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Issue 10.1 of the Review for Religious, 1951. ; JANUARY 15, 1951 o Schools of Spiri÷ualify .o . ° . oG. Augustine Ellard 0BenedictineS. prifid a li÷y ' Bernard A. Sause '~ . .; 2 °,Behol~l This Heart ° ' ' C.-,A. Herbs÷ Quinqubnnial Repor÷ .~.° ." . . . . . . . AdamC. Ellis Minis÷er of ~'he Sacramen÷s . ClarenCe McAullffe How Are Your Eyes? . M. Raymond C!,~sic on HigherPraye~ . ~,. JeromeBreunlcj Destiny" o{ ReligioUS Women . william B. Faher~ Questions and Answers Book Reviews R Vli::::W FOR Ri::LI IO.US VOLUME X JANUARY, 1951 NUMBER CONTENTS SCHOOLS OF SPIRITUALITY~G. Augustine Ellard, S.J .3 ON ACTUAL GRACE . 6 BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITYmBernard A. Sause, O.S.B . 7 BEHOLD THIS HEART---C. A. Herbst, S.,I .1.6. OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 19 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT, 1951--Adam C Ellis, S.J .2.0. UNWORTHY MINISTERS OF THE SACRAMENTSm Clarence McAuliffe, S.J .25 NEW APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION . 32 HOW ARE YOUR EYES?--M. Raymond, O.C.S.O .3.3. HOME FOR TUBERCULOUS SISTERS . ' 38 CLASSIC ON HIGHER PRAYER--Jerome Breunig, 8.J .3.9. REPRINT SERIES . " . , ¯ 46 THE DESTINY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN~WilIiam B Faherty, S.J.47 BOOK REVIEWS-- Meaning of Fatima; Vocation to Love; Graces of Interior Prayer 51 BOOK NOTICES . 52 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . 54 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. Voting in Local Chapter . 54 2. Pastor as Confessor for Religious . 55 3. Admittance of Ex-Novice . 55 4 Proper.ty Acquired after Profession . . .55 5. Meaning of "Religious" . . 56 6. Adding to Holy Father's Blessing . 56 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. January, 1951, Vol. X, No. 1. Published bi-monthly : January, March, May, July, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Marys College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Editorial Secretary: Jerome Breunig, S.J. Copyright, 1951, By Adam C. Ellis, S.J. Permission is hereby granted for quota-tions of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice on Inside back cover. Review ~or Religious Volume X January--December, 1951 Published at THE COLLEGE PRESS Topeka, Kansas Edited by THE JESUIT FATHERS SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is indexed in the CATHOLIC PERIODICAL INDEX Schools ot: Spiri!:u li :y G. Augustine Ellard,'S.J. IT IS A SIGN of the richness of the Church's spiritual life" that in it there should be "schoolsof spiritu.ality.'" Not even a gre~t saint could well represent that life in all it phases; to illustrate its we~ilth and depth and variety all the saints together would have to be called forth. No individual person nor indeed, any association of them, no matter" how holy and perfect they might be, could ade-quately e:~emplify all the different aspects and facets of the interior life. On the one hand thefecundity of Catholic doctrine is inex-haustible, and on the other the variations among men and women; their needs, providenti~al destinies, potentialities, and sb on, are innumerable. Given these two sources, namely, the fertility of what the "Church offers and the endless dissimilarities among men, it is inevitable that there should be within the Church groups having somewhat diverse conceptions of what pertains. to the spiritual life and then actually carrying them out in corresl~ondingly various ways. As in nature, so aiso in the supernatural order of grace the gifts of God are.most highly variegated. ~'There are ,~arieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of workings, but the same God,. who worketh all things in all. But to each is given the manifesta-tion of the Spirit for the general profit." (I Cor. 12:4-7--West-minster Version.) To make up the whole Mystical Body of Christ and keep it functioning in accordance with the divine design.it is necessary th'at there should be different systems of members occupying different places in that great mysterious organism and discharging different forms of activity, even in the cultivation of the interior life and of the love of God. "For as the body is one.and hath many~members~ and all the members of the body, many as they are, form. one bogy; so also it is with Christ. Now ye are the .body of Christ, and.sey-erally his members: - And God bath appointed sundry inthe Church, first apostles, secondly.prophets, thirdly teachers.': (I C0.r. 12: 12, 27-.28-:-'Westminster Version.) As the various.organs Of the body, the heart for instance and the brain, posses~ at the sa~me.time a certain unity and a certain diversity of life, so also the .Mystical.Body of. G. AUGUS~FINE ELLARD Reoieto for Religious Christ must have among its numerous members, all sharing in one life, some who specialize, say, in contemplation and others in action, some who emphasize this virtue and others who excel in that. The revelation vouchsafed to us by God in the New Testament is a complete whole, made up of parts, however, which taken by themselves are unmistakably different. Nobody could fail to dis-tinguish the phases of it presented by the Synoptic Evangelists, by St. John, and by St. Paul. Abstractly, a school of spirituality is a distinctive system of doc-trines, theoretical and practical (principles and practices), pertaining ¯ to the pursuit of Christian perfection. Concretely, it is the group of persons who propose or use that system. These schools differ from one another in much the same way, and for much the same reasons, as the saints who typify them differ from one another. The limits of these schools are somewhat indefinite, and not everybody would enumerate them in just the same way. Tanquerey, in The Spirit'uat Life, distinguishes these eight schools in the modern Church: Benedictine, Dominican, Franciscan, Jesuit, Carmelite, the School of St. Francis de Sales, the French School of the Seventeenth Century, and the School of St. Alphonsus Liguori (xxxii-xlvi). Influence of Religious Orders From this enumeration one might feel tempted to conclude that the schools of spirituality are about the same as the great religious orders after which most of them are named. 'As a matter of fact the respective orders do occupy a leading position in them. However, the schools themselves are much more extensive and less closely bound together. Thus, for example, presumably most people who are in Franciscan.or Dominican parishes would follow their pastors in their spiritual systems. But also sometimes one who belongs, say to a Redemptorlst parish would be a member of the Third Order of Mt. Carmel, and then very probably his sanctification would for the most part follow the Carmelite pattern. Moreover, all those who read Franciscan or Dominican authors and mold their interior devel-opment predominantljr in accordance with the ideals which they find therein would pertain to these same schools. Being Catholic and orthodox, all schools of spirituality have very much in common. Their essential cores are identical. They all have the same dogmatic basis, the same moral principles, the same general ideal of perfection, namely, total love of God, the same prin-cipal means to realize friar objective, and in general whatever is char- danuarg, 1951 SCHOOLS OF SPIRITUALITY acteristic of the Catholic spirit. Over and above these common and fundamental elements each school has its own distinctive notes. One prefers to seek light and inspiration from certain dogmas and another from others. Thus the French School of the Seventeenth Century shows a very special pre-occupation with the doctrine of the Incarnation. There may be different conceptions of God in the sense that different divine attri-butes or aspects are emphasized: think of .Dominican spirituality and God as Prime Mover in contrast .to the Carmelite and God as the All. The various virtues get various treatments: of all the schools the Franciican gives most attention to poverty. With regard to action and contemplation there are conspicuously different orienta-tions; this divergence is well exemplified by the Carmelites and the Jesuits. In Benedictine asceticism the liturgy plays a most prom-inent role; in that of St. Alphonsus and his sons its place is at least less. Somewhat contrastive attitudes are cultivated toward the sacred humanity of Christ: notice the Franciscan tender devotion to the crib and cross as opposed to Jesuit energetic imitation of Christ in His apostolic activity. In some spiritual groups and their doctrines there has been much of the speculative, element; in others, a mini-mum. A historical example of this opposition in tendency is the Rhenish School of the fourteenth century (Eckhart, Tauler, Suso, Ruysbroeck) and the reaction it provoked in such writers as Thomas ~ Kempis. Tendencies to be Avoided With respect to the divergence between schools of spirituality there are two exaggerated and contrary tendencies that are bad and ought to be avoided. One is to minimize or slur over the differences that really do exist and divide them. A narrow and unintelligent 'zeal for the un, ity of Catholicism leads some people more or less to overlook or deny the variations of form and doctrine that are dis-cernible in the rich interior life of the whole Church.~ There is indeed unity in essentials, but the accidentals are far from uniform-ity. One would as reasonably attempt to cover over the differences that exist between the religious orders and their diversified spirits. Real divergences between systems of spiritual doctrine and practice ought to be acknowledged. Oftentimes they offer new light and stimulation to one's personal religious life. In any case they are part of the yariety and beauty that pertain to the Church as the spouse of Christ. 5 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD The opposite fault is to magnify or overemphasize the distinc-tions and diversities between schools. After a11, these differences, though they are important in certain ways, belong to the accidentals, and leave the essentials unchanged throughout the whole Catholic body. Various phases of dogma are accentuated, but the general dog-matic background is identical. The ideals pursued by all are sub-stantially the same, that is, total love of find collaboration with God, with minor variations to suit special purposes or characters. Some stress this virtue and some that, or they blend them together in differ-ent proportions, but ultimately the great Christian virtues are the same for all. In each of the schools one may recognize the essential family likeness that demonstrates their Catholic origin and nature. Finally, it would be fallacious and unjust to rate one school above another. Human insight is not keen enough to gauge pre-cisely the merits and deficiencies of the various schools as they exist objectively and in the sight of God. But relatively, and as far as we can judge, each one of these schools is best suited and adapted to cer-tain groups of persons within the Church. In most cases Divine Providence gently and naturally and imperceptibly makes us pupils in this or that school. That there may be unity, harmgny, and organic development in one's interior life, it is as a rule advisable to keep fairly well within the limits of some one system. This prin-ciple will not prevent those who are more or less mature in their spiritual growth from availing themselves of whatever is best in all of them. Thus the supernatural life and beauty of the Church will ever become richer and richer. ON ACTUAL GRACE The excellent book, With the Help of Thy Grace, by John V. Matthews, S.J. (REVIEW, Vol. IV, pp. 66-67), is now being published in a revised and enlarged edition under the title, Actual Grace and the Spiritual Life. We are willing to underwrite the comment on the inside jacket: "The lucid appealing style of the author has turned what could be a difficult treatise into a simple, attractive and very helpful exposition of a mighty su.bject." The book is being published in the "Recall to the Spiritual Life Series" by the Mercier Press, Cork and Liverpool, 7/6. 6 Benedic!:ine Spirit:uali!:y Bernard A. Sause, O.S.B. MOST persons likely to be consulted about vocation to monas-ticism would probably consider it wise and discreet to emphasize its gratifying features: the beauty of the monastic home, the traditional love of the liturgy, the dignity and consolation of the work usually assigned to the monks, and especially the guar-antee of peace, security, and tranquility. Although he is often commended for his breadth of vision and prudence in governing,. St. Bene~lict does not belong to this school of,thought. It would be difficult to imagine a more forbidding and chal-lenging reception of an aspirant to the religious life than that which he prescribes in his Rule. "The newcomer is not to be granted easy admittance to the enclosure; he must be tested for four or five days to see whether he bears patiently the harsh treatment offered him and the difficulties of admission; he is placed in the novitiate under a mas-ter skilled in the art of winning souls, but who is made to sound most unpleasantly so;'the poor novice is tried repeatedly in all patience--a phrase that is quite meaningless unless one has lived its interpretation at the hands of an experienced master; the year of trial is devoted to showing him all the hard and rugged things through which we pass on to God; the Rule is read and explain.ed to him under the harsh term of "the law." (See Holy Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 58.) There is more in the same vein. As one reads this chapter of the. Rule, this thought courses throughthe mind: St. Benedict begins with the assumption that a vocation is the consecration of a life to God's service; and while he willed it to be viewed with all the calmness and imperturbability of a life-long perspective, and was willing to make reasonable allowances, he knew that not a moment was to be wasted. Mortification, sup-pression of sinful man's inclination to evil, and the supreme impor-tance of the sacred obedience which with a distinctive forc.e dominates all monastic effort, are all integral parts of fashioning a character according to "his Rule. In harmony with that plan, which has stood the test of more than fourteen centuries, they can be begun, and con-tinued, only in high seriousness. A Spiritual Famit~l St. Benedict did not found an order in the legal, sense of the word. ¯ He wrote his Rule for an ideal monastery, for one moderately-sized BERNARD A. SAUSE Review for Religious family, governed by an Abbot who is believed to hold the place of Christ. (Ch. 2) Even to this day there is among all the followers of Benedict no more deeply cherished religious principle than the autonomy of the individual abbey. Those who lack more extensive acquaintance with the history of Benedictine effort may think of a number of isolated, relatively small and independent houses as an anachronism in today's widespread tendency toward centralization, but Benedictines know the Rule's provision as the spiritual force that has enabled them to make their worthiest contributions to the spir-itual life of the Church. As a youth the Patriarch of Western Monasticism.had lived for three years in the cave above Subiaco. In the op.ening paragraph of Chapter 1 of the Rule, which was written years Iater, he makes it clear that every trace of the eremitical life has been abandoned: his monastery is a group of sons under the intimate leadership of a father who in all matters pertaining to this distinctive way of life is' believed to hold the place of Christ. Together with the eremitical form of religion, St. Benedict discarded numerous monastic observ-ances and traditions that had been generally kept in the Church until his day (he died March 21, 547). A study of the elements that Benedict rejected is interesting for establishing the positive concept of his way of life. For the excessive bodily severity of the Orientals was substituted a round of carefully regulated practices and ideals that could be adopted by all who were admitted to the monastic family. The individualis~tic and subjective piety that so often had prompted excesses and rigorism was simply prohibited: works of supererogation and mortifications which were not made known to the Abbot and which were undergone without his approval and blessing were imputed to presumption an~d vai~glory. (Ch. 49) Prolonged psalmody and arbitrary additions to the Divine Office were excluded. Prayer was regulated'~ the effort of the entire com-m'unity united under the spiritual leadership of the Abbot. It was thought of as the sanctification of the day's work, and the consecra-tion of the night. The meticulous selection of the Psalms for the different hours, which no one has dared to change in the intervening fourteen centuries, despite numerous changes in the arrangement of the Psalter for all other groups in the Church; the comparatively long night Office; the relatively short day Hours, .emphasize this idea. The centralized organization in the Church, especially in the Pachomian monasteries, was done away with, and the individual danuar~t, 1951 BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY monastic family became the self-sustaining, self-governing unit of monasticism. These instances are not to be thought of as exhaustive but are merely of a general pattern that bore the stamp of guidance by the Holy Spirit? and, humanly speaking, the experience of almost a half century of actual observance, most of it*with~the responsibility of guiding others as their Abbot. They result in a balance and har~ mony that is of the essence of the monastic character, and invariably one of its most discernible notes. All this is made to fit into the setting of the ~mall monastic fam-ily. Under the leadership-6f their father, in Christ, the brethren pray together all the hours of the Church's official worship. Together they offer as a body the Sacrifice of the Mass. The consideration of private prayer, recognized by all serious religious as most Valuable, nay indispensable, is limited to one sentence: "If another desireth to pray alone in private, l~t him enter [the oratory of the monastery] with simplicity and pray, not with a loud voice, but with tears and fervor of heart." (Ch. 52) One must be careful not to draw false conclusions from so brief a statement. The importance of private. prayer is in no way .minimized. Quite the contrary is "true, as is exemlSlified in the whole history of monastic endeavor. But it was not the concern of St. Benedict's legislation, which was the life of the monastic family. The bretl, lren work together; they eat in a common refectory. They sleep under one roof. Their whole life centers about the or,a-tory. Ideally the sphere of the activity in which "the Lord's work-man," as Benedict calls the monk in the Prologue to his Rule, is to fulfil the promises he makes to God on profession morning, is small. Before the altar for several hours each day he devotes his efforts to the sacred liturgy, that all-important work of God's glorification and the soul's sanctification to which, in Benedict's plan, nothing is ever to be preferred. The refectory, where he reminds the brethren they are to serve one another in charity, the recreation hall, the infirmary, and, generally speaking, the whole enclosure of the monastery, become the scene of the works of charity, brotherly love, co-opera-tion, and good zeal.2 aSee Pope Pius XI. Apostolic Letter, Unigenitus Dei Filius, March 19, 1924. Acta Apostolicae 8edis, 16 : 133. 2The nature of mofiastic autonomy is dealt with expertly and at length by Butler, Benedictine Monachism. London, Longmans, Green, 1919. Especially p. 200 f. BERNARD A, SAUSE Reoie~ for Religious The Opus Dei ' The constitution of the monastic family has its definite purpose and method of operation. The Master of Montecas~ino calls it a School of the Lord's Service. His followers read into the phrase an objectivity that distinguishes it from other schools of asceticism and striving for personal perfection. Fraternally united in common desires, intentions, efforts directed by; the Abbot, whose outstanding qualification for his office must be a knowledge and love of God's law and zeal and ability in imparting it, the brethren devote themselves to the service of the Lord, Creator and Heavenly Father.The visible expression of their objective is in their social prayer and offering of the Sacrifice, which is the official worship of the Church itself, com-monly designated by St. Benedict with the attractive term, Opus Dei, the Work of God. In this matter the Rule mirrors the Golden Age of the Fathers in their love of the praises ceaselessly offered to the Father in spirit and truth by the Spouse of Christ, the Church. Although this praising of God constitutes neither the purpose of the monk's existence,3 nor his exclusive task, it is certainly his most important, holiest, and noblest of works, as well as the most efficacious in serving the Church and drawing Heaven's blessings upon the faithful. Whatever the pressure of activity, all other efforts remain secondary to this conse-cration to God's glorification; nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God. (Ch. 43) Many factors enter into tl~e complexity of monastic liturgical life, but in all its detail there is no confusion: it is all to be reduced to the simplicity of seeking God's glory in all things.4 It is based on the intelligent creature's conscious dwelling in the divine presence which strives to pour itself out in the humblest praises of the Eternal Goodness. It realizes that whatever perfection is achieved in the ascetical order is the work of God in the human soul. True monks eagerly praise the Lord working in them.~ It is a lifelong giving of aThis question is treated most attractively by one of the Order's outstanding asceti-cal leaders, Dom Germain Morin. Morin, The Ideal of the Monastic Life Found in the Apostolic Age. London, R. ~ T. Washbourne, 1914. Ch. 7, "Liturgical Praqer." 4The Benedictine motto, Ur in omnibus gloriIicetur Deus (usually abbreviated U.I.O.G.D.), That in all things God may be glorified, was early chosen by the saint's followers. While it occurs in the Rule (Ch. 57) in an isolated question dealing with material goods and their disposal, it perfectly expresses the general purpose of the monastic vocation. ~This phrase, taken from the Prologue to the Rule, is a favorite of all the classic commentators, and is accepted as a workable definition of grace. 10 danuar~/, 1951 BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY thanks to the Father of Mercies, an unceasing acknowledgment and atonement of imperfection and fault, an ever-renewed plea to be worthy to perform those works which are pleasing in God's sight. The whole effort is carefully regulated, for the liturgy is the solemn, official, public worship of the Church. Whoever would participate in the glorification of God by a monastic choir, or even study its execution of the sacred liturgy, must set aside all concepts of prayer that admit of mediocrity and external-ism. Here the goal is perfection, the absolute best of which men are capable through correspondence with the grace of vocation. Natu-rally, many allowances must be made. All the days of his life the monk will be humiliated in his attempt to offer a worthy praise of God, or, in St. Benedict's favorite phrase, to perform God's work. Although he knows that his effort is unfailingly acceptable .before the Divine Majesty, and that scrupulosity must be avoided at all costs, the religious realizes full well that he will never attain the goal of his desires: as a special gift, importing a most privileged union with God, prayerful love far exceeds all of man~s other abilities. More realistically, the monk knows that he can never wholly set aside the dread of praying unworthily, an offense that would pro-voke the Divine anger. "Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully." (Jeremias, 48:10) By his calling the monk is a professional in the worship of the Church: all his distinctive duties must be thorougMy colored, and even, to an extent, absorbed, by prayer's domination of his life. He devotes several carefully chosen hours each day and night to the chanting of the sacred psalmody--ideally, hours around which all other occupations are made to center, not hours inserted into a crowded schedule after other duties have been granted first considera-tion. He dwells in the monastery (repeatedly St. Benedict calls it the house of God), whose site is carefully chosen to help keep him at a distance from the world's distractions. He is freed from secular concerns in order to be intent solely on giving glory to God and achieving his own spiritual welfare. All the necessities of life are provided for him, so that care for material things may present no problem: in harmony with the whole plan, the virtue of detachment (St. Benedict does not use the word poverty in the sense now uni-versally adopted by religious) is interpreted as implying not so much self-denial as the consecration to God's glory of all they possess by a family of property owners. The works of obedience assigned to 11 BERNARD A. SAUSE Revleu~ [or Religious him are a studied part of the program, not vice versa. The Individual's Progress Understandably, the Rule, composed in the second quarter of the sixth century reflects and interprets the worthiest thought of the Golden Age that had preceded it. Its concept of the Universal Church and of the individual autonomous unit of Christ's Mystical Body, under the headship of him who is firmly believed to hold the place of Christ, is singularly free from the influences of individualism and subjectivism that have so often plagued the Church in subsequent eras. In its unpretentious way--for it deals always with the family, a small unit~it accentuates man's social nature to a degree that may not readily be appreciated today. The choir's prayerfulness; the good zeal exercised within the monastic family (Ch. 72), and by the family in its external works; the spirit of obedience as the pres-ence of Christ in the midst of the brethren rather than a legalistic treatment of the superior's rank and authority; corporateness of vir-tue; love of local tradition--a family trait, certainly; concentration on being rather than the more modern exhortation to action, are trends, attitudes, and ideals which will want long and careful study from today's novice before he can successfully translate them into action. But however helpful attention to his social nature may be in aiding him to be a worthy religious and man of the Church, and however deeply he may have drunk of the doctrine that all good comes to him through his monastic family, whereas all evil befalls him only through separation from the sa.me,6 the monk is soon brought to the realization that he remains an individual. He must also care intensely for this phase of his spiritual formation. The force of the good example of those about him, the spiritual assistance of his companions in religion, the,brotherly word of encouragement, the exhortations, private and public correction of faults, the infinite variety that "the aid of many brethren" (Ch. 1) may assume, are perceived by the individual, primarily. They wield a great force in his moral life. Humilitg St. Benedict has been called, with excellent right, the Church's 6This question is proposed at length in the meditations on stability, the vow of attachment to one's monastic family in: Sause, Bernard A., O.S.B., The School of the Ldrd's 8ert~ice. St. Meinrad, Indiana, Grail Press, 1948. vol. 2, p. 57 f. 12 January, 1951 BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY Doctor of Humility. St. Bernard, St. Thomas, and other ascetical masters, quote his exposition of the virtue at length and without modification. Chapter 7 of St. Benedict's Rule is a spiritual master-piece and commands the attention of any person who would learn humility profoundly. It applies the virtue to every phase of relig!ous striving to serve God--from fearful, conscious dwelling in the Divine presence, to control of laughter and the manner of walking. Obedience The distinctive feature of Benedictine asceticism has always been recognized as the spirit of obedience--which in most of its mani-festations is scarcely distinguishable from Benedict's presentation of humility. Obedience harmonizes and makes powerful the spiritual forces in the life of every follower of Christ. Created to be balanced and mutually helpful in man's nature, in a limited likeness to the per-fect harmony in Jesus Christ, the, mutual aid between intellect and will was destroyed by sin. Even in the new order, under the Second Adam, with the light of faith and the sacramental aids for the will, the struggle continues all the days of man's life on earth. Obedience restores the harmony, and in a vivid sense makes the monk like his Divine Model. In the opening sentence of the Prologue to his Rule, Benedict" calls monasticism "a return to God through the labor of obedience." In a broad sense one may say t.hat every chapter that follows is an unfolding of that statement. Commentators on the Rule delight in referring to St. Bernard's emphasis on the love motive necessary for ideal obedience: "Perfect obedience knows no law. It is bound by no restrictions. It is not content with the limitations of profession, but is drawn by the most powerful impulse of the will, under the influence of grace, into the realms of love. It submits unhesitatingly to all thai is enjoined, with the vigor of a generous and cheerful spirit , . , and heedless of ways and means, is infinite in its liberty. It is willing to embrace even impossible things, and confident of God's help, obeys from love even in such extremes.''7 Ideal Approach St. Benedict's treatment of obedience may serve to focus the attention on a point that may not sufficiently be appreciated in reading any one of the four accepted Rules by the great founders of religious bodies. The Rule stresses ideal obedience. For Benedict Bernard, Liber de pcaeeepto et dispensationeo c. 6. P.L. 182:868. 13 BERNARD A. SAUSE Review for Religious there is no such thing as mediocrity, or mere extern'alsubmission. For him an act of obedience must be "acceptable to God and agree-able to men." (Ch. 5) The virtue permits of "no delay in execu-tion, as if the matter had been commanded by God Himself." (Ibid) The same zealous imitation of Christ out of love of God (Ch. 7, third degree of humility) expresses itself in phrases denoting the quality of the monk's submission, like: "the ready step of obedience," "without hesitation, delay, lukewarmness, murmuring, or com-plaint." (Ch. 5) It is to be performed cheerfully. Benedict never descends from his ideal. In his P~ule he treats only of perfect obedience; other than that he mentions only the punish-ments for disobedience. With him the emphasis is not on what must ' be done to fulfil the law: he takes that for granted. On that assumption he builds. Positive human law is generally concerned with the minimum necessary to preserve an ideal. St. Benedict is intent on the maximum that man can offer his Creator. The thought may be viewed from another angle: the more uni-versal a society, the broader the concessions and the more numerous the provisions of tolerance that must be made for the weaknesses of human nature, the more general and sweeping, and easy-of-acceptance the norms which must be shared by everyone. By contrast, the smaller and more unified the group, the more sharply defined and intensified its ideal. The monastic family for which th~ t~ule is designed is large enough to embody and give expression to the social principles of religious life in common. It is compact and unified enough to preserve the most distinctive features that mark a group of men devotedly seeking God. Tile Lectio Divina An ideal of this kind must constantly be fostered by every means possible: in this case obviously by study, instruction, exhortation, good example. St. Benedict, who drew no distinctions among those who gave acceptable proof of sincerely seeking God, realized the importance of what is today commonly called spiritual reading for monastic formation. He demands several hours a day of this pious exercise which was more a leisurely study and mastering of revealed doctrine than the fretful flitting from page to page that moderns call reading, more an approach to God than an-ostentatious acquaintance with titles, authors' li~¢es and styl~s of writing, rather for spiritual upbuilding (aedi[icatio) than faithfulness in fulfilling a half-hour of the day's horarium. 14 Januarg, 195, I BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY Nothing Is to Be Preferred to the Love of Christ If the spirituality of the sons of St. Benedict has a distinguishing mark, it is that it is eminently Christocentric. The Master of Monte-cassinb employs an identical expression three times: Nothing is to be preferred to the love of Christ. Every line o~ the Rule seeks to induce the monks to translate that love into action. In the fourteen and a half centuries of their existence, the reli-gious who have borne the name of the Patriarch of Western Monks have contributed only two insertions into the Roman Ritual: the Sign of St. Maur, imparted ycith a relic of the True Cross and desig-nated with the name of St. Benedict's first disciple only because he first imparted it, and because his name is invoked in the ceremony; ¯ and the blessing of the medal-cross of St. Benedict, which is likewise a manifestation of complete confidence in the Sign of Salvation. Love of Christ underlies Benedict's every appeal. The perfection of obedience is that "for the love of God a man subject himself to a superior in all obedience, imitating the Lord, of whom the Apostle saith, 'He became obedient unto death.' " The love motive for other works, which presupposes the ascent of all the degrees of humility, guarantees the perfect fulfilment of every virtue. As nothing else ever can do, love of Christ leads to the worthiest prayer, the most acceptable offering of the Sacrifice, to intimacy of union with God. Contemplative Nature or: Monasticism As the monk continues to live under the grace-filled inspirations of his professed way of life, and is careful to hold himself ever free from distracting attachments (however good they may be), he dis-covers something of the powerful attraction of recollectedness (he has outgrown insistence on rules of silence--Benedict speaks much more often of judicious and charitable speech than of £ilence), the way of humility, the filial fear, the spirit of compunction that leads to inti-mate union with God. His whole carefully-regulated life, the daily liturgy's richness of thought, the environment of the enclosure, his private prayer, separation from the world, the humble works of obe-dience, the consecration of his whole being to God at the altar, will not allow him to remain silent. Now he must speak to God--no longer only in the prescribed and official prayers, but freely, gener-ously, in his own words unhesitatingly addressed to his FatheL pouring out the protestations of his love. Correspondence with the graces of monasticism bege'ts a love so intense that it informs one's every action: it seeks every possible means to prove itself. When the 15 C. A. HERBST Review for Religfous professed person begins to live on this plane, he realizes that the Father of Mercies, who is never outdone in generosity, has fulfilled all the hopes of profession morning. He has learned the spirituality of Benedict.of Montecassino, Patriarch of the Monks of the West. That, in fact, is the promise of the Master to his every follower. In the concluding paragraph of the Prologue to his Rule, he states: "As we advance in the religious life and faith, we shall run the way of God's commandments with expanded hearts [that is, with an ever increasing generosity] and unspeakable sweetness of love; so that never departing from His guidance, and persevering in the monastery in His doctrine until death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, and be. found worthy to be coheirs with Him of His kingdom." "Behold This Head:. ." C. A. Herbst, S.J. THERE is a copybook seven by nine inches containing sixty-four pages treasured at Paray-le-Monial in France. It is the life of St. Margaret Mary written in her own hand, an account of her spiritual life and of the dealings of the Sacred Heart with her. Under obedience, with great pain, she wrote this Autobiographg. (Auto-biography: Life of Saint Margaret Marg Alacoque Written bg Her-self, Visitation Library, Roselands, Walmer, Kent, 1930.) From that little book, it seems to me, one can best learn to know, under-stand, and practice devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We learn there from her whose heart Christ found ready and so like His own, and from Our Lord Himself, the nature and practice of this world devotion which is everybody's devotion. One finds there a statement, a complaint, a request, and a promise. "Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify to them Its love" (.Autobiograpbg, No. 92). This is the " statement. "So much." How much? Love is proved by deeds rather than by words. "He loved me and delivered himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). "He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8). Our Lord, our Creator, 16 Januar~/, 1951 BEHOLD TH~S HEART came from eternal life to temporal death for love of us. "Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven; and was in-carnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary; and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried." All these wonderful feats of love our beloved Champion has done for us to win our love. And yet, in the very same breath with this statement of His love for us must come The complaint. ". and in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel the most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus." (Ibid.) Iwonder who could count the insults and outrages committed against Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist these nineteen hundred years! I wonder who could calculate the amount of ingratitude and irreverence and sacrilege and coldness and contempt shown the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament by religious, for these are the "hearts which are consecrated to Me." The deepest wounds and the ones slowest to heal are inflicted by rejected love. Men and women are driven to desperation and to self-destruction by this. Sins against Jesus Christ in the sacrament of His love wound His Sacred Heart very deeply. Sins committed by religious against the Sacred Heart whom they have chosen as their B~loved for life are especially hateft~l to Him. ~ Our Lord's Requests The request Our Lord made is manifold. "In the first place thou shalt receive Me in Holy Communion as often as obedience will per-mit thee, whatever mortification or humiliation it may cause thee, which thou must take as pledges of My love" (ibid.). Love longs for union with the beloved. Our Lord wants us to take His sacred Body and precious Blood in Holy Communion as food because food is most intimately united with us. He wants us to be united with ~he soul as frequently and continuously as possible, too. The mortifi-cation or humiliation frequent Communion might bring St. Mar-garet Mary in 1675, when it could easily be considered the mark of a presumptuous or proud soul is, of course, absent n6w. "Thou shalt, moreover, communicate on the First Friday of each month" (ibid.). The fact gives the clear, strong response to this request. One has but to enter a church on the First Friday and see a whole congregation rise as one man and go to Holy Commun- 17 C. A. HERBST Review [or Religious ion in Order to realize what.a revolution this desire of Our Lord has wrought. One readily notices that this request is more general than the nine consecutive First Fridays in reward fo~ which Christ made the "Great Promise." "Every night between Thursday and Friday I will make thee share in the mortal sadness which I was pleased to feel in the Garden of Olives, and this sadness, without thy being able to understand it, shall reduce thee to a kind of agony harder to endure than death it-self. And in order to bear Me company in the humble prayer that I then offered to My Father, in the midst of My anguish, thou shalt rise between eleven o'clock and midnight, and remain prostrate with Me for an hour, not only to appease the divine anger by begging mercy for sinners, but also which I felt at that time apostles~ which obliged me watch one hour with Me. shall teach thee." (Ibid.) to mitigate in some way thebitterness on finding Myself abandoned by My to repr.oach them for not being able to During that hour thou shalt do what I Each Thursday night Christ invites us to share in the sadness and agony of death He underwent during His Passion. He asks comp'hssion with Him, companionship, prayer for sinners, rep.aration for desertion by His apostles.These things are very consoling to the. Sacred Heart. Feast of the Sacred Heart "Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special Feast to honour My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends, for the indignities which It has received during the time it has been exposed on the altars" (ibid., No. 92). This was the climax of the desires of the Sacred . Heart. St. Margaret Mary celebrated this feast in a little way with her novices on St. Margaret's day, July 20, 1685. "This drew upon me, 'and also upon them, many humiliations and mqrtific.ations, for I was accused of wishing to introduce a. new devotion" (ibid., No. 95). It is a long and painful task to bring.into the liturgy the Church a feast founded on a private revelation, and its advocates also trod the way of humiliations and mortifications. But in 1765 the Holy Father Clement XIII approved the Mass and Office of the Sacred Heart. Plus IX extended it to th~ universal Church in 1856. It was raised to the rank of a feast .of the fir.st class with an octave by Plus XI in 1929. The same Sovereign Pontiff ordered that every year on the feast a solemn and specially formuiated act of reparation 18 danuar~, 1951 BEHOLD THIS HEART to the Sacred Heart of ,Jesus be made in all the churches of the world. And since, as the twentieth century dawned; Pope Leo XIII had con-secrated the whole human race to the Sacred Heart, this request of Our Lord was solemnly fulfilled by His spouse, the Church. The promise, too, is manifoldand, as is the way with Christ, the reward far outweighs in richness the required work. "I prom!se thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the ih-fluence of Its divine love upon tfiose who shall thus honour It, and cause.It to be honoured" (ibid., No. 92). We have to go to St. Mar-garet Mary's letters for more details." "He promises that all those devoted to this Sacred Heart shall never perish and that, as It is the source of all blessings, He will shower them in abundance upon every place where a picture of this Sacred Heart is exposed to be loved and honored. By this means He will restore broken homes. He will help and protect those who are in any necessity. He will spread the sweet unction of His ardent charity upon all religious communities in which a picture of. this Sacred Heart shall be honored. He will turn aside the just anger of God. He will restore souls to His grace when they shall have, fallen from it by sin." (Letter to Mother de Saumaise, August 24, 1685.) . With regard to the,"Great Promise" that the Sacred Heart "will grant to all those who communicate on the first Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final perseyerance" let Father Bainvel's remark suffice: "If I am not mistaken, the con-clusion will always be that the 'Great Promise' is something unique." Our Lord told "the beloved disciple .of His Sacred Heart" that He would fulfill these promises in return for the love and repar.at.ion shown Him in the practices He recommended. The ,substance of devotion to the Sacred Heart is love and reparation. His manifold request and .repeated statements and complaints show this clearly. OUR CONTRIBUTORS BERNARD A. SAUSE, the author of The School of the Lord's Service, a three volume set of meditations on the Rule of St. Benedict, is dean df St. Benedict's theological seminary at Atchison, Kansas. CLARENCE MCAULIFFE and C. A. HERBST are members of the' faculty of St. Mary's College, St~ 'Marys, Kansas. M. RAYMOND is a monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, Kentucky. ADAM C. ELLIS, G. AUGUSTINE.ELLARD, and ,JEROME BREUNIG are members'of, the editorial board of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. 19. Quinquennial Report:, 1951 Adam C. Ellis, S.3. THE Sacred Co,n, gregation of Religious issued a new decree on 2uly 9, 1947 regarding the quinquennial report to be made by religious orders and congregations, by societies living in com-fiaon, and by kecular institutes." In this decree the obligation was extended to all superiors general ofthe three groups mentioned; and a new questionnaire to be followed in making the report was announced as in preparation. Finally, a new annual report was made obligatory on all the superiors mentioned above. The text of this new decree was printed in the REVIEW for September, 1949, pp. 234- 240, with introduction and comment. When the forms for the new annual report were ready for distri-bution and the.new questionnai.re was available, the late Cardinal Lavitrano (d. August 2, 1950), then Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, addressed a circular letter to all superiors general in which he gave some practical instructions for making out both the quinquennial and annual reports. The official English ver-sion of the new questionnaire for the quinquennial report was pub-lished in the REVIEW, 2anuary to September inclusive, 1950. And in the November number, pp. 309-316, under the title "First An-nual Repoort," some practical suggestions for making out this report contained in Cardinal Lavitrano's letter were given, together with some others, in order to help our readers fill out these forms for the annual report for the first lime. The purpose of this final article is to offer helpful directives for drawing up the quinquennial report, and to indicate some practical conclusions to be drawn from the questionnaire itself. General Directives 1) Who must make this report in 19517 (a) All lay congre-gations ofreligious men (Brothers). (b) Likewise'the superiors general of all religious institutes of women in all the countries of America (North, Central, and South America). 2) In what language should the report be whiten? Clerical in-stitutes must answer the questions in Latin; lay institutes, Brothers and Sisters, may use the vernacular, that is, either English or French, 20 QUINQUENN!AL REPORT German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish.1 3) May the quinquennial report be t~/ped? It not only may, but should be typed if this can be done. Otherwise, if written by hand, the handwriting must be clear and good ink .used. The report should be typed or written on good bond paper, not too heavy, and not translucent. ' " 4) Must the question be stated before each answer? No, it is not necessary to include the question with the answer, but it suffices to put the number of the question before the answer. 5) What method should be followed in answering the questions? Always answer the question with a complete sentence, never with a mere "yes" or "no." Give briefly and clearly all the information pertinent to the subject. An example or two may help. Question 24 a) reads: "Is the general council at present up to its full member-ship?" The answer might be: "Yes, the generaI council is up to fulI membership at present. One of the councilors died during the year 1950, but another councilor was elected in conformity with the pre-scriptions of our constitutions." Again, question. 190 states: "Was the delivery of the dowry made according to law?" The answer might be simply: "We have no dowry." 6) When must the report be handed in? Any time durin.g the year 1951. But it should cover the five-year period from 1946-1950 inclusive. 7) Must all the councilors sign the report? Yes, all the coun-cilors and the superior general must sign the report. Hence the report, when completed, should be given for a private reading to each of the persons who are obliged to sign it; after they have done so, it should be discussed in a common meeting and corrected or improved, according to circumstances, if that be considered necessary by the majority, before it is signed by all. ~-There are three official Latin texts of the new questionnaire or Elenchus Quaes-tionum: (1) 342 questions for pontifical institutes; (2) 322 questions for diocesan institutes; (3) 171 questions for independent monasteries and houses. However, bnly the first, that for pontifical institutes, has been translated into Eng-lish. Furthermore, in the questionnaire for diocesan religious, there are three ques-tions which do not appear in that for p6ntifical institutes, and in the questionnaire for independent monasteries and religious houses there are fifteen such questions. ThoSe using text two or three, for diocesan institutes and independent monasteries respectively, will have to find their questions in the larger text for pontifical insti-tutes. To facilitate this task, a chart has been drawn up giving the correlation of numbers for the three texts, and on the back of this chart have been printed the additional questions just referred to. A copy of this chart may be had free of charge by" sending a self-addressed, stamped (three cents) envelope, to the author of this article at St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 21 ADAM C. ELLIS Reoieto for Religious 8) What should a councilor do after he has voiced his objections to the superior and to the o[her coimcilors in cbunc[l meeting, but to n6 avail? First of all, he must sign the report along with the others. Then he may, if he wishes to do so, submit his owh judgment to that of the unanimous contrary opinion, and rest satisfied. Finally, if he feels bound in conscience to report the matter to the. Holy See, he may do so in a private letter, being careful to state only objective facts in his minority report. 9) To whom is the report to be sent? Orders, congregations with simple vows, societies living, in common, and secular institutes approved by the Hotel See must send their reports directly to the Sacred Congregation of Religious; address to. Very Rev. Secretary, Congregation of Religious, Pallazzo delle Congregazioni, Piazza S. Callisto, Rome, Italy. All diocesan institutes, independent mon-asteries ~nd houses are to send their report to the local ordinary of their mother house. When he has read it, he will add his comments to the report and then send it on to the Sacre~l Congregation of Reli-gious. If the diocesan congregation, society, or secular institute has houses in other dioceses, the local ordinary of the mother house must send copies of the report to all those local ordinaries as well, and'after receiving their comments, add them to his own before sending the report to the Holy See. 10) In the case of a ponti£cal institute of religious women, who sends the report to the Hol~ See? Is it the local ordinary of the mother house, or the superior general? The decree of the Sacred Congregation of Religious (No. VII) states explicitly that the supe- .riot general is tO send in the report after she has obtained the signa-ture of the local ordinary in conformity with canon 510. 1 1) What is the import of the signature of the local ordinary? Must he read the report?' The local ordinary has no obligation to read the quinquennial report of a pontifical institute. He merely signs it in order to authenticate (subsignare) the signatures of the superior general and her council members. Practical Hints from the New Questionnaire 1) From question 4 for diocesan institutes one draws the con- ¯ clusion that it is the mind of the Holy See that diocesan congrega-tions should apply to the Holy See for the status of a pontifical con-gregation (iuris pontitfcii) when they have developed sufficiently to meet the requirements. 2) Similarly, from question 9 for diocesan congregations it may 22 danttarv, 1951 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT be inferred that they are not to be divided iiato provinces. 3) Religious are not to undertake new works, whether spiritual or temporal, which are beyond the scope of the special end of their. constitutions. Question 5 asks whether this has been done, and by what authority. 4) For the establishment of a new religious house, a written contract should be drawn up in accordance with canon law and with due regard to civil law (question 21). 5) The superior general has the obligation of promulgating decrees and decisions of the general chapter, and of enforcing them (questions 35- 37). 6) The councilors of religious superiors~--gener.al, provincial and local--are to be given due freedom of speech: and the common law as well as the particular law must always be observed in the decisions, appointments, and voting of whatever kind (question 53). 7) Matters in which the common or particular law grants to councilors a deliberative or a consultive vote must be submitted to them for their consideration in common; hence meetings of superiors and their councilors must be held regularly (questions 49-51). 8) Superiors are expected to observe the provisions of .canon law and of the constitutions regarding both the comm6n obligations of religious, and the special obligations of their own office (question 62). 9) It is the desire of the Sacred Congregation of Religious that, where it can be done conveniently, a confessor should be available in the chapel before the reception of Holy Communion (question 85). 10) Superiors are to see to it that religious are allowed a suitable time for preparation for and thanksgiving after Holy Communion (question 85). 11) The administration of the property of a religious institute must be carried on not arbitrarily, but according to the common law and to the constitutions (question 109). 12) When for just reasons the permission of the Holy See is obtained tO engage in business, every semblance bf fraud as well as of avarice is to be diligently avoided, and care must be taken to see that the religious occupied in these business dealings may not suffer spir, itual harm (question 130). '13) The Sacred C~?ngregation of Religious considers it a grave abuse to delay the profession of a novice because the expenses of the postulancy or. novitiate had not been paid (question 164). 23 January, 1951 QUINQUENNIAL REPORT 14) No religious once professed of temporary vows should ever be without vows because of a failure to renew them at the proper time (question 200). 15) The Sacred Congregation of Religious wishes that the use of the telephone and of the radio be regulated by superiors and chap-ters, and that radio programs be censored (questions 214, 215). 16) Religious superiors are to watch over and assist those of their subjects who are pastors (canon 631, §§1-2) and, in case of need, admonish and correct them (question 292). 17) Superiors (a) are strictly obliged to give their subjects ade-quate preparation for their work, whether it be teaching, nursing, or other corporal or spiritual ministry, and (b) they should see to it that their subjects get suitable food and sleep; and (c) that in the exercise of external works the religious life be'fostered, and all moral dangers avoided (questions 301-311). Conclusion We have given a considerable amount of space in the REVIEW to Reports to Rome, both to the new questionnaire for the quinquennial report as well as to the new annual report. At first sight one might conclude that these reports are of interest only to the superiors who have the obligation of making them. But if we examine the ques-tionnaire we shall find "that it contains a very practical and fairly complete statement of the law of the Church regarding religious, with continual references to the canons of the Code of Canon Law which are generally cited,' and with frequent allusions to the decrees, instructions, and jurisprudence of the Holy See. Hence all religious can read the questionnaire with profit. The questionnaire likewise affords a safe norm of action for superiors, consultors, treasurers, and masters of novices since it provides them with a valuable reminder of their duties. Hi~her superiors can find in it direction for govern-ment, and a stimulus to action, since it provides for them matter for the study and examination of their duties and obligations. Finally it provides a safe guide for the visitation of houses inasmuch as it gives the principal points upon which action is to be taken during the visitation. May all religious derive profit from it, and find in it the ideals and standards of the Holy See in their regard, as well as a norm for the solution of many poi.nts which may appear to be obscure or controverted. 24 Unworl:hy h inist:ers ot: !:he Sacramen!:s Clarence McAuliffe, S.3. THE attitude of Catholics towards their priests differs radically from that of Protestants towards their clergymen. The Protestant pastor is expected to possess the social graces. He must keep in good contact with his flock. He should be a good story teller, a hearty hand-shaker, a sinceie sympathizer. He should have a pleasing voice since one of his principal functions is to lead congregational prayers and songs. He must have some preaching ability, but he must be careful on what subjects he exercises it. He is not likely to" be criticized i£ he speaks on government planning or child welfare or home economics even though he forges no link between such subjects and man's salvation. If he deals with reli-gious topics, he must confine himself to a limited number of moral questions or to a few hazy dogmatic generalities. He ought to be an adept organizer, and the more dances, bazaars, dubs, social gatherings he organizes, the more satisfied will his people be. If he is found wanting in too many of these endowments, he is likely to find him-self a pastor with a much diminished congregation, or on pastor besieged by an indignant congregation which will have him ousted from his post. This may not be true of all Protestant denomination~ and parishes, but it certainly holds for many of them. Catholics, too, would like to see their priests gifted with many of the aptitudes demanded of the Protestant clergyman, but they con-sider them as secondary. They expect their priests to be men of God (Protestants also expect good example and a certain righteousness in their spiritual leaders), but even moral deviations do not make the priest unbearable. Catholics realize that the priest, whatever his lack of talent or his delinquen.cies, holds a sacred office. He has been con-secrated eternally to God to do, not his own, but God's work. He may be morose, anti-social. His sermons may have the effect of a mother's lullaby. His singing may be a series of auditory shocks. But the principal work he has to do does not depend on his personal capabilities. He says Mass. He confers the sacraments. 'These are his prime duties. Everything else is secondary. And it is a marvel of God's operation in the faithful that most of them realize that their 25 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE Review for Reiigious prie.sts., can administer-beneficial sacraments and celebrate effiicacious Masses even though they are '.'bad priests." Our people are aware that the !~/Iass and the sacraments have a God-given eff~cacy that can-not be frustrated by unworthy ministers. The subjective spiritual condition of the priest cannot impede the divine effects of those reli-gious rites which were instituted by Christ Himself, because they operate automatically. What Are the Reasons? It might be profitable, however, for us to examine the reasons for this. Why is it that a callous sinner can confer a sacrament which will bestow its spiritual effects on a recipient who is properly dis-posed? Why is is that sacramental ministers who do not have even the Catholic faith, such as apostates, rationalists, heretics, schismatics, Jews, pagans, can nevertheless, confer a sacrament or sacraments without interfering with their power to sanctify those who receive them? The facts are certain. Unl~oly ministers and faithless min-isters can do so. But how do we know that Christ Himself wanted His sacraments to operate independently of the holiness and faith of their ministers? Before answering this question, it might be well to insist that in all cases the minister must place the external rite of the sacrament correctly. He must properly unite what we call the "matter" and the "form" of the sacrament. Take the example of Baptism. The minister must always use true natural water. He must so apply this water to the recipient that it touches the skin and flows. He must at the same time pronounce the prescribed formula of words with his lips. Since baptism can be validly administered by any sane adult whatever, no special power deriving from orders is required in its minister. Essentials for Validity/ In all the sacraments except baptism and matrimony, however, the extraordinary spiritual power bestowed by ordination is essential for validity. No matter how holy a minister may be, therefore, his efforts to produce sacramental graces are in vain unless he administers conectly the basic external elements of a sacrament. Even should this be done, no sacramental graces are communicated unless the min-ister is endowed with the unique spiritual power conferred by ordi-nation. Once so much is assumed, we now ask why 'it is that a def~tive spiritual condition of the minister, such as the state of mot- 26 Januarg, 1951 UNWORTHY MINISTERS tal sin or lack of faith, cannot prevent a sacrament from imparting its graces automatically to a person who is sufficiently disposed to receive it fruitfully. It should be observed that reason alone, independent of God's revelation, could not have decided the correct answer to this ques-tion. God surely could have, had He so willed, made the validity of all th~ sacraments contingent on the faith and holiness of their minister. Had He done so, ministers would have had an additional incentix;e to foster their faith and to preserve the state of grace. Fur-thermore, reason left to itself might argue that a ministbr bereft of faith and holiness could not be an active agent in the administration of sacramentsl since these.by their very nature infuse grace and aug-ment the v.irtue of faith. How can one who does not possess the Holy Spirit confer the" Holy Spirit on another? These and other rational considerations cotild be advanced to prove that ministers of sacraments must have faith and at least the state of grace. But although our faith is always reasonable, we hever learn it by having recourse to reason as its main conduit. The object of faith is God's revelation which is proposed to us proximately by the Church. Hence faced by the present problem, we seek the Church's teaching and tra-ditions. But we shall show later on that, even from the rational side, we can advance excellent reason why God made His sacraments independent of the faith and holiness of their ministers. No Rebaptisms It had been the custom in the Church from her earliest days, just as it is a.t p[esent, not to rebaptize heretics when they were converted to the Catholic church. Such heretics had already 'been baptized in their own sects and so by heretical ministers. But if the rite had been properly administered, the Church simply took for granted that such baptisms were valid even though conferred by ministers who rejected, either culpably or inculpably, part of the true faith. Such converts from heresey were obliged merely t6 make a profession of faith and to go to the sacrament of penance. About 220 A.D., Agrippinus, Bishop of Carthage in Africa, began to inveigh against this custom. He declared that such converts should also be rebaptized because their previous baptism was invalid by the very fact that its minister had not possessed the full Catholic faith. The illustrious St. Cyprian, successor to Agrippinus in the See of Carthage, sanctioned the same opinion and insisted on its observance in the dioceses of Africa. When, however, he consulted 27 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE Review [or Religious (about 254 A.D.) Pope St. Stephen about the ma~ter, he receipted the following reply: "If, therefore, heretics of any sect whatever come to you, add nothing to the traditional practice of granting them absolution." This decision of St. Stephen's, based as it was on the ancient custom, came to prevail despite temporary opposit'ion in Africa and Asia Mi.nor. Thus we find St. Augustine, looking back on the dis-pute a hundred and some odd years later, declaring: "According to o Blessed Cyprian, his predecessor Agrippinus had been the first to "amend" this most wholesome custom (of not rebaptizing heretics) ; rather should we believe that Agrippinus was the first to corrupt, not to correct it." So, too, St. Vincent of Lerins some years later pro-nounces this judgment .on the dispute: "The antiquity (the custom of not rebaptizing heretics) was retained, the novelty was exploded.'~ Finally the Council of Trent expressly defined the matter as an article of faith against the Protestant innovators of the sixteenth century: "If anyone says that baptism which is conferred in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, with the ifitention of doing what the Church does, is not a true baptism, let him be anathema." It should be noted that this definition is concerned directly with baptism alone. Nevertheless .it is certain that heretical ministers, provided they possess the power and place the matter and form cor-rectly with the intention of doing what the Church does, can ~¢alidly confer any sacrament whatever. All the sacraments are la~ien with. the merits of Christ. That is why they confer grace automatically. If, then, heresy in the minister cannot prevent the spontaneous infu-sion of grace by baptism, neither can it prevent this infusion of grace by the other sacraments. So, a true bishop, even a heretic, can val-idly confirm or ordain. Heretical priests, if validly ordained, can say Mass and administer Extreme Unction. The only ex~ception is the sacrament of penance. For this sacrament not only priestly power. but also ecclesiastical jurisdiction is necessary .for validity. If this jurisdiction is wanting, absolution becomes invalid, but it does not become invalid because the minister is a heretic or an apostate. The invalidity proceeds solely from lack of jurisdiction. It is, therefore, universally true that heresy in the minister does not make any sacra-ment invalid. Moreover, although the controversy of the third century was concerned v~ith heretical ministers only, we know for certain from 28 danuary, 1951 UNWORTHY MINISTERS other sources.that ministers who possess no trace whatever of divine faith, such as rationalists, apostates, pagans, can validly administer baptism. Hence the practice of urging even pagan doctors or nurses to baptize infants, when they are in danger of death and no one else is available should be retained and even spread. The Council of Florence declares, though it does not define as of faith, the following: "In case of necessity not only a priest or deacon, but even a layman or laywoman, yes, even a pagan and a heretic is able to baptize, pro-vided he observes the rites of the Church and intends to do what the Church does." Can Sinners Act Validly? But these arguments do not answer the question whether a sinner also can confer a sacrament validly: Lack of faith is often incul-pable. ¯ A sincere Protestant, for example, even though he does not have the true faith in its fullness, may be in the state of grace. No sin attaches to his incorrect belief because he honestly believes it is correct. Hence a minister deprived of the true faith may be free from sin. On the other hand, a minister may retain the Catholic faith and yet be in the state of mortal sin. Thus a priest might be a sinner because he deliberately violated a grave precept and yet the faith of the priest remains intact. Hence it does not follow as a logical con-clusion that since an unbeliever can validly confer a sacrament, there-fore a sinner can do the same. Nevertheless, if we revert to the third century dispute previously outlined, we shall find that from it we can deduce that sinful min-isters cannot impede the efficacy of baptism. Some, at least, of the heretical ministers who had baptized converts who later were admitted into the Church without a second baptismal ceremony, were not only heretical, but were also formally heretical. They knew they were in error and yet they obstinately persisted in their error. To do this is to sin very seriously. Hence some of these ministers were at the same time heretics and sinners. Yet the validity of their baptisms was never questioned on this second score. St. Cyprian was worried about their unbelief, not about the culpability of that unbelief. Therefore the ability of a sinner to administer baptism validly was not even challenged. It is clear, then, that everybody admitted implicitly that sinners could validly baptize. " Should there be some doubt whether any of these heretical min-isters were culpable of their heresy, we should have to prove our point from a slightly different angle. Even though their heresy may 29 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE Reoiew for Religious not have been sinful, this much at least is morally certain: some of those heretical ministers who had performed the baptism of later converts, were guilty of mortal sin of some kind. It would have been a .miracle if none of them during a period of two centuries had been in the state of sin when baptism was administered. Yet the fact remains that when their converts joined the Church, no one even dreamed of investigating the moral state of the heretical ministers who had baptized, them. Everybody, even St. Cyprian and his fol-lowers, realized that the results of such an investigation would have been irrelevant and could have had nothing to do with the validity of the baptisms conferred. Thus even those who denied the validity of baptism when performed by a heretic, implicitly conceded along with the whole Church that the sinfulness of the minister could not affect the sacrament's value. The Council of Trent When heretics such as the Donatists and later on the Waldensians and Albigensians (13th century) and still later the followers of Wycliffe and Huss (15th century)asserted that sinful ministers could not validly confer the sacraments, they were condemned by the Church officially. Finally in the sixteenth century when the leaders of the Protestant Revolt repeated the same falsehood, the Council of Trent proscribed the error as heretical when it declared: "If anyone says tl~at a minister in the state of mortal sin, provided he observes all the essentials which belong to the effecting or conferring of a sac-rament, neither effects or confers the sacrament, let him be anathema." Thus confirmation, extreme unction, confession and the other four sacraments lose none of their power to produce grace in their recipi-ents just because their miniiter happens to be a sinner Sacraments, therefore, truly produce their grace "'ex opere operato,'" not only independently of the merits of the subject, but also independently of the merits of the minister. The latter's deficiency in faith or his moral degradation cannot destroy or even weaken their efficacy. Fittingness of Doctrine Once we know that God has revealed this doctrine, we can find good reasons for His making the essential rites of His Church superior to the weakness of their ministers. In the first place, the minister of a sacrament is in the strictest sense, only a minister. He is not acting in his own name, but in that of Christ. He places rites that were instituted by Christ, not by himself. He places rites that bear within 30 d'anuary, 1951 UNWORTHY MINISTERS themselves the me~its oF Chris't, not his own merits. He is merely an official. Now we all know that officials can act just as efficaciously in performing their official functions regardless of their personal beliefs or delinquencies. A judge may not beIieve in the law he officially upholds, he may be a disgrace to his fellow citizens in his moral conduct, but his decisions do not lose any of their binding force because of them. He acts in the name of the State in rendering judgments, his verdicts are just as binding as those of a judge who believes in the laws and whose private life is blameless. Similarly, the.subjective beliefs and moral vagaries of the minister of sacraments cannot obstruct their grace-producing power as long as the rites are properly placed and conferred. Again, if the sanctifying activity of the sacraments were depend-ent on the faith or holiness of their ministers, the faithful would be beset by endless mental anxiety about their own spiritual welfare. They would wonder if the priest who says Mass is in the state of graceand a true believer. If not, they would get no grace from Holy Communion when he would distribute the Sacrament. Again, a dying sinner wants to confess his sins. His salvation depends on a good confession. But suppose the priest who hears his confession is himself a great sinner and, as a result, his absolution would be invalid? The penit.ent would lose his soul because he did not make an act of perfect .contrition. Anxietq Removed Moreover, the anxiety would be increased by the fact that we cannot know whether a 19erson has faith and is in the state of grace. Faith and holiness are primarily internal qualities. We cannot be certain that the minister of a sacrament has them. Our judgments about the holiness of others are necessarily superficial, since we can-not glimpse the inner workings,of any human soul. As a result of this principIe, we would never know for sure whether any sacrament was fruitful for us, and the entire Church, both clerical and lay, would be in a continual ferment. Such a spiritual condition would hardly be compatible with the reiterated promise of Christ that His followers would enjoy peace of soul. Finally, if the efficacy of the sacraments were contingent on the faith and sanctity of their ministers, certain lines of conduct incom-patible with the teaching of Christ would be almost necessarily engendered. The laity would be suspicious of their priests. They would pry into their private lives. They would be on the watch for 31 danuar~, 1951 UNWORTHY MINISTERS scandalous reports about them. They would misinterpret many of the actions of their priests. They would falsely conclude that a priest was a sinner when he was not. Priests would be reported some-times rightly, oftentimes wrongly, to their bishops. Bitterness, detraction, calumny, suspicion, rash judgments would tear apart the Mystical Body of Christ which on the Word of God Himself should be permeated with that harmony that flourishes between the different organs of a healthy human body. The doctrine, therefore, that the value of the sacraments does not depend on the faith or holiness of their ministers, a doctrine so for-eign to the Protestant mind, is part of our Catholic faith. It is a most consoling doctrine. Ou~ sanctity depends upon ourselves. This is true not only of our meritorious works, but even of that sanctity which results from reception of the sacrameni:s. Sacraments work ex opere operato. They produce their grace independently of the spiritual condition of their ministers. These ministers are expected to keep in the state of grace. They are obliged under pain of mortal sin not to administer a sacrament unless they are in this stale. But if they fail to observe this precept, they harm only themselves. They cannot harm thos~ who receive the sacraments from their hands. The recipient need worry only about himself and his own preparation. If .this preparation is substantially suff~dent, he himself will receive grace ex oiotre optrato and no human being cart prevent this Qod-given' effect. NEW APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION Pope Plus XII has recefitly issued a new Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi. This document regulates the cloister or enclosure of nuns in such a way as to make it 15ossible for the nuns in postwar Europe and elsewhere tosupport themselves since r~any contemplative monasteries have lost all their endowments and are receiving relatively few vocations. The strictly papal cloister of canons 600-604 is limited to that part of the house in which the nuns habitually dwell (cells, dor-mitories, refectory, community room, private garden, and the like) under the title of major papal ~loister, while the rest of tl~e house and grounds within the monas-tic compound where the labors for the support of the community are carried on are called minor papal enclosure. The Apostolic Constitution also treats of Federations of Independent Monasteries and recommends them by pointing out their advantages without, however, making them of obligation. We hope to give our readers more information on this Apostolic Indult and on the subsequent Instruction of the Sacred Congregation ,of Religious. 