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

Issue 55.3 of the Review for Religious, May/June 1996. ; fo r reli ious Christian Heritages and Contemporary Living MAY-JUNE 1996 ¯ VOLUME55 ¯ NUMBER3 Revtew fo~r .Reli~tous tS a ~orum fo~r Shared reflection on the~ liVed :experie~ice @ all Who find that :the~.churCb's~ rico bemtaffes ~o~ ,sptntuaht~ "sul~OOrt the~r pdrsonal: ~a~d: apostoli~ :~e~a~cles ~tn the~jou~al are ;meant ~to~ ~e t~foNat~ve~ :~radt~dal~.~o~ in~p~at~nal, wH~en~om a th~lO~ic~l or so~nmt or:somenmes mnontcat oo~nt ot vtew,~ , : Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bi-monthlv at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393. Telephone: 314-977-7363 ¯ Fax: 314-977-7362 Manuscripts, books for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393. Correspondence about the Canonical Counsel department: Elizabeth McDonough OP St. Bernadette Convent ¯ 76 Universit3, Blvd. East ¯ Silver Spring, MD 20901 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious ¯ P.O. Box 6070 ¯ Duluth, MN 55806. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for information on subscription rates. ©1996 Review for Religious Permission is herewith granted to copy any material (articles, poems, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the limits outlined in Sections 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this permission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribu-tion, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written application to the Editor, Review for Religious. Editor Associate Editors Canonical Counsel Editor Editorial Staff Advisory Board David L. Fleming SJ Philip C. Fischer SJ Regina Siegfried ASC Elizabeth McDonough OP Mary Ann Foppe TracT Gramm Jean Read James and Joan Felling Iris Ann Ledden SSND Joel Rippinger OSB Edmundo Rodriguez sJ David Werthmann CSSR Patricia Wittberg SC Chris~ar~ ]~er~tages and Contemporary Living MAY/JUNE 1996 ¯ VOLUME 55 ¯ NUMBER 3 230 The Ecclesiology of the U.S. Bishops' 1994 Healthcare Directives John A. Gallagher develops some implications of the ecclesiology underlying the mission, governance, and partnership found in Catholic healthcare services. 249 264 Abandonment That Enlivens and Sets Fire for Mission George Aschenbrenner SJ develops a spirituality of abandonment as central to the stability and identity of a religious congregation in respect to its mission, community, authority, and obedience. Gathering the Fragments: New Times for Obedience Judith A. Merkle SNDdeN explores obedience as affective bonding and the challenge this call presents personally, congregationally, and ecclesially. Review for Religious 283 297 Acknowledging the Gift of Gay Priestly Celibacy William McDonough presents a case for the timeliness of acknowledging the homosexual orientation of gay celibate priests as a gift to the church. HIV Testing of Seminary and Religious-Order Candidates James F. Keenan SJ reviews reasons for and against HIV testing for priesthood and religious-life candidates and suggests some ethical standards that need to be observed. 315 A Call for a Bespoke Revival of a Hijacked Tradition Bertrand Webster FMS suggests a number of ways to update our use of the rosary for both individual and communal devotion. ,~ 228 Prisms 320 Canonical Counsel: General Chapters: Historical Background 326 Book Reviews May-3~ene 1996 prisms Nostalgia becomes a fitti'ng characteristic of the poet Homer's Odysseus--in the midst of all his travels and adventures he is driven by an aching desire to return to his island home and his wife, Penelope. A contemporary dictionary builds upon the original Greek root of nostalgia, expanding its meaning from a home-sickness to the wistful and sometimes abnormal yearning for a return to some fondly remembered season of life or an unrepeatable dream. It seems to be natural for many of us to harbor a certain nostalgia for the past--either what we have experienced or, perhaps, what we have only read or heard about. Movies or television docudramas are often quite suc-cessful in evoking an appreciation of a past with a sim-pler lifestyle or less complicated human relationships. Even reading the Gospels can sometimes lead us to express the wish that we "could have lived at the time of Jesus." The nostalgia to have been among the crowd listening to Jesus speaking out the beatitudes or among the thousands fed by Jesus' miracle of the loaves and fishes receives a rude awakening when we realize that, likely enough, we would have been among those who walked away and went about their ordinary duties of life. In our daily examen of consciousness, we find that we ignore and walk away even now from the many Christs who enter our day. The church of the 13th and 14th centuries--the peak-ing of scholastic theological developments--was in fer-ment from the press of many ideas. The controversies which resulted were often worked through over long peri-ods in a debate form called quaestiones disputatae (disputed questions). The question was a technique to explore the Review for Religious writings of authorities in conflict and the process of conflicting argumentation. Today we sometimes get glimpses of this method in writings found in the medical and health-science fields. Although we may unconsciously idealize the civility of these olden theological discussions, perhaps without too much nostalgia we can appreciate an inquiring drive toward new understanding that is often missing from church life today. Maybe, with computer knowledge banks and television soundbite news, we all have become impatient with debate and discussion; we want only answers and truths and none of the messiness of living with our own responsible choice among some merely provisional under-standings available to us. God's revelation finds its fulfillment in Christ; yet even if revealed truth is complete, it remains for Christian faith to grasp its full significance over the course of centuries. Since the truth of the church's witness is still human truth, we need to ask ourselves the question: Should we not expect disputes and controversies in our theological developments and pastoral practices just as there are in other human disciplines? Consecrated life in the life of the church is not disputed, but how it fits within church structure, what new forms it takes along-side older ones, how to work out the relationship of religious superiors and bishops, and what roles consecrated life plays within the local church are some of the ongoing questions addressed in Pope John Paul's apostolic exhortation under date of 25 March 1996. The letter is the pope's reflections on the October 1994 Synod of Bishops on the consecrated life and its mission in the church and in the world. The pope's letter brings a closure to the synod and at the same time opens out its workings into the future. As one. who exhorts, the pope sees the questions around conse-crated life as reason to commit ourselves with fresh enthusiasm. He sees that the church stands in need of the spiritual and apos-tolic contribution of a renewed and revitalized consecrated life. As a resource for continuing this discussion about consecrated life, a new book, The Church and Consecrated Life, is being pub-lished by Review for Religious. The book includes a review of the official church documents on consecrated life since, Vatican a number of exploratory articles, and the pope's apostolic exhor-tation. The book is available from our St. Louis office; the cost is $20 which includes postage and handling. David L. Fleming SJ May-J, ote 1996 JOHN A. GALLAGHER The Ecclesiology of the U.S. Bishops' 1994 Healthcare Directives "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" has been published now for about a year.' Sponsors (religious institutes, commonly), board mem-bers, and managers of Catholic healthcare organizations have had the time to reflect upon this new promulgation of directives. What new elements do they find? What will they need to assimilate into their decision-making pro-cesses and their Catholic healthcare operations in order to respond appropriately to this teaching of the American bishops? Interestingly, what is most innovative in this set of directives and most clearly different from the 1971 set is not new or more nuanced ethical teaching. Most of the individual directives are unchanged or only minimally changed. Afterations in specific ethical directives are attributable to statements from the Roman curia (for example, the responsum on uterine isolation) and to changes in the healthcare delivery system in the United States (see Part 6, Forming New Partnerships with Health Care Organizations and Providers). Perhaps the most provoca-tive ethical change can be found in Directive 57, which asserts that "excessive expense [to] the family or the com-munity" can render a life-prolonging intervention an "extraordinary" means and thus a morally optional one. The addition of "community" to the classic definition of John A. Gallagher is director for corporate ethics for the Holy Crbss Health System. His address is 3606 East Jefferson Boulevard; South Bend, Indiana 46115. Review for Religious what constitutes an extraordinary means of prolonging life will probably become controversial in a healthcare system increas-ingly dominated by managed care. What is more distinctly new in the 1994 "Directives" is the ecclesiology that can be perceived as a consistent undercurrent throughout the document. Ecclesiology is the theological disci-pline that attempts to understand what the church is, how it is related to the wider world, and how persons within the church (clergy, religious, laity) are related to one another and the church as a whole; "Directives" is not a treatise on the church. But it is concerned to identify the mission of Catholic healthcare within the mission of the church as a whole, to outline a governance structure for Catholic healthcare vis-~l-vis the local ordinary, and to set limits to cooperative arrangements between Catholic health organizations and healthcare providers daat are not Catholic. This underlying ecclesiology constitutes the truly innovative aspect of "Directives." This inchoate episcopal teaching merits serious the-ological consideration by the sponsors and leaders of Catholic healthcare. TheMission of Catholic Healthcare and the Church's Mission How convenient it would be to begin with a definition of church. But mysteries are not readily captured in crisp definitions. Theologians have contented themselves with speaking of the marks or characteristics of the church (one, holy, catholic, apos-tolic). The fathers of Vatican Council II frequently employed analogies from Scripture to provide clarification concerning the nature of the church. The closest they came to a definition was to assert, in Lumen gentium, that the church is the visible sacrament of the saving unity offered to people through the redemptive work of Christ (LG §9). In his masterful Models of the Church, Avery Dulles SJ pro-posed five models, analogies which enable some further under-standing of the mystery of the church? These models are derived from ecclesiologies developed by various theologians to portray what they believed to be the essential characteristic of the church. The models describe the church as institution, mystical commu-nion, sacrament, herald, and servant. Dulles's argument is that, though the church is no one of these models, its identity can be May-~une 1996 Gallagber ¯ Ecclesiology of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives partially clarified through reflection upon each of them. In a sub-sequent edition Dulles added a sixth model, the church as a com-munity of disciples, to emphasize the inherent cohesiveness and unity among the models and indeed of the church itself. The mission of the church pertains to its activities as a "fel-lowship of life, charity, and truth" founded by Christ to be his "instrument for the redemption of all" (LG §9; see also Ad gentes §5). Note that the mission of the church is simply another man-ner of speaking about what the church is; "mission" is a clarifi-cation, not the addition of some further information. The church is its mission. To assert that the church is "visible sacrament" is to clarify both what the church is and what it does. So with each of Dulles's models: they portray not only what the church is, but also what it does. The church is an institution, and many of its activities result from the fact that it has social, legal, and hierar-chical structures. The church is a mystical communion which unites those who are within it and identifies its relationship with other religious groups. The church as sacrament is the visible symbol of the redemptive work of Christ; its activities are symbols having their effect in the world today. The church as herald pro-claims Jesus' redeeming gospel. The church as servant extends its witness into the secular world. The mission of Catholic healthcare is but one manifestation of the mission of the church as a whole; it partakes in that visible sacrament of redemption, in that mystery which is the church's very being. The mission of the church is manifested also in Catholic parochial life, in education, and in various charitable enterprises. The healing mission of Jesus, "Directives" asserts, touches all of Catholic healthcare: The mystery of Christ casts light on every facet of Catholic healthcare: to see Christian love as the animating princi-ple of healthcare; to see healing and compassion as a con-tinuation of Christ's mission; to see suffering as a participation in the redemptive power of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection; and to see death, transformed by the resurrection, as an opportunity for a final act of com-munion with Christ. ("Directives" booklet, p. 6) Thus, Catholic healthcare is a particular specification of the mission of the church itself. As the documefits of Vatican II say with regard to missionary endeavors, so also with regard to Catholic healthcare, "the differences to be found in this activity Review for Religious of the church do not result from the inner nature of her mission itself, but are due rather to the circumstances in which this mis-sion is exercised" (AG §6). "Directives" (p. 1) indicates that a major reason why a revision was needed was developments within the church: changes in reli-gious orders and congregations, the increased involvement of lay men and women, a heightened awareness of the church's social role in the world, and developments in moral theology. Another major reason was the reconfiguration of the American healthcare system. The acute-care hospital and the long-term- care facility, the two places where most Catholic healthcare has been provided, are being incorporated nowadays into integrated delivery systems. Catholic healthcare organi-zations are b.ecoming owners or partners of these systems or are providing services within them and thus are assuming some fundamen-tally new obligations. Accordingly it became necessary to reflect anew on Catholic health-care's mission. But why explicitly? With Catholic health-care now consisting of myriad structures and organizations by which an array of healthcare services is provided to individual persons and communities, what the new "Directives" intends to accomplish is "a theological basis for the Catholic healthcare ministry" (p. 2). The healthcare ministry has always been manifested in the activities of physicians and nurses, orderlies and aides; women and men dedicated to care of the poor, the dying, the homeless. This ministry was in part animated by people's desire to mirror the healing mission of Jesus. In the United States, Catholic healthcare ministry has, along with the witness of these many individuals, also been closely identified with the healthcare institutions that many religious congregations have sponsored and governed. Now, however, as "Directives" notes, lay people are increasingly emerg-ing as the leaders of this ministry. "Directives," which is "con-cerned primarily with institutionally based Catholic healthcare services" (p, 2), is intended to provide a theological basis for con-temporary Catholic healthcare ministry because this ministry must increas.ingly receive its theological impetus from the apos-tolic endeavors of lay people rather than from the church- What the new "Directives" intends to accomplish is "a theological basis for the Catholic healthcare ministry." May-~une 1996 Gallagber ¯ Ecclesiolog~ of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives approved constitutions and the apostolic vision of sponsoring congregations. This point is crucial for understanding the ecclesiology of "Directives." Catholic healthcare in the United States has almost exclusively been the ministry of religious women. As the number of religious available for the ministry continues to decline, lay women and men, i~acluding indeed a significant number of non- Catholics, have become leaders of the Catholic healthcare min-istry. From the perspective of the mission of the church and the perspective of lay Catholics, this is a major development. Laypersons are now leaders of an institutional Catholic ministry, roles traditionally reserved to clerics and religious. Lay people are no longer at the periphery; no longer just collaborators, they are increasingly the major participants. The laity has always had a role in fulfilling the mission of the church. The apostolate of the laity has generally been construed as bringing the mission of the church into the secular world. Lumen gentium defines the lay apostolate as "a participation in the saving mission of the church itself" and describes the role of the laity as making "the church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can she become the salt of the earth" (§33). The lay apostolate, however, has generally been embodied in the activities of individual Catholic men and women. In their lives of service as doctors, lawyers, judges, and teachers, they concomitantly witnessed to the saving mystery of Christ. They sometimes joined associations of Catholic lawyers or doctors and sometimes taught or practiced in a Catholic college or hospital, but for the most part their apos-tolate was conducted outside an institution officially associated with the mission of the church. If Catholic lay-persons chose to carry out their apostolate in a Catholic school or hospital, it was the priests or religious who were the sponsors and administra-tors. It was the presence of priests and religious that both canon-ically and de facto gave the institution its Catholic identity and its link to themission of the church. ~ Such an understanding of institutions as vehicles for the mis-sion of the church has become codified in canon law. The law strives to assure that the property and financial resources of such institutions will be used e~xclusively for the mission of the church (canon 1254, §2). When a bishop confers Catholic identity on an educational or healthcare institution, he expects that certain obli- Review for Religious gations of faith and administration will be embodied in the life of that organization.3 A Catholic institution ought to carry out its ministry in a manner that reflects the church's understanding of the gospel and the tradition. "Ethical and Religious Directives" is the episcopal effort to delineate at least some aspects of the church's current understanding of the gospel as it relates to the healthcare ministry. What is most innovative about "Directives" is that it acknowl-edges and endorses the leadership role of the laity in these insti-nations. In the past, as lay people participated in the ministry of priests and sisters, they were sometimes encouraged to model their lives on those of religious, to become mem-bers of third orders, in order to enter more fully into the ministry. But now laypersons qua laypersons are becoming the major par-ticipants in this ministry. In line with what Yves Congar OP wrote shortly after World War II, lay people in the American church have now begun to take part "in the hierar-chical apostolate, that is, in that sacred activ-ity., which defines the church's proper task and mission.''4 Thus "Ethical and Religious Directives" announces a significantly new manner in which the ministry of Catholic healthcare will be conducted in the 21 st century. This sort of development is occurring also in other institutional ministries of the church in the United States. The laity are increasingly being recruited into leadership positions on all levels of Catholic education, In a recent address Father Philip Murnion, director of the National Pastoral Life Center, said that "the fuimre of parish ministry, of educatior~, of pastoral care 'and the development of worship life will increasingly be in the hands of the laity."s The laity are fill-ing the vacuum created by the declining numbers of priests and religious active in the church's institutional life~ Therefore, as Ladislas Orsy SJ has recently suggested, the opinions and rec-ommendations of layperson~ will need to be'more fully integrated into institutional decision making within the church.6 If lay people are to constitute the staff and leadership of Catholic healthcare in the 21st century, how is that ministry to be "The future of parish ministry, of education, of pastoral care and the development of worship life will increasingly be in the hands of the laity." May-~une 1996 Gallagber ¯ Ecclesiology of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives theologically articulated? At the presenttime, mission statements and core values derived from the constitutions and way of life of the sponsoring congregations have provided the sense of purpose and direction that animates the ministry. But, as sponsorship becomes more tenuous and at some point no longer exists, what will replace it? At that point American Catholic healthcare will be drawn back to its ecclesial roots, to what is common to the founding congregations and to the lay apostolate and to the ministry of healthcare: the mission of the church. How the participants in Catholic healthcarewill articulate the relation between the mis-sion of the church and the ministry of healthcare in 2025 or 2050 lies far beyond the worries of current leaders of Catholic health-care. But it is the duty of those who live in a period of transition like ours to begin to make the theological transitions. Dulles's models, I believe, provide us with theological categories with which to begin such a reflection.7 The church as institution, sacrament, and mystical commu-nion will'always be central to its healthcare ministry because those words describe what the church is, as does the word mission. As an institutional ministry, Catholic healthcare must maintain its link to the church as institution. Catholic healthcare will always be sacramental; it will continue to serve as a symbol of the healing and caring ministry of Christ. The anointing of the sick, the sacra-ment of reconciliation, and especially the Eucharist will continue to be essential in Catholic healthcare's holistic healing ministry. Further, as an institutional ministry staffed by persons of many faiths and providing services to a culturally and religiously diverse population, the Catholic healthcare ministry will continue to be a sign of the church as mystical communion. In, a time of transition such as the present, however, and as "Directives" makes clear, there are dangers in the current envi-ronment which jeopardize this relationship. The three models we have just discussed will not be adequate to describe the Catholic healthcare of the 21st century. As laypersons increas-ingly become the bearers of the ministry of Catholic healthcare, it is the herald and servant models of the church that will best correspond to Catholic healthcare's activities. The servant model construes the church's activities in a sec-ular- dialogic model, "secular, because the church takes the world as a properly theological locus, and seeks to discern the signs of Review for Religiotts the times; dialogic, because it seeks to operate on the frontier between the contemporary world and the Christian tradition.''8 Patient care, relations with collaborators and other providers, and the governance and management of multibillion-dollar corpora-tions will increasingly draw the healthcare ministry into a world with which it can never be truly at ease and which it cannot con-trol; but it is the world in which the healthcare ministry will make present the saving mystery of Christ. Will Catholic healthcare as servant be able to have signifi-cant influence on the business and medical spheres which will shape its institutional presence in the world? The values of med-ical science and of business and the manner in which they affect the lives of individual persons and communities will be the socio-cultural matrix which the church as servant will seek to influence. The servant model directs the ministry of laypersons where it has traditionally been done, the secular world. But the lay people enter this world no longer as individuals, but with the collective power, influence, and responsibility associated with the leader-ship of an institutional ministry. The church as herald is, in a sense, the counterpart of the church as servant, The latter seeks to engage the secular world, to bring about at least a partial recognition of the human signifi-cance of gospel values. The church as herald, on the o.ther hand, does not seek the transformation of society, but contents itself with witnessing to the Word of God. The church is gathered by the Word of God which it has received as "an official message with the commission to pass it on.''9 The church as herald com-plements the church as servant by recalling to Catholic healthcare that fidelity to God's Word is the test of its collaboration in a secular world. The Governance Structure of Catholic Healthcare The 1971 version of "Ethical and Religious Directives" makes no specific reference to the role of the local bishop in regard to the affairs of Catholic healthcare organizations. The 1994 edi-tion, on the other hand, assigns a major role to the local bishop in the governance of healthcare organizations within the diocese. The healthcare ministry in a local diocese is an activity in which the diocesan bishop exercises responsibilities that are rooted in his office as pastor, teacher, and priest. As the center of Gallagber ¯ Ecclesiolo~mtof tbe 1994 Healtbcare Directives unity in the diocese and coordinator of ministries in the local church, the diocesan bishop fosters the mission of Catholic healthcare in a way that promotes collaboration among healthcare leaders, providers, medical profession-als, theologians, and other specialists. As pastor the dioce-san bishop is in a unique position to encourage the faithful to greater responsibility in the healing ministry of the church. As teacher the diocesan bishop ensures the moral and religious identity of the healthcare ministry in what-ever setting it is carried out in the diocese. As priest the diocesan bishop oversees the sacramental care of the sick. ("Directives," p. 4) Individual directives define the role of the local bishop in the founding of new Catholic healthcare facilities (no. 8), in the administration of the sacraments to non-Catholics (no. 20), and in the appointment of Catholic and non-Catholic chaplains (nos. 21, 22), especially the director of pastoral care (no. 21). Directive 37 proposes that there be some form of liaison between ethics committees and the local bishop. Part 6 deeply involves the :bishop in decisions of Catholic healthcare institutions concerning entrance into new partnerships and alliances. The local bishop is to be consulted (no. 67), and in some instances appropriate autho-rization or a nihil obstat is to be obtained from him. "Directives" of 1994 articulates a set of mutual responsibilities between the local bishop and the leadership of the healthcare ministries within the diocese. The issues posed by these aspects of "Directives" define how the governance of the bishop is to be exercised. These are fundamentally issues of ecclesiology, not of ethics or morality. Their purpose is to clarify the relationship of the local bishop to the ministries of Catholic healthcare in his diocese. The point is to specify the mutual responsibilities of bishops and the boards and senior management of Catholic healthcare orga-nizations. The more subtle and more important purpose is to maintain the link between the local church and its healthcare ministry. It will be important for Catholic healthcare and the bishops to consider whether this is the appropriate relationship. The ecclesiology of this section of "Directives" is based upon the canonical principle that a .bishop is subject to no higher author-ity in his diocese other than the pope (canon 381). But Catholic healthcare organizations and their member institutions crisscross diocesan lines. Indeed the healthcare ministry is partially set within individual dioceses, but its service and witness are spread Review for Religious to the American healthcare system as a whole. Although canoni-cally there is no such thing as the American Catholic church, it is within the publicly recognized reality of such an organization that the Catholic healthcare ministry exists. That the local bishop is the sole person with the authority to confer Catholic identity upon a new healthcare facility is certainly nothing new, nor is it riew that the bishop should have. a role in the appointment of Catholic chaplains and oversee the administration of the sacraments. Both of these activities pertain to the institutional and sacramental aspects of the church, which are at the heart of a bishop's ministry. What will require clarification is the role of bishops with regard to. ethics commit-tees and the formation of partnerships and other alliances. Ethics committees exist in virtually every Catholic hospital in the United States. They provide three functions. First, they offer edu-cational programs for physicians, nurses, and staff. Second, although they do not make patient-care decisions, they do provide consul-tation to patieni:s, families, nurses, and physi-cians concerning ethical issues that can arise in the course of patient care. Third, they collabo-rate with the officers and board of a hospital in writing policies on such issue~ as "do not resuscitate" orders, informed consent, and physician-assisted suicide. Through such policies Catholic hos-pitals have expressed their compliance with "Ethical and Religious Directives." Many Catholic hospitals possess written policies on abortion, sterilization, contraception, and euthanasia. Physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel practicing within the hospi-tal are expected to conform their treatment plans to the policies of the hospital. The work of the ethics committee is one of the places where Catholic healthcare as h~rald is particularly active. These com-mittees grapple with the concrete details of medical practice within an acute-care setting. The committees require the skills and knowledge base of physicians, nurses, ethicists, and hospital administrators. They apply ~he principles of Catholic healthcare to concrete patient-care decision~. They do so in an environment in which professional medical standards, patient preferences, the What will require clarification is the role of bishops with regard to ethics committees and the formation of partnerships and other alliances. May-J*lne 1996 Gallagber ¯ " Ecclesioloy~y._of tbe 1994 Healtbca~re_D__irec~'.v_e. ,s, desires of insurance companies and other payers, the dictates of civil law, and the teaching of the Catholic hierarchy may not be in agreement. As Catholic hospitals are progressively integrated into organized delivery systems, the work of the ethics commit-tees will need to migrate from the acute-care setting directly into the managed-care environment where the major policy and patient-care decisions will be made. In many instances the Catholic organization will be part of a larger whole; it will not have the same degree of control over policies and patient-care decisions that it has had in the past. If bishops or their representatives enter the deliberations of ethics committees with the same sense of purpose as other par-ticipants in the healthcare ministry, if they come as servants and as heralds, then they will be received as welcome collaborators. The work of ethics committees is very concrete; rarely is time devoted to the discussion of ethical theory or metaethics. Consensus is the mode of decision making on which these com-mittees thrive.I° Authoritarian interventions in the work of ethics committees simply will not work. They will drive away the col-laborators essential for the successful operation of a contemporary ethics committee. How the bishop chooses to interact with the ethics committees associated with healthcare ministries in his dio-cese will determine the contribution these interventions will make to the ministry of Catholic healthcare. A recent article by Kevin Wildes SJ deals with the role that the 1994 "Directives" ascribes to the local bishop. He concludes by saying that the ecclesiology of "Directives" marks a shift toward a top-down model in ecclesiology. The Catholic tradition, Wildes argues, has generally maintained an uneasy tension between those in authority (the pope, the bishops) and those considered to be authorities (theologians). Wildes's concern is that "Directives" gives the impression of being "an effort of those in authority to restrict the space and liberty of those who are an authority.''a~ Wildes's premonition must be taken seriously. The list of those who are authorities in the area of healthcare must include physi-cians, nurses, healthcare administrators, and an array of other professionals whose expertise is essential to the management of American healthcare organizations. Successful relationships among these professionals are based upon collaboration, trust, and a mutual sharing of values. Any form of authoritarianism which denies or rejects the integrity and professionalism of one's col- Review for Religious leagues will destroy the healthcare ministry, which can exist only in a world that does not completely share its values. The legitimate concerns of local bishops for the future of the healthcare ministry in their dioceses is obvious. In some places the institutions of Catholic healthcare are the most visible signs of the church in a diocese. Ethics committees within Catholic health-care organizations address issues that go to the heart of the mis-sion of Catholic healthcare, to the implementation of its fundamental purpose. "Directives" does not propose that the bishop or his representative be directly involved in the work of the committee. Rather, it says that there should be "appropriate stan-dards for medical ethical consultation within a particular diocese that will respecLthe diocesan bishop's pastoral responsibility as well as assist members of ethics committees to be familiar with Catholic medical ethics" (no. 3 7). The purpose of the directive can be most suitably fulfilled by the bishop's creation of a diocesan committee to inform and advise the bishop in the exercise of his stewardship of the healthcare ministry. Such diocesan committees, many of which are already in the process of formation, must be staffed by healthcare profes-sionals and theologians knowledgeable about the realities of the contemporary American healthcare delivery system. Where dio-ceses are small and lack appropriate resources or where diocesan boundaries overlap the service areas of Catholic healthcare min-istries, such committees could be established within regional or state episcopal conferences. In either case, such a committee offers the bishop the means of informing himself on the issues con-fronting the healthcare ministry before becoming directly involved. The Creation of New Partnerships Until relatively recently, Catholic healthcare organizations, like their counterparts in the overall American healthcare deliv-eW system, functioned as independent, autonomous institutions. If there were several Catholic hospitals or long-term-care facili-ties within a diocese, they existed in isolation from one another. There were few reasons for them to function conjointly. The reform of the healthcare delivery system within the United States has greatly altered this basic characteristic of the Catholic health-care ministry. Collaboration, partnerships, and alliances have replaced the earlier autonomy of American healthcare. May-June 1996 Gallagber * Ecclesioloffy of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives The many reasons underlying this ~ajor reconfiguration of the healthcare delivery system reasons already well known to sponsors, board members, and managers of Catholic he~althcare are not ~irectly germane to the purposes of this essay. The con-sequences of this realignment, 'however, are among the fundamental reastn~ for the revision of "Directives," with its emphasis on ecclesiology. The"buzzword in American healthcare is integration. A health- ~are organization, hospital, or long-term-care facility, must be integrated horizontally and vertically. Horizontal integration implies a collaboration or alliance among an array of healthcare organizati6ns that can provide all the services necessary to sustain the wellness and treat the illnesses of a covered 15opulation. Such an integrated delivery network (IDN) or organized deli,cery sys-tem (ODS) will contain primary-care and specialist physicians; ambulatory-care centers, labs and centers for diagnostic medicine, pharmacies, long-term-care facilities, and acute-care hospitals. Vertical integration, refers to the manner in which th6 IDN or ODS is aligned with a system of payers and insurance compianies that furnish the financial support for the network of providers. The stand-alone hospital or long-term-care facility has no future in a healthcare system based upon horizontal and vertical inte-gration. The question the mission and business question before every CathOlic healthcare organization over the past several years has been: With whom should it be a partner? Successful IDNs and ODSs have secured sources of revenue (payers, insurance companies)' and can offer an appropriate array of health services across a geographicalarea. Such IDNs and ODSs have set up rela-tionships with a large number of physicians, have made agree-ments with multiple providers Working together, and have entered into contracts with multiple suppliers of goods and services. These are large complex btisiness operations. Catholic healthcare orga-nizations seek either to become members of or to create such IDNs and ODSs as ways of resolving their business questions. But the presence of a Catholic healthtare organization within a viable IDN or ODS does not necegsarily ensure an appropria'te resolution to the mission quest!on. Can Catholic healthcare insti-tutions be pfir~ners with for-profit corporations? Can they be partners with institutions that provide abortions or other proce-dures that conflict with the "Ethical and Religious Directives"? Review for Religious Can the Catholic healthcare.minlstry retain its status as an instru-ment of the mission of the church in whatever sort of business,~ economic, or healthcare environment? Questions such as these are what induced the bishops to put Part 6 into "Directives" and to append their interpretation of formal and material cooperation. At the present time, Catholic healthcare organizations are developing and acting upon diverse answers to the mission question. Cardinal Bernardin is attempting to facilitate the development of an alliance among the Catholic hospitals of the Chicago archdiocese. Catholic Health Care West has created in California a statewide IDN/ODS that is composed largely of Catholic providers. In Indianapolis, St. Vincent's Hospital has created an alliance with Community Hospitals, a not-for-profit organization, in which other Catholic and non- Catholic organizations are in the process of seeking membership. Recently the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine ~in Cleveland announced that their hospitals would be entering a partnership with Columbia/HCA, a for-profit hospital corporation. In each of these four very different IDNs/ODSs, the Catholic parties have contended that they are making a business ar}angement that is compatible with their healthcare ministry. "Directives" encourages the leaders of Catholic healthcare to consult with the local bishop and to seek his approval or nihil obstat in the creation of partnerships that will affect the organi-zati0n's mission (no. 68). This process of consultation and approval is a matter of central importance to the leadership of Catholic healthcare organizations as well as to the members of the hierar-chy. Ho~ it is to be conducted and what its goals are will be key factors in the success of such a process. Several directives touch upon issues internal to the process of consultation and approval. Directive 59 stipulates that the prin-ciples governing cooperation should be used to limit the partic-ipation of a Catholic organization in an alliance which provides services "judged morally wrong by the church." Such services, referred to elsewhere in "Directives," include abortion (no. 45), euthanasia (no. 60), direct st~erilization (no. 53), contraception The stand-alone hospital or long-term-care facility has no future in a healthcare system based upon horizontal and vertical integration. May-.]une 1996 Gallagber * Ecclesiolog~f tbe 1994 Healtbcare Directives (no. 52), and artificial fertilization that separates the unitive and procreative components of the marital act (nos. 40, 41). Scandal, the appearance of cooperating in and accepting as permissible an objectively immoral act, rnust be avoided in the partnerships entered into by Catholic healthcare ministries (no. 45). Of course, avoidance of scandal would be agreed to unhesi-tatingly by all parties to this process of consultation and approval. Scandal is a sin against charity, against the very bond that unites persons within the church. No participant in the Catholic health-° care ministry would willingly let the organization's activities be a source of scandal. The more likely discussion would focus on what, in fact, constitutes scandal. The concepts of formal and material cooperation in the evil of others have generally been the gauges used by moral theologians to make such a determination. It is at least questionable, however, whether this mode of moral reasoning will be sufficient to resolve the issues that currently confront the ministry of Catholic healthcare. The concepts of formal and material cooperation were devel-oped by theologians to resolve the qu.estion of the culpability of one person's cooperation in another's morally evil act. The clas-sic example in recent medical ethics has been the Catholic nurse who cooperates with a physician in performing an abortion. If the nurse's cooperation was simply to care for the woman after the procedure in a postoperative (post-op) area, her cooperation was generally deemed remote and material. Her actions were after the fact (remote) and incidental to the act of an abortive-proce-dure; she was simply providing care that would be provided to any post-op patient (material). Indeed, under the principles gov-erning cooperation, a nurse could assist in the abortive proce-dure by handing instruments to the physician if she did not intend the evil of abortion, was performing a task that was itself not immoral (simply handling the surgical instruments), was under duress to cooperate in the procedure (fear of loss of job), had voiced her opposition to the.' procedure, and was not repeatedly placed in this situation.12 The principles governing cooperation were developed to assist confessors in their assessment of the moral culpability of penitents coerced in some fashion to coop-erate in the evil of another. Can it be applied to the activities of healthcare institutions? Fathers James Keenan and Thomas Kopfensteiner, the authors of the appendix to "Directives" that defines the principles gov- Rewiew for Religiot~s erning cooperation, contend that such is the case.13 However, this issue requires further reflection. Certainly the decision-making processes of corporations and institutions are much more complex than those of individuals. Decision making in modem corporations and institutions is spread all through them. Corporate boards endorse or reject proposals made by CEOs and their senior man-agers; CEOs and their management teams approve or modify rec-ommendations from directors and managers. In the healthcare setting, physicians have a strong influence on decisions about healthcare delivery. Corporate decision making is the result of an ongoing, multileveled, integrated discourse that eventually reaches a decision. Although corporations and institutions are moral agents, their agency ought not be confused with that of individual persons. It will be from within the corporate structures which consti-tute the decision-making processes of the Catholic healthcare ministry that the future profile of that ministry will be discerned. If the principles governing cooperation assist some organizations in responding to the question of the manner in which their health-care ministry can be legitimately configured in an IDN/ODS, then clearly they should employ them. Many Catholic organiza-tions, however, have begun to develop processes of corporate ~dis-cernment in order to ensure'that their activities in a reconfigured delivery system will continue to be an authentic ministry in sup-port of the mission of the church. Such decision-making processes are being developed for sev-eral reasons. "Directives" (pp. 6-7) has identified some key values for the Catholic healthcare ministry, "normative principles that inform the church's health ministry": human dignity, care of the poor, the common good, stewardship of resources, and the right to refuse services inconsistent with church teaching. The first four of these principles are clearly values that leaders of Catholic healthcare can share with potential collaborators. Although these values are central to the Catholic ethical tradition, they are also readily embraced by others. Catholic healthcare personnel strive to cooperate with other providers who share these basic values. An IDN/ODS becomes an instance of the very concrete manner in which such principles become embodied in a corporate structure composed of Catholic, and non-Catholics dedicated to providing healthcare services for a community. Indeed, agreement on these values does not necessarily resolve the issue of a Catholic orga- May-~une 1996 ; Gallagber ¯ Ecclesiology of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives nization's partnership with an organization that provides elective tubal ligations or even.abortions. But it does widen out the array of issues that are deemed relevant in determining whether~a par-ticular partnership or alliance will be acceptable to a local bishop. These fundamental values of the Catholic healthcare min-istry need to be woven into an array of complex business deci-sions. The very location of places of service will say much about an organization's commitment to care of the poor. The managed-care programs of Catholic organizations and their human-resource practices will portray their interpretation of human dignity. The various allocations of capitated dollars within a system are signs of the system's stewardship of resources. Finally, how an IDN/ODS plans for care of the poor in a nation that has growing numbers of people without health insurance and that faces pending reduc-tions in Medicare and Medicaid spending will be a witness to an important value. All of these decisions need to be made within corporate structures that will take the values central to all Catholic healthcare ministry and make them operative in a given institu-tional structure. Careful processes of discernment assist board members and the leadership of Catholic healthcare organizations to identify the explicit rationale for individual decisions. Such processes pose questions: Why are we doing this? ls this decision in support of the ministry of Catholic healthcare? Will this deci-sion not only facilitate the success of this organization as a busi-ness operation, but also enhance its ministry? In their discussion and discernment about the purpose and practice of their ministry, Catholic healthcare organizations go well beyond the principles governing cooperation. Catholic healthcare has never defined itself in negative'terms. It was not created, nor has it continued into the present, in order not to do certain things. The foundresses of Catholic healthcare and their successors endeavored to operate virtuous institutions that would serve their communities. Current and ongoing reflection by a new generation of successors sets the same positive goals and strives to choose wisely the means to accomplish them. These ~eflective processes are educational; they require that individual board members,and managers, become familiar with the values that.shape the behavior and expectations of the orga-nization. Since values like human dignity and care of the poor are part of the discourse part of what the organization talks about and how it makes its decisions new members need to Review for Religious become sensitized to these values in order to function profes-sionally within it. A culturally diverse professiona! staff can be attracted to ~'participate in the activities of a virtuoias institution that strives to embody values in its services. Their involvement in such an institution need not jeopardize their own religious con-victions. The reflective processes of corporate discernment can con-tribute to the refounding of the healthcare ministry. At this point both bi~shops and leaders of Catholic healthcare are more certain about what the healthcare ministry was than what it is or will be. Latent in all who are concerned for the future of the healthcare ministry is a longing, perhaps even an expectataon, that some wily theologian will identify the essence of Catholic healthcare so that, knowing what that essence or nature is, they can produce it and make it available. But this is not likely to be the case. Catholic healtheare in the past was built upon the religious values and commitments of women who forged a ministry in isolated railroad towns in the West and in the urban poverty of 19th-century American cities. People who practice reflective disc~i'nment together will not discover the new essence of the healthcare min- )stry, but they will invite the leaders of this ministry into a period of dialectics in which the clash of facts and values, of business realities and religious visions, wil.l give rise to a new foundation of the Catholic healthcare ministry. Reflective discernment pro-cesses are heuristic: they strive to pose questions whose answers will render the world in which we live coherent and enlivening. But Catholic healthcare is not yet in such a world. In all like-lihood, it will be some time before the healthcare ministry is securely situated on a new foundation. When that time arrives, Catholic healthcare will be distinct from what it was for most of the 20th century. Yet, in a form that is not altogether clear at this time, it will be a ministry of service and witness, of diaconia and kerygma. At present, however, American Catholic healthcare remains a pilgrim ministry that tries to read the signs of the times and find its way into the future. Notes 1 "Ethical and Religious Directives for~Catholic Health Care Services" was approved by the National Council of Catholic Bishops at their November 1994 meeting. First published in Origins 24~ no. 27 (15 December 1994): 449-462, it was afterwards published as a booklet (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, February 1995). May-yTune 1996 Ga/lagber * Ecdesiology of the 1994 Healtbcare Directives 2 Avery Dulles SJ, Models of the Church (New York: Doubleday, 1974). ~ Adam J. Maida, Church Property, Church Finances, and Church Related Corporations (St. Louis: Catholic Health Association, 1984), pp. 53-58. 4 Yves Congar Op, Lay People in the Church, trans. Donald Attwater (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Co., 1957), p, xxiv. s Philip Murnion, "The Next Steps for the Laity," Origins 25, no, 2 (1995): 30. 6 Ladislas Orsy SJ, "Structures for the Vision: An Interview with Ladislas Orsy sJ," America, 7 October 1995, p. 12. 7 See Bernard Lonergan SJ, Method in Theology (New York~ Herder and Herder, 1974), pp. 285-293. s Dulles, Models, p. 92. 9 Dulles, Models, p. 76. ~0 See K. Danner Clouser and Bernard Gert, "A Critique of Principlism," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 15 (1990): 219-236; John Arras, "Getting Down to Cases: The Revival of Casuistry in Bioethics," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 16 (1991): 29-52. See also Jonathan D. Moreno, Deciding Togetber: Bioetbics and Moral Consensus (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). ~ Kevin Wildes sJ, "A Memo for the Central Office: The 'Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,'" Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 5 (1995): 138. ,2 Orville N. Griese, Catholic Ide~nti?y in Health Care: Principles and Practice (Braintree: Pope John Centei', 1987), p. 401. ~3 James Keenan and Thomas Kopfensteiner, "The Principle of Cooperation," Health Progress, April 1995, p. 24. Annunciation Having left no hint Of handkerchief or halo, Gabriel was gone. There was no other word between them needed, For she and God would grow together so, No angel would intrude. Sally Witt csJ Review for Religious GEORGE ASCHENBRENNER Abandonment That Enlivens and Sets on Fire for Mission In 'recent times mission, community, authority, and obe-dience have not always blended well in religious congre-gations. But, when a congregation carefully integrates these four elements, it possesses a healthy center of religious experience that makes possible a clarity of identity, a cohe-siveness of membership, and, most importantly, a fire for mission. This is the thesis of this article. The challenge .fa.c.ing us religious today is not simply a matter of deploy-ing members efficiendy or satisfying their ministerial pref-erences. Rather, the challenge includes a self-abandonment that renews the members' total reliance on a loving God while enlivening them and setting them on fire for mis-sion, their hearts fused together in one consecration. The issue fundamentally is religious and spiritual. Mission always has the overarching importance when-ever it is related to community, authority, .and obedience. Mission, as the very heart and meaning of any congrega-tion, ties the members into the great desires of God as revealed in Jesus. Surely more than being just a job, mis-sion draws its effectiveness from a spiritual theology, active and unitive within the hearts of all the members. At the same time, though mission has a priority over the other three elements, it can never replace any of them without George Aschenbrenner SJ is presently director of the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth at Church Road; Box 223; Wernersville, Ptnnsylvania 19565. symposium part 2 May-j~une 1996 Ascbenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens seriously weakening the congregation's overall effectiveness and corrupting the significance of the element apparently replaced. Obedience when separated from the other three becomes an unhealthy ascetical practice, something shortsightedly in and for itself. Mission when separated from community produces a scat-ter- shot diffused effect, and community without much relation to mission narcissistically turns in upon itself. No, there is no avoiding the interrelationship of these four elements. The very identity and stability of a congregation depend upon it. A clear central integration~of these four elemeflts is as neces-sary for active as for mona~stic congregations, despite the signif-icant differences between them. In religious life today this fourfold central unity may express itself differently in the two, but it r~emains important for both.~ Though not easily accomplished, this central unity .can take on a critical importance in active con-gregations. Because it is the nature of an active community that its members be sent out and dispersed in a variety of ministries, the accomplishment of unity and a sense of felt membership can be difficult. But when the centrifugal force of ministry is not bal-anced with the appropriate centripetal force of community, the pain of disunity and loneliness can destroy the congregation. In many cases the issue addressed here touches on nothing less than the very survival of the group. After renewing a basic .supposition about religious life, I will develop a spirituality of abandonment as central to ,apostolic mis-sion. This spirituality has four different personal objects and cen. trally affects the exercise of religious government for mission. Finally, four results emerge when an appropri.ate,integration of our foursome is ~achieved. Religious Life: Essentially Corporate Existence Orders and congregations each have their own version of the evangelical imperatives of chastity, poverty, and obedience, but all of them have a corporate faith, focused in a shared vision and mission, that distinguishes religious life from other life-forms in the church. In the midst of a great variety of changes within reli-gious life, an essential corporate existence continues to play a central identifying role. And t.hough the und~erstanding of reli-gious community has shifted a lot since Vatican Council II, only some clear shared corporate vision--believed and practiced by Review for Religious all--can prevent religious life from changing into a wholly dif-ferent form. This fundamental communitarian existence stands as one identifying continuity stretching back even to Pachomius in the 4th century. At a time of shifting meanings for religious community, care must be taken not to lose the reality. Especially in the active apos-tolic model, one of the revealing signs of a religious vocation con-tinues to be a genuine desire for a shared faith and life. This must include some form of the following actions done together: shar-ing faith, praying, living, and ministering. These shared actions are not arbitrarily left to the individual's choice or whim. They con-stitute membership. So one is excused only for directly ministe-rial reasons. These commitment mechanisms ritualize in some genuine fashion the corporate vision and faith. Without such reg-ularly siiared experiences, the sense of religious community becomes ethereal and chimerical. Therefore, in some carefully understood sense, religious life is life in community, and not just on one's own. For an active religious, not to have a genuine desire to be,together in praying, living, and ministering becomes a seri-ous countersign to membership and cannot simply be tolerated. This corporate shared life has within it a dynamic impulse to public, visible expression. The life-form of a secular institute runs on~a different dynamic: to be hidden and unrecognized within the secular society. And so, ordinarily the religious life-form will stand out more than that of a secular institute. This element of public visibility gives external expression to the essential corpo-rate nature of religious life. Of cot~rse, the evangelical impera-tives, especially celibate chastity, add their own focus~to this central corporate identity. My point here is simple and clear: reli-gious life is not something done on my own and alone. It is always a shared corporate vision and existence. Mission: A Profound Spirituality and Theology Mission is a great growing concern within religious life today, and well it should be. But this great concern can be misunder-stood. In these days of second, third, and even fourth careers, more and more religious find themselves wondering "What would I like to do now?" or "What should I try after ten years of teach-ing?" Though these and similar wonders can naturally entertain our minds, they can fixate us on too superficial a level. As men- May-June 1996 Aschenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens tioned above, mission is not finally a matter of personal preference and efficient deployment of members. Mission in religious life always catches fire in a profound the-ology and spirituality. Religious consecration gathers together and roots members in the mystery of Jesus' obedience to the great universal mission of God's love. A passionate desire for every-body to know how loved and cared for they are in the mystery of God is always burning in Jesus' heart. He is always on this mis-sion. It is his very identity. Jesus' consciousness is dominated by a sense of being sent. He never stands on his own. He never comes to do his own thing. Whatever he speaks and does and is, he receives from another. The Gospel of John makes this very clear in many passages. "I do nothing on my own authority but speak simply as my Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me now: the Father has never left me alone, for I always do what pleases him" (Jn 8:28-29). There is a clear limit to any process of self-actualization in Jesus. This clear limit does not speak of immature dependency, but rather points to a theology and spirituality of love always aflame in his heart. The receptivity involved in Jesus' experience of mission reveals the central love affair that burns at the core of his identity. Rather than passive submission to the marching orders of some distant authority, mission for Jesus always radiates a life of love with the One he calls "my dear Father." At the heart of this love affair, a mysterious abandonment burns in an identity of perpetual ado-ration. It is an adoration that sets him afire every day for his mis-sion and finally for the fearful but well-loved completion of that mission: the great Passover of his life. He does not tell his dear Fathe~ what to do. Rather, their self-abandonment in mutual love forges such a union that Jesus, aglow in the Holy Spirit, is God's mission always burning among us. Jesus: Abandonment to His "Dear Father" In this abandonment Jesus' heart is always burning true. Sometimes he shows his love by carrying out ordinary routines, while at other times he performs deeds of high drama. All disci-ples of the great mission of God must do both kinds of things in their own lives, according to the specifics of their own personal religious experience. Review for Religious In the temple at the age of twelve, Jesus speaks a word of truth: "Didn't you know I must always be where my dear Father is?''2 This truth radiates identity for the young boy, as well as for his distraught mother and foster father. While not easily under-stood, such a word invites contemplative treasuring in their hearts. It not only cannot be contradicted, but it allur-ingly presages a mysterious future. Years later this word has become so clear in his heart as to call him away from his beloved home and mother. An urgency beckons him, an urgency to go to his cousin, the Baptizer, at the Jordan. There the fire flames forth in an enor-mously special way. A religious experience, always alive in his heart, flashes forth in a dramatic moment. A love beyond words and imagining; a Son so specially beloved and pleasing; a servant uniquely chosen for mission--in such a moment the abandonment of his life to his dear Father is so very obvious and very right. He knows that this fire in his heart has not been set by himself, but by a dear Father's loving Spirit. The original temple-word, now a clearly recognized relationship with a dear Father beloved beyond limit, becomes a guiding light all through his busy life in the midst of the people. Always he is one called and sent into the mission of every day. This special inner consciousness keeps the fire of loving aban-donment zealously aglow, ~in his heart. "I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!" (Lk 12:49). This inner fire burns finally into the completion of his bap-tism. "There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!" (Lk 12:50). The growing paschal ful-fillment of that temple-word brings him into the great mission-ary climax of his life.