Suchergebnisse

Issue 48.3 of the Review for Religious, May/June 1989. ; R~z,.'n~w vor R~.t~3~oos (ISSN 0034-639X) is publishcd bi-monthly at St. Louis University by thc Mis- ¯ souri Province Educational Institute of the Society of Jesus; Editorial Office: 3601 Lindcll Blvd. Rm. 428: SI. l.x~uis. MO 63108-3393. Sccond-class postagc paid at St. Lxmis MO. Single copies $3.00. Subscriptions: $12.00 pcr year: $22.00 for two years. Other countries: for surface mail. add U.S. $5.00 per year; for airmail, add U.S. $20.00 per year. For subscription orders or changc of address, write: R~,.'u~w voa R~t.~Gous: P.O. Box 6070: Duluth. MN 55806. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rv:vtv:w v(m REI.I(;IOtJS; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, MN 55806. David L. Fleming, S.J. Iris Ann Ledden, S.S.N.D. Richard A. Hill, S.J. Jean Read Mary Ann Foppe Editor Associate Editor Contributing Editor Assistant Editors Ma\'/June 1989 Volume 48 Number 3 Manuscripts, books fnr review and correspnndence with the editor should be sent to REvtEw wm Rr:t,t(;mt~s; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. la~uis, MO 63108-3393. Correspondence about the department "Canonical Counsel" should be addressed to Rich-ard A. Hill, S.J.; J.S.T.B.; 1735 l~eRoy Ave.; Berkeley, CA 94709-1193. Back issues and reprints shnuld be nrdered from R~:\'t~:w vo~ R~:~,nntms; 3601Lindell Blvd.; St. la~uis, MO 63108-3393. "Out nf print" issues are available frnm University Micrnfilms International; 300 N. Zeeb Rd.; Ann Arbor, MI 48106. A major pnrtion of each issue is also available on cassette recordings as a service for the visually impaired. Write to the Xavier Snciety fnr the Blind; 154 East 23rd Street; New York, NY 10010. PRISMS . Color plays an important role in our human lives. Before modem psy-chological studies were done about color and its effect upon our human psyche, the Church emphasized color to highlight liturgical seasons and to enhance individual feast-day celebrations. Both the colors for deco-rating altar, tabernacle, and sanctuary and the colors for priestly vest-ments and stoles conveyed a mood or feeling of the season or feast. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS over the past ten years has distinguished its is-sues within any one volume by color. Willy-nilly, whether by foresight or only upon reflection, color for us, too, tends to have a certain sym-bolic relationship to the seasonal and liturgical placement of an issue. An obvious point can be made with the blue cover of this issue--a blue which is associated with Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, and with her special identification with the month of May. In more recent times, the popular place of Mary in the devotional lives of Catholics has dimmed. The Vatican II renewal of our liturgy and sacramental celebrations necessarily focused our attention and re-education upon the central mysteries of our faith-life. Devotions in their myriad forms of litanies, novenas, vigils or holy hours, and various other pious practices--whether in honor of Mary or of any of the saints-- naturally received less attention during this period. Our time and ,our en-ergies were being re-directed so that we could recapture the Eucharistic celebration and the other celebrations of sacraments with all the fervor and participation that marked our popular devotions. It sometimes appeared that, with popular devotions less emphasized, Mary and the saints were also losing their place in Catholic life. Instead, this has been a time of nurturing fresh growth, with new insights and em-phases to invigorate and renew our faith-lives. The recent Marian year stands as a proclamation of the renewed understanding of Mary's place in the life of the Christian faithful. In this issue, we look through four different prisms at Mary. The first article is "Mary in Contemporary Culture" by Father Stan Parmisano, O.P. Just as Mary has played a distinctive role in the various ages of the Church, for example, in the "lady" ideal of the Middle Ages culture, so we need to ask how our relation to Mary facilitates our Christian re-sponse to.the issues and values prevalent in culture today. The author 321 399 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 stimulates our own thinking about the hidden ways in which Mary might be said to be prevalent in our culture. The second article in this issue is "Through Mary" by Ms. Hilda Montalvo. As wife, mother, and teacher, Ms. Montalvo calls us all into a personal reflection upon what the dogmas about Mary mean to us. She points the way to seeing how Marian dogmas are necessarily Christian dogmas, helping us to clarify our own relationship with God and to en-rich the meaning of our human lives. Sister Mary Eileen Foley, R.G.S., writes the third article on Mary, raising the question in her title, "Reflections on Mary, Bridge to Ecu-menism?" In view of an existing Reformation tradition in which the honor given to Mary continues to divide Roman and Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christian from the majority of other Christian churches, Sis-ter Mary Eileen suggests ways of seeing how a new understanding of Mary may well be in our day a true ecumenical bridge. The fourth article allows us all to pursue further at our leisure the most recent writings on Mary. Father Thomas Bourque, T.O.R., pro-vides us with a selected bibliography of writings about Mary which have been published between the time of Paul VI's exhortation, Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and John Paul II's encyclical, Mother of the Redeemer. Hopefully this compact bibliography can serve as a helpful resource for a fresh and renewed understanding of Mary's role in the lives of Christian peoples. Finally, I will note that in a newly added section to our Book and Cassette Reviews area, called "For the Bookshelf," we have briefly noted the contents of a few books about Mary just recently published. I hope that you will find the occasional addition of this section to Re-views a help in highlighting those recently published books, which we want to note and can often group around certain themes or issues. David L. Fleming, S.J. Mary In Contemporary Culture Stan Parmisano, O.P. Father Stan Parmisano, O.P., is Regent of Studies for the Western Dominican Prov-ince. He teaches at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California in the area of Religion and the Arts. His address is 5877 Birch Court; Oakland, California 94618. ~ have been asked to specify the difference Mary, the Mother of Jesus, makes or can make in our contemporary culture. Let me first propose some principles, or basic thinking, that may help toward a fruitful dis-cussion of the complex of issues and subjects involved in the question. Afterwards, we may consider some of these particulars in terms of Mary and her possible role within them. We think of the presence or absence of Mary, as of Jesus, in terms of visibility or of imaginable or intelligible content. Thus if there is a dearth of "thinking" about Mary or of images of her, we would say that she is absent in our time; on the contrary, we would say that she was pre-sent in former times, especially in the medieval and early renaissance worlds, when she was quite "visible" in the content of theology, art, architecture, poetry, music. But there is another kind of presence: invis-ible, unconscious, the presence of form rather than content, the kind of presence we are asked to look for, say, in non-representational art or in music, or in poetry where the music or rhythm precedes idea and image and helps create them. t This is a presence of thrust, of dynamic, of spirit ¯ . . like that of the Spirit of God (ruach Elohim) hovering over the yet unformed waters of chaos and warming them toward visibility and life. I want to suggest that perhaps Mary is present here and there in our time in this last manner, and that we should strive to promote her more universal presence in this direction as well as in that of visible content. In fact, this is the direction in which we should seek to define culture 323 324 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 itself. Culture is not a matter of any one specific content or subject or activity nor of all taken en masse. Rather, it is the inherited dynamism or spirit or form that produces each of them in all their various nuances, though it itself is affected and reshaped by them.z The same is true with regard to God and Jesus: it is not so much the content of our thought about them, not the images we have of them that is telling, but what un-derlies these, beyond thought and image, inspiring and shaping the con-tent of our belief. I would regard Mary in a similar way. In the earliest Church there was not, perhaps, much content or visibility of Mary, at least when com-pared to Jesus and his male disciples, to Paul and his entourage. But, to borrow an image from one of her later lovers, I would suggest that she was there from beginning to end as "atmosphere," as "world-mothering air, air wild," as form or spirit shaping the emerging thought and action of the Church.3 Certainly it was in her modest context, her "atmosphere," that Christ was preserved from mere myth and acknowl-edged as substantially and earthily human (so Paul's almost casual aside: "born of a woman"). By the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance that spirit had blossomed into a fullness of content. Then that content be-gan to harden till in some instances and locales it quenched the moving spirit and became identified with Mary. And could it be that Vatican II tried to recover her spirit, the "form" of Mary? If so, we must not mis-take what it had to say about Mary for the fullness of Mary but, with its beginnings, refocus on the thrust of Mary in our time and beyond. In speaking of Mary's presence in this way I would hope to suggest another presence, that of the Holy Spirit. Saint Maximilian Kolbe spoke boldly of Mary as the quasi-incarnation of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the latter part of this hyphenation. Since then, less venturesome theolo-gians have accentuated the quasi.4 In any case few Catholic theologians will deny Mary's special and intimate relationship with the Spirit. They go hand in loving hand, indissolubly Wedded--not only because they were cooperatively together at the conception of Christ and later at the birth of the Church, but because they have a kind of natural affinity. Both are hidden, in the background as it were, but dynamically so, strik-ingly reemerging at critical moments in Jesus's adult years--as when the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to prepare him for his ministry, and when Mary, waiting for Jesus "apart from the crowd," inspires in him the revolutionary declaration as to his true and lasting kindred (Mk 3:31 - 35). There are other shared characteristics. These are discoverable in cer-tain movements or thrusts of our time, and I suggest that we look here Mary in Contemporary Culture / 395 for the presence of Mary/Spirit in our time as well as in any explicit Marian theology or devotion. Some of these revelatory movements are as follows. The interiorization of religion. Certainly emphasis today is on the sub-jective aspect of belief and morality. Even those who rightly uphold the objectivity of belief and morals are concerned more than ever with lib-erty of conscience, personal and cultural limitations of understanding, the virtue of prudence and its largely intuitive functioning, the unique-ness of a given "situation," the restoration in one form or another of casuistry(the individual case). But interiorization, subjectivity, intuition are of the unpredictable Spirit "who blows where he wills" and of the traditionally feminine rather than of the predictably and predicting ra-tional and the traditionally masculine. Purged of all excess and distor-tion, they are, in other words, of the Holy Spirit and Mary. Contemplative prayer. In the last twenty to thirty years there has been in the western world a mounting interest in and practice of medita-tive prayer, sparked by eastern imports such as TM, Zen, Yoga, and now developed along lines of traditional Christian contemplation. This prayer is seen now to be not just for the select few, mainly among nuns and monks, but for all in whatever walk of life. Here is obviously another aspect of interiorization and the letting go of content in favor of a poised and expectant darkness. It is not a looking to what is outside (image, word, symbol, creed) but to what is within, to the private, personal "reve-lation," to what God is "saying" to me here and now--like a pregnant woman turned inward, quietly aware of the mystery growing within her. Here again is the Holy Spirit praying within us when, as St. Paul tells us (Rm 8:26-27), we do not know what to pray for (that is, when all con-tent is surrendered) and here is Mary, the silent, surrendering contem-plative par excellence. Unseen, unfelt, they are at the heart of so many today who are trying to pray such prayer, and so many others desper-ately in need of it if only to avoid being torn apart and scattered by the noise and confusion of a world off-center. Ecumenism. Another mark, and need, of the contemporary Church is ecumenism, conceived now as the unification not just of the various Christian churches but of the worldreligions as well. Again we may see here the stirring of.the Spirit who is the bond of love, the vinculum cari-tatis, uniting Father and Son, the one hovering over the deep bringing, at the Father's Word, order out of chaos, the one forming and securing the one Church in the beginning. And as Mar~,, with and in the Spirit, brought to birth the one undivided Christ, so is her labor today with re- 326 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 gard to the Church. It is the opinion of many Catholic theologians that Mary should be downplayed today so as not to offend our Protestant broth-ers and sisters and thereby impede ecumenism. I should think it would be just the opposite, providing the depth of Mary is presented, which is her spirit, her form more than her traditional content; yet the latter, in the purity of Church teaching and practice, is of marked importance, too, for itself and for what it reveals of her spirit and the new directions that spirit may take, for all the churches, in the future.5 Social Justice. Whereas in former times we would speak of charity and the works of charity, now the cry is for justice and the doing of jus-tice: we do for the poor not so much out of our love and their need as out of our sense of justice and their rights. Again, in the past justice has been in the main the province of the male, the one actively engaged in the world, in politics, business, civil defense, and so forth. But women are more and more coming to the fore in it, seeking justice for themselves and for the marginal and oppressed in general. Here we may note a fresh dynamic of Mary--the seed of which, however, was there from the be-ginning. Thus those writing of Mary today, particularly women, view her in the context of the women of justice in the ancient Hebrew world-- Esther, Deborah, Judith--and see a whole theology of social justice in Mary's Magnificat.6 And if the movement toward social justice is of the Holy Spirit, who as creative Love seeks balance, harmony, substantial peace and concord, then, yes we can find, if we look, the Spirit's spouse at work with the Spirit toward the same goal. Mary, while drawing us within in contemplative stillness, also directs us outward to the Christ who lived and lives in our objective, tangible world and identified him-self with the quite visible poor and needy. She points to this Christ dwell-ing outside us as well as within, just as does the Holy Spirit who, as the gospel tells us, is there to remind us continually of all Christ has visibly done and audibly spoken. Perhaps part of the new "content" of Mary today is this visibility of the woman in works of justice and peace, not as having lost the interiorization, the contemplative spirit, the gentle, mothering love of her past, but as gaining something in addition: the hid-den life while, paradoxically still remaining hidden, come forth openly to help heal the world. Mary remains what she was in the past and there-fore under the press of current need becomes someone new for the pre-sent. When considering Mary in her relationship to women, past and pre-sent, we must be cautious. Christ is male; his maleness is part of his his-tory, and history is important in the religion known as Christianity. But Mary in Contemporary Culture / 327 his maleness is meant mainly as a means of access to his humanity and person which are neither male nor female. Christ is equally for both men and women, though, of course, in different ways according to different psychologies and cultures. However, the h~stoncai fact of Christ s male-ness has often dominated our thinking about him, with regretful results; as when, in spite of changes in psychologies and culture it is used to jus-tify an ongoing exclusive male ecclesiastical leadership. Similarly with Mary. Her femininity is a providential part of her history, but it is as a human being and person that she is of greater moment. Accordingly she is for the man as well as the woman; she serves both equally and both are equally to learn from her, though, again, in different ways. Yet her femininity has had its influence, for good and bad. For bad." it has tended to limit our ideal of the Christian woman to what it was in Mary's own day and to which, accordingly, she herself was in good measure bound. For good: it has softened our conception of God and so made our ap-proach to God easier, more inviting, loving rather than fearful. In and through the gospels, past art and poetry and drama, seeing God in the arms and in the care and "power" of this then insignificant Jewish woman--quiet, gentle, lowly, we find some of that same womanhood rubbing off, as it were, on Father God. A fair part of the accessibility of Jesus himself, his merciful compassion, is the fact that he has Mary as his flesh and blood mother. Without her, would we be altogether con-vinced of the mercy of God and the understanding compassion of Jesus? Here is one way in which the "content" or dogma of Mary has affected us in the past, with its mark still upon us, thankfully. In the present thrust of woman toward justice, with Mary behind (and before) her, it would be tragic if this content were surrendered in favor of one that is hard, merely active, superficially and imitatively masculine. Eventually God himself might regress into the terror and cruelty of past and present dark religions. Mary, the Spirit, and Christ Above I recalled the bold but, to my mind, accurate Mariology of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit in a unique way, such that we can speak of her as the very incarnation of the Spirit, with some reservation (quasi). As indicated above, some Catholic theo-logians are embarrassed by this as by much else in the Church's past the-ology and practice concerning Mary. They think it an exaggeration of the biblical teaching and find it an impediment to union with our Protes-tant sister churches. As to the first objection we must insist that Scripture was not meant Review for Religious, May-June 1989 to stand alone: it sprung up out of the Church (community of believers) and its seeds are meant to grow within the Church under the care of the same Spirit who once inspired it. There was an initial content, to be re-spected as the Spirit's word through all time; but there were also drives, dynamisms within the original word, forms yet to find their specific con-tent or matter. Thus the gospels' powerful presentations, lovingly and carefully lingered over, of the relationship between Mary, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit cry out for meditation and penetration and so the revelation of truths beneath the surface. Thus we have the doctrines of the Immacu-late Conception, Assumption, the Queenship of Mary, and so forth; and her quasi-incarnation of the Spirit. This last is not to make a god of Mary. The gospels are clear on this score: Mary is the handmaid of the Lord, his lowly servant. Rather it is to point up something in God--the femininity, womanhood,, motherhood of God. Mary can be looked upon in two ways: as an historical person, flesh and blood, the daughter of Anna and Joachim (or of whomever), the physi-cal, natural mother of Jesus. Here she is all and only human. But she must also be seen as symbol, but the special kin~ of symbol that makes what is symbolized present in very reality. Thus as the Eucharist does not simply remind us of Christ but makes him really present upon our altars, so Mary does not simply recall the Holy Spirit to our minds and point us in the Spirit's direction; she makes the Spirit. really present among and within us. Seeing her we see the Spirit, as seeing the Eucha-rist we see Christ himself. This is a good and legitimate reason for ad-dressing the Spirit as feminine--not as a sop for the marginal woman but simply because as there are reasons for addressing God as Father or Son there is this equally cogent reason for addressing God as Mother.7 As in time, in the mystery of the Incarnation there is eternal Father, mother Mary, and Son Jesus, so in eternity there is Father and Son with mother-ing Spirit as their bond of Love. As for the difficulties such teaching may hold for ecumenism, they may be only initial difficulties. As suggested above, if we view Mary and present her in terms of form, thrust, spirit, and not just as already shaped content, and if we continually move deeper within this content in context of present needs and lawful desire, perhaps Protestants will eventually come to see what Catholic belief and theology have long since held as truth and will thank us for having led the way back home, as we have reason to thank them for having helped bring us back to much that had been lost. One final remark before considering some of the specifics of our sub- Mary in Contemporary Culture / 329 ject: it has to do with Mary's relationship with Christ. Again, in sensi-tivity to Protestant criticism and in reaction to exaggerated statements about Mary and misguided devotion to her, Vatican II and ecclesiastical documents and theology since have been most careful to insist upon the subjection of Mary to Christ. Salvation is through Christ alone; he is the one mediator between God and humankind. There is little if any talk about what formerly there was lots of talk about, namely of Mary as co-redeemer and mediatrix of all graces. Such theologizing, it is believed, and the devotion arising from (or producing) it detracts from the power and mission of Christ. But I wonder if we are not here misconceiving power and the whole matter of Christ's redemptive work. We seem to be equating Christ's (God's) power with power as we ordinarily think of it: dominating rule, often exclusive. But Christ's power is not univo-cal with ours, and he himself quite literally took the greatest pains to turn the tables in the matter: "You know how those who exercise authority among the gentiles lord it over them . It cannot be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest . Such is the case with the Son of Man who has come, not to be served by others, but to serve" (Mt 20:25-28). And what about the power of love, which is Christ's power, or that of helplessness: the power of the sick to draw upon the strengths of oth-ers to heal and console, the power of the ignorant to create scholars and teachers, and so forth? I have often observed that the one with most power in a family is not the father or mother but the newly born baby, the whole life of the family revolving around the child precisely because of its powerful helplessness. If this seems farfetched relative to God, we have only to think of the Christ child in the crib at Bethlehem and the adult Christ upon the cross on Calvary. And what of the power of one who knows how to share his or her power, which requires greater strength, ability, "power" than to keep it all to oneself? I should think the great power of Christ, of God himself, is most manifest in the power to empower, to raise others to his very life and level. Jesus at the Last Supper remarked: "I solemnly assure you, the one who has faith in me will do the works I do, and greater far than these" (Jn 14:12). Not ex-clusive but inclusive--such is the power of Christ. Though our Holy Father in Redemptoris Mater follows Lumen Gen-tium in insisting upon Mary's subordination to Christ, h~, together with the Vatican II document, reiterates an old principle we ought to consider with equal care: "The maternal role of Mary towards people in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows 330 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 its power" (emphasis mine). Why not assert this aspect of Christ's power and see Mary as true queen "at the side of her Son," as the encyclical expresses it? Indeed, for centuries and still today, at least in our Christ-mas liturgies and devotions, we see the King rather in the power of his mother and in her arms, enfolded by her who gives him to the nations: "and so entering the house, (they) found the child with Mary his mother. Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me . He went down with them then, and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them . Figlia del tuo figlio, queen of heaven" (Mt 2:1 I ; Lk 1:43; Lk 2:51; T. S. Eliot, Dry Salvages, after Dante's Paradiso, xxxiii). In one mariological conference that I attended the speakers were in-sistent that we not view Mary apart from Christ. I kept thinking yes, but might not the reverse also be true: we must not view Christ apart from Mary. In Redemptoris Mater, John Paul several times reminds us of the indissolubility of the bond between Mary and Jesus and explicitly de-clares that "from the very first moment the Church 'looked at' Mary through Jesus, just as she 'looked at' Jesus through Mary." Christ does not want to be viewed in splendid isolation with everyone insisting that everything and everyone else is subordinated to him. His own image of himself is of one who serves, just as Mary's self-image is of the Lord's handmaid, neither thought less of their dignity for that: "Behold, all gen-erations shall call me blessed" (Lk 1:48). Mary is the first-fruits of the redemption, the Church in promised fulfillment, the Mother of the Re-deemer, of God himself, the spouse of the Holy Spirit and the effective symbol of the Spirit's presence and action in the world--this woman who embodies the very motherhood of God holds the new creation in her arms and nurtures it, just as she did her divine Son centuries ago. She has a greater, more powerful (loving) role in the work of redemption than much of our present theology is prepared to concede or any of us begin to imagine.8 At the conclusion of Redemptoris Mater we read: ". the Church is called not only to remember everything in her past that testifies to the special maternal cooperation of the Mother of God in the work of salva-tion in Christ the Lord, but also, on her own part, to prepare for the fu-ture the paths of this cooperation. For the end of the second Christian millennium opens up as a new prospect." Our Holy Father also calls for "a new and more careful reading of what the Council said about the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and the Church . " Renewed thinking about Mary and action relative to her Mary in Contemporary Culture / 33"1 are called for.9 But we are to do our thinking and acting in the context of both Scripture and the wider tradition, and of current need. We are to listen to the living Spirit as "she" shows within this treasure, Mary, both the old and the new. Mary and Some Specifics of Culture: Psychology In light of the above generalized reflections on Mary and contempo-rary culture I would like to comment briefly upon several segments of our culture in terms of Mary's possible role within them. In the area of psychology, so overwhelmingly influential in the shaping of our contem-porary culture and such an intimate part of it, it depends on what psy-chology we are talking about. If it is Jungian depth psychology, we need not look long or far to find Mary's place within it. Much of the work has already been done by the master and his disciple. Jung maintained that ideas and archetypes such as the anima, the intuitive, the dark, the yin--in general, the feminine--are underdeveloped in our western cul-ture, with disastrous results. His psychology must go even further today and add they are also on the wane in much of the eastern world in com-petition now with the west in its masculine drives toward action and domi-nance, rational knowledge and acquisition. This psychology's percep-tion, then, of the need for Mary or some equivalent dynamic is evident. Jung himself expressly spoke of the need in terms of Mary. He rejoiced over the definition of the doctrine of Mary's assumption, declaring it to be "the most important religious event since the Reformation." At last the feminine was given the exaltation it requires and deserves.~° However, as suggested above, and as Jungian psychology insists, we must not think of the feminine exclusively in terms of the woman. In the past maybe so, and in our present world still many women may be said to possess more of the "feminine" than do men. But feminine charac-teristics are meant to be part of the male psychology as masculine ones of the female, and cases abound where dominance in one or the other is reversed. I think of the two great sixteenth-century Carmelites. Both Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross had the organizational skills and drives and other "masculine" traits appropriate to founders and reform-ers of religious orders, and in these Teresa, as evidenced in her numer-ous religious foundations and governance thereof, may be said to have surpassed John. Again, both were richly passive, intuitive, contempla-tive, steeped in dark and mystery and in cleaving, passionate love, all notable feminine characteristics. Yet it is John, at least as revealed in his poetry, who appears the more feminine: he is the anima, the woman pas-sive under the strong and passionately active love of a quite virile God. 332 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 To what extent, therefore, the feminine characteristics are de facto ¯ found in women more than in men may be moot. But they are definitely the major component of the psyche of the woman Mary as she appears in the gospels. Mary's strong, paradoxically active passivity (she brings .forth the Word as she receives it), her alert and watchful hiddenness, her concern and compassion for those in need (Cana) and for the suffering (Calvary), her motherhood (of Christ and the Church), her deep, loving fidelity (from thefiat of Nazareth and before to that of Calvary and be-yond) are purposely emphasized that both men and women might real-ize their indispensability in each life that would be Christ's. They are also underscored to draw our attention to the feminine in Christ, whom oth-erwise we might tend to view simply as masculine: visibly out front, ac-tive in his preaching, teaching, healing, immersed in religious contro-versy-- a male among a world of males. In the context of his mother (and the other women who surround him), Jesus is still masculine but we are forced to attend to the deep roots of his masculinity, which is his femi-nine Spirit: his passivity (his prayer and passion), his hidden life even as he actively encountered the world, his cleaving love and compassion unto death, his motherhood (Mt 23:37; Lk 13:34). In Mary's presence, her "atmosphere," such qualities of Christ are not simply seen, but they are seen to be the best of him. Jesus was so powerfully and creatively masculine--such a leader for his time as for all time--because his mas-culinity was rooted in and suffused by the feminine, the Spirit. It is Mary who as his mother nurtured him in this, and who helps draw our atten-tion to it. It is she, then, who as our mother nurtures us in the same Spirit and in a similar way. As for other psychologies suffice it here to say that Mary should be looked for behind and within any therapy working toward healing and wholeness. Again, it is Christ who is the healer, but it is Mary who in-itiates the process by bringing Christ to birth, in the world at large and in each individual. Mary, one with the Spirit, struggles and groans in each of us to bring us to the wholeness, the sanity of Christ. Like her, and with her, we concentrated on the activefiat that allows it all to hap-pen. Politics, Economics, Sociology In the political, economic, and sociological concerns of our time Mary points up the need for the hidden, the contemplative, and for uni-versal justice (as in her Magnificat), and, though unnoticed, she is be-hind and within all creative efforts toward these ends. The absence of the contemplative, of the feminine in general, in contemporary politics Mary in Contemporary Culture / 333 is evident, and results have been tragic. Because they lack roots, our poli-tics, both domestic and foreign, change even as they are being formed; and this condition is aggravated by lack of goals other than immediate and pragmatic. But it is the contemplative spirit that gives depth and con-stancy and lights up the future and beyond. Also, our current concentration is upon superficial differences and divisions (my need, my race, my country, my self) rather than on our deeper oneness, which only contemplation, in the one God-centered form or another, can reveal and promote. Further, the disturbance we experi-ence within and among nations may well have as its root cause the fail-ure of the contemplative, the fruit of which is "the peace that surpasses understanding." And so we find divisions among us, the growth of fear, the expan-sion of military might to safeguard our "own" war or the cold threat of war. We look, then, to Mary, universal Mother and Queen of peace, for political healing. She is already there, in this felt social need, but also in those religious orders of men and women whose main concern is con-templation. One of the concrete ways in which the state might help work its own remedy, and so implicitly acknowledge Mary in its functioning, is itself to encourage and promote contemplative communities within its boundaries. These would help make up for the failure of prayer else-where and would be invitation and incentive for the rest of us to unite ourselves with them, at least from time to time, and so help bring our nation and the world to greater depth, unity, and peace. If the need for Mary and what she represents is obvious in politics, it is more so in the field of economics. Here the masculine dominates to the complete exclusion of the feminine, and material concerns have been so isolated from the spiritual that never the twain do meet. This is especially disturbing when we realize that it is economics that determines even our politics. Science too, as technology, is subordinated to it and dominated by it. Indeed, economics has become the dominant factor of our culture or a-culture; it is our pseudo-religion, often becoming, in fact if not in theory, the determining force in more legitimate and traditional religion. If, then, Jesus needs to be born into our world today, it is cer-tainly here in our economic systems and practice. And if born here, he may begin to penetrate the rest of our world. So once again we look to Mary to mother Jesus where he is most needed and we do what we can to help her in the birthing. To see sociology in terms of Mary is to reconsider love. Whatever the other theories as to the origin of society, from the Christian perspec- 334 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 tive it is love that first brings us together and, accordingly, it is love that is society's fundamental problem. So from its beginnings Christianity has taught that the basic unit of society is not the individual but the family which (ideally) is the product of love; and social workers, I believe, would readily agree that it is the lack of love, with the resulting fear and loneliness, that is their chief concern. But today love which is meant to unite is itself fragmented. Sex, in-tended to be integral with love, has been divided from it and made to function alone with all the consequent evils, both mental and physical, that plague our society. The inward-outward directions of love have also been severed, so that now it is either love of self (inward) to the exclu-sion of others or the love of others (outward) to the neglect and loss of self. One of the results of this is the breakup (further division) of the fam-ily which, accordingly, is now challenged by sociologists as the de facto basic unit of society. Mary can and, in secret ways, does have a curative place in all of this. Her love was integral. It reached out to others in and through Christ's large love; indeed, she brought that very love to birth. But she also reached deep within herself to the Spirit of love wherein she found her personal growth and happiness: "All generations will call me blessed." True, she "knew not man." But this does not mean her love was sexless. It is the myopia of our time that sees sex as having but one kind of expression. Mary can alert us to look for the depth in sex and sexual love and so open to us new possibilities of love. And love restored to wholeness should work toward the restoration of the centrality of fam-ily with consequent diminution of fear and loneliness. The Arts and Sciences Mary can have, and has, her place in those areas of our culture known as the arts and sciences. In any presentation or exercise of the hu-man, as in the arts and sciences, we are to see Christ, of course, but also Mary who, in her Immaculate Conception and her conception and birth-ing of Christ, was the first to bring the human to perfection. But as in Christ the human is perfected in and through the divine (Christ's person and divine nature) so also we find Mary bringing the human to perfec-tion in, through, and toward the divine. Again, it is a matter of whole-ness, which our contemporary world tends always to divide. Apart from the divine the human can only degenerate into the inhuman; but with the divine all of its gifted potential is realized. It is in this sense that the only true humanism is Christian humanism. Thus in the arts and sciences Mary is present as they express and promote the human, and she is dy- Mar), in Contemporary Culture / 335 namically present, moving them forward and deeper into the divine to become divinely human. Christ alone might be said to suffice for this: he is the one who in his very person brings the human to perfection. But Mary gives assurance of and added emphasis to Christ's humanity (he is of herflesh) and his divinity (she is Mother of God) and is responsible for the becoming of these in our world (she conceives and nurtures the perfect human being). She is behind the process of the arts and sciences. Here, then, as elsewhere in our contemporary world, Mary, together with her Son, may be found, not just as a possibility, but as actively engaged in shaping a reemerging culture. Our concern ought to be to look for them together and, having found them, enter into their work. NOTES ~ "I know that a poem, or a passage of a poem, may tend to realize itself first as a particular rhythm before it reaches expression in words, and that this rhythm may bring to birth the idea and the image; and I do not believe that this is an experience peculiar to myself." T. S. Eliot. "The Music of Poetry" in On Poetry and Poets (New York: 1957), p. 32. z Eliot again: "Culture cannot altogether be brought to consciousness; and the cul-ture of which we are wholly conscious is never the whole of culture: the effective culture is that which is directing the activities of those who are manipulating that which they call culture." Christianity and Culture (New York: 1949), p. 184. For Eliot's summary definition of culture see p. 198. 3 Gerard Manley Hopkins in "The Blessed Virgin compared to the Air We Breathe." 4 Ren~ Laurentin, indeed, disapproves of the expression altogether, reserving the term "incarnation" for that bf Christ alone~ However, he proceeds to speak of Mary as "pure transparency for the Spirit . . . she is wholly relative to the Spirit; this indeed is at the very core of her deep relationship to Christ and the Father." "Mary and the Holy Spirit," in Mary in Faith and Life in the New Age of the Church (Ndola- Zambia: 1983),"pp. 287-288. 5 See note 9 below for C. Jung's defense of Mary, precisely as in Catholic dogma, as a remedy for a defective Protestantism. In a letter to The Tablet, Sept. 5, 1987, p. 944, Dora Bede Griffiths, writing from his ashram-in Tamil Nadu, South India, suggests a rapprochement, between eastern religions and Christianity through the femi-nine. He notes that in Hebrew the "word for the Spirit (ruach) is feminine and in the Syrian Church, which spoke a form of Aramaic, which is close to the Hebrew, reference was made to 'our Mother, the Holy Spirit.' " The same for the Hebrew word for Wisdom (hokmah): it too is feminine and "this Wisdom is described as 'coming forth from the mouth of the Most High' as a feminine form of the Word of God." He suggests the possible enrichment of our Christian tradition by contact with Hinduism which "has no difficulty in calling on God as 'My Father, my Mother' and with Mahayana Buddhism which conceives of the highest form of Wis-dom as a feminine figure. Dora Bede does not mention Mary here, but it is my sug-gestion that she it is who concretizes the divine feminine, gives it flesh. Thus she 336 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 is the one who, rather than impede universal ecumenism, is meant to help in its re-alization. 6 There are the fine women theologians writing on Mary, such as E. S. Fiorenza and E. Moltmann-Wendel. But I am also thinking of the poets who perhaps do even more to deepen and broaden our knowledge and appreciation of Mary: a Caryll Houselan-der of the past generation and an Ann Johnson of the present. For the Magnificat especially, see the latter's Miryam of Nazareth: Woman of Strength and Wisdom (In-diana: Ave Maria Press, 1984). 7 In his essay "Sur la maternit~ en Dieu et la feminit6 du Saint-Esprit," Escritos del Vedat !I (1981), Yves Congar argues from Scripture and Tradition to the femi-ninity of the Holy Spirit, but is here silent as to Mary's role in the "sacramentiz-ing" of it. The essay may also be found in Theology Digest 30:2 (Summer, 1982) pp, 129-132. 8 Solus Christus, as solafides and sola scriptura, requires severe qualification. For centuries Catholic theologians have argued vigorously against ~he two latter formu-lae. They have been rightly suspicious of such exclusivity in view of the fullness of Christian revelation. For the same reason, perhaps, they should also challenge the solus Christus, this time in view of the fullness of Christ who is our revelation. 9 In an interview carried in America (June 6, 1987), pp. 457-458, Cardinal Suenens stressed the incompleteness of Vatican II's declaration on Mary. "I felt we needed to say more . She is not merely an historical figure; from the beginning she has been given an ongoing mission to bring Christ to the world." ~0 C. G. Jung, "Answer to Job," in Psychology and Religion: West and East, trans. by R. F. C. Hull, Bollinger Series XX (Pantheon Books, 1958), p. 464. Jung goes on to criticize Protestantism for its criticisms of the dogma. "Protestantism has ob-viously not given sufficient attention to the signs of the times which point to the equal-ity of women. But this equality requires to be metaphysically anchored in the figure of a 'divine' woman, the bride of Christ." Jung realizes that the dogma does not give Mary "the status of a goddess," still "her position (now) satisfies the need of the archetype." 1 don't know how this last can be, however, unless it is in and through Mary that we recognize that within the godhead itself the feminine is real-ized in the Person of the Spirit. Through Mary. Hilda S. Montalvo Hilda Montalvo is currently teaching at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. She is a wife and mother, currently a candidate for a Doc-torate in Ministry. She has completed the graduate program in Christian Spiritual Guid-ance from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. Her ad-dress is 7151 Pioneer Road; West Palm Beach, Florida 33413. The other day at a Lay Ministry workshop there was a spontaneous burst of applause when I shared my way of praying Mary's life. From the be-ginning of my spiritual journey over twenty years ago I have had an in-tuitive knowledge that the objective "facts" and titles about Mary were important not only because they honored and revered the mother of God but also because they spoke of my reality as a human being and a Chris-tian. These Marian dogmas have helped me to clarify and understand my basic assumptions of myself, my relationship with God, and the mean-ing of my life. I have always had a problem with original sin. To inherit Adam's sin is simply not fair, and so at seven I became an agnostic. The idea of a God that punishes and condemns innocent people--and I experi-enced myself as innocent--was repulsive and frightening. Christianity was not good news. If I was good, if ! kept the commandments, then God would love me. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception simply meant that God had wai.ved that evil from one person. To be born with original sin was bad enough but at least it was a shared human experi-ence and it explained (somewhat!) evil and death. But if Mary was born without it, not only was she not totally human but her "fiat" was pre-destined and she had no actual freedom. Christianity became good news when I realized that the fall/ redemption concept of original sin was simply one way of understand- 337 331~ / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 ing the Genesis story. The traditional interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve posits a paradise lost because of disobedience and the conse-quent punishment of suffering and death. But modern biblical interpret-ers such as Brueggemann are recognizing that the fundamental revela-tion of Genesis is that God's creation is good and that God is constantly gracing and blessing it. God made man and woman in "our" image and it was very good. That has to be the most important assumption of our spiritual life. Each person must come to a personal conviction of this truth that is not only an intellectual response but a lived, grounded ex-perience. The story of Adam and Eve is now being understood as that moment in history when human beings first become self-consciously aware, the first truly human act. Before that there was simply undifferentiated ex-istence; total unconscious dependence on environment and relationship, such as each baby.lives through his or her first year. The process of be-coming self-conscious, of becoming autonomous, in a child can be de-scribed a bit facetiously as the "terrible two's," in humankind, as the Fall. Original sin is not a 'thing' that we are born with: it simply de-scribes in mythological language our natural tendency for independence. Catholicism has always affirmed that grace builds on nature. Crea-tion spirituality, which has its origins in the earliest writer of the Bible, the Yahwist, emphasizes the constant presence and blessings of God in spite of the seeming sinfulness of his creatures. The main thrust of the whole Yahwist Saga which culminates in that beautiful and simple story of Balaam and the talking ass (Nb 22:25) is to celebrate God's refusal to curse his people and his insistence of unconditional love and bless-ing. We, like Balaam, are blinded by our needs and expectations. Per-haps .the Immaculate Conception is yet another reminder of our innate gracefulness? Could not this be the fundamental celebration of baptism? Jesus experienced the unconditional love of his Father at his baptism; we celebrate this same unconditional love and our acceptance into a lov-ing community at our baptism. Mary's Immaculate Conception could be the reminder of God's unconditional covenant with each one of us and the celebration of his covenant through one individual. It is not a nega-tive gift--but a positive statement: God is with us and for us. Original sin (and now I can begin to forgive God and Adam!) is the mythical explanation of our desire for independence from God and his creation--autonomy--with the inevitable consequence of alienation and death. Baptism is the celebration of the fact that God not only loves us unconditionally but is present within us and among us; it effects what it Through Mary / 339 signifies. The truth and hope beyond individualization is unity with God and interdependence with others--co-creators of the parousia, paradise, but now conscious and mature and in freedom. Mary is the archetype of this truth which has been named as Immaculate Conception. At the experiential level I resonate with Mary's "fiat." I also have experienced, am experiencing, the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and have been afraid and anxious. I also wrestle with the "how" and "why" and the "why me." I also (carefully and tentatively) have said "fiat" and Christ has become incarnate, is now conceived, and contin-ues to be conceived in my life moment by moment. I also have felt com-pelled to go forth and share this good news with others. I give birth daily to Christ in my family, in my ministry. I also sing daily "My soul mag-nifies the Lord, my spirit exalts in God my savior." Mary's story is my story and every Christian's story. She is the ar-chetype of the Disciple as well as the archetype of Woman and Mother for both men and women. An archetype, in Jungian terms, is an image in thepsyche that when recognized and owned can serve to integrate be-liefs, feelings, and behavior. Unless one allows the Word to be con-ceived within one's very being, Christianity remains barren and lifeless, a moral code. It is onlywhen I become willing to accept the transform-ing gracefulness of God's love and presence in my life that I become ca-pable of writing my own Magnificat. As I journal the events of my life I become aware that God "has done great things for me," not least of which is to radically change my values and priorities. Mary is both virgin and mother. If this is understood only in the physi-cal sense, it is simply a faith statement that speaks exclusively of Mary. Mary "undefiled" stands above and beyond created reality, sexuality, and life itself. By implication, then, all persons who express their love sexually, even in stable and committed relationships, are impure, cor-rupted, polluted, tainted, or unclean. The list of synonyms in Roget's Thesaurus is much longer. But dogmas and doctrines speak of the truth of our nature and our relationship with God and with one another. Thus it behooves Catholic Christians to question what God is revealing through this dogma. Might it not mean that "perpetual virginity" means a life of integrity and innocence in any walk of life? Every disciple must conceive and birth Jesus; must be reborn; must be both virgin and mother regardless of his or her sex or sexuality. This way of perceiving Mary's virginity and motherhood can be especially fruitful for men who, in Jung's terms, project their ideal image of woman instead of accepting and owning their own femininity or anima. Mary Review for Religious, May-June 1989 within, for all disciples, symbolizes openness, receptivity, gentleness, gracefulness--many of those feminine virtues that have been lacking in our contemporary society. As a wife and mother I recognize and celebrate both the gift of moth-erhood and the wholeness and purity of my own life that is bespoken of through virginity. In and through motherhood I continue to be uncon-taminated, unprofaned, spotless, unblemished, andchaste. As I pray this dogma I become more comfortable with the paradoxical reality of my own inner being; I begin to name and own my authentic self; I become more open and vulnerable to the healing presence of Christ within. To meditate on the dogmas of Mary in this fashion helps us come in touch with the paradoxical nature of creation. It helps us to see be-yond the either/or stance that divides, judges, and creates conflict and war. It helps us to accept that much broader vision of both/and that is so freeing and encompassing. It helps us to see and understand the dif-ference between facts and Truth, between knowledge and wisdom. It is an invitation to live and enjoy mystery, to be surprised by newness and resurrection and Presence. Meditating on the dogma of the Assumption can be especially help-ful for us in recognizing our projections of the categories of time and space unto life after death. We were taught that heaven and hell were places for all time---eternity. Purgatory was a transient place of purifi-cation. The time and place one went to depended on one's choices. All very neat and logical--and totally contradictory to Revelation. The mag-nificence and mystery of the Spirit's presence in the Church is especially obvious in this dogma of the Assumption. Again we must take it seri-ously and symbolically--in the deepest sense of symbol which is to point beyond the literal sense to the mystery of which it speaks. Mary, the Dis-ciple, is assumed, taken up into heaven, body and soul, after her death. In mythological language she passes into timelessness and spacelessness. She simply is. Westerners tend to equate rational thought with knowledge, thus de-nying intuitive, imageless wisdom. The Assumption--as the Resurrec-tion- is revealed knowledge that goes beyond rational logical thought into mystery and Truth. But as finite human beings we factualize and ex-teriorize the nameless, misunderstand symbol, and live mystery as if it were actuality. The invitation of the dogma of the Assumption is to .let go of our need to understand, to know, to control, and simply trust the goodness and kindness of God. The invitation is to live this life to the fullest and trust that God will take care of our future--name it resurrec- Through Mary / 341 tion or assumption. The invitation is to experience beyond imagining and to live with the paradox of knowing but not understanding. My skepticism/agnosticism has served my faith in the sense that by doubting, questioning, and mistrusting religious experience I have not succumbed to superstition or fanaticism. On the other hand--as was pointed out to me by a wise fellow-traveler--skepticism was also an "ego defense, behind which lies a fear of change and loss of control that giving in to the religious experience may bring." Gifted with this insight I have consciously approached the dogma of the Assumption with as much of an attitude of "letting-go" and an open mind as possible. This has allowed me to see beyond the constricting barriers of space, time, matter and form. It has encouraged me to become open to mystery and surprise and to think in other terms than those of classical theology which comes to logical and rational conclusions about the mystery of God: "It is fitting and right." The Assumption means that when I die I become present. The.As-sumption means no more time, space, dualism, paradox. The Assump-tion means no more becoming. All the barriers to fullness of life that I have struggled with either because of environment or because of genes will disappear and I will become--I am, one with Christ. Catholics have traditionally prayed "through Mary to Jesus." This archetypal way of praying Mary, in fact, allows Jesus to become incar-nate in our very being. As I "ponder" the Immaculate Conception I be-come aware of the goodness of creation and my innate gracefulness; I conceive Jesus' within me by the power of the Holy Spirit; I give birth to him daily and discover him in others; I slowly let go of my need to control through power and knowledge. Through Mary belief statements become faith experiences; factual knowledge becomes lived Truth. I can then say with Paul: "I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me." Some Reflections On Mary, Bridge To Ecumenism? Mary Eileen Foley, R.G.S. Sister Mary Eileen Foley, R.G.S., has been teaching courses in Scripture in a par-ish and to her own Sisters, in addition to her free lance writing. She has been princi-pal and teacher of special needs of teenage girls. Her address is Convent of the Good Shepherd; Cushing Hill Drive; Marlboro, Massachusetts 01752. The hopeful days of ecumenism following Vatican Council II in the 1960s highlighted a maj6r difference between Catholics and Protestants, namely, devotion to Mary. For a long time after the Reformation in the sixteenth century, there was an absence of any productive or even respect-ful communication between us, and consequently there was little under-standing of each other's point of view, especially regarding the mother of Jesus. Historical Background Devotion to Mary, an outstanding characteristic of most Catholics, became the dividing line, with symbolic rather than logical origins. Mary represented Catholicism, against which the Reformers were protesting on the Continent. About the same time in England, the suppression of Catholicism un-der Henry VIII was more specifically directed against the papacy. The destruction of monasteries, however, depri red the people of religious in-struction and centers where Mary was honored; as a consequence, devo-tion to her almost died out. Elizabeth I, motivated politically rather than religiously, continued her father's efforts to dominate Ireland, capitalizing on the anti- Catholic movement by implementing the policy of "Anglicization 342 Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 343 through Protestantization." In Ireland, the mere possession of a rosary was sufficient evidence of treason against the Crown, and was punish-able by death. Under Cromwell's dictatorship in England, Anglicanism, as well as Catholicism, was repressed, and even the celebration of Christmas was forbidden. "Where was the Blessed Mother in thought and practice if her son's birthday was repudiated by the law of the land?"~ Divinity vs. Discipleship Influenced by the history and the politics of the times, misunderstand-ings grew in regard to the Church's attitude toward Mary. Protestants were disturbed about the apparent centrality of devotion to Mary; it seemed to be taking something away from Christ. Non-Roman Catho-lics balk at giving Mary the title of "Co-Redemptrix," fearing that Christ will be displaced as unique mediator of salvation.2 In time, Catholics were able to hear Protestants voice their concern about our apparent "divinization" of Mary, yet countless explanations to the contrary did not seem to convince them, either to put their fears at rest or to allow them the comfort and friendship of the Mother of God. The Council actually approached the subject of Mary with the concerns of non-Catholics in mind, even over the objections of some of the bish-ops, who felt that ecumenism should not be the focus of a document on Mary. Some wished her to be declared Mediatrix of All Graces, but this did not happen at the Council. Actually no separate document on Mary materialized. In the final analysis, Mary appears in the context of the document on the Church. In a discussion of Christ (the Redeemer) and the Church (the Redeemed), she is very clearly identified with the Church, the people of God, rather than with Christ, the Son of God. The document portrays her, not as Christo-typical but as Ecclesio-typical. The implications of this decision were far-reaching indeed. First, this is a very different focus from that to which we have been accustomed. We have tended to see Jesus and Mary together, and while Mary was by no means deified, we did tend to .pray to them together. We looked up to them. Her stance now, however, is with us, the re-deemed, the beneficiaries of the passion and death of Christ. Discipleship Part of the reason for the change seems to be the emphasis on Mary's role in Scripture as disciple. As a hearer of God's word, she is an out-standing disciple of Christ, and she is logically first among his disciples :344 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 and members of the Church. The concept of disciple, clearly presented in .the Scripture, seems to be more acceptable to our Protestant brethren and carries with it no overtones of divinity. All four Evangelists as a matter of fact paint her portrait as the faith-ful disciple, and in so doing, they reflect this role as seeming to surpass her title of Mother of God. "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you," cried a woman in the crowd, to whom Jesus responded, "Yea, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it" (Lk 12:27-28). "Your mother and brethren are outside, awaiting you," he was told, and he deftly responded with a question: "Who is my mother? Who are my brethren? He who does the will of my Father, is mother, brother, and sister to me" (Mk 3:31-35). Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and the disciple whom Je-sus loved. "Woman, behold thy son," he said; then to John, "Behold thy mother" (Jn 19:25-27). Jesus is speaking to his ideal followers, who henceforth will model discipleship for all who desire to follow the Mas-ter. It struck me while comparing these Gospel passages that the Evan-gelists are at great pains to demonstrate that Mary's dignity comes from the fact that she was a woman of faith, which is the outstanding charac, teristic of a disciple. She was open to the word of God and completely obedient in carrying out whatever it called her to do. Whether it was ac-ceptance of the angelic message ("be it done unto me according to thy word," Lk i:38) or responding to the call to go to Bethlehem, then Egypt, and finally Calvary, she modeled clearly for us what the disciple of Christ should be. Grace and Discipleship No one, it seems, could be faulted for honoring one who followed Christ so perfectly. Yet, here again, differing beliefs on grace playa part. Protestants believe that salvation is effected by God alone, that hu-man nature plays no role. Protestants tend to view human nature as totally corrupted by sin, and grace as the merciful disposition of God to forgive and to treat the sin-ner as justified . To speak of human cooperation is to underestimate either the radical nature of human sin or the absolute gratuity of grace. In this perspective (from the Protestant point of view) the use of Mary's fiat becomes a primary example of Catholic presumption of God's sov-ereignty, making God dependent on humanity or making a creature mu-tually effective with God in the work of redemption.3 Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 345 Resistance to the title "Co-Redemptrix" is related to this belief also. The Catholic point of view has been adequately stated, and to quote Tambasco again: "Mary's life simply reflects the fullest effects of grace which enable a faith-filled freedom that responds to and engages in the sovereign work of God in Christ .F.reedom does not substitute for grace, or grace, freedom."4 Because she is preeminent in carrying out his word, Mary's signifi-cance lies, according to the synoptics, in this characteristic of disci-pleship, more than the fact that she is Jesus's natural mother. At the foot of the cross, howe~,er, the beloved disciple, John, and the faithful disci-ple, Mary, seem to be called to discipleship in terms of a family rela-tionship, specifically that of mother and son. The role of disciple now seems to be expressed best in terms of mothering! Discipleship And Motherhood Actually, Mary conceived Jesus by means of an act of faith, the mark of the disciple: When the invitation to be Christ's mother is proposed to her, she says, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word" (Lk 1:38). And then the Word becomes flesh . Faith comes first, and then motherhood. John, too, is to carry out his discipleship in similar terms. In his First Letter, John's words are as tender as any mother's: "Remain in him now, little ones . See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called the children of God! Yet that is what we are' (1 Jn 2:28; 3:1). Mothering is what disciples do. Whatever our ministry is, we hope to bring to it compassion and caring. As a teacher l felt honored to be involved in nurturing the intellectual and spiritual growth of students. The Scriptures are full of mother images that apply not only to a disci-ple but were, in fact, chosen by the Lord for himself. The scriptural im-age of Christ weeping over Jerusalem is very explicit: "How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird collects her young under her wings, and you refused me!" (Lk 13:34). The disciple of Christ shares in his life-giving approach to those to whom he has been sent. Life-giving calls up images of motherhood, and lately it has been very popular to speak of God as Mother. Julian of Nor-wich often prayed to "Mother Jesus." Mary images motherhood for us, not only her own, but the motherhood of Christ as well. Even the Apos-tle Paul says: "You are my children, and you put me back in labor pains until Christ is formed in you" (Ga 4:!9). Finally the God of the Old Testament speaks through Isaiah: "Can 346 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 a mother forget her infant, or a woman be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Yet even if she should forget, I will never forget you" (Is 49:15). It looks to me that, although Protestants accept the fact that Mary is the mother of.Jesus, they do not seem to see her as their mother, too. While we sometimes see ourselves in the role of mothering, at other times we, too, need to be nurtured or affirmed. The mother of Jesus seems to be a natural one to turn to, especially since we understand that she has been given to us in the words spoken to John, "Behold thy mother" (Jn 19:27). The motherly qualities so ~befitting a disciple are surely present in a special way in Mary, the paramount disciple of all. Doctrine, Scripture, And Tradition Another possible ecumenical barrier regarding Mary is the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (Mary conceived without sin) and the dogma of the Assumption (Mary taken into heaven, body and soul.) A dogma is a doctrine that has been presented for belief, and the idea of the evo-lution of dogma is an enlightening one for many, Catholics included. A doctrine emerges from tradition, which has been explained as follows: Tradition is the living faith experience of the Church which preserves the truths enunciated in the Scriptures but also explicates these truths, draws out what is hidden, and develops more fully insights consistent with but not wholly expressed in the biblical text.5 As has been better expressed above, sometimes a dogma affirms what was not known in complete form from the beginning, but devel-oped from reflections on, for example, the mystery of the Incarnation, and has been the constant teaching of the Church for centuries. Dogma may appear to have been imposed exteriorly, in a context that is a-historical. The vagueness of its scriptural basis is difficult for Protestants, who are biblically, and therefore, historically, oriented. Rootedness in history and Scripture, sources that are being mined assiduously by Catho-lics today, may well provide the undergirding necessary to place devo-tion to Mary in properperspective for all. The aforementioned dogmas on Mary were defined during what we now call the Marian Age (1850 to 1950), although they have been part of the tradition of the Church since the sixth century. Belief (in the Assumption) originated not from biblical evidence nor even patristic testimony but as the conclusion of a so-called argument from convenience or fittingness. It was fitting that Jesus should have res-cued his mother from the corruption of the flesh and so he must have Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 347 taken her bodily into heaven.6 At the end of the sixth century, they began to celebrate the Immacu-late Conception in the East, but it remained unknown in the West until the eleventh century . To eastern ears, which had a different under-standing of original sin, it meant only freedom from mortality and genu-ine human weakness.7 Such doctrines are based on what has been described as "theology from above," or an understanding of the Incarnation as originating in the Trinity. When the Father sent his Son to earth to be born of the Vir-gin Mary, it was incompatible with his nature that the Son would inherit original sin, taught to be transmitted through birth into the human race. Therefore, it was appropriate that Mary be conceived immaculate. The honor is for the sake of Jesus, not Mary. The Communion Of Saints An understanding of the communion of saints, a belief shared by both Catholics and Protestants, may be helpful in seeing Mary's role more clearly. The idea seems to have originated with the martyrs who gave their lives for Christ, and, as a result, were believed to be enjoying his presence and the rewards of their sacrifice. Obviously, they would be in a unique position to be allowed by God to hear the prayers of those still struggling on and would be willing and able to offer these petitions for help to Christ himself, in whose presence they now live. The idea of intercessory prayer is accepted by most people, who pray not only to the saints who have distinguished themselves in the service of God, but to their own friends and relatives who led good lives on earth and as-suredly are still mindful of the needs of those they have left behind. Peo-ple who are still living are also asked to pray for the intentions of oth-ers! That people should present their petitions to Mary in order that she might intercede with her Son for them follows logically in this tradition. It would seem that he would be especially attentive to one who was his model disciple on earth, to one who spent, her life hearing his word and accomplishing it, especially if she were interceding for one who was ask-ing her help to be an effective disciple also. - In ordinary life we often speak to someone with influence in order to present our case. Such is the nature of intercessory prayer, not to be confused with praying directly to Mary,'as if she were able to grant these petitions herself. Protestants dislike seeing Mary in the role of Media-tor, since Jesus Christ is the one Mediator. A movement at the Council to declare Mary Mediatrix of all Graces was scrapped, although this be- Review for Religious, May-June 1989 lief has been part of the tradition of the Church since the eighth century. The ecumenical dimension of the Council reflected the Church's percep-tion of herself now as a world church, with respect for the truth possessed by all churches. Theology -From-Below The contributions of Karl Rahner to contemporary religious thought seem to have great value for the ecumenical movement. Rahner, consid-ered to be one of the greatest theologians of our time, is especially im-pressed with the sacramentality of creation--the fact that God himself is revealed in his works. When creation first came from the hand of God as recorded in Genesis, it was seen to be good--to be holy. God was in his creation from the beginning. Although it was good, it was not com-plete, and in the p.rogress of time, all creation moves to fulfillment, which is finally achieved in Jesus Christ. Rahner's idea is that Christ emerged naturally from God's creation, rather than emphasizing his "being sent down from heaven." He says things often like "the more one is like Christ, the more he is truly him- ~elf." To be like Christ is to approach being a perfect human being. Rahner's ideas allow for experiential learning on the part of Jesus, like any human person going through the normal stages of growth and de-velopment. This Christology is very attractive to a Catholic today, and perhaps it has been better known to Protestants all along. This Christology does not deny his divinity, of course, but the em-phasis is very different from the implications of the theology:from-above design, which seems to emphasize his divinity more, although it does not deny his humanity. One argument advanced was that since one is the mother of a person, rather than a nature, it seemed logical to em-phasize Mary as Mother of God. "In 451," writes Charles W. Dickson, a Lutheran pastor who has served as Chairman of the Commission on Ecumenical Relations of the North Carolina Council of Churches: the Council of Chalcedon dealt with the subject of dual natures by af-firming the inseparability of the two natures, each nature being pre-served and concurring in one person (prosopon) and one subsistence (hy-postasis). 8 Reverend Dickson continues: If this Chalcedonian formulation is given serious attention in contem-porary Protestant thought, some feel the human nature of Christ will not continue to suffer the devaluation of the past, nor will, therefore, its pre- Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 349 cursor in the Incarnation--the Virgin Mary.9 The title, Mother of God, does seem to imply that Mary is divine, and although Protestants accept Mary as the mother of Jesus, tradition-ally they seem to resist the title of "Mother of God." In pagan mythol-ogy, the mother of the god or gods was considered to be a goddess. There seemed to be anxiety in New Testament times from the beginning not to equate Mary with the pagan goddesses, and although this distinc-tion has always been understood by Catholics, it may have looked to Prot-estants that we were divinizing Mary. Popular Religion - An Aid To Ecumenism? In view of the ecumenical dimension, the relationship between sym-bol, basic human need, and religion is very important. Clifford Geertz says that religious symbols provide not only the ability to comprehend the world but to endure it. Man depends upon symbols and symbol systems with a dependence so great as to be decisive for his creatural viability and, as a result, his sen-sitivity to even the remotest indication that they may prove unable to cope with one or another aspect of experience, raises within him the grav-est source of anxiety. ~0 In worship, people tend to clothe God with attributes that will meet their innermost needs. Sometimes in the past the abstract definitions of the theologians left people cold. God was oftentimes seen to be a dis-tant, transcendent God, and a judging God, who dispensed rewards and punishments in strict accordance with one's deeds. People were longing to see him as loving and compassionate, like a mother. If ordinary Catholics had been accustomed to reading the Scripture for themselves, as they are beginning to do now since Vatican II, they might have experienced firsthand the motherly concern of Jesus for the poor, the sick, and the scorned. Probing the Bible now, one is touched, for example, by his attitude toward women, especially disgraced women, regardless of the disapproval of males present. I do understand, however, that Bible reading for Catholics was sharply curtailed at the time of the Reformation due to so many people leaving the Church because of pri-vate interpretation of the Scripture. We understand now that in God there is a perfect balance of so-called masculine and feminine qualities; thanks to insightsfrom psychol-ogy, we are more theologically sophisticated than our predecessors. How-ever, in the early centuries of Christianity, people turned to the feminine Mary, in whom they felt that they had a ready-made mother who cared 350/Review for Religious, May-June 1989 about them. Based, no doubt, on the idea of the communion of saints and the practice of asking for the intercession of the martyrs, who were surely with God, there was a normal development of devotion to Mary, who, as the mother of Jesus, w,a_.,s seen to be more than willing to help those for whom her Son died such a cruel death. Popular Religion And The Apparitions When Catholics finally turn to the Scripture for news of Mary, they are amazed at how little is there! The immense body of material that is available on Mary derives from tradition and also from popular religion, which is based on Mary's relationship to Jesus ~nd the needs of people. Our knowledge of her has been shaped also by .accounts of her various appearances throughout the world. However, as Tambasco comments: ". (the) return to biblical and ecumenical considerations has rightly reduced these devotions to a minor role (p. 71)." Their value is in the Gospel teaching that each affirms. The Church moves very slowly in granting approval for belief in ap-paritions, and even when approval is received, there is no obligation to believe. The one important guideline in regard to any appearance is the fact that nothing is presented or ordered that is contrary to the constant teaching of the Church. An example would be when Mary reportedly appeared to Catherine Labour6 in France in 1830 and to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, also in France, in 1858, she said, "I am the Immaculate Conception," a tra-dition in the Church since the sixth century. At LaSalette she insisted on the observance of the Lord's Day, which the people were ignoring, treating Sunday as any other day. She also re-proved them for blasphemy and taking the Lord's name in vain, thus un-derscoring the second and third commandments. At Fatima she asked them to do penance and to pray for peace. In 1879 at Knock, in County Mayo in Ireland, she said nothing at all! She appeared with St. Joseph and St. John, beside an altar sur-mounted by a lamb and a cross, over which angels hovered. The Irish saw in her appearance a message of comfort for the persecution they had suffered for their faith, dating back to the sixteenth century. They iden-tified the symbols with those of the heavenly liturgy in the Book of Reve-lation, seeing in them an affirmation of their fidelity to worship. Priests had risked their lives to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass, symbolized by the Lamb. St. John the Evangelist is holding the Gospel book in one hand, with the other hand raised, as if he is making a point in a sermon. Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 35"1 The theme or instruction accompanying each visit was not a new teaching in any way, but an old teaching which needed a new emphasis, depending on the times. When I was at Knock in 1987, I remember think-ing to myself: it really doesn't matter whether Mary actually appeared here or not! All around me at the shrine there was evidence of faith, as people prayed, participated in the liturgy, reflected on the passion of Christ at the stations, or were merely kind and friendly to each other. I felt a renewal of my own spirituality in such a faith-filled atmosphere. The element of pilgrimage is, of course, very strong at Knock, and pil-grimage from the earliest days has been a vibrant expression of popular religion among people. Pilgrimage Pilgrimages stemming from the apparition at Lourdes are legendary. According to Victor and Edith Turner (Image & Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1978), who did an anthropological study on popular religion, people do not necessarily go on pilgrimage for the cure, but for the atmosphere in which their spiritu-ality is nourished. People see a pilgrimage, or a journey, as a symbol of the journey of life, and they value their association with fellow trav-elers oriented toward God in the service of neighbor. There is a leveling of classes on a pilgrimage; kings travel with ordinary folk, as will be the case in heaven. They volunteer as stretcher-bearers or wherever there is a need, and are energized in the role of service to their fellow human be-ings. In writing about pilgrimages to the shrine of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Segundo Galilea says that here the rich can discover the world of the poor and become sensitive to their need for justice and reconciliation. The movement towards Mary obliges the rich to go out of themselves and to meet the poor. It gives the poor a sense of security and allows them to meet the rich without apology, on an equal footing. Mary is, then, one of the rare symbols of integration in Latin America . ~ The apparition at Guadalupe in i 53 I, perhaps one of the first appa-ritions on record, is said to to be a large factor in popular religion in Latin America, and as a result, has given impetus to the liberation theology movement there. It has touched the hearts of the oppressed, making them feel that they are loved by God, and consequently raised in their own self-esteem, to the point where they are seriously struggling for self-determination in their living situation there. 352 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 Mary and Liberation Theology A new reading of Luke's gospel, which emphasizes salvation his-tory, yields much that is pertinent today in regard to saving, or liberat-ing, the oppressed. Accustomed as we are to seeing Mary as queen, it is a new thing for us Catholics to see Mary as a peasant woman as she was at Guadalupe, and, indeed, at Nazareth. It is a challenge for us to take another look at the Magnificat, which we sing every day in the Liturgy of the Hours. There are places in South America where the recitation of the Magnifi-cat is forbidden, as being subversive. Mary's song begins with the praise of God. "My soul proclaims the glory of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." The use of the word Savior emphasizes her stance with us, in need of salvation. She re-fers to herself as his lowly handmaid, on whom he has looked with fa-vor. All generations will call her blessed because he, the mighty one, has done great things for her. In countries where there is no middle class, but only the poor and the rich, who possess all the wealth of the land, the poor hear Mary's Magnificat message in the Virgin of Guadalupe: He has shown might in his arm; he has scattered the proud in their con-ceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty (Lk 1:51-53). They look to God for the mercy he promised to "our fathers,"-- and here all peoples sharing the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of Christ, unite in looking back even to the patriarchs, to whom God prom-ised mercy and liberation, which was accomplished first through Moses and eventually through Jesus Christ. And now there is hope for these poor also. The Exodus and Exile theme of liberation fit the situaiion to-day. A new look at Scripture will allow us to see Mary as homeless and as an exile, driveh out of her homeland to Egypt for the safety of her child. Popular religion often forges ahead of the theologians, and the hier-archy has only recently given its approval to the liberation theology move-ment in Latin America. A Latin American theologian says that the Mariology of Vatican II was more preoccupied by dialogue and relations with Protestants than with the simple people and popular Mariology. What is important now is to prolong the'deep and rich Mariological affirmations of Vatican II by a popular Mariology, a renewed Mariology . ~2 Mary, Bridge to Ecumenism? / 353 The basic idea of this renewed Mariology is that Mary is the sign and sacrament of the motherly mercy of God towards the poor, of the ten-derness of God who loves and defends the poor (Puebla, no. 291). ~3 (ital-ics mine) How will these considerations serve as an ecumenical bridge for us? By recognizing the need among peoples for freedom of conscience, free-dom from oppression, freedom of religion, justice for all. It is said that the problem with the doctrines presented for belief in former days was not with the dogmas themselves, but with authority. (Belief in the Im-maculate Conception predated the Reformation.) The wording was that he who did not believe, let him be anathema! Even Martin Luther did not deny the doctrines themselves, but pronounced them pious opinions. John XXIII insisted that there be no condemnations! He condemned no one. Evangelization itself must be an invitation, even a lure, to Christi-anity. No one is to be coerced in this matter in any way. John Paul II in Mother of the Redeemer.says that the Church's jour-ney now, near the end of the second Christian millennium, involves a renewed commitment to her mission. In the words of the Magnificat, the Church renews in herself the awareness that the truth about God who saves cannot be separated from his love of preference for the poor and humble, expressed in the word and works of Jesus. These points are di-rectly related to the Christian meaning of freedom and liberation' (p. 51 ). One must be free from oppression in order to respond to the call of Christ to do one's part toward the building up of the kingdom of God. In discussing Mary's role at the wedding feast at Cana, when she ad-vised Jesus that "they had no wine," the Pope sees this as expressing a new kind of motherhood according to the spirit and not just according to the flesh, that is to say, Mary's solicitude for human beings, her com-ing to th'em in the wide variety of their wants and needs (P. 30-1). I feel that the orientation toward ecumenism observed at Vatican Council II, especially in regard to Mary, has borne fruit and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. I am intrigued by the interpretation offered by Edward Yarnold in regard to reconciling Protestants and Catholics in regard to the Immacu-late Conception and the Assumption. It is possible that Christians disagree over the symbolic form of doctrine, while not disagreeing over the theological meaning. Thus, Roman Catho-lics could take literally that Mary was immaculately conceived and then assumed into heaven, but that is just the symbolic meaning. Protestants might not agree with that, but could accept the ultimate theological mean- 354/Review for Religious, May-June 1989 ing that says God's grace requires response, providers conditions for re-sponse, and results in sanctification even after death. There would thus be theological unity with a plurality regarding symbolic meaning. ~'~ When the late Rev. Arthur Carl Piepkorn, was professor at Concor-dia Seminary, St. Louis, he explained that "other Christians" (he did not refer to them as non-Catholics) have taken hope from references to Mary at Vatican II as follows: It may yet happen in our time that there will come about a happy bal-ance between excess ardor in the veneration of the Mother of God and in excessive coldness to the role that God himself has given her in the drama of human salvation. If it does, as I pray it will, we shall see in our time what the "Mag-nificat" placed on the lips of the mother of God--'All generations will count me blessed.' Other Christians feel that the more we esteem Mary, the more we honor her Son; when men (sic) refuse to honor Mary, they really do not believe in the Incarnation.~5 NOTES ~ William L. Lahey, "The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Theology and Devotion of the Seventeenth-Century Anglican Divines," Marian.Studies,,XXXVlll (1987), p. 143. 2 Anthony J. Tambasco, "Mary in Ecumenical Perspective," What Are They Say-ing About Mary? (Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1984), p. 54. 3 lbid, p. 57. '~ lbid, p. 58. 5 lbid, p. 60. 6 Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism (Minneapolis: Winston Press Inc., 1980), p. 873. 7 Ibid. 8 Charles W. Dickson, Ph.'D., "Is a Protestant Mariology Possible?" Queen of All Hearts (Vol. XXXIX, No. 4) Nov./Dec. 1988, p. 26. Quoted from Willison Walker-- A History.of the Christian Church, p. 139. 9 lbid, p. 26. ~0 Clifford Geertz, "Religion as a Cultural System," Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion (London: Travistock Publications, Ltd., 1968), p. 13. ~ Segundo Galilea, "Mary in Latin American Liberation Theologies," ed. Bertrand de Margerie, S.J., Marian Studies, XXXVIII (1987), p. 57. ~2 Victor Codina, "Mary in Latin American Liberation Theologies," ed. Bertrand de Margerie, S.J., Marian Studies, XXXVIII (1987), p. 49. ~3 Ibid. 14 Quoted in Tambasco, What Are They Saying About Mary? p. 64. ~5 "Lutheran Hails Mary in Vatican ll's Words," The Boston Pilot (June 29, 1973), p. 2. Prayer and Devotion to Mary: A Bibliography Thomas G. Bourque, T.O.R. Father Thomas Bourque, T.O.R., is Chairperson of the Philosophical and Religious Studies Department of St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He has been involved in youth ministry, parish ministry, and the ministry of Catholic education and adul( education. His address is St. Francis College; Loretto, PA 15940. The Marian Year is meant to promote a new and more careful reading of what the Council said about the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and of the Church . We speak not only of the doctrine of faith but also of the life of faith, and thus of authentic "Marian spirituality," seen in the light of tradition, and especially the spirituality to which the Council exhorts us. Marian spirituality, like its corresponding devotion, finds a very rich source in the historical expe-rience of individuals and of the various Christian communities present among the different peoples and nations of the world. John Paul II Mother of the Redeemer, #48 ~,lohn Paul II invites all of us to reflect upon our.journey of faith with our Lord in light of our relationship with his Mother Mary. As many Catho-lics and Christians continue to question the role of Mary in the Church today, the Pope's encyclical is very timely. Solid devotion to Mary can only spring from an authentic knowledge of her role in salvation history. The Mariology of John Paul lI's encyc-lical, Mother of the Redeemer, as well as the Mariology of Paul Vl's ex-hortation, Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, can truly be summed in the words of Paul VI: "In Mary, everything is relative to Christ and de-pendent upon him." Both pontiffs remind us that Mary is never to be 355 356 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 considered in isolation. She must be seen in relationship to Christ, the head, and to his Body, the Church. Both Paul VI and John Paul II con-tinually link Mary to Christ, and not only is Mary Mother of Jesus, but also to the Church. The basic principle of Mariology is that Mary is Mother and Associ-ate of the Redeemer. She is a woman of faith, simplicity, loving avail-ability, and a disciple of faith. As a follow-up to the Marian year, the following selected bibliogra-phy is offered as an aid for reflection and prayer. This selected bibliog-raphy can serve as a guide to study and reflection on the contemporary devotion to Mary. The concentration of this work is a modern approach to Mariology from the time of the apostolic exhortation, Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the time of promulgation of the encyclical let-ter, Mother of the Redeemer. The selected bibliography is divided into four sections. The first sec-tion consists of books which deal with Marian prayer, devotion and spiri-tuality. The second section lists articles from periodicals from the years 1974 to 1987. Encyclicals and pastoral letters are cited in the third sec-tion, while typescripts and tape cassettes of value are cited in the fourth section. Books and Pamphlets: Ashe, Geoffrey. The Virgin. London: Routledge and Paul, 1976. ¯ Bojorge, Horacio. The Image of Mary: According to the Evangelists. New York: Alba House, 1978. Branick, Vincent P., ed. Mary, the Saint and the Church. Ramsey, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1980. Brown, Raymond E., ed. Mary in the New Testament. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978. Buby, Bertrand. Mary: The Faithful Disciple~. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. Callahan, Sidney. The Magnificat: The Prayer of Mary. New York: Seabury Press, 1975. Carberry, John Cardinal. Mary Queen and Mother: Marian Pastoral Reflections. Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1979. Carretto, Carlo. Blessed Are You Who Believed. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1982. Carroll, Eamon R. Understanding the Mother of Jesus. Wilmington, Delaware: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1979. Cunningham, Lawrence and Sapieha, Nicolas. Mother of God. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1982. A Mary Bibliography / 357 Deiss, Lucien. Mary, Daughter of Zion. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1972. Flanagan, Donal. In Praise of Mary. Dublin: Veritas Publications, 1975. --. The Theology of Mary. Hales Corner, Wisconsin: Clergy Book Service, 1976. Flannery, Austin P. The Documents of Vatican II. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Graef, Hilda C. Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion. New York: Sheed and Ward, Two Volumes, (Volume I, 1963 and Volume II, 1965). --. The Devotion to Our Lady. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1963. Greeley, Andrew M. The Mary Myth: On the Femininity of God. New York: Seabury Press, 1977. Griolet, Pierre. You Call Us Together." Prayers For the Christian As-sembly. Paramus, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1974. Guste, Bob. Mary At My Side. Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications, 1986. Habig, Marion. The Franciscan Crown. Chicago: Franciscan Her-ald Press, 1976. Harrington, W. J. The Rosary: A Gospel Prayer. Canfield, Ohio: Alba House, 1975. Haughton, Rosemary. Feminine Spirituality: Reflections on the Mys-tery of the Rosary. Paramus, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1976. Hertz, G. Following Mary Today. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1979. Houselander, Caryil. Lift Up Your Hearts to Mary, Peace, Prayer, Love. New York: Arena Letters, 1978. Hurley, Dermot. Marian Devotion For Today. Dublin: C. G. Neale, 1971. Jegen, Carol Frances. Mary According To Women. Kansas City: Leaven Press, 1985. Jelly, Frederick. Madonna: Mary in the Catholic Tradition. Hunt-ington, Indiana: Our Sunday .Visitor Press, 1986. Johnson, Ann. Miryam of Judah: Witness in Truth and Tradition. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1987. --. Miryam of Nazareth. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1986. Jungman, Joseph A. Christian Prayer Through The Centuries. New York: Paulist Press, 1978. 351t/Review for Religious~ May-June 1989 Kern, Walter. New Liturgy and Old Devotions. Staten Island, New York: Alba House, 1979, 119-184. Kung, Hans and Moltmann, Jurgen. ed. Mary in the Churches. New York: Seabury Press, 1983, Concilium, volume 168. La Croix, Francois de. The Little Garden of Our Blessed Lady. Ilkley, England: Scholar Press, 1977. Long, Valentine. The Mother of God. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1976. Maestri, William. Mary: Model of Justice. New York: Alba House, 1987. Malinski, Mieczslaw. Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious Reflections on Life and Rosary. Chicago: Claretian Publications, 1979. Maloney, George A. Mary: The Womb of God. Denville, New Jer-sey: Dimension Books, 1976. Moloney, John. Pilgrims With Mary. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Messen-ger, 1976. Obbard, Elizabeth Ruth. Magnificat: The Journey and the Song. New York: Paulist Press, 1986. Pelikan, Jaroslav. Flusser, David. Lang, Justin. Mary: Images of the Mother of Jesus in Jewish and Christian Perspective. Philadelphia: For-tress Press, 1986. Pennington, Basil. Daily We Touch Him. Garden City, New Jersey: Doubleday, 1977, 135-148. Rahner, Karl. Mary, Mother of the Lord. New York: Herder and Herder, 1963. Randall, John. Mary, Pathway To Fruitfulness. Locust Valley, New York: Living Flame Press, 1978. Ratzinger, Joseph. Daughter Zion: Meditations On The Church's Marian Belief. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1983. Rosage, David. Praying With Mary. Locust Valley, New York: Liv-ing Flame Press, 1980. Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Mary, the Feminine Face of the Church. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977. Schillebeeckx, Edward. Mary, Mother of the Redemption. London: Sheed and Ward, 1964, 164ff. Sheed, Frank. The Instructed Heart--Soundings At Four Depths. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1979. Stevens, Clifford. The Blessed Virgin: Her L~]'e & Her Role In Our Lives. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1986. Tambasco, Anthony. What Are They Saying About Mary? New A Mary Bibliography / 359 York: Paulist Press, 1984. Unger, Dominic J. The Angelus. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1956. Viano, Joseph. Two Months With Mary. New York: Alba House, 1984. Wright, John Cardinal. Mary Our Hope. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984. Articles: Abberton, J. "On the Parish: Marian Devotion." Clergy Review. 63 (April 1978), 147-150. Albrecht, Barbara. "Mary: Type and Model of the Church." REvtEw ~oR REt~tG~Ot~S. 36 (1977), 517-524. Alfaro, Juan. "The Marioiogy of the Fourth Gospel: Mary and the Struggles for Liberation." Biblical Theology Bulletin. 10 (January 1980), 3-16. Barrionveuo, C. "For A Better Rosary." Christ to the Christian World. 18 (I 979), 304-307. Billy, Dennis J. "The Marian Kernel." REview ~oR R~t.~ous. 43 (May/June 1983), 415-420. Blackburn, Robert E. "The Reed of God Continues To Flourish." U.S. Catholic. 47 (May 1982), 2. Browne, Dorothy. "Mary, the Contemplative." Spiritual Life. 23 (Spring 1977), 49-60. Buby, B. "The Biblical Prayer of Mary: Luke 2:19-51 ." R~v~w RE~.tG~Ot~S. 39 (July 1980), 577-581. Buono, Anthony M. "The Oldest Prayers to Mary." Catholic Di-gest. 48 (August 1984), 111-113. Burns, Robert E. "Don't Let Sleeping Devotions Lie." U.S. Catho-lic. 52 (January 1987), 2. Carberry, John Cardinal. "Marialis Cultis: A Priestly Treasure." Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 78 (May ! 978), 7-13. Carroll, Eamon. "A Survey of Recent Marioiogy." Marian Stud-ies. 36 (1985), 101-127. b. "A Survey of Recent Mariology." Marian Studies. 35 (1984), 157-187. --. "A Survey of Recent Marioiogy." Marian Studies. 31 (1980), 11-154 (Similar surveys may be found within volumes 24 to 31 of Marian Studies). b. "A Woman For All Seasons." U.S. Catholic. 39 (October 1974), 6-11. 360 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 --. "In the Company of Mary." Modern Liturgy. 9 (May 1982), 4-10. -- "Mary After Vatican II." St. Anthony Messenger. 91 (May 1984), 36-40. --. "Mary and the Church: Trends in Marian Theology Since Vati-can II." New Catholic World. 229 (November-December 1986), 248- 250. --. "Mary, Blessed Virgin: Devotion." New Catholic Encyclope-dia. 9 (1967), 364-369. -- "Mary: The Woman Come Of Age." Marian Studies. 36 (1985), 136-160. --. "Prayer and Spirituality: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholic Prayer-Life." Today Catholic Teacher. 12 (March 1979), 40-41. Chantraine, George. "Prayer Within the Church." Communio. 12 (Fall 1985), 258-275. Ciappi, L. "The Blessed Virgin Mary Today and the Contemporary Appeal of the Rosary." Origins. 44 (October 30, 1975), 4. Clark, Allan. "Marialis Cultus." Tablet. 228 (April 6, 1974), 354- 356. Colavechio, X. "The Relevance of Mary." Priest. 36 (June 1980), 14-16. Coleman, William V. "A Peasant Woman Called to Guide the Church." Today's Parish. 13 (May-June 1981), 7. Coiledge, E. "The Church At Prayer: To The Mother of God." Way. 19 (July 1979), 230-239 and 19 (October 1979), 314-321. Conner, Paul. "The Rosary Old Or New?" Sisters Today. 59 (Oc-tober 1986), 108- I 10. Curran, Patricia. "Women Reclaim the Magnificat." Sisters Today. 55 (August-September 1983), 24-30. Daly, Anne Carson. "A Woman For All Ages." Homiletic and Pas-toral Review. 86 (May 1986), 19-22. Davies, Brian A. "Mary In Christian Practice." Doctrine and Life. 26 (June 1976), 403-407. Deak, Mary Ann. "Mary's Faith: A Model For Our Own." Catho-lic Update. UPD 108 (I 978). Dehne, Carl. "Roman Catholic Popular Devotions." Worship. 49 (October 1975), 446-460. Demarco, A. "Hail Mary." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 6 (1967), 898. Donnelly, Dorothy H. "Mary, Model of Personal Spirituality." A Mary Bibliography / 361 New Catholic World. 219 (March-April 1976), 64-68. Emery, Andree. "On Devotion To Mary." New Covenant. 11 (May 1982), 12-14. Finley, Mitchel. "Rediscovering The Rosary." America. 148 (May 7, 1983), 351. Fischer, Patricia. "The Scriptural Rosary: An Ancient Prayer Re-vived." Catechist. 20 (October 1986), 21. Flanagan, Donald. "The Veneration of Mary: A New Papal Docu-ment." Furrow. 25 (1974), 272-277. Frehen, H. "The Principles of Marian Devotion." The Marian Era. 10 (1971), 34-36 and 272-277. Foley, Leonard. "Mary: Woman Among Us." St. Anthony Messen-ger. 94 (May 1987), 12-16. Gabriele, Edward. "In Search of the Woman: Reformulating the Mary Symbol in Contemporary Spirituality." Priest. 42 (February 1986), 28-29. Gaffney, John P. "APortrait of Mary." Cross and Crown. 24 ~Spring 1975), 129-138. h. "Marialis Cultis: Guidelines to Effective Preaching." Priest. 38 (December 1982), 14-18. Galligan, John Sheila. "Mary: A Mosaic Joy." REw~wFoR R~L~G~Ot~S. 43 (January-February 1984), 82-92. Galot, Jean. "Why the Act of Consecration to Our Lady?" Origins. 3 (January 18, 1982), Galvin, John P. "A Portrait of Mary In the Theology of Karl Rahner." New Catholic World. 229 (November-December 1986), 280- 285. Gordon, Mary. "Coming To Terms With Mary." Commonweal. 109 (January 15, 1982), 1. Green, Austin~ "The Rosary: A Gospel Prayer." Cross and Crown. 28 (June 1976), 173-178. Grisdela, Catherine. "How May Processions Began." Religion Teacher's Journal. 18 (April-May 1984), 28. Gustafson, J. "A Woman For All Seasons." Modern Liturgy. 9 (May 1982), 4-10. Hamer, Jean Jerome Cardinal. "Mary, Our Foremost Model." Con-templative Life. 10 (1985), 173- i 74. Hanson, R. "The Cult of Mary as Development of Doctrine." Way ,Supplement. 51 (Fall 1984), 8-96. Hebblethwaite, P. "The Mariology of Three Popes." Way Supple- 369/Review for Religious, May-June 1989 merit. 51 (Fall 1984), 8-96. Herrera, Marina. "Mary of Nazareth in Cross-cultural Perspective." Professional Approaches For Christian Educators. 16 ( i 986), 236-240. Hinneburgh, W.A. "Rosary." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 12 (I 967), 667-670. Hofinger, Johannes. "Postconciliar Marian Devotions." Priest. 37 (January 1981), 43-45 and 37 (February 1981), 15-17. Hogan, Joseph. "Hail Mary." Sisters Today. 57 (January 1986), 258-261. Jegen, C. "Mary, Mother of a Renewing Church." Bible Today. 24 (May 1986), 143-166. Jelly, Frederick M. "Marian Dogmas Within Vatican II's Hierar-chy of Truths." Marian Studies. 27 (1976). --. "Marian Renewal Among Christians." Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 79 (May 1979), 8-16. --. "Reply to 'Homage To a Great Pope and His Marian Devotion: Paul VI.' " Marian Studies. 31 (1980), 96-98. -- "The Mystery of Mary's Meditation." Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 80 (May 1980), 11-20. Johnson, Elizabeth A. "The Marian Tradition and the Reality of Women." Horizons. 12 (Spring 1985), 116-135. Karris, Robert J. "Mary's Magnificat and Recent Study." REVIEW ~OR REt~G~OUS. 42 (November-December 1983), 903-908. Keolsch, Charity Mary. "Mary and Contemplation In the Market-place." Sisters Today. 54 (June-July 1983), 594-597. Kerrigan, Michael P. "The Beginnings Of A New And Prosperous Way of Life." New Catholic World. 229 (November-December 1986), 251. Kleinz, John P. "How We Got The Hail Mary." Catholic Digest. 50 (May 1986), 55-57. Koehler, A. "Blessed From Generation to Generation: Mary In Pa-tristics and the History of the Church." Seminarium. 27 (1975), 578- 606. --. "Homage To A Great Pope And His Marian Devotion." Marian Studies. 31 (1980), 66-95. Krahan, Maria. "The Rosary." Mount Carmel. (Autumn 1977), 124-131. Kress, Robert. "Mariology and the Christian's Self-Concept." REVIEW ~OR RELiGiOUS. 31 (1972), 414-419. Lawrence, Claude. "The Rosary From the Beginning To Our Day." A Mary Bibliography / 363 Christian World. 28 (July-August 1983), 194-201. Leckey, Dolores. "The Rosary Time of My Life." Catholic Digest. 47 (October 1983), 57-58. Leskey, Roberta Ann. "Ways To Celebrate Mary." Religion Teacher's Journal. 17 (April-May 1983), 28-29. Lewela, M. Pauline. "Mary's Faith-Model Of Our Own: A Reflec-tion." Africa Theological Journal. 27 (April 1985), 92-98. Low, Charlotte. "The Madonna's Decline and Revival." Insight. (March 9, 1987), 61-63. MacDonald, Donald. "Mary: Our Encouragement In Christ." REviEw FOR REt.tG~Ot~S. 44 (May-June 1985), 350-359. -- "Our Lady of Wisdom." REvtzw FOR REt.~G~Ot~S. 46 (May-June 1986), 321-331. Main, John. "The Other-Centeredness of Mary." R~w~w FOR RELIG~Ot~S. 38 (March 1979), 267-278. Maloney, George A. "A New But Ancient Mariology." Diakonia. 8 (I 973). 303-305. -- "Do Not Be Afraid To Take Mary Home." Catholic Charis-matic. 1 (October-November 1976), 30-33. --. "Mary and the Church As Seen By the Early Fathers." Diakonia. 9 (1974). Marino, Eugene A. "Mary: The Link Between Liturgy and Doc-trine." Origins. 14 (December 27, 1984), 467-471. Marshner, William H. "Criteria For Doctrinal Development in Marian Dogmas." Marian Studies. 28 (1977), 47-97. "Mary and the Saints." National Bulletin on Liturgy. 12 (Septem-ber- October ! 979), 178-183. Mary Francis. "Blessed Mary: Model of Contemplative Life." Homi-letic and Pastoral Review. 8 i (Mary 1981), 6-12. Mary of the Sacred Heart. "Remember the Rosary." Religion Teacher's Journal. 20 (October 1986),39-40. McAteer, Joan. "What the Rosary Means to Me." Ligourian. 72 (October 1984), 16-20. McCarry, Vincent P. "Mary, Teach Us To Pray." Catholic Digest. 50 (May 1986), 40-43. McDermott, John Michael. "Time For Mary." Homiletic and Pas-toral Review. 83 (May ! 983), I i- 15. McHugh, John. "On True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Way Supplement. 25 (Summer 1975), 69-79. McNamara, Kevin. "Devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary." 364 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 Furrow. 36 (October 1985), 599-604. -- "Mary Today." Furrow. 31 (July 1980), 428-450. Miller, Ernest F. "Why We Honor Mary?" Liguorian. 63 (August 1975), 13-15. Montague, George. "Behold Your Mother." New Covenant. 10 (May 198 I), 4-7. Moore, M. and Welbers, T. "The Rosary Revisited." Modern Lit-urgy. 9 (May 1982), 4-10. Motzel, Jaqueline. "Growing Through the Rosary." Liguorian. 73 (October 1985), 28-3 I. NC News Service. "Mary: An Image of Obedience and Freedom." Our Sunday Visitor. 75 (April 12, 1987), 17. Nienaltowski, Mary Ellen and Metz, Kathleen. "How Do We Pray The Rosary?" Religion Teacher's Journal. 21 (March 1987), 17-18. Noone, P. "Why Catholics Hail Mary?" U.S. Catholic. 44 (May 1979), 47-49. Nouwen, Henri J. "The Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir: An Invita-tion to Belong to God." America. 152 (May 1 I, 1985), 387-390. O'Carroll, M. "Recent Literature On Our Lady." Irish Theologi-cal Quarterly. 45 (I 978), 281-286. Offerman, Mary Columba. "Mary, Cause of Our Joy: A Bibliogra-phy On Mariology." REvl~.w ~oR RE~.~lous. 35 (1976), 730-734. Palazzini, P. "The Exhortation Marialis Cultus and the Rosary." Origins. 27 (July 4, 1974), 9-10. Pellegrino, M. "Comments on the Apostolic Exhortation: Marialis Cultus." L'Osservatore Romano. 35 (August 29, 1974), 3-1 I. Pennington, M. Basil. "The Rosary: An Ancient Prayer For All Of Us.'" Our Sunday Visitor. 72 (October 23, 1983), 3-ff. Peter, Val J. "Marian Theology and Spirituality." Communio. 7 (Summer 1980), 100-178. Puzon, B. "All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed." Sisters Today. 45 (May 1974), 533-537. Quinn, Jerome D. "Mary the Virgin, Mother of God." Bible To-day. 25 (May 1987), 177-180. Rasmussen, Eileen. "Accept Devotion To Mary." National Catho-lic Reporter. 11 (January 3 I, 1975), I I- 14. Rausch, Thomas P. "The Image of Mary: A Catholic Response." America. 146 (March 27, 1982), 231-234. Roberts, William P. "Mary and Today's Classroom." Catechist. 18 (April-May 1985), 28-29. A Mary Bibliography / 365 Schreck, Alan. "Devotion To Mary." New Covenant. 13 (July- August 1983), 14-18. Senior, Donald. "New Testament Images of Mary." Bible Today. 24 (May 1986), 143-166. Shea, John J. "Mary's Melody of Amazing Grace." U.S. Catho-lic. 47 (May 1982), 6-10. Smith, Herbert. "Mary: Mother and Disciple." Liguorian. 73 (Oc-tober 1985), 52-53. Smith, Joanmarie. "Re-Seeing the Rosary." Professional Ap-proaches for Christian Educators. 16 (1986), 12-15. Smith, Patricia. "Images and Insights: Mary In A Modern Mode." New Catholic World. 229 (November-December 1986), 269-273. Smolenski, Stanley. "Rosary or Chaplet?" Homiletic and Pastoral Review. 86 (October 1985),9-15. Snyder, Bernadette. "Who's Praying the Rosary Today?" Liguorian. 74 (October 1986), 2-6. Speyr, A. "Prayer In The Life Of The Blessed Virgin." Commu-nio. 7 (Summer 1980), 113-126. Stahel, Thomas H. "Redemptoris Mater." America. 156 (May 2, 1987), 353-354. Tambasco, A. "Mary: A Biblical Portrait For Imitation." New Catholic World. 229 (November-December 1986), 244-271. Tannehill, R.C. "The Magnificat As Poem." Journal of Biblical Lit-erature. 93 (1974), 263-275. Tutas, Stephen R. 'Who Is Mary For Me?" REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. 43 (September-October 1984), 778-780. Unger, Dominic J. "Does the New Testament Give Much Histori-cal Information About the Blessed Virgin or Mostly Symbolic Mean-ing?" Marianum. (1977), 323-347. Van Bemmel, John. "How To Pray The Rosary." Religion Teacher's Journal. 17 (April-May 1983), 29-30. Ward, Jack. "The Rosary-A Valuable Praying and Teaching Tool." Catechist. 19 (October 1985), 24-25. Ware, Kallistos, Timothy. "The Jesus Prayer and the Mother of God." Eastern Churches Review. (Autumn 1972), 149-150. Zyromski, Page. "Rosary Meditations Especially For Catechists." Catechist. 20 (October 1986), 20-22. Church Documents, Pastoral Letters and Addresses: John Paul II. "Address to a General Audience About the Rosary As An Opportunity of Pray With Mary." Origins. 44 (November 2, 1981 ), 366 / Review for Religious, May-June 1989 --. "Address to the Faithful About Mary and Her Spiritual Testa-ment." Origins. 30 (July 25, 1983), 2. --. "Address to the Faithful Saying That With the Rosary We Are Armed With the Cross and the Word." Origins. 41 (October 10, 1983), I. --. "Address to the Faithful Saying That Mary Is Present In Every Liturgical Action." Origins. 8 (February 20,, 1984), 10. --. Address to the Faithful Stressing Devotion to Mary Our Mother." Origins. 880 (April 9, 1985), 12. ~. "Address to the Faithful Urging Honor to the Infinite Majesty of God Through Mary." Origins. 891 (June 24, 1985), I. --. "Homily Announcing A Fourteen Month Marian Year To Be-gin Pentecost Sunday." Origins. 16 (January 15, 1987), 563-565. --. Mother of the Redeemer. Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 1987. --. "Renewal of the Act of Consecration of the World to the Mother of God." Origins. 14 (April 2, 1984), 9-10. --. Redemptoris Mater. Tablet. 241 (March 28, 1987), 355-359. National Catholic Conference of Bishops. Behold Your Mother: Woman of Faith. (Pastoral Letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary). Wash-ington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, November 21, 1973. Paul VI. "Apostolic Exhortation: Marialis Cultus." L'Osservatore Romano. April 4, 1974. ~. "Mary, Model of the Church." REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. 34 (March 1976), 161 - 164. ~. "Renewal of Devotion to Mary." The Pope Speaks. 20 (1975), 199-203. --. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 1974. Poletti, U. Cardinal. "Significance, Value and Practice of Devotion to the Rosary." Origins. 42 (October 16, 1975), 9. Transcripts, Lectures and Tapes: Clark, Alan. "The Holy Spirit and Mary." Mary's Place In Chris-tian Dialogue. (Occasional Papers and Lectures of the Ecumenical), 1982, 79-88. DeSatage, John and McHugh, John. "Bible and Tradition in Regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Lumen Gentium." Mary's Place In Chris-tian Dialogue. (Occasional Papers and Lectures of the Ecumenical), 1982, 51-60. Dimock, Giles. "Practical Devotion to Mary." Marian Conference A Mary Bibliography / 367 at the University of Steubenville, 1986, (Cassette). Hutchinson, Gloria. Mary, Companion For Our Journey. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1986, (Cassettes). Peffley, Bill. Prayerful Pauses With Jesus and Mary. Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications, 1987, (Audiocassettes). Pittman, Robert S. "The Marian Homilies of Hesychius of Jerusa-lem." Ph.D. Thesis. Catholic University of America, 1974. Powers, Isaias. Quiet Places With Mary: A Guided Imagery Retreat. Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications, 1986, (Audiocassettes). Scanlan, Michael. "Prominence of Mary: The Time of Visitation." Marian Conference at the University of Steubenville, 1986, (Cassette). Ware, Kallistos. "The Mother of God in Orthodox Theology and Devotion." Mary's Place in Christian Dialogue. (Occasional Papers and Lectures of the Ecumenical), 1982, 169- ! 81. An Ignatian Contemplation on the Baptism of Our Lord Michael W. Cooper, S.J. Father Michael Cooper, S.J., teaches in the Theology Department and the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of Chicago. His address is 6525 N. Sheri-dan Road; Chicago, Illinois 60626. Baptism has once again become an integral part of the Christian experi-ence. Instead of simply an individual event between God and the bap-tized, the sacrament once more celebrates a person's entrance into the community of believers. Moreover, with the renewal and expansion of the understanding of ministry, it is baptism that now offers the founda-tion for the call to mission and service for every member of the People of God. Even with all these rich theological and liturgical developments, I have still found it difficult to make any vital connection between them and my own baptism. In part, I simply have no sentiments or recollec-tions to explore or deepen. Like many other pre-Conciliar born, I was rushed to the local parish on the Sunday following my birth to save me from a sudden case of limbo. Nor does my mother have any spiritual re-membrances of my baptism to share with me, since on that day she was still in the hospital recuperating from my worldly entrance. Thus until very recently the experiential and spiritual sense of my own baptism re-mained in a limbo of its own. The meaning and power of my own baptism finally came alive, how-ever, as I shared Jesus' experience of his own baptism during several pe-riods of prayer on my recent thirty-day retreat. The thrust of contempo-rary spirituality reminds us to pay close attention to our human experi-ence- whether in prayer, in ministry, or in the rest of life--and to ask 368 Contemplation on Baptism / 369 what the Lord might be saying or how he might be inviting. Often these moments become actual revelations of God's living Word for us-~either individually or collectively. Through these experiences we realize the Gos-pel no longer as. a onetime event in the past but as always happening-- and now most immediately to us. From this perspective of the ongoing Gospel I share the fruits of a very transforming experience of the baptism of our Lord. Though admit-tedly the very personal encounter of one individual, maybe my experi-ence will contribute to our collective efforts to reclaim the experiential and spiritual roots of our baptismal call to community and ministry with God's people. I entitled this article "An Ignatian Contemplation . . ." to highlight a very definite approach to praying the Scriptures. Instead of methodi-cally plodding through the Gospel, I contemplated, that is, I watched at-tentively and receptively the scene of our Lord's baptism, letting it touch my mind and heart. I began by reading through the scripture text (Mt 3:13-17) several times, then I put down my Bible, closed my eyes, and let the event come alive before the inner eye of my imagination. Following Ignatius' instructions in the Spiritual Exercises (no. 114), I then took my place in the scene, so that I would be experiencing the baptism as an engaged participant and not as a disinterested spectator. Paying attention to the persons, their words, and their actions, I contem-plated the event as if it were happening now for the first time. On the banks of the Jordan, Jesus steps out from the crowd and pre-sents himself to his cousin John for baptism. His voice filled with emo-tion, John protests saying, "I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!" But Jesus responds very straightforwardly. "Let it be for now." Then in a very powerful moment of the contemplation, I hear Jesus go on to explain himself, "I'm no different from the rest of the people gath-ered here. We're all struggling to gain our human freedom and whole-ness. With all the fear and unfreedoms we carry around from growing up plus all the pressures and demands on us today, it's a wonder we're not more wounded than we are." For Jesus, this very heartfelt experience becomes his baptism into a deep identification and solidarity with the rest of the human family united together in the struggle to become more human and free. Jesus' words to John then cannot be taken as some sort of pious self-effacement. Rather, our brother Jesus is experiencing his baptism as a deep, deep bond-edness with the human family gathered at the healing waters of rebirth and wholeness. 370/Review for Religious, May-June 1989 As I continue to contemplate the baptism unfolding before me, I am drawn to even closer physical proximity with Jesus by the magnetism of his human compassion and tenderness. At the same time I begin to feel close again to several friends from whom I have parted company because of certain decisions on their part that hurt me very deeply. Along with this new feeling of closeness comes the realization that despite the pain and darkness that have separated us, there exists a deeper bond of soli-darity in the human struggle that binds us together. We are no different from each other or from the rest of the people on the face of the earth. In one way or another we are each carrying around within us parts of our wounded child and of our stressed adult. The shadow of our fuller human potential and psychic wholeness always seems to lie just beyond our reach. With this realization a lot of the bite to my pain and anger subsides and I hear myself saying very serenely, "In our choices and endeavors, we really do try to give as much as we can at the moment. Sometimes our responses aren't adequate or all that the situation might call for or that we or others might hope for. Because we will always be carrying around our wounded and unfinished selves, we at times end up creating pain and darkness--for others as well as for ourselves--despite our best and freest possible intentions at that moment. I am no different from the rest of mortals. We are all in our own way longing and strug-gling for our human freedom and wholeness as daughters and sons of the living God." These intense feelings of solidarity with my friends that ac-company these reflections free me to let go of a lot more of the pain and misunderstanding in our relationship. And almost immediately these peo-ple actually appear on the banks of the Jordan and, ecstatic and teary-eyed, we embrace one another. By this time Jesus and John are sitting off to the side talking intently to one another. I am savoring the wonderful feelings of reconciliation and the pure joy of this moment when all of a sudden my attention switches. Several close friends for whom I had initially been either .teacher, spiritual director, or mentor become present to me. These new feelings of solidarity in the human struggle now bring a different sort of bondedness with them. Any leftover images of being in some way "the expert" or "the helper" or simply the one who is a couple of steps ahead of the others seem to disappear forever. I am just acutely aware of'how similar our journeys and struggles have been at such a profound level. A marvelous celebration of deep friendship and belonging to each other takes place as they, too, appear on the banks of the Jordan and I jump up to embrace them. Contemplation on Baptism / 371 This first moment of the baptism climaxes as I join hands with my friends who have come to the Jordan. Together with Jesus and John we dance in circles and zigzag chains across the sands. Then we run into the water to splash and frolic like little children and truly we are, because so many of the hurts and wounds of growing up and of adult life are be-ing healed. This wonderful moment comes to a close when with ecstatic reverence we take turns baptizing one another in these life-giving wa-ters of human compassion and solidarity. The second major moment of the baptism begins as Jesus steps out of the water. This time the heavens open and a voice proclaims, "This is My Son, the Beloved, on whom My favor rests." Along with his sense of profound solidarity with the human family, Jesus now experiences most intensely his deep, deep solidarity with God. Because the baptism has become not only Jesus' but mine as well, I feel myself being drawn into that same solidarity with God. I now hear a voice from the heavens addressed to me, "You, too, are My son, the beloved, on whom My favor rests." Initially, I simply rest in this deep sense of belonging to God. Though still feeling very much the earthen vessel, chipped and bro-ken in so many ways, I receive nonetheless a strong assurance in the prayer that I will have whatever I need by way of resources for my per-sonal journey and for my ministry. With God's favor there will be enough of hope, courage, and justice, of human and psychic energy, and of whatever else needed for today with more to come tomorrow. The Lord has spoken . Rather than end a prayer that is really only be-ginning to unfold, I simply thank the Lord from the depths of my spirit for sh.aring the baptism with me both in contemplation and in life. This Ignatian contemplation of the baptism of our Lord invites sev-eral brief comments. First of all, we realize that the foundations for a renewed understanding of Christian baptism do not come so much from our own sacramental initiation as from sharing the experience of baptism with Jesus. Like the Lord, we are baptized into covenantal solidarity with both our brothers and sisters and with our gracious God. From this perspective, baptism loses much of its static notion as sim-ply a once-in-a-lifetime event. Especially for adults being baptized or re-claiming their baptismal call, as we did in this contemplation, the cele-bration of baptism becomes a dynamic initiation into a lifelong process that continues to open up new levels of human and divine solidarity as our Christian existence unfolds day by day. This sacred bondedness with the human family confronts the blatant Review for Religious, May-June 1989 barriers and subtle alienation that separate us from each other. Baptism invites us to embrace the human family--both near and far--as "my peo-ple" and not just God's people. Our experience is meant to mirror that of Jesus: "I am no different from anybody else." The heart of the mat-ter remains this recognition that we are all struggling with varying de-grees of success for our human freedom and wholeness--two of the gate-ways to encountering the divine in ourselves. Here, too, our experience follows the pattern of Jesus in discovering his own divinity. In facing the forces that would shrink, wound, or destroy these most precious gifts of God to us, we plumb the depths of our human resources and discover the wellsprings of the divine energy in us as well. Second, this baptism into human solidarity against the enemies of our humanity celebrates our entrance as adults into the Christian com-munity. We now recognize and claim for our own this community both broken and healed yet always struggling for greater wholeness. Third, this very sacred experience of human solidarity becomes the foundational stance for each Christian's involvement in ministry as part of our baptismal commitment. It is only from a vital sense of bonded-ness to each other that we can enter into the.joys and struggles of one another without pretense or feigned empathy. By the Lord's design we are in this human struggle together. Baptism then celebrates our call to be companions to one another and to all our brothers and sisters in the unfolding of the kingdom of God in our time. Fourth, the divine bondedness solidifies as we hear the voice from heaven address us withthe same love and promise offered to Jesus: "You are My beloved on whom My favor rests." This proclamation then nurtures our heartfelt sense of belonging utterly to God. Moreover, this divine connectedness touches all the dimensions of who we are, so that we begin to look and feel more and more with the eyes and heart of our gracious God on our~e, lves, others, and our world. In the face of our human wounds and inadequacies, this sense of di-vine favor sustains Christian perseverance and empowerment for life and ministry. We can be stretched to the limits of our understanding and of our physical and psychic energies, yet we now know deep down that no matter what comes God's favor will sustain us this day and there will be more of what we need tomorrow. From the Lord we need only ask with Ignatius in the Suscipe of the Spiritual Exercises: "Give me only Your love and Your grace; that is enough for me" (no. 234). For those hungry to deepen their commitment to Christian commu-nity and ministry, an Ignatian contemplation of the baptism may be the Contemplation on Baptism I 373 occasion to nourish those desires as they share this moment with Jesus as though it were happening for the first time. We never know whom or what we might meet on the banks of the Jordan! the woman with the hemorrhage i was tired of their pity and their prayers now for how many years each face became compulsive to be good with kindness--their helpful helplessness i've seen their looks that worried into silence "i'm so sorry" drove me to distraction until they learned my shame would last God only knowswperhaps forever then they disappeared like frightened children and the very thing

Issue 17.4 of the Review for Religious, 1958. ; JULY 15,= 1958, " Unceasing Prayer Venerable Anne de Xainctongb : The General Chapter' ". VOLUME 17 For. Your Information 'J Book Revtews (~uesfions and -~Answe~ Roman Documents about: Religious kit:e ""' ': - :::''~ "> :'~ ': " ~; ¯ Coedu~atlon " °. The Family RI::VIi::W FOR RI:LIGIOUS VOLUME 17 JULY, 1958 NUMnER 4 CONTI::NTS FOR YOUR INFORMAT_ION .193 UNCEASING PRAYER--Edward Hageraann, S.J . 194 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 200 VENERABLE ANNE DE XAINCTONGE-- Sister Marie Celestine, U.T.S.V . 201 PROFICIENTS~WHO DO NOT PROGRESS-- Hugh Kelly, S.J . 211 THE GENERAL CHAPTER--Joseph F. Gallen, S.J . 223 SOME BOOKS RECEIVED . 231 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS~R. F. smith, S.J . 232 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . 241~ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 20. Baptism in Another Rite and Subsequent Profession . 250 21. Authority over and Direction of Institutes of Religious Women . " . . . ¯ . 251 22. Duties of the Cardinal Protector . 252 23. Idiomatic Translations of Constitutions . 253 24. Moment of Covering the Ciborium at the Consecration . 253 25. Pausing Before Prayers at the Foot of the Alta'r . 25~4 26. Place of the Sign of the .Cross on the Missal . 254 27. Simple Genuflhction Between Consecration andCommunion,254 28. Interference in External and Internal Government . 255 29. May a Superioress Bless Her Subjects? . 256 REVIE~Y¢" FOR RELIGIOUS, July, 1958, Vol. 17, No. 4. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approval~ Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J.; Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1958, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard. St. Louis 18, Missouri. For Your Int:ormat:ion Editor's Golden Jubilee FATHER HENRY WILLMERING will celebrate~ the Golden Jubilee of his entrance into the Society of Jesus on July 25, 1958. Father Willmering has been teaching Sacred Scripture to Jesuit seminarians for thirty years. He became a member of our editorial board in 1955. "His fellow editors feel sure that the readers of the REVIEW will join them in congratulating Father Willmering and helping him by their prayers to thank God for the great privilege of spend-ing fifty years in the religious life. Delayed Vocations In the May, 1957, number of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS (p. 154) we published an announcement at the suggestion of a" priest who was spiritual director to some women who were interested in dedicating their lives to God, but who were ham-pered by the fact that they were older than the age limit for admission in most religic~us communities, ,~ere widows, and so forth. This priest thought it would be very helpful to others, as well as to himself, to know of religious or secular institutes th. at would accept such candidates. Two replies were published in our November, 1957, number (p.342); and a third reply was published in our March, 1958, issue (p. 90). We have recently received a fourth reply from the Daughters of the Paraclete, a group of women who have organized and are taking steps to become a secular institute in the diocese of Little Rock. The Daughters of the Paraclete now have two houses in the diocese of Little Rock. They seek further candidates and realize that these must be obtained from outside the state of Arkansas. Any single Catholic ~voman of good character and good physical and mental health is eligible for entrance. There (Continued on page 210) 193 U, nceasing Prayer Edward I-lagemannr S.J. OUR LORD told us, "We ought always to pray" (Lk. 18:1). His words were echoed by St. Paul when he wrote, "Pray without ceasing" (I Thess. 5~17). Dif-ferent ways of explaining this seemingly impossible behest have often been proposed. I here wish to call to mind .an explanation found in. the ascetical writings of certain French Jesuits from the seventeenth century to the present. What they teach is not, however, original nor exclusively their own. Father Julien 'Hayneuve, S.J., a well-.known spiritual writer around the middle of the seventeenth century, tells us in one of his volumes of meditations that there are three ways of conversing with our Lord: (1) by sanctifying grace, i.e., by being in a state of friendship with Christ; (2) by formal prayer in which we manifest our needs to Him;.and (3) by "this unceasing prayer of which Scripture speaks, that is to say, by a spiritual and divine life that consists a) in doing nothing except by His.spirit, by His orders, fbr His glory, b) in acting not according to the inclinations of nature but confokmably with the inspirations of. grace and according to His maxims, in the same way that He Himself lived on earth and as He desires to live in us, in a word, according to the knowledge He gives us by His lights and interior inspirations" (M~ditations sur la vie de N.S. Jdsus Christ, Vol. I, p. 474). This manner of life we call virtual.prayer. It consists in a complete union of our wills with God, whereby we hearken .to His will expressed not only exteriorly through, the duties of our state of life and the various manifestations of divine providence, but also interiorly tl~rough the movements of grace. It is not an act nor a series of acts but a state, a readi-ness to stop or change what we are d~ing if God wishes it. We are or, at least, we wish to be as responsive to God's will 194 ,I UNCEASING PRAYER expressed through His actual g~aces as a harp to the slightest touch of a master. Father L~once de Grandmaison, s.J., sums it up thus: "Formal prayer differs from virtual in that the latter consists in habitually preferring the will of God ~o our own will . In short, virtual prayer consists in .being docile to. the Holy.Spirit." (We and the Holy Spirit, p. 134) Virtual prayer is, therefore, not a question of intellectual attention, of recollection where the mind is conscious of God, but of habitual, permanent intention directing our wills by God's will, in a word, union of wills. Thus we can be busy,. our minds occupied with intellectual or material work, and yet be praying because we want to do only what God wants us to do and we should cease immediately if we knew He wished us to stop. Father Raoul Plus, S.J'., has practically the same thought when he says: "The state of prayer consists in preserv-ing a pure dntention during the fulfillment of our daily tasks. I cannot have my thoughts occupied with God without inter-ruption. But my will should never be directed towards "any object e~xcept God, ~at any rate as its last end." (How to Pray Always, p. 15) Father Jean Croiset, the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary, insists on this union of wills: "It is necessary' that while the mind. works, the heart be in. repose and' remain, motionless in its center, which is the will of God, t~rom which it should never separate itself" (The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, p. 87). We might here add in the words of. De Grandmaison why this state of attentiveness to God's will is termed prayer. "It is truly prayer because it unites us to God, makes us docile to His inspirations, and attunes us to His will of good pleasure-" (We and the Holy Spirit, pp. 122-23). According to Father Jean-pierre de Caussade, s.J., who lived in .the first half of the eighteenth century, perfection will consist in this virtual pray~er, "The more we advance the rciore is God pleased to take it 'out of our power, to produce many acts . In all the different changes both interior and exterior 195 ]~DWARD HAGEMANN Review for Religious say always from the depths of your heart, 'My God, I wish what You ,wish, I refuse nothing from Your fatherly hand, I accept all and submit to all.' In this simple act, continued or rather habitual, consists our whole perfection." (Abandon-ment to Divine Providence, Exeter, 1921, pp. 157-58) Jean- Nicholas Grou, the junior of De Caussade by about fifty years, one of the best known Jesuit writers of his time, tells us that the sole object of the interior soul is to glorify God and to love Him. He develops this latter point thus, "To love Him, not by formal acts or by effusions of sensible devotion, but by being effectually and continually devoted to Him, and by entire resignation of her own will to His" (Manual for Interior Souls, p. 93). Grou says that the interior soul is "effectually and continually devoted" to God. This is devotion that St. Thomas defines as "the will to give oneself readily to things concerning the service of God" (II-II, q. 82, a.1)--not just sensible devotion but the deep, substantial devotion of a com-pliant will. In another work Grou devotes a chapter'to virtual prayer. In this chapter, which he entitles "unceasing prayer," he de-scribes this virtual prayer and then gives some examples: "Among the actions that may be regarded as prayer I would include visits of politeness and good manners; I would even include amusing conversations and necessary relaxations of body and mind, provided they be harmless, and carried no further thatx is allowed by Christian pririciples. None of these occupations is incompatible with continual prayer; with the exception of things that are wrong, inexpedient, or useless there is" nothing that the Holy Spirit cannot make His own, nothing that He cannot contrive to sanctify and bring into the realm of prayer." (The School of Jesus Christ, p. 281) As we have said, virtual prayer consists in a readiness to do God's will expressed not only exteriorly but also interiorly through the movements of grace. It is necessary, then, that we be able to discern these movements in our souls. These 196 July, 1958 UNCEASING PRAYER are normally slight illuminations of the intellect and gentle promptings of the will. But are all interior movements prompt-ing to seeming good the work of God? Unfortunately, no. The evil spirit and our fallen nature suggest thoughts that seemingly prompt to good but, as we know from sad experi. ence, result in something bad or less good. We must be experienced, then, in distinguishing between the spirits, between the movements of grace and of nature, so as to accept the former and reject the latter. (See The Imitation of Christ, Bk. III, Chap. 54, "On the Diverse Motions of Nature and Grace.") Father Jean-Joseph Surin, one of the most brilliant Jesuit writers of the first half of the seventeenth century, states that this attention to the movements of grace and nature consti-tutes the interior life (Spiritual Letters, p. 391). In~ this he was but giving the teaching of his famous tertian instructor, Father Louis Lallemant (Spiritual TeachingI 5th Princ., Chap. l,a. 1, sec. 3). : The rule of thumb for distinguishing :~between the move. ments of the spirits, or of nature and grace, is the difference in the immediate effect they have on the soul. In a soul going from good to better the good spirit or grace produces a peace-ful impression like a drop of water falling on a sponge. The bad spirit or nature, on the other hand, produces a slight agita-tion, a slight disturbance like a drop of water falling on a stone. All seemingly good thoughts and desires, then, that cause such an agitation will be rejected as soon as discerned without being examined. As a result, peace of soul will be the climate ir~ which that person lives who is in a state of attentiveness to God's will, who, in a word, practices continual prayer. I say advisedly peace of soul, not peace of mind. Our imagination or emotions may be disturbed violently or we may have trying problems over which to ponder; but all of these are, so to speak, on the surface of the soul. Deep down under all this is peace. De Caussade in his letters of direction is never weary of. insisting on the necessity of peace. For ~example, he writes, 197 EDWARD HAGEMANN Review for Religious '-'The great principle of the interior life is the peace of the s0ul, and it must be preser~,ed with such care that the moment it is attacked all else must be put aside and every effort made to try and regain this holy peace, just as, in an outbreak of fire everything else is neglected to hasten to extinguish the flames'" (Abandonment to Divine Providence, p. 142). In the midst of work and occupations that can take up our complete" attention, we are praying, yes even with the prayer o'f ~petition,' We all have some great personal desires that mean much to us. We' don't have to express them in wbrds. God ~ees them in our' heart. "De Caussade is never tired of repeating St. Augustine's saying that our desires are our prayers (Migne, P:C., 36: 404): our desire to love God, our desire to grow in a certain virtue, our desire for the wel-fare, spiritual or corporal, of someone dearto us, and so forth. A mother ~hosd baby is ill may be busy with chores around the house or have her attention taken up with some pressing problem, but surely we can say that all the time underlying all this activity is her desire for the recov~ery of h~r child. Besides a few big, permanent desires, we all have also many small, transient ones. We can put all these desires, big and small, into the Morning Offering of-the Apostleship of Prayer and then not think of them again during the da.y. They are not dropped Out .of our hearts. Even though we do not forma[ly. repeat these ',petitions, God sees them in our hearts. . Our desires are our,p.rayers. This virtual prayer can be of great comfort to us when we are assailed by temptations. These temptations seize on our imagination and emotion~, and thus influence us physically. While we are thus very conscious of the temptation, we do not, on the other hand, feel the. act of the will or, bdtter still, the state of our will Which is kept turned toward' God. Yet it is in the will not the imagination and' emotions that. our real self is found. De Caussade refers to this again and again, often telling us to go beneath all this agitation in our sense life and 198 July, 1958 UNCEASING PRAYER emotional life and deep down 'rest with our will united with God's or again,, in a somewhat opposite illustration, .to remain above all this agitation like a high mountain whose peak 'is bathed in sunshine but around whose base the" storm clouds lash furiously (Abandonment to Divine Providence, I3. 