32 I-low Are Your I::yes? M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. CARYLL HOUSELANDER claims that are like clouds of wind-blown seed," that within them lies the mysterious secret power that seeds have to brit~g forth life.'" I turned from her article to my mail. Three letters, so brief they are more fittingly called "notes," showed me that Caryll had been most conservative. She could have claimed more than seminal pow-ers for words. She could have said that there are occasions when they have all the might we now know lies in certain atoms. I was living one of those occasions. Let me tell you about it. The first letter I lifted told how an Archbishop, in a public address, had infqrmed his audience that the Trappistines in Wrent-ham, Massachusetts, had received more than four hundred applica-tions this past year. "Half of them," he added, "were from dissatis-fied religious.'" That word "dissatisfied" set me thinking. After a little while I wanted to write to the Archbishop and tell him the longer we live in religion, the more dissatisfied we grow. Not with our vocations. No! Not with our rules and constitutions. Indeed no! Not with our work or our fellow-workers. Daily our love for these grows. But we know a gnawing dissatisfaction which is nothing but a loneliness for heaven and a longing for the face of God. I could have given His Excellency example after example not only of middle-aged religious, but of diocesan priests, who have come to me thi~ past year with eyes turned avidly toward Gethsemani. Why? Because of that divin.e restlessness so aptly described by Augustine when he exclaimed: "Our hearts were made for Thee, O God, and they shall never know rest until . . ." Yes, the longer we live, the lonelier we grow for the sight of God and the sharper becomes our dissatisfaction with life on earth. I did not write that letter. For the longer I pondered the matter, the clearer I saw that there is another kind of dissatisfaction in the lives of some religious and I feared the Archbishop might have been referring to that. I know it should never be there. Occasionally I am puzzled beyond the telling to find it deeply ingrainedin indi-viduals, who have greyed in religion. I meditated and mused on this matter for days, not only because of what' the Archbishop had said, 33 M.~RAYMOND Reoieto ~:or Religions but because of two other letters in the same mail. A mother general had written: "The appointments were placed in the mail last evening, and I am glad to know they are accompanied by your prayers." A sister superior had written: "The Annual Thin Letters just came in, so pray . . ." You can see how those two sentences kept me thinking along the lines in which the Archbishop's remark had set my mind. I believe they will have the same effect on all who entered religion before we begin to ~peak and spell the way they print the Ordo, that is, before any woman was known as a ~4"AC, any girl as a ~VAVE, or any boy as just another GI 3oe. For the most part the thoughts conjured up are pleasant. For it is always refreshing to find real religion in religious, .Christ in Christians, and self-forgetfulness in selfish human beings. But as we go on thinking, it will be clear to all that both Mother General and Sister Superior had only one prayer in mind. They wanted me to pray: "'ut videant--that they might see.'" For while anyone who has celebrated a silver jubilee in reli-gion can tell tale after tale of actual heroism brought forth by.the few words these "annual thin letters~" or their equivalents Carr~ , they will also have memories of a few human tragedies brought on-- not by the "letters" mind you, but by the eyes that read them. There's the point: it is the eyes that read them. This fact that not only our happiness here on earth, the proper development of our characters and personalities as religious, and our genuine progress in the spiritual life, but in very truth our ultimate sanctity and consequently our eternity in heaven or hell depends entirely on our vision has been so deeply impressed on me by a series of happenings which began with what I have already narrated, that I feel I would be untrue to God and His grace did I not ask you: "How are youc eyes?" First, there was the nun who had just received her "thin letter" and was starry-eyed. I had to think that I was looking on one who was radiating the same wonder, awe, and joy that must have rippled out from Bernardette after a vision of "the Lady" and from Mar-garet Mary after a session with the Sacred Heart. Her letter told her she was to spend the next few years, and perhaps the rest of her life, in India. She was tremulous with happiness, for she realized she had been specially chosen for a special task, that a high commission had come from the High Command. And while she was not blind to the trials that lay ahead for her as a human, she was wihe enough 34 ¯ Januar~j, 1951 How ARE YOUR EYES ? to focus her gaze on the trust that had been placed in her by the Divine. Her only request was: "Pray that my family see it as I do." Then there was an older nun whose ~yes held a different light, whose tongue told a different tale. She had not been changed. No "thin letter" or its equivalent had come to liberate her, as she said, from her "misery." I spoke to her as earnestly as I could about Divine Providence and the wisdom of God, insisting that He gives us the one environ-ment in which we can best grow. It did not take. I spoke of supe-riors as representatives of Christ, striving with all my might to stir up faith and have her thrill to the truth that in hearing them, we hear Him. She did not respond. I appealed then to what has always appealed most to me, showing how obedience is the touchstone Of our loyalty to God and the grandest tribute of our love. I made very little impression. She lifted eyes that were lusterless and dull, eyes that seemed to hold in their deeper depths some slowly pulsing pain, and said: "Oh, if I could only see it that way!" The contrast struck me forcibly. All too vividly did it make me realize that there is such a thing as .spiritual myopia and very real astigmatism of the inner eye, the eye of the soul. I tried hard to excogitate some corrective for this faulty vision and some sure cure for an eye-ailment so serious that it can ruin a life. Recently, when I was in the hospital for a check-up of my "wild cells," the supervisor of surgery invited me to a tour of her depart-ment. I went. I had heard exceptionally high praise of the arrange-ments in this particular hospital. I soon saw that there was firm foundation for that praise. Sister showed me through sixteen or eighteen splendidly-equipped operating rooms, opened glass cases that held so many skillfully-shaped instruments that I was open-mouthed in marvel at the ingenuity of man and the thqroughness of the sci-ence of surgery. Then she had a nurse show me what a specialist would use in a lobotomy and explain the entire technique. I was speechless in admiration of the daring of these modern doctors. But it was not until Sister had led me into the smallest room on the whole floor that I saw why God had planned this particular visit at this particular time. "This is where they do the eyes," she said, as she opened a case and dazzled me with a display of shining steel scalpels more delicate than any I could have dreamed existed. Then she told me of the "eye-bank," revealing one of the greatest marvels of modern surgery. .35 M. RAYMOND Review for Religious It seems that specialists can take the cornea from the eye of a dead man, stretch it over the blind eye of one who is alive, and have him see. You can readily understand ,why my meditations and musings for the next few days were on the possibilities of some similar sur-gery for the eyes of the soul. If we priests, I thought, who so often have to use what we may well call spiritual scalpels, could only take the cornea from the eye of Calvary's dead Christ and stretch it across the blinded eyes of. Then it burst on me! What I had been dreaming of as a possi-bility, what I had been turning in my mind as a bit of fond fancy and a fetching analogy, I suddenly realized was actual fact. Baptism has done for the eyes of our spirits what these master surgeons are now doing for the bodily eye~ of the blind. Has it not, by subtlest sacramental surgery, inserted us into the Mystical Body of Christ? Has it not made us His members? Of course. But where are the eyes in any body? Are they not in the head? Does it not follow then, that so long as we act as His members, we will see things through His eyes? The musings and meditations of these few days had led me where meditations and musings of the past ten or twelve years have almost invariably led me--to the doctrine of the Mystical Body of, Christ. Think along with me now and see whether this doctrine, properly understood and rightly applied, does not allow us to diag-nose the diseases we have mentioned, isolate the very germs that cause them, ~nd proffer the infallible cure. That sounds hopeful, doesn't it? Almost too hopeful. But let us see. At baptism we were made Christ, but we did not cease to be ourselves. Hence, while the sacrament effected much ex opere opecato, it left almost as much to be accomplished ex opere operantis. For while those waters and words, plus the proper intention on the part of the minister, sufficed to incorporate us into the God-Man; to transform us into Him not only our own 'intention will be required, but along with it what may. well be water--our sweat and tears-- and what most certainly will be works. Limiting ourselves to this matter of vision, can it not be said in all sincerity that in baptism we received a sort of supernatural trans-plant, giving us a second lens, so that now we can look on all things either through the lenses that are human, or the stronger ones that are divine? Is it not true that we Christians, and especially we reli- 36 ~anuaql, 1951 How ARE You~ EYES gious, have double-vision ? that we are able to view things either with the eyes of man or with the eyes of the God-Man? that on every-thing which impinges in any way on our consciousness we can foolishly limit our sight at secondary causes or have it pierce through to see Him who is the First and" the only Uncause'd Cause? Is there, anything in our days or nights, .anything in the entire sweep of our lives, that cannot be looked upon in practically the same way we look upon a consecrated Host? The "species" are there. The "thin letters" of which I spoke came from a definite address, passed through the ordinary channels of the mails, bore the signature of a human being. But to the Christian conscious of his or her Christhood, to the religious fully aware of his or her dignity as His member, to the soul sensitive to reality, these things are but "species," mere accidents: the substance lies beneath. Why is it, then, that we do not always see things this way? Simply because we do not look through the divine lens. The trouble is not in our minds; it is in our wills. Our eyes must be directed. If we set them looking through the cornea we received from the First Adam, we shail see as human beings. That is what happened to Felicit~ Lamennais, once his writings had been condemned by Rome. His friend and fellow-worker, Lacordaire, was wiser. He looked through the cornea given by the Second .Adam, and saw truth. The deathbeds of these two men might well haunt all of us, for they con-- tain the greatest lesson for anyone's life. One used the eyes given him at birth and died a reprobate. The other employed the vision given at rebirth and died as we all want to live and die--in the arms of Mother Church, which are also the arms of Him who is our Head. But I don't have to go to that extreme to show you the practi-cality of looking at things as members of His Body. I can limit my-self to the question of temporal happiness, that quiet of mind and peace of soul we all crage, and prove that this doctrine is the panacea. Oculists will tell you that many a headache comes from using improper lenses. I will tell you that in the spiritual order many a heartache comes from the same cause. If we want happiness every hour of the day, if we want an easy pillow at night, if we want a conscience that will approve us and.our actions at every examen, one thing alone is necessary, to direct the gaze of our minds through the . lenses given us by the God-Man and see always and in everything exactly what He saw, the Will of the Father. Simple, isn't it? But let me tell you it will make life sublime. 37 M. RAYMOND Review for Religious L~t me say that I can safely paraphrase St. Alphonstis Liguori and claim that "what distinguishes perfect from imperfect religious is the' use of the divine lens." Or I can borrow from St. Teresa of Avila and say that you can be assured that the devil has no better device to keep us from the heights than to have us look through the cornea we had when we came from our mother's womb, neglecting the one, gained by being born again of water and the Holy Ghost. What an example Peter Claver gives us of all this. He had de-voted himself to the slaves at Cartagena. Alr'eady he had baptized more than a quarter of a million when word came from his superior: "Stop baptizing." I think most of us would have answered that command the way Peter answered the command of the high priest: "We must obey God rather than man." But Peter Claver stopped baptizing. The saint had been holding public devotions to the pal-pable spiritual profit of the poor benighted slaves. His rector told him to put an end to them. Claver could have looked, as many of us would have looked, and seen the hand of the calumnious and the enviou~ in this mandate. He didn't. He put an, end to the devo-tions immediately. But the campaign of hostility went on. Small-souled criticism won from superiors the injunction that Claver change his whole manner of instructing. Now remember this man had been as effective in his milieu as Xavier had been in the Indies. What would you have done in the circumstances? What would I have done? Claver changed his entire manner of instructing. But still: the opposition was not satisfied. It did not rest until it had obtained from higher authority the complete removal of this man from this glorious work. Claver went to his new assignment with all the cheer with which a newly ordained priest goes to the altar. How could he do it? By using the divine lens, acting as a member of the Mystical Body of Cl~rist and seeing superiors through the eyes of the Head°of that Body and hearing in their voice the voice of God the Father. Now who w~uldn't thrill to hear His voice? Who would not leap to obey His command with a happiness--but I had better stop there, lest what,seems lyrical prove a humiliating expos~ of our own short-sightedness. HOME FOR TUBERCULOUS SISTERS An entire wing of private rooms (twenty-eight) in Sa~,ta Teresita Sanatoriuin is being reserved for tuberculous Sisters. The Sanatorium is cared for by Carmelite Sisters of the Third Order. Address Santa Teresita Sanatorium, 819 S. Buena Vista Road, Duarte, California. 38 Classic on I-ligh'er Prayer Jerome Breunig, S.J. [The book reviewed in this article was not controversial in purpose though the theoretical position of Poulain is now controverted. Thus he holds that mysticism in his' special sense is outside the normal development of the Christian life. The book is reviewed independently of its controversial stand because of its unique value for spiritual direction and for its descriptions of mystical experiences.--ED.] AUGUSTIN POULAIN'S The Graces of Interior Prau. er1 is a ¯ great book. It is unquestionably one of the most important and influential books ever written on the science of prayer. It is not new, but it has been out-of-print for so long that it may be new to many of our readers. Because of this and of its importance for many religious as well as of its special timeliness today, it seems necessary to review at greater length this reprint of the classic work. Poulain's book was first published fifty years ago. Ten years later the first English edition appeared. The present volume from Herder is all the more valuable because it includes an introduction by J. V. Bainvel. This introduction gives a thorough, competent review of the book, adds an occasional needed qualification and clarification, and presents a brief picture of the impact .the book ha~t on mystical studies. As far as the present reviewer knows, Bainvel's introduc-tion, a book in itself, is here appearing for the first time in English. Written primarily for spiritual directors and then for mystics and budding mystics, Poulain's book will also be helpful for anyone interested in God's extraordinary communing with souls." The secondary title of the book is "A Treatise on Mystical The-ology." It is necessary to note from the beginning and to remember that Poulain, unlike most spiritual writers of the present day, uses the term mystical in a very restricted sense. Today there is much evidence of interest in mystical theology and in the supernatural phenomena which are its object bf study. Numerous Manresa and otl~er study clubs are investigating ascetical and mystical problems. .N~ew periodicals devoted to spiritual sub-jedts have appeared in recen~t years. Thomas Merton's books have found a wide reading public~. The number of vocations to the con-templative life has increasedI Another example of and a contribution to the g~owing interest is E. Allison Peers' standard edition of the 1See the "Book Review" section, ~. 52 for details on publisher, price, etc. 39 JEROME BREUNIG Religious works of St. Teresa of.Avila and St. John of the Cross. In fact, books on 'the theory, of mysticism, biographies of mystics, anthologies of such writings,' books of private revelations have multiplied in the past few years. But interest and concern is by no means limited to the academic realm of books. The press has given extensive pub-licity to some of the stigmatics of the present day. Keports of appari-tions have become well known throughout the world. While remaining deeply respectful before God's special dealing with chosen souls and deriving spiritual benefit from them, there is always need for caution and guidance in order not to espouse every claim of super-natural "intervention. Helpfulness of Book In this milieu Poulain's work has a special timeliness. For people who would like to evaluate private revelations, cases of visions, stigmata, etc., this is the book. The book is helpful on the level of practical judgment of publicized supernatural phenomena and on the level of theoretical study of mystical theology. In Graces of Interior Prager the interested priest, religious, or lay Catholic, as well as the non-Catholic, the scientist and the non-scientist can find a rather complete, systematic, and factual study of extraordinary supernatural phenomena. The book should help clarify an outlook, perhaps modify misguided enthusiasm. At any rate, it will foster a more reserved and prudent, point of view. For instance, Poulain showsA that even among the saints there were false visions and even in true visions false human alloy sometimes became mingled with the divine. Those interested in the problems of mystical theology should welcome this volume because it is a good counterbalance to the the-oretical ~pproach that is now being emphasized. Poulain follc;ws the descriptive rather than the speculative school which endeavors, as he described in his pre.face, "to systematize' all facts theologically by connecting them with the study of grace, of man's faculties, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc." R. Garrigou-Lagrange's The Three Ages of the Spiritual Life is a good example of the speculative school. From the Author's Preface Poulain clarifies his purpose at the outset. "I wishec~ as far as possible to give very clear and accurate descriptions as well as v~ry plain rules of conduct." His purpose, then, is descriptive and pre-scriptive. He continues: "If I do not associate myself with the specu-lative school it is not from contempt. It deals .with many high and interesting questions. But the readers I have in view do not desire 4O January, 19~ 1 CLASSIC ON these things.(I am writing especially for those souls who are beginning to receive the mystic gr.aces and who do not know how to find their way in this new world. And I address myself to those also who are drawing near and who have entered into the adjacent states. Now such persons requir.e,something really practical. They wish for exact pictures--I was about to say photographs--in which they can recognize themselves immediately. They also require rules of conduct reduced to a few striking formulae, easy to ~emember and to apply.i~ He fbresees an objection. "Certain theologians would require more than this. They will perhaps see in this little book a mere manual, resembling those treatises on practical medicine which do not lose themselves in high biological theory~ but merely teach us how to make a rapid diagnosis of each disease and lay down the proper treatment. But I confess that I should think myself very happy to have attained such a difficult end." ~. The author's precautions which seem applicable to most works by mystics or on mysticism are the following. They are also in his preface. "The mystic" graces do not h"f t t:he soul out of the or"dmary.~b~¢~t~ conditions of,Christian life, or free it from the necessity of aiming perfection." ~,~Mystical graces are not sanctity but merely powerful~ means of sanctification; they mu,~st be received with humility and co~. responded-to with generosity."~ To pass our time in dreaming of the mystic ways is a dangero~uus error." Finally, "for all spiritualc~a~.~ ~ questions it is necessary to have a director. The more extraordinary)~I/~e~ the ways by which the soul is led the greater, as a rule is the Unlike most writers on the subject of prayer, Poulain's purpose is not primarily inspirational but rather Scientifically descriptive and prescriptive. The object of .the study, of course, of its very nature . has inspirational value. Nor does Poulain exclude this for he ends his preface: "I pray God that this book may accomplish the only end that I bad in view: the good of souls. (May" it awaken within them-~ {an attraction for prayeO'and the need f'o unite themselves with the divine Maste~.). ~May the souls raised to the fruitful joys of the mystic life become more and more numerous in the Church, especially amongst those who have been consecrated to God.:~ Send forth spirit., and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.'~ Teacher and Scientist Poulain was a teacher and a scientist. As a good teacher he took 4i JEROME BREUNIG Review for Religious pains to be clear. He had been a p~ofessor of mathematics for many years, and the reader suspects that he was adept at the use of the bl_ackboard. In hi.s early years be wrote a book which he playfully called the"Poor Man's Ge,ometry." In this book he used all his inven-tive genius to simplify the theorems for the slowest boy in the class. In Graces ot: Interior Prancer, "with its short phrases, its explana-tions simple sometimes almost to the point of na~vet~, its clear divl-siofis, its many paragraphs, its clever typographical devices" (Bain-vel's description of Poulain's style, page xxxvi), we find the same gracious teacher eager to bring the difficult subject matter within his pupil's wave length. As a scientist in the best modern traditions Poulaln endeavors to support his statements by factual data. He has so arranged the book that after each chapter he gives evidence to support the previous dex~el-opment. The basis for his treatment of interior experience is the writing of the mystics. In many instances he has also drawn from his own experience with mystics of his own time. Poulain himself said: "In thirty years I have come to know thirty-three persons who seem to have real supernatural graces, and nine who have false visions" (p. xxxv). The scientific treatment should commend the book to all. Incidentally, the book should help non-Catholic doc-tors, psychiatrists, and others who wish an introduction to mystical phenomena but would find a purely speculative treatment based on the unseen realities held by faith alone relatively unintelligible. The Table ot: Contents Poulain has divided his treatise into six parts: (1) Preliminary questions which give principal definitions and explain ordinary prayer; (2) General ideas about the mystic unlon;(3) A study of the degrees'separately; (4) Revelations and visions; (5) Trials of contemplatives; and (6) Supplementary questions. Herder's present volume adds to the appendices of' the original work an appendix on the question of acquired and infused contemplation and another on the discernment of spirits. The latter includes the Rules of St. Igna-tius, Counsels of St. Teresa on Temptations, ~ind Illusions and Marks to Discern the Si3irit of God, according to St. Margaret Mary. The author begins his work by making a clear-cut distinction between ordinary prayer and extraordinary or mystical prayer. To clear the ground for the distinction he first points out four degrees of ordinary prayer, namely, vocal, meditative, affective, and simplified prayer; next he notes the progression and describes at some length 42 January, 1951 CLASSIC ON PRAYER affective praye.r and especially the prayer of simplicity. According'to Poulain, the prayer of simplicity, though close to mystical prayer, does not" contain a,ny mystical element. The prayer of simplicity is still the result of human~efforts. All kinds of prayer, of course, require grace. He confines the hse of the word mystic to "supernatural acts or states which our own industry is powerless to produce, even in a low degree, even momentarily" (p. 1). The author then points out four degrees of the mystical union: 1) incomplete union (prayer of quiet) ; 2) full union (prayer of union) ; 3) ecstatic union (ecstasy) : 4) transforming union (spiritual marriage). Always the teacher and scientist, he distinguishes each successive degree by a new discernible fact. In the prayer of quiet the union between God and the soul is incomplete, for the imagination is free and distractions are possible. In the prayer of union the imagination is no longer free, but the action of the senses is not suspended, com-munication with others and withdrawal from prayer are possible. In ecstasy all sensation and voluntary movement are suspended. In turn, spiritual marriage is distinguished as a stable and constant state. "'To explain mysticism in an hour's time" After this general division of the higher supernatural states, the author attempts to describe what constitutes this higher state. He realizes the ground is holy and the task is difficult, but hear the ear-nest. sympathetic teacher: "The ordinary man prefers speed to every-thing else. Details do not usually interest him, but only the main lines . . . He seems to say: Try in an hour to make me understand exactly what mysticism is. This can be done" (p. 64). The fun-damental nature of the mystic union Poulain describes as God's presence felt. He states this in two propositions which he calls theses, The first thesis affirms the fact, the second uses the analogue of sensa-tions to enlarge on the experiential presence. After this he gives ten secondary characteristics of the mystic, union. Because of the special importance, the two theses describing the fundamental nature of the higher state will be given in the author's own words. The first thesis: "The mystic states which have God for their object attract attention at the outset by the impression of recollection and union which they cause us to experience. Hence the name of mystic union. Their real point of difference from the recollection of 43 JEROME BREUNIG Rew'e~v [or Religious ordinary prayer is this: that in the mystic state, God is not satisfied merely to help us to think of Him and to remind us of His presence: He gives us an experimental, intellectual knowledge of this presence. In a word, He makes us feel that we really enter into communication with Him. In the lower degrees, however (prayer of quiet), God only does this in a somewhat obscure manner. The manifestation increases in distinctness as the union becomes of a higher order" (pp. '64-65). In the explan'ation that follows immediately Poulain says: "There is a profound difference between thinking of a person and feeling him near us. And so when we feel that someone is near us, we say that we have an experimental knowledge of his presence. In ordinary prayer we have only an abstract knowledge of God's presence" (Ibid.). This %xperience of God" is obtained through quasi-se.nses in the spiritual order. His second thesis brings this out. "In ~he states inferior to ecstasy we cannot say that God is seen save in exceptional cases. We are not instinctively led to translate our experiences by the word sight. On the other hand, that which constitutes the com-q~ X.mon basis of all the various degrees of the mystic union is that~he. spiritual impression by which God makes known His presence, mam-fests Him in the manner, as it were, of something interior which penetrates the soul; it is a sensation of saturation, of fusion, of im-mersion. For the sake of greater clearness, we can depict what is felt by describing the sensation by the name Of interior touch" (pp.90- 91).) Poulain that mark 2) 3) 4) 6) 7) The Secondarg Characteristics of Mgstic Union gives (p. 114) the following ten secondary characteristics the mystic union: The mystic union does not depend upon our own will; The knowledge of God accompanying it is obscure and confhsed; The mode of communication is partially incomprehensible; The union is produced neither by reasonings, nor by the consideration of creatures, nor by sensible images; It varies incessantly in intensity; It demands less effort than meditation; It is accompanied ~by sentiments of love,' of repose, of .pleasure, and often of suffering; 44 danuar~], 1951 CLASSIC ON PRAYER /) "~_ 8) It inclines the soul o,f, itself and very eflicach3usly, to the~ " 9) It acts upon the body and is a" cted ~ I0) " " It ~mpedes to a greater or less extent the production of cer-tain interior acts; this is what is called the l,igature. In the third part of I~is book, Poulain studies each of the degrees of the mystic union s~parately. His explanation of the Two Nights of the Soul pointed out by St. John of the Cross is enlightening. TheNight of the Senses is a preliminary state, "the borderland of the mystic state," while the Night of the Soul, which precedes the trans-forming union, comprises the three lower states of mystic union u~ader their fiegative aspect. In his treatment of revelations and visions Poulain continues .the descriptive-prescriptive method, especially noting the possibility of false visions and of the false mingling with the true. He also gives rules-of-thumb for directors and for recipients of the heavenly favors. The section on trials.to contemplatives is brief, but brings out ¯ that contemplatives must be cut in the heroic mold of the Crucified. In his final section on supplementary questions of mysticism, the author treats in the same.scientific manner of topics such as the desire for mystic union, quietism, and frequency of the mystic states. Concluding Tribute What Cardinal Steinhuber wrote of the first edition forty-five years ago still stands. "It is with real satisfaction that I have read your Reverence's book on The Graces of Interior Prager. I cannot resist the desire to congratulate you with all my heart upon this fine and useful work. Directors of souls and the masters of the spiritual life will draw from it abundant supplies of enlightenment and the counsels necessary to enable them to solve the many complicated questions that they will encounter. What pleases me is the sim-plicity, the clearness, and the precision of your exposition, and still more, the solidity of the teaching. I can say the same for the care that you have taken to rely upon the old and approved masters who have written on the subject of mysticism. You dispel their obscuri-ties, you reconcile their apparent contradictions, and you .give their language the turn that the spirit of modern times demand." 45 Reprint Series The following groups of articles are now available in 50-page booklets, with paper cover: NUMBER 1: Father Eltard "On Difficulties in Meditation--I"--Vol. VI, p. 5. "On Difficulties in Meditation--II"--Vol. VI, p. 98. "Affective Prayer"--Vol. VII, p. 113. "Contemplation, the Terminus of Mental Prayer"--Vol. p. 225. VII, NUMBER 2: Father Ellis The "Gifts to Religious" series: "The Simple Vow of Poverty,"-~Vol. VI, p. 65. "Common Life and Peculium"~Vol. VII, p. 33. "Personal Versus Community Property"~Vol. VII, p. 79. "Some Practical Cases"~Vol. VII, p. 195. NUMBER 3: Father Kelly "The Particular Friendship"--Vol. V, p. 93. "Remedies for the Particular Friendship"~Vol. V, p. 179. "Emotional Maturity"--Vol. VII, p. 3. "More About Maturity"--Vol. VII, p. 63. "Vocational Counseling"--Vol. VII, p. 145. Prices Please note that we cannot accept orders for less than ten copies of any of these booklets. The following scale of prices applies to each of the booklets: 10 to 49 copies . 30 cents each. 50 or more copies . 25 cents each. Instructions for Orderlncj 1. Order according to the Number printed above: e.g., 10 copies of Number 1 ; 10 copies of Number 2; and so forth. 2. Send payment with order; calculating the price for each order according to the scale of prices printed ,above. 3. Make checks or money orders payable to Review for Religious. 4. Address your order to: The I:dltors, Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, SL Marys, Kansas. 46 The Des :iny of Religious Women William B. Faherty, S.J.1 ACURSORY PERUSAL of Our HolyFather Pius XII's speeches on woman's role in modern life might well lead one to the hasty conclusion that they contained little direction for reli-gious women. He spoke of motherhood as "the sphere of woman." He set down a great challenge for women today--to rebuild family life,--and as the first means towards this objective he wanted them to restore the aura of honor and dignity that should surround a mother's place there. The Religious Sisters, on the other hand, have renounced the pos-sibilities of motherhood in the home to consecrate their lives to Christ's service. Are they therefore on the periphery of the great so-cial reform work to which Pope Plus XII called modern women? The only answer that can justly be given after a careful study of the papal teaching is a round "No." Some readers have drawn too many hasty and unfounded conclusions from the Pope's words. They have not read all his speeches on the general subject. (He has addressed groups of women nine distinct times on various aspects of their lives and work.) They have accorded too much attention to the Pope's more novel and sensational statements, such as his pro-claiming the unmarried lay state a "vocation," and his urging women to vote and seek public office. When the full picture of the Holy Father's teaching is seen, the important place of religious women comes sharply into focus. In his most publicized speech of October 21, 1945, Pope Plus XII did state: "The sphere of woman, her manner of life, her native bent is motherhood. Every woman is made to be a mother . . . For this purpose the Creator organized the whole characteristic makeup of woman." Immediately, however, he clarified the issue that he was speaking of motherhood "not only in the physical sense," but also in the "spiritual and more exalted, but no less real" sense. This was consistent with the general tenor of his teaching. In a speech2 g!ven four years previously, entitled, "Guiding Christ's Little 1Father Faherty of Regis College, Denver, is the author of The Desting of Modern Woman in the Light of Papal Teaching, which is reviewed in this issue. (See page 52). The present article is based on a section of the book. ~Copies of this inspiring address can be obtained at a very low cost from the Nat. Council of Catholic Women, 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington 5,D.C. 47 WILLIAM B. FAHERTY Review for Religious Ones," the Pope had spoken more explicitly on this two-fold motherhood. Addressing the mothers in his audience, the Holy Father remarked: "Our words have been addressed principally to you, Christian mothers. But with you we see around us today a .gathering of nuns, teachers and others engaged in the work of Chris-tian education. They are mothers, too, not by nature or by blood but by the love they bear the young." Then turning directly to this latter group, he continued: "Yes, you too are mothers; you work side by side with Christian mothers in the work of education; for you have a mother's heart, burning with charity . . . You are truly a sisterhood of spiritual mothers whose offspring is the pure flower of youth." Such were the Holy Father's beautiful words on "spiritual motherhood." Praise of the Religious Life Pope Pius XII's remarks on religious life came not as a separate statement but as part of the full teaching on woman's role in the modern world. In his address of October 21, 1945, he discussed all three "vocations" open to young women today: marriage, the un-married lay state, and the life of the' consecrated religious. About the religious life, he stated: "For nigh onto twenty cen-turies, in every generation, thousands and thousands of men and women from among the best in order to follow the counsels of Christ" have left the "world" to devote their lives to His service. "Look at these men and women," he continued, "See them dedicated to prayer and penance, intent on the iiastruction and education of the young and ignorant, leaning over the pillow of the sick and dying, ope~l-hearted for all their miseries and all their weakness, in order to relieve them, ease theml lighten them and sanctify thm." "When one thinks of young girls and women," he concluded, "who willingly renounce matrimony in order to consecrate them-selves to a higher life of contemplation, sacrifice, and charity, there comes at once to the lips the word that explains it: vocation. It is the only word that describe so lofty a sentiment." The Pope finished this passage with ~he explanation that the call of God may come either as an overpowering summons or as a gentle impulse, sd diverse are the modulations of His voice. Addressing the representatives of Italian Youth Organizations in 1943, he spoke at length on the great need 0f vocations in these times, especially in the fields of education, organized charity, and danuar~, 1951 DESTINY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN foreign missions. After extolling the value of religious life in fos-tering the Church's mission and mentioning the great solicitude of the Church today for the life of consecrated service--a solicitude rarely equalled, he insisted, in the long annals of Christian history-- the Holy Father concluded, "Let her accept it who can, taking Christ's words in "the sense of an invitation and encouragement." As a fitting crown to this speech, he made the memorable statement, "Christian virginity is the triumph of civilization." The Challenge to Modern Woman When the Pope challenged modern woman to work for the restoration of family llfe, he realized that many would very justly wonder why the Church continued to encourage the call to the reli-gious Sisterhoods. Why not lay less emphasis on this vocation for a decade or so? After all, where Catholic family life is strong, reli-gious vocations abound. Anticipating this reasonable objection, the Pope forestalled it by an immediate and thorough answer. "Is the common good of the people and the Church perhaps jeopardized by this (the encourage-ment of the religious vocation) ?" he asked. "On the contrary, these generous souls recognize the union of the two sexes in matrimony as a good of high order. But if they abandon the ordinary way and leave the beaten track, they do not desert it, but rather consecrate themselves to the service of mankind with a complete disregard for themselves and thei~ own interests by an act incomparably broader in its scope, more all-embracing and universal." They have given up the possibility of children of their own, yet they" teach the children of others the way to Christ. They help mothers in the care of their youngsters by establishing day nurseries. They substitute for the mother in conducting orphanages. They care for the sick members of all families. They protect the unity and sanctity of the family, furthermore, in a hidden but very influential way. While those intent on de.stroying the foundations of Christian civilization advise infidelity within the marriage bond and "free love" outside, the Church points with paternal pride to thousands upon thousands who have gone beyond the command of God and have accepted His free call to do something even greater. Because of this sacrifice, hundreds and hun-dreds of married people can ask themselves in the midst of ditficulties: "Can I not live up to the high requirements of my state of life, when 49 WILLIAM B. F!KI~ERTY so many of my fellow human beings live up to the more exacting demands of a higher state?" Renewal of Familg When the Pope suggests means to effect the renewal of the mod-ern family, the great part religious Sisters can play becomes even more evident. The foundation of all work for the restoration of the fam-ily, the Holy Father remarked, is a solid personal spiritual life. The first goal is to be the restoration of the honor and dignity that should be the Mother's in the home. Who are in a more strategic position to build a solid spirituality and proper attitudes toward home life in the mothers of tomorrow than the Religious Sisters who teach them in the schools and colleges today? Nor are Sisters engaged in other apostolic activities on the periphery of this great work. Those who conduct hospitals, retreat houses, and the like, have a part that is perhaps less obvious but equally important in thi~ work of family restoration to which their Holy Father challenges them. Conclusions Certain profitable conclusions for the individual lives of the Sis-ters suggest themselves from the words of Pius XII which have been briefly considered here. If religious Sisters are to look on their'life as a spiritual motherhood, the qualities that mark a true. Christian mother's relationship with her children--the qualities that marked Our Lady's relationship with her Divine Son--will be the aim of the religious Sister. This will counteract any influences which in these days of standardizing agencies and statistical social service might lead an occasional individual toward a depersonalized goal of expertness in nursing, teaching, or other profession. Secondly, the v6cation of most young women to be the mother of a family in the home could receive much more stress in high school and college instruction, equal in quantity even to the attention most Sisters very justly bestow on their own high type of vocation. Above all, the Holy Father's words should be an encouragement and an inspiration in these apocalyptic times which he himself has called "perhaps the greatest religious crisis humanity has gone through since the origin of Christianity." 50 Book Reviews THE MEANING OF FATIMA. By C. C. Marfindale, S.J. Pp. 183. P. J. Kened¥ and Sons, New York, 1950. This is not just another book about Fatima. It gives a brief, dear description of the Blessed Virgin's appearances; but tO that it adds a frank appraisal of the difficulties and inconsistencies in the account of the Fatima happenings, and a sensible, penetrating expla-nation of these problems. Fr. Martindale's treatment is marked by a fine balance. He is objective, almost scientific in his approach; yet sympathetic and sensi-tive to the human dements involved. He is very, discerning in his evaluations of the testimony given by the witnesses, parti.cularly the three children; yet there is never a ting~of debunking. Add to this reverent, straightforward attitude the fact that the author is inti-mately acquainted with Fatima and with the previous writings about the subject, and it is hard not to accept his judgment on the appari-tions. Special attention should be drawn tothe introduction, which is the key to Ft. Martindale's treatment of the Fatima narrative. In a few pages, the author gives a brief but dear explanation of the Cath-olic Church's attitude towards private revelations. His analysis of the psychology of the "visionary" is particularly valuable. This in-troductory section alone would be enough to make the book worth reading, and the remainder of the book fulfills the promise of the troduction.--BERNARD COOKE, S.J. VOCATION TO LOVE. By Dorfhy Dohen. Pp. ;x-k 169. Sheed and Ward, New York, 19S0. $2.50. Aiming at high ideals, the lay apostle is often handicapped by all-too reaIistic obstacIes. Writing from a layman's viewpoint, Miss Doben gives the reader a deep insight into some practical ways of ~etaining spiritual idealism. Religious will find in Vocation to Lo~e a refreshing newness clothing old principles, and may blush at the evident bigb aspirations of "people in the world." After a comparatively long and somewhat disconnected intro-ductory chapter, the author develops ten unified chapters on pene-trating studies of important consequences of tooe. The reader ad-vances through increasingly more interesting and satisfying topics. Outstanding for their simplicity and depth are four chapters on 51 BOOK ANNOUCEMENTS Reoietu for Religious detachment, prayer, loneliness, and f~ustration. The clear and descr.iigtive style throughout is captivating. Religious and laity alike, who ambition great deeds for Christ, should profit from these fifteen-minute excursions into refreshingly modern answers to the old problems f.acing the zealous apostle in making reality approach the ideal.---ROBERT P. NEENAN, S.J. THE GRACES OF INTERIOR PRAYER (Les Graces D'Oralson): A Treatise on Mystical Theology. By A. Poulain, S.J. Translated from the sixth edition by Leonora L. Yorke Smith and corrected to accord with the tenth French edition with an introduction by J. V. Balnvel and an appendix on the discernment of spirits. Pp. cxli q- 665. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Mo., 1950. $6.50. For the review of this book see Father Breunig's article, "Classic on Higher Prayer;" pp. 39-45. BOOK NOTICES Another tribute to. the present Age of Mary is F. J. Sheed's THE MARY BOOK which gives a biography-anthology of the best Marian. literature published by Sheed and Ward during the past quarter- ~ century. The reader will find a vast variety of subject matter plus diversity of presentation by great-name authors--Chesterton, House-lander, Claudel, Von Hildebrand, Martindale, Lund, to name only a few. Those eager to read more exhaustively on the subjects will find the sources of the selections listed in the back of the book. Besides the prose, beautiful poems on Mary, these not limited to the last twenty-five years, enrich the collection. Thirteen illustrations, four of them in color, of famous statues and paintings, contribute the final artistic touch to this little library on things Marian. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1950. Pp. xii -f- 411. $4.00.) THE DESTINY OF MODE

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

Issue 10.6 of the Review for Religious, 1951. ; A.M.D.G. Review for Religious NOVEMBER 15, 195.1 After Ten Years . The Editors Spirituality of Teresian Carmel . Fr. Thomas, O.C;.D. Peace of C;hrist . Thomas A. O'C;onnor Secular Institutes . Francis N. Korth Way of Simple Love . ,James Lockeff Current Spiritual Writing . . . . Augustine KJaas The Race Problem . ~ . . . Gerald Kelly Questions and Answers Index for 19S I Book ,Reviews VOLUME X NUMBER 6 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME X NOVEMBER, 1951 NU~BER 6 CONTENTS AFTER TEN YEARS--'~he Editors . 281 THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE TERESIAN CARMEL-- Father Thomas, O.C.D . 283 THE PEACE OF CHRIST-~Thomas A. O'Connor, S.3 . 289 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 295 SECULAR INSTITUTES--Francis N. Korth, S.J~ . 296 THE WAY OF SIMPLE L~)VE-~dames Lockett, S.J . 301 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING--Augustine Klaas, S.J.-- International Convention on Religious Life . 303 Reports on Renewal and. Adaptation . 305 Religious and Lay Helpers . 311 Prudence vs Credulity . . .~ ¯ . 313 HOW TO THINK AND ACT ABOUT THE RACE PROBLEM-- Gerald Kelly, S.J . 316 QUESTIONS AND~ ANSWERS--° 27. On Ackn~,w, ledging Gifts . 324 28. Succe~sso.r for Deceased Councilor . 32q 29. Slight°Deferment of First Profession . . . . . . . . 325 30. Can Shperior's Three-Year Term be Shortened? . 326 31. Can ~slstant Novice Master be Councilor? . 326 32. Pa~siontide Covering of Statues . 326 33. Admissioh of Deaf Applicant . 326 34. Must Altar Candles be Blessed? . 327 BOOK REVIEWS-- Officium Divinum Parvum; St. Clare of Assisi; Devotedly Yours 327 ¯ BOOK NOTICES . 329 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . . 330 TEN-YEAR INDEX-~SECOND CALL . 332 NO MORE REPRINTS . 332 ANNUAL INDEX FOR 1951 . 333 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, November, 1951. Vol. X, No. ~. Published bi-monthly: danuary, March, May, duly, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter danuary 15, 1942. at the Post Office, Topeka. Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.d., G. Augustine Ellard, S.d., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Editorial Secretary: derome Breunig, S. d. Copyright, 1951, by Adam C. Ellis, S.d. ~Permission is hereby granted for quota-tions of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A. Before writincj to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. At:t:er Ten Years WrlTH this number we complete our first ten years of publica-tion. It seems an appropriate time to give.subscribers some facts about our history and some insight into our future. History Our first number (January, 1942) was already in the press when the war started. This number was mailed to" about 1300 subscribers; the last issue of that year w~s mailed to about 3200. Since that time our subscription list has increased gradually until now it is approxi-mately 8500. We began by publishing a 72-page magazine with large type and heavy paper. War and post-war restrictions on paper, as well as the rising "cost of everything pertaining to the printing business, forced us to cut on the quality oF paper, ~ the size of the type, and the num-ber of' pages. However, our present issue of 56 pages contains as much material as was printed in the first numbers. For more than nine years we held to our origigai price of two dollars per year. Only within this past year did we yield to pressure of rising costs; for, despite all the reductions regarding paper, type, and number of pages, our expense.s were much greater than they were in the early years of publication. Hence, in May, 195:11, we had to raise the subscription price to three dollars per year. We, did this with considerable regret, becaus~ we were conscious of the fact that most of our subscribers are small religious houses whose revenue is seldom more than meager. Our ambition has always been to publish a high-quality ecclesi-astical review, of special value to religious, whether clerical or lay. We have by no means reached the ideal; but we think we ~an say that we have published some valuable articles 'and series of articles. In our Question-and-Answer department, our policy has been to stress points that have some particular bearing on the religious life. We try to follow the same policy regarding bbok reviews. One of our special desires has been to keep a good Communica-tions department in which religious might help one another by dis-cussing some of the pract.ical problems of the religious life. We began this department with an excellent series of communications on spiritual direction. Unfortunately, we have never since been able to 281 THE EDITORS rise tO the standard set by that initial endeavor. Regarding unsolicited manuscripts, we have had only one "abso-lute" in our policy: we never accept poetry. Except for this, we have carefully considered every manuscript submitted to us. The Future In the past our subscription list has grown gradually and with a certain spontaneity, that is, without much special pushing. But there is a limit to suc,h growth, and perhaps we have reached it. We could use the special help of interested subscribers. For instance, there are still large numbers of religious communities that do not subscribe; and it seems that in many cases the sole reason for not subscribing is thai they have never heard of the REVIEW. Perhaps some of our readers would have occasion to g!ve them the information. Also, it seems to us that we should have more subscribers among diocesan priests who are directors and confessors of religious. Would it seem mercenary to suggest that a gift-subscription to the REVIEW would be just as good a Christmas present to such priests as a rabat or a box of cigars ? We must retain our new ~rice ($3.00), and we hope it will not make any substantial difference in the number of subscribers. As for articles, we still" have several in theI series on the spiritual-ity of' different institutes. These include "Salesian Spirituality," "St. Augustine and His Rule," and "Jesuit Spirituality." We have another article on secular institutes, and we shall publish more on that subject as our information grows. Also, we have a commentary. on the address on the states of perfection given by Pope Pius XII to the members of the First Congress of Religious; and we hope to pub-lish soon an English translation of the very importa.nt apostolic let-ter to religious, Uniqenitus Dei Filius, issued by Pius XI, in 1924. We would appreciate receiving good communications on practical problems, as well as suggestions concerning possible communications or articles. We close with a word of thanks to contributors and subscribers, and with a prayer of thanks to God, who has blessed us in many ways. THE EDITORS. 282 The Spirit:ualit:y !:he Teresian Carmel Father Thomas, O.c.D. THE CONCEPT of perfection which is the basis of all that has .| been written on the spirit of Carmel is that the objective of the Carmelite is a state of union in which the soul is transformed by love in God. "The state of this divine union consists in the soul's total transformation, according.to the will, in such a manner that there may be naught in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that in all and through all, its movements may be those of the will of God alone." (Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Bk.I, ch. 11, n.2.) This ideal set before his fellow religious by St. John of the Cross is carried over from the ancient spiritual tradition of Carmel as found in the work called the Institution of the First Monks (towards the end of the 12th century, or certainly before the middle of the 13th). The tradition of Carmel is twofold. "Firstly it consists in offering to God a holy heart, freefrom every stain of actual sin; we can reach that by our labor, our efforts with the help of grace; we have reached it when we are perfected in charity . The other end of this life is a purely gratuitous gift of God: it ¢0nsists in tasting, not only after death but even in this mortal life, the power of the divine presence and the sweetness of heavenly glories." (Institutio Primorum Monachorum, ch.2.) These two elements are not separate and unrelated. "By means of purity of heart and perfection of charity one arrives at the second end, that is, experimental knowledge of divine strength and celestial glory. " (Ibid.) . While this experimental knowIedge is a gift of God, it is not for that reason out of our reach or devoid of merit. Both St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus speak of a double union with God. The first consists in perfect conformity of the human will with the will of God, which union of conformity is crowned quite normally with the mystical union in which the soul divestedof self-love is penetrated with the divine life and realizes tha.t God lives or dwells within. (Cf. Ascent, Bk.II, ch.5; Interior Castle, Mans. 6, Ch. Ill, n.3.) If few souls reach this high state, it is not because God wishes that it be the lot of a few, but because He finds few disposed for such union. (Livin~l Flame, A, St. 2, n.23) . 283 FATHER THOMAS Reoiew for Religious Carmel has always been the implacable enemy of mediocrity and half measures. St. Teresa warns the world that God "refuses to force our will, He takes what we give Him but does not give Himself wholly, until He sees that we are giving ourselves wholly to Him." (Wag of perfection, Ch.28, n.12.) And St. John of the Cross gives expression to the same thought by saying, "God communicates Him-self most to that soul that has progressed farthest in love; namely, that has its will in closest conformity with the will of God." (Ascent, Bk. II, Ch. 5, n.4) Total love postulates total sel'f-denial. Souls of the Teresian Carmel are called to a totalitg of looe. Asceticism of Carmel If the ideal of perfection is thus clearly set forth, the development of this ideal is no less evident in the writings of the Order. For the Carmelite, sanctity is to be reached by means of two practices: detach-ment and recollection, or, mortification and prayer. All the precepts of the Primitive Rule may be reduced to these. The central precept of the Rule: "Let each one remain in his celt; or hear it, meditating dag and nigh( on the law of the Lord, and watching in prager, unless otherwise jUStlg occupied, together with the prescribed recitation of the Divine Office and daily assistance at Mass, insure the primacy of prayer; while the precepts of poverty, fasting, abstinence, manual labor, silence, and humility form the background of mortification. Detachment is the negative element in the Carmelite program, ofwhich the Christian world today is perhaps overconscious. Too many spiritual men of our day have taken their impression of Carmel from the nothing, nothing, nothing of St. John of the Cross's map of perfection, forgetting th.at this nothing of detachment is dictated by the ALL of union with God. The saint who said to one of his peni-tents, "'Nothing, nothing, nothing, even to leaving our very skin and all else for Christ," (St. John of the Cross, Ft. Bruno, O.C.D., Ch.16.) was human and practical enough to realize that "unless the soul is enkindled with other and greater yearnings for that which is spiritual, it will be unable to throw off the yoke of nature or enter this night of sense, neither will it have the courage to remain in dark-ness as to all things.". (Ascent, Bk.I, Cb. X[V, n.2.) Austerity of life must be measured according to the strength of love. When love is strong, it will want to give much; when it is perfect, it will want to give all. (St: Teresa, Wag of Perfection, Cb. 32.) St. John of the Cross disavows any intention of trying to create a vacuum in the 284 November, 1951 TERESIAN CARMEL soul. As the soul is emptied of desire for creature satisfactions it is filled with desire for Christ. In fact, the saint recommends the culti-vation of an habitual desire for Christ before all else. "First, let him have an habitual desire to imitate Christ in everything that he does, conforming himself to His life." (Ascent,.Bk.I, Ch. 13, n.2) Father Gabriel finds it necessary to stress the order and discretion of St. John's treatment of this matter of detachment. "We think it. well to emphasize this advice of the Saint, for it shows how mistaken is the accusation which stigmatizes his doctrine as absolute and rigid. The principle of the necessity of complete detachment is absolute, but in its application the individual must take account of human weakness and needs. The man who would banish from his life every allevia-tion" and recreation would soon fall into a physical and moral weari-ness which would be detrimental to the spiritual life itself. Moreover, the pleasures of sense are' not always evil; there are pleasures which are perfectly innocent; but it is a question of not letting ourselves be-come attached to them. Otherwise we shall seek them in order to satisfy our own self-love, instead of using them for the benefit of our spiritual life and for the glory of God."~ (St. John of the Cross, Doctor of Divine Love and Contemplatign, p. 30, note.) Therefore, detachment is never made an end in itself. It is always looked upon as the instrument or means by which souls arrive at union with God in prayer. The most. important point of originality in the Teresian Reform was the intensification of mental prayer. St. Teresa herself introduced the two hours of mental prayer that are part of thd Car-melite day, and St. John of the Cross adopted the practice for the Fathers of the Reform. This interior prayer is the life of the vocal prayer and liturgy" of the Order, and is prolonged during the day in the.practice of the presence of God. Carmel does not view contemplation as an extraordinary grace, a quasi-miraculous favor reserved by God for a few privileged souls. "All who wear this holy habit of Carmel," proclaims St. Teresa, "are called to prayer and contemplation." (Interior Castle, Mans. V., -Ch.I, n.2.) In souls athirst for union with God, contemplation flourishes and becomes an instrument of progress on the way to per-fection and the crown of its perfect fulfillment. It is not to be confused with visions and revelations which Carmel; with St. John of the Cross, sees as extraordinary accompaniments of prayer and not in any way required in order to arrive at union with God. It is 285 FATHER THOMAS Ret~iew for Religious the teaching of the Teresian school of spirituality that contempla-tion is the normal development of the soul and postulates nothing more than the theological virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit, ele-ments of the supernatural organism of the soul, the activation of which may be called connatural. This is not the place for a defense of the doctrine of acquired contemplation. Suffice it to say that in the Teresian school specula-tion upon contemplation has arisen from" a living contact with mystical facts and is directed immediately to the utility and guidance of contemplative souls. A contemplation which we can obtain by our human manner of working by means of the ordinary light of Faith and the ordinarg aids of grace (Quiroga, Don que tuao, Ch.I, p. 511.) has met with disfavor iri some circles, but a conciliatory spirit will find that the differences of various schools in this regard are little more than variations of terminology. (Cf. Gabriel, op. cir., p. 178, sqq.) Realization of Ideal Carmel's insistence upon prayer is made practical in the culti-vation of a personal love for Christ. Prayer is conceived as a friend-ship, and since the cultivation of friendship follows the laws of habit formation, each meditation is looked upon as a contact with Christ which, upon being repeated, soon results in deep esteem and strong love. This friendship inspired the Reform. "All I cared for then, as I do now, was that, as the enemies of God are so many and His friends so few, these latter might at least be devoted friends of Jesus Christ." (St. Teresa, Way .oF PerFection, Ch.I, n.2.) The Merciful Love of God manifested in the great mystery of the Incar-nation is the spiritual center of Carmel's spirituality. St. John of the Cross' insistence upon having an habitual desire to imitate Christ has been mentioned. This desire inspires a per-sistent search for God. Creatures cannot satisfy, for they are but traces of the divine. (St. John,, Spiritual Canticle, St. VII.) Con-tact with' Christ by way of faith in prayer brings the soul to the object of its search (Ibid. St. XII.), and then through suffering and the cross it penetrates and finds fruition in the "deep mysteries in the wisdom of God which are in Christ." (Ibid. St. XXXVI, n.2.) The progress of the soul through creatures to Christ, and through Christ to union with the Divinity is wonderfully traced by the Mystical Doctor. And we have only to .read his poem beginning, "How well I know the fount that freely flows, although 'tis night!" 286 Nooember, 1951 ¯ TERESIAN CARMEL to realize his tremendous appreciation for the Incarnation, and especially the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It is in the Blessed Sacrament that the Carmelite finds the daily companion-ship that inspires divinefriendship. The tenderness and simplicity of this love shows itself in Carmel's devotion to the Infancy of Our Lord. St. Therese of the Child Jesu~ is a delightful reproduction in our day of all the deep strength of the Spanish Mystics. Witness her oblation to the Merciful Love of God and the power of her thought when describing, it. (Autobiography, Cb. VIII, p. 148.) The ambition of every worthy Carmelite is to be what St. Teresa of Avila termed a deooted friend of Christ. Another practical manifestation of Carmelite spirituality is a tender love for Mary. Carmel' glories in the title of Order of Our Lady, but thisis not a mere empty honor; it is given substance in a Marian life that is marked by three traditional characteristics: imi-tation, intimacy, and consecration. The Order looks upon Mary as "More Mother than Queen" (St. Therese, Autobiographg, Ch. XII.), models' it prayer life upon her simplicity and recollection, and considers every vocation a speciMly established relationship with the Mother of God. Furthermore, far from considering its Marian life as a hindrance to union with God, Carmel's teaching is that intimacy with Mary lends greater unction to the highest mysti?al union. (Cf. Michael of St. Augustine, The Mariform Life and Marian Life in Mar~t and for MaGt, Chs. XIII, XIV.) " Carmel has for seven centuries enjoyed the special protection of Our Lady through the Brown Scapular, and considers this garment a sign of its consecration to Mary. Total dedication of the Order to the Blessed Mother is indicated by its traditional motto: Totus Mari-anus est Carmelus. Apostolate This paper on the Spirituality of Carmel seems to demar~d a final word regarding the apostolate.' After passing from the Orient and the eremitical life of its cradle in Palestine, the Order became mendicant in the West and espoused in its vocation the apostolic life, preserving at all times a leaning towards contemplation and solitude. So completely has the contemplative dominated the active in "Car-mel, that the Order has always looked upon its prayer life as its first apostolate. The life of the Carmelite Nun is founded on the principle that prayer has an apostolic value. St. Teresa placed before her nuns the 287 FATHER THOMAS very militant function of aiding God's priests by their prayer and penance. "I think," she writes, "He prizes one soul which by His mercy, and through our diligence and prayer, we may have gained for Him, more than all the other services we can render Him." (Four~datiorls, Ch. I, n.7.) T.he Church has always considered con-templatives as the apostles of the apostles. Plus XI, writing about the work of the contemplatives, says, "It is easy to understand how they who assiduously fulfill the duty ot~ prayer and penance con-tribute more to the increase of the Church and the' welfare of man-kind than those who labor in the tilling of the Master's field. For unless the former drew down from heaven a shower of divine graces to water the field that is being tilled, the evangelical laborers would indeed reap from their toil a more scanty crop." (A. A. S., Oct. 25, 192.4.) The friends of Christ, therefore, obtain the greatest victories in the conquest of the world for Him. St. Thomas gives the theologi-cal reason for this in these words, ",lust as the man who lives in grace fulfills the will of God, it is fitting (cor~grttttro est). in this relation of friendship that God should fulfill the will of man by saving others.'" (Summa Tl~eol. Ia IIae, q. 114, a.6.) And St. ~lohn of the Cross puts it this way. "A little of this pure love is more fruitful for the Church than all external works." (SloiriutaI Canticle, B. St. 29, n.2.) Since priests of the Order exercise an exterior apostolate also, they must necessarily show the influence of- the ideal of divine intimacy fostered in Carmel. Carmelite priests have the particular mission of helping souls to lead a life of interior union with God. They must find themselves at home with the problems of spiritual direction. This does not mean that the priestly ministry of a Carmelite limits itself to interior souls, since the priest of God owes his generous and zealous efforts to the whol~ Chu}ch, not excluding sinners and infidels. But when St. ,lohn of the Cross converted a sinner, he did not rest content with bringing about a return to the state of grace., He tried to lead this soul to a fervent life. One saint can do more than a thousand mediocre souls, and the great Carmel-ite Salmanticenses call attention to the great joy that is given to the Heart of Christ by leading souls to higher sanctity. (Curstts Theol. Tract. XIX De Caritate, disp. V, n. 93.) 288 The Peace ot: Christ: Thomas A. O'Connor, S.J. WHAT is the peace of Christ? What is this peace which Christ comes to give? Immediately there flashes on the screen of our minds the scene of that first Christmas. "While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy Almighty Word leaped down from Heaven from Thy Royal Throne" (Wisdom 18: 14). We see the shepherds on the hillside guarding their flocks. "Suddenly the glory of God shone round about them . and an angel said to them, '. behold I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all the people; for there has been born to you today in the town of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you; you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with" the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among men of good will.' " . With haste we go with the shepherds, and we find Mary and Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger. "A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us and the government is upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the. Mighty, the Father of the World to coine, the Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6). God is the God of Peace (I Cot. 14:13), and His Son, the Prince of Peace. As He in prospect looked forward from His crib to the days of His earthly life, so we in retrospect look back to His thirty-three years amongst us. He has come, Zachary prophesied, "to guide our-feet in the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). Time and again His sacred lips would speak those most consoling words, "Go in peace." His first greeting to His assembled disciples after His resurrection was "'Peace be to you!" As Peter later testifies (Acts 10:36) "God sent his word to the children of Isgael, preaching peace through Jesus Christ." At the Last Supper, as the shadows of His earthly life were deepening, He revealed to His closest followers the secrets of His Sacred Heart, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not 289 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Review/or Religious as the world gives, do ! give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." And at the conclusion of that beautiful dis-course He summed up the purpose He had in mind in the many thoughts He had communicated to them, "These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace." What is the peace of Christ? This peace which He comes to give? God is the God of peace because He is Love Itself, and He wishes to make all partakers of His love. "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you," saith the Lord, "thoughts of peace and not of affliction" (Jer. 29:11). St. Paul says, "For God is a God of. peace, not of disorder" (I Cot. 14:33). Again, ". beat peace, and the God. of peace and love be with you" (I Cor. 13:11). "May the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every .place" (II Thess. 3:16). The peace of Christ can be considered in a three-fold way: 1. Christ is our peace in bringing us peace wi~h God; 2. Christ is our peace in giving us the means to be at peace with our fello;ccman ; 3. Christ is our peace in teaching us how to have peace within our own hearts. Peace, says St. Augustine, is the tranquillity of order. It is.that serenity and quiet calm that is of 'the very nature of perfect order. I. Peace with God Christ is our peace in' restoring the right order between sinful man and his Creator, by reconciling the sinner with his offended God. As our Redeemer, He, "the second Adam, atoned for the original sin of the head of the human race. "When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10). He is th'e atoning Victim for our sins. "He is a propitiation for our sins, not for ours only but also for those of the whole world" (I John 2:2). The sinner cannot be at peace because his soul is at war with God. Mortal sin, we remember, is .the worst evil in the world, bu( let us not forget that the second greatest evil in the "world is venial sin. Christ is our peace in taking away our sins and the sins of the world. We are His peacemakers when by our prayers and sacrifices we help in bringing to the sinner the peace of Christ. As we gaze lovingly on the Infant Christ lying in His manger, let us recall the-words of St. Paul to the Colossians (1:15-21): "He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. 29O November, 1951 THE PEACE OF CHRIST ¯ For in him were created all things in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible., he is before all creatures, and in him all things subsist. For it has pleased God the Father that in him all his fullness should dwell, and that through, him he should reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in the heavens, making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." II. Peace with Our Fellow Man" Christ is our peace in re-establishing the proper order among men. This second kind of peace Christ left to the world by including men in the Mystical Body of Christ, and this in a two-fold way: First, Christ removed all barriers between nations and made them one. "You the Gentiles, says St. Paul (Eph: 2:12), "were at the time without Christ, excluded as aliens from the community of Israel. but now in Christ Jesus you, who were once 'afar off, have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself. is our peace, he it is who hath made both one, and has broken down the intervening wall. Therefore you are now no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are., members of the house-hold of God." Hence the peace of Christ does away with all barriers of race or nation or class of society. All have.been made one. "For He is our peace and has broken down the inter:;cening wall." Secondly, Christ is our peace in establishin, g right order among all men, because we have all been called into one.~.body-v-the Body of Christ. "For in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body. Now you are the Body of Christ, member for member" (I Cot. 12:12). "For just as in one body we have many members., so we, the many, are 6ne body in Christ. If it be possible, as far as in you lies, be at peace with all men" (Rom. 12:4). "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that there be no dissention among you, but that you be perfectly united in one mind and in one judgment" (I Cot. 1:10)~. "Put on, there-fore, as God's chosen ones . a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience. Bear with one another and forgive one another ¯ . . but above all have charity, which is the bond of perfection. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts; unto that peace indeed you were called in one body" (Col. 3:12-15). III. Peace Within Our Own Hearts The third kind of peace which Christ brings us is peace within our own hearts. He offers to set up there a tranquillity of order over 291 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Re~iew [or Religious the conflicting emotions and disturbing affections of our heart. This is the peace which He stresses in His discourse at the 'Last Supper. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world giveth to you, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid." Christ wishes to instil in the Apostles a calmness and courage for their coming trims. He wanted to impart to them some of His own peace of mind and strength of soul with which He was approaching His passion. This same serenity of mind, this unruffled calmness of .soul, this fearlessness in the face of physical suffering were to be needed by many a martyr. His words were for all His heroes who were to suffer and to die for Him down to the end of time. They were for a Mindzenty, for a Stepinac, ~or a Beran, and for the count-less unknown priests and religious languishing in prison today. "If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15: 20). i'These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have affliction. But take courage, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). What is this peace of Christ? "This peace of Christ," says St. Augustine, "is serenity of spirit, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the consummation of charity." This peace of Christ is like a radiant star in the heavens, flashing to us its bright rays of inspiration and guidance. It is a multipointed star, brilliantly beckoning us to a full possession of the peace of Christ. For in the first place the peace which Christ would set up in our hearts comes from a perfect conformit~l to the u~ill of God. He the '.'Way, the Truth and the Life" has shown us the perfect way. "Thou hast fitted a body to me," He said, "behold I come to do thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:7). "For I bare come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John 6:38). In the agony in the garden He pleaded with His Father to remove the cup of suffering but added: "yet not my will but thine be done" (Luke 22:42). Thus shall you pray: ". thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:10). The will of God is the highroad to happiness: His commands the blueprints of peace. "He who does the will of God abides forever" (I John 2: 17). As religious, we possess Christ's peace in our obedience. By obedience we put off our own wills to put on the will of God as declared to us by our superiors., to be possessed and governed by His Divine Providence by means of our superiors. "And if peace and 292 November, 1951 THE PEACE OI:: CHRIST tranquillity of mind is desired," adds St. Ignatius, "he certainly never shall arrive unto it, who has within himself the. cause of his disquiet and trouble, namely, the disagreeing of his own judgment from the law of Obedience." (Epistle on Obedience.) Secondly, Christ's peace comes to us from an unwavering trust in God's Divine Providence. For God's Divine Providence rules every-thing. Everything that takes place, happens not by chance but in accordance with the absolute or permissive will of God; and out of the circumstances of our lives, God draws, if we allow Him, an even greater good. For "not a sparrow will fall to the ground" without our heavenly Father's leave (Mr. 10:29). And "as for you" Christ says, "the very hairs of your head are numbered. Therefore do not be afraid" (Mr. 10:31). Again Our Lord says, "Therefore I .say to you,do not be anxious for your life., nor yet for your body. Your Father knows" what you need. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things will be given you besides. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow" (Mt. 6:34). It is as if He were saying, live in the present;, love and serve God today; don't worry about the future; leave all that in the hands of your heavenly Father. St. Peter says: "Cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (5:7). St. Robert Bellarmine in an exhortation on the Providence of God says that this realization of God's Divine Providence will put us at complete rest. For we shall realize that God, knowing everything, is aware of what is both helpful and what is harmful to us. Conscious of God's power and His tender Fatherl~ love, we know that He will arrange everything for our good. With the Psalmist we can confidently say, "Even though I walk in the valley of death, I shall not fear" (Ps. 22). Thirdly, Christ's.peace comes to us from imitating His meekness and humility. "Learn of me," He says, "Who am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls" (Mr. 11:29). Rest for our souls: peace, quiet of mind, tranquiIlity of heart. St. Am-brose, commenting on the causes of this lack of peace, compares this restlessness of heart to a fever which tosses us about, denying us all rest, burning within us. "This fever that afflicts us," he says, "is our selfishness; this fever is our lust; this fever is our ambition; this fever is our anger" (Com. on L. ch.4). Christ.promises us, if we imitate Him, pehce, rest for our souls. "Learn of Me who am meek": meekness controls th~ surges of anger, 293 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Review for Religious bringing a tranquillity of order to our raging emotions. Learn of Me who am humble: humility establishes right order in thinking of ourselves. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Prov. 3:34). "If anyone thinks himself to be something, whereas he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Gal. 6:3). "He who humbles himself as this little child, he is the grefitest in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:4). "Unless you become like little children, you shall n. ot enter the kingdom of heaven." (Ibid.) "I therefore exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, careful to preserve the unity of the Spiri't in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:4). "Do nothing out of con-tentiousness or out of vainglory, but in humility let each one regard the others as his superiors, each one looking not to his own interests but to thdse of others. Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though, he was by nature God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be clung to, but emptied himself, taking the nature of a slave, and being made like unto men" (Phil. 2:3-7). Fourthly, the peace of Christ is increased in our hearts as we become more and more unselfish, more and more Christlike. Un-selfishness cuts at the very tap'root of a thousand anxieties and frus-trations which are the bitter fruits of a life of self-seeking. We must put off our old selves to put on Christ. All selfishness must go. "Charity," says St. Paul, "is not self-seeking" (I Cor: 13:5). "For Christ did not please himself" (Rom. 15:3). Christ sought not himself in anything. "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30) must be our motto until each of us can say with St. Paul (Gal. 2:20), "It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me." Christ said, "My peace I give to you." In proportion, then as we are like Christ, in that same proportion we possess His peace. Fifthly, the peace of Christ floods our souls, in proportion as our hearts are filled with the love of. God and our neighbor. Christ said, "I am the vine, you the branches. As the'Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love" (John 15:10). "Do not love the world," says St. John, "or the things in the world" (I John 2:13). Again in the same Epistle, "He who does not love, does not know God; for God is love" (4:8). "No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (4:12). "And this commandment we have from him, that he who 294 November, 195 l THE PEACE OF CHRIST loves God should love his brother also" (4:21). "Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' " (Mr. 22:37). As we gaze in loving adoration at the scene in the cave of Beth-lehem, we see primarily and above all a scene of peace. It is the peace of Christ, the peace which the Prince of Peace came to give, the peace which the world cann6t give. We see that peace reflected in the kindly face of the strong, self-possessed, mild-mannered Joseph. XT~re see that peace resplendent in the radiantly pure features of Mary Immaculate. That peace was theirs when at Nazareth they heard the disap- .pointing news that a census was to be taken, that all must register, each in his own town. That peace was theirs during the long hours of that wearisome, four or five day journey to Bethlehem, to the town of David.,That peace was theirs even when they heard the crushingly discouraging "No room" as they unsuccessfully sought for shelter. That peace was still theirs when, abruptly awakened at a midnight hour by a fear-inspiring message, they hurried away to a foreign land to save the life of the Child from those who sought to destroy Him. That peace was theirs because their wills were .al.ways perfectly conformed to the Will of God, Sbedient to His every wish. 'That peace was theirs because they trusted unreservedly in the guidance of God's loving Providence. That peace was theirs because, being truly meek and humble of heart, they had found rest for their souls. That peace was theirs because they were utterly finselfish. That peace was theirs because they loved God with their whole heart and their neighbor for the love of God. "So may the peace ot: God, which surpasses all our thinking, watch over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7). OUR CONTRIBUTORS ~ FATHER THOMAS, O.C.D., is novice master in the Carmelite novitiate, Brook-line, Massachusetts. THOMAS A. O'CONNOR is president of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, and FRANCIS N. KORTH, AUGUSTINE KLAAS, and GERALD KELLY are on the faculty of the same theologate. JAMES LOCKETT is studying philosophy at Springhill College, Mobile, Alabama. 295 Secular Inst:il:ut:es Francis N. Korth, S.J. ON FEBRUARY 2, 1947, Pope Plus XII issued an Apostolic Constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia which crystallized a movement that had been developing in the Church for more than fifty years. By his action the Holy Father gave official recogni-tion to a new juridical state of perfection, namely secular it~stitutes.I In a separate article the juridical nature of these institutes will be considered. For the present let us take a brief look at the history of secular institutes. During the past century it became more and more evident that there were certain types of apostolate which could not be carried on easily by religious because of their distii~ctive garb and cloistered life. For this reason the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, an institute without common life and a di.stinctive habit, was founded in Paris about 1790. It received the decree of praise from Rome on April 29, 1853, and definitive approbation four years later on April 24. It~ constitutions were temporarily approved for ten years on May 30, 1870, with final approbation being given on June 8, 1890 (at which time the institute numbered over two thousand members). An insert in the constitutions mentioned that the institute's vows were neither public nor simply private vows of devotion. A similar organization of men, the Work of Youth, was estab-lished at Marseilles on June 24, 1821, by Father Joseph Allemand. Some of its members lived in their own homes' and engaged in vari-ous occupations in the world. There existed also other groups of a like character, such as the Virgins of Jesus and Mary (founded in 1844), the Daughters of Mount Calvary (1866), and the Sister Servants of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist (1867). On August 11, 1889, the Sacred .Congregation of Bishops and Regulars in its decree Ecclesia CathoIica stated that societies which did not'conform to the traditional common life and characteristic garb would not be recognized as religious congregations or 9rders, but only as pious sodalities. Such a step was taken because of the 1There are three such recognized states of perfection at present, namely religious in-stitutes, societies of common life, and secular institutes. These constitute a threefold category of the juridical state of perfection to-be-acquired. This latter is not to be confused with the juridical state of perfection acquired, of which the episcopate is the example. 296 November, 1951 SECULAR INSTITUTES increasing number of "unorthodox" institutes. However, even after this decree, approval as religious was granted to the Lady Catechists (Novem~ber 21, .1907) who dress" as laywomen, and to the extern Sisters of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Venerable Catherine Volpicelli (3uly 5, 1911) who live in the world. Similarly or~ December 1, 1916, the Sisters of Our Lady of Labor received the nihil obstat to canonical establishment. Mean: while, .in 1911 the constitutions of the Sbciety of the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales were approved, in which it was stated that the Society was not to be considered as a religious congregation. During the first decade and a half of our present century, while the work on the compilation of the Code of Canon Law was in progress, consideration was given to this new type of institute whose members live in the world, but the time was not yet'ripe for an offi-cial pronouncement; hence the Code made no mention of them. These associations, however, were multiplying. They numbered clerics and lay persons, men and women; the lay element was pre-dominant. As the problem became more urgent, a deeper study of the ques- .tion was made. During the International 3uridical'.Co.ngress held in Rome in 1934, a change of policy was indicated "by Cardinal La Puma, at that time Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Religious. As a result, approval of their constitutions and recognition as true religious was granted to the Work of Youth, of Marseilles (April, 1933) and to the School Missionaries of Saint Catherine of Siena (April, 1934). At that same International Juridical Congress, Father Servus Goyenecbe, C.M.F., made a fervent plea for the devel-opment and recognition of the new type of institute (Acta Congres-sus Iuridici lnternationali's (1934) IV, Rome, 1937, page 315). In accordance with a request of the Holy Father, Plus XI, the Sacred Congregation of the Council was maki.ng a special study of the problem. Under its auspices a meeting was held in 1938 at Saint Gall, Switzgrland, with Father Augustine Gemelli,' O.F.M., pre-siding. At least twenty-five associations, mostly of a lay character, took part. About the same time a detailed examination of the entire question was being made by Father Arcadius Larraona, C.M.F. (now Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Religious) in conner-ton with the application for papal approval of the constitutions the Sisters of Our Lady of Labor. Both the Holy Office and the Sacred Congregation for Religious 297 FRANCIS N. KORTH were interested in the study of this matter. Favorable progress was reported. A special Commission for a final review was set up. The result of all these protracted labors was the above-mentioned0Consti-tution Provida Mater Ecclesia. What about the present condition of these new institutes? How many have been approved? In what countries? From various sources I have been ableto gather the following details. I believe they are quite reliable, but I cannot vouch for their perfect accuracy. Up to March, 1950, the number of applications received in Rome both for permission to establish diocesan secular institutes as well as for the decree of praise for an institute already established totaled ninety-eight. Three-fourths of the applications came from institutes of women. Of the institutes of men, tWO-fifths were clerical. Dioc-esan secular institutes already established numbered twenty-two. Of ninety-seven applications for the years 1948-1949, the breakdown as to countries was as follows: Austria 4, Belgium 4, Canada 1, Colombia 3, France 12, Germany 9, Holland 2, Hungary 1, Italy 45, Mexico 4, Poland 1, Rumania 1, Spain 8, Switzerland. 1, Uru-guay 1. Definitive pontifical approvhl has been granted to five secular in-stitutes: the Opus Dei (Madrid), the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ (Milan), the Institute of Qur Lady of Labor (Paris), the Company of Saint Paul (Milan), and the Daughters of the Queen of the Apostles. I shall say a little more about the first four. of these institutes. In the United States a branch of the Opus Dei has been estab-lished in Chicago. Canada has at least two secular institutes: the Society of Missionary Nurses (women), founded at Montreal in 1942 by Monsignor Edgar Larochelle; ,and the Society of Lay Apostles of the Missions (24 McDougall, Ottawa, Ontario). Some other organizations reported as secular institutes include the follow-ing: Carmelites of Our Lady of Life (Avignon, France), Compan-ions of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (Lugano, Switzerland), the Company of the Child God (Antioquia, Colombia), Disciples of the Lord (Monterrey, Mexico), Dominican Institute of Jesus Cruci-fied (Orleans, France), the Institute of Our Lady of the Way (Vi-enna, Austria), Secular Institute of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Kent, England), the Society of Parish School Teachers (Saho, Uruguay), Teaching and Nursing Society (Lucknow, India). So much for the general picture. Now a word more about those 298 Nouember, 1~ 1 SECULAR INSTITUTES ¯ first four Secular institutes that received pontifical status. 1. Opus De[. The institute was founded in Madrid on October 2, 1928,. by Monsignor dos~ Maria Escriv~i d~ Balaguer. Its full name is Sacerdotal Society of the Holy Cross and'Opus Dei. The Sacerdotal Society is clerical, while the Opus Dei is composed of lay-men. The Opus Dei has two sections, one for men and the other for women (thi~ latter was started in 1930). The two sections are absolutely separated, so that they are really two completely different institutes, each with its own government. The Opus Dei was the first secular institute to obtain papal approval. It received the decree of praise on February 24, 1947, and on dune 16 of the past Holy Year (1950) the decree of final approbation. (To avoid confusion it might be welI to state that according to the current practice of the Sacred Congregation the steps ofapproba-tion are the following: (1) decree of praise of the institute (not merely a quasi or partial decree of praise), (2) approbation of the institute, (3) provisional approval of the constitutions, (4) possible renewal of temporary approval, and (5) final approbation of the in-stitute and of the constitutions. But probably more than one of these steps will be taken at one and the same time. In any case, with the decree of praise the institute becomes papal.) Opus Dei has as its general purpose the sanctification of its mem-bers by the practice of the three evangelical counsels and the observ-ance of its constitutions. One of its specific works is to spread the faith and encourage a life of evangelical p~rfection among all social classes or grades of society, ~nd especially among intellectuals. Members of Opus Dei are not religious, have no community life (for the most part they live in their own homes, though sometimes a number have a house in common), take no public vows, and do not wear a distinctive garb. (These are general characteristics of any secular institute.) The members live and act as other faithful in the world do. They dress as others in their own profession or grade of society. Their numbers include nobles, peasants, lawyers, business-men, doctors, professors, students, politicians, members of parliament, and cabinet officials. The. institute allows its members perfect free-dom in their professional work, financial activities, social or political doctrines, and in similar matters, provided of course that they act in conformity with Catholic faith and morals. Charity plays an im-portant role in the spirit of this institute. The members are to live in the world without being of the world. Hence they carry on the 299 FRANCIS N. KORTH Ret~iew for Religious apostolate also in quarters which are banned to priests and religious. The Spanish Opus Dei was built around a core of university stu-dents. Groups of one hundred were formed. Some lived in their own homes, going daily to their office or professional work. The Spanish Opus Dei has received permission to work in all parts of the world. It spread to Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and South America, and has a branch in Chicago. 2. Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ (Milan). This or-ganization was. founded on November 19, 1919, by a grgup of ¯ twelve young women who were Franciscan tertiaries. Directed by Father Augustine Gemelli, O.F.M.~ the society under the above title spread throughout Italy as if merely a branch of Franciscan tertiaries. In 1945 papal approval as a canonical pious association was received and the statutes were approved for five years. Having developed ac-cording to the pattern required for secular institutes, the new institute received papal approval (decree of praise and a15proval of its new constitutions for three years) on July 12, 1948. That made it the second secular institute so approved. It numbers about two thou-sand. In its ranks can be found doctors, nurses, government emr ployees, and members of the I'talian.Chamber of Deputies. The two principal purposes of the institute are the sanctification of the members through striving after evangelical perfection, and zeal. in starting new apostolic works or promoting established ones. In particular and in conformity with the internal disciplne of the insti-tute and of the other works in which they are engaged, the members should be active in Catholic Action, assist pontifical and diocesan apostolic works under the direction of tl'ieir superiors, and take part in other apostolic works. The Franciscan spirit is the guiding light of the institute. 3. Institute of Our Lady of Labor. This French secular insti-tute was ~he third to receive papal approval. It was founded as the Sisters of Our Lady of Labor in 1904 at Lyons, France, by Miss Rochebillard under the direction of Father Anthony Eymieu, S.J. It had received the nibil obstat to canonical establishment as a religious congregation on December 1, 1916. The actual establishment was made by the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Amette, on October 31, 1917. The organization had two sections: one leading a common life in houses of the institute, and the other living in their own homes in the world. The present secular institute has a motherhouse in Paris. 4. Company of Saint Paul. This institute was founded on No- 300 THE WAY OF SIMPLE LOVE vember 17, 1920. Its purpose is the social apostolate. On June 30, 1950, the decree of praise was bestoWed. So much for the numerical data. As to the types of apostolic work in which secular institutes are engaged, there is great variety. Catholic Action, social work, helping pastors, carrying on the apos-tolate in various professions and jobs are some general categories. The constitutions of each institute would have to be consulted for its specific works. A concluding word. To avoid inopportune restrictions on the development of secular institutes, the Sacred Congregation of Reli-gious has refrained from issuing complete and definitive norms for these new institutes. Aside from the essentials, therefore, the matter is still in .the process of settling down and jelling. There are prob-ably a good numbgr of'organizations which are gradually adapting themselves to the broad outlines given for secular institutes in the Provida Mater Ecclesia. The 'N X/'ay of. Simple Love James Lockett, S.J: WE MUST NOT be disturbed at what goes on beyond bur wills outside the inner recess of Our hearts. At times our lower nature will be disturbed by anger, at other times pride, at other tim~s carnal love, at other times sickness, at other times vain-glory, at other times love of our opinion; at times combinations of these at once; and at times the lower nature will be at peace. But we do not have to wait for these respites to love God. Amidst all these things the one who loves God should joyously and peacefully live with God in his heart. These things--they come and go, boil up and die away, but our life need not be one of turmoil. It should be hidden with Christ in God. And it would seem to me that the way to fight all these things is essentially the same, namely, the way of simp.le love. Let them come and go! What difference does it make? We should glory in our infirmities, for when we feel weak, then we should be strongekt of all, because then we may all the more confi-dently and easily place all our strength where it belongs, in Gbd who is our All. By the why "~'f simple lov~ in fighting alltemptations I do not 301 JAMES LOCKETT mean to say that those spiritual writers are completely wrong when they say we should fight temptations against purity by a course oppo-site to that which we use against pride, because the courses of action they advise seem all right in both cases. But I say that they are wrong in saying that they are opposite courses, thus needlessly and harmfully complicating oub lives; really the methods they give are essentially the same" course in either case. Are we tempted to im-purity? Go away from it to the infinite Good. There we shall begin to see the greater value of the true Good and after a while the storm shall pass and the One Good shall draw us away from the other "good." Are we tempted to pride? Go away from it to the infinite Good! There we shall see the truth and the beauty and the wondrousness of humility and how b~r loving our nothingness we possess infinity. And after a while the storm shall pass and the One Good will draw us from the other "good." Are we tempted to love our opinion inordinately, are we tempted to desire not to feel bad? Whatever we are tempted to, we can go away from it to the Truth, to the infinite Good. We must put our life there, hidden with Christ in God. See how simple our life should be! It is the way. of simple love. All these complications do not represent the Spirit of our Master, flowing from the gospel. I do not mean when I say "go away to the infinite Good" that we can feel Him whenever we wish. Rather I mean in simple little peace we must unite our wills to Him, Whd "dwells in our hearts, and in simple little faith look toward Him, and He will do the rest. Perhaps soon He will make the storm stop, per-haps He will let it last a while. It doesn't matter. Storm or no storm, we will be pleasing Him and making Him smile, and we will be protected in His arms. So you see, life should not be complicated but simple. It~ is not our Lord's will that we go through the pilgrimage without the devil and our lower nature acting up. How else could we merit so that we may be eternally near Him and possess Him? But let us, in little simple love, glory in our infirmities and while using what legitimate natural means we can to shu~ the devil's mouth, trustingly go away to Jesus and Mary, living away from all these things in the interior of our hearts, where the inmost will which we can always control lies. Then the devil and our lower nature will never hurt us no matter how hard they tug at our wills, but we will increase in sanctifying grace and in our power against them along the simple road of peace. 302 Current Spiri!:u l Writing Augustine Klaas, S.3. ¯ From La Vie des Communaut~s Retigieuses-- THIS Franciscan pubIication devotes its February 1951 number to a practical summary of the first International Convention of Studies.on the States of Perfection. It was held in Rome, from November 27 to December 7, 1950, and was attended by a large number of eminent priests and religious from all over the world. After Pope Pius XII's introductory letter of approbation and direction, and the last part of Cardinal Micara's opening discourse on the ,exigencies of modern times and how religious institutes are to meet them by reforms and adaptations, VCR gi4es an outline descrip-tion of the various sessions of the convention. The general division of the topics on the .program was threefold: (1) the renewal and adaptation of life and discipline in the various states of perfection; (2) the renewal and adaptation of the states of perfection with reference to the instruction and training of members; (3) the renewal -and adaptation of the states of perfection in their ordinary and extra-ordinary apostolates. As was to be expected, the speakers and ~ctive participants on the program were mainly members of religious insti-tutes, but there were also quit~ a few diocesan priests and some lay-men. No nuns were on the speakers' list. VCR then prints a section ot: the final aIlocution of Cardinal Micara, the closing discourse of Pius XII on the concept of the reli-gious life, and lastly the Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi. I confine myself here to expressing the concluding remarks spoken by Most Reverend Arcadius Larraona, C.M.F., secretary for the Sacred Congregation for Religious, and the resolutions of the convention, ¯ formulated by the Capuchin, Father Agatangelo da Langasco, secre-tary of the convention. This information in VCR I supplement from L'Osservatore Romano for December 9 and I 0, 1950. Father Larraona states that one of the objectives of the conven-tion was to neglect no facet of the subject, thus giving the convention a note of universality. This objective was achieved. Certain results he says, have already been attained. The proceedings of the conven- 303 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reoieto for Reliqious tion, which are to be published later, will give an account of many other good results. Of the greatest value was the' attachment of reli-gious to and union of mind and heart with the Sovereign Pontiff, the highest superior ot? religious, who grants the status of public law to each religious institute (Canon 499, no. I). Also in evidence was the union of thought, affection, and intention of religious with the local bishops in activities of a local naturg; and finally, the under-standing, union, and mutual collaboration of religious with the dioc-esan clergy. The autonomy of every religious family is necessary for its development, its discipline, and its usefulness, but exemption with regard to external things may be interpreted more or less strictly, depending on the nature of the work being done. Catholic Action must be aided and supported, but within the limits of religious discipline. Religious must engage in Catholic Ac-tion according to the general and special directives of the Holy See. Using these directive.s they must also animate their own particular associations. The adaptation proposed by the convention must rest on a solid foundation, namely, on the primacy of doctrinal and ascetical values in the ideal religious life. This primacy has two basi~ pivots: the toows, about, which revolves the whole of religious asceticism; and common life in both its material and formal senses. Also, the internal forum has the primacy over the external. Superiors must understand that confidence in them is not imposed from without but inspired from within. There is another primacy, the primacy of the specific purpose of each religious family, with its consequent fidelity to what is essential and adaptability in what is only accidental, This specific purpose must be re-thought and re-lived according to modern times. The .adaptation of the apostolate necessarily implies co-ordination with the diocesan clergy and with local organizations. The resolutions of the convention, read by Father Agatangelo, are as follows: 1) that an effective c~usade be organized to. preach the 3ubilee now extended to the whole world; 2) that afterwards there be established in Rome a bureau of co-ordination between the diocesan and religious clergy; 3) that a center for the training of spiritual directors and spir-itual masters (such as masters and mistresses of novices, etc.) be set up; 4) that a center of literary studies be founded to train teachers 304 ~Novernber, 1951 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING for the schools of r~ligious; 5) that, for the purpose of, putting into practice the resolutions and adaptations of the convention; there be more frequent and regu-lar contact between religious superiors and the Sacred Congregation for Rel~gious, and that conventions within the various religious fami-lies be encouraged; 6) that, to preserve union and fraternity, there be instituted a liturgical Feast"of all the Holy Founders; 7) that there be a greater exchange among religious of certain elements of particular law, such as administrative experiences, law practices, and the like; 8) that there be published additional volumes of the Collectanea $. C. de Relioiosis and that pontifical documents on the subject of adaptation be collected; 9) that a s~udy institute of prac6cal administration be inaug-urated under the auspices of the Sacred Congregation for Religious; 1.0) that in all humility the Sovereign Pontiff be asked to issue a solemn document condemning the errors which are being spread con-cerning the state of perfection and giving clear and precise directives for the desired adaptations. From SuppHment de La V~ie Spirit~telle-- The S~ppl~ment for February 15, 1951 gives the content of three interesting reports to the Convention of Religious in Rome, men-tioned above. These reports will be reprinted later on inthe Acta of the convention. They contain practical examples and suggestions for the renewal of the state of perfection and its adaptation to mod-ern times. While the authors have in mind primarily the religious of France, perhaps also thos~ of Europe, yet many of their observations have a much wider if not universal application. At any rate, these rep.orts give a good idea of some of the things discussed at this all-" important assembly of religious, convoked under the auspices of the Sacred Congregation for Religious at the bidding of the Pope. I~t should be noted that these are merely samples of many reports made to the convention, and digesting them here we are not necessarily ex-pressing approval of all the suggestions. The first report is by Father A. PlY, O.P., co-editor of La Vie Sloirit~elie, and has for its subject renewal and adaptation with spe-cial reference to government of religious and the observance of the,. 305 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Rev[eto for Religfou~ vows. Before presenting his suggestions f.or adaptation, Father PI4 lays .down three important principles which he thinks should be guides in this delicate matter: 1) The main objective sought is a renewal of "spirit, or rather a re-vivifying of the letter of the law by the spirit. Changes of" consti-tutions and rules are something entirely secondary, and should be confined to points of secondary importance. 2) Old established orders and congregations are not to be replaced by certain new forms of the religious state which have appeared in recent years, or by secular institutes. However, some elements of these new types of religious life can be beneficial, if adopted and ap-plied prudently by the older orders and congregations. 3) Adaptation and renewal refer only to means, not to ends. Mod-ern times and conditions require the use of certain specific means and not of others, which may have been more practical in other times and circumstances no longer obtaining. Suggestions Affecting Gooernment Wth these three general principles in mind, Father PI~ makes five suggestions of adaptation and }enewal affecting government a'nd the laws of religious institutes. 1) Cloister. Contemplatives should retain their cloister essen-tially just as i~ is. On the other hand, institutes that have the active apostolate for their purpose, particularly of women (e. g. teachers, nurses, catechists), would profit greatly by the removal or modifica- ' tion of what is called "semi-cloister," and thus be able to accomplish more efficiently the apostolate for which they. were founded. In this connection may be mentioned the religious habit, which separates the religious from the world. There is no thought of suppressing this distinctive reIigious gar.b, but some habits, especially of nuns, could be simplified, in order to put them more in accord with poverty and with present circumstances, notably in mission countries, and also "better adapted to local conditions and climate. Furthermore, visits with the family are today looked upon with less severity than for-merly, as opportunities of parents to visit their children in religion become more frequent and the parents themselves became a part, as it were, of the religious community of their children. Also visits to parents are more readily granted, so that religious may fulfill their filial duties. These trends seem to be in the right direction. 2) Fraternal Charitg and Common Life. There is a greater de-mand today among religious for fraternal charity and common life, 306 November, 1951 "CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING manifested by sharing responsibilities, apostolic work and those unsougl~t-after tasks done for the common good, and more particu-larly by rediscovering the fruits of common fraternal charity in the conventual Mass and Office in choir. 3) Coadjutor Brothers and Sisters. The dearth of vocations to be coadjutors of various kinds has focused attention on the two "classes" of religious. Some congregations have abolished their co-adjutor group outright, while more try to reduce to a minimum the" differences between the two classes, on the points of religious habit,. prayer, training, and even work. 4) Government and Formation ot: Religious. Religious are being trained more and more for positions of responsibility and gov-ernment. In certain places local superiors, summoned to the mother-house, are instructed for a month in the duties of their new office. Masters and mistresses of novices are taking special courses designed to help them solve the problems of their office. Likewise, religious subjects are being educated and formed more and more by means of special classes, conventions, and institutes for religious. Also a fine spirit of collaboration on common projects is being shown by the various religious orders and congregations. 5) Physical and Mental Hygiene. Cleanliness has been im-proved, the means to it better provided for, and pe[mission to use the means is now granted more liberally than in former times. Present-day city life and various social upheavals seem to have serious reper-cussions on nervous balance and stability. More sleep is required and adjustments are being made along this line by religious. The hour of rising and retiring is aIso being set more in accord with modern customs. Contemplatives and the novices of active institutes are being granted occasions for relaxing the nerves. Physical exercise every day, as well as more strenuous games during recreation, are being intro-duced, as also periods of manual work, and entire days of relaxation. Vacations for strenuous workers have been found helpful. To be praised is the heroism of some superiors in refusing to accept new missions, new fields of labor, etc., when their subjects are already overl~urdened and taxed to the limit. Such over-worked .religious cannot do their tasks well and, what is mbre serious, suffer spiritually because ,they cannot do the prayer and spiritual exercises prescribed by their constitutions, thus failing victims of an unwise "activism." Regarding the Wows Father PI~ then takes up the three vows, after first saying a word 307 !~UGUSTINE KLAAS Reaieu~ for Religious about religious discipline. Young people ~oday have a high regard for sincerity. Empty conformity and routine, external action that is not .the spontaneous expression of a deep, personal, religious life,. seem odious to them. Hence, when the material practice of a minor rule becomes a serious breach of its spirit and of charity, generous youth is shocked. Although this desire in the young for "truth". must be purified, still it does have its origin in the Gospels. Hence, some novice-masters are training their charges by showing how each rule and observance is really linked up with the Gospels. This is something very opportune today. Also, it is a sign of a deep under-standing of, the rule that some communities no longer consider it necessarily a sacrilege to suggest a change or modification of their constitutions. Certai'nly wisdom and holiness are required to make such changes but it is not wisdom and holiness to refuse a priori any change whatever. This is more in evidence still when there is ques-tion ¯ of the custom book. Some recent religious congregations" of women, for fear of becoming frozen to their custom book, ,have stipulated in their constitutions that they will have none at all. Many others are seriously revising and adapting their custom books to present circumstances. 1) Vow of Pouertq. The most serious problems of adaptation today concern the vow of poverty. Economic conditions in the world have so changed and developed that poverty itself and the con- ~cept of poverty are not the same any more as they were in former cen-turies. Poverty is essentially a liberation and an imitation of the poor Christ, but it must also conform to poverty as it is really prac-ticed by the poor. H~nce there are trends towards sharing the inse-curity of tl~e poor, towards living in smaller communities and thus avoiding large buildings, which give the impression of wealth, towards doing as the poor of the vicinity do, for example, by sending the sick to the hospital and even to the common wards in the hos-pital. Contemplatives in particular are facing acute financial diffi-ties at present and they are solving them b'y doing work for which they are paid. These problems of poverty are being carefully studied. 2) Vow of Obedience. The reproach is sometimes made that the vow of obedience promotes childishnes and, immaturity, that it does not allow for a proper "development of personality." However that may be, it is true that obedience must be solidly grounded dog-matically, the judgment must be rightly formed, and the virtue of prudence must be exercised. Obedience should be a school of ma- 3O8 November, 1951 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING turity. Obedience is a holocaust, but not less a human act. 3) Vow of Chastity. There is scarcely anything that could be changed here. Considerable !mprovement has been made in giving young religious before their vows the necessary information on this subject, psychological more than anatomical. This instruction is not complete unless there is filso given young religious sonde idea of the Christian beauty of chastity and its exceptional value as a means to perfection. Of Spfritual Means In the second report Father Reginald Omez, O.P., makes some pertinent suggestions on adaptation and renewal in the realm of spir-itual means. 1) Vocal and Mental Prayer. In recent years the faithful have come more and more to understand and appreciate the liturgy. They are gradually centering their devotion on the Mass and Office. Often they actively participate in the Mass. Religious must not obstruct but rather co-operate and join in this return to the great traditional devotion of the past, and hence they should adapt their customs accordingly. Making use of the vernacular: shortening the long vocal prayers, choosing prayers of significance,--these are the things they must do, rather than continue monotonous, endless repetition ° of litanies, Paters, and Aves. ¯ The Office of the Blessed Virgin or the Rosary with its.mysteries is a good substitute for long, vocal prayers whose content belongs perhaps to another age. Mental prayer must always' be emphasized, but it should be given a more doctrinal con-tent. There is a happy return to the Holy Scriptures and the liturgi-cal books for mental prayer. " Su'rely improvements can be made on the questionable practice of reading aloud'the points, of meditation from a book, a relatively recent practice among religious. 2) Examination of Conscience. Today there is some opposi-tion to the examination of conscience among young religious, who consider self-examination something morbid, egocentric, and harm-ful. They dislike certain outmoded formulas Of examination; they detest casuistry and moralizing. They like to follow the inspiration of the moment; they say it is the intention and the charity perme-ating the act that really count and all the rest is of little importance. The examination of conscience must be retained, but the manner of doing it can be brought more up-to-date and improved by making use of the light of modern psychology and customs and by employing the better understanding we have today of modesty, humility, obedi- 309 AUGUSTINE KLAAS for Religious ence, and other virtues. 3) Mortification and Penance. Penance and mortification will always be necessary means for holiness and for the apostolate. They cannot be entirely replaced by the apostolate. However, certain types of corporal penances, seem to be no longer adapted to piesent-day temperaments or living conditions. Physically the young today are capable of great effort and fatigue when urged on by various motives, such as war. It is on the mental and nervous side that the modern tempo of life takes its toll. For this reason, more sleep is needed. Penances, therefore, that would impair mental hygiene or harm the nerves should be avoided. Also, some forms of penance are consid-ered more or less silly by the young today or at least hard to {~nder-stand. For these, others should be substituted that are more in con-formity with the generous spirit of the youth of today: for example, the giving up of certain bourgeois comforts among religious, com-forts which were suitable to another age. Furthermore, young men, used to army life, are sometimes surprised and scandalized by the soft 'comforts and conveniences found in religious houses, things that they had long ago given up. It seems that modern penance sb, ould be in the direction of work for others, manual labor, especially the menial tasks of doing the dishes, etc., where there is little risk of the sort of pride that often goes with spectacular and attention-draWing penances. 4) Retreats. Retreats are very much needed today, as well as days of recollection. .It seems that they should not be overburdened with too many exercises, but that there should be more time for the personal task of reflection and contemplation. 5) Recreation. Recreation must relax the nerves. Religiotis given to a sedentary life must be allowed suitable athletic games to exercise their muscles. Many dit~iculties of health, morality, and sp'irituality arise from the lack of normal physical development. Modern inven-tions, such as movies, radio, and television, can be used prudently for recreation, instruction, and information. Of course, the religious spirit must not suffer from these things; hence, superiors must be vigilant to correct abuses. A Year of Transition The third report is made by Father Daniel Albers, O.M.I., who suggests for all active apostolic orders and congregations a year of transition from the quiet life of the seminary to the busy ministry. This year would be the equivalent of the tertianship of the Society of. 31o November, 195 l CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING Jesus and. of similar practices, in some other religious institutes. The objective of such a transition.period of time would be a deepening of the spiritual life and, under experienced direction, a gradual intro-duction to the life of the apostolate. It is applying to religious com-munities what Pope Plus XII has recently suggested for the diocesan priesthood in the Encyclical Menti Nostrae and has himself put into practice by founding' the seminary of St. Eugene in Rome. Another desideratum is that after four or five years of the ministry the young priests be brought together once more to reflect on their spiritual and apostolic life in.order to balance and deepen both. These first years of the active ministry are extremely important ,and often set the pat-tern for the rest of life. From Reoue des Communautds Religieuses-- In the June-August (1949) number of this Belgian magazine for religious there is an opportune article by a superior general of a congregation of women on'the relations that should obtain between religious and the lay women who share their works of charity and education. An insufficient number of vocation's and tile multiplication and expansion of religious works make the present elnploying of layfolk a necessity. These lay helpers are not a necessary evil, nor persons to be merely tolerated, since they can make a real dontribution, sup-plementing the work of the religious themselves. Rather the hiring of lay help is somethng good and in accord with the Holy Father's call to Catholic Action. Religious are giving lay women an oppor-tunity to heed that call. How bring about a close collaboration between religious and lay women employees? First of all the latter must not be too numerous, since the work must retain its exterior and interior character as an institution conducted by rehglous, Lay helpers must also be carefully chosen. They must be competent, something not always indicated by the adademic degrees they may have. Their morals must be above suspicion, their practice of the Catholic religion active. They must have or learn to ,have a sense of responsibility, be supernaturally zealous and self-'sacrificing in their .work, humble, submissive to the regime of the institution, and prudently .a.postoli.c. The religious making the selection, must never, through a mistaken sense of charity, sacrifice the common good to. the particular. 311 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Review ~o~ Religto,,s What are the duties of religious towards the lay helpers who share their work? Lay helpers are not underlings, but ~olleagues. They are not under the Sisters but at their side. Therefore, they should be treated with every regard that religious would wish for themselves--with politeness, friendliness, charity, tact, etc. Reli-gious should see tO it that their associates receive from others the respect, obedience, and good will due them-. Their quarters, dining-room, and the like, should be clean, have at least a minimum of com-fort, and even a little beauty. They should give lay helpers material assistance. The author is not speaking here of obligations in justice--that is taken for granted --but over and above this religious should exercise a spirit of sisterly charity, especially in little things and in the manner in which they deal with them. If they show this charity, their helpers will spon-taneously and generously offer themselves f6r extra work: for ex-ample, as substitutes for religious, impeded from thei~ tasks for one reason or another. ' Religious owe lay helpers intellectual assistance. Teachers meetings, personnel meetings, discussions, etc., must be well organized and directed, so that they may benefit all by practical, definite con-clusion~. Suitable books, magazines, newspapers should be put at the disposal of lay helpers. Their opinions and ideas should be re-spected and humbly adopted if they are good and apropos. There should be no narrow-mindedness amorig religious as t'o whose influ-ence should predominate in the school or hospital. Neither should compete for influence, but both groups should work together in a great spirit of active Cfiristian,charity. Religious owe lay helpers moral and spiritual assistance. This is done mainly by the charitable way they do a service, for instan'ce, give a book, or some information, or a word of encouragement. They should visit a lay helper who is ill and also her sorrowing fam-ily. Much good can be done by a smile, a word here and there, a bit of advice given opportunely. They must never be too busy to give a friendly welcome .to lay helpers, even though it distracts from work and causes them to lo~e the trend of thought for a moment. A cer-tain holy religious used to say to every knock at the door: "The ,Be-loved is never disturbed." Another way to assist lay help morall!y is to furnish them an opportunity for a retreat. Conclusion: there should be union in charity, team-work in humility, joy in sacrifice, and forgetfulness of self. This is the pro-gram of the Master, a sure pledge of success. 312 November, 1951 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING From L'Osservatore Rornano~ In the February 4, 1951 number of L'Osservatore Romano ap-peared an important article entitled "Christians, be more prudent!" Written by Monsignor Alfredo Ottaviani, the Assessor of the Holy Office, it is a plea for greater prudence in judging favorably certain extraordinary religious phenomena seemingly widespread today. It is a message of particular significance for religious, whose guidance in these matters is often sought by the faithfql. No Catholic, he says, denies that miracles are possible and do take place. They have a purpose, have been in the Churdh from-the beginning, and do actually occur today. But they must be strictly authenticated, or they will discredit true miracles. Christ himself warned: "False christs and false prophets" ~¢ill arise who "will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead ast'ray, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). Hence, it is the right and duty of the Church to pass judgment on the truth and riature of events and reve-lations which are claimed to be due to a special intervention of God. True children of.the Church will submit to this .judgment. Fifty years ago'the Church had to warn against scientism and positivism, which scoffed at these so-called superstitions of the dark ages. Today, the tendency is in the other direction: people are too credulous and uncritical in their judgmen't of extraordinary hap-penings. They hanker for and run after these things even though they may not at the same time be practising Catholics. Sometimes persons ignorant of the Creed pose as ardent apostles of this sort of religiosity. They even criticize and condemn the ecclesiastical au-thorities for not enthusiastically running along with the crowd. The obedience of Catholics in this matter too often leaves much to be desired. Monsig.nor Ottaviani cites some recent deplorable instances of credulousness in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, and the U. S. A. (Necedah). These errors and aberrations are not surprising if we remember that religious sentiment has also felt the effects of original sin. There-fore, religious sentiment, to be sound and useful to man, must be guided by reason, nourished by grace, and controlled by the Church. I quote the following important passages from the London Tablet's (February 24, 1951) translation of this document: "The period through which we are passing stands between one of two excesses: open, inhuman irreligion or unbounded, blind re- 313 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reuieto /: or Religious ligiosity. Persecuted by the supporters of the first and compromised by those who uphold the second, the Church does nothing more than repeat her maternal warning. But her words remain unheard amidst denial on the one hand and exaltation on the other. There is no doubt that the Church does not wish to cast the wonders which God works into the shadow. She merely wants to keep the faithful watchful concerning what comes from God and what does not come from God, and Which can come from His and our adversary. The Church is the enemy of the false miracle. "A good Catholic knows from his catechism that th~ true reli-gion rests in the true Faith, in Revelation, which ended with the death of the last Apostle and has been entrusted to the Church, its interpreter and custodian. Nothing else necessary to our salvation can be revealed to us. There is nothing more for which we must look. We have everything, if we wish to make use of it. Even the most accredited visions can furnish us with new motives for fervor but not with new elements of life or doctrne. True religion abides essentially, apart from in the conscience, in the love of God ~ind the consequent love of our neighbor. And, more than in acts of wor-ship and rite, the love of God consists in doing the will of God, obeying His commandments. This is true religion. "A good Catholic knows that in the saints themselves the nature of sanctity is not composed of the preternatural gifts of visions, prophecies, and wonders, but in the heroic exercise of virtue. That God should in some way authenticate holiness by miracles is one thing, but that holiness consists in performi.ng miracles is another. We must not confound holiness with what can be and is, as a rule, an unmistakable sign of holiness, but not always sufficiently clear so as not to need the necessary supervision of religious authorities. "On this point the teaching of the Church has" never been equivo-cal. The man who turns back to events of dubious interpretation rather than accept the word of God loves the world more than God. Even when the Church authoritatively canonizes a saint, she does not by this act guarantee the preternatural character of all the extra-ordinary facts connected with his life. Still less does she approve all his personal opinions. By the same token she gives even less guaran-tee to all that is written, often with unpardonable levity, by biogra-phers with more imagination than judgment. "We repeat that in order to be religious, it is necessary to be so in proper fashion and as a matter.of duty. In order to be good Cath- 314 November, 1951 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING olics and devout people we must act with all the attention" with which we act when applying ourselves to the most serious things of life. Incredulity 'is just as harmful to the sincere believer as credulity. True, it is not everyone wh6 can form his own opinion on every point. But what are the Bishops and the Pope for? "It is a strange thing: no novice would dare to buid a house by himself, tailor his own clothes, make himself a pair of shoes, or cure himself of a sickness. Yet when it is a question of religious life, people reject all authority, refuse to place any trust in it, even distrust and disobey it (vith impunity.'. "For the last ten ~ears, while the religious authorities have re-mained hesitant, the people have acted hastily and busied themselves with wonders which, to say the least, have not been verified. Speaking honestly, we must admit that such events may be expressions of natural religious enthusiasm. But they'are not Christian events, and they give a frightful pretext to those who are out to discover at all costs the infiltrations and survivals of paganism and superstition in Christianity, especially Catholicism. Just as wrongdoing may in-sinuate itself in our daily lives, so may error insinuate itself into one or the other individual Catholic, a thing which causes no wonder to those who understand what man is. But just as sin must be recog-nized as sin if we would free ourselves from it, so too, in the case of error, we must recognize it as such. Just as the Church has the power to forgive sins, so has it also been commanded by God to redeem us from error. "Let Catholics hear the word of God which the Church, and the Church alone, preserves and repeats whole and incorrupt. Let them not run like sheep without a shepherd after other voices seeking to drown the voice of God when it is true that they oppose the voice of the Church. We have Holy Scripture, we have Tradition, we have the Chief Shepherd and a hundred other shepherds next door to our homes. Why should we offer the spectacle of fatuousness or un-healthy exaltation before those who oppose and despise us? 'Chris-tians, be more prudent,' wrote Dante in his day. 'Do not be like feathers that bend tb any wind.' The great poet urged the very same reasons that we give today: 'You have the Oldand the New Testa-ment, and the Shepherd of the Church to guide you.' Dante's con-clusion, too, is the same as ours: 'This is sufficient for your salva-tion' (Canto V, vv. 73-77)." 315 I-low !:o Think and Ac : about the Race Problem Gerald Kelly, S.J. THE title of this article was suggested by the simultaneous recep-tion of two pamphlets: How to Think about Race, by Louis J. Twomey, S.J.; and Fi:tg Wags to Improue Race Relations, by Frank A. Riley: The word "problem" 'is not in either pamphlet title, but the fact of a problem is very much in both author's minds; they wrote their pamphlets to help solve a problem. Both pamphlets refer explicitl~) to the Negro problem, but their content applies equally to the problem of discrimination against other minorities, such as the Mexicans, the Japanese, the Chinese, and so forth. My remarks will also be directed to the Negro problem, but they too can be applied to the other problems. The Problem In thinking about the race problem, the first thing to do is to recognize that there is a problem. Some people believe--or would like to believe that there is no problem. When you mention the Negro problem to them, they look puzzled, raise their eyebrows a bit, and ask icily, "'Is there a Negro problem?" Others admit the prob-lem, but explain it very simply by saying: "There would be no prob-lem if the Negro would keep his place." (These, incidentally, do not say "Negro.") No unbiassed and even moderately well-informed person can fail to see that we have a race problem--or, to be more specific, a Negro problem. And it consists not in the fact that the Negro will not keep his place but rather in the fact that white people will not let him have his place. The two-volume work, An American Dilemma, by Gunnar Myrdal, is a scholarly, factual proof of the ex.istence of the problem. And hundreds of books, pamphlets, and articles that have appeared within the last decade or two give further evidence, not only of the existence, but of the magnitude of the problem. To see that we have a Negro problem, one has but to consider what ought to be and what is the status of the Negro in the United 1B0th pamphlets are published by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Boule-vard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. 316 THE RACE PROBLEM States. There is always a problem when the is falls below the ought to be. There is a problem in our personal spiri,tual lives when our conduct fails short of our standards; there is a problem in our social order when the income of the working man is not what it should be; and there is a problem in millions of personal lives and in the social order of the nation when an entire race is daily accordei5 a treatment that is contrary to the laws of God and of the nation. What ought to be the status of the Negro? Like other men, he has a human nature and he is destined, through the providence of God, for heaven. This common nature and comm6n destiny should unite men. By reason of their' common nature and common destiny they are one family. This unity is expressed through love in the natural order, and in the supernatural order through charity. And love (charity) expresses itself through kindly thoughts, prayers for one another, words of courtesy, mutual co-operation, helping one another in need, and so forth. This bond of love joins all men; the commandment of love knows no distinction of race. Like other men, the Negro is a human person, a distinct indi-vidual; and by reason of his human personality he is the subject, not only of duties, but of inviolable rights. He has the same right as other men to say "mine," and to have what is his respected .by other men. He has the same right as others to worship God. He has a right to life and liberty as long as he is not proved guilty of crime. He has a right to equality of opportunity to make a decent living, to develop his talents, to marry and provide for his family, to enjoy recreational facilities, to have his share of honor, and so_forth. These rights, conferred by God, are confirmed by the law of the nation when it makes the Negro an American cil~izen. And to these rights, the nation either adds civil rights or guarantees equality of opportunity in ob-tai~ aing civil righti. What is the status of the Negro in the United States? He is segregated--forced to live apart from the white man--and thus the law of union is violated; he is discriminated'against--treated as an inferior--and thus the law of equality is violated. His life is les.~ secure than the white man's; he has less opportunity to obtain the 'necessities and comforts of life. He is more readily arrested and more easily convicted. On one streetcar he finds a sign, "This space re-served for our colored patrons"; on another, where no printed sign is displa~'ed, he finds "unwelcome" written on white faces. While traveling he has difficulty getting proper acco{nmodations and even 317 GERALD KELLY Reoiew for Religious getting food. .He must say "sir" to the white man, but he is called, "Johnny," "Doc," or "uncle." His house is a menace to his physi-cal well-being, and his congested surroundings are a greater menace to his soul's welfare. When he tries to move to another neighbor-hood, he is repelled by violence, thwarted by restrictive covenants, or humiliated by the exodus of prospective white neighbors who flee him as 'they would a contagion: He sees his children denied educa-tional opportunities, his wife and mother denied the courtesies ex-tended to other women. Even in his worship, he must have a "spe-cial" church or a "special" place in the white man's church. These and scores of other insults, humiliations, frustrations, are the daily fare of the American Negro. Not that all the abuses are practised eveiywhere and by everyone; but the general pattern is so common, even in the North, that some.unprejudiced scholars do not hesitate to call it our greatest national scandal. It is not an acci-dental pattern; it is a calculated system of oppression and contempt. Perhaps the scholars just referred to were not conscious of the theological meaning of "scandal," but Catholics should be definitely° conscious of this. Theologically, scandal is an occasion of spiritual harm to the neighbor. Scandal is very seriously involved when white Catholics practice racial segregation and discrimination; because their conduct makes it very difficult for Negro Catholics to preserve the faith and well-nigh impossible to convert Negroes to the faith. There can scarcely be greater scandal than this. From what I have written (which is just a brief repetition of what has been said and written often and more forcefully by others) it should be evident that we have a problem. Despite. the fact that recent years have witnessed a strong trend against discrimination and some improvement in the status of the Negro, his condition is still not what it ought to be. He is still l~he victim of a policy which was described in a report issued by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith as a "grave derogation to the Christian concept of the individual's inherent dignity.''2 This policy involves contempt, hatred, and scandal. And the responsibility lies not with the Negro victim, but with the white people who either willingly perpetuate the policy or negligently refuse to do what they can to stop it. 2The report is printed in pamphlet form under the title The Catholic Church and Neproes in the United States. It can be obtained from the Catholic Interracial Coun-cil of Chicago, 21 West Superior Street, Chicago 10, Illinois. Five cents for single copies; four cents each for 100 or more: special rates on orders for 1000 or more. 318 Not~ernber, 1951 THE RACE PROBLEM How to think about the Negro problem? I said tl~at the first thing to do is to recognize the problem. A second thing'is suggested by another statement in the ~eport of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. The report says that the "thought of a wide, general conversion of the Negroes to the Catholic Church is an illusion until and unless the attitude of American Catholics-~clergy and laity--is cornpletelg purified of approval of the segregation pol-icg or of the many deprivations of educational opportunity, of fair employment, and of decent housing that arise as a result of it." The words I have italicized indicate the second step in thinking cor.rectly about the Negro problem: we must disapprove of the segregation pol-icy, which is, in fact, a colossal violation of, justice and charity. Such disapproval, incidentally, is not a counsel of perfection; it is a strict duty, and a serious one. What to Do An evil is not removed merely by recognizing its existence. Something constructive has to be done. "But," an individual will say, "I am so small, and this evil is so great and so widespread.How can I do anything about it?" Actually, there is much that any in-dividual white person of good will can do regarding the Negro prob-lem; and it is my purpose, taking a cue from Mr. Riley's pamphlet, to indicate some of these things here. It may be noted that much that I say seems to have no special pertinence to religious. Yet it does pertain to religious, as well as to other people, and in one sense at least it has a special application ~o religious, because religious by rea-son of their position in the Church have an influence for good or bad that is definitely special. A constructive solution to the Negro problem must work "from the inside out." I mean that it must begin with correct attitudes, with an inner spirit that will be the soul of external action. Vast numbers of people do not have this inner spirit. As Francois Mauriac states forcefully in his Life of Jesus, at the conclusion of the chapter on the Samaritan woman: "He tarried for two days in the midst of the outcast Samaritans, thus giving his followers an example which was to be transmitted in vain to the rest of the world. For if there is a part of the Christian message which men have refused and rejected with invincible Obsti-nacy, it is faith in the equal value of all souls, of all races, before the Father who is in heavem" The indictment is dreadfully true, but it does not make our case 31'9 GERALD KELLY " " Review ?or Religious hopeless. Even the devil of racial hatred must yield to prayer and self-sacrifice., That is why Fifty Ways of Improving Race Relations insists much on the need of prayer, of prayer "that light may shine in the dark areas of white men's minds, that the race heresy may be put down." Any one of us has this power of prayer, and we can use it to beg for ourselves and others a vital appreciation of the truths of reason and faith that are the foundation of racial amity and justice. Many white people, it is said, are. not malicious; tl~ey simply have such an aversion for the Negro that they abhor the very thought of living with him on equal terms. I admit the existence of this psy- ¯ chologicaI problem. Yet it seems to me that it can be and is overrated.: It is not substantially different from the problem of aversion as it is sometimes experienced by one white person towards another, even .by one religious towards another. Morally speaking, the aversion itself is merely a feeling, and as such it is not culpable. Neverthless, since the fostering of this feeling can be the source of great' harm, it must be disciplined like other dangerous emotions, and proper means must be taken to eliminate or to temper it. And here again a first remedy is prayer. It should not be too much for anyone to ask sincerely for the grace to act according to Christian principles, despite'a feeling of antipathy. After all, we do this regularly when we pray for the grace, to preserve.chastity, despite strong contrary feelings. Many students of the rac~ problem say that aversion to the Negro springs from ignorance and that it disappears or.subsides when one gets to know the Negro. Some white people who have lived near Ne-groes for many years might answer this by saying that no one knows the Negro better than they, yet their knowledge has not affected their aversion. I think that one might legitimately question whether such people really know the Negro.' Real knowledge of a person im-plies something more than just being near him. Real knowledge comes in friendship, from getting under the surface into a man's heart and his feelings. The system of segregation and discrimination is itself a block to such knowledge; and it perpetuates a vicious circle by which aversion fosters segregation and segregation fosters aversion. More than twenty years ago Father Francis J. Gilligan wrote in The Morality of the Color Line:s 3This book is out of print. It is a real pioneer study--and a very capable one-~- of race relations in the light of Christian moral principles. Father Gilligan is pro-fessor of moral theology at the St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. He has for many years been Chairman of the Governor's Interracial Commission of Min-nesota, a commission that has done very constructive work in the.matter of race re-lations and that has published some splendid leaflets and booklets. 320 No~ember, 1951 THE RACE PROBLEM "To be forced always to seek a restaurant on th~ rear street, to be placed'always at a table in some alcove, to be compelled always to accept a se~at in the gallery of a .thea.tre, to be denied access to every respectable and standard hotel, to be driven constantly to tax one's ingenuity to secure a reservation in a Pullman, are conditions Which would occasion in every man, and the Negro is no exception, anger and despair. A white person probably can never fully realize the anxiety and hesitancy which the Negro experiences almost daily in trying to satisfy conventional needs." Father Gilligan is undoubtedly correct when he says that prob-ably a white man can never [ull~t appreciate what the Negro experi-ences. Nevertheless, any white man with good will and a good imagination can learn much by using what psychologists call "em-pathy"-- namely, by putting himself in the Negro's place, by trying to feel what the Negro feels in the various frustrating circumstances that make up the pattern of discrimination. "Psychologically, this cultivation of a strong "fellow-feeling" is perhaps the best antidote for aversion, because one powerful emotion tends to neutralize the "other. Also, deep feeling for the Negro stimulates constructive action in his behalf. Some of the greatest strides towards interracial justice have been made by ~¢hite men who had the power of sharing the hurt feelings of the Negro.' .To stimulate this "fellow-feeling," it helps to read a good auto-biography, like Dar~ $~mpl~on~, by Elizabeth Adams. For the same purpose--but to'a lesser ~legree, because the personal element is wanting--it is useful to-get a complete picture of the wrongs "done the Negro by reading An American Dilemma, or at least the con-densation of this work, entitled The Negro in America, by Arnold Rose, one of Myrdal's collaborators. I would not recommend these two works, however, without adding the caution that their other-wise. scientific and morally wholesome tone is marred, by the section that recommends artificial birth-control as a means of solving the problem ot: "Negro overpopulation." (See Myrdal, I, 175-181; Rose, 60-61.) (Before I leave the subject of aversion, I should like to add that the white man has no monopoly on it. The Negro too has an aver-sion for the white man--and understandably so, in view of what he has suffered. But, like the white man, he must be willing to put aside or temper this aversion in order to establish a Christian system of race relations. I am not stressing this here because my main con- 321 GERALD KELLY Reoiew for Reliqious cern is with indicating things that white people can and should do as regards the Negro.) From the inside to the outside--that is, from thoughts and feelings to words and actions. ~ prime rule of speech is to avoid what reasonably offends, other people. On the basis of this rule, a Negro should not be called a "nigger," and a Negro woman should not be referred to as a "negress." Both words are offensive to Negroes, as are many others that need not be mentioned here. The best way for anyone to keep this rule is to abstain entirely from using the words, because if white people use them among themselves when speaking about the Negro, they very readily use them when speaking, to the Negro. Another basic rule of speech is to be extremely careful about repeating unverified and disparaging rumors about the Negro. "Seldom in the history of mankind," wrote Father Gilligan, "has any group been more widely misrepresented, misunderstood, and handicapped by popular rumors than the American colored group." Accepting such unfounded rumors is rash jiadgment; passing them on to others is calumny. As regards both speech and conduct, I should like to stress one. point that is of particular interest to the moral theologian. In our theological treatises on the virtue of charity we make much of what are called the common signs of good will and courtesy. (Cf. "On the Duty of Loving the Neighbor, Especially Enemies," in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, VII, 299-312.) These are various little gesture~ and words that are due to all fellow-citizens, fellow-workers, neighbors, and so forth, and not merely to one's'special friends. I think it is very important that every individual white person be conscious of this duty when he is dealing with Negroes. If he says "sir" to a white man, he should say "sir" to a Negro; if he tips his hat to a white woman, he should also tip his ha~ to a Negro woman; if he says "good morning" to white neighbors, he should say "good morning" to his Negro neighbors; if he shakes hands with a white person to whom he is introduced, he should shake hands with a Negro under the same circumstances. In themselves these are small things; and any individual with good will can do them. Yet, failure to use them can cause deep hurt and humiliation, whereas their use can cause genuine elation to those who have been constantly denied them. Moreover, they manifest just what is needed to improve race relations:, good will and respect. The foregoing are ways in which any white individual can help to improve race relations, even though others do not co-operate with 322 o November, 1951 THE RACE PROBLEM him. But for any grand-scale reformation of the social order, there must be group action, as our recent Popes have stated so often. Fiftg Ways to Improue Race Relations contains many suggestions for par-ticipation in group action: for example, by be!ping'such organiza-tions as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored, People, the Urban League, various interracial councils; by .voting for good social legislation, by joining with others to urge Congressmen to promote such legisla~tion, by signing petitions to have Negroes admitted to schools that make a policy of excluding them, by joining in protests to owners of stores, restaurants, and hotels, that discrim-inate against Negroes; 'and so forth. By these and various other ways the apparent insignificance of the individual can become a very sig-nificant force in establishing a Christian social order in our race rela-tions. Specigl for Religious In themselves these points, as I mentioned previously, have no special pertinence to us as religious. Ye.t, since they pertain to all persons of good will, they certainly pertain to us, too; and we can and should carry them out in our personal lives. Moreover, they have a verst special pertinence to us because of our position of leader-ship among Catholics; we are expected to teach Catholic doctrine by word and example--and one might say, particularly by example. The best argument against segregated schools is to have our own schools unsegregated; the best way to denounce segregation in wor-ship is to have no color line in our own churches and chapels; and the best way to condemn discrimination in professions is to have our own convents and seminaries wide open to all qualified appli-cants, irrespective of race. And certainly the best--if not the only--" way to inspire youth to practice justice and charity is to be gracious exemplars of these virtues in our own daily lives. The effects, good or bad, of even our smallest public actions are tremendous. The Priest for May, 1951, published an article entitled "Black Priest," which contains the reflections of a Negro convert studying for the priesthood. Two incidents recounted in the article indicate the effects of even our small actions. On one occasion, when the author had returned to his home in the South for the funeral of an aunt, two white women, one of them a nun, came to visit him. 