-It is high drama. A mission of love plays itself out on the stage of his troubled heart, and the audience stretches into the fullness of time. In an olive grove his aware-ness that "everything is possible for you, dear Father" raises a puzzling possibility: "Take this cup away from me." But, beyond the fear and questioning of his mind, in the deepest adoring still-ness of his heart, that fire of self-abandonment faithfully burns and enlivens: "But let it be as you, not I, would have it!" This chosen servant, so much the delight of God, brings the whole mission of his life to unending fullness in the climactic Mission for Jesus always radiates a life of love with the One he calls "my dear Father." 2~lay-37~ne 1996 Aschenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens challenge of Calvary. Though the drama and intensity of the moment is high pitch, the story is still the same: a servant aban-doning himself to the Beloved. The mission of love is now some-how complete. "It is accomplished" (Jn 19:30). "Dear Father, into your hands I give over my spirit" (Lk 23:46). Jesus, God's mission. in our midst, stripped to the simple clear essence of his identity, becomes a fire of forgiving love blazing into the fullness of time. Disciples: Sent for Missidn This enlivening fire for mission in Jesus is meant to deter-mine the missionary lives of all his disciples. A great desire for mission and evangelization sends disciples all over the world. This evangelization must always be fueled by an urgency of desire that more and more people taste the joy, freedom, and union of God's deeply personal love in Jesus, a reconciling love in which we all live and move and have our being. Disciples always bring an aston-ishing wealth of gifts, training, and experience to this mission of evangelization. This is marvelous. The cooperation and blend-ing of all these talents in any particular operation, however, is not always easy. At the heart of this sense of mission must always be the same profound identifying attitude of Jesus. An eager, ready abandon-ment in love stokes the heart's coals for the fire of mission. Such missionary eagerness comes from a burning desire to be sent, This fire for mission involves a profound attitude in faith that becomes visible in the results of an appropriate ministerial place-ment process. Daily discipleship in the great mission of Jesus always requires the stance of radical abandonment that identifies Jesus in his love affair with his dear Father. Various dangers today threaten the faith attitude and reli-gious experience needed if we are to share Jesus' burning sense of mission. In recent years many congregations have borrowed ter-minology from corporate management and social psychology to name roles played in the community's organization and struc-ture. 3 While there surely is some value in this, we must be care-ful~ of the significance of our language. Language often has an effect on us that is not immediately evident, It can .talk us into or out of certain attitudes, almost without our noticing. If we slip out of the profound faith perspective described in this article, a prophetic vision easily becomes ideological, and fire for mission Review for Religious becomes political competition. We must be careful that our words do not distract us from the realm of profound faith where the dynamics of life and love are often quite different from those of our secular society. An age still strongly individualistic, therapeutic, and security conscious keeps the focus on self and taking care of self. In ways insidiously subliminal or at least not obvious, this spirit can lead to an assertiveness that resists the abandonment that sets a person afire for mission. Especially when this therapeutic spirit seems very convincing, the dynamic of "sending oneself" can quench the red-hot coals of missionary abandonment. Such self-sending is easily justified in the heady winds of assertiveness and individ-ualism. Such self-sending often makes a person blind to any par-ticipation in the corporate vision; it blocks genuine community mediation and can even manipulate it. Such an attitude and prac-tice ~threatens our sharing in Jesus' sense of mission. The issue finally is always the same: The self-abandonment that enlivens and sets the heart on fire is itself being abandoned. An Abandonment to Whom? The abandonment described here must be an interpersonal experience of love. Though we may pledge allegiance to a flag, we can abandon ourselves only to some person who loves us. Then, when the beauty of the beloved is magnetic enough, the aban-donment becomes practically unavoidable. 'No mere cause, how-ever noble and (xciting, can affect us in this way, can move us as profound interpersonal love, engagement, and abandonment of self can. The abafidonment beyond self that participates in God's mis~- sion in Jesus always includes four loves or four ways of loving. First and foremost, we abandon ourselves into the loving hands of God. This falling 6ut of control can never be forced or strongly willed on our own. We can only be lured and seduced to it by the astonishing beauty of God's love in the fidelity of Jesus. For someone who does not feel the magnetism of that love, the aban-donment so central to this article not only will be almost unin-telligible, but will also be altogether impossible. The person may even repel any such suggestion. The continuing struggle in active apostolic congregations to integrate mission and consecration is relevant here. A certain consecration to, with, and in God is nec- May-June 1996 Ascbenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens Our hearts' desires and attentions must not focus on ourselves, but on needy people of the world. essary if mission endeavors--even fervently "prophetic" ones-- are to become more than just efficient social work. In other words, the proper integration of consecration and mission can take place only in the actual experience of abandoning ourselves to God's love so radiantly.inviting in Jesus. Second, fire for mission also involves an abandonment in com-passionate sensitivity to all sorts of needy people in our world. No impersonal cause, however rabidly espoused, will suffice. A specification and personalization of the great needs throughout our universe invites the missionary abandonment described in this article. For this aspect of the abandonment to have strong effect today, certain countercultural developments are needed. Our hearts' desires and attentions must not focus on ourselves, but on needy people of the world. This calls for gener-ous abandonment. The charism of each congre-gation must help its members to see needs in the world and then to set priorities. The charism must be alive in their hearts so that they actually address some specific needs of today, rather than simply embrace a vague universalism. A charism that is trying to do everything runs the danger finally of accomplishing nothing. Third, abandoning myself to the community of brothers or sisters who share the same religious consecration implies a belief that our corporate good is much more important than my own individual good. Community here must be, not some idealized reality, but the real people of the here and now. This aspect of abandonment for mission does not make light of my own good, but presumes the pervasive corporate identity whereby my own sense of self cannot be conceived apart from our shared life and mission together. The central energizin, g concern is we, not me. Once again, as mentioned earlier, corporate ministerial impact is what mission is about, not a scatter-shot effect of talented pro-fessional individuals. This corporate identity is not easily attained in an age of therapeutic individualism. It continues to be a major issue in religious formation today, and it must be resolved suffi-ciendy at the time of profession if candidates and communities are to have a future together. Fourth, the abandonment we are discussing will always some-how involve human mediators who specify, clarify, and incarnate Review for Religions God's loving authority in Jesus for mission. Whether these medi-ators are friends, a spiritual director, a leadership team, a provin-cial, the bishop, or the people with whom I live, mission can never be simply a matter of myself and God. The dialogue and dis-cernment stretch beyond individual limitations. Each member's discernment always assumes great importance, but is never the ultimate determining factor in the decision. In many situations human mediation is precisely the point of struggle and disagree-ment among us. Some of this struggle is an understandable reac-tion to excessively authoritarian practices of mediation in the past, but not all of it is so easily explained. Some of this reaction needs to be explored and challenged. Without settling for vague gen-eralities at this point, I want to describe some specific develop-ments in the riext section without, however, resorting to overly definitive, rigid uniformities. This brings us to the role of religious government in fostering a congregation's fire for mission. Role of Religious Government for Mission Models of religious government have gone through an enor-mous transformation since Vatican II. The diversity of develop-ment between men's and women's congregations has been striking. As we become sensitive to the enriching differences of the femi-nine and the masculine, this diversity of development is expected and is perhaps long overdue after many years in which women religious were forced into structures and models originally cre-ated for men. But some further questions surface at this point. Should the governmental models in congregations of women and men be so different? Along with some diversity that all seem happy to allow for, should there not be more similarity in the role of authority and the practice of obedience within men's and women's congregations? How do we recognize and maintain, both for women and men, a continuity of development with the past.in this area of religious authority and obedience? (Such continuity, though not easily recognized at certain junctures in the development, is always a sign of the guidance of the Holy.Spirit.) These questions are not easily answered, and I hope that together we will deal hon-esdy with them for some time. It is too easy a resolution simply to say: that is the masculine way and this is the feminine way. It is my hope that the diversity in thi.s area between the practice of men and women will be mutually challenging and enriching. May-June 1996 Aschenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens To give authority to someone utterly without the charism of leadership will usuall not promote the corporate ministerial impact of a con regation, o A movement awayofrom hierarchical models has character-ized ma.ny congregational leadership arrangements since Vatican II. This movement was not so clearly called for in the cohncil's Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life; espe-cially in its treatment of obedience.4 Throughout all the docu-ments of the council, we can clearly find glimpses of a new "vision for the people of God that would legitimate in the Spirit-some of this movement away from a thoroughly hierarchical model. But, withgut' doubt, other waves of influence gathering force over the last thirty years have been churned up and driven along by secular winds. Strong'democratic and egalitarian presumptions have been hard at work deconstru4dng most models of ¯ authority and government. And, once tidal-wave proportions have been reached, it is hard to be concerned about nuance and degree of development and chan~e. The Ignatian model is an interesting.~xample. The original Ignatian concePtion of authority and obedience for mission was strongly hierarchical and centralized. It was this strong centralized model, of authority that made both internal cohesiveness and widespread external ministry possible. Some would view this Ignatian model as the beginning of active religious life in the ~'modern world,s Congregations of women and men claiming Ignatian 'influence and roots in their founding interpret this in quite different ways today, howe~,er much they have or have not thought through and discussed the matter. A triangular model of authority as flowing down from the pinnacle has given way to a model of much more mutual and shared responsibility. We are rediscovering the authority in each mature believing person. When well informed by the Holy Spirit and well in touch with God's people as a whole, each person is able to "author forth" as part-of God's mission of love among us. But is this individualized, egalitarian authority enough for the mis-sion of religious life in the future? If we simply let the recent decentralizing development have its way, will the. proper under-standing and practice of authority for mission just naturally emerge? I think not, Such a development implies too ethereal a Review Jbr Religious view of the Holy Spirit, as though not inviting the cooperative ohard work of human minds and hearts. Authority's triangle can-not simply be exchanged, in my opinion, for a circle composed of brothers and sisters of completely equal authority. A Model of Concentric Circles To properly integrate mission, community, authority, and obe, dience, I suggest another model for religious institutes: concen-tric circles. In the centermost circle is God revealed in Jesus with a very special authority. In the next circle are the founders and foundresses with their charismatic vision and that vision's con-tinuous development. In the next few circles would be individu-als or teams on the general or local levels who possess an authority for unity and mission beyond that of all the other members. This special authority is received both from God and from all the mem-bers through the group's ecclesially approved process of choice. This distinctive authority does not finally s~t these people off from the rest of the members. As a matter of fact, it will have effect only as contextualized within, the community of all the brothers and sisters. The people exercising such special authority are sisters and brothers to. us all. This is precisely why these cen-tral circles are placed concentrically within the largest circle, which contains all the members gathered as brothers or sisters in the one congregation. In the concentric model it is important to distinguish, but not separate, authority, leadership, and obedience.6 Authority is a canonical, juridical office of power rooted in God, not in the chancery or some Vatican office. This is a power about other per-sons for.ministry. Leadership, on the other hand, is a charism of influence and inspiration over other people. This latter cannot be legalized and institutionalized. Not everyone has this charism. Though the juridical office of authority and the personal charism of leadership can and should be distinguished, we must always work hard to keep the two in a proper balance of relationship. To give authority to someone utterly without the charism of lead-ership will usually not promote the corporate ministerial impact of a congregation. To confuse this distinction and the operative government-model in a congregation will always have its cor-rupting effect on the unity of the membership and on its shared fire for mission. That lines of authority be clear regarding who May-~nne 1996 Aschenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens exercises it and for what object is not a finicky concern for tidi-ness, but rather a strong desire for spreading fire effectively in the mission of God's love. If authority and leadership must stay in relationship, the same is true of authority and obedience. They form an essential mutual relationship. One cannot stand without the other. While author-ity invites the mature obedience of careful listening, so too must it be sensitive in careful listening to the membership's calling forth healthy mature exercise of authority. Each calls forth the other in a vitality and interrelationship always focused on greater unity.and fire for mission. The decentralizing trend in religious congregations since Vatican II has affected this interrelationship of authority, leader-ship, and obedience. It has thereby also affected the structure, appearance, and sense of belonging in many congregations: But, as we keep relating this decentralization to two other corporate values (membership and ministry) and not allow it simply to develop a life of its" own, a couple of important questions face us. How decentralized can a group become and still preserve a cohe-sive unity and an outreaching mission? How much unrefined plu-ralism can a group tolerate without losing its unity and identity? These questions not only nag at religious groups, but also affect secular organizations and are not susceptible to pat or easy answers. However, dealing with them is crucial because it keeps this decentralizing tendency in relationship with the foursome (mission, community, authority, and obedience) that provides (as this article argues) the central stability and identity of any religious congregation. One of the dangers today is that this decentralizing spirit may assume a solitary dominating influence. Religious authority, then, as exercised in the concentric gov-ernmental structure presented here, serves two major important purposes. In the first place, this authority fosters clarity and energy about the mission of God in Jesus for us here and now. Decisions are made, not simply according to individual preferences and seri- 6us individual discernments, but in light of a congregation's charis-matic identity as that has developed over years to a contemporary specification. Authority thus exercises a preserving role regarding the congregation's present specification of its identity in the mis-sion of God in Jesus. Rather than having a stifling effect, these mediators in the exercise of authority foster: fire for mission and are servants of the faithful continuity of the congregation's Review for Religious charism. Of course, they could never serve this special role with-out the energetic cooperation of us all. In the second place, this authority is especially related to the corporate unity of the group. Just as God's authority is never meant to be an oppressive ,burden, but serves toward the uplifting unity of the whole human family, so this religious authority is a unique service for love in the unity and mission of the congregation. Mediators of this authority, therefore, are special servants of the group's unity in love. Without careful, clear exercise of authority and obedience, a congrega-tion's experienced unity gets ragged and its fire for mission dims. Results of Healthy Integration The proper interrelationship of mission, community, author-ity, and obedience produces four healthy results. First, ministry is always seen as rooted in and flowing out of the Trinity. Neither empty theory nor impractic.al idealism, this profound spiritual theology must ground and animate all ministry in the church. Ministry is really God's work and not some project that we, are in sole charge of and that belongs completely to us. This vision of bedrock faith has very practical implications. The second result is one of these practical implications. This Trinitarian vision of ministry keeps in check the serious danger of finding our very identity in the ministry. To succumb to the dan-ger and identify ourselves in what we do is always to stunt the richness and profundity of our person. This is even more serious in terms of our identity in Christ. Whether consciously or uncon-sciously, letting our very identity--who we are in Christ~--be con-sumed by our hands-on daily work has serious repercussi6ns. Our view of self becomes superficial and overly pragmatic; we stub-bornly cling for dear life to our ministry. The religious experi-ence of taking genuine risks because of our reliance on God's promise in Jesus shrinks. Moreover, the physical decline of old age can bring deep frustration after many years of busy activity if we have allowed those years to teach us by osmosis this faulty maxim: The harder we work, the holier we become. As disciples called by Christ and, saved in Christ, our identity is given; it is revealed, not earned, not merited. "It is, remember, by grace and not by achievement that you are saved . It was nothing you could ordid achieve--it was God's gift of grace which saved you" (Ep 2:6, 8). May-June 1996 Ascbenbrenner ¯ Abandonment That Enlivens Jesus' death on the cross is our hope, our salvation. He is our identity beyond all others. In this greatest act of love, we find an identity so deeply rooted in God that we can be surprised; sur-prised by a ministerial availability beyond limits we had mistak-enly imposed, surprised by a ministerial effectiveness beyond our careful planning, and surprised by an experience of aging that invites an. intimacy with Jesus beyond expectation. Once again the central point of this article stands clear: Jesus' abandonment on the cross attracts us and unites us in a similar abandonment that is the core of all ministry. As a third result, when mission, community, authority, and obedience are meshing in the proper way, an invigorated sense of membership pervades the congregation. Members do not feel competitively alienated from one another in seeking, finding, and carrying out employment. Members, rather, feel part of a reality much. bigger than themselves because their individual placement in ministry somehow really involves the entire community. Their daily ministry is part of the community's whole commitment to mission, extending far beyond individual preference into the enor-mous venture of God's mission of love in Jesus for the transfor-mation of the whole universe. As a fourth result, the proper implementation of the four-some described in this article enables a congregation to pool its resources, especially financial ones, and respond to some extremely critical contemporary needs even when the work is not recom-pensed by a living wage or any salary at all. A corporate commit-ment can overcome the limiting of ministries only to those that individual members find adequate to support themselves. In this way availability for minisu'y is stretched beyond the limits of indi-vidual preference, individual job search, and individual income. In conclusion, the church throughout the world,-and espe-cially in North America, faces the tremendous missionary chal-lenge of a civil society becoming more and more secularistic, more permeated with a practical atheism. In the face of such a challenge, fear would distract our gaze and corrupt our courage. All of the church's members must respond courageously. But we religious, from the vantage point of our celibate, simple lifestyle, should be able t6 gaze and~listen together in a specially sensitive and enlightened way, always eager fo~ a self-abandonment that will enliven, not dehumanize, us and will set us on fire for mission way beyond the individual likes and dislikes. The fire of this self- Review for Religious abandonment will constantly remind us, and everybody, that God is at the heart of it all and that God's love in Jesus is the real work being done and to be done. Notes l See George Aschenbrenner sJ, "Active and Monastic: Two Apostolic Lifestyles," Review for Religious 45, no. 5 (September-October 1986): 653-668. 2 This is a tra~nslation of Luke 2:49 suggested by the Jesuit scripture scholar Father David Stanley in a retreat given in 1967. 3 See Ma~y Linscott SND, "The Service of Religious Authority: Reflections on Government in the Revision of Constitutions," Review for Religious 42, no. 2 (March-April 1983): 212-213. 4 Most commentators on the document notice an ambiguity within a variety of positions due to the conflicting views represented in the body 6f the council and in the commission responsible for Perfectae caritatis. See Commentary on the Documents of Vatican 11, vol. 2 (New York: Herder and Herder, 1968), pp. 301-370. s See David Knowles, From Pachqmius to Ignatius (Ox,ford: C_larendon, 1966), pp. 61-68. 6 See Mary Linscott SND, "Leadership, Authority, and Religious Government," Review for Religious 52, no. 2 (March-April 1993): 166- 193. Composition of Place With consistency, theocean disarms life's taut livery. Before the vasL I let it, like a magnet, draw away heavy-metaled worry that cages me unfree. In its place I embrac~e the gossamer interlace of sun and s,ky and foam, fit garment for a psalm by the side of the sea with ;the waves' response in holy antiphony. Anna Marie Mack SSJ May-if:tote 1996 JUDITH A. MERKLE Gathering the Fragments: New Times for Obedience an Matthew's Gospel we visit a scene with which we are all miliar, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Jesus, upset over the death of John the Baptist, withdraws to a quiet place. The disciples and the crowds follow him. The sick come and he heals them, even though he is filled with a sense of loss. It becomes evident the people are without sufficient food. Through strengthening the faith of the disciples, Jesus not only heals the sick but even feeds those who journeyed with him to this out-of-the- way place. At the end of the meal, the apostles gather the fragments from the feast and then continue to journey with Jesus. We too have journeyed with Jesus to what some would call an out-of-the-way place. Over the last thirty years, we as religious have set out in search of Jesus. As Perfectae caritatis states, "the religious life is intended above all else to lead those who embrace it to an imitation of Christ and to union with God" (§2). We have found Christ in prayer, in the poor, in our classrooms and emer-gency wards, on planes to Africa, and in AIDS clinics in our urban areas. We have sought union with God in the reforms of Vatican II, in the retreat movement, marching with farm workers, or pro-viding support to the elderly. We find ourselves in a new place, still seeking to listen to his word. We too have our sick with us, and we have our concerns for them. We too wonder if we have brought enough food for the Judith A. Merkle SNDdeN is in the Religious Studies Department at Niagara University. She is the author of Committed by Choice (1992) and a forthcoming book on religious life, cultural crisis, and the vows. Her address is: P.O. Box 1869; Niagara University, New York 14109. Review for Religious journey. We seek food from Jesus for these next steps of renewal, while at the same time knowing that a world on the cusp of a mil-lennium seeks new food from us. We too, like the people on the hillside, are at the end of a divine banquet. Historically we have witnessed in 19th-centnry religious life a multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In its insti-tutions, its way of organizing religious living, its powerful con-tribution to the church, and its marvelous growth, we have seen something unparalleled in church history since the 13th century. , Today we are left with only the fragments of 19th-century religious life; the fragments of the institutions they founded, the fragments of the way of life they constructed to express religious life, the fragments of their spirituality and beliefs. We can no longer go back and re-create the world they once built, and nei-ther the quality and extent of the next divine banquet nor our part in it is clear to us. There is, however, a choice before us today. We can sit on the hillside and tell stories of a wondrous event, of a former way of living religious life, remembering with nostalgia that brief moment of grandeur when God so touched our lives. We can allow our companionship to cover up our hopelessness about the times ever again being right for such a visitation. Or we can hold the fragments in our hands and ask what revelation they may hold for 'us. Why did God leave us with these fragments? Why must the disciples gather them up? As people living on fragments, we must ask, too, what the people did the day after the banquet. How did they continue their journey of faith? We know they did continue it because today we can gather in Jesus' name and we remain a people who live in this mystery. Let us, then, hold these fragments in our hands and pon-der the pain and promise in them. We will be examining expressly the vow of obedience and how, in the context of our times, it takes on new meaning. We will first discuss how religious share in the cultural crisis in our society at large, and in this way we will speak to the pain these fragments hold. Second, we will focus on obedience as affective bonding and on the life process which this involves. Here we will take heed of the promise which religious living holds in our cul-ture as we face issues of morfil decline, fragmentation, and drift. I would like to explore with you the challenge this call presents personally, congregationally, and eccle~ially. May-3~ne 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments What is obedience in a social context where the rules have changed from a premodern to a modern to a postmodern mindset in a thirty-year period ? The New Situation We sha~e with others in the Western world in a new situation. of our lives. A recent book makes it clear that the United States society currently lives from moral fragments and community frag-ments only. Ours is a time of moral breakdowns, moral hope-lessness, and drift. We have looked to both economic progress and government to provide a quality life for all, but we realize more and more in the 1990s that there is nothing more important to our lives together than the regeneration that moral community can provide,l ~ Hearing this analysis as religious, we know that the moral drift in the wider cul-ture has touched us also. Thirty years ago Perfectae caritatis launched us on a path of renewal with these words: "The more ardently religious unite themselves to Christ through a self-surrender involving their entire lives~ the more vigorous becomes, the life of the church and the more abundantly .her apostolate bears fruit" (§1). But what is the shape of this self-surrender in a culture living on frag- .ments, where cultural wisdom says to find some corner of the world where your needs are met and stay there, avoiding life's larger questions and the needs of one's neigh-bor? 2 What is obedience in a social context where the rules have changed from a premodern to a modern to a postmodern mind-set in a thirty-year period? Before Vatican II, it could be argued, religious life shared many of the characteristics of premodern life. Community was based largely on a shared geography, kinship, ethnicity, and the particular territorial identity created by the institutions of 19th-century' religious life. The cloister provided a world apart, within a modern world. Vatican II brought the modern world into the cloister, and with it the emancipation, .freethinking, open future, and promise of progress that are chariacteristic of modernity.3 Religious entered into a world organized by mobility of money and work. The old institutions and the clear but at times static thinking they repre-sented gave way to the new. We welcomed this change. New Review for Religious beliefs gave moral and social coherence to our lives. Personal freedom, using one's gifts in ministry, freedom of conscience, per-sonal' development, renewed social commitment, and political reform came to the forefront Community and Identity In this rapidly changing situation, however, the type of local community which taught the virtues, values, obligations, and iden-tity of our congregations was harder to maintain. We sought to enlarge our concept of community with a greater sense of our province community and with various new forms of government at the congregational level. We argued over government, but found ourselves really arguing over community and how we belonged as we experienced growing pluralism among us. We knew that a common checkbook was not enough of a unifier in our growing diversity. But at times we imitated a culture which turned to the market and government as unifiers in the absence of weak-ening moral community.4 But we felt the incompleteness of it all. Community became largely intentional on a small scale, yet broadened to the world at the level of association and conscious-ness. In the mobility of life, community became too transitory for many and at times only an enclave of privacy,s The change brought good and bad, yet this transition has not been complete. As we discern the new times for our vow of obedience, we grabble today for a sense of identity, not just before others but among ourselves. We struggle with the identification of the lim-its of our way of life and with' questions about the appropriate moral ways of dealing with them. For moral discourse always implies boundaries and limits the stuff of community. In this we share in the moral drift of the wider culture where also there has been a weakening of centers of moral formation: family, church, community. Postmodern Challenge We have difficulty, too, with public conversations about our identity as religious because we find, unlike thirty years ago, that words such as church, sacrament, authority, and celibacy do not always have a common core of meaning among us. Years ago we argued about progressive and conservative viewpoints, but we shared a core of meaning. Today our cofiversations reveal vast differences of meaning among us. May-dTune 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments This flows from our being in a culture that lacks a broad interpretative metaphor to explain the order and meaning of the world. Beyond this lack, the uncertainty of any knowledge is widely held. The meaning of any idea is constandy in flux, and no one meaning or interpretation has any authority over another. Since people believe that one cannot know the truth, they think of "truth" as merely the momentary victor among ideas vying with one another for popular acceptance. Criticism of any and all ideas goes on and on. This is a brief description of what authors term postmodernism.6 It is also a description of where some reli-gious locate themselves. We also find a weakening in our skills for envisioning and pursuing the common good together. In a more static society, one cannot opt out of the common good, for one's own enter-tainable options are out of the question if they infringe those of another, and vice versa. In a mobile society, where community is an experience rather than a place, this face-to-face existence is weakened and along with it the ability of a group to reinforce behavior that moves beyond self-interest. We experience this in our difficulty in addressing the responsibilities and benefits of membership. ,4 Situation of Moral Hazard Charles Wilber, the economist, claims that our modern way of living separates us from one another and creates "imperfect knowledge" of one another. This in turn breaks down trust and can place us in a situation of "moral hazard." While Wilber's anal-ysis focuses on industry, I suggest that it provides a window on our experience as religious.7 A moral hazard occurs in situations where people are affected by one another's behavior. A situation is termed a moral hazard when a low trust level causes people to engage in self-defeating behaviors. An example is the distrust that can occur between an employer and employee. The employer fears that the employee is not doing her job. The employee fears that the employer will require too much work or will fire her if given the chance. In response the employee begins to withdraw and shirk her job. To remedy the situation, the employer supervises more to stop the expected laziness. If the employee could self-supervise, work would be more efficient and the company would profit. Instead, what results is a Review Jbr Religions situation where each, the employer and the employee, pursues his or her self-interest. Other individuals working in the situa-tion can observe troublesomeness growing, but no one individual can do anything about it. It becomes a climate, and a self-defeat-ing one. The result is that all individuals are worse off and the group is worse off than if they had been able to work together. Why is it so difficult in such a situation to cooperate?s Because exit is cheap and voice is expensive. Exit means to withdraw, to drop out of the conversation that would be needed to come up with a solution which serves each individual's interest and the group's interest as well. The ability to exit is facilitated by "room to move," the very meaning of a "mobile" society. Voice, on the other hand, involves the communication of one's concern to another and the willingness to work out a solution. The cost to individuals to do this often exceeds the benefits they might hope to receive. Hence, one of the two persons at odds exits. The situation of moral hazard has parallels in religious life 'today. The fragments of an earlier religious lifestyle that we live with include problematic questions about membership and the possibility of group action. We need group decision more than ever before because our problems cannot be solved by individu-als, yet our lifestyle is such that to take up the challenge of voice instead of exit is getting more and more "expensive" emotionally, spiritually, and personally. Obedience in These Times These are new times for obedience. Today the practice of obedience has to be linked to a common consciousness of one's interdependence with others, self-restraint based on a gospel life, and institutional reinforcement of those values that constrain self-interested behavior and build common meaning out of a plural-ity of experiences. Those in leadership know that government can regulate only what people allow to be regulated. Money and government are inadequate unifiers unless there is a moral com-munity based on these beliefs. Researchers today point to "affiliative decline" among reli-gious. They charge that religious lack a sense of purpose based on a belief in the meaning and viability of their way of life. This breeds a sense of disaffection or alienation. The researchers believe that congregations will decline if members have no stronger reason to remain than mere bonding.9 May-June 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments For these reasons the reclaiming of obedience today has to address issues of meaning and common commitment in a situation of pluralism. It has to further outline the path by which religious and their congregations bond the real people who are their mem-bers in the diverse situations in which they live, by shared com-mitment to and reinforcement of the values which give meaning to their lives and direction to their congregational ministry. Our language of obedience has to touch,the process by which we learn to participate--because we want to, as an affair of the heart~-in the life and mission of our congregation. We obey in the '90s:like religious before us, in imitation of Jesus, who obeyed his heavenly Father because he wanted to, out of love. He defined his whole life by this pursuit. Postmode~m means that the systems of the modern age are no longer workable. Progress, freedom of choice, and open bound-aries have not necessarily brought quality of life. We realize today that some of the systems we created in renewal are defective. We, like others in our culture, are searching for meaning, spirit, and moral direction and for new structures, policies, and organiza-tion to unify our communities. Questioning these new times of ours for obedience, there-fore, has consequences for congregational and ecclesial regener-ation as well. There is no obedience without mutuality. As we turn to obedience as affective bonding, the perspectives we gain will have ramifications for congregational response and ecclesial life. I will suggest a few of these ramifications. Obedience as Affective Bonding Obedience of the mind, or cognitive growth in one's knowl-edge of the church and the Christian mysteries, is easier to define than the path of affective bonding which the vow of obedience pri-marily involves.I° Cognitive growth can be measured by assimila-tion of important information. Formation programs, courses of study, and catechetical syllabi can put information about the church and Christian life and one's congregational spirit into a sequence of increasing complexity and hierarchy of importance. Such order-ing allows for proper intellectual formation of a religious. Affective bonding takes longer, is harder to measure, and is difficult to chart. The goal of affective learning is for persons to act as they do because it is in itself satisfying to them. Educational Review for Religious literature offers mbdels to help people reflect on the components of affective learning and bonding.To the degree that growth in obedience is a path of affective learning and bonding with God, with one's community, and with the mission of the church, :reflec-tion on such components or Stages of affective bonding can reveal important aspects of obedience today. The stages we discuss will be termed receiving, responding, valu-ing, prioritizing, and communal charac-ter/ characterization.11 Looking at them one at a time will make their meaning .and relevance clear. Receiving Obedience begins with receiving, becoming conscious of, a vocation and having a willingness to attend to people and events associated with it. All voca-tions begin with a connection: to a men-tor, to a person in a certain apostolate, to a chance advertisement, to a casual remark. Obedience begins here, long before a vow is taken. If there is any decision, it is to remain open to the sub-ject of a religious vocation. At this point there is usually no decision about the merit of the call itself. A per-son is invited to move in this stage from a consciousness of a vocation, to a willingness to receive, to a decision to give mat-ters concerning a vocation some careful attention despite com-peting choices or distractions. While receiving is a stage in obedience, it is also a recurring theme. All through religious life, there are new occasions to revisit this grace of obedience. A new member of cdmmunity is waiting to be received or a new program is being launched. New leader-ship, maybe not of one's own choosing, needs to be accepted. An intervention regarding health, retirement, or change in ministry needs to be examined. Can we even consider it? Can we receive this into our lives? Inability or refusal to "receive" one's congregational reality into one's life causes disaffection. Disaffection here is understood as an alienation from something which is important to our whole-ness or completion)2 When we make a vow of obedience, we say Our language of obedience has to touch the process by which we learn to participatem because we want to, as an affair of the heartm in the !ife and mission of our congregation. May-~une 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments we want our relationship with Jesus to happen within the con-text of this community in the church. Disaffection occurs because we are not in harmony with something which we have chosen as a life-giving relationship. Like the rich young man, we feel the sadness this creates. Congregational mail is not read, a change of ministry is never considered. Persons in authority are rejected before they act. We are living within a congregation, but not receivi ~ng it in our lives. Since obedience has ramifications for the bonding of the com-munity and its effectiveness in mission, disaffection at the. level of receiving can be contagious and can create a negative climate in a local community or a province. Congregational. Disaffection can also be caused by the inabil-ity of the congregation to receive the members. Whom do we receive today? Are we in a posture to receive new members? Do we receive our own present members, or do ageism, racism, and ideological battles cut us off from one another before we begin? Do we know how "they" think before they speak? Do we turn people off?. How do those of us in international orders receive members of cultures not our own? How do these things affect our bonding and our future? While we complain that members have "dropped out" of our congregations, how large is our own circle of inclusion? Ecclesial. In the 19th century the juridical mentality of the church regarding religious life was one of enclosure. To be a reli-gious meant to be "removed" from the world. The new congre-gations forming, however, were different from what canon law described. Hence, they required a new mentality to give them birth ecclesially. The church had to receive something with which it was not familiar. We find that new congregations of simple vows were formed over a period of a hundred years, while the main body of canon laws officially recognized as "religious" only the traditional, enclosed style of religious life.~3 A more radical dia-logue between religious life and the society produced, not the death of religious life, but a newness in its expression and form. The church had an important role in fostering this newness. What today needs to be received to allow this tradition to continue? Responding The next step in affective bonding is a response beyond mere attending to a call or invitation. In response a person does some- Review for Religious thing with, in, or,about the call, besides merely perceivin~ it~ Our first response to the call ofour vocation was to enter, to promise we would give our vocation a try. 0 Responding can begin passively as compliance and later .become voluntary. When persons begin religious life, they often do things they areasked even though the purpose of them may not seem evident at the time. Many would tell of judging early adjust-ments as "what is involved" and going along with what was asked. In order to take on the story of the community and its way of life, such a response is required. When response becomes volun-tary, an emotional response of pleasure or enjoyment occurs. .Responding to people, events, and matters of one's community is accompanied by a feeling of satisfaction. It is obvious that responding is an ongoing element in the obedience of the religious. What marks its distinctiveness is the passage from compliance to voluntary action. Compliance is a valuable obedient response .to many requests in religious life. However, it is only through voluntary action that affective bond-ing moves beyond the fragile link of compliance. The satisfac-tion that comes from voluntary'action is the free blending of the hearts and the wills, which is of the essence of obedience as affec-tive bonding. Compliance is only the handmaiden of voluntary action. Disaffection can occur at the level of responding when a per-son cannot move from compliance to voluntary action. Religious slip .if, fearing enforcement or fearing that lack of any response at all would invite emotional sanctions from. their peers, .they do only what they have to do. Disaffection sets in because in this state the religious are bereft of the normal emotional satisfaction that should come from voluntary participation in the life and mis-sion of their congregations. Congregational. The need to create meaningful avenues bf response' is key to growth in a congregation. Withdrawal breeds lack of emotional involvement, and lack of emotional involve-ment breeds withdrawal. Research claims that altruism in a group actually atrophies when it is not called forth.~4 The resources of love in a group are not fixed or limited; rather these moral resources respond positively to practice, to learning by doing, and negatively to nonpractice. This is not to recommend mak-ing~ exaggerated demands, but only to.re'commend that the group do some stretching. May-~tne 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments ~'Ecclesial. The 19th century was'a ,tirfie of new needs. The tur-moil of the Industrial Revolution called ~eligious. from the clois-ter to active involvement in collective, works :of'social significance: education, social services, and healthcare:The church was called to expand its geographical reach and its ministerial presence in a society which claimed its irrelevance. The times were not unlike our own. -, 'Religious, however, ~,ere .partners with the church in meeting this crisis. Many 19th-century orders had superiors general and were not directly under the authority of a local bishop. This new jurisdictional authority in the church enabled the coordination of ministerial works which were transdiocesan and which in turn established the credibility of the church in sectors where it was not previously received,t5 Response of religious to the ,church and response of the mag-isterial church to religious have to continue this tradition for the sake of both the church and religious life, for neither ~prospers in a climate of alienation. The crisis of the 19th century stimulated the creation of a n~w authoritative identity in the church. What is needed today to. strengthen the relationship between religious and the magisterial church is 'for each to view the other novas a problem but as a partner. At this valuing stage in the process of obedience, members make it clear that membership in community is worth something to them. There is enough participation in the life and mission of orie's congregation and enough identification with its way of life so that other people readily identify the members as belonging to the group, _ A later stage of valuing consists of efforts to grow as members, Opportunities for renewal and deepening are sought out. Here there 'is an actual preference for religious life and its values. One is committed by choice. There is an investment of time and energy beyogd the minimum. Members manifest a growing conviction and loyalty regarding the values of religious life and a desire to convinceothers or at~least share their own faith experience. Here the satisfaction felt earlier as pleasure is transformed into an aroused need or drive to act and grow as members of the congregation within the ~hurch and society. There is a motivation to live the life to its fullest extent. Commitment is measured by Review for Religious the extending of such dedicated living over a period of time and by renewed desire to continue. The ongoing dynamic of obedience is shown in the act of prefei'ence.One prefers the life and mission of one's congregation over other things. One willingly considers community priorities in selection of a mission. One willingly chooses to work through a difficult community situation. One faithfully stands by someone in illness in spite of its time-consuming nature. This is the dynamic of valuing. This growth enables the member not just to par~ ticipate passively in community life, but to function actively. A~ fundamental values are owned and appropriated deeply, they also can be translated into new forms and expressions~ Congregational. Conviction regarding the life and mission of the community breeds new endeavors and investment in the worth of meaningful traditions. Dispiritedness, however, grows in a con-gregational climate of doubt about the value of the group, its authenticity, and its future. There is no longer a desire to invite new members. There are no new initiatives. There is apathy and lack of commitment to act and grow as members. People have no energy for anything but super-ficial reminiscing and required presence. This is a great danger especially in a congregational culture which has relied on com-pliance and force as its bond of membership. No one individual can treat this doubt. A~ a situation of moral hazard, it requires group ac6on and leadership. Without oppor-tunitiesto move from compliance to voluntary action, religious are not likely to deepen .their valuing of their congregational life, for they know little of the emotional satisfaction that. comes from voluntary action. Many congregations today are discussing processes of "re-membering," of calling their members to reinvest in new ways that could help them overcome the apathy and fear which threat-ens them. When such a decision of valuing occurs, it leads to the more mature obedience of the next stages. Ecdesial. The effort of the Synod to study the value of religious life was for us religious a supportive moveas we seek or explore The ongoing dynamic of obedience is shown in the act of preference. One prefers the life and mission of one's congregation over other things. May-ffTtne 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments our meaning and role now and into the new millennium. We reli-gious need the affirmation of the church, not just passively, but to help us participate in its life actively and creatively within its own re-creation. On our part, what values does our experience rec-ognize as essential in spite of the rapid change we'have under-gone? What support do we need so that w& can translate these values into new fo~ms~and expressions? What do we need and what do we not need from the church? If we religious do not want our relationship to the magisterial church to be based on compliance and ~force, then we too have to do our communal work in taking hold of our future. Prioritiz~ ing As one matures in religious life, membership has to be inte-grated with other values: career goals, family relationships, beliefs, coping, with personal crises, new knowledge and experiences and opportunitie~. Religious have to see how life in community and in the church relates to other dimensions of their life. ~ The first step in prioritizing is a willingness to think issues through. The next step is to bring together a complex of values, possibly disparate values, into some semblance of order and mean-ing. Since renewal has brought a plethora :of experiences into a community, it is critical that the group be' able to sit and talk about .these new yearnings. This ability to talk,will help keep the bonds of~community realistic and centered in the present. For instance, communities can ask how members experience com-' munity when they live apart from the group. Religious need to .relate multicultural experiences, new ways of prayer, educational o'pportunities, changes in the church, mis-sion experience, and women's issues with their membership in religious community. This may require familiarity with new areas of church teaching or involvement in groups within or outside . the community that gr.apple with how the gospel and new per-sonal experiences impinge on one another. For instance, religious who are working through various types of addictive behaviors can learn together the meaning of a twelve-step program in their lives as religious. While this is, an affective process, a sharing of the heart, it also involves cognitive growth, new information, and the ability to generalize and engage in abstract thinking. It requires accu-rate information. In many instances it requires good theology. Review for Religious How do women's issues, church membership, and fidelity to reli-gious commitment relate? How is one a feminist and a member of the church? How does one integrate his desire for political reform and his commitment to the priesthood, which usually means he cannot hold public office? How does one uphold one's valuing of community life and yet reach out in a ministry that makes com-munity contact difficult? Prioritizing is an act of obedience. The organization of values as one prioritizes may result in their synthesis into new ways of membership and deeper investment in the church and community. It is obvious that prioritizing is a principal task in fol-lowing a mature religious lifecourse. Those who take on the hard work of prioritizing achieve a high result, that is, an internally consistent integration of membership in their congregation and church with other aspects of their lives. Congregational. VChen we look at the religious of the 19th century, we can see they did this prioritizing. They integrated religious commitment with an entirely new cul-ture of the Industrial Revolution. They influenced the culture and created a new expression of religious life. They distinguished themselves from "regular" cloistered religious life by collective works of social significance: education, social services, and health-care. In the eyes of the church, it was the leaving of the world which constituted the religious state. However, these religious were immersed in the world. How were they religious? They rejected the upward mobility of liberal society by differentiating their activity from other forms of work in the society. They were active in the society yet were removed by social position. They were "placed" by obedience in the works of their congregation. Their works were not those of the new profitable capitalist cor-porations, although there is evidence of scattered experiments with founding "Christian factories" to give the poor employment and a sense of Christian community.~6 We religious'today are called to the task of integrating our charism with the new situation of our culture. We still struggle with how we have left the world yet are immersed in it as a place of revelation and service. This struggle to achieve a balanced understanding will overcome the feeling of powerlessness, isola-tion, and frustration in the face of a vast and complex future. Prioritizing is an act of obedience. May-Jvtne 1996 Merkle ¯ Gathering the Fragments Those who avoid prioritizing see the choice of religious as between embracing everyday secular life as they know it and going back to a pre-Vatican life based on a religious worldview that no longer communicates, This all-or-nothing viewpoint eliminates the possibility of synthesis between the real world of everyday life and the transcendent one which prioritizing calls forth. Ecclesial. For this prioritizing to occur, there has to be a cli-mate in the church in which one can safely explore new avenues of thought and living, engaging in critical reflection and respectful dissent until the value and relationship of new ideas to the mysteries of the Christian life is.evident. Today something is perceived as credible, not just because the church says it, but because it makes human sense. Religious need to be involved in helping the church make sense to the world and the world make sense to the church. Needed church reforms such as giving women more .decision-mak-ing power cannot be ignored by religious orders if they hope at the same time to promote the credibility of the church in first-world society; nor can economic, social, and political reforms be supported only halfheartedly in poverty situations in both the first and third worlds. These corporate stances of prioritizing mark the communal path of obedience within a congregation. Communal Character/Characterization At this stage of obedience, the values of membership in their congregation have a place in the individual members' lives. The values are organized into some kind of internally consistent sys-tem and have controlled the behavior of the individual members for enough time that they are now readily seen as persons who have adopted "living the life" of the congregation. It is impor-tant to note that such a stage of obedience does not come until members have had to prioritize, that is, integrate the new dis-coveries of their gei~eration with the gospel and the founding charism. There is no "cheap grace" in religious life, and one gen-eration cannot hand on to another a ready-made commitment. At this stage of characterization, issues surrounding mem-bership no longer arofise emotion or affect except when the indi-vidual is threatened or challenged. By now .the members are described and characterized as individual persons by their iden-tification with the congregation. It has been integrated into their entire philosophy of life or worldview. To an outsider, identification with the congregation is so clear Review for Religious that it makes individual members predictable and comprehensible. The values of the community are important determiners of the way the various members approach a problem, determining what they will see as important in it. In other words, the living charism becomes a principle of ongoing and daily discernment and opens the religious to the full call of the gospel. The values of the charism will limit the things that members will take into account in attempting to find a solution .to a prob-lem. They provide a focus and an identity. They will al

