable as a source of suggestions for medi-tation. A miracle" is recounted; a~ lesson suggested, or attention called to ~-phase of tl~e Savior's character: a brief and pertinent exhortation is given; artistically the author appeals to three facub ties of the soul: the memory, intellect, and will. The truths pro. posed and the lessons logically drawn are solid, but expressed in a language that sometimes draws attention to itself because of emo-tional expression and occasional cliches. The publisher has pro-vided a medium of expression worthy.of the thought, for. the. printing is attractive, even artistic.-~M. D. CURRIGAN, S.~J. THE PATER NOSTER OF SAINT TERESA. Translated and adapted by the Reverend William J. Doheny, CLS.C~,, J.U.D. Pp. ~x -t- IS0. The Bruce Publishing Gompany, Milwaukee, 1942. Gloth, !;I.50; paper, $1.00. Thi~ work is simply,the concluding portion of St. Teresa's The Wa~/of Perfection. Since its subject-matter is sublime, and since it is from the seraphic heart and the classical" pen of the great Spanish Princess of Mystics, it needs no commendation. By way of introduction and to establish the setting, Father Doheny gives excerpts (28 pages) from the preceding chapters of The Way. In these will be found some of St. Teresa's ideas and exhortation~ on such things as religious poverty, c.harity, detach-ment, and the need of praying for preachers and scholars. In reality nearly all the chief points'of the .religious life are touched upon briefly. In this treatise on the "Our Father" occurs the well-known 135 BOOK REVIEWS account of a nun who once went to St. Teresa in a: state of the o greatest desolation because she could not, like other companions of "the Carmelite foundress, practice mental prayer and "raise herself to contemplation. ~ Upon questioning .her as to how she did pray, St. Teresa found out that the unhappy sister was accustomed to "recite the Lord's prayer in such a way as at the same time to arrive "at the prayer of pure contemplation. Our Lord raised.her even .to the prayer of union. It was evident . . . that she had received.the highest ~a.vors in prayer" (page 52). At the end of her commentary St. Teresa writes: "If we under-stand how we ought to recite the .Pater Noster perfectly, we .shall know how to recite all other vocal prayers. See how our Lord has assisted me.in this work. He has taught both you and me the .way. of perfection . I assure you that I never dreamed this prayer contained such deep secrets. You will notice that it sums up the entire spiritual life, from its first begir~ning to that point where soul is 10st entirely in God." " . If. one were to say the "Our Father," especially the third peti-tion, "Thy will be done," realizing and meaning thoroughly,:p.rac-tically, and persistently, what one s~ys, then one would be very ho!y indeed.--G. A. ELLARD, S.,l. TEN BLESSED YEARS. By Clara M. Tiry. Pp. 306. The Apostolate of Suffering, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1939. $ l.S0. HAPPY HOURS WITH CHRIST. By Clare M. Tiry. Pp. 187. The Bruce Publ~shincj~ Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1940. $I;75. A unique society has come into existence in the city of Milwau-" kee in recent years ~nd'has spread throughout the country, In 1926 a young woman in Milwaukee, v~h0 had been weighed down with "constant sickness from babyhood, conceived the idea of establishing a society whereby, the sick and all others Who have any kind of suf-fering whatever to bear could be united together, in offering it God. With the assistance of the present bisl~qp of Fargo, N. D., the Most Reverend Aloysius J. Muencb, who at the. time was serving in the capacity of assistant pastor in a Milwaukee parish,. the Apost01at.e of Suffering was established. Ten Blessed Years tells the story of the Apostolate in the words c;fits foundress, Miss Clara M. Tiry. Through the Cathblic Press in the United States the Apostolate was brodght to the attentidn of 136 BOOK REVIEW~ the'suffering, and the society grew rapidly in membership. The book gi~es an account of the activities of the Apostolat~ and'a short sketch of the life of its patron saint, St. Lidwina of Schiedam, a fifteenth century Dutch girl. In the foreword Bishop Muench tells of the .spirit that animates the Apostolate: "Through the Apostolate ~bey feel again the healing hand of Christ, Who loved the sick. It is like balm on a burning wound--Christ's consola-tion that life is yet worth while: that the sick may share in His redemptive work." .°Happy Hours with Christ is a collection of twenty-seven groups of meditations, prayers and spiritual readings for ~he sick. They are appropriately arranged according to the various liturgi-cal seasons. Through them the sick are brought to a deeper realiza-tion of their mighty vocation of suffering and are enabled to bear their pain with greater love and generosity.--W. 3. "BURTON, S.3. HOPE OF LIFE. By Sister Monica, Ph.D. Pp. vii + 162. P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1942. $1.35. This tersely written little book from the talented pen of a well-known historical and spiritual writer is intended primarily for reli-gious, although the la~ person will find in it much food for reflec-tion. The author writes of death, dreaded death: but death, the door to life. Only a soul. that has loved much both God and man and has meditated long on a personal God could have made these reflections. Some undertaking fails, friends turn against us, love is spurned. And we sit at the roadside brooding. I am so unimporta.nt. But I am important to God. He wants me. When the supreme moment comes, why is it that we die alone? We bare a longing for com-pany, a craving for human s~mpatby. But there comes a time when~ human sympathy will not satisfy; we must have the divine. Let me cling to God. I must keep my heart clean in its impulses and its choices; I must keep my gaze clean, or I lose the way. Arrived at my home I shall find hap

Issue 1.5 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; RI::::VII:::W FOR RI::LIGIOUS ' VOLUME I ~SEPTEMBER 15, 1942 NUMBER 5 CONTENTS OUR FRIENDS. THE ANGEl~S---Clement Andlauer. S.J . 290 PAMPIa.~.~ET. NOTICES . " . 300 PATR~:-I~:~'~BEDIENCE IN TIME OF WAR John C. Ford, S.J. . 301 BOOKS . ; -,, AL . 305 THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE--G.Augustine Ellard. S.J . 306 SUPPLYIN.G DAYS OF ABSENCE FROM THE NOVITIATEm Adam C. Ellis. S.J . 322 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS---The Editors . 326 THE "NEW COMMANDMENT" OF LOVEmMatthew Germing, S.J. 3~7 THE APOSTOLATE TOASSIST DYING NON-CATHOLICS-- Gerald Kelly, S.J . 338 COMMUNICATIONS (On Spiritual Direction) . 34 BOOK REVIEWS-- OUR MODELS IN RELIGION. By Brother Jean-Baptiste. F.M.S. 350 THE SOLUTION Is EASY. By the Reverend Mark Schmid. O.S.B. 350 THE DIALOG MASS. By the Reverend Gerald Ellard. S.J. 35 ! . THIS ROSARY. By the Reverend Anthony N. Fuerst . 353 BOOKS RECEIVED . . . 353 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 28. Visting Relatives . 29. Non-acceptance of a dispensation from Vows . " . . . 354 30. Occupation of Novice during Canonical Year . 35.5 31. Scapular Medal worn by Religious . 356 32. Absence from the Postulancy . 356 33. Re-admission of an ex-Religious . 357 34. Local Superior's power to grant Permissions . 357 35. Dismissal of Postulant without giving Reason . " . . ~357 ,THE LETTERS OF SAINT BONIFACE . 358 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS 359 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1942. Vol. I, No. 5. Published bi-monthly: January, March. May, duly. September. and November, at The College Press. 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, KanSas. by St. Mary's College, St. Matys. Kan-sas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as se~ond 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. Copyright. 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. Our Friends, The Angels Clement Andlauer, S.3. A MATERIALISTIC age such as ours is embarrassed when confronted with the attitude of. St. Francis of Assisi toward nature. To hide their discomfort, moderns often accuse him of exaggerated sentimentality ~t0ward creatures. To St. Francis every creature; ~vhether animate or inanimate, was a brother o~ sister. No object was so low that it did not merit his love and p~otection, his reverence and praise. Tide world around him was one huge family of which he wa~s a member, and in that family circle he rejoiced to recognize his kin, no matter how infe-rior or even repulsive they might be in themselves. The thing that made St. Francis feel at home with the world around him was the consciousness of'a common Father in heaven. All things come from God, and in them all is reflected the perfection of~od. Why, then, should anyone be ashamed to acknowledge kinship Gith tbe wdrks of God's hands? How could. St. Francis help calling the' birds and beasts his brothers and sisters? This is not the exaggerated sentimentality which raises an animal to the status of a human being. It is an intensely human applica-tion of principles of cold logic; the principle that God is the first beginning and last end of all things, the principle that the Divine Essence is th~ model of every created thing. And whether or not we apply these principles in our own lives, the conclusion follows that together with the world around us we form one family. Among the members of our great created family are the angels. Despite the great difference beti~'een their nature and ours, they are our brothers in a higher and truer sense ~han the rest of creation. Even though .their splendor is so 290 - great that they havebeen mistaken by men for God Him-self, still they are creatures. St. John tills us in his Apoc-alypse that an angel spoki~ to him,, "And I fell down before his~ feet to adore him, And he said to me: 'See you do it no~. I am thy fellow-servant, i~nd of thy brethren, w.ho have the testimony of 3~sus. Adore God.'. " Here we have it on,~the word of one of the noblest spirits in heaven that he is our brother. Angels come from the same hand that made us: they are patterned after the same Divine Essence: alone of all other creatures they share with us an intellect and will. If this is not enough to/hake them our brothers, there remains the fact that angels and men are the adopted children of God. Supernatural union with God is our common end; God's grace raises us both to a state above our natures, and God is our mutual Father ifi a .very special and .sublime sense of the word. Our Elder Brothers The angels are our, elder brothers, the more illustrious members of our family. Save for the fact that the Son of God paid us the honor of taking to ,Himself a human; not an angelic, nature, these brothers of ours are far superior, to us. In man is reflected .the existence, the life, the activity of G~d; but all'of these perfections are intimately dependent on matter. Only in the angels do we find these attribufes of God mirrored independently of matter,'~, as they are in God, Because angels exist and act. without the slighest neces-sary connection with matter we call them pure spirits. Our souls are indeed spirits; that is, they are stibstances which have no component parts into which they can be ~separated. They can exist aside from matter, and in their highest operations they depend on matter only as a necessary con-dition. But our souls are brought ifto beihg brily on the 291 CLEMENT ,~NDLAUER condition that matter is rightly disposed. BY their vgry nature they are destined to be united to a material body without which they are incomplete. In their intellectual acts, our souls lean so heavily for support on our bodies that if our sense channels are blockaded by disease or acci-. dent, our mental life is nil or at the best extremely meager. Even a departed soul retains an aptitude for the body it once inhabited. It was~ destined for intimate .union with that body for all eternity, and only when the body rejoins the soul at the resurrection will the complete substance.man exist again. But with the angels it is otherwise. They were never intended to be joined tO matter, or to be depend-ent on it in any way for their life and activity: hence we call them pure spirits. Not only do th~ angels surpass us in the more perfect way in which they show forth God's existenc.e~and activity, but they participate in His power more completely than men. What a struggle'Our poor intellects have in acquiring truth. How faulty is our cognition of many things when we do acquir~ some knowledge of them. Unless an object can be reached by our senses we cannot know it directly but only by analogy. But for an angel it is no Struggle, no matter of syllogizing to attain truth. His cognition is not a mere scratching of the surface to find a similarity. His keen intellect goes to the very essence of things at once and sees ramifications that the wisest men miss after the study of a lifetime. For an angel an examination would not be the painful, ordeal it often-is for us, but just another pleas-ant occupation. These spirits also surpass us .in what we ordinarily call power. It would be a great mistake to imagine that because they have no bodies fhey. have no .powe'r over material objects. Man has become adept in imposing his will on the world .around him by the clever use of the laws of nature, 292 OUR FRIElqI~, THE ANGELS but he must always make use of material instrumentssuch as machines or chemicals. An angel do,es not need a crowbar to move a huge;rock. Indeed, he couldn't use one, since he has no hands. But by his deep insight into the physical laws and by the~ power inherent in his nature, an angel could move that rock more quickly, than we could for all our crowbars. A Valuable Relationship So we see that these brothers .of ours are very. wonder-ful creatures. They are relatives whom we need not be ashamed to acknowledge before the most distinguished meh of ~his earth. It is ratl~er flattering to us to have such hon-orable family connections, but most of us desire, something more substantial than the vicarious limelight of important relatives. If our brotherhood with the angels does nothing more than tickle our Vanity, then it is an interesting but not very.useful doctrine. Therefore~ it is natural for us to ask what, if any', i~ the value of such a relationship with the .angels. Things rarely have any value in themselves; their importance usually comes from their relation to other things. Diamonds would not be valuable if all the rocks in the world were diamonds. But when we look at the world as a whole and see the position that~tha~"pecul.i._ar rock, the diamond, has in the mineral world we under-stand why diamonds are worth money while a piece of sandstone of the same size is worthless. If, then, we look at the position of angels and men in tile plan that God has established in this universe', we begin to understand the very practical use of our brotherhood with the angels. We know that God did not create this world without any purpose in mind. 'On the contrary, reason and faith teach us that God engaged in the work 6f creation to share 293 CLEMENT ANDLAUER His own ,divine goodness with other beirigs as far .as that was possible. Intimately connected "with this end' is the happiness of man, a happindss which in the present order means union with God in the Beatific Vision. Now, while we cannot ~frustrate the first purpose of God, since, by our very existence we share in the perfections of God; unfor- ~tunately for us we can, by the wrong use of our free wills, very effectively prevent God's second and conditional inten-tion from being iealized. Indeed, without special, help from God, it would be extremely difficult-for us not to frustrate this end and thus lose our ~eternal happiness. However, it is hardly_ becoming God's dignity and man's liberty that God should constantly step in to keep us on the right path. A wise employer does not try to handle every department of his business himself. He uses foremen~ and intermediaries. He keeps a watchful eye on the work as. a. whole to see that things go as ithey should, but he leaves his men to work together 'to accomplish the task undertaken. This is what God has done. He designs the whole operation and then allows His creatures to work together, the lower helping the higher, and the higher directing, and watching' over the lower. As St. Thomas ~puts it, "G6d directs lower creatures by the higher;, not because of any defect in His power, but out of the abun-dance of His goodness, that He :might:also give tO creatures some of'the dignity He enjoys as the cause of all things~" Ndw we begin to see the value of our connection with ,the angels. Looking at God's providence 'in its complete-ness we should be surprised if He did not use the :angels to assist us in reaching our last end. If God has communi-cated so,~ much of His infinite perfection to our elder brothersl is it no~t'reasonable .that He should also allow them to assist Him as the cause of' all things? Is it not just what we should expec~ of God's goodness that He would 2§4 OUR FRI~IqD~, THE ANGELS arrange for the ,more perfect members of His family to guard and help the less perfect members? fit Consoling Doctrine -If we have any doubt about the matter, we need but examine Scripture and the teaching of the Church. In the Psalms we read, "For He hath given His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways." And again, "The angel of the Lord shall encamp, round about them that fea.r Him; and shall deliver them." It was for this reason that Christ warned the Jews not to despise the little children, those seemingly unimportant mites. "See .that you despise not these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven .always see the face of my Father Who is in heaven." Fathers and theologians have so .insisted on the doctrine that every man has a guardian angel that we cannot doubt this fact without the greatest rashness. The Catechism of the Council of Trent also illustrates this truth in a homely way. It reads, "For as parents, if their children have occa-sion to travel a dangerous way, infested by robbers, appoint persons to guard and assist them in case of attack, so does our Heavenly Father place over each of us, in our journey toward our heavenly home, angels to protect us by their aid and v;ratchfulness, that we may escape the snares secretly laid for us by our enemies, repel their ,horrible attacks on us, and proceed on our journey along the road that leads directly to our end. By their guidance we are saved from the devious wanderings into which our treach-erous foe might betray us, to, lead us aside from the way that leads to,Heaven." Could anything be more consoling than this do(trin~ at thosetimes when we feel so keenly our own weakness? It teaches us not only to hope for but to expect help from creatures that are more like to God. than we are. Obviously, 295 (~LEMENT ANDLAUER r~ we should not look for. such visible and extraordinary ix~tervention in our problems as Tobias had. Our angels will not appear as young men in shining armor tol strike down our enemies as did the angel when Heliodorus attempted to rob the temple of Jerusalem of its-treasures. But we can expect the kind of protection that the valiant Judith received. Inspired by God she went with one maid-servant into the camp of the Assyrians who were besieging Bethulia. For four daysshe dwelt there in the midstlof the dangers of camp life until God delivered Holofernes, the leader of the Assyrians, into her hands and she cut ,off his head. On her return to ]3ethulia unharmed and undefiled she told her countrymen, "Bu~ as the Lord liveth, His angel hath been my keeper, both going hence, and abiding there, and returning from thence hither." No matter how dangerous or difficult our duty may be, the Lord's~ahgel is our keeper and we need have no fear. i ~ Every day our guardian angels protect us from physi-cal dangers, but more important still they ward° off spir-itual dangers. We go through life constantly assaiied by. the spirits of evil who lead us .into sin. ' Against the~se evil ¯ spirits, who have lost none of their great intelligence and power,' we poor Weak men have'to struggle. With~God's grace we can put them to flight; but what a relief i~ is to "have a spirit equally~ powerful or even more powerful fighting¯ on our side. What a consolation in. the hour of death, when our faculties are.weakened and the evil spirits redouble their' efforts fo~. a. last desPerate attack, to have one. who will carry- on. the battle for us.~ This.~isth~ time when our ,guardian angels are most needed, and iri .thi~ hour ~heir whole power is devoted to our protection, i Another officeof our angels is that of counselor. It was an angel that advised Joseph in a dream to take M~ary as ¯ his spouse, to take the Child and fly into Egypt, tol bring 296 OUR FRIENEE, THE ANGELS the Child back again. This is not the way the-angels usually speak to us, but they do speak to us just as truly as if we exchanged "words with them. Frequently they suggest good thoughts to us in such a way that we quite naturally take them for our own thoughts. They urge us to do good works, and we do not realize that we are being~ led by the inspiration of. our guardian angels. In our afflictions they are close .to us to teach us patience and resig-nation, to fill us with faith, to .whisper words ofohope in the good with which God wil~l crown our sufferings. In our joys they rejoice with us, they cause in us thoughts of gratitud~ to God and encourage us to serv~ Him more faith-fully~ There is hardly a Catholic who in some perplexing situation has not had recourse to his angel and received from him the advice he sought. It isa frequent experience with all of us, but because our minds are so easily capti-vated by material objects our counselors sometimes meet stiff opposition in their work. Scripture calls our attention to another duty of the angels: the offering .of our prayers to God--increasing the value of our cold petitions by uniting to them their own ardent supplications. The angel Raphael told the older Tobias, "When thou didst p.ray with tears I offered.thy prayers to the Igord.". And in the Apocalypse St. ~lohn tells us that he saw an angel who mingled much incense with the prayers of the saints and offered them to God. Prayer, decently offered, is always listened to b~ God, but praye~ fervently offered is more acceptable. Our angels a.re so closely united to us that our needs become.as it were their needs, and our petitions become their petitions; and who can say how often the ardent and undistracted prayer of our angels has obtained for us an.answer to our prayers? And so it g6es all through life. From our births to our deaths these untiring guardians stand ready to protect and 297 ,guide us. The task that began with our entrance into this ¯ life ends only when our souls depart from our bodies. As we prepare to enter the door of eternity the Church prays, "Come forth to meet him, ye angels of the Lord, receive his soul and preser.ve itin the sight of the Most High." As the body is carried to its last resting ,place it is accompanied the words, "May the angels escort thee to Paradise. At. thy c.oming may the martyrs welcome thee, and conduct thee, to the Holy City ~lerusalem. May a choir of angels receive thee, and with Lazarus, once poor, mayest thou have rest everlasting." After Death ". Strictly speaking, after the last great battle on our behalf against the powers of darkness the mini,~trations of our guardian angels cease. Now we are beyond the power to be helped by them or to be harmed by the evil spirits. Our course, is run, and all that remains is the decision of the ,ludge. But though their work as guardians is. completed. we can hardly imagine that those who have been so close to us for so many years and who have had such an interest in us will cease to .care for us. To the Throne of God they lead th~ souls of their charges. There they step ~side while the ,Iudge pronounces sentence. If the sentence be Purgatory, once more the angels take up the souls and bear them to that sad prison. Here the souls must remain until their debts .are paid; but it is not unlikely that from time to time they are consoled and encouraged by the visits of their angels. When at last the purified" souls come forth, it is to meet their angels who will lead them to .the company of the Queen of angels and her-Divine Son. What 10ve and hap-piness the soul and its angel will experience°in each Other's company is easy to imagine, for they are now doubIy dear to one another, and together through eternity they will look OUR FRIENDS, THE ANGELS upon the Face of God and marvel at His wisdom that ,united them so intimately. Such then is the way that our Father in heaven has ¯ ordained that our illustrious brothers the angels should assist us in our journey through life. Modern critics call it a pious remnant of pagan superstition, but to anyone who understands the teaching of the Church about the angels it is clear that the Catholic doctrine has no connection with¯ the pagan attempt to explain the mysteries of nature by the workings of capricious; invisible beings. Neither is this teaching a fairy story to delight¯children. As we grow older, life loses many of the pleasant aspects that enter-tained us as Children. We get knocked about and learn hard lessons. But no matter how old or how wise we may become, there always remains the beautiful doctrine of the guardian angels that. thrilled us at seven and consoles usat seventy. How about our side of the picture? How are we to. repay these guardians of ours? To speak of repaying our angels would be to insult them, f6r they act solely because of love, and we, don't repay an act of love with baser cur-rency. But we do have obligations of love, gratitude, and reverence that we cannot dismiss. St. Bernard dwelt upon these duties of ours in one of his sermons; and we can do no .better than to leavethis study of the angels.with his words" in our ears: "What respect this do~trine of the guardian angels should arouse in you, what devotion it should pro-duce, what confidence it should inspire. Respect for their presence, devotionto their unselfish love, confidence in their watchfulness. Wherever you may lodge, or in whatever retired place you may be, respect your angel. Will you dare to do in his presence what you would not dare do before me~ Do you doubt that he whom you do not see is present? Then let us be faithful, let us be grateful to such guardians. 299 CLEMENT ANDLAU'ER They never fail us, they are wise, they are powerful; what' shall we fear? And so, brethren, in God let us love His angels affectionately as our co-heirsin the future and as our protectors and teachers, placed over us by our Father, in this life." PAMPHLET NOTICES In Novena to Our L~dd~ of Victor~ , the Reverend Raymond A. Panda has ar-ranged a number of very appropriate prayers and hymns for congregational 'use. The pamphlet bears the Imprimatur of the Archbishop of Milwaukee: is published by Lawrence N. Daleiden and Co., 218 West Madison St., Chicago, I11. NO price given on our review copy. The Ser~,ant of God. Brother Meinrad Euester O.$.B. is the simple story of the lif~ of a Benedictine Lay Brother whose cause for beatification has been inaugu-rated. 32 pages. For further ir~formation, write tothe Grail, St. Meinrad. Indiana. The Militant~ Christian Vir',des by the very Reverend Ignatius Smith. O.P. is a reprint of an article that appeared in the s~:holarly Dominican Quarterly, The Thomist. Father Smith gives~a compact synthesis of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas on the stern Christian virtues, particularly of.vindictive justice, just anger, righteous indignation, and virtuous contempt 0f crime. These things, contends the author, demand~study now and practic~ both now and in'the peace that is to follow this war. The pamphlet contains~,a brief discussion outlin.¢, and a large number of references tothe works of St. Thomas. 32 pages: sells for 5 cents a single copy, 50 copies for $2.25, 100 copies for $4,00, postage extra in each case. Write to the National Catholic Welfare Conference,, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W., Washington. D. C. 300 Pa :rio :ic Obedience, in Time o1: War John C. Ford, S.J. IN .THE Catholic scheme .of things all lawful authority comes ultimateiy frdm God. The civil rulers of peoples, whether they be kings or premiers of presidents, whether the~, believe in God or not, and whether they keep His law or'not, are nevertheless His ministers when they act within the bound~ of their a~uthority. St. Paul is not speaking of believers, but of the pagan rulers of his day when he exhorts Christians thus: "Let everyone be subject to the higher authority, for there exists no authority except from God, and those who exist have been appointed by God" (Romans 13, 1). And St. Peter likewise: "Be subject to every human creature for God's sake, whether to the king .as supreme, or to governors as sent through him for vengeance on evil-doers and for the praise of the good. For such is the will of God that by doing go6d you should 13ut to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live as freemen, yet not using your freedom as a cloak of malice but as servants of God. Honor all men; love the brotherhood: fear God; h6nor the king" (I Peter 2, 13-17). And Our Lord Himself upheld the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees even while He rebuked them, saying: '~The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. All things, therefore, that they .1Father Ford originally wrote this article at the request of the editors of the Boston. Traoeler. It first appeare~d in that publication under date of May 26, 1942. It was later reprinted in the Congressional Record, May 28, 1942, page A 2139. We . reprint it here with the permission, of the publishers. We asked permission to reprint it because, though not written specifically for religious, yet its clear statement of the Christian duties of Obedience and Patr,otism will undoubtedly be Of use to our readers whether for personal meditation or in their apostolic miaistriea.~ED. 301 JOHN C. FOP.D command you, 6bserve and do. But do not act according to their works. " (Matthew 23, 2-3). Citizens, especially in a-democracy, have th~ right and the duty to inquire into the government's policy, to criticize it, to make efforts under.the laws and the Constitution to change it if they disapprove ot~ it. But if they want to prac-tice the Christian virtue of civil Obedience they cannot do any of these things in.a rebellious spirit. They cannot be . so disposed that they intend to disobey when they disap-prove. The obedience of a reasonable man is not blind. No virtue can ignore truth. If I know that something is black I cannot say it is white. But obedience does not depend on speculative approval of commands or the poli-cies behind them. Mu~h less does it depend on approval of the tiersonal characters of those in authority. Obedience sees the authority of God in the ruler. It is the first prin-ciple of united action under lawful authority/. During war time united action is absolutely indispen-sable. And it can be h~d only at the price of sacrifices and h~ardships which will increase rather than decrease as the war goes on. The practice of obedience, then, becomes more difficult just when it becomes most imperative. And if dutiful submission to the cold claims of obedience were our only principle we might easily fail to live up to its ¯ requirements. But there ii another virtue which God has placed in our hearts, the virtue of patriotiim. ~A-new book has juit been published in Boston by the Stratford Company: National Patriotism in Papal Teaching, by Father John Wright. It is an intensely interesting and ,timely work. -The moral pronouncements of the modern Popes on the virtue of patriotism have steered a middle course. That. excessive patriotism which degenerates into nationalism or racism ,is condemned. But condemned likewise is~ the 302 PATRIOTIC OBEDIENCE IN TIME OF opposite error, that a preferential love of one's own country is incompatible ~ith international peace. True patriotism is a well-ordered love of one's fatherland. We are bound, says Benedict XV, to love with asp, ecial attachment thosd with whom we share a commonfatherland. Instinct itself tells us to turn to the fatherland as ~the source of those 'rich cuItural blessings which we have received precisdy because " we are Americans and not of any other nation. True patriotism is part of'the virtue of charity and like religion itself, says Leo XIII, is one Of the ~"two duties of the firit order from which no man in this life can exempt himself," --the love of God and the love of c6untry. Cardinal O'Connell echoed this Papal teaching in his~ Easter message this year when he said: "What America offers and gives and maintains for her citizens is a treasure so pr~ious that it is Sacred. The preservation of that heritage is to every American a sacred trust, and with the possession of that trust goes the sacred obligation to pre-serve, defend, and perpetuate it. That is the meaning, of true patriotism. The defense of our altars and our homes is an bblig'ation which rests upon "e3rery citizen." It is not hard°to obey when,we love what is com-manded. When the motive of sincere love of country.~s added to "the motive of obedience, burdens that otherwise would seem unsuppbr~able become easy to bear. Love con-quers all things. It is a duty theref0re~ to foster this true love of our own United States of America, so that the natural instinct that attaches us to her will become a delib-erate reasonable love of preference permeating all our civic obligations and changing cold obedience to deycoted service. Tru~ patriotism does not mean flag waving. It does not include hatred of other' nations, whether enemies or allies. Nor does it necessarily include love of the admin~s- ¯ 303 JOH~ C. FO~ tration. Administrations come and go. The fatherland endures. But patriotism does e~njoin respect for the execu-tives whom we have chosen to ~atch over our native land. Above all patriotism does not go about shouting: My country, right or wrong! Like obedience it is not a blind but a reasonable virtue. It faces whatever facts there are, and admits the unpleasant ones when they are really facts. But when the love of country ' and fellow countrymen is true and deep, it is. strong enough to stand the strain that. may be put upon it .by governmental policies, or what appear to us t.o be official mistakes. And so in time of war especially there should be a mini-mum of captious criticism of officialdom." We are now fighting for our life. The. heritage of America is at stake. Only united action will preserve it. For we are fighting enemies who are powerful and skilled and "who are also the enemies of all international law and .justice'"- (Cardinal O'Connell). I have often heard the objection made that some of our allies are also the enemies of all international law and jus-tice. Russia is meant. This is undoubtedly a fact and an. ¯ unpleasant one. Russia is not fighting in order to preserve the American way of life.She is fighting, naturally enough, to preserve her own, way of life, which at the moment is the way of totalitarian dictatorship. Com-munistic Russia. is anti-democratic, anti-Christian, and anti-God. " Her principles, therefore, are the very opposite of all that we.mean by American democracy. It would be dangerous folly to close our eyes to this truth. But true patriotism does not have to close its eyes. Those who love their country with true devotion will face the facts realisti-cally, and will not love her any the less because of the cruel n~cessity that has forded her to make such an ally. The American who really loves his country will recognize that 3O4 P&TRIOTIC OBEDIENCE IN TIME OF nedessit.y, will work with all his heart for our own Ameri-" can way of life, and guard it ceaselessly against the insidious infiltration of principles that would destroy it. It is obvious that in a nation as great and diversified as ours, and in a war like this one, absolute harmony of views cannot be expected. There are bound to be differences of opinion as to methods and aims. And so our hope of. united action must be based on something higher, stronger, and more universal than our'individual opinions. I find that higher principle in the obligatory character of the Christian virtues of obedience and patriotism: They teach us to recognize the authority of God Himself in our rulerS, and to respond to an.instinct that God has placed in our hearts by loving with a special 10re the land that gave us birth. When motivated by these virtues even war-like efforts. can be directed too.Almighty God. And indeed if we are to master the unhappy fact of war, rather than allow it to -master us; if we are to keep' it from dehumanizing and brutahzmg us,. as it easily could, we must find something spiritual and Christianizing~in it. The practice of patriotic obedience .out of supernatural motives is the Christian answer to the challenge of war. BOOKS ON TRIAL !~oohs or~ Trial is a review of book-reviews, published periodically by The Thomas More Book Shop. 22 West Monroe Street, Chicago, I11. It promises to be an immense; help to librarians who are desirous of getting "clean, wholesome, and meritorious books." Such is the object of the publishers. A genuine Catholic Action project, it deserves cooperation¯ For further information write to the publishers. 305 The SupernaEural Lit:e G. Augustine Ellard, S.3. THE supernatural life may be defined as a participation~ in the intimate life of God and 'eventually in that form of beatitude which is peculiar to the Blessed Trinity. Every Christian knows that. there are communications of life within God. The Father begets the Son intellec-tuallyo and gives Him the whole of the divine life. In turn the Father and the Son produce the Holy Spirit and give Him also the whole'of the divine life. There the communi-cations of the divine life might have ceased. But, most graciously and generously, the Divine Persons decided that they wouldgrant a sl~are in that life to angels and men After Adam and Eve had received it and lost it again for themselves and their posterity, the Incarnation of the Son was devised as the gland means of.restoring it to men. Thus to the Incarnation of God there corresponds a certain deifi-cation or divinization of men. It is this deification of men which we hope to explain somewhat in this article. Life in general may be described as the power of self-motion. The acts that characterize life begin from within. Where no such activity can be discerned, it is concluded that no life is present. Thus, if a man were noticed not to initiate any movement whatsoever, not even a l~eart-.bea~t or a respiration, he would be pronounced dead. Besides beginning from within, vital activity, at least if it be nor-mal, generally produces .an effect within the agent also, and indeed for the better. Every heart-beat or respiration leaves one a little better than one would be without it. Hence, life may also be said to consist in the power of self-perfection. Only living things can make. themselves more perfect. This d~finition is not quite suitable for God. He 306 THE SUPERNATUK~L does not change, nor can He become more perfect. Div.ine life is that excellence in God whereby, in accordance with His nature, He acts, and by this activity is perfect. In everything that lives, we can distinguish the sub-stance or nature, which is fundamental; thevital powers or faculties by which it acts or moves and perfects itself;-and lastly, vital activity itself. To illustrate: when a man is sound asleep the whole of his substance or nature--body plus soul--is there, resting; his power to see, for example, is suspended; when he awakens again, he will actually see. Degrees of Natural Life Of life that is natural, that is, proportionate to the nature of the being in which, it is found, we know of five grades or degrees; They are: vegetative, animal, human: 'angelic, and divine life. All members of the vegetative kingdom show their powers of Self-motion by nourishing themselves, by growing, and by reproducing their kind. 'Besides having these three functions, animals can also move about freely, and especially they have the life of knowledge that comes through the five senses, and the ~corre.~ponding life of the sense:appetites. In the light of that knowledge they. experi-erice various emotions and desires, and regulate their move.- merits. Men have all the vital functions of plants andanimals. and in addition they have the life of reason and of the will. This is their characteristic mark and that which raises them incomparably above mere animals. Thus far the ~radation is clear and neat. In the purely spiritual realm we find two natural forms of life, the angelic anal the divine. Purely spiritual life has only two great functions, intelligence and volition. In contrast to men, who are said to be. rational, because they come to most of G.AUGUSTINE ELLARD their knowledge by reasoning, that is, by proceedii~g from premises to conclusions, the angels have intuition, that is, a - simple, direct, view of things, even of spiritual realities and truths. Whereas,we can have only an indirect knowledge of spirits and spiritual things, the angels see them as easity and immediately as men perceive one another. Immeasurably above angelic life is the fifth and final grade of natural life, that of God Himself. Being purely spiritual, it also consists in understanding and Willing. But whereas that of angels is limited, the intelligence and will of God are irifinite. They must have corresponding and pro-portionate objects which they alone can reach. As a matter of fact, these too are infinite. Thus the divine intellect has an infinite :intuition or view of all truth, infinite and finite. This is followed immediately by a similar infinite love of all goodness, and by a like fruition of all. beaaty. These three great acts, vision; love, and fruition, of the Infinite, and of all that is finite, constitute the inner life and beati-tude of God. If God had chosen not to create a world, they would make we 'learn that the up'the whole life inner life of God Infinite vision of infinite truth in infinite word or mental expression the Son. Infinite love of the infinite of God. By revelation is not quite so simple. the Father begets an of that truth, that is, goodness in the Father and Son produce the Holy Spirit, the term of that love. Thus, in spite 6f the absolute simplicity of God, there is in the one divine nature a trinity of persons, and though God ~s. umque and w,thout equal,, there is a~certain companion-ship in the oneIDeity. What we may call the external life of God consisti in creating a.nd governing the world, and it culminates in sanctifying and beatifying angels and men. These are all the natural forms of life. We might 'sus-pect that none other is possible. But by faith we come to know of asixth form, which, however, is not nataral, but 308 THE SUVERI~ATURKL L11:~_ su15ernatural. It does not come, from within, .but is super- . added from above; it is s uperhuma, n ,an d even superangelic. Supernatural Life Men can, to some .extent and in~, an external way, "elevate" lower forms of life. By skilful cultivation.or by using special artificial means, they can enable plants to bring, forth more beautiful flowers or bettei fruits than those ,plants left to themselves could produce. In this con-nection the processes of grafting are particularly note-worthy; by them new and very excellent kinds of fruit can be obtained. In grafting there is a real composition of diverse forms of life.' Domestic animals are advanced in various ways by human aid. As things are now, milady's little poodle lives in a.warm dry apartment, without effort on his part receives at regular intervals just the right quality and quantity of scientifically manufactured dog-food, and sleeps,in a comfortable little bed of his own; and if he should be injured or fall sick, he would be taken off to the dog-hospital and enjoy the refinements of modern veteri-nary medicine and surgery. In a porely natural state he would have no protection from the elements, he would eat what he could catch, if he could catch it, and, when he could catch.it; and if anything serious happened to him, he w.ould have to linger in his pain until death released him, coming perhaps 'in the form of a stronger animal to devour him: Among men, a king may m~arry a commoner and raise her to royal rank and dignity. A wealthy man may adopt as his son and heir a penniless orphan. The learned can share their learning and intellectual satisfactions with the, unlearned. In all these cases there is a certain, elevation of one's plane of life, and a participation in the life of~those who have been living on a higher plane. What men cannot do to lower forms of life is to elevate them internally, that is, to give them a new. kind of intrinsic'vital power. 309 AUGUSTINE ~-LLARD If a mere.plant could be made, for example, to see, like. a dog, that vision would be supernatural in the plant, though it is natural in a dog. If a dog could be made to reason, like a man, that reasoning would .be supernatural in the dog, as it is natural in a ',man. If a man should be enabled to perceive spirits as angels do, that perception would be supernatural in the man, .as. it would be natural in an angel. Now then, if a man could by some special dispensation be given the power to do-something that is characteristic of the Divine Persons and peculiar to them-- for instance, to have an intuition of the divine essence--that again would be supernatural in the man, as it would. be natural ,in the Trinity. Such an intuition would be supernatural in an angel also. Participation in a vital perfecti~on belonging to a higher creatable nature, for example, for a man to hold converse with an angel, as was granted to St. Francis of Rome, is said to be supernatural in the relative sense. Participation in a perfection belonging only to the. uncreated and ~divine, nature, for example, immediate vision of the Divinity~ is called supernatural in the absolute sense, This is the meaning which we shall attach to '!supernatural" hereafter in this article, Now it should not' be difficult to see what ismeant by the supernatural life. It consists simply in this, that by a peculiar exercise of omnipotence and of divine munificence, God enables men and angels to share in those three great vital functions which are natural only in the~Divine Per-sons. Men are made to participate in that kin.d of life~ and eventually in that kind of beatitude, which are naturally characteristic only of God himself. They are empowered to have a direct view~ of Infinite Truth itself; a corresponding love of the Infinite Goodness, and a similar fruition of the Infinite Beauty,~ Thus they' have a share.in the life and beatitude of the Blessed Trinity. That they :do so, is very. 310 THE SUPEI~NATURAIL LIFE clear at least for the Blessed~iia heaven. They possess the supernatural life in its :full development, in its maturity. Only in the light of this s~age of it; can it be well under-stood. One could more easily judge, of trees from their seeds or animals from their embryos than understand the supernatural life by studying it merely in its first and lowes~ form. Beatitude If we compare the supernatural life in its beatific stage with .God's own life, we Shall note certain likenesses and certain differences. In general, the objects are the same. It is the same Infinite Truth which is seen and contemplated by God and the Blessed. The same Infinite Goodness is loved by God and the Blessed. It is the same.Infinite Beauty that enraptures both God and the Blessed. But in God the vision itself is infinite and comprehensive or exhaustive, whereas in the Blessed their act of vision is finite and not exhaustive. Similarly', in God love and fruition are unlimited, but in the Blessed these acts are limited and pro-portionate to their vision. In the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit there is the plenitude of the divine life and beatitude: in the beatified, a participation of that life ;,rid beatitude. They have the same thing, but not in its fulness. "Their participation may be compared to the share tha~ the First Lady of the Land has in the dignity of the President, or to the part that a son has in the wealth and station of his father, or to the sharing of pupils in their teacher's learning. In God there is the original, so to speak, of the divine life: in those in heaven with Him, a copy, li~teness, or assimila-tion to that original. In God, vision, enjoyment, and love are natural and all substantially identified with the divine essence; in men or angels these acts are graciously super-added to their natures, and they are not substantial. What 311 G, AUGUSTINE ELL/~D ~God has of Himself and by nature, the beatified have by favor and grace. Man becomes an adoptive son of God, but not a natural Son, like the Word. Deiform beatitude is incomparab!y superior to natural angelic beatitude. The angels who are in heaven now do, as a matter of fact, enjoy supernatural bliss. They have it because they were gratuitously raised to the supernatural order, like men, with the .gift of sanctifying grace. If they had not received it and if in their period of probation they had remained good, they would now be in a state of natural angelic beatitude. In that condition their knowledge, love, and enjoyment of the Supreme Tr~th, Goodness, and Beauty would be mediate, that is through a medium (their "own essences); and though it would be an inexpressibly happy state, there would be nothing in it of the imme-diate vision of God which they now have and which makes them immensely more blessed. Of course their love also would be of another kind, and so would their enjoyment of the divine beauty. The greatest angel that God in all His ¯ omnipotence could create, endowed with all possible gifts and privileges except grace, and .given the highest possible measure of the beatitude that would be natural to an angel, would indeed be inconceivably happy, but immeasurably below any creature enjoying the minimum of God's own special kind of bliss and glory. Likewise, if men had not. been elevated to the super-natural order and destiny, and if throughout their proba-tion they had remained morally good, after death they would be admitted to a state of natural human beatitude, that is,¯ happiness proportionate to the capacities and merits of human nature. They would be united to God. through knowledge, love, and fruition. But this knowledge, being in accordance with the nature of the human, spirit, would be rational, abstractive, discursive. They would 312 THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE know the Creator, not', directly and immediately or from Himself, but from His works and effe,cts. Given such~ and such artistry, the Artist who made it all must be as perfect and lovely and admirable, and even more so. And of course their love of God arid their enjoyment of His beauty could not go beyond the limits and character of their knowledge. The relations of man to God would be different from what they are now:~ he would not be a son, nor a~friend, nor a spouse of God. But natural bumanbeatitude would still be beatitude, and it is well to try tO suspect to'some incipient extent what that means. Even-naturally the human mind and soui have certain capacities and needs and longings for the Infinite; that is why no quantity and no quality of cre-ated goods, however great, can satisfy the human heart. any form of beatitude all aspirations and desires would have to be satiated, and completely so. O~ie would kn~w everything that one would like to know--think of how much that would be, and what an intense thrill it would bring! and one would have everything that his heart could desire. Any kind ofbeatitude would involve perfect satisfaction, and that forever. Since in this mad world we can never have anything even remotely like. a beatific experience, the onIy way in which we can attempt to gain some slight inkling of what it would feel like to be enjoying beatitude, is to gather together in thought all the pleasures and joyful experi-ences that we have ever had, to add to them all the possible delights that we can imagine, and then say, "After all, beatitude is something incomparably grehter and grander' and more glorious than all that!" To possess angelic beatitude would be something marvelously greater still! What then must it be to share in the inconceivable divine beatitude of the most Blessed Trin;ty! "What eye hath 313 G, AUGUSTINE ELLARD not ~seen, nor ear bath heard--what hath. not entered into the heart of man--all these things hath God prepared for them that love him" (I.Corinthians 2:9). Grace, the Seed o: Glor'~t The supernatural life, or the process of deification, exists in two stages of evolution. The fully developed or mature stage is found in the Blessed in heaven; the other, still imperfectly, developed and still immature, is found the Just, that is,. in those who are adorned with sanctifying grace in this world. Fundamentally it is the same life that animates both, even though the observable ~differences may lead one to think the contrary. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath given us, that we should be called children-of God; and. such we are . Beloved, now we are ~hildren of God, and it.hath not yet been manifested what we shall be. We know that if he be manifested, we shall be like him, because we shall see him even as he is" (I John 3:1, 2). "Grace is the seed of glory." That one and the same life can present very diverse appearances, is easily shown from biology. Compare, say, an orange seed germinating in the ground and the beautiful blossoming orange tree that it will be in due time; or the ugly caterpillar crawling in the dusl~ and the lovely butter-fly flitting, about later; or the tadpole and the frog; or, the .case that pleased St. Theresa .so much; the repulsive silk-worm and the delightful little white moth. Do little birds that are. just breaking out of their tiny eggs have that kind of life that is characterized by flight? There is sometl~ing analogous in every human life. Is there reason, in a little child or infant? Evidently in some sense there is. Other-wise, he would not be a little rational animal nor possess human dignity .nor have rights nor be the term of obliga-tions on the part of others. One may go further and point out that there is identity of life in a perfect man and in the microscopic little embryo in his mother's womb that once was he. When the child grows up, he will still be the same being, the same person: and, though his life will b~ different enough, it will not, be another life. Reason is there, but it is latent, undeveloped, not yet full-grown. Ttiough he cannot reason now, before long he will; and notice that every normal act by which his development° is p~omoted contributes to bringing about his full-fledged life of intelligence. So a man with sanctifying.grace in this life cannot see God now, but with every act that increases that grace, his power 'to behold and to enjoy God in eternity is enhanced. In the life Of the Blessed in heaven and ~he life of the ~lust on earth, the fundamental principle from which all activity issues is the same, namely, sanctifying grace. The infused virtues, thequasi-faculties by which that activity is exer-cised, are the same, except that ih the case of the Blessed,~ in place of faith and hope, there is the "light of glory." This is the highest and last grace to be received, and upon its rece~ion beatific life at once begins. The "light of glory" is a participation in tlie intellectuality of God, immediately ~enabling one to contemplate the Infinite. It is often com-pared to a telescope or microscope. The activities of the Bleised and of the 3ust are of course different, but inti-mately related. Even here, in faith there is a certain pa~r~ ticipation in the divine knowledge that no creature could attain by any natural effort; acquaintance with the mystery of the Trinity is an instance of it. Corresponding to actual possession of God in heaven there ~is here, in the virtue of hope, a right 'to that possession and a happy anticipatiofi of it: neither of these could be natural in any creature. The same.charity persists'throughout both stages of thd super-natural life. Between the beatific acts of those in heaven 315 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD and the supernatural acts of the 2ust there is a certain com-munityor propor~tion, an identity in being or, so to speak, in material, invirtue ofwhich every ~ supernatural act per-formed here is a preparation for beatific activity or, an increase of it. Every meritorious act nbw means more of the vision: of God ineternity. It is to establish this com-munity or proportion in super-nature between super, natural acts here and divinely beatific activity there; that supernatural grace is absolutely necessary for every salutary act. "Without me you can do nothing" (John-15:5). Difference between Natural and Supernatural Suppose that ~ man and a horse are looking at the same thing: the physiological processes of vision, in eyes,, nerves, ' and br~iin, will be about the same in both. In the horse there will not be more than the sensation of vision, but the man the vision will be immediately: and naturally fol- Idwed up by a spiritual idea, immensely different in being and'character from the horse's or even the man's phantasm. In some similar way, in the natural man, not elevated by grace, there will not be more than his natural acts, whereas in the supernaturalized man acts which appear to.be the same or nearly the same will be followed up eventually and, , as it were, naturally, by beatific acts like those which con-stitute no l~ss than the beatitude of God. Grace really gives men a new and fourth kind of life, and to the~ angels a sec-ond kind': a deified life. A fervent supernatural man may wonder why, if thus there be divinity in his acts,, why in fact, if he be, so to speak,, full of divinity, he.does not feel conscious of it. If he did, his life of faith would be quite different. He has to take it on faith, like the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, that his supernatural acts are immensely different from his natural acts. All human knowledge',comes through ~the 316 THE SUPERNATURAL! LIFE senses; we have no di'rectapprehension of spiritual realities. Even the spirituality of the human soul is not perceived, but proved by reasoning from thechara~t~r of its acts! It still more impossible to experience spiritual realities that are supernatural~ and just because they are supernatural. Cer-tain mystics, namely those who. are in the state termed technically~'"the mystical marriage," are said to experience habitually the fact that their, supernatural activity is a par-ticipation in the life and activity of God. Unconsciousness of a gift is no sign that'it does not exist or is not present. ~A baby boy born to the Queen of England wofild have royal dignit~r of the first magnitude ~ind immense imperial rights, and at the same time know nothing of them. Some years' ago the Dionne quintuplets possessed an absolutely unique distinction, to say nothing bf much money, and they were the cynosure of world-wide attention. but it all mhde slight, difference in their little consciousnesses. Wherever there is a distinct sort of life, there must also be a differencd of underlying structure. If the activities or functions, that is, the physiology, be different, there must also be an anatomical difference. Elephants and mice can-not have the .same joys and sorrows. Neither can rabbits and eagles, nor alligators and kangaroos. N0~ Can men with rational souls and animal~ without them. -Men with the experiences of the supernatural life and men without them cannot be just the same in structure. Elernents of Supernatural Organism Theologians generally consider that there are fifteen elements in the permanent organism or mechanism of the, supernatural life. Among these sanctifying grace is first and fundamental. Sanctifying grace is best conc~:,ved as a participation in the divine nature, that 'is, in what we dis- 317 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD tinguisff as the fundamental principle of vital activity~ God. .It is to the supernatural life approximately human nature (body plus soul) is to our naturalhfiman life. It is the Substratum or basis or root, out of which everything in the supernatural life somehow "comes. It often compared to the soul: as the soul is the principle human life, so sanctifying grace is~ the primary internal principle of the supernatural life. One who has it will also have everything else. Every living nature must have vital power~ or facul-, ties also. For example, dogs have the power to see, hear, and so on, even when they are not exercising those powers ¯ because, say, they are asleep. Men have power to think and will, even when they are not using those faculties. The faculties of. the supernatural life are the infused virtues. They give one the permanent power to act supernaturally, in a way that is ¯somehow divine. They are not, like natural virtues, dispositions acquired by practice, to act with readiness and facility. They are really new powers do something quite different and superigr. Commonly seven infused virtues are enumerated, three theological and ~four moral. Activity of the theological virtues unites one directly with God. Faith is the intellectual theological virtue, ,faculty of. knowing supernaturally. It gives one ~ participa-tion in knowledge that is peculiar to God and naturally not accessible. In the light of it, the supernatural life is intel- ,ligently, consciously, and freely lived. Hope makes it pos-sible to desire and to seek the Supreme Good in a way that is supernatural. It gives one a sort of anticipated .possession of God and the beatific life. "Whoso hath this hope on him, halloweth himself, even as he is hallowed" (I John 3:3). Charity enables one to love the Infinite Goodness supern~aturally; and is a participation in God's own mode 318 THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE of loving. Without, it one could still love God, but naturally, not supernaturally. The infused moral vir-tues-- prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude--give one the power to use creatures rightly and in a way that is positively conducive to the beatific vision of God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit~wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord --are so many more permanent super-faculties. They dis-pose one to follow the i~stinct and motion of the Holy Spirit, as the infused moral virtues dispose one to follow the dictates of reason enlightened and elevated by faith'. The gifts are more passive than.the virtues, and their opera-tion as contrasted with that of the virtues is often likened to that of wind upon the sails of a ship, whereas exercising the virtues would be like rowing. The effect of the gifts, at least when highly developed, may be compared to the incommunicable skill of a genius in music: he can teach the technique---corresponding to the.virtues---~but that super-ior, indefinable, something that comes with genius he can- -not impart tb another. In the more advanced degrees of sanctity and contemplat.ion the gifts are especially active and important. ¯ Actual grace, is the counterl~art to activity in the natural life. It puts a certain divinity into one's activity. Unlike the forms of grace hitherto considered, it is not a habit, not something permanent. Like any particular form of activity, it comes and goes. Hence it cannot be found in a sleeping person, for example, nor in a baptized-infant, nor in the mentally deranged. As sound stimulates one's ears to hear, prevenient actual grace comes, when the oc-casion i~ apt to stimulate one's natural and supernatural faculties into action. !t arouses, or consists in, such ideas in the mind and indeliberate impulses in the will as are conducive to one's spiritual advancement. In this sense G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD actual grace enters into consciousness, whereas none of the other kirids of grace do. Where there is no. thinking or willing that makes for salvation, there is no actual grace at work. If then one respbnd to the stimulation, consent of the will 'and execution of the decision are made with the help of c~oncomitant actual grace. Since consent is from the will, it is vital, free, and human; since it is also from grace, it is divinized. Grace makes one think and will, like God. An example may .help to illustrate the functioning of grace. Suppose that Doctors A and B, while driving in the coun.try, happen to come upon a man who has just been seriously wounded in an accident.and is lying in great dis-tress beside the highway. This is the apt occasion. Dr. A is an agnostic, but a kindly man, whereas Dr. B is a devout Catholic and in the state of grace. It is proper that the doctors should do what they can for the injured man, whether they will be paid for it or not. Such is the fact: so God judges and wills. In this simple case, naturally and without grace, any kind-hearted man could make the same judgment and-feel inclined to give his aid. Dr. A responds to the occasion generously; and his. act is one of natural nobility. It may even be said that he judges and wills as God does. But it is all in the natural order, there is no divine entity in it, and he cannot expect as a result an increase of the beatific vision. Dr. B joinsDr. A in helping the man. Presumably his acts, apparently similar to Dr. A's, will be supernaturalized by grace. If his motive be supernatural, they certainly will. Then grace will enter into the acts of mind and will by which he sees the need of giving aid and feels inclined to give° it, Thus far prevenient grace in some sense will be at work. ~ Then he would &lib-erately decide to help the injured man, and this decision would be made with concomitant grace. The appropriate infused virtues or gifts, in this case at least charity.and pru- 32O THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE dence, would be operative, andthe whole process would be sustained and dignified by sanctifying grace. Dr. B's acts of judgment and will would be like' God's, not only in their character as judgments or volitions, but also in the very entity which constitutes them and places them in the order of being of the beatific vision. The contrast between a super-natural actand a natural act may becompared,to the differ-ence between a consecrated host and one that is not conse-crated. Though there may be little or no observable dif- "ference, the real, interior difference is very great indeed and is known, not ~by experience, but by faith. Conclusion Thus far little or nothing has been said about what we might call the properties of the supernatural life: the dig-. nity that belongs to an adopted child of God, the plane of intimacy with God on which such a ~child is entitled,~to live, membership in the Mystica! Body of Christ, and so forth. Nor have we given a complete idea of the workings.of ac-tual grace. For the adequate portrayal of the supernatfiral life in all its pha~es, a treatment of these subjects v~ould be necessary: but this treatment Would take Us far bey.ond.the limits set for the present article. However, one practical and valuable conclusion may well be mentioned here. Granted that the supernatural life is a real participation in the life and activity proper to God, it is easy to see what its supreme law must be: to imitate G6d, as far as possible; to think and judge ~nd will as He thinks and,judges and wills; and to ~ooperate with Him,in carrying out, as far as depends on us, His most magnificent cosmic plan, for His eternal glory and for the deiform beati-tude of His rational creatures. 321 Supplying Days of Absence I:rorn t:he Novifiat:e Adam C. Ellis, S.2. THE CI-IURCH is very solicitous about the proper training of novices in the religious life. Hence she demands of all religious institutes that they devote at least'one entire year to the spiritual formation of candidates before the profession of vows, and this canonical ~tear of novitiate is a requisite for the validity of the first profession of temporary vows (cf. canons 555 and 572). An absence of more than thirty darts interrupts the canonical year, and the novitiate must ,be started over, even though the novice remained outside the novitiate house with the permission of superiors and for grave reasons (cf. canon 556, § 1). When the days of absence do not exceed thirty it is desirable, and in some cases necessary, that they be supplied before the profession of first, vows. Here is the text of the Code regardihg such da~s of absence: "If the novice, with the permission of superiors or constrained by force, has p~ssed more than fifteen days but not more than thirty days even interruptedly outside the precincts of the house under the obedience of the superior, it is necessary and sufficient for the vdidlty of the novitiate t~at he supp|y the number of days so passed outside; if for a period not exceedincj fifteen days, the supplementing for this period can be pr~escribed by superiors, but it is not necessary for validity."~ How are darts "of absen~ ~ountecl? Canon 32, n. 1 tells us that a day consists of 2"4 hours counting contin.uously from midnight, to .midnight. Hence parts of days are not counted as canonical days. If a novice goes toa hospital on Monday motrting, and returns to the novitiate on Saturday afternoon of the same week, he has been absent for four days'only. Monday and Saturday are not counted since 322 ^~SENC~ FRO~ Novm^~ ¯the absenceon those days did not amount to a period of 24 hours counting from midnight to midnight. When must the days of absence be supplied? When they.exceed fifteen, but are not over thirty. Hence if a novice has been absent 'exactly fifteen days, it is not required for the validity of the subsequent profession, that' these days be supplied. However, it is well to note h~re that. all days of absence, whether continuous or not, must be counted. Every period of absence ~from midriight to mid- ~ night counts as a day of absence, even though these periods of absence be separated by months. How many days of absence must be Supplied? If the novice has been absent more than fifteen days; all the days of absence must be supplied. Thus, if a novite had been absent twenty days, it would not suffice to make up five days. The total number of days of absenceS'must be sup~ plied before the novice can make a valid profession. Are there am.! exceptions? No, there are not. Even though the novice is absent with the permission of his superior or constrained by force, the days of absence must be counted. Thus,' if the novices have a villh in which they spend some days during the~ summei together with the master ot~ novices, these days are counted as days o.f absence, since a villa is not a novitiate house. On the other hand'a distinction must be made between the novitiate house" arid the novitiate proper, or that part of the house which is destined for the exclusive use of the novices. The canon says that days spent outside the novitate house, must be supplied; it does not say that days spent outside th~ pre-cincts of the novitiate must be supplied, if the novice. remains in the house in which the novitiate is located., For, example, if a novice who is seriously ill is transferred from the novitiate quarters to the community infirmary which is located in another part of the house, the days spent in the 323 ADAM C. ELLIS ° ¯ infirmary outside the novitiate quarters would not be counted as days of absence, since he remains in the house in which the novitiate is located. While it is truethat canon 556, § 4 states that the novi-tiate is not interrupted by the transfer of a novice from one novitiate house to another,of the same institute, it is equally true,~ that the days spent on the journey from one novitiate house to another must be counted as days of absence"(cf. Code Commission, July 13, 1930). There. is no contradiction here. It is or~e thing to say that a,novice who has begun his novitiate in one novitiate house of the institute may~ continue that novitiate in another novitiat~ house of the same institute, for instance, in that~ of another province. It is quite a distinct thing to say that.the days spentin traveling from one novitiate house to another mu~st be counted as days of absence from the novitiate. As a matter of fact the novice is,absent from the n6vitiate house while he is making the journey to the second novitiate house,-, hence these days. must be counted, as days of absence. The,, contrary opinion which was held by some authors is no 'longer tenable after the decision of the Code Commission mentioned above. Absence of fifteen days or less. If the numbe~ of days of absence does not exceed fifteen, it is not necessary for the validity of the .subsequent profession~that they be supplied. However, the Code permits the superior to~ prescribe that these days of absence be made up; but not under pain of invalidity of the subsequent profession. The superior not obliged to require the supplying of these days of absence. Thus hemay allow a"novice who has: been absent fourteen days because of illness or for some other just reasoffto take his, vows together with his class a't.the end 6f the canonical year. ¯ " ,' Absence during second ~lear of novitiate. The legisla-,' 324 A~ENCE FROM ~OVITIATJ~ tion of the Code.applies to the first or canbnical year only. It is left to the constitutions of each institute to regulate_' absences.during the second0y(ar of novitiate; The Instruc-tion on the Second Year of Novitiate, issued by the Sacred Congregation of Religious on November 3, ~921, permits the novice to leave the novitiate house-for, training in the wokks of the institute and for the.testing of his capabilities. This permiision is granted, however, only on condition that-the constitutions allow ~the novice to be thus trained and tested in another house of the institute. Furthermore, the Instruction prescribes tha~ the novice must be recalled to the novitiate house at least two months b~fore the day of profession in order that bemay prepare himself properly and strengthen himself in the spirit of his vocation. Conclusion: In this commentary on canon 556, n. 2, wehave stated the requirements of the law regarding the supplying of days of absence~ from the n6.vitiate~ We.,have seen ufider what conditions such~ days of absence must be made up in order that tl~e subsequent profession be valid. In other cases such?days ,,of absence need not be supplied unless superiors so prescribe. Only complete days of 24 bouts, counting from midnight to midnight, are counted as canonical days. V This does not mean that superiors should disregard the spirit of the law which demands that the novices spend the entire ,time of the canonical year in the " novitiate,~. . , ands. undergo the ,strict .tr~aining prescribed in other canons of the Code. To~ allow a novice to spend hours of the day or night outside the novitiate house in the perfbrmance of the works of the institute, or 'in attending classes, is contrary to the' spirit of this legislation, even though these 16eriods of .~absence "do not amount tofull canonical' days, and co~sequdntly are not to be counted i~s days of absence which must be supplied. Such conduct, would be detrimental not qnly to the spiritual wellbeing 325 ¯ ADAMC. ELLIS of the individual novice, but more so to the morale of the institute as a whole0 since the spirit of the institute will be no better than that Of-its individual members. Superiors can promote the welfare of their institute in no better way than by carrying out. the prescriptions' of the Church regarding the novitiate, keeping in mind the spirit of the law, "for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life" (2 Corin-thians 3 : 6). IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS (Even if gou don't ordinaril~/ read "'Important Announcements, please read. these;) Subscription-Renewals Our~ next issue (November 15, 1942) will be the last number of Volume I Of the.REVIEW. For the majority of our readers, that will mean the expiration 6f their.subscriptions. If your subscriptign will expire with that number and you intend to renew it, you can do us an immense service bg renewing now. By renewing now,-instead of waiting, you will "help us to take care of the renewals more efficiently and to make 'more accurate cal-culations for the printing of Volume II. Just send your check or a morley order, together with your name and address. Thank gout¯ Back Numbers We can no longer supply a complete set.of back numbers of the REVIEW. The January. ~nd March numbers are entirely out, and .there are only. a few remaining copies of, the othei numbers. Many of our recent subscribers want the back numbers. Perhaps you can help them. If you do not intend to save or bind your, back numbers, you may be willin.g.to give them to these new ~ubscribers. If you wish to do this, you may send the back numbers to us, and we will transfer, them gratis to the new subscribers who have requested them. THE EDITORS. 326 The "New Commandment:" ot: Love Matthew, Germing, S,J. ~'~'HE gospel written by "the disciple whom Jesu~ loved" i| has been styled a spiritual gospel It was so desig-nated already in the time of Clement of Alexandria (i50-220 A.D.). Several reasons may be assigned for thee design.ation,.but the one that is pertinent to this drticle is the fact that St. dohn tells us so.much of the.loveof God,and t14i~ neighbor, and doits so in the very words of our Savior. "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: that as I have loved you, you also love one another. By. this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you havelove for one another" (,lohn 13: 34, 35). Out'Lord did not me~n that the precept of loving one another had not existed in th~ Old .Law, but that He was giving His disciples a new standard and a new motive in observing it. They were to love. one another as Hehad loved them, that is, with' the same kind of love, thotigh they would not be able to love in tl4d same degree.