'On another occasion, while he was driving with some of his colored friends, he stopped to visit a monastery, . and the superior insisted °that he bring his friends in and treated them with true monastic hos- 323 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Reoiew for Religious pitality. These courtesies had a profoundly salutary .effect on his friends, helping them to see that the Catholic Church is not "a white man's church." "These incidents," reflects the author, "may seem like little things, but what if that good Sister and other lady had not come to ~ee me? ~Yc~hat if we had been turned away from'the door of the mon-. astery? For one thing, I probably would have kept the promise I made to myself never to go South ~again. But the most serious result would have been that more souls would have been pushed farther and farther away from the Church. Those were two times when I was really proud 9f my fellow Catholics. May God bless them!" Ques ions and Answers --27~ I was the priest-advlser of a girl who entered the convent four months ago. A week after her entrance I sent her a Missal, which she had said she needed. I have not heard from her. Would you please print what my re~ action should be? The reaction might include a little pain,, but it need not include surprise. Gratitude is becoming a rare virtue, even among religious. The nunqber of those who take,time out to acknowledge favors re-ceived seems to be very small. In the present instance, the girl may have failed to acknowledge the Missal because of restrictions on letter-writing in the postulancy. Restrictions are certainly necessary, but they should not be allowed to defeat the greater purpose of giving the young religious a well-balanced training in all the virtues. Superiors should see that the postulants and novices acknowledge gifts and favors or they should make some other provisions for such acknowledgements. All through our religious life much of our support is provided by benefactors. If young religious are not trained to express gratitude for small things they will not be properly grateful to benefactors When they hold positions of authority. m28-- One of our general councilors died recently. Our constitutions do not provide for the succession in place of a deceased councilor. What shall we do?' 324 November, 1951 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Canon 20 tells us to follow the style and practice of the Roman Curia when the law does not provide for a contingency. In this mat-ter of finding a successor for a deceased member of the general coun-cil, we have an indication of the style and practice of the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious in article 271 of the Normae of 1901 which reads as follows: "The councilors of the superior gerieral have a de-cisive vote in matters of greater moment. Such matters are especially the following: . . . 12° the substitution of another Sister until the next general chapter in place of a general councilor who has died, or was deposed, or is perpetually impeded." This article has been written into very many constitutions of lay religious (Brothers and Sisters), both before and after the ~romul-gation of the Code of Canon Law in 1917. Hence it offers a safe norm of action when the constitutions are silent in the matter. Frequently enough an article is added in modern constitutions to the effect that the substitute general councilor thus chosen by a ma-jority vote of the council takes the last place among the c6uncilors, not that of the deceased councilor; that place is taken by the coun-cilor next in order of election in general chapter. The other coun-cilors move up accordingly. ¯ m29-- We would like ÷o know whether, according to canon law,. it could be permitted for a good reasor~ to have the first profession of temporaryvows one year and two, three, or four days after [nvestlture? Canon 571, § 2 states that "the novitiate completed, the novice shall be admitted to profession if he be judged suitable, otherwise he shall be sent away." Commentators on the law, however, are agreed that a few days' deferment of the investiture for a good reason would not be a violation of the law. Such good'reasons would be, among others, the desire to have the investiture for all on the same day; or the desire to have both investiture and profession of vows on the same day; or because the retreat master was unavoidably delayed for two or three days. If the constitutions of a religious institute state that the superior is ap-pointed for a term of three years and that he may be reappointed for a further term in the same housemdoes this imply that the said appointed period of three years b~nds the superiors not to remove him from that posi-tion during the said time, either tooplace him in charge of another house 325 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ,Review [or Religious or to remove him altogether from authorifi/? Canon 505 does not necessarily require that a local superior be appointed for a period of three years, but merely forbids that he be appointed for a lo.nger period. The constitutions will determine the length of time a local superior is to hold office. Usually this is a period of three years, and, under normal circumstances, he should not be removed from that office. The common good, however, may re-quire his transfer to another house before the expiration of three years because his special abilities are needed there. Again, it happens occasionally that a religious is appointed local superior and, because of his incompetency, is a cause of serious harm to the community. Common sense dictates that such a person should be removed from office and not be allowed to complete a three-year term. Is it permissible for a religious appointed assistant to the master of novices to be one of the councilors to the superior in the house where pro-fessed religious llve? The assistant has very little contact with the professed religious since his duties confine him to the work of the novitiate. There are no regulations in the Code of Canon Law as to the persons who are appointed councilors to a local'superior. The con- ,stitutions may restrict this office, but unless they do; any professed member of the community may. be appointed to the local council. During passlontide is it ever permitted to remove the violet coverincj from the statue of the Blessed Virgin for one of her feasts? Or from the statue of St. Joseph when his feast occurs during that time? Or from any other statue at this season? During Passiontide it is not permitted to uncover the statues if the feast of the Titular, or of the Dedication of the Church, or of St. Joseph occur (S.R.C. decree 3396). However, if out of devo-tion to St. Joseph, the statue of the saint is exposed off the altar (extra altare) during the month of March, it may be left uncovered dhring Passiontide (S.R.C. decree 3448 ad 1 I). 33 A week ago a young woman called at the rectory and asked whether I could find some rellcj[ous community that would take her as a candidate, as she feels that she has a vocation. This may seem strange,, but the girl is deaf, a~d I know of no community in the United States that will take her 326 Nooember, 1951 BOOK REVIEWS with this handicap. Hence I'm writing you to see whether you can help me find some order or congregation of women that will take this girl. We await an answer from our readers. 34 Do the candles used at Holy Mass and at Benediction have to be blessed.'/ There is no obligation to bless altar candies (to ~e used at Holy Mass and Benediction) but it is fitting to do so. They may be blessed either on Candlemas Day (February 2) or at any other time. On Candlemas Day the form given in the Missal under that date should be used. At other times the form to be used is that given in the Roman Ritual (VI!I, 3). Book Reviews OFFICIUM DIVINUM PARVUM. German-Latln text. Fulda Conference. Herder-Pusfef, 1951. Pp. 569. Price not given. The press recently carried a not~ to the effect that the bishops of Holland have secured permission to edit a vernacular Office for all Dutch Sisters not ofili~ed by Rule to the recitation of the Divine Office. The notice has special 'relevance to the book here, noticed, inasmuch as the Fulda Conference of Germany secured such permis-sion and has published a shortened breviary for the optional use of all German Sisters not obliged to recite the Divine Office. This O~cium Pacou/o (I was informed) has be~n adopted by some eighty-thousand Sisters in a short time. One can easily see why. This handy edition has a Latin text of the "New" Psalms on the left-side, a German one on the right; the Psalms are in the transla-tion worked out by Romano Guardini. The entire arrangement strikes a good balance between the variety of the Divine Office and the brevity of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. The bishops' endorsement recommends the book for public Sunday Vespers or Compline.--GERALD ELLARD, S.3". ST. CLARE OF ASSISI. By Nesta de Robeck. Pp. vii q- 242. The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, 19SI. $3.S0. This is perhaps as authentic a biography of St. Clare as can be written from the meager reliable sources that are available. The Life contains only 139 pages, but it is well written and interesting and 327 BOOK REVIEWS Reuiew for Religious documents are frequently quoted. The first chapter is the history of Assi~i from Before Christ to the thirteenth century. The second covers her childhood and youth up till the time she adopted the way of life of her fellow-townsman, St. Francis. The third shows how she formed her life along the lines of that of Francis and what a deep impress his last years and death made upon Clare and the Poor Ladies who followed her. Chapter four speaks of her personal sanctity and dealings with the pope. Chapter five describes how her influence and holii~ess irradiated out to the numerous new members and houses.of the Second Order ot: St. Francis, who all looked to her as their mother. The final chapter presents her in the full maturity of ber sanctity, her last years, death, and glory. Five Appendi~es make up the last half of the book: the Office of the Passion, the Rule of St. Clare, the Testament of St. Clare, the Cause of Canonization, the Bull of Canonization of the Virgin, St. Clare. There is a three-p~ige bibliography, a two-page index, and eight excellent plates. The sp!rit .of gqntleness and charity in the service of Lady Poverty. was the spirit St. Francis passed on to St. Clare and her Poor Ladies. That spirit lives today in St. Francis' sons and daughters all over the world. Those who have any contact with them catch something of it. So will those who read this book.--C. A. HERBST, S.J. DEVOTEDLY YOURS. By Sister Berfrande. Pp. 400. Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 19SI. $3.7S. Sister Bertrande, the author of The Education of Sisters (re-viewed at length by William J. McGucken, S.J., in the first issue of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January, 1942) and director of Maril-lac House of Chicago, the large social center of the Daughters of Charity, may not be the greatest letter-writer in history, but she has left in Devotedly Yours, a very'interesting batch of letters. Intended originally "for Sisters only," her letters tell her com-munity in Chicago about all there is to tell of her extended and cir-cuitous Holy Year Pilgrimage that included the far-flung houses of Charity in France, North Africa, the Holy Land, Italy, England, and Ireland. The letters reveal zest for life, a sense of humor, abil-ity to recount anecdote and describe vividly, and devotedness and gratitude to her religious congregation. The author's wish should be fulfilled. "May these letters influence others as the journey influ-enced me: The Holy Lanai made of me a better Christian, Rome 328 November, 1951 BOOK NOTICES made of me a better Catholic, Paris made of me a better Daughter of Charity."--J. E. BREUNIG, S.J. BOOK NOTICES As a child, Helen Caldwell Day knew the sting of poverty and discrimination in her home in the South. Full of ambition she went North to enter nurses' training. Through realities on duty and trivialities off duty, she learned both the fulness and the emptiness of this life. She became a Catholic. She was married, saw her hus-band arrested and taken to prison, and after months of loneliness became a mother. She learned--what she had not known as a child --that there are white people with whom a Negro can live on terms of equality and genuine friendship. She tells about these and many other things in COLOR, EBONY. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1951. Pp. viii + 182. $2.25.) THE CONVENT MIRROR, by Very Rev. Frederick T. Hoeger, C.8p.S., is a series of conferences for religious. It is the fruit of thirty years of retreats to priests, Brothers, and Sisters. They were written to help religious love their vocation ever more and more. The author himself notes in the preface that "He is inclined to go to extremes to keep from religious life the least ill-repute." (New York: Frederick PustetCo., 1951. Pp. 246. $3.00.) The fact that Emmanuel Doronzo, O.M.I., would take the trouble to translate the DICTIONARY OF DOGMATIC THEOLOGY is in itself a guarantee that the book is worth while. A generous sampling of the volume's contents confirms this judgment. The book thor-oughly covers dogmatic theology, as well. as providing much matter from associated branches of philosophy and theology. There are a good general bibliography, a concise synthesis of dogma, an outline of the history of dogmatic theology, helpful bibIiographies under in-dividual topics, and a complete index of entries. The present trans-lation, the first in English, is made from the second Italian edition. The authors are Msgrs. Pietro parente, Antonio Piolante, and 8alva-tore Garofalo. The translator has kept faithfully to the original text, but has r~vised the bibliographies in order to make them more useful to English readers. The format leaves nothing to be desired. (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing'Company, 1951. Pp. xxvi q- 310. $4.50.) 329 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Reuiew [or Religious In LETTERS TO THE MARTYRS Helen Walker Homan gives dear illustrations of the abundantly verified statement that ours is an age of martyrs. She compares, the lives of early martyrs like Saints Stephen, Agnes, Ignatius, Sebastian, Lawrence, and others with heroes of our "day like Arhhbishop Stepinac, St. Maria Goretti, Car-dinal Mindzenty, and others. The epistolary cast of the book, as a series of letters to martyrs, may seem artificial to some and detract from the inspirational value of the book. (New York: David McKay Co. Inc., 1951. Pp. xii -]- 236. $3.00.) ONE AND HOLY, contains three lectures by Karl Adam to mem-bers of the Una Sancta movement in Germany who are making real efforts to build a bridge between Lutherans and Catholics: "The Roots of the Reformatign," "How Luther Left the Church: the Pos-sibility of Reunion," and "How is Reunion to be Achieved." The author shows how polemic has sharpened the differences and suggests that the basis of reunion may be found in a sympathetic investiga-tion of the conditions that gave rise to Luther. His viewpoint and practical proposals are worth thinking about. Cecily Hastings trans-lated the book. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1951. Pp.' vii ÷ 130. $2.00.) In view of the Holy Father's recent Encyclical, "Heralds of the Gospel" (June 2, 195 I), touching again and with supreme author-ity on native cultures, native clergy, social prosperity, medical aid, lay missionaries, there is special timeliness in the translating of Father Danielou's books, The Salvation of the Nqtions (1949), and the present volume ADVENT, or the preparation for Christ and his saving message among all the i~amilie

Issue 9.3 of the Review for Religious, 1950. ; Review for Religious MAY 15, 1950 E~es Right? ~ ~ichard Leo Heppler~ C:onformity wffh Christ C;.A. Herbst the Holy Ghost ° '" Leo A. Coressel Psychometrics and R.~ligious I~i~e ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ Sister M. Digne Lay Religious and Laws of Bishops Jose ph F. Gallen ~ue~s÷ions and Answers. Book Reviews Summer Sessions Report to Rome RI::¥11:::W FOR Ri::LI IOUS VOLUME IX MAY, 1950 NUMBER CONTENTS EYES RIGHT?--Richard Leo Heppler, O.F.M .1.1.3 SUMMER SESSIONS . 118 CONFORMITY WITH CHRIST IN HIS SUFFERING-- C. A. Herbst, S.2 . 119 ATOMIC BROTHERHOOD CAMPAIGN . ~ . 124 OF THE HOLY GHOST, WHO PROCEEDS AS LOVE-- Leo A. Coressel, S.J . 125 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF PSYCHOMETRICS TO RELIGIOUS LIFE--~Sister M. Digna, O.S.B . 131 LAY RELIGIOUS AND THE LAWS OF BISHOPS ON CONFESSION-- 2oseph F. Gallen, S.J . 140 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 152 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 13. About the Little Office . 153 14. "Happy Death" Crucifixes . . . 1"54 15. Lay Superiors find Excuses from Fasting .154 16. Blessing by Mother Superior . 157 17. "'Sacrament of the Present Moment" . . 157 BOOK NOTICES . 158 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . . ' . 163 THE EYMARD LIBRARY . 165 . REPORT TO ROME '. . 166 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May, 1950. Vol. IX, No. 3. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Streef, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Copyright, 1950, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. 'Eyes Right:? Richard Leo Heppler, O.F.M.' ALL IN ALL. over the years, Noah Webster's work has been givin~ satisfactory service. Timeand again many of us have turned-to it in our difficu!ties and.have.come away not only with knowledge but also with] a: more 13rofound appreciation of the man's ability to be neat, exacL and brief. Now, it would be mani-festly unfair to accuse Mr. Webster of 1~eing unromantic in his defini-tions. He has no more title to be chivalrous with his words than Dr. Einstein has to be amateurish with his theories. Consequently, a love-smitten collegian might throw his dictionary away in disgust when he reads that the eye is "the organ of sight: esp., the nearly spherical mass, the eyeball, . in the bony cavity of the skull, or the orbit including eyelids, eyelashes, eyebrow." The yo,uth would avow that the great Noah Webster had never seen the eyes of his Hazel. And he might even be tempted to dare the venerable Mr. Webster--or anyone else--to try to describe the elusive laughter lurking in his Hazel's eyes. Naturally, we religious do not expect Mr. Webster to go'beyond his definitions; we do not expect him to try to describe the eyes we would most desire to have looked into. What words could ever describe the human eyes of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? For that.matter, who could ever describe the maternal eyes of Our Blessed Lady, the adoring eyes of St. Jose'ph, thd discerning eyes of the Magi, the patient eyes of Simeon, the priestly eyes 0t: St. Jdhn, the sympa-thetic eyes of VeronicL the contrite eyes of Mary Magdalene, the tdar-dimmed eyes of St. Peter, the purified eyes of St. Paul? And what about the eyes we would-not like to have seen? Isn't it just as well that Noah Webster did not attempt to describe the treacherous eyes of Judas, the murderous eyes of Barabbas, the stony eyes of Annas, the crafty eyes of Caiphas,the sneering eyes oi: the Pharisees, the wavering eyes of Pilate, the carnal eyes of Herod, the cold eyes of the Roman soldiers? That God gave us two ey.es to be used for His glory, religious readily admit. That it is possible for us to misuse them for our own greed, glory, and indulgence, no one will deny. To use our eyes th~ way God would have us use them and not the way our lower nature would incline us must be our constant effort. To aid us in this 113 RICHARD LEO HEPPLER Reoieu) [or Religious undertaking are countless 'angels and saints, and not the least among the latter is one who put his eyes to excellent advantage as long as he bad sight and then made proper use of blindness when God sent that. Some of the great artists and poets at times permitted themselves long, full, intoxicating gazes upon the teasing loveliness of nature so as to feed their minds with matter for masterpieces. And, in direct opposition, some of the severest saintly ascetics refused to allow their eyes to regard the beauties of creation lest their souls be disturbed in the contemplation of Beauty Uncreated. But St. Francis of Assisi, the poet, artist, and ascetic, was granted the gift of seeing the true beauty of this universe with unclouded vision while recognizing the unmistakable reflections of God's beauty everywhere he looked. He was poet and artist enough to appreciate all the moods and mani-festations of nature; he was saint enough to trace instinctively all loveliness back to its source. He could gaze for prayerful hours at sunlight and shadow and storm, at castle and cave and cathedral, at tomb and tent and tabernacle. He never tired thanking God for the moon and the stars and the rivers and the fields. He readily saw brothers' and sisters in birds and beasts and rain and fire and wind. It was part of his vocation to be an eye-opener for the rest of us. But it was his spiritual vision that saved him from being some-thing of a masculine, thirteenth-century Alice in Wonderland. All his life he saw very. repulsive beggars, but, as G. K. Chesterton says, he alway.s managed to see through the beggars and recognize Christ. There is no way of measuring the number of lepers he saw, but it is safe to say that he never looked upon one "of them without l~eing instantly reminded of the suffering Son of Man. That he never saw a lamb without thinking of the Lamb of God, and that children could walk away with his heart because Christ had favored them, and that a wounded bird could move him to tears, reveal a very deli-cate sensitiveness, But there was also a definitely virile spirituality in his view of things: he saw at close range rough bandits and tr'eated them like princely envoys; he looked upon Christian and Moslem soldiers ("murderers" might be more exact) and respected them as if they were martyrs of old; each condemned criminal was another Good Thief. Was he. unrealistic? Well, one day Brother Juniper told him that God had granted him a vision of h~ll and that he had seen no Friars there. To this St. Francis replied, "Brother Juniper, you did not look deep enough." A religious vocation is a calling to be a supernatural detective. 114 May, 1950 EYES RIGHT? God has generously scattered clues about Himself all arohnd us and He wants us to put them together and find out more about him. We have to try to see the hand of God and the love of God in every per-son we meet, in every place me go, in everyevent that happens to us. If we really try to be spiritual sleuths we shall be delighted with all the p6ssibilities around us. The bill-collector may be another St. Matthew, the doctor another St. Cosmas, the salesman another St. Peter of SienL the beggar another St. Benedict Joseph, the lawyer another St. Fidelis, the police captain another St. Sebastian, the sailor another St. Brendan, the altar, boy another St. John Berchmans, the taxi driver another St. Christopher, the farmer another St. Paschal Baylon. The same thing very easily could be continued in the fem-inine gender by one who knows the patronesses of girls who sell jewelry in the Five and Ten, girls who run elevators in Gimbel's, girls who serve aspirins in soaring airplanes, girls who daily pound their way towards heaven on typewriters, girls who slave at prosaic switch-boards, girls who teach nominative absolutes to bored high school seniors, girls who ease patients into dentists' chairs and money out of their pockets, and so on even to the girls who ride on motor-cycles, and the girls who engage in roller derbies. Everybody in the world is either an actual or a potential saint and should be viewed ¯ as such. If we are sharp detectives we shail discern the true dignity of the children who sit in front of us, the patients who lie upon our hospital beds, the employees who trim our lawns, run our errands, and mimeograph our notes. It is true that at meal time you may be tempted to say, "Young Jackson has big ears just like his father, and he is just as dumb." But you will know that God dearly loves both young Jackson and his father, even though He may have been lavish when he fashioned their ears and not when He doled out their brains. But it would be fatal to conclude that one can become an expert supernatural detective without practicing mortification of the eyes. Pretending that custody of the eyes is stupid is as absurd as pre-tending that Central Park is the Garden of Eden. If we really want "to trace I~he manifestations of God around us we must be willing to impose restraint upon gazing at anything and everything. If we sincerely desire to gaze forever upon the Beatific Vision we hav~ to restrict our gazing here below. The need of custody of the eyes as a bulwark for chastity is amply demonstrated by Sacred Scripture. Joseph was unjustly 115 RICHARD LEO HEPPLER Reoieu~ [or Religious thrown into prison because the wife of.Putiphar did not controi her eyes. King David, the boas~ of the chosen people, fell into a terrible sin because he permitted his eyes too much license. Here is what the Bible says of Holofernes when his soldidrs brought Judith to his tent: "And when she came into his presence forthwith Holofernes . was caught by his eyes." The sad story of the two evil ancients is but another proof that the eyes of young and old must be guarded. These two men were hel_,d in honor because of their age and their office. But they gazed immodestly upon' the chaste Susanna, and they were inflamed with lust for her. God saved Susanna arid con-founded the ancients and gave us the story as a concrete example of the meaning of the words of His Prophet Jeremias, "Death is come ,up through our Windows." But it is not into temptations against chastity alone that unre-strained liberty of the eyes can lead religious. If a Sister gazes with possessive eye, s at a statue or a book she sees in a store and determines to procure it without permission she can violate the vow of poverty. If a Brother gazes with undue complacency upon the saws, hatchets, or tractor permitted for his use, assured that he must have the latest and the best he may be guilty of faiIing in the virtue of poverty. If a priest, with satisfied superiority gazes upon his diplomas, citations, or signs of office he may be guilty of pride. That a religious might gaze upon the money in the community safe with avaricious eyes is not as likely as that he might gaze with eyes that are bigger than his stomach upon the steaks or lobsters in a choice restaurant. A Sister who with green eyes gazes upon .the new habit of another reveals tendencies towards envy. If to the detriment of his work and of his spiritual life a religious spends long periods of time looking over all the vacation-plan literature he can amass he may be guilty of sloth. One who watches the conduct of others with a view to censure them has not yet arrived at the perfection of charity. All religious can gaze upon holy water without any temptations whatsoever, but the same cannot be said of gazing upon fire-water. This could be continued in a figurative vein. To fail to see the hand of God in all the happenings of the day is to fail in the fullness of faith. To fail to see a friend of Christ in each member of the community is to bd weak in charity. To fail to see thewill of God in the commands of the superior is to be lacking in th~ complete spirit of obedience. To look only at the "dismal side of things is to reveal the absence of full trust and confidence in God. To look down 116 Ma~/, 1950 EYES RIGHT? upon others is a sign of pride, and to look up to others for recogni-tion and praise is an indication of human respect. St. Teresa tells us that she lost twelve years of spiritual growth because of her attachment to needless conversations. Who can measure the detriment to the interior life that is caused by unmorti- . fied eyes? The spirit of prayer may. be weakened, recollection destroyed, silence dissipated, andthe desire for perfection blighted by overindulgence in the reading of secular newspapers, magazines, and novels. Too much looking at television may not only drive a reli-gious to'an oculist; it may blind him to the importance of daily spir-itual reading. Too many movies, shows, and spectacles may per-manently stunt the growth of souls. But to walk around all day with our eyes closed or constantly cast down is to become something of a public menace. We might upset community life (if not a member of the community) if we were to fail to look where we were going. We might land in a hos-pital or a morgue if we refused to keep our eyes open while we were crossing city streets. Custody of the eyes does not mean that a reli-gious does not see the children in the classroom, the drugs in the pharmacy, the cows in the shed, or the fire in the boiler; it means that we do not allow dangerous images to remain in focus and that we do not lose sight of God no matter where we are. We can certainly better our spiritual vitality by using our eyes pr?perly. In every classroom, ward, shop, and corridor are cruci-fixes, statues, or holy pictures. What is the purpose of placing these pious objects in such obvious places?. Who but a novice "could ask that question? For who btit a novice could suspect that these objects have been placed where they can accumulate invisible dust and thus furnish the master or the mistress with ammunition for a daily cor-rection? On the other hand, some religious might be embarrassed if they were suddenly asked what picture hangs in the classroom they daily use or upon which wall in the tailor' shop does the crucifix hang. It should be easy for us to look long and lovingly at the crucifix, to see every detail of Christ's death, to read every line of the story of our redemption. St. Thomas Aquinas once asked St. Bona-venture whence he derived all his knowledge. Pointing to his cruci-fix, the Seraphic Doctor replied that from "this well-spring.of light and love"he drew whatever could be found in his lectures or writings. Armies of saints have learned the lessons of poverty, chastity, obedi-ence, humility, charity, patience, fortitude, self-denial, contrition, 117 RICHARD LEO HEPPLER zeal, gratitude, and confidence by spending long hours in the prayer-ful study of the crucifix. And it is comforting to know that we shall spend all eternity as the friends and companions of the saints upon whose pictures or statues we now look each day. Some people have strange vocations, and Mary Ann O'Donnell had one of the strangest. She was a blind girl who attended a Cath-olic college in the East. Each day, led by her seeing-eye dog, she came to class and took her notes in Braille and waited to be called on. The other students (they could see) resented the fact that the priest called on Mary Ann; they thought it was'unfair. But Mary Ann wanted to recite; she wanted to learn, and she did not want pity. MaryAnn stayed in college only two years; then she went away to recite the eternal praises of the Triune God and to gaze in rapture upon the Father of Lights. Probably she did not know that she was an apostle, but she did teach many of the collegians and the professors to thank God for the gift of sight. She could even have taught reli-gious who daily gaze upon the Eucharistic Lord as He is elevated at Mass or raised on high during Benediction to consecrate their eyes to God so that they may be sure to see Him face to face. SUMMER SESSIONS The Institute for Re.ligious at College Misericordia, Dallas, Penn-sylvania (a three-year summer course of twelve days in Canon Law and Ascetical Theology for Sisters), will be held this year August 19-30. This is the first year in the triennial course. The coubse in Canon Law is given by the Reverend 3oseph F. Gallen, S.3. that in Ascetical Theology by the Reverend Daniel ~1. M. Callahan, SJ., both of Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. The registra-tion is restricted to higher superiors, their councilors, mistresses of novices, and those in similar positions. Applications are to be addressed to Rev. ~loseph F. Gallen, SJ., Woodstock College, Wood-stock, Md. The seventh annual Psychological Institute will be conducted at the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children, ~lefferson, Wiscon-sin, from ,luly 19 to August 27. The Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sponsors this workship course for teachers who are interested in special education of handicapped children, and who wish to understand and help slow-learning children in the nor-mal classroom situation. Bulletin available upon request from the (Continued on P. 130) 118 Conl:ormi!:y wi!:h Christ: in His Suffering C. A. Herbst, S.J. 44~ND I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things myself" (John 12:32). All things, especially lov.e, the greatest of all things, and the hearts of men. Love longs to be united with its object, to be assimilated to it, to be identified with it as much as possible. A worthy return love to Christ should be measured by the lengths to which His love has gone in loving me. "He loved me and delivered himself 'for me" (Gal. 2:20). One deeply in love with Our Lord has written: "Imagining Christ our Lord present and placed on the Cross, let me make a colloquy with Him: how from Creator He is come to making Himself man, and from eternal life is come to temporal death, and so to die for my sins. Likewise, looking at myself, what have I done for Christ, what I am doing for Christ, what I ought to do for Christ. And so, seeing Him such, and so nailed to the Cross, to go over that which will present itself to me." (Spiritual Exercises, Colloquy to the First Exercise.) What, according to the norm of worthy return love, will pyesent itself to me? St. Paul, a model for all who love Christ crucified, answered for all Christians for all time: "With Christ I am nailed to the cross" (Gal. 2:19). Christ was eager to suffer for me "hnto death, even to the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8). He longed for that. "I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized: and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?" (Luke 12:50). He was so eager to get to His pas-sion that the disciples could scarcely keep up with Him. "And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem: and they were astonished, and following were afraid" (Mark 10:32). And why not? Was He not born for this? .The angel told the shepherds the night He was born: "This day is born to you a Saviour" (Luke 2:11), and in the infinitely loving designs of God salvation would come through His passion and death. In contemplating the persons present at the beginning of His suffering life we are urged "to look and consider what they are doing, as making a journey and laboring, that the Lord may be born in the greatest poverty; and as a termination of so many labors--of hunger, of thirst, of heat and of cold, of injuries and 1i9 C. A. HERBST Review for Religious affronts--that He may die on the Cross; and all this for me." (Spiritual Exercises: The Nativity.) The shadow of the cross was already falling on the Child in the manger. In fact, it is hard to explain Bethlehem without Calvary. Christmas points to Good Friday. When Mary "brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and /aid him in a manger" (Luke 2:7), she presented the victim for the cross. Christ came "to give his life a redemption for many" (Mr. 20:28), and although, as His agony drew near, He naturally recoiled from it, He knew it must be so. "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour." (John 12:27.) "Jesus' began to do and to teach" (Acts 1 : 1). He taught first by example, then by word. "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also" (John 13:15). This is true also of His sufferings. "Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps" (I Pet. 2:21). No one of experience has to be told that life is full of suffering. We pray to Mary after Mass every morning: "To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this vale of tears." We must unite our sufferings with Christ's sufferings and offer them with Him to God togethe~ with His own if they are to be precious in His sight. We realize this and do it every morning when we pray: "O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day." Even from the point of view of a good selfishness this is the wise thing to do. An old retreat master of wide experience told the priests making the thirty-day retreat: "Offer your miseries to God and they cease at once to hurt." Our Lord Himself then becomes our consolation. "For as the suf-ferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our comfort abound" (II Cor. 1:5). Blessed shall we be if we are allowed to suffer something for Christ. The eighth and last and perhaps, judging from His own life, the greatest of the benedictions He spoke over His beloved fol-lowers was: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven." (Matt. 5:I0-12.) The apostles understood this well, and after they had been scourged "went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer 120 Ma~ , 1950 CONFORMITY WITH CHRIST reproach for the name'of Jesus" (Acts 5:41). It is most logical and correct that the members of the true Church of Christ from then till now should take the cross as their emblem and rally around it as the battle flag of their religion. From Constantine to the High Middle Ages Christ crucified was the victorious king: "'Regna~it a. li~lr~o Deus'" ("God hath reigned from the Cross"). Then came the spir-itual giants and moulders of affective prayer like Bernard and Francis and Bonaventure, with their ecstatic love for the Crucified. The mystics who followed them and the men and women in modern times who were in love with Christ crucified are almost count-less. The prophecy is fulfilled: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself." All things, especially lobe, the greatest of all things, and the hearts of men. Conformity with Christ in His suffering, a longing to suffer with Him, to suffer because He suffered, to be identified as far as possible with Christ in His suffering life, to be crucified with Him--this is the aim of those who love Christ perfectly. Union with Christ in His suffering is the finest expression of love for God here on this earth. This is the perfect way to tear ourselves away from sin. "Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer" (Rom. 6:6). What with all his knowledge and ability Paul said: "I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (I Cor. 2:2). Nor was this a theoretical knowledge only nor a pious boast. It was St. Paul's glory to put into practice this knowl-edge. "God forbid that I should glory, save in .the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6: 14). Crucified and dead and risen to a new life: "And I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me. And that I live in' the flesh: I live in the faith of the son of God, who loved me, and deliv~red himself for me." (Gal. 2:20.) This is to be a fool for Christ and with Christ. But "the fool-ishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men . But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise, and the weak things of. the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong. And the base.things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to nought things that are." (I Cor. 1:25, 27, 28). The author of the Spiritual Exercises caught this spirit perfectly and put it into his Third Degree of Humility. "In order to imitate and be more actually 121 C. A. HERBST like Christ our Lord, I want and choose poverty with Christ poor rather than riches, opprobrium with Cbrlst replete with it rather than honors: and to desire to be rated as worthless and a fool for Christ, Who first was held as such, rather than wise or prudent in this world." He explains a little more at Iength in another place, "For as worldly men who follow the things of the world, love and with great diligence seek honors, reputation and the credit of a great name upon earth, as the world teaches them, so those who are advancing in spirit and seriously follow Christ our Lord, love and earnestly desire things which are altogether the contrary; that is, to be clothed with the same garment and with the livery of their Lord for His love and reverence; insomuch that if it could be without offense of the divine Majesty and without sin on the part of their' neighbor, they would wish td suffer [eproaches, slanders and injuries, and to be treated and accounted as fools (without at the same time giving any occasion for it), because they desire to imitate and resemble in some sort their Creator and Lord Jesus Christ, and to be clothed with His garments and livery, since He clothed HimseIf with the same for our greater spiritual good, and gave us an example that, in all things, as far as by the assistance of God's grace we can, we may seek to imitate and follow Him, seeing He is the true way that leads men to life." (Examen Generale, IV, 4.) A woman saint, too, of modern times, St. Margaret Mary, caught, lived, and expressed in her own simple but powerful and almost rapturous way the necessity of being conformed to Christ in His suffering life if one is to love Him perfectly. "Ah! I assure you," she writes, "that without the Blessed Sacrament and the cross I could not live, nor could I bear the length of my exile in this valley of tears, where I have never wished to see my sufferings diminish. The more overwhelmed my body was, the more my spirit rejoiced and was at liberty to be occupied with and united to my suffering Jesus, for I had no greater desire than to make of myself a true and perfect copy and representation of my Jesus Crucified." (.Autobiography, No. 86.) "He also inspired me with so ardent a desire to conform myself to His suffering life, that all I endured seemed to me as nothing. This made me redouble my penances, and, prostrating myself at times at the foot of my crucifix, I said: 'How happy should I be, O. my dear Saviour, if Thou wouldst imprint on me the likeness of Thy suf-ferings!' " (Ibid., No. 29.) He did notdo this, but "He asked me for my heart, which I begged Him to take. He did so and placed it in His own Adorable Heart where He showed it to me as a little atom 122 1950 CONFORMITY WITH CHRIST which was being consumed in this great furnace, and withdrawing it thence as a burning flame in the form of a heart, He restored it to the place whence He had taken it, saying to me: 'See, My well-beloved, I give thee a precious token of My love, having enclosed within thy side a little spark of its glowing flames, that it may serve thee for a heart and consume thee to the last moment of thy life . Although I have dosed the wound in thy side, the pain will always remain'." (Ibid., No. 53.) His very next words crowned this Cal-vary with glory: "If hithertO; thou hast taken only the name of My slave, I now give thee that of the beloved disciple of My Sacred Heart." Calvary must be crowned with glory. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (II Tim. 2:12) ; "If we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him" (Rom. 8: 17). "If you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding great joy" (I Pet. 4: 13), "knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation" (II Cot. 1:7). Therefore I ought to count all things to be but loss "that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death" (Phil. 3:10). "For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8 : 18). For "Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor bath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him" (I Cor. 2:9) by carrying the Cross and being fixed to it with Him. We should wish to be conformed with Christ in His suffering life out of worthy return love, because "He loved me and delivered Himself for me." Seeing Christ our Lord present and placed on the cross I ask myself: "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?" Th~ least I ought to do is offer lovingly to Him "my sufferings of this day" that they may console Him in His and be made precious' by union with His. We can make no mistake in accepting and offering patiently, lovingly, joyfully even to God whatever He permits to come or sends into our life. To want to have the sufferings and hard things that coffee our way because we then have what Christ had is to practice the third degree of humility and high virtue. We give clearer expression to tl~e "I want what You had" by inflicting physical pain on our body for love of Christ, by practicing corporal penances. This is a posi-tive, courageous, and "energetic ,approach towards conformity with 123 C. A. HERBST my suffering Savior, who first chose to suffer physical pain for love of me. "He loved me, and delivered Himself for me." To be wretched and miserable when we are not suffering with our blessed Lord, to pray with St. Theresa of Avila "to suffer or to die," is to have reached the heights. Conformity with Christ in His suffering has been the great aim and end of the Saints because His passion and death were the great aim and end of Christ. From Paul nineteen hundred years ago, who exclaimed, "With Christ I am nailed to the cross," to our own day when Th~r~se of Lisieux offered her life a sacrifice of love and repara-tion to God, this has been true. It must be true for. me, too, now, today, in a little way, finally in the full measure of the saints when we have grown to their stature. Yes, this is for me, too. After twenty, or thirty, or forty years, perhaps, but still for me. Mean-while I can pray: "I beseech Thee, most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, grant that Thy passion may be to me a power by which I may be strengthened, protected, and defended. May Thy wounds be to me food and drink, by which I may be nourished, inebriated, and over-joyed. May the sprinkling of Thy Blood be to me an ablution for all my sins. May Thy death prove to me life everlasting, and Thy cross be to me an eternal glory. In these be my refreshment, my joy, my preservation, and sweetness of heart. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen." (Roman Missal.) ATOMIC BROTHERHOOD CAMPAIGN The purpose ot: the Atomic Brotherhood Campaign, organized by the Franciscan Teaching Brothers of the Diocese of Brooklyn, is to secure the prayers of youth for the increase of vocations to the teaching Brotherhoods. Schools receive posters and pledge cards on which the boy or girl checks off a spiritual contribution. Prayers and devotions already common to Catholics are used. In return for this offering, each member is enrolled in the club membership and receives a card signed by the director of the movement and a card containing a prayer for one's choice of a state of life. Already some ~/0,000 children in elementary and high schools, as well as some college students, have made a spiritual contribution. Full particulars and supplies necessary to take part in the Atomic Brotherhood Cam-paign may be secured from: Brother Linus, O.S.F., St. Francis Mon-astery, 41 Butler St., Brooklyn 2, N.Y. 124 0t: :he I-loly Ghost: Who Proceeds As love Leo. A. Coressel, S.J. IN THE MASS of Pentecost Sunday we pray: "Come, 0 Holy Spirit, fill the hearts oi~ Thy faithful and kindle in them the fires of Tby love." In the sequence of the same Mass we salute the Holy Ghost under various titles: as Father of the poor, as Comforter, as the soul's delightful Guest, as Relief of us pilgrims, as Light of life. Tbis song o~ praise ends with the petition: Grant us in life The grace that In peace rnag die and ether be in jog before The face AlT2en.1 These truths recall to mind matters that we all too easily forget. We forget who the HoIy Ghost is and what we owe to Him, that He is God, that He is our sanctifier, our strength and joy in life and our reward after death. If once these realities were deeply embedded in our consciousness and appreciated they would give timely stimulation to spiritual progress and to zeal for souls. One way to quicken such a realization is to broaden the horizons of our knowledge of the Holy Ghost. This can be done by consid-ering the names by which He is known, Their meaning will unfold to us something of His nature and point to reasons for His activity as proposed to us in the Mass of Pentecost Sunday. The names by which the Third Person of the' Blessed Trinity is designated are many. Chief among them are the following: Holy, Spirit or Ghost, Love, Gift, Paraclete, Spirit of Truth. Less com-mon are: Bond or Union of the Father and Son, Living Fountain, Power of God, Seal, Ointment, Fire. We want to concern ourselves here with the names by which the Third Person is chiefly known. These names tell us of His nature and office. In this way they differ greatly from ordinary human names. For example, names like John, Elizabeth, and Mary have an entirely proper meaning, but as desig-nating definite, individual men and women, they tell us nothing of their personality traits and human qualities. It is far otherwise with the names of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. They not 1The Saint Andrew Daily Missal. 125 LEO A. CORESSEL Review/:or Religious only identify Him but also tell us much about Him. We have, perhaps, taken for granted the names by which the Third Person is known. As part of our Catholic inheritance they have been familiar to us since childhood. But we may quite frankly ask ourselves just why the Holy Ghost is so called, why He is called Love, Gift, and so on. Reverently done such a questioning attitude of mind will prove exceedingly fruitful. The First and Second Persons are called Father and Son because of their mutual relationship. The First Person is really and truly Father and the Second Person just. as really and truly is Son. The First Person begets the Second. The Father begets the Son in an eternal generation. This divine generation is more than a figure of speech. The Father truly begets. The Son is truly begotten. We should not regard earthly fatherhood as the real thing and the divine fatherhood as but the shadow of the great reality. The fullness of generation is predicated of God and only secondarily of creatures. As St. Paul says: "For this cause, then, I bend my knees to the Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named." (Eph. 3:14-15, Westminster Version. This version is also used in other Scripture quotations in this article.) We see now the reason why the Father and Son are so called. But why is the Third Person called Holy, Spirit, Love, Gift? We already recognize fatherhood and sonship from our own observa-tions. We know of human persons who are fathers and sons. But when we consider the Third Person we have no such guide to lead the way. We have, indeed, experienced love. We know the meaning of holiness and of spirit. The giving and the receiving of gifts are sources of joy. But we are not prepared beforehand for a person who is himself love, holiness, spirit, and gift. Such a person is out-side the range of our widest observhtions. He is beyond the realm of our natural knowledge. For these reasons the person of the Holy Ghost is more deeply obscure in the mysteries of faith than are the Father and the Son. The name by which the Third Person is most generally known is Holy Ghost. We may, then, begin with aft inquiry into the appropriateness of these two words as applied to the Third Person. The Father, as also the Son, is a spirit and is holy. Why, then, are these two words united and applied to the Third Person? St. Augus-tine tells us a reason: "Since the Holy Ghost is common to both, He Himself is called that properly which both are called in. common. For the Father is a spirit and the Son is a spirit: and the Father is 126 Ma~, 1950 OF THE HOLY GHOST holy .and the Son is holy." In other words, the Third Person is called Holy Spirit from the fact that proceeding from both Father and Son, He is called that which both have in common, namely, that they are holy and spirit. Another and a deeper reason why the Third Person is called Holy Spirit is found in the fact that He proceds from the Father and Son as Love. As this love, He is, first of all, rightly called Spirit, since the property of love is to move and impel; for example, love moves and impels the lover towards the beloved. But the word spirit also implies a certain impulse and movement. Hence He who proceeds as Love is rightly called Spirit. This is the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. He says: "The name spirit in things cor-poreal seems to signify impulse and motion: for we call the breath and the wind by the term spirit. Now it is a property of love to move and impel the will of the lover toward the object loved.''2 The procession of the Third Person may be further illustrated from our own everyday experience. We.are conscious of breathing as a movement of air into and out of the lungs. We know, too, that the word breathing is used of vehement acts of the will. We say that a man breathes out' love or hatred. Think of expressions like lovers sighing like a furnace, Saul breathing out threats. If we apply this to God, we can readily see why the Third person is called Spirit. Proceeding as Love from the Father and Son the Third Per-son is breathed forth by them. The Father and Son breathe forth a Breath, a Spirit, a Divine Person, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Thus as Spirit, as Breath of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit proceeds from them. This last illustration may be stated in another way. The love which one feels inwardly for a person or object is oftentimes extern-alized by a deep breathing or sigh, which is expressed in Latin by the word spiritus. The Father and Son express their infinite, eternal love for each other in a profound sigh' or breath, as it were. This breath is Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person, God, coequal with the Father and Son. As is true of spirit so als0 holiness has a relation to love. The Third Person proceeds as Love. But love makes one holy; it orders one rightly to God. Hence the Third Person is called Holy. This reasoning will appear "weightier if we recall that holiness in God is 2Surnma Theologica 1,, q.36, a.1. Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. 127 LEO A. CORESSEL Review for Religious love of His own infinite being. The Third Person, then, who is possessed of infinite being, as are the Father and Son, and who is the expression of the infinite love of the Father and Son, is peculiarly called the Holy. The names by which the Third Person is most familiar to us are Holy and Spirit. But He is also called Gift. In the Acts of the Apostles (2:.38) we read: "Repent ye, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The Third Person is not just a gift. He is the Gift, just as He is the Holy and the Spirit. When a gift is given, love is the impelling force. In fact, love itself is the greatest gift one can give another. Now the Third Person proceeds as Love from the Father and 'Son and has an apti-tude to be given to men. He is, then, rightly and properly called the Gift. In this sense He is spoken of in the Veni Creator Spiritus: Thou who art called the Paraclete Best gift of God above The living spring, the living fire Sweet unction and true love.z It will be noted that the three names of the Third Person examined so far, Holy, Spirit, Gift, all have a relation to love. It is by this title, Love, that He is especially distinguished from the Second Person. The Son proceeds by generation from the intellect of the Father.' The Holy Ghost proceeds in a mysterious way as Love from Father and Son. The word love is somewhat abstract, although its action and personification are very concrete to us. St. Paul personifies love when he says: "charity is patient, is kind; charity envieth not" (-I 'Cor. 13:4). But we are not now speaking of such a love. The Third Person is not love personified. He is Love personalized, a Divine Person. " All this is very strange to us. But we have an aid in our own mental processes to help us along the way. When one loves another, He has within himself love, an act of the will, frequently called an affection of the will. This affection may endure over a long period of time. But it also may be lost because of neglect. It may even be replaced by hatred. But when the Father and Son love each other there results a substantial love, one who is Love, a Person, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. We know this because each of the 3Translation from Roman Breviary, Benziger Brothers. 128 Ma~, 1950 OF THE HOLY GHOST Three Persons is God, because the Holy Ghost proceeds as a Person from the will of the Father and Son, and because the Fathers of the Church call the Third Person Love inasmuch as works of love are attributed to Him in Sacred Scripture. "And hope does not prove false, for the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5). Another important name of the Third Person is Spirit ot: Truth. He is so called in the Gospel of St. John: "And I will ask the Father and he shall give you another Advocate . the Spirit of Truth" (I4:16-17). The Holy Ghost is called Spirit of Truth for several reasons; because He proceeds from Truth, that is to say, the Word, the Second Person; because He is sent to announce the truth; and lastly because He is the substantial love of truth and leads men to love the truth. This title should make us more aware of the neces-sity of daily invoking the Holy Spirit. We stand in danger of falling victims to the deceits of the world. We are in need of having divine truths brought home to us. Our heaven-given guide can and will enlighten us. He will also inspire us with a love of the truth that we may be able clearly to discern the wisdom of God in the midst of all modern deceits. , Finally the Holy Ghost is called Paraclete or Advocate. An advocate is one who defends his client, who pleads for him. He is an intercessor, a helper, a counselor. The Holy Ghost is our Para-clete, our Advocate. He aids us in our weakness, He pleads for us, He intercedes for us. St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (8:26- 27) says: "And in like manner the Spirit also beareth up our weak-ness. For we know not how we are to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself pleadeth in our behalf with unutterable groanings. And he. who searcheth hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, how he pleadeth before God in behalf of the saints." The Holy Ghost is also our helper: "And no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' save in the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. 12:3). The Holy Ghost is our counselor. He calls us to good and aids us in our endeavors. He gives joy in accomplishment. We have seen how the Third Person is revealed to us as Love, Holy, Spirit, Gift, Spirit of Truth, and Paraclete. These names give us a glimpse of His sublime personality. They disclose reasons for the various offices attributed to Him. Proceeding as Love, He is the Holy Ghost, intent on our sanctification, a work of very great love. As Love he is comforter, Father of the poor. As Love He is Gift, the soul's most delightful Guest. He is Spirit of Truth and Para- 129 LEO A. CORESSEL clete, guiding us along the paths ot: truth and holiness. For all these reasons we should love the Holy Ghost. We should try to bring Him more and more into our everyday conscious-nest, since we owe Him so much in life, in death, and in eternity. Since He is Holy, should we not strive to be holy? Since He is Spirit, should we not daily seekthe things of the spirit? Since He is Love, should we not ask Him to inflame our hearts with the purest love? He gives Himself to us as a Gift; then we should in return give our-selves entirely to him. He guides us in the ways of truth and grace; we should, therefore, be most grateful to him. We may w~ll try to have continually in our minds and hearts one of the thoughts of the sequence of the Mass of Pentecost Sunday: To Tb~ sweet ~toke our stiff necks bow, Warm with Tbq loue our hearts of snow, Our wandering feet recall.4 Summer Sessions (Continued from P. 118) Sisters of St. Francis, St.o Coletta School, Jefferson, Wisconsin. The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine will offer a special training course at the Catholic University of America from June 26 to August 5. The aim of the course is to prepare Sisters, Brothers, and seminarians for the various fields of the Confraternity program. ¯ The courses of study will be conducted by the Very Reverend Fran-cis 3. Connell, C.SS.R. ; Sister M. Rosalia, M.H.S.H. : and Miss Mir-iam Marks. The first course concerns doctrine; the second, methods of teaching; the third, the apostolate. Students must register for all three courses. For further information write to: The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Wash-ington 5, D.C. The Department of Education of Marquette University offers courses in moral and ascetical guidance. The ascetical course will be conducted by G. Augustine Ellard, S.J.; the moral course, by Gerald Kelly, S.J. These are graduate courses; enrollment is limited to Sis-ters. June 26 to August 4. For further information write to: The Registrar, Marquette University, 615 N. 1 l th St., Milwaukee 3, Wisconsin. The Religion Department of The Creight0n University offers: (Continued on P. 139) 4The Saint Andrew Daily Missal 130 Prac!:ical Applical:ion ot: Psychome!:rics Religious Lit:e Sister M. Digna, O.S.B. THE principles underlying the use of psychometrics in appraising applicants to religious life were discussed in a recent article.1 Although many communities do not hesitate to use the findings of the physician in determining the physical fitness of applicants to their congregations or orders, some religious are startled at the thought of utilizing the findings of psychological research in reference to religious vocations. Two recent studies2,3 indicate a new trend in the direction of establishing testing programs as one of the prelim-inary procedures for admission into the seminary and religious life. As communities employ testing techniques for diagnosing and asses-sing such factors as the intelligence, the personality, the interests, and the aptitudes of their candidates, they will discover that methods of therapy, amelioration, or control will bring about greater spiritual progress in their young religious. If the candidate enters religion from. purely supernatural motives, an objective ~self-analysis will eliminate much of the time often spent on self-scrutiny in trying to eradicate an overt fault that is rooted in a personality defect. With a better understanding of her own weaknesses and strengths, a young religious may approach the entire problem of self-improvement more intelligently. She will devote less time to self and more to God. Test results may be helpful in hastening the development of the super-natural life of the candidate, if admitted, and in screening out those who may be unfit for religious life. This report attempts to illus-trate in a concrete manner some of the predictive aspects of tests for ascertaining the possible adjustment or non-adjustment of applicants to religious life. Ordinarily the adjusted person is one who can adapt reasonably 1Sister M. Digna. "That God's Will Be Known." REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, VIII, (,July 15, 1949), 201-207. -°Thomas J. McCarthy, "Personality Traits of Seminarians." Studies in Psycholoog and Psgchiatrg from the Catholic Unioersitg of America, V, (June, 1942), 1-46. 3Sister Richarda Peters, O.S.B., "A Study of the Intercorrelations of Personality Traits among a Group of Novices in Religious Communities," Studies in Psgchol-ogg and Psgchiatrg from the Catholic Uniuersitg of America, V, (December, 1942) 1-38. 131 SISTER M. Review t'or Religlous well to any reasonably adequate situation. Father Curran,4 who supports or at least bases his interpretation of adjustment on St. Thomas, says, in part, that adjustment does not mean merely compromising or coming to terms with problems but delving into the nature of reality. In other words, adjustment implies self-knowledge. To support the proposition that psychometrics can be used in detecting factors that will predict the future adjustment to life in religion, a group of high school and college records of individuals who later entered religion were examined. The results of intelli-gence tests and personality ratings were used to classify these young women into three groups: those who could be predicted to adjust well to religious life; those who could be predicted to adjust but with some difficulty: and those who would very likely not adjust. Later, the major superiors who were well acquainted with the subjects sub-stantiated the classification in all but one instance. The American Council on Education Psychological Examina-tion (ACE) had been administered to all these high school seniors and college freshmen. The American Council on Education Psycho-logical Examination is designed to measure the type of ability required for most college curricula. Although not all prospective subjects for religious life must necessarily be mentally equipped to do college work, the scores do show roughly more about the mental alertness of the individual than could be ascertained in a personal interview; and a low ranking percentile score would indicate that the mental ability of the individual should be appraised more specifically by administrating some general mental ability test. However, since the American Council Examination is considered by most authorities as a reliable index of intelligence, these scores were used to study the correlation between in.telligence and adjustment to religious life. While the correlation was reasonably high, it was not perfect, for several young women who were evidently very intelligent had failed later to make satisfactory adjustments. In these cases personality factors entered the picture. Sister Richarda Peters, O.S.B.,5 came to the same conclusion in her analysis of a group of novices in religious communities. She writes that cognitive ability (intelligence) showed no consistent relationship with the absence of undesirable traits. Evidently, high intelligence is no guarantee that the individual has no 4Charles A. Curran. Personality Factors in Counseling. (New York: Grune and Stratton, 1945), pp. 260-264. 50p. cir., p. 28. 132 May, 1950 PSYCHOMETRICS undesirable personality traits. Whether high, average, or low intelligence plays an important or a not too important part in the adjustment of individuals to life in religion, personality factors do explain many of the maladjustments in that state. Frequently, several factors contribute in precipitating a certain disorder of personality or behavior, any one of which can be credited as the last straw that broke the cameI's back. After all, it is the combination of several elements--familial, physical, psychological, and social--that relates to behavior disturbances' and influences adjustment to life and particularly to religious life. The four methods of evaluating or measuring personality charac-teristics generally employed are rating scales, intensive inter'iiewing,. anecdotal records, and paper and pencil tests. The paper and pencil tests will yield surprisingly good results, for many of the questions: on the test could have been asked in a long oral interview. Common' sense should operate in determining the purpose of the ratings, for no single test can be diagnostic of the total personality. Certain. inconsistencies of scores should be checked by retesting, preferably with a comparable form or another valid personality test. That personality tests are useful for discovering maladjustments in religious life has been noted in a research conducted by Thomas J. McCarthy~ on "Personality Traits of Seminarians." His study was not inter-preted in a predictive sense for screening or counseling, but was carried on with the hope "that such an investigation would be of help later on in developing an effective personality testing program.''r In the present report, the results of the Minnesota Personality Scale were used in studying the personalities of those Who later entered religious life. The Minnesota Personality Scale, while not so well-known nor so highly recommended as the Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory, the Bernreuter Personality Inventory, or the Bell Adjustment Inventory, is easily administered and is not too difficult to interpret. The scale is subdivided into five categories: morale, social adjustment, home and family relations, emotionality, and economic conservatism. Typical cases will be used here to indi-cate some of the possibilities of personality scales as a means of better understanding the individuals who desire to enter religious life. Where results of Strong's "Vocational Interests Blank" were avail-able, these findings were also included. The data on Student I who became Sister I was appraised. Every- 6Op. cit. rlbid., p. 1. 133 SISTER M. DIGNA thing pointed to an excellent adjustment in community life. The student ranked in the upper one-third of all college students who took the American Council on Education Psychological Test (ACE) throughout the countr)L The information from a questionnaire that Student I filled out as a freshman showed that. she was one of a large family in a good Catholic home. The other children in the.family had attended colleges and universities. Her schooling had been entirely Catholic. Her percentile score for morale on the Minnesota Personality Scale" indicated a wholesome attitude toward the Church, school, and government. Her social adjustment .percentile showed her to be reasonably gregarious and socially mature. The percentile score in the area of family relations was just on the borderline between good and bad: hence it needed interpretation. Here the data on the freshman questionnaire supplemented the results of the tests. From this data it was obvious that Student I had been wisely helped by her parents and older brothers and sisters to achieve a rather early emancipation from overdependence on her home and family. The student has no feelings of .rejection or insecurity, for her autobiogra-phy showed that her family life was contented, co-operative, and very happy. Her emotionality score indicated that she was emo-tionally stable and self-possessed. Her economic attitude was con-servative. Since this' student had taken the Strong's "Vocational Interest Blank," the data on her vocational interests were in the files. The basic interest types for Strong's Blank for women are five: (1) tech-nical, including interests paralleling those of dentist, physician, teacher of mathematics, and teacher of the physical sciences; (2) verbal or linguistic, embracing author, librarian, and artist: (3) business contacts, with interests in fields patterning those of life insurance saleswomen; (4) welfare, including the interests of those successful in teaching social sciences, lawydr, personnel worker, social worker; and (5) non-professional interests, as general office worker, nurse, stenographer-secretary, and housewife. The interests are further divided into primary pattern where the interest type shows a pre-ponderance of A- and B-plus scores on the specific occupat.ional keys: the secondary pattern is the interest type within which there are more B-plus and B-minus scores. Student I's primary interest pattern was in the area of authorship and teaching of English and social work. She possessed a high score in femininity, indicating that her interests were largely feminine in nature. It may be argued that much of this information about a well- 134 May, 1950 PSYCHOMETRICS adjusted girl would be self-evident and that tests, personality scales, questionnaires, and interest blanl~s were simply a waste of time. This example is used to illustrate that tests do have predictive value whether for reinforcing evidence at hand, or for detecting qualities. not so obvious. Student II, now Sister 2, was characterized also by her major superiors as "well-adjusted." Her intelligence score placed her in the lower third of the college freshmen group. Her profile on the Min-nesota Personality Scale showed her morale to be exceptionally high. One may predict, however, that an individual with a score as high as 'hers would likely take a naive and unquestioning attitude toward life; consequently, for her, obedience rarely will be ditScult. Her problem and that of her superiors will be to raise to a supernatural level her purely natural inclination to do what others command. Her social adjustment indicated a fair degree of socialization. This score, too, needs further interpretation. As an only child she was largely dependent upon her father for companionship, her social contacts with those of her own age were limited. Her high score in the area of family relations suggests overdependence on her family; in this case, on her father. In the area of emotionality, a score placing her in the "upper third of the group reveals that she. is emotionally stable a.nd self-poss~ssed. The results of the Strong's Interest Blank were available. A summary of the ratings demonstrates that Student II had primary patterns in three fields; namely, welfare work including social work, social science teaching, personnel, and law; the technical field as den-tistry, teaching of mathematics, and physician; and a third area, business. She had ~/ very low femininity score, signifying that her interests approximated those generally ascribed to men. Here the influence of close association with her father is observed. One of her expressed interests was that of music, but music fell into a ter-tiary pattern. In vocational guidance work, the counselor would encourage her to use music as a hobby and enter some other field more closely related to her primary interests. With her natural tendency to acquiesce to the wishes of her superiors, she may be able to adjust without resulting tensions to any work for. which she has aptitude. For Sister 2, if one were interested in test findings as a means of assisting young religious to adjust to the active part of their life, it might be advisable to retest her to ascertain whether or not any change of interests has occurred because of her close association with women. 135 SISTER M. DIGNA Review for Religious Sister 3, who was formerly Student III, is an example of how high intelligence and wise direction has resulted in a well-adjusted religious who definitely was faced with a serious fam!ly problem. With an ACE score that ranked her very high among college fresh-men, Sister 3 had both the spiritual outlook and the necessary in-sight tO give her a clear understanding of her problem. The Min-nesota Personality Scale indicated that her total score in the area of home and family relations placed her in the lower fourth percentile. This was very low. However, her other scores showed that she was socially apt and rather emotionally stable. She had developed spir-itual insights rather rare in students because she had spent her high school years under the guidance of a good spiritual director. With her natural qualifications and her confidence in God, Sister 3 is a good example of an individual who overcomes obstacles to the serenity and peace so essential to religious life. To illustrate further th'e possibilities of test results as one means for insuring a better adjustment, the records of Student IV, now Sister 4, were evaluated. This student had an unusually high score on the American Council Psychological Examination. She belonged. to a good Catholic family of five or six children. Her profile per-centiles on the personality test were: morale, very high; social rela-tions, low; family and home relations, high; and emotionality, very low. Her emotionality score in this profile may indicate that Sister 4 will need wise guidance and warm understanding. Her low average in social relations coupled with a low score in emotionality demon-strates inner tensions which may be due to a sense of inferiority or to an inclination to scrupulosity. An adequate analysis of the problem, the conflict, or the complex (be it a sense of inferiority, scrupulosity, or work dissatisfaction) will often ~eveal satisfactory courses of action for dealing with it. In young religious, it is important that faulty emotional s'tates do not become fixed. Usually such fac-tors are not rectified easily in middle life, but ordinarily these prob-lems can be corrected in young people. Hence in the case of this Sister some definite follow-up testing may be required, unless supe-riors have considerable time to devote to Sister 4 in order to help her overcome some rather dangerous natural tendencies and to supplant them with the supernatural motives of humility, confidence in God, and obedience" to spiritual directors. How do test results aid in such instances? They point out emotional states that .perhaps a gay exterior hides very successfully, and this very attempt to inhibit worries and anxieties should be avoided. 