APRIL, 1899 ocTheo. Gettysburg Mercury CONTENTS. An Unhonored Hero, 41 I Wonder Why, 43 Elements of Franklin's Great-ness, 44 The Passage of the Free School Bill 48 Pages from My Diary, 49 Our Superstitions, 50 The Elfking 54 The Turk and Armenia, 55 Immortality, 58 To Melpomene, 60 A Sun of the North 60 Environment, 63 A Sketch of the Development of Music, 66 Editor's Desk 69 Francis Scott Key's Monument, 70 Kee Mar, 71 The Value of Good Literature, 72 Athletics, 73 Among- the Exchanges, 75 Editor's Scissors 76 Advertisements, 77 FAVOR THOSE WHO FAVOR US. mm For Fine Printing GO TO The J. E. WIBLE .♦Printing Rouee Carlisle Street, GETTYSBURG, PA. C. B. Kitzmiller, Dealer in Hats, Caps, Boots and . Douglas Shoes GETTYSBURG, PA. J. H. Myers, Fashionable Tailor, Clothier and Gents' Furnisher. The best place in town tohaveyourCloth-iug made to order. All workmanship and Trimmings guaranteed. No charge for re-pairs and pressing for one year. Dyeing and Repairing a specialty. Ready-made Clothing the largest stock in town. Up-to-date styles. Bicycle Suits and Breeches Headquarters. 11 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, Pa. R. A. WONDERS, Corner Cigar Parlors. A full line of Cigars, Tobacco, Pipes, Etc. Scott's Corner, Opp. Eagle Hotel. GETTYSBURG, PA. EDGAR 5. MARTIN, F^CIGARS AND SMOKERS' ARTICLES. Chambersburg St., Gettysburg. JOHN H. MINNIGH, Confectionery lee Creankj^ and. Oysters Stewed and Fried. No. 17 BALTIMORE ST. .COLLEOE OF. Physieians and Surgeons BALTIMORE, flD. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Maryland, is a well equipped school. Four sessions are required for graduation. For full information send for the annual catalogue, or write to THOMAS OPIE, M. D., Dean. Cor. Calvert & Saratoga Sts. .THE. GETTYSBURG MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second- class matter. Vox,. VIII. GETTYSBURG, PA., APRIL, 1899. No. 2 Editor-in-Chief. J. FRANK HEILMAN, '00. Assistant Editors. Alumni Editor. LUTHER A. WEIGLE, '00. REV. F_ D. GARLAND, SAMUEL A. VAN ORMER, '01. Business Manager. Assistant Business Manager. JOHN K. HAMACHER, '00. CLARENCE MOORE, '02. Advisory Board. PROF. J. A. HIMES, LIT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M. D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD. D. D. Published monthly by the students of Pennsylvania (Gettj-sburg-) College. Subscription price One Dollar a year in advance, single copies Fifteen Cents. Students, Professors and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. AN UNHONORED HERO. MANY of the deeds of heroism which were performed on America's greatest battlefield are not recorded by the his-torian, have received no public recognition and have passed into oblivion. The generals and the officers were not the only heroes in our great civil war, although they have received the highest praise and honors. In the graves of the unknown dead in the National Cemetery there may be many sleeping whose deeds are worthy to be written in poems and to be sung in classic songs. In the year 1863 an incident of the battle of Gettysburg oc-curred which has never received any public notice, but was related to me by my father who was fully acquainted with the facts and who was a student at that time in Pennsylvania College. My father's roommate was a youth of fifteen or sixteen years, named Fred. A. Lehman. He was a student in the preparatory department, and was from Pittsburg. On account of youthfulness 42 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. and not having the permission of his parents or professors he was not allowed to join the College Company. Consequently when the company left for Harrisburg, Lehman was left behind and was at Gettysburg when the Rebels arrived. During the first day's fight Lehman, whose patriotism was unbounded and who was filled with devotion to his country, went out over the field. As he saw the Union lines slowly driven backward by a superior force, he was unable to restrain himself longer, and seizing the musket of a dead soldier and stripping the lifeless form of its cartridge box he fell into line and entered the contest with the zeal of a veteran, doing excellent service. When the union forces retreated through town he sought refuge at the home of the German professor, the Rev. C. F. Schaeffer, D. D., who resided on Chambersburg Street during the battle. On the morning of July 3rd, tired of staying in, Lehman wished to go out and see how things were progressing, but was restrained by the Schaeffer family. When the family took refuge in the cel-lar Lehman slipped out and thought he would see for himself how things were going, but no sooner did he set foot on the street than he was spied by Rebel sharpshooters on Seminary Ridge. He had only gone a short distance when he was struck just below the knee by a bullet. The ball passed through the leg shattering the bone. Lehman managed to crawl back into the house where he was tenderly cared for by the family. After the battle he was removed to the Union hospital in the Seminary building. The surgeons wished to amputate the leg but were restrained from so doing by the protests of the Scheaffer family and of the professors. The surgeons could not help but yield to the desires of his friends, as he was not a soldier and as his extreme youth was favorable to not amputating the leg. His wound was carefully dressed and in a short time he was able to walk with the aid of crutches, but was rendered a cripple for life. He resumed his studies at the Fall session of College but did not complete his course, leaving in 1864. In the Pennsylvania College Book—page 370—it is stated that he studied law and was located, at the time the book was published, at Washington, D. C. Among the heroes of the great battle of Gettysburg the name of Fred. A. Lehman deserves a place. Although not wounded in actual battle, his impulse was to render service to the cause of liberty and the preservation of the Union. He entered the THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 43 fight not for honor nor for glory and with no eye upon him to cheer and urge him on, but his only desire was to fight that his country might live. He perhaps did as efficient service as John Burns, although his youth and activity caused him to be passed by unnoticed. There are monuments which mark the spots where our known heroes fell, their names are engraven on the hearts of the American people and their deeds can never be forgotten; the government pen-sions those whose health was broken and who endured the loss of limbs and disfigurement. This youth fought unnoticed in the great struggle for freedom, received a most painful wound, bore uncom-plainingly his sufferings all these years, and, if living to-day, bears in his body the effects of his patriotism. But he has this concious-ness to give him satisfaction, that in his own way he did what he was able to do for his country's honor in that hour of her sorest trial and greatest danger. e9p —J. ROY RICHARDS, '01. I WONDER WHY. Where'er you go my college friend Along life's devious way. You'll always find a host of things To vex you every day ; The universe is full of them In earth and sea and sky, And all that you can do at times, Is pause, and wonder why. When first you enter learning's halls In cleverness you cloy ; Yet ere a fortnight has elapsed You're caught in some decoy. And, while you wait to hear the sound Of albatritche''s cry, You drop your bag, and curse your fate Then grope, and wonder why. You go to class from day to day Bewitched by classic lore, Your brain becomes a buzzing mart Of phantom forms galore : You poke your nos inter the Greek, You mix your tres with tri, Then when the fellows laugh and shout You blandly wonder why. 44 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. You run to lab. three times a week, You open nature's book; And though it's in a symbol tongue It has a foreign look. You meet with acids weak and strong, With brazen fortn-u-lae; Yet, when the Prof, declines your notes, You grin, and wonder why. Some day you make a new resolve To pay neglected debts, Your friends no sooner find it out Than in they draw their nets,— You drop a letter home to pa, And beg a quick reply ; He chills you with the draft returned In words, "I wonder why ? " Perhaps, you're calling on a girl You'd like to make your wife, You whisper in her ear and say,— You love her more than life; Then asking for her hand in troth She answers with a sigh,— Not, " Oh so sudden I yes, or no " But plain, "I wonder why? " Yet never mind, old captious boy, Don't turn your feet aside, Just plod your way up Duty's path Whatever may betide; Some future day in looking down From heights no wealth can buy ; You'll see the paupered minds below, And know the reason why. -J. B. B., 1900. ELEMENTS OF FRANKLIN'S GREATNESS. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, one of the greatest of Americans, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in the year 1706. His parents were poor and had seventeen children, of whom Benjamin was the youngest. His father procured a livelihood for the family by manufacturing soap and candles, which, to be sure, could not have been a very profitable vocation as far as pecuniary matters were concerned, for we find that the family was often in financial distress. On account of the poverty of his parents and THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 45 the size of the family, the individual members of which were en-titled to equal consideration, he was unable to obtain more than the ordinary amount of schooling then given to young people. Early in life he attended a grammar school, and while there dili-gently applied himself to his studies. Later he took lessons in writing and arithmetic under the famous master, George Brownells. This was all the instruction that he received, his parents be-ing unable to send him to any college or university. Having thus briefly noted the disadvantages under which he began his career, we may regard self-denial, inspired by his in-tense love of knowledge, as the first element of his greatness. While yet young he became a vegetarian, so as to purchase books for a higher education. Though by no means a miser, he lived most economically and in the greatest simplicity, that he might procure books and magazines. Almost every cent that he saved was used in purchasing books. It may here also be mentioned that he was a prodigious reader, often reading books and maga-zines, (some of which were his own, and some of which he had borrowed,) the greater part of the night, and consequently he was well informed on almost all of the subjects of the day. Though many instances of this element of his greatness might be cited, we let what has been said suffice, and turn our attention to the second element of his greatness. Self-reliance may be said to have been the second element. The following instances furnish proof that he possessed this at-tribute. His trip to Philadelphia may be taken as the first instance. While yet a young man he decided to try his for-tunes in another city. He accordingly set out for Philadelphia, travelling all the way on foot, as he did not possess the means necessary for travelling in a better manner. After a long and wearisome journey he arrived in Philadelphia, with but a Dutch dollar and a shilling in his pocket. All that he possessed was what was attached to his person. He found himself in a strange city, in a city in which he had neither friends nor relatives. His future looked gloomy. He had little hope of success. But all these misfortunes do not seem to have baffled him. He was not idle. He at once sought for employment, and he soon found it. He worked hard, made friends and money, and finally rose to fame, and was admired and loved by all who knew him. Coming into the city as a poor stranger, by relying upon his own ability iHH^ni^^Bm 1 46 77/^ GETTYSBURG MERCURY. and diligently applying himself to his business, he rose high in the esteem and veneration of the people. His trip to England may be taken as the second instance of self-denial. He made this trip some time after the one from Boston to Philadelphia. Having been induced by false representations to go to England, he crossed the Atlantic, and arrived in London, where he soon found himself almost penniless. Heknewnoone. He was in a strange country. But here also by his self-reliance and firmness he managed to earn enough to procure a living, and, indeed, finally lived quite com-fortably. He made friends everywhere, and, as in America, was honored and loved by all. So much for this element of his great-ness. We now turn to a third, his perseverance. Perseverance he possessed in a high degree and gave proof of the fact in almost everything that he did. Some of his greatest achievements were accomplished by the aid of this element in his character. We may cite his discovery of the indentity of lightning with electricity. He had studied and pored over this subject a long, long time. He sometimes even despaired of ever finding a solution to the problem. He had studied it in all of its phases and relations, before his efforts were finally crowned with success, when he charged a Leyden jar with lightning drawn from the clouds by means of an insulated wire, one end of which was at-tached to a kite. His perseverance while learning the trade of printing, may also be noted here. While an apprentice his lot was hard and discouraging. There was no great hope of success. He worked hard and constantly, and was almost always somewhat financially embarrassed. He struggled on, however, and finally, after he had served his apprenticeship and had begun business as a printer, made a success. He even became famous through the circulation of the "Poor Richards Almanac," which was widely read and even translated into foreign languages. The instances illustrating this element of his greatness are so numerous, indeed, that it would be tedious to mention them all. We will let the two mentioned suffice. They give proof enough that he possessed this great quality, a quality that so often has raised men from humble stations to positions of honor and glory. A fourth element of Franklin's greatness was his logical method of treating subjects. This was one of the greatest elements which distinguished him. He was a great lover of the "Science of Sciences.'' He tested the truth or falsity of statements by logical THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 47 examination. He formed all his conclusions logically. He would assent to nothing that was not logically true. In all of his great discoveries his conclusions were based upon logical treatment. He was, in short pre-eminently logical in everything that he did. Reason was his guide, and it is only fair to conclude that this great element in his character, which he possessed in such high degree, was one of the greatest causes, if not the greatest, of his success and, of course, of his greatness. In this connection we may mention his keen observation of persons and things as a minor element of his greatness. It is said that scarcely anything escaped his notice. He studied and pondered over things that ordinary men were scarcely aware of. His observations set him to think-ing, and often great results followed. Another minor element, unimportant as it may seem, had not a little to do with his success; affability and readiness in every kind of conversation, which made him a universal favorite. Indeed, when in England, this inherent quality, by winning for bim popular favor and admiration, did much for his recovery from the great financial losses that he had suffered. His tales of adventure and witticisms are very interest-ing, and are popular even at the present day. Everybody loved to converse with him. He was so entertaining, charming, brilliant and witty. We will now pass to a fifth great element, his breadth of mind. He was broad in his sympathies. He was not in the least con-trolled by any narrowness of mind. He never took part in petty quarrels relating to certain opinions, creeds or theories. He believ-ed in freedom of thought, and wished every person to think fearlessly and according to the dictates of reason and his own conscience. This noble quality is seen most clearly in his religion. His was an universal religion, inasmuch as he was not controlled in his religious views by any creed or doctrine, but by his conscience. It is said that he never went to church, but prayed at home. This may be true; it may not be. It makes no difference whether it be true or not, so far as we are concerned, for we know he lived morally, nobly benefited mankind by his labor, and was loved and honored by all nations on account of the noble services by which he blessed mankind. —C. H. G., '00. 48 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. THE PASSAGE OF THE FREE SCHOOL BILL. BRIGHTLY the sun arose on the morning of April n, 1835. It was a momentous occasion, for before the Legislature of Pennsylvania was an issue than which none more important ever had been discussed in those halls. It was the Free School Bill, and by common consent the vote was to be taken on that day. Governor Wolf had favored it in his annual message, and little else had occupied the attention of those early lawmakers during the session. The discussion had been long and spirited. The opponents, influenced to some extent by false ideas of duty to their constituents, had been bitter in their denunciation of the measure; while the friends seemed to think it their duty to spare no effort to secure its adoption. They believed the education of the masses to be essential to the perpetuity of a Republican form of government. Perhaps they, in looking down the dim vista of future years, saw the present glorious system and the joy and hope it gives the state, and delighted in being its progenitors. Surely they realized with the poet— "The riches of a commonwealth Are free, strong- minds and hearts of health; And more to her than gold or grain, The cunning' hand and cultured brain." As the legislators assembled on that balmy day, the opponents were jubilant; while the friends, though doubting, were hopeful: such was the state of affairs as they took their accustomed places. To the consternation of all present, when the Chaplain arose for prayer, he besought Almighty God to lay bare His strong right arm and save the state from that poverty and bankruptcy which were sure to follow, if the people were to have their property wrested from them for the education of all the children. The battle opened with all the leaders ready ; and as the crisis approached, a young lawyer, Thaddeus Stevens, stepped to the front and "met the assailants with such strength of logic, brilliancy of rhetoric, nobility of purpose, and magnanimity of spirit that the bill was saved." By that speech he gave the state a legacy richer than Golconda's jewel mine or Ophir's golden ore. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 49 PAGES FROM MY DIARY. AFTER a few days in the quaint cities of Holland, our party hastened to Cologne. The view of the great Cathedral, whose twin towers, unfinished for centuries, were com-pleted since 1871 as a monument and symbol of United Germany, more than fulfilled our expectations. Then came the journey up the Rhine, more like a dream than reality; and then in rapid suc-cession "fair Bingen on the Rhine," Mainz, Frankfort, Heidel-berg and Strassburg, until farther on in Switzerland appeared, high above the other mountains, mass piled upon mass, in dazzling splendor, the incomparable Bernese Alps. We did not, as so many do, attempt to do the Rhine in one day, but lingered here and there, at some quaint village, where at night a hunter's horn would awaken the echoes of the hills, and seem to be summoning the knights of old to come forth and, even if for only a night, to inhabit their ancient strongholds and castles. Time was, to be sure, when other thoughts than picturesqueuess struck the merchant, who had to pass them. They are the relics of the age when might was right, and when every noble governed as he pleased, and levied heavy toll upon all who passed through his land, often at the point of the sword. These lordly castles, whether along the Rhine or Danube, are now fallen in ruins, like the feudal system, which gave them birth. Their ruins now add to the picturesqueness of the scene. Nature has dealt kindly with them, massive trees grow through their walls, and ivy clings to every crevice. If these walls could speak, what deeds of cruelty they could disclose, what feuds, what fratricidal strife! But if these times were in some respects barbarous, they were also heroic and full of romance. Many a castle could witness to the heroic lives of men, and especially to the holy lives of noble women. The reader of this practical age loves to linger over the pages of those authors who have made these times their theme, and involuntarily the wish arises for more dash of romance in this everyday life of ours. Perhaps it is distance that lends en-chantment, and there is more romance in the present than we think, if we only have the eyes to see it. * * * * Day after day as a child I had seen from my home, near the foot of the Black Forest, the outline of the great cathedral of 5Q THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Strassburg, and behind it, in the distance, the long outline of the Vosges mountains. Occasionally at some brilliant sunset the mountains seemed lined with gold, but never did those regions seem less prosy, than when after many years of absence I gazed from the tower of Strassburg Cathedral on what has been justly called "the garden of Europe." About fifteen miles to the west the jagged outlines of the Vosges run for nearly one hundred miles north and south, the Rhine sweeps along, until far to the north it appears like a thread of silver, to the east about ten miles away extends parallel to the Vosges, the Black Forest. The plain between, as far as the eye can reach, is dotted with cities, towns, and villages, while here and there are the sombre hues of extensive forests. At our feet is Strassburg, the old city with its red tile gables just beneath us, beyond stretches the modern part, and still be-yond this the formidable fortifications which make Strassburg well nigh impregnable. By August 24, 1870, a Germany army division had surrounded Strassburg and from this time to September 27th, the bombard-ment lasted without intermission. The roar of cannon was con-tinuous, shattering the windows in many of the surrounding towns and the nights were made bright with the glare of the burning city. From church steeples we watched the movements of the army, when the French attempted sallies. But at last the white flag appeared. Much valuable property was destroyed, but with some slight damages, which have been repaired, the great cathedral, standing on the site of a church of the fifth century, itself begun in 1015 and completed in 1449, was saved. Every traveler may still draw inspiration from it, and raise his eyes, as pious Tauler did of old, "dizzily up to where in the moon-bright-ness the great Minster's tower, jeweled with sunbeams on its moral crown, rises like a visible prayer." -C. F. B. OUR SUPERSTITIONS. FROM the earliest times of antiquity to the present day the power of superstition has wielded a dominant influence over the minds and hearts of men. With the evolution of Christian civilization this mighty influence has been gradually diminished in its power and narrowed in its extent. Religion HHHilHM^HnBiH M«HH - ' ' '" HHHM THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 5i and philosophy, Christian ethics and morals, science and art, have been the titantic dykes which have even pushed back the swift mountainous waves of Pagan superstition, opening up for the mind of man a magnificent expanse of development. The great waters have been pushed back, but they have left behind them countless little pools and rivulets, which all too plainly show the recentness of the mighty flood. Much of the punctiliousness of our modern society amounts to nothing less than a dainty and re-fined superstition. Bacon has truly said—"there is a superstition in avoiding superstition." The glaring superstitions of the uneducated classes are too ob-vious for our present consideration. The criminal beliefs of the unenlightened classes and tribes of heathendom are hackneyed. The Hindoo mother, tearing her wailing babe from her bosom and flinging it into the flowing waters of the Ganges, the indescribable crimes of ignorance in the Dark Continent, the frightful outrages of the South Seas, shock the moral sense of the enlightened nations. All these things the civilized world witnesses with uplifted hands, unmindful of the aesthetic trace in its own veins. Popular political and religious superstitions are rife in the world to-day, even while it stands watching the downing rays of the twentieth century quivering in the auroral horizon. The atmosphere of our modern and so-called enlightened society is so filled with the curse of so-cial lies, direct offsprings of superstition, that much of the living truth and natural goodness of the human heart is converted into the most sickly forms that have ever gilded and bolstered.up the morbid vapidity of the human mind. "Evil haunts The birth, the bridal; friend from friend Is oftener parted, fathers bend Above more graves, a thousand wants Gnaw at the heels of men, and prey By each cold hearth, and sadness flings Her shadow on the blaze of Kings." The folly and the crime of superstition so pervades our society that many otherwise useful and rational minds have been warped and stunted in their development. As a natural product of this condition civil government has been hindered, education has been harassed, and art has suffered irreparable loss. The clearest and most succinct definition of the word super-stition is from the pen of Canon Kingsley,—"an unreasonable 52 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. fear of the unknown.'' From this it can be said without fear of con-tradiction, that all superstitions are formed within the various gra-dations of ignorance. The power of ignorance seems to move with the same step as does the power of knowledge. Knowledge has be-come refined and discriminate; so has ignorance. Superstition has grown into such a state as to become almost unrecognizable. Much of the religion, philosophy, and ethics of to-day, and in truth, our whole conduct of life, shows strong traces of supersti-tion. The iron will of heredity, with its inexorable, brass-riveted decrees, has long been a faithful devotee at the shrine of modern superstition. Awed, bowing multitudes listen to its irrevocable mandate. Its voice has the deep solemnity of a passing bell. "A ma?i is the direct product of his progenitors.'' The edict is spoken. Thousands, branded as moral lepers, must forever leave the pre-cincts of "good society." At the approach of the traveler they must draw a filthy covering over their chalky faces and cry out in an agony of woe, " Unclean! Unclean! " The doctrine of heredity is only half a truth. Our present matter does not permit us to enter into any extended argument in support of this statement. Moreover, examples substantiating it are by far too numerous. Sufficient to say, that many noble souls have been cruelly ostracized, and in many instances, ruined, by the superstitious credulity concerning the infallability of the laws of heredity. "L,ike father, like son" has unjustly closed many doors, and has sent more than one soul into a career, which would have been otherwise if more broadness had been practiced. Imitation is recognized by modern psychologists as one of the strongest propensities of the human mind. In the withering light of this great truth it matters not whether a man's ancestry be good or evil, so long as he follows and imitates proper ideals. Among our modern superstitions may be classed two, which mould with an iron hand the opinions of the average man, news-paper superstitiou and the superstition of "majority." With re-gard to the former it can be said without fear of serious contra-diction, that its power is inestimable. What mind can compute the product of the fear of modern newspaper criticism ? Public opinion seems to swell and wane at the motion of the editor's baton. The public press of to-day has made statesmen waver with indecision, tremble with a superstitious dread of newspaper THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 53 odium, and even fail in their sworn duty. Strong and mighty and resolute is the mind which is able to stand unmoved by the mighty waves of newspaper superstition which sweep at times in a per-fect deluge over our nation. Mightier yet than newspaper superstition is the superstition of majority. The average newspaper bows low before it in servile obeisance. The rule of majority is right when it is the expres-sion of the true and deeply underlying feelings of the great heart of mankind. But the history of the race is sadly traced with periods when the cry of majority has caused a pervading sense of superstitious terror, and has filled the bones of nations with the rottenness of decay. The noblest and best in man seems to have taken up its abode not in "majority" but in "minority." The worst havoc of the demoralizing power of superstition has been played in religion. In the full glory of this closing cen-tury a stain of deep regret must be felt on account of the niedi-aevalism displayed in the religious thought of the civilized world. This is almost wholly confined to the middle and lower classes of intelligence. No words are more to the point than those of Bacon—"it were better to have no opinion of God at all, than such an opinion as is unworthy of Him; for the one is unbelief, the other is contumely; and certainly superstition is the reproach of the Deity." To enter into a detailed discussion of religious superstitions is beyond the scope of this article. It is more to our purpose to hail with joy the dawn of that day when pure science and religion shall be recognized as an indissoluble union, pro-claiming the "Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man" as an actual and eternal truth. The present age is one of change. Many mental and physical ghosts, will-o'-the-wisps of the night, are losing their mystic glow in the full glare of reason. We are beginning to learn more fully, "That life is not an idle one, But iron dug- from central gloom, And heated hot with burning fears, And dipt in baths of hissing tears, And batter'd with the shocks of doom To shape and use." If we do not misinterpret the signs of the times, religion is demanding that the world be enlightened from pole to pole. The idea of education has taken a mighty hold on the Christian con- 54 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. sciousness of the world, and what religion in the hearts of the people demands, will be done. The spirit of the age decries superstition, the deep disgrace of our intelligence, and sings with the poet— "Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring- out the darkness of the land, Ring- in the Christ that is to be." —O. E. B., '00. THE ELFKING. GOETHE. Who rides at night through the storm so wild ? It is a father and only child ; He has the boy safe on his arm, He clasps him fast, he holds him warm. "My son, why hide you your face in fear?"— "Why father, the king of the elves is here ; The crowned elf-king with a flowing train,"— "My son, 'tis only the misty rain."— "My dear child, come and go with me ! Such pretty plays I'll play with thee; Gay-colored flowers grow by the shore, My mother has golden garments galore."— "My father, my father, and dost thou not hear The king of the elves speaks right in my ear ?"— "Be quiet, my child, 'tis only the breeze Which softly rustles the frost-bitten leaves."— "Good youth, wilt thou not go with me ? My daughters fair will wait on thee; My daughters nightly a-dancing will keep, Will rock thee and dance thee and sing thee to sleep."- My father, my father, and seest thou not The elf-king's daughters on that dismal spot ?"— "My son, my son, I see as alway, 'Tis the gloomy willows so sombre and gray."— "I love you, your beauty has so charmed my mind, Unwilling, I'll force you; don't think me unkind."— "My father, my father, I feel his strong arm ! The king of the elves is doing me harm ! " THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. The shuddering- father rides swift and wild, He holds in his arms his groaning- child, He reaches his home in fear and dread,— In his trembling arms his child lay dead. 55 -C. '99. THE TURK AND ARMENIA. TURK is the synonym for cruelty rather than for pity, a syno-nym for barbarism rather than for civilization and refor-mation . Ever since her existence Turkey has stood forth as one of the greatest foes of civilization. Turkey is not a small principality, not an insignificant nation, but a people numbering two hundred millions. Their earliest appearance in history was about the eighth century; coming from Turkestan, they obtained possession of a part of Armenia, extending their conquests over adjacent portions of Asia, Africa, and Europe. To-day their kingdom comprises the most celebrated, best situated and naturally finest provinces of the continents. As a great nation their history presents great victories, a history which is written with a bloody sword dipped in the blood of many Christians, by whose exist-ence, Turkey formed an immense army. The glorious name and honor of our Christianity often was trampled under their feet. Wherever they went a broad line of devastation marked their track, the lands which they took possession of reeked with human blood, and the atmosphere darkened with the dense clouds of crime and shame, for they presented themselves as the one great anti-human specimen of humanity. Christianity hid herself on account of persecution under the ugly mantle of affliction, and as far as their dominion reached, civilization disappeared from view, and barbarism found an occasion to offer hatred and the bitter cup of cruelty. Mohammedanism proved by the sword that it is well qualified, as a moth, to destroy the garment of civilization, and to cause the best character and abilities of the subject nations to de-cline. The blessed door of civilization and reformation closed against them. The Turks enter not themselves, neither suffer them that are anxious to enter to do so. Mohammedanism has been a burning shame in the history of Christendom and an incurable sore in the hearts of many philanthropists. It represents everywhere a government by ■■^^^HB^^HIHH 56 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. force as opposed to a government by law. Righteousness does not enter it, for it is only a den of robbery and bribery. Bribery is a disgraceful condition which causes the government to decline and truth and righteousness to disappear. Such a government is not a safe establishment for the welfare of country and people. Office under the government is often bought by money rather than secured on account of ability ; and the law is only a chameleon which changes its form readily according to the wishes of the officers. The government has authority to overrule all affairs of the people. Schools, books, newspapers, national history, all are absolutely under the censorship of the government. In a word, the important agencies which form civilization and reformation are checked in different ways in the subject nations, so as to blind and to degrade them. It is not infrequently that one hears that a newspaper office is closed on account of not using conservative language, neither is it a rare occurrence that a school boy is held responsible for his literary production, nor that a teacher suffers on account of teaching national history or songs, which inspires his students with glorious feeling for country and nation. These are tbe testimonies to the civilization of the Turk. Their power depends upon sword and religion ; many small na-tions have suffered and suffer yet under his sword and misrule, although some of them were able to declare their independence after a bloody night of tribulation. The small nation of Armenia has undergone insufferable afflictions ever since the thirteenth century. Turkey has shown its best qualities in the detestable and wicked outrages upon Armenia, and fruits have been testimonies enough as to what kind of people the Turks are. They give a new impetus to barbarism rather than to advanced civilization and reformation. Christianity is the mother of true civilization and reformation. If this is a fact, how can the Turks or a non-Christian nation be civilized? It is an impossibility to become reformed and civilized without having any Christian influence. The Turk is standing as the master of a few subdued Christian nations, but these nations have proved that they are far superior in every respect to their ruler. The Armenians though under the flag of Turkish barbarism, stand as a race, small in number, unfortunate, weak, and conquered, yet we may say to-day, greater than the conqueror, for Armenia has shown the elements of I THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 57 true wisdom, honor and greatness, by her intense loyalty to the Cross, and shall have the honor to bear the cruel star of persecu-tion upon her forehead, as a testimony of faithfulness to her Master. The merits of a nation do not depend altogether upon power and greatness of numbers, but upon the character and the elements which form true power and greatness. The Turk is as unchange-able as one of the Egyptian mummies; he does not progress nor does he care much, but it seems that he takes pleasure in keeping on in his previous condition, and also in hindering his subjects from progressing. How can there be allegiance and loyalty under such circumstances ? This life seems a very heavy burden and shame to Armenians, and though the best of the Armenian youth preferred to sacrifice themselves upon the altar of freedom, still it seems these sacrifices have not been accepted, and the glorious morning of independence has not yet dawned upon Armenia. The flowers of her hope have faded under the relentless and scorching sun of misfortune. Many looked upon her with ridicule and despisingly, for she was wearing the ugly garment of misfortune, and bearing the thorny crown of persecution upon her head. The cup of affliction overflowed, and the contrite children of the na-tion began to mourn, bitterly lamenting in their native song— "No more for the Armenian A twinkling star appears ; His spirit's flowers have faded Beneath a rain of tears. Ceased are the sounds of harmless mirth. The dances hand in hand ; Only the weapou of the Turk Shines freely through the land." The Armenian nation has the honor of having been the first na-tion converted to Christianity. Ever since Armenia's tribulation, the Turk has exercised upon her every brutality, and although she dwells among a barbarous and non-Christian nation, she still keeps her Christianity and purity, and often her children prefer to lose their lives rather than desecrate the sanctity of the Ar-menian family. It is a fact that to-day Armenia is not one of the best civi-lized and reformed nations, but she has shown the best possible character and desire for it, besides we must consider those circum-stances which she has undergone. Very few recognize what 58 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. beauty and wisdom is hidden under the gloomy veil of misfortune. Some day He who understands and hears all supplications and petitions of these hearts of ours, shall lift the veil and destroy the cruel power of the Turk upon Armenia. Then this small and insignificant nation shall stand forth in her bridal garment among the Christian nations of the world, bearing the banner of "faithful servant" crimson with the blood of many martyrs. —ARDASHES H. MERDINYAN, '01. IMMORTALITY. ONE of the most wonderful and inexplicable things in the universe is the intimate and mutually dependent relation between the soul and the physical organism. The soul as we know it, owes its continued existence, and the power to ex-ercise its functions, to the body with its intricate and admirably adapted mechanism. All we know of the world comes to us through the five senses and is conditioned by the manner in which we use them. Even the faculties of reasoning and re-membering seem to be closely associated with the structure of the brain, and the discovery of this relation will ever remain as the unattainable aim and end of Biological Psychology. Moreover, we naturally and unconsciously judge character, disposition and mental capacity simply by the face and general external appear-ance and our judgments are often surprisingly correct. Thus there seems to be some truth in the strange statement of Plato that a beautiful soul seeks a body equally beautiful to inhabit. Notwithstanding this close interdependence between soul and body, they are united to each other by a very fragile bond. How easily may the silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl bebroken ! A bit of flying lead or an electric spark will stop the delicate ma-chinery, just as a grain of sand will arrest the balance wheel of a Swiss watch, and naught be left but a bit of lifeless clay. The strong arm is cold and motionless ; the sparkling eye is dim and glassy ; the lips are silent; the soul is gone,—whither ? From time immemorial this has been a matter of thoughtful conjecture and philosophers of all ages have offered solutions to it. It is of vital import to every one and probably no other question has received such universal attention. Is the soul anni- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 59 hilated when the body dies? Can it be that "life is a bubble cast upon the ocean of eternity to float for a moment upon its surface and then sink into nothingness and darkness forever?" Men have shrunk from such a conclusion; it would preclude all religious belief. The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians believed in the immor-tality of the soul. The Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, con-ceived a strange and irrational theory concerning its future exist-ence. Even the Indians of North America look forward to their Happy Hunting Ground. At the time of the French Revolution, when men lost their reason and became savage beasts, they went so far as to belie their own consciousness and, as the ostrich seeks safety by thrusting its head into the sand, they vainly sought to shield themselves from future punishment for their hor-rible crimes by the false aphorism, "Death is an eternal Sleep." But, "Truth crushed to earth shall rise again," and they soon saw and acknowledged their folly by a pompous, public declaration of the immortality of the soul. Since the principle of immortality has such a deep foundation in human nature, we must conclude that it was placed there by the Creator and consequently is a reality. The mode of existence of the disembodied spirit defies all ex-planation in accordance with our material ideas; it cannot bear and feel and see as it formerly did through its sense organs but, in order to retain its integrity, it must at least be able to exercise its functions ; it must know, reason and remember. All our thoughts and deeds will forever be before us,—the wicked and the good in striking contrast. Then what a sweet satisfaction there will be in the consciousness that we have done the right, and what pitiful and endless misery our evil deeds will be to us. The untiring, sleepless Erinnyswill follow on our track. The grinning spectre of remorse will haunt us with the memory of our neglected opportunities. Accordingly, there rests upon us in view of our future happiness the obligation to follow the dictates of righteousness and always be true and noble, so that when our summons comes we may receive the greeting, "Well done." —B. '99. 6o THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. TO MELPOMENE. HORACE. A monument I've built, more lastingthan bronze- More loftj' than the piles of Egypt's tow'ring mounds; Such as no wasting- rains, nor northwind's violent blast, Nor endless age, nor flight of time, is able to lay waste. My work shall ever live, ascending lofty heights; While priest and virgin mute, perform the sacred rites. Posterity shall see my glory to increase, And men remember me till Rome herself shall cease. It shall be said of me, a prince of humble birth, Born where Aufidus roars and Daunus rul'd the earth, That from ^Eolian fields, I first brought lyric strains; And, on Italian lands, produced the sweet refrains. Then crown my glorious brow, sweet muse Melpomene, With Delphic laurel wreath, and thereby honor me. —M. '02. A SON OF THE NORTH. SNAP, crash! "At last I am through that cursed thicket." It was the first of July, 1863, and the terrific struggle at Get-tysburg had just begun. After the remark with which our story opens, the speaker, a young man clad in the gray and gold of a Confederate staff-officer, slippped from his saddle, and leaving his horse to graze about on the scanty grass, climbed a little farther up the hill, and stepping upon a pile of stones, swept the surrounding country with his field-glasses. "Surrender or die!'' suddenly exclaimed a low voice, in which there was a perceptible note of laughter. The officer lowered his glasses with a start, and turned in the direction from which the sound had come, whilst he fumbled for his revolver. The next moment, with a cry of surprise and joy he passionately em-braced a tall, blue-clad figure. For awhile the grim business on which they were each engaged was forgotten, and they fairly over-whelmed each other with questions. They had been chums at col-lege, but at the outbreak of the rebellion they had enlisted, the one in the Northern, the other in the Southern army ; and now while out scouting, chance had thrown them together near their old college home. Suddenly, as they talked, the glad light of THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 6l welcome faded in the Northerner's face. "And what do you know about Bess Marl ?" he said. "Why, you know I used to go out there frequently. Don't you remember?" "No, I don't." "Well, perhaps I didn't tell you where I went; we used to keep such things quiet at college, but that is where I made the calls you and the other fellows used to jolly me so much about. How is she ?'' '' Her father and brothers are all enlisted in the Northern army and she and her mother, as they remained on the place, are right in your line of attack. But, Bob, how comes you are so interested?" The Southerner's face reddened even through its bronze, and as the Northerner noticed it, it angered him. "So you love the pretty Bessie, do you?" Something in his tone caused Bob Lancy to look at him. "And what does that signify?" he questioned sharply. The Northerner's face softened and his grey eyes lit up. "Because I would give my life to keep her from all harm," he said softly, fancy's face grew dark, and for a few moments neither spoke. Then the Northerner stretched out his hand to Lancy as he said solemnly: "God knows, my only wish is her happiness. She shall decide between you and me; and you, Bob Lancy, shield her and her's, because till evening your lines will have enclosed her home." The Southerner grasped and wrung the outstretched hand while he repeated, "She shall decide between us." Then the two men pledged each other to shield and protect the girl for whom they would both have given their lives. "We may never meet again, who knows,'' said Lancy. "Good-bye, Harry Sinclair, dear old chum." Once more they wrung each other's hands, and then hurried away in opposite directions. It was late afternoon, and in the living room of a comfortable old farmhouse all was confusion. Heaps of household goods were lying packed, preparatory to being taken out of the reach of harm, by the large hay-wagon at the door. Two women were hard at work gathering together the most valuable articles, which an old servant was loading on the wagon. At last everything that could be taken with them was loaded, and with a last tearful 62 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. look at the old home which the shot and shell of the morrow would tear to pieces, they hurriedly mounted the wagon and drove away. Suddenly a horseman appeared beside the wagon from the al-ready dusky woods along the road, and with terror they noticed that he was clothed in Confederate gray. The next instant their terror gave way to joy as they recognized in the officer Robert Lancy. "Why, Miss Bess, I am in luck," he exclaimed in joyous tones as he recognized the occupants of the wagon. Greetings were exchanged; then, Lancy having assured them that the road was open as far as he knew, he was compelled to hurry away to report to his commander. Not before he had look-ed deep into Bess Marl's eyes, which met his for a moment, and then drooped as he inquired where he might see them again if he lived. At the last proviso Miss Marl had looked up quickly and then had bent to arrange something in the wagon and he saw her lips trembling ; then, with a lingering hand clasp he was gone. There had been a silent spectator in the woods beside the wagon. Harry Sinclair had been about to ride up to the wagon, when Lancy had appeared from the other side of the road. Now, as Sinclair rode away through the woods, his teeth were shut tight, and his face was perfectly bloodless in its pallor. He had seen the soft flush on Miss Marl's cheek and the drooping head. Alas, he knew too well what they meant. At first, fierce jealousy and anger took possession of his heart, then the wish that the woman whom he loved so tenderly might be happy at whatever cost to himself overcame all other considerations. The next day he was posted with his command on Culp's hill. About noon a Confederate cavalry brigade galloped out from the shelter of the woods, in splendid order. They swung into line as if on dress parade. Then, with sabres gleaming in the sunlight, they charged. Many saddles were empty by the time they reached the low stone wall. The next instant they were engaged with the infantry behind it. The struggle was fierce, but the Confederates were slowly gaining, when on their flank came the wild charge of a body of northern cavalry. Deep into the body of the Southern regi-ment, overturning horses, trampling their riders under foot, drove the wedge of blue. At the head of one of the companies rode Capt. Harry Sinclair. The light of battle gleamed in his eyes as he shouted to his men. The Southerners began to yield. Suddenly THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 63 Sinclair and Bob I_ancy were sword to sword. Both are good swordsmen and the combatants seem equally matched. But what is the matter with Sinclair? Twice there has been an opening, and twice he has turned aside his blade. Suddenly, his guard goes down and with a groan he pitches forward and falls. Quickly his old chum leaps down beside him. A stray bullet has pierced his lungs. With a tender hand, Lancy lifts the dark, curly head and presses his flask to the pale lips. The eyelids quiver and the gray eyes open. He recognizes Lancy with a smile and tries to speak, but a rush of blood checks him. At last he whispers, "Good-bye, Bob,—dear—old—chum. Tell—Bess—I—knew she—loved you and so I didn't"—but his voice fails. With a last whisper of '' Give—mother'' he points to his coat pocket, then his noble young spirit quits the earth. The wave of battle has swept into the distance and still Bob Lancy sits like a statue, gazing piteously at the form of his chiv-alrous- hearted friend, who had redeemed his love with his life. —C. M. S., '01. ENVIRONMENT. THE stripes of the Bengal tiger, as if the shadows of the reeds amongst which he walks; the snowy whiteness of the Polar bear; the delicate, leaf-tinted hue of the green linnet; the rabbit's coat amongst the dead leaves of autumn, or that of the squirrel upon the oak; all are marked instances of the adaptation of environment induced by Natural Selection or otherwise. Fur-thermore, it has been shown by scientists, as Hunter, Alfred Russell Wallace, Hohugren, and Darwin, that even the organism of ani-mals may be changed by a change of habitat and food. The giz-zard of the pigeon is transformed to the carnivorous stomach of the sea-gull, if it is provided with meat for a considerable time; and, vice versa. Man, too, acknowledges these changes in him-self. Tennyson in the mouth of Ulysses, for whom he has named his charming little poem, says:— "I am a part of all that I have met." The need of environment, or the fact that man is not self-ex-istent, is almost universally acknowledged, at least, as well as the fact of environment. In and of himself, man is not. If shut 64 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. off from food and light he dies. Why, likewise, if he is deprived of mental food, books, and conversation and communion with others, will his intellectual and spiritual manhood not die? No internal force can supply this environment. In the physical world we have the same. A piece of coal is known to have the possibility of producing a certain amount of heat, yet it is not the coal alone. Without its environment of oxygen, it were nothing ; for it is the affinity of the carbon of the coal for the oxygen, and their precipitous rush to be united which causes the heat. The same need exists, and the same effects are produced in the lives and characters of men by environment and heredity, which together entirely determine the man. From Lamartine's "Cromwell" (p. 5) we quote, "Robert Cromwell, father of the future sovereign of England, brought up his family in poverty. * * The poor, rough, unyielding nature of this moist country, the unbroken horizon, the muddy river [the Ouse], cloudy sky, and miserable trees * * were calculated to sadden the dis-position of a child. The character of the scenes in which we are brought up impresses our souls." He then cites Mohamet from the scorching valleys of Arabia, Luther, Calvin, as well as Cromwell, adding, "As is the place so is the man." "That is very comforting and pleasing," says one. "Icannot live under the strain of college life and be a Christian," nor "on a stony farm," nor "in a factory," nor "with the kind of neighbors I have," nor "under the confining cares of the household, and maintain that sort of Christian life which I should like to pos-sess," come in the voices from all sides. They are trying to ex-cuse their lame and halting Christian life on the plea of one or more inherited traits, or their surroundings, which, they claim, make the highest Christian life impossible. Environment and heredity entirely determine a man's life, we repeat, granting that the proper interpretation be put upon those terms. Yet, this forms no plea for not living the highest Christian life, for there is spiritual as well as physical Environ-ment and Heredity. Our occupations, tastes, ways of thinking, even looks, may become changed, but nowhere can there be found, save perhaps negative, proof (Compare Lu. 12:47, 48), that the Divine Judge will mitigate his sentence because of en-vironment. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 65 Henry Drummond in "The Changed Life—The Alchemy of Influence" quotes the words of one of the highest intellects this age has known: '"By the love of God in Christ Jesus I am what I am.' If you ask me precisely what I mean by that, I say, frankly, that more than any recognized influence of my father or my mother upon me; more than the social influence of all the members of my father's household, more, so far as I can trace it, or so far as I am made aware of it, than all the social influences of every kind, Christ has had the formation of my mind and my disposition." God himself put an end to all excuses almost twenty-five hundred years ago, by his words to Ezekiel (Ch. 18: 2-4, cf. v. 20): "What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have oc-casion any more to use this proverb of Israel. * * The soul that sinneth, it shall die." The spiritual environment leaves no room for pleas. The writings of the Apostle Paul as well as the sayings of Christ Jesus show us this fact. With scientific accuracy, Paul says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God (II Cor. 3:5). We ueed the environment, we have all we need in Him. Without it, man feels a need, a craving, a longing, for something, he hardly knows what. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for with-out me," severed from me, "ye can do nothing." (John 15 : 15.) "Our sufficiency," not a partially satisfying environment, but all we need in Him we find. "In Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28.) Ponder the thought until it enters into your very being, until it is revealed to you with transforming power. Then will there be "love, joy, peace," and not until then. When we can say with Paul: "I live, nevertheless not I, but Christ liveth in me," then shall we truly know the power of environment, and shall not desire to claim any excuses for a halting life. —C. C. G., '00. 66 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. A SKETCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC. THE history of every art—literature, sculpture, painting, music or whatever it may be,—can usually be divided into several distinct epochs, each of which has its own peculiar char-acteristics. In music, authorities generally have four such divi-sions. It is my purpose in this short sketch to glance briefly at each of these periods and name the distinctive characteristics of each. Far back in the beginning of every nation or people there was a time when music, or to speak more correctly, the raw material of music, consisted of only the sounds of nature such as • we hear to-day among animal life and among certain savage tribes. As definite notes, few, of course, at first, began to take the place of these indefinite and irregular shouts and cries, music came into ex-istence. Examples of this change may be found at the present day amongsavage peoples. Their songs usually consist of vague howls or wails which are but a slight advance upon the original nature-sounds. They are in a transition state between meaningless sounds and music. The next step in the development of the art was the formation of melodies; songs began to arise. These songs are called "folk-songs ;'' they exist among all peoples and nations and differ in beauty and form just as the peoples who invent them differ in character and in habits of life. For instance, the folk-songs of Southern Europe,—Italy and Spain, are of a light, very melo-dious character, usually sung in quick time, and accompanied by dancing; those of Germany and the Anglo-Saxon races are entirely different,—not so melodious perhaps, but by certain repetitions, . and peculiar methods of being sung, impressing one with a sense of stability, firmness and great reserve power; those of Russia and Poland differ again, and so these folk-songs are peculiarly char-acteristic of the nation producing them. The reason for this is obvious. These songs are produced spontaneously, almost invol-untarily, not according to any fixed type or design,—they come from the very heart of the people and hence are truly an index to their life. Simultaneously with the production of these folk-songs, there come into existence, series of notes which bear a certain re-lation of pitch, one to the other. These series we now call "Scales." Of course, the original scales were very different from those in use THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 67 at the present day; they were very rude, and consisted of probably three or four notes separated at what is technically termed an in-terval of a fourth or fifth. Another noteworthy mark of this period is the great difference existing between the prominent types of music, such as symphony, sonata, oratorio and song. These types are subdivided and each subdivision receives distinctive treatment and differs from the others. For example, piano music has come to comprise calibres, nocturnes, lyrics of all kinds, dances of various sorts, and almost endless varieties. In the opera we find, the grand, the comic, the buffa and other national and distinctive types. The differentiation of forms (if I may use the term) goes on continually. The resources of this age are immense ; materials are at hand for mankind to ex-press anything he wants to. Owing to the fact that there are so many different types of music in this present age, it is impossible in a sketch like this to adequately describe even the principal of them ; so I have selected one particular form, and one with which we are all familiar,—the modern song. Nowhere else is the tendency to use characteristic expression more displayed than in the typical modern song or ballad. Songs there have been all through the history of music; it is like a thread that runs through all the periods of the develop-ment of the art, but it has only been in comparatively recent years that a musical system has been devised which is elastic enough to admit of every mood and emotion of the composer or performer. Composers in earlier times did not pay much regard to the words which they set to music; they regarded them as a certain number of syllables which would admit of being set to a singable tune. They thought their tunes ofmuch more importance than the words ; hence they paid little or no attention to either the accent of the syllables or to the sentiment expressed. The songs were tune and tune only. But as new resources in harmony were used and tonal-ity became better understood, under various influences, the final expansion and perfection of the form as we have it to-day, was reached. The names of three great modern song composers stand out pre-eminent; they are Schubert, Schuman and Brahms. The works of these three great masters of song are properly called ' 'classical.'' They are the best. And iu their works many illustrations of charac-teristic expression may be found. "Grelchen a?)i Spi?mrade," by 68 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Schubert, affords a good example. The words which are set to music are by Goethe. The story of the song is this: Margaret sits at her spinning-wheel and sings of her absent lover. And notice that the accompaniment throughout the song is very suggestive of the hum of the spinning-wheel. As she sings she begins to describe him. She tells of the beauty of his form, the soft glance of his eye, the melody of his voice, and finally the culmination of the climax is reached when she says, " [/?id Ach! sein Kuss!" Here the hum-ming accompaniment ceases: the music moves in a progression through a series of chords until the highest emotional point of the acutely sensitive harmony is reached on the word "Kuss;" there is ahold on the note to this word, succeeded by a short pause, then the music drops gently to the deep bass of silence and reflec-tion ; the accompaniment is taken up again but brokenly, as though suggestive of sobs or sighs, then the original accompaniment and melody is begun again and the song moves on. There are many more examples which could be cited. But there is another kind of modern song with which we are even yet more familiar—the so-called "popular" song. Who can give the cause, the philosophy of the popular song ? It grows up almost in a single night it seems, and b}r the next morning everybody is whistling it. Probably some music-hall singer with her own picturesque personality first sings it; the people are pleased both with the singer and the song—and in a few days it has spread over the entire country. Many of these popular songs are worth-less— of no merit neither in the music nor sentiment expressed. But once in a while a real gem is found among the pile of rubbish. These few songs are the ones that endure. These are the good old songs "which are sung as much now as at anytime of their exist-ence. They will always be found to be those which have not sim-ply pleased the ear but also touched the heart. There is a chord in the heart of every one which responds at once to "Home, Sweet Home." "Annie I^aurie" will endure as long as the English language remains in existence. The dying turn, not to the music of symphony societies, but to "Rock of Ages." And so there are other examples of these songs which survive. Some one has well said, "Strauss may set the feet to dancing, Wagner please the brain, Mozart delight the ear, but nothing can touch the heart like the "good old songs." —F. '00. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 69 EDITOR'S DESK. FOR quite a while Gettysburg has not been making marked progress in athletics. Our alumni have heard time and again of colleges, which a few years ago were glad to be called the rivals of Gettysburg, sending our teams home, beaten and discouraged. There are few things which so cast gloom over a college as the news that the team, in whom the college's reputation is centered, has lost game after game. It is not difficult to find the cause of this. Our teams themselves are not to blame, for they have done all that teams, unsupported, could do. The great need of Gettysburg is a permanent coach, one who can stir up among the students sharp competition in athletic sports. Every one true to Gettysburg will thank the Pen and Sivord for its generous offer of $75.00 to help pay the salary of a permanent coach. Athletics begin to brighten up again; the students realize that a loyal hand is helping them and we feel that under the impulse of enthusiasm and college spirit, our teams will hereafter make the reputation of Gettysburg what it once was and what it must be. A new feature or rather a revived feature of college life now presents itself to the colleges of Pennsylvania. A great revival of inter-collegiate debates has taken firm hold upon our higher institutions of learning. A strong point in favor of these debates is the preparation for them, which will put life into college liter-ary societies. (Comparatively few colleges have live societies). Probably no study in the curriculum of any college can prepare a student to think so quickly and so powerfully, as debate. But as the excellent mental training of debate is too well known to speak of, suffice it to say that Gettysburg feels the impulse stirring her sister colleges and is preparing to act her part in contests not far distant. A word on April is not out of place. April is the great war month of Americans. Lexington, the beginning of the Revolu-tion, was fought in April; Ft. Sumpter was first fired on in April; the late war with Spain began in April. Many other im-portant events, e. g., the inauguration of Washington, the sur- 7o THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. render of Lee, the assassination of Lincoln occurred in April, but the fact which makes April mean so much to us, is that in it our greatest wars began. Although Philo and Phrena are not what they should be and our athletics at present are somewhat below high water mark, we are greatly pleased to witness the loyalty of Gettysburg students. Nearly every man is intensely interested in Gettysburg's reputa-tion. This spirit of earnestness about the honor of our college is sure to result in good and our alumni may well be proud of their Alma Mater, since in the midst of the present circumstances,— when the work of literary societies and athletics is hardly worthy of Gettysburg—the students remain so loyal to the Orange and Blue. In the early part of March, Gettysburg was entertained at a lecture on physiognomy, delivered by Prof. A. E. Willis. Natur-ally, Prof. Willis maintained extreme views upon the subject. The lecture was regarded as interesting rather than instructive, nevertheless we believe that the audience was profited. *^2> FRANCIS SCOTT KEY'S MONUMENT. OUR National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, owes very little to chance. It was an emanation of a patriotic fer-vor as sincere and natural as it was simple and noble. It sprung from one of those glorious inspirations which coming to an author unbidden, seizes at once upon the hearts and minds of men. The occasion seemed to have been created for the very purpose. Key's song was the very child of battle; it was rocked by the can-non in the cradle of the deep, its swaddling clothes were the stars and stripes; its coming was heralded by shot and shell. We know too well the story and circumstances which ushered it into the world. Key had obtained permission of the President to go to the English Commander, under a flag of truce, to obtain the release of a friend who had been charged of some offence and car-ried off prisoner. He was received by the English Commander THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 71 and obtained the release of his friend, but as the advance upon Baltimore was to be made that night, they were detained until morning. Key did not leave the deck that night and during the time the poem began to form in his mind. He finished the poem in the boat that took him to shore. The next day it was published by the Baltimore American. The poem tells its own story and never a truer one came from an heroic soul, powder-stained and dipped, as it were, in sacred blood. To the "Francis Scott Key Association" is due the tardy justice of erecting a monument to the famous author. Within four years they collected the money and erected the monument over the remains of Key and his wife. Hitherto unmarked except in the humblest way, their final resting place has been at last separated from among surrounding multi-tudes of less distinguished graves to be at once an altar and shrine known among men wherever liberty makes her home. The mon-ument is simple in design, nevertheless the whole effect of the design is an elaboration. Key is represented on shipboard by the "dawn's early light" and when he sees that the flag is there, his attitude is one of delight and exultation, as with his right arm he indicates the fact to his companions, while with the other he holds his hat aloft in salute to the starry flag. The right arm holds a staff with the Stars and Stripes pending in deep folds. It was a very impressive sight when Key's great-great-granddaughter un-veiled the monument. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played and the words were taken up and sung by thousands of patriotic souls. —R. W. DOTY, '99. KEE MAR. Kee Mar College, Home of Beauty, I've no fault to find with thee; I have been to see thy ladies, and they've quite enamored me; True it is, I must confess it, yet I know you will agree When I say that since my visit, I must correspond with thee. Fairest flower of God's creation, I have yet to speak to thee; Matters not if thou dislike it, 'tis the truth—then let it be. If one thought above another makes my heart leap from its place, "Tis the thought of my fond darling, my sweet darling, lovely Grace. Heaven's choice of fairest beauty, angel's voice of sweet refrain; Thou hast dropped thy part in Nature, thou hast reached a higher plane, Few there are of earth transcendent, fewer still that are sublime; But thou, Sicely, art supernal, Sicely dear, thou art divine. 72 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. Queen of earth and light of heaven, sweetest girls that Kee Mar knows, Loveliest flower in God's garden, from whose lips sweet nector flows; Driving care cannot o'erpower it, brutish impulse not suppress Love and honor, faith and virtue, that reposes in my Bess. Charming gem of pearly slendor, I've no fault to find with form, All my thoughts soar earth transcendent, imprisoned in thy snowy arms. Should you only give me welcome, over thee I'd then unfurl Stars and Stripes, and battle ever, fighting for my priceless Pearl. Sweetest bud of fragile beauty, I've no fault to find with thee. Matters not tho' thou canst never let thy love light shine on me. Matters not tho' Heaven should hide thee, yet thy spirit I'll caress, Caring not for any other, other than my darling Jess. Full grown flower of glorious beauty, how I long to press thy hand; Thou hast set my heart to fluttering, fluttering by thy magic wand. Should I, traveling o'er life's desert find a flower not born of earth, I would call it for my Sara, Sara mine of matchless worth. —BUTTERWORTH, '99. THE VALUE OF GOOD LITERATURE. IT is very essential to the success of every student that he should realize the great importance of the study of literature, assign to it a very prominent place among his studies, and try to familiarize himself, as much as possible, with the best literature he can procure. If one wishes to become an accomplished scholar, he must have a thorough knowledge of the English classics, and become familiar with the lives and works of all the great writers in the world's history, both ancient and modern. It is impossible to understand and comprehend clearly the En-glish classics, unless we have a thorough knowledge of the classics of the ancient Greeks and Romans, for their writings are but the models which all the great writers since their time have imitated, since that time when the blind Homer, traveling as a wandering minstrel, sang his immortal verses to admiring listeners in the dif-ferent cities of ancient Hellas, or when Virgil cast an unfading lustre over the age in which he lived, by his elegant compositions. Again, while the student is familiarizing himself with the world's best literature, at the same time he is pursuing a course of study which will strengthen and develop the mind, and he is also becoming acquainted with the customs and manners of the times which the author describes. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 73 The study also serves to form in the student's rnind a larger vocabulary, so that he may have a ready, versatile use of words, and in the practical lines of the writer he will learn many max-ims of morality and beautiful descriptive passages which will be serviceable to him in after life. Of the many authors and writers noted for the sublimity and simplicity of their works and writings, and especially those which touch the heart, Horace, Virgil, Burns, Tennyson, Longfellow and Whittier may be mentioned. Also in the study of the best literature, the student comes in contact with the mighty minds of old, the representatives of the greatest intelligence that ever existed in the history of the world, and these should inspire the student to do grand and noble deeds during his life so that he may make for himself a name for great-ness, that will be immortal. Many great men have been inspired and incited by the study of the great classics, such as Homer's Iliad, Virgil's ^Eneid, Milton's Paradise Lost, 01 Tennyson's In Memoriam. The study of the best literature also cultivates a literary taste so that one may see literature in all things, especially in nature with all her suggestiveness, as it was in the case of Burns, and cause one to exclaim with Byron : "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep dark sea and music in its roar; I love not man the less but nature more." Thus we find that one of the most important elements enter-ing into the true success of any student, is familiarizing himself with the literature of his own language, which can be accom-plished only after we have a proper knowledge of the literature of the ancients. —P. S. H., '01. ATHLETICS. ONE of the most pleasant athletic events of the year was the exhibition of the Sons of Hercules given on Friday even-ing, March 17th. The work done was of a high stan-dard, and the program was varied by music by the glee and man-dolin clubs, a boxing match between Richards, '01, and Floto, 74 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. '03, and a basket-ball game between the Sophomores and Fresh-men. The team gave exhibitions of work on the mats, horizon-tal bar, and horse, with a number of pyramids. Numerous specialties were introduced by different members of the team, one of the prettiest of which was the club-swinging by Traub and Scott, which would be hard to excel. The basket-ball game was rendered interesting by the fact that the teams had played to a tie some weeks ago. It was marked, however, by loose playing on both sides, and won by the Sophomores by a score of 12 to 5. Throughout, it was an evening of genuine entertainment, and was witnessed by a very large crowd, none of whom went away dis-appointed. The members of the team are: Koller, '00, leader, Krafft, '98, Bumbaugh, '99, Straw, '99, Traub, '00, Bottiger, '00, Claney, '00, Stock, '00, Bickel, '02, Smith, '02, Smyser, Sr., '02, and Smyser, Jr., '02. At a recent meeting of the Athletic Association the matter of a coach for baseball and track was considered, and it was decided that we procure one. The offer, by Pen and Sword, of $75.00 was accepted, and a committee was appointed to visit the boys for the purpose of procuring as much more as may be necessary. The committee consists of Herman, Penrod and Leisenring, and they have already gotten a number of subscriptions. This is a matter of vital importance to our athletic interests, and it is hoped that every man will go down into his pocket when these men visit him. The committee to secure the coach is, Albers, Weigle, Imler, and Ney. They are in communication with several men, and there will no doubt be a coach at work by the time this appears in print. Manager Weigle has added another game to the baseball schedule—with the Pennsylvania R. R. Y. M. C. A. at Philadel-phia, on Saturday, June 3d. This is the only non-college game of the season, and the first meet with this association in any form of athletics. It is always represented by strong teams, and iu baseball is regarded as one of the crack clubs of the city. This will be one of the best games of the season. Our team has been practicing on Prep grounds since the middle of March. There is a good list of applicants, and we may hope to have a team which will add to the glory of Gettysburg. We are fortunate in having begun out-door work so early, and this fact should give an added impetus to the work. Manager Ney has scheduled the dual meet with Dickinson for ' THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 75 Wednesday, May 17th. The meet at Philadelphia, to which we send a team, will take place Saturday, April 29th. No baseball games have been arranged for either of these dates, in order that the best men may be on both teams. This is the department in which we are in the greatest need of training, and it is hoped that every man will take a proper interest and work hard, with or without a coach. —W. AMONG THE EXCHANGES. THE March number of the Bucknell Mirror is devoted to the literary societies of that university. It contains histories of the societies, a history of inter-collegiate debate at Buck-nell, and a symposium on the value of the training received in their halls, all the articles being by prominent alumni. The en-tire number is well gotten up, and is of special value and interest in these days when the worth of such societies seems to be for-gotten. It will be well for Gettysburg men to read it carefully. Another interesting number which March has brought to our table is that of The College Student, which is devoted to the alumni of F. and M. It contains articles by many alumni, and bio-graphical sketches of some former professors. The issue will surely attain its purpose as expressed by the editors: "We would have the alumni feel that they are still a part of us—of old F. and M.; and that The College Student is as much theirs as ours." Among periodicals issued monthly, and containing literary and news functions, the Haverfordian ranks with the best. It is neat and attractive in appearance, and the due proportion between literary productions and news is always preserved. The Kalends is always good, but the February number deserves special notice. The stories "Before the Fourteenth" and ''A Knight of the Slums" are above the usual standard of college fiction. The season is kept in mind by a number of dainty "Val-entines," as well as by an article on "The Trip,"—which de-lightfully reminds one of Jerome K. Jerome Americanized. The Lesbian Herald is another publication of "our sisters" which is always a welcome visitor. "The Entertainment of the Great Uncle Jasper," and "He, She, and Brooks" are worthy of favorable notice. 76 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. "Donatello in the Marble Fawn" is a well-written bit of liter-ary study in the February Pharetra. It also contains some pretty valentine verse under the title "From Cupid's Bow-string." We are glad to see that college magazines are becoming more and more the product of the students. In but few and those of small institutions do we find the long discussions of obtruse sub-jects by professors and learned alumni which were once thought indispensable. In the realm of fiction, too, there seems to be a general progress, and the stories are getting away from the mor-bid style which used to infallibly mark a college man's produc-tion. EDITOR'S SCISSORS. FOUR EPITAPHS. Deep wisdom—Swelled head— Brain fever—He's dead—[a Senior]. Fair one leaves him—Hope's fled— Heart broken—He's dead—[a Junior]. Went skating—tis said Floor hit him—He's dead—[a Sophomore]. Milk famine—half fed- Starvation—He's dead—[a Freshman]. —Ex. THE PHYSIOGNOMIST'S DREAM. He walks erect, his laugh is sweet— 'Isn't he perfect from head to feet! And oh! those eyes!" His nose, just right— His brains are simply "out of sight!" Its name is "Sport." Her eyes are blue, her teeth are pearls, Her hair flows free in flaxen curls! Her person, neither large nor thin— Her voice is like the violin! The dreamer calls her "Queen of Girls." He has no hair, his look is meek, You count his bones in either cheek— His mouth's a cave, his ears are fans, His feet are not—his hands, "banans." Our friend, the dreamer, calls it "Freak." PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. The Century Double-Feed Fountain Pen. Fully Warranted. J6 Kt. Gold Pen, Indium Pointed. GEO. EVELER, Agent for Gettysburg College. PRICE LIST. No. 1. No. 1. No. 3. No. 3. Chased, long or short $2 00 Gold Mounted 3 00 Chased 3 00 Gold Mounted 4 00 Spiral, Black or Mottled »2 50 Twist, " " 2 SO Hexagon, Black or Mottled 2 SO Pearl Holder, Gold Mounted 5 00 THE CENTURY PEN CO., WHITEWATER, WIS. Askyour Stationer or our Agent to show them toyou. Agood local agent wanted in every school. RINTING "-"Bo- tb Croxel. Dealer in ^ine (groceries cmb Hottons «_«-4Jork Street. Teachers. Union Teachers' Agencies of America REV. L. D. BASS, D. D., Manager. Pittsburg, Pa., Toronto, Can., New Orleans, La., New York, N. Y., Washington, D. C, San Francisco, Cal., Chicago, 111., St. Louis, Mo., Denver, Col. There are thousands of positions to be filled. We had over 8,000 vacancies last sea-son. Unsurpassed facilities for placing teachers in any part of the U. S. or Canada. One fee registers in 9 offices. More vacan-cies than teachers. Address all applications toPITTSBURG, PA. MUMPER & BENDER Furniture Cabinet Making, Picture Frames Baltimore St., GETTYSBURG, PA. .GO TO. fjotel (Gettysburg Barber Sfyop. Centre Square. B. M. SEFTON. WTJ /"■/"YTWVDT Successor to . f. V-.WJJWIVJ., Simon J. Codori Dealer in Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal, Sausage. Special rates to Clubs. York St., GETTYSBURG. .QO TO. CHAS. E. BARBEHENN, Barber, In the Eagle Hotel, Cor. Main and Washington Sts. Subscribe for tfye .©ettjjsburg. ZTCercury FAVOR THOSE WHO FAVOR US. Baseball ^applies, .SpalDing's Xeague JBall, dlMts, d&asfce, Etc. Managers should send for samples and special rates. 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The Chameleon Literary Journal has served as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine since 1961. Under the mentorship of its advisor Professor Sean Prentiss, third-year student Lydia Brown analyzed all past publishings in order to understand the extent to which Norwich University students represented LGBTQ+ members, people of color, and women throughout the years. This internship also allowed her to explore the overall history of The Chameleon Literary Journal, including its distinct differences from era to era. As the final product, such findings were accumulated over the course of a single semester and comprised into the following written report. ; Winner of the 2022 Friends of the Kreitzberg Library Award for Outstanding Research in the University Archives category. ; Brown 1 Looking Back on the Representation of LGBTQ+ Members, People of Color, & Women An Analysis of The Chameleon Literary Journal, 1961 — Present Lydia Brown Department of English & Communications, Norwich University EN 415: English Internship Professor Sean Prentiss Fall 2021 Brown 2 Abstract The Chameleon Literary Journal has served as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine since 1961. Under the mentorship of its advisor Professor Sean Prentiss, third-year student Lydia Brown analyzed all past publishings in order to understand the extent to which Norwich University students represented LGBTQ+ members, people of color, and women throughout the years. This internship also allowed her to explore the overall history of The Chameleon Literary Journal, including its distinct differences from era to era. As the final product, such findings were accumulated over the course of a single semester and comprised into the following written report. Brown 3 The Chameleon | 1961 - Present Brief Historical Background Founded in 1961, The Chameleon Literary Journal continues to serve as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine under a team of student editors. Norwich University undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to submit various pieces for review, such as visual arts, drama, poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction. Sean Prentiss, a published author and professor of creative writing, was selected to be the advisor of the journal when he arrived on campus in 2012. Since his arrival, he has assisted the journal in becoming multilingual by translating students' creative writing pieces into multiple languages. In addition, three-four creative writing awards are issued annually to writers who distinguish themselves amongst the rest of the student body. Brown 4 Introduction Significance of Representation Representation is a system for unambiguously organizing values, ideas, and conduct — all of which enable communication and social exchange amongst members of a particular group or community. From birth onward, an individual's self-c 1 oncept and values are affected by the surrounding environment. Adolescence is an especially critical period for identity development as the classroom serves as the primary site of socialization, although the American K-12 and college school systems have previously marginalized students who were perceived as different. Women are also encouraged from an early age to adhere to the traditional role of a homemaker, rather than pursue vocational training, higher education, and careers in STEM. As the reader will observe in the following excerpts from The Chameleon Literary Journal, Norwich University is no stranger to marginalization as women were not officially admitted for enrollment prior to the mid-1970s. Telltale signs found in the language used by Norwich student contributors indicate that slurs, stereotypes, and insults used against minorities and women were normalized for much of the Chameleon's history. It was not until the early 2000s that there appears to be a significant social shift within the student body due to the increasing presence of minorities and women on campus. Based on these findings, American society seemed to finally be becoming more inclusive, allowing minority Norwich students to express themselves freely, develop social stability, and gain a sense of acknowledgment through positive identity formation as well as representation. 1 "APA Dictionary of Psychology." American Psychological Association, https://dictionary.apa.org/social-representation. Brown 5 Baby Boomers | 1946 - 1964 Brief Historical Background Following World War II and the Great Depression, a significant spike in birth rates occurred throughout the United States. Approximately 76.4 million babies were born over the course of these nineteen years. Most historians claim that this phenomenon stems from the general population's desire to establish their own families — an undertaking that was previously postponed due to World War II. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act also gave soldiers an additional reason to have larger families as the G.I. Bill granted stipends for college tuition, job-finding assistance, and housing expenses. During this time period, economic growth began to increase and the majority of Americans had an optimistic outlook for the future. This encouraged families to relocate from the sparse countryside to the bustling atmospheres of nearby cities. Once these cities were overcrowded by newcomers, plans for large residential communities were undertaken by housing pioneer William Levitt who created the suburbs as a result.2 However, those with xenophobic tendencies followed quickly relocated to the suburbs as cities became miniature melting pots of integrated immigrants with various political, social, and economic backgrounds. This sparked disputes among the American people as legalized statutes remained persistent in enforcing segregation at both the state and local capacity.3 2 Nohria, Nitin, Anthony Mayo, and Mark Benson. "William Levitt, Levittown and the Creation of American Suburbia." Harvard Business School Case 406-062, December 2005. (Revised March 2010.) 3 The first three years of the Chameleon were released during the Baby Boomers generation but were mostly written by students who were born during the Silent Generation (1928-1945). Brown 6 Baby Boomers Overview of Significant Events • Brown v. Board of Education becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1954). • Civil Rights Movement begins (1954). • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus (1955). • Montgomery Bus Boycott tackles segregation on the public transit system (1955). • Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, is lynched in Mississippi (1955). • 1956 Sugar Bowl becomes the first integrated college football game in the South (1956). • Civil Rights Act becomes the first federal civil rights legislation since 1875 (1957). • Little Rock Crisis prevents students from enrolling in a racially segregated school (1957). • Greensboro sit-ins initiate protests regarding the South's policy of segregation (1960). • Nashville sit-ins initiate protests regarding the South's policy of segregation (1960). • Gay Liberation Movement begins (1960). • Alliance for Progress initiates improved economic cooperation with Latin America (1961). • Katherine Johnson assists NASA's 1962 Friendship 7 Mission (1962). • Civil Rights Act establishes federal inspection of voter registration polls (1960). • Children's Crusade addresses segregation within the school system (1963). • Martin Luther King Jr. leads the March on Washington (1963). • Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique (1963). • President Johnson proposes the Great Society to combat poverty and racial injustice (1963). • Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race, religion, and sex (1964). Brown 7 Baby Boomers The Chameleon Highlights "A young woman driving a truck!? That was unusual, no doubt about it…Stupid woman, all guts, and no brains! … Maybe you can imagine what went on inside the young man when an officer stopped him and hurriedly said; Never mind, mister, there's nothin' you can do, she's dead, just some dirty n***** woman truck driver" (1963). 4 —- An excerpt from "The Wanderers" by R. Reid The use of profanities towards both people of color and women appears to be a commonality amongst Norwich student contributors from the Chameleon's founding in 1961 through much of the decade. In this short story, "The Wanderers," terms such as stupid and dirty are used to target a woman of color for being a trucker. The author continues to expand the character's description by using calling the woman the N-word. Deriving from the Spanish word negro, the N-word is now considered taboo as its connotation has been predominantly used by white people to demean those of color. Black social identity has been especially damaged by the usage of this word as it severs their overall sense of national belonging. 5 4 Complete usage of the word is censored in respect of the black community. 5 Pryor, Elizabeth Stordeur. "The Etymology of N*****: Resistance, Politics, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North." Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War, 2016, https:// doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628578.003.0002. Brown 8 "…I saw everything. The city has been purified, swept clean, and now fosters only the black scars and in glorious moments of the past…You liar! You had to see the city die! You had to see it spill its false entrails out in the rotten streets to be devoured by the cleansing fires. This place is no longer dirty…" (1961). —- An excerpt from "The Dream Monger" by Anonymous In this short story, "The Dream Monger," the phrase cleansing fires reveals itself to be the cause of death and destruction. Like the Holocaust, mass genocides often surround ideologies associated with ethnic cleansing. This allows for a geographical area to become ethnically homogeneous under an establishment of power. In 20th-century America, for example, Anglo- American colonialism constituted the genocide of countless Natives in America and around the world. Such events will never be widely coined as genocide, however, due to the number of those who survived exploitation, disease, malnutrition, and neglect. 6 The term black scars also leads to further speculation that this short story may involve post-slavery events of America's racial segregation system. One of which included the Tulsa race massacre, decimating the Black business ecosystem and killing 6,000 community members. 7 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women, although there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members.8 6 Anderson, Gary C. Ethnic Cleansing & the Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America. University Of Oklahoma Press, 2015. 7 Kapadia, Reshma. "The Tulsa Massacre Left a Lasting Impact on Wealth." Trade Journal, vol. 101, no. 22, 31 May 2021. 8 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 9 Generation X | 1965 - 1980 Brief Historical Background Those who grew up during this time were accustomed to having a sense of independence from an early age. This was caused by the increased divorce rates throughout the United States, the unique dynamics of single-parent households, and dual-income parents who were not able to spend as much time at home. Most parents found a life-long career in computers, business management, construction, or transportation. Although routinely working long hours, they still managed to find a healthy balance between exhibiting their creative freedoms within the workplace and maintaining personal relationships with their children. Also referred to as latchkey kids, Gen Xers often spent their downtime conversing with friends via email, channel surfing on the television, or playing video games. They also seemed to have a deep interest in musical genres associated with social-tribal identities, including punk rock and heavy metal. This meant that music became an important self-identifying factor, even influencing the type of attire an individual wore on a daily basis. In the 1960s and 1970s, a countercultural movement known as the hippie era catalyzed other self-identifying factors — especially for those who identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community. American writer Allen Ginsberg formed the core of the movement as he openly opposed all military efforts, sexual repression, and capitalism.9 Ginsburg also identified as gay, serving as positive a role model for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies alike. 10 9 Silos, Jill Katherine. "Everybody Get Together: The Sixties Counterculture & Public Space, 1964-1967." University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository, 2003. 10 Eleven years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation X but were mostly written by students who were born during the Baby Boomers generation (1946-1964). Brown 10 Generation X Overview of Significant Events • Selma to Montgomery marches promote voting rights for African Americans (1965). • Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American Supreme Court Justice (1965). • Immigration & Nationality Act outlaws de facto discrimination against immigrants (1965). • Voting Act outlaws racial discrimination in voting (1965). • Malcolm X is assassinated (1965). • Watts Riots occur in light of Marquette Frye's arrest (1965). • Nation Organization for Women is established (1966). • American Indian Movement is founded (1967). • Detroit Riot sheds blood between black residents and the Detroit Police Department (1967). • Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated (1968). • Fair Housing Act outlaws discrimination regarding housing (1968). • Shirley Chisholm becomes the first black woman elected to Congress (1968). • East Los Angeles Walkouts are organized by Mexican American students (1968). • Stonewall Riots call for LGBTQ+ members to respond to police raids (1969). • Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1971). • AIM protests against injustice under law enforcement towards Native Americans (1972). • Roe v. Wade becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1973). • Billie Jean King wins the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match (1973). • Beverly Johnson becomes the first black model on the cover of Vogue (1974). Brown 11 Generation X Relevance to The Chameleon "The pedestrian Walks, talks, and discriminates On such vital and valid criteria as Color, breeding and religion. Sees sex, and is offended. Grows indignant. Has a firm conviction that freedom of speech sometimes goes too far When it lets Martin Luther King "cause trouble" and "incite" riots" (1965). —- An excerpt from "The Pedestrian" by Jacob Sartz Unlike most pieces of writing from the 1960s publishings, this free verse poem seems to call out the discriminatory tendencies of others. The author especially targets any person whose ideologies are rooted in racism, sexism, and other gateways leading to unequal treatment. By labeling them as the pedestrian, such subtlety creates an effect where anyone can be the principal character and thus the reader may begin to question their own actions. As the author begins to shift towards a more political ambiance, African American activist Martin Luther King Jr. is mentioned. From the pedestrian's perspective, however, King is known to overstep the principle of free speech with the exception of cases where it benefits the white majority. Brown 12 "He had gone through a variety of different girls in the next six years, and he had accumulated an assortment of different names in his address book, including a few of the local sweethearts that he'd called up in dire sexual emergencies… When he had heard that his little "streetlight girl" had been married, he put a check next to her name in the book as he had done for several other old flames that had been put out of commission for one reason or another. He thought of her a little while after that, but closed the book as he had always done" (1970). —- An excerpt from "The Street Light" by Paul LeSage Unlike our example directly above, there are several alarming factors sprinkled throughout this short story, revealing how a man uses the sexual objectification of women to his advantage. The man's use of an address book further proves this implication as the women he has been sexually involved with are jotted down in writing. Visually speaking, the reader may think of a grocery list or an inventory of stock goods when it comes to the address book's description. The man proceeds to check off the women who no longer sexually benefit him all while refusing to use their real names, ultimately dehumanizing them in the process. This allows the reader to further explore the harmful effects of sexual objectification, pushing them to decipher the differences between sex and sexualizing.11 11 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 13 Generation Y | 1981 - 1996 Brief Historical Background Many of those who were either born into this generation or lived through it prioritized their careers and personal interests above marriage. This means that they were having fewer children than their predecessors. Like Gen Xers, Millenials were known to be tech-savvy with a specific preference to communicate through email or text. MTV brought them further reason to enjoy screen time when the cable channel was launched in 1981. Originally created to showcase music videos, MTV quickly moved to television personalities. Michael Jackson, for example, served as the precedent for television personalities and leading artists, topping the charts throughout the duration of the 1980s. He eventually became one of the most well-loved television personalities who dedicated much of his offscreen time to charitable efforts. Prince, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, and many others followed closely behind. Based on the increased media representation of minority artists, it's safe to say that this particular time frame allowed for people of color to debut their own music videos for the first time. This urged the public to gravitate towards soul music and R&B, marking the start of this generation's willingness to embrace black creators. Alongside music, technological advances in STEM were budding with breakthroughs. Women paved the way towards many of these breakthroughs under large startups and federal organizations, inspiring younger girls to do the same through higher education. 12 12 Eighteen years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation Y but mostly written by students who were born during Generation X (1965-1976). Brown 14 Generation Y Overview of Significant Events • Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Week is implemented in May (1979). • Boston African American National Historic Site is established (1980). • AIDS Epidemic begins, causing numerous deaths in the LGBTQ+ community (1981). • Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated as the first female Supreme Court Justice (1981). • Federation of Survival Schools leads legal education seminars for Native students (1984). • Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian-American in space, dies in the Challenger disaster (1986). • Minneapolis AIM Patrol refocuses on protecting native women in Minneapolis (1987). • Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman in space (1983). • Susan Kare made typeface contributions to the first Apple Macintosh (1983). • Michael Jordan is named the NBA's "Rookie of the Year " (1985). • Nadia Perlman invents the spanning-tree protocol (1985). • Carole Ann-Marie Gist becomes the first African American to win Miss USA (1990). • Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS (1991). • Rodney King is brutally beaten by LAPD officers (1991). • AIM revives the Sun Dance ceremony in Pipestone, Minnesota (1991). • Los Angeles Riots result in numerous deaths and $1 billion in damage (1992). • Mae Jemison becomes the first African American woman in space (1992). • National Coalition in Sports & Media Forms is established by native leaders (1992). • "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bars the LGBTQ+ community from military service (1993). Brown 15 Generation Y Relevance to The Chameleon "I slowly adapt myself to another man's world, But I soon realize that my character is a reflection Of a foreign spectrum I see myself through another man's eyes, My words come from another man's mouth, And my ideals are relocated from another man's mind" (1980). —- An excerpt from "A Nostalgic Experience" by Noble Francis Allen America's social construction has continued to uphold whiteness throughout the duration of its history, while people of color must condition themselves to that of the norm. In this case, the author speaks in the first person, signifying their position as the principal character who is faced with having to mirror the way others perceive the world. This implies that the narrator may have had a weakened sense of self-identity at the time this poem was written. Self-identity is an especially important feature as it consists of the traits, characteristics, social relations, and roles that define who one is. An individual's racial and ethnic 13 background is also included within the same realm due to the distinguishment of their given group's cultural values, kinship, and beliefs.14 13 Oyserman, Daphna, and George Smith. "Self, Self-Concept, and Identity." Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Kristen Elmore, 2nd ed., The Guilford Press, New York, NY, 2012, pp. 69–104. 14 Woo, Bongki, et al. "The Role of Racial/Ethnic Identity in the Association Between Racial Discrimination & Psychiatric Disorders: A Buffer or Exacerbator?" SSM - Population Health, vol. 7, 7 Apr. 2019, p. 100378., https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100378. Brown 16 "Across his back is a deerskin quiver, and in the quiver, there are seven feathered arrows. Gripped in his sweaty palm is an oak bow. A golden-handled sword, whose blade is as long as a man's leg, hangs from his waist. Its once binding shine has been replaced by a thick coat of blood. His skin is the color of golden honey, and his hair is the reflection of yellow sunshine… A woman emerges from the foliage of the wildwood. Warm sunshine gleams off of browned skin. Raven-black hair drops over a slender neck, and ends upon soft shoulders. Unsuspecting almond-eyes gaze wildly at the sky. She is nude. Her breasts are round, full, and tipped with chocolate nipples. A thin waist gives way to broad hips, and eventually slender legs" (1980). —- An excerpt from "A Blind Odin" by Mitchell T. Kubiak This short story, "A Blind Odin," depicts a deep contrast between the description of a man and the description of a woman. The man embodies characteristics associated with a skilled hunter, such as strength and courage. The woman, however, is only described based on her physical features, all of which seem to align with the male gaze. For those who are not familiar with feminist theory, the male gaze is perceived from a masculine heterosexual perspective with aspects of voyeurism, objectification, fetishism, and scopophilia attached.15 Further descriptions of the woman's bodily proportions also suggest clues about the author, although it is crucial for the reader to understand that Norwich University had very few female candidates at the time this short story was written. 16 15 Snow, Edward. "Theorizing the Male Gaze: Some Problems." Representations, vol. 25, 1989, pp. 30–41., https:// doi.org/10.2307/2928465. 16 Many other excerpts were found focusing on both positive and negative portrayals of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 17 Generation Z | 1997 - 2009 Brief Historical Background Gen Zers are the first to experience technological advances from birth onward. Once the majority reached adolescence, it became evident that there was a growing demand for portable devices. Although the first smartphone was released by IBM during the early 1990s, its overall bulkiness and poor battery life were not ideal for communication lines. Apple has since become the most popular phone brand in the United States. It also helped that the company released the iPod, a portable music device with, at the time, the ability to store over 200 songs. The same year also marked the events of several terrorist attacks on September 11th. Two jet airliners shattered the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in a series of terrorist attacks, killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring twice as many. Those responsible were later identified as members of al-Quaeda, a militant Islamist organization led by Saudi Arabian terrorist Osama bin Laden. Life became all the more difficult for Muslim Americans as they continuously experienced the dangers of Islamophobia on a daily basis. Such dangers surrounded an ongoing spike in hate crimes, ranging from cold-blooded murder to vandalism of places of worship. Even when there was a slight decline in hate crimes years later, Muslim Americans continued to struggle with employment discrimination. Many of those who practiced Islam were either laid off or turned away during the hiring process for reasons directly relating to their religion. By the end of Generation Z, religion no longer served as a determining factor during the hiring process and diversity became a primary focus in the workplace. 17 17 Thirteen years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation Z but were mostly written by students who were born during Generation Y (1977-1995). Brown 18 Generation Z Overview of Significant Events • Gary Locke becomes the first Asian American governor of a mainland state (1996). • Kalpana Chawla boards Columbia as the first woman in space of Indian origin (1997). • Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open Women's Singles Tennis Championship (1999). • Maurice Ashley becomes the world's first black Grandmaster in chess (2000). • Permanent Partners Immigration Act is introduced to Congress (2000). • Equality Mississippi is founded as an LGBT civil rights organization (2000). • Millennium March on Washington raises awareness of LGBT issues (2000). • Elaine Chao is selected as the first Asian American to be Secretary of Labor (2001). • Patriot Act allows the indefinite detention of immigrants and warrantless searches (2001). • Cincinnati-based riots spark unrest following Timothy Thomas' death (2001). • Balbir Singh Sodhi's death is deemed the first fatal act of violence as a result of 9/11 (2001). • Dennis Archer becomes the first African American to be President of the ABA (2002). • Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (2003). • Grutter v. Bollinger becomes a landmark Supreme Court Case (2003). • Same-sex marriage is first legalized in the state of Massachusetts (2004). • Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are wed, becoming the first legal same-sex marriage (2004). • Condoleezza Rice is named the first black woman to be Secretary of State (2005). • Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2007). • Barack Obama is elected as the first African American to hold office (2009). Brown 19 Generation Z Relevance to The Chameleon "You called me a fa***t and said no one would love me But I am here to say what goes around comes around And now it's your turn to get knocked down" (2004). —- An excerpt from "The Bastard Son" by James A. Hoffman Now used as a slur in reference to homosexual men and boys, the term fa***t has its own unique origin. The term's former use in the Norwegian dialect was originally emplaced to describe a bundle of firewood. Because these bundles were large in size, the term eventually moved towards describing heavyset women who were often seen as slovenly and thus placing them near the bottom of all social classes. When British English ha 18 d made a far greater influence on the Scandinavian languages, the term was combined with bugger, also known as a person who engages in anal or oral sex. Premodern Europe was known to persecute heretics during this time, including homosexuals, as they did not conform to the belief systems of the Church. 19 This short story, "The Bastard Son," is one of the first positive representations of LGBTQ+ members found in the Chameleon as the narrator gains the courage to speak against negative attitudes and feelings surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. 18 Johansson, Warren. "The Etymology of the Word 'Fa***t'." William Percy. 19 Karras, Ruth Mazo. "The Regulation of 'Sodomy' in the Latin East & West." Speculum, vol. 95, no. 4, 2020, pp. 969–986., https://doi.org/10.1086/710639. Brown 20 Generation Z Relevance to The Chameleon "Mother, you are the greatest woman I know. I have based my life upon yours, all the great things you have done and all the obstacles that you were able to overcome; the thing that I admire most about you is the fact that you were a single mother of four and didn't need a man's help, but I always knew that was a great challenge for me, in this world that is much too different from the one that you grew up. To me, that was the greatest obstacle that you conquered" (2004). —- An excerpt from "Mother's Love" by A.M.T Lebron In this dedication, "Mother's Love," the author retrieves past memories in writing to celebrate their mother. It is not often that Norwich student contributors write about the entailments of motherhood. Although it remains unclear whether the author's mother was divorced, widowed, or remained unmarried, the family has a relentless source of love for one another and proceeds to use their shared affection to overcome challenges. Such challenges include economic hardships and increased states of stress as a single mother often relies on one source of income. There is also reason to believe that those raised in similar households develop a sense of independence resembling that of their mother. Some may even develop additional 20 internal resources that will allow them to construct their own identity far from the gender roles typically seen within the American household. 21 20 Kinser, Amber E. Motherhood & Feminism. Seal Press, 2010. 21 Many other excerpts were found focusing on both positive and negative portrayals of minority communities and women. Brown 21 Generation Alpha | 2010 - Present Brief Historical Background Many of those who are either born into this generation or currently living through it witness technological advances at an accelerating rate to the extent of replacing the previously known means of childhood entertainment with mobile devices and streaming services. The dawning of this generation also brought Instagram, the most frequently preferred social media platform to date. The thought of having children was generally delayed across the United States following the economic crisis of 2008, while young adults reportedly dealt with increasing stress from education debt. Following the economic crisis of 2008, it is not uncommon for young adults to deal with increasing stress from education debt. Many Gen Zers who previously planned on extending their families during this time were also affected as financial worries prevented them from having children. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused further economic turmoil when small businesses had to close down to prevent the spread of the virus. Those who were employed under larger corporations, however, moved their offices to home. Between dual-career families and remote work, the boundaries separating professional and personal life became blurred. 22 Such challenges have proved that the young faces of Generation Alpha are capable of resilience, utilizing their own diverse backgrounds to tackle the more difficult questions. This includes advocating for fairness in all aspects of society and questioning the validity of gender. 22 Jha, Amrit Kumar. "Understanding Generation Alpha ." OSF Preprints, 20 June 2020. Brown 22 Generation Alpha Overview of Significant Events • Apple's iPad is released, also known as the first touchscreen tablet PC (2010). • President Barack Obama begins his second term (2013). • Defense Against Marriage Act is struck down by the Supreme Court (2013). • Black Lives Matter emerges as a political movement (2013). • Michael Brown is fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer (2014). • Nine African Americans churchgoers are killed during a Bible study in Charleston (2015). • Same-sex marriage is legalized in all 50 states (2015). • Pulse Nightclub shooting causes the deaths of 49 LGBTQ+ members (2016). • Unite the Right, a white supremacist rally, leads to three deaths in Charlottesville (2017). • Me Too movement is relaunched following the Harvey Weinstein accusations (2017). • Director Jon M. Chu breaks box office records with his film Crazy Rich Asians (2018). • California Synagogue shooting causes the injuries of three and the death of one (2019). • President Trump's wall receives $2.5 billion in funds under the Supreme Court (2019). • Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter, dies in a helicopter crash (2020). • Geroge Floyd is murdered by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest (2020). • Kamala Harris becomes the 49th vice president (2021). • Spa shooting in Atlanta leaves eight dead, with six being of Asian descent (2021). Brown 23 Generation Alpha Relevance to The Chameleon "It had only been four days since I was bought from the Greens. The Green House was known for cutting off the body parts of slaves and letting them bleed out slowly or waiting for them to die of infection. They used to take other slaves to the field and pick different parts to cut off. If they cut off too much and you couldn't work anymore, they'd leave the bodies in the field as an example of what happens when you make mistakes. " (2019). —- An excerpt from "Mixed Voices" by Alain Cropper-Makidi The author moves to educate the reader on a particular building utilized during America's slavery period. Also known as the Green House, the building lay separate from the main house and lodged slaves who were being punished for fieldwork mistakes. Whipping, burning, branding, raping, and imprisoning were some of the most common punishments for slaves. However, the Green House resorted to dismembering the slaves' limbs and allowing them to bleed out. This short story, "Mixed Voices," also addresses that some slaves received educational instruction from the main house's mistress. This was most likely executed in secret as slaves were generally prohibited from reading and writing out of fear that they would forge travel passes and escape. 23 23 "Literacy as Freedom - American Experience." SAAM, Smithsonian American Art Museum, https:// americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Literacy-as-Freedom.pdf. Brown 24 "One day You tell me that let's be Together I shake my head Say I'm tired of your lies Rather to get myself alone" (2020). 有⼀天 你对我说我们在⼀起吧 我摇摇头 说我厌倦了你的虚伪 宁愿孤独 —- An excerpt from "Untitled" by Zenghui Zhang Like several others, this poem was both written and translated by a student under Professor Lenny Hu. Since his arrival at Norwich, Professor Hu has assigned his Chinese students the task of writing and translating poetry. This allows them to expand their Chinese literacy and gain a sense of passion for the language itself. As the Norwich language department continues to grow, translations will continue to be included in future Chameleon issues for the benefit of promoting diverse students and staff who already understand or aim to learn beyond that of the English language. Brown 25 Conclusion Sustains & Improves After reviewing all past issues of the Chameleon, it is clear that Norwich's literary journal previously published pieces of writing representing LGBTQ+ members, the BIPOC community, and women in a negative light. This was especially true from 1961 through the late 1990s. Gradually, the Chameleon has begun to positively represent our communities. During our current time period, for example, positive representations have become the primary focus under Professor Sean Prentiss and his team of student editors who have made a conscious effort in improving the Chameleon as a whole. Student writers who distinguish themselves amongst the rest of the student body are oftentimes selected for awards. One of which is the "Be You, Be True Prize" for the best writing by or about the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, many Norwich University professors currently include culturally sustaining pedagogies within their curricula. Such pedagogies include seeking nontraditional texts, merging language varieties, and encouraging students to explore cultural spaces. To maintain as well as improve such efforts, Norwich University affiliates must remain aware that America's long history of combating minorities often resulted in bloodshed. Although not to the extent of our previous generations, similar events still continue to occur today. Therefore, as one of the most renowned military colleges in the United States, it is our responsibility to protect minority students and ensure that they perceive themselves as valuable members of the community. Without them, the future stands for nothing. Brown 26 References Anderson, Gary C. Ethnic Cleansing & the Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America. University Of Oklahoma Press, 2015. "APA Dictionary of Psychology." American Psychological Association, https:// dictionary.apa.org/social-representation. Jha, Amrit Kumar. "Understanding Generation Alpha ." OSF Preprints, 20 June 2020. Johanssen, Warren. "The Etymology of the Word F*****." William Percy, pp. 356–359. Kapadia, Reshma. "The Tulsa Massacre Left a Lasting Impact on Wealth." Trade Journal, vol. 101, no. 22, 31 May 2021. Karras, Ruth Mazo. "The Regulation of 'Sodomy' in the Latin East & West." Speculum, vol. 95, no. 4, 2020, pp. 969–986., https://doi.org/10.1086/710639. Kinser, Amber E. Motherhood & Feminism. Seal Press, 2010. "Literacy as Freedom - American Experience." SAAM, Smithsonian American Art Museum, https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Literacy-as-Freedom.pdf. Nohria, Nitin, Anthony Mayo, and Mark Benson. "William Levitt, Levittown and the Creation of American Suburbia." Harvard Business School Case 406-062, December 2005. (Revised March 2010.) Oyserman, Daphna, and George Smith. "Self, Self-Concept, and Identity." Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Kristen Elmore, 2nd ed., The Guilford Press, New York, NY, 2012, pp. 69–104. Brown 27 Pryor, Elizabeth Stordeur. "The Etymology of N*****: Resistance, Politics, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North." Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War, 2016, https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/ 9781469628578.003.0002. Silos, Jill Katherine. "Everybody Get Together: The Sixties Counterculture & Public Space, 1964-1967." University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository, 2003. Snow, Edward. "Theorizing the Male Gaze: Some Problems." Representations, vol. 25, 1989, pp. 30–41., https://doi.org/10.2307/2928465. Tenaglia, Sean. '"Seeing Yourself in the Story:' The Influence of Multicultural Education on Adolescent Identity Formation." The Virginia English Journal, vol. 68, 2018. Woo, Bongki, et al. "The Role of Racial/Ethnic Identity in the Association Between Racial Discrimination & Psychiatric Disorders: A Buffer or Exacerbator?" SSM - Population Health, vol. 7, 7 Apr. 2019, p. 100378., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100378.