~ And 'this lo~e was to be a test of their ~a~herence.and loyalty to k Him. Again, "As the Father has loved md[ I also ha're loved you. Abide in my love. If ygu keep my command-ments you will abide in my love, as I also have kept my Father's commandment and abide in his love " This is my commandment that you love one another as. I have loved y6u. Greater love,than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my frieiadsif yoti do the things I command you" (J01~n 15:9, 10,,12-~15). And in his" Epistles the beloved disciple again and again recurs to the subject of 10re love of God and of the breth-ren. "This is the message you have h~ard from the begin-ning, that we sh6uld love one another. He who do~s not 327 MATTHEW GERMING love abides in death. M~r dear children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue, but in deed and in truth. And this is hi~ commandment, that we. should believe in the name of his Son 'jesus Christ, and love one another, even as 'he gave us commandment. And he who keeps his commandments abides in God, a'nd God in him" (! 'jOhn 3:11, 15, 18, 23, 24). "Beloved, let us love~ofie another, for love is from God . He Who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this is the lo~;e,~not that we have loved God, but that he has fi'rst lovedus and sent his Sdn a propitiation for bur sins. Beloved, if Godhas so ¯ loved us, we alsoought to love one another" (I ,John 4:7, 8,~10. 11). "Special Import t:or Relioibus There is no mistaking the import and force of these words. Love of one an~other is hot a counsel, of per~fe¢- tion: it is a c0mmandmentin the strict sense of she"word, a commandment which our Savior emphasized by frequent r~petition justas a teacher is wont to emphasize an impor-tant point in a lesson. There is, probably, no. gospel pre-. cept which He incul~ated With ~more frequent and loving insistence than the commandmen~ of love.- This alone"qs clear evidence of its j,.~upreme importance, in the Christian life. For persons, consecratedto God, devoted to H~°~pe-cial~ service and leading a common life,, the importanceof mutual love can hardly be exaggerated.~ It may be said without~ hesitation that th~ ~happiness of"a religi0us~'com-mui4ity depends largely on the practice" of.this-virtue. Brotherly_love in a hotis~means that its members think and speak well ~)f 6ne anothei?, are"kinci and cc~ns{derate and patient in tiae[r relations with or/e another, ever ready to Serve and acc6~fiamodate whenever there is ~eed or .occasion. Where-this ~piritreigns, there reigns the ~ace of Christ~ the peace which the angels announced at His birth ahd 328 which He Himself bequeathed ~to his Apostles when He said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. When the members of a community live in charity, they possess this peace of Chiist and experience the. truth of the saying of Holy~ Scripture: "How good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" (Ps. 132). Then they do their best work for the cause of Christ, for their own perfection, for one another and. for the common good. ~ :. I do not mean to say~ that peace and charity remove-all the0hard things'from their path in life. They do not. Hard-ships remain, and difficulties may remain. The religious life is not an easy life for the natural man. This we ought to realize from the start. Of its very." nature the life of the vows involves restrictions that are irksome :at times to flesh and blood, that try a person's good will and,. the strength of that will. Duties and observances, some of which are naturally distasteful, do not disappear ~from a community in which charity prevails, but they 'become easier to comply with. Duties are performed with good will and joy of heart; °difficulties are borne ~as part of the day's work for the love of God by re.~son of the charity of Christ that reigns within and all around the individual members of such a community. On the other hand, when there is not charity in a group~ of religious, large or small', then there is aloofness, suspicion, misunderstanding, carping and faultfinding, each looking out for self. Arid selfishness spells the death 0f brotherly love. Highly important and salutary as mutual love is for our home life in our relations with one another, it is equally so in our dealings with, people of the world. Worldly~ interests as such are a matter of indifference to us religious, but there is one big interest to which none of ~us can be indifferent__the interest~ or interests of Christ and His 329 "MATTHEW GERMING Church~ The expression'is comprehensive'and'apparently vague, but there is nothing vague about its real meaning. It means the spread of the knowled~ge and love of Our Lord 2esus Christ in the minds and hearts of all men. It means the endeavor to do men and women some spiritual good, to make them think and provide for their immortal souls. And ~s men are so constituted' that they are unable~to think of their souls v~hile their bodies are ill or starving, it is our duty sometimes to interest ourselves in their bo, dily wel-fare also. These are the things to which the religious of all active orders in the Church have once fo~ all dedicated their lives, their every effort of soul and body. When duty car-ries us into a vast variety of work, much of which of itself is purely secular in character, we must not become confused in our aims and lose our perspective. Our ultimate purpose in all .things is spiritual. ~'This spiritual purpose ought to ¯ be the~very soul of all our external activity. It need not and cannot alw~iys be present in our thoughts, but'it should never be far removed from them. Now charity, in the sense of kindness of speech and manner and whole conduct, is a powerful means of doing spiritual good to people of every class and condition. It is a means that lies within the reachof every religious, even of the infirm members of a community. They can do much by their gentleness and patience in the way of spreading the good odor of Christ. L~irger opportunities fall to those who are in positions of active duty, whether their work brings them in contact with outsiders or is limited to serv-ices within .the cl6ister, where they meet'only their fellow religious. All can be kind and gracious in speech and man-ner, first of all, to their own--and this is of great impor-tancemand then to everyone else. Externs who know little ofreligious but now and then have occasion to' observe their conduct are decidedly edified 330 THE "NEW COMMANDMENT~' and drawn closer to Christ when they find by actual experi-ence that these men and women in strange garb are invari-ably kind and considerate, speak well of-one another and of other peop.l~e, are patient and forbearing even in trying circumstances, never petty or selfish, peevish or irascible. It is well for religious to remember that persons of the world when coming to a convent or other religious house are all eyes and ears. Some of them are on, the alert co catch a glimpse of the manner in which religious treat one another. They make it a point to observe closely, and they comment freely among themselves and others on what they have observed. Favorable impressions received ¯ add to the esteem in which they hold the religious life and are not seldom the cause or occasion of spiritual good in a variety of,~ways which we,never thought of. They clear awayanti-Catholic prejudice, possibly d~evelop a latent voc~ation to the religious life or the priesthood, bring a heft- ~ tating soul into the true fold, or a negligent Catholic back to the sacraments. Good example in th.e matter of kind-ness rarely fails to produce some beneficial sp!ritual result though this result may never' become known. The foufiders of religious orders were not unmindful of this. Everyone Who has read the life of St. Francis knows that he regarded good example as a Silent sermon. St. Igna- , tius went fully as far as the Poverello of Assisi when in the constitutions of his order he reminded his followers that they ought to accomplish even more good by their example than by their preaching. And St. ,John Baptist de la Salle set dowi~ good example as one of the three principal means by which the religious educator was to exercise his zeal in dealing with his pupils. Don Quite extraordinary for the spiritual influence he exerted over others by his kind ways was St. John Bosco, 331 educator, and founder of two religious congregations in the nineteenth century. He often used kindness as a first ,approach ~to boys and young men whom he wanted to draw to better ways of life. One day. the Cardinal Archbishop of Turin, ' interested dn 3oh~ Bosco's educational ~work, asked him about his methodS. The saint's answer was to ~the effect that it-was necessary, first of all, to interest one-self in the boys and~ their doings. One must be good and kind to them, and thus gain their confidence. "'Gain their c~nfidence, °' muse~l the Cardinal. "How do you get near them?" he inquired. The two were riding in the~Cardi-hal's ~arriage through' the city of Turin. "Is there any place in this0neighborhood," asked 3ohn Bosco, "in'which there is a group of boys? . Plenty of them in the Piazza del. popolo," .replied the Cardinal. And with that he directed th~ driver to go to the square mentioned. Yes; there were the boys playing a game. As soon as the ~:ar-riage stopped,-Don° Bosco stepped out, the Cardinal remaining inside to watch proceedings~. o When" they saw Don Bosc~ appr~oaching, the lads scampered a~ay. Their visitor had foreseen tha~t they would do this, but he was able to hail a few loiteiers, spoke kindly to them, and ~heir favorable reaction soon brought back the whole group. Then he distributed little presents to the urchins, put in a few questions about their game, their fathers and mothers, and so forth, and said abrupt!y: "Com~, boys, cohtinue your game, and let me loin in." Tucking up his cassock he played with them some fifteen minutes. As a seminarian he had been at pains to become an expert playe~ at many ghmes for no other reason than to be ready for .just such occasions as the present one. The boys asked him to stay longer, but he must not keep the Cardinal waiting. Before leaving his Youthful compan-ions, cautiously and in his usual agreeable, manner he spoke 332 THE "NEW COMMANDMENT" to .them about going to church' and to confession, saying their prayers, and so forth. As the boys saw him turn to depart, they quickly formed a double line an~d escorted their guest back to the carriage, which soon drove away amid the cheers of these lusty young ItaliansI. Not all men can do what St: 3ohn Bosco did, but all can learn from him the lesson that in.order to benefit young "people in a spiritual way it is necessary to approach them with a sympathetic attitude, interest oneself in them and tfieir innocent pursuits, and in this way build up confi-dence. ~' Love is in the Will In considering our own charity, we should not think of love as a sentiment, in whatever sense wemay under2 stand this word. In reality true love resides essentially in the will. It may exist with-out any sensible emotion; it may also be highly emotional. This is true of both natural and supernatural love. And the emotion, whether super-natural or natural, may by present but not manifest itself in the sense faculties. Love, I said, resides essentially in the soul. It con-sists therefore in cherishing the person loved, appreciating and esteeming him, wishigg him well and consequently thinking and speaking well of him, .doing him good, .as far as lies in one's power. When we do this for a purely nat-ural reason, our love is of the natural type. If, for exampl.e, we love a fellow religious because ofhis or her gifts of mind or disposition--twit and humor, ability of entertaining and amusing others---our love and esteem of such a one is nat-ural. This means, in the first place, that ,it may merit, no heavenly reward. In order that an action may certainly deserve a reward in heaven, the motive itself of the act, even IAuffra~', Blessed John Bosco, c. 14. , 33'3 MATTHEW GERMING one that is naturally good, must be supernatural. The thought contained in our Blessed Lord's words, "As long as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," furnishes us such a motive. Secondly, in the case of religious living in community, purely natural 10ve may lead to uncharitableness: For if we associate with those only who are most congenial and entertaining, we shall instinctively avoid others who are less congenial and com-panionable, and this is selfish and may. easily be unchari-table. Brotherly love requires that everyone be agreeable to others to the best of his or her ability. Were Christ our Lord in our midst at recreation time, He would seek out the most lonesome soul in the room, and would comfort and encourage such a one. Our Savior regarded the natural motives one may have for loving others quite insu~cient for His followers. In the Sermon on the Mount we read: "I say to you, love your enemies . that you may be the children'of your Father 'in heaven, who makes l~is sun to rise on the good and the evil, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward shall-you have? Do not even the publicans do that?" (Matthew 5:44-46). All men are the children of God, adopted brothers and sisters of our Lord ,lesus Christ, destined for eternal happiness. As St. Paul writes in his first epistle to Timothy (2:4), God "wishes all rne"n to be. saved and tO come to the knowledge of the truth" not only Catholics, but non- Catholics too and non-Christians, pagans and infidels all o~¢er the~world. Not all are in actual possessio.n of sancti-fying grace, or faith, hope and charity, or the Other virtues, arid of the wonderful gifts of the Holy Ghost. But the souls of all of them bear the stamp--so to say---of an immortal and supernatural destiny. We may not exclude them from our love. Nor must we think that 'they are 334 THE"NEW COMMANDMENT" incapable of doing good works, or that the good works they do are worthless, do not bring .upon them grace and blessing from their beneficent Father in heaven. That would be against the teaching and example of our Divine Lord. The story of the good Samaritan illustrates this. admirably. All know the incident as told by Christ Him-self. Com'mentatorson the gospel are of the opinion that it is based on facts. This good Samaritan, who took pity On the man lying by the wayside, wounded and robbed,. was not a Jew, had not th~ Jewish religion. In our man-ner of speaking, he was a heretic and schismatic. But our Savior commended his conduct because of his compassion and charity. There are many good Samaritans at the present day, men and women who, in ,spite of their handicap in not having the true faith, devote time and effort and worldly means to, the relief of the poor and suffering children of men, who are also the children of our Father in heaven: We should not shrug ,our shoulders in depreciation of what they do. Anyone who does that may expect~to hear from Christ the words He spoke to the self-sufficient hwyer: "Go, and do thou also in like manner." We ought rather to praise charitable works no matter who does them, and glove the doers of them credit for a good ,motive. Who knows.that they have not a good in~ention, even a super-natural one? And even if they are acting from purely nat-ural principles, still natural virtue is better than no virtue at all. R~lieving distress is a virtue, at least a,natural one. It is a benefit done to others, and God will reward it in some way. The unselfishness of these charitable people may, dispose their souls for the reception of the. true faith. The Cornmunit~ is a Famitg Every community, of religious is rightly called a reli-gious family. Its members bear to each other a~ relation- 335 MATTHEW GERMING . ship analogous to that which obtains between, the indi-viduals of a family consisting of father, mother, and chil-dr. en. The bond of union between members of the same reli-gious family is a moral and supernatural one. Not 9nly are the.y united~as are all the faithful~by the bond Of divine charity through which they are incorpgrated.in the mysti-cal body of Christ, but they are closely bound together by their common consecration to God and by their~observance of one and the same rule of life. In such a family we expect kindness and charity to abound. And they will abound as,~long as its members are ~true to their-consecration, and are faithful in observing their rules and regulations and the orders of their superiors, all of which have been wisely ordained for their spiritual and temporalwell-being. This in. general. But I will add a point which is definite and particular. Religious must be unselfish, unselfish in their thoughts~ in their words, and in their dealings with one another. One founder of a religious order wants his fol-lowers to be so unselfish as "in all things to yield to others thee better part, esteeming all in their hearts superior to themselves, striving to see in everyone the' image of our Lord 3esus Christ." ¯ ¯ ,, As for the last recommendation, religious will be much helped in this striving if, in their every~'day lives, they make a Serious endeavor to fix their attention not on What "is faulty or less worthy in thdir fellow religious, but on what is commendable and worthy of imitation.:~ This practide of seeing in others what is good and praiseworthy is not only commendable in itself, but is at "the same time an effective means of counteracting the common tendency to think and judge ill' of others. In the Book of Exodus (32:22), Aaron speaking of the 3ews, says to Moses: "Thou know-est this people, that they are prone to evil." If we restrict the meaning of the statement to speaking and judging 336 THE'°~EW COMMANDMENT" adversely of other~, we may say that it is true of well-nigh all men. We find its parallel even in the intellectual order. "The ready belief in ,falsehood, and the slow acceptance of truth, is among the most observed traits of human nature.''z We muit beware of, the propensity,, to think and judge unfavorably of others. We must never ~unnecessaiily and deliberately entertain discreditable thoughts either of our fellow religious or of other persons; most of all, must we never express them in words. This:would be criticism and criticism is. out of place in .a religious community. We must not criticise our equals. Our Lord forbids it. "Do not juc~g, He says; "and you shall, not be judged; do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned" (Luke 6:37). We must not criticise superiors; the reason is the same: Cl~rist forbids it. This is the supernatural reason and is all-su~cient. But there are natural reasons also for.not criticising the decisions or actions and policies of superiors. They have knowledge and information concerning,things to be done which.we have not. Moreover, they take int6 consideration, as they are bound to do, every angle of an event or situation, and the welfare of the whole commun-ity, whereas weare often satisfied to view the case from the particular aspect that affects us. Superiors bear heavy bur-dens for our sakes; we owe them support and cooperation, which we can give them 'by our ready and willing obedi-ence. Let us ~heed.the words of St. Paul:. "I therefore exhort you that you walk worthy of the vocation in Which you are called, with all~ humility and meekness, with patience, 'supporting one another in charity" (Ephesians 4:2)" And these of St. Peter: "Before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covers a multitude of sins" (I Peter 4:8). ~Frands-'Thompson, Saint 19natius Logola, c.° 12, p. 283. ~ 33~ to Assist Dying Non-Catholics Gerald Kelly, S.J. ACCORDING to the doctors, it was certain that the patient would not l~ave the hospital alive: Accord-ing to the hospital register, it was equally cert~iin that the man was not a Catholic. In fact, as Sister Mary later ~liscovered, he knew little about God, less about religion in general, and-nothing about the Catholic Church. But his disposition, was excellent. In the. subsequent weeks of his lingering illness he showed eagerness and a great capacity foi instruction. He expressed an earnest desire to enter the Catholic Church, was baptized, received Extreme.Unction and.the Holy Euchi~rist, and died a truly pious death. Thus goes the story of the ideal way of providing for dying non-Catholics: to bring them to open profession of the Catholic Faith and to confer upon them the Sacraments that they need and are capable of receiving. It is the ideal; at times it is realizable, often'enough it is impossible. Some people are outside the Church through ill-will; all that we can do for them is pray that they will cooperate with the grace of God. Others are outside the fold through an ignorance which will respond to "treatment"~as in the example alleged above. And many are non-Catholics by reason of an ignorance which cannot be removed: either they are convinced that their own religion is all right, or at least they are convinced that the Catholic Church is all wrong. / People can belong .to this third class witl~out having any real ill-will. They are non-Catholics "in good faith," as, we say. They belong "to the soul of the Church," as some explain it; or, as others say, they are "invisible mere- 338 APOS'~OLATE TO ASSIST DYING NON,CATHOLICS bers of the visible Church." Call it what you will, these people can save their souls, even without explicit profession of the Catholic Faith, lorouided theft fulfill certain mini-mum essentials for saloation. What are these minimum essentials of salvation? Prac-tically speaking,~ they may be summed up in four acts that involve the free cooperation of a human being with the grace of God, namely, acts of Faith, Hope, Charity, and .Contri-tion. They must be supernatural acts, that is, made. with the help of grace, and rooted in a free acceptance of Divine Revelation. Thus, the basic act in this~series is supernatural Faith, not a vague sentimental thing that many people call faith, not the mere Work of human reason, but the accept-ance by man of truths revealed by God and because they are revealed by God. It is not necessary to make an explicit act of faith in all the dogmas of the Catholic Faith, but to be sure of salvation one must believe at least in these four revealed truths: the existence of God, the fact that God re-wards the good and punishes the wicked, the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the mystery~of the Incarnation. " Anyone with a truly .apostolic spirit will Want to help non-Cath01ics (o make these necessary acts. It cannot be left to chance, because God does not work by chance; He works thrpugh ordinary human instruments. The true apostle, therefore, will try to devise a means of providing the dying non-Catholic with this opportunity. But in this apostolic endeavor he will find himself con-fronted with two serious difficulties; the first being to ob-tain a brief, yet apt formulatidn of the necessary prayers', the second consisting in gaining an approach to the non- Catholic without provoking antagonism. Several years ago, Monsignor Raphael 3. Markham, of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, then professor of Pastoral Theology at Mount St. Mary Seminary, Norwood, Ohio, 339 GERALD KELLY worked ,out- a splendid solution to both.these,, problems. First he compiled a formula of the necessary prayers which is:admirable for its brevity, adequateness, and simple beauty~ Next he had these prayers printed on cards which, though attractive to the .eye, contain no reference to Catholicism that might je0paridze the.good cause in the case of a non- Catholic whom long years of misrepresentation had made suspicious of the Catholic Church. These cards can be p!aced near the bedside, sent through a friend--there are innumerable ways of getting them into the hands of non- Catholics without wakening suspicious prejudice~ ~. Monsignor .Markham's venture was first launched on a very smal! scale. He distributed the cards to his own class and explained the method of using .them. Later, someone drew the attention of Archbishop McNicholas to the novel apostolic plan, and he insisted that it get wider recognition. In the subsequent years, the mo:vement has grown 'im-mensely, and the results have been most gratifying. We presume that all religious, p~rticularly those w15o have o'.casion to minister to the sick and the dying, will.be deeply interested in this trdly apostolic, venture. Anyone who wishes more information can obtain an explanatory brochure an~l a few sample cards by writing to one of the addresses given be!ow. The cards themselves, whether plain or hand-tinted, sell at a very moderate price--merely ehough to cover expenses. At present Monsignor Markham and his associates are particularly interested in distributing a small, convenient card designed espe~cially for the use of men in our armed forces. For brochure and cards write to:., ,(a) Rt: Reu. R. d. Markham, S.T.D., Compton Road, Hartwell, Cincinnati, Ohio. (b) Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, St. Clare Convent, Harttoell, Cin-cinnati, Ohio. (c) Sister M. Carmelita, R.S.M., Convent of Mercy, 1409 Freeman Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. 340 -. Commun ca!: ons [EDITOR'S NOTE: In our July number (p. 218) we outlined one practical di~culty concerning the spiritual direction of religious and asked for constructive comment and suggestions. We have received many communications on the subject. ,We cannot publish alldn this number, but we are printing as many as space permits. The remainder will be used in the next number. Further comments, either on the o~iginal editorial ~r ~on the communications printed in the~ present number, will be welcomed. Most of the letters concern the direction of Sisters. Considering their number and the fact that their spiritual direction must be limited almost exclusively to the confessional, this was to be expected. However.' the readers" attention is called to the excellent communication from a Brother Novice Master that appears in this number. More such letters would be ~helpful; we have a large number of Brothers among our subscribers. The editors assume no responsibility for the opinions expressed in these com-munications. ,Judge them on their own merits.] From Priesf~ - Rdverend Fathers: Du~ing ofir semifiary, days we used to" say that allconfessors (like all Gaiil) could be~divided into thre~ classes: confessors who simply " said "For your penance say--"; confessors ~ho said "Tomorrow's feast reminds us that ", and good confessors. Several years'°~experience in hearing confessions may have led us to r~vise that rattier hasty generahzatlon. As secular priests we seldom have the duty of hearing the confessions of religious women at the time Of theft retreat. But upon us as secular priests falls the obligation of being', in most. cases, the ordinary confessors of religious-women. That'0~e has never been assigned to me, but upon various bccasions and for various reason~s sisters have come to confession to me, and from this slight experience together with a great deaf'more thoughl~ I have come to conclusions which may answer, in part at l~st. the. questions ~aised by the editorial Spiritual Direction by the Ordiriar~/Con[essor in the 3uly 15 issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. That some sort of spiritual direction should be given by the .ordinary confessor of religious women can, I think, be considered a pr, oved fact. By their vows°and their~eager desire to be faithful in all things to those vows religious are ~laced high in the ranks of the Church. Consequently, they are exposed to, greater satanic attacks and need greater assistance. Weekly spiritual di.rection of some sort is an essential form of tha~ assisfance. But what form shofild i.t take? My simple suggestion is that 34.1 it is not. wise for the ordinary confessor to make a general :rule Of commenting on the faults confessed. Unless there is something out-standing among them riley had' better be passed over in silence; as too much emphasis placed on them may result in scrupulosity. Rather, the ordinary-confessor should giye posit!re direction, centering his words and ideas, on Our Divine Saviour, "especially as His Divine and Human Natures' are manifested to us b~/ the liturgical year. Such direction counteracts the natural tendency of many reli-gious people, perhaps, more especially of religious women, to become self-centered in their spiritual life. The confessor can exemplify and elaborate this simple, advice, but it seems to me that it contains the germ of sound and fruitful dilection which can be given by the ordinary confessor of religious. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I am a religious, ordained more than twenty-five years, during which time I have never been without the charge of one. sometimes two. religious communities, as ordinary and extraordinary confessor, Besides. I have given nearly a hundred retreats,~most of'which have been to religious women. The heart of your editorial is in the sentence, "The ~¢onfessor does not know how to make the approach: the community does not make it for him." o , ~ I think it is the duty of tl~ confessor to make the-approach. Personally I have not given thematter of direction so much attention, but very early in the exercise of the ministry, I realized how impor-tant it is to help religious to receive the Sacramefit of Penance as fruitfully as possible, as an effective means of spiritual progress. 1 ) For many years I made it a point to.give each penitent a few ¯ words of encouragemen~t or advice, based on the season of the y~car, or some pract~ic¢ connected with some approaching feast. (The same for all.) 2) T~ese little talks were later varied dnd aimed at helping the penitent ,correct some fault or no,quire some virtue. This I consider the first step in making the Sacrament of Penance a very fruitful means of advancing. 3) I frequently make it a point to emphasize that they should endeavor to correct themselves of one fault ev~erytime they go to con-fession. Sorrow and the purpose of amendment should be centered 342 COMMUNICATIONS on one f~ult. I frequently ask them what one fault they are going to try to overcome for next' week. 4) I ~fideavor to impress upon them the benefit of investigating the roots of sins and of confessing ~tendencies rather than individual acts, specially never to confess sins for which they are ~ot sorry. If a confessob proves hims~elf zealous, willing to listen, kind, and above all invariably patient and tactful, practically all religious will correspond and the results will be very gratifying. Most reli-gious fear to be, a burden to the confessor by what they may refer to as their petty troubles. If the confessor makes each one feel that he has all the time in the world for them, and that he is interested in each soul's advancement, confidence will be given and a great deal will be " accomplished in directing them. These three books have helped me in solving this problem in past years: The Confessional by Rt. Reverend Aloysius Roeggl, trans-lated from °the German and" adapted by the Reverend Augustine Wirth, O.S.B., published by the translator, at Elizabeth, ,N. 2. (1882.) Sacdrdotal Meditations, by Father Chaignon. Meditations 70 to 75 are'on the.duties and qualifications of a confessor. I make them' dvery year. at least during my retreat. Published by Benziger. Confession as a Means of Spiritual Progrdss, by Scharsch-Marks. Herder, 1935. Signed. etc . [NOTE:~ We mi~gh~ also recommend The Spiritual Direction of Sisters, by Ebl-Kirsch. : Benziger Bros., 1931.ED.] Reverend Fathers: Acting on th'~ assurance in the July REVIEW that you will wel-come constructive comment as to how Father A might be.of greater help to his penitents, may I proffer a suggestion or two? Let the perplexed confessor evince his willingness to give more than mire absolution by some such approach: "Is there any comment I can malie on any of these faults?" or "Can I behelpful to you in any of these problems?" or "Is there anything that is a source of anxiety to you?" etc. etc. Numbers of individuals have found such an invitation to share their burden with a willing counselor all that was needed to open the way to eventual peace of soul. If Father A "heard about twenty confessons in twenty-fi~,e min-utes" could it be that some of his penitents listened in vain for the Dorninus sit in cordo tuo. . . Misereatur . . . lndulgentiam . . . 343 COMMUNICATIONS Passio D. N. d. C . ? When a confessor habitually reduces his administration of the Sacrament of Penance tO the minimum in effort;. it isn't strange that those who kneel before, him follow .suit. I should like to amplify bpth these points and stress still another one or two, but you wisely~suggest brevity. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: " The confessor should be thoroughly and personally interested in his charges. If he be so interested, he should find no difficulty in~ formulating a question or two that will bring out their degree of religious'observance or fervor, upon which he can then build a helpful and constructive bit of spiritual guidance. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: The experience I am relating here concerns a retreat-director, not an ordinary confessor: but it may prove helpful to the general subject of spiritual direction by the confessor. The experience concerns a prominent priest who in his early retreats was s;iid to give "'marvelous instructions" but was scarcely mediocre as a confessor. He was told of this and set about to over-come his difficulty, which seems to have been about the same as that of Father A in your editorial. To overcome the hesitancy of the sisters, he asked some question such as this: How's the spiritual life? your meditation? your particular examen? .your obedience? In most cases he found that this was iufficient to open the floodgates: the nuns were bursting to say something, btlt they didn't know how. It was a case of 50-50, the penitent as backwardas the confessor. The opening ~lUeStibn was what.might be described as "breaking the ice." Next on the program was to have a brief, practical, attrac-tive remedy for the trouble that might be manifested, e. g. "Mddita-tion is terrible." The priest worked these points out: and he. has found the method very helpful and successful.~ Signed, etc . From Brothers Reverend Fathers: ' The problem raised in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOL~S, Volume I. No. 4, with regard to spiritual dii'ection by the ordinary confessoi, has been 344 COI~UNICATIONS ~our ;'own problem for quite a long time. The solution we have evolved in our house of formation is given as follows: First of all, we are indebted to the understanding heart of our chaplain for a perfect collaboration between him and the Brother Superior of the' community. This is a matter of prime importance. At the beginning each month the Brother Superior proposes to the community the practice of a particular virtue', ~hosen ordinarily ~from among those which are recommended to'us by our Rules, 'or of which a more urgent n~d is .f~lt." He explains this virtue, deriving his inspiration, as concerns practical 'applications, from the Constitu-tions, the Custom Book, and the letters of Major Superiors. Then eachvirtue'is divided so that in four successive weeks it may be prac-ticed with increasing perfecton. Here are three examples: " PO3il~RTY: First Weeh, to avoid superfluities; Second Weeh, avoid attaEhment to what is permitted: Third Weeh, to avoid the useful, the comfortable, the new: Fourth Weeh, t~ deprive oneself at times of necessities, without of course jeopardizing health. HUMILITY: First Weeh, to speak well of the absent:, Sec~ond Weeh, to cultivate an interior contempt of self; Third Weeh~ to take joy in contempt; Fourth Weeh, to attribute to God the credit for our CHARITY: First Weeh, to render services at the cost of one's own convenience; Second Weeh, ro"return good for good: Third Weeh, to return good for nothing; Fourth Weeh, to return good for evil. " The program thus prepared is given over to the chaplain, who, except in rare instances, draws therefrom material for the weekly ~xh6rtation he addresses v t0 l~is penitents. The latter thereupon ~nform the confessor of their fidelity to the ~dvice received at ~the time of the preceding confession. The habit of renderifi'g to the confessor a spontaneous account of one's fidelity in. following advice ~hould be thoroughly inculcated and de~,elope~l :from the.beginning of the novitiate. There is a corre- Sponding ~>l~ligation on the part of the confessor to ,khort'; to en~ourage, to direct ;. and it is for this purpose thak we supply him with matter each' month. It should be evident that our entire undertaking has but one aim: "to-afford the confessor and his charge an opportimit~l for mutual understanding, so as to place the confessor before an open door, so to 345 COMMUNICATIONS speak, or at least a door which is on the point of opening. The rest must be left to the good will of the director and of those who are to be directed, and to the grace of God. At this _stage discretion demands that the Superior withdraw to the background. A former colleague of mine, to whom goes the entire credit for the solution of our problem and its .application in practice, has this to say about it: "The labor of cooperation, based on an understanding between the chaplain and the superior, has been pursued for more than three years at one of our houses and for 24 months at another. It is the characteristic feature of the Eucharistic method (of Abb~ Poppe), ¯ of St. Ignatius and his entireschool. I can attest that it is effective and psychologically sound. The ~theological. and moral virtues, th~ practice of the Rules--all can be subjected to this progressivd and methodic labor. It has the advantage of compellii~g, in a certain manner, the confessor to make himself als0 a director. This solution haso proved satisfactory to our confessor and to those whom he directs: it is conformable, at any rate so. I believe, to the ~pirit of the Church. You can weigh it for yourself. If you find it too flimsy . whoosh! .to the wastebasket. A Novice Master From Sisters Reverend Fathers: Your editorial on Spiritual Direction in the July issue of the REVIEW is most timely and thought-provoking. We have discussed the article in question, and here are some of our The directors chosen are not always the best suited for religious. Some are timid, impatient, have a frigid air. A few hit on a happy phrase and use it week after week: for~ example,~ "Keep up the good work and say three Hail Marys." Many show no zeal for perfection. "We cannot give what we haven't got." The director as Teacher, Father, Judge should tak.e thee initiative. Any question regarding a fault confessed will serve as an opening; ~or "Sister, I am here to help you. Have you ,,any questions to ask?" We would tell Father A of your article: "The next time you have a chance to direct religious, go forth and bea spark among the reeds and set the world on fire with the love of Jesus Christ. The ashe~ of the reeds will beeternally grateful to you." 346 COMMUNICATIONS As to the religious themselves, ther~ is no end of excuses. Lack of courage--what will others say?shyness--fear of the conse-quences-- don't know how o~ where to'beginPnot encouraged to seek direction in confession. Some simply like the shady side of easy street. To both confessor and penitent could be" said, "Ask. seek . . . knock." It will mean more peace, more joy, more of God here and hereafter. A Religious Community Reverend Fathers: Enclosed are some thofights I've had for quite a few years on the subject of direction in the confessions of nuns. I am grateful that this matter has been brought° up and trust the responses you receive will be enlightening and helpful to all of us. SOME REASONS WHY DIRECTION OF NUNS IN CONFESSION FAILS: I. On the part of Communitg: The ever present pressure of work that straifis time. Fifty or sixty nuns, sometirdes more, waiting to go to confession and-- one confessor. If half the fiuns took all the time they wanted, the other half wo'uld of necessity be restless--maybe i~rital~le--waiting. The time dement in consideration of the waiting of others is to my mind a big factor. I saw this solved in one Of our larger communi-ties when the Rector" of a nearby monastery sent three confessors at the same time. It served a three-fold purpose: (a) the nuns had a choice of confessor; (b) none minded how long she stayed because she felt no one had to wait because of'her: (c) the confessors all fin-ished within an hour or so and not one felt overburdened. 2. On the part o~ the indit~idual nun:- (a) Because of long years without direction, she has long ago abandoned the idea of ever having that help, and so her.confessions become mere-recitals of weekly J imperfections-and~ venial sins. (b) Because she has been frightened at sometime or another, or disillusioned to some extent, she is too timid to ask the help she Craves. (c) Because sec~lar priests many times do not seem to under.- stand religious life and the serious obligation a religious has of striving constantly, for perfection, the nun after some futile attempts to get direction regarding her retreat election, her monthly examen. 347 COMMUNICATIONS etC., abandons the ~ttempt seeing the priest embarrasked, or indefinite in his guidance. . ,~ ° (d) Because she needs guidance ~so badly'and doesn't know where to begin, or how td ask, she is silent,~ hoping always the con-fessdr will make an opening. Or she has real problems, but fear, or a natural reticence, or tl~e thought," :'This is too simple to bother a confessor about," hinders her from seeking guidance. ¯ 3. On the part of the confe~or: (a) If~he is a religious ~priest, "he will Usually give a prepared instruction, or will sdlect some sin mentioned and give advice, but unless asked, he will not usually attempt guidance that is consecu-tively followed.~ Why? , (b) If he is .a secular priest, he sometimes belittles°confessions that include "breaking of silence," "time wasted." etc,, saying, as has been done too frequently: "That is silly,;~ tell your.sins,-" or "Sister. you don't have to mention imperfections." (Is a dun supposed to have venial sins all the time to confess?) (c) If the confessor is in a hurry andgiv.es evidence of this by closing the slide before the nuns finish their ac~ of contrition, or by asking, "Sister; are there many nuns to go?" the news soon gets around the community that Father X is al~ways in such a hurry that none wants to hinder his fligh!! (d) If unfortunately he has ever said to even one nun. " I don't like tohear nun£ confessions," it is sufficient to prevent many from seeking him as a director. (e) If the'confessor is indefinite, ciicling generalities, using too philosophical terms, most nuns are more confused and give up. thinking "What's the use?. I~ never do get any. real help when I ask." Solutions: I. In~ large communities two confeisors (or more) coming on the same or on consecutive days, will .solve the problemof time and the fear on the nun's part of keeping large groups waiting. II. The nuns on their part should ask simply for continued guidance stating frankly their desire of acquiring such and such a virtue; .their constant difficulty regarding particular examen; ~their lack of progress in the spiritual life and'the r~asons they thinl~ respon-sible for it: their difficulty with their superiors, or others, and;what in themselves causes it. These cases stated clearly, ,,frankly, humbly, 348 COMMUNICATIONS will at once help the confessor to analyze and guide the soul seeking help. III. The confessor .by evidencing his real interest, his wish to help regardless of the time taken, his "follow up" from a confession, would win confidence an'd would win,o souls starving for spiritual aid. Such questions as: "Sister, are youin the habit of speaking against authority? . Sister, do you ever think how much good you can do by giving the example of perfect silence?" or simply, "Sister, cain I help you in any way ?"--would be the seSami~ of opened and awakened souls. To give one instance: after a confession hurriedly made in. which evdr~rthing ~was generalized, a confessor asked, "Sister, are you accustomed to making confessions like this fre-quently?" This simple question broke down a nun's reserve and resulted in several years of fruitful guidan&. The nun felt the priest really cared. Is this the secret? A Mother S~perior Re~,erend Fathers: I ~m especially grateful for the challenge thrown out in the article on $1~iritual Direction b~/ the Ordinar~l Confessor. I sincerely .hope that the forthcoming communic.ations will do much to stimulate priests in their great responsiblity in guiding souls to a higher perfec-tions. Here are my suggestons: Give the admonition on the confession made. "Poor Pussy" types of admonitlon~are not appreciated: nor are "canned" admoni-tions. Oc~asi0nally ask WHY a certain fault was committed; als0 WHAT is being done to overcome a repeated accusation. Another question that creates¯ thought is, "What is your particular exarfien?" And the added remark, "Report on this each month," gives much material for guidance. Sometimes the question, "What do you mean when you accuse yourself of .thus and s0?" may cause a startling revelation to the confessor. ¯ A varying penanc.e also helps to draw attention to the individual confessio.n, A Mother Superior [Addr¢ss further communications on this subject directly to the' Editors, St. ,Mary's Co11¢g¢. St. Marys, Kansas.] Book Reviews OUR MODELS IN RELIGION. By Brother Jean-Bapfiste, F.M.S. Pp. 520. Marls÷ Brothers, St. Ann's Herm;tacje, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. $1.50. Thd subtitle of this book indicates its contents: "Biographies of some early Marist Brothers who were outstanding by their vir-tues and love for their vocatidn." Written originally in French by Brother 3ean-Baptiste, it was translated intoEnglish on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the foundation of, the Institute. "Fhe purpose of the work was evidently to inspire the Marist Brothers by the virtuous example of their predecessors. Merely as biography, Our Models in Religion wouldoprobably be of interest to Marist Brothers but would hardly merit the attention of others. However, "biography" may be said to be a secondary theme of the work. The biographical sketches are rather pegs on which to hang various bits of good advice and instructio~a. There is much good instruction, much good conference material, in the book. Spiritual directors,of religious can find in it many worthwhile points for conferences, as well as an abundance of material for ~developing the topics. The book was printed by Desclle. Paper, printing, and binding are all of high quality. G. KELLY, S.,J, ".THE SOLUTION IS EASY. By the Reverend Mark Schmid. O.S.B., Ph.D. Pp. xii ÷ 181. Frederick Pustet, Inc., New York, 1942. $2.00. ~This book forms a neat, popular introduction to the Scholastic answers to the fundamental questions of philosophy. It will prove useful especially to those who have not the opportunity of making thorough study of Sct~olasticism but who, nevertheless, would lit::to become acquainted with its broad outlines. The work bears the imprint of one who.has,had many years of experience in teaching science and philosophy: the subject matter is presented in a way that makes it easily grasped and the author is careful to avoid even the appearance of being dogmatic. He does not enter upon ground con-troverted by the scholastics themselves, but confines himself to those points wherein all are agreed. Especially prominent is the frequent 350 BOOK REVIEWS discussion of popular scientific problems that have a close connection with philosophical principles. The book begins With a Jthumb-nail sketch (twe.nty-three pages) of the history of Scholasticism from its earliest period to the twenti-eth century. The second, and chief, part of the book consists of brief chapters setting forth the. Neo-Scholastic view of the major problems of philosophy. The first four chapters pertain to cosmology and discuss the problems of the nature and origin of the physical world. Then come.~ ~sychology with such questions as the origin of life, knowledge, free will', immortality.~ Following this are such metaphysical questions as First Principles, the problem of evil, causality, design or purpose, and the Creator. The problem of social origins forms the concluding chapter of the book. After each chapter is appended a convenient bibliography of readings and references. The author has chosen for this purpose those books which are writ-ten- in English and which should be easily procurable from an ordi-nary Catholic library. Fr. Schmid omits dry discussions from his book, eliminates the formalism of scholastic text-books, and enlivens his work through-out with apt illustrations and homely analogies. The ideas are quite clear, the language is simple and, for the most part, concrete. Tech-nical words are defined and. described. Synonyms, parenthetical expressions, and quotation marks are employed quite frequently, for the benefit of the uninitiated. At the the end of the book there is a glossary making a handy dictionary of terms found in this and other books on.philosophy.--A. J. BENEDETTO, S.J. THE DIALOG MASS. By the Reverend Gerald Elhrd, S.J. Pp. xvl -~ 223. Loncjmans,'Green & Company, New YorE, 1942. $2.75. "It is well within the expectations of probability that another decade will have witnessed the gradual transition to Dialog Mass as the normal form of low Mass worship everywhere in the United States." It is Archbishop Michael J. Curley, speaking, in his preface to Father Ellard's book, Who from his vantage point, as Archbishop of Baltimore and Washington gives us this measured judgment of,the future of Dialog Mass in this country. For all of us this practically means that in the opinion of Archbishop Curley, when attending low Mass ten years from now we shall either have to form a part of 351 Boo~ R~vm~s deliSerately cut ourselves off from fellowship with our fellow, Chris-tians by remaining s~lent. This makes the Dialog Mass and our acceptance or rejection of it a burni.ng ques~tion right now. " The more so is this true, as the Dialog Mass is the resul~ of the efforts of many zealous prelates and priests throughout the world to bring into actuality the active participation of the laity in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayers of the Church/of which the authoritative voice of Plus X says, "It is the foremost and indispensable font for acquiring the true Christian sp, irit" (Motu P'roprio, On Sacred Music). It will be a surprise to many a one who has been apathetic to the Dialog Mass "because it is an innovation," to find that it is one 'of those innova~tions that are in absolute accord with the old theologi-cal adage, Nil ~'nno{petur nisi quod traditum est (Let there be no inno-vation except such as comes down to us by tradition). The Dialog Mass is not a bringing in of something new that never was. but bringing back of what has been. Father. Ellard, after studying the historical evidence, feels justified in making the statement: "In the sixteenth century the custom still survived at Rome and elsewhere that the congregatioh made the Mass responses with the serv~er. When the custom disappeardd is not known." Father Ellard's book is important because of its studied~y accu-rate presentation of facts regarding the spread of the Dialog Mass and his documented story of the attitude of the Holy See on the subject. At the end of Chapter Five, in which the author shows that the Did-log Mass is encircling the globe, he presents the following' results of a questionnaire-survey among Sodalists throughout the United_ States and of official surveys of the Diocese of LaCrosse and of the Arch-diocese of Chicago: Dioceses in which Dialog Mass is approved. 100: Dioceses in which Dialog Mass is not allowed. 4: Dioceses on which information is not available, 11. Thi~ l~ind of information is of supreme importance for ever~ one of us by reason of another theological adage, Securus judicat orbis terraru~, the sense of w, hich is that the Catholic world judges surely about the Catholicity or ,non-Catholiciy of any religious practice. Teachers will be especially grateful to Father Ellard for his helpful suggestions about Dialog Mass for children.'hnd hhw to corn-~ bine it with music, and thus buil

Issue 1.1 of the Review for Religious, 1942. This is the first issue of the publication. ; A.M.D.G.- -~ Review for ehg ous " " JANUARY 15, 1942 ,~>The Vow of P~overfy . ~The oE udta÷ O~Iotn er ¯ Hygienic M6rfificafio~ -- Exemptions from F~s+ing ~.~ ~Bellar~ine's S[gn of The:~Lmfurgy ih'Mo~ern ~r ¯ Religious Cg~secration : . By M~ffhew Germlng,-S.J. . By Adam C. Ellis, S.J. ~.By, William J. McGucken, S.J. ~' " By,'~. Augustine Ellard, S;J. '~ ~. By Gerald Kelly, ~S.J. '/ By C!pm~nt DeMufh, S.J. B~. ~rald Ellard, SfJ. .° VOLUME. NUMBER 1 Review ~:or Religious Volume I January--December 1942 Published at THE COLLEGE PRESS Topeka, Kansas Edited by THE JESUIT FATHERS SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME I JANUARY 15, 1942 NUMBER CONTENTS GREETINGS FROM THE BISHOP OF LEAVENWORTH Tlie Most Reverend Paul C. Schulte, D.D. 4 PLANS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS~The Editors .6 RELIGIOUS CONSECRATION--Matthew Germing, S.J . 8 JOHN NEPOMUCENE NEUMANN . 14 THE VOW OF POVERTY IN THE CODE OF CANON LAW Adam C. Ellis, S.J . 15 THE EDUCATION OF SISTERS--William J. McGucken, S.J .2.7. HYGIENIC MORTIFICATION---G. Augustine Ellard. S.J .3.2 EXEMPTIONS FROM FASTING--Gerald Kelly, S.J .4.2. SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE'S SIGN OF THE CROSS Clement DeMuth, S.J . 47 LITURGY IN THE PATTERN OF MODERN PRAYING Gerald Ellard, S.J . 51 BOOK REVIEWS .THE MASS. By the Reverend Joseph A. Dunney . 63 A CATHOLIC DICTIONARY. Edited by Donald Attwater . 63 ALL THE DAY LONG. By Daniel Sargent . 64 "FEAR NOT, I~ITTLE FLOCK.'" By the Reverend George Zimpfer 65 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. Period of Recollection before Perpetual Vows . . " . 68 2. Shortening the Second Year of Novitiate . 68 3. Permission of Parents for Emergency Operation .69 4. Recital of Little Office by those absent from Community Recitation 69 5. Private Vows by Professed Religious . 70 6. Curtain between Priest and Penitent in Convent Confessional 70 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS 71 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January, 1942. Vol. I, No. 1. Published bi-monthly: ,January, March, May, July, September, and November, at The College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Application for second class entry pending. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.3.,~ G. Augustine Ellard, S.3., Gerald Kelly, $.J. Copyright; 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted~for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Address all communications to: Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Mar/s, Kansas. Printed in U.S.A. Greet:ings-t: 'om !:he Bishop ot: Leavenw0rt:h WE ARE reminded of the striking analogy that exists between the Mystical Body of Christ and our own physical body. As the human body is made up of mil-lions of tiny ~ells, each cell in a sense a distinct entity having its .own function, so too, the Church is made up of millions of individual members, living individual lives; yet, even as ehch cell in our body draws life from the soul, ~so also is ~ach member of the Mystical Body of Christ quickened by the spiritual life of Sanctifying Grace. Carrying the analog~r further, we are reminded that, as the tiny individual cells are grouped so as to form individu.al organs and members of ~our body,, so too, in the Mystical .Body of Christ, individual men and women are o/~ten grouped into societies andorganizations, distinct, yet work-ing for the common good and drawing life and inspiration from th~ one spiritual head. As St. Paul reminds us,, "the eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy help; nor again the head to the feet: I have no need of you,'; neither can the various groups within the Church be self-centered, but" they must work for the common good of the whole Church under the guidance of its head, Christ's Vicar on earth. The religious form what might be called the right arm of the Mystical Body of Christ. Ever since our Divine Savior gave the invitation to the young man in the Gospel, "if thou Wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to .the poor . and come, follow me," noble souls have been inspired to lea~e all things and seek perfection in the life of the religious. The very earliest centuries of the Church already found the deserts filled with the cells of the anchor-ites, from which soon was to be born the great monastic sys-tem as we have it today. Naturally, the unusual form of life led by the religious presents for them unusual problems. The Church in her canon law has taken cognizance of this and has devoted much space to defining the rights and duties of religious, both as indi'viduals and as institutions. However, the rami-fications of these rights and duties are so far reaching, and the field of direction towards spiritual perfection is so vast that the volumes upon volumes of commentaries that have been Written have not begun to exhaust the subje.cts. Besides, new .problems are ever arising. We have today many reviews of a general ecclesias-tical character dealing withthe multitudinou~s phases of the Church ~n general, yet we can readily see the need of a special review for the religious, not only to explain .the general laws governing their lives, but also to keep them abreast of the problems that theever-changing world is presenting to them. We feel confident therefoie that REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, which is making its bow. with this issue, will be .not .only very helpful to the religious but welcomed by the entire Church. We are happy to give it our personal approbation and fed honored that it is to be published in our Diocese. We are confident of its success under the editorial guidance of the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's. May it live long and effect much "pro Deo et Ecclesia!" PAUL C. SCHULTE, Bishop of Leaventvortl~. Plans :nd. ' . Acknowl dgem.ents N THIS initial number of REVIEW FoR RELIGIOus .wish tO say something Of our purpose,and ourplans, so that our readers may know rather definitely what to expect of us. ,, Our 'review is for all religious, clerical and non-clerical. However, we shall consider primarily the needs of brothe~ and nuns, bec~iuse clerics, particularly those in sacred orders, already have many excellent reviews at their disposal. This policy need not make the review less interesting to clerics, and it should increase its utility for those who may be entrusted with the spiritual guidance of other religious. In this latter connection, the review may also be of service to diocesan priests, as many of them are confessors and spiritual directors of religious. We have founded this magazine for a two-fold purpose: first, to aid °religi"ous in their personal sanctification; and secondly, to be of some service to them in carrying on their respective °apostolic works. The first purpose evidently call~ for articles of a purely ascetical nature; also for solid articles on the doctrines, legislation, and liturgy of the Church, as all true piety must ultimately conform to the Church's doctrine and practice. In line with the second purpose w~ll be a~'ticles which may have no direct bearing on ~he personal li:¢es of the religious themselves, such as background articles on various sections of the catechism, suggestions.for the care of the sick and the dying and for the ~arrying on of other ministries. Our general policy will be to offer articles of interest to all, but this policy cannot be inflexible. Some topics will be of use to superiorsand of slight value to subjects; some will be esl~ecially for brothers, others for nuns: some may concern only those engaged ina definite work such-as teaching, caring for the sick, and so forth. We think it well to adopt no general policy that would exclude such special-ized articles; otherwise our power for good would be great-ly diminished. We antidpate difficulties. The war situation evidently increases the difficulty .of .making definite plans. Some of our articles will be quite theological in content, yet these must be written in a non-technical, and understandable manner--an accomplishment that is not easy. On the part of our subscribers, some superiors have already suggested to us that a huge difficulty will be to find time for reading the review. We realize the force of. this practical objection: yet we hope that a fair number of individuals will find the time for private reading, and we suggest, that some articles frbm each issue will be suitable for community reading. The launching of. this project is the result of extensive dreaming and planning. Indeed, we should have begun many years ago, had not a certain unforeseen event delayed 9ur plans. Today, as we finally go to press, we are moved with an intense spirit of gratitude, to God for His assistance, and to all others who have helped us. Almost universally we have met with encouragement andcooperation. Our Bishop has been most kind in appro;cing our venture; our own and other re.ligious superiors were constantly helpful. Higher superiors, in general, responded very promptly and generously to our request for lists of houses to circularize: in many instances the superiors themselves sent subscrip-tions for entire congregations or provinces, thus saving us considerable labor and expense. May God bless them a11, and may He prosper this work begun for His greater glory! -~THE EDITORS. Religious Consecrat:ion Matthew .Germing, S.3. HOLY,SCRIPTURE says: "He that contemneth small things ~hall fall by little and little" (Ecclesiasticus 19:1). Spiritual writers commenting on these words rightly insist on the importance of little thing~ in the spiritual life. In the present consideration I wish to call attention, primarily, not to little things but to a big truth. I say, "primarily," because I believe that often enough interest in little things is best promoted by insistence on some large fundamental truth or fact on which the little ¯ things depend. Such a truth, once it has been thoroughly understood and assimilated, once it has. permeated the very marrow of our being and is thereafter kept vig.or.ously alive in mind an, d heart, will be a wonderfully energ,zmg force in the daily routine of life. It will extend its influence to the smallest actions of the day and thus compel us to take heed of even the little things. . Of this character is the consecration to God made by the members of every religious order and congregation. We are familiar in a general way with the meaning of consecration. Persons or things are consecrated when they are set apart and with the proper ceremonies dedicated to God or the Service of God. Thus the chalice used by the priest at Mass is consecrated; it is sacred and may not be used for any other purpose. To use it for other purposes would be sinful and sacrilegious. The same holds of a consecrated church. All religious are consecrated to Gdd by means of the three vows of religion. They are sacred in the eyes of God, far more sacred than consecrated church or ~halice. Whether they bel6ng to an active or a contemplative order, whether they are engaged in school work or hospital duties, whether in charge of orphans or caring for the aged and infirm, no matter what their function or task or position in the com-munity, all are consecrated to God. And they are so con-secrated by their three vows. There is a twofold aspect to these vows, the .negative and the positive. The negative aspect is "the privation involved in the vows, but privation is not the distinctive feature of religious poverty, chastity, and obedience. The mere lack of temporal goods does not make anyone accept.- able or sacred in God's sight. Poverty .as'such makes.many people in the world at large discontented and miserable, leading to complaints and rebellion against Providence. Nor does celibacy with its privations have of itself a sancti-fying effect. And as for obedience, a man may be a slave and be far from Christian and ev.angelical obedience. It is the motive that counts. It. is the love of Christ, the conse-cration to God which is the purpose and end of.all these sacrifices and privations, that makes them precious in the sight of heaven. And this is the positive aspect of the vows of religion. When we pronounced our vows for the first time we offered to God, to Christ our King and to His Sacred Heart all we had or possessed, and made ourselves entirely depen-dent on God and His representatives on earth. When St. Francis of Assisi bade farewell to his father and gave away the very clothes he wore, he said: "Now I can truly say, our-Father who art in heaven," Certainly Francis knew that God was his Father before that time, but he meant to say that only now was he absolutely without all earthly support whatever; he had only his Father in ¯ heaven to rely upon. And this gave him perfect joy and perfect cbnfidence. Blessed are we if our renunciation of the things of earth was nearly as complete as that of St. Francis and made in the same joyous~spirit. Then we can exclaim with him in ~ransportsof seraphic love, "My God and my all!" and pray to God in the word of another saint, "Give me only Thy love and Thy grace and I am rich enough and desire nothing more." But in pronouncing our vows we did much more than despoil ourselves of all temporal possessions out of love for Christ our Lord. We offered ourselves. There is recorded for us in Holy Scripture (I Paralipomenon 29: 16, 17) the touching prayer of King David when, surrounded by a vast multitude of his people, he offered to Almighty God the gold and silver and precious stones he had gathered from far and near for the temple which his son Solomon was to build. And David prayed: "O Lord our God, all this store ¯ that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name is from thy hand, and all things are thine. I know, my God, that thou provest hearts and lovest simplicity, wherefore I also in the simplicity of my heart have 'joyfully offered all these things." We also on the day of our vows made our offerings to God in joyful spirit, presenting not gold or silver or precious stones but gifts, far more precious m the sight of heaven--the loyalty and devotion of a con-secrated soul. We knelt before the altar and in simplicity and sincerity of heart pronounced the vows of poverty, chas-tity, and obedience. Thus we made an oblat.ion to God of our entire being, our body with its senses and all their pleasures, our soul with its intellect and free will, promising to understand and do all things in accordance with the rules and constitutions of the religious life we then and there embraced in all its fulness. And we made these promises solemnly before the throne of God, in the pres-ence of Mary, Queen of heaven, of our Guardian Angel, our patron saints and the whole heavenly court as witnesses of our oblation. With holy David we acknowledged to God, "All things are thine, and we have given thee what we received of thy hand." Thus we vowed eternal loyalty to Christ and became consecrated and sacred in His eyes. This consecration was the most important event in our life, a spiritual fact of tremendous import. For it meant the abandonment of all selfish interests and complete devo-tion to the cause of Christ. Up to that time self had chiefly been the focus of our thoughts and desires; now our L6rd and Savior was to be enthroned in our mind and heart. Our. aims in life, our thinking and planning, .our capabilities of soul and body, our work and r.ecreation, our time itself, all were consecrated and must be directed to God. We are en-tirely His. We ought to make it our serious effort to understand and appreciate this fact. We should do what the Blessed Virgin did during her life on earth. And what did she do? St. Luke tells us in the second chapter of his Gospel. Toward the end of his account of the nativity Of our Lord, after narrating the apparition of the angel to the shepherds and the visit of the latter to Bethlehem, he adds: "But Mary kept in mind all these words, pondering them in her heart." We may be sure that what is told us so explicitly of her conduct in the present instance she did on many other occa.- sions in connection with the mysteries in the life of our divine Lord in which she had a large part. She treasured up in her memory the words and events, meditated on them, 10 prayed over them in the silence and quiet of her chamber, thus ever increasing in faith, hope, and the 10ve of God. Thus too she secured for herself the divine assistance, sup-port and guidance and encouragement in the daily happen-ings and sufferings of her life on earth. We ought to imitate this practice of our Blessed Mother in regard to so sacred an event in our life as our consecration to God. In the first place, we should recall it often and prayerfMly. Many religious have the commendable custom of making the renewal of'their consecration part of their morning prayer, using for the purpose a short formula; even purely mental renewal is .beneficial. We may do the same at intervals .between exercises during the day, even in the course of work which does not require dose and continu-ous attention. Our Blessed Lady gave us the example. Doubtless her mind and 1,ieart were frequently, if not habitually, occupied, with thoughts of sbme of the great mysteries in the life of her divine Son. This kept her in a state of recollection, transforming all her work into .prayer. Because of the difference of circumstances and the nature of their occupation, religious living in the modern world with its multiplic!ty of work are unable to practise recollection to. the same extent to which our Blessed Lady practised it in her home at Nazareth. Nevertheless, we must not lose sight of the fact that some degree of recoll~ction is essential for living the religious life as it should be lived. For all religious, whether members of an active or contemplative order, are consecrated to God. Consecration means total devotion to the cause of God, the cause of Christ and His Church. But they cannot effectively promote the cause of Christ unless they are devoted to prayer. And the prayer of consecrated souls must be something more than a casual and routine performance at stated times and places. Reli-gious must be penetrated and imbued with the true spirit of prayer, which comes only with thought and reflection and intimate converse between God and the soul. How can they achieve this spirit and continue it once they have achieved it if they do not strive with all the means at their disposal to attain to some degree of interior recollection? It is easier to keep up a high degree of recollection in somepositions or spheres of duty than in others. This holds of all religious communities whose members are engaged in the active life. But to whatever duty individual religious are assigned, all 11 must remember that their life of prayer, their spiritual life in generall will not take care of itself. The' saying is true that no one will be much more in prayer than he or she is out of prayer. In other words, they who outside of praye~ scatter their attention over a variety of interests, neither necessary nor useful for their work, will be unable to pray well beyond a few minutes when the hour comes for their devotional exercises. The inference is not that recollection is to interfere with attention to duty. Duty comes first. But there are moments and intervals when thoughts are free from assigned work and the employment of time is left to each one's discretion. These are favorable moments for the care and attentio.n which religious ought to have for their personal spiritual welfare. And if at such times they follow the promptings of mere curiosity, seeking the news of the day or other information not necessary or useful for them, thus spending the time in useless reading or. idle con-versation, they are losing precious opportunities' for sanc-tifying themselves. I said above that, in the first place, we ought frequently and prayerfully to recall the fact of our consecration to God. It is a thought pregnant with meaning for all of us and will be a great aid to recollection in the course of the day. Secondly, it will be decidedly profitable to take~ our consecration now and then for the subject of daily medita-tion. In such a meditation we may first consider, the ¯ meaning of our consecration. It means complete dedication ¯ "to God by means of the three vows, oblation of all that we have, all that we are, all that we are able to do--our thoughts, words, and actions; it means an act of the most perfect love of God. Then we may reflect on its obliga-tions. They are the observance of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; of the rules and constitutions of the order, and obedience to the commands of superiors. Finally, we may think of its adoantages. The most impor-tant ones are that it frees us from many s~rious dangers of sin, furnishes numerous aids in the practice of every kind of virtue, aligns us with that choice company of the army of Christ which would signalize itself by special service to its Leader, renders us sacred in the eyes of God, is a sign of God's predilection, has Christ's promise of the highest reward-- they "shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life ever-lasting" (Matthew 19:29). Conclusion. We may Con- 12 clude-with sentiments of esteem and love of our vocation with its consecration to God; humility; gratitude to God. Another opportunity for strengthening ourselves in our consecration to God is the Monthly Recollection. It is a time of spiritual grace, when God reveals Himself more fully to our souls. We should do our part by making a brief survey of the month that has passed, considering in detail and with more than ordinary scrutiny whether we are living up to ~:he requirements of our state. It is not a question of merely seeing whether we have avoided deliber-ate sin. This too merits our attention, as a matter of course. We must look to our religious ideals, the perfection of our daily actions, the motives that animate us from early .morning till late at night. Are we seeking God in all things in all our doings? Are ,Jesus Christ and His interests habitually in our thoughts, or is self frequently uppermost in our minds, controlling and directing our purposes and policies? Our Blessed Lord said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whold strength" (Mark 12:30). This is the perfection we are bound to strive after in its literal sense. It is the epitome, the compendium of all that is contained in our consecration to God. We are consecrated to God, sacred in His eyes. It would be quite wrong and detrimental to our spiritual life if, by reason of this, we were to fall into the error of conceiving and fostering self-complacency, as though we were the favorite~ of Almighty God and better than other people. If God has manifested His predilection towards us by bestowing the efficacious grace of a religious vocation, He has by that very fact also imposed on us graver obligations and responsibilities. In all humility we should thank God for what He has done for us and for all other men, each of us saying with the patriarch ,Jacob, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of thy truth which thou hast f.ulfilled to thy servant" (Genesis 32:10). It is very important for .us to maintain~ an attitude of thankfulness and humility. Let us remember our Lord's words to His Apostles: "You have not chosen me, .but I have chosen you". (,John 15:16). He has chosen us out of the world and transferred us into a kingdom of light and grace that, like the Apostles; we might "bring forth fruit." It-remains for us to distinguish ourselves in His service by an ever increasing love and generosity, a more steadfast loyalty to the consecration which we made of ourselves when we pronounced our vows. In this way a big fundamental spiritual truth, kept fresh in mind and heart by daily prayer and recollection, will exercise oa salutary influence On the little things of every day life. It will have the effect Of sweepingaside in a moment the petty and narrow views arising from selfish-ness, just as the bright rising sun scatters the mist on a mid-summer day.' JOHN NEPOMUCENE NEUMANN Just before the first issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS went to press, we received a letter from the Reverend Albert H. Waible, C.SS.R., Vice-Postulator of the Cause for Beatification of the Venerable John Neumann, C.SS.R. John Nepomucene Neumann was the first pro-fessed Redemptorist in the United States and the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. On December 11, 1921, Pope Benedict XV approved the decree declaring that John Neumann had practised heroic virtue, and he was given the title of Venerable. The Holy Father's words on that occasion are singularly appropriate for readers of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS : "We deem it proper to say that all our children should profit by the. Decree of today by reason of the peculiar character of the heroic virtues of Ven. Neumann. Perhaps the very simplicity of these virtues has been misunderstood by those Who thought there was no heroic degree in the virtues of the Servant of God. because in their eyes the good works and holy deeds performed by Neumann are. the holy .and good deeds which every good religious, every zealous missionary, every good bishop should perform. ¯ We need not repeat that works even the most simple, performed with constant perfection in the midst of i~aevitable difficulties, spell heroism in any servant of God. Just because of the simplicity of his works, We find in them a strong argu-ment for saying to the faithful of whatever age, sex, or condition: You are all bound to imitate the Ven. Neumann.,. If, in spite of this, there should be some who still seem surprised and cannot pic-ture him to themselves as a hero apart from grand undertakings, We hasten to say that wonderful results can spring from simple deeds, . provided these are performed as perfectly as possible and with unre-mitting constancy." Those interested in Bishop Neumann's cause can procure a small pamphlet biography from the Mission Church Press, 1545 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 5 cents a copy; $3.50 per 100. 