119). As. this state of will conformed to God's will is our continual prayer, we "are praying, then, even in the midst of the most turbulent temptations. This constant prayer c~in be a source" of consolation when arresting distractions occur during 6urordinary period of for-mal prayer. Who of ~us' has not experienced and does not continue to experience eveky day the wanderings Of the mind that seem at times to make up such a~large pa~t of the time allotted to mental prayer? ~This shbuld not trouble us as long as our will is habituidly directed toward God. As Father de Graridmaison says: "In virtual pray~.r we' call into action the faculty Over which we have the greate.st controli our free Will. Virtual prayer does not "require favorable mental, emotional, or even bodily dispositions . We cannot always think imagine and feel as we would like. But we can always will that God be glorified and that we be obedient to H~m. (We and the Holy Spirit, p. 123) Of course, when these distrac-tions occur, the sooner we recover ourselves and get back to ~formal meditation the better for our mental pr~yer and fgr the growth in motivation that mental prayer gives. But it is consoling to know that in the midst of our distractions our heart has been praying. I am not recommending this practice of virthal player to all indiscriminately. "The Spirit breatheth where he Gill" (Jn. 3:8). 'Some will prefer to make frequent .aipirati~ns during the day or to lift the mind occasionally to God. Well and good. They should follow this attraction. But others will be found who cannot raise the mind to God, particularly when occupied with mental work. Let them, then," not f~el they cannot be praying. The words we havre written will show them 199 EDWARD HAGI~MANN that, as long as their will is united to God's, ready to obey the slightest indication of His holy will, they are in a state of prayer. In one of his letters Father de Caussade gives the following advice: "During the day try to keep yourself united to God, either by frequent aspirations towards Him, or by the simple glance of pure faith; or better still, by a certain calm in the depths of your soul and of your whole being in God, accompanied by a complete detachment from all the exterior objects of this world. God Himself will.show you which of these three ways will best suit you to unite yourself to Him, by the attraction to it, the taste for it, and the facility in the prac-tice of it which He will give you, for this union is in propor-tion to the degree of prayer to which the soul is raised. Each of these states has its special attraction; one must learn to know one's own, and then follow it with simplicity and fidelity, but without anxiety, uneasiness~ or haste; always sweetly and peace-fully as St. Francis of Sales says." (Abandonm.ent to Divine Providence, p. 142). This third method ot: De Caussade is the virtual prayer we h~ave described in this article. OUR CONTRIBUTORS EDWARD HAGEMANN is spiritual director at Alma College, a theologate for Jesuit scholastics, at Los Gatos, California. SISTER MARIE CELESTINE teaches Latin at Notre Dam~ School, 168 West 79th Street, New York 24, New York. HUGH KELLY is instructor of tertians at Rathfarnham-Castle, Rathfarnham~ Dublin, Ireland. JOSEPH F. GALLEN is professor of canon law at kVoodstock Col-lege, W~odstock, Maryland. R.F. SMITH is a member ofthe faculty of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 200 Venerable Anne de Xainc!:onge Sisl:er Marie Celest:ine, U.T.S.V. The story of the founding of the first non-cloistered teaching congregation of sisters. T O EXTEND THE REIGN of Jesus Christ--that is my only ambition--my sublime enterprise." These words of Venerable Anne de Xainctonge echoed the yearn.'ing of her heart for a quest that led her through~ twenty years of suffering and trial and ended in the establishm.ent of th~ first non-cloistered congregation for the education of girls, the Society of St. Ursula of the Blessed Virgifi, on June .16, 1606. The successful completion of that quest was celebrated in 1956, the 350th anniversary year. When the American religious of the Society assisted on June 16 at a solemn pontifical Mass offered by His Excellency, Most Reverend Joseph F. Flannelly, aux. iliary bishbp of New York, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, their joy and gratitude reflected two Of the striking marks of their foundress's life--her joy and gratitude for her vocation. That vocation is best understood by its twofold achievement, the founding of a congregation without enclosure and her con-tribution to education. Her project brought change to religious life as well as to the world of pedagogy. Today it is as natural to see nuns walking along the streets of our large cities or traveling cross-country to spend their holidays in educational conventions as it is to find them taking part in scientific discoveries or teaching Christ in pagan lands. However, such scenes were unknown in the sixteenth century when nun-educators remained in their convents to impart to a small group of fortunate girls the essentials of Christian learning. The revolutionary character of this new idea--a non. cloistered order for women--can be appreciated by recalling the conditions existing in the days of Anne de Xainctonge. 201 SISTER MARIE CELESTINE Review for, Religious Dynamic changes in the field of ideas were keeping Europe in turmoil and coni~usion. The Protestant Revolt had led to the destruction bt~ schools" and colleges. Religious wars, par-ticularly in France, kept Huguenot and Catholic at bitter odds. Science, through Galileo and Kepler, was interesting men in new discoveries. It was a period teeming with new nationalisms, new adventures, and new literary trends. Henry IV, Sir Walter Raleigh, ai~d Montaigne dr~w admiring i~ollowers to their new endeavors. But if the peridd reflected feverish restlessness, it also prodhced: great figures of true serenity, a serenity acquired by th.e grace oi~ God and adherence to truth. In literature, Shakespe,are and Cervantes; in art, Holbein and Tintoretto; in theology, Bella'rmine and Canisitls--these Were but a fe~ who proved the worth ot~ the old "dducational values. Throughout the century the" Church struggled for reform. Her effort~, especially through the Council of Trent, bore fruit." Saints like Teresa of Avila,. Ignatius, and Francis de 'Sales fought for Christ with new ,weapons on new battlefields. It"was the field of education that challenged Anne de Xainctonge. to plan, suffer for, and reach her quest. The disastrous effects of the Reformation on educatiori had caused the Council of Trent to regtore the ancient discipline for ~thd trainii~g of the clergy, to legislate for the instruction of the faithful by preaching and the printed word, to ar'range for Sunday schools and the reopening of parish schools. France, not suffering the same persecutibn as England and Germany, wa.~ active in applying the i:egulations. ~' ~ If these recommendations, were followed, a new vitality would appear in the faithi~ul. In what way could Anne help? How could she extend the reign of Christ? ¯ Her desire.tosave souls became an overwhelming ambition. Developed.by prayer and nurtured by sacrifice, it was a decisive influence in her life --molding the quality of her spiritual growth and pointing .to its outward expression. 202 July, 1958 VENERABLE ANNE DE XAINCTONGE Actually, it was the. work of St; Ignatius, the most bril-liant of the educational leadersl .which most attracted the young girl. It was the. Jesuit .ideal in training youth which gave Anne the inspiration for her new Society. It was her Jesuit dir.ectors, Father de, Villars and Father Gentil, who prepared and tested her soul for' the difficulties ahead. When at last in. 1606 she formed her congregation,¯ it was the Ratio StuJiorum which she made the basis of her educational system, adapting and modifying it to the needs of gi~:ls, while following its broad lines of method and administration. The work of the Jesuits appealed strongly to Anne be-cause she watched their efforts at close range. 'Anne de Xainc-tonge was born in Dijon, France, November 21,'1567, daughter of Jean de Xainctonge, councilor of Parliament, and Lady Marguerite Colard. The child showed such a keen intellect that her father arranged an educational program for her, in-cluding subjects usually studied by boys. He himself became one of her tutors, choosing religion for his course, just as' his neighbor, ' President ~Fremyot, did for his children, among them the future St. Jane Frances de Chantal. While still young, Anne sl~owed herself a born teacher; for, after her lessons with her father, she would go to the servants and teacl~ them what she had just learned. She was 13eg~nmng to extend Christ's reign. A strong desire to do God's will ~aught her enthusias'm, so that even in an illness declared hopeless, but from which she recovered miraculodsly, she preferred God's will to her cure. 'A hunger for. Holy Com-munion and confirmation made her lea; nothing undone until she had succeeded in receiving both sacraments earlier than usual. This love for God and apostolic yearning made the young girl's decisions firm. When presented to society, ~he followed her mother's desires by dressing richly and taking an active part in the social life of the nobility of Dijon. However, she 2O3 SISTER ~ARIE CELESTINE Review for Religious refused to 'consider a proposal of marriage. Just what her vocation was Anne did not know. Neither marriage nor the cloistered life drew her, but a deep yearning to serve God and save souls possessed her. In the meantime, her confessor al-lowed her to teach catechism. However, he demanded that she put aside her fashionable dress while teaching in the churches or instructing the sick in hospitals. Anne felt that the work of the Jesuits was really extending the reign of Christ in the hearts of boys. Their new college, opened in Dijon in 1582, was adjoining her father's estate. Watching from her window or the garden, ,she was impressed by the new methods, ~he good order of the thousand pupils, and the gay recreations supervised by the masters on the playground behind the school. The more she appreciated their progress, the more she contrasted it with the feeble efforts made in the two or three schools for girls in Dijon, where reading, writing, and needlework formed the entire curriculum. If only a work similar to that 0f the Jesuits could be undertaken for girls! Then the light came. It could be undertaken--and she could begin it! At last, God's will seemed clear. She told her director, Father Gentil, that poor girls had been neglected, since "among us, no one has the courage to use her natural talents to glorify God as you are glorifying Him by yours." ~ Anne realized that for the work she envisioned her religious could not be cloistered. They would need to go out, to churches, schools, hospitals--to reach the rich and the poor --as many children as possible. But--an uncloistered order of women? The quest seemed fantastic. The mere thought of such a congregation would shock sixteenth-century France. Again, teaching was a task despised by people of high society; it was a work relegated to widows or ladies in financial distress, who usually knew little more than their pupils. The girls of poor families attended school until they were nine, while the wealthy had to educate their daughters at home or, if fortunate, send them to a cloistered convent as boarders. 204 July, 1958 VENERABLE ANNE DE XAINCTONGE To. Anne, the thought of teaching was not revolting. It was an apostolate! It was not only a challenge, but an inspira-tion, a means of extending the kingdom. But to form a society, she would need companions. Would any of her friends stoop to the humiliating task of instructing children? Anne began to prepare herself for her vocation by serious study, especially of religion. Soon her parents withdrew their promises of help for the work when they learned that God's will was leading Anne to establish it, not in Dijon, but in Dole, then enemy territory under Spanish rule. Her arrival in Dole, November 29, 1596, was welcomed as an answer to prayer by a group of. young ladies with a similar ambition. However, Dole was to exact ten years of suffering and humiliation before Anne could reach her goal. The history of those years shows h~r in the role of public benefactor--a lone figure digging the groundwork of her society. Most of those who had prayed for a leader lost courage in the face of hardships caused by social custom and family prejudice. For Anne herself, difficulties reached the height of persecu-tion as her father inaugurated violent methods of attack to force his daughter's return. Obliged to submit the plan of her congregation to two different courts of prominent and prejudiced theologians, she convinced them that her project for a non-cloistered community was sound, practical, and of divine inspiration. The battle over non-enclosure was won! Ecclesiastical and municipal authorization paved the way for the new foundation; and on June 16, 1606, there came to life. a non-cloistered congregation for the education of girls, the Society of St. Ursula. The work grew rapidly in France, Germany, and Switzerland. A few years after Mother Anne's foundation, St. Francis de Sales had to face the same problem of non-enclosure. When, with St. Jane Frances de Chantali he began the Visitation order in. 1610, it was as a non-cloistered community dedicated to the 2O5 SISTER ~IARIE CELESTINE Review :for Religious sick and poor. However, in 1615 Cardinal de Marquemont of Lyons, who had invited the Visitandines to establish a house in his diocese, urged St. Francis dd Sales to change the status of his congregation to one of strict enclosure. The cardinal feared that the fervor of the. religious would be weakened and that dangers would be encountered by their contact with the world. After resisting at first, the bishop of Geneva in humility finally yielded to the .cardinal's request, seeing in it a sign of God's will in his superiors and a means of spreading the work in this modified form to m, any parts of France. The saint admired Mother Anne's work and in 1608 had gone to Dole to see the schools of the Ursules. In 1621 he wrote to Mother Anne, asking her to establish a house in Thonon, Savoy. In requesting it he wrote: I have always admired, honored, and esteemed the works oi: very great charity which your Society practices, whose growth I have always very affectionately desired, especially in this province of Savoy. Relying on the hope 'which the Fathers of the.Society of Jesus have given me for establishing a house here, I have obtained permission for it from her 'Most Serene Highness. But if I have the pleasure of seeing a branch of the holy tree of Sainte Ursule in this diocese, I shall~ try to make known, by all sorts of proofs, the affection I have for it. That is why I beg you very humbly, my very dear Sister, to contribute to this project all you can, in God, not doubting that it is for the greatest glo~-y of God, the advancement and strengthening of many souls in piety, and finally, a very great consolation for those who come first to take part in this good work . Thus, humbly acceding to the wishes of others, St. Francis de Sales gave up his plan of non-enclosure. Mother Anne in an indomitable spirit of perse.verance worked and suffered for twenty years until she overcame all obstacles to non-enclosure. Her work. stood the test of time. The French Revolution could not annihilate it, nor the" laws of 1901 expelling religious from France. This expulsion brought forth new branches in Italy, .Belgium, and the United States. .The American work began in 1901, ~when Right ~Reverend Monsignor.Joseph H. McMahon invited the sisters to teach in Our Lady of Lourdes Parochial School in New York. Then an .academy was opened 206 July, 1958 VENERABLE ANNE DE XAINCTONGE " in 1912, now the Notre Dame School on West 79th Street; the Academy of St. Ursula, Kingston, New York, was begun in 1925. Two parochial schools, St. Joseph's, Kingston, and St. Augustine's, Providence, are conducted by the religious, who also have charge of the Latin Department in Cathedral High School, New York City. Mother Anne's second achievement was her contribution to education. Basing her system on the'Ratio Studiorum ¯ of-the Jesuits, she insisted on the. training of her teachers, a gentle fiimness in discipline, and an arrangement of classes suited to th~ age and ability of, th~ pupils. Her philosophy of education followed logically from her grasp of the-child's nature, a being composed of body and soul, ~stined for the City of God. The goal must be kept in mind, but the nature of the child must not be forgotten. To make the Incarnation real in the lives of the children was her aim. For her, the very end of education was to imitate Jesus Christ, to form Him in the young. "In working with these little souls, we shall do something very great if we keep our interior glance fixed on Jesus Christ." If her am-bition was to form Christ in the students, it was first-to-train, each of her daughters to be another Christ--that the re.ality of the Incarnation, the living of the Christ-life might radiate to o~thers. Her spiritual counsels speak again and again of the "reign of Christ." "I desire with all my heart, to make Jesus Christ reign and live within me." This aim was reflected in her methodsi which showed 'a humanistic approach. Women were losing their souls for lack of instruction; therefore, moral training was of prime im-p? rtance, while the core-curriculum subject wasreligion. One of the points Mother. Anne stressed .was the exacting of work~ according to the child's ,capacity. Individua! recitations, pupil activity, and self-expression to develop the reason were insisted upon.in all but the lowest classes. This practice, proper .to the new institute in 1606, was considered "one of the great pe~da, 207 SISTER MARIE CELESTINE Review for Religious gogical discoveries of the nineteenth century." Plays and pageants were presented to develop oral expression. In the teacher training program, similar attention is giver~ to the individual. The teacher must try to win each soul: by her gay and open manner, to inspire confidence; by a gentle firmness, to correct and exhort; by a personal spirit of sacrifice and abnegation, to serve others. To serve the whole world and particularly those of our sex, to instruct, console, warn, to give good example everywhere, and to pray always for the conversion or perfection of souls--that is the profession of the Ursules, but on condition that it is carried on without affecta-tion, complacency, or vanity . . . simply, humbly, cordially . Such exterior works sprang from a deep Christ-centered spirituality. Every fiber of Anne's being spent itself to extend Christ's reign. Again and again she exhorts her daughters "to spend themselves for the glory of God and to make Jesus Christ reign." Christ living in the Blessed Sacrament was the center of her life. If her desire as a child was to receive the Blessed Sacrament before the usual age; if, as a religious, she planned her pupils' day to end with a short visit to the Blessed Sacrament; and if her guardian angel walked behind her on Communion days instead of preceding her, it was because her devotion to our Lord in the tabernacle was a solid and practical one. It was so deeply practical that, although in dire need in Dole, she had refused our Lord's offer to live on the Blessed Sacrament alone, lest she cease to be a model of imitation for her daughters. Her motto, "Mihi vivere Christus est--et mori lucrum," was a practical rule of action by which she could' give in gratitude for Holy Communion "heart for heart, life for life, soul for soul." Tkus, by building the child's character on conscidnce and love of God, she hoped, to build it high above the petty disputes and local antagonisms. Human interests must transcend the national. In 1956 the Society opened its first foreign mission in Luena, the Belgian Congo, and boasts three nationalitids, including American, among the four pioneers. Mother Anne 208 July, 1958 VENERABLE ANNE DE XAI~CTON(~E had braved the derision of a class:conscious society to devote herself to the poor and ignorant. Her principle of adaptation to new needs has given her Society a framework within which to develop varied educational works. During Cana Conferences, when parents come to the convent for a day of spiritual refreshment, Mother'Anne's daughters care for their children just as she herself 350 years ago cared for the babies in the vestibule of the church to allow their mothers to assist at Mass in .peace. As she urged her daughters to discuss the problems of the children's education with the parents, so the Society's P.T.A.'s hope to serve the same worthy purpose of informing them of their childen's progress in knowledge and virtue. Besides academies and free schools, orphanages are conducted. In Italy a special program is set up to help servant girls, called "Zites," a work dedicated to St. Zita, patroness of .domestic servants. It is a beautiful continuation of Mother Anne's attention to the servants, first as a child in her own home, and later, on a much larger scale. In the United Stat.es, in addition to academies and sch6ols, catechetical work is also done. In Phoenicia, New York, a religious vacation school is open in the summer to the children of the neighboring ~illages. To this restful spot in the Cat-skills comes a group of children from Casita Maria in New York each .year for a few w~eks of vacation. Thus a sixteenth century educator may be called modern because her principles have a universal appeal' and allow for adaptation. To see the child with his charm and weakness looking up to God--to see God in His infinite fatherly love bending down to the child--is .to see a picture of the educa-tional process in Mother Anne's mind. To help the child reach up with hands and head and heart--to plead .with the Father" to bend lower to lift up the child--that is a picture of the teacher's role in Mother Anne's plan. To carry out ~his plan, 'this quest of saving souls, the Venerable Anne de Xainctorlge established a non-cloistered 209 SISTER MARIE CELESTINE teaching order for the education of girls, the Society of St. Ursula of the Blessed Virgin. She made that Society able and re.ady to meet new needs and new conditions. Charted by .unchanging principles, it can face the challenge of e~ch century on. the path of its unending quest. Last year, its 350th anni-versary, each haember of the Society, whether in Europe, the United States, or Africa, dedicated herself anew to that quest in the words of her venerable foundress, "To extend the reign of Jesus Christ--that is my only ambition--my sublime enterprise." For Your la[ormation (Continued from page 193) is no age limit beyond that of common sense. There are no special financial or educational qualifications. In the apostolate of the Daughters of the Paraclete, there is a place and. a work for all--nurses, teachers, o~ce workers, domestic workers, and so forth. Requests for further information may 'be sent either to: Most Reverend Albert L. Fletcher, D.D., 305 West Second Street, Little Rock, Arkansas; or to: Miss L. A. Manes, Para-. clete House, 802 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas. The Catholic Counselor Our attention has recently been called to The °Catholic Counselor, a magazine that has just finished its second year of publication. The purpose of this periodical, ~is describdd on its masthead, is: "To act as an organ of communication for Catholics in the field of guidance. Spdcifically, the staff plans through The Catholic Counselor (1) to develop knowledge and interest in Student' Pdrsonnel Worl~ in Catholic Institutions; (2) to serve as a forum of expression on the mutual problems of Catholics in counseling; (3) to foster the. professional growth of Catholic guidance workers by membership in the A.P.G.A. (Continued on page 222) 210 Prot:icien!:sm Who Do No!: Progress I-lUgh Kelly, S.J. FATHER, I have not been making any advance in my spiritual life for some time past. In fact,' I seem to be going back. I seem to have lost much of that fervor I had in my early days in religious life. I have no longer the sense of God's presence I had formerly, nor the desire to sub; due self and to make progress in prayer and in the interior life. I have made efforts to get back again to my former state of fervor but with pool results. I am much discouraged and do not know what to do." There are few priests with any experience as retreat masters or confessors of religiofis who have not heard such a complaint often. These are complaints which a priest must take seriously as they come from a real anxiety and are a strong appeal for help. What is the truth of that diagnosis? Has progress really stopped? Has there been deterioration? Has the desire of' advance grown slack? It may well be that these questions can be answered in the affirmative and that there l~as been delib-erate infidelity and a slacking in the duties and practices which are the condition of fervor. In that case the problem is easily solved; the religious ha~ but to resume his forme~: fide.lity. At least this is the necessary preliminary step. Whether it is the only step and can remedy the situation will depend on other questions. But let us suppose there has not been conscious, deliberate neglect; and the religious can be fairly certain of this. ~ What, then, is the cause of the state in which he finds himself and which he diagnosed so accurately? There has been a great change. The soul is at a loss, is much discouraged, a~d is sorely in need of help. How is a priest to deal with such a case? 211 HUGH KELLY Review for Relig.ious As a help to a solution let us put the case in professional language!. We can say that the religious in question has passed through the stage of beginners and is well within the ranks of the proficients. The division of souls, seriously living the spiritual life, into beginners, proficients, and perfect is strongly traditional and is natural and easy to" understand. It is based on the different measure of charity which the soul possesses. The first class 'consists of those who possess charity and whose chief concern is to secure it firmly against that which would destroy it, mortal sin. In the next class, the proficients, are those who have consolidated charity in their souls and whose concern is to develop it and integrate it by the addition of the other virtues which it needs for its full growth and flowering. The perfecf are those in whom charity has got its appropriate extension and depth and whose concern is to live a life in which all xhe activity is dominated and controlled by charity. There is scarcely any need to note that within each of these main divisions there ale many minor steps or stages. The division has this advantage that it denotes the two main ideas--that perfection is a movement, a progress with definite stages, and that it is measured by charity. To return now m the definite case we are considering-- we can say that the. religious in question has passed from the stage of beginners to that of proficients. We may say that the early years of religious life are the stage of beginners, that period when the young religious learned to live well the new way of life on which he had entered. The period would be considered to last up to the final profession or to some years: beyond it. At this stage the religious has abundant help and guidance. from his spiritual superiors. Assuming that he was reasonably faithful and generous and thus corresponded substantially with the training, we can say that at the end of this period we have one who assuredly is not yet perfect, but who is emphatically a good religious; one who is observant and edifying, diligent and obedient; one who has learned the place of prayer in life; 212 I July, 1958 PROFICIENTS~WHo DO NoT'PROGRESS who has reached a considerable degree of union with God; one who has peace of soul and delicacy of conscience; in a word, one who is happy and successful in his vocation. Clearly, a definite stage has been passed through with credit. A Spiritual Crisis But now there comes a change; there comes a halt to the advance; or at least the sense of progress is no longer felt. The motive power which carried the soul forward to this stage of the spiritual life seems suddenly to fail, and the whole growth and activity of the soul seem to come to a standstill. What is to be done to counteract the paralysis and to set things moving again? "Only too many religious lose courage, remain passive, unable to extricate themselves from the morass in which they are held. Perhaps they ask for advice and help and get none. There was never a moment in their religious life when they needed help so sorely; if the help does not come, the whole of their future life will be much the poorer. Only too many religious find themselves in this condition. Hence, we have only too ,often the disturbing phenomenon of a spiritual life which began well, which showed progress for the early years and then petere~t out into mediocrity and dis-illusionment. The early hopes have not been fulfilled; the dreams and right spiritual ambitions have faded away in early middle age. A career that promised much for God has been some way blighted. The religious we have envisaged at the opening of this paper has reached such a crisis in the spiritual life. He needs guidance and encouragement. A'director or retreat master who takes his work. seriously cannot shirk what is his duty; he cannot refuse to stretch out a helping hand, to ~ndicate ¯ some means, to give some helpful direction. What, then, is a director to do in the face of this situation --that of the religious who has quickly and successfully trav-ersed the first stage and then stops and comes to a standstill; whose initiative and motive power seem to fail, to be stricken 213 Review for Religious with a mysterious paralysis? The first thing the director must grasp and which he must make clear to the religious is that the soul has now entered into a new stage in which the main con-ditions are quite different from those of the previous stage. The conditions which determine the life of the proficient are very different from those that the beginner had to deal with. What will ohelp t.he one may harm the other. "When I was a ~hild I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought .as a child" (2 ~or. 13:11). Proficients are no longer children; but they do not realize that they have changed, and they con-tinue to speak and think as children; they have not yet put away the things of.a child. The first, perhaps, of the new conditions to be reckoned with is that there has been a weakening of the desire of' per-fection-- which is the motive power of spiritual advance-- Owing to the "fact that it has been enfeebled by certain faults or maladies which belong particularly to this stage. The faults are "interior, 'often. scarcely perceptible and henci~ not com-batted; but they exercise a powerful adverse influence on the condition of the soul.--These faults and adverse tendencies may bd reduced to four. 1. The. soul is secretly pleased with the progress it has made and unwittingly is inclined to relax in its desires and to rest on its oars. And it is a fact that much Progress has been made which the soul cannot help seeing. A worldly life has changed its directioni many external faults have been elim-inated or Controlled; many ,~irtues and good practices have been acquired; the soul has reached a considerable degree of familiarity with God and enjoys the peace and satisfaction which comes from being rightly orientated toward its true end~ and supreme good. These feelings and considerations which are well founded may come to leave a certain feeling of satis-faction or even of complacency, a half:accepted idea that the progress, which is undeniable, is due in a good measure to 214 July, 1958 PROFICIENTS--WHo DO NOT PROGRESS one's own efforts. In that way vanity may be nourished subtly, and any such feeling is a hindrance, to a'.true advance in "charity. 2." Moreover, that complacency may be further fed by the idea that the chief obstacles to a fervent rel!gious life have been alreddy overcome. It is a fact that no s~rious faults' are now visible, that no new conquests are to be called for. The religious has been well trained, no doubt at the cost bf many sacrifices, to fit smoothly into his r~ligious life and is clearly an edifying, observant, diligent member "of his community. What more can-be reasonably expected? He does not 'see 'in what direction he is to direct his effort~. But therd :precisely is one of the new condition~ he has not taken account of--that the faults are hidden, that khe ol3jectives are not ~)isible, that ~he soul simply doe~ not see its way. . 3. It is 'normal, too, that'sby thi~ time'wo~k and activity play a large, part in the life of ~he're}igious ~ve are considering; b)~ now h~ will' h~a~,e ~ound the a~prop~:iate exe~:cise of .his gift~, B~) that ~ery fact he is e.xpose~d to a fault, which the old spiritual writers called effusio ac/ exteriora~an e~cessive pr.e-occupation with external things. This religious has come to see how he can serve God effectively; he do~s his work well, "is deeply .interested in it. That activity, as an essenti~il part of his vocation, was 'meant inGod's design to b~ a potent ~ans of sanctification, to be a school of certain virtues which could not be learned easily 'in :another school. If the work is not carried, on in this spirit, it will affect "the 'spiritual condi: tion of the.soul. Joy in successl in ~ongenial adtivity, in the praise and recognition which" follow a job.w~ll done, " these tend to'produce a feeling of ~exaggerated self-satisfaction~, a certairf conceit, a sense of one's own value,, a self-assurance, an exigency in one's demands and in time will produce an atmosphere of soul in which purity of heart, detachment, meekness, which arethe interior equipment of the apostle, will not flourish. Here, then, is another of these new conditions which must" be taken account of if there is to be true spiritual'progress. 215 HUGH KELLY Review for Religious ~4. 'If the faults mentioned are really at work and having their effect, then we must conclude that the prayer is not what it should be for the simple reason that if the prayer were right it would prevail over the adverse in.fluences. A true prayer would give light to keep the goal in view steadily; it would unmask hidden faults; it would give strength to overcome them and to make the effort necessary to advance. Hence, we may say confidently that the most important of the new conditions which have not been recognized is that the prayer has not kept pace with the other advances, that it is not the prayer appropriate to the present spiritual state. The religious may have clung to the type of prayer he was taught at the beginning of his religious career and which he may well have outgrown. A prayer that is predominantly active, meditative, that deals largely in reasoning, comparisons, formal definite resolutions, is assuredly a most useful prayer for beginners but not necessarily for proficients. It may well be that the prayer has b~come formal, superficial, that it is not sufficiently interior and does not give that light and unction that the sohl needs in its :present state. Other reasons, operative in individual cases, .could be ,mentioned; but those given are generally found and are suffi-cient .to account for the phenomenon we are considering-- that is, a religious who began in the best dispositions, who went through the first stage with generosity and courage, who had reached a cr.editable stage of union with God, and who then seemed to slow up and make little further progress. And then--perhaps in the course of a retreat such a religious comes to realize his state---he will experience a deep feeling of dis-couragement, a feeling of. paralysis of one who knows that there is something seriously amiss but who cannot say what it is exactly and hence cannot do much about it. If he does not get the guidance and help he needs now, he is likely to lower his spiritual aims and settle into an abiding mood of frustration and disillusionment. 216 July, 1958 PROFICIENTS --- WH0 Do NOT PROGRESS The Remedy So far we have attempted a diagnosis of a malady and a mood common to souls." who have reached the degree of proficients. They are the proficients who have ceased to pro. gress. We may now attempt something in the way of remedy or prescription. The first step of the director should be to point out to the religious that he must realize that he is in a new stage, that the whole nature of the struggle has changed, that he had been clinging to .the things of a child now that he has ceased to be a child. The methods of the previous stage have done their work, all that they were meant to do; but they will not serve in the new stage. Now there is question of new obstacles, new means, new kinds of virtues to be cultivated. The frustra-tion experienced is due to the fact that the conditions of one stage have been retained "for a stage for which they are not suitable. ~ Speaking generally, the spiritual life must now become more interior. The struggle has now been transferred to a deeper region within the soul. The whole spiritual lit:e must grow in intdriority. And first of all the soul must come to a deeper knowledge of the implications of the call of Christ, to a truer realization of the.depth of renunciation contained in His invi-tations. "If any man will come after me, let him deny him-self" (Matt. 16:24). Had the soul come to know the full force of the word deny, that it is the word that is used by the gospel to indicate the action of St. Peter in the Passion--that it implies an entire repudiation and rejection! When Our Lord spoke the words, "Unless the grain of wheat falling into " the earth die, itself remaineth alone" (Jn. 12:24), He spoke of His own Passion and indicated the measure of His sacrifice; but He also gave some idea of what He expected from those whom He called to follow Him. No doubt something of that renouncement was already understood by th~ religious, but how imperfectly. I2Iis words contain depths of renunciation 217 -HUGH KELLY Review for Religious which are revealed only slowly and as a result of much purifi-cation of soul. The. invitation., "Come follow Me," contains many~ degrees of imitation and proximity. Purity.-- Dod.lity The chief means by which the soul is to reach to this interi.ority are, according to L. Lallement, greater purity of heart and greater docility to the .Holy Spirit. Greater purity of heart presupposes a-greater knowledge owfa sth ceh ifeafulyl tcsg oncf etrhnee dh'e waritt.h I nac tthioen psr, eovri oaut sle, asstta gwei tthh e't h,roeu~glihgtiso ours feelings that might be .considered as .venial sins, and the examina-tion of conscience was instituted with a view to confess them as such. But now the examination must probe more deeply. There is a whole stratum of tendencies, instinctive movements, automatic reactions, which indicate the p.resence of that self which is the center of resistance to God's advances. Self-examination must now penetrate to this hitherto unknown region~in which'will be fo~und ~i self that is wayward, dissipated, full of the ¯seeds of sin and ~evolt and which¯ must be controlled before there can be any true domination of charity. Such a purification must be systematic and must cover the heart, the imagination, and the judgment. The heart obviously needs such a fine purification seeing that it is the source of countless movements and affections which cannot be left uncontrolled, because they ¯exercise a strong in-fluence on the.decisions of .the will. These movements are the obscure stirrings of inordinate self-love in some of its manifold manifestations--little indulgences, almost-instinctive preferences,, resentment.s, impatiences, little acts of selfishness of one kind or another. "Fie on't; tis an unweeded garden." It cannot be ¯left to the weeds; it must be cleared and cleansed if it is to be brought under the sweet rule of charity. The imagination no less than the heart needs its own systematic purification. This is the faculty which St. Thomas called 218 July, 1958 PROFICIENTS---WHo DO NOT PROGRESS domlna falsitatis, the mistress of the false.;, and it can very seriously trouble the soul by its vain and foolish images and fancies. Such a source of dissipation and distraction is a chal-lenge to the spirit of prayer or to peace of mind. The purification of the judgment is still more necessary because its acts are more ddliberative. We find ourselves almost instinctively passing judgment, on people, on actions~ ¯ on motives, judgments which are often wrong, ungenerous, suspicious. If such a tendency is left unchecked, it will make fraternal charity a very difficult thing. Such a systematic effort of purification, deeper and more searching than was called for in-the beginning of religious life, is necessary at this stage. The kind of examination which sought out .sins or exterior faults will be ineffectual now. Such an interior purification our Lord aims at in the preaching of the Beatitudes; these are the virtues which .give the disposition of heart necessary for a generous acceptance 9f His new religion. There is another region of the spi.ritual .life which calls for purification, one which is more hidden, more unexpected. even than any we have yet considered. The very spiritual life, of beginners is often full of unconscious self-seeking. In their spiritual practices they seek their own satisfaction; they look for consolation and sensible devotion in their prayers; they ar~ attached to certain, methods or forms of prayer. And their activity in spiritual things ,can produce such faults as vanity, jealousy, arid a sense of superiority over others. St, John of the Cross has devoted a long section of the Ascent of Mount Carmel to a close analysis of such faults: The control of these is the fruit of different stages of the dark. night, some of them being eliminated by the effort of the individual aided, of course, by grace, others .being so deep-seated, so well hidden that they yield only. to the action of infused prayer in the passive night of the sense. Of the second necessary condition mentioned by Lallement, docility to the Holy Spirit, it is not necessary to speak at any 219 KELLY' Review for Religious great length. "According to the instruction of our Lord, the Holy Spirit is by attribution the master of .the interior life. Describing His function our Lord said, "He will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you" (Jn. 14:26). The Paraclete was thus to teach in-teriorly what our Lord had taught by word of mouth to the apostles, opening their hearts sweetly to the fuller depths and force of His teaching. All movement in the spiritual life will be His concern, but He will be particularly active when the spiritual life is to grow more deep and interior. The finer purification already spoken of will be achieved only by His special presence. But the work of the Holy Spirit is not merely or chiefly the negative one of purification; it is still more a positive formative activity--to supply the light needed to get a deeper grasp of the spiritual life and the strength to live up to that light. The general results of this assistance of the Paraclete can be indicated here only in a summary way; they may be said to consist in a new enlightenment in three points. (I) The Holy Spirit will give a deeper understanding of the theological virtue of faith--a better realization that it is faith alone which gives us "the true and loving God" and is the true and unfail-ing approach to Him in every stage of the spiritual life on earth. (2) Again the Paraclete. will lead the soul to a kind of prayer which the soul has need of at this stage of its ad-vance. It is a prayer of great simplicity which will be nour-ished interiorly chiefly on the words of the gospel and the liturgy, the mysteries of Christianity, a prayer which opens up the teaching of Christ in such a way that it yields its sweetness and unction more abundantly. St. Ignatiu~ has described this prayer as that which enables the soul sentire et gustare res interne, . to get the true inner savor, of spiritual things. (3) But the action of the Holy Spirit will have as its chief aim to reveal Christ more fully; to make the soul realize better His role in the spiritual life. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.': (Jn. 14:6) 220 July, 1958 PROFICIENTS---WHo DO NOT PROGRESS A real, practical acceptance of this cardinal truth is the c-o-fi-dition and measure of advance at this stage. And it is to" be kept in mind that this is the function attributed to the Paraclete that our Lord stressed. "But when the Paraclete cometh---He Shall give testimony of Me" (Jn. 15:26) and again "He shall glorify Me because He shall receive of Mine and shall show it to you" (Jn. 16:14). The Holy Spirit is sent, then, to give testimony to Christ, to His transcendant role in the gpiritual life as the unique medium by which the soul can attain its supreme good and last end; and this is to glorify Christ by showing His true greatness. The spiritual perfection of the soul is constituted by union with Christ in charity. The stages toward this goal are marked by a fuller realization of the part which Christ must play in this advance; and, consequently, a more perfect exercise of faith and charity. The end of the process is expressed by St. Paul, "And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 11:20). It ¯ was expressed still better by our Lord Himself as He was enter-ing on His Passion, "That they all may be one as Thou Fatl~er in Me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us" (Jn. 17:21). The stage of the spiritual life we have been considering, that of proficients, is simply the study of the fuller action of Christ and His Spirit at a specially critical moment. This divine action is, of course, essential in every step, even at the first; but it is deeper, stronger, more interior in the later 'and higher stages. The soul we have been considering depended on the grace and example of Christ even for its first steps. But advance beyond this initial stage calls for a more powerful aid. To qualify for that newer assistance the soul had to dispose itself by a deeper and finer asceticism. Without that special prepara-tion it could not have caught the breath of the Spirit which Christ was to send, the new impulse without which it would have languished ineffectively, if not a wreck, at least a failure. 