Gordon T. Allred, March 7, 2014; Gordon and Sharon Allred, March 7, 2014 ; The Weber State University Oral History Project began conducting interviews with key Weber State University faculty, administrators, staff and students, in Fall 2007. The program focuses primarily on obtaining a historical record of the school along with important developments since the school gained university status in 1990. The interviews explore the process of achieving university status, as well as major issues including accreditation, diversity, faculty governance, changes in leadership, curricular developments, etc. ; The following is an interview with Dr. Gordon T. Allred conducted on March 7, 2014 by Ruby Licona. Also present is Stacie Gallagher, the video technician. Dr. Allred discusses his career at Weber State from 1963 to 2011 as a professor of English. ; 39p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 video disc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program Gordon T. Allred Interviewed by Ruby Licona 7 March 2014 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Gordon T. Allred Interviewed by Ruby Licona 7 March 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State University Oral History Project began conducting interviews with key Weber State University faculty, administrators, staff and students, in Fall 2007. The program focuses primarily on obtaining a historical record of the school along with important developments since the school gained university status in 1990. The interviews explore the process of achieving university status, as well as major issues including accreditation, diversity, faculty governance, changes in leadership, curricular developments, etc. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Allred, Gordon T., an oral history by Ruby Licona, 7 March 2014, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Gordon T. Allred March 7, 2014 Gordon and Sharon Allred March 7, 2014 Abstract: The following is an interview with Dr. Gordon T. Allred conducted on March 7, 2014 by Ruby Licona. Also present is Stacie Gallagher, the video technician. Dr. Allred discusses his career at Weber State from 1963 to 2011 as a professor of English. RL: Good morning. Today is March 7, 2014, and we are in the Waterstradt Room at the Stewart Library at Weber State University. We are talking today with Gordon Allred, who joined the faculty here in 1963, but actually joined the Weber community as a toddler. So, we are going to have a delightful time talking to him about some of his adventures as a child and then later his impressions as an adult. Good morning and thank you for coming in to talk with us for the Oral History Program. I mentioned that you came here as a toddler. Both of your parents were on the faculty at Weber State, your mother, Pearl Allred and your father M. Thatcher Allred joined the faculty in 1931. So that means you as a fairly young child would have been here roaming around in diapers. GA: Yes, indeed. They both came and joined the faculty at the same time. RL: Did they? Oh, I was looking at a book that had them divided up, one said 1921 and one 1931. So they both came in 1931. Where did they come here from? GA: Well, you want me to launch with a little explanation of where they came from and what you're talking about now? RL: Sure. GA: Well, I'll just read from some written info I've assembled. If you want to interrupt, 1 don't hesitate. I arrived at Ogden at the tender age of six months. My father Thatcher obtained his MA in speech and drama at the University of Iowa in 1930. He and my mother Pearl graduated some years earlier from the Utah State University, then known as the AC – Agricultural College. Both were hired by Dr. Leland H. Monson, Thatcher in Speech and Drama, later becoming chair of the Speech and Drama Department for many years, and Pearl in English. She also worked part time for the Carnegie Free Library, giving weekly book reviews a few years later. RL: So you were indoctrinated fairly early, weren't you? GA: Yes indeed! Weber College was located then, and during my early adult years as a student, on the old downtown campus in the quad just below Lester park, which was in turn below Madison Grade School. Many of the classes, including those taught by Leland Monson and my parents, were in the Moench Building across the street on Jefferson. That building contained the well-known Moench Auditorium and was the place where my father ultimately directed most of his plays – about seventy, as I recall. He also established the Ogden Community Theater which included faculty and members of the Ogden community along with the students. I could always tell when play openings were hovering, incidentally, because rehearsals would run later and later under my father's perfecting hand sometimes until three in the morning. And opening night many of our household items would often appear on stage. That was the sure cue that we were ready to go. RJ: In the chapter that you did in the Weber College History, you talk about hiding 2 among the curtains on the stage. Were they Purple velvet, as you recall? GA: No. Dark blue. Anyway I did that on a number of occasions, and drew the curtains quite often when no one was around. RL: Can you smell the dust? GA: Yes, definitely – still can. And the sound! The curtains would open like great flowing wings! And the feel of the waxed drawing ropes in the palms of my hands! Our stage was only the size of a large living room, but I remember and feel those things vividly after lo these four score years. RL: And you remember the plays as they were presented? GA: By no means all of them or the exact sequence but a number of them. At times the stage also hosted other productions – our neighborhood kindergarten performance of an animal fair of sorts, and I was a seagull. RL: Jonathan Livingston? GA: Hey, that's good! But this was a bit before his time. The children, however, each functioned as a different animal, and my dad actually drove with me all the way to Salt Lake to purchase my own special outfit. But on the big night as we were all assembling in our variegated costumes behind the great curtains, I thought I heard someone in the audience calling my name. Consequently, I parted my way through them and called out loudly, "Was someone calling my name?" Only muffled laughter. "Hmm, that's funny," I persisted. "I thought I heard someone calling me!" More laughter. RL: No doubt your father was calling you back from behind the curtain. 3 GA: Well, he wasn't actually involved in this one. It was strictly a kindergarten level. Supervised by our loving teachers Childs and Thomas, but somehow they managed to retrieve me and get the show underway with plenty of prancing and dancing and lively animal interaction. Even now, however, I sometimes hear that voice calling me, "Oh, Goorrdy!!" Maybe that should have been the beginning of my "calling", of my career as an actor. Others have suggested that teachers are all actors of various sorts and that the classroom and the student are their audience. The faculty in those days numbered only 16 or 17 members, along with some of the staff. This was the Depression Era, but my parents were both teaching as mentioned. My mother got a little less than my father. I think she got $1,500 a year, and he got $1,600. Of course a dollar was worth about 30 times what it is now, and with my parents' combined income I was never aware of any deprivation. We seemed to get along quite well. RL: What about your contact with the college presidents? GA: I don't remember exactly how the sequence went with Weber's presidents. I know there was President Creer and President Aaron Tracy, then fairy early in the game, Henry Aldous Dixon came in. RL: Yes, he was only here originally for a couple of years, left and then was back for quite a long time. GA: Yes, and he was regarded fondly by several of the faculty children as Uncle Aldous. We lived in a little frame home on 24th Street, just up from St. Joseph's Catholic Church in the 500 block. Some of the faculty I remember well along with 4 their children included Roland and Helen Parry, living nearby, J. Clair and Florence Anderson, both Roland and J. Clair in music, Walter Buss in geography and his wife, Cluster Nilsson in English, and Wally and Grace Baddley. Wally was actually the superintendent of buildings and grounds. Their son Brent and I became close friends beginning about one year of age, living there in that little quadrangle, and we were later missionary companions for six months in Eastern Canada, up on Lake Nippising. We had some interesting experiences there. Wally Baddley was actually, as I say, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds and on one occasion, during our childhood days, Brent and I managed to sneak into the Moench through the basement window and found ourselves there in a science lab, face-to-face with an actual skeleton. That was quite an experience for two young lads about four or five years of age, to encounter this ghastly, grinning skeleton. RL: You got what you deserved. GA: We did. Wally was not too happy with the situation. He was highly dedicated and well organized, but sometimes a bit grouchy and outspoken. And he definitely was in this case. On the other hand, during our high school days, he was very helpful financially. He provided Brent and me jobs watering and mowing the campus lawns with only hand-powered mowers. Weber had a Japanese gardener named Tak, I remember, and his bit of unfailing advice to us was, "Arways oir raun moler eby time fo mow". I think that was the extent of his English, so we dutifully always "oiled the lawn mowers every time before mowing." Wally also provided Brent and me jobs checking coats at the college dances, a chance to make two and a half 5 dollars for a three hour evening. RL: That was high pay. GA: Yes, that was good pay then. But we always envied the lucky college students who got the beautiful babes while we just checked their coats. Our little home on 24th contained only one bedroom and a sleeping porch along with kitchen, living and dining rooms, and was located next to a somewhat larger dwelling which had been converted into a kindergarten. It was one conducted by two motherly ladies (I can still see their faces clearly) Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Childs, both of whom were very dedicated but gentle, and always addressed us in sweet motherly tones. Among our activities was an art class for which we brought smocks to protect our clothing and painted by use of easels and water colors. I myself was dedicated to landscapes, especially distant purple mountains, and on one occasion I had just completed a rendering of which I felt exceedingly proud, which is always a dangerous condition, only to have a little girl named Gloria Todd maintain quite vociferously that my effort looked silly and that mountains weren't purple. I didn't take criticism very well in those days, and I hope I've become a little more receptive, but I responded quite impulsively by sloshing another purple mountain on Gloria's face. She just sat there in a state of absolute daze for a moment, and I can remember vividly that face as if it were melting, and then realizing the awfulness of what I'd done. Bolting out the back way, I ran home, locked the door and hid under my parents' bed. The bed was a kind of sanctuary – not only for me, but at times for other faculty children. One in particular was Darrold Monson, son of Dr. Leland Monson, 6 who was the English Department Chair and College Division Head and who had hired my parents, as mentioned. Darrold had a special affinity for mischief and then sanctuary in our domicile under the bed. When summoned home at eventide Darrell would actually cling onto the springs when his older sister Dolores came to collect him, requiring her to prod him out, sometimes with our mop. Fortunately that sometimes wet mop in the face discouraged him and eventually Dolores prevailed and would take him home by the nape of his neck. Our faculty children in general were quite mischievous, and I remember a man coming by almost daily on a chestnut-colored horse to visit someone living a house or two down the street. I had the impression even at that young age that it was some lady friend who maybe he shouldn't be visiting. For some reason he always left the horse there untethered, even though there were metal rings in the curbing in those days for attaching such animals. We as mischievous young lads would come out of the back alley and pelt the poor horse in the flanks with pebbles. It was not a case of sadism or cruelty as I remember, simply curiosity as to how much that horse would whinny and prance. At one time, however, somebody became a little too vigorous, and the horse neighed wildly, reared up and went galloping off down 24th Street past the Catholic church with several of us running along gleefully behind. The last I remember was the sight of that chestnut horse running through the red light on Washington Blvd. Luckily, there wasn't as much traffic in those days, back 80 years ago, but I remember that well. I remember, too, as a small lad entering St. Joseph's church to see what was happening, but no one was there. All was very quiet and enchanting. Timidly I 7 made my way down the long aisle past paintings of saints along the walls. Eventually I reached the dias in front with its statue of the Savior and the rows of burning votive candles. Then, almost hypnotized, I approached and blew them out. Then I whirled and dashed back down the aisle and out into the noonday sun. But again, there was no intent to do evil; I simply thought that was what you do with candles. When you have candles on birthday cakes, you blow them out and so I blew the church candles out. I hope they weren't prayer candles and some poor people aren't devoid of their salvation because of my mischief. The old campus itself as a school is long gone, all of it gradually transferred to the present impressive establishment. A number of the buildings including the Moench have been demolished and replaced by condominiums. The Weber Gymnasium with its clattering metal fire escape along the back and indoor pool where I learned to swim at age six, are also gone, having been replaced by Gold's Gym, now under renovation. The great concrete smoke stack next to it remains and probably will into the millennium. Our little home on 24th went long ago, replaced consecutively by an LDS Institute, BYU Extension Center and now for many years a family History Center. I've always thought, in fact, if the little home of my boyhood had to go, nothing could be more appropriate than a Family History Center. My wife, Sharon, in fact, still does some of her beloved genealogy work down there, and when she comes home late at night I sometimes say, "Well, honey, which room were you in tonight – the living room, kitchen, or in my bedroom?" My bedroom was also a sleeping porch. I can remember that my other insisted on my taking my nap there, and I was 8 very much distressed overt that because my friends could be playing around outside, shouting and having a great time. She got the best of me, however, by saying, "Well, you go in and take a nap, but if you'll be a good boy, close your eyes and go to sleep, you can wake up as soon as you want to!" Somehow that actually did it, despite my sense of amusement. RL: I think you didn't put much over on your mother, did you? GA: No. That dear soul was a bit tricky at times. RL: You attended Weber on the old campus, is that correct? GA: Yes, and that campus continued for some years after I left. However, if offered a number of teachers as mentors and friends including Leland H. Monson, who sponsored a national debate contest that was the largest in the nation. My debate partner, Kent Neilsen and I were fortunate enough to win second place in one of them. Some of my friends also attended Leland's debate class at the college and made several trips in that regard to various parts of the West including California. At times the faculty – our so-called chaperones – would drive together leaving us to our own devices along the way. The devices included shot guns and .22's with which our young debaters, some of whom were girls, would engage in the shooting of jack rabbits or at least at jack rabbits, which became almost as much a part of the adventures as the tournaments themselves. Among other teachers and mentors were my parents, Dr. Larry Evans, a wit and intellect from whom I took both journalism and English, who along with Mae Welling encouraged me to make an LDS mission part of my education. This advice 9 I followed after my two years at Weber. Another faculty member who contributed to our hunting proclivities was a sweet and kindly lady by the last name of Ogden who taught typing on the old upright typewriters. Today, this seems like we were back in the Stone Age. We would type away quite dutifully, but on stormy days in the fall we would gaze longingly out the large windows toward the Great Salt Lake, about 20 miles away, and see the storm moving in. Then at such times we'd say, "Oh, Miss Ogden, look at that terrific storm out there. The ducks are going to be flying in any minute. Can't we be excused; we'll make up our typing later?" And she would say, "Well, all right boys, I guess so. But don't forget to bring me a duck or two when you come back." She was a dear soul, and very charming. Another lady I remember very well was Lydia Tanner who ran the school cafeteria, and was well known in the community as an excellent cook. Nearly all the dishes in those days cost five or ten cents. About six of them and you'd have a full meal. My favorite dessert was bread pudding with hard sauce, and for thirty-five cents total we could be quite warmed and filled. The most remarkable and perhaps influential of my professors and mentors was Dr. Jennings (Jay) Olson, but I'll say more about that further on. Weber was known in those days for its social clubs – none of which were national but quite distinctive and memorable in their various ways. Some of the women's versions included La Dianeda and Otyokwa, and among those for the men, Excelsior and Phoenix – the former, Excelsior, known for their partying and carousing and the latter erroneously as sissies or "The Sisters". This was because 10 it included most of the prospective or returned missionaries and because they garnered all of the awards in the humanities and the arts. However, they also won all the athletic contests as well – which included baseball, football, basketball, boxing, wrestling and swimming – the whole thing. We won nearly all of them. We were also among the stalwart hunters of whom I have spoken. Romance at Weber was high and included such dances as the Phoenix Snowball, as Christmas approached. I can remember ordering corsages from Jimmy's Flower Shop just down the street by the Ogden Theater. The white orchid was ideal for $7.50. The dance was held in the dance hall adjacent to the gymnasium where my pal Brent and I had checked coats in our earlier days of envy, but now we could actually squire charmers of our own. Center stage was a gigantic cotton snowball covered with glitter on a turn table, with music by Shorty Ross and his orchestra. Shorty played a vibraharp – some kind of xylophone if I remember correctly. During that time it was my good fortune to date some fine young women, and even more following my return from the Canadian Mission while attending the University of Utah. One such individual was Sharon Wallace, whom I first dated when she was seventeen and attending her senior year at Ogden High School. I was an old man of twenty-two. Despite her marked appeal it was, I decided, the classic case of robbing the cradle. Sharon apparently thought so too, but always prayed she would find "someone just like Gordon Allred, " only someone a lot younger and still fun, not so old and serious. As it turned out, she ultimately found someone far too much like Gordon Allred and has had to live with him ever since. But that was not until after my return from the army two years later. 11 In the meantime Sharon had attended and graduated from Weber Junior College, and starred in several of my father's plays, receiving the college's Actress of the Year award. Consequently, she and my father had developed a fond and admiring relationship. I can remember that in one of his letters to me while I was in Japan with the U.S. Army, my father strongly recommended that upon my return I waste no time in "Paying that darling young Sharon a visit." That visit occurred, in fact, somewhat unexpectedly the day after my arrival. It was a Sunday morning in June and I entered the foyer of our ward, to be greeted by a beautiful, glowing girl in a yellow dress. Reaching out, she offered a warm hand clasp, exclaiming "Welcome home, stranger." Sharon always has been embarrassed at using such a cliché. Speaking of clichés, however, it was "music to my ears" and I remember thinking, "Wow, she certainly has grown up." On my way home that day a voice kept repeating, "You're going to marry that girl." However, my alter ego would reply, "Oh, you just got home from Japan; you've been away for eighteen months. She's a beautiful girl and has grown up a lot, but you don't just automatically think you're going to marry her." That voice, however, actually repeated itself about six times and I thought, "Alright, I'd better call her up and see if she's still willing to go out with me. We went on a drive up Ogden Canyon, around Pine View Reservoir, and that was how it all started over again. Four months later we were married, on October 26 in the Salt Lake Temple, and it's been life's greatest experience for old GTA ever since. Some of those that were employed at Weber over the years from our family include: M. Thatcher Allred – for 37 years was a full professor, after whom the M. 12 Thatcher Allred Theater is named. He was known as Mr. Theater by colleagues. Pearl Allred was a full and part-time teacher for about 25 years. Gordon T. Allred, Ph.D and full Professor of English teaching 48 years. Sharon W. Allred received her B.A. in English Literature and her Certificate of Education, and was head of Operations for the College of Education for 15 years. Amy Allred Shaw, our daughter, was School Services assistant director; Kathy Allred Junk was Theater Arts Department Secretary and later office manager for Student Activities. Anthony T. Allred, Ph.D., full Professor of Marketing is in about his 17th year of teaching. By the time of his retirement that many or more years from now, Weber State University will have seen, I hope happily, approximately 100 continuous years of Allred involvement. RL: It's hard to believe that Tony has been here seventeen years, because I remember giving him a tour of the library when he first arrived on campus as a faculty member. GA: Here's an interesting little side bit: Each of the three Allred professors have had the middle name of Thatcher. I won't go into the history of that name, but my father was Moses Thatcher Allred. He didn't particularly like the name Moses, so he went always by M. Thatcher Allred. I'm Gordon Thatcher Allred. Tony is Anthony Thatcher Allred, and he has a son, Nicholas, whose middle name is Thatcher, and who thinks he may also want to go into Business Education. I informed our good former University President Ann Milner, of that fact, one time, during the Henry Aldous Dixon awards gathering, suggesting that she would definitely have to hire him some day. We have a little family saying, at least I do, it's rather corny: "Our 13 name may be Allred, but we bleed Purple." Among those people I know who have had special impact on Weber, have been the following English Department heads: Dr. Leland Monson (also Division Head during much of that time), Bob Mikkelson, Levi Peterson (one of the early department Ph.D.'s instrumental in my obtaining my own doctorate and encouraging my writing and publishing efforts), Floyd Woodfield, Gerald Grove (veteran AF fighter pilot in WWII and Korean War, flying 250 missions in the Corsair), Candadai Seshachari, Tom Burton, and Kathy Herndon. Other significant colleagues and students include Dr. Reed Swenson, longtime coach and P.E. professor, and close friend of my father after whom Swenson Gym is named; Dr. Stephen Stanford, Social Sciences; Dr. Merlin Cheney, a longtime friend and Director of the English Master's Program; Clarisse Hall, (going back a long time), the early-day Registrar on the Downtown Campus who was the sister of George Hyde, the college plumber. I remember seeing George's besmeared face emerging from his plumbing efforts out of the manholes at times. He sometimes went hunting with us; Dr. LaVon Carrol, member of the English Department and Utah Poet of the Year; Dr. Victoria Ramirez, talented friend in the Department and occupant of the adjoining office for many years; Dr. Robert Hogge, retired Air Force Colonel, whom I helped hire on at Weber where he continued until his retirement 24 years later. Bob is my close friend and mentor and a teacher of great diversity of classes; Dr. Mikel Vause, former student and still teacher in the Department, noted mountaineer who has published quite widely and nearly lost his life on several occasions. 14 Dr. Evan Memmott, Head of the Audio-Visual Department in the College of Education, was a devoted friend and next door neighbor, and we often regarded his family of nine children as our own children, and our own eleven as his. He and I often joked about making a tunnel between our houses, which would be especially convenient after a heavy winter snowfall. He was a conference wrestling champion, and I worked out with him for many years. Sometimes I could do pretty well because I was ten years younger and engaged in weight-lifting at the time. But if he ever got me in a hold called the "figure four", there was no hope, and I soon surrendered. His passing from a rare form of leukemia was indeed saddening. I was his ward bishop at the time and was profoundly affected by that. Dr. Richard Sadler, Chair of the History Department and Dean of the College of Social Sciences, was another fine colleague. I had his wife Claudia and several children in my classes, and he had several of mine in his own. It was quite a nice exchange. The following prominent professors should also be of interest and who attended some of my classes. Dr. Gene Sessions, whose middle name was Allred. We always greeted each other as "cuz – "How you doing, cuz?" I think we're third cousins. He was in my Biographical Writing class with his wife, Shantal. Dr. Alton Davis, Political Science Department, who attended several of my classes to assist his son, Brad, who suffered from terminal lung disease. Dt. Larry Doman, Chair of the Languages Department, who attended several of my classes and directed out quarter-long Studies Abroad program in Spain at which I taught, about thirty years ago. Dr. George Crawford, Dean of Business and Economics. Dr. Casseel Burk, Dean of Education. Dr. Jennings (Jay) Olson, philosophy program, mentioned 15 previously. I didn't ever have him in classes, but I wouldn't have been able to teach him much. Not that he was proud, but I knew him very well personally and he directed the Honors program for several years, and always did everything in superabundance. Jay was the only true genius I ever knew personally. Upon Jay's move from upper 25th Street to South Ogden some of my sons and I spent several days transferring his library to his new double garage and basement. It numbered more than twenty thousand volumes, all read cover to cover and marked in color code of red, green and blue. He was a pillar of physical fitness, running great distances and pressing massive weights, also traversing the world engaging in acts of aid and uplift of which few people were aware. When he first began teaching on the old campus I took two of his classes. Sharon took, I think, 35 hours from him and was very impressed with the man, as I was. While on the present campus he contracted a severe, degenerative nerve disease, but he forged on valiantly to the end in his late seventies. It was my great honor to speak at his funeral. Jay had always been a great favorite of my parents and was a source of Christ-like uplift in their passing. Following our marriage Sharon and I enrolled at the University of Utah where I obtained my master's degree in journalism with a minor in English. During that period we both worked half-time, she as a doctor's receptionist and I an associate editor for the old Improvement Era, forerunner of the Ensign. I then enrolled in a doctoral program at Chicago's Medill School of Journalism but abandoned it after a year for employment as a writer with the U. S. Forest Service near my home in Ogden. Four years later I joined the Weber English Department. 16 This latter was an amazingly simple process, hardly like today when 800 people apply for consideration. I was walking along outside the Forest Service Building, feeling I'd come to something of a dead end there. It was a good job in many ways, but I was looking for other options, and there was Leland Monson walking up to me, very fortuitously, and in his very articulate, precise way of speaking, he said, "Gordon, I want you to come teach in the English Department at Weber College." That was about how hard it was, and I accepted! His request was based not only on my previous schooling and articles I had published with the Era, but also in the men's outdoor market, and my book, Kamikaze, on the life of a Japanese suicide pilot. It was a one-time best seller and translated into several languages. In 1963 I began my forty-eight year career at what eventually became Weber State University. At the onset I was given our two advanced freshman English courses containing an outstanding group of students, including prominent author Dean Hughes, who is the most prolific author I've ever known. Other courses I taught early on included Intro to Fiction and Intro to Literature, Beginning and Advanced Fiction Writing, Biographical Writing and seminars on a number of modern authors including Ray Bradbury, Wallace Stegner, Bernard Malamud, Ernest Hemingway and various others. Incidentally, by interesting coincidence, just the other day I received very nice letters from Marilyn Diamond and Leanna Riddle of the Honors Department, who had been with Kay Brown and my wife Sharon in one of my Biographical Writing classes. I also received one from Kay who was previously our department secretary. 17 Ten years into my program at Weber I received a full professorship on the strength of my authorship and publishing, but was feeling the growing need to obtain a doctorate in Creative Writing. Few universities were offering one and all of them were demanding two, even three languages (in the case of Iowa). I decided to try my old alma mater the University of Utah, where I'd been for a good may years, but I didn't think it was likely. I sent a letter to the head of the department, Dr. Kenneth Eble, and got one by return mail that read, "Dear Gordon, by interesting coincidence we are just in the process of formulating a doctoral program in creative writing and you need to have another major to go along with it. Please write and let us know what you would like." I of course was delighted and promptly wrote a reply of about five pages single-spaced on my little Remington typewriter. If he had taken me up on it, my entire program probably would have probably required five years instead of the actual three to complete. Happily as well I was able to substitute a lengthy paper on characterization for the language requirement, which is all too often a mere hurdle with most doctorates. Anyway, I remember clearly that letter from Ken and working out what eventually became an excellent creative writing doctorate with a modern literature combination, one I ultimately completed with a 4.90 grade point – all A's except for one B. The program ended with a three-hour oral which went well, and included a couple of interesting incidents. One of the committee members whom I had never met despite my best efforts, merely smoked a large meerschaum pipe throughout the entire proceeding until the air was literally blue. Asked at the end if he had any 18 questions, he merely shook his head and continued puffing away. That was it! The rest of the exam had been quite challenging but nobody was trying to throw me any curveballs. It was all very fair and worthwhile. We came to one little problem toward the end, however. The final oral is supposed to be a "defense of dissertation", which in this case was my novel called Starfire, which had already actually been accepted for publication and had won first prize in the Utah Fine Arts Contest for Novel of the Year. Consequently the oral focused on classes in modern lit which I had developed and taught at Weber State during the doctoral along with an extensive annotated bibliography of one hundred books and about that many periodicals. Consequently after some discussion about the dissertation which already had pretty impressive credentials, the then department Chair Jim Fife said, "Here's what we'll do, Gordon. You take your dissertation in hand, move over to the corner of the room, and get a good grip on it. Then the rest of us will line up and try to wrench it away from you and that will be your defense of dissertation." Big laugh all around, and I decided things were going pretty well. Shortly afterward I was asked to leave the room and wait out in the hall while they made their big decision. I did as directed, but only waited for five minutes or so before the entire committee filed out and came walking down the hall with my Committee Chair Hal Moore in the lead. Thrusting out his hand he clasped my own and said, "Congratulations, Dr. Allred!" Quite a moment! Others offered similar kudos, and last of all came Ken Eble, former department chair, who had written me that first compelling letter three years 19 earlier. "Well, Gordon," he exclaimed, "We got quite a lot out of you didn't we?" "I surely hope so," I laughed, and knew that I had given it my best. All told I had devoted 45 hours to my masters and 112 hours for the doctorate, not including the just-mentioned related classes developed and taught at Weber. I had also logged in 45 hours on the doctorate at the Medill School of Journalism which I later abandoned as too far removed from my creative writing predilections. During my 48 years at Weber State I have had about 20,000 students and spilled an estimated 18 miles of red ink on papers, living to my last name. Among my most interesting and challenging eras there, in addition to the beginning years, involved the return of a number of retired military personnel, primarily officers from World War II. Included among them have been the following, all of whom wrote very effectively about their experiences. A major named Glen Fleek, who was marooned with several other men in the far north and eventually rescued via snow cat. They had undergone quite a dramatic several days in the wilderness. In his pre-war days, at one time in lower South America somewhere in Chile, he went swimming off the coast without a life-preserver, just swimming out into the sea. Along the way he was hailed by two men in a boat who advised him to climb in with them because the water was full of sharks. Later they dined together, and he discovered that one of them was a man named Zane Grey, popular author of American Westerns. Another student was John Christy, who had lost his wife and two children one wintry night on the highway when struck, of all things, by an ambulance. He had fought in three different wars, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Upon being 20 released from Korean prison and dragging himself across the Demilitarized Zone, he looked back and gave the North Korean guards the fickle finger. He was in Cuba at the time of Fidel Castro and escaped by boat with a fellow by the name of Errol Flynn. Another student was Colonel John Jones from North Ogden. He was a bomber pilot over Germany and Vietnam and was shot down by so-called friendly fire over Cambodia in a storm. He somehow dragged himself from the plane, but doesn't remember how, and lay in a coma for several days in an area infested by four different types of venomous snakes, perhaps the greatest concentration of deadly reptiles in the world. He was finally discovered by natives who somehow carted him back to the military base across the canals, accidentally dumping him into them at times, and fishing him out again. Once rescues, he was found to have 26 broken bones. We became good friends and he visited us several times at my home here in Ogden. Another was a retired major named Jimmie Rees, who, I believe, was the first woman military pilot. She turned down an offer to become a movie star for that opportunity with our Air Force – a very tough but also charming, talented lady, and we also became close friends. I also remember Colonel Ed Hansen, who took several of my classes, graduated from Weber and began teaching high school in Davis County. He returned to my office one day a year or so later, and when I asked how he was doing, he replied, "Better." "Oh, are you not well?" I asked. "I'm fine. I'm just better. Isn't that what it's all about?" 21 Following is a listing of main awards during my 48 years at Weber that may be appropriate for a history of this nature: (1) Doctorate in Creative Writing and Modern Literature, University of Utah (2) Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Weber State University, 2012 (3) Utah Author of the Year, League of Utah Writers, 1990 (4) First Place Utah Fine Arts Creative Writing Contest for novel Starfire; Second Place Poetry (5) Professor of the Year, Weber State University (6) Weber State University Presidential Distinguished Professor, 1980-81 (7) Outstanding Professor, Weber State University Students (8) Weber State University Award for Creative Writing (9) Lowe Award for Innovative Teaching (10) Henry Aldous Dixon Award for Teaching and Service (11) Ogden Mayor's Award in the Arts for Literature (12) Purple Paw Award for Excellent Service, Weber State Alumni Association (13) Hemingway Faculty Vitality Award, Hemingway Faculty Development Trustees (14) Phi Kappa Phi Scholastic Honor Society (15) Who's Who in the West Author of many articles and short stories plus 22 books including Kamikaze, former 22 best-seller on the life of a suicide pilot; and one that I treasure almost as much as my doctorate is the Fifth Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate, which taught me a lot about life, among other things. Throughout my association with Weber, this university has enlarged from about 500 students on the old campus to, I think, Ruby, we're at about 26,000 now, is that right? RL: We're right at about that figure. GA: And during my 48 years here I was blessed to have found my work – the vocation one does best and loves most. It is what I urge others including my students to strive for and where they can make their greatest contribution. I continually encourage them as well to consider the old truth that attitude if everything, that learning and progress may be everlasting and that love is the greatest virtue. Following are added names of significance during my tenure at dear old Weber. Roland and Helen Parry were like uncle and aunt to me and my older sister, Joan, who I call "Nan", and later our younger sister, Penny. We were neighbors on the old campus during my childhood, and again several years later in a little faculty enclave in upper Ogden during World War II and beyond, that included the Baddleys and Clair and Ruth Johnson. Helen and Roland gained considerable recognition for their All Faces West pageant staring famed Austrian baritone Igor Gorin as Brigham Young, which production my father sometimes narrated. Dr. Clair Johnson was also in the music department at Weber and earned his doctorate while living in our upper neighborhood. 23 My sister Joan, later a talented novelist and poet, acted in two or three of my father's plays including Dear Brutus, with him as one of the actors. When she runs off into the Enchanted Forest in search of him, not knowing where he has gone, a little four-year-old in the audience burst out blubbering loudly. I thought my sister and father were both lost forever! I still have in my attic the dress that she wore in that play. She also acted in my dad's production of Hayfever, and artist Lee Parkinson was so impressed with her performance, charm and colorful regalia, that he asked her to pose for a painting, which he later sold. Some members of the community acting in my father's plays included Julian Stephens and a Mr. Prothero (whose first name I don't remember) of the Ogden Police Department. Others included Catherine Northrop, Jim Andrews, and Russell "Soapy" Thorson, who called Joan Sugar Plum and me Deep Stuff. One Christmas morning he dropped by for a visit with my parents bringing me a mysterious present which he accidentally left in his car. When I kept pestering him to retrieve it for me, he mischievously protested, "I can't right now. I've got a bone in my leg." It was all very frustrating, but eventually he relented and obtained said gift which was a G-man gun that grated out yellow and blue sparks when you pulled the trigger. Soapy performed in at least one Hollywood movie as an early western cavalry commander, and Jim Andrews did some singing for the Alvino Ray Orchestra. The plays my wife Sharon starred in at Weber during the time she was there included Antigone, Joan of Lorraine, Masque of Kings, There Shall Be No Night, Pride and Prejudice and You Can't Take it With You. She received Weber's 24 Actress of the Year award, and later joined the staff of the Education Department. My father Thatcher produced the first play in the new Browning Fine Arts Center, A Man for All Seasons, which I thought was appropriate for him. Among the Weber faculty members performing in Dad's plays were the following: Dean Hurst, John Elzey, Bob Mikkelson, Farrell Collett, H.E.D.Redford, Jennnings Olson and the future Ogden Mayor, Merle Allen. Our parents spent quite a lot of time entertaining their students in our home, especially the one on upper Lake Street during my teenage years. Consequently my sisters and I became well-acquainted with a number of them. Among them were Dan Bailey, Aaron Roylance, who assisted in our various moves around town, Tony Belliston, and Wayne Bundy, a frequent family visitor and friend along with his wife the former Louise Lambert. My father was fondly known by colleagues as Mr. Theater and the M. Thatcher Allred Theater in the Browning Fine Arts Center was named in his honor, thanks especially to devoted and accomplished younger colleagues, John Elzey and Leonard Rowley. RL: O.K. You've filled us in quite a bit on Weber, your early days, and people that you've known. I've got quite a list here of presidents that you've worked with during your career here. I was wondering if you had any particular memories, starting with President Bill Miller, who was here from 1953 to 1971, so he would have been the one that was here when you first came. GA: I remember Bill well, and he was very kind and supportive. I remember on one occasion, he was afflicted with some malady and I visited him in the hospital. He 25 was very gracious almost as if I were the one needing the kind words and outlook. I also remember President Rod Brady well. He was partly responsible for the Thatcher Allred Theater being named as it was. He is the one from whom I received the Presidential Distinguished Professor Award. That was back about 20 years ago, and it was a $3,000 award. That would easily be worth $10,000 or maybe $15,000 today. Quite a sumptuous award, and I was extremely grateful. He attended one of my Biographical Writing classes in that connection, and afterward his only suggestion was that I might consider a different seating arrangement – maybe arrange the seats in a horseshoe shape instead of the standard pattern. That was his only suggestion, and he was most generous in his praise. Henry Aldous Dixon I came to know very well. He was known as Uncle Aldous, as mentioned earlier. His son, Dave, and I were hunting companions with some of our buddies. I just knew Leland Creer and Aaron Tracy in passing. They seem to have been there rather briefly when I was a youngster on campus, but I can still see what they looked like in my mind's eye. Others included Joe Bishop who was there for a time. I got to know him mainly through two of his sons who were students in my classes. RL: That was the time period when the president's house burned down, is that correct? GA: I'm trying to remember. Was that Joe Bishop? . RL: I think so. GA: Yes, the house up by the Stadium. RL: Yes. 26 GA: Okay, I do remember something about that. RL: It didn't make a big impression? GA: Well, it did. I just have a faulty memory. I don't think it burned down to ashes, but there was a fire in there. RL: Paul Thompson and Ann Milner were the ones who were here for a substantial period. GA: I visited with Paul on several occasions and we were going up into the Cache Valley area one time for an English Department retreat. I was the member of the faculty sitting next to him at meal time and I remember going out swimming later and diving off the ten-foot diving board. He was a very pleasant, down-to-earth individual. You mentioned in addition to Paul, Ann Milner. I got to know Ann quite well. A lovely, talented lady. As I mentioned earlier I joked with her a bit about the fact that she'd have to hire my grandson, Nicholas Thatcher Allred because of his middle name, the same as his father's, (my son Tony in the Business Department), and mine and my father's. She was quite amused at that, or at least was kind enough to fake it. She was a fine lady and I was impressed with her performance for ten years here. RL: She certainly garnered a lot of support for Weber State. GA: She did indeed. RL: I think that's important. Of course, as a female, I'm glad to see the first female president leaving a really good reputation when she stepped down. In your time here you talked about a lot of different students that you remember from the 27 greatest generation and so forth, but you also encountered students after several war situations. You were here during Vietnam, when some of our soldiers and military came back to a pretty dismal lack of welcome but students returning from Iraq and Afghanistan had a totally different experience. Did you see a difference in their performance as students? GA: No. I don't know that I had that many from Vietnam or from Iraq, but the ones that I mentioned from World War II were outstanding students and all very professional writers. RL: Okay. You mentioned coming here to 500 students and now that we've grown to 25,000 plus. Over the years did you notice any particular changes in the students: Was there a change in their level of innocence or maturity from the earlier days to when you left here? GA: I heard some of my colleagues say that student caliber is not as high now as when I came. I'm not sure that is the case. I had a lot of good students all through that 48 years, partly, perhaps, because I've become a better teacher and place higher demands on them. RL: You've talked about the awards you've received and so forth. Was there any particular thing that you are particularly proud of? GA: I am probably most grateful that I had so many fine colleagues and students whom I treasured and came to regard as friends and mentors who taught me a lot – not only my teacher friends, but some of my students. I mentioned Dean Hughes whom I'm very proud of, and who has written something like a hundred different 28 novels. RL: Were you involved with any of the reorganization or with campus governance? Any things that stand out in your mind? GA: No, I wasn't involved much in campus governance. I was on many committees at the departmental level. What I wanted to do most, however, was to teach and to write, and felt pleased by the way the two complimented each other. RL: You have seen a lot of Weber history in your time here going from divisions to departments and then the division into colleges and reorganization and so forth. You've also seen the different approaches in terms of the direction that Weber has gone. There seems to be a lot more town and gown cooperation and providing students for the workforce in Northern Utah and so forth. Are you pleased with what you've seen, or do you think things should have gone a different way? Do you have an opinion on that at all? GA: I can't provide you with the specific examples at the moment, but my general feeling is that 'weber has reached out and dealt with the community quite effectively. We've certainly had that kind of situation and positive reactions in sending students off campus and having them serve on a very practical vocational level for credit. Weber is becoming more and more part of the Ogden and greater community, and of course we have the Davis campus which is a part of that. RL: It seems like your time at Weber has certainly been a positive experience. Is there anything that you would have liked to have seen be different or is there anything that you would go back and change? 29 GA: I can't think of anything at the moment. If you give me 24 hours I might come up with something. RL: Well, if you have to think that long it's obviously not something that's been bothering you. GA: I think the growth of Weber has been wonderful, and it's become an organization we can certainly be proud of. We have a number of fine master's programs now and I fully believe we will eventually have doctorates. We are on par in many ways not only population-wise, but otherwise with Utah State and with the University of Utah, my old alma mater, where I spent seven years in undergraduate, masters and doctorate degrees. Brigham Young, of course, is a religious institution, but we have grown to the point where I think we're competing favorably with all these organizations. We're attracting people that we supposed we might not attract in time past. I can't see anything right now that I feel dissatisfied with. RL: For someone who has been here for so long, I would say that's a pretty positive statement to make. GA: I think so. And taking it one step further I am deeply gratified to have found my work here. I remember two different times we had on campus the noted educator Max Learner, and I always thought the name Learner was appropriate for him because he took joy in learning. Anyway, he spoke of sitting around the table with his family at night discussing ideas and how important they were. He above all was the one who helped me realize that we should find our work which is the thing you know best and love most, and I was extraordinarily fortunate in finding Weber State and having definitely been handed the opportunity by my good friend, Leland Monson, 30 who made it possible. There has rarely been a time – even when I was teaching 20 hours a quarter or semester that I failed to relish the experience. Even when I arrived here in the dark hours of morning, first one on campus, when I didn't feel a sense of expectation. I looked forward to mingling soon with students and colleagues, when I felt that there was a great sense of empathy, so I've urged students to acquire that same kind of thing in their own lives. Certainly, a lot of them have done so, and have become good friends of mine. I have colleagues whom I cherish and whom I can look to as mentors so it's all been very positive. There's never been a time when I have wished I had gone a different direction even though I have had different opportunities. I could have stayed with the Forest Service. I had different chances to teach at Utah State. At one point I had a probable opportunity to teach at the Institute across the street, but I had found my home at WSU – all that I hoped for, and have never regretted it. It's been 48 years of pretty much sheer joy. RL: Well, I don't think we can end on a better note than that. Thank you so much for coming to spend time with us today. GA: Thank you, Ruby. I'm honored and happy to be here with you and my wife, Sharon, my better three-fourths. RL: Thank you again. 31