14 The Vow ot: Poverl:y in !:he Code ot: Canon Law Adam C. Ellis, S.,L IIF't LESSED are the poor in spirit, .for theirs is the king-dom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). This poverty of spirit for which the Gospel promises the kingdom of heaven consists essentially in keeping one's heart free from attachment to temporal goods. It is the first means, though not the most important, which man must make use of to win heaven.or to attain to perfection. The reason for this is that poverty of spirit is the cure for that evil which is the root of all others according to the Apostle: "For covet-ousness is the root of all evil" (I Timothy 6:10). That is why our Lord not only began his preaching with it, but also gave us the example in His own person of a life of pov-erty from the crib in the stable of Bethlehem to the cross on Calvary. And when He wished to teach men the secret and the way ot~ perfection, he tells us again, in the instance of the rich young man, that. poverty is the starting point. "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast. and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21). The first persons who took this lesson to heart and put it into practice were the Apostles, who in turn imparted it to the primitive church, and thus impressed upon religious communities the form of perfect poverty. In canon 488 of the Code ot: Canon Law, the Church tells us that the three vows ot~ religion, obedience, chastity, and poverty, are means by ~vhich religious strive at~ter per-t: ecfion; Hence in all orders and congregations approved by the Church these three essential vows must be taken, either explicitly, as in modern congregations, or as least implicitly, as in the older orders. In its essentials the vow 6f poverty is the same: for all religious, but the constitutions of different orders and congregations add details to these fundamental notions according to the particular spirit ot~ each institute. Evangelical poverty as set forth in the constitutions of a religious institute, may be considered from different points of view. It-is not our intention to give an ascetical ¯ or a moral.interpretation of the vow of poverty; we leave .15 that to others, who, we trust, will favor us later on with articles in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS dealing with these aspects. It is our purpose now to study the present laws of the Ghurch regarding the personal poverty of religious, as promulgated in the Code of Canon Law, since these laws are applicable to all religious, and are usually incorporated into the constitutions o~ all religious institutes. The Nature of the Vow of Pooert~/. The vow of pov-erty is a promise made to God by whicla the religious deprives himself of the right to place any act of proprietor-sbip over any material thing having a money value, with-out the lawful permission of his superior, The proper and distinctive character of proprietorship or ownership of property is the power to dispose of it freely and independently/: that is, to use it, to give it away, to sell it, to destroy it, at will, as an absolute master over it. without any obligation of having recourse to the will of another, hence independently of the will or permission of another. The essence of the simple vow of poverty consists, therefore, in the privation of this right to dispose freely and independently of temporal goods, of whatsoever kind they may be. The subject-matter of the vow is the possession and use of temporal things, independently of the will of superiors. Whatever the degree of poverty prescribed by the con-stitutions of any particular institute may be, only such things as come under the heading of temporal goods or property constitute the subject-matter of poverty. Other things, such as health, the use of one's bodily members, one's mental and spiritual faculties, talents, supernatural gifts, are not the subject-matter of the vow of poverty. Temporal goods or property, therefore, include any object of money value that a person can acquire and possess or hold, anything that can be owned. Personal goods or property are such things as can be kept on or near one's per-son, usually all movable goods. Real property or real estate consists in lands and whatever is attached to the land, houses and buildings of any kind. The general term, prop-. erty or temporal goods, therefore, comprises every material thing which has a money value, such as: money, real estate, stocks, bonds, mortgages, jewelry, and all movable and per-sonal objects having a money value. By his vow of poverty 16 the religious refiounces his right to place any act of owner- Ship over such goods without the permission of his supe-rior. The vow of poverty, therefore, forbids the religious: 1) every independent act of appropriation, e.g. to acquire, keep, use, receive, borrow from another; 2) every act of disposal of property: to give away, to sell, to lend, or lease to another, to allow goods to deteriorate or perish. All these acts, placed without the permission of the superior or of the constitutions, are contrary to the vow of poverty. The various degrees of sinfulness of these acts is a moral question and outside the limits of this article. Let us now take up the general legislation of the Church regarding the vow of poverty, keeping in mind that these laws obligate all religious, and that any contrary leg-islation in the constitutions has been revoked by the Code of Canon Law, unless a special apostolic privilege has been obtained. I. A religious who has tatien a simple vow of poverty, whether temporar!t or perpetual, retains the ownership of his property, as well as the capacity to acquire, more, unless the constitutions provide otherwise (cf. canon 580, § 1). The distinction between a simple and a solemn vow ~s the result of church legislation. ~ A religious who takes a solemn vow of poverty deprives himself not only of every right to place act~ proprietorship, as explained above, but he freely gives up even the right to own temporal goods. Such a religious must give away all that he. possesses, within sixty days preceding his solemn profession. After taking the solemn vow, he can no longer acquire temporal goods for himself, since by his vow he has renounced his very right to own, hence whatever may come to him by way of inheri-tance or gift, he acquires for his institute (cf. canons 581 and 582). The religious who takes a simple vow of poverty, on the contrary, retains his right to own, that is to possess property; hence he is not deprived of his property by the simple vow, but continues to be the owner of all that he possessed at the time of his religious profession. Further-more, he retains the capacity to acquire more property or temporal goods even after he has taken the simple vow of poverty. Such is the provision of. the general law of the Church today for all religious. The Church allows the constitutions to limit this right, but since there are very few constitutions ;which do so,,we.shall omit any comment On this detail, and we shall suppose hereafter that no such limitation has been placed. iI. The simple vow of poverty makes a" contrary a~t illticit, but not invalid, unless the contrarg, has been expressly decreed (cf. canon 579). The effects of the vow of poverty are determined by the law of the Church. That law says that the simple vow of poverty makes a.contrary act illicit, which means that if a religious with a simple vow of poverty disposes of or in any way exercises rights over his property without permis-sion, he-.commits a sin,. venial or grave acc.ording, to the gravity of the illicit transaction. However, the act which he places, for example, the gift or s~ile of temporal goods, is valid, that is, it is recognized as legal by canon law, unless the contrary is expresslydecreed. Such a prohibition may be contained in the general law of the Church," as 'happens in the case of a religious who takes a simple vow of poverty in an order in which he is to take solemn vows later on. Canon 581 § 1. forbids .him under pain of invalidity to give away his property, except within sixty days preceding his solemn profession. If such a religious gives away any property, the act is null and void, ~which means that the person to whom he,gave it must return it, and may not keep it. Thus if Sister Generosa, a member of a religious congregation, gave all her property to her needy family off the day 9n which she took her first vows, her parents may keep it, since the act is a valid act. Sister Generosa, how-ever, acted illicitly, that is, she violated her vow of povert.y :by transgressing the law of the church, unless she. did so m good faith, being ignorant of the law. Off'the other hand, if Brother John, a member of the Carmelite order, gave away all his property on the day he took his first simple vows, the person to whom he gave it would be obliged to give it back to him, because his act was not only illicit but also invalid. He can give away his property validly only within sixty days of his solemn profession. III.' If during his novitiate, a novice in any way what-ever renounces his property, or.encumbers it, such a renun-ciation or encumbrance is not only illicit, but also null and void (cf. canon 568). This legislation comes down to us from the Council of Trent. It applies to all novices, whether in a pontifical or 18 in a diocesan institute, and to all their temporal goods, whether movable or immovable, real or personal. The pur-poseof the legislation is to safeguard the freedom of action of both the novice and of the institute regarding the profes-sion to be made at the end of the novitiate. The novice may wish to leave, the institute may be unwilling to admit him to profession. Hence the wisdom of the legislation. To renounce one's property means to give up the right to it by freely and lawfully transferring it to another with-out recompense. A novice may, therefore, sell his.property and invest the proceeds, or. put the money in a bank for the time being. He may, likewise, freely~dispose of the income of his property during the novitiate, or add it .to his capital. He must pay his.debts, of course, and may pay for his board and clothing during the'novitiate provided this is required by the constitutions, or agreed upon before entrance into the postulancy, or novitiate in conformity with canon 5 70, §1. To er~carnber one's property means to put a burden or obligation upon it. Hence a novice may not promise to give away a certain part of 'his property or all of it on condition that he perseveres in the religious state and is admitted to profession. He may not mortgage his property.,-as that would be placing an encumbrance .upon it. While the law of the Church does not forbid such renunciation and encumbrance during the postulancy, the same reasons make such an act inadvisable. If such a renun-ciation is made for grave reason during the postulancy, it should be made conditionally, so that the postulant may be able to regain his property in case he does not persevere in religion, and must return to the world. Even before the Code went into effect i~ was a common opinion of canonists that novices could give alms to the poor, to pious causes, and even to their own institute, pro-vided that small amounts were given on rare occasions, The same is permitted under the Code. Thus a novice would be allowed to have a number of Masses said for the repose of. the soul of his father or mother who dies during his novitiate. Supposing that our novice persevere~, and that his institute is ready to admit him to his first profession~, the .law. of the Church requires him to place certain acts in rdgard to his property before he takes his first ~vows. 19 IV. Before the profession of simple vows, whether temporory or perpetual., the novice must cede, for the entire period during Which he wilt be bound bg simple vows, the administration of bis~ 15ropertg to whomsoever he wishes, and dispose freelg of its use and usufruct, unless the consti-tutions determine otberu;ise (cf. canon 569, § 1). We have seen above that the simple vow of poverty does not deprive the novice who takes it of the ownership of his property or of the right to acquire more property after he. has taken the simple vow of poverty. On the other hand, one of the purposes of the vow is to free the religious from the worries and distractions connected with the care and management of temporal goods. Hence the Church wisely decrees that the novice must turn over to another the administration of his property if he has any. He may choose any person he wishes to act as his administrator: his parents, a brother or sister, a friend, a lawyer, a trust com-pany. He may also ask his institute or province or house to assume this task if superiorslare willing tO accept it. Let us u.nderstand what an administrator is. All of us have heard on occasion, after the death of a person, that the deceased had appointed an administrator of his estate in his will, or if he died intestate, the court appointed somebody to fill this office until the estate could besettled. The per-son appointed cares for the estate or collection of temporal goods owned by the deceased, pay bills, collects rents, as well as interest on money deposited in banks or due on stocks and bonds, keeps buildings in repair, pays taxes and the like. In a word, an administrator performs all those ordinary acts which the deceased person performed during his lifetime for the preservation and increase of his prop-erty. Once the novice has appointed his administrator, he must leave to him all these acts of ordinary administration of his property. He may be consulted as regards extra-ordinary acts of administration, such as the sale of his property, and the investment of the money derived from such a sale, and be has the right to receive an annual report of the condition of his property. The administrator is entitled to some recompense in proportion to his labor. Once the administrator has been freely appointed, the religious may not replace him by another without the per-mission of his superior general, unless the constitutions of his institute allow him to do so of his own accord (cf.canon 20 580, § 3). It4s evident that the novice who has no prop-erty at the-time of his first profession .need not appoint an administrator. The disposition or: his income: The novice must dispose freely of the use and usufruct of his pr.operty, if he has any. If his property consists of real estate, a farm, a house and lot, etc. he may ~rant the use of such property to anybody he wishes. If his property is productive, real estate which brings in rents, or stocks and bonds producing income or interest, such income is called the fruits of his property, or .the usufruct. It is evident that were the religious to retain the free disposal¯ of such income in his own hands, it would become a source of distraction and worry to him. Hence the Code prescribes that, before he takes his first vows, he must determine, once for all, the person or persons who are to be given the use of or the income of his property for the duration of his vows. He may choose whomsoever he wishes as the beneficiary of bis income: his parents, a brother or sister, some charitable work, his own institute. It would be well for the novice, before making his decision, to think seriously on those words of our Lord: "give to the poor." His parents may be in need, or he may have a brother or sister struggling to raise a family or to get an education; then there are so many forms of Christian char-ity in need of funds to carry on their work: hospitals, or-phanages, homes for the poor, etc; lastly the novzce should also consider the needs of his own institute before coming to a decision. But the final decision rests with him, unless the constitutions of his institute determine otherwise. There are some constitutions approved before the promultzation of the Code which deprive the novice of the right to dispose of the use and usufruct of his property, or restrict that right or define it, e.g. by limiting such disposal in favor of a char-itable work, or by designating or excluding the institute as the beneficiary. Whatever the dispositions of such consti-tutions may be, they must be observed (Code Commission, Oct. 16, 1919). Once the novice has made this disposition of the use or income of his property, he may not change it in favor of someone else without the permission of his superior gen-eral, unless the constitutions' allow him to do so of his own accord (canon 580, § 3). It will-be Well to call attention here to a restriction which this same canon places on 'th~ 2I right to chahge the beneficiary with the permission ~of the superior general.~ Such modification or change mustnot be made, at least for a notable part of the income, in favor of the institute. Permission of the Holy See is necessary to make such a change in favor of the institute (Code Com-mission, May 15, 1936), if there is question of a notable part, say one-fourth, or certainly one-third Of the same. This point should be made clear to the novice before he chooses the person who is to have the use or the income of his property. While he is free before taking his first vows to appoint hisown institute (orhis province or house) as the beneficiary of his income, ifas a matter of fact, he does not do so, but appoints some other person, he may not later " cbang.e .this disposition in favor of.his ihstitute without the permission of the Holy See, if there is question of one third or more of the entire income. If, later on, after having taken his vows, the religious should leave his institute and the religious life, these appointments of an administrator and of the beneficiary of his income cease to have a.ny effect, and he regains comple.te control of his property. It may happen that a novice has no property at the time be takes his first vows. Later on, after takin~ his vows, he acquires pkoperty by inheritance or gift. What is to be don~? " " V. :In case the novice, because he possessed no property, omitted to make the cession and disposition mentioned above, but later on acquires p. ropertq, or i~:, after making the cession and disposition ~n question, be becomes the possessor of more property under whatever title, be must then' make the cession and disposition for the ~irst time, or repeat it, iri regard to the newI~/ acquired property/, his simple vow o~: povern.] notwit.bstanding (cf. canon 569, §2). In this case the religious whopossessed no property at the time of his first profession, but. later on acquires prop-erty, needs no permission to appoint an administrator and to determine who is to have the use of this newly acquired property, or the income thereof. The law obliges him to do .so. Similarly, if, after having appointed an adminis-trator and determined a beneficiary of the income of his property, a religious, after taking his vows, acquires new property by inheritance, gift, and so forth, he must then 22 repeat the same acts in regard to h!,s. newly acquired prop-erty. Of course he may simply say: I wish the same admin-istrator, already appointed, to take care of it, and I wish the same person or persons, already recei~,ing the income of my property, to receive the income of this new property like-wise." He may, howe.ver, appoint a different person administrator, and a different person the beneficiary of the income of this newly acquired property, if he wishes to do so, It may be noted in 1Sassing that an increase in value of property already possessed does not constitute a new acquirement of property .within the meaning of the law. Hence if the real estate, or the stocks and bonds which a religious owns, increase in value because of a land boom, or because of a rise in the stock market, such a religious may not consider that increase in value as a new acquirement of property. Nothing is to be done in such a case. VI. In ever{] religious congregation the novice, before taking his temporarg vouJs, must freetg make a will or tes-tament regarding all the propertg he actuatl~l possesses, or mag subsequentl~l possess (cf. canon 569, § .3). A will is a legal declaration of a man's intentions as to the disposition of his property that he wills to be carried out afterhis death. Strictly speaking, a testament differs from a will in that it bequeaths personal property only; but the terms are used interchangeably. By his will, there-fore, the novice does not give away his property here and now. ° He merely indicates the person Or persons whom he wishes to come into possession of it after his death. As long as he lives he retains the ownership of all his prop-erty. The beneficiary of his will becomes possessor of the property of the. religious only after the latter dies. Every novice in a religious congregation must make a will before taking his first, temporary vows, whether he actually owns any property or not, the reason being that the will includes everything that may come to the religious dur!ng his life-time, and of which he dies possessed. Novices about to take their first, temporary vows in an order are not obliged to make a will, since they must give away whatever they possess before they take their solemn vows. They are not forbidden, howe~er, to make a will valid for the period of their profession of simple vows, ~hould their wish to do so. ¯ Members of a religious congregation who took their 23 first vows before the Code went into effect (May 19, 1918), are not obliged to make a will, even though they acquired more property after that date, or will akquire such property in the future. But they ar~ not forbidden to make a will, should they wish to do so, and generally speaking, it is advisable for them to make a will.But all religious in every congregation who took their first, temporary vows after May 19, 1918 are obliged to make a will as soon as possible, if they have not done so already. The law requires this, even though it had been omitted in good faith. Even though the novice who is about to take his first vows cannot make a will valid in civil law because of a lack of the required age, he is still bound by canon law to make his will, and later on, when he becomes of legal age, he must tlake the steps necessary to make his will'valid in divil law as well. The Code says that the novice must freel~t make a will. This does not mean that he is free to make a will. or not, but that he who makes the will prescribed by canon law is free to choose the beneficiary of his will, that is he freely chooses the person or persons he wishes to take possession of any property he may own at the time of his death. May a religious ever change his will after he has freely made it? VII. No religious may change his will once made in "conformity with the requirements of canon law as explained above without the permission of the Hotel See, or. in case of urgencq, abd time does not permit of recourse to the Holg See, without the permission o3 his superior gen-eral, or of his local superior if the former cannot be' reached (cf. canon 583, 2°). A will is not considered altered or changed if certain prescriptions are merely made clearer, or if a will'which is invalid in civil law is changed merely to conform with the requirements of that law, so long as in both cases the bene-ficiary remains the same. Should the person named as bene-ficiary in the will of a religious die, the will becomes ineffec-tive and has no value. Hence no permission is needed to make a new will, since by so doing the religious is simply fialfilling the law of the Church which requires him to make a will. The will he had made is no longer valid, hence he is without a will, and must make another in order to fulfill the law, 24 As long as the religious with simple vows continues, to live in a religious congregation he may ~not give away his property. VIII. It is forbidden to the professed of simple" uows in a congregation to abdicate gratuitously the dominion ouer their property b~/ a voluntary deed of conveyance (cf. canon 583, 1°). To abdicate gratuitously means to give away one's property without receiving any monetary recompense in return. The motive for giving away one's property may be a spirit of gratitude, or friendship, or a charitable desire to help others in need, or to further 'the cause of some pious work. No matter what the motive may be, the Church forbids all religious with simple vows in a congregation to give away their property as long as they remain in religion. Due to the uncertain times in which we live, it can and does happen that religious freely leave or are obliged to leave their institute, or the institute itself may be dispersed by reason of persecution which is 'always present in the Church in some part of the world. Should any one of these con-tingencies arise, the religious will not be obliged to return to the world penniless, thus bringing Shame on religion, or becomin~ a burden to others, but he will be able to support himself with the aid of the temporal goods he brought with him when he entered religion, or which he received by. way of inheritance or gift during his stay in the religious life. Since the law says a religious is forbidden to give away his property, but does not say that such an act is invalid as it does in the case of a novice and of the religious with simple vows in an order in which he is to take solemn vows later on, it follows-that if a religious in a congregation has actually freely given away his property contrary to the pre-scription of the law, the act is a valid act, and.the religious cannot reclaim his prbperty. If he did so in good faith, in ignorance of the law, he will be free from all moral guilt in the matter. But all religious in congregations, whether papal or diocesan, should understand clearly that their supe-riors cannot give them permission to dispose of thei~ patri-money, as the sum total of their temporal goods is. called, during th~i~ lifetime in religion. The permission of the Holy See would have to be obtained before this couId be done licitly. A final question arises with regard to the property of O~ 25 religious with simple vows. We have seen that such a re!igidus retains his ownership over the property, he-pos-sessed at the time of his entrance into religion, as well as the capacity to acquire more property, even after he has taken his simple vow of pover~;y. How are we to decide what a religious may and must keep and add to his patrimony, what be must give to his institute of the temporal things which come to him during his life in religion? IX. Whatever a religious acquires b~j l~is own industrg, or in respect to his institute, he acquires for his institute (cf. canon 580, § 2). A religious with simple vows acquires for himself, that~ is, as part of his patrimony or collection of his temporal possessions, whatever he receives by way of inheritance, legacy or personal gift. But whatever comes to him by reason of his own industry goes to his institute. To acquire b.u one's own industrtl means by one's mental and physical efforts, such as writing a book, or making a work of art, a painting or fancy needle work, or by reason of one's profes-sion, recompense received for teaching, nursing and the like. Since the religious has become a member of thereligious family by his profession of vows, and is suppotted, fed, clothed and educated by the institute, which supplies all his reasonable wants, it is but meet and just that the fruits of his:labors should go to the institute. To acquire in respect to the institute refers to what is given to a religious not as an individual person, to John Jones; or to Mary Blank, but to the religious as a religious, to Brother Plus, or to Sister Martha, for the community to which he or she belongs, in order to help the Charitable or educational work in which the community is engaged, or because of the confidence and respect which the institute as a whole inspires in the donor because of its religious activ-ity. In a word a religious acquires in repect to his insti-tute whatever is g.iven to him because be is a religious. In cases of doubt, when it is not certain that the gift was per-sonal to the religious, the presumption will be that it was made in favor of the institute. This presumption applies especially to superiors. Small gifts given on special occa-sions such as feast days or at Christmas time to a teacher by his pupils, and so forth, are presumed to be given to the religious because he is a religious, not for personal reasons. The constitutions usually regulate such gifts. 26 The I::ducafion ot: Sis :ers William 3. McGucken, S.,J. THIS IS an altogether extraordinary book that should be of particular interest to the readers of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIDU$. It is not a dull book, despite the fact that it is in the genre of the much despised doctoral dissertations in Education (with a capital E). Sister Bertrande has a reporter's sense of what constitutes news, a reporter's abil-ity to penetrate beyond the barriers and get a "story" from. her unwilling victim. Very briefly, the book is the narra-tive of what has been done in America for the religious, social, cultural, and professional education of sisters, what is being done, and, most significant of all, what should be done. With the first two parts of the book no one can disagree; the facts are presented with such ingenious clarity that he who runs may read.In the third part one may question some of the proposals on the ground that they are too detailed, too rigidly regimented after the immemorial fashion of nuns, but with the main features of her proposal to give a truly sound and truly Catholic education (this time without the capital E) to American nuns there can be no disagreement. The true story of Catholic education in the United States, especially the education .of women, has yet to be written: its tale of heroisms, sacrifices, blunderings, and fatal failures have been chronicled in part. here and there. notably in Mother Callan's excellent study, The Society! of the Sacred Heart in North America, but nowhere can one find a complete picture of the whole scene. Particularly is this the case with American Catholic ~ducational policy as it affects the religious qua religious. The old saying "Cucullus non.facit monachum" is all too dreadfully true, but unfortunately many religious superiors believed the wimple made the nun. Every religious over fifty years of age knows that there was a time in the history of the sister-hoods in America when a young woman, often not even a high school graduate, was passed through a rapid postu- 1 THE EDUCATION OF SISTERS. A. plan for Integrating the Religious~ Social, Cul-tural, an'd Professional Training of Sisters. By Sister Bertrande Meyers. New York: Sh~ed add Ward, 194i. Pp. xxxiii + 255. $3.75. 27 l~ncy, given a Veil, and sent out to teach. Granted that mother superiors were forced by circumstances, the impor-tunings of bishops and parish priests, granted that the nuns thus sent off the assembly line with less than a year's training made up for their lack of acquaintance with the vchole idea and ideals of ~eligious life by their practices of piety, their simple devotion, their childlike faith, yet it still remains an inscrutable mystery of divine providence that there were not more individual catastrophes as a result of this short-sighted policy. The first .World War came along; there was a multi-plication of school~; especially of sisters' high schools and colleges: there was also a tightening of the reins by the accrediting agencies. .Moreover, Rome. was insistent on religious communities adhering to their constitutions. At last, it is true, the nuns were obliged to, spend, at least a canonical yeay in the novitiate, but in order to satisfy the professional requirements necessary to teach, many .of the sisterhoods had to resort to miserable subterfuges in order° to securethese "credits." A tragic.story, truly, this filching from the r~eligious training 9f the novice to satisfy ttie craze for credits. Nor is it over even now. Sister Bertrande says (of the year 1940) : "Isolated instances were even found where credit was given [dur!ng the Canonical Year] in Church History or World History for reading Lives of the Saints, in Home Economics for the daily.domestid work, and in Philosophy Of Education for the daily instructions of the' Mistress of Novices. iiO,,ne of ~he Mistresses of N0yices co,mplai~is bitterly: In the first place, there is a sii nion~h s postulate. But. lJefore the postulant can be.inducted into religious life She :is made conscious of credits to be earned towards her teaching credentials;.so her day is full of classes. That is not so bad, since this is just the Posti~late, but it would be better if she ~studied something like Logic--that would teach her how to think. But no. Methods of teaching, all professional subje.cts come togeth~er to make the girl more conscious of the need to become a good teacher rather than a true religious. " 'Then--the Canonical YEar. It is so taken, up with studies in the field of education that when a novice is asked how she is coming along in recollection, she says: "Recollec- 28 tion? Why I can think of nothing but getting my school work"done--there is no time even for class preparation." Spiritual exercises ar~ curtailed; classwork takes precedenc~ over interviews with the. Mistress of Novices--often I have to scheme little ways of finding an opportunity to give direction to a novice-who stands in need. " 'Two and one-half hours a day are allowed for Novi-tiate routine such as. instructions, spiritual reading, confes-sions, etc. If anything must be put aside it must be any-thing but classwork. Thus it happens that a thin, super-ficial religious decorum takes the place of depth and breadth in the spiritual life. And no real, permanent culture comes from this cramming of normal work. " 'The second, year the novices are sent out to teach. They go out to teach with good will, but with no concept of the interior life. There was a time when the second year was strictly a part of the Novitiate; .but it began With "bor-rowing" two or three novices for sorely pressed missions, and the Borrowed novices, were .never returned. Then, a few more were borrowed. Now, there is no pretence at leaving them in the Novitiate for a second year. They are robbed of their Canonical Year with a full program 0f studies; the second year they leave for the local schools, and as a~result we have teachers with no real Understanding of their Community or of' the obligations of religious life'." It should be noted that this condition has held ever since the State Departments have insisted on professional requirements for teachers; it still holds today, let us hope only in "isolated instances." It can be left to the reader's imagination what the situation was in the period immedi-ately after World War I when every major superior was confronted with the choice of closing a certain number~of schools or getting credits for her sisters somehow, some-where. The result: a conflict, was set up in the mind of the young religious; she was told that her spiritual develop-ment comes first, and yet much was done to interfere with her allowing her religious life to take first place. A very interesting part of the book is Sister Bertrande's discussion of the effect of secular universities on religious women. The majority of provincials,~mistresses of novices, deans of nuns' colleges feel that it does~harm, that there is a weakening of the Catholic: sense, but some are sure that they are forced to attend for certain courses in the graduate field. 29 It is not explicitly stated that the real reason for the danger tO sisters at secular graduate schools is the haphazard quality of the undergraduate preparation received by many of them: they have not a Catholic view of life, even though they may be very devout religious. "One point was uniformly expressed.m that the courtesy and consideration which sisters met in dealing with the officials and the faculties in secular universities outdis-tanced that which was experienced in Catholic centers." One just wonders if it is not possible that the more poorly prepared for graduate work attend Catholic universities, the brilliant students, the ones superiors are absolutely sure of, frequent the non-Catholic institution. Moreover, Catholic institutions have possibly far more experience of those "isolated instances" where nuns present transcripts of worthless credits than the officials of the secular universi-ties. It is g.ratifying to see from Sister Bertrande's tables that there is a tremendous increase in the attendance of sis-ters at Catholic institutions and a corresponding decrease in attendance at secular universities. One startling fact in the picture presented of the con-temporary education of Catholic sisters is this: relatively t~ew ot~ our nuns receive a thorough grounding in liberal arts. Even where the situation in the Canonical Year has been bettered, 'it is very rare indeed for a sister to be set aside to complete her course for the Bachelor of Arts degree. ~here. there is a second year of novitiate, studies are crowded, into this year--too many, alas, professional studies; that year ended, the novicepronounces her vows and is immediately sent on a mission. Carrying a full teach-ing schedule, she attempts to garner credits after school hours, on Saturday mornings, and in summer sessions. After she has attained the mystica! number of 120, she may be sent to graduate school, utterly unprepared for graduate work by this hurried amassing of credits which she has had no time to digest. It is not thus that bachelors of ar~s are made. One can say that many, not all, bachelors of arts in American colleges are in no better fix. This may be true, but the fact remains that sisters because of their profession as teachers should be thoroughly grounded in systematic fashion in the liberal arts. What this crowding of the day of the young religious does to her spiritual life can be left to the imagination. If this or a similar condition were bad a 30 generation ago, when life was .simpler, when our' novices came from good Catholic families with a tradition of reli-gious practice,, what must it not be today when we find the product even of our convent schools woefully lacking in Catholic principles and practices because of poor home training and the prevalent paganism of the American scen~. Sister Bertrande's plan for the education of postulants, with its emphasis on instruction in Catholic faith and prac-tice, so necessary at all times but especially in these times, its ignoring of all secular subjects except. Speech and Music, is espe.cially commended to all major superiors. So too her plan for the Canonical Year--one might wish that this part~ were continued everywhere for two years--with its rigid exclusion of everything but Religion and Gregorian Music will help to make our sisters strong religious women. Some Will quarrel with the curriculum Sister Bertrande out-lines for the two-year curriculum for the Community Jun-ior College. Too many of the courses, some would think, bear the mark of superficiality so characteristic of survey courses. However, that is a minor detail. The one point is brought Out that the postulancy and novitiate are devoted to God and the development of the spiritual life in the indi-vidual; two yeais of junior college are to be added to com-plete the foundation of their liberal arts program, with the leisure necessary for that. purpose. After that Sister Bert-rande recommends that the new sister be sent to a Catholic college for the completion of the work that is needed for the degree. The author does not say that they should be sent immediately. Perhaps it is too far away from the prac-ticalities of American convent life for her to recommend that. All in all this is a book that should be read and digested by everyone who has anything to do with the education of sisters,--major superiors, Catholic college professors and administrators, at least that they may acquire the saooir i:aire~ of their non-Catholic confr~res,.last but not least, pastors, that they may understand the difficulties under which the sisters in their parish schools are laboring. It is a book that had to be written: the candid objective presen-tation of facts can do no harm; it may prove to be of ines-timable benefit to future generations of sisters, if .present superiors heed the pointed lesson that is written here. 31 i~lygienic Morfit:ic~fion G. Augustine Ellard, S.J. ~'~NE of the most prominent ascetical writers of the ~ J twentieth century and at the same time an authority ~ on the history of the spiritual life in the Church, namely, Msgr. Saudreau, states that the principal defect in the cultivation of the interior life in our days is a lack of bodily mortification (1). Moreover, the want of mortifi-cation is assigned by Father De Guibert, of Rome, a leader among contemporary ascetical and mystical theologians, as the reason why so few pass beyond mediocrity in the spir-itual life (2). Perhaps one of the main reasons or pretexts why most devout people do not practice more external mortification is the fear that it would injure their health, or at least lessen their strength and capacity for work. One might answer that an abundance of mortification, and that too of a supe-rior form, may be found precisely in learning and living up to the principles of hygiene. Let us assume, for the present purpose; that mortifica-tign consists in any or all acts of virtue in as much as these involve foregoing what is pleasant or undergoing what is unpleasant. Thus it would be coexten,s, ive with the spher, e, covered by the old rule of the Stoics: bear and fork;ear. Though the word mortification (putting to death) may suggest the contrary, all sound ascetical authorities would hold that the purpose of it is posltix;e: life, a~nd more life. If inferior vital tendencies are checked and thwarted, it is only in order that the higher vital tendencies may bd saved from being checked and thwarted, and that they may be more freelyand richly developed. By all means, the aim of sound mortification is more and better life rather than less. "Ever we bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life, too, of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies. For we who live are ever being delivered up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life, too, of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (II Corinthians 4: I0-1 ! -~Westminster Version). (I) Auguste Saudreau. La Pi~tl d Travers Les Ages, page 661. (2) J. De Guibert. J:h'ctionnaire de SpiritualitY, Fascicule Premier. page 106. Hygienic mortification would consist in foregoing whatever is pleasant and undergoing whatever is unpleas-ant with a view to preserving, or improving, o.r regaining, one's health and vigor, and ultimately to.furth~ering God's glory and to-growing in that participation of, the divine life which comes with grace. Three degrees of hygienic mortification may be distinguished: first, avoiding any sin-ful neglect in the care of one's health; second, steering clear of whatever would .involve danger of such neglect; and third, refraining from wh~itever is less commendable in favor of the more commendable in this matter. Health is either physical or psychical. For the present, let us confine our. discussion to physical hygienic mortifica-tion. The psychic is more important in many respects, and more akin to the° "interior mortification" of the spiritual masters. Possibly in a subesequent paper we may revert.to it. Up to a certain point there is a strict obligation from the divine natural law to care for one's life and health. "Thou shalt not kill," either others or thyself. It is ethical to regulate our conduct in accordance with rational human nature and to avoid what tends to damage or destroy it. This d.uty requires .that one should use the ordinary means of sa.feguarding and preserving life and health. Nature is necessary for the supernatural life. If nature can do nothing in the supernatural order without grace; "neither can grace do anything without nature. It is .equally helpless. The Code of Canon Law, 1369, pr~scrib'es that those who are in charge, of seminaries should exhort the ~emii~arians Con-stant. ly to obs'erve the principles of hygiene and personal cleanliness. Presumably it is in .keeping with the mind of the Church that religious should do at lea~t~ as much. One who is. striving to become perfect will not stop with what is of strict obligation. He will constantly endeavor to do the better thing. Thebetter thing will indlude what-ever, other things being equal, is more conducive to bodily strength and effid~ncy. God counsels solicitude for health. "Better is a poor man who is sound, and strong of constitution, than a rich man who is weak and afflicted with evils. Health of the soul in holiness of justice, is better than all gold and silver: .and a sound body, than immense revenues. There is no riches above the riches of health of the body; and there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart. Better is death 33 t/~an a bit~ter life: and everlasting rest; than continual" sick-ness" (Ecclesiasticus 30: 14-17), In his inspired epistle to Timothy, St. Paul did not disdain to give this advice to one of the first bishops: "Drink no longer water only, but use a little wine, on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illness" (I Timothy 5:23). The divine counsel to have a concern for health is implied in all the numerous exhorta-tions to accomplish good works. As Pope Plus XI wrote in his "Encyclical on Education,"--.something, by the way, especially deserving notice by teadhers--"The true Chris-tian does not., stunt his natural faculties; but he develops and perfects them, by coordinating them with the super-natural. He thus ennobles what is merely natural in life and secures for it new strength in the material ond temporal order, no less than in the spiritual and eternal" (3). This is not the place for a presentation of the principles of hygiene, nor, even if it~ were, should I be presumptuous enough to. attempt such a thing. I should be:like the patient in the medical adage: "He who has himself for a doctor, has a fool for. a patient." If any religious should not know the elementary rules of h~giene, that is, the ~ules for living on the physiological plane, then let him begin his hygienic mortification by taking the trouble to-l~arn them. This is not an original suggestion ot: mine. A first-rate ascetical theologian of the twentieth century, namely, Zimmermann, the author of the excellent treatise Lel~rbucl~ der Asz~tik, counsels everyone seeking perfection to learn both the general prindiples of hygiene which may be studied, and the individual applica-tions and variations which must be gathered by personal experience (4). My attempt will be confined to indicatingcertain points on which the autldorities in hygiene do have something to prescribe, and to suggesting certain possible deviations that may perchance be found among religious. Posture migh~ be considered first. Constantly to pre-serve a wholesome and becoming posture of the body would not 6nly make for health, especially of the lungs, but it would also be something that would please others, and it would add to the influence of one's personality on others. Were it better observed, there would be fewer ill-looking (3) Pius XI. Christian Education of Youth; The Paulist Press: page 37. " '(4) Zimmermann. Otto. Lerhbueb d~r Asz.e. tiko page 516. 3# religious whose very appearance is, to put it mildly, not pleasing nor apt to inspire respect in Others. Certain religious seem to be given to the use of an exces-sive amount of clothing. To see them Out in winter weather, one might suspect from the. great number of thi~ngs 'which they are wearing, that they were planning on visiting the polar regions. Habitu'ally they are over-dressed. Then, sooner or later, iinevitably they are caught in some unex-pected exposure to cold, and, being sensitive like hot-house plants, rather than possessing the normal adaptability .to moderate variations in temperature, they~may catch cold,~ or develop a sore-throat or something of the sort. In any case, one would not expect a man who is ~eally mortified to be meticulous about slight changes in the temperature. Per- 'haps just the same persons are those who, believing that, as everything has its place, the proper place for fresh ai~ in winter is outside, insist on an immoderately high tempera- ~ure, and along with it, a bad atmosphere in the room. Thus .they diminish their alertness and efficiency, and at the same time waste steam and coal. Keeping the rules df etiquette at table would presum-ably be beneficial rather than harmful to one's health. At all events, it could be real charity and mortification. Cer-tainly, very certainly, it would be a great kindness to others, and tend to promote good appetite and health in the com-munity, as the neglect of good manners may be so great as to become disgusting to others. If there should be any re-" ligious who do not already know the ordinary pr~escriptions of table etiquette, then, by. all means, let them get Emily ¯ Post, and study her. It could be a very genuine act of vir-tue. Probably there are very few religious, those excepted who are already on a diet ordered by a physician, who could not make some change in their habits of eating and drinking that would not redound both to their physical well-being and to the glory of God. The right amount, the right balance of,diet, the right way of taking it,--these are points in which it is most human to err. Some, like chil-dren, may be inclined to slight the simple, solid substantials, and to show themselves too fond of sweets, desserts, and such better-tasting things. Possibly there are some who could at the same time reduce the community butcher-bill and improve their health. Some, though they lead a very 35 Sedentary lifd, may eat as if they had to dig ditches or. pitch. hay all day. .It i~ often said now that many Americans, even thosewho eat as much as and 'whatever they like, are star.ring themselves for the want of certain necessary ele-ments in their,diet: vitamines; for instance. Perhaps some ~.religious could drink less coffee, and thus improvetheir nerves, their t.emp~rs, their sleep, and their work. ~ The problems.of overweight and underweight, and all .their consequence.s, which may be 3r.ery serious indeed,hatur- :ally.suggest~ themselves in this context. Perhaps one ~eli-gi0us needs tO drink more milk, though he ~tislikes it~ and .another ought to'take.less of it, though he Iovesit. Pos-sibly one religious should mortify his pride and ask for permission to have an extra lunch~ between meals; "and an: other would do w~ll to obtain leave.to Omit the midday l_uneh. Iridi.vidual applic.ations of this point are~ infinite: If one realizes that he should dos0mething, gut not ~know what, it .would be easy to question the community phys, ician and find out. Thereare many religious who CgUld pr.actice this particular form of hygienic mortification, arid while making themselves more healthy and robust and fit for work and for a lon.ger life, also add very great!~; ~o the glory of God and the glory of His Elect in the hereafter. If one were to accuse, many male religious of smoking too much and thug really injuring themselves, one wduld only be repeating what they themselves accuse themselves of. Their oportunityiS obvious~ and the mortification involved would b~ great; but So ~ouldothe returris, at least in supernatural merit. T, he possibilities for mortification and for edific~ation, in connection with alc6h61 need only to ¯ be suggested. No,doubt there are many religious, who, if they be well-informed and sincere, would have to admit that some ~hangeinz~their lives ~ith respect to exercise Would, even from the spiritual pointof view, be an excellent thihg for them. If they need more physical exercise and can get it in some pleasant way, relaxing the nerves and mind as well as stirring the muscles, somuch the bett~r. " But get itthey ought, if they are fully to accomplish the tasks assigned to them by Providence. If nothing else .be possible; some form of calisthenics or setting-up exercise~ might be" tried fo~ a. prescribed number of minutes every day. If anybody think that there is no great mortification in faithfully per~ severing° in such a routine day after day and' month after m0nth,~let him try it . Many religious women would probably: be spared many troubles of mind and conscience, would performtheir exeicises of.piety with more energy and devotion, and would be more ready°in their obedience~ and work, as well, as morse healthy, if they h'ad a little walk every day' in the fresh air. Younger sisters, who until rather recently were college girls taking part in college athletics, might play a short game of tennis, or something of the kind. It would make for sound nerves and clear heads, and these in turn could obviate many. temptations and worries. It is:.true indeed that St. Paul wrote to Timothy: "For whereas bodily training oi~.,profitable for little, pietyis profitable for'all,things, .pos-sessing promise of life both here and hereafter" (I Tim-othy' 4:8). I take this to mean th~it bodily.training is of .little value in comparison with piety; but in as much as it is subordinated to.the purposes of wirtue and is a requisite condition for more vigorous piety, or piety in a longer life, its .wo.rthmay bereallY~very~great. ' " -" The ancient ascetics by way of reaction, it seems, to abuses connected with.the old public baths, mortified them-selves by not bathing. Could it be true that some.modern ascetics might practice mortification and virtue .by-making more use of it? ~ Care of the eyes deserves special mention. Apparently there are many who could deny themselves at times by taking the trouble to get better light when they are reading. Work, since it takes most of .the time and energy of religious, is a very fertile field for mortification. Some over-w' 6rk themselves for a time, and then for. a longer time they ¯ cannot do the normal amount, and perhaps~ ~hey evens:need the work of others to attend to them. Their ~problem is to avoid excess here, asin the practice of virtue generally. would Seem to be a good rule that there should.~nev~er:~.be overwork or overstrain except in emergencies. In the long run it is very poor economy and ef[iciency. They especially should cultivate self-abnegation'm avoiding overfatigue wh6 do not let superiors know that too much has been assigned to them; or who deceive themselves into believing that they. are heroically sacrificing themselves for noble motives when in 'reality there is an admixture of piide or human respect or merely human desire of success in thei:r 37 motivation. Sisters who in difficult days are attempting the double tasks of teaching and of getting their own edu-: cation at the Same time need more than others to guard themselves, even as the dreaded examinations approach, against overstudy and excessive exhaustion. Overfatigue -begets irritability, diminishes intelligence and liberty, and unbalances the nerves. Then the way is open to evils of all sorts, physical, mental, and moral. "So that ye may not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:3). Humbly to be satisfied with a modest accomplishment when that is all that is possible without injuring oneself, or diminishing one's achievement in the end, is a very salutary form of mortification. There are others whose fault is too little exertion. Some of these, could benefit themselves physically, and perhaps mentally, as well as spiritually, by increasing their efforts until they reach the mean between excess and defect. Occu-pational therapy is an important kind of treatment for certain cases. After work, recreation and rest. For people who lead a life as strenuous and tense and uniform as the religious life is, recreation is of great importance. If they do not unbend at times, they will break. But are there not some religious who do not take even that minimum amount of recreation which is enjoined for them by their rules or their superiors? Here, in a peculiarway, to mortification charity could also be added. It is understood of course that what is supposed to be recreation or relaxation, really is recreation. Prob-ably no one will deny that there are at least a few religious who could advance in self-abnegation, and in prayer (especially the next morning), and in .virtue generally, by beginning their night's sleep betimes. Thus far certain points which may be the subject of ~mortification that is good for the body as well as for the soul. Only those in normal health, or at least in health that is nearly normal, have been considered. If one be sick already, evidently one has a greater need for hygienic mortification, and a greater opportunity to bear what is unpleasant and to forbear what is pleasant. Those who as yet are well, but, through some neglect or other, are slowly but surely undermining their health, could more easily and readily mend their ways if they could imagine to some slight extent what pain and torture, whaf 38 disappointment, what bitter sense of frustration, they are bringing upon thems~elves. Mortification is hard; other-wise it would not be mortification. But it is still worse to be sickand incapacitated, particularly if that be owing to some negligence or fault. An initial, though negative, advantage of hygienic mortification is that nobody can object to it on the score that it might injure his health. By definition, it makes for better health. Then, it possesses the-advantages and values of other forms of mortification, and besides, it is more thor-oughly positive and constructive than some of them. It is real and genuine mortification, involving, as it does, the suppression of much that is pleasant and the enduring of much that is unpleasant. :If anyone should think other-wise, he can try the experiment. Religious have a special need of keeping fit physically. There is the importance, in time and eternity, of their work, and this depends in great measure, on health and strength. An intense interior life--and this is always the ideal of religious--makes greater demands upon physical resources than the intellectual life, which in turn is hard enough upon the physique. The cultivation of mental prayer, of supreme importance in the spiritual life, demands that one's physical resources be at their best. Community o,bservances require health in the members of the com-munity, and if a sickly person drags himself along somehow to follow them, he is likely to become still worse and more incapable of continued community life. The great foundress, St. Theresa of Avila, who knew well the problems of religious women, and particularly the difficulties of mental prayer, wrote: "It is this resolution [to be always thinking of Him and loving Him] that He [God] seeks in us; the o~her anxieties which we inflkt upon ourselves serve to no other end but to disquiet the soul-- which, if it be unable to derive any profit, in one hour [of prayer], will-by ttiem be disabled for four. This comes most frequently from bodily indisposition--I have had very ~reat experience in the matter, and I l~now it is true; for I have carefully observed it and discussed it afterwards with spiritual persons--for we are so wretched, that this poor prisoner of a soul shares in the miseries of the body. The.change.s of season, and the-alterations of the humors,,. very often compel it, without fault of its own, not to do what if would,, but rather to suffer in every way. Mean-while, the more we force the soul on these occasions, the greater the mischief, and the longer it lasts. Some discre-tion must be used, in order to ascertain whether ill-health be the occasion or not. The poor soul must not be stifled. Let those who suffer thus, understa'nd that they are i11: a change should be made in the hour of prayer, and often-times that change should be continued for some days. Let souls pass out of this desert as they can, for it is very often the misery of one that loves God to see itself living in such wretchedness, unable to do what it would, because it has to keepso evil a guest as the body" (5). Other things being equal, alacrity of spiritand intensity of good will in exercises of piety, in keeping religi0us disci-pline, and in doing the work of the order or congregation, are to be expected rather from those who are physically fit ai~d strong than .from those who ,are unfit. The supernatural values of sickness and suffering~are very great, but it is understood and presupposed that the illness should not be due to indiscretion or negligence. ¯ Hygienic mortification~ will. contribute to poverty, because it is cheal~er to be well than to be paying for medi-cines, hospitalizations, and operations, and because healthx,, religious do more work. It will help chastity, by precluding certain temptations due to abnormal physical conditions, and by promoting, that soundness and stability of the ner-vous system which are so necessary for self-control. It will promote obedience, by removing obstacles both to readiness of will ai~d to actual performance, and by conferring greater positive strength and effciency. It will enhance charity and perfectibn it~self, by forestalling irritability and other impediments, and by enabling one to accomplish better and greater things for God and for souls. The present incumbent of the See of Peter and his immediate predecessor seem to offer an illustration in point. If Msgr. Ratti ha~d not been a very energetic Alpine climber, it is not likely that as Pius XI, and as a septuagenarian and an octogenarian, he could have achieved so much for the good of the Church. If I mistake not, the ascetical Car.- dinal Pacelli,while Secretary of State at the Vatican, used gymnastic apparatus installed in a room near his office. (5) St. Theresa, Life, translated b.y D. Lewis: chapter-XI. 40 There is one group of re.ligious for whom hygienic, mor~ tification, as thus far suggested, is not at all recommended. They are the hypochondriacs, to be found, here and there throughout the whole body of religiousl that is, those who are already excessively or even morbidly, solicitous about their health and all that appertains to it. For them it would be poison. However, they still need hygienic mortification: only it is of the psychic form. This they may need very rfiuch ideed. To quote St. Theresa again: "Take care, then, of the body, for the love of God, because at many other times the body must serve tl~e s0ul;.and let recourse be had to some recreations~holy ones such as conversation; or going out intothe fields . . . Altogether, experience is a great matter, and it makes us understand what is convenient for us. Let God be served in all things--His yoke is sweet; and it is of great importance that the soul should not be dragged, as they say, but carried gently, that it may make greater pro-gress" (6.). In conc!usion, a religious practicing physical hygienic mortification, as here proposed, will not by any means put care of his health above things that are of greater value, but rather, with the purest and noblest motives, make the most of the physical constitution that God has given him, and thus be better prepared and disposed to accomplish the very utmost for the glory of the Triune God, for the devel-opment of his own supernatural life, and for the sanctifica-tion of his brethren. He would simply and fully be helping to carry out the grand objective of the Incarnation: "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abun-dantly" ¯ (2ohn 10: 10). (6) Ibidem. l:::xernpl:ions J:rom Fasting Gerald Kelly, S.J. THE PENITENTIAL season of Lent always brings with it the personal question: what should I do about fasting? Very likely the practical solution to thi~ problem in most religious communities is a regulation to consult one's confessor' and abide by his decision. This is certainly a wholesome custom; and it is notthe purpose of this article to criticize it in any way. Nevertheless, it seems profitable for the religious themselves to know something of the mind of the Church regarding exemptions from fast-ing. This .knowledge should be particularly helpful to superiors, since there may be times when they must pass judgment on their subjects' obligation to fast. Other re-ligious also can profit by the knowledge, for it sometimes happens that they cannot consult their confessor, at least for several days, and, even when they can consult, they can do so more intelligently and follow advice more reasonably if they are familiar with the principles governing their cases. This article, therefore, is intended to answer only one question, which may be phrased as follows: In what cir-cumstances is one exempt from the general law of fasting? The only point to be considered is the obligation to keep the general fasts of the Church. There is no question here of the obligations of rule concerning fasting as these exist in various religious communities. Nor is there question of the ascetical aspect of fasting. We can take for granted that fasting is. a splendid act of penance and mortification, as is evidenced by the entire Catholic tradition in the matter; take for granted also that the keeping of the common fasts of the Church in union with the other members of the Church is highly pleasing to God and of great profit to souls. These are interesting questions, but beside the point of the present article, the whole purpose of which is to determine who, according to the mind of the Church, may omit fasting without violating her law. The first expression of the Church's mind is found in the ecclesiastical law itself. Canon 1254, which contains the fasting law, exempts al! who have not completed their twenty-first year and all who have begun their sixtieth year. 42 Canon.1245 makes provision for other exemptions by granting the power of dispensing to local Ordinaries~ pas-tors, and superiors of exempt clerical orders. Custom, the unwritten law of the Church, exempts all who are engaged in hard and protracted manual labor. The foregoing are the only reasons for exemption con-tained explicitly in the law of the Church. They do not, however, exhaust the reasons which the Church acknowl-edges as valid excuses from the obligation of fasting. By far the greater number of excuses can be found in the teaching of the moral theologians. To put the matter briefly, these theologians, applying a principle approved by the Church as a legitimate method of interpreting the law, teach that fasting is not obligatory when it involves extraordinary difficulty. The word, extraordinarg, has a technical meaning which is perhaps best explained by contrasting it with what might be termed ordinarg difficulty. Evidently, the fasting law is intended to impose on the faithful some inconven-ience, that is, the inconvenience of self-denial. An incon-venience of this kind is termed ordinarg, and it would not excuse anyone from the observance of the fast. On the other hand, in a general law of this nature, the Church does not wish to impose exceptional hardship on anyone; much less does she wish to do harm or to hinder greater good. Such difficulties as these would be termed extraordinaru~, with respect to this law; that is, they are outside the scope of the law, and they excuse the faithful from the obligation of observing it. Applying this principle of extraordinary inconvenience, moralists teach that the sick and convalescent are excused from the obligation of fasting. Also exempt are those who, though perhaps not technically "sick," are of frail consti-tution; also extremely nervous people. Such persons nor-mally need nourishment frequently; fasting would prove harmful to them. It sometimes happens that even those in rather normal health cannot fast without severe headaches or dizzy, spells; also that the fast will render it impossible for them to get ¯ their needed rest at night. Some people are unable to get the one substantial meal allowed to those who fast; some are physically unable to eat or digest such a meal. Finally,. there are many who find that fasting interferes with their 43 necessary work; they lose valuable time and are quite inef-ficient. All cases like these are included under the exemp-tion by reason of extraordinary inconvenience. One might ask this very practical question: How am I to know if fasting would be exceptionally difficult for me or be harmful to me or my work? Perhaps the simplest way of answering this question is to tell such people to experiment a bit. This is the simplest but not always the most prudent method. Unless the experimentation is car-ried on very cautiously, it can work harm, and it can do this so quietly that the harmful effects are not perceived until it is too late. To avoid such injurious effects, one may legiti-mately follow certain recognized presumptions in deciding one's obligations to fast. The presumption of excuse favors those who are engaged in hard mental labor, for example, teachers and students. Regarding teachers, one may notice an interesting development~ in the opinions of theologians. The older theologians were quite ready to excuse a. professor of the higher branches, even though he had to lecture only one hour a day. They presupposed, of course, that he had to spend the day in preparation and that he did not merely read lectures which bad long since been cast into permanent mold. But these theologians were not always so benevo-lently inclined toward teachers of the lower grades (the equivalent of our high schools and grammar schools), even though these had to spend several hours a day in the. class-room. Father Ballerini, an eminent moral theologian of the last century, citing the especially severe opinion of one older school, remarked very tartly: "we should note that these great doctors were always engaged in teaching the higher branches; they had no experience in this humbler art." Also in the case of students there has been a progres-sive development towards leniency. Today, it is quite safe to say that the presumption of excuse favors those who spend several hours a day in teaching the lower grades, as well as diligent students who spend most of the day either in attending lectures or in preparing their lessons. When I say "the presumption of excuse favors" those mentioned in this paragraph, I mean that these persons may consider that they are not obliged to fast, unless they have very solid grounds for assurance that they can fast without, harm to 44 themselves, or their work. Those able to fast while carrying on these works are the.exception, rather than the rule. . The same presumption favors those who must spend long hours in the confessional or who are engaged in strenu-ous preaching.It may also be used in favor of those who are engaged in fatiguing works of mercy, such as caring for the sick. It should be noted that. in a!l these.cases, it is not only the strain of ~the work which favors exemption, but also the fact that the works themselves are of, great impor-tance. There should .be no danger that fasting will inter-fete with their proper performance. The foregoing examples of extraordinary ir~con~cen~ ience were chosen because they are of particular interest or practical value to the readers of this magazine. In cases such as these, the Church law does not bind. Furthermore, merely from the point of view of general legislation, there is no strict obligation Of consulting anyone, if one can form a prudent judgment of his~own case. A community regula-tion of consulting the confessor or spiritual director should; of course, be followed; and in general it is considered wise for everyone to consult about the matter. Often enough, it is diflScult to form a prudent, and especially a quieting; judgment of one's own case. Mention has already been made of those who have the power of granting a dispensation from fasting; local Ordi~ naries, pastors, and superiors of clerical exempt orders. These generally delegate the power to other priests, espe-cially at a time like-Lent: and the Holy. See. occasionally delegates other priests by special indults. None of these, even the Bishop, can give a dispensation without some rea-son; but the reason need not b~ so serious as would be required for exemption by reason of extraordinary~incon-venience. A dispensation is perhaps the best of all means for setting one's mind at rest regarding the obligation 0~ fasting. Even those religious superiors who have no power to dispense can pass judgment on their subjects' ability to keep the fast, and if they judge that a reason such as those described as extraordinary inconveniences is present, they may tell the subject not to fast. For passing such a judg-ment, no special jurisdiction is necessary. Certainly supe-riors are in a position to make a prudent judgment, for they 45 should know both the capacity of their subjects and the strain or importance Of their work. From what has been written here, it will appear that a fairly large number of religious engaged in the active life are not strictly obliged to keep the general fasts of the -Church. They have the same right as others to take advan-tage of exemptions. Someone might object, of course, that religious have an added obligation to give good example. The objection does not appear to have much weight in the :present instance. Religious should, by all means, give example to the world of a spirit of self-denial and mortifi. cation, but it is not necessary that this example extend to ,the letter of the law concerning fasting. In fact, without attempting in any way to minimize the general importance of the fasting law, one might advance several obvious reasons why religious have less need of this particular austerity than have others. ' Their life is a well-regulated, well-disciplined one, and those who lead it faithfully are being constantly schooled in self-denial. Furthermore, the very regularity of their life makes them feel more keenly the change brought about by fasting and renders them more apt to be upset by it. Finally, their work itself is of great spiritual importance.i As for bad example, the sharp or sarcastic word spoken by the confessor, teacher, or nurse is much more harmful than the so-called "scandal" of religious who do not fast. Perhaps these few remarks Will prove helpful to reli-gious, particularly to those who are inclined to worry about the fasting obligation or to lament the fact that they are judged unable to fast. They should take consolation in the thought that they can practise an even more meritorious self-denial by observance of their rule, by fidelity to duty, and especially by a constant and delicate charity. The inability to fast does not deprive them of the opportunity of glorifying God or of helping souls. 46 Saint: Rober Bellarmine's . Sign of the Cross Clement DeMuth, S. J. CATHOLICS with a greater than average knowledge of their religion are ~sometimes at a loss when they are called upon to render an. account of some simple reli-gious truth. They discover in themselves, not so much a lack of technical knowledge that lends itself to explanation only in learned phrase_s, but rather a failure to appreciate thd mental capacity of the child or other unlettered person to be instructed. To adapt one's knowledge of even the simpler God-give~i truths to the understanding of such a person is an art that must be cultivated, and developed, and integrated with one's deepening knowledge of human nature itself. The great catechists in the course of the Church's history practiced this art in signal fashion. One of the greatest of these, if indeed not the very greatest, was St. Robert Bellar-mine, Cardinal, Theologian, and Doctor of the Universal Church. In 1597 Pope Clement VIII requested St. Robert to publish his catecheticai method which was proving so successful With the unlettered people of Rome. The saint prepared two catechisms, the first of which was a compen-dium of Christian Doctrine in form suitable for learning by rote. The second, with Which we are here partkularly con-cerned, was a kind of teacher's manual and was entitled An explanation of Christian Doctrine u;ritten in the form of a Dialogue, for the use of those who teach it to children and to other simple people. The success of the little, two-fold work, written in Italian, was immediate and, What is more significant, enduring to an extraordinary degree. In the words of St. Robert's biographer, Father Brodrick, "wi~h the exception of the Bible and the Imitation of Christ, it would be difficult to name any other book which went round the world so rapidly and became familiar to so many different races." A series of Roman Pontiffs com-mended, prescribed, and in general promoted the little work down through the years from the time of Clement VIII. until our own century. With its richness of content, the saint's early chapter on that most obvious---and not always fully appreciated~ ~prayer, the Sign of the Cross, is representative. Its atten-tive perusal brings the conviction that "children and other simple people" are not the only ones who may profit by the saintly, Doctor's explanation of a simple prayer. The style of composition is informally conversational, with the pupil thoughtfully asking questions which would naturally occur to one listening attentively to the explanation of a rather difficult truth. It may be noted that the teacher makes, continual use of examples and illustrations, never permitting himself to forget that the pupil is little used to abstractions. Here is a translation of the chapter on THE SIGN OF THE CROSS PUPIL: Please give me a brief account of the more important mysteries contained in the Creed. TEACHER: There are two principal mysteries of our faith, and both are included in that sign which we call the Sign of the Cross. The first is the unity and trinity of God. Thesecond is the Incarnation and Death of the Savior PUPIL: What is meant by the unity and trinity of God? TEACHER: These are very deep truths and the explana-tion of them is a very slow process. For the time being, however, it will be enough to learn just the names, :and a very little bit more. The unity of God means that besides all created things there is one thing that had no beginning. It has always been and it will always be. It has made all ¯ other things, and it supports them and governs them. It is the highest, noblest, most beautiful, most powerful, the absolute master of every thing; and this being is called God. There is just one God. There can be only one true Divin-ity, that is, one nature, one essence infinitely powerful, wise, good, and so forth. Nevertheless, this Divinity is found in three persons that are called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are just one God ¯ because they have the same Divinity, the same essence. As for example, if three persons here on earth, named Peter, Paul, and John, had the same body and the same soul, they would remain three persons; because one would be Peter, and another Paul, and another John. Nevertheless, there would be just one man, not three men, there not being three bodies and thr~e souls, but just one body and one soul. 48 Such a state of affairs is not possible among men, because the being of man is little ~and finite, .so it cannot be in many persons. But the being of God, the Divinity of~ God,. is infinite. The same being, the same Divinity is found in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. There are then three persons because one i~ the Father~ the second.is the Son, an.d the third is the Holy Spirit, and there remains nevertheless just one God, because these persons have the same being, the same power, wisdom, goodness, and so forth. PUPIL: Now tell me what is meant by the Incarnation and.Death of the .Savior'. TEACHER: The second divine person, whom we called the Son, besides his divine being, which he had before the 'world was created, indeed from all eternity, this second person took for himself a human body and a human soul, that is, our whole human nature, in the womb of a most pure virgin. Thus he who-was at first just God now began to bd both God and man. After living among men for thirty-three years, during which time he taught the wa~ of salvatioh and worked m~an~r miracles, at last he let him-self be crucified, and on the Cross he died tO make satisfac-tion to God for the sins of the whole world. After thfee days he rose from death to life, and after forty days he a~cended into hea~ce.n, as we say in the article of the Creed.