221 HUGH KELLY From the foregoing pages it is hoped that it will appear that the division of the spiritual life into beginners, proficients, and perfect is not merely a theoretical matter, the concern of professors and historians. They are the actual stages through which, normally, all souls pass who try to realize the great design for which God has created them and for which He has given them His Son to be for them the way, the truth, and the life. It should then be clear also that the priest who is director or retreat master should have a workable knowledge of these di-visions. He is certain to come across souls who are going that way, who need his guidance and help at moments when such assistance may make just all the difference in the world. For Your Informal:ion (Continued from page 210) [American Personnel and Guidance Association- and (4) to encourage cooperation among Catholic Guidance Councils on local and regional levels." The subscription price is $1.00 per year--for three issues, autumn, winter, an~d .spring. Subscriptions should be sent to: The Catholic Counselor, 650 Grand Concourse, Bronx 51, New Yo~'k. Good Spiritual Reading? A superioress would like to obtain"a helpful list of worth-while spiritual reading books for a community." She refers to currently published books, not to the old masters. We do our best to supply such lists through our Book Review De-partment. It has occurred to us, however, that the suggestions we make in that department might be supplemented in a very practical way if our readers would send in brief communications about books they or their communities have found helpful. If you wish to recommend a book that you or your com-munity found helpful, please address your letter, to: The Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS~ St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. And please type the letter, preferably triple-spaced, at least double-spaced. 222 The eneral .Chapt:er .Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. QUESTIONS AND CASES are frequently received on the general chapter. A coml~lete article on this matter would. be of prohibitive length. It would also be excessively de-tailed and technical. We believe that ~he practical purpose of such an article will be better attained by presenting the matter under the form of questions and cases. The following ques-tions are the first part of a series. I. Delegates 1. According to our constitutions, a former brother general is a mem-ber of the general chapter in virtue of this office that he had held. A former brother general is a member of our house, but he is not the local superior. The hl)use elected him as delegate to the general chapter. Does he have two votes in the general chapter? No. Anyone may be elected in a chapter who is not excluded from the office in question by canon law or the par-ticular constitutions. Canon law does not exclude the election of anyone as delegate because he otherwise has the right of membership in the general Chapter in virt'fid~"of hi~ office or from some other title, nor do the constitutions of lay institutes enact any such ~general exclusion. These constitutions also do not ordinarily .forbid the election of a former superior general as a delegate. Unless there is such an exclusion in the present constitutions, the election is valid. However, this. brother will have only one vote in the general chapter. It is certain from canon 164 that no one may cast many votes by reason of many titles to vote, e. g., a brother may not c,ast two votes in the general chapter because he is a former brother general and an elected delegate from a province or house or because he is a general councilor and also a local superior. It is not 'certain, even. though the wording of the. canon favors the contrary opinion, tl~at one may not cast many votes when the one title gives the right to many votes, e. g., if the constitutions give 223 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious the superior general or provincial two votes. The constitutions of lay institutes *do not make such a grant. A religious may cast his own vote and another as proxy for another elector when the constitutions or customs permit voting by proxy, which is excluded with practical universality in the constitu-tions of lay institutes (c. 163). 2. Doesn't canon law deprive of active voice one who had been a Catholic, joined a non-Catholic sect, returned to the faith, and had been admitted to the noviceship of a religious institute with a dispensation from the Holy See from the impediment, to entrance? The question is based on canon 167, § 1, 4°, which reads: "The following are excluded from voting: Those who joined or publicly adhered to'a heretidal or schismatical sect." However, it is a safely probably opinion that the dispensation to enter the noviceship removes also the disability of canon 167, § 1, 4"°. Goyeneche, Quaestiones Canonicae, I, 164-65; Schaefer, De R~- ligiosis, n. 493; J.one, Commentarium in Codicem Iuris Canonici, I, 171. 3. When we elect a delegate, may we instruct him whom he is to vote for and what proposals he is to vote for in the general chapter? You may not do this unless it is permitted b)) the particular law of your institute. The very few institutes that do permit this also contain a provision of the following tenor: "Ttie com-munity represented by a delegate may give him instructions regarding the election and other matters to be discussed either at the provincial or general chapter, but the delegate remains free as to the exercise of his vote for the interests of the con-gregation." 4. Is a delegate to a general chapter obliged to' accept proposals from other members of the institute? When the constitutions give prov.inces, houses, or individuals the right to make proposals, a superior or delegatd must accept the. proposal and submit it to the general chapter; but he is not obliged to promote or vote for the proposal in the chapter. If the right '.is not granted, individuals may suggest propogals 224 July , 19fi8 THE GENERAL CHAPTER to members of the chapter; but there is no obligation to accept merely suggested proposals. Anyone who makes a proposal should study carefully and even consult as to whether the pro-posal is well i:0unded and prudent. Careless, groundless, and extraneous proposals can waste a great deal of time in the chapter. II. Preliminaries 5. Our constitutions speak of the "election" ot~ local superiors and other officials by the superior general and his council. Is this an accurate expression? An election to an office in a religious institute or society of common life is the designation of a person made in a chapter. The designation to an office made by a superior alone or with the consultive or deliberative vote of a council is not an election but an appointment. The latter is frequently called an election in the constitutions of lay institutes. It is not such and is not governed by the norms on elections. 6. How long should a general chapter last in a lay congregation? Constitutions appr6ved by the Holy See state that the general chapter is not to be prolonged beyond a reasonable length of time but that no precise limits can be fixed for its duration. It is obvious that the duration will vary according to the number and importance of the matters proposed to the chapter of affairs;and it is evident also that the chapter should not be so rushed and abbreviated that it fails to perform its duties properly, especially as regards the chapter of affairs. The constant brevity of some chapters creates a suspicion that insuf-fi~ ent attention is given to the chapter of affairs. Bastien states thh~ the chapters of lay congregations, outside of particular arid~ exceptional circumstances, will last five days. (Directoire Canonique, n. ~291) This would give three full days t~or the chapter of affairs. Apt 'and careful preparation, the mimeo-graphing and previous distribution of reports, and capable direc-tion by the president will expedite the chapter and render it more efficient. 225 ,JOSEPH F. ~ALLEN Review for Religious 7. Our constitutions impose a retreat of one day before the general chapter. We believe that the retreat would be more helpful if made after the preliminary sessions and immediately before the election of the superior general. May we change the time of the retreat without securing authority to change the constitutions? Yes. The time is a completely accidental part of this law, and there is a sufficient reason for changing the time in this case. A day of prayer is most helpful for the quiet of soul and purification of motives that are necessary for any election, arid these effects are mo~e apt to persist undiminished when the retreat is made immediately before the supremely important election of the superior general. 8. What is the meaning of the article of our constitutions regarding Mass on the day of the election of the superior general, i. e., "If the rubrics permit, the Mass shall be that of the Holy Spirit"? The constitutions of lay congregations almost universally prescribe that Mass is to be oi~ered on the day of the election of the superior general in the house where the chapter is held. The intention usually specified is for the election of the superior general. Sometimes this intention is for all the work of the chapter. If the former intention is designated, it is to be coun-seled that Mass or Masses be offered on the following days for the other works of the chapter. The constitutions, with the same universality, exhort all the capitulars to receive Holy Communion at this Mass for the same intention. Even if the wording of the constitutions imposes this Communion as obligatory, it is to be interpreted as merely exhortatory (c. 595, § 4).° If the rubrics permit, the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit is to be the one used, since this is the traditional Mass for an election. It is found at the end of the missal, in the first series of votive Masses, under Thursday. If the ordo of the place of celebration permits, this Mass is ordinarily to be celebrated as a private votive Mass. It may be low, sung, or solemn. Private votive Masses when sung are forbidden on any double; any Sunday; on the privileged ferias (Ash Wednesday, Monday- Tuesday-Wednesday of Holy Week); on the privileged vigils 226 July, 1958 THE GENERAL CHAPTER (Christmas and Pentecost) ; within the privileged octaves (Christ-mas, Easter, and Pentecost); and on All Souls' Day. When read, they are forbidden also. on ferias of Lent and Passiontide; all vigils; ember days; Monday of Rogations (before Ascension) ; Dec. 17-23; Jan. 2-5 and 7-12; and Ascension-Vigil of Pente-cost. This Mass has no Gloria nor Gredo, occurring com-memorations and orationes imt~eratae are included according to the usual norms, the preface is proper, Benedicamus Domino is used at the end, and the last Gospel is that of St. John. If the election occurs on one of the forbidden days, the local ordinary may be requested to grant a solemn votive Mass. The election of a general or provincial superior is sufficient reason to give this permission. This must be a sung or solemn Mass. It is forbidden only on feasts and Sundays that are doubles of the first class; the privileged ferias (Ash Wednesday,.Monday- Tuesday-Wednesday of Holy Week) ; the privileged vigils (Christ-mas and Pentecost); within the privileged octaves of Easter and Pentecost; and on All Souls' Day. The rite of this Mass is the same as above; but there is a Gloria, Gredo, Ite, Missa est, and only imperative commemorations and orationes impera-tae/~ ro re gra~i are included. For greater solemnity, ~his Mass may also be requested on days when a private votive Mass is permitted. If neither type of votive Mass is possible, the Mass of the Office of the day must be said or sung. 9. An article of our constitutions states: "The superior general or, in her absence, the vicaress shall present to the members of the chapter a report of the m.aterial: personal, disciplinary, and financial status of the entire congregation and of all matters of greaier importance" that have occurred sim:e the last general chapter. The report is to be drawn up by the procurator general. It must be approved by the general council, who sign their names to the report before the celebration of the chapter." Does the procurator general draw up this entire report? No. The only part of the report that is drawn up by the procurator, bursar, or treasurer general is the financial section. All other sections of thd report are compiled by the mother 227 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious general herself. The material section under its economic or financial aspect appertains to the procurator, under an aspect such as the opening and closing of houses, to the mother general. It is evident that the personal and disciplinary state of the institute does not appertain to the office of the procurator general. 10. In the several general chapters that I have attended, I have found the reports of the brother general very fatiguing. What can be done to eliminate this difficulty? Since the reports are of the state of the entire institute, they can evidently be very long and detailed. The mere reading of such reports will be fatiguing to the capitulars; they will not grasp many of the details and can very readily fail also to perceive the general state of the institute or at least the content of some sections of the reports. The following obvious method will lessen these difficulties. The complete reports should be mimeo-graphed before the chapter, and numbered copies given to each capitular as soon after his arrival as is prudently possible. The members will then have a sufficiently prolonged time for studying the reports; and the brother general can confine his presentation to necessary explanations, descriptions, and to emphasizing the more important parts of the reports. The numbered copies are to be collected from the capitulars after the chapter of affairs. III. Tellers 11. Our constitutions speak of "scrutineers" at chapters. I cannot find this word in the dictionary. Is it correct? The Latin original is scrutator, feminine scrutatrix. The idiomatic translation that should be in constitutions is teller. Many awkward translations are found in constitutions, e. g., scrutators, scrutinizers, scrutatrixes, scrutatrices, examiners, depu-ties, anti ballot mistresses. The style of constitutions should be accurate, direct, simple, brief, and readily intelligible. All words redolent of formalism or legalistic jargon are to be avoided. A similar error is found in the many constitutions that speak of the first, second, etc., "scrutiny." This again is a completely literal translation of the Latin "scrutinium." The idiomatic English 228 July, 1958 translation is ballot. "Balk employed also to signify th, THE GENERAL CHAPTER ring" may also be used. "Ballot" is individual voting slip or ticket, but ! the context will exclude anyI ambiguity. 12. I have on several occasionsl been appointed as one of the two priest tellers at the elections in monaster.ies' of nuns (c. 506, .~ 2). Was I obliged to take the oath imp, osed by canon 171, § 1, on tellers? No The president a~ld the tellers, provided they are mem-bets of the chapter, are "ob oath to perform their dut proceedings of the chapter, A president who is not a m local ordinary who presides [iged by canon 171, § 1, to take an es faithfully and to keep secret the even after the close of the chapter. mber of the elective body, e. g., the at an election of religious women, is certainly not obliged to take" this oath. The same exemption from the oath probably ex~ends to tellers who are not members of the elective body and thlerefore to the two priest tellers at an election in a monastery of Inuns. Cf. Larraona, Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 8-1927-102-9; Jone, Commentarium in Codicem Iuris Canonici, I, 416; Scha~efer, De Religiosis, n. 512; De Carlo, ~ Jus Religiosorum, n. 129; ~Berutti, II, De Personis et de Clericis in Genere, 225; Parsons, Canonical Elections, 147; Lewis, Chap-ters in Religious Institutes, 107. 13. A local ordinary complained of the delay occasioned by the election of the two tellers and the secretary before the electi on of the mother general. What can we do t~ eliminate the source of this complaint? The local ordinary justifiably! complained. The tellers and the secretary should be el~ected in the first preliminary session of the chapter. The conlstitutions fisually put these elections under the section on the election of the mother general, but it is far more convenient to hold them in the early part of the first preliminary session. "~his greater convenience is a sufficient reason for changing the o~rder stated in the constitutions. The wording of a. 226 of the ~/ormae of 1901 appears to favor the elections at this prehmlna.ry session",n s li ct es t t eas that they are to be held before anything else. If this is done, the secre-tary can begin immediatel~y to corripi[e the acts, the tellers can 229 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious perform their duties also at the election of the committee for the reports of the mother general, and the local ordinary is spared a sufficiently long and inconvenient delay in presiding over the session for the election o~ the mother general. IV. Presiding 14. Who presides at the general chapter of a congregation of brothers? The brother general presides at the general chapter in lay institutes of men; but pontifical and diocesan constitutions can be found that give this right, personally or through a delegate, to the ordinary of the place of election. 15. Who presides at the election of a superioress of a monastery o~ nuns? In a monastery of nuns that is not subject to regulars, the president of the election 6f the superioress is the local ordinary or his delegate. If a monastery is subject to regulars, the local ordinary is to be opportunely informed of the day and hour of the election. The presidency appertains to the ordinary or his delegate, if eithdr attends; but either may attend and leave the presidency wholly or partially to the regular superior. If neither the local ordinary nor his delegate attends, the regular superior presides (c. 506, § 2). The regular superior also may preside through a delegate (c. 199, § 1). As in the case of a mother general, canon 506, § 2, confines the presidency of the local ordinary or regular superior to the election of the superioress; but this presidency is extended to the elections of the councilors by the law of many constitutions. Canon 506, § 3, forbids the appointment of the ordinary confessor of the community as a teller for the election of the superioress in a monastery of nuns. This prohibition extends to his delegation as president of. such an election, since the office of president implies also the duties of a teller. 16. Our pontifical constitutions read: "The bishop of the diocese pre-sides at the chapter as the Apostolic Delegate, personally or in the person of any priest authorized by him." Is this correct? 230 July, 1958 In the law of the C THE ~ENERAL CHAPTER ~de of Canon Law, the ordinary ~f the placd of election presides, personally or through a deIegate, at the election of the mother general in pontifical and'diocesan congregations and at both in virtue of his office as local ordinary. Before the code, May 19, 1918, the local ordinary presided at the chapters of diocesan congregations in virtue of his office but at the elections in pontifical congregations as the delegate of the Holy See. The law befoie the code was based on the apostolic constitution, "Conditae a Christo," of Leo XIII, De-cember 8, 1900, Chapter I, n. II, Chapter ~II, n. I. There. fore, the wording of your constitutions is of a law that no longer exists. This is a probable indication of constitutions that were never conformed to the Code of Canon Law. Cf. Schaefer, De Religiosis, n. 509; Bastien, Directoire Canonique, n. 251, 1; Bat-tandier, Guide Canonique, n. 363; Wernz-Vidal, III, De Religiosis, n. 119. ¯ SOME BOOKS RECEIVED [Only books sent directly to the Book Review Editor, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana, are included in our Reviews and Announcements. The following books were sent to St. Marys.] The Pulpit, the Press and the Paulists. By Reverend John F. Ritzius, C.S.P. The Paulist Press, 401 West 59th Street, New York 19 New York. $1.00 (paper cover). Come, Holy Spirit.* By" Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. Society of St. Paul, 2187 Victory Boulevard~ Staten Island 14, New York. 25c (paper cover). Gli Istituti Secolari nella Nuova Legislazione Canonica. By Dr. Giuseppe M. Benucci'. Catholic Book Agency, Via de[ Vaccaro, 5, Rome. A Catholic Child's Book about the Mass. By Reverend Louis A~ Gales. Catechetical 'Guild Educational Society, 260 Summit Avenue, St. Paul 2, Minnesota. $1.95 (paper cover). My Catholic Faith. By Most Reverend Louis L. R. Morrow. My Mission House, 1324 52nd Street, Kenosha, Wisconsin. $4.00. Perpetual Help Daily Missal. In four volumes. Perpetual Help Center, 294 East 150th Street, New York 51, New York. A Land of Miracles for Three Hundred Years. By Eugene Lefebvre, C.SS.R. St. Anne's Bookshop, Ste. Anne de Beaupre, Quebec, Canada. $2.00. 231 Survey of Roman Document:s R. I~. Smil~h, S.,J. [In the present survey there will be given a summary of the documents which appeared in /Iota /lpostolicae Sedis (AAS) during the months of February and March, 1958. Page references throughout the article will be to the 1958 ,~AS (v. 50).] Pertaining to the Religious Life ON FEBRUARY 11, 1958 (AAS, pp. 153-61), the Holy Father addressed an allocution to the superiors general of the orders and congregations of religious men with generalates in the city of Rome. The allocution consisted prin-cipally of a geries of matters which the Pontiff thought it opportune to bring to the attention of his listeners. Since there is danger that religious may become imbued with existenti-alism to the detriment of eternal truthi the Pope warned ¯ superiors to draw their own inspiration from file fonts of re-vealed truth and from the teaching power of the Church. Even in ascetical matters there, are some who wish to withdraw from the teaching of the Church; accordingly, he advised su-periors to adhere firmly to the balanced and solid ascetical doctrine traditional in the Church. In this and in all other matters superiors must consult and study the question at length; but, once the~ have reached a decision, then they must un-hesitatingly lead their subjects along the path they have chosen. In this connection the Vicar of Christ deplored any attitude that would assume that the yoke of religious obedience is too heavy for men of the present time; rather the superior should constantly keep in mind that as superior he is responsible for the spiritual welfare of his subjects. His Holiness then considered the renunciation of worldly things that is common to all religious groups, however else they may be diversified. This renunciation, he remarked, must be complete in desire, though in actuality it may vary according 232 ROMAN DOCUMENTS to the exigencies of each religious family. The need for this renunciation, the Pope said, is obvious; for how can anyone ascend to God by the wings of charity if. he is not free from the multiform concupiscence of the world? Moreover, no one can enjoy the comfort~ and pleasures of the world without losing something of his spirit of faith and charity. And pro-longed laxness and indulgence can gradually and insensibly lead to defection from one's state in life. The Vicar of Christ then observed to the assembled su-periors that their way of acting and judging must be different from that of the world; for their norm of action is that of the gospel and the Church: Christ crucified. Accordingly, superiors must nourish this Christian attitude in themselves by a diligent consideration of the things of God, by the study of sound doctrine, and by a familiarity with ancient and recent writers who excelled both in faith and in piety. These same norms' of thought and action must also be followed by their subjects;. they must seek not the pleasant and the comfortable but God alone, whom they will find in the assiduous control of" the senses by austerity and of the will by submission to religious obedience. The .Pontiff also spent some little time on the matter of religious rules. These were drawn up, he said, by religious fohnders to secure peace and serenity of spirit for members of their societies. While some of these rules may need modification in non-essential matters, esteem for the rule in general must never be lost. It is the duty of superiors to maintain the rule of each institute; this at times will require firmness which, however, should never degenerate into harshness. In the concluding part of his address His Holiness ex-horted his listeners to build up a spirit of union and cooperation among the various religious institutes of the Church. He urged them to be especially notable in their zealous obedience to the Holy See and advised them to be strict in the matter of admission of candidates to religious life; otherwise, he warned, 233 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious religious groups will be not an honor to the Church, but a disgrace. On July 30, 1957 (AAS, p. 103), the Sacred Congrega-tion of Religious issued a document declaring that the apostolic constitution~ Sedes Sal~ientiae and .its accompanying Statutes are applicable to. all religious congregations and societies who li,~e in common without, public vows and who are dependent on the Sacred Congregation of the Consistory or on the Con-gregation for the Propagation of the Faith. The only exception concerns the executive function considered in Article 18 of the Statutes; in this matter the competency of .the Sacred Cons.istgry and of Propaga~tion is retained for those religious societies entrusted to those congregations by common law or .by apostolic privilege. Educational Matters Under the date of December 8, 1957 (AAS, pp. 99-I03), the Sacred Congregation .of Religious issued an important instruction concerning coeducation. The document considers the matter of coeducation only in secondary schools;' coedtica-tion in colleges and universities is not envisaged ih the document, while coeducation in primary schools is left to the discretion of the. ordinary. The document deals successively with the prin-ciples, by which a correct estimate of coeducation can be made; the obligatory norms which must be observed wherever co-education appears to be necessary; and the measures (the Latin word is aautiones) recommended to rem0.ve the evils that accompany coeducation. In the section dealing with principles the document states that coeducation on the whole cannot be approved. Although it has a number of definite advantages., still the danger it entails to morality, especially during the time of puberty, out- ¯ weigh all those advantages. Nevertheless, in some cases co-education may be a lesser evil. Thus where Catholic students would be exposed to grave danger to their faith by attending public schools and where the Catholics of the region cannot 234 July, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS afford separate schools for boys and girls, coeducation may be tolerated provided the dangers to morality are averted as far as possible. In dealing with the obligatory norms to be followed such situ~itions, the document urges~ the practice of what it calls "coinstitutional" education in place of coeducation. "Co-institution" provides for a sirigle building under a single administration with, however, separate wings or sections, one for boys, the other for girls. Such a school may have a common library as well as common science laboratories provided the latter are used at different tim~s by the boys and girls. Where this "coinstitution" is impossible, then coeducation may be tolerated; but the conduct of such coeducational schools is to be included in the quinquennial reports; moreover, each of the national councils of bishops can set up definite norms to be observed wherever coeducation is practiced in their respec-tive countries. The last section of the document then lists a series of recommendations. The religious men and women chosen to teach in coeducational schools should be persons whose virtue and judgment have already been proven. Each school should have a spiritual director who is to be in charge of the spiritual li~e of the student body. Religious men are no.t to be in charge of coeducational schools except in rare cases and then only after an indult has been secured from the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious. Common physical and gymnastic ac-tivities or competitions must be avoided. Schools should not provide boarding facilities for both sexes. Separate entrances and separate locker facilities should be provided for students of each sex. Gym classes and dramatic productions should not be in common; and boys and girls should receive separate ¯ instruction in the sixth commandment, in parts of biology, and in other similar areas of study. Finally, the document recom-mends that religious men who teach or exercise the ministry 235 Review for Religious in coeducati6nal schools should limit their activities with regard to the girl students to the exercise of their assigned work. On January 3, 1958 (AAS, pp. 82-85), the Holy Father spoke to a group of religious women associated with the work of Catholic Action. He urged them to give their students a fully human and Christian formation. They must prepare their students to judge the world as it actually is, to see how. the world should be, and then to work unceasingly until the world corresponds to the divine plan for it. The Pope praised his listeners for their endeavor to build up a strong core of Catholic Action among their students, a core which will be first in every-thing: in studies, in discipline, in piety. On December 28, 1957 (AAS, pp. 118-19), the Sacred Peniter~tiary released the text of a prayer composed by the Holy Father to be recited by those who teach. Teachers may gain an indulgence of 1,000 days each time they recite the prayer with contrite heart. Family Life On January 2.0, 1958 (AAS, pp. 90-96), the Roman Pontiff addressed the members of the Italian Federation of Associations of Large Families. After pointing out that one of the most dangerous aberrations of modern paganized society is the opinion of those who define fecundity in marriage as a social malady, he continued by remarking that common sense has always recognized large families as the sign and proof of physical health, while history shows that the non-observance of the laws of marriage and of procreation is a primary cause ot~ the decadence of nations. Later in hi~ talk the Holy Father takes up the matter of overpopulation. God, he said, does not deny the means of livelihood to those whom He has called into life. If individual episodes, large or small as the case may be, at times seem to prove the contrary, these are in reality only signs that man has placed some impediment to the execution of the divine plan. 236 Ju~, 1958 ROMAN ~)OCUMENTS Overpopulation, then, to the extent that it exists, is due not to the inertia of Providence but to the disorder of men. Since progress in science and newly discovered sources of energy guarantee the earth prosperity for a long time to come, since no one can foresee what now-hidden resources will one day be discovered in our planet, and since no one can tell whether the rate of procreation will always be equal to that of today, overpopulation is not a valid reason for the use of illicit means of birth control. It would be more rational to apply human energy to the eradication of the causes of famine in underdeveloped countries, to foster less nationalistic economies, and to replace egoism by charity, avarice by justice. Moreover, God does no~ demand of men responsibility for the over-all destiny of humanity--that is His affair; but He does demand of them that they follow the dictates of their consciences. In the final section of the allocution the Holy Father says that in the intention of God every family is to be an oasis of spiritual peace. This is especially true of large families, for in the parents of such families there is no trace of .anguish of conscience or fear of an irreparable return to solitude; in such families, too, thework and hardship involved are repaid even in this life by the affection of the children. A large family assists in the formation of character; indeed, in the history of the Church large families would seem to have a special preroga-tive of producing saints, as is shown in the cases of St. Louis, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Robert Bellarmine, and St. Pius X. The Pontiff concluded his speech by urging his listeners to work unceasingly for the economic welfare and protection of large families, dxhorting them to wake society from its lethargy on this point. On January 19, 1958 (AAS, pp. 85-90), His Holiness "addressed 15,000 Italian women engaged in domestic work. He told them that their work excelled other forms of labor such as agricultural or industrial occupations, for these latter are chiefly concerned with things, while their own work is con- 237 R. F. SMITH l~eview for Religious cerned with persons. Because 0f this the relations between domestic servants and their employers must be. regulated not only by the laws of commutative justice but also by.a mutual interchange of human values. Love must lighten the tasks of the domestic worker; and that love can not be repaid by money alone, but by an exchange of affection. He further p?inted out to his listeners that they must gauge the importance of their work by considering that their activity is directed to the existence and stability of family life. Hence, they should be concerned for the good name of the family they work for,. seek to develop harmony among its members, and help in the correct formation of the children. He concluded his allocution by urging the women listening to him to consider their work as a service rendered to God in the person of their neighbor; he also reminded the employers of domestic servants that these servants, if they devote all their activity to their work, themselves deserve a family wage. On December 30, 1957 (AAS, pp. 119~20), the Sacred Penitentiary published the text of a prayer composed by the Holy~Father to be recited by members of Christian families, who, each time they recite the prayer with contrite heart, may gain an indulgence of 1,000 days. Miscellaneous Several documents which appeared in February and March concern the liturgy and the Church's life of worship. On February 8, 1958 (AAS, p. 114), the Holy Office issued a document condemning the growing practice of delaying baptism because of alleged liturgical reasons bolstered by foundationless opinions concerning the condition of infants dying without baptism. Hence, the Holy Office warns the faithful that infants should be baptized as soon as possible in accordance with canon 770. Five days later on February 14, 1958 (AAS, p. 114), the Holy Office issued another document dealing with another 238 July, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS abuse, this one consisting in adding prayer or scripture passages to liturgical functions or in deleting prescribed pfayers~ from such functions. The document restates the current discipline of the Church that only the Holy See. can make changes in the ceremonies, rites, prayers, and readings of liturgical functions. On February 5, 1958 (AAS, p. 104), the Sacred Congre-gation of Rites empowered lbcal ordinaries to permit the blessing of ashes to be repeated before afternoon Mass on Ash Wednesday, provided the Mass is attended by large numbers of the faithful. Under.the date of January 7, 1958 (AAS, pp. 179-81), the same congregation ai~proved the miracles needed for the canonization: of Blessed Juana Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas (1783-1854), .widow and foundress of the~ Carmelite Sisters of Charity. ~ Four other talks of the Holy Father, the texts of whic~ were published du.ring February~ and March, should be noted. On i%bruary 1~8, 1958 (AAS, pp. 161-69), His Holiness delivered the traditio'nal¯ allocution to. the parish priests and Lenten preachers of Rome. He urged .his listeners to make the greatest efforts during the forthcoming extraordinary mission to' be held throughout the city of Rome on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions at Lourdes. He told them to stress three matters. The first is' that of the sanctificati6n of Sundays and holy days; the second is respect for one's own life and, hence, a repudiation of suicide, a ~in which not only excludes the normal channels of divine mercy, but is also an indication 'of a lack of~'Christian faith and hope;' the third point to be stressed is respect for the lives of others to be shown by a sense of Christian responsibility with regard to the ingreasing traffic accidents in the city of Rome. He concluded his allocu-tion by exhorting the priests present to tell the people during the coming mission that the world needs priest and religious saints, but above all at the present time it needs a multitude of lay saints. 239 R. F. SMITH On January 14, 1958 (AAS, pp. 150-53), the Pontiff addressed the professors and students of the Angelicum, urging them to imitate in their lives St. Thomas Aquinas. Like that great saint, they should have the greatest docility and respect for the teaching authority of the Church; like him they should strive for a profound knowledge of Scripture; and in imitation of him they should foster an intense interior life where charity, the queen of the virtues, may reign[ On February 22, 1958 (AAS, pp. 170-74), 10,000 rail-road workers of Italy heard an allocution given by the Holy Father. The Pontiff: told his audience that their occupation should constantly remind them of the most important of human travels--human life itself which is a journey to the possession of God. On February 19, 1958 (AAS, pp. 174-76), the Pon-tiff broadcast a message to the school children of the United States to solicit their charity for the needy children of other countries. He devoted his message to St. Joseph, telling the children that St. Joseph who is the protector of the Church is asking them to contribute their part to the needs of other children throughout the world. Two documents of the period under survey concern political matters. On February 1, 1958 {AAS, pp. 68-81), a convention was ratified between the Apostolic See and the Republic of Bolivia. On January 27, 1958 {AAS, pp. 121-22}, the Sacred Penitentiary issued the text of a prayer composed by His Holiness to be recited by Catholic legislators and poli-ticians. Each time they recite the prayer with contrite heart they can gain an indulgence of three years. The last document to be considered was issued on February 15, 1958 (AAS, p. 116), as a declaration of the excommunica-tion of three Hungarian priests who participated' in the Hun-garian Parliament contrary to the decree of the same congre-gation previously issued on July 16, 1957 (See REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January 15, 1958, pp. 48-49). 240 t oo! Reviews [Material for this department should be sent to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] MAN AND HIS HAPPINESS. Theology Library, Vol. III. Edited by A. M. Henry, O.p. Translated from the French by Charles Miltner, C.S.C. Pp. xxxix and 420. Fides Publishers Associa-tion, Chicago. 1956. $6.50. THE VIRTUES AND STATES OF LIFE. Theology Library, Vol. IV. Edited by A. Mo Henry, O.P. Translated from the French by Robert J. Olsen and Genevieve T. Lennon. Pp. xii and 778. Fides Publishers Association, Chicago. 1956. $8.75. With these two volumes the Theology Library moves into the realm of moral theology. The Preface and Introduction to Volume III are at pains to point out that in the conception of the authors moral theology is not distinguished from dogmatic theology as is done in many manuals. Volume III treats of moral matters in their general principles: the happiness of man, psychological and moral analysis of human action, the passions, habits and virtues, sin, law, and grace. Volume IV descends to a more particular treatment which considers the theological virtues, the cardinal virtues, charismatic gifts, the functions, states, and orders in the Church, the active and the contemplative life, and, finally, Christian perfection. It is safe to wager that the matter contained in these volumes will prove very interesting simply because of the subject matter which certainly "comes home to our hearts and our bosoms." Father 'Tonneau's remarks in the Introduction to Volume III about the mistake of transferring mere social relations to our rela-tions to God and thus trying to determine the pattern of morality and its foundation are timely. God is primarily a creator of natures before being a legislator. The brief sketch of Christian mora|ity -from the New Testament in the introductory chapter is from the pen of Father Spicq who is well qualified for the task. One may well ask, though, whether the distinction, not to use a stronger word, which he draws between the morality of the Old and the New Testaments is not overdone. As in the preceding volumes, each chapter is followed by a section called "Reflexions and Perspectives" and by a bibliography. In these volumes the French bibliography is not translated into English. 241 .Review for Religiou:~ It may come as a surprise to many (it should be a pleasant surprise) to find a treatise on morality opening with a consideration about man's happiness. This was prepared for by Father Tonneau's Introduction wherein morality is seen in the perspective, not primarily; of law and obligation, but of rational pursuit of happiness. The profundity of this starting-point becomes apparent when the author shows, rightly it seems, that man has a natural de~ire for seeirig the essence of God." The chapter on the passions is well done and brings to light some poin. ts about "the irascible" which are either neglected or, worse, misunderstood. In the chapter on grace there is a long introdtictory section on the meaning of grace in Scripture. This is definitely a gain. Unfortunately, the study is'confined~ mainly to the word grace and its meaning. Such a method leaves wide gaps: in St. Paul the meaning of the terms Spirit and spiritual should have been studied to help grasp the reality of the gift and its super-naturality. Actually, the writer was forced to follow such a pro-cedure for St. John who. expresses the reality of grace by the term eternal life. The theological treatment of grace is admittedly a difficult task. Even given the scriptural foundations, the history of thought about grace is almost required if one is to grasp "the" significance of t~rms, problems, and solutions. Here it seems that 'the work has not been well done. The various divisions of the meaning of the word grace include that of operative and cooperative. Augustine provided the basis for this distinction, but the explanation given on page 384 does not 'correspond with that of St. Thomas in I-II,111,2. Further, the statement about the meaning of excitant and assistant grace in the Council of Trent is not correct. Now, while one may legitimately develop his own theory and interpretation of both Thomas and Trent, it ought to be made clear, especially with regard to the council, that this is' an interpretation. Finally, what was the use of this discussion on operative, and cooperative grace? It seems that the distinction functions only once. in the subsequent pages and, actually, provides no clarification in its application. The whble treatment, of justification is unsatisfying. The writer seems to be so anxious to insist on the instantaneous occurrence of justification that he neglects other equally important aspects of the matter. In., Volume IV, on the virtues and the states of life,, we have matter which will prove still more interesting. It is in this volumd that greater originality is attempted, all the while adhering to the 242 July, 1958 BOOK REVIEWS fundamental doctrine of St. Thomas. Of all the chapters in this volume the most original is the first, on faith, by Father Li~g~. It may well prove to be the most helpful: it is concrete, psychological as well as metaphysical, and offers some excellent suggestions about the faith in reference to its different "ages" in the child, the adolescent, the adult. Finally, this chapter is up-to-date. The writer takes full cognizance of the latest work on the relation of sigfis (miracles) to th~ genesis of the act of faith, the question of immanence and connaturality.in the judgment of credibility, and the need of affirming the motive of faith in the act of faith. This latter point is well brought out by insisting on the very meaning of revelation as the self-disclosure of a person ~o persons. The fact of Jesus Christ's being "the fulness of the Word of God" is established and the consequences of this for a right understanding of the development of dogma are indicated. The insistence, in the last chapter, on the call of all Christians to perfection is most acceptable and~ forms a fitting close to the two volumes °which began with the statement that man naturally desires to know and love God in whom his happiness and, therefore, his perfection consists. . If we must add here some complaints that were voiced about the earlier volumes of the Theology Library, we must be forgiven for the simple reason that we are performing the duty of a revie~ker. First, the translation, in general, is better. Yet there are numerous blunders. There is still the tendency to retain in English the narrative present tense of the French; the antecedents of pronouns are not always clear. There is no doubt that some of the responsibility for the difficulty exlSerienced by the English reader lies with the authors of the articles themselves. They have written rapidly, even hastily, so that, at times, one gets the impression that he is reading jottings. Combine this with the difficulty of the subject matter and the technical vocabulary (sometimes Latin phrases and sentences are left in the original Latin), and you have books which will not prove easy reading for the un-initiated.-- JA,x~ES J. DOYLIL S.J. THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH. A Companion to Liturgical Studies. By William J. O'Shea, S.S., D.D. Pp. 646.The lqew. n/an Press, Westminster," Maryland. 