Issue 68.4 of the Review for Religious, 2009. ; Theology and Life Religion; Life Models ,Exemplars of Faith Sharing ,Experience QUARTERLY 68.4 2009 Review for Religious fosters dialogue with God, dialogue with ourselves, and dialogue with one another about the holiness we try to live according to charisms of Catholic religious life. As Pope Paul Vl said, our way of being church is today the way of dialogue. Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published quarterly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393 Telephone: 314-633-4610 ¯ Fax: 314-633-4611 E-Maih reviewrfr@gmail.com ¯ Web site: www.reviewforreligious.org Manuscripts, books for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious ¯ P.O. Box 6070 ¯ Duluth, MN 55806. Periodical postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for information on subscription rates. ©200~ Review for Religious Permission is herewith granted to copy any material (articles, poems, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the limits outlined in Sections 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this permission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribution, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written application to the Editor, Review for Religious. ~ gournalof Ca~hohc ~pirituah~y eview for religious Editor Associate Editor Scripture Scope Editorial Staff Advisory Board David L. Fleming sJ Philip C. Fischer SJ Eugene Hensell OSB Mary Ann Foppe TracT Gramm Judy Sharp Paul Coutinho sJ Martin Erspamer OSB Margaret Guider OSF Kathleen Hughes RSCJ Louis and Angela Menard Bishop Terry Steib SVD QUARTERLY 68.4 2009 contents prisms 340 Prisms 342 353 theology and life Christian Existence and Theology's Relevance Randall S. Rosenberg sketches how the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar challenges us to ask whether theology is not simply about understanding, but about an understand-ing that includes aesthetic-dramatic encounters. How You Eat Matters A. Paul Dominic SJ draws the implications from sacrifice, meals, and human eating in the Hindu, Jewish, and Christian traditions that all human eating is truly meant to be a religious act. Questions for Personal and Group Reflection 364 379 religious life models Opening a New Window: Fifteen Years after the FORUS Study Patricia Wittberg SC proposes that current religious , congregations consider encouraging social-movement organizations (SMOs) as viable versions for future religious life. Revisiting Religious Identity William P. Clark OMI carefully reflects on how Vatican I! presented religious life and brought a freshness once again to the special vocation offered by God to those consecrated by religious profession. " Questions for Personal and Group Reflection Review for Religious 389 exemplars of faith ~ Encounters Early and Late: John Bosco and Paul Leo J. Heriot SDB draws upon the experience of St. Paul and of St. John Bosco to show how God may communicate with us, telling us to find him in our contemplative awareness of others and ourselves. 395 On Hilda of Whitby Sister Hilda Kleiman OSB reflects on the origins and spirituality behind her new religious name, Hilda, which means "Battle Maiden." 4O4 411 sharing experience ~ World Youth Day and Religious Life William Prospero SJ describes how World Youth Day promotes consecrated vocations by providing young Catholics with a joyful experience of living the evangelical counsels. Marriage and Celibacy: Rivals or Complements? Benny Phang OCarm works from an insight from John Paul lI's Theology of the Body to see the complementarity of the vocations of marriage and celibacy rather than viewing them as rivals. 427 432 443 departments ~ ,~ ~ Scripture Scope: Praying the Psalms with an Elephant in the Room Book Reviews 2009 Index 339 68.4 2009 prisms I n early January 2009, I was told that I had less than a year to live. As I come to write these reflections in our final issue of the year 2009, I share various reac-tions that have been part of the landscape over the past months. My first response to the doctor's prognosis ff)r pancreatic cancer was that it is a gift to be told that one has so many months to live and that an end is in sight. The doctor, of course, went on to give options. I could have an operation, and it would likely add some months. I could also have the operation, followed by chemotherapy/radia-tion, and it would add some months and likely some years. The doctor wanted to give me some time to think about the options, but I immedi-ately agreed with his own stated preference that I would undergo the operation and follow up chemotherapy. It seemed that medically I was in a place where I should follow the biblical injunc-tion, "choose life." The operation seemed to be successful in removing the visible cancer, and the six-month- long chemotherapy treatment has been an experimental study program including a vaccine that eliminates radiation. I have fin-ished the program as of the publication of this issue. Now I live within a wait-and-see time of measurement and ~esting. Revie~v for Religious November remains a church time to remember the dead and remind ourselves of our own mortality. I have been feeling even more attuned to the reality of my own personal dying throughout these past months so that it is easy to celebrate November liturgy. It is nice to be put "on notice"--which is how I consider the identi-fication of my cancer. The likelihood of dying is just made more real and, as it were, within reach. It allows me time to reflect and pray how I face this kind of time, what attitude I want to take, and how I want to use the time I have. It does not seem fearsome or dark. In fact, it seems full of surprises of how God wants to meet me in unexpected ways, sometimes not initially pleasing to me. I seem to be taught a lot about powerlessness, patience, and the goodness of strangers. I also believe strongly in the efficaciousness of the prayer support of others. Advent is a church time of looking forward to new life and especially of our life forever with God. It con-eludes with Christmas, a celebration of how God, in Christ, enters into our human life, never to let it go. Throughout 2009 with all its medical focus, I have con-tinued to be blessed with finding new life and I again look forward to entering into Advent with greater ¯ appreciation. Christmas will be God's own gift to me of celebrating the gift of human life for however many more months and years God intends. With celebrating Christmas, it is good to remember that we were all born to be living a life forever with God, and that remains my hope too. David L. Fleming SJ 341 The Review for Religious Advisory Board and Editorial Staff wish all of our readers a most blessed Advent and Christmas season. 68.4 2009 RANDALL S. ROSENBERG Christian Existence and Theology's Relevance theology and life 342 "Ihe Swiss thinker Hans Urs yon Balthasar is something of an enigma. He has been called the greatest Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He is the inspiration behind many believers who understand themselves as "orthodox" or "solid" Catholics. His work has been seen as an example of greater integration of spirituality and theology. He is the author to whom Jon Sobrino SJ refers in his reflec-tions on the "faith of Christ," a controver-sial position which has been criticized by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His ideas about gender complementarity and women's ordination have angered many. Some scholars, with strong Thomist commitments, have vigorously criticized his Christology and ¯ soteriology. Other scholars besides Sobrino are Randall S. Rosenberg is assistant professor of religion and philosophy at Fontbonne University (a school spon-sored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet); 6800. Wydown Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63105. Review for Religious beginning to make use of his thought to meet the con-cerns of liberation and political theology. My plan here is not to analyze all these currents. Rather, I intend to look at Balthasar's distinctive ideas about the aesthetic-dramatic constitution of Christian reality. He sees God's revelation, God's self-disclosure, as occurring first in aesthetic and dramatic forms, and he sees Christians as called to be co-actors in this "theo-drama" through liturgical ritual and a distinctive way of living. A Generational Concern Some of my attraction to Balthasar is probably gen-erational. I was born ten years after the Second Vatican Council. Although my childhood was shaped by a won-derful Catholic parish and school, my contemporaries and I still experienced what William Portier has called "the dissolution of the American Catholic subcul-ture." Not that I particularly desire a restoration of the good old days; for many, those days were apparently not so good. But it seemed to me, as I began to read Balthasar, that he was not only restoring something of the Christian vision's rich particularity and oddness, but also pointing out to people how beautifully and dra-matically that vision has enhanced all kinds of human lives, the great variety of saints most eminently. As he writes in Love Alone Is Credible, "Lovers are the ones who know most about God; the theologian must listen to them" (p. 12). It was exciting to discover a thinker who brought into his theology the witness of holy people and great texts not normally found in systematic theologians' reflection: Th~r~se of Lisieux, John.of the Cross, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Dante, to name just a few. 68.4 2009 Rosenberg * Cbristian Existence and Tbeology's Relevance Balthasar preserved what he called a "kneeling theology," without downplaying the use of reason in Christian life. And yet this same thinker also engaged seriously the thought of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. In other words--Rodney Howsare has shown this in his book Baltbasar and Protestantism: The Ecumenical Implications of His Theological Style--Balthasar's theological vision had room both for God's revelation in Christ and for the works of reli-gious- philosophical scholars as legitimate moments in under-standing and present-ing Christian truth. Balthasar preserved what he called a "kneeling theology," without downplaying the use of reason in Christian life. His enviable dis-play of both loving devotion and a critical engagement with modernity prompts me to see him as embodying in important ways the dual task of ressourcement and aggior-namento set by Vatican II. Christian Existence as Theo-Drama The aesthetic-dramatic nature of Christian life is shown in the Scriptures. Moses and Paul experienced, aesthetically, the beauty or glory of God in the burn-ing bush and on the road to Damascus. These aesthetic encounters were also dramatic, and they led to the rest of their lives' being high drama as well. It is a com-mon feature of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures that experiences of God are not just holy feelings; they have a vocational, missionary purpose. The first part of Balthasar's multivolume trilogy, The Glory of the Lord, describes the way we first encounter the phenomenon Review for Religious of divine revelation as beautiful. The second part of the trilogy, Theo-Drama, recognizes that God's revelation is not something we merely look at; rather, we are drawn into the drama of revelation and are called to respond. Robert Barron nicely captures Balthasar's aesthetic-dra-matic emphasis: Christianity--like painting, baseball, and philoso-phy- is a world, a form of life. And, like those other worlds, it is first approached because it is perceived as beautiful. A youngster walks onto a baseball dia-mond because he finds the game splendid, and a young artist begins to draw because she finds the artistic universe enchanting. Once the beauty of Christianity has seized a devotee, she will long to submit herself to it, entering into its rhythms, its institutions, its history, its drama, its visions and activities. And then, having practiced it, having worked it into her soul and flesh, she will know it. The movement, in short, is from the beautiful (it is splendid!) to the good (I must play it!) to the true (it is right). In my own encounter with Balthasar, I have most appreciated his dramatic emphasis. In the first volume of his breathtaking five-volume Theo-Drama, Balthasar gives attention to the drama of human existence by using writers like Shakespeare, George Bernanos, Bertolt Brecht, Eugene Ionesco, and even the American Arthur Miller in a kind of prolegomenon to his understanding of Christian existence as "theodramatic." His range of reference to Christian, non-Christian, and even anti- Christian dramatists is astonishing. He uses the theater to illuminate the risk and gravity of human life, the catastrophes and tensions that constitute our existence, and the finite time span within which we must struggle for the good, under judgment and in the face of death. The theater can offer an opening to people's encoun- 68.4 2009 Rosenberg * Christian Existence and Theology'$ Relevance 346 ter with revelation. Balthasar's theodramatic approach employs the metaphor of the world stage. As actors in history, human beings share in the Son's mission, under the Holy Spirit's direction. Just as an actor's role in a theatrical drama constitutes a limited part of the play for a particular purpose, the finite lives of persons who share in the mission of Christ, no matter their life span, dis-close meaning that is relevant for the whole of history. On a personal note, I have appreciated Balthasar's dramatic treatment of the tragic in human existence. I have made my own the following remark of Rowan Williams: "What I found in Balthasar's work was an extraordinary depth of contemplative understand-ing, along with vivid awareness of the tragic quality of human existence--the hellishness of humanity and God's involvement in it--which resonated very deeply with me." Ever since I was a child, I have been par-ticularly sensitive to this tragic dimension, a disposition that has been heightened by my wife's daily work with children who suffer from cancer. The problem of evil as it manifests itself in sickness, natural disasters, random acts of violence, war, oppression, and genocide is never far from my mind. The late British theologian Donald MacKinnon, noting that Balthasar rarely treats the horror of the Holocaust directly, adds that "the nervous ten~ion of the whole argument witnesses to the author's passion-ate concern to present the engagement of God with his world in a way that refuses to turn aside from the over-whelming, pervasive reality of evil." Balthasar does not paper over the pathos of the real world, a pathos full of darkness and ambiguity. For him, God, in the incarna-tion and passion of Jesus, "steps to his opponent's side and, from within, helps him reach justice and freedom. Review for Religious Hnitude, time, and death are not negated: they are given a new value in a way that is beyond our comprehension. Indeed, even what is hostile to God, in all its profound abysses, is not abandoned; God does not turn his back on it: it is taken over and reworked." Balthasar never taught academic theology at a uni-versity. He spent many years, however, as a university chaplain. In the Switzerland of the 1940s this kind of work was largely cultural. Balthasar the chaplain spent his time giving lectures, in the evening debating in various student societies, and giving retreats. To borrow John W. O'Malley SJ's useful catego-ries from his Four Cultures of the West, Balthasar's thought more resembles cultures three and four--"Poetry, Rhetoric, and the Common Good" and "Art and Performance"-- than it does culture two--"The Academy and the Professions." O'Malley's remarks on Erasmus could be said about Balthasar: "He felt he could criticize Scholastic theology because he had an alternative to offer: a return to the more literary and rhetorical style of the Fathers. That was the 'ancient and genuine' the-ology, quite different from the 'modern' theology. It was genuine because it was drawn directly from the sacred texts and because it had led to a 'theological life.' It touched the heart and centered on the few truths that were essential to Christianity rather than on the second-ary issues the Scholastics pursued" (p. 160). Balthasar once remarked that his study with the Jesuits, largely in Neo-Scholastic mode, was a "grim struggle with what men had made out of the glory of revelation." He Balthasar never taught academic theology ,at a university. 68.4 2009 Rosenberg * Christian Existence and Tbeology's Relevance 348 ~ "could not endure this presentation of the Word of God and wanted to lash out with the fury of Samson," tear "down the whole temple," and bury himself "beneath the rubble." It is often true that Balthasar's mode of presentation resembles a patristic sermon more than a scholastic treatise. In my recent experiences of presenting papers, giv-ing academic lectures, and doing job interviews, it has become evident that this aesthetic-dramatic emphasis genuinely excites scholars and ordinary laypeople. This emphasis could also be said to be Balthasar's greatest shortcoming as a "systematic" theologian. He is called "unsystematic" by those who argue for the indispens-ability of a more scientifically or theoretically con-structed theology in the manner of Thomas Aquinas. Let me address both sentiments. On the one hand, I am convinced that Balthasar's aesthetic-dramatic emphasis nurtures an appreciation for the inexhaustible mystery that resides at the heart of Christian revelation. He offers a richly symbolic and imaginative approach--one that fosters better Christian living, namely, the dramatic artistry needed for fulfill-ing our own unique missions. That is, his theology can give momentum to the religious feelings and beliefs that help us accomplish good in the particular circumstances of our lives. On the other hand, the aesthetic-dramatic emphasis is not always helpful when one does "system-atic theology" in order to answer the further questions that arise out of one's aesthetic-dramatic, liturgical, or devotional life. Balthasar's theology, besides being eclectic, has a contemplative emphasis that prefers to let "paradox" be the answer, rather than carefully working out a set of terms and relations and bringing a theo-logical intelligibility to the concrete conditions in which Review for Religious Christians live their lives. One is more likely to find this kind of intelligibility in Bernard Lonergan or Karl Rahner. Let me offer an example. It was my encounter with the writings of Balthasar that helped me discover the "weightiness" of the mystery of the cross. Balthasar is not content with presenting the cross as merely a consequence of Jesus' prophetic stance in the world. It is that, but it is also much more. It contains a vicarious element, which somehow involves Jesus' "taking on" the sin of the human race. Balthasar desires to do justice to a dominant theme in the Fathers, namely, the admirabile commercium, God's "wondrous exchange," with sinners. With aesthetic and dramatic power, Balthasar communi-cated to me the cross's power and centrality. And yet as questions arose--How did Jesus "take on" sin? Did he also take on our guilt? If so, did he also experience a loss of hope and the kind of darkness sinners experience?-- I became less satisfied with his systematic answers (or lack thereof). In my own research I have been more satisfied with a Thomist pattern of explanation (also not without its critics), given contemporary expression in Bernard Lonergan's writings on "Satisfaction" and the "Law of the Cross." Such writings offer terms and relations that can be used in engaging the modern sciences construc-tively. Balthasar has often prompted in me an excite-ment and concern about such theological questions Balthasar's theology, has a contemplative emphasis that prefers to let ',paradox" be the answer. 349 68.4 2009 Rosenberg * Christian Existence and Tbeology's Relevance and then failed to give me adequate answers. In his De Verbo Incarnato, Lonergan writes that, if one approaches Christ's passion and death with primarily a "symbolic mentality," where image and feeling predominate, then one is likely to express the meaning of the cross in terms of "substitution" or "satispassion," that is, in terms of Jesus' "suffering enough" for sins. These words do not do justice to the sophistication of Balthasar's approach, but they indicate something about his theological style in general and his theology of Christ's passion and death in particular. In my estimation, because of its dramatic terminology and its reliance on the mystical experiences of Adrienne von Speyr, Balthasar's theology of Christ's passion and death is often unclear and even reckless. I wonder, though, whether this theological question, sparked by the power of Balthasar's presentation, would have occurred to me at all without his help. Balthasar himself was not concerned with meeting the requirements of a technical, theoretical, systematic theologian. He once said in an interview, "My books are not the kind of theology that belongs to the aca-demic guild and therefore they are not particularly suited for dissertations." He remarked, "I have to say that for me the only truly interesting theologians are the saints: from. Irenaeus through Augustine to Anselm, to Bonaventure, or figures that allow the radiation of holiness to show forth, such as Dante or Newman; one could also mention Kierkegaard and Solovyov." A Call for Fruitful Integration My concern goes beyond the question of Balthasar's adequacy as a systematic theologian. I have accentuated his aesthetic-dramatic approach here, but I know there are many other approaches as well. My concern is the Review for Religious shape of Catholic theology in the 21st century and the place of the aesthetic-dramatic style therein. Vv'hat does theology conceived in Anselmian fashion as "faith seek-ing understanding" mean in light of the many theologi-cal styles we have inherited from the 20th century, from what Fergus Kerr has called "the Heroic Generation"? In my discussion of the cross, I have offered a "the-oretical" or "explanatory" challenge to Balthasar's theological style. Let me now say that Balthasar, too, offers a challenge. He makes us ask: Must not theol-ogy go well :beyond understanding to an understand-ing that is aesthetically and dramatically in touch with the joys and challenges of ordinary Christian existence? Shouldn't theology be more attentive to the Mystery that is encountered in aesthetic and dramatic form in our workaday world's prayer and worship? A question remains regarding what to do with the diversity of theological styles we have inherited. R.R. Reno has suggested that "we need a period of consolidation that allows us to integrate the lasting achievements of the Heroic Generation into a renewed standard theology." Let me suggest, without adequate exposition, one possible way forward, a way which has been similarly outlined by Robert Doran SJ. The chal-lenge of this generation is to integrate three 20th-cen-tury theological movements--contemporary Thomism, the ressourcement project of la nouvelle thdologie, and the various expressions of political-liberation theol-ogy. These three movements could be of help (1) in explaining theological doctrines in a theoretical man-ner that is capable of engaging with the natural and social sciences in search of a unity of knowledge; (2) in experiencing and mediating Catholic thought and culture through aesthetic-dramatic forms; and (3) in 68.4 2009 Rosenberg * Christian Existence and Tbeology's Relevance dealing with concrete human suffering of all kinds in light of the gospel mandate to transform a world in need. Such a grand vision would require sympathetic and critical conversations, the highlighting of comple-mentarities and dialectical differences, and the humil-ity to be open to revision. If such an integration were to occur, it would require doing justice in an orderly way to the richness of being human in the flow of his-tory, that is, being psychological, intellectuall rational, moral, loving, mystical, and worshipful. For this enter-prise Balthasar would certainly not have all the answers, but he would have much to contribute to it. By Beauty Tethered God of the dawn and high noon and of twilight and midnight; God of the tides and the myriad droplets of dew; God of gardenias and larkspur and tulips; by beauty, God,~ tether my being to you. Mary Anne Huddleston IHM Review for Religious A. PAUL DOMINIC How You Eat Matters I fEatthien gti,t lAe sJeoeymous sa Sbaict rpiufizczel.i"n gIn, It hper ompoatstee ra noof tehaetr-: ing, as in every other human exercise or experience, there is surely more to it than meets the eye, or indeed the tongue or any other sense organ. Perception of such impalpable reality may take no time or consume no little time. Communicating that reality, however, normally requires time, and maybe a detour. Anyway, in the present case, the process has been for me an experience of obscurum per obscurius, though at the end it was all darum (clear), bathed in light. "Hindu Prayer: A First for Congress"--that was the title of the news item from India Abroad News Service on 14 September 2000. The news was the historic event of a Hindu priest delivering the opening prayer in the United States House of Representatives.1 The prayer ran as follows: "O God, you are omnipresent, omnipo-tent, and omniscient. You are everything, and nothing A. Paul Dominic SJ wrote for us about dreams in 2008. His address is Aishalton c/o St Ignatius Mission; Lethem P.O.; Rupununi, Guyana (South America). Emaih pauldominicsj@yahoo.com 68.4 2009 Dominic ¯ How You Eat Matters is beyond you. You are our mother and father, and we are all your children." It continued: "Whatever you do is for our good. You are the ocean of mercy, and you forgive our errors. You are our teacher, and you guide us on to righteousness . Today, in this great hall, are assembled the elected representatives of the people of this nation. They are ready to perform their duties. God, please guide them in their thoughts and actions so they can achieve'the greatest good for all." The prayer ended with an invocation from the ancient scriptures of India. "May all be happy, may all be free from disease, may all realize what is good, may none be subject to misery; peace, peace, peace be unto all." The fact of the Hindu prayer in the U.S. Congress was objectionable and even threatening to some. Many others strongly counterprotested. Anyway, the words of the prayer cannot be construed really offensive to any-one, except of course an atheist. As a matter of fact, they breathe the deepest longings of harried humanity hop-ing in the Divinity. The way they are addressed to God smacks of no narrow Hinduism nor any sectarianism for that matter, but an inclusive theism. The God invoked is everybody's God.2 If the Hindu priest had his own traditional or peculiar thoughts about God, in no way does that show itself in his prayer. Even the concluding prayer, taken from the Hindu scriptures, sounds indeed more universal than particularly Hindu. It seems to show that genuine prayer cuts across ,barriers of religion. Everything connected with prayer in Hinduism can-not, of course, be explained thus. There are aspects of Hindu worship that are confined and meaningful only to adherents of Hinduism with its practices and tenets. Even here, however, it is wise to distinguish between what is exclusively Hindu and what is purely religious-- Review for Religious even though in practice the two are generally too inter-twined to detect. We should, however, exercise ourselves in this regard, for we can be surprisingly enriched as Christians and, what is more, find ourselves agree-ably bonded with other sincere believers. For example, though the ritual of sacrifice in various religions is dif-ferent in all of them and likely to distract and distance other people, the faith element in those sacrifices can be heartwarming and edifying to all those who can intuit it. Some reading I did about Hindu sacrifice proved to be quite inspiring. From it I got a sense of the homely and heavenly meaning of sacrifice beyond the altar's formal vesture, furnishings, and ceremony. I have grown to believe that eating at table has the character and odor of a true sacrifice. I was confirmed in my belief when I found a simi-lar thought in a poet with a Christian background. He shares his vision charmingly and persuasively: Since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship, And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacri-ficed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.3 I have no inkling of how the poet arrived at his vision of profound truth. I can recount, however, my experience in this regard, recalling first the Hindu insight. i have grown to believe that eating at table has the character and odor of a true sacrifice. 68.4 2009 Dominic * How You Eat Matters A Hindu Adumbration The universe in the ancient Hindu vision originat-ing from the Vedic4 times of 2000 BC consisted of three worlds: the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual manitCesting themselves not as separate but congruent spheres. Fire (Affni in Sanskrit) at the physical level was obviously visible flames, like those burning a sacrificial offering to the deity. At the psychological level it was the mind exercising itself in thinking and knowing. At the spiritual level the same word was a name of God. Given the superiority of the spiritual over the physical and the psychological, the latter two were regarded and grasped as manifestations of the one supreme Spirit called Agrni, extending through the three-tiered universe. "The fire which is the sun, the fire which is the earth, that fire is in my own heart," as a Vedic verse put it pithily. One cannot miss the images of the three worlds: the sun standing for the spiritual, the earth for the material, and the human for the psychological.5 Anyone who is not at ease with this ancient under-standing needs only a moment's thought to see its con-nection with reality. For this a comparison with another religious tradition may help. In the Judaic tradition, physical fire serves the cultic needs of purification and liturgical rituals of offering. Fire that necessarily burns can signi~ blazing anger and, more importantly, the tribulation that cleanses the heart and proves the soul righteous. Fire is predicated of God's own self in theophanies of saving presence, transcendence, and benevolence. God appears as the burning bush and the pillar of fire and indeed as consuming fire (Dt 4:24, 9:3; Is 33:14). God purifies his servants and sets them afire with zeal so that the whole universe may shine in glory. Christian tradition has inherited this entire view Review for Religious and given it its own emphasis. Recall Jesus saying: "I have come to bring fire on the earth and desire that it be kindled" (Lk 12:49).6 Observing parallels in the Vedic and Biblical views of the world, one may see other ones as well. In the Vedic thought, sacrifice involves a conscious perception that the three worlds are bound together as one universe. Sacrifice involves lighting a fire and burning an obla-tion on the altar. The idea behind the ritual is that the spiritual fire that is in heaven is also buried in the earth, and so it bursts forth when stones or sticks are struck. By being burned, the gifts laid on the altar are carried to heaven. The fiery sacrifice returns all that is on the earth to its original source in heaven. The ideal of sacrifice behind this graphic picture is not absent in the Bible. Elijah's successful sacrifice when the prophets of Baal miserably failed (1 K 18:22.-38) comes to mind here. To continue still further with the inner significance of the Vedic sacrifice, as long as sacrifice is performed everything keeps returning to its origin, and human beings find themselves living in harmony with the uni-verse. When people fail in their duty of sacrifice, they interfere with the cyclic rhythm that sustains the world of which they are a part. They use the mountain of gifts without attending to their nature, thereby isolating both themselves and all things from their origin. They violate the law of the universe. But, when sacrifice is duly and gratefully done, it redounds to universal prosperity. This seems reflected in Psalm 50: "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High." The last element of all sacrifice is perhaps too obvi-ous to be striking: it is eating the sacrificial offerings. What is offered in sacrifice is normally things that peo-ple eat, and so a sacrifice ends as a sacrificial meal. But 68.4 2009 Dominic ¯ How You Eat Matters In the matter of sacrifice, the universal beliefwas that, when humans ate something of the sacrifice, the deity had partaken of it first. who eats in sacrifice? Those who sacrifice, of course. But, as the sacrifice is not offered to themselves, they do not eat alone. When the sacrifice is consumed by fire, it is believed that the deity above consumes it. This understanding is highlighted in the Hindu scriptural verse: "I, the Lord, become the fire of life, and seated in the body I consume the four kinds of food." This passage is certainly obscure for many, though it is for Hindus a familiar verse (vakya in Sanskrit) of the Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the most personal of all their scriptures. Anyway, what it says links human eating with divine eat-ing. In the matter of sacrifice, the universal belief was that, when humans ate something of the sacrifice, the deity had partaken of it first. Similarly, one may well conclude that what humans eat in ordinary meals is at the same rime consumed by "the fire of life," which is none other than God dwelling in human bodies. And so a human meal itself becomes a sacrifice to God. Bede Griffiths, the English Benedictine who, along with other foreign pioneers in India, continued the Indian tradition of ashram (akin to monasticism in the Western tradition), explains the point thus: "That fire, which is in the heaven above and in the earth beneath, is in our own bodies; we offer our food in sacrifice in that inner fire and it is consumed in the fire and surrendered to God again. So a meal is a sacrifice." Here is a subtle move from a sacrificial meal eaten on occasion to daily Review for Religious meals eaten in the joyous, harmonious spirit of sacri-fice. Drawing from another stanza in the Bhagavad Gita, Griffiths concludes that "anyone taking a meal without sacrificing is a thief; this is to take the gifts of God and appropriate them to oneself instead of receiving them as gifts and returning thanks.''7 A Christian Follow-Up Such a thought can startle nominal or profane Christians who have no thought of God whatever when they satisfy their hunger and thirst or overly indulge their tastes. Normal devout Christians accustomed to their routine mealtime prayer may well find more mean-ing in their daily practice. The grace before and after meals will then become the grace of meals as sacrifice. The whole meal from start to finish becomes an exercise and experience of grace, with the grace understood in terms of sacrifice. If sacrifice involves material fire for burning the oblation, daily meals as sacrifice ought to burn with the psychospiritual fire of desire--desire not merely for food, but for the One who gives the food. The Giver of food gives not only the natural and won-derful food and drink, but also the hunger, thirst, and taste buds necessary to enjoy it. Further, through our gratefulness God raises our minds beyond the mean philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry before it is too late. Enkindled by this grate-fulness, we cannot but experience a burning hunger for God. This does not produce asceticism in us so much as refine our taste for the simple, healthy, necessary food that makes for joyous living. At the same time it enables us to find God in food itself.8 This way of eating, that is much more than munching and gulping, becomes a sacrifice by virtue of the prayer surrounding our meals. 68.4 2009 Dominic ¯ How You Eat Matters As St. Paul says, food is for the stomach and the stom-ach for food, and ultimately the body is for the Lord (1 Co 6:13). Sacrificial prayer, then, from hearts burn-ing with fervor for God, rises like incense and raises people's spirits while leaving them contented with their daily bread. It is the very opposite of making a god of one's belly (Ph 3:19)9 and sacrificing to it. This talk is not farfetched or feverishly imagined. It breathes the spirit of Jesus who, being more a mystic than an ascetic, ate with much gratitude to his Abba God and with the childlike merriment of having been blessed. When necessary he gave hungry people food, but he also chided them for not understanding their hunger aright. One may learn a lot from his controversy with them as they were looking for him the day after he had miraculously fed them with bread and fish to their hearts' content (Jn 6). He unveiled to them their own undignified thoughts regarding food and satisfaction. He warned them not to work for food that cannot give life, but for the food from God that gives eternal life. "God's bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Jesus told them that people do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God's mouth (Mr 4:4). Jesus' conduct in eating teaches about meal as sac-rifice. He takes the bread, looks up to heaven where his Abba Father dwells, gives thanks to him, and shares the bread with those around him generously, then pre-sumably eats along with them till finally making sure that nothing that remains goes to waste (Mt 14:19-20). While this pictures partly the proper Jewish uttering of a blessing such as "Praised be thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from earth," Jesus portrays more faithfully and characteristi- Review for Religious cally what his Abba intended when he led his people, feeding them with manna and so training them for life. His counsel to his eager listeners on the Mount is not to worry about food and drink. His words are meant to uplift them with the realization of their blessings on any given day, making of it a sacrifice of praise and grati-tude. The same spirit suffuses the prayer Jesus taught people to pray: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread" (Lk 11:2-3). Because our daily meals are ideally sacrifices filling us with gratitude and.uniting us with the bountiful Abba Father, Jesus began his unique sacrifice at an ordinary, if festive, meal, his last meal before he died. And there he bequeathed his new sacrifice in the form of a unique meal. It is with the same inspiration that he spoke of the heavenly life with God as a banquet of communion with God and all God's beloved (Mt 8:11, 22:2). What happens when, thinking of a penitential aspect of sacrifice, we lose sight of the sublime aspect of eat-ing and drinking? One answer is that then we cannot fully engage in the divine mystery of our Christian sac-rifice. We would even act contrary to the spirit of the sacrifice when we are not celebrating the Liturgy for-mally. The Corinthians did this, as Paul reminded them. When they came together for the Lord's Supper, they did not wait for the Lord. Paul says: "When you meet together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk" (1 Co 11:20-21). To spell out an implication in Paul's words, ordinary human meals should be much like the Lord's Supper. There is or should be etiquette and the spirit of sacrifice in every ordinary meal. 361 68.4 2009 Dominic * How You Eat Matters 362 The Hindu version of what happens when we do not honor the sacrificial aspect of human eating is best illustrated by a Hindu story. A man sought to know from a Hindu priest the greatest being in the universe worthy of a sacrifice. Following the clear instruction, he began offering food to the newly acquired idol in his house. One day he found a rat eating the offering. Inferring that the rat must be greater than the idol, he began making his sacrificial offering to the rat, till one day he saw a cat threatening the rat. So he began mak-ing his sacrifice to the cat. One day the man's wife saw the cat on an eating spree in the kitchen and chased it away with a stick2 Made aware of this greater power of his wife, he began making his sacrifice to her. Then one day, finding the meal she cooked and served too salty, he shouted at her. She quivered at his anger. That encounter made him feel superior to his wife, and so he began to offer food sacrificially to himself. He ate and ate until he died. Can anyone be so foolish? Not in such an obvious way, but most of us are probably about half that foolish. The really wise, of course, would know how to enjoy food and drink while recognizing that they are also part of the grateful sacrifice due to God. There is something beautiful and divine in such sacrifice pervading daily life without formal rubrics and yet illumining the rubrics of the altar. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God" (1 Co 10:31). Notes ~ There was a similar first occurrence of prayer, this one in Sanskrit, spoken by a Hindu in the Nevada State Assembly on 19 March 2007 and in the Nevada State Senate on 7 May 2007, both in Carson City. See Kaumudi USA-News, March 2007 (front page). 2 Some Muslims, however, would not agree on this. Review for Religious 3 Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1976), p. 30. 4 The word derives from the Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit. s See Bede Griffiths, A New Vision of Reality (New Delhi: Indus, 1992), pp. 58-59. 6 See John L. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1998), pp. 277-278. 7 Griffiths, New Vision, p. 61. The verse itself runs thus: "Nourished by your sacrifice, the Gods will grant you your heart's desires. / What a thief is he who enjoys their gifts but gives nothing in return!" (3:12). See Raimundo Panikkar et al., The Vedic Experience (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1977), p. 428. s As Jesus overturned the notion of unclean food in Jewish Pharisaism and declared all food clean (Mk 7:19), he would also declare all food good against what may be called Christian libertinism. 9 Of course, in the Pauline context the reference was to Jewish dietary laws that in Christianity were being superseded, whereas here it is the regrettable exaltation of food for food's sake. Questions for Personal and Group Reflection 1. How do you consider grace before and after meals meaningful to your Christian living? 2. Can you explain that the Last Supper exemplifies for us how our daily meals are "ideally sacrifices filling us with gratitude and uniting us with the bountiful Abba Father"? 363 68.4 2009 PATRICIA A. WITTBERG religious life models Opening a New Window: Fifteen Years after the FORUS Study More than fifteen years ago, Miriam Ukeritis csJ and David Nygren CM published their groundbreaking study, The Future of Religious Orders in the United States) In it they predicted that religious congregations had only a ten-year window of opportunity before the aging of their current members and the lack of new entrants would render them nonviable. Many resisted this prediction, refusing to believe it. Some spun visions of an alternate (and socio-logically naive) future in which religious con-gregations would expand to include married and single, vowed and nonvowed, Catholic and non-Catholic, male and female, all somehow gathered together under the aegis of a vaguely defined charism? Others, not knowing what to believe, considered religious life's future Patricia A. Wittberg SC wrote about the "recipro-cal identities" of apostolic life and consecrated life in our July-August 2002 issue. Her address remains 2141 Dugan Drive; Indianapolis, Indiana 46260. Email: pwittber@iupui.edu Review for Religious something they could do litde about and focused their diminishing energies on their ministries instead. Fifteen years later, for many religious congregations, the window of opportunity appears to have closed. Few if any of their members are under the age of sixty; no one has entered for ten or even twenty years; vocation directors are burned out or depressed. Many members coverdy believe--and some openly argue--that it is use-less and unethical to invite young people to enter. It is for these congregations, especially, that I am writing this article, but I offer it as well to communities which are in less dire straits. I. believe that both could profit from the following alternative. I would like to point out a different--and more sociologically feasible--path for the future of declining religious congregations. I do not see this as replacing traditional religious life--which is thriving on a smaller scale in some (but not all) of the CMSWR congregations in the United States, and on a larger scale in Africa and South Asia. There will always be a place in the church for the traditional model of religious life. But U.S. Catholic culture is no longer as hospitable to this model as it once was. If it were, several hundred, not a few dozen, traditional religious congregations would be springing up in this country, and they would be doubling in membership every decade. Such explosive growth was the norm for religious congregations founded in the 19th century, and it obviously is not happening today. This comparative lack of interest, however, does not indicate that present-day U.S. Catholics are unspiritual heathens. They simply are not attracted to the traditional model. I believe that American Catholicism would be bet-ter served if several other versions of religious life were also available to young Catholics. By"other versions" I 68.4 2009 tVittberg ¯ Opening a New Window A social movement is a wave of beliefs and/or actions that sweeps large numbers of persons into working toward a specific goal. 366 do not mean the lifestyles currendy being modeled by most of the non-CMSWR religious congregations. These are faring even worse than the traditionalist orders in attracting new members. Their charisms are still beau-tiful and, for the most part, still valid in today's world. But they are not being presented in a form that appeals to young Catholics today. Instead, I want to suggest a different strategy for handing on a congregation's charism to a new generation: starting one---or preferably severalmsocial-movement orga-nizations. To explain how this would work, I first need to define a few terms. Broadly considered, a social movement is a wave of beliefs and/or actions that sweeps large numbers of persons into working toward a specific goal. Examples are the civil-rights movement, the women's movement, the envi-ronmental movement, and the right-to-life movement. Each of these movements may con-tain dozens of separate social-movement organizations (SMOs) which focus on particular activities, particular groups of people, or particular issues related to the larger movement's goals. Thus, the environmental movement includes large organiza-tions like the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, and Greenpeace and also many smaller groups that focus on saving the monarch butterfly, cleaning up a local river, opposing the dumping of toxic waste, and so forth.3 There have been religious social movements and, thus, religious social-movement organizations as well. In Review for Religious Protestantism, a succession of social movements called "Great Awakenings" sparked a host of religious revival groups throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several of which developed into full-fledged denominations such as the Mormons, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and the various Pentecostal churches. In Catholicism, waves of devotionalism swept through both 17th-century France and 19th-century North America,4 spinning off pilgrim-age societies, sodalities, and prayer groups devoted to particular saints, scapulars, or novenas. These were not .religious orders at their inception, but some later did develop in that direction. Other times they simply strengthened the existing orders. I am suggesting that religious congregations con-sciously try to foster something similar today. Most still have one or more members who are passionate about meeting some particular need in today's world, be it sav-ing the environment, feeding the poor, sheltering home-less women and children, providing free medical care to the uninsured, or mentoring the spiritually searching,s Many of these members have already worked out a more or less specific theology to ground their activities and to explain how their passion fits with the congregation's charism. Some have recruited a corps of volunteers to help them in. their work. To paraphrase the famous line from MoliEre,6 they are already "forming a religious SMO without knowing it." However, these passionate members are often less connected to the rest of the con-gregation. For years, even decades, the other members may have left them alone to "do their own thing." But it is only a small step from what these indi-vidual religious are already instinctively doing, for their congregation deliberately to form and maintain several SMOs to enflesh its charism for subsequent genera- 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New Window 368 tions. All that remains is to help each incipient group to articulate its identity publicly, to specify clearly its religious grounding in the congregation's charism, and to take specific steps to ensure its leadership continuity and stable membership. This might simply involve: ¯ Picking a name connected with both the charism of the congregation and the specific focus of the group: "Vincentian Servants of the Homeless," "Franciscan Brothers and Sisters of the Earth," "Centering Pray-ers," and so forth. ¯ Adopting an identifiable sign of group affiliation, for example, a common T-shirt or a medal. ¯ Maintaining a public-relations effort to inform potential volunteers, donors, other members of the con-gregation, and the church at large about the group's existence and to attract them to its mission. ¯ Spelling out the criteria for entering and exiting the group, expectations of membership, and ongoing group governance. Previous evidence indicates that, paradoxically, groups with more rigorous expectations are more likely to succeed than those which demand less of their adherents.7 The first two steps are relatively simple, and may already have been taken. But they are not enough. Unless some provision is made for the continuance of the SMO, it may not survive its founder's retirement. The founding brother or sister may be neither inter-ested in nor skilled at such bureaucratic maintenance activities. For the remaining steps, therefore, a religious congregation may be able to offer valuable help from its communications office (for the third task), and its leadership (for the fourth). The kind of social-movement organization I am advocating may or may not be represented by a con- Review for Religious gregation's associate program. A congregation's associ-ates could certainly be this kind of group--but only if they are organized around a readily articulated spiri-tual focus and/or apostolic activity that distinguishes associate membership from the larger call given to any Catholic. Simply stating that associates are devoted to "living the charism of the founder" is not enough. The more focused the associates' commitment--whether in monthly or weekly prayer/lectio according to the founder's spirituality, or in working on a regular basis with the vowed members in their ministry, or in staffing some auxiliary ministry that complements that of the vowed members--the more my SMO proposal here can be applied to them. Otherwise, an associateprogram will not be sufficiendy distinct from the lifestyle of non-associates to enflesh the order's charism on its own. Advantages of the SMO Model I am suggesting that some congregations--especially those whose members have tacitly abandoned the hope of attracting new vowed members--make a point of acknowledging this and then start to recruit people for their present members' particular SMOs. What would be the advantages of such a strategy? First of all, any given religious congregation will survive only to the extent that its members are passionately devoted to some particular version of their founding charism. The future of religious life does not rest with the tired or apathetic, but after a long period of decline many religious now are both. Most congregations have only a few members with the needed passion and enthusiasm. Moreover, these members may not all be focused on the same passion. Some may live and breathe God's call to serve the poor; others may devote their energies to preserving God's 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New Window Any given religious congregation will survive only to the extent that its members are passionately ~devoted to some particular version of their founding charism. 370 creation through environmental activities; still others, with a more contemplative bent, may foster spirituality through centering prayer, pastoral counseling, or reli-gious art or music. A religious order faced with only a handful of healthy and passionate vowed members, each deeply devoted to a different passion, faces a serious dilemma. It can either focus on one of these passions to the exclu-sion of the others (which would be profoundly alien-ating to those left out), or it can try to include all of them (which dilutes the con-gregation's spe-cific identity and its ability to rally its members around a common goal). Either way, a congregation's ability to recruit to vowed membership is weakened if its remaining passion-ate members are devoted to different articulations of its charism, because its overall corporate mission identity will be weak.8 In contrast, enfleshing these articulations in several different SMOs would strengthen a congregation and improve the chances for its charism to survive. Since each SMO's participants are not necessarily vowed to the congregation, it is not only possible but desirable that several could exist under the same congregational "rOOfo''9 The more different SMOs a congregation's members "spin off," the greater the chance that one, at Review for Religious least, will catch fire. As I will argue below, this may then become the seed for the congregation's future. A second advantage of the SMO approach is that it is a sociologically feasible way of incorporating temporary members or inviting specific demographic groups into the congregation's family. The prospect of temporary membership in permanently vowed religious congrega-tions has been discussed for over thirty years without ever coming to fruition.'° This is probably a sign that the concept is unworkable. A host of decisions would need to be faced in a congregation that included both permanent and temporary members: financial expec-tations, for example, or voice and vote in chapters. Maintaining a distinction between the two groups could imply a second-class status for the temporary members; erasing the distinction would depreciate the perpetually vowed members' commitment. Also, there is not now and never has been any indi-cation that large numbers of potential entrants are clamoring for the option of temporary membership in communities with perpetual vows. If anything, the opposite is the case. In contrast, however, various lay movements that are similar to SMOs are thriving in the church--which may be a sign that the model is a more compatible and sociologically viable Way of enfleshing a religious call in today's world.'1 Lay social-movement organizations are compat-ible with temporary commitment. In fact, many actu-ally expect that their members will stay no more than three or four years. Prayer or volunteer groups specifi-cally targeting high school or college students would be examples of these. A recently begun group is the St. Joseph of Arimathea Society--groups of high school students in Cleveland and Louisville who help provide 371 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New Window A final advantage of religious ¯ social-movement organizations is that it is less devastating for the members if they dissolve. dignified and reverent funeral services for homeless peo-ple, and for murder victims and deceased old and young people whose relatives are too few or too devastated to arrange a funeral themselves. The students provide sing-ers and pallbearers, tend the "potter's field" cemetery, and collect money for flowers and grave markers. More traditional examples of student organiza-tions include prayer groups (Athletes for Christ, rosary or adoration societies) or twinning arrange-ments with a school in a poor area. There is no expectation that the students will remain members of these groups after their graduation, although they may be directed to affiliated adult groups which they may or may not choose to join. A final advantage of religious social-movement orga-nizations is that it is less devastating for the members if they dissolve. While no data exist on the number of failed attempts that preceded or accompanied the suc-cessful founding of religious orders in previous centu-ries, anecdotal evidence in our histories indicates that at least as many attempts to found religious orders have failed as succeeded. This appears to be true today as well. Of the 97 new religious communities listed in the 1999 Directory of Embrging Religious Communities, 24 had dissolved by 2006, and another 21 had lost members.