~ That is what we mean by the Incarnation ~ind Death of the Savior. '~PUPIL~ Why are these the principal mysteries of fdith? " " ~FEACHER: Because in the fi~st ~is contained the first principle and last end of man; in the second we have ttie unique and most efficacious means of knowing that first piinciple and of arriving at that last end. And beck/use by our belief in arid confession of th4se two mysteries we~ are distinguished from all th4 false sects, from Turks, ~dews; and heretics. And finally, because without b41ieving and confessing these two mysteries, no one can be saved. PupIi~:. How are these two mysteries included in the Sign of the Cross? TEACHER: ;The Sign of the Cross is made saying: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 49 Spirit; at the same time signing oneself in the form of a cross, putting the right hand to the foreh_.ead when one says: In the name of the Father, and then to the breast when one says: and of the Son; finally to the left and right shoulders when one says: and of the Holy Spirit. The words, in the ' Name, show the unity of God, because we say name and not names; and by name is meant the power, and the divine authority, which is one in all three persons. The words, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, show the trinity of persons, Signing oneself in the form of a cross represents the Passion, and consequently the Incarnation, of the Son of God. Moving the hand from the left to the right, and not from the right to the left, means that by the Passion of our Lord we are transferred from temporal to eternal things, from sin to grace, and from death to life. ~ (NOTE: It may be well to observe that St. Robert, in illustrating certain spiritual realities by the movement of the hand from left to right, can be said to be exercising his ingenuity. He'would no doubt find another interpretation if his catechism were for oriental Catholics, who make the Sign of the Cross moving the hand from right to left!) PUPIL: What is. the effect of making the Sign of the Cross? TEACHER: First, it shows that we are Christians, that is, soldiers of our High Commander, Christ: because this sign is like a flag, or uniform, which distinguishes the sol-diers of Christ from all the enemies of Holy Church; from . gentiles, Jews, Turks, and heretics. Further, this sign is made to invoke the divine assistance in all our works. With ¯ it we summon the aid of the most Holy Trinity, through the Passion of the savior. Accordingly good Christians are .accustomed to make the Sign of the Cross when they rise from bed, when they leave the house, when they sit at table to eat, when they are about to go to bed, and at the beginning of every action that ~hey have to perform. Finally, this sign is made to arm oneself against eirery as-sault of~the devil, because the devil is terrified by it, and flees from it, as do criminals when they encounter the sign of th~i~ police. Very often by means 6f this sign of the holy - Cross man has escaped many evils, both spiritual and tem-p6ral; when he makes it with faith and confidence in the divine meicy and in the merits of Christ, our Lord. 50 Li!:urgy in !:he ¯ P !:t:ern of Modern Praying Gerald Ellard, S.J. WHEN the history o~ our times is written, chroniclers will dwell on the fact that they are characterized by three great, world-embracing prayer-movements. They will speak of the widespread initiation of large groups of the laity of both sexes into systematic asceticism,, be it that of the Spiritual Exercises, or other forms, collectively centering in what is known as the retreat movement~. Again, they will point how this age, .the world,over, has shown a sudden deep concern' practical as well as theoreti-cal, in that communion with God, that apperception of God, known as Catholic mysticism. Lastly historians will take pains to record that twentienth century Catholicism is endeavoring once more to integrate the layman and lay-woman into the offices of public worship. Doubtless, too, the portrait-painters of our age will pause a bit to discourse on the mysterious power possessed by this Church twenty. centuries young to renew its life and reform its institutions by drawing upon fresh streams of vita!it~ welling strong within her. ".So it has been in each great crisis," we can well imagine one of them concluding-; "when the forces of the Church seems spent, then it is she finds new power surging up within her: in the twentieth century the Church refreshed herself and the world by refashioning the pattern of her praying." This article concerns itself in elementary fashion with indicating what is to be expected from the restoration to the people, in the pews, after many long ages, of their organic contact with the ministry in the sanctuary in the joint performance of divine service. The better to visualize the goal o[ this reform in Cath-olic corporate worship, suppose we ask ourselves why such a thing as the. current liturgical movement was simply inevitable, and must have come sooner or later, if the Church were not content to see one. of her chief organs wither to full atrophy. The present-day reform of Cath-olic worship seeks to redress the multiple losses that laymen. and laywomen have suffered in the course of time in their parr in our common worship, seeks to lower the wall of separation, which quite literally in many medieval churches to be seen to this day, and figuratively in them all, shuts the laity out from active sharing in what went on within the holy place where the priestly mediator stood at the altar. It was characteristic of Christian worship from the very outset that it was planned precisely to allow the fullest understanding on thd part of all, the fullest sharing in their respective roles .by ministry and people in their joint asso- Ciation with Christ, theirPriest, their Liturgist. Pagan altars were accessible to the pagan priests alone; the ,Jewish Temple admitted' lay-worshippers to the outer court near to the altar. But with Christians the altar itself stood con- ~picuous and accessible to every least, last Christian, because m the new priestly race, all had some sharing, priestly or lay, in the perpetuation of Christ's priestly ministry in the covenant of 10ve. St. Paul thankedGod that he efijoyed the miraculous gift of speaking God's praises in unknown tongues: "Nevertheless," he said, "in church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, so as to instruct Others, than ten thousand words in a 'tongue' " I and my hearers do not understand" (I Corinthenians 14:: 19). Now Catholic worship in the West turned from the primitive Greek to the Latin, when that became the tongue the com-mon man understood best. It then took the liturgy of 'the Western Church a fairly long period in which to grow and develop, until at Rome under Gregory I, Pop.e from 590 to .°.6. 04, it achieved its zenith, the perfect expression of the Latin Christian's corporate worship of almighty God. How regrettable that Gregory lived in an age of indescrib-able upheaval, which rendered the realization of his ideal in worship impossible in any ecumenical manner! Particu- ¯ lar features excepted, the liturgy of the Roman Rite has never since received such a thorough-going reform and readjustment to current life as Gregory gave it then. In one way or another the layman's place in the liturgy has become more circumscribed with every century since Gregor3~ lived. To illustrate how this has been the case, suppose we imagine a sevent.h-century man or woman living on as a 'Wandering Christian" through the intervening centuries, and note how such a pilgrim would find lay-participation in worship further impoverished age by age. 52 In Gregory's day, for all greater occasions, people met at a fixed rendezvous and then marched to church .with Cross and banners, prayer and song~ At the common type of Mass, what we call high Mass, pedple and choir of clerics together madd, in the language of everydayiife, those responses to the celebrant, which, if they are not exactly the structure of the service, are nonetheless so many short, vibrant bonds with the altar. At the entrance of the clergy, in alternation with the choir, there was singing. So, too, did the people come singing to bring their gifts to the altar at the Offering (Offertory). They shared the~cle'rgy's ceremonial postures, standing, extending their arms, bowing or kneeling with the ministers, and gave each other the kiss of peace. So did they join in the psalmody, singing at leas~ the Gloria Patti, the K~rie, the Sanctus, and, when it was later introduced, the Agnus Dei. Singing too they came to the altar, the Table of Union, itself the sign, as the Fathers of Trent were to phrase it later, "of that one Body of which He is the Head, and to which He would fain have us as members united by the closest bond of faith, hope and love." The Roman of Gregory's day could in many ways feel himself "concorporate" in his' worship with every one sharing that worship with him. In the following century, had our pilgrim attended Mass in England, France, Germany, notto mention other coun-tries, he would look in vain for the procession to Mass. Save on Christmas, Easter or Pentecost there would be few communicants at Mass, and correspondingly few offerers giving visible expression of the basic concept of the worship of God by sacrifice. Then, too, he would have found him-self one of the very few laymen able to follow the stately Latin,and, as we see from conciliar enactments, not all the priests able to translate for him! But.our pilgrim would: note with a sigh the people's' eagerness in singing as far.as circumstances allowed. There at least he could still join. with them in prayer that sang. After a second century of wandering, during let us say the pontificate of Nicholas I ( 8 5 8- 8 6 7), our pilgrim would have noted with growing apprehension how elementary part-singing had already been discovered. "I sadly fear this may in course of time lead to the neglect, or even-the corruption, of unison singing, planesong,* alone possible to *Concerning this spelling, see note at the end of the article. 53 the congregation as a whole." But he would have hailed with delight the opportunity given him in the appearance of the sequences,~ to sing simple, homely rhyming lines with lustiness and joy, Could he have foreseen the future, he would have known that after their period of development, and luxuriance, there would follow such decay that with fewest exceptions the sequences were all to be expunged from the Missal. When that happened, there was taken from the layman the last impoitant element of the Mass he could still sing. And so it goes across the ages. When St. Thomas was writing in the thirteenth century his explanation of the Mass, he takes it- for~granted that "there are words which the l~riest begins and thd people take up . the Creed and the Gloria.'" In St. Thomas' day the people stil.1 answered Et cam st~iritu tuo, Amen and the like. Shall we follow our weary pilgrim into-the fourteenth century? In The Low Countries, England, France, Ger-many and elsewhere we find him complaining that the new measured music in such rising vogue everywhere was by its very difticulty robbing him of his chance to sing his prayer to God. "Soon.all singing in church will be the monopoly of the expert musicians, and to them will be restricted the fulfillment of St. Augustine's words, 'He that sings prays double.' " What was more, the new type of music, by its sensuous character, so said Pope John XXII, was under-mining his virility of soul. But Pope John XXII was one of the popes of the so-called Avignon Captivity; and for that reason people considere~l him unduly influenced by the French court. His admonitions drew little attention. ~ There was a period when the Council of, Basle was Cath-olic and well-inspired, and thither our pilgrim might have looked for reform of long-standing abuses. How he would have been cheered to note the Council's condemnation and abolition (?) of that abuse whereby "low Mass was said in such a tow .tone that it cannot be heard by those attending." That abuse seems to-have been spreading then in the northern parts of Europe: "If this is not stopped,~' our pilgrim grimly reflects,"even my few answers at low Mass will soon be made impossible." But that was at a day when the Church hadjust healed :the great scandal of the Great Western.Schism, and papal prestige stood too low to effect far-teaching reforms just then. in 15.18 Cardinal Louis of Aragon went into The Low Countries. ~Hadour pilgrim gonein his train be might .have seen the cardinal's secretary~ write in his journal about the Flemish priests:"They say .[Mass] . . . so low that no ohe hears their voices. They do not permit anyone .to make the responses, except the servers, and no one else."' That was~ noted, of course, because it was cbntrary to Roman practice come down from time beyond memory. But in 1518 Rome was suffering the baleful consequences of Italian Humanism, and suggestions a cardinal.might make on 1.ittle points like letting the'people respon~l at low Mass would fall with little weight. Then, too, when the car; dinal's secretary made that entry in his notebook, it was already soinemonthssinceMartin Luther had appended.his theses to the door of the Cathedral of Wittenburg, and thereby set in motion a chain of events that led to the calling of.the Council of Trent. "At long last the-layman'~s losses over a_period of a thousand years will surely be redressed at this greht Council," said our pilgrim as he faced the journey to Trent.Let us see how Trent prescribed for the cure of this pernicious aenemia of the layman's worship, only to have the administration of the remedy, postponed by yet further troubles. The aging Luther ,did not see fit to attend the Council, to .which he had once so solemnly appealed, and indeed he was in- his grave beforeits sessions were completed. But despite~his absence, he was the greatest chalienge to the Council, because he had become the symbol of every kind of error, the accuser of every discoverable abuse. Not a few,of those abuses were related to public worship, and as our pilgrim could have testified, were associated-with th~ fact that for centuries the layman was being deprived by force of circumstances ,of an active and intelligent part in divine service. All.this, it Was then hoped, would be remedied in this great Council. ~' Of all the Cotincils, Trent claims a position unique in many ways, one of which was that from the very outset the definition of. doctrine and the enactment of reform-decrees went forward simultaneously. From the Second Session (the decree opening the Council being the sole. business, of the First Sesson), ,lanuary 7, 1546, to the Twenty-Fifth 55 Session, December 4, 1563, the multiple questions to.ucl~ing the reform of Catholic public worship came up again and again. The Council's solicitude' was most in evidence in all that referred to holy Mass, becau.~e, as the Fathers said, "of all holy things this Sacrifice is the most holy." In resisting the Protestant demands, the Council deemed it "inadvisable that Mass should be celebrated everywhere in the vulgar tongue." Yet on all having the care of souls it laid the obligation, "lest the little ones ask for bread and there be none to break unto them, to explain frequently during the celebration of the Mass, especially on Sundays and festival days . some mystery of this most holy Sac-rifice." If Trent similarly rejected the Reformers' petition " that the entire Mass be said aloud, it did reaffirm "that some .things in the Mass be pronounced in a low tone and others m a louder tone." Masses at which the priest alone com-municated were emphatically declared to be valid Masses, yet in crystal-clear language is affirmed the desirability of having all worshippers communicate: "The holy Council wishes indeed that at each Mass the faithful who are present should communicate, not only in spiritual desire, but also by the sacramental partaking of the Eucharist, that thereby they may derive from this most holy Sacrifice a more abun-dant fruit." With regard to nuns the. Council here went .further and decreed that they must communicate .at least once a month: "Bishops and other superiors of monasteries° shall t~ike special care that the nuns., confess their sins and receive the most holy Eucharist at least once a month." The reforms of the Missal and the Breviary, begun at the .Council, were then handed over to the Holy See for com-pletion. In a hundred minor ways the Council showed its zeal that anything savoring in the least degree of unworthi-ness be kept from the public worship of the Church. The thorny problem of having only proper music in the churches was given much more serious consideration than might be judged from the brevity, of this enactment: "They [local Ordinaries] shall also banish from the churches those types of music in which, whether by the organ or in the singing, there is mixed up anything unbe-coming., so that the house of God.may be truly a house of prayer." Indeed many a bishop at the Council may have had the painful experience of the force of that saying, that .more people were sung into Protestantism than argued into 56 it. As early as 1523; in his Form for Mass and Communion, Luther had touched upon the desirability of German singing: "I would wish among us to l~ave as much as pos-sible in the vernacular what the people sing at Mass." Within a year Luther had contributed no less than twenty hymns of his own composition to his cause, and after Ein /:este Burg had made its sensational reputation, reli-gious rebels in non-German countries began to sweep peop!e into their conventicles by giving .them the chance to sing at divine service. Small wonder that the Fathers of Trent, with all this before their eyes, wished to purge away the corruption that had overlaid the ChUrch's once so popular planesong. This once restored to the people, these would be saved the sad choice of active participation in unorthodox worship, or mute and silent worship in the Church of Rome. Thus our long-suffering pilgrim, attending the ses-sions of Trent, might have envisaged a veri

Issue 2.5 of the Review for Religious, 1943. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious SEPTE/xlBER 15, 1943 Prayer to Christ the King . Thomas A. O'Conno'r" Progress in Prayer. . Robert B. Eiten ,Sacred Vessels and Linens . ~ . James E. Risk Leadership in Catholic At÷ion ¯ ¯ ¯ . , ¯ Vouree Watson Devotlonto the Holy Name Gerald Ellard Sfimmer School in the Spiritual Life . Patrick M. ,Regan '~ Book Reviews Communica÷ions Questions Answered Decisions of the Holy See VOLUME II NUMBER 5 RF.VII::W FOR. RELIGIOUS VOLUME 11 SEPTEMBER 15. 1943 . NUMBER CONTENTS THE PRAYER TO CHRIgT THE KING--Thomas A. O'Connor, S.J2.81 PROGRESS IN PRt~YER--Robert B. Eiten. S.d .2.9.7 THE STORY OF CARMEL . 306 THE HANDLING OF SACRED VESSELS AND LINENS---~ James E. Risk. S.d. .~ . 307 PAMPHLET NOTICES . 311 THE PRINCIPLE OF LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION-- Youree Watson. S.J . 312 D.EVOTION TO THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS--Gerald Ellard, S.J.327 A SUMMER SCHOOL IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE'--- Patrick M. Regan. S.J . 329 COMMUNICATIONS (On Vocation) . 333 BOOK REVI-EWS (Edited by Clement DeMuth. S.J.)m THE MASS PRESENTED TO NON-CATHOLICS-- By the Reverend John P. McGuire . 336 . A HANDY GUIDE FOR WRITERS--. By the Reverend Newton B. Thompson, S.T.D. 336 AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH BY CENTURIES-- ¯ By the Reverend Joseph McSorley . 337 THE ONE GOD. By the Reverend Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P.337 HANDBOOK OF MEDICAL ETHICS. By the Reverend S. A. La Rochelle, O.M.I. and the Reverend C. T. Pink, M.D., C.M. ' 338 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 32. Meaning of "Constitutions" . . 339 33. Blessing of Subjects by Superigress . 339 34. Legislation on Benediction of Blessed Sacrament . 339 35. Moment when Dispensation from Vows takes Effect .~ . 340 36. Diocese of Origin for a Convert . 341 37. Abstinence Imposed by Rule and by Church . 341 38. Presence Required for Mass of Obligation . 342 39. Intention Required for Gaining Indulgences . - 342 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS343 REVIEW~ FOR RELIGIOUS, September 1943. Vol. II. 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 ,January 15, 1942. at the Post Office, Topek.a, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.3. G. Augustine Ellard. S.3. Gerald Kelly. Copyright, 1943, 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. The Prayer Ch ris : !:h e,King,- Thomas A. O'Connor, S.3. 44 lONG live Christ theKing!" The shout rose to a roar.Up from the streets below, this battle cry of the persecuted Mexican Catholics floated through the open windows of the presi-dential palace. Calles heard it and knew that somehow his triumph .was being turned into defeat. Only a day before he was sure that he had conquered. The scene of his imagined triumph was an enclosed courtyard, with powder-blackened Walls, pockmarked.by bullet holes, before which jutted up a protecting log barri~ cade with flat, human-sized wooden dummies before it. This was where the firing squad did its bloody work. The political prisoner, whose death Calles had unjustly decreed, showed not even, the slightest trace of hatred or surliness in his manner, as he stood there'in his dark suit with a checkered vest sweater showing through his unbuttoned coat. "Have you any last request?" barked the captain of the firing squad. "Permit me to pray," he calmly replied; and he knelt down on the sand and gravel, turning slightly away from the crowd. Reverently he made the sign of' the cross, prayed devoutly for a few moments with joined hands, then, kissing fervently the little crucifix he held in his hand, he rose and faced his executioners. Crucifix in hand, he made the sign of the cross over the soldiers and officers there. "May God have mercy on you all." 281 THOMAS A. O'~CONNOR Then with his rosary twined about his left hand, he extended his arms in the form of a cross. "I forgive my enemies from the bottom of my heart." Saying this, he lifted his eyes to the clear, blue heavens. A moment's pause: then slowly, r~verently, firmly came the beautiful words: "Long live Christ the King!" Th~ rifles cracked. The prison~er slumped heavily to the ground. An awful silence. A sergeant stepped up, and fireda bullet through the victim's head. It was 10:30 a. m. November 23, 1927. Two years before, on December 11, 1925, Pope Plus XI had issued his encyclical on Jesus Christ King. Father Pro arid hisloyal Mexican Catholics had heard this call to a more valiant service of Christ the King. In trying to win their country to the Kingdom of-Christ, the)~ had sealed their lives with their blood. Father Pro's last words, "Longlive Christ the King," had been the spark which detonated the thunderous roar that Calles heard the next day, as six thousand marchers and five hundred cars escorted the body of Father Pro to Dolores Hill for burial. The Feast or: Christ Our King In his encyclical, Quas Primas, establishing the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Plus XI said: "When we command that Christ Our King be venerated by Catholics throughout the world, We are providing for the special needs of our own day a very effective remedy against the pests which pervade human socie.ty." In other parts, of the same encyclical, the Pope further explained these special needs of our time: "Evil has spread throughout the world because the greater part of mankind has banished Jesus Christ ~nd His holy law from their lives, their families, and from public 282 PRAYER TO CHRIST THE KING affairs . There will never arise a sure ho]ae of lasting peace between the peoples oi~ the world as long as individ-uals and nations continue to deny or refuse to acknowledge the rule of Christ, Our Savior. It is necessary for all men to seek 'the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ' . "Today.we grieve., over the seeds of discord apparently sown everywhere, the rekindling of hatreds and-rivalries between .pe0ples which prevent the re-establish-ment of peace. In spite of :this we are sustained by the holy hdpe that the Feast of Christ Our King, wbich will be ' :celebrated hereafter every year, will at last lead society to our Blessed Savior . It appears to us that an annual cele-bration of the F~ast of Christ Our King will greatly assist all nations . In fact, the more the dear name of Our Redeemer is passed over in shameful silence, be it in inter-national meetings, be it in parliaments, so much the more nec?ssary is it to acclaim Him as King ~ind announce every-where the rights of His royal dignity and power. "All indeed can see that since the. end of the last century, the way Was being prepared for the long desired institution of this new feast day . The supremacy of the Kingdom of Christ w'as also recognized iri thi~ pious practice of all those who dedicated, even co.nsecrated, their families to the Sacred Heart of Jestis." Then he referred to Leo XIII's cons.ecration of the whole human race to the Sacred Heart. Announcing his intention to do this, Pope Leo XIII had said: ."I am about to perform the gr~eatest act 6f my pontificate." .In his encyclical on "The ConSecration of all Mankind to the Sacred Heart," given on May 25, 1899, he added: ",lust as, When the newly born Church lay helpless under l~he yoke of the Caesars, there appeared in the'heavens a cross,, at once the sign and the cause of the marvelous vict0~y that was soon to follow, so today before our very eyes there appears 283 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR another most happy and holy sign~ the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, crowned by a brilliant cross set amid raging flames. In this Sacred Heart we shall place all our hopes; from it, too, we ask and await salvation." "In virtu~ of Our Apostolic authority," said Pope Pius XI, "We institute the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ King, and decree that it be celebrated everywhere on the last Sun-day of October . Likewise We decree that on this very same day, annually, there is to be renewed the consecration of all mankind to the. Sacred Heart of Jesus." Pra~ter t~ ~Christ the King On February 21, 1923, through the Sacred Peniten-tiary, Plus XI approved the Prager to Christ the King, and to its recital he attached a plenary indulgence, once a day, under the usual conditions (Preces et Pia Opera,. 1938, n. 254). Undoubtedly it was the Pontiff's wish that every loyal follower of Christ would daily recite this act Of per-sonal loyalty to Christ the King. In the remainder of this article we are developing the various phrases of the Prayer to Christ the King, somewhat after the. manner .of the second method of prayer, by quoting generously from Pius XI's encyclicals on "Christ the King" ~Quas Primas), and "Reparation to the Sacred Heart" fMiserentissimus Redemptor), and from Leo XIII's "Consecration of all Mankind to the Sacred Heart" (Annum Saqrum). "'0 Christ Jesus" "Whose name is above every name . who though by nature God . made (himself) like unto men . appearingin the form of man" (Philippians 2:6). In the words of the Athanasian Creed, "He is God begotten before all ages from the substance of His Father, 284 PRAYER .TO CHRIST THE KING and He is Man born in time from th~ substance of. His Mother." The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, assuming human nature, united it to the Divine Nature under His single Personality in a union which is called the Hypostatic Union. Hence "not only is Christ to be adored as God by angels and men, but also angels and men must be subject to His empire as Man." He is perfect Man as He is perfect God. "Thou art beautiful above the sons of men," says the Psalmist, "grace-is poured abroad in thy lips, therefore hath God blessed Thee forever and ever." In Him, flowering forth in all its fullness, is ever~ virtue and perfection: kindness, sympathy, patience, strength, courage, wisdom, loyalty, self-sacrifice, love. He is also God with full power and kingly majesty: all-wise, all-holy, all-powerful, all-merciful. Christ .Jesus, at whose name "every knee should bend of those ifi heaven, on earth and under the.earth, and every tongue should.confess that the Lord Jesus.Christ is in the glor~ of God the Father" (Philippians 2: 10). '~I Acknowledge Thee King of the Universe" "We assert that it is necessary to vindicate for the Christ-Man both the name and power of a King in the full meaning of that term." (Quas Primas) "Christ reigns as King in the minds of men not only because of the keenness of His mind or the vastness of His knowledge, but also because He is the Truth. It is there-fore necessary that all men seek and receive the truth from Him in full obedience. "Christ reigns as King in the wills of men either because there was in Him a complete submission of the human will to the Divine, or because He influences our free will in such 285 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR an efficacious way by His holy inspiration that we are led to desire only the noblest things. "Finally Christ is recognized as the King of Our. Hearts because of that love of His which surpasses all understand-ing and because of the supreme attraction we have for His divine meekness and kindness. No man, in fact, ever was so much loved as Jesus Christ, or ever will be." (Quas Primas) "The. Empire of Christ extends not only over Catholic peoples, and over those who, reborn in the font of Baptism, belong by right to the Church; it embraces even those who do not enjoy the Christian faith, so that all mankind is un-der the power of Christ." (Annum Sacrum) The doctrine of Christ the King is amply vindicated in the words of the New Testament. The Archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was to bear a Son. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32). Christ took every opportunity to call Himself King and publicly affirmed His Kingship in the court of the Roman governor (John 18:37). "Thou art then a King?" asked Pilate. "Thou sayest it," Jesus answered, "I am a King. This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." In the Apocalypse (1:5) St. John calls Him "the ruler of the Kings of the earth" and again (19:6) "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." Of His kingship Christ said: "All power in heavena.nd on earth has been given to me. Behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." 286 PRAYER TO CHRIST THE'KING "Could He possibly have meant anything else by these: words than that His regal power was absolute and that His kingdom extended over all th~ earth?" (Quas Primas) "He announced before .the Roman consul that His kingdom 'was not of this earth'," yet, "since Christ has received from His Father an absolute right over all created things, so that all are subject to His will, they would err grievously, who would take from the Christ-man power over all temporal things . " (Quas Prirnas) "'All That Has Been Created Has Been Made for Thee" "All things were made through him, and without him was made nothing that was made" (John 1:3). "As God, Christ possessed full and absolute sway over all created things. As Man, it can be said-that He has received 'power, honor, and a. kingdom' from the Father." In the book of Daniel (7:13) we read: "I beheld a vis-ion of the night, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven., and he gave him power, and glory, and a.kingdom; and all peoples, tribes and tongues shall serve him; his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away; and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed." The prophet Isaias tells us of the future coming of the King, who will be no less than God Himself, appearing up-on earth in the lowly and endearing form of a human babe. "Achild is born to us and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name shall.be called Wonderfu!, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall. be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to es-tablish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever" (Isaias 9:6-7). "The Lord hath made all things for Himself," saysPro- 287 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR verbs (16:4). God brought into being from nothingness all things that are. Being Infinite Wisdom He could not act without some definite purpose in mind. Since nothing had existed previously but Himself, and since nothing but Him self could be an end worthy of His action, He created all things for Himself. Not that He needed these. No. For, being Infinite, nothing was wanting to Him. Nor cou!d these add to His perfections since, being All-Perfect, He pos-sessed all things in their fullness. But being Infinite Goodness He longed to communicate His gifts to others; and "from His fullness we have all re-ceived" (John 1:16). By His omnipotent fiat all things were made. Every-thing called into existence is a copy, even though necessarily imperfect and limited, of some aspect of His infinite perfec-tion. Each reflects something of His nature and attributes. "The heavens show forth the glory of God and the firma-ment declareth the work of his hands" (Psalms 18:2). "If any one Shall say that the world was not created for the glory of God, .let him be anathema" (Vatican Council). "'Exercise upon Me All Tby Rights'" "Christ rules over us by right o1: birth." He was born a King. "He has dominion over every one of us by His very essence and nature. "But Christ rules over us not only by right of birth, but also by right of conquest," by His redemption of mankind. "You know that you were redeemed., not with perishable things, with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ" (2 Peter 1 : 18). "We therefore no longer belong to ourselves alone, for Christ has bought us with a 'great price'." (Quas Primas) "Do you not know . . . that you are not your own? For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify God and 288 PRAYER "~O CHRIST.THE KING bear. Him in your body" (I Corinthians 6:20). "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 6: 15). "Your members are the temple of the Holy'Ghost" (1 Corinthians 6:.19). Christ rules over men also by His right of law-glver. "For the Holy Gospels not only tell us that Christ promul-gated laws, but they also present Him in the very act of making them." (Quas Primas) Again Christ rules over men b.y His right of judge. "For neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given, all judgment to the Son" (3ohn 5:22). lzastly, "executive power must equally be attributed to Christ, since it is necessary for all to obey His commands," and no one violates them without meeting the punishments He has established. "I Renew Mg Baptismal Promises Renouncing Satan and All His Works and Pomps" The Kingdom of Satan and the powers of darkness.are opposed to the Kingdom of Christ. In his Epistle to the Ephe~ians (6:11) St. Paul urges us to "Put on the armor of God that you may be able to stand against the. wiles of the devil. For our wrestling i~ not with flesh and blood, bu~ against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high." We renew the promises we made at Baptism. "Do you renounce Satan and all his work~ and pomps?" the priest asks at Baptism. And the one being baptized or the sponsor answers: "I do renounce them." "'I Promise to Lead a Good Christian Life'" The Kingdom of Christ "requires from its subjects not only that their souls be deta, ched from riches and worldly things, that they rule their lives, and that .they hunger and 289 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR thirst after justice, but also that they renounce themselves and take up tl~eir cross." (Quas Primas) Before Christ can reign over the whole world, He'must reign over the hearts of individuals. Before world-conquest'for Christi we must think of self-conquest. With a complete surrender of ourselves there will follow quickly an entire dedication of our energies and ability to His Divine service and to doing Our part in conquering the world for Christ. Christ the King must rule over our minds, over our ¯ wil!s, over our hearts, over our bodies. Listen to the~vords df Pope PiusXI: "It is necessa~ythat Our Lord should rule over the mind of man, who by his intellectual submission shall firmly and at all times assent to the revealed truth and doctrines of Christ; that He rule over the will, which shall obey the divine law and com-mands; that He rule .over our hearts, which despising mere natural love shall love God above all things and be united to Him alone; that He rule over our bodies which as instru-ments . will promote the sanctity of the soul." (Quas Primas) By leading a good Chris;an life we not only horror God, but we bring great peace and happiness to ourselves: For, truly; to serve Him is to reign. He alone is deservng of our whole-hearted attention, and to serve Him devotedly i~ to reign in a peace and happiness which the world cannot give. To serve Him and not the world; to serve Him and not the flesh, to serve Him and not ourselves; is to reign over the deceitful allurements of the world, is to reign over the imperious demands of our traitorous fl~sh, is to reign over the fretful importunings of our self-love with all its yearn-ings for prominence and vain display. To serve Him is to reign over our fickle feelings, our wild, intemperate impulses, and all the chaotic twists of our sin-disrupted 290 PRAYER TO CHRIST THE KING nature: our outbursts of impatience and irritability, our fits of moodiness, our haughty airs and domineering ways, our quick, sarcastic tongues, our instinctive shunnings of little hardships, our selfish seeking of comforts and the good things of life, our petty quarrelings, and our puerile nursing of work-a-day bruises as serious, intentionally- .inflicted wounds. Only by serving Him and forgetting ourselves, do we rise to that greatness of soul whereby we reign over self, over the vicissitudes of life and over the. creatures of time. .~ t//"And to Do Ail in M~! Power to P~ocure the Triumph of the Rights of God and That Church" "The rule of Christ over mankind'has been denied, the Church has been refused the right which comes from th~ very law of Jesus Christ to teach all peoples, to make her own laws for. the sp!ritual government of her subjects in. order to bring them to eternal happiness. Little by little the Christian religion has been made. the equal of other.and false religions . The Catholic religion was made subject to the civil power and was practically abandoned to the control of rulers. . There were not wanting governments which imagined they could do without God and ~over up their lack of religion by irreligion and disrespect for God Himself." (Quas Primas) How are we to meet this modern apostasy from God and bring back Christ to the modern wbrld? We must do all in our power to bring about the ]:eign of Christ. We must use every legitimate means to restore His. rule over the individual, the family, the nation, and the whole, world. For this "purpose the Feast of Christ the King w.as instituted. It is a clarion call to a "more virile, more militant, more 29i THOMAS A. O'CONNOR aggressive Catholicism." Every Catholic is called upon to serve in this campaign. "To hasten this return to Christ by means of good works and organized social actions is a duty incumbent on every Catholic, of many of whom it can be said truthfully, that neither positions nor authority in civic life have been accorded as would be fitting to those who tarry before them the torch of Truth. "This condition perhaps is due to the a.pathy or timidity of the good who abstain from strife and are apt to resist only too weakly. From our weakness the enemies of the Church are emboldened to greater and more fearless acts of audacity. "But w.hen the Faithful clearly understand that they must fight with courage, always under the banner Of Christ Our King,. they will then sttidy with the zeal of Apostles how best to lead rebellious and ignorant people back "to God. At the same time they will themselves acquire strength to keep inviolate God's holy laws." (Quas ¯ Primas) Last Christmas Eve Pope Plus XII, b.roadcast[ng t6 ~he whole world, called upon "all men of good will to unite in a holy crusade . . . Sad as is the condition of the world today, it is not a time for lamentation. Now is the time for action . ¯ Be ready to serve and sacrifice yourselves like the crusaders of old. Then the issue was the liberation of a land hallowed by the life of the Incarnate Word of God. Today the call is to set free the holy land of the spirit, that, liberated from all the evils and errors to which it is subject, there may arise thereon a new social order of lastingpeace and justice . Thesewords are meant as a rall_ying cry to the magnanimous and brave of heart." They are a call'to them "to unite in a solemn vow" whereby they pledge themselves "not to rest until in all peoples and in all nations 292 PRAYER TO CHRIST THE KING on earth there shall be formed a vast legion who are bent on bringing back man to God." "'Divine Heart o~: Jesus, I Offer Thee M~t Poor Actions" Young and 01d, weak and strong, learned and unlet-tered-- Leach one can do much to hasten the reign of Christ over man. ¯ Made a soldier of Christ by Confirmation, each of us must "labor as a.good.soldi~r of Christ" (II Timothy 2:4). .- Insignificant as our actions seem, they yet have great efficacy for good. "A wondrous bond joins all the Faithful to Christ, the same bond which unites the head with the other members of the body, namely, the communion of saints, a bond full of mystery which we believe in as Catholics, and by virtue of which individuals and nations are not only united, to one another but likewise with the he~d itself, 'who is Christ. For from him the whole body (being closely joined and knit together through every joint of the system according to thefunctioning in due measure of each single part) derives its increase to the- building up of itself in love' " (Ephesians 4:15-1 6). (Miserentissimus) "W.e are held to the duty of making reparation by the most powerful motives of justice and love; of justice, in order to expiate the injury done to God by .our sins and to re-establish by means of penance the Divine Order which has been violated; and of love, in order to suffer together with Christ. so that we may bring Him, in so far as our human weakness permits, some comfort in His sufferings." ( M iserentissimus ) "At the present ,time we in a marvellous manner may ¯ and ought to console that Sacred Heart which is be.ing wounded continually by the sins of thoughtless men, since Christ Himself grieved over the fact that He was abandoned 293 THOMAS A. O°CONN~R by His friends. For He said, in the words of the Psalmist, 'My heart has expected reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve together with Me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort me, and I found none. "Anyone who has been considering in a spirit of love all that has beefl recalled [namely about the sufferings Christ endures from men]., if he has impressed these thoughts, as it were, upon the fleshy tablets of his heart, such a one assuredly cannot but abhor and flee all sin as the greatest of evils. "He will also offer himself whole and entire to the will of God, and will strive to repair the injured Majesty of God by constant prayer, by voluntary penances, by patient suf-fering of all those ills which shall befall him; in a word be will so organize his life that in all things it will be inspired bythe spirit of reparation . "We order . a solemn act of reparation in order that we may, by this act, make reparation for our own sins and may repair the rights which have been violated of Christ, the King of Kings and our most loving Master." (Mis-erentissimus) "'That All Hearts Mag Acknowledge Thg Sacred Rogaltg'" "The annual celebration of this feast [o~ Christ the King] ~will also become a means of recalling to the nations their duty of publicly worshipping Christ, that to render Him obedience is not only .the duty of private individuals but of rulers and governments as well . His royal dig-nity demands that. Society as a whole should conform itself to the commandments of God and to the principles of the Christian life, first by the stablizati0n of its laws, then in the administration of justice, and above all things in pre-paring the souls of our young people for the acceptance of 294 PRAYER TO CHRIST THE KING sound doctrine and the leading-of holy lives." (Quas Primas) "If the heads of nations wish the safety of their govern-ments and the growth and progress of their country,, they must not refuse to give, together with the people, public testimony of reverence and obedience to the Empire~of Christ." (Quas Primas) "'And That Thus the Reign ot: Th~ Peace Mar Be Established throughout the Universe. Amen." If men, both privately and publicly, will recognize the ~overeign power of Christ, the signal benefits Of a just free-dom of calm order and of harmony and peacewill pervade . the whole human race. Just as the royal rights of our Lord" render the hflman authority of princes and heads of states sacred to a certain degree, so too they ennoble the duties imposed by obedience on the citizen. "If princes and legitimate rulers will be convinced that. they 'rule notso much in theii own right as through a man-date from the Divine King; it is easy to see what holy and wise use they will make of their power, and with what zeal for the common good and the dignity of their subjects they will be inflamed both in the making and the enforcing of laws. When. this happens every reason for sedition is removed and order and tranquility flourish and grow strong. When citizens see that their rulers and the heads of their states are men like themselves, or are for some rea-son. unworthy or culpable, they will continue even then to o.bey their commands because they Will recognize in them the image of the authority of Christ, the God-m~in. "As for the effect of all this upon concord and peace, manifestly the vaster this Kingdom is and the more widely it embraces mankind, so much the more will men become conscious of the bond of brotherhood that unites them. 295 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Just as this consdousness of their brotherhood 'banishes conflicts so too it weakens bitterness and turns 'them into, love. If the Kingdom of Christ, which rightly embraces all men, should in fact embrace them, could we then despair of that peace which the King. of Peace brought to earth, that King, We say, who came 'to reconcile all things, who did not come to be served but to serve others' and who, though the Lord of all, made Himself an example of humility and charity as His chief law? 'My. yoke is easy and my burden light' (Matthew 11:30). "Oh, what happiness might we enjoy if individual families and states would only allow themselves tobe 'ruled by Christ! 'Then indeed,' to use the words of Our Prede-cessor, Leo XIII, addressed twenty'-five years ago to all the Bishops of the Catholic world, 'would many wounds be cured, and every right would r.egain its ancient force and the blessings of peace would return, and swords and weapons would fall to the ground, when all would will-ingly accept tl6e Empire of Christ and obey Him and when every tongue would proclaim that Our .Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory, of His Father'." (Quas Primas and Annum Sacrum) To serve Him is to reign, now and forever. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done. Long live Christ the King! [NOTE: The ~ompl~te text of the Prager to ChriSt the King reads as follows: 0 Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee King of the universe. All that has been cre-ated has been made for Thee. Exercise upon me all Thy rights. I renew my bap-tismal promises renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps. I promise to, live a good Christian llfe and to do all in my power to procure the triumph of the rights~ of Go'd and Thy Church. Divine Heart of Jesus, I c.ffer Thee my poor actions.in order~to obtain that all hearts mag acknowledge Thy sacred Royalty and that thus the reign of Tb~l peace may be established throughout the universe. Amen.] 296 Progress In Prayer Robert B, Eiten, S.J. 44=I"o PRAY well is to live .well"--this is an old saying | famiiiar to us all. In modern scientific dress and as applied to religious, the first part, "to pray well," might be paraphrased by "progress in prayer"; and the last, "to live well," by "spiritual progress." Thus complete, our new title would be: "Progress in .Prayer is Spiritual, Progress." We religious are-all certainly-interested in spiritual progress5 for we have often heard of the obligation of tending to perfection or of making spiritual progress. We must then be interested in progress in prager since it is a very important factor in our spiritual growth. Note the title reads: "Progress in Prayer," not "Prog-ress through Prayer." Here we are not concerned with showing how prayer helps us to grow spiritually. We have taken that for granted. With this in mind our whole attention is rather focussed on progress in prayer. Besides--to make a brief important digression=-if we had been told in our early novitiate days that we should always make our prayer in the same way and that there was no hope of progress in our prayer-life, I believe that we should have been much discouraged and not very ambi-tious. That is only natural, for all life-activity seeks im-provement and development. Thus, prayer, being an activ-ity of our supernatural life, naturally.should develop, or, t6 come back to our title;there should be "Progress in Prayer." Progress in prayer carl refer either to the intensity, that is, the deep fervor of our prayer., or to. its continuity and frequency, or to both at the same time. We shall limit our- 297 ROBERT B. EITEN selves here.to its continuity, for through this approach a mode of intensified prayer-life will also be found. Perhaps there are some souls who never have the proper attitude towards prayer. These really need a few ¯ simple and correct notions on prayer so that in their minds prayer vcill not be a stilted and formalistic affair or some-thing which only the learned can do well. Quite the con-trary, Learning can be a great hindrance to successful prayer if it is not joined with the great Simplicity of soul which prayer~ r~quires. While it is true that prayer should correspond to all our relations with God, still there is one relation that we have with God which should brdinarily be emphasized more than the others. God is not our taskmaster and merely a severe Judge, and we his slaves and servants. No, He" and We are more than .that. No~ is God merely our friend, He is still more than that~ RatherGod is oui: Father and we are His dear children, as God Himself tells us: ". And I. will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters" (II Corint~aians 6: 18). But God is even more than our Father; he is our tooing Father, for St. John defines God as Love (I John 4:16).' Yes, God is Love, purest and infinite Love; He is~ our Lover, our Divine Lover, the mightiest and purest of all lovers. Hence, while ¯ we realize the fact that God is our Judge, we must espe- Cially stress the fact that He is the most loving of fathers. ¯ Ordinarily our attitude towards God ought to be that of a simple and loving child towards its father.or that of a lover towards his beloved. How simply; spontaneously, and lovingly a child converses with its father and. tells him how much it loves him and what it wants! . Or again, how simple and direct is the language of tho~e in love! . Prayer is but a familia'r and childlike conversation with God. It is a heart-to-heart communing or chat between God, our 298 ~ PROGRESS IN PRAYER loving Father, and ourselves, His children. In the intimate associations between a loving child and its dear parent, as .weli as between lovers, ~usually there is no set form ~f words or speech. Words a, nd forms of speech come spon-taneously. "Heart speaks to heart.". We may use fix.ed forms of prayer, such as the Ogice, the Our Father, the Hai! Mar~t, and giveoutward expression to them. This is called vocal prayer, an excellent fo~m of prayer and necessary for all public Church services. The Church by its wide use Of vocal prayer gives it very high approval. ~ Nevertheless, when we are alone, other things being equal, it is preferable for most of us to express to God, our Father and Divine Lover, the intimate feelings of our souls in our own words without always resorting to fixed expres, sions, although mental prayer may be made up of the latter also. Mental prayer is. the inner expression to God of the interior sentiments of ourseFces, His dear children. The Church, realizing ~he importance of mental prayer, req.uires religious superiors to see to it that their subjects devote some time daily to mental prayer (canon 595). Let the foregoing jottings suffice to show the utter free-d, orh of prayer from intricacy, as well as point out our ordi-nary attitude towards God in prayer. Such a proper atti-tude, I believe, is all-important for progress in prayer and,- perhal~s, some souls never have it. And now to return more directly to our theme: Prog, resgIn Pra~/er, From the remarks on our attitude.towards God i~ prayer, we must be even further convinced of the necessity of our progress in prayer. Does not a perfect intimacy or nearness between two souls require a.mutual interchange or communication of their ideas; longings, and projects as often as possible? And should there not be between God and us an intimacy and nearness which far surpass all other intimacies of any and all people, seeing 299 , ROBERT B. EITEN that God is the most loving of all fathers, and the .mightiest and purest of all lovers, a Lover Divine? We' all surely realize that We carry on and further this intimacy with God through pra~jer. Thus it is a question of trying to pray as well and as much as possible within the limits of prudence. In heaven a constant uniori with God will be our normal lot and one of the big factors of our happiness. In view of this future, too, it would seem that here below we ought to aspire to make this constant union with God or a pro-gressive prayer-life our Chief quest. But can this be realized? Is it possible to reach this without c~ausing violence to our souls or, as they say, "cracking our headS?". ¯ Certainly it is impossible for us to be.'praying uocatly all the time. Because of the fatigue involved, one of the greatest spiritual writers of the last three centuries recom-mended that a priest avoid saying all the hours of the Divine OfFice in one grouping. Likewise it is impossible to prolong incessantly strict meditation, which is the lowest form of men~al prayer and one made up of a chain of distinct reflec-tions or considerations with at least some simultaneous or subsequent affections. The same is true, at least for a very large majority, and particularly for those not exclusively devoted to the contemplative life, in regard to ordinary af- ¯ fective prayer. oIn affective prayer, as the name indicate~, the affections occupy more of the time than do consider~itions and reflec-tion. As more o~dinarily practised, this form of prayer includes a great variety of affections: for example, senti-ments of love, praise, gratitude, contrition, and so forth. In this ordinary form, because of the variety of the sentiments, it can scarcely be made continuous without the risk of brain fatigue. Hence we must look for something else, if we wish. to cultivate an intensive andI uninterrupted prayer-life. 300 PR0.GRESS IN PRAYER The next step forward in mental 'prayer brings us to simplified affective pra~jer or the prayer of simplicity. It is sometimes called acquired or active contemplation, the prayer of simple regard or simple presence of God. In this form-of acquired prayer, intuition or an immediate grasp of a supernatural truth largely replaces the reasoning process found to a greater or lesser degree in either meditative or ordinary affective prayer. While iri ordinary-affective prayer there is usually a variety of affections and resolu-tions, here in simplified affective prayer little variety in either is noted. Likewise representations of the imagination. as of God or our Lord,~here have little or no appeal. It is sufficient for the prayer of simplicity that there be a spiritual sentiment or affection, which is not necessarily accom-panied by sensibleemotions or even by any distinct idea such as a representation of God or our Lord or a conscious 'reflex thought of the presence of God. DeSmedt, the famous Bollandist, describes it as follows: "'It is enough that the soul be found in a disposition. similar to that of a child living for a long time near its mother, whom it loves tenderly and by whom it knows itself to be tenderly loved. It passes all its days near her, it enjoys .constantly her presence; but for this it has no need to say constantly: My mother is here, I see her. It knotos that she is there. When it has something to say to her or ask 6f her, it has but to lift its head-and speak to her; and even when it is not speaking to her, it has a very'lovirfg feeling of peace and joy, on account Of the presence of its mother."1 We said that in the prayer of simplicity there will be some thought or affection that r¢cursqalways allowing for 1Notre vie surnaturelle, t. 1, 4th ed., p. 468. I am especially indebted to this work (pp. 465-471) for much of the material in this article, especial!y for the means to arrive at the prayer of simplicity. I have also made liberal use of Poulain, Tan-querey, and Marmion. 301 ROBERT B. EITEN some inte.rruptions arid modifications--frequently, readily, and rather spontaneously, with .little or no development and in the midst of other various thoughts, some useful and others nbt. Poulain describes this occurrence as follows: "We may compare it to the strands which thread the pearls of a necklace, or.the beads of a Rosary, and which are only. visible here and there. Or, again, it is like the fragment of cork, that, carried away-by the torrent, plunges ceaselessly, appears and d!sappears. The prayer of simple regard is really only a slow sequence of single glances cast upon one and the same object.''2 Some other comparisons Of things familiar to us are the "following. Con~ider a~mother watching her baby. She thinks of it for hours lovingly,, with relish, and without reflection and fatigue, but still with some interruptions. All this she does without any concern of mind whatever, for it seems, to her such a spontaneous and loving thing to do. Or again, note how an artiit without any fatigue can become absorbed for hours with some beautiful scene or great masterpiece. AS anotherexample, s~ippose the case of a man who is 2000 miles away from home, when he is informed of the sudden death of his mother. His grief will be so intense and persistent that it will, no doubt, continue to be felt even when he is carrying on engaging conversations on the train homeward for the funeral. Perhaps best of all is the case of a person in love. Day and night he thinks of the object of his love. Yet his thoughts and affections for his loved one show little variety: and he, on his part, experiences/~o need ot~ a cfiange. Tlaus for instancea devoted husband and Wife can ~erriain alone long hours.together at home, not always having new ideas ¯ 2The Graces of Interior Prayer, 6th ed., p. 8. .302 PROGRESS IN PRAYER" to exchange, but still .relishing the joy found in being together in quiet and silence. And when they are apart, how readily their thoughts are directed to each other? When~ we realize, as we .just saw, .that God is 'our loving Father and that we are His dear children, and even more, that God is our Lover, is it not strange that this simplified affective prayer is not more common? Should we not be spontaneously prone to be occupied'with this loving Father by a loving, simple, and uninterrupted gaze just as a child is with its mother, or as one in lov~ with the object of his love? We can readily se~ .that this prayer should be a spontaneous outcome of the full realization ~ that God is our loving Fathe). and our Divine and mighties~t of lovers. The praye~: of simplicity thus brings with it a threefold simplification: first, that of reasoning or reflection; sec-ondly that oi~ the affections; and finally something that should rather naturally fbllow: that of our life, . which is ". really a'result of this prayer rathe~ than an element of it. In ordinary affective prayer there is some simplification of reasoning, but not of the affections; and as the affections of affective prayer become more simplified; this prayer verges more into simplified affective prayer or that of simplicity. It is easy-to see how this twofold simplification of reason-ing and of the affections will bring a simplification of our entire life-~-a" consequence of this form of prayer, as was just said. We pursue our work, studies, and spiritual exer-cises in the presence of God and with the spirit of faith and love. Thus, as a result of this prayer, ours is a life of uninterrupted and continual recollection. Of course, when we say uninterrupted or continual,, we are not speaking mathematically. We are rather referring to a frequent recu rrence. How are we to begin the practice of this prayer of sire- 303 ROBERT B. EITEN plicity? In keeping, with the idea that God is our,loving Father and the mightiest of all lovers, we must first of all be thoroughly convinced that God tenderlyloves us and that He finds great pleasure and ~atisfaction. in our love of Him. Secondly we must exclude from our lives, by thor-ough conquest of the senses, mind, and heart, every affec-tion which is not perfectly subordinated to the love of God arid which cannot serve to nourish this love; In brief,- through complete detachment from creatures we try to be-come wholly attached t6 God. Thirdly, we must put on Christ, .God's model Son, by bringing burselves to a com-plete conformity with His ideas~ longings, conduct, and en-tire mode of living. The more we put on God's model Son, the Apple of His eye, the more He will love us. Besides the foregoing, it is also necessary to make a deliberate attempt to live an intensive prayer-life. This prayer-life would include the following points: a ) A great fidelity to exercises of piety prescribed by rule: making them at the time and place and in the way pre-scribed, except in the rare cases of hindrance, dispensation, or other lawful excuse. b) A similar fidelity, but without childish anxiety or a sense of compulsion, to exercises of supererogationchosen with the approval of the spiritual ,director or the superior. Whatever these exercises are, they should not be left to passing whims, but should be definitely marked out ina plan of life. This plan might contain such details as the following: the amount of time to be spent daily before the Blessed Sacrament; how this time is to be distributed; how daily recollection is to be linked up with morning prayer; whether or not a weekly Holy Hour is to be' made, and so forth. One of the functions of these.,superer0gatory exer-cises is to help us to perform our prescribed exercises'better. c) A frequent use of ejaculatory prayer. It may b~ 304 ' PROGRESS II~ ~RAYER preferable to use ejaculations of our own making, since this will insure greater spontaneity on our part as well as greater fervor, whereas other fixed ejaculations are apt to be recited in parrot-like fashion. These ejaculations should be said slowly and with relish. We.can readily be deceived by large numbers here, although we might well ,aim at large num-bers if we can recite our ejaculations with .relish, slowly, and without strain. d) Eager and instinctive recourse to God in all our diffi-culties whatever they are, as in the case of trials crossing our path, or on the occasion of faults of surprise and weakness. By this constant recourse to God we acquirea habi~t or dis-position whereby in the presence of the least difficulty, suf-fering, obstacle, or unexpected consolation, we turn imme-diately by instinct to God, in an ~lan of prayer approPriate to the case at hand. This. promptness is an indication of unbroken union of our soul with God. We resemble the little child-who instinctively has recourse to its.mother in any and all difficulties. Familiarity with these four exercises, especially with the ¯ fourth, will surely bear fruit, even though it may be several years before we acquire the continuity.of the prayer of sim-plicity. If, however, after noble efforts we do not reach this continuity, let us riot be discouraged, since there are souls very holy and the object of God's special love who have similar difficulties. Among those who reach this degree of prayer in a certain measure, the majority arrive there but gradually, at the price of effort, or rather of the inner work of grace continued over a period of years. In this matter let us resign ourselves to God's Holy Will, believing that He will dispose all things sweetly. Beyond simplified affective .prayer we cannot advance with our own efforts, for'the next stel~ forward is into ~he realm of infused contemplative prayer. Howev.er, we ought 305 ROBERT B. EITEN to realize that the careful practice of this simplified affective prayer is the best disposition for and a stepping stone to infused prayer. Conceiving the higher phases of the prayer : of simplicity as a bridge between acquired and infused men-tal prayer, let us march forward towards this bridge, resigning ourselves, however, to God's Holy Will, after we have done our part, to decide whether or not we are to arrive on the other side of it--the life of infused contem-plation. THE STORY OF CARMEL The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Milwaukee have edited a brief history of the Order of Carmel entitled Carmel of the Mother of God. The book includes the interesting and traditional acount of the foundation of the Order, mentions the existence of Carmelite nuns as early as 1452, and sketches St. Theresa's reform. More in detail is the inspiring story of the Carmelites' early days in the United States. The Carmel founded in Milwaukee in 1940 is completely described, since the book was written especially at the request of many friends in that city. A frank discussion of the Carmelite's daily routine and of the chief devotions fostered by the Order makes, the book both devotional and instructive. Twelve illustrations and a diagram showing the date and location of each monastery of Discalced Nuns in the United States add further interest. Copies 6f Carmel of the Mother of God may be obtained at Carmel, 4802 West Wells Street, Miiwaukee, Wisconsin. The price is fifty (50) cents.--C. A. CHAPMAN, S.J. 306 The N. andling of Sacred Vessels and Linens James E. Risk, S.J. SO GREAT is the reverence due the HolyEucharist tha~ the Church not only requires that special respect be shown to persons dedicated to the service of the Altar, but also demands that the sacred vessels and linens used in the Holy S~acrifice be accorded reverential treatment. ¯ The law regulating this treatment is expressed in Canon I306, one of the canons governing the externals of divine worship. The first,part of the canon prescribes that no on,e except clerics and sacristans be permitted to handle the chalice and paten, and the purificators, palls, and corporals that have not been cleansed after having been used in the Holy Sacrifice. The second part of the canon prescribes that the first washing of purificators, palls, and corporals used in the Holy Sacrifice be performed by a cleric in major orders, and not ~y a layman, even a religious, and that the water from this first washing be thrown into the sacrarigm or, if this be lacking, into the fire. The objects of the first prohibition are the consegrated chalice and paten, and certain linens that have been used in the Mass itself, namely, purificators, palls, and corporals. The corporal always comes into contact with the sacied .species; and both pall and purificator are !ikely to do so. The pall can absorb traces of the Precious Blood that may adhere to the rim of the chalice; the.purificator can absorb either minute particles of the Host or tiny. drops of the- . Precious Blood; though, generally speaking, none of these should remain after the ablutions. To avoid confusion, it may be useful to refer to some 307 JAMES E. RISK objects that lie outside the restrictions of this "law. The Code is silent about the ciborium, the pyx, and the lunette. Though these contain the Sacred Host at times, they are not consecrated, and they are not, properly speaking, objects whose function is directl~t connected with the Mass. Need-less to say, only a priest or a deacon may handle these ves-sels when they contain the Sacred Host. No special rest~ric-tion affects the handling of purificators, palls, and corporals that ,have never been used at Mass or that have been used, but in the meantime cleansed. The corporal used at Bene-diction is not included in the prohibition; nor are the. chalice veil, burse, vestments, and other accessories of the Holy Sacrific.e. But it is well to note here that the absence of any prohibition do~s riot excuse anyone, cleric or lay-man, from observing a reverential attitude towards al! obje4ts in any way connected with the Sacrifice of the NeW Law. Priests and religious, by word and example, should inculcate this lesson of reverence in the minds of the young, lest a carelessness born of familiarity towards holy things supplant an attitude of respect. The persons allowed to handle these sacred objecFs. according to the. first part of the canon, fall into two classes, namely, clerics and sacristans. One who receives the ton-sure formally enters the clerical state a~cording to Canon 108. Such a one may tOUCh the sacred vessels used at Mass as well as the linens described above. The second class comprises sacristans or, as the Code puts it, "those who have custody" of those objects. Sacristans are usually given charge of the sacristy and all the liturgical equipment. An assistant sacristan would enjoy the same right since he would come under the heading of those entrusted with the care of the sacred vessels. Since the law contains no restricting clause, we may conclude that the office of sacristan may be filled by man or woman, religious or lay. 308 SACRED VESSELS AND LINENS ¯ By inference we know those who are excluded from any contact with the sacred vessels or linens. They are those who have never been formally inducted into the clerical state by reason of the tonsure and those who are in no wise charged with the care of the sacristy or the altar furnish-ings. The mere fact that one is a religious does not confer on him this right. An emergency wouldjustify the handling of the sacred vessels or linens by anyon.e. Danger of theft or irreverence or harm of any kind would demand their removal to a. place of safety by any one of the faithful who ¯ happened to b~ 6n hand. To prevent immediate contact with the sa~cred vessels a cloth is sometimes used. This is a laudable custom, but there is no obligation to follow it, It may not be out of place to .propose the following question, closely allied to the matter under discussion. Who may arrange the chalice for the priest who isabout to cele- .brate Mass? The first answer comes fr.om the Rite to be Follovoed .in the. Celebration of Mass, Title ,1, no. l., instructing the celebrant to prepare the chalice. The Sacred Congregation of Kites, in response to a query, permitted such a preparation to be made by one who is allgwed by law or Apostolic privilege to touch the sacred vessels, but in the same response it recommended that the celebrant' him-self carry out the prescription of the Rite of Celebration just mentioned. This is found in the Authentic Decrees of the Sacred .Congregation of Rites, no 4198. ~ The second part of Canon 1306 concerns the first washing of pu~ificators, palls and corporals used in the Holy Sacrifice. These objects are mentioned in particul~ar because they are used in the Holy Sacrifice in such a way as ' to come into contact with the sacred species; the corporal, since it providesa resting place for the Sacred. Host; the pall and puriticat0r, since their functions do not exclude the possibility of contact with the sacramental species. The 309~ "JAMES E. RISK same may' be true to a very slight extent of the little purifi-cator used to dry the fingers of the priest who has distrib-uted H61y Communion outside of Mass or who has helped the celebrant to distribute Communion during Mass. No other linens are affected by this law. .Persons allowed to wash these linens are clerics in major orders to the exclusion of all others. The washing reserved to major clerics is the first washing, a more thorough cleansing being left to others. The two 'additional washings are.traditional but not obligatory, nor is there any obliga-tion to throw into the sacrarium the water from these addi-tional washings. The exclusive nature of this function is clear from the exhortation given to those about to be ordained subdeacons. The ordaining Bishop addresses them in these words: "- "°Dearly beloved sons, who are about to receive the 'office of the subdiaconate, consider with care the nature of the ministry which is given to you. It is the duty of'the subdeacon . to wash the altar cloths and the corporals ¯ . the cloths which are laid over the altar should be washed in one vessel, and the corporals in another. And none of the other linens should be washed in the watei in which the corporals have been washed, and this water should be thrown into the sackarium." Any exception to the law expr~essed in Canon 1306, part. 2, must be granted by the Holy See. The Congrega-tion for the Propagation of the Faith, realizing the emer-gencies and the inconveniences that often arise in the mis-sion fields, has granted to missionary Bishops the faculty to permit Sister sacristans to perform the/irst Washing of the, purificators, palls and corporals; a duty reserved by law to " those.in sacred orders, as we have just seen. When there is a serious reason for it, this same privilege can be obtained 310 SACRED V~SSELS AND LINENS from the Congregation of Religious for Sister~ outside mis= sion districts: A final word concerning the oblioation imposed by canon 1306. The first part of the canon does not seem to impose a strict obligation on lay persons not to touch the sacred vessels and linens, but merely a caution for superiors not to let them do so. The second part of the canon is" phrased more strictly: "Purific.ators, palls, etc . must not be given to lay persons for washing . . . ': To delib-erately act contrary to this prohibition without a sufficient reason-would be sinful; though, in the opinion of eminent commentators, it would not be a serious sin, as the matter is hardly grave, and the irreverence manifested would be slighk. Of coursea special emergencTmight arise in which these linens shouldbe cleansed without delay. The absence . of a major cleric and.the inconvenience involved in finding one would then justify a lay sacristan in performing the first washing of these linens, and no sin would be com-mitted in the case. The spirit of reverence that has always characterized religious sacristans makes easy the observ.ance of this law. PAMPHLET NOTICES VChat is the Bible? by the Reverend Frar.cis P. LeBuffe, S.$. Revised edition. Single copy by mail, 12 cents; 50 copies, $4.00; 100 copies, $7.00; The America Press,-70 East 45th Street, New York" 17, N. Y. Indulgence Ale, and Little Praq. ers with Plenary lndulg~nces--both by the Reverend Francis J. Mutcl~., Each 10 cents per single copy; 5 for 25 cents; 100 for $3.50. Our Sunday V.isitor Press, Huntington, Indiana. 311 The Principle ot: Leadership in Ca :holic Action Youree Watson, S.J. ARE we religious perfectly satisfied with the youth com-mitted to our care? On the whole our boys and girls are "good".