1957. $7.00. After more than thirteen years of careful preparation, Father O'Shea presents in the present volume a comprehensive, mode[n study, well calculated to supplement knowledge of the liturgy gleaned from 243 ]~OOK REVIEWS Review for Religious primary sources. The author treats his subject very thoroughly from all important aspects and with great attention to detail. The result is a fund of thought-provoking material not only for the dlerical reader (for whom the book was ~riginally intended) but also for all who would draw near to the fullest participation in ~he official prayer of the Church. Having explained the definition of the liturgy given in Mediator Dei, Father O'Shea goes on to discuss its latreutic-sanctifying purpose. Attention is here and elsewhere given to the pivotal question of re-quisite interior disposition without which external liturgical elements quickly degenerate into vacuous formalism. As interior devotion fosters liturgical observance, so too the liturgy occasions (and even causes through its sacraments) an increase in interior graces con-sonant with its purpose: the glory of God and the sanctification of souls. Further chapters turn in detail to the impersonal and objective components of the full liturgy in the light of its historical develop-ment under the guidance of the Holy See. The Holy Sacrifice, the Divine Office, the sacraments, and the major sacramentals are all treated in great detail, as well as their exterior surroundings, in-clusive of vestments, liturgical music, and art forms. A special chapter is devoted to consideration of the liturgical year. The whole book spells out the magnificent plan of the liturgy intoa splendid living, mosaic of corporate worship in which the individual grows in grace as he willingly" takes active part. There are difficulties. But the cumulative effect of the pre-sentation is intellectually satisfying, if the reader is willing to work and does not allow himself to be weighed down by the great mass of detail. Firmly grounded intellectual conviction about the value of the full liturgy is precisely what is needed and is precisely what the author brings to his persistent student. The conclusion reached, however, will be best realized by most of us through actual par-ticipation in the full liturgy, to which the book is but the necessary scientific prelude. Great stress is accorded throughout the work to the corporate character of Christian worship, in which each member of the Mystical Body of Christ is ideally to participate in the fullest measure allowed by his state of life. The result is a desired liturgical context in which the various recognized systems of spirituality participate and from which they draw in due proportion to their secondary purposes assigned by the Church. 244 July, 1958 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS The presentation is characteristically positive and enthusiastic in its total import. Its major thesis is one that recommends itself to the prayerful consideration of all who are in a position to influence liturgical practice--if only in their own lives. In practice, for the individual religious or diocesan priest the theme idea may merely mean the more spirited performance of liturgical actions already engaged in. But depth of spirit here and desire for fuller participation under the guidance of obedience are viewed as an excellent index of sound spirituality in full accord with the mind of the Church'. The book is well recommended to the serious student and for conferences to religious, aimed at deeper appreciation of our liturgical heritage.--.¥IATTHE\V ~_~. CREIGHTON, S.J. BOOK ANNOUNCI=MI=NTS THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS, 620 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Washington 17, D. C. Fast and Abstinence in thd First Order of Saint Francis. A Historical Synopsis and a Commentary. By Jordan J. Sullivan, O.F.M.Cap. This is a dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Catholic University of America. Pp. 133. Paper 2.00. CLONMORE & REYNOLDS,. LTD., 29 Kildare Street, Dublin. Mary. Mary's Seven Words. Mary's Seven Sorrows. By Peter Lippert, S. J. Simple, thought-provoking material suitable for medi-tation and spiritual reading. Pp. 78. Paper 5/6. Saint Clare of Assisi. By a Poor Clare Colettine. Meditations on the life and virtues of St. Clare. P.72. Paper 3/-. Saint Anthbny of Padua. By Olive M. Scanlan. A brief bi-ogral:; hy of a very popular saint. Pp. 62. Paper 4/6. Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. By Dom Ernest Graf, O.S.B. A commentary and explanation of the new liturgy of Holy Week. Books like this are necessary if the faithful are to learn to appreciate the new liturgy. Pp. 88. Paper 5/-. FIDES PUBLISHERS, 744 East 79th Street, Chicago 19, Illinois. What They Ask About the Church. By Monsignor J. D. Con-way. The questions are real and the answers have appeared for the most part in the Davenport Catholic Messenger and the Catholic 245 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious Digest. Here they are ~irranged topically under six heads. If you are looking for honest, clear, and convincing answers to the ques-tions non-Catholics ask about the Church, you will find them in the book. It should prove a valuable aid to all engaged in convert work. Pp. 338. $3.95. FRANCISCAN EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE, Capuchin Col-lege, Washington 17, D. C. Franciscan Life Today. Report of the thirty-seventh annual meeting of the Franciscan Educational Conference, St. Anthony's Seminary, Santa Barbara, California, August 12-14, 1956. The topics discussed at the conference were all ascetical and as such of interest to all religious. We single out for special mention the following: Renovatio Accommodata; the place of the religious state, of the religious priesthood, of the religious brother in the Church; the value of the common life; genuine concept of obedience; modern dangers to chastity. Pp. 326. Paper $3.75. HAWTHORNE BOOKS, INC., 70 Fifth Avenu'e, New York I1, New York. This Is the Mass as described by Henri Daniel-Rops, as cele-brated by Fulton J. Sheen, as photographed by Yousuf Karsh, with an introduction by Bishop Sheen. We can never understand ~nd appreciate the Mass adequately and so must strive always to grow in understanding and appreciation of this august mystery. No opportunity to learn more about the Mass should be allowed to escape us. If you have read re. any books about the Ma~s, do not dismiss this one as just another book, for its read!ng will profit you greatly; if you have not, this is an excellent book with which to begin your study of the "perfect act of worship of God. Pp. 159. $4.95. B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY, 15 South Broadway, St. Lo.uis 2, Missouri. Summa of the Christian Life. Vol. III. Selected texts from the WritinSs of Venerable Louis of Granada. O.P, Translated and adapted by Jordan. Aumann, O.P: This is the final volume of a classic treatment on the Christian life. It is number eleven in the "Cross and Crown Series of Spirituality." In this volume, which is divided into three books, th~ first, of 206 pages, deals with the Life of Christ;-the second, 0f 102 pages, treats of the sacr.aments; the third, of 46 pages, is on the last things: death, judgment, the p~ains of hell, eternal glory. Pp. 372. $4.75. 246 July, 1958 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS P. J. KENEDY. & SONS, 12 Barclay Street, New York 8, New York. My Last Book, by James M. Gillis, C.S.P., is a book of informal meditations. The ai~thor characterizes them in these words: "These meditations are designed primarily as a help to 'personal religion.'" Again "What. we seek is quiet consideration, reflection, concentration upon the truths of religion." You will like these meditations, the last work of a man grown old in the service of God--he was eighty-one when he diedmand determined to work for God even in his fihal illness. Pp. 246. $3.95. LOYOLA UNIVERS~'TY PRESS, 3441 North Ashlarid Avenue, Chic'~go 13, Illinois. Challenge. By fohn W. O'Malley, S.J., Edward J. McMaho.n, S.J., Robert E. Cahill, S.J., and Carl J. Armbruster, s.J. Challenge is a prayerbook intended primarily for the y?ung, for those not too old to be roused to give of their best when they meet a challenge. It is much more than just a collection of prayer formulae, for it essays to guide its readers to an intense and elevated spirithal life. Ev~en mental prayer "comes in for excellent treatment. The ideals it unfolds for the user are highf they offer a definite challenge. This is a prayerbo~k which you will want to reco'mmend to your students, You might even find it profitable for your own use. ~Sp. 243.~2.50. THE NEWMAN PRESS, Westminster, Maryland. Our Lady Queen of the Religious Life. By Louis~Colila, C.SS.R. Translated by Sister Maria Constance and Sister Agnes Th~r~se. ALl .religious instinctively venerate Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as their Mother and Queen. Father Cblin articulates this instinctive devotion in a new title of' Mary as Queen of the Religious Life. He writes this book not to prove a thesis, for One does not prove what all accept unquestioningly, but to show how very appropriate the title is. The book is divided into t[iree parts. In Part One he shows how~our Lady is the ideal df the.religiou~ life; in Part Two he explains how Mary ig the source of that life; and in Part Three he treats of the" Marian devotion of religious. You will"like this book. Pp. 234. $3.75. Melody" in Your Hearis. Edited by Reverend Georg'e L. Kane. This book is ~/" very ~interesting "and eklifyirig human document: Thirteen sisters tell what" "the religious life ha~ been ~fid meant for them, thdir satisfaction in their work, their joys ahd ~orrows, dis- 247 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious appointments and achievements. Four years ago these same sisters gave the reascms that prompted them to become religious in the book Why I Entered the Cdnvent. The present volume is another effective instrument to promote vocations to the religious life among young girls. Pp. 173. $3.00. Woodstock Papers No. 1. A Catholic Primer on the Ecumenical 'Movement. By Gustave Weigel, S.J. Pp. 79. Paper 95c. Woodstock Papers No. 2 The Testimony of the Patristic Age Concerning Mary's Death. By Walter J. Burghardt, S.J. Pp. 59. Paper 95c. These two volumes introduce a new series of theological essays projected by the .professors of Woodstock College. Several are to appear each year. They are intended primarily for the grow-ing number of lay men and women interested in theology. This means that they will be written in a popular vein yet with care so as not to sacrifice theological accuracy. The choice of topics will be such as to be of interest and assistance, so the projectors of the .series hope, also to their colleagues in the field. Guidance in Spiritual Direction. By Reverend Charles Hugo Doyle. "Tl~e dual purpbse of this book," the author tells his reader, "is to interest more priests in becoming spiritual directors in the fullest sense of the word, and, at the same time, to provide, in as logical and simple a manner as possible, fundamental rules in spiritual guidance as found in the writings of the great masters of the spiritual life." After you have read the book, you will agree that the author does accomplish his second aim. Only time can tell whether he will also gain his first purpose. Pp. 301. $4.75. Stonyhurst Scripture Manuals: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. The Gospel According to Saint Luke. The Gospel According to Saint John. The general editor of the series is Philip Caraman, s.J. The commentary and the introduction for each volume are by C. C. Martindale, s.J. The books are intended for school use; and the notes and commentaries, therefore, are such as will be most useful for students studying the Gospels for the first time. The volumes average better than 200 pages and sell for $3.00 each. Martyrs of the United States. Manuscript of Preliminary Studies Prepared by the Commission for the Cause of Canonization of the Martyrs of the United States. Edited by Reverend Monsignor James M. Powers, LL.D. This book deserves wide circulation. From it you will learn to your surprise that there are 118 individuals who 248 July, 1958 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS cain claim to have died a martyr's death in the United States. They deserve to be better known. You can advance their cause by learaing to know them, by invoking their aid privately, and by getting others to do so. Pp. 196. $3.20. The Best Poems of John Banister Tabb. Edited with an intro-duction by Dr. Francis E~ Litz. An exceptional treat for the lovers of verse. The poems are arranged in chronological order and so the reader can follow the development of Father Tabb's art~ Pp. 191. $3.00. A Legend of Death and Love. By Joseph Kerns, S.J'. Illustrated by Edward O'Brien. A Poem of 454 lines concerning a heroic trumpeter of Cracow, the Tartar invasion, and our Lady. Pp. 45. 1.75. ST. GREGORY SEMINARY, Mount Washington Station, Cincinnati 30, Ohio. Mosaic of a Bishop. Des.igned by Reverend Maurice E. Reardon, S.T.D. Here is something original in biography. You meet the late archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, O.P., S.T.M., in his own writings. You learn of the details of his life from numerous notes and essays of the designer which serve to introduce many of the sermons, addresses, and lectures. The whole makes a very im-pressi_ ve monument to a distinguished churchman. Pp. 365. $6.00. SHEED & WARD, 840 Broadway, New York 3, New York. The Risen Christ. By Caryll Housela~der. The author needs no introduction, since most ~eaders are familiar with her books an~ the originality and freshness of her thought. She died almost four years ago (October 12, 1954), and so it is something of a mystery to find her author of a new book. No ghost writer is involved, for the style and manner are geauine. The publishers could throw light on this problem, but have not chosen to do so. We recommend this book unreservedly. We found it very stimulating and predict that you will too. Pp. 111. $2.75. The Priestly Life. A Retreat by Ronald Knox. This retreat was given by Father Knox to semiaarians when death was imminent though he did not realize it. In it he shares with his audience the wisdom gathered in a long and active life. Though the meditations were written for priests and seminarians, the faults pointed out and the virtues insisted upon are faults all of us should correct and virtues we should all strive to acquire. Pp. 176. $3.00. 249 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religious Approach to Penance. By Dom Hubert van Zeller, O.S.B. "If you were asked to put on paper what you know about penance, it is. very. likely that you would not need very much paper, particularly if you were told to leave the sacrament of penance out ot: account. If this is true, then you must read Dom ZeIler's book Approach to Penance. In it you will find an unusually complete and adequate treatment of what most ot: us findto be a painful subject. He does not succeed in making penance attractive, but he will convince you olc its necessity and show you how you can practice it.~ Pp. 104. World Crisis and the Catholic. Here is a collection of studies by lay Catholic men and women, all of whom have become nationally or even internationally prominent in their various fields. They view the modern world and its problems and indicate, each in his own field, what must be done to arrive at a solution: Pp. 231. $3.00. SISTERS OF THE VISITATION, 202 Bancroft Parkway, Wilming-ton 6, Delaware. Lights and Counsels, by the late Right Reverend Alfred A. Curtis, D.D., is a collection of brief spiritual thoughts, one for each day of the year. This is a new printing and now contains an index. Pp. 125. Paper 50c. Answers [The following answers are given by Father Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor cat~ort ldw at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] --20 - John and. Mary, both of the Syrian rite, immigrated to this country and settled in a town that had only a church of the Latin rite. Thus both automatically passed to the Latin rite. Their daughter Rose, now a professed religious of perpetual vows, was baptized in this Latin "church and consequently is a Latin.~ Are my conclusions correct? No. John and l~.ary remained in the Syrian rite, since par-ticipation ,in another rite, no matter how prolonged, does not effect a change of rite (c. 98, ~ 5). Rose should have been baptized in the rite of her Syrian parents (c. 756, § 1),. She belongs to the rite in which she should ordinarily have been baptized, even if a 25O July, 1958 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS serious reason legitimated the baptism in another rite (c. 98, § 1), and is therefore of the Syrian rite. Her religious professions are valid, since the permission for an Oriental to enter a Latin novitate is required only for the liceity, not the validity, of the noviceship (c. 542, 2°).~ However, even though Rose is a professed of per-petual vows, this permission is still to be obtained. This whole subject and the m~nner of requesting the permission were explained in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1949, 241-54. Does there exist any canonical prohibition against institutes of men having authority over or the direction of

Issue 17.5 of the Review for Religious, 1958. ; A. M. D. G. Review Reli¢ious SEPTEMBER 15, 1958 St:. Th6r~se of t:he Holy Face . . , Barnabas Mary Ahern The Neurotic Religious . . . Richard P. Vaughan The General Chapl:er . Jd.seph F. Gallen Practical Menl:al Prayer? . Edward blagemann Book Reviews Questi.ons and Answers Roman Documents about: The Peace of Christ The Use ot: Latin Moral Problems in Psychology VOLUME 17 NUMBER 5 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VO~.UME 17 SEPTEMBER, 1958 Nv~s~z 5 CONTENTS ST. TH~R~SE OF THE HOLY FACE-- Barnabas Mary Ahem, C,P . 257 SOME BOOKS RECEIVED . 270 THE NEUROTIC RELIGIOUS--Richard P. Vaughan, S.J .2.7.1 THE GENERAL CHAPTERmJoseph F. Gallen, S.J .2.7.9 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS--R. F. Smith, S.J .290 OUR CONTRIBUTORS .300 HOW SHOULD MENTAL PRAYER BE PRACTICAL?E Edward Hagemann, S.J . 301 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Editor: Bernard A. Hausmarm, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . 307 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: 30. Secular Institutes Assisting Religious . 317 31. Avoiding Responsibilities of Common Life .318 32. Spirituality Founded on the Will of God .319 33. Higher Superiors Who Do Not Understand American Conditions . 320 34. Sisters Studying Privately . 320 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1958, Vol. 17, No. 5. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J.; Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F~ Weiss, S,J. Copyright, 1958, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a ~ear; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please se~d all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard. St. louis 18. Missouri. Th r6se ot: t:he I-Ioly Face Barnabas Mary Ahern, C.P. AsK ANYONE khe convent name of the Little Flower, The ~answer will always be--Sister'Th~rb'se'of the" Child Jesus. Somd perhaps wiil kno~v that she"bore another title, that h'~r full namd Was Sistdl Th~r~e of 'the Child Jesus ani~ of the Holy FacE. 'But people prefer the short form of .her name~ riot 0nly because' ik is easier to Write, but als6 because it breatkies "the ~vhole spirit of her life. To the world at large she will 'alw'a~,s! be the ""little" saint of the" divine Child, who became holy by imitating His simplicity and lowliness. It is surprising, then, to read the words of Mother Agnes of Jesus, the older sister and "little mother" of Th~r~se, who knew her better than an~,one 'else. In~' 'the process of~ beatifica-tion she stated clearly: "The Servant of God felt especially drawn to devotion to 'the Holy Face. Her devotion to the Child Jesus, tender as it was, is"not to "be compared with" the devotion she felt for the Hol~ Face." This does not mean that the popular notion of the Little Flower's love" for' the divine Child is unfounded or that men have exaggerated the childlike simplicity of her way of holiness. But it is a reminder that to ~appreciate the full strength, of her holiness we. must remember that she was also Th~k~se of the Holy Face. She" did not always bear~ this title~ On first entering Carmel in April, 1888, she Was happy to reci~ive the name, Th~r~e of the Child Jesus; for it expressed "the great 10re of her young heart.' Up to that time the. "mysteries of the divine infancy had been both the'. inspiration and the model of her spiritual striving. But once in Carmel, Th~r~se often heard her sister, Agnes of Jesus, speak fervenyly of lov~ for the Holy Face, a devotion 257 BARNABAS MARY AHERN Review for Religiou~ that every French Carmel cherished because of a tradition that, in 1845, Sister Saint-Pierre of the Carmel in Tours had received several striking revelations on the meaning and power of this devotion. Our Lord asked for new Veronicas to com-fort Him by reparation for the sins of blasphemy and the sins against faith that had covered His countenance with pain and filth during the hours of the Passion. His words were poig-nant: "I seek Veronicas to wip~ my divine Face and to honor this Holy Face which has so few adorers!''1 At the same time He promised Sister Saint-Pierre that, by means of this devotion, she would work wonders: "Just as the King's image is a talisman through which anything may be purchased in his kingdom, so through My adorable Face--that priceless coin of My humanity --you will obtain all you desire.''~ Mother Genevieve of St. Teresa, foundress of the Lisieux Carmel, wove this devotion into the .very life of her community; and Agnes of Jesus, a devoted disciple of Mother Genevieve, made it her own in a special, way. Therefore, her words to ThSr~se glowed with a strong, personal devotion and burned an indelible memory. For the young saint often repeated Agnes's teaching in her later writings. Thus Christ's request for "new Veronicas" recurs in her letters, while His promise to regard this devotion as a "priceless coin" inspired one of her most beautiful prayers. But this. unveiling of the Holy Face did much more than present a new object of devotion. It opened away of life and provided a "home" and a "heaven" during, the nine. years she spent in Carmel. "It was at the threshold of her life as a nun that Th~r~se, encouraged by Mother Agnes of Jesus, awoke .1 Abb~ Janvier, l/ie de la $oeur Saint-Pierre, 3 ed. (Oratoire de la Sainte-Face: Tours, 1896), p. 230. 2 Ibid., p. 234. 258 September, 1958 ST. THI~R~SE " to the devotion which rapidl~ took a very individual, very pro-found, orientation in her soul.''3 Even a cursory glance at her convent life gives an instant impression of the preponderant influence of her love for the Holy Face. Within eight months after entering, she was so devoted to it that, at the time of her clothing, January 10, 1889, she asked to add the title, "of the Holy Face," to her previous religious name. This meant that ever after she would strive to be not only a joyful adorer in the stable of Bethlehem, but also a devoted Veronica tenderly ministering to the bruised and bleeding face of the humble Man of Sorrows. This love in-spired many of her poems and most of the prayers which she composed for herself or the novices. She frequently mentioned it in her letters and painted its image on chasubles and memen-tos. A small prayer-card representing the Holy Face always rested on her breviary when she recited Divine Office and on her choir stall when she made mental prayer. During her long illness she kept this picture pinned to the b~d-curtain to strength-en her in suffering. Thus the Holy Face was truly "a radiant sun" illuminating her whole religious life. This orientation took place early in her life at Carmel. In June of 1888, two months after entering, she entrusted her soul to the spiritual direction of a remarkable Jesuit retreat-master, P~re Pichon, only to lose him a short time later when he was transferred to Canada. She describes the occurrence in her autobiography: Hardly had Father Pichon undertaken the care of my soul when his superiors sent him to Canada, and I could not hear from him more than once in the year. It was then the Little Flower which had been trans-planted to the mountain of Carmel turned quickly to the Director of directors and gradually unfolded itself under the shadow of His cross, having for refreshing dew His tears and His blood, and for its radiant sun His adorable Face. 3 Note to L6tter LVI, from ,The Collected Letters of Saint Th~r~se o/ Lisieux, edited by the Abb~ Combes, translated by F. J. Sheed, copyright 1949, Sheed and Ward, Inc., New York, p. 88. All subsequent references to the letters of the Little Flower will be given in the notes as C. L., referring to this definitive English trans-lation. 259 BARNABAS MARY AHERN Review for Religious Until then I had not appreciated the beauties of the Holy Face, and it was you, my little Mother, who unveiled them to me. Just as you had been the first to leave our home for Carmel, so too were you the first to penetrate the mysteries of love hidden in .the Face of our Divine Spouse. Having discovered them you showed them to me--and I under-stood . More than ever did it come to me in what true glory consists. He whose "Kingdom ig rmt of this world" taught me that the only king-dom worth coveting is the grace of being "unknown and esteemed as naught," and the joy that comes of self-contempt. I wished that, like the Face~ of Jesus, mine "should be, as it were, hidden and despised," so that no one on earth should, esteem me: I thirsted to suffer and to be forgotten.4 These words contain the chie~ elements in the life she was to lead for the next nine years. The consecutive series of her letters makes clear that love for the Holy Face became the dominant motif in her spiritual striving. She found inspiration in "the mysteries of love" hidden there and made it her constant aim to seek likeness with Christ crucified through suffering and being forgotten. In a true sense, this devotion became for her one of those great directive graces which shed new light upon the_spiritual way. Ever after Th~r~se walked with eyes fixed on the disfigured beauty of the face of Christ, following the course of His Passion step by step. There was nothing of "conversion" in this new orientation. It took place quickly because she was so well prepared for the way of life which this devotion requires. A glance at her earlier years explains how and why the Holy Face became so soon the "radiant sun" of her years in Carmel. She tells us, "A sermon on the Passion of our Blessed Lord was the first I thoroughly understood, and I was profoundly ~ouched. I was then five and a half." The years that followed abounded in the sharp, personal sufferings of a highly sensitive temperament. But love for Christ only grew stronger through the trials she endured. Therefore, even before entering Carmel, 4 Saint Therese o[ Lisieux, autobiography edited by T. N. Taylor (P. &'Sons: New York, 1926), p. 125. All the quotations throughout the of the article, unless the contrary is specifically indicated, are taken autobiography. 26O j. Kenedy remainder from this September, 1958 ST. TH]gR£SE she was ready for that new light on the Passion of Christ which urged her to tireless teal for souls. She describes this grace in her autobiography: One Sunday, on closing my book at the endof Mass, a picture of the crucifixion slipped partly out, showing one of the Divine. Hands, pierced and bleeding. An indescribable thrill, such as I had never before experienced, passed through me; my heart was torn '~vith grief al the sight of the Precious Blood falling to the ground, with no one caring to treasure it as it fell. At once I resolved to remain, continuously in spirit at the foot of the Cross, that I might receive the divine dew of salvation and pour it forth upon souls. ~ From that day, the cry of iny. dying Savior: "I thirst!" resounded incessantly in my heart, kindling within it new fires of. zeal. To give my Beloved to drink was my constant desire; I was consumed with an insatiable thirst for souls, and I longed at any cost to snatch them from the everlasting flames of hell. Shortly after, she heard of the impenitence of the mur-derer Pranzini. Here was an opportunity to labor in the new field which love for Christ" had opened before her. She pleaded for _the criminal's conversion and by her prayers obtained it. Before execution Pranzini" "seized a crucifix which the prie.st he/d towards him, and kissed our Lord's Sacred Wounds three times!" The e.xl~erience ~onfirmed Th~r~se in her new way of showing love for Christ: ~he writes: After.this answer to prayer, my desire for the salvation of souls increa~sed day by day. I seemed to hear our Lord whispering to me as He did to the Samaritan woman: ';Give me to drink.". It was truly an exchange of love: I poured out the Precious Blood of Jesus upon souls, and that I might quench His thirst, I offered to Jesus these same souls refreshed with the dew of Calvary. But the more I .gave Him to drink, the greater bei:ame the thirst ofmy own poorsoul, and this was indeed my most precious reward. . ,] "/ .~ ¯ ¯ _,~.;The young Therese had also learned how necessary it is to strive for true humdtty tf one ~s to love God perfectly. Prob-ably this conviction came .to her through constant reading of the Imitation of Christ, where the theme recurs, "Love to be unknown and to be accounted "as nothing.''5 Experiences in 5 Cf. Therese s statement: "For a "long time I had sustained my spiritual life on the 'fine flour' contained in the lmitation~o[ C/irist: It was the only book from which I derived any good . I always carried it about with me." 261 BARNABAS I~IARY AHERN Review for Religious her own life confirmed the wisdom of this rule. For by the age of fifteen Th~r~se had learned that man's praise is like "a vapor of smoke," so that later she wrote of ~his period: "I understood the words of the Imitation: 'Be not solicitous for the shadow of a great name,' and I realized that true greatness is not found in a name but in the soul." Thus, even before entering Carmel, Th~r~se already possessed the mature wisdom that unless one constantly seeks the last place he will never'be fully happy. She had learned, too, that suffering must play. an important role in her life. This conclusion flowed directly from her great love of the divine Child, the devotion that sanctified her girl-hood. Writing of the trials she endured during her pilgrimage to Rome in 1887, she says, For some time past I had offered myself to the Child Jesus, to be his little plaything; I told him not to treat me like one of those precious toys which children only look at and dare not touch, but rather as a little ball of no value that could be thrown on the ground, tossed about, pierced, left in a corner, or pressed to His heart, just as it might please Him. In a.word, all I desired was to amuse the Holy Child, to let Him play with me just as He felt inclined. This is the Th~r~se who entered Carmel--Th~r~se of the Child Jesus. Her soul was rich with the strong virtues of love, humility, self-abandon, and zeal. She knew the meaning of the Passion of Christ and knew, too, that love for Him means love for souls. She was ready, then, for the great grace that came to her in the first days of convent life--the unveiling of the Holy Face before the eyes of her soul. She gazed upon it with rapt love, for it was the face of "the Lord whom she cherished with her whole heart. Ever after, she made special thanksgiv-ing for this grace-filled discovery on the feast of the Transfig-uration, when "His face shone as the sun." But it was, above all, the disfigured face of the suffering Christ that formed the special object of her devotion and the dominant inspiration of her life. That is why at the close of her life, looking back on her years in Carmel, she was able to say, "Those words of Isaias, 'There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness; and His look was, as it were, hidden and despised,' are the basis of my 262 September, :1958 ST. TH~R~SE devotion to the Holy Face,~ or rather, the 'kiasis of my whole spirituality.''° So it was. The disfigured countenance of the suffering Christ diffused a soft glow over her whole life showing her how every incident offered opportunity to renew Veronica's act of love and to deepen her own resemblance to Him. All things worked together to strengthen this new influence. For the first month at Carmel brought Th~r~se special trials that were to last until the end. "From the very outset," she writes, "my path was strewn with thorns rather than with roses." The superioress frequently humiliated her, and others also pro-vided her ample opportunity "to be accounted as nothing." Then, too, though she lived so close to her. two sisters and loved them dearly, she strove for perfect detachment; this led to misunderstanding and frequent sorrow. But these "pin-pricks" were nothing in comparison with the crucial suffering that struck its blow two months after she entered. The aged father who was dearer to her than any other on earth suddenly became a helpless inv.alid partially paralyzed both in mind and body. Cloistered in Carmel, Th~r~se and her two older sisters, Agnes of Jesus and Marie of the Sacred Heart, were unable to help him or even to see him. All care devolved upon Celine, the only sister who still remained at home. This separa-tion from her stricken father and the ceaseless worry it occa-sione. d formed a crushing cross that .lay heavy upon Thbr~se until his death six years later. She had good reason to write, ' "I can truly, say that . . . suffering opened wide her arms to me from the fii:st." It was precisely at the beginning of these trials that her sifter Agnes spoke of the .Holy Face. What she said we do not know; but she must have spoken warmly and competently, for Th~r~se always regarded her as a special apostle of this devotion and declared that, of all her sisters, Agnes was "the first to penetrate the mysteries of love hidden in the Face of our Divine Spouse." o L'EsiOrit de Sainte T/terese de l'Eni~nt .]esus, edited by the Carmel of Lisieux ¯ ('Office Central de Lisieux), p. 131. 263 BARNABAS MARY AHERN Review for Religious As for Th~rhse herself, the Holy Face became her all. She gazed upon it in the. disfigurement of the Passion, when bruises and wounds and filth so hid the beauty of .Christ's coun-tenance that He could hardly ~be recognized just as the Pro-phet had foretold,."There is. no.beauty in. Him, .nor comeli-ness: and we have seen Him, and there was'no sightliness, that we should be desirous of Him: despised and the most abject of. men, a man of sorrows and ~acquainted with infirmity; and his look was as. it were hidden and despised . and .we. have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by. God and afflicted" (Isa. 53:2-4). Yet for Th~r~se this disfigured face was the mirror of the Sacred Heart; its very sufferings were radia.ntly beautiful with the love and tender, mercy ~hat:prompted Christ to accept all. '~'In this we have come o to know His love, that He laid down His life for us" (I Jn. 3:16). Even more the thorn-crowned Holy Face was luminous with the light of divinity3, for its very unsightliness shone with "the: goodness and kindness of God our Savior." Therefore, she fixed her gaze upQn this countenance, because she knew that this poor sufferer, was the very God who loved her infinitely. In her eyes His disfigurement was at once the veil hiding His divinity and the mirror revealing His infinite love. "The' veil hiding His divinity . " This truth meant a great, deal to the young Carmelite. Dafighter of St. John of the Cross,-she knew well his sublime teaching: God is "hidden from the soul, and it ever-beseems the soul, amid ~' all these grandeurs, to consider Him as hidden, and to seek Him as one hidden.''~ This is precisely what she did through her devotion to the Holy Face. She always sought her beloved Lord, in the hiding-place of His pain and ignominy, because she could see the "radiant sun" of" His divinity gleaming through the veil of His wounds and bruises. That is why she asked, "Let Jesus take the poor grain .of sand [herself] and hide it in' His Ador- St. John of the Cross, T/te $1~iritual C.anticle, translated by E. Allison. Peers (B~irns, Oates and Washbourne: London, 1934), II, p. 32. ~ 264 September, 1958 able Face . There the poor atom will have nothing more to fear.''s Thus the thought of the Holy Face meant for her ~peace and rdpose; for it meant the presence of God who is always the refuge of His poor, vexed creatures. She wanted others too to share her sublime confidence that to love the Holy Face is to" be safe in the hiding place of God. Therefore, the act of consecration which she composed for the novices concludes wi~h' tl~ese words, "Since,Thou art the true and only Home of Our souls, our songs shall-not be sung in a strang.e land. . Dear Jesus, Heaven for us is Thy hidden face!''9 ' Time and again she had seen Him bow His' thorn-crowned head beneath the burden of man's ingratitude and had heard Him whisper with bruised lips the word of divine forgiveness. For Th~r~se, then, the Holy Face was not only a veil hiding His divinity; it was also a mirror reflecting the tender love of the Sacred Heart. This conviction glows in her words to Celine: "Jesus burns with 10ve for us--look at His adorable Face. Look at His glazed and sunken eyes! . . . Look at His wounds .Look Jesus in the face! . . . There you will see how He loves us.'~° The same thought recurs in a feast-day greeting which she gave to M6ther Agnes on January 21, 1894. The card which she herself had painted represents the Child Jesus hold-ing flowers in His hand and, in the background, the Holy Face and the instruments of the Passion. She. added this note: His little hand"does not leave the flowers which gave Him such pleasure . [Soon, He catches glimpses in,the distan, ce of strange objects bearing no resemblance to spring flowers. A cross! . . . a lande! . . . a crown of thorns! Yet the divine Child does not tremble. All this He cho.oses, to show His bride how He loves her! But it is still not ~enough, His STo Sister Agnes (1890), C. L., p. 127. 9 This same theme is developdd at ie~gth in her Canticle oi the Holy Face, a poem. ~°To Celind, (April 4, 1889), C. L.,.p. 98. 265 ]~ARNABAS MARY AHERN Review for Religious child face is so beautiful, He sees it distorted and bleeding! . . . out of all likeness! . . . Jesus knows that His spouse will always recognize Him, will be at His side when all abandon Him, and the divine Child smiles at this blood-streaked imageJ1 yBut true love hastens to draw love's conclusions. Th~r~se saw plainly that if the great God chose to be hidden out of love for His creatures, then she must become hidden out of love for Him. This was the clear teaching of St. John of the Cross: . [God] is hidden . Wherefore the soul that would find Him through union of love must issue forth and hide itself from all created things . And it must be known that this going out is understood in two ways: the one, a going forth from all things, which she does by despising and abhorring them; the other, a going forth from herself, by forgetting and neglecting herself, which she does in holy abhorrence of herself through love of God.12 ¯ All this became a normal practice for the young Carmel-ite, because of her love for the Holy Face. She knew that" Christ had suffered the forgetfulness and insults of men. There-fore she spent her nine years of convent life seeking to be hidden from all, even from herself. The way of humility that He trod was her way. She encouraged the novices, too, to follow Him and had them pray: "O Beloved Face of Jesus . . , our. only desire is to delight Thy divine eyes by ,keeping our faces hidden too, so that no one on earth may recognize us." She was more explicit in a letter to Celine wherein she develops the teaching of St. John of the Cross on the "hidden" way : to God: Celine dearest, rejoice in our lot, it is very lovely! . . . If Jesus hac~ chosen to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, surely not "one would have spurned Him; but He does not want us to love Him for His gifts; it is Himself that must be our reward. To find a thing hidden, we must ourselves be hidden, so our life must be a mystery! We must be like Jesus, like Jesus whose look was hidden (Isa. 52:3) . "Do you want to learn something that may serve you?" says the Itl~itation: "Love to be ignored and counted for nothing. : . ." And in another place: "After you have left everything, you must above all leave yourself; let ~1 To Mother Agnes (January 21, 1894), C. L., p. 216. 12St. John of the Cross, 0~. cir., pp. 33, 36. 266 September, 1958 one man boast of one thing, o~ne of another; for~you, place your joy only in the contempt of yourself." May these words give peace to your soul, my Celine.~3 Hence, Th~r~se was always happy when the veil of humilia-tion settled down upon those whom she loved. The day her sister Agnes was chosen prioress, unpleasant Circumstances cast a gloom over the election. That evening Th~r~se wrote her a note: ¯ Oh, how lovely a day it is for your child! The veil Jesus has cast over the day makes it still more luminous to my eyes; it is the seal of the adorable Face . Surely it will always be so. "He whose look was hidden," He who continues hidden in His little white Host. will spread over the whole life of the beloved apostle of His divine Face a mysteri-ous veil which only He can penetrate.~4 If this is what she desired for others, how much more complete was the oblivion she desired for herself. She devised every means of hiding her acts of virtue and rejoiced wfienever she was set aside or treated with contempt. In a letter to Agnes she expressed her earnes~desire to share the humiliation and oblivion of the Passion: Pray for the poor little grair~ of sand. "May the grain of sand be always in its place, that is to say beneath everyone's feet. May no one think of it, may its existence be, so td speak, ignored . The grain of sand does not desire to be humiliated, that would still be too much glory since it would involve its being noticed; it desires but one thing "to be FORGOTTEN, counted as nought!" But it desires to be seen by Jesus. The gaze of creatures canndt sink low enough to reach it, but at least let the bleeding Face of Jesus be turned towards it.~ Humility and meekness, silence and self-effacement--these virtues that shone so. luminously on the face of the suffering Christ were the virtues that Th~r~se strove to make her own. At any cost she wanted to resemble Him perfectly. Thus the burden of her prayer became the all-inclusive desire, "O Ador-able Face of Jesus, sole' beauty Which ravishes my heart, vouch-safe to impress on my soul Thy Divine likeness, so that it may not be possible for Thee to look~at Thy spouse without behold- ~aTo Celine (August 2, 1893), C. L., pp. 197-98. ~4To Mother Agnes (February 20, 1893), C. L., p. 183-84. 15 To Sister Agnes (1890), C. L., pp. 126-27. 267 BARNABAS MARY AHERN Revieiv for Religious ing Thyself~" Our Lord fulfilled this request to the letter; for at the hour of death her inward dereliction and outward pain, her burning love and wholehearted surrend'er, made her a living image of the suffering Christ on Calvary. Naturally enough, this devotion to the Holy Face was rich in fruitfulness. Contemplating it, she saw how dearly Christ loves all souls and how much she must labor to awaken men to the pleadings of His Sacred Heart. Thus, in one of her prayers she cries out, "In that disfigured countenance I recognize Thy infinite love, and I am consumed with the desire of loving Thee and of making Thee loved by all mankind." Therefore she was ready to do and to suffer anything if only she might gain souls for the Lord whom she loved so ardently: "At any cost the grain of sand wants to save souls." Time and again she reminded those who shared her devotion that, "like other Veronicas, they must comfort Christ who has already suffered so much. Thus she wrote to Celine who was nursing their father in his long illness: I am sending you a lovely picture of the Holy Face . Let Marie of the Holy Face10 be another Veronica, wiping away all the blood and tears of Jesus, her sole beloved! Lei her win Him souls, especially the souls she loves! Let her boldly face the soldiers, that is to 'say the world, to come to Him.17 +So, tOO, she asked the novices to pray, We desire t~ wipe Thy sweet Face, and to console Thee for the contempt of the wicked . Give to us souls, dear Lord . We thirst for souls !--above all, for the souls of Apostles and Martyrs . . . that through them wd may inflame all poor sinners.with love of Thee! She was supremely confident of her power to realize ~these desires; for the Holy Face. itself was,~her treasure. Our Lord had promised Sister Saint-Pierre that she could use it. as a, priceless coin to obtain all her desires. Relying ~on this promise, Th~r~se prayed, 16 On entering the Convent, Celine received this name which The¯r e"se here an~ici-" pates. However, it was later changed to Sister Genevieve of St. Teresa, although after Celine had become famous for her artistic reproduction of the Holy "Face from the shroud of Turin she became known as Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face. 1~" To Celine (October 22, 1889), C. L., pp. 115-16. 268 , September, 1958 ST. TH~R~SE Eternal Father, since .Thou~h'ast given~me~f0r my inheritance the Adorable Face of Thy Divine Son, I offer that Face to Thee, and I beg Thee, in exchange for this coin of infinite value, to forget the ingratitude of those souls who are consecrated to Thee, and to pardon all poor sinners. She was utterly confident that God would refuse no request when one begged Him, "Look on the face of Thy Christ" (Ps. 83:10). Devotion to the Holy Face, therefore, influenced her whole spiritual life. On entering Carmel she already possessed the virtues of charity, ~zeal, 'and humility;. She Was bully pre-pared to suffer for Christ and to meet each new demand of His love. What her convent life would have been if she had not "discdvered" the Holy Face we do not know. But it is certain that once she penetrated its mysteries of love; once she became Th~r~se of die Holy Face, her" holiness.gained new depth, and new earnestness. It was indeed significant that a picture of the Holy Face 'in the con~,ent corridor inspired her to write the poem which best expressed her spirit,~ "To Live of Love." It was natural, then, that her. hope for heaven found ex-pression in a desire to gaze upon the Holy Face. She prayed to be inflamed with love and to be consumed quickly, "that soon Th~i~se of the Holy Face'may beh'old ~Thy glorious coun-tenance in Heaven." SO, too, when the trials of her father's illness were most acute, she encouraged Celine with the words, "Tomorrow . in an hour, we.Shall: be in harbor, what- happi-ness! Ah! how'good it will be ~b contemplate Jesus face 'to face" for all ete n ty./~he had found, such beauty in the hidden, suffering face of. Christ here upon earth that her soul Was ravished .by the "thought of what she would see in heaven: . Yes, the face ~of Jesus is luminous; but if it is so beautiful .with all its wounds and tears, what shall it be when we see it" in Heaven? Oh, Heaven . . . Heaven! Yes, one day to see the Face of Jesus, to contemplate the marvellous beauty of Jesus eterpally . Ask Jesus that His grain of sand may hasien to save mary souls in little time that it may the sooner fly where His beloved Face is . ~STo Celine (July 14, 1889), C. L., p. 111. 