136 Mag, 1950 PSYCHOMETRICS Student V, or Sister 5, ranked in the lower one-third of the psy-chological examination. The personality profile would lead one to predict that this young woman would have considerable difficulty in adjusting as her score in the area of social relations was very low, implying that she is socially inept and is undersocialized with feelings of inferiority. In religion, she may be characterized as "unworldly" whereas she is definitely anti-social. Undoubtedly, religious life will be a decided asset in helping this Sister to overcome her sense of inferiority and social ineptness if she is helped to under-stand that her attitude toward externs is not necessarily a virtue but a personality defect. By working with this young woman, a supe-rior or another Sister may help her to see the introverted tendencies, not as commendable virtues, but as personality defects. Unworldli-hess should be based upon the supernatural life and not upon per-sonality disorders. The next four sets of records concern young women who entered religious life, but either withdrew or were asked to withdraw. The test results, if these had been used in a predictive manner, might have been means of guarding communities against accepting applicants who were very likely unable to adjust. Two of these young women might have been directed into other communities where their adjust-ment might have been more easily made. The profiles of Students VI and VII might have been interpreted to predict a poor adjustment or none at all. The score on the psychological examination of Student VI placed her in the lower five per cent of the high-school graduates who were going to college. This student would have had a difficult task in getting admitted into any college. Her scores on the Minnesota Personality Scale were as follows: morale, zero; social relations, low; home and family relations, very low; emotionality, very low; and economic conservatism, exceptionally low. Her low morale pre-dicted that superiors would have a difficult time to help her achieve a spiritual outlook on obedience. The fact that her intelligence was low would explain an additional difficulty--she would be incapable of any deep insight into her own personal limitations. The score in the area of family relations suggests that her home life had been unhappy. Superiors will need to scrutinize and to watch the motives of any candidate whose home life has been entirely unhappy, as the applicant, though totally unconscious of it herself, may be using religious life as an escape mechanism. The emotionality score would predict that this young woman will need the help of a psychiatrist in 137 SISTER M. DIGNA Reoieu~ ~or Religious adapting herself to normal living in the world let alone within con-ventual wails. Her low score in the area of economic conservatism indicates that she has pronounced tendencies toward a radical way of life. One may say that since this student was not very intelligent, she was unable to understand the test questions and, consequently, the results may be spurious. Even were that true, then the objection could be raised that that in itself would be sufficient reason for rejecting her since she would be unable to comprehend the duties and responsibilities of religious life. Her test score, however, indicated that sloe would fall among the low average of the total population, which is not an indication that she was a moron. Low average intelligence is no barrier to getting along in the world, and it may not be so for the convent; but supplemented by her personality traits, it would be a poor hazard for religious communities to accept an applicant whose intelligenc.e and personality traits were similar to that of Student VI's. Student VII entered the candidature of a community, but she remained there only a short time. From her personality test, one might have predicted a difficult adjustment because of her person-ality traits. Although her intelligence score ranked her in the upper fifty per cent of college students, or average, her personality profile showed that she would have difficulty. Both the scores attained in morale and social adjustment were very low: her family relations were average; her emotionality was also very low, and her economic conservatism was low. The prediction based on these results would be that the probability of Student VII adjusting to any community life is very slight. Two students who entered religious life without persevering might be representative of applicants seeking admission into the wrong type of community. Both young women had intelligence scores which ranked them in the upper third of the college freshmen in the country. The personality profile of one followed this pattern: morale, very high; social adjustment, average; family relations, very low; and emotionality, very high. This applicant may have had potentialities for developing into a good religious if her motives for entrance were 'supernatural, but the low score in family relations stresses the fact that unhappy home conditions may have exerted ~ressure in sending this girl into the convent. Apparently, she never revealed the home conflict to any one, but instead compensated by creating a fantastic family life for herself. Her overdrawn picture of her home led superiors and companions to question the honesty of 138 Mar , 1950 PSYCHOMETRICS the girl. She was asked to withdraw. The other student also ranked in the upper third of those tested throughout the country on ¯ the ACE. Her personality profile pointed to very high scores in all are'as; morale, social adjustment, family relations, emotionality, and economic conservatism. One may conclude that her high social score suggests that she does not like to be alone, or, more serious in its implications for religious life, that she may be flighty and unstable. ¯ If she is one who is definitely the extrovert type and wishes to con-secrate herself to God, she might be directed to an active order rather than to a community that emphasizes the contemplative life. This student, who withdrew from religious life of her own accord, still feels she has a vocation. This attempt to illustrate the predictive possibilities of psy-chometrics in a program for the recruitment and training of subjects for religious life is necessarily only exploratory in nature. If com-munities would develop even. a very simple testing program and exchange their findings, it might be possible at some future date to devise a definite type of measuring instrument to assess personalities, attitudes, and interests in terms of fitness for religious life. First, however, a certain antagonism which exists against the use of tests needs to be broken down. " Then communities may need to train one or more of their personnel in the construction and use of tests. The barrier is not insurmountable, for'a simple in-service program for those who are now responsible for the admission, retention, and training of young religious can be established. In a short time com-munities may discover further possibilities in the use of psycho-metrics, not as an only means, but as one aid for screening and devel-oping religious. A thorough understanding of the factors that make for better adjustment in religious life may pay off spiritual dividends that will insure better adjusted religious seeking God through self-purification and through work and prayer. "Summer Sessions (Continued from P. 130) Divine Revelation, by Leo A. Coressel, S.3.; and The Church of Christ, by Ph'ilip T. Derrig, S.3. Session will also include institutes on: Remedial Reading, Guidance Program, and Communication Skills. ,June 9 to August 3. For further information write to: Director of Summer Session, The Creighton University, Omaha 2, Nebraska. 139 Lay Religious and !:he Laws ot: Bishops on Cont:ession Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. ALL RELIGIOUS realize that they are subject to the universal laws of the Church enacted for religious. These laws are found in the Code of Canon Law and also in the instructions, decrees, and replies that have emanated from the Holy See since the promulgation of the Code.1 Religious are also subject to the local Ordinaries to the extent determined by canon law (canon 500, § 1). The local Ordinaries may exercise their authority over religious not only by particular directions or precepts but also by law. Subjection to a law creates also an obligation of acquiring a knowledge of the law, and this obligation is especially incumbent on religious superiors. The laws of the local Ordinaries are called particular laws, since their obligation is usually restricted to a partic.ular territory. The universal laws of the Code are of obligation everywhere for the Latin Church. These particular laws may be enacted by the individual Ordinary for his diocese or by many Ordinaries united in a council. In the United States the laws of the Second and Third Plenary Councils of Baltimore are of obligation in the entire country.2 The bishops of a particular ecclesiastical province may also unite in a provincial council and legislate for all the dioceses of the province. In a diocese the sole legislator is the bishop, who may make his laws in a synod or outside the time of a synod. About eighty dioceses of the United States have modern and printed diocesan legis-lation, published in book form and "obtainable from the respective chanceries. These diocesan statutes are almost universally in Latin, but an English translation, at least of the principal articles, is some-times appended. The purpose of this article is. to give Brothers, nuns, and Sisters an idea of the types of laws concerning confession of 1The practical way of studying such documents published to the end of 1948 is from T. L. Bouscaren, S.J., The Canon Law Digest, 2 vols. and 1948 Supplement (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company). Later documents can be found in ecclesiastical periodicals. 2Acta et Decreta Concilii Plenarii Baltimorensis II. (Baltimore: John Murphy, 1868). Acta et Decreta Concilii Plenarii Baltimorensis III. (Baltimore: John Murphy, 1886). 140 LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF I~ISHOP£ the various dioceses and councils of this country that have been estab-lished for them or are of practical interest to them. I. General Norms Bishops promulgate their laws in the diocesan synod, the diocesan newspaper, at the conferences or retreats of priests, in pastoral letters, in the diocesan ordo, and in circular letters. From the very nature of law, the bishop wills that religious obtain a knowledge of any law that he has enacted for them. This is the reason for the common precept of diocesan statutes that the faithful are to be instructed in all diocesan laws that affect the laity. Some diocesan statutes explic-itly command all religious of both sexes to acquire a satisfactory knowledge of both the universal and the particular law concerning religious.3 It has also been established in a few dioceses that supe-riors are to have the laws and letters of the Ordinary that affect religious read publicly4 or explaineds in the religious houses. Reli-gious houses should thus possess either the complete diocesan statutes: or a list of at least the statutes that affect religious. Every religious house should also have a file under the beading of the diocese or the. local Ordinary. In this file all letters of the Ordinary that are in any way legislative in character should be preserved. Precepts or instruc-tions of a permanent nature given orally by the Ordinary should be reduced to writing and enclosed in the same file. This will help to. prevent the misunderstanding that is always a danger in. a mere oral expression of law, precept, or instruction, and it will also place this necessary knowledge at the disposal of future superiors. One or two. dioceses have commanded that all public documents concerning the relations between the diocese and the religious should be shown to the local Ordinary at the quinquennial visitation.6 II. Ordinar~t Confessors (canon 520, § I) Canon 520, § 1 commands that an ordinary confessor be appointed for.every house of religious women. Relying on a reply of the Holy See given before the Code of Canon Law, some authors have held that there is no obligation of appointing an ordinary con-fessor for small houses that number less than six Sisters. This is 3Fargo 158; Acta et Decreta Concilii Provincialis Portlandensis in Oregon Quarti 171. The councils and dioceses cited in this and the following footnotes are in-tended as examples, not as a complete enumeration. Unless otherwise indicated the numbers with regard to councils and dioceses always refer to paragraph numbers. 4Fargo 155; Port. Ore. Prov. 169; Trenton 108. SPort. Ore. Prov. 7: Richmond 69. 6port. Ore. Prov. 170: Trenton 109. 141 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Reuiew [or Religious contrary to the better interpretation of the canon, since it is not in accord with the general wording of the canon nor with private inter-pretations given by the Holy See. The consequences of such a doctrine are also not desirable. Such small convents constitute a sizable fraction of the communities of a diocese. These convents are at least very frequently located in small and isolated towns, wh~re the only priest is the pastor. The pastor, since he exercises authority over the parish school and is well known to the Sisters, is not a desirable priest as confessor. The isolated location of so many of these communities would make the approach to another confessor most difficult. The evident intent of the Code is to give Sisters as much liberty and facility for confession as possible, but the opinion stated above would give many communities of Sisters almost no liberty or facility for confession. The Bishop of Belleville explic-itly states in his law that ordinary confessors must also be appointed for small houses.7 III. Obligations of Ordinary and Extraordinary Confessors (canons 520, § 1 and 521, § I) Diocesan law universally and insistently inculcates the obliga-tions of ordinary and extraordinary confessors of Brothers, nuns, and Sisters. The bishops demand that all ordinary confessors hear the confessions of tbelr communities once a week, on a suitable day and hour, agreed upon with the superior. One diocese has enacted that the ordinary confessor must never allow a second week to pass with-out hearing the confessions of the community to which be has been assigned,s The laws of another diocese oblige the ordinary confessor of religious women to report to the Ordinary if, for any cause, he has not fulfilled his duties for one month.9 At least two bishops state that wilful neglect of this duty can constitute serious matter.1° The following law is especially practical and opportune: "The ordinaries [i. e. ordinary confessors] of the Sisters are exhorted to be most zealous and self-sacrificing in giving ample opportunity to the Sis-ters, especially to those in isolated localities, of going to confes-sion.' ul The failure of the ordinary confessor to appear in convents in isolated localities causes an almost insoluble difficulty. The canonical solution is that the superioress should summon one of the supplementary confessors, but very few dioceses either in their statutes 7Belleville 34. 8Des Moines 81. 9Toledo 79. 10Davenport 32; Nashville 92. 11Davenport 32: Nashville 92: Owensboro 47. The italics in this and subsequent citations are mine. 142 Ma~t, 1950 LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF BISHOPS or diocesan faculties have appointed supplementary confessors. The extraordinary confessor may reside at a great distance, and the reli-gious are rightfully hesitant to call on him constantly. The next effort at a solution is for the superioress to make the use of occa-sional confessors as easy as possible, but the very nature of an iso-lated community reduces this solution to legal theory. The pastor is at least very frequently the only priest in the place,.and the work of the Sisters and the isolation of the town may make travel to another town a practical impossibility. It is also true that places at no great distance from large cities can be practically isolated. Equal fidelity is imposed by diocesan law on the extraordinary confessors, who are to perform their duties four times a year, prefer-ably during the Ember weeks. The bishops emphasize that confessors of religious are to fulfill their duties with a conscientious regard for the direction of souls towards the higher life of christian perfection. As means to this end diocesan law quite generally commands the ordinary and extraordi-nary confessors of religious to devote themselves intensively to the study of moral, ascetical, and mystical theology, of the common law of the Code concerning religious, and of the constitutions of the par-ticular institute.12 A careful reading of the canons on religious will show that very few of them directly affect the daily lives of religious. The obligation of these laws is usually incumbent on stiperiors. Modern constitutions also do not give many norms of the spiritual life. In the present practice of the Holy See constitutions are com-posed in great part of canons and other legal articles that the Sacred Congregation of Religious demands. It will, therefore, be oftentimes much more practical for the confessor to study the spiritual directory, ~scetical summary, or custom book of the institute rather than its constitutions. An exaggerated idea of secrecy must not prevent the superior from giving these books to the confessor. IV. Special Ordinary Confessors (canons 520, § 2; 528) The Bishop of Wheeiing states very clearly the sane norm of 12Confessors will find the following books helpful for a study of the laws that gov-ern lay institutes: IDom Pierre Bastien, O.S.B., Directoire Canoniqt~e a l'usage des Congregations ~ Voeux Simples (Bruges: Ch. Beyaert, 4th edition, 1933): Creu-sen- Ellis, Religious Men and Women in the Code (Milwaukee: The Bruce Pub-lishing Company, 3rd English edition, 1940); Rev. Fintan Geser, O.S.B., The Canon Law Governim3 Communities of Sisters (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1938) : Rev. Bernard Acken, S.3., A Handbook for Sisters (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1931). Bastien is especially helpful, since he also treats the legal articles that originate from the practice of the Sacred Congregation of Religious. 143 ,JOSEPH F. GALLEN Reoiew ~Cor Religious conduct in this respect: "All Religious are admonished to use this privilege of requesting a special confessor only for their spiritual good and greater progress in religious virtues, apart from all human con-siderations. Should a special confessor perceive that there is no need of him, let him dismiss the Religious prudently."'13 The special con-fessor himself 'is in the best position to judge whether his work is necessary or proportionately useful. He should observe the prudent norm of the law quoted above also at the time that the religious asks him to be a special confessor. It is frequently possible for a priest to realize at the time of the petition that the particular religious will not profit by having a special confessor. It is even possible to encounter a religious who asks for a special confessor and yet has no idea of the purpose of such a confessor. It is not unknown for a reli-gious to be under the impression that all religious should have a spe-cial director. Even priests can be imbued with the same principle. Spiritual books and maxims can be misunderstood in this matter. V. Supplementarg Confessors (canon 521, § 2) Canon 521, § 2 commands the local Ordinaries to appoint at least two supplementary confessors available for each convent of reli-gious v~omen in their dioceses. These confessors may be summoned in particular cases for one or more Sisters or even for the entire com-munity, for example, in the absence of the ordinary confessor. The extraordinary confessor of the commuhity is always to be considered also a supplementary confessor. As has been stated above, very few dioceses mention the supplementary confessors either in their statutes or diocesan faculties, but their appointment can be and oftentimes is made by other means.In some dioceses all the pastors as well as all ordinary and extraordinary confessors of religious women are the supplementaries for all convents of the diocese.14 Harrisburg assigns this office to all pastors of the episcopal city and of each deanery for the religious women of that particular district.~s Other dioceses men-tion that the supplementaries will be announced in opportune time by the 10ca1 Ordinary.~6 VI. Occasional Confessors of Religious Women (canon 522) Sisters are well aware that, for peace of conscience, they may go to confession in any legitimately designated place to any confessor ~3Wheeling p. 52. ~4Buffalo, Dubuque, Peoria, Pueblo. The diocese of Des Moines has the same but excludes the pastor. 15Harrisburg 27. 16port. Ore. Prov. 188: Trenton 112. 144 ' Ma~ , 1950 LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF BISHOPS approved for women. Diocesan law usually merely reaffirms the canon in this matter. However, there is a reminder that the right given by canon 522 does not free anyone from the observance of. religious discipline.17 VII. Place for the Confessions of Religious Women (canons 522, 909-910) The Code of Canon Law prescribes that the confessional for Sisters should ordinarily be placed in their chapel and that their con-fessions are not to be heard outside the confessional, except in case of sickness or real necessity, and with the observance of the precimtions prescribed by the local Ordinary. It is admitted that there can more readily be a justifying cause for placing the confessional of Sisters outside the chapel, for example, in the sacristy, a room adjoining the chapel, or some other convenient room. It is forbidden to hear the confessions of women and also of religious women outside of the con-fessional except for reason of sickness, weakness of old age, deafness, the probable danger of a sacrilegious confession or of seriou~ infamy, and for other reasons of like import. When a place is to be destined habitually for the confessions of Sisters, it should be designated by the authority of the local Ordinary or according to the norms that he has established. Diocesan law may command that it be designated by the local Ordinary.18 At such times as retreats it is frequently necessary to erect additional movable confessionals in the convents of Sisters, and practically always these confessionals are outside the chapel. " The designation of such temporary places of confession may be made by the superioress or the confessor. The Second Plenar~ Council of Baltimore~9 and diocesan law in general in the United States rigidly enforce the canonical prescriptions on the place for the confessions of women. One diocese has enacted a reserved suspension against confessors who violate these norms,2° and in some other dio-ceses a confessor is liable to a suspension for the same violation3~ For hearing confessions within the papal cloister of nuns of sol-emn vows the Holy See has prescribed the following precautions: "Two nuns shall accompany the confessor to the cell of the sick nun and shall wait there before the open door of the cell while the priest hears the confession, and accompany him again when he returns to IZ'Port. Ore. Prov. 183. ISSavannah-Atlanta 51. WConc. Plen. Bait. II, 295-296. 20Cheyenne I, 109, 115. 21Philadelphia 31: Pittsburgh 119, 1: Scranton 52, 2. 22Sacred Congregation of Religious, February 6, 1924. Cf. Bouscaren, Canon Law Digest, I, p. 318. 145 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review/or Religious the monastery gate.''22 Some diocesan statutes also prescribe that the door is to be left op.en while the .confession of any sick woman is being heard,va It is evident that the door is to be closed if there is any danger whatever of the confession being overheard. This excep-tion is also stated in diocesan law. The emphasis on place with regard to the occasional confessor of religious women has caused at times the error that the legitimate place is required for the oaliditg of any confession of women or at least of religious women. Place as such is required only for the liceity of the confession. Therefore, the legitimate place is not required for valid-ity in the case of the ordinary, special ordinary, extraordinary, or supplementary confessors of religious women. The same is true of any confessor wbb already possesses special jurisdiction over the reli-gious woman whose confession be is to bear, for example, a retreat master. It is certain from a reply of the Code Commission that the legitimate place is required for the validity of confession to an occa-sional confessor of religious women, not by reason of ~itself, but simply because the Code has made it one of the two essential condi-tions for gi~;ing him jurisdiction over the religious woman whose confession be is to hear and which be otherwise lacks. Even in this case there will be little fear in practice of an invalid confession. If the confessor has even probably and according to his prudent judg-ment any of the reasons listed above that justify the hearing of the confessions of women outside of the place of the confessional, the confession will be certainly valid. VIII. Opportunitg [or Confession (canon 892) Diocesan law in general reaffirms canon 892, which obliges pas-tors and all priests who have the care of souls to hear the confessions of the faithful in their charge whenever they reasonably ask to be beard. The bishops state that there are to be fixed days for confes-sion, which are not necessarily to be confined to Saturday but are to include as many days as are necessary for the particular church.24 Other fixed days are the vigils of feasts and the day before First Fri-day. Several dioceses command that confessions be heard before Mass on Sundays, holydays, and First Fridays, but these confessions must not be permitted to delay the beginning of Mass. Confessions are also to be beard at the reasonable petition of the faithful outside of tbes~ fixed times. 23Buffalo 73; Pueblo 148. 24Cf. Conc. Plen. Balt. II, 291. 146 May, 1950 LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF BISHOPS A second and sufficiently large class of diocesan statutes prescribes that confessions are to be heard before and even after daily Mass in the parish churches.2s It seems strange that diocesan law, which has granted the daily opportunity of confession t6 the very pious faithful who attend daily Mass, has not extended a similar facility to reli-gious. One diocese has given the daily opportunity of confession to religious.2~ This singularity is intensified by the fact that the basic reason for the greater opportunity of confession could ~not have been unknown to diocesan legislators. Cardinal Glennon stated in his statutes of 1929: "It is clearer than the noonday sun that our Holy Mother Church, in favoring the frequent reception of Holy Com-munion, by that very fact demands that the faithful be given a fre-quent opportunity of confession even on weekdays.''27 It will be of interest to study the documents of the Holy See con-cerning the greater opportunity to be giv.en to religious for confes-sion. The first pertinent document is the Code of Canon Law itself, which in canon 595, § 1, 3° does not say that religious are to be given the opportunity of confession once a week but at least once a weeh. Th~ second document is the Reserved Instruction on Daily Communion and Precautions to be taken against Abuses.2s The instruction opens with a general section, which applies also to reli-gious. In this section the Sacred Congregation first reaffirms the principle of Cardinal Glennon: "Together with frequent Commun-ion, frequent confession also must be promoted.''29 The Sacred Con-gregation then speaks of the daily opportunity of confession before Mass: " . . but that the faithful who live in communities should not only go to confession on stated days but should be free to go, without any remarks from their Superior, to a confessor of their own choice, and, what is especially important, that they should have the opportunity to mahe a confession also shortly before the time of Communion.''~° The text of these words shows evidently that they apply also to religious. In the very next paragraph the Holy See reaffirms the same principles: "Accordingly Pastors of souls must make every effort to provide in each community, according to the 25Belleville 111; Boston 75; Brooklyn 175: Charleston 95; Evansville 71; Gal-veston p. 34; Indianapolis 69: Lincoln p. 35; Natchez 128: Paterson 155: Trenton 173. 26Raleigh 54. 27St. Louis 75. 28Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, December 8, 1938. The complete English translation can be found in Bouscaren, Canon Law Digest, II, pp. 208-215. 29Instruction II~ 2: Bouscaren II, p. 210. 30Instruction, ibid.: Bouscaren, ibid. 147 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious number of members, one or two confessors to whom each one may freely go. They must keep in mind the rule that, where frequent and dail~l Communion is in vogue, frequent and dail~l opportunitg for sacramental confession as far as that is possible, must also be afforded."zl The last pertinent document is the new list of questions for the quinquennial report to the Holy See, where we find the question: "'Do Superiors diligentlq see to it that confessors be easil~l available before Communion . . . ?32 This question refers to all classes of reli-giotis institutes approved by the Holy See. The Sacred Congregation of Religious could not reasonably ask religious superiors whether they were providing confessors before Communion unless, in some sense at least, it was incumbent upon superiors to make such provision. The do.ctrine of more frequent opportunity for confession, con, sequent upon the instruction quoted above, is not unknown in can-onical commentaries. Thus one author states universally: "Wherever frequent or daily Communion is practiced, adequate opportunity for sacramental confession must be provided frequently, i. e. at least two or three times a week.''3~ This opinion was written before the pub-lication of the new questions of the quinquennial report added greater weight to the doctrine on frequent opportunity for confes-sion, at least with regard to religious. The following conclusions appear to be evident: 1) It is at least the desire of the Holy See that local Ordinaries and religious supe-riors provide, as far as they can conveniently do so, an opportunity for confession before daily Mass to religious, and especially to Brothers, nuns, and Sisters. The greater necessity with regard to lay institutes arises from the fact that confessors reside in the houses of clerical institutes. 2) As a general norm, the priest who says the daily Mass in houses of Brothers, nuns, and Sisters is the one to give this opportunity. It would be incredible that the Holy See did not realize that this priest is ordinarily the only confessor who can be in the religious house, with any convenience, at the time of daily Mass. 3) The instruction quoted above warrants a wide interpretation of canon 522, which treats of the occasional confessor of religious women. Such a confessor may not only enter the confessional before 31Instruction II, 2, a); Bouscaren, ibid. 32The List of Questions for Religious Institutes and Societies of Pontifical Right (Rome: Polyglot Printing Press, 1949), q. 85. 33J. N. Stadler, Frequent Holg Communion (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, Inc., 1947), p. 134. 148 May, 1950 by the confessor. 4) should provide at least tunity of confession. able. 5) The time of confessions. LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF BISHOPS daily Mass when he is requested to do so by the superior or one or more of the religious but he may himself spontaneously enter the confessional at this time.34 The daily opportunity of confession is at least a directive of the Holy See and may thus be licitly introduced The designation of the place for confession one place that is suitable for the daily oppor- The chapel will very frequently not be suit-the daily Mass should not be delayed by such The practice of the daily opportunity of confession must also be commended because of its intrinsic merit. Many religious will occa-sionally take advantage of the opportunity and there will be no rea-son whatever to notice the religious who believes that he must go to confession before Communion. Some very highly esteemed authors have advised eliminationof precedence in receiving Communion, that the abstention from Communion by a particular religious might not be noticedP5 If the daily opportunity of confession is given, there will be no need of abstention from Communion. Furthermore, the efficacy of the elimination of precedence for this purpose, at least in the United States, can be very seriousl3) doubted. A glance at the Catholic Directory reveals at once that by far the greatest number of " religious houses is composed of convents of Sisters. I believe it also safe to assert that about two-thirds of these convents contain fifteen or less Sisters. A study of the number in the convents of four large Eastern dioceses grouped together reveals that 68 per cent of the con-vents contain 15 or less Sisters, 50 per cent have less than 12, and 41 per cent have less than 10. Convent chapels are also usually small. The consequence is that no matter what place the Sister takes in chapel or what order is followed in receiving Communion, her abstention will be very noticeable in the greater number of convents. IX. Mone~ Offerings in the Confessional All confessors in the United States are forbidden by the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore to receive even voluntary money offerings of any nature and for any purpose, including Mass stipends, in the confessional.36 This law is quite generally reaffirmed in dio- 34Cf. Regatillo, lnstitutiones luris Canonici. I, n. 670 to the contrary with re~ard to liceity. ssCf. Bergh, Review for Religious, III (1944) 262-263: Creusen, ibid., VIII (1949) 89-90. ~r'Conc. Plen. Balt. II, 289. 149 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious cesan statutes, which in some dioceses extend the prohibition to offerings made on the occasion of confession. The severity with which the Baltimbre law is urged is manifested by the fact that the" confessor who violates it is punished with a suspension in several dioceses.37 Religious, therefore, should not offer Mass stipends to a priest in the confessional. X. Interference in the Internal and External Government of an Institute of Religious Women (canon 524, §. 3) The prohibition of this interference by canon 524, § 3 directly affects only the ordinary and extraordinary confessors of nuns and Sisters. However, no one, unless properly delegated to do so, may assume or obstruct authority that is legitimately possessed by another. Therefore, from the very nature of the matter, this interference is forbidden to all, clergy or laity. Greater vigilance will be required from those whose office or duties render the transgressions of this pre-cept more possible, such as pastors, chaplains, the special ordinary and supplementary confessors, and retreat masters. The internal government is the authority proper to the superiors of a religious institute.Its object is the order of the day, community and spiritual exercises, the transfer and employments of subjects, permissions, dispensations in disciplinary matters, penances given by superiors, the observance of religious discipline, the admission to the postulancy, novitiate, professions, etc. By external government is meant the relation of the community to external superiors, that is, the Holy See, the local Ordinaries, and regular superiors in the case of nuns subject to regulars. This authority includes such matters as the erection and suppression of religious houses and tbe external activity of the institute. No priest or confessor should intrude his ;:lirections, counsels, and much less his commands in such matters. When asked he may give for the particular case the sense of the obligations of divine or ecclesi-astical law and he may also state what he thinks is the better, the more practical and prudent policy in a particular matter. He may not, however, authoritatively impose his will in these matters. For example, he may not command that the employment of a Sister be changed but he may advise her to ask the superior for such a chfinge. He may recommend a candidate for admission into an institute but he may not command that she be admitted. 37Altoona 41; Harrisburg 40, 1"; Philadelphia 32; Pittsburgh 118, 1"; Wheeling p. 32. 150 May, 1950 LAY RELIGIOUS AND LAWS OF BISHOPS The laws of the bishops of the United States manifest great interest in the protection of the internal government of religious institutes. The bishops adopt primarily a positive attitude by pre-scribing that all priests and especially pastors are, as far as possible, to aid religious in spiritual and temporal necessities and so to arrange matters that the religious may be able to live according to their rule.38 The bishops extend the' prohibition of the Code to all con-lessors, 39 priests?° and especially to chaplains41 and pastors.42 In some dioceses chaplains are-explicitly commanded to abstain scrupu-lously from all public judgment or criticism of the religious or of their actions.43 The avoidance of the appearance of interfering in internal, gov-ernment will oftentimes demand a very delicate and sensitive pru-dence from the confessor and especially from the chaplain. Sisters should aid and not obstruct priests in the fulfillment, of their obli-gation. It would be profitable for some religious to recall that they are obliged to fulfill not merely the directions of superiors of which they approve, that the directions of which they do not approve do not by that very fact constitute matter for appeal to the confessor or chaplain, that in the presentation of any grievance to a priest they use care to give not only the facts and arguments for themselves but also those against themselves, and, finally, if they repeat to others the advice of a priest, they are to use scrupulous care to repeat his advice accurately and completely. The priest in these matters is in a defenceless position. It is possible for a confessor or a priest to have some false prin-ciples in this matter. He should never verify the plaint of one mother general: "You would think that all confessors believed that all superioresses were always wrong." The presumption of the con-fessor should be that the superior is right; the contrary is to be proven. Otherwise he brings to the confessional a principle that is at least obstructive of authority. Sympathy for penitents is a most laudable and Christlike virtue in a confessor but it should not blind ¯ 38Fargo 160, 1; Lincoln p. 23; Natchez 275; New Orleans 275, 310; St. 30- seph 33. 39Fargo 160, 1; Indianapolis 46, 2: Los Angeles 64: Salt. Lake 47: San Fran-cisco 115; Savannah-Atlanta 50; Wheeling p. 53. 40Fort Wayne 158: Harrisburg 26: Los Angeles 64: Port. Ore. Prov. 179. 41Dubuque 68; Evansville 45: Fargo 137; Indianapolis 44: Nashville 68 (b); Omaha 104, 1"; Pueblo 68; San Francisco 108: Toledo 71. 42Fargo 160, 1: Nashville 68 (a) ; Salt Lake 47: San Francisco 115. 43Fargo 137; Omaha 104, 1". 151 ~OSEPH F. GALLEN him to the truth that a great many people are not good witnesses in a matter of self-interest. A very brief experience in the priesthood, if thoughtful, will reveal that personal difficulties have at least the tendency to focus the light on favorable facts and arguments and to leave in shadow and darkness the contrary facts and arguments. It is also to be presumed in matters of external conduct that superiors have a much more complete and accurate knowledge of the subject than the confessor. It is likewise to be realized that the discontented, insubordinate, and factious religious very frequently and eagerly seeks to ally priests to her cause. She does not always fail, and the accurate measure of her success is all too often and lamentably the consequent loss in religious discipline, unity, and obedience. Finally, the confessor must never forget that his primary norm is to direct a religious penitent to Christian perfection. If we take the example 6f a difficulty with a superior and suppose the confessor is certain that the superior is in error or even bad faith, the advice of the confessor should not always be to stand up for one's rights or to appeal the matter to a higher superior. The norm of perfection will very fre- quently be to submit to such an action of a superior at least with resignation; the higher degrees of perfection are to submit with glad-ness and joy, and even with desire. XI. Chaplains as Confessors (canon 522) Four or five dioceses forbid a chaplain to hear the confessions of the Sisters of the convent, unless he has the special jurisdiction requi-site for religious women. The sense of this prohibition must be that the chaplain is not to obt.rude on the duties and rights of the ordinary confessor, siiace canon law gives to any priest approved for the con-fessions of women the right of being validly and licitly the occa-sional confessor of any religious woman. Such a prohibition will also in practice not be in conformity with the daily opportunity for confession explained above. our CONTRIBUTORS RICHARD LEO HEPPLER is chaplain at the Novitiate of the Franciscan Broth-ers of Brooklyn. C. A. HERBST and LEO A. CORESSEL are members of the faculty of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. SISTER M. DIGNA is professor of psy-chology at the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota. ,JOSEPH F. GALLEN is professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. 152 .uesUons and Answers .~13~ Our constitutions prescribe that the Little Office of the Blessed Virgln be recited in common every day. (I) Must the common recitation be in Latin7 (2) If one is absent from the common recitation, is one obliged to recite that part of the office privately? (3) May one who is obliged to recite the Little Office privately do so in English? (4) Must the external rubrics (lowering of the sleeves, prostrations, and the like) be observed when one says the Office by oneself? (1) Unless the constitutions prescribe otherwise, religious who are bound to the recitation 0f the Little Office by reason" of their con-stitutions only, may recite or chant the Little Office in common in the vernacular, provided an approved translation be used. (2) The obligation of reciting or chanting the Little Office imposed by the Constitutions per se rests on the community, not on the individual. Hence if a religious is absent from the common reci-tation of the Little Office he is not obliged to recite it privately unless the constitutions or custom require him to do so. (3) When the constitutions prescribe that the Little Office must be recited in common in Latin, those who are excused from the com-mon recitation but still obliged by the constitutions to recite it pri-vately may recite it in the vernacular unless the constitutions pre-scribe otherwise. (4) In the private recitation of the Little Office the rubrics (kneeling, st'anding, and the like) need not be observed--much less such customs as are mentioned by way of example in this question. We may add a word here about the requirements for gaining the indulgences attached to the recitation of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. (a) When the Little Office is recited publicly it must be recited in Latin in order to gain the indulgences. But when it is recited privately the indulgence may be gained for the recitation in th~ vernacular (S. Cong., Indulg., 28 aug., 1903). (b) The recitation of the Little 'Office of the Blessed Virgin is considered private (as far as indulgences are concerned) even though it is recited in common by a religious community, provided that it is recited within the walls of the religious house, or even in the church or public oratory with the doors closed (S. Cong. Indulg. 18 dec., 1906). Additional informa-tion regarding the Little Office may be found in an article entitled "The Little Office of Our Lady" in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, Jallu-ary 1947, p. 18. 153 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religiohs 14 In order to obtain the plenary indulcjence at the moment of death attached to the so-called "happy death" crucifixes, is it necessary that the dylncj person hold the crucifix in his hand, or is it sufficient that it be attached to his person in some other way? The answer to this question is contained in a declaration of the Sacred Penitentiary given June 23, 1929, in the following words: "Anyone of the faithful being at the point of death, who shall kiss such a blessed crucifix, even if it does not belong to him, or who shall touch it in any way, provided that having gone to confession and received Holy Communion, or if unable to do so, being at least con-trite, he shall have invoked the Most Holy Name of Jesus by pro-nouncing it if he could, or if not, by devoutly invoking it in his heart, and who shall patienffy accept death from the hand of God as the wages of sin, shall be able to gain a plenary indulgence." [Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 21 (1929), 510]. It may be helpful to our readers to recall that this indulgence for the dying is one of the few that may be gained ?or oneseff outside of Rome during the Holy Year of 1950. IS What is to be said of the policy of lay rellcjious superiors (Brothers and Sisters) who forbid their subjects to fast durincj Lent and at other times when the law of the Church prescribes fastincj? Several points need to be recalled before this question can be clearly and satisfactorily answered. 1. Theologians and canonists speak of tWoodifferent standards of fasting, absolute and relative. Both standards allow only one full meal a day (dinner), which may be taken about noon or in the eve-ning. This is the only meal at which meat is allowed. The differences between the two standards concern the other two meals, breakfast and lunch (supper). These differences are described as follows in Theological Studies, March, 1949, pp. 93-94: "According to the absolute norm, there is a fixed limit for these repasts, which limit applies to everyone. This limit has been tradi-tionally phrased in terms of two and eight ounces, but these are merely moral estimates, and it is certainly safe to describe the abso-lute norm as allowing 'two or three' ounces for breakfast and 'eight or ten' ounces for lunch. "The essence of the relative norm is that it allows to some.ektent for varying individual needs." Each one is allowed what he needs at 154 Mag, 1950 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS breakfast and lunch in order to preserve his health and do his work. However, even the most ardent proponents of this norm agree that it has some limit. They agree that the combined quantity of the two minor repasts must not equal a second full meal; and they usually agree that it should fall notably short of this quantity, for example, sixteen to twenty ounces. But it should be noted that they allow this quantity to be divided, according to individual needs, between the breakfast and supper; they do not set a hard and fast rule that allows only a meager breakfast. "Quantity is the primary difference between the absolute and relative norms, but not the only difference, particularly as regards breakfast. Though some explanations of the absolute norm are ~ather vague as to quality, it is rather commonly said that the break-fast is limited to 'bread and coffee or some other drink.' According to the relative standard, the only universal qualitative limit is that meat may not be taken at breakfast or lunch." 2. The law of fasting applies to all the faithful who have com-pleted their twenty-first year and who have not yet begun their six-tieth year. However, the law is not intended to impose an extra-ordinary hardship or to defeat a greater good; hence those who can-not fast without extraordinary hardship for themselves or others or without interfering with the duties of their state of life are excused from fasting. The very first number of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS (I, 42-46) contained a full explanation of these excusing causes, especially as they might apply to religious. .The canon law gives the power of dispensing from fasting to local ordinaries, pastors, and superiors of exempt clerical orders. Many other priests obtain the same power by delegation from one of these or from the Holy See. A dispensation may be given for any of the reasons usually assigned as excusing causes, and even for a less serious reason. But it may not be given without some good reason. Other priests besides those mentioned in the preceding paragraph cannot give a dispensation from fasting. But when they see that a person is really excused from fasting they may certainly tell him he is not obliged to fast. This may be done also by a prudent layman who knows both the law and the excusing causes. Hence lay reli-gious superiors (Brothers and Sisters) may certainly tell their sub-jects they are not bound to fast when they know that the subjects are excused. This is not an exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; it is simply an unofficial declaration of an existing fact: namely, that an excusing cause is present. 155 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Retffeto for Religious Strictly speaking, there is no obligation to ask for a dispensation when one has a reasonable assurance, based on one's own judgment or on the decision of a competent adviser, that one is excused from fasting. It seems that some religious institutes have a rule or custom to the effect that subjects must always consult their confessors about fasting; but, apart from such special provisions, there seems to be no reason why the confessor must be consulted when one. has a clear excusing cause. 3. It should be obvious from what has been said that the abso-lute standard more readily admits of excuse than does the relative standard. For instance, it seems that comparatively few religious engaged in the active apostolate could fast regularly during Lent according to the absolute standard without hurting their health or their work; whereas a much larger number could safely fast according to the relative standard. Until a few years ago the dioceses of our country consistently enjoined the absolute standard; lately there has been a noticeably growing tendency to establish the relative standard. We presume that the question we have been asked to answer refers to conditions existing under the absolute standard of fasting; and our answer is based on that supposition. Now, to answer the question: A lay superior may make a pru-dent judgment that a subject is excused from fasting; and, granted this prudent judgment, he may counsel the subject not to fast. Moreover, the superior may even order the subject n~t to fast if an order is necessary. In this case the superior does not command the subject to.disobey the law of the Church; for in the supposition that an excusing cause exists the subject is not bound by the law. The superior may exercise this power of discretion and authority with regard to any subject who is excused from the law of fasting. Ordinarily, however, he should be content with counseling the sub-ject not to fast; the use of a command would seldom be advisable. Moreover, the superior should not act arbit[arily. It may be true that under the absolute standard of fasting the greater part of a com-munity would be excused from fasting, but this would not justify a policy of telling the whole community they are excused from fasting. Some religious can fast without harm to themselves or their work, and the superior has no right to tell them not to do so. The fact that the rigor of the absolute standard made it impos-sible for large numbers of religious to fast seems to have brought about a very undesirable condition in.some pla'ces. There is a ten-dency to look upon religious who do fast as "singular." This is a 156 May, 1950 sorry state of affairs in a religious house. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 16 I have read somewhere that laymen are forbidden to bless. Yet we d6 meet religious groups of nuns where the mother superior imparts a blessing fo her religious, e.cj. after an instruction or after giving a permission to cjo out. Would you kindly explain the nature and value of such a blessing? A distinction must be made between a public blessing, that is, ~ne given in the name of the Church by a duly authorized minister, and a prit, ate blessing, given in the name of the person who does the blessing. -Obviously only one who is a cleric is empowered to bless in the name of the Church. On the other hand there is nothing to forbid a parent to call down God's blessing on his child. That is what a lay religious, superior does when he blesses his subjects according to the directions of the constitutions or by custom. --17-- I have often come across a reference to Caussade, "Sacrament of the Present Moment." Could you tell me where I can find this treatise or book? Perhaps your readers would be interested in the substance of the idea, if it can be put in a few words. Caussade's idea of the "Sacrament of the Present Moment" is thus briefly explained by him in his Abandonment to Divine Provi-dence in Book I, Chapter I, Section II, p. 3: "There are remarkably few extraordinary characteristics in the outward events of the life,of the most holy Virgin, at least there are none recorded in holy Scripture. Her exterior life is represented as very ordinary and simple. She did and suffered the same things that anyone in a similar state of life might do or suffer. She goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth as her other relatives did. She took shelter in a stable in consequence of her poverty. She returned to Nazareth from whence she had been driven by the persecution of Herod, and lived there with Jesus and Joseph, supporting themselves by the work of their hands. It was in this way that the holy family gained their daily bread. But what a divine nourishment Mary and Joseph received from this daily bread for the strengthening of their faith! It is like a sacrament to sanctify all their moments. What treasures of grace lie concealed in these moments filled, apparently, by the most ordinary events. That which is visible might happen to anyone, but the invisible, discerned by faith is no less than God operating very great things. O bread of angels! heavenly manna! pearl of the 157 BOOK NOTICES Review [or Religious Gospel! Sacrament of the present moment! thou givest God under a~ lowly a form as the manger, the hay, or the straw. And to whom dost thou give him? 'esurientes implevit bonis' (Luke 1, 53). God reveals himself to the humble under the most lowly forms, but the proud, attaching themselves entirely to that which is extrinsic, do not discover Him hidden beneath, and are sen.t empty away.'.' (English translation from tenth French Edition, by E. J. Strickland, The Catholic Records Press, Exeter, England, 1921). BOOK NOTICES LIFE AND MIRACLES OF ST. BENEDICT, by St. Gregory the Great, is now published in a new translation by Odo J. Zimmer-mann, O.S.B., and Benedict R. Avery, O.S.B. This excellent trans-lation of a little spiritual classic is the first to appear in twenty-five years. It is the second of the four books of Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church; and, apart from the famous Rule of St. Benedict, it is the only source we have for the life and character of the founder of Western monasticism. Tile trans-lators have succeeded in preserving the charming simplicity of St. Gregory's account, and the dialogue form gives the author an opportunity of making moral and doctrinal reflections on the miracu-lous events of Benedict's life. Gregory puts into the mouth of Peter, his deacon, questions we all would like to ask: "What an astounding miracle! . , . How is it possible for anyone to see the whole universe at a single glan.ce?" Then Gregory explains the wonderful vision of St. Benedict. This little treasure of spirituality, written primarily to encourage the Italian people in a time of war and devastation, contains an excellent and timely mess~ige for the world today. (Col-legeville, Minn.: St. John's Abbey Press, 1949. Pp, xv q- 87. $2.00 [cloth]; $.90 [paper].) I1qIGO DE LOYOLA, by Pedro Leturia, S.J., portrays the early life of Ifiigo, before he was wounded and converted and set on the jour-ney that led to his using the name of Ignatius and founding th~ Society of Jesus. The work is scholarly and scientific, not popular. The translator is A. J. Owen, S.J. (Syracuse, N. Y.: LeMoyn~ College Press, 1949. Pp, xiii ÷ 209. $4.50.) THE SPII~ITUAL LIFE OF THE PRIEST, by Father M. Eugene Boylan, O.C.R., is a collection of articles which originally appeared 158 May, 1950 BOOK NOTICES in The Priest. Purposely dir.ecting his essays to the American clergy, with American conditions in mind, and with his usual pru-dent and fearless approach, Father Boylan discusses several aspects of a priest's spiritual life in an unmistakably practical way. His pur-pose is to help the priest form an attitude of mind rather than to map out a program. "If that attitude is correct and sincere, and has its roots in a man's heart and in his convictions, he should not have over-much difficulty in planning his own spiritual life with the help of a competent adviser, and adapting his plan, without destroying it, to each set of circumstances." Worthy of special mention is the chapter on clerical celibacy. (Westminster, Md.: The Newman Press, 1949. Pp. 161. $2.50.) SCALE THE HEIGHTS, by Canon Paul Marc (translated by Rev. Joseph A. Fredette), is a collection of brief, meditative essays written to inspire lay persons to seek for perfection. The subjects treated include the Mass, prayer, the use of time, the Blessed Virgin, the value of life. The simplicity and fervor with which the book is written cannot fail to impress the reader; at times, however, an over-charge of emotion mars the effectiveness of some of the chapters. Though written originally for the laity, religious will find the book helpful in appreciating the motives thatshould direct their lives. (New York: Frederick Pustet Co., 1949. Pp. xii + 236. $3.00.) The Church wants Catholics everywhere, even in mission areas, to study the history of the Church in their own locality. Up to now, the lack of a suitable textbook has been a hindrance to such study in the seminaries of the United States. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, by Theodore Roemer, O.F.M.Cap., fills this need. At first sight, one would think the organization of the book most artificial, as each chapter covers a ten-year period. But the story r'eads with a sweep and without ever losing sight of the fact that Catholic history in the United States is just a tiny part of the larger story of the Church universal. (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Com-pany, 1950. Pp. viii + 444. $5.00.) FAIR AS THE MOON, by Father M. Oliver, O.Cist.R., is intended to portray "the sweet humanity of our mother." The author makes Our Lady imitable in every respect: as child, as young maiden, as a real mother. He reveals the too often neglected human side of Mary in such a way that it inspires a truly warm, personal love, and com-plements reverential love. (Dublin: M. H. Gill U Son, 1949. Pp. xi q- 235. 12s. 6d.) 159 BOOK NOTICES Reoieto /:or Religious Another book on Our Lady is MARY THE BLESSED THE BE-LOVED, by Father Timothy Harris. It presents in a succinct and readily understandable way the Church's teaching on the Blessed Virgin. A thorough reading of this book will help the ordinary person to grasp the dogmatic foundations of devotion to Our Lady and to disl~inguish what is of faith from what is mere opinion. Each chapter refers to some definite feast or liturgical season. For this reason the book should be useful for special readings about Mary, as well as for sermons and conferences on the occasion of Mary's feasts. (Dublin: Clonmore ~ Reynolds, Ltd., 1949. Pp. 119. 7s. 6d.) Among the latest competent and well-documented volumes that describe the development of individual religious congregations of women are Sister Mary Borromeo Brown's HISTORY OF THE SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE OF ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Volume I (New York: Benziger Brothers, 1949. Pp. xiii + 826. $6.00), and two volumes on the history of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, Michigan, by Sister M. Rosalita: No GREATER SERVICE and ACHIEVEMENT OF A CENTURY (Detroit: Evans-Winter-Hebb, Inc., 1948. Pp. xx ÷ 863, and xiii + 299. $15.00 per set). Both congregations are responsible for part of the magnificent development of the Church around the Great Lakes region. All three volumes are decidedly readable and valuable addi-tions to the history of the Church in North America. Those interested in theology for the layman will welcome the publication of GOD AND THE WORLD OF MAN (Pp. viii ÷ 318), by Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., and THE CHRISTIAN VIRTUES (Pp. xi -k 361), by Charles E. Sheedy, C.S.C. They are the first two volumes of the University of Notre Dame Press religion series. The first volume includes a chapter defining theology and explaining its sources and another chapter on the nature, obligation, rule, and subject matter of faith; and the remainder of the book is given to these tracts of theolbgy: The One God, The Holy Trinity, Creation, The Elevation and Fall, The End of the World'and of Man. The second volume contains the course on Christian morals that has been given to students at the University of Notre Dame during the past several years. It includes the moral theology treatises on Principles and Precepts. In general, both volumes seem excellent for their pur-pose and should make good texts for college and university classes, as well as for summer sessions in theology for Sisters. For the most part, both texts avoid disputed questions, and the treatise on moral 160 May, 1950 BOOK NOTICES " theology contains no "problems for discussion." There is much to be said for these methods, but they have disadvantages, too. Avoidance of disputed questions helps to avoid confusion, but it also tends to undermine confidence when the students later find out that there are different opinions. And the avoidance of the discussion prob-lems, besides keeping the book from becoming too large, also prevents an unwholesome "casuistic" attitude. However, without working problems the students will hardly learn moral theology; hence teachers will have to supply them. (Notre Dame, Ind.: University

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

Issue 2.2 of the Review for Religious, 1943. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MARCH 15, 1943 "Prudent Use Of Confession Privilecjes ¯ . . The Editors T,heParticular Examen . Timothy Brosnahan '-Hi~ldeh Saint of NaZareth ,. Matthew Germlng Mani~esta÷ion of Conscience . Adam C. Ellis Divine Priestly Vocation . James T. Meehan Recommended Spiritual Books ¯ ¯ . Adgustine Klaas ; Communications Book Reviews Oues+ions Answered Decision~ of the HOI~ See VOLUME II NUMBER 2 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME II MARCH, 1.5, 1943 NUMBER CONTENTS THE PRUDENT USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES--The Editors74 SOME NOTES ON THE PARTICULAR EXAMEN-- Timothy Brosnahan, $.J . , 85 BOOKS RECEIVED . : . 90 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH~Matthew ~3erming. S~J .91 SUPERIORS AND MANIFESTATION OF CONSCIENCE-- Adam C. Ellis, SJ . 101 THE DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION--2ames T. Meehan, $.J. 109 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS--Augustine Klaas. S.~J. 117 COMMUNICATIONS (On Spiritual Direction) .123 BOOK REVIEWS (Edited by Clement DeMuth, $.J.)-- Soul Clinic; Chapters in Religion: A Short Breviary for Religious and the Laity: The Our Father: The Spiritual Direction of Sisters; A Book of Simple Words: The Pater Noster of Saint Teresa; Ten Blessed Years: Happy Hours with Christ: Hope of Life; These Two Hands;-The Way of the Blessed Christ: The March to Liberation; Maryknoll Mis-sion Letters; Mary of the Magnificat; Praying with. the Povetello; The. Commonwealth ~ of Nations and the Papacy . 130-139 DECISIONS OF THE HOLY SEE . ~ . 140 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-~ 8. Questions in Confessional after Absolution . 141 9. Manifesting Community Difficulties to Confessor . 141 10. Differefice between Permission and Dispensation . 142 11. Power of Blessing Beads with Crosier Indulgence . 143 12. Studi.es during Canonical Year . : . . . 143 13. Superior's Obligation to Mail Letters .143 14. Use of Convent Chapel for Portiuncula Indulgence . 144 15. Genuflecting when Blessed Sacrament is Exposed . 144 16. Genuflecting before Holy Communion .144 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, March, 1.945. Vol. II. No. 2. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May. 3uly, September, and November, at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter ,January 15, 19420 at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.2., G. Augustine Ellard, SJ., Gerald Kelly, S.'j. Copyright, 1943. by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this ~eview and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. The Prudent Use ' ot: Con[ession Privileges The Editors WHtiEoNn, wwee cinointifainteedd tohuer dOiswcun srseimona rokfs s tpoi rdiitrueaclt idoinre bcy-the ordinary confessor. As a matter of fact, the Code of Canon Law grants to .religious many privileges of confessing, under certain circumstances, to other _priests. Some of our readers have suggested that, before concluding the discussion on spiritual direction, we should explain the prudent use of these privileges according to the mind of the Church. The suggestion appears very practical. Since the pub-lication of the Code, much has been written in explanation of the meaning and extent of these privileges; but compara-tively little has been said about their prudent use. For the sake of clarity, we shall firgt consider the confessors of Sis-ters, then apply our remarks, with the needed qualifica-~ tions, to the confessors of religious men. ¯The Ordinary Confessor The. conc.ept of the. ordinary confessor of Sisters. according to the mind of the Church, is a basic one to this entire subject. He. is not to be a mere confessor, This expression might sound shocking, if taken out of its con-text. Penance is a Sacrament; and as a Sacrament it is pro-ductive of graces which in themselves are more fruitful for the human soul than is spiritual counsel. And the greatest' work that a priest does in the confessional is to give abso-lution. There should be no mistake about that point; the sacramental value of absolution should never be placed be- 74 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES low spiritual advice, ~nd the first purpose of every penitent should be to perfect his disposition for the fruitful r~ceptic;n of the Sacrament. BUt religious are not ordinary penitents. They belong to-the spiritual elite of the Church. They are supposed to strive after perfection; and, they are entitled to the means conducive to p~erfection. One,of these means is the oppor-tunity of having expert spiritual guidance. True, to some extent this guidance is embodied in their rule, for .the rule contains the plan of a perfect life. Also, guidance is fre-quently available through their superiors. Despite these helps; however, all will experience, at least at times, the need of counsel that only a priest can give. It is the mind of the Church that in each community of Sisters, this priestly counsel should be given normally by the ordinary confessor. In making this legislation, the Church intends to provide the Sisters with direction that is capable, consistent, and uniform. It should be capable, because of their special position in the Church.; it should be consistent, because this is generally needed for progress; and it should be at least relatively uniform because of their uni-form manner of life, and because in their communities they live in very ~lose contact, and great differencesof direction could make for disagreeable situations.° Such is the ideal. It is not always realized in practice. Eccldsiastical superiors have no special charism that pre-vents them from making mistakes in their appointments: and at times they must appoint ordinary confessors who they. realize do not measure up. perfectly to the canonical standards. Like the rest of us, they cannot give what they do not hard. In these situatioris the Sisters must be both fair-minded and patient. If possible, they can avail them-selves of the other privileges given by canon la~; when this i~ impossible, they have every r~ason to trust in God. 75 THE EDITORS Extraord[nar'g and Retreat Confessors The Church also prescribes that Sisters have an extra-o~ dinary confessor, and a practically universal custom pro-vides yet anoth'~ confessor at the time of retreat.-. It may be well to consider just what use the Sisters are expected to make ofthese opportunities. Regarding the extraordinary confesssor, it id .not expected that everyone wilt wish his. advice, nor should be expected that he will volunteer direction to all. He given to all to safeguard the opportunity of .the few who may need his help. In a community .in which all find the ordinary confessor satisfactory, the work of the extraor-dinary could well be limited to hearing the 'confessions anal. giving absolution. The pru. dent use of the opportunity of consulting the retreat confessor is a subject as difficult as it is delicate. Let us begin by stating that some Sisters need this opportunity.° very much. They may have been in a small community all ye~ir, without an ordinary or extraordinary confessor in whom they had confidence and with relatively01ittle oppor-tunity of p~:ofiting by the various privilegCs accorded by canon law. Perhaps many problems have a~cumulated: perhaps, too, if they do not get help during the retreat in planning for the future, then they will never get.tit. Sisters belonging to this class should feel perfectly free to discuss .-their problems and plans with the retreat confessor; and he, on his part, should be quite willing to give all the time and help he can. The.case is different with the Sisters who have a good ordinary confessor during the year. All other things being equal, his-guidance should be sought in preference to that of the retreat confessor. The Siiters may say, of course, that at time of retreat they make a "yearly review"; but does this review necessarily bring ~up new problems? Or 7'6 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES again, they may say that during retreat the~ must plan f6r the future, and that in this planning they will need some guidance. This is true, but it can be overdone. They might discuss the general notion of this plan with their ordinary ¯ confessor before ~hey leave¯ for retreat. Unless the retreat is marked by very special inspira, tions, one can usual!y predict ahead of time along what line one is going to need a reno-vation Of spirit. Furthermore, when the plan is made, if one ¯wishes approbation for it, is it not better to.get th~ approbation from the priest who knows one and is to guide one in the keeping of it rather than from a priest one may never see again? Special Confessor or Director The foregoing are the confessional opportunities regu-larly provided for all. Many will find them sufficient for their needs and.ideals. Yet, there will always be a few who will need the habitual help of another priest, and many "who will rightly desire the opportunity of occasionally going tO another. The Church has provided for both kinds of exceptions to the general rule; and we can consider now the right use of these exceptional privileges. Roughly speaking, those Sisters who wish the habitual help of another confessor may be divided into two classes ¯ that can be exemplified as follows. Sister A does not wish to go to the ordinary confessor at all; she wants a substitute confessor for herself. Sister B is willing to confess to the. ordin~iry confessor at the .customary times; but she also wishes to go to confession periodically (say every week or ¯ every month) to another pr~iest. To the ordinary, Sister B. merely makes her confession; with the second priest, she discusses her spiritual life more in detail._ In other words, Sister B wants an extra confessor, who is to serve mainly as her spiritual adviser. Cases like these, though exceptio, ns to the general rule, 77 THE EDITORS are not to be branded as "singularities."" Considering the wid~ differences: of human temperament and hi, man needs, it is not surprising that even an excellent ordinary confessor will not satisfy everybody. The Code (in canon 520 § 2). takes cognizance of these diversities, by instructing the local Ordinary to be gracious in granting the request of such Sis-ters when they ask for a special confessor or director. In making this wise provision, the Church is not cater- ~n.g to the mere whim or caprice of the Sisters. The latter are to have a serious supernatoral reason for making their request. "In general, these reasons may be summed up as follo.ws: the Sister finds it extraordinarily difficult to mani-fest her consciende sincerely to the ordina~ry confessor, or she honestly judges that it would be to the greater good of her soul to have another confessor or director. The law pre-sumes that the Sisters give the ordinary confessor a fair trial before requesting another confessor or director. The canon law does not authorize the Sister to appoint her own~ special confessor or diiector. The appointment ¯ should come from the local Ordinary, upon her request. The request itself might take one of these two forms. The Sister might merely ask for the special confessor or director and leave the choice to the local Ordinary; or she might havea definite priest in mind and ask for him. In the sec-ondcase she is not fJ~ee from personal responsibility in making the choice. Naturally, the Ordinary Would not approve the choice if he knew the man to be incapable of fulfilling the office, but on the other hand, he is not alw.ays able to discern the hidden motives that might lie behind such a request. The Sister herself must judge that the choice is really for her spiritual good. Extra-confessional Director What of the Sister who makes her confession to the 78 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES ordinary confessor, but who wishes periodically to discuss the affairs of her soul with another priest, outside the con-fessional? Note that this case is different from that of Si~ter B, previously outlined: Sister B wanted direction in con-fession; in the case we are now considering the, direction is entirely separated from the confdssional. A few eminent canonists think that, since the director in this case is not to serve as confessor to the Sister, the .case need not, strictly speaking, be referred to the local Ordinary. We do not share this opinion. We think that, since this. second priest is really to serve as the Sister's spiritual direc-tor, he should be appointed by the Ordinary. ¯ However, even those who, in a spec.ulative way, hold the more lenient view on this one point, admit that the case involves serious . difficulties and demands special safeguards. It is a generally recognized ascetical rule ~that the con-fessional is the proper place for the spiritual guidance .of women, This rule is not absolute. It admits" of excep-tions; and no doubt there a're cases in which a Sister can receive more apt guidance outside the confessional. But these exceptions are rare, and the dangers involved should be recognized. If the Church demands certain quaIities of virtue, prudence, and maturity of the ordinary confessor, with much greater reason would she demand them of an extra-confessional director. If there is danger of wasting time in the confessional, there is much greater, danger of doing so outside. If an inordinate personal attachment might arise even from the confession.al, there is much more danger of this when the safeguards of the confessional are abolished. We wish to be correctly understood in this matter. It is wrong to be constantly suspecting people; and much-harm has come to many earnest souls through rash suspicions and rumors. But it is foolish, and may be quite wrong, for Sis- THE EDITORS ters to cherish the notion that, simply because they wish to discuss their spiritual life, these meetings never involve danger. In this matter, a bit of self-suspicion at the begin-ning can save a great deal of self-reproach at the end. V~rl~atever may be said tl~eoretically about the need of the local Ordinary's.permission for this extra-confessional director, it is certain that no Sister could adopt the practice of meeting her self-chosen, extraZcor~fessional director with-out at least the permission of her owri superior. The supe-rior should weigh this question very carefully. In practice, she could seldom give a confident judgment without con-sulting the local Ordinary, especially when the parties fare young and the visits frequent. Occasional Cont:essors Ttie number of Sisters who desire a special confessor or direc~0r is comparatively small; the number of those who might want the opportunity of occasionally consulting another priest besides the ordinary confessor is rather large. To guarantee the latter as much liberty of conscience as pos- /sible, the canon law provides for supplementary and occa-sional confessors. The supplementary confessors are appointed by the local Ordinary, assigned to definite houses or groups of houses, and given the special jurisdiction required for . hea'ring the confessions of religious women. The religious are free to summon any one of these or the extraordinary confessor. Not mhch need be said concerning the prudent ¯ use of this privilege. Since the confessors are designated by. the Bishop himsdlf, it may be presumed that they will be capable men. The principal danger of abuse would come from the Sister herself, were she to call for them needlessly, or at a needlessly inopportune time, or pi~rhaps from an unreasonably long distance. 80 USE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES In a large city, the privilege offhd supplementary con-fessors may have much practical value; but in general rfiost Sisters will'find the very wide concession of canon 522 more useful. ¯ Canon 522 allows Sisters to take advantag~ of the opportunity of confessing to any priest approved in the diocese for the confessions of.wgmen. The priest need not have the special approbation necessary for the confessors Of Sisters. The canon does not give permission to leave the house or to set aside the order of the house or the prescrip-tions of rule; but it does allow the Sisters to take advaiatage of any legitimate opportunity of confessing when they are outside the house, as well as to a priest who happens to be visiting the convent, or even of calling a priest to the con.- vent. In all cases, .the confessionmust be made in a place which conforms with the legislat!on of the Church for hearing the confessions of women. One phrase in canon 522 calls for particular attention hi, re. This privilegeis accorded to the Sister for her "peace of conscience." This phrase has b~en discussed and redis-cussed by canonists. Authorities now commonly agree that any confession seriouslymade satisfies this demand, in so far as the law is concerned. But the spirit behind the law must be kept in mind when we ,are considering the prudent use of this pri;cilege. Evidently, in framing this law, the Church did not wish to do away with all the prescriptions and counsels that she had laid down for the proper direction of Sisters. Certainly she ¯ does not wish by this one canon to set aside the maxims of Sound Catholic asceticism; and ~most certainly she does not wish to justify a departure from the more basic and neces-sary principles of moral theology. From both the canonical and ascetical points of view it is a mistake for a Sister'to go to another confessor for advice 81 THE EDITORS or to confess things that riaturally call for advice, if her ordinary confessor would prove equally satisfactory. The difficulty proposed or the matter confessed may be the very thin.g that the ordinary .confessor should know in order to give her progressive and helpful direction. Of course, there are occasions when the ordinary is not available. If, on these occasions, the Sister consults another confessor, she will be acting according to a sound ascetical practice if she refers the matter later to her ordinary confessor. The mistakes made in the use of this privilege can vio-late not merely ascetical principles, but also certain basic principles of m~ral theology. Perhaps We ~an illustrate by an example. Any priest knows that young people who are geowing addicted to certain bad habits are .prone to "shop arounff'maS.