---no question of that. One cannot but be aware, however, that in most of our young people this goodness is mixed with" a more or less high degree of world-liness, so that a painful new question inevitably presents itself: will they stay good after they have left us? We must acknowledge that very many of our Catholic students! are worldly. Their ambitions are of the earth: their heroes and heroines are from Hollywdod, not Heaven; their daydreams revolve around the hope of amassin~g a for-tune with its accompaniment of pleasure and prestige, or of wielding great power and influence (of course, they will be benevolent despots!) or of living long, comfortable (ig-noble) days. Surely they intend to pay to God the tribute of weekly devotion, and in many cases considerably more; but in their ordinary daily thinking the supernatural life of 0~grace doesn't loom very large or shine very brightly, so that we wonder if in the end they will not be ensnared by the spirit of this .world and come to have much the same point of view on life as the pagans who surround them. Why this worldliness? The obvious answer is that it springs from the worldly environment in which our youth live. And when I say "environment," I am not using the 1Although in this article the technique of specialized Catholic Action is for the sake of definiteness applied to a particular environment; namely, that of the student worid: nevertheless, with certain minor adjustments the very same technique is equally applicable to other environments, as that of farmers, or of workers, or of professional men and women: doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc. 312 LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION word in ~i narrow sense. All the numerous-influences that come tO a person from without--the sounds that crowd ~his ears, the sights that flood his eyes, and all the "meaning" which these carry---constitute his environmentl Almost every action of a man is at the same time a reaction tohis milieu. Understood in this broad way the influence of en-vironment on character is of incalculable importance. If then we are to lead the masses of our youth to the feet of Christ, we must take into serious consideration the environment, the milieu, in which they live. If the cus-todian of a goldfish pond discovers that his fish are slowly dying because of some poisonous substance in the water, he doesn't engage in the long-drawn-out task of treating each fish separately with some specific remedy., o.nly to leave him in the water to be. reinfected--no, he simply proceeds to change the water. The efficient process of saving souls is not dissimilar. Why.do we insist that Catholic parents send their chil-dren to ou[ religious schools,, if not in order that these may receive their education in a proper environment? Certainly, relative to the environment of a public school, the "atmos-phere" of any St. 2oseph's or St. Anne's Academy is deft-nitely superior. But we must not deceive ourselves; what we.say to thi~ pupils in tl~e classroom is only a part of the school environment and, from the point of view of charac-ter training, not the most important part. Most teachers will no doubt agree that our students are more affect.ed by what the majority of their companions think and do than by all we can tell them about what they ought to do. Besides, a student is not exposed merely to the school environment. First of all there is the home, which of the several elements of the total environment is in the longrun the most important. If the home is truly Christian, our worries will be halved from the start. However, a specia! 3'13 YOUREE WATSON factor for teadhers to bear. in mind is that from early, ado-lescence the influence of parents is very considerably lessened bY. the natural craving for independence from older people --"freedom from the apron strings"--that awakens atthis period. But child and home alike are strongly affected by the influences of our great public amusements: the movies, radio, books, and magazines (to say nothin, g of comics and comic books). These too are youth's environment, insofar as they constitute the matter of his exp.eriences, the source 6f innumerable ideas and judgments, his stimuli to action. All these are, as a rule,, not imme'diate!y d~ingerous; it is their slow but steady inciHcation of false attitudes on life that makes the Christian educator fear them. How often, for example, do they not show, in vivid, concrete portrayal,. how~a person can be supremely happy without the aid of God and religion! It is a platitude to say these public amusements are pagan, but like so many .platitudes itstates a truth too often .ignored. No one who allows himself frequently to enjoy such things, and does notat the same t~me react against the wrong attitudes of mind which they so commonly imply, can possibly escape being tainted with naturalism, or, if you prefer, worldliness. He will come ultimately ~o consider the supra-sensible world--terra ir~cogrlita to most movie and radio stars and to heroes of fiction~as of little practical importance. Religion will be thor.oughly dissociated from life. It is this propaganda of modern paganism, joined with a constant association with an ever-growing number of religious indifferen.tists, which acts on home and individual to pervert the straight-ness of our Christian thinking. We immediately recognize the fact that, if we are seri-ously interested in training the. character of our young charges, we must in some way try to improve their environ- 314 LEADERSHIP IN C~THOLIC ment. outside the hours of formal class, and even the environment of the classroom insofar as it is not constituted by. ourselves how many classroom traditions of indolence, inattention, cheating~ oi of something-less-than-innocent deviltry flourish sometimes in our despite! ' Now, we cannot affect the family environment directly: no more.~an we affect the "public amusement environ-ment," except, perl3aps, negatively in our boarding schools. "What then can we affect? That which, when all is said and done, is, for older students at least, probably the most important of all environmental factors: the influence of fellow-students. But are we not in a vicious circle? What can we do to influence the student milieu bther than to prepare with utmost diligence our catechism classes, our little spiritual talks, our references to God and His saints scattered thrgughout the daily lessons? No more, perhaps, is possible to us working as teachers on the student mass as a whole, but there is a certain indirect approach which may prepare wl, iite harvests for our zeal. We must get allies amongthe stu-dents, must win over to the cause of Christ's apostolate two or three leaders, and then set them to work on their fellow students. ~This is according to the. principle of "like to like" recommended so warmly by our late pontiff, Plus XI: "Each situation will have then," he tells us, "its corre-sponding apostle: the apostles of the workers will. be workers; the apostles of the farmers will be farmers; the apostles of the seamen will be seamen; the apostles of the ¯ students Will be students." We have thus far considered a grave problem of our times--the poisoned air of modern life in which our Cath-olic youth must breathe and grow--and we have intimated its solution; namely, specialized Catholic Action with its leadership technique. Catholic o.~ganizations for youth 315 YOUREE \VAT$ON have always stressed the importance.of developing le'aders, but specialized Catholic Action is,entirely based on wha~ we might call the principleof leadership. This can be simply expressed.as follows:, there are leaders in every human environment: namelyl peisons who havea strong influence on others, whose personal opinions become the opinions of many, whose conduct or misconduct sets the style, so to speak, for their companions. To this tru, th is the corrol-lary: there are followers, persons easily influenced one way or the other. Of course, there are many degrees in the abil-ity to lead; but a really powerful personality will usually -be able to override, the weaker influence of lesser leaders. This is true whether on a world scale a dictator sways the thought of millions, or a fourteen-year-old student man-ages to get the crowd to accept his ideas and schemes. ¯ " One might argue that this "principle of leadership" seems undemocratic. The objection is at once seen to be point1~ss, for by this "principle" we say no moie than that men have different degrees of intelligence, imagination and emotion, of temperamental-courage and prudence. Again~ the "principle" merely states the fact of natural leaflets: it. does not assert that these persons have any right to govern others authoritatively, unless they should be delegated to this by popular choice. Can one deny, . moreover, " that it is ordinarily the natural leaders who rise to politicalpower even in a democracy? It is not different in the case of social influence in factory or farm or classroom. If there are natural leaders-~-as psychology and litera-ture and, indeed, every' day experience affirm--it is of utmost importance in the battle ever going on between Christian. and pagan-influences in the various environments that we win leaders to serve wholeheartedly and with the deepest conviction on Christ's side. But there are many . ¯ leaders in every environment, and some will not easily be .3.16 LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION brought to fight for the Christian ideal, so that we must content ourselves in the beginning at least with winning over ttvo or three leaders of considerable influence. Of course, these leaders acting alone could never change the whole environment of'a school. However, with the aid of a powerful, closely-knit organization based on the prih-ciple of leadership they could go far toward the realization of this[ The Catholic Action cell with its ramifications provides, us with such an organization. Organization is necessary. Some peopl~ have an unreasonable contempt for organization. They could learn a lesson from the Corffmunists and Nazis, who have suc-ceeded in firing their youth with a burning enthusiasm for their false doctrines by means of an extremely well-organized onslaught on their intellectk and emotions. "Organization," wrote Pius XI, "is a necessity of the time." Lal~er in a public discourse he added: "Good, well-disciplined organization can alone achiev~ full succesS." The present papal Secretary of State, in a letter written, two years ago to the president of the Canadian Semaines L%ciales, after recalling the exposition of Catholi~ Action given by our present pontiff, Plus XII, added by way of further specification" "Catholic Action is a strongl~j organ-ized collaboration, differentiated according to the different categories of persons to be reached. " There are, as we know, many types of organization. What we want is an apostolic organization, one whose pri-mary aim is the conquest of so.uls, whose spirit is militant Catholicism, and whose dynamic structure gives full scope to the leaders to lead., Such again, as we shall show, is the organization proper to the Catholic Action cell With its" accompanying teams. The cell is a group of about eight persons exercising a very active apostolate, a group of young students or factory 317 YOURE~- WATSON workers or farmers or others determined to win over their environmentto a more thorough and living Christianity. Their characteristic technique is the Social Inquiry. This. consists of three fundarriental steps:-OBSERVE, JUDGE, ACT. According to these, they first investigate the state of their environment, usually in regard to some particular religious or moral question. In a school such topics as the following would b'e looked into: the spirit of fraternity among students, attitude of students toward study, honesty in school work and games, attitude toward authority, ,atti-tude in regard to the Mass, preaching, religion class, and so forth. Other inquiries would take up corresponding prob-lems of the students' home life. As each of these larger inquiries would constitute more or'less a whole year's work, their would all be subdivided into a number of subordinate inquiries. Having carefully observed the actual situation--a process which may include several weeks in a minor in-' quiry--the militants will next consider what the ideal situation would be. A most effective way of doing this is by a sort of group meditation on those Gospel passages which bear on the problem in hand. If no immediately pertinent passages can be. found, then the teaching of the catechism, supplemented by information from moral and ascetical theology, can be substituted for these. Naturally, the-guidance of a priest or religious is always called for here. The alI too common, but none the less sad, discrepancy between the actual and the ideal will awaken in the student pity and the desire to do something to help out, and also, if he be a real leader, a definite sense of responsibility for others who, perhaps with no less good will, are less blessed than he with religious conviction and moral strength. This,. the Judge stage of the inquiry, consists ultimately in a 318. , LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION firm practical judgment: "I ought to do somdthing about this." Exactly what is to be done must now be decided on --both a long range activity and also some definite things for the next weekl Lastly there comes the all important execution--the action toward which all cell activity is orientated. The main features of the cell and its technique were well described in an article by Father Albert S. Foley in the May issue of this REVIEW. Moreover, all those who would actually wish to start a cell can find all essential material in The Technique of the Catholic Action Cell Meeting. Thi~ excellent booklet was recently compiled by Father Stephen Anderl and Sister M. Ruth (see REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, July 15, 1943,. Bboklets, p. 251). In the present article, as we consider.anew the workings of the technique, we can tOUCh on many points which for lack'of .space could not be takefi up in Father Foley's article: but above all we wish to observe as we go along how the principle of leadership comes into play. Theyoung person who is most outstanding for his apostolic leadership will naturally become the president of the Catholic Action organization. As the most zealous of the officers, he is expected to keep the ardor of his two fel-low officers up as close as possible to his own high level. (while their companionship will save him from the weak-ness of isblation). All three--president, s~cretary, and treasurer--constitute a .governing committee made up of the most ardent of the youthful lay apostles in the cell. As "apostles of. the apostles" they must be given very special attention by the director (in oNcial Catholic Action this is always the chaplain appointed directly or indirectly by the bishop; but in many schools a rel!gious assistant exercises much of the immediate direction under the .general super-vision of the chaplain, who, moreover, must attend to his 319 YOUR~ ~'rATSON priestly function ~f guiding souls). If the chaplain or assistant cannot be present at the officers' meeting, the preside.fit of the Catholic Action organization should dis-~ cuss all important matters'with the one or the other ahead of time. Why the officers' meeting? Precisely in accordance with the principle of leadership. The officers are leaders relative to the ordinary cell.members; they are to e'xert their encour-aging influence on the rest. They will surely do this if they have come together ahead of time and planned the mat-ter to be brought up in the cell meeting. They will then be able ~o furnish fresh ideas, if these seem to lag, and new motives Wherethese are called for; they will at the same time h~ve organized a united front which tho~e who would be tempted to think certain points in a campaign a bit too difficult will find it hfird to resist. We have seen the-princ!ple of leadership active within the cell itself. In the actual apostolate of the cell members --whkh .we are now to consider--its application is even more important. To. begin with, the apostolic influence W-hich the cell exerts is of two kinds: general, by means of all the ordinary types of propaganda--talks, skits, posters, bulletins, and so forth; personal, by means of man-to-man contact. Both are important, but the latter is more distinc-tive of the cell-movement and absolu~el3~ indispensable to its success. I.t is carried on chiefly through small groups known as "teams." The "team," which is certainly an integral part of cell technique as it has been worked out in the now interna-tional movement of Jocism, has sometimes been too much neglected in the "cell movement" of this country. How- .ever, according to the best practice here as elsewhere the cell is made up of "leaders of teams." In Joci~t literature, to 320 LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION be sure, the cell rfieeting is often--and properly--called "the meetinKof team leaders." What is a team? It is a group of about four or five persons under the influence of, a leader. The names given to this leader indicate what is expected of him: in New England among the Franco-Americans he is known as a "'responsable"; and this key virtue of responsib!lity is also stressed in their slogan, "Your team is your family!" More commonly he is known as a "militant." As his name im-plies, the militant is a full-fledged apo.stle, lavish of his time. and energy for Christ, willing to do hard things for the tri-umph of His cause. The team member is one who, while not willing to "go all Out" for Christ, is, nevertheless, willing to cooperate in m. any ways with his militant leader in his apostolic work. A militant's team will be drawn from those with whom the militant fihds himself in most frequent contact. For the most part they.will be those whom he would naturally influence, including, perhaps, a couple of close friends; for, after all, the first ones whom the militant should wish to lead to a closer service of the Ideal are those most intimately associated with him: his brothers and sisters, his friends, his acquaintances. The militant should gather his team together~the more informally the better-~- at least every two weeks (whereas the officers' meeting and cell meeting would be a ¯ weekly event); he will, of course, keep in frequent touch with the individual members, giving special attention ~to anyone whom he thinks to be of leader caliber, c~pable himself of becoming a militant. It is not necessary, how-ever, for an evident leader to pass a definite term of appren- ' ticeship on a team. We begin to see how the good personal influence radi-ates. In any particular inquiry with its resultant campaign the initial spark may come from the chaplain Or religious 321" YOUREE ~rATSON assistant of the .Catholic Action group, but it is essential that the cell officers.catch fire. At the cell meeting the~e set aflame the Other members of the cell. ¯ Each of these mili-tants has, in turn, the primary task of communicating his convictions to his team; thenhe must raise them ~o that pitch of enthusiasm wherein they themselves-will b~ suffi-ciently apostolic-minded to try to get yet others to see the thing as they do.If ~ach team member on the average wins over one other person, see how far the ~'drive" will have gone already! Let us say there are seven young people in the cell, each with a team of about four members. Then twenty-eight.persons will be actively engaged in promoting any campaign decided upon by the cell. Th~se twenty-~ eight~will get at least twenty-eight more. Then some of these last "sympathizers" can be counted on to exert fur-ther influence, to win over,,say, fourteen more; so that at the beginning of every concerted effort toward the realiza,- tion of the Christian social order the leaders could count on about seventy regulars! If the .general propaganda is well conducted dozens more are.sure to "come around"; while as the thing becomes more and more widespread, many oth-ers will "climb on the bandwagon." The team is the ordinary instrument by which the leaders keep in touch with the mass and leaven it. For the benefit 6f those who may doubt the necessity of this some-what complicated system of personal contacts, we might call to mind again the "good" example of the Communists and Fascists along these lines. But to choose a less exotic illustration,' let us .consider one of our own American political campaigns. If a person has anyknowledge of the procedure~ followed--which is in the last analysis purely and simply an effort to persuade people to do something, for example, to vote for such and such a candidate he will realize that for this, cell-team organization is both 322 LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION natural and essential. ~There will be general propaganda in such a campaign: poste.rs, handbills, newspaper articles, and so forth. But no candidate would dream of doing with-out a little cell of supporters in every important voting center--a cell of campaigners who Willwork chiefly by personal contact, who will try to enlist to the cause more and more active supporters or at least sympathizers who, when occasion offers, will put in a good word for their side. This. organization may be ordained for a very different ultimate purpose from the organization found in Catholic Action, but their immediate end is the same--to influence public opinion. Catholic Action organization too must take into account the general rules of persuasion, and the natural ways of'ieading the public mind. This is what the new technique actually does. It is apparent that it demands a lot, not only from youth, but likewise from us, the chaplains or. assistants. Nevertheless, the resialts will be so exceedingly worthwhile (and the consequences of Our failure to invigorate the reli-gion of our student masses so terrible) that there is not one among us who will stop to count the cost. The results have been e.xceedingly worthwhile wher-ever it has been seriously tried by competent directors. For - all this is not just "theory"'; movements using this tech-nique are flourishing~in some eight different countries and are well established in about fifteen more. Even in our own United St~ites, where the movement hardly dates back more than four years, it is being carried out in very many places. And as elsewhere so also among us such organizations, whether operating independently or as a sort of "apostolic committee" within some larger, long approved organiza-tioi~, are in a particularly effective and intimate way pre-paring leaders for Catholic Action--o~cial Cathoiic Ac-tion, if the bishop of the diocese should see fit to give his 323 YOUREE WATSON mandate for~this, as indeed several, bishops have already done in particular instances.2 Young men and women, boys and girls are getting their companions to live fuller Christian lives. Sometimes we read that they have cured an unhappy lad of the habit of telling dirty stories; again we hear of them stopping an epidemic of cursing. Now we find them substituting admiration for Christ for admiration of Superman; now they will be .getting their fellows to go back to the Sacra-ments, which they have been neglecting. In one city a year after their first beginnings nearly every cell had either won a convert or brought Several fallen-away Catholics back to the Church--and often enohgh such successes as these are won 'under circumstances which call for truly heroic courage and charity on the part of the"young, layo leaders. To sum up, these militants are fighting for whatever will promote thereign Of Christ in the student world--anything f~om changing public opinion on the relatively mild moral blight of cheating in class to remedying the truly grave evils of. over-drinking and improper dating. Their Work is by no means all negative; rather it is fun-damentally positive. In their observation of. the actual mbral and religious situation of the environment, they seek for every force tending to uplift and do all in their power to encourage it. Sucha spirit leads themmallowance made for human weakness--to cooperate with all our older Cath-olic organizations, to work through them and with them, and, when occasion offers, to serve them. 2It is necessary to distinguish between Catholic Action less properly so-called, by which is 'meant any apostolic lay activity, and Catholic Action in the strict sense of the term, which designates a particular, definite organization with an episcopal man-date for its apos.tolate. For a complete explanation of'the nature and char;icteristics of Catholic Action the reader is referred to Father Win. Ferree's booklet: "'An Introduction to Catbollc Action," N.C.W.C. (Washirigton, D.C.) and to Arch-bishop Charbonneau's Pastoral Letter, The Apostolate Press, 1 I0 E. La Salle Ave., Southbend, Indiana. 324 LEADERSHIP IN CATHOLIC ACTION This movement is by now firmly established in some of our schools.However, through our graduates, specialized Catholic Action should spread among the workers and other groups. This, as. Bishop McGavick says in his inspiring foreword to the booklet on cell technique referred to above, is the gr~at hope of th~ Church~ The achievements thus far would, indeed, seem to jus-tify this h0pe.They may well be illustrated by the story of a former militant in a mid-western university. This young man was suddenly snatched out 9f school and sent to a naval training base. The job assigned to him was that of clerk in ~n office under a Master of Arms who ~uns a certain company. This MA was a fallen-away Catholic, and foul-mouthed. However, the militant, who happe.ns to look amazingly mild and unaggressive (a leader does not have to be noisy and self-assertive!), started to use what he had learned in the cell back at the university. He "brought. this MA round," got him to stop obscenities, and took him to the chaplain to have his marriage fixed up. Now the MA is making every "gob" whom he hears using bad language scrub out a barracks, sends .others /~o Mass or to church; or something of the sort. He is also reading a good deal of Catholic literature supplied by the young apostle, who likewise gave him his rosary, medals, and whatnot when the MA asked for them. The sailors call this militant the "preacher," but he just laughs at them, jokes good-humoredly with them, gets them to attend Mass, even got a crowd of them to go to Mass and Communion every day~ for a week before Mother's Day. He is now working on the problem of "leaves." Many of tl-;e young boys go out tothe tough districts of nearby cities and come back with souls badly stained. He is trying to get a team of older fellows quietly to plan leaves and week-ends and herd ~mall groups of youngsters around to 325 YOUREE WATSON decent e.ntertainment. T~is means plotti~g~ getting tickets, spending much time that he might employ for himself in legitimate recreation. Yet his apostolic ,~pirit and his sense of responsibility drive him on to new battles for Christ. _ ~ There ha~ existed for centuries an all too popular mis-conception that only priests and religious are supposed to" be saints, that theirs alone is the business of sa3ring souls. This false notion has been the cause of truly calamitous losses in the realm of grace. Theologians have often dem-onstrated the falsity of this ancient, Satan-born lie; our young militants are even more effectively disproving it by the Christ-like beauty of their deeds. So enthusiastic are these Catholic Actionists, so zealous in their apostolate, so ardent in their desire to Serve (the movement has been called "charity on the march"), so strong in their conviction of the social lessons of the doc-trine of the Mystical Body, that the story of their efforts and victories--may it some day be written in fullmreminds us not a little of the things we read about the first Christians in the Acts of the Apostles. If we were to try to sum up their spirit in a word or tWO, we should say it is a spirit, of Christian conquest; for our new techniqu~ has truly revealed to us many a secret in the art of training leaders for the arrfiy of Christ. It was doubtless with such glbrious possibilities in mind that Cardinal Lepicier, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation ofReligious, some years back called "the knowledge of Catholic Action henceforth indispensable to all who are engaged in the education of Christian youth." 326 . Devotion t:he I-Ioly Name 0t: ,Jesus Gerald Ellard, S.J. #/~ .SPECIFIC devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus is a legacy to us ~--~ from the Middle Ages. A zealous son of St. Francis has recently. summarized the history of the devotion in a doctoral disserta-tion, presented at St. Anthony's Pontifical "Athenaeum" in Rome, and no.w published in this countr~y.1 Its style is lively, not to say, sprightly; its factual data, well-substantiated; its inner story, very intei:esting. If the roots of the devotion are traced to some classic patristic'phs-sages, which were quoted by medieval v)riters with all manner of ascription, still it is in the written records of the twelfth century that the devotion is found to have taken on'its characteristic notes and forms. St. Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109), St. Bernard (d~ 1153), and his great Cistercian contemporary, St. A~Ired of Rievaulx, Eng-land, (d. 1167), were among the foremost prom0ters'of the devo-tion at that time, 'as; in the subsequent century, was the author of the desu dulcis mernoria. Under Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) .a Mass in honor of the Holy Name was first approved. St. Francis of Assisi _(d. 1226) bequeathed to his order a special reverence for;the written Name of Jesus. Under the presidency of St. Bonaventure, the Coun-cil of Lyons (1274) decreed that all should bow. the head on hearing o? pronouncing the Name of Jesus. In the fourteenth, and early fifteenth c~nturies, most particularly in northern Italy, this devotion was giving its prestige to multiple associations, confraternities, and even institutes of religious. Thus in 1338, tb~ C~mpagnia del GesC~, a group of flagellants.at the Santa Croce Church in Florence, claiming a long corporate existence, was .given by ~xtension the privileges of the Friars Minor (pp. 122-3). More .famous" were the Jesuati, and their female counterpart, the Jesuatesses, respectively a nUrsing brotherhood and sisterhood founded in 1354 at Siena by Blessed John Columbini and his cousin, .Blessed Catherine Columbini. The men's organization had existence as a religious institute for three full centuries, the women's for more than five hundred years. ~History of the Det~elopment of Deootion to the Holy Name. By Peter R. Biasi-otto, O.F.M. Pp. xii q- 188. St. Bonaventure, New York, 1943. $1.50. Page numbers cited in the present article refer to this book. 3217 GERALD ELLARD Of course'the greatest popularizer of devotion to the Hbly Name was the Sienese Franciscan, St. Bernardine (d. 1444), by means of his celebrated painted monogram. St. Bernardine founded in Siena in1425 what he called the "'sotietas benedicti nominis Yhesus," (p, 123). .o An interesting linking of Franciscan, Domini~can and Jesuit for-tunes is seen in the circumstance that the oldest Holy Name Society in Rome was St. Bernardine's foundation in 1427 in a small church that then occupied part of the site of the prese.nt Church of the ¯ Gesi~ (pp. 95, 6). The author advances the suggestion that St. Ignatius of Loyola derived his devotion to the Holy Name in part from the then current legendary account of such a devotion on the part of his-patron, St. Ignatius of Antioch. According to the legend, the heart of St. Ignatius of Antioch was cut open after his martyrdom, and there in letters of~gold wasfound the'Name of Jesus. The suggestion does not lack probability, since it is well known that the founder of the ¯ Society of Jesus was at baptism given the Christian name of Inigo, and that he deliberately took the name of Ignatius after his conver- 'sion. The legend concerning St. Ignatius of Antioch is found in the Legenda Aurea, read by the wounded knight of Pampeluna during the period of convalescence that was climaxed by his conversion. St. Be~nardine had much to suffer, chihfly at the hands 0f reli-gi09. s of other institutes, before the devotion he was preaching had overcome all opposition. The dissertation recounts the story, but there-is no need of entering upon it heie. ;i'hestory of the growth of'the devotion is broken off at the .z.enith-pdint, th~ account of the great Battle of Belgrade, 3uly 21-22, 1456, Mien, inspired and led by St. John Capistran, under the sole rallying cry of Iesu, the attacking Christians were victorious over vastly.superior forces of Islam. Among the interesting links with the present age, mentioned at the end of the dissertation, are that the Litany of the Holy Name, suppressed together with nearly all litanies in 1602, was restored to the Universal ~hurch by Pope" Leo XlII in 1886, and that a peti-tion was handed in at the Vatican Couficil for the addition of a Preface of the Holy Name to the Missal. Dodsn't Cardioal New-man tell'us, too, of his own boyhood institution of a prayer-union to be known as the Society of Jesus? 328 , A Summer School. in t:he Spirit:ual/it:e1 Patrick M. Regan, S.J. ACOURSE in the spiritual life is something comparatively new in summer school curricula. Let it be noted at the o.utset that it is not a course in philosophy, a summary treatment of questions in special ethics. Nor is it a course in dogmatic theology ada, pted to the needs and talents of religious. Nor is it, as some insist on calling it, "Religion," a course closely.related to dogma. Neither is it so par-tict~ larized or restricted as a series of lectures on mental.prayer, for example. Rather the spiritual life course pertains to ascetical the-ology, since it has for its purpose the explanation of some aspects at least of the life of perfection religious follow accc~rding to their institute. The particular course in the spiritual life which is. the subject of this article was giyen at Webster College in Webster Groves, Mis-souri, during the past summer. There were some two hundred and fifty Sisters in attendance at the"course, mo~t of them Sisters of Loretto; besides these there were also Sisters of Mercy, Ursulines, Daugh.ters of the Cross, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and Bene-dictines. Textbook The choice of a textbook is as difficult as it is important. One instinctively thinks of The Spiritual Life by Tanquerey; as a matter of fact this text has frequentl3i been used in similar courses. It labors under the difficulty of being too encyclopedic for a six weeks' course. Yet there are not many other works of ascetical theology written in English. One must avoid the mere devotional, since the object of- the course is to teach underlying principles of the life of perfection. Ultimately we selected Dora Aelred Graham's book, The Looe God. The particular advantage of this work is that it treats the essential element of the spiritual life, the love of God, under various 1During the summer the Sisters of Loretto provided courses in the spiritual life i~ a number of'their larger houses, thus making it possible for practically all their Sisters to attend such a course. Father Regan was one of the many priests conducting the courses. We asked him to give us his impression of his course. The response is contained in the present article.--ED. 329 > PATRICK M.'REG~N" aspects; conversely it gives a conspectus of the spiritual life under its most fundamental aspect. In the words of the author: ". :. we have chosen to discuss the love of God in the light of Thomisfic principles rather than make miscellaneous selections from authorities who, though possessing greater emotional appeal, .are not so fundamentally satisfactory" (p. xii). Furthermore there is the added advan~tage that the spiritual life i~ thus unified, all its parts tied together'by the pre.- dominant idea of the love of God. It was a revelation and inspiration to those who followed the course to consider the way of God as it is treated in thefirst section of the text, "The Nature of the Love of God." The reason for thi~ new enlightenment is significantly brought out in thd very chapter he.adings: "The One Who is Loved; . The One who Loves;" "The Love Itself." Most of the matter treated in these chapters is ordinarily .taken for granted or merely all'uded to in the-fraining of religious; but a study of these c~apters will convince one that the spiritual life suffers greatly from passing over such fundamentals. In thesecohd section of the book, "The Conditions of this Love;" the necessity of growing in knowledge of God takes on new signifi-cance when considered as a condition for growing in the love of Him. Likewise, "Drawing near to God" and "Unworldliness" (two remaining chapters), as conditions of growth in tl~is love of God, appear under a new and attractive explanation. The third section. of Dom Grabam's .book, "The Expression of this. Love," treats: "Prayer," "Self-abnega.tion," and "Action." Our six weeks' c6urse "concluded with the study of prayer as the expr.ession of 19ve. This was an excellent stopping place, as it completed the re-organization, as it were, of the copious life of prayer of the religious under that arresting aspect often heglected: the expression of the love of God. , That each member of the class might have an available record of the ~ourse, a summary of the class lectures was made and issued in the form of mimeographed notes. Not quite so satisfactory as the book itself, these had the advantage of being, considerably less expensive. Each Sister had her own individual set of the notes, which she was free to annotate during the lectures; furthermore they were hers at the end of the course,.a handy reference for future study and meditation. The Lecture As there was a double lecture period, there was danger that the 330 SUMMER SCHOOL IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE course would become dull and tiresome, especially on the hot July days in St. Louis. Moreover, a spiritual life course can easily deteri-orate into a monotonous repetition'of pious platitudes which have been offered the auditors from the early days of their religious life in retreats, exhortations, instructions, rules find books of devotion. The course should be aimed at the enlightenment of the intellect, and very interesting indeed will be reactions of the listeners as theji realize more deeply the what, the how, and the why of the practices of reli-gion._ The lecturer must be prepared tO exhaust all the skill of peda-gogy be may possess to make the course interesting and enlightening. The blackboard with its diagrams.must really slaveto make sublime and abstract thoughts a bit less difficult for the mind to grasp. Count-less examples, as original .as possible so that they' may make a deep impress on the memory, must illustrate the matter at every step. Any-one. who reads a page or two of Dom Graham's book will p~rceive at once he has not steered clear of deep philosophy and theology. But that is precisely what the Sisters want and need, though it must be adapted to their capacity. Lest the matter overawe, insist with the auth6r: "The philosophy of the Church is not an esoteric doctrine; it'is nothing more formidable than common sense and requir.es for its understanding only patience and mental simplicity. Indeed, experi-ence shows that scholarship and imaginative brilliance can often be obstacles rather than aids to anything deeper than a verbal appreciation of the pbilosophia perennis. Here, as in another context,, the things hidden from the wise and prudent are revealed to babes." (p. 5) Variety was also introduced into the class by the use of the "question box," the numerous contributions to which were read and answered at the end of the first period each day. This was found to be the most feasible way of maintaining contact with the audience. It afforded the opportunity of wording questions-carefully and cir-cumvented the fear of speaking out before a large group. Still, many chose oral questions also. Another bit of variety was achieved by electing one of the Sisters as "Mistress of Novices" and referrihg practicaI cases to her. This opened the way to off-the-record discussion which was also helpful. Semi-Retreat But a spiritual life course, to attain its ideal, cannot be merely a series of classroom lectures. AsDom Graham notes on the title page of his book, citing St. John of the Cross: "At eventide they will 331 PATRIGK M. REGAN examine thee in love--." L6ve, as well,as knowledge, should grow in such a course. The soul should reap its harvest,, the spiritual life should be improved, the lessons of the classroom should be reduced to p~actice. And the director of the course should help individual souls in their personal efforts to reduce the principles to practice. Each day, therefore, an hour was set aside for confessions and another hour for individual private conferences. The eager response to these oppor-tunities was clear'enough proof of their great utility. The final exercise of each day was the giving of Points for .the meditation of "the following morning; this afforded the director another oppor-tunity tO bring theoretical teaching down to the plane of practice. The Sisters appreciated this semi-retreat atmosphere. It was somewhat the realization of a dream that has come to many of us in time of retreat: if only we could have a get-together to discuss some of the excellent spiritual matter offered in the various retreat confer-. ences, surely great profit would accrue to our souls. The Sisters realized this to the full. The dinner and supper tables buzzed with di~cussionof the spiritual life, while the conversations at recreation neversuffered from that mid-summer ennui that so often afflicts them. Ai one put it: "We really battled it out and "for once knew what we were talking about"; and another: "Whycan't we have such spirit-ual conversationsMl the year round?" Fruits Only God; of course, can judge the fruits of such a course. But all the indications are that this forward-looking policy of the Sisters of Loretto will pay spiritual dividends fdr years to come. Such enthusiastic participation in the course, such earnest application, such deep interest in spiritual theory and practice must fructify. Not only will each individual gain but the order also will gain by having its whole spiritual tone deepened and made more substantial. While it is true that new knowledge does not necessarily lead to new love and better service, still among religious of high ideals and purposes it can hardly fail to accomplish that result. Thus the certitude we have that we grew in knowledge of God in our summer school of the spiritual life is a trustworthy guarantee that we also grew in love. 332 ommun ca ons [EDITORS' NOTE: The following letters are the first responses to the Editorial in the July number (p. 217). Other communications on Vocation will be welcomed and will be printed ano.nymously unless the writers explicitly request that their names be given. Address communications to: The Editors of Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. The Editors assume no responsibility for the opinions expressed in the com-munications. Judge thegn on their own merits.] Reverend Fathers: I have found on more than one occasion that ~i hopeful candidate for the religious life will seek advice from several persons at the same time. Such a one is inclined to choose the advice more to her liking, though it may not be more to her advantage. I have in mind a girl who had been in the convent. After a few interviews itwas perfectly clear that she had no vocation. But another priest, quite truly not at all familiar with the religious life, advised her to try again. She tried and lasted less than six months. Today she is quite.a nervous wreck and resentful of those who did not "keep her" in religion., Another girl, having made' tw6 attempts at the religious life seeks counsel from a nun and from me. The nun insists that she should try again--though this nun was not of either community which she had tried--and is in opposition to me who advi~e that she sh6uld not try a third time. A former mistress oi~ novices to this girl has assured me that she.had no vocation--a desire but not the gift of vocation--and it is next to impossible to persuade xhis girl that she should seek to settle herself in some position in the world. So Iwould make a point that there should be no more than one who is to guide and direct a vocation. The conflict of advice is almost certain to result in disaster for the advised. Another point on which I should like to see you take a stand is that seco~d. 'and "third attempts, generally are bound to be futile attempts. I do not mean to say that occasionally a girl or a young man may not have made a wrong choice in the first place. But this should be carefully tried and tested before he or she will be ehc0uraged to make a second attempt in a second community. Nor do I mean to say that, where sickness has required that one leave a community, one .might not be readmitted to the community of the first choice; I do not mean to say that when family needs may have forced a departure from 333 COMMUNICATIONS reiigiou~ life such a one cannot be.taken back into the community that had been "home" the first time. But from my experience, and it has been over some twelve or thirteen years, and with ,a couple of scores of those about whom I speak, I don't hestitate to say that if once tried it should not be tried again,, especially if the community .of the first choice would not read-mit the candidate. A community that. makes a specialty of receiying subjects who have belonged to other communitiesis apt to become a home of malcontents. If commfinities--and all of them are in need of subj.ects--could be brought to realize that quality not quantity makes for the best community life and religious spirit, as well as for the accomplishment of. great things for God's .lasting glory, there would be fewer defections from the ranks of religious life and there would be a fuller accomplishment of the ends for which each com-munity was established. Reverend Fathers: , May I suggest, in the matter of irocations, that the observance of the following three-point program thrqughoht the land would lead to a pronounced increase in vocations. To plunge at once in roedias res: pastors can foster vocations to " the priesthood and the religious life'by carrying out the follow, ing program in their respective parishes: 1. Once' a year let them preach one sermon on the priesthood and vocation thereto, and once a year one sermon on the religious life (religious priests, Brothers, and Sisters) and vocation thereto. 2. Once a yearlet them call in "a strange priest," as the expres-sion has it, to give one address to the school children on vocation, on a school day and to give one sermon, at all the Sunday Masses, to all the people on the same .subject. 3. In connection with the above-mentioned sermorls and addresses, as a most effective follow-up, let the pastor see to it that appropriate reading matter on the subject of vocation is placed into the hands of every boy and girl in the parish who is able to read, through whom it will also reach the whole family at home. By following ~his three point program, universal interest will be aroused in the matter of. vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. ', Interest having thus been created in vocations, doubts will also 334. " COMMUNICATIONS arise in the minds of many~ questions will b~ asked. The soil will be tilled and ready for the sowing .of seed that may sooner or later germinate in vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Reverend Fathers: We religious have to be ready to reply, to youth's questions about vocation with answers, that are honest, straightforward, and hu,mbly sincere. But are we truly prepared? First of all, let each ask him or he'self: "Am I myself thoroughly convinced of the greatness, the beauty, the enduring charm and richness of my own vocation?" A disgruntled, popularity-seeking religious doesn't know Christ with ¯ that dey6ted familiarity which makes him yearn to increase the circle of our Lord's close friends. Comradeship always t~lls on. character. When the major objective of life is SELF, there is no room for Jesus and His interests. The true religious is like a pane of plate glass, so crystal-free of selfishness that the Christ in him or her is easily discerned in the Words, motives, .actions, and .smile of everyday life. That warm smile ~--tiny and simple as it may seem--is a priceless boon to the boy or girl who comes seeking a private interview. Frequently young people come with, "I know you are very busy, but do you think you can spare the time to answer a question or two for me? I know you can do it in a minute." Just such a request is our golden oppo.rtunity. That query is" the verbal expression of an interior prompting of the Holy Spirit. Of this we may be certain, for the Prince of Darkness never urges the solu-tion of. doubts by. God's chosen servants. Suppose you were vouch-safed a glimpse into the future and there you saw this young woman or young man.as a Mother. General or some outstanding member of the hier.archy, a zealous missionary, an inspiring Brother or nun. ¯ You would be glad to know that you had been the trusted confidante of a one-time adolescent and perhaps awkward youth, would you not? Cheerfulness, whole-souled sympathetic unddrstanding, interest in all ~hat concerns the youthful caller--these are the keys to the heart which will some day carry on after God has called us to rest in the garden which might well bear the slogan of a Trappist monastery: "Pax Intrantibus." Calmly we may face that long sleep if we have done our pa~t in aiding young folk to find themselves. 335 ¯ Book Reviews THE MASS PRESENTED TO NON-CATHOLIC;S. By the Reverend John P. McGulre. Pp. 80. The Bruce Publishing C;ompony, Milwapkee, 194~3." $ 1.00. O~ all the elements of Catholic worship, the Mass is, perhaps, both the most widely known and unknown to non-Catholics. They know of the Mass througl~ newspaper notations in Sunday Church sections, or from placards at Church doors, or by casual inquiry of Catholics, But it is generally unknown to them in its detail and its world-wide, time-wide, significance. Hence it was a we11-directed zeal that urged Father McGuire, by this brief booklet, "to introduce the average non-Catholic reader to the study of the official act of wbrship of the Catholic Church--the Mass." The n6tion and. 'necessity of sacrifice is treated succinctly. A ¯ detailed explanation of the Mass-liturgy includes the full text of the Ma~s pr.ayers. Twelve pictures of key actions help the exp.lanation. The Mass Pres'ented to Non-Catholics is not controversial but simply explanatory. Hence it is equal also to the p~rpose of introducing Catholics to a better understanding of the focal fact of their faiths-the Mass.--R. E. SOUTHARD, A HANDY GUIDE FOR WRITERS. By fhe Reverend Newfon Thompson, S.T.D. Pp. 248. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1943. $2.00. ¯ This small book aims to provide in convenient form an answer to most of an author's perplexities. It distinguishes the most fre~ ~quently confused synonyms, gives adequate rules for correct punc-tuation, capitalization, and hyphenation, offers detailed instructions for the compilation of an alphabetica.l index and for proofreading, Under the entry "Manuscript" the author makes a number of common-sense suggestions about the preparation "of a manusdript. Under "Spelling".he lists more than twelve pages of words that authors often misspell in their manuscripts. Under "Translation" he offers twelve pages of suggestions to translators, "largely the fruit o~ my limited experience." Although A Handg Guide for. Writers contains little that.is new, it should prove to be a ready and reliable reference work for busy authors and editors.--H. MCAULIFFE, 336 BOOK REVIEWS. AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH BY CENTURIES. By the Reverend Joseph McSorley. Pp. xxlx + J084. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louls, 1943. $7.50. To say that most Catholics, even educated ones, know practically nothing of the history of their Church is to state a regrettable fact. If this situation persists in the future it xvill not be the fault of Father McSorley. This zealous, scholarly Paulist Father has given us a remarkable volume which stands head and shoulders above any simi-lar work obtainable today. To tell the many-faceted story of the Church's first two thousand years in one thousand pages would seem an impossible feat. Yet in that limited space Father McSorley has produced an incredibly full story. In a clear, direct and interesting style the author relates, century by century, the Church's trials and triumphs setting them against their particular political backgrounds. Espedally stressed are the Papacy; Catholic Life in doctrihe, disci-pline, and practice (Official Teaching, Councils, .Art, Education, Writers, Saints); Opposition (Persecution, Heresy, Schism, Other Religions) ; and'the Missions. Over a hundred pages are devoted to the Church in the United States'. primarily a textbook, the book contains many valuable peda-gogical features. These include a preview and summary of each chapter, time charts, maps, bibliographies, and a full, carefully pre-pared index. But the Outline is more than a mere textbook. It contains genuine appeal for the general'~eading public. No teacher.of any field of history can afford to ignore it. No Catholic library can omit it from its shelves. No Catholic who wishes to be well-informed should miss Father McSorley's superb contribution. It is an ideal gift for priests, religious, or laity.--P. T. DERRIG, S.J. THE ONE GOD. By the Reverend Reglnald Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P. Translated by Dom. Bede Rose, O.S.B., S.T.D. Pp. viii -I- 7~16. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1943. $6.00. This volume is a translation of Father Garrigou-LaGrange's Latin commentary on the first twenty-six questions of the Summa Theologica. Students who have perused previous works of the An~lelico professor will be familiar with his general technique and outlook. In this work, the' author has broken down the structure of St. Thomas' article-form into the common "state of the question," 337 BOOK REVIEWS "objection," "doubts," "argument" sequence. Positive material Of thecommentary i~ drawn from Thomistic commentators, both old and new. Scotists, Suarezians, together wi~h the usual modern adversaries, flee to the same slit-trench before the block-busting of the reverend author. This line-up, too, will be familiar to old readers. A preface of thirty-0dd pages on the general character of the Summa~ the basis of St. Thomas' teaching, and theological method iS excellent. The translator has from time tO time appended foot-notes which should do much to aid the none-too-skilled reader. Despite "the hopes which prompted the translation of this opus, it is our opinion that only the clergy or the almost-professional lay-man will find the going tolerable. Ordinary readers will not attempt it. The style, though fairly clear, is often burdened by a compli-cated method of presentation. For the professional student of sacred science and the stout-hearted clergyman this-book will make valuable reading. Patience will be required, besides the will to overlook the bite in many of the author's remark's, born of over-preoccupation With disputes among the schools.--T. C. DONOHUE, S.J. HANDBOOK OF MEDICAL ETHICS. By the Reverend S. A. La Rochelle, O.M.I., and the Reverend C. T. Fink, M. D., C. M. Translated from the Fourth French edition by M. E. Poupore, with the collaboration of the Reverend A. Carter and Doctor R. M. H. Power. Pp. 363. The New-man Book Shop, Westminster, Maryland, 1943. $1.75. The handbook is intended for nurses, physicians, and priests. In format it resembles a small pocket dictionary. It covers the general ethical principles pertaining to conscience and human conduct, a very large number of ethico-medical problems, a number of practical prin-cip. les relative to the Sacraments, and some principles of charity and justice that have special reference to the medical profession. In two appendices it gives the Moral Code for Catholic Hospitals and a num-ber of prayers used by ~he Church on the occasion of ministering to the sick and the dying. A bibliography (mostly French) is included. The book is certainly valuable by reason of the number of sub-jects of which it treats. Yet in many places it seems to lack one qual-ity that seems to me essential to a good ethics book--clarity. Perhaps the real fault lies in the translation.--G. KELLY, S.J. 338 Questions and Answers m32~ What is the exact meaning of the word "constifufions" in the Code? (E.g. canon SOS: "the higher superiors shall be temporary, unless the con-sfifutions determine otherwise." And canon SI6, § 4: "if the consflfu- ¯ lions are silent on ÷he manner of electing the bursars, they shall be elected by the higher superior with the con'sent of his council.") Does the term include the enactments of a general chapter? For all practical purposes the term "constitutions" signifies the collection of laws which govern a religious institute and have been approved by the Holy See, in the case of a pontific~il institute, or b~ the local Ordinar]r, in the case of a diocesan institute. Hence theterm does not include the enactments of a genera! chapter. 33 May a religious superloress bless her subjects? ' A religious superioress may bless her subjects just as a parent~ may bless a child, that is, call down God's blessing upon them. "~his is a private blessing since it is not given in the name of the Church by an authorized minister of the Church. In some of the older orders the rule. prescribes that subjects ask the blessing of their superiors before leaving the house and upon returning. A superioress should not demand that her subjects ask for her blessing, unless the rule or the constitutions require them to do so on certain occasions. 34 We have been told that the Second Council of Baltimore permlfs pub-lic benediction with the Blessed Sacrament in all churches as well as in chapels of religious on Sundays and holidays of obliga÷[on, on feasts of the first and second class, twice a week during Lent, every day during a mis-sion, and during the oc%ve of Corpus Christi twice a day, at Mass and Vespers. May pastors and religious avail themselves of this legislation? While it is true that the Second Council of Baltimore in decree N. 375 legislated for the solemn exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament as stated above, it is difficult to understand how pastors and religious may follow this legislation today. Canon. 1274 339 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS of the Code of Canon Law regulates exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament as follows: "In churches and oratories in which the Blessed Eucharist is reserved with permission, private exposition with the ciborium may be had for any just cause without the permission of the Ordinary; public exposition with the monstrance may be had in all churches on' the feast of Corpus Christi and during the octave, both during Holy Mass and Vespers. At other times a just and grave, particularly pub-lic, cause and the permission of the Ordinary are required even in churches belonging to exempt religious." Canon 6, 1 ? of the Code tells us that all laws, whether general or particular, which are opposed to the prescriptions of the Code are abrogated, unless express mention is made providing otherwise in favor of particular laws. Number 375 of the decrees of the Second Plenary Council is a particular law, and differs from canon 1274, which contains no special mention of particular laws. Hence it seems that the Baltimore law is abrogated by canon 1274. This is also the opinion of Father 3ohn D. M. Barrett, S.S., who has made a thor-ough comparative study of the Councils of Baltimore and the Code of Canon Law.1 If a religious is granted a dlspensatlon~and changes his mind about leavin9 and his congregation is willing to keep him, what steps must be fak~n~in order ~hat he may rema,n in religion? Provided ¯that the rel!gious has not actually accepted the dispen. sation, no steps need be taken in order th~at he may.remain in religion, sin'ce the dispensation is effective only when accepted by the person who requested it. The Sacred Congregation of Religious, in a reply. dated August 1, 1922, stated that a religious who has obtained an indult-of secularization or a dispensation from simple vows can refuse to accept the indult or the dispensation when he receives notice of it from the local superior, provided superiors have not grave reasons to the contrary, in which case they should refer the matter to the Sacred Congregation. On the other hand, the moment the religious who has requested a dispensation from his vows receives the same and freely accepts it XBarrett: A Comparative Studg of the Councils of Baltimore and the Code of Canon Law, Washington, D. C., 1932, p. 153. 340 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS h~ ceases to be a member of the institute, and a dispensation must be obtained from the Holy See to receive him again. N36--- Regarding the testimonial letters required by canon 544, § 2; which is the diocese of origin for a convert: the place where he was born, or the place where he was baptized? Must the testimonial letters be obtained from other dioceses in which he lived for more than a year previous to his conversion? Canon 90 states explicitly that the place of origin, euen/:or a con-uert, is the place in which the father had his domicile or quasi-domicile at the time the child was born. Since canon 544 makes no; exception for a convert, testimonial letters must be obtained likewise from other dioceses in which he lived for more than a year previous to his conversion. No commentator dn this canon, as far as we know, makes an exception in favor of a convert. Our Constitutions read: "Besides fasting and abstaining on the days prescribed by the Church, the Sisters abstain from flesh meat on Wednes-days and Saturdays." Does this impose a double obligation of observing Hne precept of fast and abstinence: namely,,becau~e it is a law of the ~ Church and also because,it" is a part of +he Constitutions? ~ Is it permissible for a superior to grant a dispensation from the rule of abstaining on Wednesdays and Saturdays over a ralher long peri?d of time, say, three months of every year? The purpose of the Constitutions is to impose abstinence on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The days of. fast and abstinence ¯ according to the Law of the Church are mentioned only in passing. ' Hence on Fri.days of the year, the religious in question have only one obligation to abstain, namely, tha't imposed by the gei~eral law of the ~ Church; and on all fast days they have but one obligatibn to fast. However, if a day of abstinence 'prescribed by theChurch happens to fall on Wednesday or Saturday (for instance, the Ember Days), the religious are then under a two-fold obligat~off to observe it. ~The powers of a superior to dispense from the rule :should be defined by the Constitutions. Superiors who are granted the power of dispensing from the Wednesday and Saturday abstinence could remove the obligation imposed by the rule, but if these h@pened to 341 QUESTIONS ~ ANSWERS be also days of abstinence according to the law of the Church, the dispensation from the rule would be of no avail unless the subject were also excused or.di.spensed from this latter obligation. The Code gives superiors of clerical exempt orders the power of dispensing from "the laws of fast and abstinence. Other clerical superiors may ,have special po~ers by delegation. Lay superiors are never given this power. m38u Does a.ssistlncj at Holy Mass from a side. room or back sacristy of a church or from a hallway outside a chapel satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass on Sundays and Holy Day~ of obligation? ~ The ordinary.rule for determining presence at a Mass of. obliga-tion is this: one must be in a place in which he can be reasonably con-sidered as a part 6f the congregation, if. there is a congregation, or at least as United with the priest, if there is no ~ongregation.In practical ¯ terms we say that anyone who is within the .body of a church in which Mass is being celebrated can satisfy his obligation; regarding other places, the obligation can still be fulfilled if the distance sepa-rating the person from the. priest or, congregati6n is not great and if the progress of the Mass can be followed by s6me sensible means. There. appears t6 be no difficulty about the places referred' to in the "question. m39m IS it necessary that one have in mind a specific aspiration to which a plenary indulgence is attached, when making the prescribed visit to a church, or when reciting prescribed prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, or will a general intentidn to gain these indulgences suffice? No, it is not necessary to have in mind a specific aspiration to which an indulgence is attached when making the prescribed visit to a church, or when reciting prayers prescribed for the intentions of the Holy Father. A general intention ~o gain all indulgences, suffices, provided the good works enjoined are. performed. If one wishes to gain an indulgence for the souls in purgatory, a special intention is required, since, under normal conditions; one gains all indulgences for oneself. One may, of course, make a general intention to gain all indulgences possible for the souls in purgatory. Such an intention will prevail until it is revoked. 342 June 29, Iq43: His Holiness, PoPe Pius XII, issued an Encyclical. Letter, M~stici Corporis (of the Mystical Body), which contains an extensive .theolo~gical study of-the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. Though the complete text of the Enc3~ lical is not available at this time, a g.ene~al summary of its contents was sent out from Vatican City on July 3, from which the following points are culled. The first part of the Encyclical explains why the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ: 1) Cl~rist became the Founder of the Church when He invested the Apostles with supernatural poweis after having called them to their high office and instructed them regarding the propagation of the Church throughout the world. 2) Christ is the Head of the Church: primarily in virtue of His supreme dignity and pr~-eminence; also because, while exercising. His power invisi.~bly and

Issue 2.4 of the Review for Religious, 1943. ; A.M.D.G. Review i or Religious JULY 1~, 1943 ~ Shall Weo~Talk About Vocation? . ~The Edlfors Ignatius Of Antioch . -°. ¯ Augustine K~as "Chris÷ in the Refectory . w,~iam J. M,;ore Differing~Currents in the Liturgy ./ . G~rald Ellard Advice to a New Superior , A Spiritual Director Studies Du~ing Novitia÷e . . . . Adam . EII~s Si:,ruples versus Chastity . Gerald'~ Kelly Communication Book~Revlews Questions Answered Decisions of the Holy See ' " VOLUME II '- NUMBE~,4 REVIEW FOR- RELI.GIOU S VOLUME II JULY 15, 1.943 NUMBER OONTENTS SHALL WE TALK°ABOUT VOCATION?--The Editors .217 THE SPIRITUAL MESSAGE OF IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH-- Augustine Klaas, S.J . 220 HOLY CHILDHOOD CENTEiXlNIAL . 234 CHRIST IN THE REFECTORY--William J. Moore, S.J .~.235 ¯ DIFFERING CURRENTS IN THE LITURGY, TOO--Gerald Ellard, 2S4.J3. BOOKLETS . 251 ADVICE TO A NEW SUPERIOR (By a Spiritual Director) .2.52 STUDIES DURING THE NOVITIATE--Adam C. Ellis, S.J .2.5.5 SCRUPLES VERSUS CHASTITY Gerald Kelly, S.J . 263 BEATING THE AIR IN PRAYER (A communicatiqn) .2.68 BOOK REVIEWS (Edited by Clement DeMuth. S.J.)-- THE EXEMPTION OF RELIGIOUS IN CHURCH LAW-- By the Reverend Joseph D. O'Brien, S.J. 270 ON THE PRIESTHOOD. By Saint 3ohn Chrysostom .272 THE BOOK OF CATHOLIC AUTHORS (2nd Series)-- Edited by.Walter Romig . 273 TALES FROM THE RECTORY-- By the Most Reverend Francis C. Kelley . 274 HOW TO THINK. By Arthur D. Fearon . 27~e THE LOVE OF GOD. By Dom Aelred Graham, O.S.B .2.7.5 HYMNS OF THE DOMINICAN MISSAL AND BREVIARY-- By the Reverend Aquinas Byrnes, O.P. . 276 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE . 277 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 26. Use of Golden Jubilee Gift . 278 27. Renouncing Share of Inheritance or 15ension . 278 28. Appointment of Local Councilors and Bursar . ~ . . 279 29. Title of "Mother" for former General .¯ . 280 30. Questioning Applicants about Parents' Marriage . 280 31.Canonical Meaning of "Legitimacy" . .280 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, July, 1943, Vol. II, No. 4. 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." Copyright, 19,43, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Sub~¢rlption price: 2 dollars a year. Printed ia U. S. A. Shall We .Talk About: Vocal:ion? The Editors OUR recently concluded discussion of spiritual direc-tion indicated that ~ve can derive considerable profit from a mutual interchange of views. For this.reason we sl~ould like to continue the Communications department in the REVIEW and we think it advisable to directthe com-munications toward some d~finitely useful subject. From a number of suggestions offered us, we hav, e concluded that a~highly profitable subject would be Vocation. Certainly Vocation is an interesting subject to all of us, and atthis time it is more practical than tisual. For several years most religious institutes in this country, particularly those of women, have-been acutely conscious of the need of more vocations. The war is increasing the p~oblem. Any-thing we can do by way 6f mutual help in the present crisis will be a real contribution to the welfare of the Church. It is:onething to select a topic for i:lis.cussion; it is quite another to .determine individual aspects of the topic that are Worth discussing. In general it seems clear that our discus-sion should turn along lines that have specia.1 reference to priests and religious. The more specific determination of these lines will no doubt be brought out in the communica-tions. In the subsequent paragraphs we are attempt'ing to indicate a few questions that might be discussed more com-pletely if the readers are so inclined. Ther~ must be some among our readers whom God has blessed with more than ordinary success.in the work of fos-terin~ vocations to the priesthood or the religious life. This is not a talent in which one should glory or about which one should brag; yet neither is it a talent to be hidden under a bushel. A person thus blessed could probably make many 217 THE EDITORS helpfu.1 suggestions that other priests and religious could use. To publish such suggestions anonymously in a review for the exclusive use of priests and religious is surely within the most iigid requirements of humility. Attitudes of religious sometimes have great influence for good or bad in the development of religious vocations. At various times we have heard rather severe criticisms of three such attitudes that are said to impede the wholesome growth of vocations. Perhaps these criticisms are too severe or even unjust; but references to them may offer food for thought and discussion. - The. first harmful attitude is an erroneous estimation of the priesthood and the religious life with respect to. other Christian states of life. For instance, some religious are said to be entirely unaware of the fact that there is such a thing as virginity in the world. They do not realize ~ the excellence of virginity in itself, independently of tell-; gious vows and priestly consecration. Also, some religious o are said to give the impression that they do not properly understand the dignity and sanctity of marriage; they seem to think that all good young people should be priests or enter religion. A second harmful attitude is the false estimation of one's own institute with' reference to other religious insti-tutes: in a word, an inordinate devotion to one's own. A religious with this attitude is apt to disparage other orders and congregations, if not explicitly, at least by im131ica-tion. He may even try to hinder the freedom of the indi-vidual aspirant to choose the institute for which he seems to be best fitted; and in doing 'this he may even spoil a promising vocation. The third harmful attitude may be described in the following words written to a priest by a teaching Brother: "From experience I have gathered that the great 218 SHALL WE TALK ABOUT VOCATION? majority of our priests do not realize that a vocationto the Bro.the.rhood is a special vocation, nbt .just something one takes as a last resort'. It is a vocation which requires con-stant self-effacement, self-denial, and an' almost heroic. spirit of Faith. Yet to a large number of priest~ and 'to many others it is a vocation that has no.meaning." Enough for the criticisms. Another ~opic of interest is that of the loss of vocation. Is this problem more acute today than it used to be? Are there certain fundamental explanations of our losses? Are there remedie~ that can be applied more effectively than they have been applied in the past? The foregoing suggestions were selected at random, merely for the purpose of stimulating discussion. We hope our readers will think of other topics, as well as expand on these. The one thing that remains is to begi~ the discussion. If letters are sent we will print them. If the letters are too long, we may have to edit them; if they are too numerous, we may have to summarize them. We ask those who send communications to observe the following points: 1) As in the discussion on spiritual direction, our present purpose is positive. The aim is mutual help in a great apostolic work. Criticism of certain policies or atti-tudes may at times be necessary, but it should be offered in a spirit of kindness and with a view to mutual improve-ment. 2) Communications will be printed without names and without references to places, unless the senders explic-itly request that their names and addrehses be printed. 3) The communications should be addressed directly to: The Editors of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, St. Mary's College, St.Marys, Kansas. 219 The Spirit:uai Message Ignatius ot: An :ioch Augustine Klaas, S.~I. pOPE PlUS XII, in a stirrinig radio broadcast on Ascen-sion Eve 1942, bade us turn to the heroes of the primi-tive Church in order to "clear all mists from our minds" and to "put new life into ourhearts" in the dark, " threatening days through vchich we are passing. Most elo-quently he described these brave Christians of the first three centuries as "moral giants" and "athletes" ot~ Christ, vigor-ous in both thought and action. Such a moral giant and athlete of Christ was Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch in Syria, whose message comes to us clear and vibrant across nineteen centuries. It is something unique in Christianliterature; it is the impassioned, spirit-ual. message of a prisoner in chains impatiently hurrying to a martyr's death. Life and Letters The historical facts of the life of Ignatius are very mea-ger. He was probably a Syrian, born at Antioch. Neither the date of his birth nor the events of his early years are known with certainty. Legend has it that he was the little child whom Jesus singled out as an example of humility to the Apostles and.then took into His arms (Mark 9:35). Most likely, as Saint John Chrysostom asserts, he had seen the Apostles Peter and Paul, both of whom had dwelt for some time at Antioch, and had even been their disciple, since in the first century bishops were usually chosen from among the immediate disciples of the Apostles. Some think be was also a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. At all events,. what is known for certain is that Ignatius was the third 220 IGNATIUS¯ OF ANTIOCH bishop of Antiocl~, succeeding Evodius, .who had. been ¯ appointed by the first .bishop of that city, the Apostle Saint Peter himself, During the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan (98- 117 A. D.), a short but violent persecution of the Chris-tians broke out for some unknown reason, claiming Pope Saint Clement at Rome and the aged Saint Simeon, Bishop df Jerusalem, as illustrious.victims. Perhaps the most dis-tinguished martyr of this persecution, however, was Igna-tius. He was arrested, tried,and condemned to death °at Antioch in the early months of 107 A. D. (according to the historian Eusebius), and was sent off to Rome to be executed. The slow, wearisome journey through Asia Minor to Rome Ignatius made with other .condemned Christians, among Whom, it s.eems, were Rufus. and Zosimus. They were guarded by an escort of soldiers who were by no means p!easant travelling companions. Ignatius writes of them:' "From Syria to Rome I combat wild beasts, on lahd and sea, by night and day, chained to ten leopards--a company of soldiers,~who in return for gifts on!y get worse" (Ro-mans V, 1)1. In spite of thi~ brutal treatment, their jour-ney was like a triumphal march, .greeted as they were on all sides by the faithful of the places through which they passed. They made a halt at Philadelphia, another at Smyrna, where Ignatius was received by the bishop of that .church, Saint Polycarp, the future martyr, then a young.man, Hither also came delegations of Christians from various churches in Asi~Minor to salute Ignatius and to encourage him,to persevere. -The final stop was made at Troas., whence probably by way of Philippi and Dyrrachium they proceeded to Rome. 1The quotations in this article are translated from the Greek text of Ignatius' Letters, critically edited by Father Francis Xavier Funk in his Patres Apostolici, second edition, Tilbingen, 1901. 221 AUGUSTINE KLAAS During this protracted oia crucis Ignatius wrote seven letters of varying length: four from Smyrna, to the churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome; three from Troas, to the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna, and to Bishop Polycarp himself. These seven magnificent epistles, of undoubted authenticity, are "justly regarded-as the most precious heirloom of Christian antiquity.!'~ Written in a vigorous Pauline style, the letters of Igna: tius are filled with warm, sincere, earnest exhortation, and packed With theological doctrine on the Trinity, the Incar-nation and Redemption, the Eucharist, the Christian vir-tues, and the hierarchical nature of the Church. I.ndeed, chiefly on account of their unmistakable doctrine regarding the one, holy, apostolic, hierarchical Church, these, letters have been bitterly, but vainly attacked by Protestants for over two hundred years. The following is a typ!cal Christ-ol6gical passage: "There is one Physician, both corporeal and spiritual, born and unborn, God dwelling in flesh, true life in death, both of Mary and of God, first passible and then impassible, 3esus Christ our Lord" (Ephesians VII, 2). In these letters the word "Eucharist," meaning the Blessed Sacrament, appears for the first time in Christian literature (Smyrnaeans VII, 1; VIII, 1), as also the word "Catholic" applied to the Church of Christ (Smyrnaeans VIII, 2). Cardinal Newman, a profound student of patris-tic lore, does not exaggerate when he declares that "almost the whole system of Catholic doctrine may be discovered at least in outline, not to say in 13arts filled up, in the course of them.''3 They give Ignatius a just claim to the title of the greatest of the Apostolic Fathers. 2Bernard Otten, S.J., A Manual of the History of Dogtr, as, Vol. I, Herder, 1917, p. 65. 3John Henry Newman, Essays Critical and Historical, Vol.I, Longmans," 1901, p.,255. 