269 BARNABAS MARY AHERN I suffe!! . . . But the hope of the Homeland gives me courage; soon we shall be in Heaven . There, there will be neither day nor night any more, but the Face of Jesus will bathe all in ;a .'light .like no other.19 Thus love for the Holy Face "took a very individual, very profound orientation in her soul." God alone knows all that it meant to her. But we can glimpse a little of this in the beau-tiful prayer that Th~r~se herself composed: O Jesus, Who in Thy cruel Passion didst become the "reproach .of men and the Man of Sorrows," I worship Thy Divine Face. Once it shone with the beauty and sweetness of the Divinity; now for my sake it is become as the face of a "leper." Yet in that disfigured Countenance .I recognize Thy infinite love, and I am consumed with the desire of loving Thee and of making Thee loved by all mankind. The tears that streamed from Thy eyes in such abundance are to me as precious pearls which I delight to gather, that with their infinite worth I may ransom the souls of poor sinners. O Jesus, Whose Face is the sole beauty that ravishes my heart, I may not behold here upon earth the sweetness of Thy glance, nor feel the ineffable tenderness of Thy kiss. Thereto I consent, but I pray Thee to imprint in me Thy divine likeness, and I implore Thee to so inflame me with Thy love, that it may quickly consume me, and that I may soon reach the vision of Thy glorious Face in heaven. Amen. 19To Sister Agnes (1890), C. L., p. 127. SOME BOOKS RECEIVED [Only books sent directly to the Book Review Editor, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana, are included in our Reviews and Announcements. The following books were sent to St. Marys.] St. Francis of Assisi and the Middle East. By Martiniano Roncaglia. The Newman Bookshop, Westminster, Maryland. $1.00 (paper cover). My Dear People. By Venantius Buessing, O.F.M.Cap. Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., 53 Park Place, New York 7, New York. $5.00. Our Lord and Our Lady. By Alexander P. Schorsch, C.M., and Sister M. Dolores Schorsch, O.S.B. Philosophical Library, Inc., 15 East 40th Street, New York 16, New York. $4.50. Getting to Know the Bible. By Joseph F. X. Cevetello. Society of St. Paul, 2187 Victory Boulevard, Staten'Island 14, New York. $2.50. Spiritual Riches of the Rosary Mysteries. By Charles J. Callan, O.P., and John F. McConnell, M.M. Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., 53 Park Place, New York 7, New York. $3.95. (Continued on page 278) 270 The Neurotic Religious R~chard P. Vaugh~n, S.J. IN A PREVIOUS ISSUE [March, 19581, we considered the" nature and use of psychotherapy as a means of combating mental and emotional disorders among priests, brothers, and sisters. Experience has shown that psychotherapy is espe-cially applicable to a type of emotional illness known as neu-rosis. Most religious who are in need of psychiatric treatment suffer from this type of illness. The following paragraphs a~ttempt to paint a verbal picture of the neurotic religious and his problems. Almost every order or congregation has a certain number of individuals who can be described in var.i.ous ways, such as "impossible to live with," "just naturally odd," or "a bit strange." These are the religious who stand out as different. For the most part, they give every indication of being troubled. They find it extremely, difficult to integrate themselves into the community. Nervous tension, anxiety, and depression are their frequent companions. Often they suffer from sickness which has no physical basis. They are easily upset. They are full of complaints. Nothing seems to satisfy them. Obedi-ence places an intolerable burden upon them. As a result, they cannot do their share of the order's work. It is as difficult for them to live with themselves as it is for their fellow religious to live with them. If one makes a survey of thehistorical records of almost any order or congregation, he immediately becomes aware of the serious problems these discontented religious present. their younger days they are cons~tantly being changed from one house to another, from one type of work to another. Tracing out the life history of these individuals, one finds that they frequently spend the greater part of their lives collected 271 RICHARD P. VAUGHAN Review for Religious togethe~ in houses where they do the ]east damage or are doled out to the larger houses where they can be absorbed by the size of the community. The amount of productive work whicb, they accomplish during their life span is negligible. From all external appearance, the ~'s.piritual life makes ~almost no impact upon them. Characteristics of Neurotics For the most part, such religious .can be classified as neurotic in various degrees of severity. .,A neurotic is a .person who is beset with anxiety,' tension, ,and !pecUliar !patterns ~of behavior which deviate f~om what ~is coniidered normal He is still, however, in contact ~vi~h the reality of the world in which he lives. In this latter aspect, he differs from the psy-chotic, who has in some way lost contact with reality and lives in a world of his own making, whether this be through the medium of hallucinations or a system of delusions. The neu-rotic religious is very much aware of his own sufferings and the disturbance he is causing within the community by his unusual modes of acting. Often this awareness on the part of the neurotic is the very thing which so provokes his superior and fellow religious, who reason: "He knows what he is doing. Why does he not stop behaving this way? It can only be his ill will that makes him continue." However, an analysis of neurotic behavior is not quite this simple. It is true that the .neurotic knows what he is doing, but he does not know "why" he is acting in this manner. Thus, he might be spending half the night checking every faucet in the cloister to see that no .water is running. He knows that he is making these nightly patrols. He knows that the odds are a hundred to one against~ his finding a running faucet. He also knows that his clumping up and down the halls night after night is keeping his fellow religious awake. Still, he cannot stop himself. He is tense and restless and, ~thus, can-not get any rest until he has performed this ritual. The reason why he is unable to stop himself is simply b~cause he has a 272 September, 1958 THE NEUROTIC .RELIGIOUS neurosis which he cannot cure by himself any more than the tubercular religious can cure his malady without medical treat-meat. Generally speaking, a neurosis manifests itself in not just a single symptom, but in a whole.pattern of symptoms. They affect many different phases of one's life. These are the peculiar aspects of behavior that make the neurotic religious a marked man or woman. In some cases, these symptoms are of such a nature as to cause severe distress within a com-munity. The fears, compulsions, and anxieties of the neurotic severely interfere with the activity of the other members of the community. Even though the neurotic is aware of the incon-venience he is causing others, he still feels that all must cater to his own needs: This feeling is a part ot: his illness. For most neurotics are i, ery self-centered. °However, frequently they do not~-realize this fact; and, if they do, they almost never know what has made them so self-centered. On the .other hand, it often happens that a neurotic religious has symptoms which have little effect on the daily living of the community.~ Others may notice that he is a tense, anxious person who rarely takes an active part in the community life; but they are not aware of the interior suffer-ing that is gradually sapping the neurotic's strength. Two Levels A neurotic operates on two levels, one of which is con-scious and the other, unconscious. On the conscious level are those symptoms that are evident either to the neurotic himself or to those with whom he lives, such as unreasonable fears, uncontrollable thoughts, or imagined physical illness. These are but the manifestations of the neurosis. They are the means that the neurotic uses to defend himself against the real source of his condition, which is usually some ~ype of an unconscious conflict. The conflict i~ called unconscious in so far as the neurotic is unaware of its existence and nature. The conflict usually involves some of the .more basic human needs 273 I~ICHARD P. VAUGHAN Revicw for Religious that we all possess, such as our need for love and affection. Thus, for example, because of deprivation in childhood, the neurotic is frequently looking for a type of affection from others that is equivalent to the love a good parent gives to his small child. Since he usually never gets this type of love and, even if he does get it, it does not satisfy him because he is an adult with adults' desires, he is frustrated and in conflict within himself. Since the neurotic is unaware of what is taking place within himself, he is helpless when left to fight his battle alone. All that he knows is that he is tense and anxious and that he is baffled by the cause of his condition. He is like a man trying to cross swords with an invisible .enemy. He defends himself as best he can, but still he is constantly being-hurt. Often he wishes thai the enemy would deal the mortal blow; but he knows that his is an enemy who delights in slow, pro-longed torture. By trial, and error, the neurotic learns that one way is more satisfactory than another in coping with' this un-seen foe. The manner of defense upon which he finally de-cides depends upon his own personality and the nature of the unconscious conflict. He knows that the best that he can hope for is a transitory lessening of anxiety and a certain minimum of satisfaction and gratification. An Example The dynamics of a neurosis are-well exemplified by the compulsive handwasher whose disorder manifests itself in an uncontrollable urge to wash his hands over and over again. Such a person will tell you that he must continue washing his hands until he gets everythin~ "just right." (When asked, he is not clear what he means by "just right.") This may mean that he has to wash his hands continuously for a half hour or more. .He will go on to tell you that if he stops before he gets that "just right" feeling, he is so uncomfortable that he has-to go back and continue washing ~his hands. Once he has ~ompleted the ritual, he feels relieved for a time. However, 274 Septcmber, 1958 THE NEUROTIC RELIGIOUS gradually he becomes aware ~of a new .source o~ anxiety. He iiads that his periods of washing are ever increasing in time and that this is seriously interfering with his work. This fact causes new anxiety and worry, but still he is unable to stop his ritualistic washing. His inability to stop himself stems from the unconscious nature of his problem. In all probability, his particular prob: lem springs from some unconscious conflict; but the sufferer is unaware of this. He sees no connection between the purify-ing ritual he is forced to perform and his erroneous attitudes and habits setting up the unconscious conflict. Often he is not even aware that he possesses these attitudes and habits. He does not iealize that his handwashing is simply a symbolic way of trying to cleanse himself from a false sense of guilt. As a matter of fact, he is not even aware of the guilt/All that he experiences is an ungovernable urge to wash his hands and the constantly plaguing sensation of anxiety and tension. From all this, it can safely be said that the neurotic suffers a "pain" that can be more excruciating than cancer of the spine. True, his "pain" is different from that of the physically afflicted, but he will tell you that he would much prefer to endure a long bout with some disease to his present condition. Attitude of Fellow Religious One of the most disturbing features of religious life for a neurotic is the attitude of his or-her fellow religious. The majority of religious still seem to cling to the outdated view that mental illne~s, especially of the neurotic variety, indicates some kind of moral turpitude. The neurotic religious is really responsible for his or her condition. The difficult modes of be-havior that he frequently manifests are sinful. If he had made full use of all the spiritual help offered by his order or congregation, he would not be in his present predicament. Moreover, if he were really a spiritual man, he could "sn.ap out" of this condition in a matter of weeks. Thus runs the reasoning of many religious when confronted with the difficult problem of coping with the 275 I~ICHARD P. VAUGHAN Revie'w for Religious neurotic. They still feel that a good Father Confessor and fre-quent reception of Holy Communion can solve any problem. The fact .that in spite of frequent use of the sacraments arid sound spiritual guidance we still have our neurotics with us does not seem to alter their view one iota. The probable source of this erroneous attitude is a woeful lack of psychological knowledge among religious men and women. There is no important sub-ject concerning which religious as a group know less. From this ignorance springs a prejudice toward psychology and psychiatry as means of regaining one's mental health. It is this alcove-mentioned attitude toward mental illness which is so damaging' to the neurotic religious. For among the most p~evalent features of a neurosis are deep feelings of inferi-ority and a lack of self-esteem. The majority of neurotics are convinced that they are useless and bad, even though they may put on a great front of bravado. When this opinionof them-selves is confirmed by the words and actions of their fellow re-ligious, the n~urotic condition becomes deeper. The sufferer is liable to despair, thinking himself simply no good and that noth-ing can be done for him. He then sets out to prove to the community that he is useless, and his mode of behavior becomes. even more disturbing than ever. A further outcome of this erroneous conception of mental illness is that it frequently prevents the neurotic religious from seeking psychiatric help. Since he is hopelessly bad, why waste the community's money and the therapist's .time on treatment-- thus he reasons. If he finds enough courage to submit, to therapy,, he becomes very aware of the feelings of others in regard to himself. He fears the stigmatization that will fall upon him by the very fact that he visits a psychiatrist. He dreads the quips that will be made about his condition. And he is e.qually terrified by the prospect of facing those knowing and condescending looks of his fellow religious, once the diagnosis of his disorder has been made public. 276 September, 1958 THE NEUROTIC RELIGIOUS Responsibility and Sanctity Mental illness is a medical problem just as any other type of sickness. The neurotic religious is no more responsible for his affliction than is the religious who is physically diseased. He did not willfully set up the unconscious conflict, "and he has very little control over the symptoms that result from the conflict, A combination 0f inherited personality, 'parental influences, and other environmental factors have militated against him to produce his present condition. Still,. the religious who has contracted a cancer.of the lung or heart disease, possibly ~is a result of exces-sive smoking, 'is treated with the utmost sympathy and charity, while the neurotic is ~frequently looked upon as a second-rate religious who has put himself in his predicament and is treated accordingly.°. '-The neurotic religious who is willing ~to accept help has no less an-opportunity to sanctify his soul than~ ~he religious who is suffering from a purely physical disorderl Psychological studies of the lives of the saints are beginning to reveal rfeurotic symptoms among these supremely successful men and women. In spite of these symptoms, they attained the heights of sanctity. Thus, it seems that neurosis, as sdch, does not exclude the pos, sibility of spiritual perfection. Howe~er, because of the dis-rupting nature of neurotic symptoms, it can safely, be said that the i~ttainment o~ perfection is more di~ fi!t .under th~se c0n-ditions and, in very severe, cases .of neurosis, is. pr?bably im-possible. For we cannot get away from th.e fact that the super-natural is built upon the natural, o When there is complete disorder in the foundation, then no edifice can be built upon it. Care of Neurotics It is the need of this natural foundation for the spiritual life that makes e~cient screening of candi~lates to the religious state so necessary. For the candidate who. is so neurotic that he cannot profit from the spiritual training of his chosen order or congregation has no vocation. This need of the sound 277 RICHARD P. VAU(;HAN natural foundation for the spiritual life also makes it impera- .tive~ that neurotic religious be given every opportunity to rid. them.se.lves.of their disorder. As has been stated, a neurotic usua.lly~cannot cure himself when left to fight the battle alone. Moreover, a good confessor is usually not equipped to help the neurotic overcome his condition.° Purely spiritual direction does not strike at the unconscious. Hence, some other source of help must ib~e.sought. As was stated in the beginning of this article, the method of treatment which ha~ been the most practica! and effective with. neurotics is called psychotherapy. This effectiveness ap-plies to the religious as well as the lay person. Psychotherapy with neurotics consists of "working through" the" unconscious con-flict with the patient through the medium of a long series of interviews. By the use of various techniques, the neurotic comes to understand and experience on an affective level the root of his disorder. With the successful outcome of therapy, the symptoms disappear because the neurotic no longer has a need for them. He is thus relieved of those hindrances which have hand!capped.him in moving ahead in the spiritual/ire and is able to become a useful member of the community, Conclusion The neurotic priest, brother, or sister is not a second-rate religious, but rather a sick religious. He or she is in need of charity, care, and consideration. With adequate help and encouragement, he can rid himself of his affliction and become a hol~ and productive religious. Some Books Received (Continued from page 270) Awakeners of Souls. By F. X. Ronsin, S.J. Society of St. Paul, 2187 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island 14, New York. $3.00. Catechism in Pictures. The Life of Christ. The Commandments oft God. Know Your Mass. Catechetical Guild Educational Society, 260 Summit Avenue, St. Paul 2, Minnesota. 35c each (paper cover). (Continued on page 289) 278 The : eneral Chap!:er Joseph I:. 6allen, S.J. QUESTIONS AND CASES are frequently received on the general chapter. A complete .article on. this matter would be of prohibitive length. It would also be excessively de-tailed and technical. We believe that the practical purpose of such an article will be better attained by presenting the matter under the form of questions and cases. The following ques-tions are the second part.of a series. V. Voting 17. Our constitutions state: "Not only the superior g~neral but also the general councilors, secretary general, and treasurer general remain members of the general chapter with a decisive vote, even if perhaps in the elections in chapter they have gone out of office." What is the mean-ing of a decisive vote in a chapter? In a council, a deliberative or decisive vote is opposed to a merely consultive vote, i. e., in the former, a superior must have the. consent, or absolute majority, of his council for the validity of the act for which, the deliberative vote is required; in the latter, he is obliged merely to consult his council but not to follow the opinion of the council, even if this. is unani-mous. The superior is to consider seriously the consultive vote of his council, especially if it is unanimous; and he should not depart from a unanimous vote unless he has a reason that prevails over the vote. The superior is judge of the existence and worth of such a prevailing reason. In the chapters of your institute, there is no such distinction of votes. -The sense of your constitutions is simply that the general 'officials do not lose their vote in the chapter 'because of the fact that they no longer hold the general offices after the,ele~tions. Thereforei the adjective "decisive" should-not be in ~he constitutions. The only thing that can be called a decisive vote in your chapter 'is the right of the president to break a tie on the third balloting JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religion, s (c.101, § 1, 1°). Constitutions of lay institutes most rarely give this right to the president in elections. Such a tie is broken by seniority of first profession, but if the religious made their first profession on the same day, by seniority of age. 18. What is the process for obtaining the':vote of a capitular who is sick but in the house where the election is being held? Canon 163 prescribes the physical' presence of the electors £t the election as requisite for a valid vote and excludes as invalid, unless this is permitted .by the constitutions or customs, a vote by letter or proxy. Outside of a most rare and limited exception, the constitutions of lay institutes exclude voting by letter or proxy. Almost universally they admit only the one excep-tion from physical presence given in canon law itself (c. 168), which is as follows. "If an elector is present in the house of the election but. cannot come to the place of election because of weak health, his written vote is to be collected by the tellers, unless ,the particular laws or legitimate customs determine other- :e~dH ~rU::_ ~n::n; r otph:r t ;?t,'r,~ h eP ~Tr:t,y t l~:dcabs:" lids'nvg:t , ri if the elector is confined to the infirmary and the election is being held in .,another building of the same religious house. No reason other than weak health suffices, e. g., if an elector cannot be present in the chapter room because he is ~ccupied with most serious business of the congregation. It is not re-quired that the infirm elector be confined to bed. If the elector car,: write, he. is to write out his vote secretly. If he cannot write, he may express his vote orally or by anyother external Sign to the tellers; and the latter may write outthe vote for the sick or infirm elector. This method is permitted by the code and may be employed unless it is certainly excluded by the constitutions. Many constitutions of lay institutes demand that the" infirm elector be able to write. The tellers are to obtain the vote of such an elector on every ballot. If too great delay would be caused by going to another building for the vote, the chapter would not be obliged to do so. Both tellers, 280 September, 1958 THz GENERAL CHAPTER not the president nor the secretary, are to collect the vote. Canon law does not specify the manner in which the tellers are to carry back the folded vote, and consequently one of them may carry it back in his hand. However, the constitutions or customs frequently specify that it is to be carried back in a closed ballot-box, and some constitutions state that a ballot-box is to be reserved for this case. If there is only one ballot-box, the vote of the infirm elector is to be secured before those of the assembled capitulars, since the votes of the latter should never be taken from the chapter room. A very simple method, found also in some constitutions, is to carry the vote back in a sealed envelope. The envelope is immediately opened, and the folded vote of the infirm elector is mixed with the votes of the others. 19. Since two priests are the tellers, how is the vote of a sick nun to be collected? Two priests are the tellers in the election of a superioress of a monastery (c. 506, § 2) and also of a mother general or re-gional mother of a federation of nuns. Canon 506, § 2, forbids these priests to enter the papal cloister of the nuns. The constitutions more frequently make provisions for the present case by enacting that two of the capitulars are,to be designated by the president as tellers .for the vote of a sick nun. If there is no provision in the constitutions for a monastery election, it is probable that the two priest tellers may enter the cloister to secure the vote of. a sick nun; but the far more appropriate and simple method is for the president to appoint two of the nun .capitulars as tellers for this case. In the election of a mother general or regional mother of a federation, there are two assistant nun tellers, who will also take care of the vote of a sick nun. 20. Immediately before a general chapter, one of the capitulars broke his right arm. He attended the chapter. How could he have voted? The code commands that the votes be secret but not that they be written by all the electors, although the prescription 281 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious of burning the votes (c. 171, § 4) supposes that a written vote is the ordinary practice. It is su~cient that the vote be cast by any certain and determined external sign. It is very possible that an elector would not be able to write, as in the present case. Such an elector is not to be deprived of his vote. He should communicate his vote orally to the president and tellers. One of these writes out the vote, shows it to the elector for approval, and then folds and drops the vote in the ballot-box or gives it to the elector to be cast in the prescribed order. This" capitular-may be told to cored up to the president and tellers before or after the others have cast their votes. 21. Our constitutions say: "After all the ballots have been cast, the two tellers shall open the urn, count the ballots before the president, and see whether they correspond with the number of sister electors. If the number corresponds, they shall open the ballots, showin~g them to the president and reading them audibly in the presence of all. If the number of ballots exceeds the number of electors, another vote shall be taken." What is to be done if the number of ballots is less than, the number of electors? By canon law (c. 171, § 3), a balloting is invalid only if the number of ballots exceeds the number of electors. Such a balloting is considered as not having been made a~ all, e. g., if the excess occurs on the first balloting, the next is counted not as the second but as the first balloting. If the votes equal or are less "than the number of electors, the balloting is valid. The latter case means merely that one or somd did not cast a vote in this balloting. This is the norm of your constitutions. Before the Code ofCanon Law, May 19, 1918, the number of votes had to equal the number of electors.~ The balloting was. consequently invalid whe.n "~the number if votes was greater or less than the 'number of electorL l~iany lay institutes still retain. ~his "pre.scriptign in their, constitutions. It 'is td be "'" observ.e.d~ si~e ik is'. not c~ntrary to .but over and: abbve the --cody: i~. 489). It ~ouid-be better to change this prescription to. the::law ~f the code in any revision 6f the constitutions. Cf. ¯ Maro~o, Institufiones .Iuris Canonici, I, n. 635; Coronata, In-~ 282 September, 1958 THE ~ENERAL CHAPTER stitutiones Iuris Canonici, I, ,+n. 236; Parsons, Canonical Elec-tions, 151 ; Lewis, Chapters in Religious Institutes, 115. 22. Our constitutions command that the ballots be burned in the presence of the electors. It is most difficult to do this. May they be burned elsewhere? Canon.171, § 4, enacts that the ballots are to be burned after each balloting or at the end of the session, if there were several ballotings in the same session. It is not sufficient to tear up the ba[lots; they must be burned. Constitutions that command the burning of the ballots after each balloting or in the presence of the electors are not contrary to but over and above the code. However, it would at least very frequently be highly inconvenient, annoying, and even dangerous to burn the ballots in the room where the elections are held. There would therefore p~ractically always be a sufficient reason for burning them elsewhere and in the presence only of the tellers. The loss of time would also be/a .sufficient excuse for burning the votes only after th~ session./Constitutions that assign the burning of the ballots to the secretary must be followed, since they are not clearly contrary to the code. However, the burn-ing is commanded to protect the. secrecy of the votes. Since the tellers have charge of the votes and take the oath of secrecy, it is evidently at least preferable that the burning be done by the tellers. 23. Our constitutions declare: "The delegates shall abstain from either directly or indirectly procuring votes for themselves or for others." Is this the complete canon? No. Canon 507, § 2, extends the prohibition of procuring votes, or electioneering, to all members of an institute, whether electors or not, and with regard to all chapters. 24. If ! sincerely believe that a particular brother is the one most competent for the office of brother general, why cannot I persuade other capitulars to vote for l~im? All the members of an institute, whether electors or not, are forbidden to seek votes to. elect a particular person, or one JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review fo,r Religious rather than another, or to exclude anyone from being elected at any chapter whatsoever. It is forbidden to do so directly, i. e., to seek the votes openly and clearly, or indirectly, i. e., to seek votes in a secret, disguised, or mediate fashion, e.g., by artifices, insinuations, favors, services, 'or promises (c. 507, § 2). It is certainly forbidden to procure votes for oneself (c. 170); for an evil end, e. g., to elect an unworthy or less worthy person, by an evil means, e. g., fraud, lies, threats, violence, insistent plead-ings, pacts, agreements, commands of superidrs;, or by any means that restricts the liberty of the electors. Merely to counsel another to vote or. not to vote for someone is not a restriction of the liberty of an elector, but it would be better to abstain also from this. Some authors hold with probability that the canon does not forbid procuring votes for another provided the end and the means are licit in themselves, e. g., to induce another by sound reasons and from honest motives to v6te for the best qualified, for a better rather than a less qualified p~rson, or for a qualified rather than an unqualified person. The more com-mon opinion is that this procuring also is forbidden, because the wording of the canon is absolute. This latter opinion should also be. followed in prudence, since any procuring of votes is apt /~o cause factions, create parties'determined on their candi-date, produce bad feeling, and disturb the peace and sanctity of the religious life. 'The procuring of votes"does not invalidate a vote or' an election. 25." In our congregation of sisters; may we nominate determined sisters for the various offices before the actual voting for the offices in question? ¯ This may not be done unless it is positively permitted by the particular law of the institute. The Sacred Congregation of Religious does not approve in congregations the proposal or nomination.of determined candidates, and such a practice is almost never found in the constitutions of lay congregations. 284 September, 1958 THE {~ENERAL" CHAPTER This practice at least tends to restrict the.liberty of the electors (Bastien, Directoire Canonique, n. 263). Nomination is found in various forms in some monasteries of nuns, e. g., the newly elected superioress proposes the name for the office of assistant or for all members of the council; three religious are nominated for superioress by the vote of the council, but the electors are free to vote for others; and, in a similar method in at least one federation, a list for the office of regional mother is formed from the previous and secret proposal of three names by each capitular, supplemented by names that the council feels obliged to add. Other religious may be voted for in this last system; but, if elected, they must be confirmed by the mother general and her council. 26. I was a capitular in the general chapter of our congregation of brothers. Before the chapter, I told three brothers the name of the one I intended to vote for,as brother general. I did vote for him, and he was elected. Was my vote invalid because of a lack of secrecy (c. 169, § 1, 2°)? An invalidating lack of secrecy occurs only when a vote is manifested in the very act of voting or at least before the particular balloting is completed and to the greater part of the chapter. Especially when a method of voting such as beans is used, care is to be exercised that the beans are taken and placed in the urn in such a way that others cannot see how the elector is voting. If a vote is invalidated, by a lack of secrecy, the elector may cast another secret vote. Prudence at least gen-erally °forbids an elector to reveal his vote either before or after an election. Neither revelation is certainly forbidden by canon law, but both are prohibited by the law of some con-stitutions. Such a revelation evidently does not invalidate the vote. 27. Is it possible for a member of a lay institute to have been de-prived of active voice? Active voice is the right to vote in a chapter; passive voice is the right to be elected in a chapter. Privation of active voice 285 JOSEPH F. GALLEN l~evicw for Religious occurs when the right to vote is taken away. This can happen by a legitimate sentence of a judge or by the enactment of canon law or the law of the particular institute (c. 167, § 1, 5°). Canon law deprives exclaustrated religious during the time of the exclaustration (c. 639) and apostates from religion, even after their return and after the absolution from the excommuni-cation (c. 2385), of active voice. Active voice is regained by the latter if the penalties of prohibition of legitimate ecclesiastical acts and the privation of active and passive voice have been dispensed. A privation of either right is found only most rarely in the constitutions of lay institutes, e. g., a privation of active and passive voice for voting for oneself or if proven to have canvassed for votes and of active voice if convicted of having violated chapter secrecy. 28. May a presiding superior general reject a proposal to the general chapter merely on his own authority or after consulting his council either before or during the chapter? It is possible that your constitutions give this authority to the superior general before the opening of the chapter. How-ever, this is found most rarely and never after the chapter ~is in session. It ts'to be remembered that the chapter is the supreme authority within the institute. The superior general, even though he presides, is merely a member of the chapter. He does not act as superior in the chapter. Evidently he is to be given the customary respect and reverence, and his proposals and comments merit greater attention and consideration. He should submit all proposals to the chapter committee or com-mittees on proposals. This does not prevent a committee from stating that a proposal should be rejected or referred to the superior general as a matter of ordinary government. To the degree that a committee fails to do this, the chapter, fatigued, frustrated, and irritated by extraneous details, will be rendered less efficient and less effective. When a committee has made its report, the chapter, not the superior general alone, is the judge as to whether a proposal should be accepted oro rejected. 286 Septe~nber, 1958 THE GENERAL CHAPTER VI. Qualities for Election, Etc. 29. Our constitutions affirm: "For secretary, one of the councilors may be elected (provided she be not the first). It is even advisable to elect a councilor to this office, otherwise the secretary would have no voice in the council." If it is so necessary for the secretary to have a vote in the council, why isn't it of obligation to elect one of the coun. cilors as secretary? There is no necessity whatever that the secretary, general or provincial, should be also a general or provincial councilor. She attends all meetings as a confidential secretary and is bound by the obligation of official secrecy. A confidential secretary devoid of any authokity or part in government is certainly noth-ing unusual either in ecclesiastical or secular life. It would frequerttly be very inefficient to elect a councilor as secretary, simply because none of the councilors would have the training or experience for such a position. The councilors are also often somewhat advanced in years; and this is not an asset for the work of a secretary, even in the background of sufficient traifiing and experience. 30. The constitutions of our diocesan congregation state: In regard to the election of the mother general in particular, they must observe the following points: No sister is eligible to this office who is not at least forty years old and ten years professed; only in case of neces-sity is it allowed to elect one who is but thirty-five years old and eight years professed." A priest who'gave us a retreat stated that he c~uld not see how our constitutions agreed with canon law. Was he right? The priest was evidently right. Canon 504 demands legitimacy, at least ten full years of profession in the same institute from the date of first profession, and forty complete years of" age for th~ valid election of a mother general. Your constitutions omit all mention of legitimacy and require only thirty-five years of age and eight years of profession in a case of necessity. Such a necessity would constitute a sufficient reason for asking for a dispensation from the Holy See but would not excuse your institute from the law of the code. The only justification you could have for'the omission of legitimacy and for the norms of thirty-fi.ve years of age and eight years 287 JOSEPH f. GALLEN Review for Religious of profession would be a privilege granted to your institute by the Holy See, which is so unlikely as to be negligible. The only privileges ordinarily encountered in lay congregations are par-ticular indulgences and Masses, and even these are found most infrequently. If you have no such privilege and elect as mother general a sister who lacks any of the three requisites of canon 504, the election will be invalid. The whole wording of your law reveals clearly that it is a norm occasionally permitted by the Holy See in approving constitutions before 1901. This is a probable indication but not a certain proof that your con-stitutions were never conformed to the Code of Canon Law. If this is true, they should be so conformed as soon as possible. Cf. Larraona, Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 7-1926-248, note 244; Battandier, Guide Canonique, nn. 373-74; Schaefer, De Religiosis, n. 466; Creusen, Religious Men and Women in the Code, n. 65, 2. 31. Two articles of our constitutions read: 1. "The superioress gen-eral must be at least forty years of ag-- and must have pronounced her first vows at least ten years before her election." 2. "In order to appoint a sister as provincial superior, she must be at least thirty. five years old and in perpetual vows." Are these two articles complete and accurate? No. Canon 504 demands three personal qualities for the valid election or appointment of any higher superior .of religious men or women, legitimacy, profession for at least ten complete years in the same institute computed from first profession, and forty complete years of age for a superior general and the superioress of a monastery of nuns but thirty complete years of age for other higher superiors, e. g., provincials. Therefore, age is the only varying element in these three qualities. Both of your articles omit legitimacy. This omission may be caused by delicacy but it could be costly, since legitimacy is required for a valid election or appointment. Both articles also omit the prescription that the ten years of profession must be in the same institute, e. g., years of profession spent in another in-stitute before a transfer may not be computed as part of the 288 September, 1958 THE GENERAL CHAPTER required ten years. The second article adds five years, to the canonical age demanded for a provincial, which is permitted and is customary. It is not sufficient, however, that a provincial be merely of perpetual vows. Perpetual profession is made, at the earliest, three and, at the latest, six years after the first temporary profession; but ten full years of profession are demanded by canon law. 32. Our constitutions state that only a sister "born in holy wedlock" is eligible as mother general. Is this accurate? The sense of canon 504 in this respect is evident, i. e, the religious must be legitimate. From the accepted interpreta-tion, it is sufficient that the religious be either legitimate or legitimated. The canon is usually translated as "born of legiti-mate marriage," which is a literal translation, or "of legitimate birth." The second appears to be preferable. The difficulty is caused by the wording of the canon itself. Instead of simply saying "legitimate," the canon reads "born of a legitimate marriage." The translation "holy wedlock" is not a literal translation and is susceptible of the meaning that legitimacy demands conception or birth from a sacramental marriage, i. e., the valid marriageof two baptized persons. A marriage of two unbaptized is certainly not a sacrament; and there is not too much probability, if any, that it is a sacrament in the baptized party in a marriage between baptized and unbaptized persons. A child conceived or born of either of these two types of non-sacramental marriages .would be legitimate, e. g., a girl born of the valid marriage of two Jewish parents, who was later converted and enteied religion, would not be illegitimate. Some Books Received (Continued from page 278) The Catholic Booklist 1958. Edited by Sister Mary Luella, O.P. Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois. $1.00 (paper cover). The Patron Saints. By John Immerso. Society of St. Paul, 2187 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island 1~, New York. 35c (paper cover). 289 Survey oJ: Roman Document:s R. F. Smit:h, S.J. [The following pages will pro.vide a survey of the documents which ap-peared in the .4eta /lpostolicae Sedis (AAS) during the months of April and May, 1958. Throughout the survey all page references will be to the 1958 AAS (v. 50).] The Easter Message IN BEGINNING his Easter broadcast to the world, which he delivered on April 6, 1958 (AAS, pp. 261-64), the Holy Father noted that Easter has always been regarded in the Church as a feast of light; for by the Resurrection of Christ the human race was freed from the darkness of error and sin. In the first creation, the Pontiff continued, light is~presented as the source of all beauty and order in the world; so too in the Re-demption, which may be properly called a new creation, the light of Christ is the primary and indispensable element of the new order; for .no one can attain perfection except ~through Christ and in Christ. If today error, skepticism, deceit, hatred, war, crime, and injustice still continue to exist, it is because modern man has separated himself from the vivifying light of Christ. Nor need it be feared, said the Holy Father, that Christ will halt human progress; like man, God is not satisfied by the mere existence of the world; rather He wishes to see in it a continual progression toward the fullness of truth, of justice, and of peace. Since the light of Christ has been entrusted to the Church, the Vicar of Christ concluded, each member of the Church must see to it that his light shines before men through the good works he performs. And of all possible good. works, the one most needed today is a constant and unceasing effort toward the establishment of a .just peace. After the message inspired by Christ's Resurrection from the dead, it is fitting to place the allocution which His Holiness 290 I~.OM AN DOCUMENTS delivered on March 30i 1958 (AAS, pp. 265-67), to tl~e families of Italian so'ldiers who were killed or lost in war. The Pontiff observed that in such situations the lot of those who are without the faith is tragic; for them the dead are. gone forever, mingled inextricably with the dust of the battleground where they fell. But those with the faith, though their hearts are still sorrowful, find consolation in the divine promise of an immortal life. They know that the souls of the departed are in heaven or in purgatory. In the first case, the dead can assist the living in a way grea.ter than if they were still alive; while in the second case those who are living can still provide their departed with efficacious help. Even those who have disappeared in the war are not com- ,pletely vanished for those who have the faith; they know that 'those who are lost still remain under the eye of an all-loving and all-powerful God with whom they can intercede for the welfare of/.the loved ones who have never returned. In con-clusion ;the Pope emphasized that between his listeners and their loved ones there exists an indestructible union, that of the communion of saints. For Priests, Seminarians, and Religious ~On October 27, 1957 (AAS, pp. 292-96), the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities issued a letter to all ~local ordinaries concerning the fostering of the Latin language among priests and seminarians. The knowledge of Latin, the letter pointed out, is proper to a priest, for this is the language he will use in performing those sacred duties in which he is the representative of Christ. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence that the knowledge of Latin among priests is decreasing notably. For this reason the Sacred Congregation has seen fit to issue a booklet wherein are gathered together all the pro-nouncements of recent popes on the matter of Latin and the priest. (In a footnote to the letter th~ titles of two booklets sent to local Ordinaries are given: Summorum Pontificum cum 291 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious de humanioribus litteris tum praesertim de Latina lingua docu-menta praecipua and II Latino lingua viva nella Chiesa.) The letter then proposed various practical remedies for meeting the situation, the first and most important of which is to see that the teachers of Latin in seminaries are carefull}; selected and well trained. Secondly, seminarians should begin their study of Latin from the very start of their training and their reading should include not only classical authors but also Latin authors of other times; in this way they will be able to see that Latin is not a dead language but that under the pro-tection of the Church it has always been an instrument ot: human wisdom and culture. Thirdly, all seminarians should be given ample time for the cultivation of their knowledge of Latin. 