-the saying goes--for an "easy" confessor. In doing this they make two serious mistakes. They go from one confessor to another with the result that none of these transitory confessors can give them real help; and, when at last they settle on .the "easy" one, they choose him precisely because he does not have the qualities that a helpful con-fessor should have. Writing in the Comrnentarium Pro Religiosis for June- July, 1926, Father van Acken pointed out that some reli-gious who experience difficulties with regard to ~he ~eligious life in general or in regard to one of the vows in particular, are apt to make this same childish mistake. They need sympathetic direction, it is true, but also expert and firm direction. Because they fear this, they avail themselves of the privilege of canon 522 to "shop around" for a confes~ sot who will ask no questions or make no firm demands of them,. This is the gravest of all the abuses that can result from the imprudent use of the privilege. Needless to say, the Church never intended this favor to be a source of the loss of vocation and even a grave danger to the soul. Reli- 82 'UsE OF CONFESSION PRIVILEGES gious in extreme difficulties of this kind, more than any., others, ne, ed the help of a man who knows the demands of .the religious life. If they cannot get it, then God's grace must be sufficient for them; but if they deliberately avoid it. they expose their souls to extreme peril. Apptication t6 Religious Men Provisions for confessors of religious men follow the same general lines as the legislation for Sisters: In lay insti-tutes of men there must be one ordinary and one e, xtra-ordinary confessor for each housE; and the local Ordinary is to grant a special con.lessor to the individual religious who asks for one. The Code is silent about extraordinary and special confessors for professed members of clerical institutes; but it seems to be the common practice to pro-vide these. All religious men may confess to their priest superiors who have confessional jurisdictioh; and all have the privilege of confessing to any priest having the faculties of the diocese, even though not .specially approved for religious. The prudent, use of these privileges is governed by the same general principles we have explained in treating of the privileges of Sisters. By way of br.ief and practicalsum-mary, we may say that these principles are aptly indicated by two words: competence and consistenc~l. In regard to the principle of competence, religious must bear in mind that the Church, in allowing them to confess to all priests with diocesan faculties, does not thereby approve all these priests for the direction of religious. This applies .not only to diocesan priests but also to members of one's own institute. Some lack the experience, or the right attitude, or some other quality needed for sure guidance in certain delicate problems. To be more concrete in a matter of such great impor-. 83 THE EDITORS tance, let us say quite candidly that there are some prob-lems that a young religious must take particular pains to face and solve honestly. Notable among these may be mentioned a strongly rebellious spirit, a fundamental inability to live and work harmoniously with one's breth-ren, a genuine weakness in regard to temperance or chas-tity. To embrace the religious-statk permanently and above all to go on to ordination in" the face of serious doubts in such matters is wrong. The competent confes-sor knows this and will put the proper alternatives squarely before his penitent. Another confessor might fail to recognize the case as truly serious, or, if he does rec-ognize it, might be too hesitant in asserting the remedy. The grave .results of what is falsely termed "kindness" in this matter are too well known to need comment. As for the principle of consistenqt, we have already ¯ indicated that; even in the ordinary affairs of the spiritual" life, it is unwise to shift confessors or directors needlessly. In serious matters such as those mentioned above, this shifting will amount to gross imprudence, if it means that a religious goes from one confessor to another to the extent that even a competent confessor would not have the opportunity of recognizing a difficulty as habitual. Conclusion ¯ Although some of the statements made in this a'rticle may sound rather severe, yet we did not make them with the intention of minimizing the privileges granted by the Church. Rather, our one desire was to make these privi-leges more useful I~y showing how they fit into the entire scheme of canonical legislation and approved asceticism. 84 Some Notes on the Part:icular l:::xamen Timothy Brosnahan, S.J.~ | N OUR spiritual life two sacraments pla~r a most impor- I kant part: Penance, which cleanses our souls from sin and gives us special graces for self-conquest and the rooting out of irregular affections; and the Holy Eucharist, which unites our cleansed souls to God in charity. Corre-sponding to these two institutions of Christ are two exer-cises of our religious life of the highest importance: exam-ination of conscience and meditation. By the first we are. helped and prepared for the worthy and efficacious recep-tion of the Sacrament of Penance, as well as for reaping the fruits of past confessions; by the second we are disposed and prepared for union with Christ in the reception of the Bles-sed Sacrament. The examination of conscience, therefore, mawr be called our daily Penance; meditation the daily com-plement to our Eucharist, and even our spiritual Eucharist itself when we cannot receive our Lord bodily. This parallelism between the life of the Church and our religious life and this. perfect adaptation of one to the other is worthy of note and is a comfort and an inspiration. these two exercises are performed faithfully, our advance-ment in perfection is assured and our~vocation and salva= tion are secure. On the contrary, the neglect of these exer-cises is the beginningof our loss ot~ earnestness and of the spirit of our vocation, with all the consequences that are entailed and that follow, slowly sometimes, but inevitably. 1Father Brosnahan died many years ago. These notes were culled from one of his conferences sent to us I~y Father Francis P. LeButie, S.J., who styles himself, "Father Tim's literary executor."~ED. ¯ TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN One part of th~ daily examination of conscience adopted and encouraged by most religious founders is the practice of the particular examen. Indeed, fidelity, to its use has become.a distinctive virtue of a fervent religious; neglect of it, or at least of something similar to it, is almost invariably followed by a loss of spiritual progress and is indicative of faltering interest in the affairs of one's soul and ¯ in the spirit of the religious vocation. The particular examen is preeminently a reasonable and businesslike manner of proceeding to uproot faults and to implant virtues. It is, if you wish, a species of spiritual bookkeeping, and as such has sometimes been lightly spoken of. Yet, if the children of this world, who are wise in their generation, keep their books, why should not the children, of light? The businessman who fails to keep his books or fails to balance them at stated intervals is, we are t'old by men conversant with mercantile affairs, a prospec-tive bankrupt. Such a man, if known, would get credit from no bahk. The practice of the particular examen is indicative of a sincere, painstaking, and businesslike desire of increasing in spiritual riches and of removing spiritual waste from our lives. It is a.small thing, yet its practice calls for much vir-tue. Its practice, therefore, even independently of the results it produces, would normally be a sign of virtue, self-control, and will-power. Usually the reason why we fail to.practise it is that we are not quite ready to overdome ourselves. The particular examen deals with one thing at a time, with an individual and distinctive virtue, vice, or fault. The first and main feature of the examen is the choice of this virtue to be'practised or fault or vice to be eradicated. Whether virtue or fault, this subject should be concrete, well-defined, with a real personal meaning in our livds. We 86 THE PARTICULAR EX~MEN have to avoid the vague and generic, the occasional and the abstract. Is it desirable, for instance that we should grow in charity? A little study will tell us whether we should aim at practising it first in words or in our manner; or again, if'in words, whether our efforts must be .general or rather directed towards some in particular with Whom we come into frequent contact, and whose views or manners annoy us. And so of any other virtue, One might as well choose Christian perfection as the subject for his particular examen as,. say, humility. But to choose to exercise definite ~humiliating. acts or to submit to .definite humiliations arising from the'criticism of others or from repioof or correction by superiors, is another and a concrete matter. According to many spiritual masters, there is in the soul of each of us one ',root defect," that hinders perfection and .which, if unchecked, disposesto sin. The fault is not neces-. sarily great in itself; but it can have very serious effects, like the defective cog that makes a machine wobbleand finally break down. ! On the negative side, the principal aim of the particular.examen should be the eradication of this fault. How can we detect a fault of this kind? We may know it from our distractions; for example, what is the usual motif, as musicians .say, of our thoughts when we are wool-gathering?' Or we may know it from our troubles; for example, what kind of discomfort most ~annoys us;. or in what' are we most apt to seek consolation or recreation when distressed or fatigued? Or, strange to say, we may.know this fault if we know our natural virtues. Each person has certain natural, dispositions that ~on-stitute his own personal temperament; Among these traits, of character there is generally a dominant natural virtue that can be perfected by grace and be the foundation of sanctity.-. Thus the saints differ ~¢astly in their charac- TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN teristic virtues because in them grace did not destroy their individuality but perfected it. This distinctive natural virtue, besides being the foun-dation on which one can build his perfection, is also a clue to his faults: and from these faults it must be purified wben it is transformed into perfect virtue~ If we consider the cardinal virtues and the virtues connected with them, we ~shall find that the distinguishing mark of on.e person is natural prudence, of another self-restraint, of another courage, of another justice. But real virtue avoids excess or defect, is balanced and adjusted to other virtues. If a person has only one of these naturally virtuous character-istics, we may rightly say of him, "I fear a man of one v~rtue"; for truly, besides being very often a bore, he is not to be relied on in a situation of any complexity. He will. ride his natural virtue complacently and freely, when it should be bridled by other virtues. For instance, if your special trait of character is pru-dence, there is danger of your over-exercising it about some special need of body or soul and of falling habitually into the vice which is called "prudence of the flesh," which is" in reality distrust .of God's providence over you and a selfish regard for your own temporal well-being. Tl'iere is danger of your becoming unduly solicitous of your health, your reputation, of what you call your rights. There is danger of your becoming timid, overcautious, distrustful, crafty and politic in your dealing with your equals, your superiors, even with God and your own conscience, by habitually using indirect, underhand and. political means of bringing about your own designs. If your special trait of charadter is justice, honesty or fairdealing, as you may call'it, you are likely to confound truthfulness with undue frankness, to assume to yourself the .mission of showing up frauds, whether these be THE I~ARTICUL&R EXAMEN externs or fellow religious. Also, you are likely to act as if ¯ you had a special vocation to g6 about, hunting for an underdog to defend, though as often as not you get the dogs mixed up. You pride yourself on being an honest man; and as a consequence of this you are hard in your "dealings with others and harsh in your judgment of them. Your sense of justice has made you so upright that you dispense with prudence, humility, kindness, even -with justice itself. You are a knight without-fear, perhaps, but not without reproach. If fortitude is your special trait of character, you are apt to be bard to govern, OVer-bearing, self-willed, impa-tient, irascible, rash, and intolerant. In your. own judg-me~ it, of course, you have a "strong charact~)": yet. to others youare simply stubborn, hardheaded, and intract-able. If you are a teacher, your will must be law for your unfortunate pupils; your only idea of remedying their defects is to crush them into subjection or to get them expelled. If you are a prefect of. discipline, your ideal is not a parent dealing with children, but a policeman dealing with law-breakers; and. the young people who are under you are apt to leave the institution with very ugly .memories of it. If your characteristic virtue is temperance, perhaps you hav~ the defects of this virtue. Your self-restraint, gentle-ness, meekness, may degenerate into weaRness or coward-ice; and, rather than run the riskof disturbing the serenity of your temper, you will avoid duties that call for strength of character, or even cooperate with what is .wrong rather than incur,the criticism or displeasure of "others. The foregoing are the defects most likely ~o be associ-ated with imperfect hatural virtues. The elimination of these, defects is a necessary condition for°perfecting the 89 TIMOTHY BROSNAHAN ., virtue; and the particular examination of conscience is an-approved and effective method of elimihating such defects. 1Nlaturally, this mere removal of defects is not the ultimate goal of the examen; it is but a step towards union with and imitation of Christ in the positive practice_ of the supernatural virtues. Books Received (From December 20, 1942, to February 20, 1943) THE AMERICA PRESS. New York. Shinin9 in Darkness. New Edition by Francis. X. Talbot, $,J. $2.00. His Father's Business. By Robert F. Grewen, S.,I. $1.50. We Wish" rb See desus. By Paul L. Blakely, S.,I. $2.00. The Followin9 of Christi Trans-lated by 3osephMalaise, S.3. Purse Edition: New Printing. $1.50. B. HERDER BOOK CO., St. Louis. Chapters'in Religion. By Rev. Carlton A. Prindeville, C.M., S.T.D. $2.00.'~ The Our Father. A Course of Sermons. By Most Rev. Tihamer Toth. $2,75, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY PRESS, Chicago. Moral Guldi~nce. A Textbook in Principles of Conduct for Colleges and Uni-versities. By Edwin F. Healy, S.3., S.T.D. $2.00. Teacher's Manual for Moral Guidance. Free with class-room orders. P. d. KENEDY ¢d SONS, New York. Hope of Life. By Sister Monica, PhlD. $1.35. THE BRUCE PUBLISHING CO., Milwaukee. The Larks of Umbria. By Albert Paul Schimberg. $2.75. For Heaven's Sake. By the Reverend Gerald T. Brennan. $1.75. The Commonwealth of Nations and the Papacy. By Kurt F. Reinhardt, Ph.D. $ .25. SHEED ~ WARD, New York. Mary of the Magniticat. By Elizabeth Hart, M.A. $1.00. FREDERICK PUSTET CO., Inc., New York. Soul Clinic: By Two Sisters of Notre Dame, Cleveland, Ohio, $2.00. Prayin9 with the Poverello. By Sister Mary Aloysi Kiener, S.N~D. $1.50. THE" NEWMAN B~)OK SHOP, Westminster, Md. The Path of Humility. By the author of Spiritual Progress. Reprint. $2.00. THE FIELD AFAR PRESS, New York. Maryknoll Mission Letters. By Maryknoll Missionaries. $ .50. ,JOSEPH F.WAGNER, Inc., New York. The Better Life. By the Reverend Kilian ,J. Hennrich, O.F.M.Cap. $2.50. FROM COMPILER, 431 George Street, Braddock, Pa. " The Epistles and" Gospels. For the Sundays, Holydays, Various Intentions and Speci.al Occasions in the Catholic Church of the Greek Rite. Compiled by the Reverend ,Julius Grigassy, D.D. $1.50. 90 Hidden Saint of Nazareth 'Matthew Germing, S.J. THE p~erogatives of' St. Joseph, spouse of Mary and foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ, were explained in an article that appeared in an early number of this REVIEw1. The purpose of the present article is to direct attention to certain traits of character in this great saint and to offer a few comments on some Of hi~ virtues. The character of a saint, like that of any other man, has its natural elements that have not a little to do with " his sanctity, often giving it a special form or cast or inten-sity in some specific direction. Holiness, we .know, does not destroy natural gifts. It purifies and elevates them, holds out worthy aims and motives, and directs natural ability into wholesome channels. We know a great deal of. the natural disposition.s of Saints Peter andPaul and John, because thb writers of the. New Testament tell us much of what these saints said and did. They tell Us very little, ~in any direct way, of St. Joseph. St. Matthew (1: 19) mentions that he was "a just man," which is the scriptural way of saying, that he was a virtuous man. The same evangelist indicates in connection with the above statement that he was not a m~in who. acted hastily or on impulse, by saying, "he thought on these things." Joseph therefore deliberated when face to face with importa.nt decisions. In this respect he was unlike the impetuous Peter. From these and a few Other brief expressions foti~d in the Gospel We reasonably infer that St. Joseph was natur-ally a rather quiet, silent, and unobtrusive man. He mo~'es ~t. Joseph°s Title~ to Religiou~ Hoaor by Aloysius C. I~emP~r, S.J., v01. I, i~1~.74-84. ¯ ." 91 MATTHEW GERMING through life unobserved. Not a single word of his is recorded in the Gospel narrative. This is quite remark-able in view of the position he held in the Holy Family. He reflects, he acts, he wonders, at the momentous events that happen in his family and in which he plays an important part, but he is never the spokesman (cf. Matthew 1: 19; 2: 14, 21-23; Luke 2: 33, 48). Indeed, ,Joseph's very silence might be thought-to account for the late growth of devotion to him in the Church. The first two or three centuries after the Apostles tell us nothing of St. ~loseph. His name is not found in the early calendar of the saints. However, this is suffi-ciently accounted foroby the circumstances that in the early centuries of the existence of the Church, only martyrs received public veneration. Some of the Fathers of the Church do indeed speak of him and his prerogatives, but beforeth.e, days of St. Bernard (1091-1153) devotion to St. ~losepb seems to bare been almost entirely of a private " character. A church was ~ledicated to his l'ionor for the first time in the West, in the year- 1129 at Bologna. His feast, though celebrated by local churches in the middle ages, was not placed in the Roman calendar .until the sec-ond half of the fifteenth-century. Thus Gospel-and tra-dit'ion combined to invest the spouse of Maryand devotion tO him with an atmosphere of obscurity and silence that . lasted over a thousand years and is strongly suggestive of the hidden life the great patriarch led while on earth. But the bumble ~loseph was not to remain in obscurity permanently in the life of Christ's Church on earth. God's ways have always been to exalt, in due time, him that humbles himself. For the past five hundred years devo-tion to the foster-father of our Lord has gone on increas-ing by leaps and bounds until today it stands in popu-larity next to that of the Mother of God herself. And, as 92 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH if the Church wished to make up for the late recognition he received in thedevotional life of the faithful, the. supreme Pontiff Pius IX made him Patron of the Univer-sal Church and accorded him a second feast to do him honor under the new title. There is much in the life and character of St. Joseph that does not lie on ~he surface,- but is discovered by reflec-tion on the scanty items the evangelists have recorded of him. If we take into account these few. items and with them the delicate demands of the position he had to fill in the lives of Jesus and Mary, we shall be convinced, I believe, that St. Joseph must have been a man of sensitive and profound faith and of constant devotion to prayer. Had he not been so, it is"scarcely conceivable that infinite Wisdom would have selected him for the office he held. On reading what is said of Joseph in the Gospel, we cannot fail to see that he was always docile and obedient to legitimate authority, no matter how its commands were made known to him. This obedience had its roots in faith. A deep faith that had developed into an ever-present sense of the fundamental truths of revelation was the dis-tinctive mark of ~11 the patriarchs of old, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the rest. Strong characters these men were, and strong their faith and trust in God. So too was it with St. Joseph, who forms the connecting link betwedn the great saints of the old dispensation and those df the new. There was no weakness in him. Once the. will of God was .clear to him, he never hesitated. We see this illustrated at his very first appearance in the Gbspel nat- ' rative when an angel of the Lord bade him not to fear to take t6 himself Mary his wife. Again, his faith is mani-fest in the trying circumstances under Which .he traveled with.Mary to Bethlehem " in obedience to the decree of a pagan emperor, and in the command he received at night /V~ATT~-IEW GERMING ~to take the Child and his mother and fly into EgypL By faith hd saw God and God's will in the little duties of his life no less than in the important charges entrusted to him. Apart from a few ex, traordinary events, that life of his was, externally, a very ordinary one. His' daily ioutine at Nazareth was much like that of any other 3ew of the poorer class who was head of a small family. It consisted of his daily work as a carpenter, little deal.ings with the townspeople, his converse with 3esus and Mary, probably a little recreation at the end of the day, and the weekly Sabbath-day rest. Common and monotonous it was, one might say. So it would have been, had not the light and strength of faith been its animating principle. Faith in God permeated St. 3oseph's habit of thought, was his support and source of joy: God and His fatherly providence, the angels in their constant errands of mercy and love between heaven and earth, the souls of his saintly ancestors in the other world, the great spiritual truths revealed to the patriarchs and prophets, all these were as real to him as the sky over his head or the material house in which he lived with 3esus and Mary. By faith he knew that Mary was thd chosen spouse of the Holy Ghost, and that the Boy who daily lived in his presence, growing into manhood under his very eyes, ~vas the promised Messias, the very Son of God. ° He had heard-holy Simeon say: "Behold, this child is set. for the fall arid for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted" (Luke 2: 34). The words never passed from 3o~eph's memory. He pondered their meaning. He thought of them when he saw the Child at prayer and at play, and later when he 'observed him at work and noted his ~ready and humble obedience, and the wisdom and grate that' became manifest with the passing years. To the purely human eyes of the neighbors, 94 HIDDEN SAINT. (~F NAZ,~RETH and even to "his brethren," Of whom the evangelist was to say later that they "did not believe in him," JeSus was just "the carpenter's son"; Mary, the mother of a some-what unusual young "man, nothing more. But to the supernaturally enlightened mind of St. Joseph, Jesus was the Redeemer of the .world, the long expected of. nations; Mary, the mother of the Son of God. . These were the mysteries in the midst of which JOseph moved and lived at Nazabeth. We have no natural means of ascertaining tee effects on his interior ,,life of this daily and hourly contact Wi~h the supernatural: Only the Holy. Ghost, through the power of His grace coupled with pray- 'erfUl consideration on our part, can reveal them to us. But ¯ we know that Joseph was a thoughtful, man, endowed with a reflective cast of mind. He prayed and meditated. And what is of much greater consequence, his soul,.was enriched with marvelous graces. This means that he had and"che.rished holy thou~16ts and desires, was the daily recipient of lights and inipirations from above, was ever growing and rnatfiring in holiness in the very noonday light of faith. Faith and the spirit of faith, thus highl~r developed in. the soul of the spouse of Mary, found their natural expres-sion in prayer: We said above that he must have been devoted to prayer; he was a man of prayer. In one sense, everyone must be a man of prayer. Prayer is a funda-mental duty of man. The reason is simple. Every intel-ligent being must worship God, that is, acknowledge his dependence on Him as the Creator and Lord of all things, and thi~ is prayer.Everyone must praise God, reverence His Holy Name, and this is prayer. All men must give thanks to God for the gifts and benefits they receive from His hands, must petition Him for help and grace, implore pardon for° their sins and infidelities, all of which is prayer. /V~IATTH EW GERMING :Prayer therefore is a duty incumbent on everyone, and to this extent everyone must be a man of prayer:. But when we say of St. Joseph that he was a man of prayer, we mean much more than that he fulfilled this ,genera[. and fundamental duty. We mean thathe put in ¯ . practice the scriptural exhortation to pray always, to pray without ceasing (Luke 18: I; I Thessalonians 5: 17), and he did so before either our Lord or St. Paul had explic-itly enjoined it. He lived in the spirit ,of prayer. The thoughts and sentiments of his heart were habitually directed to his Father in heaven in a conscious attitude of faith and hope and love, of praise and thanksgiving, of petition and oblation of himself and of all he did. This means muchmore than praying well at stated times of the day. 3oseph did that t6o, as did all God-lea.ring men in Israel. They were bound to do this. But St. Joseph made the whole day a prayer. Whether he was with ,Jesus and Mary in their house at Nazareth, or working at the carpenter's bench, or talking to a neighbor or customer, or trudging along the dusty road'on one of the three annual pilgrimages to the holy city, he bore himself with a composure and recollection that gave evidence of his prayerful soul. One may say, how could it have been ¯ otherwise? Was h~ not blessed with the companionship of Jesus and Mary? Very true. He saw and touched . what the patriarchs and prophets before him had longed to see and had not seen. And yet, he lived by faith and received the reward of faith. With his ,bodily eyes he beheld Jesus, the Son of Mary: by. faith he believed that this same Jesus was the Son of the living God. Certainly, the wondlerful circumstances in which St.~ Joseph lived at Nazareth were most favorable to prayer and piety and to holiness of life in general.Cath-olics in the world of the twentieth century will probably 96 ~' HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZ~.RETH -say the same. thing of the circumstances in which, religious live in their several communities today; and if they do, they are right. A great happiness.and a fertile opportun-ity for sanctification it is to live in a house in which our Lord dwells. But we must remember that while it is a privilege and a grace, it .is also a responsibility. The ques-tion whetherwe are profiting.by this'opportunity as well as 2oseph profited by the blessing that was his while he lived under the same roofas Jesus and Mary is a matter that desdrves our frequent consideration. We can be cer-tain that he availed himself in full measure of the holy example of the Blessed Virgin to bdcome more like to her 'in angelic purity of heart, in modesty of demeanor and, most of all,in ardent love for God and man. He was an apt .subject f0rlearning from the Immaculate Virgin and her divine Son. He was humble, single-minded in out-look, silent and recollected, docile to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost. He was the head of the Holy Family. In legal form and rank, the order of precedence-was Joseph, Mary, Jesus. But in respect to holiness of life, the order was the reverse, thus: Jesus, Mary, Joseph. These three represented the highest summit of holiness ever attained, or possible of attainment on earth~by any-individual or a group of individuals. They may be said to h'ave consti-tuted the first religious community in the Church, St. Jo-seph being the Superior; and they set up a singularly high ideal of perfection for the imitation of all succeeding com-munities. Dail~r prayer is an essential function or practice of every religious community. Among the Jews the recital of set prayers, whether in the family circle or in the syna-gogue, was chiefly the duty of men. Women and children joined in. It may appear astounding, but it is true that we are in possession of a prayer which was said by St. Joseph MATTHEW GERMING twice every day, morning and evening, from the time he was able to read until the day of his death.~ It is an inspired prayer, taken from the' books of Deuteronomy and Num-bers2. and was the first prayer taught to Jewish children. The opening verses read as follows: Hear, 0 Israel, The Lord our God i~ one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, And with thy whole soul, and with thy whole s,trength, And these words which I command thee this day Shall be in thy heart, And thou shalt tell them to thy children, And thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house And walking on thy journey, Sleeping and rising. And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy band, And they shall bd and shall move between thy . eyes. And thou shalt write"them in the entry " And on the doors of thy house. The recitation of this prayer twice a daymthe entire ;~.~prayer Consists of sixty-one linesmwas obligatory on. all the men in Israel, and it is thought that our Blessed Lord Himself said it regularly. The great commandment of 1ov~ is stated and then.emphasized by an injunction that calls for frequent, if not continual meditation on its con-tents-- the obligation of centering all one's thoughts and desires and love on God our Creator and Lord. No doubt ~-Deuteronomy 6: 4-9;" 11: 13-21; Numbers 15: 37-41. On this whole subject cf. Willam: MarF the Mother of Jesus, translated by Eckhoff. p. 143, ft. 98 HIDDEN SAINT OF NAZARETH there were God-fearing J~ws all over the world who made a serious effort to comply with. this precept.~ This i~ pre-cisely what we have supposed St. Joseph did habitually in the course bf his every-day life. He furnishes religious of every order and congregation a perfect pattern of prayer, and not only of prayer, but of every kind df virtue. We must not fail to take into account the fact that St. Joseph was'a workman. He handled the implements of daily toil, enjoyed little or no leisure, was industrious and contente.d with his occupation. Work is the law of life. It absorbs a. multitude of troubles, mental and physi.- cal. Many people would be more happy if they worked more and talked less, in imitation of our saint. He spent his days in hard work, in poverty, obscurity, and prayer, and in this way fulfilled admirably the duties God had laid upon him. At the present time it is almost taken for granted that great things can be accomplished only by means of wealth and position and influence with the mighty. So it is with the material ~nterprises of this world. But in the realms of the spiritual, .earthly norms are reversed. God often chooses men destitute of the means which, humanly speaking, ma~e for success and through them achieves great spiritual results; "that no flesh should glory in hissight" (1Cor. 1: 28). He did this in the case of St. Joseph, the Cur~ of Ars, Th~r~se of Lisieux. It is true that in many other instances our Lord has deigned to make use of the services of men and women of outstanding natural ability and varied human acquirements for the spread of His kingdom on earth and the glory of Hi~ Holy Name. But in all such cases natural endowments were accompanied by a high degree of the love of God and' of prayer, profound humility and obedience. These are the virtues that make for the success which alone counts in the eyes of God. MATTHEW GERMING In these dreadful times, religious may well turn with increased devotion to the patron of the universal Church and implore his intercession. By fervent prayer to him and by the practice of the lowly virtues of humility, obedience, and poverty that distinguished his career on earth they have it in their power to .do much for the cause of Christ and His Church and for the spiritual and temporal wel-fare of millions of souls. Pamphle÷ Notices The Maryknoll Bookshelf, Maryknoll, New York, publishes four catalogues of mission plays and appropriate musical selections that you might find intere.sting. The catalogues are listed as follows: Book I: Mission Plags for Children (3 cents) ; Book II: Mission Plags for Young People (6 cents) ; Book III: Mission Plags [or Col-lege Groups and Adults (8 cents) ; Book IV: Musical Selections Suit-able for Mission Plag Programs (3 cents). Write to: Marykn011 Bookshelf, Maryknoll, New York. Concerning Mail We are doing our best to get the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS to you on time. But postal delays are almo.~t inevitable these dhys, especially in regard to second class mail. We want you to notify us when you do not receive your copy of the REVIEW, but, in view of the transportation difficulties, we ask you to wait a week or two beyond the normal time for receiving your copy of the REVIEW before yoti write to us. 100 Superiors and Manit:estation oJ: Conscience Adam C. Ellis, S.J. FROM early Christian times it was customary .for those who wished to attain to perfection to seek out a ma-ture and experienced guide with whom they could treat of spiritual things and .to whom they revealed the secrets of their souls so that he might give them wise and practical direction. Thus, many hermits in thel deserts of Egypt, upon le.arning of the holiness of St. Anthgny, moved their cells to that part of the desert where he dwelt, in order that they might have the benefit of his spiritual direction. When the first monasteries, or groups of monks living in common, were established, the Father Abbot was also the spiritual guide of his subjects, ,who freely made known to him their anxieties and spiritual problems. Thus, by custom, the practice of manifestation of conscience was introdu&d into the religious life and eventually became a matter of obligation in. many institutes. Meaning of Manifestation To manifest one's conscience means to reveal to another person the inner state of.one's Soul in order to obtain advice and guidance regarding the doubts and difficulties of the spiri.tual life. The phrase, "inner ~tate of one's soul," com- .prises not only one's fault~, bu.t also the various inclinations one experiences towards both good and evil, the trials and temptations one must undergo, the difficulties encountered in the practice of virtue, the inspirations and good desires one has received from God. From this description it will be seen that the purpose of manifestation ofconsdence differs from that of Sacramental Confession. The essential purpose of confession is the for- 101- ADAM C. ELLIS giveness of sins: the principal aim of manifestation is spir-itual direction." In other words, one.gives the director a complete and clear insight into ,his ioul, so that the director may help him to correct his faults, 6vercome his evil ten-dencies, correspond with the inspirations of grace, and prac-tice virtue more effectively. This difference of purpose does not mean, of course, that the account of conscience need be separated from con-fession. It can be made in or out of confession. When made in confession, it becomes a natural supplement to the so-called confession oi~ devotion and supposes a regular con-fessor who also fills the role of spiritual director. Usefulness of Manifestation All spiritual writers admit the beneficial effects of the account of conscience when given freely and sincerely. It has always been ~ecognised as one of the principal means to progress in the spiritual life, no~ only for religious, but for persons living in the world as well. It is the neces.sary pre-lude to enlightened spiritual guidance. In worldly matters it is normally considered a wise thing to consult others. We give our family doctor'a sincere account of our. bodily ailments, as well as of any s.ymptoms which may help him to understand our physical condition better. In every-day business matters we consult our lawyer to be certain, that .our actions do not fall afoul of the law, as well as to pro-tect our rights. How much more eagerly, then, should we seek counsel in the matters of highest importance, those of the soul? Moreover, the most enlightened spiritual director V.dll be very much limited in his direction, unless his con-sultant gives him an intelligent insight into the state of his soul. -But all good things can be abused. And the fact that the practice of manifestation of conscience was made obliga- 102 MANIFESTATION OF ('~ONSCIENCE tory i~y rule in many lay institutes did ,give rise to such abuses, since all the necessary safeguards are not at hand in the ~ase of lay superiors. Pope Leo XIII issued a decree on thissubject on Deeember 17, 1890 (Quemadmodum),in which he ~mentioned three such abuses: lay superiors required,, directly or indirectly, avowals which by their nature belonged to the tribunal of penance; they restricted too much the freedom 0f going to confession; and they reserved to themselves, in the matter of receiving Holy Communion, a direction which belongs for the most part to the confessor. To remedy these abuses, the Pope forbade all lay supe-riors (both Brothers and Sisters) to induce their subjects to give their intimate manifestation of conscience to them. He also ordered deleted from all constitbtions; directories, and custom books of all lay orders and congregations of both sexes every direction pertaining to the intimate manii~esta-tion of heart and consclence to lay superiors. In 1901 this prohibition was extended by the Sacred .Congregation of Bishops and Regulars to masters and mistresses of novices" in lay institutes (Normae, N. 79). Finally, in 1917 the Code of Canon Law extended the prohibition to all reli-gious superiors, even to those who are priests. Does this mean that in modern times, the Church has changed her mind in regard to the value of manifestation of conscience for religious? A careful study of canon 530 will give us the .answer. "All religlous superiors are strictly forbidden to induce their subjects, ih any way whatever, to make a manlfesta÷ion of, conscience to ÷hem {c.anon 530, § I). "Subjects, however; are not forbidden to open their minds freely and spontaneously to their superiors: nay more, it is desirable that they. approach their superiors with filial confidence, and, i.f the sup6rlors be priests, expose to them their doubts and troubles of conscience also (canon 530, § 2)." 103 ADAM C. ELLIS Explahation of the Law All reli~Tious super.lots are forbidden: The term supe-riors must be understood here to include those to whom, the Code gives that title, that is to say, those who govern, the institute, its provinces, and its individual houses, as well as those who take their places, s6ch as visitors, vice-provincials, vice-rectors, and the priors of abbeys. To induce their subjects in ang manner'whatsoever: The term subjects includes not only the professed reli-gious, but novices and postulants as well, since they are subject to the domestic power of the superior, oT6 induce in.ang wag whatever, is a summary statement of what the decree of Leo XIII (Quemadmodum, n. 2) gave in detail: "His Holiness formally forbids superiors, both men and women, of whatever rank or preeminence, to seek, directly or indirectly, by precept, counsel, intimidation, threats, or flattery to induce their subjects to make the said manifes-tation of conscience to them." Superiors may not, there-fore, show a marked preference for those of their subjects who do freely and spontaneously give them an account of their conscience, nor may they treat with ic01dness those subjects who refrain from giving such an account. The law does not forbid superiors to inquire delicately concerning the reasons for the sadness or trouble that they see afflicting their subjects. To make such inquiries may at times be an obligation of charity; b.ut the superior must be careful not to insist if he sees that the subject prefers not to explain the source of his condition. To matte a manifestation of conscience to them: We have already explain.ed that manifestation of conscience means the revelation of the inner state of one's soul. It does no~ include the chapter of faults, customary in many insti-tutes, because this is limited to external faults and to vio-lations of the constitutions that can be noticed by others. 104 ~NIFESTATION OF CONSCIENCE N~r does it include the canonical visitation of religious made by their own °religious superiors, as prescribed by canon 51 l, because the object of the visitation is external government (cf. canons 513 ands618, § 2, 2°). ' , Subjects, however, are not forbidden to open their minds freely and spontaneously to their superiors: What ~s forbidden by the law is all force or inducement on the-part of the superior, not the free and spontaneous manifes-tation made by the shbject. Nay more, it is desirable that they approach their supe-riors with filial confidence: Hence it is not only.licit for a religious to make a manifestation of conscience to-his superior, provided he does so freely and spontaneously, but it is recommended as ~sometbing desirable. There should exist between superior and subject that fine rela-tionship which exists in the model family between parent and child. What is more natural than that a son or daughter go to father or mother for advice in time of.doubt or trial? Similarly a religious will usually find a sympa-thetic counselor and a prudent guide in the person of his superior, especially in regard to the spirit of his institute and the proper understanding of the rules and constitutions. The superior has the added advantage of knowing his sub-ject, at least from his external conduct, a point of view which the confessor often lacks. This filial confidence in superiors is necessary and help-ful ~n other matters as well: Superiors are human beings; they can and do make mistakes occasionally. Misunder.- standings may arise, which can be cleared up easily if a religious has the good sense to go to his superior 'and talk matters over with him. On his part a religious may fail by avoiding his superior. If this be the case, it is difficult to see how mutual confidence ca~i exist. The probabilities are that the superior will not know his subject, while the 105 ADAM C, ELLIS latter will be inclined to criticise his superior, or at least grumble because he is misunderstood. The only remedy for such a situation lies in a frank unburdening of his mind to the superior. He will find that the superior will be relieved to find outthe true state of things; and superior and subject will become better acquainted with each other for their mutual benefit. It is desirable that, if the superiors be priests, the!t expose to them their doubts and troubles of conscience also. We have just seen that, in a general way, the Church recommends the voluntary manifestation of one's con-science to the superior. However, in regard to "doubts and troubles of conscience," the Code makes an important qualification~ It positively encou.rages religious to mani-fest even these to priest superiors; regarding lay superiors, it does not positively .recommend such intimate manifes-tation, though it does not forbid it. What is meant by "doubts and troubles of con-science"? The expression certainly includes all doubts hnd anxieties concerning sins. It seems also to include other questions of c~nscience which, because of their diffi-culty, importance, or .uncertainty, require the help of one who is well-versed in moral and ascetical theology--a quality that may be lacking even in very holy lay supe~ ¯ riots. If their superiors are priests, religious are recom-mended by the Churchoto give them their fullest.confidence in all matters pertaining to their spiritual life. Every-thing else being equal, they will find no more sympa-thetic friend and prudent counselor than him who has only the best interests of each individual member of his community at heart and who, as a priest, is the repre-sentative of the Master of the Spiritual Life, Who came that men may bare life, and havre it more abundantly. 106 If the superior is not a. priest, he should remember that the Church does not encourage subjects to give an account of their doubts and troubles of conscience to him. Hence, ordinarily he will advise the subject who wishes to do so to consult his confessor or .spiritual director in these particu-lar matters. On the other hand, he should gladly receive the spontaneous manifestations made by a subject regard-ing other matters of the interior life. This is quite in accord with the mind of the Church, provided always that the subject does so voluntarily, without any urging or coercion on the part of the superior.~ When subjects come freely and spontaneously to the superior to give him an account of conscience, he should receive them with fatherly kindness, listen patiently and at length, and question them Prudently in order to obtain all the information necessary to give them wise .counsel: and direction. Both superiors anal subjects should remem-ber that all matters talked of in manifestation of con-science are safeguarded by the highest kind of professional secrecy, though not by the sacramental seal, unless it hap-pens that the superior is a priest, and the subject mani-fests his conscience to him by actually confessing to him. Novice-Master and Manifestation The.mas~er (mistress) of novices is not a superior in the canonical sense. For this reason, commentators on canon 530 are not agreed that the prohibition of this canon applies to him., Despite this controversy, it is certain that' he cannot demand of his novices a manifestation of such things as normally pertain to the Sacrament of Penance. In the case of a lay master of novices, the decree Quemad-modum denounced this as a grave abuse and the Normae, N. 79, explicitly forbade it.As for priests, the Code even forbids them to hear .the confessions of their novices 107 ADAM C. ELLI, S except in certain special cases (c.891); it is evident, there-fore, that they may not demand such intimate revelations outside of confession. Nevertheless, the ,master of novices must ha~e some rights of inquiry. He alone has the right and obligation of providing for the formation of the novices; he alone is charged w.ith the direction of the novitiate(c. 561). Under t~is personal guidance, the canonical year of novi-tiate has for its object the forming of the mind of the nov-ice by means of the study of the rule and constitutions, by pious meditations and assiduous prayer, by instruction on those matters, which pertain to the vows ~ind the virtues, by suitable exercises in r.ooting out the germs of vi,.ce, in regulating the motions of the soul, in acquiring v,rtues (c. To attain these objects of the novitiate, there must be mutual confidence between master and novice;' and the novice master must be free to inquire about things which pertain to his office and do not border on confessional mat-ter. Such objects of licit inquiry would be: one's reactions to. his brethren and common life; his progress in prayer; attraction to certain kinds of spirituality; qualifications for certain offices; difficulties with the rule, and so forth. The novice, on his part, will best prepare himself to become a fervent religious by being frank and open with the master, whose only task is to train him in the way of the religious life as outlined in the rules and constitutions of the institute. 108 The Divine Prie t:ly Vocation James T. Meehan, S.J. WHAT is a vocation to the priesthood? The frequent repetition of this question, together with questions about the r.eligious life,, is the natural accompani-ment and aftermath of vocation week. In REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS for January (II, p. 25), Father Risk indicated clearly the essentials of a vocation to the.religious life. The present article is concerned with outlining the approved Catholic notion of a vocation to the priesthood. Different Theories From the seventeenth century to our own the general idea was that vocation exclusively concerned God and the individual soul of a candidate. Others must leave every-thing to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. If God wanted a boy for the priesthood, God would call him in a secret but unmistakably plain manner. No one should interfere in the process. No one should presume to direct a young man into the priesthood for fear of intruding some-one who did not have a divine call. Early in the twentieth century occurred a change in vocation thought. Vocation, according to the new opinion, is not a secret process in its entirety. In fact, the principal element is not the least bit secret. The principal element in vocation:is the public, official, canonical invitation issued by ecclesiastical authority. This public call, together with the actual rite of ordination, constitutes one as called by God, "as Aaron was," with a divine vocation. Advocates of this idea found support in the important Roman decision1 of June 20, 1912, which states: "1) No .!Acta Apostolicae Sedis, IV, p. 485. Kempf's translation of ~'ermeersch: Religious and Ecclesiastical Vocation, Herder, 1925, p. 26. " 109 JAMES T. MEEHAN one ever has any right t0.ordination antecedently to the free. choice of the bishop. °2)The requisite on the part of the one to l~e ordained, which requisite is called sacerdotal voca-tion, does not consist, at least necessarily and ordinarily, in a certain inclination of the subject or-in inducements of the Holy Spirit to enter the priesthood. 3) On the contrary, in order that one may be rightly called by the bishop, nothing further is necessary than the right intention together with fitness (based on the .gifts of natureand of grace and sufficiently confirmed by a good life and the required learning), which give well-founded hope that he will be able to fulfill the duties of the sacerdotal state properly and observe the obligations of that state holily." One would think that this decree should settle the question. Yet the older notion of inner attraction would not easily down. Some authors tried to reconcile the two theories by saying that the call of the bishop referred to external ritualism but that the inner call was presupposed. Others held that the call of the bishop concerned the external.government of the Church, while the interior call belonged to the sphere of conscience. Today, of course, all writers'are agrded in accepting 1) suitability, 2) right intention an~l 3) canonical call as the dements of a divine priestly vocation. But there remain a gre.at number of excellent priests and religious who still-hesitate about sug- ~gesting the priesthood to likely boys. Reflection on the origin and growth of their own vocations complicates the matter. Perhaps not a few such priests and religious are convinced--and rightly so--that they followed the higher call under the inspiration of a special favor from God. It seems almost that God had drawn them forcibly and irresistibly to this life work by a spe.cial attraction, an infier divine.call, which they dared not resist. In order to clear away obscurities and relieve the hesitancy of such" 110 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION .per.sons a. brief historical treatment is in order. Before the seventeenth century no mention is made of the priestly vocation in the sense of an interior call. The priesthood was a public office. Its members were recruited according to need by the ruling bishops. Young men of sufficient knowledge and piety were trained, somewhat after the manner of apprentices, in the cathedral rectories. In due time they advanced to the priesthood through the several stages of minor and.major orders. The notion of a neces-sary interior call would have struck those ages as a novelty. The Council ot: T~ent Theoretically, certain qualifications of learning and virtue were always demanded; yet, long before the Coun-cil of Trent, grave abuses in this matter had crept into the Church. Especially grave was the selling of the priest-hood, abbacies .and prelacies, or the granting of such dig-nities as court fa-Cors. Trent ifisisted on the personal quali-fications of candidates. We find these qualifications suc-cinctly expressed in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, written at the express command of Pope Paul V. Here we read: "The burden of this great office should not be rashly imposed on anyone, but is to be conferred on those only who by their holiness of life, their knowledge, faith and prudence, are able to bear it.''2 So far, so good! Yet, fitness and interior dispositions, which all consider as necessary prerequisites of a vocation, gradually gave way to an interior divine call of a special sort as the essential criterion of vocation. Why was this special interior call demanded? For answer we turn to the condition of the Church in seventeenth-century France, cradle of the new theory. The reform decrees of Trent were welcomed in 1573 2Translation by MeHugh and Callan,p. 318, Wagner, New York, 1923. 111 JAMF~ T. MEEH~N by the Assembly of French Clergy,, who petitioned the king for the erection of seminaries in accord with the intentions of the Council. 'However, France was being torn apart by the bloody Huguenot wars. The Church was ba.dly dis-organize. d and demoralized. Twenty-eight episcopal sees had no.bishops. In 1595 matters were even worse. After "r~conciling Henry ~IV with Rome, the Papal Legate Wrote that only forty-three out of one hundred and forty dioceses had .bishops. And of that paltry number few were intelli-gent. They were lax in the conferring of Orders. ¯ Hence many priests were ill-prepared, too young, ignorant, or ordained without proper canonical titles. Seminaries su¢h as we have today were simply non-existent. Saint Vincent de Paul suggested the first remedy for this deplorable condition, namely, eight-clair retreats later extended to three months---consisting of an hour's lecture in the morning on the principal points of theology and a similar evening lecture on prayer, virtues, and qualities of the priest. Small, informal discussions throughout the day supplemented the lectures. Priests in charge of these so-called retreats were anxious that only fit subjects be pro-moted 'to Orders. Yet how" eliminate the unfit? To solve this knot.ty problem, vocation was gradually given a new meaning. No longer did it mean the active call of a bishop but the passive reception of a special inner experience in the soul of a candidate. In due course this experience was labeled as "divine vocation by attraction," and still later it. became the focus of the attraction theory of vocation. Unless the candidate experienced such an attraction and proved ~t tothe satisfaction of the seminary,he should not be ordained. Here we have an ingenious device to weed out unworthy candidates. With it bishops could gracef~ully dismiss such persons, even despite the insistence of rich and powerful ]~enefactors. 112 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION The "'Attraction" Tbeorg Now for one word' of caution before explaining the attraction theory. Note that attraction can be taken to mean: 1) the definite, continuous inclination, let us say, to become a priest; 2) the phenomenon of a more or less mystical experience of God palpably, as it were, drawing the soul to a higher life. Certainly attraction in the first sense Often plays quite a pa.rt in one's choice of vocation. Talents, education, family background, reading, personal observation, or even some chance conversation may arouse such an attraction for any life work. Provided one's qualifications are such as give prudent hopes of success in a w6rk, the attraction towards that work is a good sign that one will do well in it. So much for attraction in the ordinary sense. But what about its function in the attrac-tion theory of vocation? For a priestly vocation, proponents of the attraction theory demanded the extraordinary. Since this is a pecu-liarly divine work, one must take special care to investigate the divine decrees. He must be assured of his election to the work by more than human prudence. He must have a peculiarly divine sign that. he is called. One must be attracted by a special inclination, a special invitation of the Holy Ghost. Authors speak of this special attraction in various ways. They call it a sweet impulse of grace, an interior sentiment, an inward, deep, lasting, constant, strong, abiding force. M. Olier called it a "movement of God who carries the whole soul and inclines it to this divine profession, not by sentiment, nor different starts and jumps, but by His dominion descending to the roots of the soul in stable and unchanging consistency.''8. This is a cardinal point in the theory: divine vocation was dis- -tinct from the qualifications of suita, bility and right inten- 8Quoted by Lahitton, in La Vocation Sacerdotale, Paris, 1914, p. 6. 113 JAMES T. MEEHAN tion. It came prior to the~bishop's call in the name of God. It was. required in addition to what the Church " demands for valid and licit ordination. Seminary direc-tors had to investigate this "vocation" and make sure of its authenticity. The True Catholic Notion Against this theory of "inner" .vocation stands the Roman Decision of 1912,. quoted towards the beginning of this article. In the same~year an Italian Catechism of Pope Pius X stated that."nobody can enter orders of his own will but he ought to be called by God by means of his own bishop, that is, he ought to have a vocation with the virtues and aptitudes required for the sacred ministry." Inthis catechism vocation is equated with call by the bishop, after the bishop has become, convinced of the vir-tue and aptitudes of the candidate. Pope Pius XI in 1935 ¯ issued his glorious e.ncyclical on the Catl4olic Pri.esthood. Thereifi we read that "a true priestly vocation.is not established so much by some inner feeling or devout attrac-tion, which may sometimes be absent or hardly percep-tible; but rather by a right intention in the aspirant, together with a combination of physical, intellectual and moral qualities which make him fitted for such a state of life. He must look to the priesthood solely from the noble motive of consecrating himself to the service of God and the salvation of souls; he must likewise have, or at least strive to acquire,, solid piety; perfect purity of life and sufficient knowledge, as We have explained . Thus he shows that he ,is called by God to the priestly state." .To sum up, we may say that there are three approved ways of considering or speaking of vocation to the priest-hood. The vocation may be: 1) Germinal; or 2) Inte-rior: or 3) Canonical. 114 DIVINE PRIESTLY VOCATION 1) Germinal vocatio~ is mentioned in canon 1353. ¯ 'Here we read that "priests, especially pastors, must make special efforts to preserve boys who show signs of an ecclesiastical vocation from the contagions of the world, to form them in piety, to initiate them in the study of let-ters, and to foster in them the germof a divine vocation." FatherVermeersch tells us that this germof vocation means the dispositions, inclinations, and actions which give pru-dent hope that the boy is or Will become suitable and.that he is not altogether opposed to the idea of the priesthood, It is evident that parents, teachers, confessorsand others would do a glorious work for the Church by awakening ambitions to the priesthood in such boys. 2) Interior vocation goes a step beyond the germinal stage. It consist~ essentially in this, that a young man is able and willing to assume the office of the. priesthood if the Church will accept him. Evidently the grace of God is present; but it need not .manifest itself in any extra-ordinary way. In practice, there is sufficient sign of a real interior vocation in the following case. The time comes when a youth must make up his own mind about his work in life. He needs information about the requirements and opportunities~ of. several occupa-tions. He must consider them in the light of his owri tal-ents and .inclinations. He must-weigh befoie God the pros and cons of entering upon a definite life-work. If he is wise, be will seek advice that is sympathetic and expert. Above all, if he is thinking seriously of the priesthood, he may need the guidance of a regular confessor for several months in order to gain some assurance that h~ can qu'alify for Holy.Orders. If, after prudently ~onsidering his case, the confes~o/judges the penitent is suitable, then the lat-ter may make up .his own mind and calmly apply for admission to a seminary. If he measures up to entrance 115 JAMES T. MEEHAN standards and is received, his very admission to the semi-nary gives him a relative and provisional certainty of ¯ vocation. If he makes the.seminary course creditably and continues in his conviction that he is fitted for the work, he may make his final decision to become a priest. One who acts in this way knows as surely as he can know any-thing of the future that God is giving and Wiil continue give him all the graces necessary for the .worthy reception ,of this great Sacrament. 3) Canonical:vocation is the external call to the priest-hood which comes towards the end of long preparation. During the years.of training .the candidatehas developed in virtue as w~ll as learning. He has fulfilled all the. require.ments of Church legislation to the satisfaction 6f seminary directors. He has given proofs of his suitability for the great privilege and work of the priesthood. Then only does he receive his divine priestly vocation, which is initiated by an official notification that he is to be ordained, and which is completed by the actual co.nferring of the ¯ Sacrament through the hands of the ordaining prelate. Vocation Booklet Father Thomas Bowdern of the Creighton University, is a worried desu(t! He wrote a thesis on vocations and published his main conclusions in a little booklet entitled Ji Study of Vocations. We recommended the booklet in the, November, 1942, number of the REVIEW. Many of our readers wrote to Father Bowdern for copies. He mailed the copies; but one package was returned to him. The label was missing; hence, he does not know whom he has involuntarily defrauded. Hence the -.worry;. If you wrote for booklets and didn't get them, please notify Father Bow-dern. Incidentally, we may add that.Father Bowdern still has a limited supply of the booklets. Price: 10 cents a copy. Address: Rev. Thomas S. Bowdern, S.ff., The Creight~n University, Omaha, Nebraska. 116 THE following booklist, together with the list previously pfib-fished (Cf. Vol. I, p. 105) presents a fair cross-section of the best sl~iritual writers and their works in the English language. Almost every spiritual topic is represented. No doubt, there are some omissions and there will not be full agreement on certain particular selections. However, it is hoped the lists, as they stand, will be of some assistance in building up the spirituaFlibrary. A word about the Scriptures. The Bible is, in a way, the spir-itual book par excellence, which every religious should know .thor~ oughly, especially the New Testament. To this end a good com-mentary is invaluable--such as the Scripture Manuals of Madame Cecilia, the commentary of Fathers Callan and McHugh, or the one recently published under the auspices of the Confraternity of Chris-tian Doctrine to accompany the revised edition of the New Testa-ment. The Old Testament will lose some of its formidableness if it is approached through selections such as are found in Mothe~ Mary Eaton's "The Bible Beautiful or ArChbishop Goodier's The Bible for Every Day. I prefer, howevdr, in my lists, to. classify the Bible as primarily a meditation book, or rather, as the meditation book, to which the religious should return again and again for the light and encouragement needed to carry out his sublime destiny. --- AUGUSTINE KLAAS, S.J. ANONYMOUS The Secrets of the Religious Life, edited by the Rev. Oliver Dolphin. (A sparkling gem of wisdom three hundred ¯ years old.) ARNOUDT, P. J., S.J, (1865) The lmitbtion of the Sacred Heart of desus. (Written in the manner of Thomas ~ Kempis) ATHANASIUS, SAINT (3 7 3) St. Anthony the Hermit, translated by J. B. McLaughl.in. (The life and spiritual message of the patriarch of all religious. ) 117 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS BAINVEL, JEAN V., S.J. (1937) The Devotion to the Sacred Heart. (The most complete sys-tematic treatise on the subject.) BEAUDENOM, L. (1916) The Path of Humility. Spiritual Progress. 2 vols. ., These excellent books are published anonymously in English. The latter work treats of the progressive use of Confession and Spiritual Direction. *-BENSON, MSGR. ROBERT HUGH (1914) The Friendship of Chribt. Christ in His Church. Paradoxes of Catholicism. BUCKLER, HENRY REGINALD, O.P. Spiritual Perfection through Charity. Spiritual Instruction on Religious Life. Spiritual Considerations. Spiritual Retreat. All are s61id and substantial. CAUSSADE, JEAN PIERRE DE, S.J. (1751 ) Self-abandonment to Divine Providence. Spiritual Letters. , Corn:oft in Ordeals. Ordeals of Souls. Progress in Prayer. The Workings of the Divine Will. The classic writer on abandonment to the will of God. OHAUSZ, OTTO, S:,J. (1939) The Priest and Saint Paul. Light and Shadow in Religious ~'fe. CONSIDINE, DANIEL, S.J. (1923) The Virtues of the Di'vine Child. Con~dence in God. Delight in the Lord. Words o:. Encouragement. EATON, ROBERT, OR. The Sanctuary of Strength. The Ministry of Reconciliation. In Newness ofLife. Divine Refreshme~. The Sword of the Spirit. " The Man of Sorrows. The Garden of God. The Forty Days - " EHL, ANTON The Spiritual Direction of Sisters, translated b)r Felix M. Kitsch, O.F.M.CAP. (A valuable book for superiors.) 118 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS ELLARD, GERALD, S.d. Christian Life and Worship. (A fine sketch of the liturgical backgrounds bf spirituality.) EYMARD, BLESSED PETER JULIAN (1868) The Divine Eucharist. 4 vols. (A Eucharistic saint writes on his favorite topic.) FENNELLY, BERNARD, C.S.SP. Follow Me. (A comprehensive study of the religious vows from, the canonical and spirit.ual viewpoints.) FILLION, LOUIS C., S.S. (1927) The Life of Christ. 3 vols. (Critical, scholarly, and very read-able. ) FROGET, BARTHELEMY, O.P. Thd Indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Souls of the Just. (A classic treatise on the supernatural psychology of the soul. Bede 3arrett, O.P., has summarized and adapted it in his "Abiding Presence_ of the Holy Ghost.") GERTRUDE, SAINT (1302 ?) The Exercises of St. Gertrude. Love of the Sacred Heart. The True Prayers of St. Gertrude and St. Mechtilde. GIRARDEY, FERREOL, C.SS.R. (1930) Conference Matter for Religious. 2 vols. (This compilation contains a mine of material for the supe'rior's periodic instructions.) GIRAUD, S.M., M.S. (1885) ~ The Spirit of Sacrifice, edited by Herbert Thurston, S.J. GROU, JEAN NICHOLAS, S.J. (1803) How to Prag. Manual for Interior Souls. The Interior of desus and Mary. 2 vols. The Characteristics of True Devotion. Meditations on the Love of God. Self-Consecration. The School of desus Christ. Spiritual Maxims. HILL, OWEN, S.J. (1930) Cbarit~l and Our Three Vows. 119 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS JAEGHE'R, PAUL DE, S.J. One wi?h Jesus. The Virtub of Trust. An Anthologg Of Mgst'icism. JARRETT, BEDE, O.P. (1934) The Religious Life. (An attractive brief history of the develop-ment of religious life.) KEMPF, JOSEPH G. New Things and Old. (A psychological treatment of some important aspects Of the religious life.) LAI, GAETANO CARDINAL DE (1928) The Pas'sion of Our Lord. The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. LEHEN, E. DE, S.J. (1867) The Wag .of Interior Peace. (For the scrupulous.) LEHODEY, ABBOT VITAL, O.C.R. " The Wags of Mental Prager. (One of the °best treatises on the subject.). Hol~t Abandonment. LEPICIER, ALEXIS HENRY CARDINAL (1936). Our Father. Jesus Christ the King of Our Hearts. The Mgsterg of Love. The Eucharistic Priest. The Fairest Flower of Paradise. Behold Thg Mother. Go to Joseph. LESSlUS, VENERABLE LEONARD, S.J. Virtues Awakened. .: Names of God. (This work will help one's knowledge of God.) MASSON,YVES E., O.P. The Christian Life and the Spiritual Life. ascetical theology.) MASTER OF NOVICES The Presence of God. Novices of Our Lord. Both are popular books in novitiates. MCELHONE, JAMES F., C.S.C. Particular Examen. (1623) immensely to deepen (An introducti6n to 1'20 RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS MCNABB, VINCENT, O.P. The Science of Prayer. The Craft of Prayer. The Craft o'f Suffering. Mary of Nazareth. MAUMIGNY, RENE DE, S.J. (1918) The Practice of Mental Prayer. helpful treatise.) MERCIER, D. CARDINAL (1926) Retreat to Priests. God's Way of Mercy. God's Good Cheer. The Life of Our Lord. MEYER, RUDOLPH J., S.J. (1912) The Science of the Saints. 2 vols. 2 VOLS. MIRIAM TERESA, SISTER, SISTERS OF CHARITY Greater Perfection. (A very lucid and (1927) SCHWERTNER, THOMAS M,, O,P, The Rosary. 1933) 121 SCHRYVERS, ,JOSEPH, C.SS.R. The Gift o/: Oneseff. Our Divine Friend. PARSCH, DOM PIUS, O.S.B The Liturgy Of the Mass. Guhte to the Liturgical Year. The Divine O~ice: How to Say It Devoutly and with Pleasure. Commentary on the Little O[[ice B.V.M. These bo6ks are both scholarly and devotional. PETER OF ALCANTARA,, SAINT (1562) Treatise on Prayer and Meditation. ROCHE, ALOYSIUS The Light of the Anxious Heart. Splendour of the Saints. Bedside Book of Saints. The Things that Matter. Fear and Religion. ° ROUVIER, FREDERICK, S.J. (1925) The Conquest of Heaven. (An important little treatise on per-fect charity and perfect contrition.) SCHARSCH, PHILIP, O.M.I. Confession as a Means to Spiritual Progress. SCHEEBEN, JOSEPH M. (1888) The Glories of Divine Grace. RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL BOOKS SCUPOLI, LORENZO, THEATINE ( 1 610) The Spiritua( Combat: (An oldfavorite.) SHEEN, MSGR. FULTON J. The Mystic'al Body of Chri'st. The Eternal Galilean. SKELLY, A. M., O.P. (1938) Conferences on the Interior Life. 4 vols. Retreat Conferences for Religious Sisterhoods. Conferences on the Religious Life. STEUART, R., S.J. The Inward Vision The World Intangible. Temples of Et, ernitg. STOCKUMS, BISHOP WILHELM The Priesthood. Diversity of Holiness: In Dive'rs Manners. " The Four First Things. Spirituality of the Priesthood. Vocation to the Priesthood. STUART, MOTHER JANET ERSKINE, R.S.C.J. (1914) Highways and By-ways in the Spiritual Life. Prayer in Faith: Thoughts for Liturgical Seasons and Feasts. 2 vols. Two SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME Soul Clinic: An Examination of Conscience /:or Religious Teachers. (A practi_~al .study of the p~ychological. approach to the spiritual problems of religious.) VERNET; FELIX . Mediaeval Spirituality. (Covers the important spiritual writers of the mediaeval Church and giyes a clear outline of ti~ir teaching.) VINCENT DE PAUL, SAINT (1660) Conferences to the Sisters of Charity. 4 vols. Letters, edited by Joseph Leonard, C.M. St. Vincent de Paul and Mental Prayer, by 39seph Leonard, C.M. WADDELL, HELEN The Desert Fathers, edited in the Catholic Masterpiece Tutorial Series. (From the Vitae Patrum, agreat work of mediaeval piety, are translated choice selections revealing the deeds and maxims of the early desert religious.) 122 ommunicaiJons [EDITORS' NOTE: Limited space forced us to omit some points from letters pub-lished in this issue. Most Of these omitted points were repetitions: the other, com-ments will be referred to in our concluding editorial. With the present number, we conclude the communications .on the subject of spiritual direction. If possible, the editorial, summing up the discussion, will be pu~blished in the May number, o We are grateful to our readers for their ¢oopdration in this matter; and we hope that some good will come from it.] '., From Priests Reverend Fathers: My experience of some twenty-five or more years df spiritual direction of nuns and as a retreatmaster has taught me among a good many other points, the following concerning special direction: 1) The initiative should be taken by the penitent or "~piritual . cfiild," not by the confessor or diiector. I have never forgotten the. principle that our Master of Novices gave us with particular reference to Sisters: "Let them find you; don.'t you go looking for them." 2) It seems to me that everyone needs some special spiritual direc-tion during a certain life period--usually a critical life period, when-ever that may be. It is different with every individual. Also, such critical periods, presenting serious problems, may recur: and each time some special direction may be necessary or advisable. But I believe that the director fosters "spiritual babyhood" if he fails to train his charges to stand on their own feet and solve recurring problems (most of which will be along the same lines) with the help of the solutions and counsels received in the past, and tb apply the same old principles to the solution of such new difficulties as may arise. 3) It is my experience that many Sisters want to consult a "special confessor" concerning problems that they could easily" settle either by themselves, with the aid of principles known to them, or by a talk wlth the superior or with another Sister. These are too ready to find the ordinary confessor "ufisatisfactory." 4) As I said, I think it likely to happen to any individual tha~ on occasion he will need special help. And in this regard I should ' like to say that I have found it hard to understand how so many superiors readily avail themselves of this opportunity, yet make it very' difficult for their subjects to have the advantage of ~he same privilege. I consider this ~iltogether uncharitable, to say the least, if not unfair and unjust.~ Signed, etc. . . 123 COMMI.~NICATIONS Reverend Fathers: The confessor oi rel.igious should have a definite plan for the execution of.his task. His program must have but one objective: the increase in his penitents of an intimate union with God. Since this union is achieved principally through the exercise of the supernatural virtues, it seems that goodspiritual direction should partake of an intim, ate and personal acquaintance with the content of Ascetical and Mystical Theology. ~Many .religious, it is true, know these things theo/eticaily; it is the confessor's business to help. them to repeat tl~em systematically and l~racticall~/. I suggest the following method. If the penitent presents some special probl~m, then let the confessor deal with it in a specialized a~id personal way. If there are no special p~roblems, then the con-fessor should tie. prepared to give a two-minute talk on some topic of Ascetical Theology: These talks must be planned and given sys-tematically. In a few words the donfessor should present to each penitent a succinct notion of his subject. He should make it practical and especially directed to stir the soul to ~ction in a given avenue, or at least to inspire the penitent with greater love and generosity in the service of the Master. He .would thus teach a certain part of Asceti-cal Theology and at the same time .help the penitent to conceive a greater and truer sorrow for sin. As a supplementary measuie, the confessor might see that the community has a solid ascetical manual, and suggest the reading of the pertinent pages of the manual for thgt particular week. Also, he might !uggest the subject spoken of as the subject for the particular examen or for some practice of mortification to be chosen by the peni-tent. The following of such a manual ~rould furnish material for at least three .years' direction; and if. the religious penitent "did not ~receive such systematic direction, why. could he not supply it for him~ self? On the occasion of confession, each penitent could study the manual and apply it in the above-mentioned fashion. To give but one illustration. The first step in the spiritual life is the purification of the soul. This is "accomplished by. a positive means, prayer. There is vocal prayer, as well as mental prayer. To do either well, one is in need of a method: The soul is also purified by a struggle against all sin by patient and constant mortification of the passions. There is enough matter in this paragraph for spiritual direction for an entire year. Two months or more could be spent 124 COMMUNICATIONS on the topic of meditation. It is a question of treating a very small portion of each topic at every confession. If one would wish greater clarification, we could offer the following .example:" prayer--con-sider the notion of prayer: its necessity; Christ's example of prayer: the fruits of prayer: the ideal prayer, etc. Signed, etc . . Reverend Fathers: I should like to make these few observations that longexperi-ence has taught me to be practical in regard.to the direction of reli-gious in their weekly confessions. 