222 IGNATIOS OF. AN~FIOCH Spiritual. Message " " What is I.gnatius' spiritual message to us in these Stormy times, so much like his own? What is that vital message of the early Church of the martyrs to which Plus XII so movingly calls our attention in his broadcast? The spiritual message of Ignatius of Antioch can b~ summed up Very simply: it is Jesus Christ. For this cou-rageous bishop Jesus Christ is all in all. Saint Paul preached closest union with Christ and Saint John taught us life in Cl~rist. Ignatius marvellgusly blends both these doctrines and inculcates them with extraordinary vigor. Christ is the ambient atmosphere in which Ignatius lives and moves; Christ is his interior obsession; Christ appears on every page, almost every line of his letters. I shall let Ignatius give us his message in his own words, as much as possible. It is true that he addressed it long ago to the clergy and faith-. ful of the churches of Asia Minor, but Plus XII says that he and his noble,, fellow-Christians are speaking to us today. "Abundant greeting in Jesus Christ"--this is his usual salutation to the churches, expressed in various ways, some-times twice and thrice over in the same letter. Jesus Christ is "our tr.ue life,~' "our inseparable life," "our unity of spirit," "our only Ma~ter," "our common hope." "Fo~ let us either fear the Wrath to come or.let us love the grace which is at hand, one of thetwo--provided only we bd found in Christ Jesus unto true life. Let nothing be. worthy - of you apart from Him, in whom I carry about my. chains, those_spiritual pearls in which may it be given me to-rise again through your prayers, which I beg I may always share . " (Ephesians XI, 1, 2). And. again, it is Jesus . Christ "WHO also was really' raised from the dead, His Father haVi_ng raised Him up, as in like manner His Father shall raise up in Christ Jesus us who believe in .Him, with-out whom we have no true life" (Trallians IX, 2). In 223 AUGUSTINE KLAAS every letter Ignatius gives himself a second name. It is always the same--Theophorus, "God-bearer";-and well might he have answered as the legendary third century Acts of Ignatius say he did when questioned about this name. "And who is xneopnorus. .the Emperor asked, and Ignatius replied, "He who has Christ in his heart." According to Ignatifis, there are only two classes of per-sons off this earth: those who live in and for Christ, and those who reject and deny Him. To the first class, com-prising the faithful, he says: "You do all things in Jesus Christ" (Ephesians VIII, 2). "You are therefore all fellow-travelers .along the way, God-bearers, temple-bearers, Christ-bearers, bearers of holy ti~ings, arrayed from head to foot in the commandments of Jesus Christ . And I am permitted to share your jsy . because, on account Of. another life, you love nothing but God alone" (Ephesians iX, 2)."I know that you are not puffed up, for you have Jesus Christ in you" (Magnesians XII, 1). On the other hand, those who reject .Christ are living corpses. "Of what benefit is any one to me, if he praise me, but blaspheme my Lord and do not admit that He was clothed in flesh? He who does not profess this has denied Him absolutely and is himself clothed with a corpse" (SmyrnaeansV, 2). But that is not all. ':As for me, unless they speak of Jesus Christ, I hold them to be tomb-" stones and sepulchres of the dead, whereon are inscribed only the names of men" (Philadelphians VI, 1). Avoid, therefore, those who are not Christ's. "Flee from those evil offshoots bearing deadly fruit, which if a man eat he presently dies. For these are not the planting of the Father: for if they were, they would appear as branches of the Cross and their fruit.would be incorruptible" (Tral-iians XI, 1; 2). "Abstain from noxious herbs, which Jesus Christ does not cultivate because they are not the Father's 224 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH planting . . If any man walk in strange doctrine, he has no part in the Passion" (Philadelphians III, 1, 3). And be yourselves genuine Christians, stamped with the image of God. "It behoovds us not only to be called Christians, but also to be Christians" (Magnesians IV,.1.). "For just as there are two coinages, ~he one of God, the other of the world, and each has its own stamp impressed "upon it, so unbelievers bear the stamp of this world, and believers the stamp of God the Father in love through Jesus Christ; and unless we willingly choose to die through Him in His Passion, his life is not in us" (Magnesians V, 2). "Wherefore, let us become His disciples, and let us learn to live like Christians. For whosoever is called by any name ¯ other than this is not of God. Get rid of the evil leaven which has become stale and sour, and be transformed into a new leaven, Jesus Christ. Be salted in Him, that none among you may be spoiled; since by your savor you shall ¯ be tested" (Magnesians X, 1., 2). Genuine Christians have faith and love, and these, lead to deeds. "None'of these things is unknown to you, if you have toward Jesus Christ perfect faith and love, which are the beginning and the end of life: the beginning, faith, and the end, love. And .wl, ien the two coalesce in unity it is God, and all other noble things follow. No man professing "faith, sins; nor does he who has love, hate. 'The tree is known by its fruit': likewise they who profess to be Christ's shall be recognized by their deeds" (Ephesians XIV, 1, 2). And What are these deeds? " 'Pray without ceasin~g" for other men also, that they ma~ find God, for there is in them a hope of repentance. Ac.cordingly, let them learn from you, at least through your deeds. Be meek when they are angry; be humble-minded when they speak proudly; oppose your/prayers to their blasphemies; in the face of 225 AUGUSTINE KLAAS their errors remain firm in the faith; be gentle when they are crud, and do not see.k, to retaliate. Let us be proved their brothers by our forbearance, and let us try to imitate the Lord--who was ever more wronged, more. despoiled, more despised than He?--that no growth of the devil be found in ¯ you, but that you may abide in all purity and sobriety in Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit" (Ephesians X, 1-3). "Let us therefore do all things as though He were dwelling in us, that we may be His temples, and that He may be our God in.us" (Ephesians XV, 3). Hence, according to Ignatius, ~o be closely united to Christ, to live one's life in Christ, to be a bona Fide Chris-tian, means sinlessness, steadfast faith, strong love and Christ-like deeds. All this is fundamental. It is thus that one begins to be a "Christ-bearer." - But Ignatius goes- much further. He selects and emphasizes three particular means which will help greatly tO "put on Christ" ever more and more. It is these three means that make Ignatius eminently a guide for us today. . Un~t~l in Christ The first"important means stressed~by Ignatius is unity in Christ, that is, union with the bishop and other ecclesias-tical authorities, and also union with one another. We are one or-we are nothing: on no other point is Ignatius more repetitiously insistent. ' He counsels the Magnesians, who at the time had a young bishop: "It becomes you not to presumeupon the youth of your bishop, but, ou.t of consideration of~ the power of God the Father, to give him all respect, as I have learned that even the holy priests do not take advantage of his outwardly youthful appearance, but as men prudent in God they yield to him, yet not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, to the bishop of a11" (Magnesians III,l). And to the Ephesians he says that "it is cle;ir that we must. 226 IGNATIUS OF ANTIocH look upon the bishop as the Lord Himself" (Ephesians VI, 1). ¯ The will of God, the will of Christ, and the will of the bishop are one and the same thing. "For this reason I took upon myself to counsel you to live according to the will of God. For Jesus Christ, our inseparable life, is the will of the Father, even as the bishops, appointed throughout the world, are in accord with the will of Cl~rist" (Ephesians IIL 2). "Therefore it is fitting that ~you should live in har-mony with the will of the bishop, as indeed you do. Fo~ your estimable prie~sts, worthy of God, are attuned to the bishop asthe strings to a harp. Hence, by your concord and harmonious love Jesus Christ is being sung. Now join in this~ chorus, each of you, that being harmoniously in accord and receiving the key of God in unison, you may s~ng with one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father, that He may .both hear you and recognize bE your good deeds that you are members of His Son. It is then .to your advantage to be in blameless unity, that you may have always a part in God" "(Epbesians IV, 1, 2). "For as many as belong to God and Jesus Christ .these are with the bishop" (Phila-delphians III, 2). Not only must there be union with the bishop but also with the priests and deacons. "Let all men likewise respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, even as they should respect the bishop as a type of the Father,. and the priests as the council of God and the college of the Apostles. Without these, there is noChurch" (Trallians.III, 1). Andthe faithful must be united to each other. "Work together, struggle together, run together, .suffer together, rest together, rise up together as God's stewards, assistants and servants. Please Him for whom you fight, from whom you receive your pay; let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism r~main as your weapons, your faith as a 227 AUGUSTINE KLA~.S helmet, your love as a spear, your patience as your panoply . Be therefore long-suffering with one another in gentle-ness, as God is with you" (Polycarp VI,, 1, 2). "Be then all in conformity .with God and respect one another and let no man regard his neighbor according to the flesh, but love one another in Jesus Christ always. Let there be nothing in you which can divide you . . . " (MagnesiansVI, 2). "'In your common assemblies let there be one prayer, one - supplication, one mind, one hope in love, in blamelessjoy, which is Jesus Christ, than whom there is nothing better" (Magnesians VII, 1). If, living harmoniously with each other, we must be closely united to the bishop, th~ bishop.on his part must be united also to us, his flock, so that there may be perfect unity in Christ's mystical body~ Ignatius gives excellent advice to the bishop in a letter to his good young friend Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. "I exhort you in the grace with which you are clothed to press forward in your course and to exhort all men that they may be saved. Defend your office in all diligence of flesh and of spirit. Watch over unity, than which there is nothing better. Bear with all men, as the Lord also bears with you; suffer all men in love., as you indeed do. Be diligent in unremitting prayer; ark .for wisdom greater than. you have; stand guard, having a sleepless, spirit. Speak to each according to the manner of God; bear the ills of all as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil there is also much gain" (Poly~arp I, 2, 3). "If.'you love good disciples, it is no credit to you; bring rather the more troublesome to subjection by your gentleness. Not all wounds are healed by the same plaster. 'Be prudent as the serpent' in all things and always 'simple as the dove' . Be sober as God's athlete. The prize is immortality and eternal li'fe" (Polycarp II, 1-3). "Let not those who seem to.be trustworthy, but teach .228 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH strange doctrine, dismay you. Stand firm as an anvil which is smitten. It is a quality of great athletes to. take punish-ment and to win. Especially must we endure all things for God, that He may also endure us. Be more zealous than you are. Learn the opportune times for action. Await Him who is above time, eternal, invisible, w.ho for our sakes became visible, who is intangible, impassiblef who suffered for us and in every way endured for us" (Polycarp III, 1, 2). "Let nothing be °done without your consent and do nothing without God. " (Polycarp IV, 1). The Euc, barist and Unitg The unity in Christ so emphatically stressed by Igna-tius is fostered greatly by participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and by partaking of the Eucharist, "a pledge of everlasting life in Jesus Christ." "Obey the bishop as Jesus Christ obeys His Father, and obey the priests as if they were the Apo.s'tles; respect~the deacons as y.ou do God's com-mand. Without the bishop le~ no one do anything which concerns the Church. Let that be considered a lawful Eucha-rist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic Church. Without the bishop it is not lawful either to bap-. tize or to hold an agape [a Eucharistic love-feast]; but whatever he approves that is also pleasing to God." (Smyrnaeans VIII, 1, 2). Heretics, by disbelief in the Eucharist., disrupt unity. "They abstain from the-Eucharist and from prayer because they do not acknowledge that the Eucharist is~ the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins, the flesh which the Father in His goodness raised up again~ Therefore those who gainsay the gift of Godare perishing even as they wrangle; it were better for them to 229 " A~GUSTINE KLAAS partake of the Eucharist, that they too might rise again" (Smyrnaeans VII, 1). "Endeavor then to celebrate one Eucharist, for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one chalice for union with His blood, one altar, just as there is one bishop with his priests and deacons, my fellow-servants,. " (Philadelphians IV, 1). Ignatiu~ speaks of the Ephesians as "breaking one bread, which is the" medi-~ cine of immortality, the antidote against death, a pledge of everlasting life in Jesus Christ" (Ephesians XX, 2). He himself longs for union with his Eucharistic Lord. "I take no pleasure in the corruptible foo.d or the delights of this life. I desire the 'bread of God,' which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, 'who was of the seed, of David,' and for drink I desire His blgod, .which is incgrruptible love" (Romans VII, 3). Imitation of the Suffering Christ Union with Christ and life in Christ are achieved also by a third means, by imitating Him and modelling one's life on His. Since Ignatius' thoughts constantly .revert to the painful death which is waiting for him at the end of his present journey/he is preoccupied with imitating the suf-ferings and death of Christ. To shed one's blood in mar-tyrdom beconsiders the closest imitation of Christ; it is per-fection itself. The only true disciple of Christ is he who gives his life for Him. Ignatius, ' shackled and condemned° to death, now only begins to be a real disciple of his suf-fering Master and he Will be a perfect disciple only through a bloody martyrdom. " Let no one interfere to rob him of this prize, for whoever shares in Christ's sufferings and death will also participate in His glory. "Honored with a name most pleasing to God, I laud the Churches in the chains which I bear, and I pray that in them there may be a union with the flesh and- blood of Jesus 230 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH Christ, whois our ev.erlasting !ife, a union in faith and love, to which nothing is preferable, and aboveall a union with ~lesus andthe Father, in Whom, if "we endure the full on-slaught of the prince of this world.and go unscathed, we shall attain unto God" (Magnesians I, 2). "But if, as certain godless persons, that is, unbelievers, affirm. "His suf-fering was only a semblance . why am I a prisonei, and why do I even long to fight with the beasts? In that case, I die in vain; then indeed do I lie concerning the Lord" (Trallians X, 1). "If these things were done by bur Lord only in semblance, then I too am chained only in semblance. Why have I given myself up to death, to fire, to the sword, to wild beasts? Because to be near to the sword is to be near to G6d, and to be with wild beasts is to be .with God, pro-vided it be in the name of 2esus Christ. That I may suffer along with Him, I endure all thin.gs, and He strengthens me who is the perfect Man" (Smyrnaeans IV, 2). In the letter to the "Romans we find passages on mar-tyrdom which are sublime and immortal. Only a few can be cited here. Ignatius feared the Roman Christians would intercede for him with the government and thus deprive him Of his martyr's crown. Sohe .begged them to "grant me nothing more.than that I.may be immolated to God, while an altar is still ready; in order that forming a choir in charity you may sing to the Father in Christ ,lesus, because God deigned to grant that the bishop of Syria be found at the setting of the sun, having summoned him from its rising. It~is good to set from the world unto God, that I may rise unto Him (Romans II, 2). "I am writing to all the Churches and bid all men know that I die willingly for God, unless you should hinder me. I beseech yo.u not to show me an unseasonable kindness. Let me be the food of wild beasts, th.rough whom I can attain to God. I am God's wheat, and I am being ground 231 AUGUSTINE KLAAS by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be fdund ChUtist's pure bread. Rather entice the beasts that they may become my tomb and leave no trace of my body, so that when I have fallen asleep in death, I.shall not be burdensome to anyone. Then shall I be truly a disciple of Christ when the world shall not even see my body. Beseech Christ for me that through these instruments I may become a holoca.ust to God. I do not command you as did Peter and Paul. They were Apostles, I am a convict; they were free, I am to this very moment a slave. But if I suffer, then shall I be a freed-man of Jesus Christ and in Him I shall rise free. I am-learn-ing now in my chains to extinguish every human desire" (Romans IV, 1-3). "O that I may have joy in the beasts, prepared for me, 'and-I pray that they too may be found prompt for me; I will even entice them to devour me quickly, so" as not to be like those whom they did not touch through fear. Even if they themselves be unwi.lling, I will force them to it. Grant me this favor; I know what is expedient for me. -Now do I begin to be a disciple. °May naught visible or invisible envy me my attaining to Jesus Christ. Fire, the cross, combats with wild beasts, cuttings, manglings, wrenchings of bones, hacking of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tor-tures of the devil, let them all come upon me, provided only I attainto Jesus Christ" (Romans V, 2, 3). "The confines of the earth and the kingdoms of this world shall profit me no~hing. It is better for me to die in Christ Jesusthan to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek Him who died for us; I desire Him who for our sakes rose again from the dead. The pains of birth are upon me. Bear with me, brethren! Hinder me not from living, do not wish my death. Do not give to the world one who desires to be God's, nor seduce him with material things. Allow me to recelve the. pure light; when I have arrived thither, 232 IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH then shall I be a man. Let me imitate the Passion of my God" (Romans VI, 1-3). "The prince of this world wishes to tear me to pieces and to corrupt my mind towards God. Let none of you present help him; be rather on my side, that is, on God's. Do not speak of Jesus Christ and yet desire the world. Let no envy dwell among you. Even if I myself, when present, shall b~seech you, do not obey me; rather follow this which I write to you. For I write to you in the midst of life, yet as one yearning for death. My human love is crucified and there is in me no fire of love for material things, but only 'living water' speaking and saying within me 'Come to the Father' " (Romans VII, !, 2). Death of Ignatius This urgent summons to the Fath4r was soon to be realized. Arriving in Rome in the latter part of the same year 107, Ignatius heroicallymet the d~ath he so ardently longed for, probably in the Coliseum. The~e are extant no. authentic details of his final combat with the beasts, nor can the date of his death be determined with accuracy. Shortly after, his relics were taken back to Antioch and there they remained until 63 7 when they were removed to the church of Saint Clement'in Rome where they still rest. The uni-versal Church celebrates his feast on February 1st. .Ignatius was every inch a bishop of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Self-sacrificing in his devotion to duty, fearless in defending the faith, untiringly solicitous~ for unity, ever an inspiring apostle by his personal holiness as well as by his words, he was one of the most profoundly Christian heroes of all times. As a,true shepherd, he laid down his life for his flock. He carried out fully what he himself once wrote: "Teaching. is good, if the teacher does what he says" (Ephesians ,XV, 1). He went even further, 233 AUGUSTINE KI~AAS he sealed his message with his blood. Hence we accept that message, for it rings true. It teaches us union with Christ and life in Christ by means of deep faith and an active love that overflows in good works, by close harmony with God's representatives in His Church and with our fellowmen, by participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Eucharist, by the close imitation of 3esus Christ, especially in. His Passion and Death. The spirited message of Ignatius was.often read at the gatherings of.the faithful of the primitive Church; it gave comfort and inspiration to brave hearts in many a dark hour. It has not lost its appeal and significance today, for the message is ,Jesus Christ, who St. Paul says i~ "the same, yesterday and today, yes, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). HOLY CHILDHOOD CI=NTI=NNIAL The Pontifical 'Association of the Holy Childhood is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year. The Association was founded by Bishop Charles de Forbin- Janson, who was born in Paris in 1785. \Vith the help of Pauline Jaricot, foun-dress ~f the Propagation of the Faith Society, be made plans for the establishment of the Association of the Holy Childhood. In 1843 the first council of the Association was appoi'nted. The membership was to be m~de up of childrer~ "throughout the world and each child, besides praying for the missions, was to give a penny a month. While the baptism of dying pagan children was to be the chief aim of the Association, it was determined that the society would also undertake the. erection of orphanages, work-shops, and other institutes for children. , ~ The fi}st returns of the Holy Childhood Association were only $25,000; in 1940, they had grown to $2,000,000. This money has been spread into some six hundred mission centers of the Catholic world. Pope Plus XI raised the Associa-tion to pontifical rank in 1926. Our Present Pontiff, Pius XII, as Cardinal Pacelli, was the Holy Childhood Association's Cardinal Protector. 234 Christ in the Refectory William J. Moore, S.J. RELIGIOUS are used to hearing the words of our Lord read to them during meals in the community refec-tory. The.re is a special.appropriateness in this practice "arising from the fact that a surprising number of these words w~re spoken by our Lord while actually in a refec-tory, or at least at times when His hearers were concerned, about food and drink. Man's necessary, concern about bodily food supplied occasions for miracles and discourses on the spiritual food of the soul. Page after page of the Gospels deals wkh Christ's mealtime instructioris. At the marriage feast of Cana our Lord changed xvater into wine and first manifested His glory. His disciples, too, were at the wedding celebration, and their belief in Christ ¯ was confirmed by the miracle. Such marriage feasts as this lasted seven days~ and a great quanti~y of wine was needed for the large number of guests who might drop in at' any time. Sympa.thetically our Lord relieved the distress of the young couple when their supply failed. (John 2.) Wearied after a !ong tramp over the hill roads, Jesus stopped at the well of Jacob. His disciples xvent ahead to buy food in the villhge close by. Christ. ~vas thirsty and asked the Samaritan womah for a drink. Then He took occasion to teach this poor sinful woman of her need of the living water of divine grace. She could offer Him cool water from the well, but He offered to her refreshing draughts of grace for her arid soul. (John 4.) Levi, the publican, was sitting at the tax-collector's booth one day. "Follow me," said Christ. Leaving all things, Levi followed Christ. To commemiarate his call to the apostolate, Levi (or Matthew, as he is better known) .235 ~rlLLIAM J. MOORE gave a great feast for Christ. A large gathering of publi-cans was at table with the Savior and Levi. ~'Why do you eat arid drink with publicans and sin-ners?" the grumblirig Pharisees and scribes asked the dis- . ciples. Christ answered the quest.ion Himself. "It is not the healthy who need a physician, but they who are sick. I have not come tocall the just, butsinners to repentance.~' As a physician Christ had to deal with and gain the confi-dence of.His patients. ' Then He explained why His disciples did not fast like those of ~lohn, and spoke a parable about the difference between the old order and the new. One Sabbath day Christ and His disciples were walking through a field of standing grain. The disciples were hun-gry and plucked some of the grain and .ground it in their hands. The Pharisees objected that this little operation°of milling grain by hand was a violation of the Sabbath. Christ replied that He was Lord of the Sabbath. The delighted disciples, thus justified, continued joyfully to munch their pitiful little meal of dry grain before the angry eyes of the discomfited Pharisees. (Luke 6.) Luke tells of a dinner at the home'of a Pharisee. Quite Often Christ dined with Pharisees, just ~is he dined with publicans. On this occasion a woman in the town who was a sinner, upon learning that Christ was at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabasterjar of ointment; and standing behind Him at His feet, she began to bathe His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairoff her head, andkissed His feet, and anointed them with oint-ment. (L,uke 7.) To understand such an occurrence, we must remember that ~lewish customs differed from ours tod~ly. Strangers were often permitted to look on at great feasts. The guests usually did not sit in chairs as we do, but. reclined on couches, resting on the left elbowand eating with the right 236 " CHRIST IN THE REFECTOR~ hand. The couche~-were placed in the foim of a horse-shoe, so that servants could easily get to the tables plac.ed before.~he diners. T.,he Pharisee host was sh~cked. If Christ had divine knowledge, reasoned the Pharisee, He ought to know that the woman was a sinner, and should not let her touch Him. But .Christ at the dinner table contrasted the host's cold_ness and neglect with the sorrowful love of the peni-tent, )~nd gently told the woman, "Thy sins are forgiveh . Go in peace." It was evening in the desert. Five thousand men, not counting women and children, were with Christ far from village food markets. Only five loaves .and two fishes were to be had. The disciples urged the Master to dismiss the people at once, that tl~ey might get back to town as soon as possible. But Jesus said to the disciples, "They do not need to go away; you yourselves give them some food . And looking up to heaven, .[He] blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples gave them.to the crowds. And all ate and were satisfied." (Matthew 14.) Four thousand men, apart from children and women,, were with Christ on another occasion. The compassion-ate Savior said, "They have now been with Me three day~, and.have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send.tl'iem away fasting, lest they faint on the way." Once more our Lord multiplied loaves and fishes in a wondrous miracle to foreshadow the magnificent spiritual feast of the Holy Eucharist. (Matttiew 15:) Mary was sitting at our Lord's feet while her sister Martha was. busy straightening up tl~e house and watching the fire where a tasty meal was simmering. Our Lord did not condemn Martha for.her care about dusting and cooking. He did' approve of Mary's action, and spoke 237 WILLIAM J. MOORE the classical text for'proving the superiority of the con. templative life over the active life: "One thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part." (Luke 10.) A Pharisee asked Christ to dine with him. Christ accepted, went in to the supper room, and reclined at table. He had of set purpose omitted the ritualistic washings which the Pharisees had elevated in importance to laws of supreme moment. When the Pharisee.host criticized Christ " in his heart, the Mast(Jr excoriated, the hypocrites' who were fanatical about washing their hands and cleansing pots and cups, but cared nothing .about washing sin from their souls. Fearlessly He denounced the whole brood of Pharisees and scribes who boasted that they had paid tithes " on everything they ate, even on the tiny little spice herbs such as mint. Christ was a guest Who never-bowed to the pride Or passion of His host. (Luke 11.) We find Christ a guest again in the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. It was a Sabbath. A great quantity of food had been prepared ahead, of time, lest there be any unnecessarywork on that day. Of that the Pharisee.s were very scrupulous, but of mercy they cared not. In fact they sought to trap Christin His mercy. Before the entrance to.the house a man ill with dropsy' was stationed. Would Christ cure the man on the Sab-bath? The Pharisees watched for a supposed violation of the Sabbath. Resolutely Christ cured the man and asked the hypocrites if theywould not drag an ox or ass out of a pit into which it had fallen on the Sabbath. Of course they would do so. Bu~ if an animal could be cared for at the-expense of some labor, why not a man? And the Pharisees "could give Him no answer to these things." The Savior then went into the dining room with His host and the other guests. The Pharisees were jealously pushing forward to secure each one for himself a place of 238 CHRIST IN THE REFECTORY honor. Christ spoke the parable of The Last Seat to rebuke their pride. Then He taught a lesson in charity. The rich Pharisees gloried in their great generosity in pro-viding sumptuous dinners for many people. The guests, however, were. usually well-to-do friends and relatives who~ could pay back in kind. In the parable on Poor Guests, Christ declared that true charity would consist in providing a feast for the poor.who could never issue a return invitation. A reward for such charity would be reserved for the host in the kingdom of heaven. At that, one of the guests exclaimed, "Blessed is he ~vho shall feast in the kingdom of God." The speaker was a Pharisee who assumed as a matter of .right that all Pharisees would have a place at the.heavenly feast. Christ, in the parable of a Great Supper, told the Pharisee that God had- indeed invited them tothe heavenlyb~nquet, but that they had contemptuously refused to come. The poor Jews and Gentiles would now take.their places. (Luk~ 14.) Zacheus, the publican of Jericho, was short of stature, but his hand was large to .grasp exorbitant taxes for the Roman treasury and his own private purse. He knew that his deeds were evil, knew the hatred with which the Jews cursed him. He had heard, however, of one great. Jewish teacher whowas notorious for kindness to the publicans. Full of curiosity to see Jesus of Nazareth, Zacheus hurried from his.office when Christ came to Jericho. Careless of his dignity, the short little man climbed a sycamore tree to see the friend of publicans and sinners. The unexpected happened. Christ stbpped beneath the sycamore, looked up to where Zacheus was perched, and said: '~Zacheus make haste and come down; for I must stay in thy house today." In amazement and haste Zacheus jumped down and welcomed Christ joyfully. BUt the crowd murmured 239 WILLIAM 3". MOORE Saying, "He has gone .to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." It was the old reproach, heard so frequently in the Gospel narrative. Christ was a friend of sinners.-. He ate at table with publicans and sinners. Over and over the same refrain of bitter complaint. BUt Christ went on converting sinners, saving what was lost. To the divine guest Zacheus said: "Behold, Lord, I give one-half of my possessions to ~he poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." (Luke 19.)' It.was at a supper in Bethany that the greed of ,Judas became apparent. Simon the Leper (now cured) was host: Laza.rus, raised~ from the dead, was/~ guest near 3esus, ~nd Martha was s~rving. When Mary anointed Christ's feet, the thievish treasurer complained that the valuable oint-ment should have been sold for 300 denarii (about $51). and the proceeds given, to the poor. Christ waved aside the objection and praised the good work of Mary. H6w much of our Lord's teaching was done at meal-" time is well exemplified in the five full chapters which St. ,John devotes to the actions and discourses of Christ at the Last Supper. Ftirthermore, St. ,John does not repeat what the three other evangelists had already ~eported about the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. 3ohn tells instead of Christ's humility in washing the feet of the Apostles; the commandment to love one another; the beau-tiful allegory of the Vine and the Branches; .the.promise of ~he Holy Spirit; the priestly prayer of Christ "that all .may be one" even as the Father and Christ a~e one. (,John,. chapters 13-17.) The central event of the Last Supper is recorded by the Synoptics. "While they were at supper, ,Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke, and gave it to His disciples. and said, 'Take and eat, this is My body.' And taking a cup, He gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'All of 240 CHRIST IN THE REFECTORY you drink of this; foi: this is My blo~d of the new.cove-nant, which is being shedfor many unto the forgiveness Of sins'." (Matthew 26.) It was in the apostolic refectory that¯ Christ gave us His own body and blood for our spiritual food. It was there in a supper room that He ordained the first priests. Every church is a supper, room where Christ is offered again under the appearance of bread and wine on the altar table. Every church is a supper ro6m where God feeds His children with the Bread of Angels. It was a glorious Resurrection Day. All heaven rejoiced; but the disciples on the road to Emmaus Were sad. The .traveler who approached and walked with them ¯ gradually raised their ¯spirits until at last ¯their hearts burned within them as they gained a fuller understanding of the ScriptUres. "Stay with us," they pleaded as the stranger would have left them at Emmaus. The stranger agreed. "And it came to pass when He reciined at tame with them, that " He took the bread¯ and blessed and broke and began handihg it to them.~ And their eyes were Opened, andthey. recognized Him." ~ Christ their Risen Lord was with them at the supper table. Back to Jerusalem to the Apostles the two disciples hurried. The Eleven would not believe their report. Then Christ appeared to the Eleven as they were at table. ."See My hands and feet, that it is I Myself," He said. "Feel-me and see; for a spirit'does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." Still the Apostles disbelieved and marvelled for joy. "Have you anything here to eat?" asked our Lord. They offered Him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb. And when He had eaten in their presence, He tSok what remained and gave it to them. (Luke 24.) St. John tells us of the ins.titution of the Sacrament of 241 WILLIAM J. MOORE Penance on this same Resurrection nigh~. To His Apostles Christ solemnly.said: "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain; they are retained." (2ohn 20.) St. John's epilogue contains one of the most touching accounts of our Lord's considerate goodness. All night the Apostles had been fishing without success. Our Lord appeared, granted them a splendid catch, and prepared for them a hot breakfast of bread and fish on the lake shore. The poor fishermen were cold and weary and hungry after a chili night on the water. BreakfaSt over, orie ofthe most important events in history took place. Christ conferred on Peter the primacy in the Church. To Peter was given the commission, to feed Christ's sheep, to rule and guide them with full power " from God. Christ taught the people wherever they gathered. Since men most frequently assemble to take meals together, Christ frequently taught at meals. When the peopl.e gathered elsewhere, Christ preached elsewhere. St. Mark has 'two passages which must have had their ~ounterparts on scores 6f busy days. Such a large crowd gathered, says the evangelist, in chapter three, that "they could not so much as-take their food." And in chapter.six he says that so many people were coming and going that "they had no leisure even to eat." 242 Differing Current:s in !:he Lil:urgy, Too Gerald Ellard, DIOCESAN priests sometimes make it a matter of jest that, whereas pries.ts of religious institutes ard_ently advocate that worship-reform we call the liturgical movement, they themselves follow .in their chapels and" churches, ' more likely~than not, some variant liturgy and not the simon-pure Roman Rite. Again;they tease a little to the effect that members of religious orders look at the w.hole liturgical movement from an angle determined, by the specific outlook of their own religious group. Thus, the statement is made: "If I havea missionary from such an order, he preaches his kind of a liturgical movement, and anathema to all else. Then, the next year, a missionary from another order comes around, and his liturgical movement is something quite differen!! Why don't you religious who preach retreats and missions get together and fix on a definite program to preach? Before you kno@ it, we p/irish priests may get ahead of you, by organizing on our own, and then convert you to. our parish-type_ liturgi-cal movement in the Roman Rite.". . Behind this badinage and laughter there, is some real perplexity .and concern. It may prove helpful to religious as well.as to diocesan priests to remind ourselves, in Father Reinhold's vigorous phrase, that the Church does not seek to. impose one liturgical strait, jacket. That adjective, "catholic," after all, means "faking in all, taking in .the ~hole," and the Catholic liturgy includes the various gulf-streams of religious observance, as well as the vast stretches of the diocesan priesthood. A roundabout approach may be the shortest road to the subject. "Prior.to the feast of Candlemas the large monastic faro- 243 ~ERALD ELLARD ily at St. Meinrad's, Indiana, engages in the exercises of the annual retreat. In 1942 the retreat for the monks them-selves was being conducted by a- Franciscan friar, that for those in the Major Seminary by a monk from another abbey, while the last, for the Minor Seminary students, had been entrusted to the writer. Our dinner and supper were served in the monastic refectory, but breakfast was served the retreat-masters in the Guest Dining Rooml So it came abo.u~ that we had the pleasure of a short chat each morning as we breakfasted. My recollection of those little inter-ludes over thecoffee-cups is very pleasant, indeed. I .dare say the topic of the actual conduct of the retreats was the only one we avoided bringing into the discussions. We all . realized that in our several chapels we were conducting retreats that differed from one another not a little, although each one of us was endeavoring to herald the message of the one Christ.' While we all proclaimed Him, the monk saw Him after the manner of'the sainted Benedict, the friar as had the seraph on Mount-Alverno, and I somewhat after the manner of. the soldier of Manressa. All three concep-tions of Christ are true--if only partial: the unsearchable riches of Christ's Personality Will never be exhaustively comprehended by any man. More than once, therefore, as this daily contact of ours was broken off, I thought of how we three retreat-masters then and there gave a partial illustration of words of the late Peter Lippert that have stood the test of print since 1912. The passage, as a quotation, is somewhat long, but, I trust, justifiab!e for its interest. In formulating his expression of the ideal of the Jesuit vocation, Father Lip-per. t had sought clarification in comparisons: "For the sons of St. Benedict, of whose spirit all con-templative orders have a share, Christ is the worshipful King and.Lord, whom they serve by means of. their noc- 244 DIFFERING I~U~RENTS'IN THE LITURGY, TOO turnal psalmody, their earnest and solemn 'chan.t, the majesty of tbleir liturgy, their soulful, sacred art, their inspired craftsmanship.- This; tog, far from the bustle and noisy conflict of the world. They resemble the angels of the sanctuary: consecrated to the service of God, they st, and ceaselessly before the Throne of the Lamb, and enact the holy service of the Christian altar of sacrifice. With their praying art and their imperturable monastic peace, they present a vision or a foreshadowing of the Church Trium-phant, and hence above earthly conflict or earthly sorrow. Hence flows that harmony, that Wrought-out smoothness, so to speak, that sense of right proportion in their way of life, which even in the earliest period of the preaching of. the "Anglo-Saxon and Germanic missionaries made such "pro-found impression on~ the barbaric peoples of the forest. "Francis of Assi~si was the seraphic lover of the helpless Child in the st:;ble and of the crucified Saviour. He" was steeped, first o~ all, in the mystery of Bethlehem, a mystery of the most touching infancy and childlikeness. But no less was Francis held by that most frightful self-abasement of Golg01~ba. It was Francis who erected the°first-Christ-mas crib, and then ranged him, self, as an empty-handed mendicant, by .the manger of the divine Beggar-Child. So ¯ also by the Cross of the rejected, the last and the least of all men, he took his stand as a least brother. He considered,. too, the unending multitudes of his spiritual sons as his fellow-sentinels at the posts of the poverty and the humilia-tions of the great Son of God. Hence it is surely not by chance that for centuries precisely the Franciscans are the CuStodians of the Holy Places. Nor is it by chance that to -the Franciscans the hearts of the people have always be~ longed, for thesimple folk understand nothing so well as the mysteries of Bethlehem and Calvary. "Well, then, how is the image of Christ conceived and 245 GERALD ELLARD expressed in the Order of Loyola? In the Jesuit Order tl~e basic concept is of Christ as Founder of God's Kingdom, as conqueror of the whole world of the infidels, as the plan-ning, suffering, fighting Warrior for the honor and will of the Father.''1 In so far as he is a son of Ignatius, then, the 3esuit-strives to see "how the Lord of the whole world chooses persons, and sends them out the whole wor!d over, spreading His sacre~t doctrine: 'My will is to.conquer the whole world of the infidels; whoever will come with Me must work by day and watch by night, so as to share in the~ ultimate victory'." Since every one readily concedes that a Benedictine, a Franciscan, or a Jesuit, will eachconduct a specific type of retreat, I do not think it should be considered strange if various religions orders represent differing currents in the Church's li.turgical life. The modern apostolate of the lit-urgy affords ample scope for the labors of every order, and the religious, along with the pastoral clergy, have all their part in the Opus Dei. Let us enter an abbey church, as I have visited many in Eurgpe and several in this country. We are struck at once by the enormous size, especially, as a rule, by the towering height of the enclosed space. Dominating the whole inte-rior is usually a majestic fresco of Christ looking down' from. the high curve of the apse. Of almost equal promin-ence to the casual visitor are the serried choir-stalls, row on long row, each rising higher than the preceding. In ~ccord with the recommendatibn that the Blessed Sacrament be not reserved" at the altar before which the choir-functions are performed (canon 1268), the high altar does not enthrone the Eucha.rist, but none can fail to sense the very real way 1Translated from P. Lippert, Zur Ps~fcbologie des desuitefiorden (Miinchen: K6s¢l, 1912), pp. 26, 27. 246 DIFFERING CURRENTS IN THE LITURGY, TOO in which the heavenly Christ lends His glorified Presence, so to speak, go the holy place. "Thou, O Christ, art King of glory!" The entire passage of the Te Deum from which this ~jacul.ation is quoted proclaims as with trumpets what We might call the devotional atmosphere of the buiding. Here day by day and night by night the monk works at the work of God. O~ce he has been ordained, the priest-monk's own private~ Mass will be, as a rule, in some distant side-altar chapel. His daily conventual Mass, preceded and followed by one of the Canonical Hours, is ideally always a High Mass, at Which he himself is engaged, in singing either ¯ the Ordinary, or also the Proper as well. Every public Mass for the priest-monk is a sung Mass; every weekday is ¯ in this respect like.Sunday. In another very real sense "the Sunday atmosphere" pervades the abbey church. The calendar of the Romano- 'Monastic Rite, which is the Church's liturgy as given to the monks, minimizes Masses in honor of the saints, to multi-ply those of Sundays and ~:e.riae, on which, outside of Lent, the Mass of the preceding Sunday is repeat.ed. Thus, the "calendar for 1942 provided for a maximum of about 130 ¯ days on which Mass might be offered in honor of the Bles-sed V!rgin, the Angels, or Saints, despite the fact that the saints of the great Benedictine family are legion. Two out of every three' Masses were of the Dominical cycle, with the Saints being commemorated. ~ We enter in turn a Franciscan church. Here the altar" can be proportionately closer to the people, because the choir-stalls are set in a walled-off oratory at the side. .The peoplenever attend the ch0ir-service of the friars. But diocesan priests and regulars of orders founded.after that of St: Francis should .take a very lively interest in that choir-service, since the Roman Brevihry we use is a gift from the Franciscans. There was not, up to the thirteenth century, 247 GERALD ELLARD p a fixed arrangement of the Divine Office, obligatory on all as to details. Nor was it necessary, as long as the Office was performed in choir, that all its parts be found in one and the same volume. But just at the timeof the Poor Little Man of Assisi the papal curia was often abroad on trips, and this exigency of travel was then creating a breviary in which Psalms, Scripture lessons, and biographical lessons ,were all contained in one book. Francis, legislating for friars who were to go everywhere, stipulated in the Rule of 1223: "Let the clerics perform their Office according to the arrangement of the Holy Roman Church," by which he meant this new papal breviary then developing. The upshot, of this was that the breviary, as then 'definitely "fixed" for the Franciscans, was soon adopted by Rome and became that of the entire sphere of the Roman Rite. But it is with. the Mass-book, the Missale Semphico-t~ or~ar~tzro, the Church;s liturgy as given to the' friars, that we are more interested. One will note how the feasts of saints have multiplied, there being in the 1942 calendar about 240 days on which Masses are from the Sanctoral Cycle: mimbilis Det, s ir~ ,ar2cti~ ,tds. The' book is well named "Seraphic," because no less than 89 days provide Masses for the Saints and Blesseds of the Franciscan family. The psychological atmosphere, what we might call the "feel" of the Se.raphic Missal, may perhaps be illustrated by referring to the two great Franciscan sequences which the Church has put into our Roman Missal, the Dies I~ae, known with certainty only as of Franciscan authorship, and the Stabat Mates, which scholars now ascribe to Bona-venture, founder after Francis of Franciscanism. Perhaps, when we enter the Franciscan church, we find the church densely crowded, and the Forty Hours' Exposi-tion in progress. This is a typically Franciscan devotion, as common .today as the Christmas Crib or the Way of the 248 DIFFERING CURRENTS IN THE LITURGY; TOO Cross. Very likely a fiotice near the entrance will direct our attention to the fact that an evening service in honor of S~. Anthony is scheduled for later in the week. This serv-ice, we are told, will consist of the recitation of the rosary, hymn-singing, and "Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. There is nothing specifically .Franciscan about any single feature in that devotional pattern, and the pattern itself is ~epeated in practically every church in the land. True, it is not the the classic Opus Dei of Benedictine surroundings, but it can provide for popular participation in the public worship of the Church and is conducted according to norms approved by her "(Canon 1256). Granting that some of these devotional exercises co01d be~ from the litur-gical point of view, a good deal better,let us also freely grant that they are basically qood. Since there was mention a moment ago of classical Benedictinism, it is gratifying to recall that an American Benedictine translated and published the words of a Euro-pean writer dealing with this very problem of popular devotions: "Today, as in ~he past,.the~e must prevail in this d~partment of liturgical activity a certain largeness of scope and adaptation. We must be ready, to give proper recognition in the lituygy to those elemefits of popular reli-gious exercises in which the devotion of the people is really and truly expressed. And the same can be said of popular devotional hymns.''2 Just as the Gospel' of Frai~ciscan4ove has never been exhausted, so there is still, room in the lit-urgy for yet further Franciscan, and other, devotional additions. " , Ignatius, that would-be, crusader, and actual com-mander of troops, would have a man withdraw for a space, "to abide in all possible privacy; so that he may be free to ~J. A. Jungmann, Liturqical Worship, translated' by "a monk [Rev. Otto Eisen-zimmer] of St. John's Abbey. (New York: Pustet, 1941), p. 123. 249 GERALD ELLARD go daily to Mass and Vespers, without any fear of his acquaintances getting in his,way," and in this privacy study Christ's-plan of salvation against the ever-recurring questions: "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I,do for Christ?" Ignatius, too, would have all influenced by him praise, as very touch-stones of orthodoxy, "chants, Psalms, long prayers in church, the Hours appointed for the Divine ONce, and all Canonical Hours" (Sp(ritual Exercises). "But because the occupations which are assumed for the good of so_uls,'.: he states in his Constitutions, "ore both .important and pressing, and the term of our residence in any place uncer-tain, the members of the Society will not recite the Canon-ical Hours in choir.'" Hence, neither before the altar, nor in an adjacent ora-tory, does one find dhoir-sialls in the liturgical setting of the Jesuit's life. This is not a Jesuit singularity; the same is true for most ~of the clerks regular of post-Reformation institutes. Save that the feasts of his order are celebrated, the Jesuit, like other clerks regular, follows the Roman Rite in all particulars. The liturgical pattern of a Jesuit's nor-mal routine (unless he is assigned to par6chial work) is that he celebrates low Mass, and, as far as he assists at Mass, it 1s a low Mass ordinarily, a High Mass very rarely. Thus these three orders, which we are taking as repre-senting religious p~iests generally, have each their differing modes of carrying out the sacred liturgy of the Catholic Church. Conditioned, then, and to a degree limited, by the liturgical practices of his religious institute,-the monk; the friar, or the clerk regular comes as retreat-master, or missionary,or week-end assistant, into the parish. There he is confronted by the full and majestic program of tl~e liturgical movement in all its manifold phases. In con-junction with the pastoral clergy, each religious will apply 250 DIFFERING CURRENTS IN THE LITURGY, TOO the principle of active lay-participation in the situation as encountered, and with the tools he has and can handle. This should amply.explain to the parish priests them-selves, or recall to interested observers of other religious orders, the reasons for" these somewhat diff.ering concepts of the scope and aims of the liturgical movement. The variation in emphasis is kimply unavoidable, given hiaman limitations. True, the several.interpretations are partial, but each is valid and true hs far as it goes, and each is an integral component in the symphony of praise ascending to God in the O/~u~ Dei. In abbey, convent, chapel, and church, if there is no single liturgical strait jacket, there is still what a tireless scholar of the last century used to ca!l the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic liturgy. BOOKLETS Father Foley's article on the Catholic Action Cell, in the May, 1943, number of the REVIEW, seems to have stirred considerable interest among many of our readers. These rea~lers (and perhaps many others) should be interested in "The Technique of the Catholic Action Cell Meeting, compiled by the Reverend Stephen Anderl and Sister M. Ruth, F.S.P.A. The compilers drew their material largely from the Priests' Bulletin, published by the Catholic Action Federations of the Archdiocese of Chicago, from articles by Father William Boyd in Orate Fratres, and from Mr. Eugene Geissler's book, The Training of Lay l~eaders. Father Anderl and Sister M. Ruth have dbne a-good job of compiling and offer many practical sug-gestions for organizing a cell and conducting, a meeting. 'The booklet costs 15 cents and can be obtained from St. Rose Convent, LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The Third Order Director is a pamphlet containing practical hints for adminis-tering the Third Order. It should be helpful not only to priest moderators, but also to Brothers and Sisters of various religious communities who are now in charge i of' Third Order groups. The pamphlet covers all practical details briefly and clearly. Price: 15 cents. Office of Publication: Third Order of St. Francis in the U. S., 3200 Mera'mec St., St. l-ouis, Mo. 251 'Advice I:o a New Superior By a oSpiritual Director, IN MY CAPACITY of spiritual director, I have been asked several times for advice by newly appointed reli-gious superiors. I have always considered these requests very seriously beforeGod; and the advice given, simple though it was, appears to have been helpful to the superiors who asked it. The points they seem to have appreciated most are the following. Humilitg , Ecclesiasticus tell~ us: "The greater thou art, the more humble tfiyselfin all things" (3:30). In another 151ace (32:1), the same sacred writer admonishes us: "Have tl-iey . made thee ruler? be not lifted up: be among them as one of them." Similar advice our Lord gave to His disciples: "You know that .those who are regarded as rulers among the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you. On the . contrary, whoever wishesto become great shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the slave of all; for the Son of Man also has not come to be served but to serve, and. to give .his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45). Behold your model, who was in the midst of His disciples as "one who serves" (Luke 22:27) ; there is no better model than Jesus. Justice and Kindness "And even as you wish mento do to .you, so also do you to them" '(Luke 6:31). There is your rule of action according to the maxim of Christ. Treat your subjects now as you wanted to be treated by your superior when 252 ADVICE TO A NEW SUPERIOR 3iou were a subject. Be a father (or mother) to them. Let your love and good .will be equal towards all; beware of favoritism, which is a source oof discord in a community. Be kind to the sick, have regard for the aged,.be considerate with the young. B~ sincere with your. subjects, "knowing that their Lord who is als0 your Lord is in heaven, and that with him there is no respect of persons" (Ephesians 6:9). Never betray their confidence, so that they may always trust you; for confidence once lost will seldom be fully .regained. If you should make a mistake or unwittingly ¯ wrong .a subject, do not hesitate to admit your mistake and to undo the wrong, for no one is infallible. Thus you.will give your subjects an example of humility and of justice, and it will increase their esteem for you and their confidence in you. Provide generou_sly for all their needs; never be niggardly with them on the plea of poverty. Try to produce a cheerful spirit in your community especially in time of recreation. This is the time for reli-gious to relax after the strain of the day's work; it is not to be a wake, Don't do all the talking yourself, and let not your presence be a damper on your subjects' joy. "Be among them as one of them." Let all join in to make the recreation religiously pleasant. The result will be. a greater spirit.of recollection during the time of silence. Prudence Avoid extremes in all things. Virtue takes a middle course. Be slow to judge and slower to condemn; hear both sides with equal patience and charity. Make no important decision without mature deliberation. Lean not too much on your own Wisdom; take counsel with a competent, unbiased, trustworthy and experienced person. If neces-sary, get the approval of your higher superior. But-- what is more important still--have recourse .to the Holy 253 ¯ A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR Ghost, the Spirit, of Truth, that He may enlighten you to choose what is best. Firmness B~ firm, but with a firmness always tempered with' charity, prudence, and mercy; a firmness free from harsh-ness and severity. Be meek, but with a.meekness that is not weakness. Rule ~.tour communit!t b~t your example rather than. b~/~/our words. "Even if a person is caught doing .something wrong, you who are .spiritual instruct such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thoualso be.tempted" (Galatians 6: 1). DO not reproach your sub-jects or nag them, but charitably call their attention to .what ought to be corrected. Never act on the .spur of the moinent, especially under the influence of any passion, lest you commit a graver fault than the one you are trying to correct; but go first to consider the matter before Jesus in the Blessesd Sacrament. Pra~/er " Cultivate a spirit of prayer. Often betake yourself to the Tabernacle, and there lay your problems before Jesus, saying to Him in the words of the Psalmist (69:1), "O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to. help me." Keep in touch with God at all times and hnder all circumstances in a spirit of Faith. And in your prayer, examine yourself from time to time on the various bits of advice given here. 254. S :udies During !:he Novifia :e Adam C. Ellis, S.J STANDARDS for the.teaching and other professions are high in the United States, and demand long years of careful preparation, It is not' surprising then to find religidus superigrs eager to have their subjects continue their studies as soon as possible after entering religion. Hence arises the practical .question: what about studies during the novitiatd? We shall, try to learn the mind of the Church through a brief study of her legislation on thissub, ject. Legislation of the Church I. On June 28, 1901, the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars issued a set of regulations called Normae for the government of religious institutes with simple vows. Article 73 of these regulations forbade all studies during the first year of novitiate in all cases, that is, whether one or two years of novitiate were had. Article 74 allowed a moderate amount, of study during the second year for those institutes which had two years .of novitiate. Nothing was prescribed regarding the nature of these studies. II. In 1908 Pope Pius X reorganized the Roman Curia and divided the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars into two new Congregation's, the second of which was called the Sacred Congregation of Religious and was given complete and exclusive jurisdiction over all re.ligious, both of orders and of congregations. On August 27, 1910, this new Congregation, with the explicit approbation of Pope Pius X, issued ~an instruc- 255 .~DAM C. ,ELLIS tion,. Ad Exploraf~durn Anirnum, regarding studies during the novitiate in all order~ and congregations of men. - In a preamble the Instruction first stated that the pur~ pose of the novitiate is to test the mind of the novice and gradually to imbue it with the spirit of religious perfec-tion by means of various spiritual exercises. Then a com-mon .experience was cited: namely, ~the fact that the con-stant- practice of pious exercises, even though they be varied, tends to 'tire the mind, especially in.the case of young people, and, when exercised cofitinually in the course of the day, is apt to render the will less attentive to them. Finally the advantages of a moderate amount of study during the n6vitiate were called to mind: for the novic,es, by helping them to retain what they havb already learned; for superiors, bygiving them some .idea of the talents, aptitude, and diligence of the novices. In order that this moderate ~amount of study might safeguard the novices from the strain.ot~ the constant prac-tice of spiritual exercises, and in. order to obtain the bene-fits'just mentioned, the Instruction laid down the fol. lowing regulations which were made obligatory for all: 1) Novices should devote themselv~es to private ¯ study one hour each day, except Sundays andfeast days. 2) The master of novices, or his assistant, or one of the professors of humanities, should supervise these studies. This same person might .give instruction to the assembled novices for one hour, three times a week at most. over and above the daily hour of private study. 3) While these instructions given in common .were not to be considered as regular classes "(veri norninis schola censeri nequeat), still they should not be a mere exercise in mortification. Hence the novices should apply themselves seriously so as to derive real profit from them. Studies taken up should correspond to the nature of the 256 STUDIES DURING THE NOVITIATE order or congregation. The vernacular, Latin and G~:eek, were recommended, either by way of repetition of what the novices had already learnt, especially in the matter of grammar, or by way of reading selections from the works of the Fathers and ancient ecclesiastical writers outstand-ing for their literary style. Ambrose, 'jerome, Lactantius, ,John Chrysostom, and Eusebius, as.well as the Greek texts of.St. Luke's Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, were ¯ cited as examples of such readings. Written and oral exercises were also recommended. 4) The instructor presiding ox;er these studies should give a written report on the diligence and progress of ea.ch novice to the superior general or provincial before the novices were admitted to the profession of vows. III. The Code of Canon Law, which was promul-gated on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 1917, and which began to bind one year later, Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 1918, has this brief statement doncerning studies in-the novitiate: "During the year of novitiate the novices . . . are not to devote themselves (dedita opera vacate) to the formal study of letters, scienc.es, or arts',' (canon 565, § 3). The Code, th.erefore, does not retain the obligations of either the Norrnae or the Instruction. However, these documents, particularly the InstrUction (which is cited as one of the sources of the canon), may be Used in inter-preting the present legislation. In the light of this former legislation, we may say that it is within the spirit of the present law to allow a moderate amount of time for study in the novitiate, provided such study does not interfere with the principal purpose of ~he novitiate which is "to form the novice in the mould o~ the religious life by prayer, meditation, the study of the rules and constitu-tions, instruction regarding the vows and the virtues, exercises suitable to the acquiring of virtue and the 257 ADAM C. ELLIS uprooting Of vice, as well-as to regulating the moverhents ofthe soul (canon 565, § 1)." IV. Pope Pius XI sent an Apostolic Letter, Unigeni-tus De~ Filius, dated March 19, 1924, to all supe.riors gen-eral of orders and congregations of religious men, regard-ing the selection and training of subjects. Two para-graphs of this letter are pertinent to our subject. The first pertinent paragraph contains the studies to be required of candidates for admission to the novitiate of a.clerical institute. It refids as follows: "You must see to it, therefore, that after the young candidates for the reli-gious life have been seasonably and prudently selected, they receive, along with such training in piet~r as is suited to their age, instruction in secondary studies which ,are usually given in schools and colleges; sb that they do not enter the novitiate until they have ~ompleted the curricu-lum of the so called 'humanities,' unless in individual cases rather grave reasons mal~e it advisable to provide other-wise." For the United States this is interpreted as meaning the completion of High SchOol studies, including Latin. .For the duration of the war, owing to the present draft laws, superiors would be justified in admitting candidates. ~to the novitiate who have not ~ompleted their High School studies. Such studies, however, should be completed after the novitiate, before the study of philosophy is begun. This is prescribed in an Instruction of the Sacred Congregation. of Religious, dated .December 1, 1931, regarding the training and testing of religious candidates for the priesthood. The second paragraph of the Pope's letter pertinent to the subject under discussion insists on devoting the time of the novitiate to the exclusive spiritual training of the novices. He says: "Putting-aside all worldly amusements and studies 6f all branches whatsoever, let the novices 258 STUDIES. DURING THE NOVITIATE devote themselves, under the wise direction of their mas-ter, to the exercises of the interior life, .and to the acquire- .ment of virtue, especially of those.virtues which are closely connected with the vows of religion, that is, poverty, obedience and chastity~" V. Finally we have an Instruction of the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious, dated November 25, 1929, regarding the teaching of Christian Doctrine to all mem-bets bf lay insti.tutes of men-and women. The pa~'t referring to novices reads as follows: "During the time of probation and novitiate the young men and women shall reviewtheir Christian Doctrine and learn it more thor-oughly, so that each one shall not only know it by heart, but also be able.to explaifi it correctly; nor shall they be admitted to take the vows without a sufficient knowledge thereof, and a previous examination." Norms For Present Practice Taking into consideration all the documents qtmted above, we may formulate the principles regarding studies during the novitiateas .follows: Christian Doctrine must be studied, by all novices of lay institutes for the purpose of reviewing what they already know as well as of acquiring a deeper kov~ledge of their holy religion. In order to attain this end, it is very desirable that formal classes .in which the Christian Doc-trine is explained by a capable teacher be held once or twice a week. The teacher may be either a priest or an older, experiencedreligious. No other studies are .of obligation in the novitiate. How.ever, it is not contrary to the mind of the Church to devote a moderate amount of time to such studies, pri-vately or in class. In fact, this may be positively encour-aged, provided the purpose of these studies be kept in view and all harmful effects be eliminated. 259 ADAMC. ELLIS The purpose of these studies is to benefit the novices by helping them to retain the knov~ledge they have. already acquired, as well as by providing them with some neces-sary relaxation from the strain of multiple religiousexer., _cises. A secondary consideration is the information made available to superiors regarding the talents and diligence of the novices. Such studies must not be made a major item in the daily order of the novitiate; nor may they be allowed to become a source of distraction or detriment to the .spii:- itual life of the novice. Hence it seems obvious that no formal courses of instruction may be allowed whose sole purpose is to impart knowledge With a view to credits. Some Practical Suggestions Such are the principles to be followed in making plans' for studies inthe novitiate. .,in the application of these princil~les, superiors may find the following suggestions helpful: 1) The study of the English language is generally useful. In this connection, some few classes at least in spelling may be necessary, since this subject has become a lost art for many of our young.people. 2) For clerical institutes, _as well as for lay institutes in which the Divine Office or the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin is recited in Latin, a moderate study of that lan-guage is recommended. Its.purpose should be to ground the novices,in the essentials of grammar and simple corn- ,position. 3) The fundamentals of Bible-and Church History may be given either separately, or in conjunction with the study of Christian Doctrine. 4) Tr,aining in Gregorian Chant is desirable for all 260 STUDIES DURING THE NOVITIATE novices. Two half-hour periods per week would not. seem too much for this important subject. .5) Some practice in penmanship for those whose writing is hardly legible is to be encouraged. 6) As to foreign l'anguages, it is certainly desirable that the. novices should not forget what they have already learned; and each novice should be encouraged to keep up a.ny one of these languages to which he has already devoted one or more years of study. This may be d6ne by private reading or, if. the numbers warrant it, by some classesheld during the summer months. It does riot seem to be in keeping with the mind of the Church for a novice to begin the study of a .modern language. 7) Ten to fifteen .miiautes of setting up exercises daily will prove helpful to all novices, provided these exercises are given for reasons of health, and not to impart the science, of ph~csical education. 8) Courses in p~dagogy and education, as well as in the sciences, mathematics, and profane history, are out of place in the. novitiate. 9) As to the fine arts, they have no place in the novi-tiate curriculum. Specially gifted novices who hive had considerable .previous training might be allowed a mod-erate amount of practice in music or drawing during the second year of novitiate. Amount ot: Time to be Det~oted to Study Exclusive of the classes in Christian Doctrine and Plain Chant, not more than five hours a. week should be devoted to private study, and not more than three hours a week to class work. This is the norm laid down by the Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of Religious and 'approved by-Plus X. In place of three periods of sixty minutes each, it may be found more convenient to have 261 ADAM C~. ELLIS four class periods per week of forty-five minutes eaeh. ~Atthe most, relatively little time m.ay be given to study during the novitiate, and it is evident that only one or the other subjec~ suggested above can be satisfactorily treated. I~: is much better to concentrate on one or two subjects than to try to .get a smattering of four or five in the time.allotted. Non multa sed multum applies here if anywhere: Conclusion Religious superiors should ever keep in mind that the sole purpose of the novitiate is the religious training of th~ novices. Let them ponder the words of Pope Plus XI in the "letter of March 19, 1924: "Let "the novices never for-get that they will be for the rest of their lives such as they were in the novitiate, and that ordinarily it is most useless to hope that a novitiate once made with little o~ no fruit, can be supplied later on by a renewal of the spirit of the novitiate." It is, therefore, a very shortsighted policy, and one detrimental to the best interests of the religious institute as a whole, to. attempt to introduce into the novi-tiate any kind of formal courses of studies with a view to professional standing in later life. As we have seen, the reasons for allowing any study at all in the novitiate are to. help the novices retain, the knowledge they have already acquired, and to add a certain amount of pleasant variety-to the regular 'orde~ of spiritual.duties and exercises, thus helping them to avoid any overstraining of the" nervous system which may result in physicalor rnentaI exhaustion, and may manifest itself in scruples or melancholia. Let superiors be. conv.inced that after a fervent novitiate the young religious will devote themselveswholeheartedly to their studies, and in a short time make up for any apparent loss dt~e to a lack of formal study during the novitiate. 262 Scruples versus Chas :it:y Gerald Kelly, S.J. IN THE MAY, 1942, number of this REVIEW (I, p. 187) the readers were introduced to Scrupulosus, a typical victim of that gnawing and ~ unfounded fear of sin known as scruples. In the article referred to it was pointed out that a supreme difficulty for Scrupulosus is to acquire the "human way of acting": he is unable to-resign himself to the fact that human problems cannot be solved with the exactness of mathematical problems. Two examples of his diffi-culty-- confession and the Eucharistic fast--were described in the former article; the present article deals with a third. " Perhaps no other sphere of human life entails as much mental torture for Scrupulosus as does the practice of chastity. This is hardly surprising, because the practice of chastity demands a special blending of idealism an~t common sense. Though often referred to ¯ as "the angelic virtue," chastity is essentially a human virtue and it must be practised in a human way. Before illustrating Scrupulosus' problem with chastity, it may be well to call attention to certain cases which" very likely are not real scrupulosity. I refer to those casesin which, though many symptoms of scrupulosity are present, the basic difficulty is rather ignorance than fear. For instance, there are some good people who suffer from an undue axiety regarding chastity because they really do not know what chastity is. At some time in their lives they got the notion that ¯ chastity includes just about everything pertaining to the discipline of the senses and the affections; and because of this erroneous widening of the scope of. chastity they are unnecessarily fearful of.violating the virtue. T'his type of worry can be dispelled by the simple process of obtaining correct information as to the meaning.of chastity. Other good people know, at least in a general way, the scopeof chastity, but do not know the difference between temptation and sin in this matter. Such people are ignorant of 'the simple principle that u2hat is not udlful cannot be sinful. They are apt to brand as sinful, imagi'nations and feelings that are no more wilful than a shudder or the blink of an eyelash. They set themselves to do the impossible, that is, to exclude even spontaneous sense impulses; and when they 263 GERALD KELLY 'have failed to do this, the~" think they have sinned. The obvious result is discouragement, "worry, fear: the. obvious remedy is instruc-- tion. Our genuine.Scrupulosus knows the meaning of chastity and of sin; in fact, he may have even a superior degree of theoretical knowl-edge. But be is afraid to apply it practically to himself. F~ar enslaves him and paralyzes his judgment. He does not trust himself; he can-not or will not, put his confidence in God. In the previous article about Scrupulosus we contrasted his con-duct with that of Humanus, who was considered as typical of the ordinary sincere human being. Perhaps it may help to continue this contrast Wi~h re~ard to some of the normal problems of chastity. Take the question of "bad thoughts." Both Humanus and Scrupulos.us are subject to them, and each has characteristic reactions to them. Humanus knows, of course, that disturbing imaginations are apt to come unbidden into. the mind and that they are often accom-panied by tempting feelings and impulses. Nevertheless, though not impruden~t, he is not afraid of them nor perpetually on, the looko.ut for them. When they do pass through his mind, he ignores them. Even when they persist and grow strong, he is usually content with the quiet judgment, "I don.'t want these things," a'short aspiration for grace, and a sincere, calm. attempt to think of other things. Occa- .sionally he may find it advisable to read a book to distract t-fimself. Now and then he even has dotibts about his guilt; but these doubts are not a. source of worry for him. He knows this is a human prob-lem, and he deals with it the human way. Unlike Humanus, Scrupulosus is afraid of bad thgughts, o When he hasn't any, he is afraid that he will have them; and this makes him more susceptible to them. And when they do come, his fear .that he will give in to them incites him to engage them immediately in an interior wrestling match instead of resorting to the much more salu-tary. method of ignoring them. ~t isa wrestling match that seldom results in a complete victory for Scrupulosus. " His common sense tries to draw him away from ¯ the combat with the quiet, cheery message: "Dofi't bother, about these things. If you let them alone they won't hurt you. Rem(mber it's not :your fault they're here. Involuntary things are. never sinful." But the voice of his fear, louder hnd sharper than that of common sense, goads him on. "That's just the point," argues fear. "'Are they SCRUPLES VERSUS CHASTITY involuntary? They're pleasant, aren't they? Maybe you do want them! Maybe you did something that brought them on! Maybe. they're the result of your other ~ins! And even if you don't want them now, maybe you will want them. You'd better act fast. You'd better pitch them out right now, or you'll be gu'ilty of mortal sin." ¯ Blinded by fear, Scrupulosus ignores the voice of cofnmon sense. He tries to shake the thoughts out of lqis head; he clenches his fists; he prays desperately. He keeps his nerves at bowstring tautness, so that fear can play his haunting challenge on them~ And when the temptation is over--for a while---he looks back on it with the eyes of fear. He dare not decide that he didn't sin; yet he's not sure that he did. Then he's not sure that he isn't sure; and in the end he suc-cumbs not to a judgment, but tO a despairing conviction dictated by fear: "I guess-I must have sinned!" The foregoing are more or less typical reactions to involu6tary and unforeseen thoughts .and feelings. Another problem concerns " oluntary~thoughts and actions that are good' in themselves, but which are quite likely to be accompanied by temptations against chastity. There are many such thoughts and actions: for example, the study of the Sixth Commandment, the study of physiology, nor-mal social dealings with certain attractive persons, the care of the sick, the care of one's own body, reading that contains suggestive descriptions, and so forth. Many people know from experience that such things as ,these are apt to excite impulses and feelings that would be unchaste if deliberately indulged in. Hence arises the problem: must all such thoughts and actions be avoided? For determining whether any deliberateaction or-line of thought that is likely to result in physical disturbances andtemptatdns against chastity is permissible, the following set of questions is simple, yet scientifically sound: (1) Is the action itself impure? If it is~ it is wrong; if it is not, the remaining questions are applicable. (2) Is my motioe impure, that is, am I seekifig to arouse passion or trying to lead on to an impure action? (3) Have I a r~asonable assurance of preseroing self-control, if I should be tempted? (4) Have I a relatio.ely su~cient reason for this particular action or line of thought --in other words, is the good to be accomplished of sufficient value to justify my tolerating the physic~al reactions and te, mptation? For example, consider the case of. one who needs iristruction con-cerning chastity. It may be that the instruction itself, at least in the 265 GERALD KELLY .beginning, will be a source of disquiet to him. Foreseeing this diffi-culty, he can satisfy the demands of conscience by applying the four questions to his problem. The application might run somewhat as follows: (1) The action? Certainly the study of chastity is/not wrong in itself, other-wise not even priests could study or give information. ~2) The motioe? . In this case the purpose is to obtain useful, even necessary information, and the eventual, peace of mind that comes with it. "The evil effects adcompanying.the study are merely tolerated. (3) controI? This is is a personal problem; yet the normal good person who is not accus.tomed to sin against chastity and who is willing to ¢ta'ke the ordinary means of safeguarding his will against temptation usual!y has a reasonable assurance on this point. (4) SuOicient -Reason? Such reasons are relati~re, depending on the degree of the. disturbance and the force of ~he temptation. In this case, since the information is really useful, even necessary, it constitutes a sufficient reason for tolerating even strong physical reactions and ~temptations. The first of the questions would seldom pr.esent serious difficulty to anyone who is well-instructed as to the meaning of chastity, though, of'course, it is the great stumbllng-block for the ignorant. But it is well to note that the other three questions can rarely be answered with perfect exactness. They carry us definitely into the human sphere; they involve delicate subjective elements and the weighing of .rather intangible pros and cons. Most people have to be content with answering" these according to a "rough estimate." Humanus doesn't mind "rough estimates." He makes them often in all spheres Of life. Why should he demand more in the matter of chastity? Suppose," for instance, that his work calls for.the .reading of a book that he kfiows will be a source of some disturbance to him. His motive? Well, he knows he might deceive himself; yet he is not conscious of any impure motive or self-deception now, and he does have a rather obvious good purpose. Hence he coficludes that his motive is good. His self-control? .Yes, he has occasionally lost self' cofltrol in temptation, but it was only occasional, and he now h~s whatappears to be a prudent confidence that he can control himself; so hedoesn't-worry about that point. Does the good outweigh the evil? Humanus knows that he cannot put the good' effects of his action on one side of a scale and the evil effects on the other; but he also knows that the reading is necessary, or at least definitely useful. 