~2 Founding or truly refounding a religious order is a chancy business, and those who commit their lives to one of these new groups risk losing both financial security Review for Religious and mental/emotional health if they fail. Committing oneself to an SMO carries with it many fewer risks. Outcomes For those religious who are concerned for the pres-ervation of their congregation's charism, forming one or more SMOs could have several beneficial results: ¯ Social-movement organizations may be effective recruit-ment vehicles for vowed membership. With few religious teaching in Catholic schools, most young Catholics have never seen a sister or brother. And few religious inter-act with anyone younger than fifty on a deep or regu-lar basis. How can young Catholics join a lifestyle they know so little about? How can religious invite those they never see? Participating with vowed religious on an ongoing basis in a soup kitchen, a prayer group, or an ecological project will help young people get to know the religious involved--and vice versa. ¯ One particular social-movement organization may develop into the vehide that will carry a congregation's charism into the next generation, after all of the former vowed mem-bers are gone. If so, this would finally realize the inclusive ¯ scenario that the "Transformative Elements" painted for the future of religious life twenty years ago. How could anyone say that a religious charism was extinct if, instead of a small number of vowed religious, an SMO of married, single, Catholic, and non-Catholic men and women were living it out by feeding the hungry, praying a particular devotion, tutoring poor children, or in some other way were bringing the founder's original vision into the 21st century? "Life is not ended, merely changed." ¯ A truly successful social-movement organization will often, however, contain a number of members who do want to devote their entire lives to its vision. It may 373 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New Window be that these members will not join the original community, but will instead begin a new one. If the first community is still around at this point, their wisdom and experi-ence would be invaluable for the new group. If not, the stories of the SMO's original founder--the sister who started a free clinic in Appalachia, the brother whose soup kitchen mobilized a city to feed the poor--will serve as a template. After all, Frederick Ozanam (the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society) lived sev-eral centuries after Vincent himself. St. John Bosco had never met St. Francis de Sales. Throughout the millennium and a half that Catholic religious life has existed, many new religious orders or lay groups have been formed from old templates. SMOs could provide templates of this very kind. Next Steps I believe that social-movement organizations could be useful, both for religious congregations that have given up on recruiting vowed members, and also for more-viable communities that still attract some young people. For the former, it may be the last remaining way they have of passing on their charism to a new genera-tion. For the latter, it may help them attract even more new entrants. The next steps I would suggest to con-gregations wishing to found such organizations--or to foster the ones their individual members have already begun--are as follows: ¯ Take inventory of today's society: What are its deep-est needs or desires? As I have noted previously,~3 the best way to determine these needs is to look at what larger social movements are currently growing. The most pressing social movements reveal themselves by the large number of SMOs they spawn. Are there already Review for Religious a lot of small environmental groups? Prayer groups? Adoration groups? Groups working with the poor? Women's groups? Check out the directory of associa-tions on the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl. org/div/aon/)to find out. Is there room for another SMO, locally, in this movement? For example, is there a group that the movement currently does not reach, such as Hispanics or high school youth? Is there a new tactic or way of addressing the issue that existing SMOs do not use? Could adding your congregation's spirituality or charism deepen commitment to the social movement? ¯ Take inventory of your congregation: Who are your passionate members? What are their passions? How, if at all, do these passions relate to the charism of your founder? What larger social movements do these pas-sions relate to? Are your community's passionate mem-bers interested in leading or organizing a group to assist them in their work? Or, better, have they already done so? Are other members in your congregation interested in helping them? ¯ What does the group still need in order to succeed? Does it need to expand its pool of potential volunteers? Secure more stable funding? Plan for the founder's retirement? What is the optimum size for the group? Would expansion be good for it--or dilute its unique character? If the latter, can the group's model be "fran-chised" in some way, with separate independent chap-ters in various cities?14 ¯ What assistance can the congregation render? Can your communications office help to publicize the group? Can your vocation personnel and/or associates help locate new volunteers? Does the group need a place to meet? Need mentoring in finances or grant writing? What about retreats or prayer days on the charism? And 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New Window 376 who in the congregation could provide these services? A weakness in any new religious organization is its "liabil-ity of newness," which may lead to mistakes that imperil its very survival. A more experienced mentor could be a tremendous help. It is obvious by now that religious life is at the end of one of the cyclic downturns which have recurred over the centuries. Rather than resign ourselves to our "inev-itable" extinction--and thereby create a self-fulfilling prophecy--I think we should notice that the SMO model offers a way to midwife the new forms of religious life that will thrive and grow in the years ahead. The many permutations of this model already appearing--associ-ate programs, lay ecclesial movements, mixed emerg-ing communities--are foreshadowings, I believe, of an absorbing future. This is true even if most of them fail, as new ventures often do. More will continue to spring up until some "get it right." With their centuries-long experience and the passions of at least some of their vowed members, today's religious congregations could help in this rebirth. Notes ~ David Nygren and Miriam D. Ukeritis, The Future of Religious Orders in the United States: Transformation and Commitment (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1993). 2 A good example would be the third and fourth of the so-called "Transformative Elements" developed by the joint CMSM/LCWR meet-ing in Louisville in 1989--and cited on pp. 255 and following of Nygren and Ukeritis's book. Supposedly, this is what religious life would look like in the year 2010. In hindsight, it reflects more wishful thinking than any real-world trends for vowed religious life. 3 Fora fuller discussion of social movements and social-movement organizations, see my Pathways to Re-Creating Religious Communities (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1996), chap. 4. 4 See Elizabeth Rapley, The D~votes: Women and Church in Seventeenth Review for Religious Century France (Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1990), and Anne Taves, The Household of Faith: Roman Catholic Devotions in Nineteenth Century America (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986), for these waves of devotionalism. s My own congregation has individual sisters--of whom I am extremely proud--deeply involved in all of these activities. 6 Or maybe not so famous--the citation refers to a line from Moli~re's comedy Le bourgeois gentilhomme, in which a nouveau riche man is being tutored in literature and discovers that he has been speak-ing prose all of his life without knowing it. 7 See, e.g., Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), chap. 7. 8 According to the Nygren and Ukeritis study, mission identity is the principal variable influencing a congregation's success (see pp. 97-98). 9 Several religious families have known this instinctively. For exam-ple, my own Vincentian tradition includes, not only the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, and the various Sister of Charity Federation congregations, but also the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Ladies of Charity, Vincentian Marian Youth, the Association of the Miraculous Medal, and the Missionary Cenacle, all of which are move-ment organizations of nonvowed laypersons. Similarly the Salesian family includes, not only the Salesian priests and Visitation nuns, but other vowed religious such as the Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, the Missionaries of St. Francis, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, and the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, plus lay groups such as the Association of St. Francis de Sales and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. to I am not referring here to societies of apostolic life like the Daughters of Charity, who make annual vows, but rather to including an option for temporary membership in congregations whose members are now expected to make perpetual vows. Moreover, even among the Daughters of Charity, there is the assumption that one's annual vows are really for life. ~' According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Emerging Communities of Consecrated Life in the United States (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2006, p. 16), ten of the twelve most rapidly growing new indigenous emerging communities in the U.S. are mixed communities with some, or all, lay members. t2 CAP, A, Emerging Communities, p. 16. 377 68.4 2009 Wittberg ¯ Opening a New V~ndow ,3 Wittberg, Pathways, pp. 80-85. ,4 The above-mentioned St. Joseph of Arimithea Society seems to operate through "franchises"--the Cleveland and Louisville chapters appear to be separate from each other. Many.other groups enlisting high school or college students operate similarly. A Sampler of Potential (and Actual) Religious SMOs 1. "Franchised" Youth Groups (local school chapters, perhaps with a national headquarters supplying materials or training) a. Volunteers supporting a local soup kitchen b. A high school or college centering-prayer group c. Group spiritual direction, big brother/sister spiritual mentoring d. Adoration societies, sodalities 2. Ministry Groups (non-age-specific, perhaps linked nationally in a network or association) a. Supporting crisis pregnancies b. Companioning the dying c. Running a women's shelter d. Strengthening marriages 3. Spirituality Groups (may have a centralized head-quarters and/or a youth branch - see #1, above) a. Devotion to a particular saint b. Performance of a particular spiritual practice (Eucharistic adoration, centering prayer, pilgrimages) c. Spiritual mentoring, group spiritual direction 4. Lifestyle Groups a, Simple living b. Intentional communities c. Peace and reconciliation Review for Retigious WILLIAM P. CLARK Revisiting Religious Identity mnthe years following the Second Vatican Council, uch attention was focused on changes in religious life. Much writing and much effort have been directed toward rethinking or reimaging religious life. In light of all that, one might be tempted to say "Enough already!" An old saying has it that familiarity breeds contempt. Familiarity can also breed complacency and neglect. It might be good, then, to look once again at what it means to be a religious, to reflect on our religious iden-tity. Besides the decree on the renewal of religious life, Perfectae caritatis, Vatican Council II also spoke of the role of religious in Lumen gentium, the dogmatic con-stitution on the church. In chapter 6, §44, we read that the religious state "manifests in a special way that the kingdom of God and its high requirements transcend all earthly considerations, bringing home to all people William P. Clark OMI, longtime teacher and administrator, lives at St, Henry's Oblate Residence; 200 North 60th Street; Belleville, Illinois 62223. 379 68.4 2009 Clark ¯ Revisiting Religious Identity the immeasurable greatness of the power of Christ in his sovereignty and the infinite might of the Holy Spirit marvelously working in the church.'" The council is simply saying religious life gives special witness that, above and beyond earthly values, there is something we call the kingdom of God. While religious life's characteristic witness is spe-cial, it is not exclusive. It is the duty of all Christians to give witness to the kingdom of God. All Christians, be they lay or religious, are committed to living out their baptismal consecration. Emphasis on the common voca-tion of all Christians highlights what is of fundamental importance, the fullness of Christian life informed by charity. That emphasis also counteracts any tendency to draw unfavorable comparisons between the lay and religious states, as though laypersons are somehow sec-ond- class citizens or "children of a lesser God." That broad emphasis on all Christian life is rooted in the most ancient tradition of monasticism. In his masterful study The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers, Louis Bouyer finds certain constants in the literature of monasticism. He affirms them because they were some-what obscured by later developments. One such insight is that the primitive monk did not appear special. Whether by himself or others, his vocation was not considered par-ticular or exceptional. The monk was simply a Christian, a devout layperson who took the most radical means to live the Christian life to the fullest. The monk proposed no other end than to be saved. All his life, the monk asked for no other teaching from his elders than the means of attaining that goal. His fundamental and persistent ques-tion was: "Tell me. How can I be saved?" Two points need emphasis. First, holiness, the fullness of Christian life, is not something reserved Review for Religious to religious, while laypersons are called to something less. Second, religious are to focus on the essential, on the search for union with God, and not see holi-ness as something incidental or distinctive which sets them apart from "ordinary" Christians. Fundamental to religious identity is one's identity as a Christian. It is the fullness of the Christian experience that constitutes Christian identity. There are three major elements in the Christian expe-rience. The first is not distinctively Christian. It is the human preamble. It consists in discovering that human happiness and fulfillment are not brought about by tak-ing. We all start out that way, looking for that certain something or combination of things which, if we could only latch on to it and make it our own, would provide fulfillment. The Christian experience becomes possible once we realize that what we really seek is something or someone to give ourselves to, something or someone greater and nobler than ourself. It is a search for some-thing or someone that will endow our life with meaning and purpose. Finding that something or someone is the beginning of faith as a lived reality. It becomes the basis of all commitment worthy of the name. The second element makes the experience specifi-cally Christian. It consists in finding that greater-than-self reality in the person of Jesus Christ. It is finding in his words meaning for our life. It is finding in his life the pattern and model for our own. The third element is the desire to share what we have found. We want others to find the meaning and purpose that have become our own. We want to live out this meaning and purpose in love for one another. The full Christian experience, then, is apostolic and missionary. 381 68.4 2009 Clark * Revisiting Reli#ous Identity 382 If this Christian experience is not real in our lives, no amount of theorizing about what it is or should be will ever make it so. Furthermore, theorizing will not help much in our lives as religious. If the Christian experience is real, it can be progressively liberating, freeing from all those attitudes of mind and spirit that limit us to operating within the narrow confines of self-ish interests. Like all Christians, religious are to give witness by their lives to the possibilities open to everyone for liber-ation from enslaving attitudes like inordinate ambition, defensiveness, possessiveness, self-pity, and cynicism. The life of religious should also be an active witness to joy, to hope, and to love. The call to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity seems so daunting that peo-ple often try to evade its challenge. In doing so, lay-persons sometimes say that holiness is something for religious and priests, not for "ordinary" persons like themselves. Likewise, religious sometimes find a type of escape through dependence on the system. Religious life involves a kind of system that includes public vows, constitutions and rules, and a goodly number of prac-tices found in the traditions of various religious insti-tutes. We might think just plugging into the system will make us as holy as we need to be. It is easy to just coast along. All too easily we can come to rate as virtue whatever is conformable to our religious surroundings. Custom and routine can so enslave us as to dispense us from personal decision. Of course, custom and routine, as well as the regular practices and exercises of religious life, are also great helps--if we understand and use them righdy. They do not, however, carry us all the way. They reflect the fact Review for Religious that in choosing to be religious we have set the direction of our lives. But they do not guarantee we never lose that direction. The need for ongoing renewal is simply the need to reaffirm, to reset our direction. The human condition is such that nothing can be taken for granted except the constancy of God's grace, of his invitation. Another point on which the council spoke explic-itly is religious consecration. Everyone of the faithful is consecrated to the divine service by baptism. Clearly, in various contexts the word "consecration" has various meanings, causing difficulties to be raised about how this idea applies to religious. In address-ing those difficulties, the council begins by relating religious con-secration to baptism. Religious consecra-tion adds nothing to the baptism's sacramental character. It is, however, in the line of baptismal grace. That grace can be lived in varying degrees of intimacy. The coun-cil speaks of religious as being "more intimately conse-crated to the divine service." That phrase is significant. It does not say "more strictly" or anything that might seem to emphasize some form of legal obligation. What the council points out by those words is that baptismal consecration can be interiorized to a greater or lesser extent by grace and by love. Ultimately, the truth of every Christian life consists in one's baptismal consecration. But God calls people to live out that consecration in different ways. For religious The call to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity seems so daunting that people often try to evade its challenge. 68.4 2009 Clark ¯ Revisiting Religious Identity the call to God's service is more explicitly determined. It takes on a particular form or style. To put that a bit differently, for religious the vital response called for by God's loving initiative is made concrete in a specific and distinctive way. By making a certain explicit profession of the evan-gelical counsels, persons technically become religious. The purpose of such profession is to commit ourselves more explicitly and more profoundly to living our bap-tismal consecration. At one time religious profession was commonly called "a new baptism" in homilies at profession ceremonies. In those days it was not always adequately explained. The council statements revitalized and clarified that idea. In reflecting on religious consecration, it is important to realize that such consecration is the work of God. Virtually every page of Scripture speaks of God's initiative in regard to creatures. Jesus told his disciples: "You have not chosen me. I have chosen you." Passages like that have a particular resonance for religious. It is God who calls religious and consecrates them through the church's ministry. Because it is God's work, religious consecration is permanent. God's choice and God's fidelity are unchanging. God is constant in the grace he offers, in his call. Our challenge is to keep trying to respond generously to that call. Religious consecration represents a special instance of the mysterious interaction between grace and human freedom. Obviously it is essential that those consecrat-ing themselves to God's service be free. At the same time we must recognize that the consecration is ulti-mately God's work. Religious profession has never been considered a sacrament by the church. In recent years many things have been referred to as "sacraments," in a broad sense Review for Religiot~s of the word. In the strict sense, religious profession is not a sacrament. That does not mean, however, that religious profession has no reality beyond the disposi-tion and conduct of the subject. Religious consecration is something accorded to free persons precisely as free. To be received, the consecra-tion requires a personal response to God's call. That response includes certain characteristics. It must be sufficiently enlightened, conscious, and free. A person's intention and the vows which formulate that intention are eminently free acts. Conversely, when the church dispenses from vows, she judges that in reality there was some impediment to freedom in the original profes-sion, something lacking in what was offered for divine consecration. The fact that religious consecra-tion is not a sacrament does not mean nothing more is involved than the liberty of the one making vows. On God's part the engagement is indefectible. A vocation consists in a person's being called to a cer-tain manner of life. Each vocation has its own structure and laws. Those laws are not to be understood as some-thing imposed from the outside. They derive from the very nature of the life in question. To ignore structure and laws proper to religious life would be to think of reli-gious life as funny putty which can take on any shape one gives it. History shows significant variations in the forms of religious life. But, in the last analysis, that life must always be directly related to what is most fundamental in Christianity, the search for God and growth in charity. A vocation consists in a person's being called to a certain manner of life. 68.4 2009 Clark * Revisiting Religious Identity In the Christian understanding of life, the goal is progress in charity. Jesus made it clear that love of God and love of neighbor sum up the whole law. Love gives ultimate value to what we do. That is why religious con-secration is wholly directed towards love of God and neighbor. It is precisely that love which gives the value of consecration to the activity of the religious. The idea that one's activities must continuously be animated by charity is certainly not new. We have heard it countless times in one form or another. Nor is it distinctive. It is true for everyone. By religious profession we are committed to that goal more explicitly, more officially, as it were. On the part of religious, the consecration of one's life consists in using distinctive means for achieving the common Christian goal of progress in charity. My cir-cumstances, my state of life, determine the means that are most appropriate for me. Jacques Maritain offered an excellent definition of means. He said means are the end in the process of coming to be. Thus, at each moment of our journey toward the perfection of love, we make that end real by employing the appropriate means, Perhaps we should emphasize the word "journey." While we hope we are on the right road and we try to keep moving in the right direction, we never reach the end, the perfection of love, in this life. Another way to put that is to say that holiness is not so much a place we arrive as it is the way we travel. Consciousness of our shortcomings and failures makes us reluctant to think of ourselves as holy. A num-ber of years ago Archbishop John Roach of St. Paul, in a pastoral letter on spirituality titled A Friendship Unlimited, offered a valuable insight in this regard. He wrote: "It's a funny thing, but for years I couldn't imag- Review for Religious ine thinking of myself as holy. I was equating holiness with perfection, and I knew I simply didn't have that. It is clear to me now that holiness is the desire to be a friend of Jesus Christ and to surrender my will to God. I may stumble along with that. I have so far--but, so long as I continue a sincere effort toward that goal, I am holy." It might help also to remind ourselves of one charac-teristic of holiness that is often overlooked. It is compat-ible with human frailty. Many stories and most statues of saints give a wrong impression, an impression of otherworldliness that obscures the fact that those saints were real human beings with human faults and weak-nesses. Examples are plentiful. St. Augustine was given to rages. St. Thtr~se of Lisieux had bouts of depression. St. Vincent de Paul, the great saint of charity, was said to be bilious and subject to fits of anger. St. Jerome was aggressive and insulting to persons who disagreed with him. In fact, one of his contemporaries said of Jerome that his malice was such that no saint could live within miles of him. The secret of all of those people is that they never gave up struggling and working to overcome their human weaknesses. They knew what counts is not the triumphant victory of total perfection, but persevering effort. Teresa of Avila said we should strive and strive and strive, for we were made for nothing else. She was right, of course, but the way she said it makes it sound hard. And it is a constant challenge. We cannot gloss over that. But I like the way T.S. Eliot put it when he said: "We are only undefeated because we keep 6n trying." In question 186 of the Secunda Secundae of his Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas treats of things that per-tain to the religious state. He speaks at length of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and argues their ,387 68.4 2009 Clark ¯ Revisiting Religious Identity necessity for religious perfection. He points out that "a person cannot offer his whole life to God directly because that life is not lived all at once, but only suc-cessively. Hence, a person can only offer his whole life to God through the obligation imposed by vows" (my translation). Thus, our real challenge is not the perfor-mance of heroic acts, however beautiful, however noble, for every human act is by nature transitory. Our real challenge is the heroism of a whole life, offered to God without measure, without reservation, without regret. This is done through religious consecration, through the vows. And in this the entire person, mind and heart, must be involved and permanently involved. Note ' The Vatican translation and the revised Flannery translation, melded. See Lumen gentium, chapter 6, §44: "Regni Dei denique super omnia terrestria elevationem eiusque summas necessitudines peculiari modo patefacit [status religiosus]; supereminentem quoque magnitudi-nem virtutis Christi regnantis atque infinitam Spiritus Sancti potentiam in Ecclesia mirabiliter operantem, cunctis hominibus demonstrat." Ed. 388 Questions for Personal and Group Reflection If religious sisters and brothers are identified with the laity, how do you claim their special religious identity? 2. Has Clark been helpful in underlining aspects of religious identity that distinguish religious life for priests, sisters, and brothers? Would you want to add or subtract anything? Review for Religious LEO J. HERIOT Encounters Early and Late: John Bosco and Paul Saul was present at the stoning of the lov-able Stephen, and perhaps this increased the Pharisee's desire for Christian blood. Fernand Prat says, "Not content with being present at the torture of the victims, he entered into houses and dragged out the inmates, both men and women, to hale them to the dungeons."' Saul set out on the trail of Christians not to evangelize them but in pursuit of them to bring them to what he thought was justice. He had asked the priests to give him the offi-cial mission to seek out Jesus' disciples in the synagogue of Damascus and drag them before the Sanhedrin. In the Acts of the Apostles we have three accounts of the vision on the way to Damascus (9:1-19; 22:3-21; 26:12-20). It is Luke who makes the first announcement of Leo J. Heriot SDB wrote for us about Margaret Bosco in 2007. His address is now Don Bosco House; PMB Government Buildings; Suva, Fiji-Islands. exemplars of faith 389 68.4 2009 Heriot ¯ Encounters Early and Late this event; later we hear Paul giving his own account. The accounts agree on the important points: the occa-sion, the place, the time of day, the dazzling light, Saul's fall to the ground, his dialogue with the mysterious voice, his blindness, the return of his sight, and the total change in his life. From being a firebrand of a persecutor, he became a sower of the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The whole change of his behavior, his heeding of the strong voice's words, and his subsequent dedica-tion to a new cause make us aware that he was not led by fanaticism or goaded on by personal ambition. Jesus Christ seized him, pulled him close to himself. From the accounts of this conversion, nothing presaged it, noth-ing hinted that the fierce Pharisee would change regard-ing this person Jesus Christ, changing and becoming a disciple of Jesus and a preeminent apostle. Looking at this conversion, one gets the impression that it is beyond human explanation. It would be folly to try to find some simple plausible human causality. Pauline theology gives pride of place to the empow-erment of grace, and Saul was certainly under the influence of grace. It is not possible to explain this con-version apart from divine grace. Paul helps us with these assertions from his writings: "Have I not seen Jesus, our Lord?" (1 Co 9:1). "Last of all, as one untimely born, he appeared also to me" (1 Co 15:8). Grace found in this man fertile soil that would produce a great extension of the stoW of Jesus, a stoW that would make people aware of the immense, unfolding gift God gave to Saul and to the world on Saul's way to Damascus. Saul's encounter with the risen Lord as he sought to obliterate that Lord's message had a huge influence on him. One of the Apostle's boldest and most profound Review for Religious teachings was that of Christians' being incorporated into Christ's mystical body. For this Pharisee, Paul, Christ becomes all in all; Christ becomes everything. This idea is contained in seminal form in the question Jesus puts to the blinded Saul: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Ac 9:4). Paul was not attacking Jesus directly; he was defending his Pharisaism by trying to prevent Jews from falling into the ways of this crucified "reformer" of Judaism. In Saul's conversion God's grace is evident, work-ing a transformation immediately. It is like the blinding flash of light. The extraordinary illumination appar-ently brought about Saul's immediate com-pliance with Jesus' words and his swift transformation into a disciple and apostle. The stunned Saul changed his course once and for all. He found himself in a new world, a world almost alien to the life he had lived until then. Paul was overwhelmed by a new faith, a belief in the person of Jesus Christ as his Lord and master. He began a new and demanding life that only a strong and deep faith and love could sustain. He expresses that faith in his Letters to the Galatians and the Romans, an active faith that revolutionizes the whole person and alters the direction of people's lives. From the moment of his conversion the gaze of Saul is riveted on the person of Jesus Christ. We would go too far, however, if we reduced Paul's life to the moment One of the Apostle's boldest and most profound teachings was that of Christians" being incorporated into Christ's mystical body. 391 68.4 2009 Heriot ¯ Encounters Early and Late of his conversion. His continuing deep reflection on the mystery of God's love strengthened him as he went about his apostolic life. Our beliefs, too, are not simply the result of our reading or reflection, but come from God's communication with us, often in the quiet con-templation of a Divine Master stretching out his hand to us and telling us to find him in our contemplative awareness of others and ourselves. 392f The Boy from Becchi, Another Man of Zeal In an audience on 21 March 1858, Pope Pius IX, now Blessed, told the priest from Turin: "When you get back to Turin, Don Bosco, you write down these dreams and everything else you have told me, minutely, and in their natural sense. Save all this as a legacy for your Congregation so that it may serve as an encouragement and norm for your Sons.''2 After nine years this same pope questioned him once again. Don Bosco's reply was "I truthfully lacked the time. I was so taken with [any number of things]." The pope said, "Well then, I not only advise you, but order you to do it." Don Bosco promised to write down his early experiences, and he kept his word.3 In his poor handwriting Don Bosco scrawled out his first dream. "At the age of nine I had a dream that really changed my life and influenced me throughout my life. I dreamed I was near my house at Becchi, and a crowd of young boys had gathered there to have fun and play games. Some were playing, some were laughing, and not a few were cursing. Shocked by their expres-sions, I jumped in among the boys, swinging wildly and shouting at them to stop saying those things. At that moment a Person appeared among us. He was dressed in a long white robe, and his face radiated such light Review for Religious that I could not look at it. Suddenly he called me by name. 'Giovanni, you have to win these boys not by blows but with gendeness and kindness (bont~). So begin right now to show them that evil is ugly and virtue is beautiful.'" Although these words confused him, this little boy, nine years old in 1824, was being commissioned for God's work. He said, "I am so small and these are young men. What you are asking me to do seems to be impos-sible." But he was told: "What seems so impossible, you must achieve by being obedient and acquiring knowledge." The boy shouted, "You ask me to do the impossible!" The voice said, "I will give you a teacher under whose guid-ance you will learn and without whose help all knowl-edge becomes foolishness." Beside this Person stood the Lady to whom young Bosco's mother had taught him to pray regularly. The Lady, taking his hand, said, "Giovanni, look carefully. What do you see?" The crowd of boys was changed into goats, dogs, cats, bears, and various other animals. The Lady of his dream said to him, startlingly: "This is your field of labor." Then she gave him a one-word recipe for getting these boys to improve: "amorevolezza" (loving concern). The wild animals disappeared, having been turned into sheep. The Lady then told him, "In due time you will understand," and with that she put her hand on his head. At table for morning coffee he told his family about his dream. Each one said something different. His "At the age of nine I had a dream that really changed my life and influenced me throughout my life." 393 68.4 2009 Heriot * Encounters Early and Late brother Joseph said, "Oh, Giovanni, you are going to become a farmer looking after sheep and goats, caring for them." His brother Anthony said, "Oh, Giovanni, you are going to become the leader of a gang of ban-dits!" After other such remarks, their wise old grand-mother said in an authoritarian tone: "Giovanni, take no notice of dreams." And Mama Margaret said con-vincingly, "Prepare yourself, Giovanni, for your future apostolate." This, then, is what Pope Pius IX referred to in 1858 when he told Don Bosco: "This is the begin-ning and the foundation of your work. Give this dream to your Congregation and make it a part of their life." On the road to Damascus, Paul was astonished by the voice that changed his life. It had the power to change his life and send him on a new mission. While any comparison of nine-year-old John Bosco's dream to Paul's experience near Damascus would be lopsided, we may remind ourselves that both of them were impelled into a new life, a new apostolate, by mysterious expe-riences beyond usual explanation. Are there not many other divinely wondrous experiences as well? Why not keep them in mind? Notes ~ Fernand Prat, The Theology of St. Paul (London: Burns and Oates, 1964), p. 25. 2 The Biographical Memoirs ofSaintJohn Bosco, ed. Eugene Ceria SDB (New Rochelle, New York: Salesiana Publishers, 1980), vol. 5, p. 577. 3 Ceria, Biographical Memoirs, vol. 1. pp. 95-96. Review for Religious HILDA KLEIMAN On Hilda of Whitby ~ah~na tIr oennt eorre da tfheea msto dnaayst.e Ir yw, Ia hs ando nt orta cisheodse an Catholic, and I was not named after a saint, though I had a lovely name. After I entered, the prioress asked me to choose a patron, and I chose St. Hilda of Whitby. Initially I hesitated to choose her because, generally speaking, we do not know much about her. We know when she was born and died, where she lived, and some of the activities she pursued, activities for which she was well known and respected. But we know little about her character, her spirit, or her inner life. How did the tone of a gathering change when she walked into a room? How did she regard those whose lives and souls were entrusted to her care? Was her glance warm or cool? Did she have a glint in her eye? Answers to these ques-tions seemed permanently unavailable. A few months after I entered my community, I attended a concert given by Festival Chorale Oregon, Hilda Kleiman OSB writes from Queen of Angels Monastery; 840 S. Main Street; Mt. Angel, Oregon 97362. Email: ajkjune@juno.com 68.4 2009 Kleiman ¯ On Hilda of Wbitby a local, award-winning choir directed by Dr. Solveig Holmquist. I had been a student in her college choir for three years at Western Oregon University. I was excited to see her again, even from a distance, even from the back as she conducted the choir. When she entered the concert hall, she was as I had remembered--not tall or physically imposing, yet filled with a presence that shot through her spiky hair, her sharp eyes, and her earrings and many bracelets. I saw a woman in full possession of herself and the situation at hand. She stood before the choir and the orchestra, and they knew what to do sim-ply by the movements of her hands and a thin baton. I remembered standing before her with my eyes on every move she made. In every gesture, every expression, she embodied musician and conductor. She made the vocalists and musicians one as we let her lead us--as, with our minds but also our hearts, we let her be our breath to the very last note. When Dr. Holmquist arrived at Western, she had clearly learned how to draw people together. Shortly after being hired, she was told there were no students at Western who could really sing. Given that this was untrue, and even uncharitable, Dr. Holmquist did not listen. She simply set up a table at the activities fair at the beginning of the school year and started signing students up for auditions. By the end of the year, she had set the choral music program on its feet, doubling the size of the choir, planning tours, and establishing a student-led choir council. I began to see that music was Dr. Holmquist's life, and part of that life was invit-ing the rest of us into the music in whatever way was appropriate for each of us. I loved her for it, and I still do. Though I do not think I would have used the word at the time, I see now Review for Religious that what I received from Dr. Holmquist was a deep and vigorous image of vocation. I have no doubt that through the music she is doing what God created her to do. Shortly before I graduated, I tried to say as much to her. In her office one morning, I described what I saw in her. I said I was not a born musician like her, but rather a writer and a reader, and I was looking for my own purpose in life. The day I attended the Festival Chorale concert was November 17th, the feast day of St. Hilda, and the first time I observed her feast day as my own. As I watched and remembered Dr. Holmquist, some of the reasons why I choose Hilda began to emerge. It was not about wanting to be an abbess as Hilda was, any more than it was about wanting to be a cho- , ral conductor. It was not about imitation in such a specific sense, but about living in the presence of someone who could play a part in calling me to be who I am supposed to be and to do what I am meant to do. It was about the profound effect just one person who is living her vocation may have on those around her. If I imagined myself as a member of Hilda's monastery, much as I had been a member of Dr. Holmquist's choir, what could I learn about who I am supposed to be here and now? It was about the profound effect just one person who is living her vocation may have on those around her. 397 The Venerable Bede, an English monk and writer of the 8th century, is our sole source of historical infor- 68.4 2009 Kleiman ¯ On Hilda of Wbitby marion on Hilda. After serving as the abbess of several monasteries, she established at Whitby a double monas-tery, a community of monks and nuns. In his history of the English church, Bede tells us she taught those within her community to study the Scriptures thoroughly, to observe good works, and to foster many virtues, "but especially peace and charity." In part, the influence of her goodness was seen in the five outstanding men from her monastery who became bishops. In addition to her own monks and nuns, others from all walks of society sought her direction. In this way Hilda, "whom all her acquaintances called Mother because of her wonderful devotion and grace," guided many people to God along the path of their particular gifts and circumstances. Bede also gives us the story of Caedmon, a shy sheep-herder whom "God's grace made remarkable." One night Caedmon received a vision from God in which a man asked him to compose and sing him a song. Caedmon answered that he could not sing, and the man replied "But you shall sing to me," and he did, thus becom-ing the first poet of the English language. When Hilda learned of Caedmon's gift, she invited him to become a monk and be instructed in sacred history, which he then rendered into beautiful music and poetry. Caedmon soon became not just a poet but a disciplined and beloved member of the community as well. At his death he asked if there were any who held any ill will against him, and he was assured that there was not. When then asked if he was at peace with those attending him, he replied, "I am at peace with all the servants of God." Among well-known events of church history, Whitby is known as the site of the synod in 664 at which the controversy between the Celtic and Roman dates for observing Easter was resolved. The problem disturbed Review for Religious many people, Bede tells us, even to the point that they feared "that they might have received the name Christian in vain." Those arguing for the Roman date were victo-rious, yet Bede describes Hilda and her community as favoring the Celtic practice. While he tells us the results of the synod, Bede does not describe Hilda's response to the decision. We do not know if in the end she was saddened, relieved, or pleased. From what we do know about her leadership, however, we can perhaps assume that many looked to Hilda for guidance as to how they should respond to this decision. We can see the great respect she had for the Scriptures and the wisdom of the church. We can see that she taught those around her to be of service in all peace and charity. Even as she neared her death, she urged those in her monastery to "maintain the gospel peace among themselves and with others." I imagine that Hilda had a profound sense of perspective, of knowing, in the end, which beliefs and practices held priority. Unity within the church mat-tered more than any particular date, and gracious accep-tance of the decision of the synod mattered more than the content of the arguments. I was aware of St. Hilda before I was a Catholic because I attended St. Hilda's Episcopal Church for sev-eral years during high school and college. St. Hilda's is a small community; the church holds perhaps fifty peo-ple on a Sunday. I met the vicar, Noel Knelange, when I first arrived, and about a year later Noel's husband Bill was ordained a deacon. I attended the ordination and sang in the choir, helping to lead the congregation out of the church singing "The King's Highway" for the recessional. During the service I was taken aback 399 68.4 2009 Kleiman ¯ On Hilda of Whitby Bill's ordination gave me the image of dedicating one's life to God alone, and Noel, bluntly and without~ pretense; connected ~that image, to me, 400] by the beauty of the liturgy and the fact that Bill was grounding his life and identity in his faith. Somehow God wanted him. God wanted exactly who Bill was, a middle-aged man, a deaf man deeply involved with the deaf community of the diocese, a man who loved to fish so much that during the homily the bishop gave him a new fishing pole, now that he would be a fisher of men. Afterwards, during the reception in the parish hall, I was standing near Bill and Noel, probably eating a cookie, when Noel turned to me and said, "Well, you could do this too you know!" What? I did not want to be a deacon or a priest. I did not understand why she said that, and we never talked about it later. I forgot about Noel's words until after I had become a Catholic and been a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, Oregon, for several years--even though I had often wondered when the thought of becoming a nun first came to me. Bill's ordination gave me the image of dedicating one's life to God alone, and Noel, bluntly and without pretense, connected that image to me. The seed of the idea of staking everything on "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," as we read in the Letter to the Hebrews, was planted and would take root in ways I never suspected. Just a few years Review for Religious later, I was led to the Catholic Church, to a Benedictine monastery, and to a surprising new relationship with St. Hilda, a relationship reflected in women like Solveig Holmquist and Noel Knelange. Regardless of whether they were aware of all the details, they could and would change the course of a life in a single breath, with a single word. The name Hilda comes from the Old English and means "Battle Maiden," a fact I learned only after I received the official word from .the prioress that I could take Hilda as my new name at my final profession. I took to the image of the Battle Maiden immediately--the tension between toughness and gentleness, knowledge and innocence, between what we think we know and what we in fact do not, a tension not to be resolved but used as ingeniously as possible until the day of death. Other people have taken to my choice of the name Hilda, to the "Batde Maiden" too. "Battle on, maiden!" says my mom before she hangs up the phone. After ask-ing me to explain the meaning of Hilda to my class-mates, one of my seminary professors warns that "from now on, you gendemen better look out!" The best, how-ever, is my friend Ania. With her I have established The Society of Honorary Battle Maidens. We have taken as our charter the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." To bet- 401 68.4 2009 Kleiman ¯ On Hilda of Wbitby ter understand our society, I have listed qualities of the Battle Maiden, which include the following and will surely be added to as I ponder this further: ¯ A persistent love, grounded in the love of God that pursues us without end. She can keep extending her love for other people, regardless of how they respond, if at all. If she feels hurt by this, she takes it to mean that her efforts were not the most gracious way to love this particular person, and it is time to try something else. She is intelligent, so her persistence does not suggest beating her head against a wall, but rather keeping her wits about her and being willing, always willing, to try again. ¯ The beginning of an understanding of the fourth step of humility in the Rule of St. Benedict: "The fourth step of humility is that, in this obedience under diffi-cult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions, his [or her] heart quietly embraces suffering and endures it without weakening or seeking escape." She does not, in the end, resent that this step asks her to endure injustice, even contradiction, for the sake of the God she loves. She accepts that sometimes such endurance will require her to speak her mind, to name what is difficult, recognizing that endurance can be more than just waiting for the bad to run its course. Bravery of heart becomes part of her core. She understands that false sisters and broth-ers (and are not we all false and contradictory at one time or another) are part of reality; to deny this is of no use to anyone. She uses their words and actions to strengthen her reliance on the Lord so that it remains possible for her to pray for her enemies. ¯ An enduring kindness that she tries to exercise in any situation, par.ticularly in her words. At times, she may manifest her kindness in ways that are more tra- Review for Religious ditionally recognized as kindness--offering to lend a hand in household tasks, greeting guests with courtesy and assisting them in their needs, acknowledging the accomplishments of others with a sincere compliment. Kindness, however, is also needed in more challenging situations. It is a kindness to try to change the sub-ject when she hears murmuring or gossip about some-one who is not present. It is a kindness to walk away and not participate even by listening when this tactic fails, perhaps biting back the words rising in her throat that she would like to put everyone in their place with. Kindness calls her to address only in private any embar-rassing situations that involve another person, so as not to worsen the pain her words would likely cause if spo-ken publicly. To enjoy membership in The Society of Honorary Battle Maidens, you and I do not need to be in full possession of these qualities. We do need, however, to recognize their worth and strive to live with their inher-ent tensions, tensions that in the end are simply the tensions of the cross. Image Bearer One of a kind, Here for a reason, Plucked from the mire, Now wearing white, Bearing His likeness, I am immortal, A soul crafted By the Holy. Teresa Burleson 403 68.4 2009 Vv'ILLIAM PROSPERO World Youth Day and Religious Life sharing experience 40_4] Many vocation directors will confirm that a substantial number of candidates for seminar-ies and institutes of consecrated life consider a World Youth Day (WYD) experience to have been an important part of their discernment. Many candidates say they first thought seri-ously about religious life or the priesthood while on a WYD pilgrimage. What is it about WYD that promotes consecrated life? Sister Joseph Andrew, of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, asked me to speak about this very topic at a recent discernment retreat at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor. No less than a hundred 'thirty young women attended. When I asked how many had been to WYD, about one third raised their hands. The main reason for "only" a third, I William Prospero SJ is pastor of St. Mary's University Parish (on the campus of Central Michigan University); 1405 South Washington; Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48858. Emaih will.prospero@stmarycmu.org Review for Religious believe, is that most of them were too young to have attended any other WYD than the one in 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Sydney did not draw huge numbers from the United States because of the travel cost. Nonetheless, many of the young women present had managed to attend that WYD. I believe there are several reasons why WYD pro-motes consecrated life and priesthood. Though I do not have any statistical analysis to prove my points, I have a wealth of experience assisting young WYD pil-grims in their discernment about consecrated life or priesthood. I have attended four WYDs: Denver (1993), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), and Sydney (2008). I have served as a priest on the last three. I have wit-nessed more than ten pilgrims enter religious life or the seminary. The main reason, I believe, for the wealth of WYD vocations is that WYD gives a taste of life as a conse-crated person. Pilgrims experience about two weeks of consecrated living. WYD provides a veritable "trial run" of living the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In. living the vows on WYD, pilgrims experience the intense joy of the universal church gathered around the pope. They make the connection that living as a religious could be enjoyable and meaningful. The possibility of consecrated vocation becomes real for the first time in many pilgrims' lives. Pilgrims experience poverty the first day of com-mitting to go on WYD. They realize that the costs can be high. As I began recruiting for Sydney, I recall sev-eral students resisting, sa.ying $2,850 was too costly. My response was: "Do you want to go? Has God put this desire in your heart? If so, then commit and the money will come. I promise. And, if not, I will personally cover 405 68.4 2OO9 Prospero ¯ World Youth Day and Religious Life Trusting God for material needs is a tangible experience of religious poverty. 406 whatever you can't. But you must promise you will com-mit to this and try your best to raise the funds. I prom-ise you, God will provide." Every pilgrim had enough funds. On four WYDs I have never met a pilgrim who fell short of funds. For the 2008 WYD in Sydney, we took seventy pilgrims from the Diocese of Saginaw, each paying $2,850. There are stories of pilgrims finding funds flow-ing in from fund-raisers and from the most unexpected sources. Trusting God for material needs is a tangible experience of reli-gious poverty: God provides. Pilgrims trust him, and all works out. From the beginning, they learn that those who commit to a reli-gious pilgrimage are cared for by God. They learn this throughout WYD, beginning with their first moment of commitment. Poverty finds many manifestations, usually very inconvenient ones. As the pilgrimage officially begins, I speak of the "great ball of suffering" that one endures on WYD. For some reason, chaos and inconvenience reign. This makes trusting God mandatory, not optional. For example, because of delayed flights, our travel time from our departure to our host parish in Kiama, south of Sydney, was thirty-eight hours. And the last two hours were in a bus with a broken heater (it was winter there) while rain and forty Fahrenheit degrees of damp cold were welcoming us. These horrendous situations created the proper spirit in which to celebrate Mass, Revie;v for Religious namely, our sense of spiritual and actual poverty: "We are not in control!" Having celebrated Mass at a crowded boarding gate in the Los Angeles airport (LAX), we found special meaning in celebrating Mass again, hungry and cold, at the very end of our trip. I was reminded of the four thousand hungry and tired people in Mark 6:1-8 who were worn out from their journey, so Jesus fed them. It was as if Jesus intentionally brought the people out to a deserted place to experience their poverty and to see and taste the goodness of God. Poverty makes pilgrims hungry for Jesus. Another example of poverty happened at the Papal Welcome at Sydney's harbor. Afterwards we were hun-gry and cold. Several pilgrims collected our chits or tickets and got our meals, bags of hot stew (option: beef or pork). After getting the same victuals several days in a row, pilgrims were cheerfully dubbing them "barf bags." Our meals were being eaten on the ground or on cement blocks or wherever we could prop ourselves up. One night, however, several alert pilgrims found some plastic chairs and brought enough over for the group of seventy to sit. We could sit and eat! We were so grate-ful. I cannot recall ever feeling so grateful for having a chair to sit on. This is what WYD does: it makes the ordinary into a gift from God. Once one begins to see that everything, everything, is a gift, then one can start living a radical Christian life. So the gift of sitting, eat-ing, enjoying each other's company, and basking in the reality that we just saw in person the Vicar of Christ, all add up to an explosive experience of the joys of the kingdom. Poverty makes human experience more real, and opens us to the true value of community. How sim-ple and uncomplicated it all is. 407 68.4 2009 Prospero ¯ Worm Youth Day and Religious Life Over and over one witnesses pilgrims making sacrifices for the sake of the group. 4081 If pilgrims are properly prepared and guided, they have a wonderful experience of interacting positively with the opposite sex. Even sleeping conditions, oth-erwise inappropriate, become an experience of intense respect and honor of boundaries. One sees the "other" as sacred and as a fellow pilgrim on the way, some-one to be honored and respected. I have never known of any of our pil-grims engaging in actions that are meant for mar-ried couples. Sleeping shoulder to shoulder with two thousand other pilgrims may seem cause for temptation and raised eyebrows, but never have I seen anything but excellent moral behavior among our pilgrims. Even where there are dating couples, they hardly ever "pair off" from the group. The whole atmosphere is one of intense commu-nal living. People are attentive to the needs of everyone, sharing and caring for one another. The pilgrim learns that one does not need to pursue or engage in roman-tic relationships to be happy. Celibacy for the kingdom becomes tangible, livable, and enjoyable. At WYD the intense communal activities, which sometimes involve distressing conditions and both-ersome inconveniences that must be endured, build a joyful esprit de corps. Over and over one witnesses pilgrims making sacrifices for the sake of the group. Opportunities for minor sacrifices abound, such as shar-ing personal items to assist another in need and collect-ing meal tickets and standing in line to retrieve meals for a group. These and other sacrifices reveal acom- Review for Religious mon care for one another. Moreover, the group lead-ers have the ultimate say in all major decisions about travel, gatherings, agendas, and special needs that arise. Individual wills give way to the group, or to the lead-ers' decisions. Through these experiences one finds joy in sacrificing one's own will for the good of the group, opening up to the gift of religious obedience. Consecrated persons make a sacrifice of their lives for the good of the church and the world. Pilgrims experience the power of loving sacrifice firsthand, and its power to build up the Body of Christ. Eddie Dwyer, a Saginaw seminarian, said: "Three things I hate are lines, sitting on the floor, and crowded spaces, but the love at WYD made sacrifice easy." All these experiences find rich meaning in the cel-ebration of the sacraments, namely, confession and Eucharist. The intensity of confessions, celebrations of Holy Mass, and Eucharistic adoration affirms God's real presence among his people. All the sufferings and joys of pilgrimage are offered up to the Father in the won-derful exchange of gifts that the Eucharist makes real. All is gift. As a priest I am overwhelmed by the power and joy of the priesthood, by the sacramental fruitful-ness on WYD. What power can be manifested in such weakness! The Papal Mass at the conclusion of WYD provides the perfect environment for the overflowing gratitude of the pilgrimage to express itself. Pilgrims, freshly and deeply aware of God's goodness, gratefully share their belongings with others. Jackets, caps, and an assortment of other personal items are offered and received in a wonderful exchange of gifts. God's kingdom becomes visible in everyone giving their things away to bring joy to both receiver and giver. In his Spiritual Exercises 409 68.4 2009 Prospero ¯ Worm Youth Day and Religious Life St. Ignatius Loyola speaks of the free exchange of gifts between those who love each other (§231). This is the Christian life. As church and bride of Christ, we receive every good thing from God and make an offering of our very selves back to him in gratitude. This joyous exchange finds particular power at the Papal Mass. The accumulation and possession of .things no longer has appeal. The giving and receiving of love becomes the reason for existing. Consecrated life witnesses to the joy of the kingdom of heaven through the. gift of self to God. The Papal Mass provides a taste of the joy offered to those who radically take up the call to follow Christ the Bridegroom wherever he goes. As I lead pilgrims to WYD, I make a point of having several priests, seminarians, and religious sisters accom-pany us. When lay pilgrims rub shoulders with conse-crated persons, consecrated life now has a face, and that face is familiar and human. No longer is the question of consecrated life somewhere off in the distance, but it is real and lived by real people. The possibility of consecrated vocation opens up as the joys of serving the kingdom find witness. I count WYD the single most important vocation promotion ministry that I do. 410 Review for Religious BENNY PHANG Marriage and Celibacy: Rivals or Complements? MMarriage and celibacy are often seen as contraries. isunderstanding about these two vocations still exists among many people who do not fully under-stand celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven or the meaning of marriage. They see marriage as con-trary to celibacy, totally separated from it, and unable to contribute anything to it. And they understand celibacy as merely a pessimistic, negative rejection of married life and love. They even think celibacy is responsible for many sexual problems. About these matters people raise critical questions such as: Is marriage contrary to celibacy or even a rival? Is marriage a higher and better state than celibacy, or is it the other way around? Does marriage confirm celibacy or devalue it? If marriage confirms celibacy, how does it do so? Benny Phang OCarm, an Indonesian priest studying at the Angelicum for a doctorate in moral theology, can be addressed at Centro Internazionale Sant'Alberto; Via Sforza Pallavicini, 10; 00193 Roma, Italy. Blog: theouiosoter.blogspot.com 411 68.4 2009 Pbang ¯ Marriage and Celibacy On this topic I want to draw some reflections from the messages of Pope John Paul II (collected in Theology of the Body), from the critical reflection on celibacy in the Catholic Church written by Aloysius Pieris sJ, and from the experience of St. Th~r~se of Lisieux of her vocation to religious life. Marriage and celibacy, are interrelated. To hurt either one by being unfaithful in it also hurts the other. 412- Rival Vocations? In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus places the counsel of celibacy in the discussion of the impor-tance of marriage, when he argues against divorce (Mt 19:3-12). Pope John Paul confirms this, saying, "[From Matthew's Gospel, Mt 19:10-12], it can be seen sufficiently clearly that here it is not a question of diminishing the value of matrimony in favor of continence, nor of less-ening the value of one in comparison with the other.''1 "Christ's words on this point are quite clear. He proposes to his disciples the ideal of continence and the call to it, not by reason of the inferiority of, or of prejudice against, conjugal union in the body, but only for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.''2 One can, however, argue for St. Paul's position when he writes, "So then, he who marries his fiancee does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Co 7:38). Does this Pauline text not mean that mat-rimony is good, but celibacy for the kingdom of heaven is better?3 Review for Religious We need to comprehend the reason for celibacy in the evangelical counsel. Jesus says, "There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can" (Mt 19:12). This is the only reason for the evangelical counsel of celibacy. The reason is not to devalue marriage, but for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. To understand the "difference" between Jesus and Paul as regards celibacy and marriage, John Paul gives us an insight: In his pronouncement, did Christ perhaps suggest the superiority of continence for the kingdom of heaven to matrimony? Certainly he said that this is an excep-tional vocation, not a common one. In addition he affirmed that it is especially important and necessary to the kingdom of heaven. If we understand superiority to matrimony in this sense, we must admit that Christ set it out implicitly. However, he did not express it direcdy. Only Paul will say of those who choose matri-mony that they do "well." About those who are willing to live in voluntary continence, he will say that they do "better" (! Co 7:38). (Theology, p. 275) The conscious and voluntary renunciation of the conjugal love of marriage and family life by celibate per-sons is not a devaluation of marriage, but it is a form of self-sacrifice. John Paul explains: "Christ understood the importance of such a sacrifice . He understood the