'On April 11, 1958 (AAS, pp. 282-86), the Holy Father addressed the members of the Congress of Studies on East-ern Monasticism, remarking that monasticism flowered after the end of the persecutions, since generous souls desired this ~ orm .of perfection as a sort ot: voluntary martyrdom destined to replace the martyrdom of blood. He also noted that the religious state of perfection in all its essential elements, came into being in the East, so that "eastern monasticism is at the origin of all Christian religious life and its influence is felt even today in all the great religious orders. The spirituality of the desert, he continued, that form of the contemplative spirit which seeks God in silence and in abnegation, is a pro-found movement of the spirit which never ceases in the Church. The Pontiff concluded by urging his listeners to pursue their studies ofeastern monasticism so that from day to day the origi.ns and principal characteristics of that monasticism become better known. Under the date of April 3, 1958 (AAS, pp. 312-18), His Holiness sent a letter to the religious of Portugal who had con-vened in Lisbon for a congress concerning the states of per-fection. In the beginning of his letter the' Holy Father 292 September, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS reviewed the history of ~P0rtugal, showing how the history of that country could not be written without including the work of religious throughout that history. He also remarked that where the religious state is lacking, Christian life can only rarely achieve that perfection that should be a characteristic note of the Mystical Body of Christ on this earth; accordingly, the religious state, radiant and splendid with the practice of virtue, is an essential element in the Christian development of each diocese. The Vicar of Christ then turned to a consideration of the problems of adapting older forms of religious life to modern conditions. Such adaptation will be possible only if every religious, novice as well as professed, knows the dis-tinguishing marks of his own institute; moreover, religious must be trained to distinguish between what is necessary and unchangeable in their institute and what has been added in the course of time and should be adapted to changed condi-tions. However, he pointed out, these latter elements should not be discarded simply because they are old but only to the extent that they hinder or prevent greater good. The Pontiff urged his listenersto work univaveringly for an increase in religious vocations in Portugal. He concluded his letter by reminding the recipients that contemporary life requires religious who are eminent by reason of piety, virtue, and learning and by urging them to do once more what the religious of Portugal have done so eminently in the past: to bring the light of the gospel to many peoples of the world. Moral Problems in Psychology On April 10, 1958 (AAS, pp. 268-82), the Roman Pontiff spoke to the members of 'the Thirteenth Congress of the International Society for Applied Psychology. In the first part of the allocution, the Pontiff defined personality as the psychosomatic unity of man in so far as it is determined and governed by the soul. After. elucidating each part of this definition, he went on to delineate the most important traits 293 R. F. SMITH Review for Religion,s of personality from the moral and religious viewpoint. The firs: of these characteristics is that the entire man is the work 6f the Creator; by .creation man is similar to God, and in Christ he has received divine sonship.~ These, he remarked, are data that psychology cannot neglect; for they are realities, not imaginary fictions, guaranteed as they are by the infinite mind of God. The second characteristic of human personality is that man has the possibility and the obligation of perfecting his nature according to the divine plan, while the third characteristic noted by His Holiness was that man is a responsible being, capable of shaping his conduct according to moral rules. Finally, in order to understand human personality it must be remembered that at the moment of death the human soul remains fixed in the dispositions acquired during life. The psychologist must remember this, since he is dealing with acts which contribute to the final elaboration oi: the personality. In the second part of his discourse, the Pope took up the morality of various techniques of testing and investigating psychological matters. The aim of psychology, which is" the scientific study of human attitudes and the healing of psychic sickness, is praiseworthy, he asserted; nevertheless, it cannot be said that the means adopted are always justified. Morality teaches that the exigencies of science do not justify any and all techniques and methods; these latter must be submitted to the moral norms of right action. The Pope then considered the rights of the subject who undergoes psychological treatment or experimentation. The contents of the subject's psyche, he noted, belong to the subject. It is true that by the way he acts and comports himself he already reveals some part of his psyche and these data the psychologist can use without any violation of the rights of the subject. But there is another part of the psyche which a person wishes to preserve from the knowledge of others; likewise, there are psychic regions which the subject himself is unaware 294 September, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS of; into. such intimate regions of the psyche no one may pene-trate against the will of the subject. If, however, the subject freely gives his consent, the psychologist may in the majority of cases enter into the recesses of the subject's psyche without violating any moral law. It must, however, be remembered that the subject does not have unlimited power to grant access to his innermost psyche. The subject, for example, cannot grant .access when that access would involve the violation of the rights of a third party or the ruining of an individual or collective reputation. Nor does it suffice in such cases to say that the psychologist and h~is assistants will be bound to keep such things secre_t; for there are some matters (for example, the secret of confession) that can never be revealed. The Vicar of Christ then asks what is to be thought of a person who out of a spirit of heroic altruism offers himself for any and every type of psychological experimentation and investigation. His Holiness replied to this question by saying that since the moral value of a human action depends primarily on its object, heroic altruism can never justify psychological procedures that are morally evil by reason of their object; if, however, the object is gcJod or indifferent, then such heroism will increase the moral worth of the action. The Holy Father then turned to consider whether the general interest and public ~authority could permit the psycho-logist to° employ any and all methods of probing the humar~ psyche. He replied that the f~lct that immoral procedures are. imposed by public authority does not make such procedures licit. As for the question whether the state can impose psycho: logical tests and examinations on individuals, the Holy Fa'ther referred to his allocutions of September 43¢1952, and of Sep-tember 30, !954.; moreover, .he~ pointed out that, with regard to the impo.s.ition of such tests on ,children.: ando,minors,, the .s.tate must also take account of. the rights of,th0se who .have more immediate authority over the education-.of children, that is, the family, and the Church. 295 R. F. SM~H Review for Religious The third and concluding section of the allocution was devoted by the Pontiff to a consideration of some basic moral principles. In developing this section the Holy Father remarked that there are three types of immoral action. The first type. consists of those actions the constitutive elements of which are irreconcilable with moral order; such action, it is clear, may never be licitly performed. Hence, since it is part of the moral order that man should not be subject to his inferior instincts, any tests or techniques of investigation in psychology that involve such submission are immoral and must not be employed. The second type of immoral action includes those actions which are immoral not because of any of their constitutive elements, but because the person acting has no right to such action. Thus, for example, it is immoral to penetrate into the consciousness of anyone, unless the subject gives the investi-gator the right to do so. The third type of immoral action includes those actions which arouse moral danger without, a proportionate justifying cause. Psychologists, then, may not use methods and techniques of investigation that arouse moral dangers unless the reasons for utilizing such methods are proportionate to the dangers involved. The Pontiff then concluded his allocution by expressing the hope that his listeners would continue their efforts to penetrate further into the complexities of the human personality, thereby aiding men to remedy their defects and to respond more faithfully to the sublime designs which God has for each individual. Five Addresses to Groups of Italians The first of these addresses was delivered by the Holy Father on March 9, 1958 (AAS, pp. 205-12), to thirty thousand Neapolitan workers massed in the piazza in front of St. Peter's in Rome. He pointed out to the workers that a large number of the people of their region were living in subhuman con- 296 Septe~n bet, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS ditions, stressing especially the lack of adequate housing in that region and the prevalence there of unemployment. In spite of this, h~wever, he noted that the southern part of Italy has always resisted the false promises of atheistic materialism, thus proving at once the solid foundation of their religious attitudes and their innate sense and appreciation of the spiritual values of life. He urged his listeners to press on with the economic betterment of the south of Italy, but also warned them that such improvements would be of little value unless they were accompanied by a parallel spiritual and moral growth. History, he. asserted, shows that material prosperity, unless guided by human wisdom and by religion, is often the first step toward decadence. Ten days later on March 19, 1958 (AAS, pp. 212-16), the Pontiff addressed an even more imposing audience, this one consisting of 100,000 young Italians, members of Catholic Action. He told his listeners that their presence in the pia~zza of St. Peter's was irrefutable proof of the indestruct-ible and dynami~ vitality of the Church. Then he urged his listeners to reflect on the springtime of history that God is preparing for the world and for the Church. Certainly, he said, the world has just passed through a terrible period of history, but a Christian knows that God will always draw good from evil. The material life of mankind, he noted, though not without its miseries, is steadily climbing higher. Intel-lectually, too, there is constant growth; automation gives promise of releasing men for the pursuit of intellectual matters; while technical progress is permitting the wider and easier diffusion of human culture. In social matters, finally, the same note of progress can be seen. Now for the first time since the birth of Christ, men are conscious not only of their interdependence but also of their stupendous unity, thereby becoming more and more prepared to see themselves as the Mystical Body of Christ. In spite, therefore, of the storms and winds that still exist, it can safely be thought that the long hard winter of history is 297 Review for Religious now drawing to a close and that there is beginning a spring-time that is prelude to an age which will be one of the richest and most luminous in mankind's history. On March 23, 1958 (AAS, pp. 216-20), the Holy Father addressed a group of Romans whose native place was the Province of Picena. He told them to be proud of their regional traditions and characteristics, but also reminded them that they should love their entire country for Italy has con-tributed munificently to the patrimony of the world and she, more than any other country, is closely linked with the work of Christ. Love of country, however, can itself degenerate into a dangerous and exaggerated nationalism. Hence, he advised his listeners to open their vision to the entire world by becoming intensely aware of that supreme reality which is the Church. Italian agricultural workers composed the audience before whom 'Hi~ Holiness spoke on April 16, 1958 (AAS, pp. 287- 91). "Pointing out to them that each Christian has his own place in the Mystical Body of Christ, he recommended that each of his listeners strive to perform his function in that Body perfectly, sit~ce Christians can be assured that any type of life, if it is lived as it should be, is equivalent to the perfect accom-plishment of a sacred duty and is an act of authentic service and love of God. The last of the five addresses to Italians was given by radio message on April 24, 1958 (AAS, pp. 326-30), to the inhabi-tants of the island of Sardinia. The Holy Father congratulated the Sardinians on the increase of material prosperity which they have achieved since the war, warning them, however, that they must not seek to "modernize" spiritual values on the mistaken grounds that Christian ideals of action are now outmoded. He concluded his message by exhorting them to do all in their po,~er to achieve a perfect social order on their island. Miscellaneous Matters On April 26, 1958 (AAS, pp. 318-22), the Holy Father addressed the participants in the Fourth Congress of the Italian 298 September, 1958 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Federation of Women's Sodalities of Our Lady. Recommend-ing that they take Mary as the model of their life and action, he showed them how Mary can teach them to act for the Church. The Blessed Virgin, he said, was present at the beginning of the Church on Pentecost and since then she has never ceased to watch over that Church. A good sodalist must imitate Mary in this and become convinced .that Christian perfection cannot be achieved without preoccupation with the needs of others. Finally, the Pontiff encouraged his listeners to make a careful study of the doctrine of the Mystical Body, since men today are ready to listen to a teaching which considers all humanity as but a single body with a single heart and a single soul. On April 13, 1958 (AAS, pp. 286-87), the Pope ad-dressed a group of delegates from French Africa, praising their efforts for the industrial development of Africa. He stressed the urgency of the economic develolSment of Africa on the grounds that in the modern world underdeveloped countries cannot enjoy complete freedom. Four documents published in AAS during the period under survey were concerned with the beatification of Teresa of Jesus Jornet y Ibars (1843-97), virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Helpless Aged. Or~ January 7, 1958 (AAS, pp. 230-32), the Sacred Congregation of Rites approved the two miracles needed for her beatification; later, on March 28, 1958 (AAS, pp. 332-33), the same con-gregation affirmed that it was safe to proceed with the beati-fication. Accordingly, on April 27, 1958 (AAS, pp. 306-9), the Holy Father issued an apostolic letter proclaiming her beatifica-tion; and the next day (AAS, pp. 322-25) he delivered an allocution on the new Blessed to those who attended the beati-fication ceremonies. In the allocution he stressed three char-acteristics of her life: her tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin which she drew from her association with the Carmelites; her charity for 6thers, especially for the poor, which was of Fran- 299 R. F. SMITH ciscan inspiration; and her simple and tranquil abandonment to the will of God, which she learned from the author of the Spiritual Exercises. During the period surveyed the Sacred Penitentiary re-leased the text of four prayers composed by the Holy Father. The first of these prayers (AAS, pp. 235-36) was composed to. be recited by members of the armed forces of the Republic of Argentina; the second of them (AAS, pp. 334-35) is intended to be recited by young girls; the third prayer is a prayer to be recited by workers to St. Joseph the Worker; and the fourth prayer was composed to be recited by prisoners. Each of the above prayers carries an indulgence of three years whenever the prayer is recited devou, tly and with contrite heart by the persons for whom the prayer was intended. The last two documents to be consideied are concerned respectively with the Church in Columbia and in Canada. On October 23, 1957 (AAS, pp. 224-25), the Sacred Congrega-tion of the Consistory gave definitive approval to the statutes governing the national episcopal conference of the Republic of Columbia. By a decree of November 21, 1957 (AAS, pp. 232-34), the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and.Universi-ties canonically established the Catholic University of Sher-brooke in Canada. The local ordinary, the archbishop of Sherbrooke, was named the Grand Chancellor of the new university. OUR CONTRIBUTORS BARNABAS MARY AHERN, formerly professor of Scripture at the Passionist House of Studies, Chicago, Illinois, is at present com-pleting post-graduate requirements for a doctorate in Sacred Scripture in Rome. RICHARD P. VAUGHAN, an assistant professor of psy-chology at the University of San Francisco and d staff member of the McAuley Clinic, St. Mary's Hospital, is currently engaged in psycho- .therapy with religious men and women. JOSEPH F. GALLEN is professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. R. F. SMITH is a member oi: the faculty of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. EDWARD HAGEMANN is spiritual director at Alma College, a theologate for Jesuit scholastics, at Los Gatos, California. 300 I-low Should Mental Prayer Be Practical? I::dward Nagemann, S.J. o NCE I ATTENDED a conference on prayer in which the speaker undertook to show. how mental prayer is made practical. In a contemplation on the hidden life, he said, we picture our Lord sweeping the house--his care, His modestly, His simplicity. Let us draw from this the resolve: in imitation of Christ I shall sweep my room today at such and such an l/our. No one will deny that such prayer is practicalmwith a ver~gear~ce. But is this the full meaning of that "practical prayer" on which spiritual writers unanimously insist? This we may reasonably doubt. That mental prayer should be practical in some sense is unquestionable. To concern oneself in daily prayer with pious thoughts and movements of the will and yet, day after day, to permit voluntary failures in charity and obedience smacks of illusion. These interior convictions, these acts of the will must in some way flow into action and radiate their influence on one's daily life. Here is where the problem lies. How can we make prayer practical in this way? No simple answer, it seems, will serve as a catchall. Muck "depends, for example, on the state or stage of prayer one has reached. Alphonsus Rodriguez, who wrote primarily for young religious in the early years of their formation, warns us that we must not be satisfied with drawing from meditation a general desire of serving God but should come down to particular in-stances in our life when we can practice such and such .a virtue. (Practice of Perfection and Christian Virtues, 1929, p. 335). This, he states, is one ot~. the chief fruits to be gathered from meditation on the sacred Passion (II, p. 514). Practical prayer 301 EDWARD HAGEMANN Review for Religious in this sense is eminently suited to the audience Rodriguez pri-marily has in mind. Li3uis Lalleman~, on the other hand, was a tertian instruc-tor. Those whom he instructed had been in religion for ten years at the very least and were, therefore, somewhat experi-enced in mental prayer. Moreover, he was giving instruction also for the future lives of his hearers. Dealing with "practical prayer" in the Society of Jesus, Lallemant says, It is an error in prayer to constrain ourselves to give it always a practical bearing. We excite and disquiet ourselves in resolving ho~J we shall behave on su~Ch and such an occasion, what acts of humili.ty, for example, we shall practice. This way of meditating by consideration of virtues is wearisome to the mind, and may even possibly produce disgust. Not but that it is well to do this when we pray, to foresee occa-sions and prepare ourselves for them; but it should be done with free-dom of mind, without refusing to yield ourselves to the simple recollec-tion of contemplation when we feel ourselves drawn to it. (The Spiritual Doctrine of Father Louis Lallemant, 2nd. Princ., Sec. II, Chap. IV, Art. 1) We have here hit upon one of the differences between dis-cursive prayer and contemplation. This latter is not necessakily mystic in the strict sense. It is called, among other names, the prayer of simplicity, the prayer of faith, the prayer of simple recollection. In it, seeing by faith, we look and love. We may be taken up just with the Person of Christ and not with His virtues, arid there is no necessary turning back on ourselves,' The hour of prayer may pass without any reflex act on our-selves or any resolution being formulated. Yet the passing of an hour in the presence of the One we love tones up the whole spiritual man so that the entire day is influenced although we cannot say afterwards that this or that good action Was dhe directly to our hour of mental prayer. Archbishop Goodier has some words very apropos of this. The whole purpose of Illuminative prayer . . . is to make 'the super-natural life more and more a reality . If the supernatural thus becomes our atmosphere, our horizon, in prayer, then in ordinary life it must have its effect. This will follow, and in the actual experience of those who live by such prayer it does follow, even if no "application," no "res-olutions" whatsoever are made. If my life has been really with Christ for an hour, and if my soul all the t(me, no matter with what distractions 302 September, 1958 PRACTICAL MENTAL PRAYER? and pre-occupations of mind, has really been trying to express itself in some way to Him, then, not only for that hour, but for the rest of the day the knowledge of that person will abide. (An Introduction to the Study olr Ascetical and Mystical Theology, 1938, pp. 169-70). Goodier is but following in the footsteps of another Jesuit, a great master of the science of prayer, Jean de Caussade. In an answer to the question what becomes in this kind of prayer of the resolutions which one is accustomed to make dur-ing meditation, De Caussade replies: "There is another time for making these; the time of recollection is not fitted for this. . . Besides, usually as a result of this recollection, one finds oneself in all circumstances well disposed towards the practice of good and the dispelling of evil; and therefore much better equipped to keep those good resolutions that one formerly made without great effect." (On Prayer, 2nd. ed., 1949, p. 206) In discursive prayer the immediate end is the practice of some particular virtue. In the prayer of simple recollection the immediate end is union with God. The ultimate end, of course, is--must be~the practice of virtue. There is no necessary looking at self, no examination of self, no reflex acts. One looks at God. The acts are direct. As St. Francis de Sales says: There are souls who r~adily double and bend back on themselves, who love to feel what they are doing, who wish to see and scrutinize what passes in them, turning their view ever on themselves to discover the progress they make . Now all these spirits are ordinarily subject to be troubled in prayer, for if God deign them the sacred repose of his presence, they voluntarily forsake it to note their own behaviour therein, and to examine whether they are really in content, disquieting themselves~ to discern whether their tranquillity is really tranquil, and their quietude quiet; so that instead of sweetly occuping their will in tasting the sweets of the divine presence, they employ their understanding in reasoning upon the feelings they have; as a bride who should keep her attention on her wedding-ring without looking upon the bridegroom who gave it to . her. (Treatise on the Love of God, 1942, p. 259) Actually, at the end we may wonder if we have a good meditation. This may be a good sign, for as St. Francis de Sales says, "He who prays fervently knows not whether he prays or not, for he is not thinking of the prayer which he makes but of God to whom he makes it" (Treatise on the 3o3 EDWARD HAGEMANN Review for Religious Love of God, p. 391). Here en passant we may point out the importance of a brief recollection after the prayer is over. In it we see how we have done, if any carelessness crept into the prayer itself or into the preparation before. We thank God for what He has enabled us to do, and we note the general direction our prayer has taken. All that we have said brings out an important truth in spiritual theology. It is this: spiritual perfection is measured by the love that is in a soul, i.e., by both affective and effective love. St. Francis de Sales explains these two loves for us: By affective love we love God and what he loves, by effective we serve God and do what he ordains; that joins us to God's goodne.ss, this makes us execute his will: The one fills us with complacency, benevolence, ydarnings, de-sires, aspirations and spiritual ardors, causing us to practice the sacred infusions and minglings of our spirit with God's, the other establishes in us the solid resolution, the constancy of heart, and the inviolable obedi-ence requisite to effect the ordinances of the divine will, and to suffer, accept, approve and embrace all that comes from his good pleasure; the one makes us pleased in God, the other makes us please God. (Treatise on the Love of God, p. 231) Now it will always be safer to judge of the perfection of any soul by its effective love, i.e., by its virtuous life, for this will be a proof that the affective love is genuine. This is what the Church does in the inquiries leading up to canoniza-tion. Nevertheless, the perfection of one's spiritual life will depend primarily on affective love. This affective love is not a movement of the affections that arises spontaneously within us without any consent of our free wills; but it consists of acts freely admitted, both acts of the love of God and acts ¯ of the other virtues aroused out of love for God. Now, this is precisely what occurs in contemplation. We look and love. This loving consists sometimes of a single act lasting a certain length of time, sometimes of consecutive acts of the love of God for Himself or of the other virtues aroused by and clothed, so to speak, in love. As these are direct, not reflex acts, they are almost imperceptible When perceived, it is only in a 304 September, 1958 PRACTICAL MENTAL PRAYER? confused manner~ The effects, however, of this kind of prayer are most perceptible. They are good works. An eminent theologian, Joseph de Guibert, S.J., in his treatise, "Perfection and Charity," has these pertinent words: "One cannot immediately condemn as useless those general im-pulses of the love of God (e.g. in mental prayer) which are not immediately followed by some practical conclusion or resolve. If these are true movements of love, that is, not merely emotional but elicited by an act of free will, then they are meritorious in themselves and can greatly contribute to the increase of the dominion of charity over one's whole life." (The Theology of the Spiritual Life," 1953, p. 55) These words are but an echo of the strong statement of Lallemant: "We should regard as practical, and not purely' speculative, such exercise of prayer as disposes the soul to charity, relig-ion and humility, etc., although the affection remains within the soul, and does not express itself in outward a~ts" (The Spiritual Doctrine of Father Louis Lallemant, 2nd. Princ., Sec. II, Chap. IV, Art. 1). We see the importance of this affective love stressed in the third week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. At the end of the second w~ek the resolution or "election" has been made. The important thing now is to strengthen oneself so that one will be .ready to carry it out. In other words, the third week, as well as the fourth week, is to confirm the resolu-tion. Now, what St. Ignatius wants, in this week is told us in the third prelude of every contemplation, "To ask for what I want. It will be here grief, feeling and confusion because for my sins the Lord is going to the Passion." If I affectively love Christ in His sufferings, I shall more readily show my effective love for Him in action. What holds in a retreat holds also in general for medi-tation on the Passion. In a meditation on the crowning of thorns, Archbishop Goodier says: "Throughout meditation on the Passion there is little need to look for application; its own 305 EDWARD HAGEMANN Revicw for Religious dead weight should be enough, pressing down on us as it pressed down on Him; in scenes such as this, in particular, we need do no more than try to realize what they contained; to do so is to grow in sympathy, and sympathy is love." (The Crown of Sorrows, !.932, p. 92) To conclude. We have considered the two extremes in ordinary mental prayer: discursive and contemplative prayer. We have seen that both of these are practical. Between these two kinds and also in these two kinds themselves, there are as many stages and degrees as there are people making mental prayer. Because of temperament, training, family and educa-tional background, physical condition, etc., some people tend more to reflection, others more to acts of' affection. Some have more problems, psychological and spiritual, than others. All this influences mental prayer and the practical turn it will take. Moreover, as one progresses in prayer, it will always be toward simplification both in the thought process and in the affections. In addition to all this, it must never be for-gotten that mental prayer is--prayer. It is not just thinking and reflecting, examining self and making resolutions. As Father Edward Leen puts it: "It must always be remembered that return upon ourselves is not the essential activity and such return must be interwoven with abundant petition for Divine Light. Any concentration on self not directed and controlled. by a supernatural impulse and movement of grace is likely to beget mere natural activity if not degenerate into morbid self-analysis." (Progress Through Mental Prayer, New York, 1947, p. 182, note 6) ¯ We are to make progress, then, in perceiving more clearly and readily the touches of grace and in following its attrac-tions as to the choice of both the matter and the manner of our mental prayer--and all without anxiety. As a result we shall notice within ourselves a gradual growth in gentle pa-tience, a deepening of peace, and a desire more and more to do God's will--a complete surrender to His good pleasure 306 September, 1958 ]~OOK REVIEWS everywhere and in everything. Mental prayer is not an end in itself but a means by which we prepare ourselves to serve God better. That prayer, then, is practical that helps us to this preparation. As Our Lord expressed it, "By the fruit the tree is known" (Matt. 12:33~. De Caussade sums it up thus, "All prayer which makes us holy, better or less wicked is surely good, for it is just a means of sanctification" (On Prayer, p. 202). And somewhat more fully in his other work: "All prayer that produces reformation of the heart, amendmen~ of life, the avoidance of vice, the practice of the evangelical virtues and the duties of one's state, is a good prayer" (Aban-donment to Divine Providence, 1921, p. 140). Book Reviews [Material for this department should be sent to Book Review Editor, REVIEW ~FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] THE PRACTICE OF THE RULE. By Louis Colin, C.SS.R. Translated from the French by David Heimann. Pp. 250. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. 1957. $3.75. At first glance The Practice of the Rule might appear as just another book on religious perfection within the cloister. However, the book distinguishes itself fiom most of those of similar bent by treating at length an area of religious life which more fre-quently than not receives only passing mention from ascetical authors. Father Colin attempts to give "a complete and precise synthesis of the practice of the rule: its nature, its necessity, its enemies, its developments, its prerogatives." By more than a mere expository presentation, the author proposes to instill a love of the rule that will motivate the religious to an-exact and a generous practice of his order's institute as manifested by his observance of the rule. A brief introductory chapter presents the reader with a clear analysis of the fundamental character and primacy of an interior practice of the rule, the source of any sincere exterior observance. "Once again: the value of observance is measured less by its exterior rigor than by its spirit. The man whose practice of the rule is as 307 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious regulated and exact as a clock will have less virtue than another who is less regular but more spiritual in his obedience." The six following chapters treat in detail the interior practice which must perforce regard the rule with faith, confidence, and love. Faith in the rul~ is demanded because of the holiness and the authority of the rules themselves. Confidence in the rule depends on two factors: "conviction--hoping for everythihg from the practice of the rule; and fear--dreading everything from the violation of the rule." Love of the rule is "the most perfect and most necessary" force in interior practice of the rule. An interior practice rooted in deep faith, firm confidence, and genuine love leads riaturally and logically to regularity, that is, the exterior practice of the rule. "The Fine Points of Observance" and "The Martyrdom of Observ-ance" contain the author's views on this external observance. The final chapters discuss the enemies of both interior and exterior practice, progress in religious obgervance, and the advantages both to the individual and to the religious order which God has attached to perfect regularity. "Father Col~n" develops the subject clearly and forcefully. Prob-ably, as he himself suggests in the forward, the quotations are too numerous and, though they are "not without justification," could be fewer in number. The style is easily comprehended and befitting a tgpic of this nature. At the same time, credit is due David Heimann, whose translation from the French leaves little to be desired. Regrettably, perhaps, Father Colin feels compelled to observe that rule violations, "when they are unjustified, are never entirely free from sin." Apart from the fact that some moyalists dispute this, the employment of such a motive for rule observance.bespeaks in a sense a certain lack of confidence in the generosity and sin-cerity of ihdividual religious who, p~esumably, without such a motivation would fall into a wholesale disregard of the rule. In other places throughout his book, however, Father Colin definitely appeals to these two virtues--generosity and sincerity--as a solid foundation upon which true religious regularity rests. Consequently,. his treatment of the sinfulness of rule violations need not obscure the otherwise lofty motivation he presents. The Practice of the Rule not only is profitable for private reading and study, but also has value as public reading during times of retreat, of renovation of vows, or on days of the monthly recollection.--Rds~gT E. MuggAv, S.J. 308 ,September, 1958 BOOK REvIEWS THE GOLDEN DOOR. The Life of Katherine Drexel. By Katherine Burton. Pp. 329. P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 12 Barclay Street, New York 8. 1957. ~3.7~. This biography offers an interesting factual account of the background and activities of Mother Katherine Drexel, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indian and Colored People~ Tl~e second of three daughters of Francis Drexel., Jr., a promi-nent banker of Philadelphia, Mother Katherine spent the early years of her life enjoying the usual privileges, which great possessions afford. The formality of frequent social events in the town house was succeeded each summer by the pleasant days of leisure at the family's "country estate. Various visits or excursions while at home and extensive travel abroad, especially in Europe, complemented her formal education. The most important part of h.er heritage, how-ever, was thee deep Catholic piety and admirable charity which were so characteristic of her parents. One result of the innumerable visits of members of the hierarchy and missionary priests seeking financial aid for their work was the interest in the plight of the Indians and Negroes aroused in Mother. Katherine. Her concern increased as she learned of the manner in which these Americans were neglected and even deprived of their rights, by their government. While seriously co.nsider'ing her vocation, an audience with Pope Ldo XIII strengthened her decision to devote her life as well .as her wealth to these unfortunate Ameri-cans. This led to the establishment of a new congregation of sisters devoted exclusively to the Indians and colored people. After he.r own religious training under, the guidance of the Sisters of Mercy had be.en completed, the story of her life is, to a great extent, the story of successive trips:, to Rome in order to hasten the approval of hero congregation; to each mission, church, or school to inspect and direct operations. She established "three houses of social service and one mission center, many rural schools, eigh~ of them supervised by her sisters, sixty-one other schools-- twelve high schools, forty-eight elementary schools--and Xavier University, the first Catholic university ' in the country for its Negro citizens." A long life filled .with the hardships of travel and multiple administrative duties was terminated after a serious lingering illness. Mother Katherine died in 1955 at the age of ninety-six. 3O9 BOOK R~-TIEWS Review for Religious Love is expressed in deeds. And Katherine Burton has rightly recalled in an excellent manner the outward deeds of Mother Katherine. This reviewer found the general pattern of visits and trips somewhat tedious, but much less so than what Mother Katherine herself must have experienced. What is implicit in the deeds could have been, perhaps, made mo~e explicit by allowing Mother Katherine to express herself at greater length on various occasions. But perhaps a companion volume is planned to give us a more penetrat-ing study of the interior life and spirit of this remarkable handmaid of the Lord. The book i~ recommended reading for all. h JOHN W. MACURAK, S.2. KNIGHTS OF CHRIST. By Helen Walker Homan. Pp. 486. larentice. Hall, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York 11. 1957.$12.50. In this handsome and expensive volume forty-five Catholic orders of men pass in review. Instead of trying to be exhaustive, ¯ Mrs. Homan has chosen to present the oldest orders and/or those best represented in the United States today. Nece, ssarily, readers. will be disappoii~ted by the omission of groups they are interested in. Positively, however, the result is good: instead of very brief entries on every group in existence today, there are substantial essays of roughly ten pages, a length that allows Mrs. Homan some room to describe each oiae's historical origins, its peculiar spirit, and its work in the United States. My one regret is that space could not be found for at least one representative of eastern monasticism. Furthermore, Mrs. Homan has successfully carried through the difficult task she assigned herself. She has consulted the proper solid sources; the book is not a rosary strung with legends. Her statistics seem up-to-date and reliable (although I know of no other source for 4,000,000 Franciscan Tertiaries in 1947). She maintains a decent proportion both between essays and between the various parts of each essay. By its very nature, such a volume is bound to seem repetitious in style and content to the reviewer who reads it in a rather short space of time. At appropriate times of the year, however, each chapter would make interesting and profitable reading, say, in the dining rooms of thbse communities which have reading during meals.~W. P. KROLIKOWSKI, S.J. 310 September, 1958 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS THUNDER IN THE DISTANCE. The Life of P~re Lebbe. By Jacques Lederq. Translated from the French by George Lamb. Pp. 322.' Sheed and Ward, 840 Broadway, New York 3. 1958. His Belgian parents had English associations, so even in Ghent they called little Frederick Lebbe (1877-1940) Freddie. But early in life he interested himself in St. Vincent de Paul and China and, accordingly, called himself Vincent Lei Ming Yuan. We are told that the Chinese name means "Thun~[er in the Distance." The name turned out to be symbolic of not only the cannonfire and aerial bombing over his China as he was leaving that dear land for God, but also of the rain of grace in China during his thirty-nine years as Chinese citizen and missionary. Qery fdw books are so worth giving to any foreign missionary anywhere as this very beautifully written life. Any foreign missionary can learn wha.t he or she should be by reading this inspiring and amazing story of how little Phre Lebbe made himself a model.~6~ any missionary, clerical, religious, or lay. Any refectory audience interested in some entertaining, in-spiring, amazing history of the Church must hear this book read. The amazing part of the book is the opposition from really good men, priests and bishops, to the unequivocal directives of the Holy See that missions foster vocations among their converts. Since vocations mean priestsand religious, priests and religious mean bishops and. superiors, this means Asiatics and Africans over Europeans. Thanks be to God for the great missionary encyclicals of Popes Benedict XV, Pius XI, and Pius XII and for the very considerable part little P~re Lebbe had in giving the Church her now several hundred Chinese and Japanese and Indian ~nd Negro bishops and cardinals! Thanks be to God for the International Catholic Auxiliaries of Chicago and elsewhere whom Father Lebbe's great organizational ability gave us for the formation of good lay apostles.--PAuL D~NT S:J. BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS BENZIGER BROTHERS, INC.,. 6-8 Barclay Street, New York 8, New York. Teach Ye All Nations. By Edward L. Murphy, S.J. Here is an excellent introduction to missiology. The problem of the missions is viewed from many angles and is presented in its proper perspective. Consequently, it is an appeal for the missions that is different. 311 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious Instead of pointing out the desperate needs of the missions, it sets forth the theology of the. missions, not for theologians but for the general reader. Anyone who reads this book and applies its doctrine to himself will become mission minded aad do his share in carrying out our Lord's injunction: "Teach ye all nations." Pp. 234. $2.7L THE BRUCE PUBLISHING" COMPANY, 400 North Broadway, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. Religious Men and Women in Church Law. By Joseph Creusen, S.J. Sixth English edition by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. This is not a reprint but a completely revised edition of a classic volume. Seven appendices greatly increase its value. There you will find the list of questions for the quinquennial report; a summary of the la~ regarding .diocesan congregations of religious women/; a new papal instruction on" the cloister of nuns; decrees of t}~e Sacred Congrega-tion of Religious on military service; and a letter of the same con-gregation on the use of radio and television. Pp. 380. $6.50. EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH .OF CARONDELET, Fontbonne College, St. Louii, Missouri. The Intellectual Life of the Religious. Proceedings and Papers of the Fifteenth Meeting, 1957. Sisters whose work is education can find in the proceedings excellent directives to achieve an integration of the spiritual and intellectual life so necessary for them if they are to achieve success in thd work to which God has called them. Pp. 100~ FIDES PUBLISHERS, 744 East 97th Street, Chicag~ 19, Illinois. Our Life of Grace. By Canon F. Cuttaz. Translated.by An-geline Bouchard. One of the more difficult subjects in. theology, yet one most profitable from an ascetical point of view, is the subject of grace. It also happens to be the one about which non-theologians know the least since it is so difficult to find books on the subject which are not written for professional theologians. That is why we owe a debt of gratitude to the author of the present volume. He realized that "ignorance of grace is ignorance of what is most fruitful for our devotion; of'the dogmas' best suited to stir the heart and will to good; of the most consoling and inspiring truths' of our religion." To remove this ignorance on the part of many he wrote Our Life of Grace: That he was successful is assured by the fact that the French edition is already in its fifth printing. The translation is excellent. Pp. 327. $6.95. 312 September, lp58 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS More Than Many .Sparrows. By Leo J. Trese. This time Father Trese has written a book for lay people. It is their problems that he considers, their happiness .that he ~trives to promote.~ And he~ does it in his. accustomed manner which is at once interesting and persuasive. Pp. 137. $2.95. -~ "~Fides Publishers have jhst issued three of their books in~ pa~er-back 'editions~° Conversation with Christ by "Pet~'r-Thomas Rohrbach, O,C.D. Pp. "171. $1.25. Lend Me Your Hands 'by Bernard F. Meyer, M.M. Pp. 241. $1.50'. Father of the Family by Eugene S'. Geissler. Pp. 157. $1.25. These books were described in this column'in Januaiy, 1957, July, 1955, and: July, 1957, respectively. FORDHAM UlXfIVERSITY PRESS, New York 28, New~ York. Planning.lfor ~he Formation of Sister~, Studies on th~ Teaching Aposiolate.and Selections from Addresse~s of the Sister Formation Conferences. 1956-1957. Edited by,~ Sister Ritamary, C.H.M. ¯ This book oiS most interesting because of the clarity and authority .with which it portrays the many problems .of the teaching apostolate; it is indispensable i:or those responsible for meeting the many present and future needs of this apo~stolate; it is most consoling for it gives such .eloquent testimony, of the thought .and labor being expended to meet these many needs. Pp. 314. $3.50. GRAIL PUBLICATIONS, St. Meinrad, Indiaha. The Angels. By Pascal Parente. There exists in the universe created by God beings that far surpass man in intelligence and power. This ,is the w0r!d of pure spirits. ,Like men ~they had a period if probation' a~d many failed the test. They are now bad ~pi~'its br devilS.' Th~ good spirits or angels are ou~- allies and.can be coufited on' fo~ help "in ~our time of probation; the' devil~ are odr ad~,~rsaries. Many of us do not know enough about this spirii wdrld and its'contacts with ,the world in which we live. It is greatly to our ad~,antage~ tp~ldarn more about th~ w(~rld of the angels. The p~esent volume tells ~hat G6d has revealed concern-ing this universe of spiri'ts ahd ~vhat theologians havd bd~n 'able to deduc~ from"