266 SCRUPLES VERSUS CHASTITY for his work, and his good sense tells him that this outweighs merely unintentional physical reactions and.temptations. 'Life is seldom all white; a bit of black must often be tolerated. Scrupulosus detests "rough estimates." Each of the last three questions affords his fear a veritable field day. "How do you know you have a good motive? Lots of people act from hidden impure motives. You yourself fiave had evil motives before. You're just trying to cover, up your guilt so that you can enjoy yourself . . .'. "As for self-col~trol, .haven't you 10st it before? Even if your motive were good now, how could you know you wouldn't weaken? This temptation may be especially strong. Remember what the Scrip-ture says about the man who thinketh himself to stand. You're putting yourself in th'e proximate occasion of sin right now; and that means you're already sinning . "Good and evil! How can you balance, good and evil? A little bit'of evil outweighs a vast amount of good. Furthermore, how do you know this reading is useful or necessary? You don't really need it. You could get along without it. It's easy to deceive yourself into thinking things are necessary .or useful when pleasure is connected verb them. That's what" you're doing now--decei'~ing yourself. Then you'll go. to confession and deceive your confessor." But remem- ¯ bet: ~ou can't dece[oe God!" The second struggle ends in the same manner as the first--with Scrupu.losus a beaten man. If he does the things he has a perfect right to do, his fear continues to plague him, especially with the taunt that he is acting "against his conscience"; if he doe~ not do these things, he is deprived of many useful, even necessary benefits of' normal human living. And even then h~ is not at peace. The result of these interior conflicts is often a profdund ~tiscour-agement. Scrupulosus may begin to look upon chastity as something impossible for him, and this leads to the very ~eal danger that he will cease to care whether he practises it. His scruples, unlike a truly delicate conscience, become the worst enemy to his chastity. One remedy for this condition is to relax. If Scrupulosus can-not climb the fence, perhaps he can duck under it. And how can' he relax? By trying, to see the real absurdity of his frantic efforts to be absolutely certain of things; by living a normal life, despite the pain of fear; by trusting himself more; and by trusting and loving God. 267 Beating t:he Air in Prayer [EDITORS' NOTE: During the course of the discussion on spiritu.al direction, a priest who is. interested in the subject of "direction concerning prayer" sent us a long letter on the subject. We were unable to print the letter at that time. We are publishing it now under the title, Bea.ting the Air in Prat.ler.] THE NEED of spiritual direction presupposes the need of progress in the interior life, and one of th~ common gages of such pro-gress is prayer. Father Leen remarks: "It is a sad thing that of all those who start' out with such confidence and such good. will on the supernatural life, so few attain to any marked degree of spiritua, l-ity . Resistance to grace is the reason of the absence of gkowth in the spiritual life. Yet it would be hard to say that resistance,to grace is in the majority of cases deliberate. It is quite possible that it may proceed from want of spiritual enlightenment and that great numbers of failures are to be attributed not to bad will but to imperfect under-standing'. One who has some expekience in dealing with souls°. cannot fail to remark that very many good and promising beginnings end in disappointment and discouragement" (Prooress Through Mental Pra~er, pp. 13, 14). One is forced to concur With that judgment. The conviction grows with repeated experience that an understanding of progress in prayer is not as widespread as it sh6uld be. For instance is it not an implicit denial of anything like progress in prayer to expect that older religious" will pray in exactly the same way and according to the same ~method as novices? Yet in some plates the same matter for prayer is read to all, and, worse' still, it 'is read aloud during the very time of prayer, thus making it impossible for those who should be practiced in mental prayer to give to any one thing the prolonged attention of soul that should be characteristic of progressing prayer. One obstacle to progress in prayer is the fear that some s~uls entertain 'of progressing from strict meditation to the simpler forms of prayer, lest they be guilty of the heresy which they have heard called Quietism. A director who suggests a change is apt to be considered an innovator or anti-traditionalist. Yet sometimes a change is neces-sary. We are often fold, or we read, that we must be patient with aridity in prayer, that all God wants is the effort. It is true that He 268 ~EATING THE AIR IN PRAYER does want the effort; but is this all He wants? Do we not often put a great deal of energy and effort into merely "beating the air"? And as for the aridity, patience is nece.ssary, but patience is not a satisfac-tory solution to the problem if the' aridity comes simply from the fact that the form of prayer one has been using has accomplished its purpose and has nowbecome sterile. It is too hard to keep patient in such circumstances, too hard to keep exerting effort, and it happeng too often that souls give up all earnest me~atal prayer and simply "last out" the time 6f prayer in an uninterested and inacti;ce manner. It seems that some are ignorant of the need of progress in prayer because they do not know that even ordinary mental prayer has many forms and that it admits of progress from one form to the other. Those who do not know of these forms think that any mention of progress in prayer in~dicates a tendency toward "mysticism" and is therefore to be suspected. To these people, "relish" in prayer means merely sentimentality, feeling, or emotion; "effort" is the 0nly thing that counts. They mistrust anything that appears to go beyond the low foothills of out-and-out reasoned prayeL They consider that any prayer which does not result in a definite and concrete resolution with regard to some particular virtue or. vice is a fruitless prayer. Yet it is a princip!e of spiritual theology that progress in prayer should move away from sheer reasoning in the direction of simplicity. A second cause of failure to make progressin prayer is unwilling-ness to make the sacrifices necessary to persevere in recollection. Some use their work for the salvation and perfection of their neighbor as ari e~cu~e for riot wogking for their own perfection. This is~ absurd, because the tirst'purpose of any religious institute is the perfection of its own members. Utter absorption in working for others is accom-panied by a dissipation of mind and' energy that makes prayer unnec-essarily burdensome. It takes the interest from interior living which is our greatest need at the present time. Everyone who has tried to preserve recollection ifi the midst of intense external activity knows,, that it is diffictilt; but the difficulty is hardly an honest justification for neglect. Increasing self-abnegation is an indispensabl.e condition for progre.ss in prayer. Putting aside all rationalizing, most religious who do not try to make progress in prayer would have td admit that the real reason is that they are afraid of the self-abnegation involved. 269 Reviews. THE EXEMPTION OF: RELIGIOUS IN CHURCH LAW. By the Reverend Joseph D. O'Brien, S.J., S.T.D., J.C.D. Pp. xvil -t- 307. The Bruce Publ[shlncj Company, Milwaukee, 1943. $3.7S. Law, e~cleslastical as well as civil, is a living, thrivin~ organism, operating over an extensi,ce fi~ld of human~activity. While deriving its very vitality from" roots descending into God's own law, it must, in its daily operation, be adaptable to the oft-changing situations found among men. The flexibility of the ecclesiastical law's a1~li-cation "is made manifest by the frequent decisions, instructions and interpre~tations issued by the Holy .See, ever ready to meet, when possible, any new .situation that may affect the welfare of any class of her children. The periodic publication of these new prescription~ of the l'aw calls for a'corresponding revision of the Commentaries on the Code of Canon ~Law so that these new aspects of the law may receive appropriate consideration. One of the latest of such commen-taries is The Exemption or:. Religious in Church Law, the publica-tion of which marks the firs~ complete treatise on this subject writ-ten in English. ' Four grand divisions, further divi~ied and subdivided, form the complex pattern of Father O'B~ien's scholarly volume." Part I clears the ground° for an intelligent understanding of many of the questions'to be discussed in subsequent por.tions of the work by presenting the genuine meaning of many terms used without canoh-ical discrimination. Such words as "nun" and "order" are explained according to Canon 488. Popular usage often.tends to dull the fine canonical precision of such expressions. Our attention is next focussed on the juridical nature of exemption. The law of exemp-tion 6r immunity from the jurisdiction of the local Ordinary is expressed in Canon 61~: "Regulars, both men and women, in-cluding novices, except those nuns who are not subject to Regular superiors,, are exempt, together with their houses and churches, from the jurisdiction of the local Ordinary, except, in the cases pro-vided for-by la{v." Generally speaking, all the faithful residing within the diocesan limits are subject to ~he. spiritual rule of the local Bishop. The Sovereign Pontiff, however, within whose jurisdiction lies the Universal Church and each member thereof, has 270 BOOK REVIEWS seen fit to withdraw certain religious in.~titutes from the rule of the local Bishop and reserve their government to himself. Such is the meaning of exemption. Needless to say, the Holy See exercises this government of Regulars through the medium of their own supe- "riors. ¯ : A thorough analysis of the" jurisdiction exercised, over exempt religious and a further amplification of the notion of jurisdiction occupies the second part of this volume. Part III, easily the most 'important. section, enters into a detailed study of all the forms of religious activity exercised under the rule of the religious superior and independently of the local Ordinary. These details are handled with painstaking thoroughness over a space of 203.pages. Fol- !owing the classification of persons, plac.es and things, no aspect of religious activity is neglected. Part IV, "The Limitations. of Exemption," explains the juridical norm regulating the restrictions placed on this privilege by the Code .and supplies an enumeration of the cases expressed in the general law of the Code. In these excep-tional cases, the local Ordinary exercises jurisdiction over exempt as well as non-exempt persons. Human nature being what it is, Regular exemption did not opera/re ove~ a course of centuries without its vicissitudes. The occa-sional failure of Bishops and Regular prelates to recognize and to respect the rights of one anbther has caused at. times the straining of. relations if not regrettable conflicts between them. By her wi~e leg-islation, the Church has supplied an adequate preventive for many misunderstandings. A sound knowledge and a faithful ~ observance of the law of the Church will provide a solution to any problem that may arise among her children and will result in that apostolic harmony between Diocesan and Religious clergy that brought praise from the Fathers of the Third Plenary Council in Baltimore. For his very objective analysis~ of this point, Fr. O'Brien me.rits our commendation. ¯ The Exemption of Religious in Church Law is primarily a sci-entific commentary on 615 and related canons. The abundant cross-references presume a degree of familiarity with the structure and gbneral content of the Code of.Canon Law. It is to be kept in mind, however, that the Code is an integrated and highly system-atized body of laws, many of which are intimately .correlated No part or section of it may be studied properly without frequent 271 BOOK REVIEW~ ¯ references to other canons or sections of the Code. The complexity " of the question of exemption explains the frequent 'repetition by the author of fundamental notions--a repetition which serves to main-tain precision of tho.ught throughout the'entire volume. This study of the exerhption of Regulars is the fruit of long and patient investigation, as the ample bibliography and the countless citations testify. Roman documents, the great classics of Canon Law, and many modern commentarie~ bear eloquent witness to the author's scho!arship~ Pre-Code legislation on the subject of exemp-. tion is examined in order to point out the changes warranted by the varying circumstances over the course of .years. Differing opinions are carefully sifted and followed by a statement of the validity and 'practicability o~ the conclfisions reached. The foregoing sketchy estimate of Fr. O'Brien's treatise should not lead one to conclude that only the trained canonist will fully appreciate his efforts. All priests engaged in the directiofi-of reli-gious will find within the volume an answer to many of the ques~ tions periodically submitted by their charges. The fact, too, that a satisfying exposition of the general law of religious precedes the explanation of many points of exem15tion should extend the field of' interest in this work. A complete general index accompamed by an index of all the canons of the Code referred to will direct us to the different subjects that engage our interest or form the basis of'a problem calling for solution. Finally,' the thoroughness of the work, evident from the'vastness of the field covered and the num-berless questions discussed, cannot be too highly praised. Among the many excellent canonical treatises published during recent years, The Exemption of Religi~ous in Church Law merits indeed a place of distinction.--J. E. RISK, S.J. ON THE PRIESTHOOD. By. Saint John Chrysostom. Translated by the Reverend Patrick Boyle, C:.M. Pp. xl -1- 14S. The Newman Book Shop, WToesot mofintesnte rC, Mat~hIo., l1i9c4s: ]k. n$o1.w2S o. f their valiant predecessors. in tho~ Faith by hearsay rather than from having made contact with great . Christian minds'across the centuries. A thrill would b~ in store for th(m were they.to take in hand a book such as this and discbver for themselves how modern, in their timelessness, ar~ the doctrines and precepts they have inherited. 272 BOOK REVIEW$ St. John Chrysostom, an his.treatise On the Priesthood,.offers his friend Basil pertinent counsel regarding his duties and privileges as priest and bishop. Special attention is given to the greatness of the priestly vocation, the essential rules for Christian eloquence, and the priest's exterior ministry. The prospective reader need have no fear of being lost in an unfamiliar world. St. John ever aimed at bringing revealed truths to the understanding of the people in general, and his undying fame as popular preacher is proof that he succeeded. Cardinal Newman, as -'quoted in the introduction to this edition, has ~he folio.wing to say . of Chrysostom: ". He writes as one who was ever looking out with sharp but kind eyes upon the world of men and their history, and hence .he always has something to produce about~ them, new or old, to the purpose of his argument, whether from books or from the experience of life. Head and heart were full to overi~owing with a stream of mingled 'wine and milk,', of rich vigorous thought and affectionate feeling. This is why his manner of writing is so rare andspecial. " " First written more than fifteen centuries ago, On The Priesthood is a welcome addition/to the series of reprints being provided by the, Newman Book Shop. It has been called the finest of all Chrysostom's ¯ writings and the first great pastoral work ever written. --C. DEMUTH, S.J. THE BOOK OF CATHOLIC AUTHORS. Second Series. Edited with preface and notes by Walter Romicj. Pp. 312. Walter Romig and Company, Detroit, 194:L $2.20. The Second Series of The Book of Catholic Authors should be warmly received, especially by young Catholic writers, for whom it sdems to be particularly designed. Readers will be treated to a per-sonal interview, an inspirational chat with voyagers .in the field of Catholic letters who have arrived. Marshalled through its pages are many names that were regret-fully missed in the first group, personalities such as Bishop Francis C. Kelly, Rev. Owen Francis Dudley, Halliday Sutherland, Rev. Fran'cis LeBuffe, S.J., and John Moody. Priests, nuns, men and women of the world pass in disarming review and tell of their endeavors in becoming novelists, dramatists, historians, poets, essayists, l~ycholo-gists, spiritual writers. As informally and candidly as if it were a 273 BOOK REVIEWS conversation over the back fence while resting from the hoe'work on the Victory garden, they relate how they got thi~t way, their literary background and ~early struggles, the romance of the. best stiller that nobody wanted; punctuating their "do's"°and '~don'ts" with a flick of an imaginar.y .blade of grass, they offer practical advice to a~plring° authors. They plead the cause of Catholic v~riters. They are gen-erous with encouragement: "I becam~ a write~ because I am a'Cath-olic. There's something to write about when you're a Catholic." The sketches are pleasantly brief, but at the~ same time they are concentrated capsules of writer's vitamin, of antidote for the severest . . case of beginner's digcouragement.---~. F. ABBICK, S.J. TALES FROM THE RECTORY. By' the Most Reverend Francis clement Kelley. Pp. 193. The Bruce Pubilshing Company, Milwaukee, 1943. $2.2S. Every day all: over th~ world very ordinary PeoPle are passing.in and out of rectories, where from their pastor they receive added "stre.ngth tobear their burdens, kindly advice to solve their problems, and.sinceie sympathy in their sorrows. The pastors, too, have their own triumphs and failures. Bishop Kelley, author of many popu-lar books, has condensed many year~ of such pastoral experienc.e in this a.nthology of twenty.-four of his short stories. It is not s~rprising, therefore, that these stories are packed with interest for the reader. Like the p~rables of Christ, each has within it some gem of truth which may serve as a guide in everyday prob-. lems. As in the parables, that gem of truth is enhanced and b~ight-ened by the fact that it is set in a story whose characters are very real persons with very human emotions and reactions. In an atmosphere haunted with the grim realities of war, Tales from thd Rector~ is both a sedative for erratic emotions and a guide for bewildered minds. --J. W. NAUGHTON, ~.J. HOW TO THINK. By Arthur D. Fearon. Pp. 194. College Publishing "Company, San Francisco, 1943. (Price not listed.) The subtitle of this book is Hotu to Anal~cze, Associate, Memo-ri2e, Reason; but perhaps a more apt and appealing subtitle is indi-cated ixi the Preface, "Shortcuts toefficient studying." Every teacher will heartily concur wi~h Dr. Fearon in his ex-pressed wish that these hints will reach every thinking person over 274 BOOK REVIEWS I d. The remarks on Analysis ~speciallY show a real grasp of the problems confronting a prospective student. Yet is it not to be feared that the reading of such a concise¯ meth-odolgy wil! be meaningful only to one who has discovered by ex-pe~ rience the value of analysis in his. study? Only such a one will be struck with the high efficiency of the hints which are suggested. Expertus potest credere. ¯ In the hands of an enthusiastic teacher (and an apostle of clear thinking), this book could be used to give a real orientation to a class. A history teacher, a retreat master, a catechist, using the sub-ject- matter that is within his grasp, could provide his class with a wholly new illumination by presenting his ideas within the frame-work of this little manual. No educator Will be the worse for inves-tigating IDa. Fearon's contribution to the problems of youth. ¯ - --R. G. NORTH, S.J. THE LOVE OF GOD. By Dom Aelred Graham, O.S.B. Pp. xlx ~ 252. Longmans, Green and'C;o., New York, 1940., $2.50. This worthwhile book has been available for some time, but on the chance that some priests and" religious have not as yet made its acquaintance, attention is gladly called to it in tbe~e pages. While the love of God for man and man's obligation to love God in return are standard themes for spiritual writers, the fundamental philosophical and theologichl principles on which a solid devotional life must be based are usually to be found only in technical works. Dora Aelred has done a significant service, by gathering these 'pri.nciples from the works of St. Thomas, St.' Augustine, St. John of the Cross and other masters, fitting them together compactly, expand-ing them with clarity and objectivity, and in general making them understandable and highly inspirational to the intelligent, serious reader. To use the author's own phrase, his book is an "essay in analysis," explaining doctrine With a view to making it effective for spiritual living. The Nature, Conditions, Expression, and Effects of the Love of God are the headings of the four large sectiohs into which the book is divided. Each section is in turn distributed through three chapters in a manner admirably suited to provide a well-balanced treatment of thesubject under discussion. 275 BOOK REVIEWS Not the least attractivefeature of the book is the authbr's facility of expression. Without apparent effort, the words and phrases seem, on reflection, to afford the best possible settings for the thought-gems brdught to light. Not often is the medi~um of words so unobtrusively effective. The pages are regularly lighted up with passages that reveal the author as a vigorous, independent thinker even when he avows, his utter dependence on the great Christian masters. Such a passage, in the chapter on Knowledge, is his discussion of Y ideals in educati'on and his 'penetrating evaluation of current .methods. Again, in the chapter on Prayer, the inevitable interrelation of social worship and the personal element in religion is presented in a way to give consid-erable pause to the tunnel-visioned extremist. As a final instance, the .chapter on Action has a section wherein art, morality, and the virtue of prudence are brought together with happy results. The passage is ¯ recommended especially to those who are recurrently in a pother over the e.ssence of Catholic Arts and Letters.--C. DEI~IUTH, S.,J. HYMNS OF: THE DOMINIGAN MISSAL AND BREVIARY. Edited with . ir~÷roducfion and no÷es by ÷he Reverend Aquinas Byrnes, O.P. Pp. 694. B. Herder Book (2o., S÷. Louis, 1943. $4.75. This work is a useful companion volume to Britt's well known handbook. Destined primarily for Dominican friars, nuns, and ter-tiaries, it is also valuable for other religious who participate in the Opus Dei. Many hymnspresented here are common to the Domini- .can and ordinary Roman breviaries. In addition, students of .hym-r~ ody will be grateful to have at hand a number of fine compositions not contained in the Roman breviary, as well as the or.iginal forms of hymns that were revised under Urban VIII. On opposite pages are printed Latin texts and English verse trans-lations. The lower half of each page is reserved for literal prose ren-derings and pertinent comments on the content, form, author, and liturgical use of the hymn under consideration. Two appendices contain helpful data on authors and translators. A third of the poetic versions are by Father Byrnes and show unusual taste and competency in this dif/icult art, the remainder being by Msgr._ Henry, Neale, Caswall and other standard translators.--C. 2. McNASpY, S.,I. 276 Decisions he- See May 4, 1943: A general assembly of the Sacred Congregation of Rites attended by Pope Pius XII voted on the miracles attributed to~ the intercession of Blessed Frances Xavier Cabrini--v.a necessary pre-requisite in the advancement of her cause of canonization. At the same meeting the Congregation also decreed that it is. safe to proceed with the beatification of Venerable Alix Le Clerc, foun-dress of the Augustinian Regular Canonesses of the Congregation of Our Lady. April, 1943: In connection with the starting of the Vatican radio's new weekly broadcast to Russia, His Holiness Pope Plus XII granted indulgences for a new prayer recommended not only on behalf of all Christians outside the unity of the Church; but especially on beh.a!f of the Russian dissidents. The prayer reads, as follows: "O Most Holy Trinity, we adord Thee, and through Mary offer our petition: grant to all unity in the faith and courage to profess it faithfully." Indulgences: 300 days each time, a plenary indulgence once a month under the usual conditions. February 27, 1943: Pius .XII, through the Sacred Penitentiary, made the following modifications in the conditions for gaining the indulgences attached to the wearing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 1) All religious of the Carmelite Order (priests, brothers, nuns, and tertiaries regular) may gain the indulgences attached to the wearing of the Carmelite habit, even though the habit is not made of wool. 2) All the faithful who belong to the Carmelite Third Order Secular, arid to th~ Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of. Mount Carmel, may gain the indulgences attached to the wearing of the scapular, even though they wear a ~capula.r not made of wool. These concessions were made at the request of the Procurator General of the Carmelite Order A.O., and they are made for tile dura-tion of the war onl~l. The Holy See also granted a sanatt'o for any invalidating defects in the erection of a Third Order and of a Confratern.ity of the' Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, as well-as in the admission of the faithful to these organizations. 277 ( UeS ons and Answers .~.26--. On the occoslon of his Golden Jubilee a religious is made th~ recipi-ent of a sum of money 'contributed by" his friends and former pupils. Should this money be considered as the personal property of the religious, or does it belong to the communih/? Canon 580, § 2 states that "whatever a ~eligious acquires by his " own industry or in respect to his institute, belongs to the institute." One may acquire in respect to his institute in two ways: (1) The donor wishes to make a gift to the institute or to the community, and does so through the individual religidus; (2) he gives it to the reli-gious, because he is a religious. In this latter case the donor knows the religious only.as a religious; he would not know him if he were not a religiotis. Thus gifts given to religious teachers.by their pupils, or by patients to religious who nurse them, are considered ~iven to the religious because they are religious.- In case of doubt, whether.[he ' gift is given to-the person or to the religious, the doubt is to be solved in favor of the community, by an analogy to canon 1536. From the foregoing it would seem that gifts received by a reli~ gious on the .occasion of his Golden ,Jubilee are given to him because he is a religious, hence their go to his community. In practice it i~ best to follow this interpretation because if the gift is considered as purely personal, the religious must add it to his pdtri-mony; and may not spend it or give it away (canon 583, 1°); whereas if the gift is considered as given to him because he is a reli- 'gious, it goes to the comm'unity but the superior may allow him to use part of it for a jubilee trip to some of the houses, or for some similar purpose. Of course, the'superior should be prepared to grant the same permission to all other jubilarians, whether they receive gifts, or not, so as to avoid any violation of common life. --27-- In case of a f~mily inheritance, may a religious renounce his or her~ share in favor of brothers and sisters? Similarly, is a religious free ÷o turn over to others of the family his share of a pension right due a parent? The answer to these questions will depend to a certain extent upon the civil law of the State in which the will of the deceased per- 278 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS son is executed. If the state law obliges a pare

Issue 1.3 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; Review for Religious MAY 15, 1942 The General Chapter of Elections . Adam C. Ellis Retreat Resolutions . Clarence McAuliffe Reparation to the Sacred Heart . Malachi J. Donnelly The, Pivotal Point of Good Will . G. Augustln~ Ellard Scruples Versus the Human Way . ~ Gerald Kelly Hints for Sacristans . Gerald Ellard The Presumed Permission . ¯ . James E. Risk Book Reviews )uestions Answered E)ecisions of the Holy See VOLUME NUMBER 3 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME I MAY 15. 1942 NUMBER CONTENTS. THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS IN A RELIGIOUS CONGREGATION Adam C. Ellis, S.3 . 146 FOR CHURCH MUSICIANS . " . 156 RETREAT RESOLUTIONS---Clarence McAuliffe, S.J . 157 BOOKS RECEIVED . , . 166" ¯ SOME PAMPHLETS . 166 REPARATION IN THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART Malachi J. Donnelly, S.J. . ." . . . 167 THE PIVOTAL POINT OF EFFECTIVE GOOD WILL G. Augustine Ellard, S.J . 170 SCRUPLES VERSUS THE HUMAN WAY---Gerald Kelly. S.J. 187 HINTS FOR SACRISTANS~erald Ellard, S.J . 194 THE PRESUMED PERMISSION--Jame$.,E~. Risk. S.J . 196 BOOK REVIEWS PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION . 206 BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HUNGER By the Reverend Richard Graef, C.S.Sp. 206 THE MASS OF BROTHER MICHEL. By Michael Kent . 207 FAST BY THE ROAD. By John Moody . ; 208 THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN ENGLAND. By John ,J. O'Connor 209 MEDIEVAL HUMANISM. By the Reverend Gerald G. Walsh, S.J. 209 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS 210 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Extension of Temporary Vows; Use df Parish School Funds; Is Reli-gious Habit a Sacramental; Days of Abstinence during Lent; Languages during Canonical Year; Inspection of Letters: Administration of Anes-thetics: Aspirant of East Syrian Rite: Converts from Greek Orthodox Church; Indulgence for Kissing Habit: Extending Period of Probation: Chanting of Little Office; Working during Evening Recreation 211 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May, 1942. Vol. I, No. 3. 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.d. Copyright, 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. PHnted in U. S. A. The General Chap!:er ot: I::lect:ions in a Religious Congregat:ion Adam C. Ellis, S.3. BY CHAPTER in a reli.gious institute is meant the lawful assembly of those members to whom the con-stitutions give the right to vote when matters of im-portance are to be discussed and decided. Chapters may be general, provincial, or local, according as they represent an entire institute (order or congregation), or a province, or a local community. Provincial and local chapters meet, as a rule, only for the election of delegates to the general or provincial chapter respectively. In this article we are concerned only with the g.eneral chapter, though many of its provisions will apply equally well to a provincial or local chapter. An ordinarg general chapter is convoked at the times prescribed by the constitu-tions-~ every three or six years, or at other regular inter.- vals. An extraordinar~ general chapter is ofie convoked outside the time of the ordinary chapter~ Constitutions approved by the Holy See usually prescribe that an ex-traordinary chapter may not be convoked without the per-missioh of the Holy See, except in the case of the death or resignation of the superior general. The purpose of the general chapter is two-fold: to elect superiors, and to transact other important business. The first kind of chapter is usually called the chapter of elections; the second, the business chapter, or the chapter of affairs. We are dealing here with the chapter of elections only, which is governed by the regulations of the Code of Canon Law as well as by the provisions of the constitu-tions which are not contrary to the Code (cf. canon 507. §1). 146 CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS Time, Place, and Cor~oocation of Chapter. The common law of the Church does not prescribe any particular place for the meeting of the general chapter of elections. The constitutions usually allow the superior general to determi.ne the date and place of the chapter, with the deliberative vote of his council. Sometimes, however, they prescribe that the chapter be held in the motherhouse, and set the day for it as well. In the absence of any definite regulations of the constitutions, the superior general with his council is free to determine the day on which the chap-ter is to be held, as well as its meeting-place. This is true even in the case of a diocesan congregation of religious women which has houses in more than one diocese, as was declared by the S. Congregation of Religious on June 17, 1921, when it explicitly stated that the choice of the meet-ing- place of the chapter rested with the superior general, and not with the local Ordinary in whose diocese the moth-erhouse is located. At the same time the S. Congregation declared that the right to preside over the election in the case mentioned belonged to the local Ordinary in whose diocese the election took place, hence not to the Ordinary of the motherhouse, unless the election is held in his dio-cese. Pope Benedict XV confirmed these decisions and ordered them to be published. The day and place of the general chapter having been determined upon, the superior general will then convoke the chapter, usually by means of a circular letter to be sent to all those who have a right to assist at the chapter. The constitutions usually pr.escribe that such letters are to be sent at least three, if not six, months before the day on which the chapter is to meet. An error in convoking the chapter does not make the election invalid unless one third of those who have a right to attend have not been sum-moned and, by reason of this irregularity, have not taken 147 ADAM C. ELLIS part in the voting (cf. canon 162, § 3). Electors or Members of the Chapter The constitutions will determine who have a right to take part in a chapter of elections. The following are com-monly members of such a chapter: 1. The superior general; 2. The members of his council; 3. All ex-superiors general; 4. The secretary general; 5. The treasurer general; 6. Provincials and two or more delegates from each province, if there are provinces; 7. Local superiors, and delegates of the various houses chosen according to the constitutions. The common law of tl~e Church prescribes that reli-gious with temporary vows have neither active nor pas-sive voice1 unless the constitutions explicitly grant it to them. The constitutions sometimes grant active voice to religious with temporary vows, seldom if ever passive voice. The number of years required by the constitutions for the enjoyment~ of active and passive voice is tO be counted from the" first profession of temporary vows, un-less the constitutions provide otherwise (cf. canon 578, 30). It is customary to elect substitutes for all delegates who are elected to take part in a chapter of elections. These substitutes take the place of such delegates as are impeded or who do not wish to attend the chapter. Unless the con-stitutions declare otherwise, the religious who have been elected delegates may give up their right to attend the chap-ter. XActive voice is the tight to vote: passive voice is the right to be voted for or to be elected to an ot~ce, 148 CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS Prelirainar~.t Session of Chapter In a preliminary session of the .chapter it is customary to examine the credentials of all the delegates to the chap-ter. This having been done, the assembly proceeds by se-cret vote to the election of at least two "scrutineers".0r tellers (cf. canon 171, § 1), unless these are already desig-nated by the constitutions. They must be elected from among the members of the chapter. After being elected they take an oath to fulfill their of Iice faithfully, and to observe secrecy regarding everything done in the chapter of elections. A secretary is usually elected in a similar man-ner, unless one of the tellers acts in this capacity. General Regulations Regarding Voting On!y those religious who are actually present in the chapter have a right to vote. Votes sent in by mail or cast by proxy are forbidden and invalid, unless the constitu-tions or a special privilege granted by the Holy See author-ize the employment of those methods (cf. canon 163). An exception., however, is made in favor of members of the chapter who are in the house but unable to attend the meetings because of illness. Such a person's vote given in writing shall be collected by the tellers and placed with the other votes, unless particular laws or a legitimate custom determine otherwise (cf. canon 168). All must abstain from seeking votes either directly or indirectly for themselves or for others, and no one may validly vote for himself (cf. canons 507, § 2, 170). This does not forbid the members-of the chapter from seeking information from one another regarding the qualities of this or that religious. The constitutions frequently pro-vide for such an opportunity before the day of the election. All votes must be freely given. A vote directly or indirectly extorted by grave fear or fraud in favor of a 149 ADAM C. ELLIS determined person, or of one of a group of persons, is an invalid vote (cf. canon 169, §.1). In order to be valid, a vote freely cast for an eligible candidate must have four qualities: it must be secret, cer-tain, absolute, and determined (cf. canon 169, § 2). Each one of these qualities demands a brief explanation. A secret vote. This means that no member of the chapter may make known to another, the pers6n for whom he voted. A vote which is made public is by that very fact invalid. However, for special reasons, a member of the chapter may declare before the president and the tellers which person he wishes to vote for. The vote is secret, since all the persons to whom it is made. known are bound under oath. not to reveal it. Though not strictly speaking required by law, a written ballot is the most common and most convenient form of carrying on the election and safe-guards the secrecy req.uired. It would seem to be the only form contemplated by the Code. A certain vote. In order to be certain the vote must glare the full name of the person v6ted for so as to distin-guish him from all other persons having a similar name. A vote cast for "the person who will receive the majority of the votes," is an uncertain vote. A vote which cannot be read, or understood, is likewise uncertain; as is also a blank vote. An absolute vote. Each vote must be free from all con-ditions. A vote cast for Peter "provided he is fifty years old," would be an invalid vote. If the condition, however, merely expresses a requirement of the law for the valid election of the person voted for, the. vote would not be invalid: But such conditions should not be put in the vote when given since they are presupposed. A determined vote. An alternative vote is invalid. 150 CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS Such would be, for example, a vote cast for "either Peter or Paul." In conclusion it may be well to note that an invalid vote does not make the balldt in which it is cast invalid. Such an invalid vote is simply not.counted. By accident it may keep the person for whom it was given from getting the required majority of votes. The Election of the Superior General -Before the voting begins for the election of higher superiors in institutes of religious men, all and each of the members of the chapter shall promise under oath to elect those whom they deem before God should be elected (cf. canon 506, § 1). This oath is not required of reli-gious women. In institutes of religious men the superior general pre-sides over the election unless the constitutions provide otherwise. In congregations of religious women the elec-tion of the mother general is presided over by the Ordinary of the place in which the election is held. He may preside personally or through a delegate (cf. canon 506, § 4). For the election of superiors the common law requires an absolute2 majority of votes on either the first or second ballot, while a relative majority suffices on the third ballot, If, on the third ballot, the highest number of votes is given equally to two or more persons, the presiding officer may determine the election by casting his vote, but never in his own favor. Should he decline to do so, then the senior by reason of ordination, or of first profession, or of age, shall be regarded as elected (cf. canon 101, § 1, 1°). Theconsti- 2An absolute majority is constituted by any number exceeding half the number of valid votes cast, for instance, 9 out of 16, 10 out of' 19, and so forth. The person receiving the greatest number of votes cast is said. to have a plurality or relative majority of the votes cast when that number does not constitute an absolute majority of all the'votes cast. Thus, in a chapter in which 25 votes are cast,-,John may receive 11, Peter 8, and Paul 6. ,John has a relative majority. 151 ADAM C. ELLIS tutions may require a greater number of votes, for instance, a two-thirds majority for the election of the superior gen-eral. Constitutions approved by the Holy See usually require that :a fourth ballot be taken in case the third ballot does not result in an absolute majority. ¯ In this fourth bal-lot only the two religious who have received the greater number of votes on the third ballot are eligible for election, though they themselves are excluded from voting on the fourth ballot. In case this fourth ballot results in a tie, the election is determined by priority of ordination, or of first profession, or of age, respectively as mentioned above. The Voting Process When all are prepared the voting begins. It is the duty of the tellers to see to it that the votes be cast by each elector secretly, diligently, separately, and according to the order of precedence (cf. canon 171, § 2). No particular form of collecting the votes is prescribed by the common law, though the constitutions usually determine some detailed method, for instance, the tellers carry a locked box into which each member casts his sealed vote, or the members proceed slowly, one by one, to-the table or desk of the presiding officer, and there deposit their votes in an urn or box, under the watchful eyes of the tellers. When all the votes have been thus.collected, the tellers shall examine in the presence of the presiding officer, according to the manner prescribed by the particular con-stitutions or legitimate customs, whether the number of votes corresponds to the number of electors. Should the number of votes exceed the number of electors, the ballot is invalid (cf. canon 171, §§ 2 and 3), the ballots are destroyed, and a new vote taken. If the number of ballots does not exceed that of the number of electors, they are opened one by one so as to be seen by both tellers, and by 152 " CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS the presiding officer, and noted down by the secretary. After the votes have been counted the presiding officer or one of the tellers announces to the chapter how many votes each candidate has received. This may be done in either of two ways. After each vote is opened and inspected by the tellers and the presiding officer, the name of the person voted for is read aloud.-Or after the votes have been counted, the final results may be read to the chapter by the presiding officer or by one of the tellers. The constitutions or custom will determine the method to be followed. The votes are to be burned immediately after each bal-lot, or at the end of the session if several ballots were taken during it (cf. canon 171., § 4). When the election of the superior general has been com-pleted according to the prescribed formalities, the presiding officer will declare it lawful, proclaim it, and receive the oath of the newly elected superior general. Thereupon the religious both of the chapter and of the community will make their obedience according to custom. All the acts of the election shall be diligently written down by the secretary and, after being signed at least by him, by the presiding officer, and by the tellers, they shall be carefully preserved in the archives of the congregation (cf. canon 171, § 5). Acceptance and Confirmation of the Election The announcement of the result of the election made to the chapter is sufficient notification if the person elected is present; if he is not present the result should be officially communicated to him, and he is to be summoned to the chapter, all further business of which is suspended until his arrival. Unless the constitutions state the contrary, the reli-gious elected is not obliged to accept the office. Should he 153 ADAM C. ELLIS renounce it; he loses all the rights connected with the same, and a new election is held. In the case of diocesan congregations of religious women, the election of the mother general must be con-firmed by the Ordinary who presides over it. For grave reasons, according to his conscience, he may refuse to con-firm the election (cf. canon 506, § 4). In that case, how-ever, he may not appoint the superior general, but a new election must be held. Postutaiion It may fiappen that the members of a chapter wish to have for their superior a religious who is able and worthy to fill that office, but who is excluded from it by some impediment of church law from which the-competent ecclesiastical ~uperior can and is accustomed to dispense. Such a person cannot be validly] elected, but the members of the chapter may postulate him, provided that he receives two-thirds of. the votes of the chapter (cf. canons 179, § 1; 180, § 1)which means that they ask the Holy See to grant the necessary dispensation. Postulation, however, may be admitted only in an extraordinary case and provided the constitutions do not forbid it. (cf. canon 507, § 3). In a letter addressed to the local Ordinaries of the world on March 9, 1920, the S. Congregation of Religious instructed them to be very strict in allowing postulation in the case of the superior general of a congregation of religious women who has just com-pleted two terms of office. In such a case the simple desire of the members of the chapter to re-eleCt the same superior, or the mere ability of the person to fill the office, is not a sufficient reason for postulation. If, however, other grave reasons seem to require the choice of the same person beyond the time allowed by the constitutions, the Ordinary must 154 CHAPTER OF ELECTIONS send a petion to the S. Congregation, in which it is clearly stated what the reasons are, how many ballots were taken, and how many votes were in favor of the person postu-lated. Finally the OMinary must state his own opinion in the matter. The S. Congregation will then give a decision. The fact that the constitutions expressly allow postulation does not excuse from the requirements of this instruction. In case of postulation the members of the chapter who wish to vote for an ineligible person, must write on their ballot: "I postulate N. N." Election of Other Officers The newly elected superior general presides over the election of the other officers to be chosen by the general chapter, unless the constitutions allow the Ordinary the right of presiding likewise at the election of the members of the general council. These elections are usually held in a separate session Of the chapter. The manner of voting is the same as that employed in the election of the superior general. An absolute majority of votes is required on the first and second ballot. If no one has received such a major2 ity, a third ballot is taken in which a relative majority is sufficient. ,If on this third ballot two or more candidates receive an equal number of votes, the presiding officer may cast a deciding vote, though he is not .obliged to do so. If he declines to use his right, the person who is senior by ordi-nation, or by first profession, or by age, is considered elected. The constitutions may provide for a fourth bal-lot in case the third re.sults in a tie. If the person elected is not a member of the chapter, he must be summoned at once, but the chapter does not await his arrival in order to continue its business. After the elections are over, the former superior gen-eral, the members of his council, the secretary general and 155 ADAM G. ELLIS the treasurer general, usually continue to sit in chapter with active voice as long as it r~mains in'session, even though they may have been replaced in their offces by other reli-gious. Should the superior general die during his term of offce, or resignbefore its completion, the assistant superior gen-eral will take his place in the government of the community and will ~onvoke an extraordinary chapter in which dec-tions will be held not only for a new superior general, but also for all the other offices which are usually filled by election in general chapter. The reason for this is that all ¯ the officers elected in a general chapter hold office from chapter to chapter, rather than for a "definite number of years. FOR CHURCH MUSICIANS Of unusual yalue to religious and seminarians working in the field c~f church music is 'the new Catholic Choirmasters' Correspon-derice Course. Four semesters of ~olle'giate° work, accredited by St. Albertus College Department of Music, are done under personal tutorship and will be coricluded with summer schools in 1943 and 1944. The lessons have been prepared by a~ faculty international in personnel and repute, including Dom Desrocquettes0 Dr. Becket Gibbs, Dom Ermin Vitry, Father Gerald Ellard, and others. Zest and .authority characterize their teaching, and phonograph recordings assist amply in problems that need the living voice. General' editor is Clifford Bennett, Gregorian Institute, 1515 Berger Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. Those interested may obtain an attractive pros-pectus by writing to the General Editor. 156 Retreat Resolutions Clarence McAuliffe, S.3. AS ~WEGO ON in the religious life, certain practices, n6t binding under pain of sir/, but nevertheless, of paramount importance in their bearing on the whole spiritual structure, become increasingly .difficult. Among these are the particular examination of conscience, certain rules governing religious discipline, such as the rule of silence, and the formulation of apt resolutions during re-treat. That the delicate web of religious virtues clings for partial support upon the particular examen is admitted by all ascetical writers. The same holds true for the rule of silence, since its utter neglect means the undermining of the spirit of prayer and recollection. But the resolutions we take in our annual retreat are even of greater moment since the continued practice of the particular examen and the preservation of a prayerful disposition depend in no small measure upon them. If we reflect on our happy novitiate days, we shall remember that we experienced no difficulty in making resolutions and recording them. We jotted them down carefully as tokens of our affection for our Divine Savior Who alone besides ourselves knew what they were. We may still have them. We may smile now at some of their characteristics. No doubt we took too many resolutions; we aimed too often at purely external practices; we may even have aspired to fanciful performances. But we can-not deny that they did us good. They kept us fervent: they kept our ideals high; they were concrete proof of our good will in God's service; they bolstered our flagging spir-itual forces. As long as we exercised care in formulating and inditing resolutions during our retreat, we were also 157 CLARENCE MCAULIFI~E faithful to our particular examen and observant of a cred-itable practice of silence. If we ever relaxed our diligence in making resolutions during retreat, our particular exa-men becamea half-hearted or neglected undertaking and our love for silence grew notably remiss. No Excuse t:or Neglect W.hy should the task, for task it is, of taking retreat resolutions ever be neglected by. us? What truly solid rea-son can we give for not writing them down and keeping them close at hand? Every man or woman engaged in a profession or business or in any other activity of moment pauses now and then to determine hn altered course of ac-tion. Small defects ard bound to seep in unnoticed, but they impede success and must b~ removed. Positive prog-ress also must be made; knowledge must be extended; greater zest must be engendered or the business will grow languid and die. Merchants do not hesitate to pay ample fees to public accountants and efficiency experts. These men detect pecuniary losses and open up new fields of ac-tivity for the merchant, and he makes definite plans accord-ing to their advice. Are we religious not engaged in a pro-fession, and a profession transcending all others? Can we deny that peccadilloes of one kind or another are, almost unobserved, weakening the fabric of our spiritual gar-ments? .that we are yet far distant from the glorious hori-zon of perfec~tion to which God beckons each one of us? Should we hesitate during our annual retreat to be our own public accountants and efficiency experts because of the unreasonable murmurings of our natural selves? A Faoorable Time for Resolutions Certainly no time is better suited for determining new spiritual policies than the annual retreat. During it we are segregated from our active duties; we engage in several days RETREAT RESOLUTIONS of silent communing with God; we see again what we al-ways know, but never reduce to perfect practice, that we are made only to serve Him; our spiritual ideals, dimmed by a whole year's mis~, are refurbished; God himself speaks to us and we hear His whisperings periodically, during each day of retreat pleading with us: "Why not give up this sin-less, but inordinate attachment for my sake? Why not de-vote more attention to developing this virtue?" Further-more, our subjective condition is fit for taking sage resolu-tions. We are calm, tranquil; excessive nervous tension, emotional ebullitions, the agitation engendered by custom-ary daily contact with other human personalities m all these vanish in the solitude of retreat. Those New Year resolutions so widely publicized by the newspapers can scarcely ever be successful if brought to bear upon spiritual matters, because the hectic round of daily duties and dis-tractions impedes clear vision and sound judgment. But the retreat is the New Year for religious and it is certainly to our shame if we pass up this one propitious occasion for taking efficacious resolves. Retreat resolutions are apt to be successful for another reason. Our profession is spiritual and its successful prac-tice does not depend on mere human endeavors. God called us to the religious life; He keeps us in it'; .He enables us every day to live it. Any resolution we take is doomed to failure if we count upon our own natural energies to fulfill it. Even the simplest, such as thedetermination to prepare Our meditation more carefully, to make an additional visit to the Blessed Sacrament, to relinquish some convenient, but unnecessary article, cannot be accomplished without the grace of God. Consider what vast stores of grace we must obtain in time of retreat. Not only do we perform our ordinary spiritual exercises, but the whole time is one continual prayer. A veritable mountain of sanctifying. 159~ CLARENCE MCAULIFFE grace is accumulated and with it the right to actual graces to be given us in the future as we need them. We shall need them particularly in order to be faithful to our reso- ¯Iutions, the fruit of our retreat, and they will be supplied generously and persistently by God, success depending solely upon our wholehearted cooperation. Negative Resolutions Why, then, we may ask have our resolutions so often been failures?' Why is it that we can hardly recall them after a few weeks perhaps? Have we been grossly negli-gent in corresponding with the grace of God? Not neces-sarily so. Perhaps our resolutions were not prudently made. God constructed the human being according to very definite laws. If we take resolutions contrary to these laws, especially our psychological laws, we can scarcely expect God to work a miracle to enable us to keep them. For in-stance, most' of us are probably too negative in drawing.up our resolutions. We will not do this; we will not do that; we will quit doing this, and so on. In other words, we pay entirely too much attention to our faults. If we are com-mitting deliberate sins, we must, of course, make them the first object of our determinations. But 'such is not usually the case. We fret over our imperfections or merely semi-deliberate faults, forgetting a sound teaching of theology which declares that it is impossible for any person without a special privilege, rarely granted, to keep from these even for a single day. The chances are that such defects spring from temperament, nervous disposition, unstable health or some other natural cause, partially, at least, beyond our control. Now it is a psychological law that negatives de-press the human soul. If our retreat resolutions comprise merely a lengthy list of "Don'ts" over inconsequential matters, we are .quite surely going to let them lapse. The 160 RETREAT RESOLUTIONS human soul is too lofty in its aspirations to be fettered' by a chorus of petty "I will not's"; it soars to the highest heavens in search of God Himself; unending vistai of per-fection lie stretched out before it and microscopic imper-fections are no obstacle to exalted sanctity even if they stay with us to our dying day. How much wiser it would be to 'resolve: "I will pay an additional visit to the Blessed Sac-rament each day this coming year for a few minutes out of love for my Savior," than to promise: "I will never sit down during meditation in the chapel", when, as a matter of fact, constant kneeling may so distract us that we cannot pray at all from bodily uneasiness. Besides, protracted kneeling may even do us positive corporal harm unless our backs and nerves are of rugged texture. How Man~/ Resolutions? Another mistake to which we may easily succumb is that of taking too many resolutions. It is true that a hun-dred resolutions would be none too many when we see in retreat the intricate labyrinth of perfection. Even so, it would certainly be unwise to take more than four. or, at most, five. Here again asimple law of. human psychology enters into play. We are so constructed that a multiplicity of resolves overbalances US~ dissipates our energies and re-sults in no accomplishment whatever. We cannot expect our Savior to rescind that law in our case by a miracle. It is well for us to recall that old axiom of spiritual au-thors that to advance in one virtue is to advance in them all. Progress, for instance, in the spirit and practice of obedi-ence necessarily reflects progress in the love of God. But love is the pith and core of all sanctity; loreis the all-em-bracing virtue; it means a closer alliance with God, more intimate union with Him; if it makes the tree of obedience more verdant, it must necessarily transmit its vigor to the 161 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE entire forest of virtues. Bearing this in mind, we should in retreat pay heed, firit of all to our vows. An outpost to one of them may have been weakened during the previous year. Then we should look to the virtues animating the vows and make a few positive resolutions that will stimu-late their growth. We must never forget that a religious observant of the vows is a good religious. Focusing our attention upon them, we keep our resolutions down to a minimum. Yet we will make more rapid spiritual s~rides .than we would if we squandered our resources by making decisions on the whole gamut of faults and virtues. The Search After Causes Our resolutions may result in failure for another rea-son also. They may be too vague, too imprecise, too gen-eral. For example, how often have we resolved in retreat to be more fervent in our spiritual exercises! No one could condemn a determination to better these exercises of piety. It is they especiall.y that keep our spiritual lives vigorous and bolster our flagging virtue. But what happened to that resolution to make them more devotedly? For a day or two, for a week or two perhaps, we were more attentive .to them and then, behold, we soon found ourselves in the same old rut of routine and mechanical performance. Why? Simply because our resolution violated a metaphysical law which states that to attain a purpose it is necessary to .~elect means, causes, that will conduce to its realization. If we resolve only upon the end to be achieved, we shall accomplish nothing. Every day we dream ofthings we should like to do, but we neglect the specific means to the end and our resolves are thus mere fancies relegated to the vast mound of inefficacious desires. If we really wish to improve our meditation, examinations of conscience and other spiritual exercises, let us investigate the reason 162 RETREAT RESOLUTIONS why they are performed so perfunctorily. Ii it because we indulge in considerable unnecessary talking? This will certainly dissipate the mind and react upon our spiritual exercises. If we make a determination to practise silence, we shall find that contact with God will become much eas.ier and our meditations will improve. Is it due to un-regu. lated affections of the heart? Then a resolution must be taken to watch carefully over such ungoverned move-ments by removing their occasions as far as possible. Is it due to stark physical fatigue? Then we can do nothing directly, but perhaps we can adopt some regime that will improve our health. Is it due to some other cause? Then let us examine for that cause and decide to overcome it if possible. Definite resolutions of these kinds will inject new life into our meditation whereas a mere hazy resolve to perform it better will soon vanish. This point is of the utmost consequence. Take another example. Most of us are guilty of positive faults against charity and all of us could practise this virtue much more perfectly. Shall we then determine during retreat: "I shall be more charitable"? Such a resolution is praiseworthy,, as a sign of our good will in God's service, but it is bound to lapse just as is the vague determination to do better in our spiritual exercises. If we wish to be more charitable, we must pry into the reasons why we are not more charitable. If we wish to obtain an effect, we must find a proportion-ate cause to produce it. Do we fail in charity because we associate only with those whose temperaments .are con-genial? because we areof a squeamish disposition and allow tiny impolitenesses to jar our nerves? because we indulge in idle ,gossip and small talk? because we have a biting or ridiculing tongue? Could we add blossoms to our charity by interesting ourselves in the activities of others? by de-veloping the spirit of a good listener? by watching for 163 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE opportunities to say a kindly word or express Our sym-pathy? Ways and means to add lustre to this virtue are truly endless. If one defect, in particular, makes us un-charitable, let us in retreat decide to banish it; if some precise means of burnishing our charity occurs to us, let us determine to adopt it. Then we shall find that Christ's own spirit of charity will take root and flourish in our souls. The Bizarre Resolution Fantastic and complex resolutions should also be avoided. Though we never relax our aim at the highest possible perfection, we always keep our feet anchored to earth by the bonds of prudence and common sense. The human mind can only think of one thing at a time; the will can be directed toward only one conscious goal at a time. Both faculties are bound to be smothered by kaleido-scopic resolutions. Suppose a religious were to emerge from retreat armed with this single resolve: From eight o'clock in the morning when her active day began until ten at night when she retired, exactly fourteen hours inter-vened, the same number of hours as there are stations of the cross. During the coming year she would divide the day according to the stations. From eight to nine in the morning she would live in the spirit of the first station, the condemnation of the Savior. From nine to ten her thoughts would Be engrossed with the second station, and so on throughout the day. It is not likely that this well-inten-tioned religious would keep that resolution. It is too bizarre and too involved .and would require constant at-tention from morning to night every single day. Human nature could not stand such a strain without well-nigh miraculous support. 164 RETREAT RESOLUTIONS Keeping the Resolution Once our resolutions are taken and written down, how can we perpetuate them for three hundred and sixty-five days? By adopting them as subjects for Our particular ex-amination of conscience. How often we puzzle over a suitable subject for this examen! The problem vanishes if we have our retreat resolutions on hand. Even though these be only three or four,, they will provide ample matter for the examen. Each resolution can be the subject for a few weeks or a month. Thereafter each resolution can be repeated again and, if this becomes wearisome, variety may be introduced without changing the subject matter. FOr instanc.e, if one of our retreat resolutions is to eliminate unnecessary talking, we can practise this for some days under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin and in imitation .of her silence in the home at Nazareth. Later on, we might exercise it in union with Christ in the desert and in His infancy and in His secluded hours of prayer upon the mountain. At another time we may practise it by repeated ejaculatory prayers to some favorite saint whose help we implore. In this way the subject will not grow tedious and it will never lose its value Since it is one of our rdreat resolutions. These may also be kept alive and vibrant by referring to them duriag the monthly recollection. Why devote this period to any other consideration when God has shown us in our previous retreat what actions of ours will most please Him? Despite our best efforts, however, we shall make un-successful resolutions. In framing them we may continue to violate the laws of human psychology. We may not observe them even for a week though we honestly wanted to do so. We should not be discouraged. God values our good will; and our retreat resolutions, if written down, are 165 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE palpable proof of this" good will. The resolutions of our novitiate days were often ill-formed and impossible of achievement, but they secured God's blessing for us. We kept the vows though we did not as yet have them; rarely did we commit even a deliberate venial sin; we strove by our clumsy retreat resolutions to improve our religious lives. These resolutions won from Christ the gift of fer-vor. He Will reanimate and increase that fervor if we per-severe in taking and recording resolutions during our re-treat. BOOKS RECEIVED (7"0 be reviewed later.) I PRAY THE MASS~. By Hugo H. Hoever, S. O: Cist. Catholic Book Publishing Company. New York. MARCH INTO TOMORROW. By, 3ohn ,J. Considine, M.M. Field Afar,Pres~. New York. ~, . WATCH AND PRAY. By ,John Moffatt, S.~J. The Bruce Publishing' Company. Milwaukee. IN THE SHADOW OF OUR LADY OF THE CiENACLE. By Helen M. Lynch; R.C. The Paulist Press. New York. SOME PAMPHLETS Cheer Up!; Be of Good Heart!; Have ConfidenCe!; Take Courage! These four pamphlets are by Father Bruno Hagspiel, S.V.D. They consist of a varied collection of Scripture texts, anecdotes, poems, and so forth, all designed to cheer the downhearted.~ Price, 10 cents a copy. May be obtained from The Mission Press, Techny, I11. Also, four pamphlets listed under the general title, GOSPEL MOVIES, that treat of Grace; Faith; Sin; Wed in Christ. They contain brief stories based on the Gospels and illustrating these various topics. All are written by Father Placldus Kempf, O.S.B. Price, 10 cents a copy. May be obtained from THE GRAIL, St. Meinrad~, Indiana. 166 Reparation in t:he Devotion t:o !:he Sacred I-leart: Malachi 3. Donnelly, S.J. THE "great apparition" of our Lo~d to St. Margaret Mary took place duiing the Octave of Corpus Christi, most probably in 1675. Showing her His Heart, our Lo~d said: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men, which has spared nothing, even to being exhausted and consumed, in order to testify to them its love. And the greater number of them make me no other return than ingratitude, by their coldness and their forgetfulness of me in this Sacrament of love. But what is still more painful to me is, that it is hearts who are consecrated to me who use me thus." And our Lord continued: "It is because of this that I ask you to have the first Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi kept as a special feast in honor of my Heart. by receiving Communion on that day and making it a reparation of honor for all the insults offered to my Heart during the time that it has been exposed on the altars." The end of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as revealed to St. Margaret Mary and as approved by the Church, is reparation to this same Heart for the coldness and indif-ference, for the sins and insults suffered by the Sacred Heart, especially in the Sacrament of His love. Reparation, in general, means the making up for an injury or offense committed against one to whom honor and love are due. In the case of reparation to the Sacred Heart, this presup-poses a real personal wound in that Heart caused by the sins of men, and a real ability on the part of those devoted to the Sacred Heart to repair this wound. This confronts us with two difficulties: 1) how can the Heart of Jesus now suffer? 2) how can we repair His sufferings? 167 MALACHI ,J. DONNI~LLY The soul of Jesus Christ.in heaven experiences no sor-row, nor does His glorified body know aught of pain. His perfect happiness can be dimmed by absolutely nothing: nay! not even by the most heinous sins of ungrateful men, How, then, could He complain of the coldness and indif-ference of m~n, and that in words which, seemingly indicate that each sin of the present day is a direct and piercing wound in His Sacred Heart? In a word, the solution lies in an Understanding of the knowledge that Christ, as Man, enjoyed during His, life on earth. Our Blessed Lord was both God and Man. As Man He enjoyed the beatific Vision throughout His whole life. Now, through this vision He received the complete perfection of His intellect. He knew all things that per-tained to His office, His dominion, His mission on earth, all that pertained to the plan of redemption. The knowledge that Christ had, as Man~ was like unto the eternal knowledge of God. During His whole lithe, .especially during the Passion, Christ',' as Man, had knowl-edge of future things; the good and bad 'actions of all men were directly1 present to His mind. Just as a giant search-light in one blazing stream of light covers at once a half-mile area and every inch of space therein, or just as the human eye gazing on a distant landscape sees the whole and each detail at the same time, so, too, did Christ see through the whole of time to come and all the actions of men con-tained therein. He saw all future events as actually present before His eyes and each event was the direct object of His vision. In order to understand better the relationship between the knowledge of Christ and reparation in the devo-tion to the Sacred Heart, let us go in imagination with Jesus to the garden of Gethsemani. As Jesus kneels in 168 REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART meditation, He begins to grow sad. Why? This sadness can only be caused by the vision in His human mind. As He kneels there, the sins of all men Unfold before His eyes; all the ingratitude of men--especially, of those from whom He might well have expected better things--is directly present to His clear vision. Not a.single sin --- even an ever so secret sin of desire-~elu~les His all-seeing gaze. Also (and this is the consoling aspect of Gethsemani), every single act of reparation of those especially devoted to His Sacred Heart was present to Him. And, as Jesus looked upon these acts of reparation, His loving Heart felt real and deep consolation. When, therefore, at the present time we perform acts of reparation, it is perfectly true to say that there is direct contact between our act of reparation and the Heart of Christ in Gethsemani. Time and space are wiped out. His knowledge bridges nineteen hundred years as readily as we look across a river. We are present before His eyes: our acts of reparation console Him, our sins cause Him sorrow-ful agony. What should be the effect of this truth that all our actions were actuatl~t present to the suffering Christ in His Passion? A deep realization of this can only ground more firmly our love for the Sacred Heart and spur us to more ardent acts of loving reparation to the Sacred Heart. Just as the spokes of a wheel lead to the hub, with which they are in direct contact, so likewise do all the reparatory actions of men the world over lead back to Christ in the Garden; establish immediate contact with His Suffering heart. And the deep realization of this solidly established truth should arouse the deepest aspirations of our hearts and wills to do our utmost to console the great and loving Heart of Jesus. 169 The Pivol:al Point: ot: l=fl:ec!:ive ,ood Will G. Augustine.Ellard, S.J. ['Because of the importance of Father Ellard's theme, and because of the length of the article, we thought that the followihg summary might be appreciated by those who wish some handy way of visualiz!ng and recalling the points devdopedin the article. The Roman numerals refer to the same divisions of the text.