1. The ordinary confessor is supposed to be a director, but this does not mean that he is expected to give diiection every week. Nor does it mean that whenever he gives some admonition it must have a distinctively personal application--though this latter is desirable. 2. The initiative for spec!al personal direction should usually come from the penitent: but the confessor may be expected to mani.- fest in a reserved, dil~lomatic way .that he is willing eventually to undertake such direction. For a newly-appointed ordinary confes-sor to.tell his penitents bluntly that h'e is eager to do this would be imprudent, also embarrassing for many, e.g. for those who, for one reason or another, do not care to have any personal guidance. "This becomes a nuisance on the whole community, when ordinary con-fessors are changed frequently, and each new one wants a complete manifestation of soul from each penitent. At most, a brief.presenta-tion of tendend~s and leanings of the penitent is sufficient as a basis for safe guidance. 3. Though we cannot question the need of some spiritual guidance, yet the need can easily be exaggerated, especially by Sis-ters. In some senses, religious need much less personal direction than" do those who strive for perfdction outside religion. If they keep their vows and rules faithfully, are conscientious in following their daily routine, listen attentively to the sermons, instructions and conferences given them, and are submissive to their legitimate supe.- riors--they are by these very things following the lead of the Holy Ghost. Signed, etc. 125 CO/v~d~r~ ICATIONS From Sisters . Reverend Fathers: It is my suggestion, as a means of approach, that the confessor give to each penitent, for the first two weeks, a s~ntence or two of a more general, type on a mystery or a saint whose feast occurs during the week. This may help to give a feeling of confidence that the con-fessor is not in to6 much of a hurry and also that he is willing to be helpful to every one. The third week he may begin to give more specific and personal direction based upon the material confessed. This method may give those who desird direction and are not too timid an opportunity to take the initiative and profit by direction. Those who are more timid will have gained enough courage and con-fidence to take the initiative. Those who do not desire, or at least claim that they do not desire, direction, may be won over, since the confessor did notcommence by dictating to them. These souls'~eem to resent going to a confessor, even set a barrier, if he gives the least impression that he" is to dictate to them. If they do not get that first unpleasant impression they more easily fall in line and profit by the direction. Many times they" will not admit it or even fully realize that they are being directed. I wonder if penitents realize the harm'done by gossipy talk about the sacrament or confessor. Some religious have refrained from going to certain confessors because some soul-repeated the direction which was meant for no one else. If each penitent would keep to herself or himseif what is personal direction or reprimand, less harm would result. Let each one learn for oneself whether or not certain confessors are helpful to them as individuals. Whatever may seem to be resented by one may be greatly appreciated and desired by another. A Sister Reverend Fathers: Fr'om my own experience, may I make this one little suggestion to priests who want to give helpful direction to Sisters. I think that priests sh6uld remember that we are not as learned in spiritual mat- . ters as they are; therefore, it is not always enough merely to tell us what our troui31e is. It is frequently necessary to give a little expla-nation of the nature of the trouble, so that we may see for ourselves why things go wrong and how we are toact. A Sister 126 COMMUNICATIONS Reverend Fathers: It seems to me that the question of the necessity of special: spir-itual direction is in danger of being overstressed onone side and not su~ciently understood on the other. In his Spiritui~t Conferences, Father Faber says: "Sometime~ people go to confession only for the purpos~ of direction. They use a great sacrament merely as a handle or. occasion for something else, for another purpose; ihdeed .a very good one, but a very inferior and subordinate one." Father Faber thinks this fault more common with converts: but I think that it is not infrequent with some Sisters. A Mother Superior Reverend Fathers: There is just one point that I sincerely trust you .will bring out before you close, .namely, that any soul. who practises sincere devo-tion to the Holy Ghost and aims at acquiring a spirit of abandon-ment will always receive spiritual guidance when it is needed. We should all like regular help; but women must be careful not to seek it too much, for, while gratifying, it is not always necessary. Where I am we have schools in so many towns where only the pastor is available that it takes much faith to be resigned: yet, if a miracle is necessary God will perform it for any religious who prays, to the Holy Ghost and practises .abandonment. I have also experienced this when seeking to assist children to return to "God after, a first mortal sin. A Sister Reverend Fathers: In view of past experiences as Mistress of Novices and Abbess of a community of contemplative nuns, I shouid like to express an opin-ion concerning the spiritual direction of nuns. It seems to me that there has been so much written on the subject that it has caused confusion in many minds. We are a strictly clois: tered order, but we enjoy the liberty of conscience that active, unclois-tered religious do, in so far as that is~" possible. However, we have little occasion to know any priests once we have entered here, with the exception of our confessors, retreat-masters, and chaplains--and the latter generally do not hear our confessions. This gives us little choice for confession or spiritual direction other than the priests we thus meet in the course of'our religious life. We may ask for a special spir.- 127 COM~IUNICATIONS itual director and l~ave him come every week. This has been done; but imagine if each of our 40 or 50 Sisters m~de such a demand! They all have the right, if one has. One might thinl~ that cloistered religious shciuld t~ke their-ordi-. nary confessor for ~piritual director. But I have not found many of thes~ wiio understand the enclosed contemplative life. Confessors are apt to judge their penitents' difficulties and trials from the standard of tl~eir own experiences. 'Hbw else can they judge them? Yet, to und'~rstand the enclosed life fully, one must either live it or have unusual depth of understanding. Is the result, then, that we cannot get or do not need spiritual direction? I should say it is neither. Cloistered religious need spiritual direction, but not to the extent that is g.enera.lly implied¯ I think that in general ."over-direction" has .done more harm than insufficient dire~tion. Of ~ourse, I cannot speak for active, but only for contemplative, ~eligious. The following about explains our case:The circumstances of our .daily lives and our daily trials, etc., are pretty much the same. over a period of years. Our occasions for practising virtue, breaking rules, etc., arc also about the same. Our life is not monotonbus, as s0ir.- Jtual writers so often pityingly tell us it is. We who are called to it and live it know it.is not. It is full from morning till night, ~nd monotony finds no pla.ce in it, in spite of the sameness of people. place, prayers, and. work. . (Can the.~spiritual life ever.be monot-onous?) This brings me to what I want to say: that, though we all heed spiritual direction, we do not need it week. after week or even month after month. Based on past experience, [ feel safe in making the statement that the fervent religious is the one who' needs the least direction. She who is faithful to the. inspirations of grace, to her duties; to the self-abnegation required of her to live in love" and h~rmony with her f~llow-religious, generally knows by the light of the Holy Ghost,- the directions of her rule and her superiors, what she is to do-- provided, of course, she has been properly instructed in her novitiate days, Her' iiaterior advancement is of the slow, quiet and, I might add, safe kind: her occasional difficulties "are generally solved between ¯ herself and her confessor, retreat-master, or superior. What of the one whose step grows lax, whose petty jealousies, .pride, self-love, self-will, and lack of self-denial create constant trouble and difficulties' for her? She needs direction, indeed: but she 128 COMMUNICATIONS needs more to take hold of herself and make herself realize that no spiritual director can make.her holy, but only herself~ by doing the things she knows full well she should do. She makes difficulties for herself and others, then looks for a director to get her out of them. She spends long periods in the confessional; and often this has just the effect' it should not have: it gives her an air of importance, a notion that she has a :'special" mission in life, instead of humbling her. It seems to me that when direction has this effect it should be brought to a quick termination. I do not mean to say that spiritual direction is unnecessary. But I think that when the saints spoke of its necessity they did not always mean that it must be given by word of mouth. Our found-ers, whose spirit is contained in our rules, give us their directions and demands in those rules. Also, we have spiritual reading and medi-tation, or should I say interior prayer: and we have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I do admit that the scrupulous religious may"need much direc-tion; and I think that superiors should be considerate of them and get them a suitable director. Also I know that there have been and still are extraordinary souls who need extraordinary spiritual direc-tion; and may God bless them with an understanding guide. Then there are the problems that at times will confront a mistress of nov-ices- or superior. These must be gone over at length; though gener~ ally they do not fall under th~ heading of spiritual problems, except in so far as .superiors must act according to justice and their con-sciences. This is particularly true of such" problems as cannot or had better not be discussed at a council meeting. Perhaps I am only trying to be important by airing these views to you. Forgive me if I am; and drop this into the waste-basket. A Mother Superior 129 SOUL CLINIC. An Exam;nation of Conscience for Religious Teachers. By Two Sisters of Notre Dame, Cleveland, Ohio. Pp. x -{- 200. Fred- ~ erick Pustet Co., New York, 1943. $2.00. The first part of this excellent wori~ is entitled, "The Psychologi-cal Approach to our Spiritual Problems," and it begins by laying" down "General Principles." The great purpose of religiousteachers is to cultivate a Christlike character in. themselves and in their stu-dents. The. general formula is: motives, ha,bits, character. Motives may be bad or good, natural or supernatural, and one's habits and character will be just such i~s one's motives. Motives reach the will through the mind and heart. Motives of a particular kind will be accepted if they be considered sufficiently valuable. If the mind be kept filled with true values, good emotions naturklly will arise in the heart, and good attitudes in the will. If these be maintained, good habits and a good ~haracter are the result. Hence, to form a Christ-like character; appropriate, as far as possible, Christ's ways of thinking, His .estimations of values, and the emotions of His Heart; Christlike habits of will and a Christlike character will follow. - "We have failed to stabilize our wills by fusing them with the Will of God ¯ . . And why .d~d we so fail? Because we did not build up strong motivation on the basis of Christ's thoughts and emotions. To express it in another way, we failed to use the time for meditation, .reading, examination of conscience, to fill our souls with the thoughts ¯ and emotions of Christ. We did not convince ourselves of the great-ness of eternal values: divine love, everlasting riches, hohor, and pleasures. These considerations would have furnished us with pow-erful motives to command our Weak wills' to seek,the things° above as our Lord enjbined repeatedly" (p. 13). Another idea from psychology of which much use is made is the theory of instincts. Three of these are discussed at some length, namely~ the superiority instinct, the social instinct, and the self-preservation instinct, called also the reproductive or love instinct. The writers point out the original divine purpose of these fundamental ¯ human tendencies, the deviations to which they are.only too liable, and the ways in which they ought to be re-directed and sublimated to supernatural .ends. 130 BOOK REVIEWS Several¯ tables of motives, natural and supernatural, of the habits of a Christlike personality,~ and of the values, transient-and perma2 nent, are given to aid thdse who will seek in this book a method of therapy for their moral maladies. .Under the heading, "Mary in Character-education," the character of the Blessed Virgin is sketched as exemplifying, ideally and con-cretely, the psychological and spiritual principles and methods pro-posed. This treatise, a!ready very good, could be made still bett~r ~much more emphasis were placed on the cardinal importance of ade-quat'e, realistic appreciation of the greatvalues, both in initiating good habits and in strengthening them. One statement that is made and. repeated seems to call for a theological comment. Though the worth of natural motives is well expressed and the utilization of them by Christians is not at all discountenanced, it is said that they are not meritorious for eternity:' But, to.judge from the autho.rity of t.heo- ¯ logians, all who are in the state of grace may hope to find that all their deliberate actions, except only their sinful ones, have merited an in-crease of grace and glory. It would be more surely correc~ to say that to act from merely natural" motives ma~t not be meritorious, or, if supernatural motivation be required, then in all probability the con-dition will be verified in a person acting well while in the staie of grace. The second part of the book gives twenty-five detailed examlna-tibns of conscience, personality, and character. These are designed and arranged both so as to correbpond to the sequenceof the ligurgical year.and to cover the chief points that one must keep in mind to re-model one's personality and build up a character that is like to.that. of Christ.~G. A. ELLARD, S.J. CHAPTERS IN RELIGION. By ÷he Reverend C. A. Prindeville, (3.M., S.T.D. Pp. 354. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1942.$2.00, ¯ A book which attempts to review the.whole of faith and morals in 350 phges is bound to be superficial. Theology cannot be packed into a match-box or sketched on a thumbnail. But what the Cate-chism does, in a pamphlet, for the child mind, this moderately.sized volume does, without the Catechism7s interplay of question and answer, for the more developed adult comprehension. One cannot but marvel at the author's ability to say so much in so few words. 131 BOOK REVIEWS. The book begins by showing what the Church teaches about God, the one nature and the three Persons. ,In brief chapters it proceeds to narrate what revelation'states about Creation and Orig-inal Sin, the Redeemer and His Mother, the Church, Grace and Vir-tue, Sacraments and Sacrifice, the Ten Commandments. It ends, as is right, with the Last Things. Ari index makes the work prac-ticable for reference. The author's grasp of theok)gy is extensive and profound. But he has seen fit to disclose his vast knowledge in a language of ou.tmoded rhetoric which writers of. Catholic books sometimes think must be used. The infinite beauty of G6d is brought out by com-parison, witb""gorgeous sunsets and starlit heavens; the majestic heights of the mountain range, the ocea'n in its va, rying moods of calm or storm, the alluring loveliness in the human face and' form,'" and so on, in words solemn and trite. There occurs even an occa-sional "pe.rcbance." The style is generally clear but dry. Priests and religious are sometimes asked to recommend for con- .verts o~ inquirers a readable b6ok that presents Catholic" doctrine with completeness but brevity. They are embarrassed when they " cannot, and wish someone would write such a work. This volume is almost the answer to their prayer.--C. VOLLERT, 8.J. A SHORT BREVIARY F.OR RELIGIOUS AND THE LAITY. Edited by ,. the MonEs of St.' John's Abbey. Pp. 766.' The Lifurglcal Press, lecje~,ille, Minn. Second edition. 1942. $2.85. ~ By way of providing a Lay Brothers' Office, the monks of St. ~lohn's Abbey have abbreviated the. breviary. They put us all in their debt by thus giving us the cream of t~e entire office, in an . ¯ ,arrangement wisely built up mostly of the Psalms carefully selected, even slightly annotated by rubrication. It will indicate their pro-cedure to sthte that the short Matins have three Psalms and one les-son. Lauds and Vespers each four Psalms, all the other Hours one each, but with the structure and arrangement, and spirit, of the entire Office carefully preserved. The book's vhysical features seem perfect:~the paper is good; the type clear and sharp; the printing in black and red: the binding~ in stout leatherette with four sewed-in ribbon markers; and for a price well within a po0r'man's pocketbook. These facts have !32 BOOK RE'~iIEWS helped sell the first edition in short order: a much larger edition now issues from the press. We have lately heard of religious congregations adopting a modified form ,of Divine Office in lieu of the 'community prayers' formerly said daily in common. We venture to predict, that this Short Breviarg will offer strong incentive for further such adop-tions. But ~a~ide from such common use, the book will provide any one, priest, Brother, Sister, with prayer-book and meditation-book needs, and offer a chance to sample that endless round of psalmody, so conspicuous in the" official homage paid by the Church to God. --- GERALD ELLARD, S.J. THE OUR FATHER. B'f the Most Reverend Tihamer Toth. Translated by V. G. Acjotal. Edited by the Reverend Newton Thompson, S.T.D,~ Pp. 314. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 1943. $2.75. The experienced reader knows that he must frequently make allowances for published sermons. In its original setting, a sermon may leave nothing to be desired: from the printed page, it too often makes one regret that he can only read wl~at was meant to be heard. For those unacquainted with Bishop Toth's writings, we give assurance that his published sermons labor under little if any handi-cap. To read any one of them is to come under the spell of a wise, experienced, holy, very practical friend and counsellor. His Excel-lency is never the conscious orator. Rather he. is the shepherd of gouls, on!y concerned that the living waters of God's truth be made available for his charges. He is clear, orderly, interesting, with special talent for apt illustration or anecdote. Because the style is so simple, direct, informal, the reader easily becomes an attentive listener in the presence of a master conversationalist. This, the ninth volume of Bishop Toth's sermons to be made available in English translation, contains twenty-eight sermons on such fundamemental subjects as Belief in God, Life Worthy of Man, Our Father, Creator and Lord. Children of God, Brotherhood of Man, Brothers of Christ, Heaven or Earth, Suffering, Honor and Praise of God, Art and Habit of Prayer, and Intellectual and Eco-nomic Life. Taken together, the series comments on the text of the Our Father, although each sermon is a unit by itself. The book is highly recommended for either community or private spiritual reading, and for meditation subject-matter.--C. DEMUTH, S.J. 133 BOOK REVIEW~ THE SPIRITUAL DIREC;TION OF SISTERS. By the Reverend A. Ehl. Adapted from the German by the Reverend Felix M. Kirsch, O. M. (~ap., Ph.D., Llff.D. Pp. xlx + 483. Benzlger Brothers, New York. $3.75. In its six major divisions this .compact but comprehensive man-ual treats of Religious Vocations, the General and Special Problems pertaining to the Direction of Sisters, the Principal Mean~ e~ployed in their Direction, Canonical Regulations concerning Sisters, and the Obligations of the Vows. A brief introduction explains some can-onical terms. Father Kirsch has'jUdiciously adapted the material to American readers and has added a valuable bibliography. In general, the book is excellent: complete, sound, practical. An enumeration of its specific good pgints would be too lengthy. Suffice to say that it should be very helpful to confessors or directors of Sis-ters, as well as to all priests and seminarians. By reading it, ,supe-riors of Sisters would get a better understanding not only of the work of the confessor, but of the whole religious life. o ¯ It seems advisable to indicate here some points that might puzzle the reader. The author is too much addicted to "must": he does not distinguish with sufficient care between what he counsels and what he really considers of obligation. Moreover, although he apparently wanted to help. the average priest commissioned with the spiritual care of Sisters, yet the comprehensiveness of the work and the indiscrimin'ate references to "the priest," "th.e confessor," "the spiritual director," create the impression that he has in mind a priest who spends his whole time in a convent.~ In fact, the seminarian anal young priest might be con'fused, even discouraged, by the mul~ tiplicity of details. Better for them to read the book for the general impression, then return to the details when this knowledge is required. Regarding the confessor in particular, the author seems prone to have him mix too much in external affairs. As one instance of sev-eral, I cite the following: "The confessor should not dismiss lightly the complaints that may be made by the superior on the above points (i.e. abuses regarding religious exercises), but should diligently inquire into the matter." I fail to see how a confessor is justified in using the complaints of-the superior as a handle-for any ques-tioning of. his penitents.---G. KELLY, S.J. 134 BOOK REVIEWS A BOOK OF SIMPLE WORDS. By a Sister of Notre Dame (de Namur). Pp. 240. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1942. 1;2.00. In simple words the author has given us the~ result of much study--study of the peisonality: of Christ. Thecharm and natural-ness of an essay are brought to this series of spiritual reflections. The book might be said to tell the ~tory of Christ's public life. It is selective in that the author has ~hosen from the Gospel story inci-dents revealing the facets of the personality of Christ" too often over-looked or little realized in our reading of the evangelists. A careful,. . prayerful reading of this book will give more than knowledge: it is meant to lead the reader to ~ personal experience of Jesus Christ.' Lacking entirely the formalism of 'a manual, the book should prove in~erdsting and profitable as a source of suggestions for medi-tation. A miracle" is recounted; a~ lesson suggested, or attention called to ~-phase of tl~e Savior's character: a brief and pertinent exhortation is given; artistically the author appeals to three facub ties of the soul: the memory, intellect, and will. The truths pro. posed and the lessons logically drawn are solid, but expressed in a language that sometimes draws attention to itself because of emo-tional expression and occasional cliches. The publisher has pro-vided a medium of expression worthy.of the thought, for. the. printing is attractive, even artistic.-~M. D. CURRIGAN, S.~J. THE PATER NOSTER OF SAINT TERESA. Translated and adapted by the Reverend William J. Doheny, CLS.C~,, J.U.D. Pp. ~x -t- IS0. The Bruce Publishing Gompany, Milwaukee, 1942. Gloth, !;I.50; paper, $1.00. Thi~ work is simply,the concluding portion of St. Teresa's The Wa~/of Perfection. Since its subject-matter is sublime, and since it is from the seraphic heart and the classical" pen of the great Spanish Princess of Mystics, it needs no commendation. By way of introduction and to establish the setting, Father Doheny gives excerpts (28 pages) from the preceding chapters of The Way. In these will be found some of St. Teresa's ideas and exhortation~ on such things as religious poverty, c.harity, detach-ment, and the need of praying for preachers and scholars. In reality nearly all the chief points'of the .religious life are touched upon briefly. In this treatise on the "Our Father" occurs the well-known 135 BOOK REVIEWS account of a nun who once went to St. Teresa in a: state of the o greatest desolation because she could not, like other companions of "the Carmelite foundress, practice mental prayer and "raise herself to contemplation. ~ Upon questioning .her as to how she did pray, St. Teresa found out that the unhappy sister was accustomed to "recite the Lord's prayer in such a way as at the same time to arrive "at the prayer of pure contemplation. Our Lord raised.her even .to the prayer of union. It was evident . . . that she had received.the highest ~a.vors in prayer" (page 52). At the end of her commentary St. Teresa writes: "If we under-stand how we ought to recite the .Pater Noster perfectly, we .shall know how to recite all other vocal prayers. See how our Lord has assisted me.in this work. He has taught both you and me the .way. of perfection . I assure you that I never dreamed this prayer contained such deep secrets. You will notice that it sums up the entire spiritual life, from its first begir~ning to that point where soul is 10st entirely in God." " . If. one were to say the "Our Father," especially the third peti-tion, "Thy will be done," realizing and meaning thoroughly,:p.rac-tically, and persistently, what one s~ys, then one would be very ho!y indeed.--G. A. ELLARD, S.,l. TEN BLESSED YEARS. By Clara M. Tiry. Pp. 306. The Apostolate of Suffering, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1939. $ l.S0. HAPPY HOURS WITH CHRIST. By Clare M. Tiry. Pp. 187. The Bruce Publ~shincj~ Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1940. $I;75. A unique society has come into existence in the city of Milwau-" kee in recent years ~nd'has spread throughout the country, In 1926 a young woman in Milwaukee, v~h0 had been weighed down with "constant sickness from babyhood, conceived the idea of establishing a society whereby, the sick and all others Who have any kind of suf-fering whatever to bear could be united together, in offering it God. With the assistance of the present bisl~qp of Fargo, N. D., the Most Reverend Aloysius J. Muencb, who at the. time was serving in the capacity of assistant pastor in a Milwaukee parish,. the Apost01at.e of Suffering was established. Ten Blessed Years tells the story of the Apostolate in the words c;fits foundress, Miss Clara M. Tiry. Through the Cathblic Press in the United States the Apostolate was brodght to the attentidn of 136 BOOK REVIEW~ the'suffering, and the society grew rapidly in membership. The book gi~es an account of the activities of the Apostolat~ and'a short sketch of the life of its patron saint, St. Lidwina of Schiedam, a fifteenth century Dutch girl. In the foreword Bishop Muench tells of the .spirit that animates the Apostolate: "Through the Apostolate ~bey feel again the healing hand of Christ, Who loved the sick. It is like balm on a burning wound--Christ's consola-tion that life is yet worth while: that the sick may share in His redemptive work." .°Happy Hours with Christ is a collection of twenty-seven groups of meditations, prayers and spiritual readings for ~he sick. They are appropriately arranged according to the various liturgi-cal seasons. Through them the sick are brought to a deeper realiza-tion of their mighty vocation of suffering and are enabled to bear their pain with greater love and generosity.--W. 3. "BURTON, S.3. HOPE OF LIFE. By Sister Monica, Ph.D. Pp. vii + 162. P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1942. $1.35. This tersely written little book from the talented pen of a well-known historical and spiritual writer is intended primarily for reli-gious, although the la~ person will find in it much food for reflec-tion. The author writes of death, dreaded death: but death, the door to life. Only a soul. that has loved much both God and man and has meditated long on a personal God could have made these reflections. Some undertaking fails, friends turn against us, love is spurned. And we sit at the roadside brooding. I am so unimporta.nt. But I am important to God. He wants me. When the supreme moment comes, why is it that we die alone? We bare a longing for com-pany, a craving for human s~mpatby. But there comes a time when~ human sympathy will not satisfy; we must have the divine. Let me cling to God. I must keep my heart clean in its impulses and its choices; I must keep my gaze clean, or I lose the way. Arrived at my home I shall find hap

Transcript of an oral history interview with W. Russell Todd conducted by Joseph Cates at the Sullivan Museum and History Center on May 16 and May 19, 2016, as part of the Norwich Voices oral history project. W. Russell Todd graduated from Norwich University in 1950 and was president of the university from 1982 to 1992. In his interview, he discusses his thirty-two years of active duty in the U.S. Army as well as his experiences at Norwich University. ; 1 W. Russell Todd, NU '50, Oral History Interview Interviewed on May 16, 2016 and May 19, 2016 At Sullivan Museum and History Center Interviewed by Joseph Cates JOSEPH CATES: This is Joseph Cates. Today is May 16th, 2016. I'm interviewing General Russell Todd. This interview is taking place at the Sullivan Museum and History Center. This interview is sponsored by the Sullivan Museum and History Center and is part of the Norwich Voices Oral History Project. OK, first tell me your full name. RUSSELL TODD: William Russell Todd. JC: When were you born? RT: I was born on the first day of May, 1928, in Seattle, Washington. JC: What Norwich class are you? RT: Class of 1950. My father was 26. My son was -- I'll think about that. JC: Well, we'll get back to that. Tell me about where you grew up and your childhood. RT: For the first year of my life we lived in Seattle, Washington. Dad had a job with a lumber company out there, getting experience to come back to work for his father, who ran a lumber company just outside Milton, Massachusetts. So I grew up for the first nine or ten years in Milton, Massachusetts, a very nice place, right on the edge of where Mattapan and Milton come together. There was a lot of traffic. Well, just for an example, during that period of time I came up with my dad to his fifteenth reunion, and the difference in traffic between where we lived and what we found up here was considerable. When I got back to school on Monday the teacher said, "Russell had a day off. He's now going to tell us what he saw." Well, nothing came to mind, and I stood and told them that I had seen something they had never seen, miles and miles and miles of dirt roads. Now I live on one. (laughs) JC: Was that the first time you were ever at Norwich? RT: Yeah. JC: What was your impression of it when you first saw it? RT: It was a very interesting period of time. It was just before World War II affected the United States, and many, many people were sending their sons to Norwich -- rather than perhaps better prepared schools -- because they could get a commission. They assumed that everyone was going to go to war, and the opportunity of getting an education and a commission together at the same time really appealed to a lot of people. Our football team got everybody we wanted of great quality. We won all the games in that time 2 frame. And we had some very, very fine people who came back in 1946, the year I entered the university, and they made a big impression on my life. JC: I'm sure. I assume the buildings were the same. There weren't any new buildings between the time that you went and -- RT: As a matter of fact it was 1941 I believe, and two buildings on the main parade ground were being dedicated. One wasn't quite finished, and the other was, and two new dormitories shows you an example of what I was saying, how it was a golden period in Norwich's history. But saying that, the opposite is true when the war ends. You remember that we had, what, 15 cadets come up here after the Civil War. They all got off the train, (laughs) yeah, we don't think much about that. It's happened each time there's been a war. The incentive, or the idea, or the concept of perhaps having to serve didn't appeal to a lot of people at the end of wars. JC: Right. You kind of have a boom before the war and a bust after the war. RT: Yeah. JC: What made you decide to come to Norwich? RT: I think probably that trip did, that and the fact my dad was always talking about it. He would make us on Saturday nights -- eating beans and franks -- to sing Norwich songs around the table. (laughs) JC: Do you remember any of those Norwich songs? RT: There's a good one. What is it? "Oh, My First Sergeant" "Oh, my first sergeant, he is the worst of them all. He gets us up in the morning before first call. It's fours right, fours left, and left foot into line. And then the dirty son of a buck, he gives us double time. Oh, it's home, boys, home. It's home we ought to be. Home, boys, home, in the land of liberty. And we'll all be back to Norwich when the sergeant calls the roll." JC: That's wonderful. (laughter) I've heard in some of the oral histories "On the Steps of Old Jackman," but I haven't heard that one before. (Todd laughs) So when you came here with your father, was that during homecoming? RT: Well, homecoming and graduation were the same period of time. It was fascinating to me. It was a cavalry school. They had all kinds of drills that we went to and watched, and prizes were awarded. People loading up the water-cooled submachine guns on horseback and racing around, then taking them down, and putting in ammunition blanks, and firing -- you know, first, second, and third prizes kind of thing. Oh, yeah, that impressed me. Then, of course, the parades were fun to see. But it took about three days to get through graduation and homecoming as a single entity. JC: When you came to Norwich what did you major in? 3 RT: That's an interesting story. As I said, Norwich was having trouble at that time recruiting people, and I got recruited by the president of the university. We met in Boston, and he asked me all the things I was interested in, and to him it looked like I should be an engineer, and he wanted me to take an exam that would carry that forward. Well, I took the exam, and I became an engineer, and about the first part of the second semester I discovered you really had to do the homework. I really didn't like that much, and I wasn't doing very well, so I changed my major to history and economics. I really found that fascinating. JC: Well, tell me about what it was like being a rook here. RT: Yeah, another interesting thing. I was sold on the rook system, and my dad had always talked about it. When he brought me up here, people would drop off their suitcases, and go right out onto the parade ground, and start being ordered around by the corporal. I thought that was great. I never seemed super. But I didn't have many followers on that. I was very anxious that my father leave, and get out of there, and go home, and I convinced him to do that. But after, oh, maybe a month the class, who had elected class officers by that time, called a class meeting, and we all got together -- I've forgotten where now. "We got to stop this. We got to tell these guys we're not going to put up with this nonsense. We've got to show our power." I stood up and said, "Gentlemen, this isn't what we want to do. We want to put up. We want to show him we can do it," and I got booed right off the stage. However, they eventually made me class secretary, so I didn't lose all my friends that day. (laughs) JC: Now let's talk about post-war Norwich, because you did say there's kind of a bust. There isn't as many people. RT: Yeah, I think we had 200 in our class, and there was no really classes of Bubbas. Norwich toward the end of the war, when they were really desperate to get money to pay salaries to the faculty, had a high-school level. I think it was two years, the high-school level, and many people went into that and came up here, and that toward the end made some income for the university. But what it did for us, as an incoming class of freshmen, we had our officers, lieutenants, who were younger than we were, but they'd been here two years. You know, that didn't sit over very well either. That was difficult. JC: And the cavalry was still here at that time. RT: It was, yeah, for the first two years of my term and tenure at Norwich, at that point. JC: What do you remember about the horse cavalry? RT: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Well, let's just put it this way. The first person I visited in Northfield when I came back as president was my old sergeant [Kenoyer?], who we hated. He was tough. But on the other hand, we really liked him, and I felt very, very sorry for him, and I really wanted to see him. His son had won entry into West Point, and 4 about two nights before he was to report in he and a bunch of his buddies were in an automobile accident. I think they were hit by a train and killed. Sergeant [Kenoyer?] was never the same after that. He continued to ride horses in the parades in Northfield and that kind of thing. But he was a character. His education was perhaps at the level he was working, taking care of the horses, and taking care of the riding. He was a good man, but, for example, I had a roommate named George Pappas who was scared to death of the horses, and some of the horses knew it. They knew when you were afraid. And old George would step into the stable area, ready to put on the harness, and that old horse would just back him into the wall and lean on him -- oh, you win. Then, of course, [Kenoyer?] would come by and say, "Kick him in the neb with your knee!" Well, no one was going to do that, trapped in there. So George, he decided that he would skip equitation classes, and instead he took 10 demerits for every single class that he was supposed to be at, and he spent his first semester walking around the parade ground on Saturdays carrying a rifle, doing tours. Many things can be said about George. That's a whole other story of absolute wonder. But it was difficult. We only went down once a week actually to use them, but there really wasn't a hell of lot you can learn in one-hour time once a week. But toward the end of the freshman year we were out trotting around in the neighborhoods, etc. I remember one time one of the captains in the Army ROTC program there, officers, Army officers, lead us on a parade, and we went out across the railroad tracks and up into the hills. And on the way back the horses got the idea they themselves would like to jog back to the stables, and we came charging down that hill totally out of control. Some of the horses and men went all the way to downtown before they came under it. I went through the football practice. (laughs) It wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. Now there were some people here, including a classmate by the name of Bob [Bacharat?] [00:13:18] who really was a polo player. He came from Switzerland. I think that's the reason he came to Norwich was to be able to play polo, and we played polo in that time frame with people like Miami who flew their horses up here. Now, I never saw the plane, but we were told all this and a few years earlier, before the war, that Norwich was playing the big colleges and winning. Toward the end of the first year we played something called broom polo, which they'd throw out a basketball on the floor, and then you'd have to hit it with a broom to get it to go to the goal. Those kinds of things were fun to watch. I remember one time George, my roommate, in skipping class went up into the stands, which are on the south end of the hall, but up above in a balcony, and he opened the window and got a snowball, several of them, and put them up there. When somebody would go by, the stove down on the floor -- there were four stoves in that place -- they'd get red hot, but they really didn't make a hell of a lot of difference when the temperature was 30 below or whatever it might have been outside. And the horses, when you'd take them from the stable to the riding hall, would fight you all the way; they didn't want to go out in that cold. But George, on one occasion, dropped snowballs on those red-hot stoves, and you can imagine, they hissed. As the horse went by, this great hiss came out, and the horse would throw the guy, or run for the far -- I went hell bent for election to the far wall. And when he stopped, I went right up onto his neck and was hanging on. Sergeant [Kenoyer?] came over and gave me hell, you know, "You didn't take control of that horse." (inaudible) [00:15:36] There are people lying down all 5 around, and the horses are running around. Well, there's a certain romance in having the horses, so long as you're sitting in the stands watching a polo game. (laughs) JC: Had you ever ridden a horse before? RT: No, never. JC: So you didn't have any experience with horses. RT: Neither did anybody else. Yeah, yeah. They were wonderful animals though, for the most part. JC: Now you said a lot of the people that were there before the war came back after the war to finish up. RT: Mm-hmm. A lot may be too much of an adjective to use, but Alumni Hall was essentially filled with non-married veterans, or veterans who hadn't brought their wives back. Civilian clothes and having nothing to do with the military. The rest of the dormitories were filled with 200 and whatever it was cadets, and the very few upperclassmen like the one I mentioned who came up through the high school route. We didn't have a lot to do with them, and they were very serious about their studies in the classrooms, very serious about their studies. The fraternization took place after the first of the year when we could go into a fraternity house, and I remember the older veterans -- older, 22 maybe -- who were in Theta Chi, where I was, were a remarkable bunch of people and very, very much appreciated. They didn't always come to dinner with us, but they were in the house and participated with it. They ranged all the way from a parachutist in Europe to a lieutenant colonel in the air force. So that's a big gap. But they were great guys who made fraternity life reasonable. JC: Well, tell me about Theta Chi. Why did you choose that one? RT: Oh, yeah, the same old story, the same reason I came here. My dad was a Theta Chi. Why, of course that's what I'd do. This is my father's fraternity, you know. JC: So what were the fraternities like? RT: They weren't too bad. When General Harmon eliminated them, I thought it was the right thing to do, because there weren't fraternities at other military colleges. And when they were started I really believe they were very useful. They were much more an eating club, and since there wasn't a mess in the university in the 1850s. If you look into some of the old records you'll see at graduation time they invited the alumni back to have dinner, and they had dances. They had inter-fraternity baseball and football, etc. We were trying at my time, in my fraternity, to replicate that. It wasn't perhaps as successful as it might have been. It was great fun to beat SigEp in baseball or something. But it was a different part of the university. I remember one time when I was a corporal, and one of the men in the rank under me, in the barracks, was in the fraternity. We get down to the fraternity, 6 and he would give me a hard time for giving him a hard time. It wasn't what I thought it should be, but it was a good time. I mean, don't misunderstand me. Well, it was a fraternity. (laughs) The girls came in by train, if they were away. Carol came up several times on a train to spring break, or a winter carnival, and that kind of thing. That was good sport to have a place where we could party. There was no drinking - baloney, there wasn't. (Coates laughs) I remember one time we were having lunch, and one of the seniors, one of the veterans that had come back, was the president of the house, and he said, "Our Theta Chi member on the faculty, old Professor Woodbury, is going to be our chaperone for the party. Does anybody know Professor Woodbury?" "I know Professor Woodbury. My father told me about him. I've met him once." He said, "Good. You and your date will sit in the living room with the Woodburys while we're down in the basement drinking." (laughter) It wasn't much fun that night. We had the bars hidden behind sliding doors, or doors that pulled down, and all this kind of stuff, so if we got word that there was someone from the faculty coming we could close it up and all sit down, smile, and look like there was no alcohol in the place. JC: Can you tell me a little bit about winter carnival and some of the dances that you all had? RT: They were good sport. Much of the fun though centered around the fraternity at that time. Yes, of course we went to the dance, etc., but before going to the dance we probably went to the fraternity, and certainly after the dance we went to the fraternity, and that was really good sport. In my senior year my roommate, Rollin S. Reiter, from Ohio decided that in his fraternity they were going to have a special Christmas party. Now, it didn't make an awful lot of sense, because it was right at exam time. We took exams right in that time frame, so he really had to work to get these guys. They were going to do it in tuxedoes, not in our uniforms, so that slowed it down a little, too. But one of the guys, Chubby Jordan, who has since passed away, he was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts National Guard later on, an ex-marine. He didn't want to go do it, so they convinced him that he had to do it, and they would get him a date. When he went to the fraternity house, he was introduced to the worst looking girl in the place, and he immediately started drinking beer and avoiding her and all this. It wasn't even the girl they were going to match him up with, and they just were teasing him something awful. When he got very sleepy they put him on the pool table, laid out flat like in a mortuary and put two lit candles, one at either end of him on the pool table. It was a sight for sore eyes. (laughs) JC: I bet it was. Now you were on the rook committee while you were there? RT: Yeah. In my sophomore year I was the head of the rook committee, elected by the class. During the summer period of time I had to get together with the printers and the university and go through this business. There were big posters that said "Beware, Rook, Beware," and then they listed all the things down. We'd get them printed up here by John Mazuzan down in the Northfield Press, and then we'd sell them to the rooks at $1 apiece. I don't know what we did with the money, in the class coffers I guess. Yeah. I remember that President Dodge, who had no military experience previous, but was a very, very well known scientist and had been the dean of one of the big Midwestern schools in that area, 7 he was brought in by some hefty people on the board of trustees. He didn't fit. He didn't understand us. He was a great academic and did some very fine things for the university. But he called me in one day, as head of the rook committee, and said, "When will this period end?" This was right after supper. I said to him, "Sir, it's very clear. It's right on the chart." He said, "I want it to end at Thanksgiving." I said, "Sir, I don't think you're talking to the right guy. You should really be talking to the commandant of cadets, your left-hand man." He said, "Well, I don't know if I can convince him," and I thought, oh, my God, what have we got here, you know. (laughter) He was a fine gentleman, but the minute it was possible for the alumni to discover that General Harmon might be available, in May of my senior year, Dodge was gone. The alumni just -- it wasn't working the way they wanted to see it work. JC: So Harmon was not president any of the time that you were here? RT: His inauguration was held at the same time as my graduation. It was one thing. He had been here for maybe a month, and I remember that we had a football banquet, and they invited General Harmon to come. And he stood up and told us all that he had been here as a cadet, and he had come back in 1935 as the commandant of cadets, and he loved and understood this university, and he was going to make it famous, you know, kind of, "Yeah!" Just the kind of story we needed. Then he told us a story that just curdled me. It was a dirty story. I'd never heard some guy stand up in a dinner and tell a dirty story. It sort of surprised me. He had that reputation. As a matter of fact, one time later in my career, when I was in the army, I was asked by my boss if I would go back to Hamilton, Massachusetts, where I had lived at one time and see Mrs. George Patton, and tell her that her son-in-law -- as a brigadier general -- was about to be sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was married to one of Patton's daughters, and he is now a bachelor. I was to go with three sets of quarters' plans and say, "Which of these, General, would you choose, because we at Fort Knox can now get the house painted up and ready for you, and all this kind of stuff ahead of time?" Well, Mrs. Patton agreed. When the time actually came general orders was late in his itinerary and couldn't be there, so she said, "Why don't you and Carol just come to dinner, and we'll talk about this? I will pass your message to Johnny when he comes through next week, and your leave is over." So that was just fine. But we had a quiet period in that Mrs. Patton was at one end of a long table, and I was at the other end, and Carol was in the middle, and there was a little old maid with a bonnet on her head, and an apron moving around quietly around the room. Everything went silent, and I said, "I can handle this." I said to Mrs. Patton, "Mrs. Patton, do you happen to know General Harmon?" And she said, "Indeed, I do, Russell, and he's a very disgusting man." (laughter) Now as it turns out, she gave an award right after that, she gave an award at Norwich of a similar pistol of General Patton's famous (inaudible) [00:29:38] to the leading cadet. But she was clear. (laughter) JC: Yeah, I've heard stories about General Harmon. RT: He did a great job. He stayed too long, but he did a great job. 8 JC: Well, what clubs were you in when you were here at Norwich? RT: Yeah, I went out for football. I'd come from a little school in Wenham, Massachusetts, where we played six-man football, and if one guy was sick, it didn't look like we were going to play, you know, kind of thing. I went out for football in Beverly High School, and that was danger. I mean, I wasn't up to that. When we got to Norwich I said, "I'm going back out for football. This looks like --" They were mostly freshmen. There were some veterans that came back, and there were some very good veteran players who came back but weren't interested in playing football. They wanted to study and have a family life. So Norwich had a terrible football team during that period of time. About the second day of practice Joe Garrity, who'd been a friend of my dad's who I had known, put his arm on my shoulder as we walked back to the locker room and said, "I've got a job for you." And I thought to myself, I'm going to be quarterback for the freshman team. And he said, "You're my manager, how about that?" and I said, "Oh, OK." Later in life, when I became president, the alumni director here, Dave Whaley, took me out to visit various alumni clubs. In Chicago a fellow named Hale Lait, who played football and was co-captain in his senior year, started to walk up to us, and Dave says, "Mr. Lait, do you know General Todd?" Hale Lait says, "Shit, he used to wash my jock." (laughter) And it was true! We had a big laundry over there. JC: Were you in any other clubs while you were here? RT: Yeah, I'd have to think upon it. We had an international relations club that I became president of at some point of time under -- oh, come on, his name is skipping me. I'll come back to it. But we brought I people to speak on the issues, and then Norwich formed an alliance with the other colleges where we were all working together, and that was sort of fun working that out. Oh, incidentally, when I was manager for the freshman team I had to write all the letters to the other schools and make all the arrangements, all that kind of thing. It sort of surprised me that the university wasn't doing that; the athletic department wasn't doing that. JC: Did you have a favorite professor when you were here? RT: Yeah, and I just told you I couldn't remember his name. (laughter) Sidney Morse. JC: Oh, OK. RT: Old Sidney Morse was a terrible lecturer, but he was a genius, you know. He understood American history, and that was his forte, and he also was a wonderful human being and understood us. He really got me to dig in and start getting decent grades. He would lecture, but he would have side comments on this thing, and there we are taking notes left and right. I never wanted to miss a class under any circumstances. He invited some of us -- one of them being me -- over to dinner, and he was just a great sport. He was not a big man in stature, but a big man in intellect. JC: Was there a professor you particularly didn't like? 9 RT: Oh, there were some who I'd rather not name who I didn't appreciate or think that they were at the level they should be. JC: What was the favorite class you ever took here? RT: I guess it was history. That's what I worked at. Let me go back to what I didn't like. We lost -- somehow, I don't know how -- one of the economics professors, and President Dodge brought in somebody in mid-semester, and this guy had written many books and was well appreciated around the world, but he was terrible. He couldn't remember any names, he refused to take any attendance, so people didn't come. You could answer him back and forth. I was told, I can't vouch for this, I was told by the people that say they did it. They invited him out the night before his final exam to join them for dinner in Montpelier, and when the time came, they picked up the tip, and went down to the railroad station, and put him on a train going to Montreal. (laughter) I believe it was true. But he just wasn't accustomed to teaching at our level in that circumstance. He was someone that should have continued writing his books. He was essentially a sociologist, but that was a while. I got called in by the dean for skipping class, and the dean was a great guy at that time. I was a little embarrassed by it, but the class was mostly veterans in this particular -- in economics. You know, they had their way. They weren't required to come to class. If they didn't come to class it chalked up one of a series you could have freer, but cadets didn't have that, so I just played like I was a veteran to old Mumbles [McLeod?]. That's what they called him, Mumbles. When the dean called me in, I got right back on it. JC: Decided you'd rather go back to class. RT: Yeah. JC: Did you ever get in much trouble when you were here? RT: Not really. I came close a number of times. Well, let me go back and talk about Carol. Carol and I met one time when we were in about the ninth grade. She was in Beverly, Massachusetts, and we were living in Hamilton, Massachusetts, at the time, and the Congregation youth groups met at a third place, Essex, Massachusetts. There were lots of people of our ages. You know, these groups didn't know each other. And I spotted her. She was -- wow! Wow, yeah. But I never got to speak to her before we broke up and went back. A couple of years later in Beverly High School -- we'd moved to Wenham, and Wenham didn't have a high school, so I went to Beverly High School. Todd with a T and Wyeth with W happened to have lockers opposite each other on the wall, and I said, "My God, there's that girl." I went over and spoke to her, and she invited me to her birthday party, and that'll show it all started with us. But it came to a point in our sophomore year when I had changed from engineering into history and economics. I had to make up some subject material that I didn't get in the first part, and I went to the University of New Hampshire trying to make it up. I went down on the weekend to her house in Beverly, and I stayed with her aunt 10 who lived next door. She was on my team. But Carol when we were -- she said, "Let's stop this tennis game for a minute. I want to talk to you." We walked up to the net, and she said, "You know, I'm through with this relationship. You're never going to be serious about anything you do in your life; you're going to be a perennial sophomore. I want to do more with my life than you are going to do, and this isn't going to work out." OK, I'll show you. I came back and studied like hell for the last two years I was here and sort of caught up. But it was interesting, when I was invited back at graduation time to be the officer who commissions everybody, and at that time the university ordered a master's or a PhD, you know, honorary to the speaker. Loring Hart didn't tell me whether I was supposed to say anything or not, so I had in my pocket a little thing I would say. It went something like this. It is indeed an honor to be here. I represent my classmates in this ceremony, and I'm very proud of the way Norwich is moving. But I would like you to know that 25 years ago, this very day, I received a letter from the committee on academic degrees and standings that read to this effect: "Dear Cadet Todd, The committee has met and has agreed to allow you to graduate (laughs) based on the circumstances that were not your fault." (laughter) So, you know, that's the way life went for me. I dug in and did relatively well. But another interesting thing about that. I don't know about anybody else, but I had a picture in my mind of VMI, and the Citadel, and all these places as being superior to Norwich in their military training, etc. But when I got in the army I discovered that 50% of them were duds, and it just changed my life around and my feelings about my institution. Yeah, it was strange. JC: When you graduated from Norwich what was the first -- you went into the army. RT: Yeah. JC: Did you go straightaway into the army, or was there a period? RT: Well, some of us -- I think it was 12, maybe as many as 15 -- received an opportunity to go into the regular army, not into the reserve army. I was one of those. About half of my classmates who were given that ability to do that chose not to do it, so there were a number of us that went. Upon graduation we received our commission in the United States Army Reserve, and then two weeks later I was brought into the regular army with another commissioning thing, which happened to be by my father's Norwich roommate, Colonel [Rice?] in Boston. He was running something in Boston for the army at the time. That was sort of fun. Then I went immediately off. We graduated about 15 or 17 May or something, June rather. On the second day of July, I reported in to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Light at Fort Meade, Maryland, as one of these people you had a regular army commission. So there wasn't any time -- there was time enough in between that the family all went down to Cape Cod for a two-week vacation, but I graduated and went into the army. JC: Now did you get married before you were in the army? 11 RT: No, no. No, no. I was still trying to get back in Carol's good graces. Before I left -- well, I went, as I said, to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Now the army was doing something really stupid at that time. They had been told to reduce the army's personnel requirements, and rather than reducing in any reasonable way, they chose to take one-third of every squad, one-third of every company, one-third of every battalion, one-third of every regiment. It was a paper army. It couldn't really operate well at all. But when the war broke out in Korea they took from those drawn-down forces and sent them over as individual replacements, supposedly to go into units that also had the same kind of vacancy that was created now. So we had almost no reasonable training while I was in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment before going to Korea, and these people went into units for which they were not trained. The army was really messed up, really messed up. General Abrams one time in discussing this with a group of officers, after he'd become chief of staff of the army, had tears running down his face. "No army should ever do that to its people. There is no excuse for it, and as long as I'm chief of staff I guarantee you that our units will be ready to fight, if we have to fight." You know, oh. It was a terrible mess over there. So before leaving that unit in which I had a miserable career for that short period of time. For example, it wasn't two weeks later that the post's military police battalion left Fort Meade and went to Korea. Company A of my organization, of which I was a lieutenant, became the post's military policemen. Now, we know nothing about being the post's military policemen, not a thing. There wasn't anything in ROTC, there wasn't anything that lead us to believe. What I knew about policing was I'd seen in movies, and I hid behind the "Welcome to Fort Meade" sign in my sedan, and chased down someone that was speeding, and discovered it was the chief of staff of the post. At midnight I went over and had a bed check in the post's prison, to see that there weren't any knives in there. But I got called in and said, "Hey, come on, get off it. You can go to jail for what you're doing," you know. (laughs) It was crazy. I was trying to do my job as I knew it, but no one was there to supervise me in any way. JC: And how long were you doing that? RT: I left there in September. I went in in July, left in September, and got to Korea in late November, first having leave and then going to the West Coast, going through the checks and balances of travel over there. Just about that time MacArthur announced that the war would be over by Christmas, and as a result the army slowed down the number of replacements they were sending over. This was just about the time that the marines invaded Inchon, and it was followed up with the 7th Division behind them, and trapped the North Vietnamese soldiers below us. It was really a magnificent maneuver. So we were just sitting around in California waiting to get orders. Every weekend we'd go into town, and we'd go into some bar and then talk out loud about how we've got to go, and waiting to go to war, this kind of thing. Somebody would pick up the bar tab. (laughs) Then we crossed the Pacific during a hurricane, and that was something most unusual, as you might imagine. The piano broke loose in the lounge. It had been a troop transport in World War II, and they converted it to be a troop ship but for families to go to Japan or other places. At that time these ships were the property of the army, it wasn't the navy. 12 I remember distinctly there was a captain on board, mostly lieutenants, but this captain on board was a ranger, and he'd a big, puffed-up chest, and walked among us, and told us to stand up straight, and "Take your hands out of your pockets." When he'd get tired of doing that he decided we should have bayonet drill, and issued the bayonets, put them on our rifles, and went up on the deck. Oh, God. I said, "I'm not playing this game." There was a ladder still going up the funnel, in wartime where they had a station to look for submarines, OK. I went up there while everybody else was screaming and hollering down below and got away with it. It's a wonder I ever went anywhere in the army. (laughs) JC: So what was Korea like? RT: Well, let me describe it. We arrived the day before Thanksgiving in Inchon, got off the boat. There was a long, long tidal process; the ship couldn't get close to the docks or anything else. So they threw the nets over the side, and we were to go over the side of the ship and climb down into a small boat to go in. But we had all our personal gear with us. We were carrying great bags of stuff. I had two bottles of whiskey in my bag, and some damn fool says, "Drop your bag into the boat." I did. (laughs) But as a matter of fact, they took our uniforms away from us at that time and said, "We will hold them here, because if everybody goes home at Christmas it won't affect you for a while, and you'll be in a regular army uniform." But we got on the boats and went on the shore. They fed us what was left over from the Thanksgiving dinner, and a lot of canned fruits, put us on a train, and sent us up to North Korea. Each of us, each lieutenant, was on an open freight car, you know, enclosed but with doors on both sides, and each one of them had a little stove in it. It was cold, and we headed north, and every time the hospital train came south on that one track we would pull over maybe an hour before it came by, and then stick around and get back onto the thing. In my one car I had 27 people. Those cars were small. They were Japanese-style freight cars, and they were small. We had nothing but straw on the floor and a sleeping bag, but it was a summer sleeping bag, not a winter sleeping bag, and the stove didn't really heat the thing at all. There were slots in the side of the thing. Anyway. We didn't have any ammunition, and we would get shot at on the train. Now, nobody I know of got hit, but it made quite an impression. But still they didn't issue us any ammunition. There was a major in charge, and he was in the last car, which was a caboose kind of car, tight, a good stove, etc., etc. So whenever the train stopped we as lieutenants would run back and sit in his car with him and then take off again. Many of the soldiers would get off and run in to find somebody in the little town we stopped in and buy rot-gut whiskey. Boy, they were in trouble. One of the people in the car behind me, I was told, went blind on the spot. Maybe he was cured later, but it made an impression. We finally got to the capital of Pyongyang, and they put us on trucks and took us to what used to be a hospital. We went on about the fourth floor and were on cots, or on the floor, kind of thing, and at midnight that night some captain in the army came in and said, "OK, everybody out. Get down on the truck below. Let's go. Get your gear together." Well, we all didn't get there first, and the last of us were turned around and sent back. That batch was never heard from again. The next morning we were loaded on trucks and sent up. But before going they fed us a good breakfast. We went down into 13 the basement of this place -- it was steaming and dark down there -- and we had breakfast on some slate or granite tables. Steam is pouring out of the coffee pots, etc., and I filled my cup with coffee and took a big drink to discover that it was maple syrup. I went forward that day sick as a dog, sitting at the end, at the tail of that truck yurking all the way. I'm sure all those men I was traveling with, "Look hey there, look at that lieutenant. He's so scared he's puking," you know. We went on and eventually we came to a stop, and the captain who was leading this convoy came back and told us to get off the trucks and go into these schoolhouses that were available, right immediately, I mean, just saw them and said, "Take them." We went into the schoolhouse, and he turned around and went back to get "another load," quote, unquote. We never saw him again; he never came back. Here we are with no ammunition, carrying guns, living in a schoolhouse, and the Chinese are moving in on us. They were moving down the mountains on both sides of this thing, and then there was a tremendous, tremendous loss of life up the mountain further, coming toward us. The 38th Regiment that I joined after we got out -- I get the men out, and then I jumped on a mess truck headed south, all trying to find where the headquarters for the 38th Regiment was. The 38th Regiment was part of the 2nd Division, and it lost in about two days, coming through a real tight trap -- there was a river, there was a road that wasn't wide enough for two tanks to pass, and then there was a mountain again on the other side, and the Chinese are up on both sides just raking the convoy. One truck stops, you know, they've got to push it off the edge to get the convoy going again. Now I wasn't a part of that, but I joined the company that did, and when I finally caught up with my unit, it was because I had stopped in from the schoolhouse when I saw the 1st Cavalry Division people pull on in close to us, so I went over and inquired. I walked into the TOC, the tactical operation center, and there was a major sitting in front of a map, on a stool, making little marks on it. I waited a while, and he didn't notice me, and finally I said, "Sir, could you tell me where the 38th Regiment is?" and he turned around and said, "No, but where's the division? Where is the 2nd Division?" I said, "Sir, I have no idea. We're trying to find it. We were left off down here." He said, "I don't know where they are. If you --" It was that confusing. They lost something like 4,000 men coming out of that gap. Now, I wasn't affected, not at all, in any way. I was scared to death at times, but then after that I joined the 38th Regiment. When I went in to meet Colonel Pappal -- yeah, something like that -- he shook hands with one, and passed me a bottle of whiskey with the other one, and said, "Son, you're going to need this." I reported in to the battalion commander, and he at the time was meeting with his staff in a little hutch where the Vietnamese -- the Vietnamese -- the Koreans built their houses of mud and mud brick, and they would cook in an open room attached to the house, and the smoke would go under the floors and heat the house. We were sitting on one of those floors, warm and toasty, and they were passing the bottle of whiskey around this circle as we talked about (inaudible) [00:59:47]. By that time the bottle of whiskey got pretty hot. (laughs) It was a very strange circumstance. When he finally got to it, the battalion commander said to me, he said, "Todd, you're going down to A Company." I said, "Sir, and who commands A Company?" He said, "You do." I had about as much opportunity to learn infantry tactics and lead a rifle 14 company as nobody at all. My buddy who I was traveling with who had some experience in World War II in combat in Europe, came back and went to the University of Illinois, and then came into the army the same as I did, through the (inaudible) [01:00:34], he was sent down to a company that already had an experienced commander. You know. Nobody was thinking. I sent the first sergeant back to division headquarters, he got commissioned, and he came back, and essentially he told me what we ought to be doing. Then we did it. Until MacArthur issued an order, that probably came to him to do it, that said all armored officers that had been assigned to infantry units are to be returned to armored units. So I went down to the regimental tank company of the regiment where my company commander, before coming over there, was an infantry officer who was aide to camp to the commanding general who gave him the tank company in the 38th regiment who didn't know a damn thing about tanks. It was really screwed up everywhere. At a point when I was running the rifle company, I was told that a replacement was on the way, flying in, and he would replace me as company commander. Oh, great, that's good news. The guy showed up, and during World War II he had been in the air force as a bombardier. He had absolutely no infantry experience. He had joined the nearest reserve unit to his home when he was discharged. It really wasn't working out. Where we got replacements, the adjutant would go down and say, "Has anybody been through armored training?" Nobody. Nobody. So there wasn't anybody to send to the armored company except the people that came in (inaudible) [01:02:41]. So we were training these guys, but we weren't -- there were some old sergeants that really knew what they were doing, and that's we made. We eventually had a pretty good tank company. I remember my sergeant was a gruff, old son of a bitch. I walked up to a formation he was holding one day, and his back was to me, and I was walking toward the platoon. And I heard him say "The kid says we got to --" I said uh-oh. "Sergeant [Beach?], come with me," and we went in to see the company commander. I told the company commander that I couldn't resolve this one. He said, oh, very well, I'll assign someone else." Sergeant [Beach?] remained behind. Wow, I've done it. Sergeant Beach comes out. I said, "What happening Sergeant?" and he said, "I'm going to be the lieutenant in charge of the other platoon." Ahhh, God, you know. (laughs) It just wasn't the army I knew later on. Yeah. It was a very sad arrangement. It really wasn't until General Walker was killed in a jeep accident, and he was the 8th Army commander, and they sent General Van Fleet over to run it, and we by that time had moved 125 miles to the rear. We were running as an army. Word got out very quickly that General Van Fleet's orders were "I don't want to see your plans of defense, I want to see your plans of attack." And everyone says, "Sure, sure, General. You look at them, and you'll be all alone up there." Well, by God, he took that army and straightened it out and moved it forward and stopped the Chinese, without much additional support. It was amazing to see that happen. I'll never forget that, that one man deciding that he's going to turn the army around and you'd better fall in line. I did have one experience before that happened when I was with the tank company, and I was in a jeep riding down a road, and the division commander had decided that since we had all these losses, and we're all screwed up, that he had a way to make us all feel proud of ourselves and identify. The methodology he used was that one regiment would have a mustache, another regiment would have sideburns, and another 15 would have goatees. Crazy, just crazy. But I'm driving down the road, and an assistant division commander, a one star, is coming this way, and he went right by, and I saluted, and then he stopped and hollered back at me. I jumped out and ran down to his jeep. He said, "You're not obeying the division commander's orders." I said, "Sir, what do you mean?" He said, "You shaved." I said, "No, sir, I've never shaved." (laughter) God. Yeah. But General Van Fleet really pulled that into order, and he relieved a lot of people. He relieved my brigade commander, gave us a lieutenant to be the colonel's slot in the brigade, who turned out to wind up with four stars in the end. They made the mechanism work. JC: Amazing. Now, you were awarded the Medal for Valor in Korea, weren't you? RT: Yeah. I got a Bronze Star for Valor and a Silver Star for Valor, neither of which I really want to talk about much. I think somebody else would have done better to have them than me. I mean, I was pleased, happy to receive it, proud to wear it on my uniform kind of thing, but there was a lot of that going on to bolster up morale of everybody. JC: Is there anything else you want to say about Korea? RT: I don't know. At the end it was a pretty good experience. When we had gone into a stalemate, we started a rotation system back to the United States, and it was a point system. If you came within a certain period of time, then you could go back at a date specific, so we all knew when we'd be going back. There were points for the kind of job you had and all this kind of thing. It was interesting, I went back to Japan, spent a few days in Japan. When we got on the boat I was assigned -- as I had on the way over -- to a large stateroom, and I think there were 12 of us in it, and up and down cots. It was the same gang I went over with. You know, the timeline of where you engaged in combat were the same for all of us, in different units, and that was really pretty special. Two of them, only two of them, didn't come back, and they were both infantry officers. To the best of my knowledge, from the 38th Regiment that I was familiar with, the lieutenants didn't go back whole. The majority of them were killed. Those that were wounded were wounded seriously enough that they didn't come back to the unit. So it was us armored guys that, essentially, came back together, went over together and came back together. Stopped in Hawaii on the way back, pulled into the port, and there's all these hula girls down on the thing, people with big signs, "Welcome Home, Veteran." I said, "Hell, I'm not a veteran. That's a guy that sits outside the post office trying to sell pencils." (laughs) That came as a bit of a shock to us. But, yeah. JC: Well, once you got back to the United States where were you stationed? RT: Before I got back to the United States, on R&R in Japan, I knew of my rotation date. I called Carol, who by that time had finished her year after Smith at Radcliffe, taking the first year of the Harvard Business School program at Radcliffe -- business school faculty, business school-devised location, Radcliffe. I called her and said, "How about meeting me in New York City on such and such a date at the Biltmore Hotel? We'll meet under the clock." Now, meeting under the clock, there'd been a movie about that whole 16 business. So she did, and we went to my family's house. They'd moved to Scarsdale, New York, at that point. I asked her to marry me. She said, "Give me a couple of weeks." So I went back to visit my family. They're not my immediate family, my grandparents in Quincy, Massachusetts, and my other grandparents in Dorchester, Massachusetts. I went to -- my uncle, my mother's brother, ran a hardware store that had originally been his father's, and he said, "What are you going to do about a car?" I said, "I got to get one." I sold my car before I went over. He said, "Well, I've got a good friend who's honest, and I think we can get a good car." So I went over that afternoon and bought a car and called Carol, and I said, "I bought a car today." She said, "A convertible?" and I said, "Yes," and turned it in the next day and got a convertible. (laughter) I'd do anything to make sure she's sweet. She said yes, we were married on the nineteenth of June of that year, and she obviously had to quit her job to become an army wife. JC: So where did you all go after that? RT: The first station when we returned, and I'm talking now about the same group of army officers that went over and came back together, also went to Fort Knox, and we lived in newly-built quarters that were built by a civilian contractor on the edge of there, which were great for a newly-married couple, but they certainly weren't anything special. George and Joanne Patton lived next door to us, a small world, yeah. I've lost my train of thought here now. (break in audio) JC: And we'll get back started. All right, so we were talking about Fort Knox. RT: Fort Knox being a first assignment together in the army was really great. So different. I mean, Fort Knox was organized. Everything was working well. People were happy. Not that we weren't working hard, because we really were. My first assignment was to a training division. It took the number of the division, the third, and replicated it and then trained, basic training. I was in the 2nd Brigade headquarters working on the planning and that kind of thing. I really was disappointed that I wasn't one of the company commanders, but it turns out that that was a tough job. In the tank company, the guy that headed the tank company had more tanks than a tank division, and it was a mess to keep them all straightened out and going around. So one day I went back home for lunch, and Mrs. George Patton, Sr., was sitting in the living room of our house talking to Carol. She had come down to Fort Knox because George and Joanne had just been married, and Joanne got some kind of disease when they were on the honeymoon in the Caribbean. And I reintroduced myself to Mrs. Patton, and we sat down and talked. She asked me what my job was, and I told her. I said, "But I've got to go. I've got an appointment this afternoon to see the commanding general. They're looking for an aide to camp to the commanding general, and I really don't want that job. I really would prefer to get an opportunity to command a company in the division here." She said, "Russell, General Collier is a very, very fine man. He has a 17 fine family life. He is a very, very successful soldier who commanded the 2nd Armored Division at the end of the war in Berlin. You could learn an awful lot working for him." So I went over, and I got the job, and for the next two years I was the junior aide to the commanding general. I did such things as travel with him when he went to different places for different purposes. My buddies all got a hold of me when they found out I was going to do this job, and all had things they wanted changed at Fort Knox, and I was to be their agent in telling the commanding general how he could change the place. Very early on we went out of the headquarters, down the steps, into the car, went past the post theater. I thought, well, here goes. I said, "Sir, do you realize that on this post now an officer must be in his full dress uniform in order to go to the movies?" He said, "Yes, I know that, and it will remain that way." I didn't have many new ideas for him after that. (laughs) He'd go over to the armor school, and the people that are teaching in the combat kinds of business would say, "This is what we're doing now, General, and what do you think? We'd like your approval of it," and I'd sit in the back of the room and listen to what was going on, and understand it. I would hear the people that had served in combat talk about what you ought to do, and I got a great education. Also, every year there was something called the Armor Warfighting Conference. Twice I was there for that. They bring in all the people that belong to the Armor Association, or were serving in an armored position, all the senior people, and they'd talk about what the army ought to be doing in armor. One of my jobs was to go into the airport in the general's big sedan and his chauffer and pick these guys up and drive them back to the post, and I'd chat with these guys, and it was really fun. I got to know an awful lot of people, army commanders, army staff members, and all this. I really felt pretty special that I'd had this kind of an opportunity. Then we also had at Fort Knox in that time frame an armor board. This armor board, when General I. D. White was the commander at Fort Knox -- before General Collier -- that the chief of staff of the army was not pleased with the way the chief of ordnance was managing the tank program and gave the responsibility to the commanding general at Fort Knox. All the bigwigs gathered at Fort Knox to make decisions about what the next tank would look like, what the next armored personnel carrier would look like, etc., etc. Again, I sat in the back of the room, and young captains and majors, most of them West Point graduates who'd gone off to graduate school and were coming back and using their talents. It was a great, great opportunity for me. We were always invited to the house when the Colliers were having a party, and people would say, "Oh, you're going over there and pass the cigarette butts around with them, aren't you?" "No, we don't do that. We're part of that group." Mike Popowski here in town, his dad was one of those colonels on the post at that time. I really got to know all those people. Not that it was doing me any good, but I learned from them, you know. I learned how to act, I learned when to shut up. It was very useful, and it was a great time. The Colliers were magnificent to us. We had a child while we were living there -- it was Tom, and Tom got burnt badly in an accident at our house. He was crawling across the floor, and there was a coffee pot that started percolating, and he looked up and pulled on the cord, and it came over and broke open on his back. The Colliers came over and relieved us of our 24-hour duty, and they took it over; they sat with that baby. We were their family. It was amazing; it was wonderful. 