--ED.] Summary I. The problem of bringing about moral good will is illustrated by three cases: a)" Good~ but weak, will in oneself; b) Generous, but inconstant, will in oneself; c) Irresponsive or bad will in others. II. What is meant by the expression: "the pivotal point of good will"? III. Things which do not constitute it. IV. It does consist in the realistic appreciation of values. These terms defined. V. Reasons for the assertion: a) Common sense; e) Philosophy; b) ExperienCe; f) Sacred Scripture; c) Observation; g) Theology. d) Experimental psychology: gI. The characteristics of the knowledge that is d~]namic, i.e. apt to move or strengthen the will: a) Presentation of the right aspect; e) Actuality: b) Sufficient" quantity ; f) Novelty ; c) Personal reference: g) Affinity and sympathy. d) Immediacy and imagery; VII. Practical conclusions-- 1. To move or strengthen the will for the present: Realize the values of motives: a) Learning what the pertinent values are; Means: b) Serious reflection and prayer, especially mental: c) Organization of the motives. 2. To steady the will in the future: Have the realization in the focus of consciousness at critical moments. a) Recollection; c) Habituation: Means: b) Association; d) Experience. 170 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD WILL SISTER Mary Frail is making her annual retreat. More clearly than she has been wont, she sees the magnifi-cence and beauty of the divine plan for herself, she is delighted with it, and she feels that it would the grand-est thing possible to carry it out in all its fulness. Also she notices that to do so would mean giving up certain rather dear little habitual imperfections. She is torn between two conflicting attracti6ns. Though she is free, and by all means would be pleased to embrace .the whole of the divine plan for her, especially since it is all for her own happiness, still she finds that her will does not respond as she would like. Making his retreat also is Father Inconstant. He finds no great difficulty in resolving upon the noblest courses, but in looking back over many retreats, many excellent resolutions, and many performances not so excellent, be feels rather distressed at the sight of his inconstancy. This time, if possible, he is going to make the new beginning that will stick. Just how--well, that is not too clear to him. Brother Zealous faces a different kind of difficulty. He is a teacher, and he is glad to do everything he can to make good Christians out of his charges. But often enough he finds that his pupils are irresponsive or wilful. Is there anything we can do for Sister Mary Frail, Father Inconstant, and Brother Zealous? Their problems concern wills, their own and those of their charges. Pos-sibly, some consideration of that upon which moral good will turns in a peculiar way, may be of service to them. II. By "the pivotal point of good will" let us under-stand a certain something that precedes good will itself and that, more than anything else, is a condition of its coming into being. Of course it does not determine the will; for man, being free, makes his own determinations, But even the free will is dependent upon previous conditions, and it 171 -G. A. ELLARD is the principal of these that we propose to consider. Ill. This pivotal point of good will cannot be simply knowledge. Hardly anyone would maintain nowadays the old doctrine attributed to Socrates that knowledge makes virtue. It is not freedom of the will; everybody knows by sad experience that he cannot make himself good by a mere fiat of his will, nor even by many of them. Imposition of good habits from without, though continued over a period ,of years, in the discipline, for example, of a boarding school,, may ultimately produce, not what is sought, but a reaction in the contrary direction. Good habits developed freely and from within cannot be the point we are inquir-ing after, primarily because they presuppose much good volition and action, .and the pivotal point is antecedent to these. Nor, to pass to the supernatural order, is grace as such the pivot. Grace could not help to explain natural good will:. Even in supernatural activity, it is not sanctify-ing grace, which of itself is not operative, but a habit in the order of b.elng, not of action. Nor can it be the infused virtues or the gifts-of the Holy Spirit; neither are these of themselves operative; to go into action, they need stimula-tion. In what sense actual grace may fulfill the function we are investigating, will be taken up later on. Prayer, that is, asking God for good will, cannot bethe pivotal point. If the request be granted, the question would remain by what means the good will is brought about. Realistic Appreciation of Values IV. The pivotal point does seem to be found in a realistic, sense or appreciation of values. Let us consider. Everything that is good has value, and therefore value here is understood to be any good. Good is, according to the classical division: the.pleasant, the useful, the proper. Val-ues may be high or low, and positive, like pleasure, or nega- 172 PIVOTAL POINT OF (~00D ~'ILL tive, like pain. Appreciation is the subjective or'personal response to the objective goods that we call values. To appi~eciate is, according to the dictionary, "to set a just value on; to esteem to the full worth of; to be fully sensi-ble of; to exercise a niceperception of worth." Good busi-ness people, like SisterMary Buyer, who has been chosen out.of many to make the purchases for the convent or hos-pital, presumably know how to discern values and prices, In art or literature a man is said to have appreciation if he recognizes or prizes what is beautiful. In general, a person has appreciation if he knows a good thing when he sees it. The wise man has been defined as he who knows true val-ues. Religious who properly evaluate the excellence of God and of His plan have appreciation. Realistic apprecia-tion equals .the reality, or at least approximates the reality, of the value. Appreciation, or evaluation, knowing good things as good, seems to be the vital link between the two spiritual facultieS. It involves knowledge of a certain kind, and thus it is intellectual; since complacency or some other indelib-erate movement of.will must follow the perception of. good or evil, it brings in the will also. In practise, the cultivation of appreciation of true or major values ri~quires the har-monious cooperation of both faculties. V. Among the reasons for placing the pivotal point of good will in a realistic sense or appraisal of values, we may notice the following. Common sense would seem to indicate that it is mo-tives that move the will. But what are motives, directly or indirectly, except values? If athing be of no value to one, why should one bother about it? Our own experience seems to teach the, same. If we consider carefully the best moments and the worst mo-ments in our past lives, and allow for all influences; internal- 173 G, A. ELLARD and external, can we give a better reason for our own inte-rior strength or weakness at such times than that just then our sense of values, our perception of what was really good, ~was most adequate and realistic or least so? A little observation of men shows how eagerly they react to what they value highly; to money, for example, or pleasure, or power, or honor. Salesmen and advertisers achieve their, purpose by inducing people to conceive, the highest possible idea of the worth of their merchandise. Everybody notices how much clerks will put up with from prospective buyers. Would the same persons be so com-plaisant if there were no immediate .gain in view? If it be necessary to, hold his job a man may rather easily bear with the caprices of his employer, ~though at home; with his wife and children, he acts like an 01d bear. Wars, in spite of all their evils, are fought for great economic or. political values. Suppose that, in the iight of experience and observa: tion of men, we. consider this hypothetical case. Let A be anybody who has great sums of money at his disposal. Let B be anybddy else. Let A ask B to do anything that is within the limits of reason. If A0 offer greater and greater amounts of money to B indefinitely, is it likely that B w~ill resist the attraction? Is it not to be expected thathe will yield~ and moreover like it? But money .is only the measure of .material values. That volition is a function Of appreciation or evalua-tion is also a finding of experimental psychology. This is the main practical contention in the works on the w.ill of the distinguished German ~lesuit psychologist, Lindwor-sky1. He specialized in0 the psychology~of~this faculty, and it is to him that I am mostly in~tebted for the ideas in this 1See especially The Training of the ~rill, translated by Steiner and Fitzpatrick (Brute. Mil~.'aukee) ; and The Ps~Icholog~t of Asceticism, translated by Heiring (Edwards: Eondotl). ~ " 174 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD WILL paper. According to Lindworsky, experiments show that volition depends chiefly upon insight into values, without of course being determined by them. The will can embrace whatever appears to it to be of value, and it can become very strong if one feels sufficiently that the value is great enough. To move the will, values must be subjectively. experienced. Keeping a resolution is dependent, not so much upon the energy with which it was made, nor upon an inner general strength of will developed by particular exercises, as upon sufficient initial evaluation and especially upon the presence of it in the focus of consciousness at critical moments. "That the secret of influencing the will lies principally in this, to present the ~right motives at the right time, is no new discovery; . it was always the doctrine of the tradi-tional Scholastic psy, chology": so writes Hertling2, a con-temporary authority in ascetical theology. From modern American psychologists: "Forcing oneself to an early rising, and compelling oneself to run six times around the barn before breakfast, or to do some other useless and diffi-cult thing daily, will not bring the result sought for . Will training implies bringing sufficient motivation into play.''8 Philosophy teaches that the object of the will is good that is known. There are two elements expressed in the object and a third is implied. The first is goodness, real or apparent. Hence no one can expect to influence the will except by proposing some good to it. To do anything else would be like trying to make one see what has no color or to hear something that is not sounding. Knowledge is the second requisite, and it is just as necessary. If one had an opportunity to pick up a million dollars, but did not ~Hertling: Lehrbuch der Aszetlschen Theologie (Rauch, Innsbruck), p. 177. 8Goult and Howard: Outline of General Ps~lcholog~l, pp. 338-339. 175 G. A. ELLARD notice it, nothing would come of it. Thirdly, the good whichis presented and known, must be apprehended not merely as true or in any other way, but as good. Where there is no good or no perception of it, there can be no voli-tion. If the good be sufficiently great and seen with suf-ficient clarity, there can be no resistance to its-attraction, as happens with the Infinite Goodness and Beauty in the beatific vision. Hence, in general, the greater the good and .the clearer one's knowledge of it, the more likely the will's acceptance of it, and the more energetic and constant that acceptance will be: Sacred Scripture seeks to move men mostly by prom-ising good things and threatening evil things. But these are values, positive or negative. Christ Himself appears to have indicated what the will follows in such texts as these: "For where thy treasure is, there shall thy heart be also" (Matthew 6: 21). "For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give asaprice for his soul?" (Matthew 16: 26). "The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a treasure hid in the field, which a man findeth and covereth; and in his j6y he goeth and selleth.all that he hath and buyeth that field. Again, the .kingdom of the hea~'ens is like unto a merchant in search of. goodly pearls; and when he .hath found one pearl of great price, he goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth it" (Matthew 13: 44-46). A theological consideration: interior actual grace helps us to do good or avoid evil by enlightening the mind and inspiring the will. Psychologically Speaking, one would say that grace moves the will by enlightening the mind. The indeliberate inclination excited in the will corresponds to the ideas aroused in the intelligence. Light relative to a practical step can conceivably bear upon any or all of these three points: what is to be done, why it is to be done, and 176 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD '~rILL bow it is to be done. The firstalone would be quite insuf-ficient, and might well be deterrent, as when an unpleasant duty is indicated. To show why a thing is to be done: what is this but to manifest its motives or values, to reveal that it is becoming, profitable, necessary, and so on? In this way, by giving one a subjective appreciation, actual grace enters into the pivotal point of supernatural good will. It tends to correct that perversity which the prophet Isaias denounces: "Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for dark-ness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" (Isaias 5: 20). It gives one something of that gift of the Messias: "that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good" (Isaias 7:. 15). In modern terms, it enables one to share in Christ's sense of value. The Church has incorporated into the Breviary4 a famous passage of St. Augustine in which he comments on the text: "No one can come to me, except the Father . draw him" (John 6: 44), and uses a quotation from Ver-gil: "If the poet could say, 'Each one's pleasure draws him,'5 not necessity but pleasure, not obligation, but delight, how much more strongly ought we to say that the man is drawn to Christ who is delighted with truth, delighted With beatitude, delighted with justice, delighted with everlasting life, all of which Christ is? . You show a green branch to a sheep and you draw it. Sweets are shown to a child, and he is drawn. Because he runs, he is drawn; he is drawn byloving; without injury to body he is drawn; with bonds of the heart he is drawn. If. earthly delights and pleasures revealed to lovers draw them; does not Christ, revealed by the Father, draw us? For what does the soul desire more strongly than the truth?''° 4Ember Wednesday after Pentecost; Lessons 7-9. 5Eclogues, II, 65. OTractatus 26 in doannem. 177 G. A. ELLARD It may be objected that we know enough or too much already. What we need is not more knowledge, but more willing. Sometimes that is true. But at other times, it may be asked; have we the right kind of knowledge, and enough of that kind? In ~any case, if a man cannot directly make a decision that he would like to make, what do you advise him to try? Have you anything better than that he should reconsider his motivation? Dynamic Knowledge VI. Now let us see if we can discern what kind of knowledge of ~;alues it is that, as it were, magnetizes the will. It is a certain, dynamic knowledge, found to be char-acterized more or less by the following attributes. First, it will present things under the right aspect, that is, it will propose things, not as true--the usual function of knowledge--but as good or evil, lovely or odious, beau-tiful or hideous, and so on. Such are the phases of things that it will bring out into relief. A quotation from the psychologist James will illus-trate what is meant by the right aspect. Consider "the case of an habitual drunkard under temptation. He has made a resolve to reform, but he is now solicited again by the bottle. His moral triumph orfailure lil~erally consists in his finding the right name for the case. If he says that it is a case of not wasting good liquor already poured out, or a case of not being churlish and unsociable when in the midst of friends, or a case of learning something at last about a brand of whiskey he never met before, or a case of celebrating a public holiday, or a case .of stimulating him-self to a more energetic resolve in favor of abstinence than any he has ever yet made, then he is lost. His choice of the wrong name seals his doom. But if, in spite of all the plausible good names with which his thirsty fancy so copi- 178 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD WILL ously furnishes him, he unwaveringly clings to the truer bad name and apperceives the case as that of 'being a drunk-ard, being a drunkard, being a drunkard,' his feet are planted on the road to salvation. He saves himself by thinking rightly.''7 The right aspect is not enough. There must also be a certain quantitg in the knowledge. It must be sufficiently clear, evident, rich, and full. In fact, the closer it approaches equality to the reality, the better. This is a particularly important dement in the realism of dynamic appreciation. Hence, obscure, vague, or hazy conceptions of the most tremendous realities may remain inert and sterile. Moreover, personal rfference is vitally necessary. To see that a thing matters to another may leave me unaffected. I must see the vital importance of it for my own dear self. In the last analysis evaluations must be based on one's past experiences of pleasure, pain, or love. Through these gen-uine experiences present knowledge must be vitalized. A man, for example, who does not remember vividly how it feels to have his finger burned, is in no position to begin to imagine how it would feel to be consumed with raging fires in the infernal regions. If one should never have experi-enced the thrill of unselfish love, one could hardly under-stand God's absolute loveliness and make an act of divine charity. Nor could a man who ha~ never been aroused by created beauty react to the Uncreated Beauty. Personal reference is necessary in another sense also. Great things have many values or suggest many motives, some of them apt to appeal to one and others t6 another. Each one must discover those that evoke interest and response in himself and exploit them. One soul may love God as a father, another as a friend, and a third as a spouse. 7James: Talks to Teachers, pp. 187-188. 179 (3. A. ELLARD Two more marks of dynamic recognition of worth are iramediac~t and iraaqer~. Direct perception of an object is much more apt to stir one than knowledge that is only mediate, discursive, or abstract, because it is closer to the object and more like it. Hence .the weakness, from an affective and effective point of vie.w, of reasoning and argu-ments. Love at sight, even to infatuation, is said to occur at times; but nothing like it is possible when men and women know each other only through description or cor-respondence. A dreadful catastrophe may horrify one who sees it but leave.a reader little affected. To make up for lack of immediate knowledge when it cannot be had, the imagination must be used. The more vivid and realtand rich the imagery, the better. The human mind is depend-ent on the senses and the imagination. Hence, to get at the emotions and, through them, the will, fill the imagination. "Empathy," the ability "to feel-oneself into situations," for example, into the Gospel scenes, or into the conse-quences of one's choices, into the pleasures or pains that may follow them, can compensate to some extent for the deficiencies of indirect knowledge. Happily most of the moral and spiritual values may be contemplated in the concrete in persons who have real-ized them. The scale would range from Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints down to the humblest person who has Something to be admired and imitated. Actuatit~I of knowledge gives it power. It is of deci-sive importance that the motives be actually before con-sciousness at the critical moments when they are moit needed and least likely to be there. It is not enough that they be stored away in the recesses of the memory. Actual consciousness, for instance, of the ~ttractions of unchaste pleasure may win the battle against merely habitual aware-ness of the reasons for keeping chaste. The force of occa- 180 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD 'q~rlLL sions of sin illustrates well the characteristics of dynamic knowledge that we have been reviewing; the impression they produce is thoroughly realistic. Nooeln.I is also an aid, as it makes a greater appeal to the sensibilities. Hence, ~o keep a good idea from losing its motive power, consider it from new angles and find new beauties in it. Since choice is always comparative, a preference of one thing to another, superiority! of knowledge of one alterna-tive gives it an added chance of being taken. A slight value well known may be preferred to a much greater one less well known. In general, .other things being equal, that alternative will be chosen the values of which are better known or predominant in the focus of consciousness at the time. FinaliSt, a factor of knowledge that induces prefer-ential appreciation is found in the subject himself, namely. a certain s~tmpath~t, based on a natural or supernatural affinity: the "connaturality" discussed by St. Thomas in the Summas. The classical example, from Aristotle on, is the chaste man's knowledge of chastity as opposed to the theoretical ethician's. With respect to the Supreme or Absolute Value, that is, to God, this affinity is founded principally upon the essential relations of the creature to the Creator and of sonship to the Divine Father. Such seems to be the kind of knowledge that leads to willing and to action. It does not make one learned, and may be greater in the ignorant peasant than in a scholar or theologian. But if its object be divine values, it will help to make one wise and holy. If we could make our knowledge and estimation of eternal values equal to our appraisal of temporal things, our probation would be over. We cannot, to cite an 88umraa Tbeologic~, 2a, 2ae, q. 45, a. 2. 181 G. A. ELLARD instance, have an experimental knowledge of God in this life, though the mystics do lay claim to just that or some-thing like it, and in the light of it they conceive for God a love like that fierce, overwhelming, personal love which arises between man and woman. On the other hand, and to our misfortune, the false or minor values of material things do solicit us through precisely that form of knowl-edge which is thoroughly realistic and dynamic. There-fore it is all the more imperative for us to be mindfully aware of the advantages that sensible attractions have over spiritual, values, and in oposition to do whatever we can to compensate for the difference. Practical Corollaries VII. Suppose we consider separately the cases in which ¯ one wishes to influence a will at the moment and in the future, or what is about the same thing, making a resolu-tion now and endeavoring to secure its observance in the future. 1. To move the will now, and to charge it with power, get l~y all available means the maximum possible appreciation of the values or motives that are pertinent, and diminish as much as possible any antagonistic evalua-tion. ¯ First, it is important rightly to discern just what ought to be done, that is, in our case, what the law of God is or what He prefers. Missing this point, through impru-dence or scrupulosity or laxity, is not conducive to good will. But then focus attention, feeling, and effort on the advantages, gains, and reasons for so acting. Not u~bat ought to be done is to be stressed, but the u;h~/'s. Imitate the clever salesman who sells his wares by persuading the potential buyer that it is really to his own interest and profit to buy. Exhortation had better take this form than a tedious repetition of "Let us'es" or "Let us not's." Put 182 PIVOTAL" POINT OF GOOD WILL the accent, not on the rights of authority, but on the advantages to the subject in obeying; these include the values of obedience itself. Even if you urge that it is God's will, try to explain whg He wills it, what values He has in mind. With most persons, begin with a stron.g appeal to self-interest; then proceed to the nobler interests, such as God's; Christ's, souls'. Very especially in case something difficult or distressing be involved, for example, self-- abnegation, or love of the Cross, the greater the disagree-able feature, the greater must be the emphasis on the good aspects and results. This is a simple psychological neces-sity. Some who exhort to abnegation would seem to think the greater the evil, the more it will be welcomed. Mere negatives--"Dont's"--are never inspiring, and therefore negative resolutions should somehow be given a positive character and value, for instance,-by substitution or sub-limation. To acquire a dynamic sense of moral values two chief means are available; first, to learn what those means are; and secondly, by serioi~s reflection and prayer, to take their measure or realize their magnitude. What the values are is to be learned by study and reading or listening to sermons and conferences. We could not attempt to outline them here. But it may be sug-gested that the perfect man Would strive to know and will .the same values that. God Himself wills and to have a simi-lar appreciation of them. They are the Infinite Goodness Itself and the excellences of the divine cosmic plan, cul-minating in divine beatitude for an,gels and men, with immunity from all evil, for eternity. Included in that plan would be the sublime grandeurs of the Incarnation and of its effects in time and eternity. Next in order is to work up an adequate appreciation of these motives, justly to appraise them, to recognize their 183 G. A. ELLARD ' full worth, to feel their force and significance. This is ~o be done principally by serious reflection and prayer, or better, by both together, that is, by mental prayer. This is the great means and hence the supreme importance and efficacy of it in the spiritual life. St. Thomas has a whole article in the Summa to demonstrate that "contemplation or meditation is the cause of devotion.''9 In it he quotes these words from St. Augustine: "the act of the will arises from understanding." Without mental prayer, or something approaching it, one cannot expect much grasp of moral values: such is human nature. The senses and the world overwhelm one with their values, which are in possession. as it were, from the beginning. A counterbalancing per-ception of the worth of things divine does not come with faith nor without effort. The germ of it.is there, but it must be developed. The human spirit is immersed in mat-ter, and if it is to raise itself above material attractions and maintain itself upon that superior level, it-must exert its forces with an energy comparable to that of the powerful motors of the big clippers or flying-fortresses. This means in the beginning hard thinking and much of it, with ener-getic and sustained will-activity corresponding to the light won. In mental prayer.a vitalized and dynamic insight is gained into divine truths and values, the will reacts and responds at once, the appropriate affections are elicited, the consequences of possible courses of action are carefully weighed and felt in anticipation, the correct moral atti-tudes are assumed, practical resolutions are made and their execution rehearsed, many fervent petitions are made, and grace, coming in ever increasing measure, deepens and enhances the whole process. In a word, one is filled with that light, good will, and strength which are needed to ful-fil one's part in God's magnificent plan. 9Summa Theologica, 2a, 2ae, q. 83, a. 3. 184 PIVOTAL POINT OF GOOD WILL If one cultivati~ m~ntal prayer well and sufficiently, he will also use all the other means to spiritual advancement and thus he will become perfect. If one be faithful in the lower degrees of mental prayer, he may be led on even to mystical contemplation, wherethe labor will be less, and the infused light, appreciation, and love may be incom-parably greater. Mostly in the intimate commerce of con-templation do the spouses of God come to their peculiar experience and all-absorbing love of Him. The funda-mental difference between a mere believer, a person of medi~ ocre virtue, and a saint, seems to be that, whereas they all assent to the same truths, the believer hardly does more, the mediocre person feels to some extent what they mean, and the saint truly realizes their significance. All the motives, general and particular, having been considered, they are to be assembled and associated together, so that one may recall the others, and then they are to be thrown into the scales against their false contraries, and proposed for acceptance to the will, with an inexorable "either. or!" 2. To aid in securing future execution of a resolution, four means in particular are effective: recollection, associa-tion, habituation, and experience. Recollection will tend tO prevent the light and warmth of one's vivid appreciation from vanishing into the dark-n~ ss. God and divine things are in themselves interesting, and if one's insight into them has been sufficient, interest in them will spontaneously spring up. Then without too much difficulty interest will direct attention; attention to divine values will keep them in the field of consciousness; and naturally the affections and will should follow. One should foresee as far as possible the occasions in which one's constancy will be put to the test, and deter-mine in advance by .what precise means one is going to 185 G. A. ELLARD react. "The modern psychology of will teaches that mere volition accomplishes nothing, unless a definite "way of behaving has been planned and practised.''1° Then the occa-sion, the resolution with its means, ~nd the motives, already organized among themselves, are to be associated together in thought as firmly as possible, so that when the occasion comes, it may recall into the focus of consciousness the reso-lution with its means, and this in turn the whole constella-tion of motives. Thus their cumulative force will be available, and successful action may be expected. To illustrate by'an example from Lindworsky: John notices that whenever he meets Charles on the way to work, he falls into uncharitable conversation. He adds to his gen-eral resolve not tofail against charity this means, that when he meets Charles again, he will promptly open a discussion of such or such a topic. Thus he links together all four: -the occasion, the r.esolution, the precise means, and the ¯ motives. 1~ All the procedures indicated in the preceding pages can be cultivated more and more until they become solid l~abits of virtue. Thus greater sureness, facility, and perfection in good are acquired. With every success in accomplishing what one desires, one actually feels and experiences to a certain extent the fruition of one's ideals and values, and thus one's appreciation of them becomes ever more realistic, and more like the divine or Christiike sense of what is of value. If with sufficient realism you. see that your treasure is ~n the Infinite Goodness of the Blessed Trinity and in the advantages of the divine plan, you will find your will there also. lOLindworsky: The P~cbolog~/ of Asceticism, p. 38. ~lbid.o p. 37. 186 Scruples Versus !:he Human Gerald Kelly~ S.3. THIS sketch concerns two characters, both of whom .are "| purely fictitious. Any resemblance to any person in real life.is a mere coincidence. One character is called Humanus, because he represents the ordinary conscientious human being, one who is.cheerfully content to be .~'like the rest of men," The other character is Scrupulosus, so-called because he typifies the victims of that gnawing and unfounded fear of sin known as scruples. ' For Scrupulosus, a supreme difficulty is to appreciate what may be called "the human way of acting." It is hard to.define this human way. It expresses itself in a quiet resignation to the fact that human problems cannot be solved with the exactness of mathematical problems. ~.It is an essential requisite for peace among men and for interior peace with God and oneself. Humanus takes this human way in full, easy stride. A reliable man tells him something; he believes it without struggle. True, the .man might be wrong, might be lying, using a mental reservation, or even deceiving himself. But Humanus does not tr6uble himself about these things, unless there is some reM evidence.to make him suspect them. When a man gives him money, Humanus does not bite it or ring it on a counter. He knows the possibility of counter-feit money; but he knows .too that social life demands that we practise a certain amount of trust in the good will of others. (Incidentally, the author once lived in a place where there must have been a great deal of. counterfeiting. Every time one paid for something in coins, a cautious clerk rang the coin on~the counter. It was most distressing.) . ¯ . Humanus follows the.same human way in his dealings with Go&and himself.God made him huma'n; God.ought GERALD KELLY to be content if he simply acts humanly. And he has enough troubles in life without suspecting himself unduly. Scrupulosus can follow the human way in his dealings with other men; but in those things which concern God and himself he is decidedly inhuman. He seems to thinl~ that, in dealing with God, he must have God's own unerring and penetrating vision of the human heart; that in dealing with himself none of the canons of human peace are applicable. Perhaps a few examples will make this clear. The Sacrament of Penance, truly a Sacrament of peace according .to our Lord's designs, affords no real peace to Scrupulosus. Definitely, it is a torture; a torture to go. a torture to stay away. And the reason for the torment, to put it simply, is that the reception of this Sacrament involves four elements---examination of conscience, con-fession, contrition, satisfaction--each of which can be fulfilled only :in a human way. Suppose we follow Humanus and Scrupulosus through an examination of conscience. Humanus says a few pre-liminary prayers, then looks into-his soul. This is riot a very strenuous process for him;in fact, it verges on sheer routine. Humanus is conscious of the fact that he could improve his method, but he also knows that he fulfills all the essentials. Mortal sins first; and it does not take him long to find :them. Heis no laxist. He knows a mortal sin when he sees one; but he. knows too that they are big enough to be seen with the naked eye. On some Com-mandments he does not even examine himself. Idolatry, murder, robbing banks--all such things are off his list. He would waste his time searching his soul for them. If he does find that he has sinned seriously, he notes the number of times; and if he cannot recall the number, he is content to add the saving word "about." If he is doubtful about the serious sinfulness of~anything--well--he is doubtful: 188 SCRUPLES VERSUS THE HUMAN '~AY There is no use wrestling with the doubt now; if he could not solve it before, he is less likely to solve it now. Venial sins? Humanus knows there were many little things, but it is often hard to cat~ilogue them. He selects two or three, and phrases them as best he can. Sometimes he numbers venial sins, sometimes he doesn't; and he" knows tha~ the number need not be confessed. Finally, Humanus makesan act Of contrition. In this, too, there is a trace of dry routine. Humanus has often resolved to "polish it up" a bit. Contrition never causes him worry; though it has at times puzzled him. However, he has solved the puzzle in the following manner. When a friend offends him and afterwards comes to him, holds out his hand and says he is sorry, Humanus takes the hand and forgives. He never looks to see if there are tears in the man's eyes. He does not stop before forgiving to ask: "Now, John, are you sure you're sorry? Can you swear you're sorry? Do you t:eel sorry? Maybe you're deceiving me, or yourself?" No, Humanus does none of these things; so he solved his puzzle about contrition by deciding that God doesn, t act that way, either. God is content with our just being human. Scrupulostis also examines his conscience! After lengthy preparatory prayers, he finally musters the courage to plunge into the .abysmal depths of his black soul. He goes after mortal sins with searchlight and microscope; and at the end of the search he is amazed that he hasn't found any. That cannot be right. There must be some; at least, there might be some some grim deed that his lax conscience is covering up. Further examination still fails to reveal a clear-cut mortal sin, but by this time he has managed to work up a doubt. Now, is he doubtful? He'd better con-. less it as certain, because if he only thinks he is doubtful and really is not doubtful he will be deceiving the priest. 189 GERALD KELLY As for venial sins, he must have scores of them. Missed morning prayers--distractions in the prayers he did say! He has been told that missing morning prayers is really no .sin, that there is no law of either God or man that says: You must pray in the morning. But be ought to pray in the morning. As for distractions, he has also been told that when involuntary they are not sins, and that even when voluntary they are merely small irreverences. But be ought not to get distracted; it is base ingratitude for him to neglect God in that manner. He'd better give the number of the distractions: 15--no, perhaps it was only 14. He cannot make up his mind, so he decides to say 15; in fact, he finally decides to give the whole background of the ghastly affair. And so on. It is time for him to go to confession. He is not ready, but he will try. Humanus makes his confession, returns to his pew and says his penance and a few prayers of devotion. The time passes very quietly. He leaves the church, full of peace and ready, as he has often.expressed it, "to be hit by a truck." In a general way, he knows that his .confession is not mechanically perfect. Sometimes be does not say things just as he had planned them; he becomes confused, dis-tracted, or even a bit embarrassed. Also--and he has this on the authority of adevout priest--he knows that the confessor may get distracted, or even nod a bit. But this percentage of error does not greatly concern Humanus. God Himself arranged that this Sacrament should be received and administered by human beings. The essentials are quite easy to fulfill; the accidentals allow both the priest and the penitent the opportunity to strive for greater perfectio.~l and increase in humility. It should: be evident from the story of his preparation that no great peace floods the soul of Scrupulosus as he emerges from the confessional. Nevertheless, he grits his 190 SCRUPI~S VERSUS THE HUMAN ~rAY teeth and kneels dowh to say his penance. Three .Hail Marys! He literally "tackles" the first one. But in the middle something goes wrong; he must have missed a word. He starts again, and then again; but he cannot satisfy himself that that Hail Mary is properly said. As he pauses'in desperation, the whole blurred story of the confession begins to unfold before his mind. Nothing was said right. The priest must have misunderstood him com-pletely. The fact that he got only three Hail Marys con-firms him in this fear; if the priest had understood him cor-rectly, he would have given him at least a Rosary. At this moment, a new source of interior torment opens up. Even if the confession had been good, the absolution could not be valid because he did not make a real: act of con-trition. He just went through some words. God must know that he was not really sorry. And his confessions have been that way for a long time; he'simply must make a gen-eral confession. He has made general confessions before without any subs.equent peace of soul, but this one will be different. We might take Holy Communion as another example of the difference between Humanus and Scrupulosus. It should be one of the supreme consolations of the Cath-olic's life. The essentials for its reception are very small: the state of grace, acquired by Sacramental absolution, if need be; and the keeping of.the fast from midnight. Humanus finds the fulfillment of these conditions simple enough. He is satisfied with normal, .human assur-ance that he is in the state of grace. If he doubts about a serious sin, he generally prefers to go to confession, but he knows he has no strict obligation to do so, and he is con-- tent on occasions merely to make an act of contrition and go to Communion. The fast presents him with no prob-lem at all. The law is a safeguard to the reverence due the 191 GERALD KELLY Blessed Sacrament. It forbids eating and drinking after midnight. Humanus knows what ordinary people look upon as eating and drinking, and he does not have to con-sult a chemist~ to find out just what is food. or a physiologist to discover precisely what is meant by eating. All these things are so many thorns for S~'rupulosus. How does he know he is in the state of grace? He can't prove it. He is not sure he can make an act of contrition, so he must always go to confession when in doubt. It may be that his confessor has assured him again and again that, in his present trial, he mayalways~go to Communion, no matter what his doubts, no matter how many sins he thinks he has committed. Even after this and though he knows that the Providence ofGod guides souls through superiors and confess.ors, yet his case is different, and the confessor does not really understand it. As for the fast, here is but one of Scrupulosus'.many hard experiences with it. He is on his way to Mass. His lips tickle. .He rubs his coat-sleeve over his mouth. A moment later he feels something strange in his mouth-- some lint from his coat, he thinks! He gathers all his salivary forces to remove it, but he is too late. He swallows. Well, that's the end. He has broken his fast, he may not go to Communion. This is his first conviction, but in church a gleam of saving common sense is still able to pierce the fog of fear and he does go to Holy Communion. Later the fear returns with a vengeance. He made a sacrilegious Communion. After that, one thing leads to another. He begins to notice a strange taste in his mouth every morning--the lint from the bedclothes! He tries again and again to remove it; but the consciousness of the lint remains, and with it the conviction that he may not receive Communion. There are two ways of solving this lint problem. One 192 SCRUPLES VERSUS THE HUMAN WAY way is to consult a trained theologic/n, wh~ might show Scrupulo~us by keen argumentation that lint is not food, or who might indicate that, even if. it were food, it was not taken "in the manner of food." This is a perfectly legiti-mate method of solving the problem, but hardly a satis-factory one for Scrupul0sus. It allows for too much quibbling, and, even when it does convince, its appeal is only to the intellect. Scrupulosug needs something that will impress his imagination and thus remove the emo-tional pressure of his fears. The second method is therefore a much better one for -Scrupulosus. It is a method suggested by an old and experienced diagnostician of his problem. It is very simple. "You take awoolly blanket, the woollier the bet-ter. Seize firmly in both hands, raise to the mouth with-out flinching, and bite hard. When you have a good bite, then you chew thoroughly and trot to swallow.'" This is a guaranteed cure. After one such experiment Scrupulosus needs no metaphysical discussion to be °con: vinced that human beings do not eat coats or blankets. In this matter, at least, he will be content with ?he human toad. No one-should gather from this brief sketch of Huma-nus and Scrupulosus that the latter does not wish to act as others do. His difficulty .is more subtle. Briefly put, it amounts to thi~: he cannot relax. 'He is like a sick man who fights an anesthetic; or, perhaps more accurately, he is like a man who will take the anesthetic, even if it kills him. So it is with Scrupulosus; at times he fights his fears, at other times he clenches his fists and says he will be human. Neither method will help him. He must relax under the pressure of his fear. This is not easy to do; yet it can be done if only one retains the power of laughing at oneself. For Scrupulosus, a sense of humor is more precious than the gift of tears. 193 Nint:s t:or Sacris!:ans Gerald Ellard, S.J. SACRISTANS for whom its cost or other considerations make Self-Lite Charcoal undesirable may readily secure the advantage of a large glowing surface with ordinary charcoal in the following way. After the unlighted charcoal ~has been placed in the censer, a little wood-alcohol is allowed to, drip on it and soak into it. It is then ignited, and, when the alcohol has burned away, the charcoal will be alight through and through and thus able, when fed with incense, to send up what is actually something like a pillar of smoke, a symbol of prayer visible to the entire congre-gation. The matter of securing the most suitable incense within the means of all is no small concern, and prompts one to mention a variety now being used with eminent satisfac-tion. Its cost is very low' but it is not on sale, as far as we know, in the church-goods houses. Trees of Syria exude a balm that is known in trade as. olibanum. This fragrant and gummy substance is widely used in varnish-making. It is graded in trade circles by the size of the lumps: egg (large) and tears (small). Tears of olibanum make an ideal incense.:~ Stocks available in this country may not.~ last much longer, but up to the present time wholesale drug dealers have had no difficulty in supplying it. The tears should not be powdered, as much of the fragrance would be lost, but burned as they come. In sacristies serving a large number of priests the prob-lem of quickly providing each priest with an alb of just the right length often proves formidable. A Chicago church 194 HINTS TO SACRISTANS where many Masses are the daily rule has at the edge of its alb-cabinet, at shoulder height, an unobtrusive measure indicating the number of inches from the floor. A priest has just to hold up an alb to the measure to see if it is the proper length for his use. It may no longer be news .to sacristans that candle~ burners in pyrex glass are now available in all candle sizes. In style they follow-not the older lamp-chimney shape, which "black out" tOO much of the candle flame and cause difficulties in lighting the candles, but the snug, dose-fitting sleeve pattern. The pyrex burners have all the advantages of the better type of metal burners, with the big additional one of beirig practically invisible. Sacristans shudder to see priests, in adjusting the man-iple, disregard the little tab provided for pinning, .and run the pin.into the precious fabric of the maniple itself. This is riot perverseness, but a measure of necess!ty (or rather, convenience), inasmuch as many of these little .tabs are too narrow to aliow one to run a pin crossways. Many new vestments now provide a shield-shape, or even semicircular, tab which affords ample room for pinning without being conspicuous. In repairing vestments sacristans might well provide such "pin-space." A strict law of the Church prescribes that the priest mix a "very small quantity;', of water with the wine to be consecrated at Mass. Most priests wish to take only a few drops of ,water; and sacristans can help them in this regard by filling the .water cruet almost to the top. When the cruet is pract.ica!ly full, it is easy to shake out a few drops. This is not so easy to do when the neck of the cruet is empty. 195 The Presumed Permission James E. Risk, S.J. THE philosophers tells us that what happens by chance happens rarely and cannot be foreseen. The Church, in her legislation, makes provision for many unusual situations that have arisen in the course of her past history, and may arise again. Hence she grants to all priests emer-gency faculties such as to absolve from censures, to assist at marriages and to perform other priestly functions. Fac-ulties of this kind are not granted to all priests save in cases of spirituhl emergency. Now, the most conscientious reli-gious, too, will find himself at times in an unforeseen situ-ation where permissions required by his vow of poverty or obedience are needed; where the delay necessarily in-volved in obtaining such permissions cannot be admitted. Unusual circumstances arisirig from the uncertainties of travel or health may, for example, produce a situation calling for the legitimate application of the principles gov-erning the presumed permission. Since actions based on presumed permissions should be the exceptioh in the normal life ofa religious, the older theologians took great care to limit their number to the minimum, lest a too liberal application of the-norms of presumption tend to obviate the necessity of asl~ing for many of the ordina~ry permissions. Sincere reflection and a normal exercise of foresight will lead a religious to limit the number of presumed permissions, while a ready ad-mission by superiors that unforeseen situations are, from time to time, inevitable, will prompt them to make allow-ances for the reasonable presumptions of their subjects. Though the question of presumed permissions is by no means limited to the field of religious poverty, it is chiefly from this angle that we shall endeavor to examine it. 196 THE ~RESUMED ~ERMISSION Various Kif~ds or: Permissions Progress in the exercise of religious poverty demands an accurate knowledge of the various kinds of permis-sions granted by superiors. By obtaining permission to acquire, dispose of, and use material things possessing some economic value such as books, money- and the like, the religious is faithful to the obligations freely accepted when he vowed poverty. He does not act in his own name nor as an independent proprietor, but as a poor man who has nothing that he can .truly call his own. Acting w~th-out permission in these matters, he violates his vow by committing what many moralists choose to call a "sin of proprietorship." They say that such a religious acts like a man who is bound by no vow of poverty and is independ-ent of any superior in the acquisition, use, or disposal of property. The commentators on the religious life usually speak of superiors as granting permissions; though in most communities there is generally appointed an assistant su-perior who is empowered to grant many of the ordinary permissions demanded by the obligations of the vow of poverty. Our purpose in examining the nature of the pre-sumed permission leads us to comment briefly on the other forms of permission employed by a religious in the observ-ance of his vow. This will serve to clear the ground for a more accurate understanding of the presumed permission. We spea~k of an express permission as one given by word of mouth or in writing, indicating unmistakably the mind of the superior. A tacit permission, as the very name implies, is p[udently considered as granted from the silence of the superior, who is aware of certain actions that are governed by poverty or obedience. The axiom "silence gives consent" may be reasonably applied when circum-stances are such that, if the superior objected, he would voice his disapproval. An implied permission is one that 197 JAMES E. R~sK is contained in another permission. The permission of a superior, for example, authorizing a /eligious to make a trip, implies the permission to use the funds necessary for traveling. A general permission may embrace many acts of the same or different species. In some religious commu-nities there prevails the practice of renewing each month general permissions in virtue of which a religious may ac-quire or dispose of objects of a very small economic value, such as articles of devotion and the like. The extent of such permission depends on-the constitutions, rules and customs Of the institute. A particular permission .is granted for an individual case. Such a permission, how-ever, if the superior so desired, might be extended not only to a singie occasion but to several occasions calling for the same permission. Thus, permission granted to an ailing religious to consult a specialist might be limited to a single visit or extended to several, according to the nature of the indisposition requiring attention. The Presumed Permission Authors who have treated of the obligations of the religious life agree that a religious is justified in presuming permission when, owing to some inconvenience in obtain-ing permission without delay, he prudently decides that if the superior in the present circumstances, were .asked for the same permission, he would readily grant it. Now be-fore proceeding further, let it be noted that there is one very substantial difference between the presumed permis-sion and. every other kind. All permissions save the pre-sumed permission have this note in common, namely, that they are expressions of the will of the superior who knows the wish of the subject and freely grants it. In doing so, he says, equivalently at least, "I grant you permission for this or that object." Yet when we examine the presumed per- 198 THE I~RESUMED PERMISSION mission, we find that the superior cannot say this for the simple reason that he is unaware of the subject's wish. This leads us to conclude that the presumed permission is, not a permission in the strict sense of the word, but it is a legitimate substitution; and the act resulting from a sin-cere presumption, whether it lies in the sphere of poverty or obedience, is quite in accord with the obligations arising from the religious vows. The religious is acting, not in his own name, but with a clear dependence on the will of the superior. To come more properly to an examination of the pre-sumed permission, the following points of division are suggested by the definition of the presumed permission given above. We must consider: I) On the part of thereligious who presumed: a) the inabitit~/ tO obtain permission in one its ordinarg forms, b) the motioes sufficient to justifg a presump-tion; c) a prudent conclusion. Z) On the part of the superior: the different~mental attitudes towards a presumed permission. Our first condition requisite for the legitimate pre-suming of a permission is the inability to obtain permis-sion in one of its ordinary forms because of the absence of the superior. The most circumspect religious may encoun-ter such a situation when both superior and assistant are .abse, nt or indisposed or so occupied as to permit no inter-ruption. If the proposed action of the religious is so urgent as to exclude a delay until such time as the superior may be contacted, permission may be presumed, supposing the .other conditions are fulfilled. In the second place sufficient motives, reducible to ne- 199 JAMES E. RISK cessity or utility, are required to make a presumpt.ion law-ful. Let us suppose that, while traveling, two sisters are caught in a heavy rainstorm that gives little hope of imme-diate abatement. An umbrella would be a very welcome addition to their equipment in the present predicament. To purchase an umbrella without delay may be instru-mental in protecting their health as. well as their clothing. In such straits it would be quite unnecessary to look for a telephone so as to obtain express permission to make this necessary purchase. The same religious now proceed to browse through a book store while waiting for a train. To their pleasant surprise a rare and very valuable book, much sought after by their superior, meets their eye. It is available at an extremely reduced rate. A real service would be rendered the convent by the immediate purchase of such a book. A situation such as this might even justify the conclusion that the permission to buy the book ought to be presumed. The prudent in.terpretation of the superior's mind, the third requisite for a valid presumption, must never be wanting. On this point, the commentators supply us with expressions that furnish a key to the solution of many a problem that in practice may arise when we wish to justify a presumed permission. They say: "_ . it is prudently judged that permission would be given if asked"; "Per-mission reasonably presumed is sometimes sufficient"; "To presume permission is to act conformably to the will of the $a p er" t "o't ; and so forth. "Prudent"l y" , reasonabl"y, and "conformably to the will of the superior" indicate that a well-founded judgment enters into the very character of the presumed permission. Resting on the basis of whim or hallucination, instead of prudence and reflection, the act of the presuming religious is not to be dignified by the title of a permission; it is rather a gratuitous-presumption or 200 THE PRESUMED PERMISSION the sin of proprietorship. The reasons tha~ justify the prudent judgment will at least approximate those which in ordinary circumstances influence the conscientious superior in consenting to the requests of his subjects. Such reasons will be reduced ulti-mately to necessity or utility in harmony with the norms of the particular religious institute of which both superior and subject are members. For each religious order or con-gregation professes a more or less definite standard in these matters, admitting, for example,, in the matter of poverty, the use of some things as necessary or useful, while exclud-ing others as superfluous or even detrimental to the. spirit-ual interests 6f the religious. With this in mind, the reli-gious about to presume a permission knows that the habit-ual attitude of the superior is to abide by these norms in granting permissions, that the object desired in the present emergency has been granted on other occasions by the same superior, that there is no reason that leads him to suspect that in the present situatioi~ the superior would act differ-ently. Thus, a religi6us says to himself, equivalently at least, "If, here and now; I should ask the superior to grant me this request, I am reasonably certain that he would readily grant it." He comes to this conclusion after hav-ing deliberated on his particular rule of life and the habit-ual inclination of ~i conscientious superior. The "if" clause just expressed is always at least implied in the legitim~te presumption. This explains why the presumed permission is sometimes called the conditioned permission. The per-mission that would involve the acceptance of gifts of an incon.sequential value can be much more readily presumed than the more costly kind. Needless to say, in practise the reasoning process re-quired for a presumed permission is far more quickly con-cluded than described. While walking through town, a 201 religious priest meets a crippled beggar, whom he knows to be sincere. He gives the poor man a few small coins on the presumption that his superior would not object. His own particular institute encourages devotion .to the poor and he has seen his superior, a conscientious religious, act in the same generous fashion. His presumption is reason-able; he has "conformed" his action to the .reasonably in-terpreted mind of the superior. I.s. a religious who has legitimately presumed a permis-sion, say in a matter governed by his vow of poverty, later obliged to notify the superior of his act?. The rule may call for such a manifestation in every case of a presumed permission. Supposing such a prescription does not exist, one would not be obliged to notify the superior of articles now consumed which'had been received b~r way of a legiti-mately presumed permission. Objects Of a more enduring nature, received in virtue of a presumed permission, should be made knov~n to the superior. A kind friend, for exam-ple, meets a' religious and invites him to take dinner with him. The religious accepts his friend's gracious invitation. Before parting, the same kind friend presents the religious with a very excellent volume. To what is the religious obliged in the case? We suppose, first of all, that his pre-sumptions in both cases are justified. If the rule of this religious obliges him to manifest all presumed permissions to the superior, his duty is clear. Without such a provision made by his rule, he would not be obliged to acquaint his superior with the fact that he had prudently presumed to take dinner with his friend. If he wishes to keep the vol-ume which he had lawfully presumed to accept, he would be obliged to approach the superior for permission. For while it was inconvenient to make contact with the supe-rior at the moment when he received the book, there should be no special inconvenience involved in asking for permis- 202 THE PRESUMED PERMISSION' sion on his beturn home. In other words, he can lawfully ¯ presume only as long as conditions justify it. Attitudes of Superior Having examined the conditions that warrant a pre-s. umed permission, let us now look briefly at the different attitudes with which a superior may view such presump-tions on the part ~of the subject. We may reduce them to three classes. 1) The first type of superior may be so disposed that he is ready enough, if asked, to grant the ordinary permis-sions, and does not object to the reasonable presuming of the same permissions. It is possible that he has. expressed himself on this point.To ex.emplify: a religious of the community of this superior knows that permission to sub-scribe to useful periodicals is readily granted. He knows too from his close acquaintance with the superior that there is no objection to presumed permissions in ordinary mat-ters. Such a religious, provided there be no insincerity on 'the point, .may presume to subscribe under the ordinary conditions. For he knows, in the language of the theo-logians, that his superior is opposed neither to. the sub-stance of the act (the~ subscription) nor to the mode or manner (by way of a presumed permission). 2) Another superior, perhaps .with a view of check-ing abuse in the matter of poverty, may be decidedly op-posed to his subjects' presuming permissions. So strong may be his attitude that, outside of cases of real emergency, he is prepared to veto the presumed permissions of his sub-jects. A presumed permission then, outside of extraordi-nary circumstances, would be tantamount to a violation of poverty or obedience as the case might be. To resume the example of subscription for periodicals. The superior in question is not opposed to the subscriptions to useful :peri- 203 JAMES E. RISK odicals. So strongly, however, is he opposed to presumed permissions, that he refuses to allow a subject to subscribe without first obtaining express permission. In this case he would object to the substance of the act (the act of subscribing') not because he failed to appreciate the cul-tural value of useful periodicals, but because he would be opposed to the toad/ir~ which such a subscription were made (i.e. by way of the presumed permission). 3) S~ill a third attitude might be evidenced towards the matter of presuming. Admitting the use of presumed permissions as sometimes justifiable, a superior may reveal his general attitude towards presumed permissions as one of reluctance and displeasure. Such a disposition, however, would not necessarily in'dicate his refusal to ratify a pre-sumption once made. The subject of this superior sub-scribes to a periodical and on the arrival of the first issue is reminded that the superior would gladly have granted the permission if asked. Has this religious violated poverty? He may have sinned venially because of the toay in which he obtained the subscription, that is, by presu~ming instead of asking. The substance of the act, namely, the mere sub-scribing, would not necessarily be'sinful, because the supe-rior would have gladly permitted it. Obedience too could be violated, if the religious deliberately acted against the expliCit order of the superior. To complete our consideration of the various attitudes which mayinfluence a superior in .these matters, this ques-tion may be proposed. Suppose that after a sincere and prudent presumption is made, it is totally repudiated by the superior? If, for example, a book were purchased in such circumstances, what could be done? Strictly. speak-ing, the superior might order the return of the book and reimbursement on the part of the proprietor of the book-store, if this were feasible. That would be for the superior 204 THE ~RESUMED PERMISSION to decide. The religious, who in good' faith erroneously estimated his superior's attitude, would in no wise be guilty of a violation of poverty. For in the case he sincerely inter-preted the mind of his superior and concluded that the con-ditions justified his transaction. Conclusion In conclusion, let .us remember that the presumed or interpretative permission, as some authors call it, has a defi-nite place in the life of an observant religious, but that p!ace is reserved for occasions when the ordinary methods to obtain permission cannot be observed. The conscien-tious religious, as we have already stated, will rarely fail to obtain whatever permis.sions are ordinarily necessary by the more express method of asking the superior. A habitual use of presumption can easily lead to laxity in the observ-ance of poverty so essential to a life in religion that is to be led with any degree of sincerity. What must never be. for-gotten is that cooperation is always necessary in the observ-ance of the vow of poverty: the superior should show him-self ready to grant any request in keeping with the particu-lar grade of poverty professed in hisinstitute, since it is not unknown for subjects to violate poverty rather than ap-proach a superio/Who has shown himself less gracious in the question of permissions. Subjects have been known to deliberately violate poverty, I say, not to mention the gratuitous or unnecessary presumption which is another name for the sin of proprietorship. The religious should be habitually disposed to express that dependence on supe-riors for the use of temporal things, not out of a spirit of servitude but out of a desire to imitate Him Who was hungry and Who had nowhere to lay His head. 205 ook Reviews PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS FERFECTION for the use of the Merlst Brothers of the Schools. Trensleted from the slx~h French edition; revised end enlercjed. Pp. 567. To be procured from the Marlst Brothers, St. Ann's Hermltege, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. $1.~0. Though this book was written for the Marist Brothers, it could be of great service to other religious as well. In fact, it would make an excellent manual of introduction or a good brief guidebook to the spiritual iife in general and particularly to the religious life. It might be used as a sort of text-book for young religious; it was designed to serve that purpose for the Marist novices. It ~s small, but rich in content; its form is that of. question a~ad answer; in presentation of its material, it is systematic, clear, and definite. From it one could get a well ordered and fairly comprehensive knowledge of the practice of the spiritual and religious life. The Introduction supplies general notions on the end of man, holiness, the religious state, and religious institutes. Part I is entitled "General Means of Christian Perfection," and deals with the desire for perfection, prayei, mental prayer, exercises of piety, conscience, Confession, Communion, direction, spiritual reading, the exercise of the presence of God, and various devotions. In Part II, "General Means of Perfection in the Religious Life," are treated religious vocal tion, the noviceship and religious profession, the vows, and the corre-sponding virtues. It closes with a chapter on "Regularity." Part III is concerned with the obstacles to Christian and religious perfection, and the fourth part is devoted to the virtues. To many of the answers "to the questions are added brief further explanations in smaller type. On many points of major importance select quota-tions from the Fathers and Doctors of the Church are givefi; in these the' influence of St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Liguori is noticeable. The m~iterial make-up, paper, print, and binding, are neat and attractive. A full table of contents, an analytical tab!e, and a good index make it easy to find what the book contains on any particular point.--G. A. ELLARD, S.,J. BLESSED ARETHEY THAT HUNGER. By the Reverend Richard Graef, C;.S.Sp. Trensleted by Sister Mary Hildegerd Windecker, M. A., Sister of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians end Colored People. 206 BOOK REVIEWS Pp. ~vli + 175. Frederick Pustet, Inc., New York, 1942. $2.00. Father Graef attempts in various ways to encourage the good Catholic in the practic.e of a strong and living faith. His main lines of argumentation are the following: A dynamic faith is necessary for personal sanctity; because sanctity demands self-renunciation, and this renunciation will not be made unless one sees clearly and power-fully the value of making it. Such evaluation is had only in the light of faith. Moreover, supernatural efficiency demands the work both of Christ and of the soul. The principal part of the soul's cooperation consists in genuine, earnest desire; and the source of such desire is faith. Finally, the apostolic influence that each soul is called upon to exert in the world, and thus the ultimate mastery of the world by apostolic souls, can be appreciated only when the world is viewed with the eyes of faith. The" author has made frequent and apt use of the Sacred Scrip-tures. Each of the main sections of the book is divided into numer-ous brief topics. The meditative reading of one or two of these topics might prove, helpful to those wlJo are accustomed to make their men-tal prayer in that way.--G. KELLY, S.,I. THE MASS OF BROTHER MICHEL. By Michael Ken÷. Pp. 307. The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, 1942. $2.S0. Here is a new Catholic novel with an entirely different theme. The setting of the story is sixteenth-century France, a turbulent his-torical period for that country, owing to the threatening Surge of heresy. The spreading falsehoods of Calvin and Luther provide' a dramatic background for the lives of the de Guillemont family, about which the story is told. The interest centers in Michel de Guillemont, the elder son and heir. It is his story from his sincere, impetuous love of Louise to his final unyielding love of God and his Faith in the self-oblation of martyrdom. We share in the tragedy before his contemplated mar-riage that was partly due to the jealousy of his brother Paul and that led to his becoming a saintly religious. We are carried along from the injustice and cruelty of his father to ~he providential meeting with the und.erstanding Father Andr4. We sympathize with him in his deep suffering when the priesthood is denied him. Brother Michel's courageous acceptance of God's will and his intense love of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass keep the interest keen up to the power- 207 BOOK REVIEWS ful climax of his death. The subordinate characters of the least-resisting Paul, the unscru-pulous Anne; the bitter Louise, the heretic Armand, the lovable Father Andre, and others are well portrayed. The story is told with excel-lent description and good use of suspense. The tragic atmosphere is relieved by romance and clever humor. The one striking weakness is the characteristic trait of the modern novel: it leaves untold the retribution due to some charaCters. The Mass of Brother Michel shows the triumph of grace over .personal pain and loss, sin, and human frailty. The passages that deal with the spiritual consolation of the Mass, the reason for pain and suffering in this life, God's love for the sinner, and the courage coming to the soul through prayer are worth reading again and again. Priests, in particular, will find here many inspiring thoughts for practical use and may grow in their appreciation of the privilege of offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.---A. J. DEEMAN, S.J. FAST BY THE ROAD. By John Moody. Pp. xiv + 308. The MacM~llan C~rnpany, New Yorl~, 1941. $2.50. The Wall Street expert on investments and kindred subjects who occasioned not a little surprise a decade ago by embracing the Catholic Faith and reporting the event in the popular The Long Road Home has a new treat for his expanding reading public. The present vol-ume, to quote from the author's foreword, is "an attempt to explain in simple language or by illustration, certain teachings and view. points to be found within the Church which are often misunder-stood by non-Catholics. All this is merely incidental to the general purpose, which is primarily to tell of some of the experiences of one convert .during his first decade as a Catholic." Mr. Moody writes simply, entertainingly, and with precision on a wide variety of subjects connected with his Faith. In his chapters the hard-headed, efficient business man, with the help of God's grace, approaches the Truth. He turns back his cuffs and proceeds to defend it and, campaign for it with gusto. The chapters are topical for the most part, ranging with consider-able agility back and forth over some focal point of Catholicity by means of observation, analysis, chance discussion, and illustrative anecdote. Their cumulative effect is to deepen one's gratitu.de for the gift of Faith and to jolt one anew with the realization that most of 208 BOOK REVIEWS one's non-Catholic friends and neighbors are totally ignorant of or gr6ssly misunderstand the Catholic concept of supernatural life, and are usually indifferent to it. And Mr. Moody, so thoroughly at home in the Church after his ten years as a Catholic, writes with more than ordinary authority and perception of .the money-mad, speed-benumbed, materialistic American mentality. The book is recommended especially to those in search of reading matter never heavy or tiring yet providing food for serious thought --and prayer. The chapters m~y be read in any order, and any or all of them would be suitable for refectory reading.--C. DEMUTH, THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN ENGLAND. Pp. ix -I- 102. The MacMillan Company, MEDIEVAL HUMANISM. By the Reverend Pp. ix -!- 103. The MacMillan Company, By John J. O'Connor. New York, 1942. $1.00. Gerald G. Walsh, S.J. New York, 1942. $1.00. These books are respectively the third and fourth volumes in The Christendom Series. According to the announcement of the publishers, "this is a series of popular books on important topics in the history of Christendom, prepared under the auspices of the Con-fraternity of Christian Doctrine . The books are intended to provide informative reading for both Catholic and non-Catholic readers; for study clubs in the parochial units of~the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine: for study groups in the Newman Clubs: as collateral texts in colleges, normal schools, and senior high ~and preparatory schools.'~ Both books appear to measure up very well to the purpose of the series. Professor O'Connor's book gives a fine sweeping picture of that very important period in English life known as "The Catholic Revival," the story of the gradual breaking away from the tyranny of th~ penal laws to the winning of freedom and influence for Cath-olics. Father Walsh's book puts within the reach of the ordinarily intelligent reader with good educational background an illuminating study of the meaning of "Humanism" and of the development of Christian Humanism through the middle ages till it reached its high point in Dante. Bibliographical notes are appended to each book. Father Walsh has also included an abstract for study and review which should prove very helpful.~. KELLY, S.d. 209 Decisions o[ !:he Holy MEANS OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE HOLY SEE A communication from the Most Reverend Apostolic Delegate to the Most Reverend Ordinaries reads as follows:. "In order to remedy, the difficulties of correspondence with the Holy See, His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State has'directed me to inform the Diocesan and Religious Ordinaries and Superiors of this country'that in the present circumstances they may recur to the Holy See through this Apostolic Delegation, and so avail themselves of the facilities at our disposal. This office makes frequent use of radiograms, and also of the air-mails to Lisbon wblch, however, are not as regular as formerly. "Upon the receipt of the petitions of Religious for faculties and dispens,ations, this Delegation will communicate with the .Holy See by radiogram or by other channdls, according to the possibilities and the circumstances. When a response has been received from the Holy See, the relative rescript will be issued by this Delegation, in accord-ance with instructions already given or to be given in particular cases. "When requests are made for the renewal of a faculty, the orig-inal rescript should be presented with the petition for renewal. "The Holy. See hopes in this way to continue to correspond with the Religious !n this country and to furnish every assistance to them." 1942, March 21. At the request of many members of the Hier-archy, heads Of universities, and authorities in the world of science, among them members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, His Holiness Pope Pius XII proclaimed Saint Albert the Great to be the heavenly patron of natural sciences. The Most Reverend Martin Gillet, Master General of the Order of Preachers, read the Brief at a solemn meeting held in the Pontifical International Institute Ahgeli- CUmo 1941, November 18. The Sacred Congregation of Rites held a preparatory session in the cause of the Servant of God, Catherine Tekakwitha, Indian virgin, to discuss the heroicity of the virtues practised by her. 210 .uesffons and Answers !1. According +o our constitutions. +he members of our congregation pronoun~:e temporary vows for three years, +hen take. perpetual vows unless, for a very serious reason, a sister is obl;gecl by superior~ to renew her temporary vows for another period of three years. At the end of +ha+ time she must either pronounce perpetual vows or seek~ an inchlt from the S. Congregation of Religious for a fur+her ex+en-sion of temporary vows if she is not 1o return to the world. Recently this latter c~se occurred, but the rescript was delayed, "and the sister d~d not renew her temporary vows until twelve days after they had' expired. In this case, did +he sister cease +o be a member of +he congregation on the day on which her vows expired, and were her subsequent vows invalid? The sister would not cease to be a member of the congregation. by the mere fact that an interval of time elapsed between the expira-tion of the temporary vows and their renewal, unless the superior had positively ordered her to leave and to return to the world. As the case is presented, it is not clear whether or not the constitutions allow this appeal to the S. Congregation of Religious.