18 Yeah. I began to really understand what the army was about, that it could be a good army. JC: Well, after Fort Knox where did you go? RT: Let's see. Oh, yeah. When General Collier left, he was to be promoted and going to go to Korea, and he offered me the opportunity to go with him, and I told him that I would much prefer to have a tank company in Europe. While I loved the guy and his family, I wanted a tank company in Europe. He said, "We'll take care of that," and he called up the commanding general of the 2nd Armored Division in Europe, the one that they call Chubby Doan, and told him the situation and that I would be on orders to go over to the 2nd Armored Division and a tank company. He said, "I'll give him a tank company." So, wow! You know, we made it, and off we go to Europe. We pull into Bremerhaven, which is the northern port in Germany, and they send forth a little craft to meet the boat. A sergeant first class climbs up the rope ladder and comes over and starts telling people what their orders are going to be, and I was ordered to something called the 13th Military Intelligence Group. I thought, oh, my God, something's wrong here. The colonel who was in charge of us all on the boat, for the boat trip, he got his orders, and he opened it up, and it's the 13th MIG. He said, "What's an MIG?" I said, "The best I know it's a Russian airplane." (laughs) It turned out that he thought he was going to the 1st Infantry Division for a regiment. Well, we got off the boat, and both of us went down to this intelligence group, went through two different fences, guards posted in towers and all the rest of it, and slept in an open bay area over the officers' club. There were a number of other offices there, and they said, "What are you going to do?" I said, "I don't know. I'm here by mistake. I'm headed to the 2nd Armored Division." They said, "No, no, you aren't. We're all in the same business, fellow. Tell us where you're going." And I said, "No, no. I'm an officer, and I'm going to --" They said, "We understood an armored officer was coming, and he was going to go underground and behind the Iron Curtain, and report on the Russian movements." Holy Crow! That's not for me. So the next morning I went down and asked authority to see the commanding officer of the 513th [sic] MIG. He spoke with me, and he said, "No, you're going down. You're not going to do that; that's rumor. You're going down to the headquarters in Heidelberg, and you're going to be an intelligence officer in that headquarters." I said, "I'm not an intelligence officer." He said, "That's your orders." OK. So I went down to Heidelberg. General Jim Phillips was the G2 at the time, and I asked to see him, and I went right up to his office and told him my sad story, that I was going to go to the 2nd Armored Division -- and he was an armored officer -- "Now here I am an untrained specialist in your department." He said, "What were you going to do?" I said, "Well, General Doan in the 2nd Armored Division had accepted me to come and be in tank company." He says, "I'll talk to him about that," and he reached over -- they had a red phone system that red phones went to the different generals in different locations -- he picked it up and dialed 27 or whatever it was, and General Doan answers the phone, and I'm sitting there. He said, "I got a young captain sitting here that tells me he's supposed to be in the division. Tell me about him, what are you going to do with him?" Well, poor old General Doan hadn't remembered much about the phone conversation a couple of 19 months before or something, and said, "Well, I'm going to make him my aide." And he said, "Like hell you are. I'm keeping him here for that." (laughs) I did it all over again for another two years in the headquarters at [Usera?]. [01:26:32] It was a great experience. General and Mrs. Phillips were a mother and dad to us; they'd invite us to Sunday dinner, and little Tom would crawl around the floor or under the table, and General Collier would feed him peanuts or something. It was a wonderful time, and when the Colliers would take a trip and borrow the commander in chief's train, we went with them. It was marvelous. I saw all of Europe. I knew most everything that was going on in the intelligence field, and it was a great experience with wonderful people. But when he got assigned to go back to the United States, I took the Colliers up to the port to put them on. When I came back, this again on the commander in chief's train, I had the train stop in Mannheim, and I got off in Mannheim. I wasn't going to be stopped again and reported in to the 57th Tank Battalion and for the last year there had a tank company. That was probably the greatest experience of my life. It really was a good experience. We were hard training, we were well trained, good people. In the beginning we had a wonderful commander who was a major, and the division commander, General Doan, didn't want to put a lieutenant colonel in that slot. He wanted this man to get that experience, but eventually they had to pull him and let -- the lieutenant colonels were backing up. So we were out maneuvering and we came to the last day of the maneuvers, and the new battalion commander arrives, and we have this party in a beer hall. The new commander arrives, and one of the company commanders in Charlie Company walked up to the head table with two boots of beer. You know what that is? Glass things that replicate a boot. Big. He puts one in front of each of the two commanders and says, "Let's see who's the better man." This poor guy that has just got off the train coming down from Bremerhaven and crossed the ocean picks up his boot and starts to drink. The battalion commander we love drinks it down and wins the contest, and the new battalion commander was so tight from drinking that beer too fast his feet slipped out from under him as he sat at that table and went right down under the table. (laughter) That was his first day of duty, and he didn't improve much after that. We were all pretty cocky, the company commanders; we were doing a lot of good things. But he knew nothing about it. We told him -- we were told that he had served in a tank battalion in World War II, and that's all we knew about him. It sounded great to us, a guy with some real experience. Well, it turns out that he reported in to a replacement company, and they said, "Take this truckload of men and go forward to point A. There will be a sign on the road at so many miles or kilometers. Turn left in there, and that's where your unit will be." Well, he got down there and made the turn, then went up, and three Germans come out and say, "Achtung! Put him in the compound!" and he went directly to the prisoner-of-war camp. He never had any experience. He'd been a public information officer before, and he was terrible. He was so bad that in a morning meeting every time, when he would suggest something the other three company commanders, we'd sort of nod or shake no. And "Well, what's the matter?" You know why? We didn't get any leadership out of him at all. When it came time to leave there, I had probably the most frightening experience in my life. He stood up in front of the entire battalion officer group and said, "Well, now that Captain Todd is leaving maybe I can take command of this battalion." Oh, my God. 20 Oh, my God. He gave me an efficiency report that would sink anybody, but it just turned out that in that moment of time the army changed the efficiency report system whereby your commander rates you, and his boss rates you, and then a third person rates what they did. Well, the third person turns out to have been the fellow that had been recently the brigade commander, and he knew me, he knew my performance, etc., and he sent back the efficiency report to be redone. Ho. (laughs) Yeah. Those were good times though, good times. Scary times, but testing, really testing you. JC: Because you were right there in Germany during really the height of the Cold War. RT: Yeah. As a matter of fact, one time we were out on maneuvers, 200 miles from our base, when the French and British moved into Suez, because the Egyptians said they were taking over the canal. There we are sitting out in the woods saying, "Oh, my God," because the president had said, "Oh, no, you don't." Eisenhower said, "No, you don't. You can't do that. We give you a lot of money to bring your economies back from the war, and we'll stop it tomorrow unless you withdraw." But we didn't know all that, and my guys are saying "We're going to gyro to Cairo," you know, that (laughter) kind of stuff. We finally came back. But if we'd had to go, I haven't seen a unit that would be any more ready than we were. Yeah. It was really a great exper-- In a company command, everybody doesn't have to bypass the battalion commander who's a dud. But when you do have to do that, then you're really thinking on your feet. It was great. JC: What was your next assignment after that? RT: Would you believe back to Fort Knox? JC: Oh, really? RT: Yeah. I went back there to go to the Armor Officer Advanced Course, which was a nine-month course in there, in which they were teaching you at the next level. Now the course we took before at Fort Knox was a course we should have had before we went to Korea. I came away with a great impression of how good that was. It was excellence. When I saw General Collier working with the instructors and telling them how to handle this kind of thing. When I came back three years later, it was a well-organized organization. In fact, General Abrams had been there as the head of the command department. It was a first class education. I really and truly look back upon my Norwich experience as not up to that standard that the army was producing there. At the end of that course I had talked my way into becoming one of the instructors in the command department, and I was thrilled to death about that. On graduation day I'm sitting in my chair on the aisle, and as the assistant commandant went by my seat he stopped and said, "You're going to be working in my office." (laughs) So I then worked for Colonel Chandler, who was a first-rate soldier. He had been horse cavalry, in the Philippines, and was on the Bataan death march. He was really very much a gentleman, very much strong willed, and very much of a tutor, and I worked out of his office. My job was to arrange the schedules of the classes, and we had all kinds of classes -- enlisted classes, officer classes -- so that they would mesh how 21 many people, how many classrooms do we need, how many instructors do we need, on what day are we going to do it? I was bringing home page after page of long paper, and on the kitchen floor working out the details of making this thing work. It was great, but, again, there was an intermediary. There was a lieutenant colonel who was my immediate supervisor who, again, I thought to be a dud. On my first day of working there he said, "That's your desk right over there." And I'm, "Yes, sir." I went over to my desk. Now what do I do? Here I am, I found my desk. There was a major sitting at a desk facing me who never looked up. He was just scribbling away, scared to death of this guy evidently. A few minutes later he came over and said, "Well, here's the first project I want you to do. This is it. I want you to study this, and then rewrite it, and we'll discuss it." Fine. It wasn't five minutes later, he came over and said, "No, I want you to do this one instead." I went through about six of those before I understood what I was doing. I was hopeless that anything was really going to happen. That same day he came over and looked over my shoulder, and I looked up, and he said, "What are you writing there?" I said, "Well, sir, I'm writing myself a note so that I will be able to put these things in the appropriate order." He said, "Well, you're not saying it very well." (laughter) It was awful. My out was Colonel Chandler, and a major got assigned to the office, and he very quickly understood what was going on here and went in and talked to Colonel Chandler, and Colonel Chandler moved him out. Again, we got a very, very fine operating organization going. It was good; it was very successful. But, you know, every time there's some kind of a roadblock in your career, you've got to stop and figure out how the hell you're going to get around it. JC: What was after Fort Knox? RT: Twenty more years of -- let's see. I graduated from Fort Knox. I was selected below the zone for a promotion. Do you know what that means? JC: Uh-uh. RT: When you're considered for promotion a board meets in Washington, and everybody whose career appears between this date and this date is considered. Isn't that right? Well, what they started, and I don't know if they're still doing it or not -- I think they are -- they would go below this zone and choose certain people to be examined with this group, and I was lucky enough to do that and really jumped ahead. In the headquarters there was Major Howard from Norwich University. Major Howard didn't graduate from here, but he was an instructor when I was a student here. He was in another department, or I didn't see much of him. But when I came out on the below-the-zone list, there were two of us at Fort Knox that came out on it, and he called me on the phone, and he said, "Well, I thought Frank would make it, but I never thought you would." (laughter) So things are weird, but Leavenworth was an exciting time. I was a captain. The majority of people were majors and lieutenant colonels. A real shock of my life in the first day was seated at tables, and there's a blank card in front of you, and the instructor said, "Now write your name on it, not your rank. Write your name on that card." Well, the guy sitting opposite me was a lieutenant colonel, and I was a captain, and I don't know his rank. What do I call him? We were all calling each other by their first names 22 rather than you find in a unit. That (inaudible) [01:41:04] like that, I'm up against it here. So I worked hard, harder than I've ever worked, and at the end of the halfway mark in the course they gave us standings of where you stand in the course, and I was number five or something. I said, "I'm working too hard." Yeah, that was good, a good period in our life. We had Saturdays and Sundays off. I had a little golf group I played with on Saturdays, and Michelob beer was local out there. We'd buy a pitcher -- the loser would buy a pitcher of beer, and that was a big deal. That was a big deal. JC: So when did you go to graduate school at the University of Alabama? RT: Strange you should ask that. When I came to the end of the course at Leavenworth a general officer, a brigadier general, came out to the course to announce to the armor officers, to the infantry officers, etc., what your next assignment would be. About the third name he read was a good friend of mine, and when he read off where he was to go this guy went "Ooohhh." The general looked down at him and said, "What's the problem?" He said, "Sir, I don't think anybody in your office ever read my request." "Oh." He said, "Major so-and-so, come out here." The guy comes out from behind the curtain with a big notebook, and the guy flaps through it, and he looks down, and he says, "I don't know what you're complaining about. It says right here, 'Anywhere in the world but Fort Knox.' And you're going to Fort Knox, your second choice." (laughter) Then he got to my name, and he said, "I want to see you right after this." I thought, oh, God, what now? So I went in, and he was in his office. There was a temporary office. And he said, "We've got a problem here," and I said, "Sir, what is it?" He said, "Well, they've got you going to graduate school, and as the chief armor officer I want you to go to an armored unit." I said, "I have a choice?" He said yes. I said, "Where will I go if I go to an armored unit?" He thought for a minute, and he said, "You'll go to the tank battalion in Hawaii." I said, "Can I discuss this with my wife at lunch?" and he said, "Sure," and I came back and said, "We have decided that we're going to go to graduate school," and that's how that worked out. JC: So you went to Tuscaloosa instead of Hawaii. RT: Yeah. (laughs) JC: Now, what degree did you get at Alabama? RT: MBA. It was a good tough course, but it was in the process of changing the curriculum of business schools, and some of it was very tough. Part of it was very simple, but some of it was very tough. I established a schedule where I went in very early in the morning, got in there before 7:00 every morning, went down to the basement of the library where I had an assigned carrel and started working until it was time for a class to begin. I'd go up to the class and go back to the basement, eat my lunch in the basement, go home at 5:00, and hardly ever did any midnight work at home. We lived a good, wonderful family life in Tuscaloosa. Now, it wasn't all easy. There had been the problems of the colleges not admitting blacks, and the president of the United States pushing hard to make them do it. 23 Then there were the riots at Ole Miss, right at that time. The army sent down its chief person who determines whether the applicants will go to college -- army applicants -- and to which college they will go to. So we all gathered, and there were people taking nuclear physics, and [we have to?] discuss with him, and he talked it back and forth, etc. Finally one young captain in the back said, "Sir, this is all very interesting, but the army's practically at war with our citizens. What the hell happen-- What do we do? What are our orders, and what are our instructions here at the University of Alabama, if the same kind of thing breaks out on this campus?" This poor old duffer who'd been the president of some college someplace sort of shook his head and said, "Well, I hope you'd be on the side of the government." (laughter) That hit right in the heart of soldiers. But it was a good program. When I left I was going to be assigned to the headquarters in US Army Europe in the comptroller's office, and you're required to stay in that position for three years to make up for your being chosen for that job. They want to use your knowledge and experience. Just before I left they changed it, and I went to the US Army Support Command in France, which had 57 separate organizations that it commanded, to include a pipeline that came in at St. Nazaire and went out to all of the air bases and army refueling, etc., and repair of tanks, repair of everything. We took German factories over, used Germans. It was a very, very exciting assignment in terms of technology, but I got assigned to the comptroller's office in that damn headquarters, and I was one of three soldiers. The rest were all civilian employees, or French. One of the people that worked for me was from Yugoslavia; he'd escaped Yugoslavia. So it was a mixed up kind of place. We lived at a French house down by the railroad station. We didn't want to live in the government quarters, we'd done enough of that. We wanted to have an experience in France. From that point of view, it was wonderful. The job was terrible, just terrible. They expected me to know everything that they did in their routine because I'd been to this business program. Well, I had to really move fast to catch up with them. My boss was a man by the name of [Birossi?]. He'd been an Italian-American soldier in World War II who married an Italian and never went home, and when they created the support command then he stayed on in Europe and became a very important man in the headquarters as the budget manager of this very vast organization. I worked like hell to try and get it straightened out. They first gave me the responsibility of working the budget of a couple of the major organizations, one the tank rebuild plant, which was -- God, it looked like General Motors out there. I finally got frustrated with it all. We'd all sit in a room, roll out our papers, and bring in the guy, the comptroller, from that organization, and you'd sit facing each other with Mr. [Birossi?] looking over your shoulder, and you'd work out a budget for them. How the hell did I know? I didn't have any basis for doing it, but we'd discuss it to get it. When this was all over and calmed down I said, "This is stupid as hell," to [Birossi?]. He said, "What are you talking about?" And I said, "We've got the world's best information technology program right in this headquarters, those guys that are working the plants do it all by technical means, punch cards, and here we are sitting around trying to argue about a number on a sheet of paper that doesn't mean a damn thing." He said, "What do you suggest?" I said, "I suggest we go to talk to them, get onto their system somehow, and work this thing out that we can make a reasonable stab at it." He said, "OK, wise guy, do it." 24 Now, there was a lieutenant colonel in this overall office who was Birossi's boss, and I went to see him and told him, I said, "Now, I'm not competent to do this. There's no question about it. However, if you give me two of those young captains of finance that work down the hall from me, I can get this thing started and going." So he assigned these two guys to me, and we changed the whole system of how we did the budgeting of US Army Europe. I got some kind of an award for that. Then they put me in another job where I had all kinds of stupid responsibilities. I had a responsibility for efficiency of each of these many, many organizations, and I got permission to send people -- Frenchmen -- back to the United States to be trained in each of those depots to do it. Then we pulled all of this together right as the secretary of defense had initiated a program to improve work force relationships, his program, and they sent it out and said, "Everybody in the army, navy, and the air force will use these procedures." And my two-star boss said, "No, we won't. We're not doing that. We got a god system, we just got it started, and, well, that's the way it will be." OK, you're the boss. So six weeks later, maybe two months later, there's a message sent to the commanding general that said "We're sending over someone from the Department of Defense to look at your program." I got called in to the CG's office, and he said, "You got two weeks to put this program in place." Well, you know, I was put into a position where I got attention, and I could do what I wanted to do, and I could get help to do it, and everything just sort of worked together. It was a great experience. But, again, it's a case of speaking up and saying what you think is wrong and finding a way to do it. I went in on the train from Orleans into Paris to the IBM plant with boxes of punch cards in my (inaudible) [01:53:43] and brought them into IBM, and we worked it out with them to do it at first before we turned it over to our own organization. That's because if we screwed it up, we'd screw them up badly. But those two finance captains did all the work. I just plowed ahead. Another time, in that same job -- I really thought -- when I got there I said, "My career is ruined. My career is ruined. Who's going to believe that I was in a damn headquarters for a support group? No, uh. I'm an armored guy. No." But anyway, they came up with another program, again, out of the Department of Defense. This time it was to work specifically with -- I can't remember the name of it, but, again, it came out of the secretary of defense's office, and again I got the job to do it. But this time I had an opportunity to start from the beginning with it. It was a matter of saving money, and we were supposed to put out programs, out to our subordinate units, and help them find money and other ways of doing business (inaudible) [01:55:09]. We started with the laundries, a simple thing, and went into the laundries with the people we trained, and they would say to the laundress, "How can you do your job better?" They'd say, "Well, I've been working at this for six years. If we did this, and that, and the other thing," and all of a sudden we weren't doing anything but saying "How do you do it?" and then helping them do it, and getting their boss to agree to it. Well, then you had to take all this information and turn it over to another agency who would check your figures, and numbers, and back and forth, and everything. That all seemed to work out, and things were going along rather well when they put me in for an award as the civilian of the year for product improvement. I was called (laughs) into Heidelberg, and they put on a parade, and the commanding general and I are -- there were other people, for other reasons, being recognized that day. I'm standing 25 beside the commanding general when the troops are passing in review, and he said, "What the hell are you doing here? This is a civilian award." I said, "Sir, you signed it." (laughter) And off we went. I just kept working. Living there was great sport, except the French are crazy. We lived in a neighborhood, as I said, on Rue de la Gale, and the house was an old one. It was rent controlled, and we had to slip the landlord money on certain days, and you'd walk up to his house with a paper bag full of money. A door would open, a hand would come out and grab the paper bag out of your thing, the extra money for the -- crazy. In the neighborhood we never made close friends except in one instance. Our youngest daughter, Ellen, went to French school. The other two kids refused; they were smart enough not to do it. Ellen and her friend [Pascale?] (inaudible) [01:57:36] walked to school with her mother and Carol, over to school. The ladies walked back from school. After lunch, walked over, back to get, march them over, again, at the end of the school day. And they talked, and they talked, and they talked. Not a single word of English was ever spoken for three years between these two women. We get back to the United States and got a very nice letter from her, in English, and she said, "You never would have improved your French the way you did if you knew I had been a nanny in Great Britain and speak English." (Cates laughs) Now, that's the dirtiest, rottenest trick I can ever imagine happening. (laughter) When we had a problem with the house, you'd try and go out and find someone that would fix the faucet. Now, there are four sizes of pipe, and there are 12 sizes of faucets, and there are 14 sizes -- and they ask you which one do you want? You don't know. So somebody has to come and measure it and go back, and two days later you've got water running again. When it came time to buy coal, we went down to the place you buy coal, and it was a storefront on the main road, right in the main store, and he's got little glass canisters with different kinds of coal in the window. You don't buy coal that way anywhere else in the world. We went in, and he wanted to know how many radiators we had in the house, and how many veins each radiator had, and how many sections were in the stove, and then he could figure out how many tons it would take to heat the house. He didn't ask if there was any broken windows, or open doors, or boards off on the roof. They did it totally unscientific. Then when you come to that decision, then they say, "Now do you want it from Belgium? Do you want it from --" you know, down the list. We want anthracite from Belgium, OK. Then they come and dump it in the house with buckets in the window of the cellar, and the whole house is covered with coal dust everywhere. And it was expensive. Living there was not easy, but we made a pact that we were going to go once a month with the kids to Paris, every time, every month, and we did, and we traveled a lot. Not any great distances, but we loved parts of France. But the French were very difficult to live with. JC: Oh, I'm sure. I've been there once. (laughs) RT: The worst one was my father had a cousin who was, in relationship to Dad, it was about six up from him in the corporation, and he was the chairman of the board. We got a call that he was coming to visit the French company that was owned by the American company, and they were going to come down and see us in this hovel (laughs). And just about the time we knew that they were coming but not exactly when they were coming, 26 the French left us with a bit of a problem. When they put in the sewer system, they left the septic tank in the house, in the basement, made of clay, and it began to leak. Do you have any idea what living in that house was like? You couldn't flush a toilet. When I'd go off to work and leave Carol, they had a deal with these crazy guys coming in, and eventually they came in. One guy came in, and he took off the top of this thing, and then he went away. She chased him down, and he said, "Oh, you've got to hire somebody else. The union won't allow me to put the hose down in here and suck out what's left. You've got to find that guy." And it went on, and on, and on, and trying to live in that house. Fortunately we got it cleaned up before Uncle George showed up for lunch. (laughter) JC: Sounds like it was quite difficult living in that house. RT: It was very difficult. Every single day one of us crossed the street to the bakery that was directly across the street from us, and we'd order a demi pan, and bring it back for breakfast, or something else. And every single day that one of us went, my own experience was I'd walk in the door -- "Bonjour, Madame." (laughter) The only guy that spoke to us lived next door, and the reason he spoke to us was that nobody else in the neighborhood, or the town, or the city would speak to him, because he had been a butcher during the Nazi occupation and gave the Nazis all the best cuts of meat. We had no phones. It took three years to get a phone, and it was a three-year tour. If you got a phone, you had nobody to call; they'd all gone home. They're crazy, just crazy. (laughs) JC: So what was the next assignment after France? RT: Well, while in France the Vietnam War broke out, and people lieutenant colonel level in Europe were being pulled back to the United States and given a command in Vietnam. So I applied to get a command in Vietnam, and they said, "Oh, no, no, no, no, you haven't finished your tour for having gone to graduate school. You can't possibly go." This is talking to somebody back in Washington. Then another job opened up, and they needed a lieutenant colonel in an armored battalion, and I called them back again. I said, "I'll come back to this job after that. How about that?" "Nope, we can't do that. We can't do that." Eventually they said, "OK, when you come home from --" I put enough pressure on them. "When you come home from France, we'll send you to Vietnam." And when we came home from France, they said, "No, you're going to go to the Armed Forces Staff College. You've been selected among the army, navy, and air force to go to the Armed Forces Staff College, for six months. After that, we'll get you a job that will get you to Vietnam." Well, you know, it's frustrating, just terribly frustrating. After the Armed Forces Staff College they told me I would go to Vietnam, but first I would go to pick up 57 tanks that had just been manufactured of a new design, and I was to form the tank battalion in the United States, train it in the United States, and take it to Vietnam. When that day came, ready to go, we had three rounds blow up in the chamber back at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and they said, "Hold it. You're no longer on the list to go. But you are going to go to the Naval War College." I couldn't get to Vietnam! It was very difficult. 27 JC: What was the Naval War College like? RT: Terrible. The Naval War College, well, we called it the sleeping room. They had two major speakers every day, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. That was fine. I mean, I loved to hear them, and they did have a message, but it wasn't work. It was sitting there like you're turning on the television. There was no challenge to this thing at all. Now you could go and get a master's degree along with it from George Washington, but I couldn't, because I had a master's degree, so they weren't going to let me take that program. So they hired somebody the University of Massachusetts had fired from their Economics Department, an old man, to be my mentor and take me through a separate program -- nothing comes out of it other than a dissertation at the end. OK, I'll put up with it, but he was awful, and it was a waste of my time. You never had time between these people to really go to the library and do something. It was 20 minutes. What can you do in the library in 20 minutes? No, you don't. Everyone went and get good coffee, sat around and talked, etc. Oop, time to go back into the bedroom. There was nothing going on in terms of substance in the place. When I had my first time as directing my little group, I worked long and hard on the assignments, and came in the next morning and said, "OK, let's see. Now we had readings in this one, and then we had a differing opinion from this requirement, and then this one, and another one. Commander Jones, what do you think about this?" "Oh, shit," he said, "You don't think I pay any attention to that, do you? I'm in the George Washington program. I'm not going to do any of this." That was a general attitude. There wasn't any depth to what we were doing. One day the admiral in charge, who'd married a British lady and had just come back from another tour in London, said, "How would you like to have lunch at my house with a guest speaker, Todd?" I said, "Gee, that would be very nice, sir." I got up there to discover there were 12 or 13 of us at separate tables and he and the speaker was at another table. What did we do? We sat around and chatted, and ate his food, and left. He said, "How'd you like that?" I said, "What are you referring to, sir?" He said, "Well, the opportunity to be with the speaker." I said, "We weren't with the speaker. You were with the speaker." "Well, how would you handle that?" "I'd put in a round table, and we'd all sit around and talk." "What a great idea." Really, really bad stuff. So he did, and then he invited me to come, and I went, and he said, "How did that go?" I said, "Sir, that was wonderful. But if you did that in the classrooms it might help, too." "We don't have round tables in the classrooms?" He'd never been in a classroom. We didn't have one single naval officer who was nuclear qualified come to the course. They sent them to the National War College. We didn't have one single graduate of a senior college who was on the faculty. I could go on, and on, and on about how bad it was. But one day, in Vietnam, I was sitting at my desk outside General Abrams's office, and I got a call from the naval head in Vietnam. I'm trying to think of his name. I know it as well as I know my own. But anyway, he called me and said, "Russ, I got to see General Abrams." I said, "Well, he's tied up at the moment. Come on up and sit down, and I'll get you in just the minute I can break into it." He said, "Good," and he came up. We sat there, and he said, "I got to talk to General Abrams. They're going to announce this afternoon that I'm the new chief of naval operations, and I don't want him to hear it from anybody else but me." I said, "Oh, have I been waiting for this." He said, 28 "What are you talking about?" I said, "You can do something about the Naval War College that I couldn't," and I laid it out for him, and he fired the guy when he got back there. This is Zumwalt, Admiral Zumwalt. He fired the guy and changed all the programs. I mean, they were tough on him, and they've got a good school there now, or at least the last I knew of it, a very good school that has been accredited. But it was awful. JC: Did you finally get to Vietnam after the Naval War College? RT: Yeah, that's why I was sitting in General Abrams's office. I was to be sent over to be on the command list, which meant this list of people the army feels are capable of doing a job as colonel in a combat unit. They sent my name over, and then they called me back and said, "We've withdrawn your name." (sighs deeply) I said, "Come on, guys. This isn't fair." He's "Hold it, hold it, hold it. They're looking for an assistant to General Abrams, and we've sent your name in." I said, "Look, I've met General Abrams a few times. I don't think he was very impressed with me. I don't think he'll select me off of any list of yours." He said, "There is no list. We only sent your name." (laughter) So I went over there, and I sat for, oh, eight months I guess in General Cao Van Vien's office, who was the head of the Vietnamese armed forces, and I acted as a liaison between General Abrams and General Cao Van Vien, of which there was no requirement. Those guys talked to each other whenever they wanted to. But I represented General Abrams when General Cao Van Vien called the other -- the Koreans, the Australians, the New Zealanders, etc., etc. -- together on a Monday morning to have a meeting, and that was interesting, and I learned a lot, and I met a lot of people. Eventually the secretary of the staff rotated home, and I took his slot. You actually work for the chief of staff, but I read and decided which messages that came in that night would go into General Abrams the next morning, so I got to work very, very early and stayed very, very late, day after day after day, seven days a week. But I really loved working for the guy. Every Saturday morning we would meet with the commanders of the army, navy, air force, etc., the CIA, in the basement of our building, and it was general so-and-so, admiral so-and-so, etc., and Colonel Todd. And Colonel Todd sat in the back of the room and checked -- again, a great learning experience. Watching the interrelationship between these very, very senior commanders was a great experience. Then I went with General Abrams every Monday morning down to brief the ambassador. We'd drive down in his sedan. On Sunday I'd prepare a book for him that he'd go over, and then he'd have that in front of him. He never read it. He never sat in front of the ambassador and read it. I'd be on pins and needles all the time that he'd turn to me and say, "What the hell's this?" (laughs) But he was great. Then I got a command. I left the headquarters and went out and joined the 24th Division as a brigade commander, and I'd been there about eight days when it was announced that the brigade was to go home. (laughs) The next day I got a call on the radio, out flying around in my helicopter -- I had seven battalions in the brigade at the time -- from the corps commander, General Davidson, and General Davidson said, "Meet me at coordinates so-and-so," and we both flew into a point. He said, "I'm pulling you out of this. I've got a problem with the Royal Thai Army. The officer we have working 29 with them is not acceptable any longer to the Royal Thai Army. I need somebody tomorrow, and you're it." That was the craziest thing I've ever been involved in. Wonderful, wonderful Thai commander, who began his military experience at age five in a military academy run by the government. He finished his education in France. The French owned Indonesia. Thailand (inaudible) [02:16:30]. So there we were. Day in and day out, he and I would receive the same briefing. He'd get it in Thai, and his aide-de-camp would give it to me in English. We never ever, ever came to the same solution. We were generations in thought apart. For example, in World War II Thailand never declared war on anybody, but went to war against the Allied forces when they thought Japan was winning. This fellow was a captain in the Thai Army, and he did something very spectacular -- whatever it was, I don't know, very heroic. He was called back to the capital, and he was given the Royal Order of the White Elephant or something. They'd give out five for every war. This was something very, very special, parades, the whole business. He went back to his unit, and then the Thais decided that the Japanese weren't winning the war, and they changed and became our allies. Now you're not going to believe this. They called him back and took the medal because he was fighting on the wrong side. (laughs) I could go on forever on this. My brain couldn't absorb it. When I'd left that and gone back to the United States, I guess when this happened -- I don't remember where I was, but anyway, I wrote him a letter, and I said, "What in the world is going on in Bangkok? You were the commander of the 1st Division, responsible for the security of Bangkok. Your father-in-law is the dictator. They're rioting in the streets, and, to the best I know, nothing's happening." He wrote back to me, after some (inaudible) [02:19:06] time, and said, "Well, you just don't understand our way of thinking. The soldiers had killed some civilians who were rioting, so I went back to my BOQ and stayed there two weeks, and when I came back my father-in-law had been deposed, and the fighting was over." Huh? (laughs) And it wasn't that he wasn't a good soldier, and it wasn't that he was afraid of anything. No, we'd fly around in his damn helicopter and take it places I never would have gone. On the other hand, he had some VIPs coming over, and he said, "We can't take the helicopter today. I'm going to use it tomorrow for some Thai VIPs, and I don't want any fingerprints on it, I don't want to make sure there's no bullet holes in the thing. We'll just take this other thing." What? We couldn't come together. At one point, the real one that almost got me in trouble -- I think it was on Thanksgiving -- our base camp also had three units in it from the 1st Cavalry Division, and the Thais, and the Thais who were responsible for the security, and I was responsible to the US headquarters. Well, on the big army base, maybe 15 miles away, on Thanksgiving night everything went up in the air, flares, and shooting, and machine guns, and all the Thais thought this was great, and they all did it. He called me in the next morning, and he laid me out. He said, "No Thai would ever do that. Your Americans did this." Well, OK, I'll suck it up. "I assure you it won't happen again, sir." So come New Year's time, I put out to my staff with each of his units, where they normally served, to stay with them all night and record everything that happened in that TOC. Next morning he got me again when I went in there. I said, "Sir, before we say anything else, I suggest you talk to your TOC officer." He went down there, and those 30 guys, we made them record everything, and he discovered that it was his units that were doing it. What do you suppose his answer to that one was? JC: I don't know. RT: He called in his senior officers and said, "I'm resigning from the army. You've let me down." And he went back into his hooch and stayed there for about three days. I woke up at the end of three days early in the morning, and the whole goddamn Thai Army that was posted in Vietnam was out there in a formation. I walked out to see what was going on and stood behind him -- he was up on a platform -- and they all apologized, etc., and he forgave them, and they went back into the woods to their positions. They'd left their fighting positions to come back and apologize to the commanding general. JC: Oh, wow. RT: (laughs) You can find one worse than that, I'll bet. My goodness. JC: Want to stop again? (break in audio) JC: Let's stop here, because we've done about another hour and 10 minutes. (break in audio) RT: Let's -- (break in audio) [02:23:15] JC: All right, this is Joseph Cates. Today is May 19, 2016. This is my second interview with Major General Russell Todd. This interview is taking place at the Sullivan Museum and History Center. This interview is sponsored by the Sullivan Museum and History Center and is part of the Norwich Voices Oral History Project. So when we left off last time we had gone through Vietnam, and you're ready for your next assignment. What was that? RT: OK. When the Royal Thai Army left Vietnam I moved out to a brigade, as I said earlier. But the time with the brigade was very unsatisfactory to me as a professional. It was a little more than a month, and that's not what I considered to be a command. So thinking about what would happen when I got home, I called to the Pentagon, talked to the people in armor branch. A lieutenant colonel sits on a desk and shuffles the papers for colonels and helps make the decisions. I told him I wanted to have a particular command at Fort Lewis, Washington, that I knew the command was about to change. And they said, "Oh, we've already appointed somebody to that port. But you are coming back to go to the Pentagon." 31 I had fought off the Pentagon earlier in my tour. When I was working for General Abrams I got a call from the Pentagon that said "We're bringing you back to the United States because a new position has opened up, and it calls for a brigadier general, and although you're only a colonel, we want you to fill that position." And I said, "Tell me about it." They said, "Well, you're going to be the army's first drug-and-alcohol-abuse officer." I said, "You've been watching what I'm drinking." He said, "No, this is what we've got in mind for you." And I said, "That isn't going to work. It just isn't going to work. I'm over here on a two-year tour, and if you want me to leave here, I'll give you General Abrams's telephone number, and you can call him and ask him to release me." Well, no, they didn't think they would do that. (laughs) So when I went back I went to the Pentagon, and there I went to work for a four-star general who I had met several times, because he traveled to Vietnam back and forth, General Kerwin, a wonderful, wonderful soldier. And when I reported in he told me that I was going to be the head of the department that he supervised for the Modern Volunteer Army. My job would be to coordinate all of the programs that were going on both at posts, camps, and stations around the country and around the world, and also within the Pentagon, to evaluate where we ought to be going. Well, OK. It wasn't my first choice. I had about, oh, 10 lieutenant colonels working for me in a very small office that didn't have any windows, and there was a lieutenant general working in the chief of staff's office whose title was the chief of modern volunteer army. So I was torn between two very senior officers who didn't agree with each other very often, and the job went on, and back and forth, and up and down, but a lot of answering letters from the Congress and this kind of thing, and then evaluating things that came from the field. Well, one day I was up in the next level in the Pentagon, because I'd been called by that lieutenant general, and he started chewing me out just something awful for reasons I couldn't explain. Finally he said, "I'm going down and see General Kerwin." My boss. What the hell's this about? So I was standing alone in his office. He went out a side door, and I said, "I've got to get to General Kerwin quick." So I picked up -- they have red phones that go between the very senior officers. I picked it up and dialed General Kerwin's office, and he has to answer that, no matter what's going on. And I said, "Sir, we got trouble," and told him what was going on. I saw him later in the day. He said, "Thanks. That really made a difference." From that moment on, he treated me like I was one of his best friends and had faith in what I was doing. Now, they did bring back in a major general who had just stopped commanding the 82nd Airborne Division, and he came in, and he was my immediate supervisor. But General Kerwin made a proposal -- not a proposal -- instructions to everybody about that time that said "Everybody that works for me in the deputy chief of staff personnel office is going to spend four years in this job." I could see my chances of getting a second shot at a brigade just going out the window. Carol and I had bought a house in Washington, the first home we ever owned. In France it was a rental, and everything else was army quarters. So this was special. She loved that house. She took a job in Washington, DC, in the personnel department, and then she had done a lot of that before, and that was sort of a big part of what she had done at Radcliffe after Smith, and she loved that job. In fact, everywhere we went she tried to find a job that would keep her busy and active. 32 So there we were, balancing back and forth. Now what do I do? Well, I'll go back to my old trick and call the people in my branch on the phone, and I called this young man early one morning before anybody else was in the office, and he happened to be there. I told him my plight, that I'd been really cheated in that one month I'd had in the thing, and General Davidson had said I was coming to Europe with him to command a brigade, and that didn't work out once he found out I'd never been in the Pentagon. "So I want a command, and I want to lay it out right now. I want you to start working on it." He said, "Sir, I'm not sure I can do that." I said, "Well, what time do you come to work?" He said, "Well, I'm in here by 8:00 every morning." I said, "Get in at 7:30 on Monday, because I'm going to call you every goddamn Monday I'm sitting at this desk," and I did. Eventually he said, "I've made an appointment with you with my boss, Colonel [Touche?], who oversees all the branches for colonels." I walked over, and it was my old friend from Fort Knox who had been the senior aide when I was the junior aide to General Collier. He had talked it over with the committee that makes these kinds of decisions, and they were going to put my name in nomination to go back onto the brigade commanders list. Great. A few weeks later I get a phone call that says "We put your name before the committee, and you are on the list, and you're number two." Uh-oh. I'm supposed to spend four years working for General Kerwin? (laughs) So a little later they call back and said, "Whoa. Wait. In the 2nd Armored Division the brigade commander has moved up to be chief of staff, and that brigade is open." I said, "OK. Now you guys call General Kerwin and tell him that you're pulling me out." They said, "Like hell we will." (laughter) So I went to see General Kerwin, and he sort of grimaced and (inaudible) [02:32:24]. He said, "You know my policy." I said, "Yes, I do, sir, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me." And he said, "I'll tell you tomorrow." So the next day he called me, and he said, "Against my better judgment I'm going to let you go to that command. But let me tell you this. The day that's over you're coming back to work for me." I said, "Yes, sir. Thank you." I ran home. (laughs) A little later, in time, the moving truck was in front of the house. I'd gone home, checked out of the office, done everything appropriately, and gone back, and there was a phone call waiting for me at home. General Kerwin. He went on to say what he really wanted me to do, wouldn't I know, is that -- "Sir, we've made our deal," and he says, "OK, but remember, I'm going to get you when you get (inaudible) [02:33:21]." And that was very pleasing to me. I loved the idea of working for him. But, again, it was a matter of just working your way through the system. It was terribly important to my career and to me. People were telling me that "You don't have to do this" kind of thing. You know, "You've done all those kinds of things." But no, that wasn't the career I wanted. So I went to the 2nd Armored Division and took over the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and that was a real fun thing. I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of good people working for me. Some of them went on to become general officers later on. The first thing that happened was they told me that the brigade in one month is going to move to Germany on Operation [Forger?]. Does that mean anything to you? Well, in the Cold War we had built all kinds of home hutches and places to store tanks and materials that take a lot of time to get into the theater. If they said, "OK, the balloon went up. Come over here," you wouldn't have had any -- you'd have to wait for your 33 tanks for a month. So they had all those vehicles and stuff over there, and every year we went over and exercised the idea of flying over -- not me, the army did. It was my brigade's turn, and it was just great. I had planned that thing for every possible contingency, in my mind, and we laid it out with the staff. I said, "Now if this happens, or that happens, or this happens, this is what we'll do. Plan A, B, C, and D." And damn, I figured everything except it was going to snow at Fort Hood, and the air force wouldn't show up. (laughter) So we were about two days late getting there, and it slowed things up. But we went out on maneuvers for about a month and a half, and that was a great experience. I'd done it as a company commander when I was stationed in Europe, but as a brigade -- when I went over I've been detached from the 2nd Armored Division of the United States and attached to the 1st Infantry Division, when I got over to Europe. There for the first time I met a fellow named (laughs) -- I met someone, a senior officer, a brigadier general who, because my brigade wasn't part of his division, I had to go through the ropes of him looking over my shoulder for the first three weeks of what we were doing. It wasn't easy. Eventually he and I had a good reputation among each other, and then we're good. It worked out pretty well. Well, his name is Fuller, Fred Fuller. Just to move that part of the story a little further forward, when I went to Forces Command he was the DESOPS, and I was the assistant -- correction, he was the DESPER, personnel, and I was the assistant DESOPS. And again, good friends, you know. No, sir. I had to prove myself all over again to him. That was tough. That was tough. Then when I became division commander at Fort Hood, would you believe they made him the corps commander, and my boss again? And again, I went through the process. I called it rook training, he wanted to test me on everything that was going on, and then eventually he agreed, and we got along. That was a very difficult relationship I had with that individual. So we came back from Germany after the Reforger, and it was time to change division commanders. A general officer that I had met once or twice but didn't know came in as the two-star commanding the (inaudible) [02:38:26]. This was a fight for my life. He, in my opinion, didn't represent a good soldier. He would drive in his jeep with the two stars on the front, down the street, and the men in the division would say, "Hi, General," and he'd wave back, "Hi." No saluting, none of this. He would come around in my battalion and ask the company commander and the battalion commander to see their operational reports, and particularly the readiness reports, whether or not this tank would go or that one. He required them, not required them, but pushed hard for them to like take something off this tank and put it on that tank, and now we've created another tank that this one isn't working, this one if you take the parts and put it on this one, that's one less tank, but will look that much better. It was everything how you looked. Eventually he was promoted to lieutenant general and shipped to Europe, and his chief of staff caught on to his way of life, reported it. He got thrown out of the army, reduced to major general, and was retired. But that was a tough fight, that was a tough fight. In town now there's a major general, retired, John Greenway. Maybe you've met Phyllis. JC: I have. RT: Well, John Greenway was my chief of staff in the brigade, and I don't know how many times he saved my life. He'd say, "No, no, no, don't go up there and tell that general off. 34 Don't do it. Stop here." One time I actually said, "The hell with you, John, I'm going up there." I was really mad. Again, he had ordered my people to do something that was not proper. So John called up the division chief of staff, who was a good friend, and said, "Russ is on the way. Stop him." (laughs) So I never got in to see him, and I calmed down, and the chief of staff discussed it with me in a way. But it was a difficult, difficult system to live with, but I had wonderful people working for me. JC: Well, that's good. RT: Yeah. JC: What year is this? RT: Oh, my God. (inaudible) [02:41:04] I can't remember my birthday. (laughter) It was about '60 something, yeah. I came back to the United States, and I was assigned to forces command, where General Kerwin was, the man that said, "You're going to go work for me," and I went to work for General Kerwin just as I'd been promoted by the system to be brigadier general. I worked for him for two years and then another year with General Rogers, who went on to be the chief of staff of the army, and it was great. Real professionals who understood various ways of handling people beautifully. I must admit, he had a chief of staff who wasn't quite up to speed in my opinion, and as a result I found myself bypassing the chief of staff, which really isn't a very good idea. But both General Kerwin and General Rogers, when I was there, would call me on the phone directly and ask me to do something. As the junior brigadier general at Fort McPherson, Georgia, they immediately appointed me to be club officer, and to be the president of the Association of the United States Army chapter at Fort McPherson. I was really the junior guy in that headquarters as far as a general officer is concerned. The biggest thing that happened to me really there was that that's when we had the baby lift out of Vietnam, and then we had the evacuation of Vietnam. In the operations business at forces command, we had the responsibility of preparing those units in the United States, wherever they might be involved, to prepare them for the influx of people. I was up a lot of nights and really mad at the air force sometimes. They would bring in planes early, before we could finish taking people off the previous planes and get them, kind of thing. They finally came around. But it was a real wonderful experience as far as I'm concerned. I had the thrill of getting a thank you letter from the president and being called in by the State Department, who had the responsibility of taking these people once they arrived in the United States -- when they arrived in the United States the army was responsible for them. We took old barracks and tried to fix them up to be for families and all the rest of it. And the next step was to put them out into the population in America, and that was done by the State Department. At the end of this, the State Department gave me an award and invited me over to Foggy Bottom, and it was carried out in the formal part of that. It's a very ordinary-looking building, but inside, on the top floor, they have collected and put in there all the furnishing and antiques of America. They would go to somebody that had something that the State Department wanted, and they would say "We would like to have it, and we will replicate it exactly, and give you back the replication." They built -- it's a museum, it's a wonderful, wonderful museum of 35 American furniture through time. I was really impressed with it being there. I wasn't that impressed with the State Dept- people in Vietnam. (laughs) It was very interesting. JC: Yes, sir. So this was around 1975, that would be (crosstalk; inaudible) [02:45:47]. RT: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I did one or two year. JC: Where were you from Fort McPherson? RT: From Fort McPherson, when my immediate boss left General Rogers called me in and said, "I want you to be my full-time top guy and deputy chief of staff operations." I said, "No, General, that isn't right." "What are you talking about, it isn't right?" I said, "You want someone that's been a division commander to be in that job. I mean, you're dealing with all those division commanders, and if the guy that's passing the instructions hasn't had the experience of being a division commander, it doesn't come through right." And he said, "All right. All right." About a year later I was on a board in Washington. You're sent in to do a lot of those things. Interestingly enough, on this particular one I was the head of the board for captains being promoted to major, and I got in trouble with General Rogers. The instructions we had were "These are the formulas, etc., that you follow when you're looking at the history of their being in the service. You can add to this other things, if you, as a board, want to do it." The first thing we added to it was that any captain who had served a normal period of time as a captain in the combat arms branches and had not had a company wasn't to be promoted on this occasion to major. Passing up a captain, you pass up the real army and the real understanding of the army, and, oh, boy. It turns out that we eliminated from being promoted five captains at West Point, instructors, and that reverberated around the world. (laughs) General Rogers finally calmed down. Then on another occasion when I was away in Washington he called me on the phone and said, "The major generals promotion list has just come out." I said, "Oh, good. Who's on it?" and they said, "You are." Oh, wow. After I went back he called me in his office and said, "Now, I'm going to send you to Fort Hood to command a division." Previous discussion, you got to have a command. I said, "Oh, my. Where's George going?" And he looked at me with this great strain on his face and said, "George who?" I said, "George Patton, 2nd Armored Division." I had been in the 2nd Armored Division twice. Four men have commanded the 2nd Armored Division, three of them during World War II. I knew that was my place in life. Well, he said, "You're going to the 1st Cav." Of course, when I'd been there as a brigade commander the 1st Cav was the enemy. (laughter) It was a little difficult to change my mindset that I was now the head of the 1st Cavalry Division, but it turned out to be a good assignment, too. We were immediately assigned a mission of working on something that was called Division '86, and this was the '76-'77 time frame. What we would do is to experiment with different organizational concepts, try them out, and another R&D organization would evaluate whether this was a good idea, or whether it wasn't a good idea. But, man, was that a lot of work. We had soldiers picking up their mattresses and marching over two streets, and then joining another company, because now we were trying -- we were going to have tank platoons with only four tanks rather than five tanks, 36 and these guys had to fill in for the -- you know, back and forth, and up and down. It was a crazy time, but it was very, very rewarding. We lived next door to George Patton and Joanne Patton, and as a matter of fact we had become very close friends over the time we were in the army. We went home on vacations sometimes by accident at the same time, back in New England, and other times purposefully. But we celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary together, both divisions, at the club, and it was officers. It was really good sport. JC: Was that your last command? RT: No. They sent me to -- at one Fort Hood, after two years of commanding the division, I went down and commanded something called [Tecada?] [02:51:38], which was a research and development experimental station kind of thing. I was doing to the rest of the world what they'd been doing to me, for two years I guess, at which point I was shipped over to Europe to be the deputy chief of staff for operations under General Kroesen. He was one of the most magnificent soldiers I'd ever met. I worked for him once before for a short time, but he was first class. Then I got a call from Loring Hart, president of Norwich University, who I'd gotten to know -- over his 10-year span as president -- pretty well. In my traveling around at various times, I was the head of the Norwich Club of Georgia, the Norwich Club of Fort Hood, the Norwich Club in Europe. They'd come over to visit, and we became close. I had come home on leave to see my dad, who was in bad trouble health wise, and I got a call from Loring Hart to my dad's home down in New Hampshire. He said, "I need you to come up here. I need to talk to you; it's important." And I said, "Gee, I don't know. Dad is not well, I don't know how long he's going to live, and I can't be here very long, so I really and truly want to see as much of him as I can." He said, "Well, afterward, after this weekend" -- it was a big alumni weekend -- "I'll stop in to see you." I said OK. Well, Mother got a hold of me, and Dad got a hold of me and said, "Go on up there." Dad said, "Get a hold of my classmates and tell them I'll be there next year." Well, I knew most of his classmates. When I arrived I found them at lunch in the Armory, and I walked down to the table, the half where they were, and started saying this lie about my father, he's going to be getting well, and he'll see you next year when he comes. All of a sudden the most unusual thing happened. There was this great noise in the Armory, and it kept getting louder and louder and louder. As this individual coming into the room got closer to our table, I discovered that it was General Harmon coming back, and all of these people were saying, "Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie." I couldn't believe it, you know, really and truly. It showed me just exactly how much he was loved by this institution. That doesn't mean he didn't make a lot of mistakes at times, but he really pulled us out of the woods. So Loring Hart stops in at the house and says, "The board at Norwich University has told me that 10 years is enough, and I'm going to retire. I want you to put your name on the list to be considered." I said, "You're a PhD, you taught English, you became the dean of the university. I don't have any of that." He said, "And you don't need it either, because I'm absolutely certain they're going to choose a soldier." I said, "What do you know, I'm qualified." I went back to Europe, told my boss, and then came back. I made a couple of trips back and forth. I told my boss, which was General Kroesen, what was 37 going on, and then went to see the chief of staff of the army to tell him that I was putting in my papers. You know, after you've been division commander you owe the army something, because of the experience they've given you. So I went to see General "Shy" Meyer, who I'd known in Vietnam, and I was a little dubious here. What will he say? So I told him, and he jumped up from behind his chair, rushed around to my side of his desk, shook my hand, and said, "Boy, that's just exactly what I want to do when I get out." (laughter) Then, unfortunately, and this doesn't have to be spread around, he told me that my name had been submitted to be promoted to Lieutenant General, and it is now before the Congress. Had I not put this in and had I been selected, I was going to go to one of two different jobs, and neither one of them sounded as much fun to me as coming home. Not that I could change my mind. Once you've told the army you're retiring, you're retiring. You don't change your mind. So that's how I got here. JC: What were the other two choices? RT: To be the chief of staff of USEUCOM, which was for the European theater of all of the activities there, and the other one was on the joint staff, doing the DES-OPS kind of work, which is called the J5. JC: So you come to Norwich. Talk a little bit about the application process, because I know Phil Marsilius says in his oral history that they gave you an eight-point plan that they wanted implemented. RT: Yeah. Very unusual I thought, and very useful. Before I get to that (laughs), Carol and I came. We went to New York City and joined a committee of the board who were involved in the selection process. The plane was late, the taxis weren't running, and we were late getting to this thing. Carol was a little nervous that that showed that maybe we weren't working hard enough to get there. They said to me, "We've just finished lunch. Do you want something to eat?" and I said, "Oh, yeah. How about a bowl of onion soup?" Carol said to me afterward, "You could have chosen anything but that cheese dangling out of your mouth." (laughter) But, to me, we had a wonderful conversation, and quite frankly I left in the cab going back to the airport with a member of the board who sat there and congratulated us, because they were certain that the board was now going to select us. Yeah, interesting. Where were we in our discussion? JC: The eight-point plan. RT: Yeah. I can't tell you what the eight-points are right now, but they were all reasonable, one of which was to make Vermont College work, the system of the two institutions together, and that's interesting, too. On that point I tried very hard -- they put a lot of pressure on Loring to go up to Vermont College at least twice a week. He'd go home, changed out of his uniform into civilian clothes, go up to Vermont College, and I don't know what he did, presumably he did good things, and came back again. I got into that routine with him, and I found that Vermont College was in deep trouble, I mean, in my opinion. Over time Vermont College had reduced the quality of their education in order 38 to sustain the number of students they needed, and they had all kinds of programs going that didn't make a lot of sense. They had a nursing program that was excellent. Excellent. They had just bought some programs from -- oh, what's the name of it? JC: Goddard? RT: Goddard College, and they were difficult to mesh into the family. For example, I hadn't been here very long, and I got a call from Mrs. Lippincott, who was the chief officer of Vermont College and had previously been Loring's assistant. I got a call that said, "There's going to be a graduation on Friday" -- this was about Wednesday -- "and it's going to be outside at Vermont College. It's going to be one of the Goddard programs that's graduating at this time. They would like to invite you to be part of their graduation." So I said, "Fine, I'll be there." But before I went I hadn't heard anything more, so I called up to find out, and I said, "Now, what's my role in this? Do I hand out the diplomas? Do I make a speech, do I congratulate them from the platform? What do I do?" They said, "Oh, no, they just want you to sit there and be present. They do all this themselves." OK. I can live with that, and we'll see what happens. The first student to graduate came up, gave a little speech, each one of them, and then took their diploma and put it from their left hand to their right hand, and went back to their chair. The institution wasn't involved. This happened seven or eight times before I really said this is something we've got to look at. Then they decided, or they didn't then decide, the next thing was to have a musical rendition. They had a fellow with a fife and a piano player, and they pushed the piano out toward the group, and the front leg broke off pushing it through the grass. They somehow got it jacked up and started, and the flute player -- well, it was awful, just awful. The next day I said to my vice president, Jim Galloway, major general, retired, I told Jim what had happened, and he said, "You know, you weren't the first. I was the first. The same sort of thing went on, but it was crazier when I was up there." I said, "Tell me." He said, "The flute player was in a tree." (laughter) So we spent some time trying to bring it into the focus. Quite frankly they had some fine professors. They just didn't have a system involved. JC: I've always heard Goddard is a little strange. RT: Well, put it this way. One time Carol and I invited the president of -- oh, in Burlington. JC: UVM? RT: N