Part one of an interview with Robert and Joanne Frigoletto. Topics include: Robert's grandparents came over from Grumento Nova, Italy. His parents lived in Fitchburg, MA, which is where Robert grew up. Memories from his childhood. His family owned a house in Fitchburg and a summer house on a lake in Lancaster, MA. The different summer jobs Robert worked. Food deliveries in the summer. The food Robert's family had when he was growing up. How Robert became interested in dentistry from his father. The different personalities in Robert's family. The importance of education. Robert's education. His father's dental practice. Religion in the family. His grandparents. ; 1 INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh. ROBERT: She wasn't really sure, but they're from the same county in Italy, but they met here… and they married here, but -- and we were wondering because they're from the same place, which is not unusual, because you say, "Where you from?" You know, if I'm out in Chicago or San Francisco and someone's from Massachusetts—especially if I'm over in Italy, [unintelligible - 00:00:28] they're home. So you kind of get together with them automatically. Don't tell me you become friends just because of the distance. INTERVIEWER: Also, as people leave town in Italy and go to a town in the States, then you tell your friends or people… ROBERT: Then they would know somebody. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: You go to the same town. ROBERT: Yeah, but they did come over in the same town, from the same town. INTERVIEWER: Now, what year was that about…? ROBERT: Boy, that's a tough one. INTERVIEWER: No. That's not good. You did not…? ROBERT: No. INTERVIEWER: I see. Well, you can… ROBERT: Had to be the late 1800s. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, because your father was born…? ROBERT: 1905-ish or something. INTERVIEWER: Same as my father? ROBERT: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, so it must have been at the turn of the century or just before? ROBERT: Just before that. And then after that, then the sister and brother must have come over, but I don't think they came together. Just Grandpa Lewis.2 INTERVIEWER: Now beca-, first of all, let me introduced everyone. This is Linda Rosenman with the Center for Italian Culture. It's Monday, November 19 at 1:30 p.m., and we're here again, with Dr. Robert Frigoletto and his wife Joan. We have already tried this once before, but we had a corrupted card. So what I wanted to tell both of you, even if I've asked you the same questions of course, I have to ask them over again. ROBERT: Of course. We'll see if we can concise it somewhat. INTERVIEWER: Yeah. ROBERT: Not get caught running. We had such a pleasant visit last time. INTERVIEWER: We did, and I hope that you know, [unintelligible - 00:02:14] any more. ROBERT: A long time [laughter]. INTERVIEWER: Went at it [laughter]. But it ended early March. But you're talking about your grandparents who came here from Italy. And did they settle in Leominster? ROBERT: Settled in Fitchburg. INTERVIEWER: Fitchburg. And we're thinking that's the late 1800s, turn of the century. ROBERT: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: And they were from the same village, which was…? ROBERT: Then my grandpa, which was same county. I don't know village. INTERVIEWER: Same county? Potenza, I think you called them. ROBERT: In the province of Potenza, in the village of Grumento Nova. INTERVIEWER: Uh-huh. Grumenta Nova? ROBERT: Cemento Nova? Nu something? Which used to be Sapanera. Stuff like that. Is that right? It used to be called… INTERVIEWER: Somehow they changed names. ROBERT: Sapalonara or Sapona… INTERVIEWER: Saponara, and I think they call that.3 ROBERT: Saponara, and then Mussolini changed it for some reason to Grumento Nova. INTERVIEWER: Now, are these your grandparents Frigolettos, or… ROBERT: Yes. INTERVIEWER: Okay. WIFE: His grandmother's maiden name was Padula. ROBERT: Padu… WIFE: P-A-D-U-L-A, and there's a whole… ROBERT: Oh, there's a whole… WIFE: … clan of Padulas. ROBERT: Clan of Padulas, one of which was the senator for a while. WIFE: Well, he married into the family and blown up [unintelligible - 00:03:38] with the Padulas. ROBERT: Yeah. He was the in-law. They run the -- I grew up in that farm with their father, I guess. I used to call him Uncle Mike. He was really nice, dad's cousin. WIFE: Was it your grandmother's broker? Not her father. ROBERT: Maybe. Boy, back that far? Mike. WIFE: True brother. INTERVIEWER: So Mike Padula? ROBERT: Mike Padula. And their offspring sell the tractors now. WIFE: John Deere equipment. ROBERT: John Deere equipment because that was a working farm, and I can remember drinking unpasteurized warm milk right from the udders. INTERVIEWER: Really? ROBERT: We squeezed it out and we'd drink it. WIFE: Boys. Mine though always came in bottles [laughter]. ROBERT: I don't think we did it every day. We did it to taste then to see what it was like, just for… you know, I couldn't have been four, 4 five years old then. I was in Uncle Mike's farm all the time. That was close to camp, by the way. Right around the corner. INTERVIEWER: Where was this located? WIFE: Lunenburg ROBERT: Just at the Lunenburg, Lancaster Road, where the Powell Excavation, Keating Excavation, in the city of Lunenburg. WIFE: Sort of, as you turn on the line. ROBERT: Yeah, on the Lunenburg, Lancaster line. INTERVIEWER: Now, is this where your grandmother was living? On the farm? ROBERT: I don't think so, no. I don't know. WIFE: I don't know either. ROBERT: No, they were living on Highland Avenue on the three-decker. INTERVIEWER: You mean before they got married? When you were visiting. ROBERT: No, they were living on Dana Patch, Water Street then. They had some real estate down there. They used to rent out a couple of places, and they were there on Water Street, because I can -- I still have a picture now of me today in a sandbox with a seesaw and a swing when I was maybe three, four years old, and I'm sure that was on Water Street. It was a park in Water Street. And then my grandparents bought a three-decker house on Highland Avenue up near the college. And we lived -- I don't remember this. We lived in the third floor, my brother told me recently, until my father graduated from dental school and built a very nice house half a block away, and we moved out of that now into this nice house, and one of my relatives moved into that third floor apartment. So we had Grandma on the bottom floor and two cousins, two uncles and aunts on the next two floors. INTERVIEWER: Now, getting back to the farm though, is that where your -- perhaps your mother, did she grow up on the farm? I mean, not your mother but your grandmother?5 ROBERT: Grandmother. She don't know. I don't think they were -- that was just one of the uncles, one of their brothers. I don't think she was on the farm. I don't remember her ever being heavily involved with the farm. INTERVIEWER: Okay, so did your father grow up on Water Street then? ROBERT: Father grew up on Water Street, the beginning. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any stories that he may have told you about Water Street? ROBERT: No, that's too far back. I just remember the pictures. I don't remember anything 'til we got to Highland Avenue, which was close to the college. That's the only part I remember there. INTERVIEWER: How old were you then? ROBERT: Five to eight, four to eight, something like that. INTERVIEWER: So do you remember anything about your grandparents? ROBERT: Only the grandpa who used to fix my tricycle because he was a half a block up, and I used to bring my tricycle up to have him fix it. And he'd fix it, and of course it will break next week. I have to bring it up again. He would always do it in the cellar, left side of the house where the furnace was, and now I think of the furnace, it was one of those lined covered with asbestos. You know those old furnaces? INTERVIEWER: Coal furnace? ROBERT: Yeah. And he used to keep a little bottle of wine up in the back. He had a little wine while we talked. I didn't know what it was then. I thought it was medicine. It was medicine, he told me. I guessed grandma didn't want him to have it. He used to keep it down the cellar. That's what I think I remember. And I remember the coalman coming in, dropping coal at our home that my father built. I used to love to crawl around in that thing. I was black. I don't know why. I guess when the coalmen come I used to watch them do it, and all in dust. He used to come 6 and make [unintelligible - 00:08:38] the coal, and that's the only reason I remember some of this old stuff. Same thing with my father eventually built that place on the lake, down there at Port Barn. When we bought a new appliance for the home, we would bring the old stuff down to the lake because that was only a summer place. We called it the camp. We still call it the camp. We used to prime water from the lake with a pump on the sink to get the water going, I remember. And we used to have an icebox, and the guy used to come and deliver ice, you know, over the [Bellwoods], back on a waterproof pad and ice. I loved to chew ice. So I used to chip the ice out and my mother always used to give me hell, "Don't take the ice!" because I used to chew on ice. But I wouldn't remember an icebox if it weren't for camp because I'm not that old. I think. INTERVIEWER: [Laughter] Well, I don't know old… ROBERT: I mean, the only reason I remember is because we had it in the summer. So we had modern appliances up here. Up in the city, we called it city house. INTERVIEWER: But if there was still an iceman, I would think that many people still had an icebox. ROBERT: Many people must have still had an icebox. WIFE: On the [unintelligible - 00:09:50] side, because I remember icemen in our neighborhood. Even though we didn't have an icebox, I remember icemen. ROBERT: And then the farmer who's still down there now, who sells corn, used to deliver us milk in the old glass bottles with the neck and the cream on it. We used to take the top of the cream off half of that so we could whip it up and put it on the cake. We don't get that kind of milk anymore. WIFE: No, that was the only way you bought cream.7 ROBERT: That's the only way you bought cream when they came on the bottles, huh? WIFE: Well no, actually. No. The old bottle was where you could just get some of it off, and then it would stop. ROBERT: Then it would start the necks. WIFE: But then around the '40s or '50s, didn't they come out with… ROBERT: The necks? WIFE: In '50s they came out with a bottle with a little neck. ROBERT: And all the cream used to settle into the narrow and you could… WIFE: … spoon it out. ROBERT: Spoon in there and get it out? Ah, clever. WIFE: Yeah, that was the big improvement, so you could get all the cream without the milk in it, then you really could whip it. ROBERT: Yeah. So I would guess my dad graduated from dental school I think in '29. WIFE: When a dumbass male wasn't in the family… ROBERT: 1929, I think, from Harvard Dental School. WIFE: I do think he went to Northridge University on a scholarship family before that. ROBERT: On a scholarship before that, yeah. Then I'm thinking how many years after that did he build this nice house on Highland Avenue. So he built the camp at '34. Silvia said he built the camp before Highland Avenue because he didn't like living on the third floor. It was hot up there on the third floor apartment, so he built the camp next to the lake with one of his patients who became a friend. They both bought, simultaneously, land together from the Quaker development. Who were the – the whole lake was owned by people at the Harvard place we went. WIFE: The Shakers? ROBERT: The Shakers. That was all owned by the Shakers. All that land. Used to have meetings there. And then there was where they -- we 8 dropped the boats in now is this stagecoach stop on the way to Springfield years ago, and that now is a boat watch. The state -- because the state owned that land, they made it a public launch. WIFE: Now, we need to get back on track here. INTERVIEWER: Wait a minute, the camp. Now, where is that located? ROBERT: Fort Farm in Lancaster. INTERVIEWER: Now, was that kind of an unclaimed [for the] battalion families? WIFE: No, not at all. ROBERT: No. Nope just a land from the Shakers. WIFE: Just individual people bought it. In fact, the only little enclave on the lake was the Finnish people. ROBERT: The Finnish people, like, have an enclave on the lake, and it's still there now. And we used to go over -- as a teenager, we used to go over there to the -- Wednesday nights to the Finn Arts, into the Finn Theatrics. WIFE: Your next-door neighbor built the same time your father built, and he was Italian. ROBERT: And he was Italian. WIFE: And he owned… ROBERT: And that was Fred Angel's cousins'. WIFE: No, it was Fred Angel's uncle who built the house next door to your parents, and you and the next Angelo kids all grew up together. And they just sold the place two years ago. So that was really traumatic for us, because the house all blend right together, and it was like our beaches were together. ROBERT: Yeah, they joined everything. We even joined the beach together. That's right, grew up together. So he did that in '34, and I was born on '36 because of the third floor apartment was too hot, and a much -- then after '34, then he built the place at Highland Avenue. INTERVIEWER: It seems we have the time down. Out of the city directive. ROBERT: Maybe see the addresses.9 WIFE: Well, I do have now the pictures of your brother that your mother showed me. He was still a little -- he was born in '33. So he looked to be about three or four years old in the picture and actually fit with the Highland Avenue. So it must have been shortly thereafter. ROBERT: Shortly a year after. WIFE: A couple of year, a year or two. INTERVIEWER: So how was life different at the camp compared to Highland Avenue? ROBERT: No school. I didn't go to school in there. I get tired of it, certainly. We were just in the water most of the day and running around, having a good time. INTERVIEWER: Freedom. Total freedom. ROBERT: Until the [Cushman] came, until the baker man came with his chocolate cupcakes. WIFE: No rules, regulations, just freedom, which is what my husband wants. INTERVIEWER: I remember the [unintelligible - 00:14:58] yet? WIFE: No rules and regulations. ROBERT: Right, and those three months was kind of no rules. We could get up and… WIFE: Yeah and muddle, like we'll run if we wanted to. ROBERT: Yeah, it was just -- we'd put on our bathing suits and run out and come back to eat and run out again. Of course we had lots of company. My mother had -- all our relatives would come down and visit us because it was on a hot day, everybody would come down and swim. WIFE: Lots of big meals. ROBERT: And she always had sauce and meatballs going. INTERVIEWER: And did your father live at the camp during the week?10 ROBERT: Yup. We used to move down lock, stock and barrel. Put mothballs in the winter home on the lakes. Couldn't go in because it's burning your eyes because the mothballs was so strong. In fact they cleaned out the cell the other day and found, I think, our mothballs down there when they cleaned up the cellar. WIFE: Yeah, they were big with mothballs. ROBERT: They were big with mothballs. You couldn't walk into a city home without your eyes burning because all of the rugs, they'd sprinkled in mothballs. INTERVIEWER: Impossible to get that smell out. ROBERT: Smell out. Well it did, we only came back -- after Labor Day we would come back. Middle of June we'd get down. INTERVIEWER: Yeah, probably. ROBERT: I guess so [laughter]. We never had any moths though [laughter]. No moths in that house. INTERVIEWER: Now, were you required to do any chores while staying at the camp? ROBERT: I don't remember. WIFE: I doubt it. I doubt it. ROBERT: We had to take care of the boats. WIFE: I don't think they had to do any [unintelligible - 00:16:28]. ROBERT: The beach shores was our deal. We used to have to take care of the beach. WIFE: He had a privileged upbringing [laughter]. ROBERT: That was a great life. WIFE: But when I get into the family, I don't remember ever seeing you empty out the trash. ROBERT: Well, that's not true. No. Come on now. WIFE: When I was around I didn't. ROBERT: Well, we had to. We had to. Because we didn't have -- remember, the house didn't connect to the cellar. We had to go outside to get 11 to the cellar where we used to keep the icebox. One of the iceboxes was down the cellar, and all our boats stop in the… step and key for the boats was kept in the cellar, and that was our job. So I got it, up and down every day. We used to lug even -- I remember lugging the 3-horsepower motor up every night so it won't get rained on, I guess. In those days you brought the motor up. INTERVIEWER: Now, were you required to have a job, let's say when you were in high school? ROBERT: Oh yeah. Yup. When I was a teenager we worked in the summer. Every summer we'd -- some of them were kind of political jobs that I had to get from patients he knew and friends in factories. I remember my brother had a job doing some piecework working with shoes, and I had a job in the mailroom of place that sold pocketbooks. I used to package them up, up on West Fitchburg. And then after that I got working for the state. I used to work for the state cleaning up the highways, which was nice. It was the highway they put right in front of our camp, so it was very close to home. For lunch we used to go for a swim. WIFE: Difficult. Difficult on the job. ROBERT: We had that all worked out [laughter]. We'd pick up all the trash in the highway in town. 'Cause they took half our land to build the highway, Route 2. Yeah, it went through the driveway that came in. Well, we had a long driveway. We used to listen to the frogs croak at night; now we listen to the big trucks go by in the highway. INTERVIEWER: Is it an acre or half acre? ROBERT: Maybe a half acre. WIFE: Just by a [unintelligible - 00:18:40].12 ROBERT: Yeah, and I remember, I think we got 750 bucks from it. Had to be back in the early '50s, maybe in the late '40s when they took the land. I think the highway went in the early '50s. INTERVIEWER: So were you required to get a job mostly just for responsibility? ROBERT: For responsibility, yeah. INTERVIEWER: So you weren't contributing to the finances of the family? ROBERT: Well, I gave -- my father took all the money that came in from it. WIFE: Did he really? ROBERT: Yeah. I used to just give him the check. WIFE: I hear that over and over. ROBERT: Yeah, just like that. Just give him the check, and he would give me what I wanted to live. I don't even know how much it was. Like $2.70 an hour, I think, if I remember. WIFE: Gee, that was a lot [laughter]. I think my job was more like a [unintelligible - 00:19:34]. ROBERT: $2.10 an hour? No, it was 2-something. WIFE: Well, I'm working for the state. What can I tell you? INTERVIEWER: So you mentioned chocolate cupcakes or something. ROBERT: Cushman was the baker, bakery. Came in a black truck three times a week and you can get bread, fresh bread, and chocolate cupcakes and [unintelligible - 00:20:01]. Yeah, he used to come up that long driveway; and when he's coming, he used to honk the horn and we used to run up from the beach so we'd have an influence in buying some of the stuff. INTERVIEWER: Little cupcake goodies. ROBERT: Yeah. INTERVIEWER: So this was basically at the camp and not… ROBERT: Yeah, I don't remember Cushman here at the city house. INTERVIEWER: Interesting. ROBERT: Yeah, we'd go shopping like everybody else.13 WIFE: Probably because you can't go so far away. Your mother wouldn't have to go running to the stores. ROBERT: Yeah, I would guess so. It was just the driveway, that's far away. WIFE: You would have milk and the bakery products come to you. ROBERT: Right. Come in the summer. And then in the winter we wouldn't have it anymore. So it was two different lives. INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any other products coming? Well, I guess the iceman. ROBERT: Yeah, the iceman and the milk. INTERVIEWER: No egg man? ROBERT: Both Cushman and Harper had eggs. Yeah, both guys sold eggs. WIFE: And butter, probably. ROBERT: And butter, right. Yup, dairy kinds of products. WIFE: I used to love all them. So really, you could live just with having the milkman come to the house because he would have the butter, the eggs, the milk, and cottage cheese. INTERVIEWER: Was cottage cheese a big item back then? ROBERT: Not for me, it wasn't. It's not now either [laughter]. INTERVIEWER: There might be a city thing [unintelligible - 00:21:19]. ROBERT: It might be a. I don't remember any cottage cheese. I remember spaghetti and meatballs [laughter]. The blueberry pie, because we had wild blueberries growing all over the place. And since the highway came in, not so good anymore. WIFE: All the blueberries bushes. ROBERT: Yeah, and maybe the trees grew up because there were low blueberry bushes. They cut a lot of sun now that all the trees have grown up. They look at it as very flimsy. I just found a big bush down by the lake a couple of years ago, and the birds are having a ball of it. I'm going to put a screen over it because it's loaded with blueberries now, and it's high. INTERVIEWER: Someone's going to be doing some baking.14 ROBERT: So we're going to -- right. The end of July used to be blueberry season. We used to go pick them blueberries, and then we'd have a month of blueberry pies that my mother would bake. WIFE: Well, I remember. ROBERT: And that's today is my favorite pie. WIFE: We used to leave the city and go to Franklin, Mass, which is -- used to be the country, it's down in Southern… INTERVIEWER: I grew up in Belem, my family. WIFE: Oh, really? Okay. And my uncle, who was a lawyer, had no children. He decided -- we used to call the farm. Well, it was just a home with not anything around it. Well, there was a lake, maybe, I don't know, a mile away. And then across the street from us, there was a farm. But he used to like to go there just to get away from the law practice and the city and whatever. And my grandparents loved it because they, from Italy, used to farm. He was a tailor, but they grew all of them vegetables and so forth when you could, because I guess everyone in Italy did that. We didn't got to the store. So we used to say we would go to the farm in the summer to visit. And my remembrances there were just all the produce that was… ROBERT: I don't remember the big garden at all, and most Italian older people had their own garden. I never remember a garden. WIFE: My grandparents could grow everything, and they did. I mean, we had watermelons, cantaloupes; we had potatoes. I mean, they just grew everything. What made me think of this was the pie that we used to go picking berries, and… ROBERT: Berries, yeah. We would have the wild berries. WIFE: … and pies in our family. We would only be eating during the summer when you would take blackberries and blueberries. We didn't do that in the winter. In the winter you had cakes; pies were only in the summer. On the farm you could have apple pie, but 15 that was kind of fun watching my grandparents farm all the fruit. I never could. I never, never, never do that. And they could grow any type peas. We used to sit and shell peas. INTERVIEWER: You know, different [unintelligible - 00:24:08] but you could, but you didn't have to. WIFE: Probably. Possibly. My father never had a big garden. He used to have just a few tomato plants and basil plants, but I think, I think because he was the eldest of six children, I think he was tired of farming. So he didn't want anything to do with it, so I never learned much about it. INTERVIEW: Now, you don't remember a garden in your family? ROBERT: I don't remember a garden in my family 'til later. WIFE: Until we were in college. ROBERT: Until I was in college, right, and they started doing their tomatoes and cucumbers and stuff. But as a kid, I don't remember a garden being around. INTERVIEWER: Tomato plants? Interesting, isn't that? ROBERT: Yup, and in the summer you'd think that there would be. But we had the farmer so close though. There were two farmers. There was Gole and Harper, and we used to walk -- and my dad used to come home from work on a windy road, and we'd know, he'd call, like, when he was going to leave the office, and we'd walk up the road and meet him just about at the farm, and we'd bring home the vegetables and milk or whatever. Sometimes, some of those days that we'd walk up, because if it wasn't hot enough to swim, we'd go for walks and meet him on the way home. But there were two farmers always, and to this day, I'm enjoying the seasonal corn and the seasonal things from one of the farmers that are still there. Well, both of them are still there, come to think of it. Gole and Harper. Harper used to be near Leominster. His father, and he's still doing…16 WIFE: He had the milk cab, the dairy farm, but then the son started raising corn and vegetables, too. ROBERT: I think there was corn. He had corn, too. Yup. WIFE: But Gole's… ROBERT: Gole's corn is superb. WIFE: That is still a legend. I mean, it is like… ROBERT: It's gold. Everybody has tasted it agrees that it's the best in the world. WIFE: This area is revered to this day. I mean, we have to bring it down to my daughter in Boston and… ROBERT: We'll bring it to our doctor friends. WIFE: Oh yeah. I'd bring it to my doctor; every time I'd go to my doctor in Boston, I have to bring it to him. They get very mortified if I don't bring it to him. ROBERT: They just won the tomato. Massachusetts and New England, they have the best tomatoes in New England. Same guy who was in Massachusetts? WIFE: Growers Association, yeah. ROBERT: They always came in second or third or fourth, but this year they came in first. So later in the corner, this wonderful thing that I grew up with, it's seasonal. WIFE: We packed it in ice and sent it back to Atlanta with my son and to California with my son. They don't eat any other corn but Gole's corn, so it really is a… INTERVIEWER: Now, do they know this? ROBERT: Oh yeah, we told them. Yeah, because they were patients of mine and the parents of patients of my father's, so we know them well. And we had been dealing with them for, you know, our life. And all of those seasonal things, we came back to our city house different times, different life, different -- it was just like vacation down there for two and a half months. 17 WIFE: And it was only eight miles, ten miles. ROBERT: It was only eight -- less than that -- six, eight miles from my house, which is my situation now. WIFE: Well, a little closer than your parents were in Fitchburg. ROBERT: No, right. We're four miles from… WIFE: We're five. They must have been ten, eight, whatever. INTERVIEWER: So do you really close up the shells of the mothballs and everything? ROBERT: No mothballs. INTERVIEWER: But do you come back in? ROBERT: Yeah, we leave it pretty much open. WIFE: We don't really close it up. ROBERT: We live down there, but weekends we're here, and half our clothes are here. And when the kids come or the relatives come, this is always available for bedrooms. WIFE: I have family who don't live around here, so people are coming to visit, we need a lot of bedrooms. Whereas when he was growing up, all of his family was here, except he did have family in Boston or Plymouth, but they would just come up for the day. No one would ever stay over. So we need lots of bedrooms, so we always have both houses open. INTERVIEWER: Now, did your children, did they enjoy the camp much like you did? ROBERT: Same thing. They wanted to be there forever. WIFE: It's holy ground. That's what they consider it. INTERVIEWER: Now, getting back to your grandparents and your parents, I realize that you don't remember much about your grandparents, but they must have been pretty remarkable to have [still] something in your father. I mean, he was the first graduate of Harvard from this area? ROBERT: We think so. Yeah, at least at professional school. They were seven kids. 18 WIFE: I don't know. I know there's six in my family. I don't count yours, now that [unintelligible - 00:29:04]. REESPONDENT: Yeah, six or seven kids, and I think my father was the youngest. INTERVIEWER: What was his name? ROBERT: Fred. INTERVIEWER: Fredric. ROBERT: Fredric. F-r-e-d-r-i-c. Not "Frederic." It's Fredric. INTERVIEWER: Fredric, and… WIFE: I don't know where that came from. ROBERT: And finally get out of middle school, and I guess was, did very well on the first two years because he started these houses [laughter]. And then I remember him -- I remember in the early '40s when penicillin was invented and he almost had it in the army, and then the war ended soon after that. He was a dentist then in the Park building on Main Street and Fitchburg. And I can remember my mother going in Sunday mornings -- every Sunday morning, they would go in and she would, on her hands and knees, wash the floors, you know, all the floors in the office. WIFE: I think by choice though, because she had help at home. ROBERT: Not in those days. She had Camelia and whatnot. WIFE: And she had the young girl who was an orphan, who lived with you people in Highland Avenue, took care of you when you kids were little. She told me that. ROBERT: So why did she go in and do the… WIFE: Well, I think because it was a joint venture and she liked to do it. ROBERT: It was a joint venture and she liked to do it, and I used to go play in the lab with the plaster, and pull up models in plaster and all of that. And I think that's how I got my interest to become a dentist. That's why she was… INTERVIEWER: How old were you when you started doing the help?19 ROBERT: Eight. I wanted to be a dentist since I've been maybe eight, nine years old. I would watch him do his stuff and enjoyed the lab and tinkering with all that stuff. My father was a tinkerer like myself. He liked to fix and break things. WIFE: This acorn did not fall far from the tree, let me tell you that. People who see him on the street right now, he's embodied his father. So it's like oh my god. ROBERT: I walk by them and they say, "He looks just like his father." INTERVIEWER: Do you have the same personality as your father? ROBERT: No, no. No, ask my wife. WIFE: He has the same… Bob is more of a cut-up, but when you get down to the personality… ROBERT: Yeah I'm a lot of my mother. WIFE: But the way you view life and the way you order and do things in your life is exactly as your father used to do it [laughter]. ROBERT: Yeah, I got my mother's personality. WIFE: Yeah, but you have that decision -- he had a style that was if they had decided they're going to do something, they're going to do it, and their way is the right way and that's it. It's not open for, you know… ROBERT: Well, because it's the right way. WIFE: See, and that's where he's like his father. ROBERT: Now, that's simple. It's the right thing to do. WIFE: But his father was more serious and quieter, and he's very much like his mother who was very extrovert, very outgoing. So he got bits of both. ROBERT: That's what you're supposed to do, right? Take the best of both worlds. INTERVIEWER: What about work ethics? ROBERT: Same thing. We're [unintelligible - 00:32:23]. 20 WIFE: He picked that [unintelligible - 00:32:25], although he complained about it, and he kept telling his father, "Oh I'm not going to work as hard as you, and I'm going to retire when I'm 40." He ended up being just like his father in that office. ROBERT: Yeah. My father would have a temperature of 103 on Sunday night, and Monday morning he had no temperature. Go to work. I'm the same way. I could be dead on my feet and I'd still end up at work without a temperature somehow. WIFE: No breaks during the day. Absolutely none. You work… ROBERT: But then I learned to take breaks for a while. WIFE: Well, it took a long time. ROBERT: It's not too old. INTERVIEWER: Did you tell me last time -- I don't think they had a sick day at work. ROBERT: I don't think -- I can't remember missing a day maybe. WIFE: He came home once, half a day. He had something like 103 temp. ROBERT: I used to marvel at that, but he hadn't missed any days. Wow, how lucky. INTERVIEWER: Now, did your mom and dad expect you to become a dentist? ROBERT: I think so. He would've liked both of us to become a dentist, but my brother didn't want anything to do with it. INTERVIEWER: Now, your brother is older? ROBERT: Got an older brother. INTERVIEWER: And what's his name? ROBERT: Fredric Jr. He's the junior. INTERVIEWER: He didn't become a dentist. ROBERT: No, he became a physician. He didn't want anything to do with dentistry and I didn't want anything to do with physicianing [laughter]. But my father always wanted us to be equal, because I guess he had trouble in his family, jealousy and whatnot, with some of the sibling, weren't of the same financial level.21 WIFE: Well, he had the one brother, and the rest were sisters. ROBERT: And the rest were sisters, but still there was -- and the brother had most of the jealousy. WIFE: But they all -- everyone in the family… ROBERT: Everybody got along. They did well. WIFE: They all worked. That family, I don't know whether it was the combination of Padula and Frigoletto, but they all had this amazing work ethic. I just -- when I came to the family, all aunts and the uncle worked. And it was everybody. ROBERT: I think I mentioned it last time, too, one of my favorite stories about my father's oldest sister. Somewhere around 90 years old, she had a heart problem and they told her she couldn't wash her kitchen floor anymore, and her kid wouldn't let her. So she told me she set the alarm up to three o'clock in the morning, get up out of bed and washed the floor and nobody would stop her. So she'd been doing it for years, and now it's never going to slide. Once a week, you didn't have to do the -- well, I had to do the floor once a week. Why I shouldn't wax, I should do it. WIFE: I can remember when I got into the family, she was in her late 70s and she was still working as a salesclerk at the local department store. I mean, which never dawned on her, but maybe she could retire. INTERVIEWER: Now, what was her name? WIFE: That was Mary. ROBERT: It was Mary. WIFE: Mary Romano was a lot of everything, and then Bob's aunt Josephine, her married name was Dragotti. She and Bob's father were two of a kind. They were like a tornado. ROBERT: They were like twins. Tornado twins, right?22 WIFE: They never stopped, and they thought you should just work 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. I mean, even in your leisure time, you should be doing something constructive. ROBERT: When my father -- she married an Italian guy from New York, and my father was instrumental in helping them buy their business, which was a print shop, which became a very successful print shop for printing for business in the city of Fitchburg. INTERVIEWER: And what was his last name, Dragotti? ROBERT: Dragotti, and my favorite story there, if they like stories, is he goes into the safety fund bank on Main Street one day, parks his car on the No Parking side of the street, which is where the Safety Fund Bank is, when he comes out and delivers some packages and printing. When he comes out of the bank, there's a policeman giving him a ticket. So and my uncle's -- he was a wonderful guy, he was like the saint of the city. He looked at the policeman, grabbed the ticket and looked at it and said, "You keep giving them and I'll keep printing them." [Laughter] And with a smile, get into his car and -- he was just… WIFE: This particular uncle, I don't think I ever, ever heard him lose his temper or speak above a soft tone. He really was a saint. ROBERT: He loved everybody and everybody loved him. WIFE: And everybody, they knew him. I used to call him ambassador. INTERVIEWER: I know his last name now, but what was his first name? WIFE: Lewis. Lewis Dragotti, who was from New York originally. ROBERT: Yeah, married -- came here and was fixed up with one of the other… WIFE: Mary. ROBERT: No, Louise. Was fixed up with one of the other sisters and noticed Josephine in the background, and when he got home, he called the number and had asked Josephine, "Would you mind if I didn't go out with your sister? I went out with you." And that sister went to 23 -- ended up in Boston, marrying the chief of the Boston Fire Department. INTERVIEWER: Louise did. ROBERT: Yeah, he became the chief of. He wasn't -- then he was just a private fireman. INTERVIEWER: So was that expected that you would go to Harvard? ROBERT: I think my father would've like to. Yeah, he would've liked that to happen. It didn't happen to either of his sons. Now we're -- my brother is now a… is a chair in Harvard, so that made my dad happy. INTERVIEWER: But refresh my memory, because I seem to remember that you have a [unintelligible - 00:38:43] at schools but maybe didn't accept you or him. ROBERT: That was Harvard, yeah. My brother went to BU medical, didn't get into Harvard, and I didn't get into Harvard. I went to a school out in the Midwest. I came back, and both my brother and I, during our careers, have been presidents of national organizations. So here we are from little old Fitchburg. WIFE: His brother's on the faculty of Harvard. He was a chair at Harvard. He trained all the Harvard doctors, so in short it was -- and he taught at BU. Sort of. They had MTAPS. They sort of came back and said, "Well, now you're hiring us as your teachers." ROBERT: My father always used to love that, that they wouldn't take us now but now you're teaching them there, right? So that was good. He always wanted us to be equal, and he always pushed us to do that. Gave us a lot of drive. WIFE: My daughter got the same thing. ROBERT: And my daughter got the same kind of thing. WIFE: She is the oldest of… ROBERT: She's going to be the career girl.24 WIFE: …four. Well, she was so -- first of all, my daughter was the first girl in the family. There was just two boys, and she's the first grandchild. Well, let me tell you, all the pressure that was put on the boys growing up, we've put on my daughter growing up. Excel, excel, excel, study, study, study, and she took it to heart. So right now, she's getting her master's degree at Tufts, and she's always making reference. When he'll say something, she'll say, "Well, that's not what Poppy would have said," or "That's not what poppy did," that's what they called their grandpa, Poppy. So he had a big influence on her also. He was quite the presence. INTERVIEWER: So education was very important to him? ROBERT: Education was everything. Always pushing us to go on to school, go on to school, go on to school. WIFE: He had a little trouble understanding my son, who was a musician. "What? Not a science? Don't you want to be an engineer, a chemist, a doctor, a lawyer?" Lawyer, not so good, but you know, the sciences. Well, music was just -- he just couldn't fathom that at all, although my son is very good in engineering also. That warped into his degree, but that was tough. ROBERT: I remember my father convincing me, but when I was in high school -- because we went to and became prep school brats, right? And then when I was in high school, he convinced me to go college summer school before I went to college that year so I could take, get a couple of credits out of the way and do better in the -- not to have such a strong schedule or something. I don't know why he convinced me to do that, but I did, took two courses at summer school at a high school level at BU before I went to college. Ended up going to Tufts, and maybe that's why I get into Tufts. I don't know why either. And then he wouldn't let me play a major sport while I was at Tufts because he wanted me to study and get a good start. So I ended up playing, ended up doing a 25 winter and a spring sport, but I couldn't play major sport in the fall. INTERVIEWER: Now, was that every year or just at… ROBERT: Yeah, every year. WIFE: Yeah he did not allow him to play football, which was his favorite. ROBERT: I don't know why I didn't rebel about that. [Unintelligible - 00:42:30] does that. WIFE: I don't have any [unintelligible - 00:42:30] to rebelled at everything else. ROBERT: But I think he had me brainwashed a little bit that studying was probably a good idea. I had to get a good start. I think he had me brainwashed. INTERVIEWER: So it sounds like maybe he had tight control over the family? ROBERT: Yeah, when it came to school he did, pretty much. WIFE: But on the rest of the time his mother, with household. ROBERT: Yeah, Mother ran pretty much the household after that. We got to mention during back -- I don't know what year that was, but Dad was for 15 years head of the Park Department here in Fitchburg and had something to do with [unintelligible - 00:43:12] what's that first name at the ice skate at Carmela? WIFE: Carmelita Landry. ROBERT: Carmelita Landry, speed skater in town. ROBERT: Connected with the city somehow. WIFE: Somehow he got money so that she could enter the speed… ROBERT: Got money to push it along. So he was very involved. WIFE: Community-oriented. ROBERT: Community-oriented guy, yeah. And then… WIFE: He was on the Parks Department. He established the… ROBERT: Park Hill Pool in [unintelligible - 00:43:45], created that whole thing for that area of people that will let out the pool in the summer, and went on to donate some dollars to the prep school 26 that we went to, my brother and I, and subsequently my daughter, with his influence. WIFE: He carried the influence. He went to that school, because that's where Poppy wanted her to go to high school. Not that we care, but he did. ROBERT: And he gave some dollars, and… WIFE: A lot of dollars. There still is… ROBERT: Scholarship in my mother's name. WIFE: Scholarship in his mother's name, and the money that he donated after he died. And after his mother died the money was earmarked for that launched academy, and they built… ROBERT: They renovated the infirmary. The infirmary at the school is now named the Frigoletto Infirmary. We didn't think [unintelligible - 00:44:45] name on it, with the sound that -- my dad had passed away by that time, and we had kept the money in side pocket for a new dorm, which couldn't get built somehow, so they came to my brother and I to say, "What are we going to do with this? Would you contribute a little more?" And then so we refurbished the infirmary, and I, in fact, made it -- I used to collect old dental equipment, so we donated all that old dental equipment to the infirmary and paid those glass shelves and bookcases and stuff. Some of this equipment, when you walk into the waiting room down there at the infirmary, and here's all these ancient dental equipment and history books and whatnot so that people could see. WIFE: There were times when it was a disaster before that, truthfully. I mean, you would… ROBERT: Yeah, it was really a hole in the wall. WIFE: … to be sick there. And quite nice. ROBERT: Yeah, now we got what? Six beds, full of lights, and… WIFE: They have a psychologist's office there and the central office there. ROBERT: Yeah, they fixed it up quite nicely.27 INTERVIEWER: So tell me how you did become a student at Lawrence Academy? When was that? ROBERT: You could only get into medical dental school if you went to prep school, supposedly. That was the theory. So I can say it was partly true in those days. You would have a better chance graduating from a preparatory school than high school. My uncle always said it was the student that was on trial and not the school. WIFE: Now, I don't really agree with that, but… ROBERT: Yeah, but I think that was the philosophy at that time. WIFE: But the '50s, if you wanted to go to a good undergraduate school, you had a better chance if you went to one of the… ROBERT: Yeah, in fact a lot of the people who are getting out of the service or who didn't get into college and high school would spend their PG at post -- your senior a year at the prep school to prove to the colleges that they could do well under a supposedly heavier schedule and then get into college. So we had a lot of PGs and seniors. WIFE: But when he and his brother went, it was strictly boarding. There were no day students. He was a boarder, and then… ROBERT: Well, we had a few day students from [unintelligible - 00:47:07]. WIFE: Oh, really? Did they allow that then? ROBERT: Yeah. WIFE: Oh, they did. I thought it was strictly… ROBERT: It was a mile thing. If you loved within so many miles, you could. We used to call them the day-hops. We didn't accept them as people, because they were the day-hops. INTERVIEWER: They didn't have the same experience. ROBERT: Right. WIFE: And his mother was thrilled, too. They could only come home once a month. ROBERT: Once a month.28 WIFE: So your mother had -- I thought she had the best deal going. I mean, these kids came home once a month, and she spoiled them and then sent them back to prep school. ROBERT: Very traditional prep school, which my brother graduated from. I only made it two years there. I told my father I'm going to run away from home if he didn't take me out of there. So I found another prep school I went to. INTERVIEWER: And which one was that? ROBERT: That was Cambridge School in Westin. That was a progressive co-educational school, which changed my life and every one of my classmates. As we see them today, every single classmate admits that they've changed their lives. And the thing that was even more confirming, about five years ago, we went to a reunion, and Mr. Muga was there. WIFE: David Muga? ROBERT: David Muga. He went to Cambridge School, and it changed his life. So he donated a whole big building they were building. He's the guy that supports the fireworks at New Year's. WIFE: The philanthropist in Boston who gives millions for all the Fourth of July fireworks. And I think he's… ROBERT: I don't even know what business he's in. WIFE: Wasn't he -- I don't want to say this on tape in case I'm wrong. I though he started out in… ROBERT: Well, it doesn't matter. The important thing is, we went to this reunion, he was the speaker, and it was interesting to hear him paraphrase the same thing my classmates and I would as we talked with each other. WIFE: Because he only went there one year. His parents took him out of the Belmont Film School because he was floundering, and they sent him to this Cambridge School. ROBERT: It was just a wonderful school to…29 WIFE: Listening to him, he found it -- when he spoke of his experiences, he sounded just like what Bob said. ROBERT: Yeah, and then all of my classmates. WIFE: They did something at that school, they did something right. And it was very -- his father was not thrilled with that. It was his uncle, who's a professor at BU, who… ROBERT: Who knew the French teacher at the school. WIFE: … this school by his son, and of course it wasn't traditional, and it wasn't. ROBERT: So my daughter had to go to Lawrence. My daughter had to go back to the traditional school. That's where my father's heart was, really. INTERVIEWER: But I -- well, I shouldn't put words in your mouth, but if she didn't do well or if she said that she too was going to run away if… ROBERT: Yeah, then we would have [laughter]. I'm not sure run away. Anywhere around the corner. I had too good a life to run away. WIFE: Yeah, right. He wouldn't go. He knew he had a good life. But no, I did not have the feelings that his father did about it. School is important, but to me, it was important that they be at the school that they liked. Because if they liked it, they would do well. I wasn't even in favor of Lawrence Academy, because I did not want my child boarding as a teenager. ROBERT: We used to come home once a month. And I had another friend who was at Lawrence Academy, and the other one was at Cranwell Prep up in the western part of the state. And then we had a couple of friends who went to the local high schools here. So we came home on the weekends. We had a pink pair of pants. WIFE: She wouldn't know it anyway. ROBERT: No? You know, pink in the velvet style of local clothes, because we were grey-flannel straight-tie people at prep school, but we come home, we have the oversized jacket and the pink pants. And 30 we always keep one of those, and our friends locally, we would dye them for Christmas, the red tie and the grey flannel pants, so when they came to our environment they had one suit of clothes for that. So I remember, but we always used to come home and wear the clothes of the local high school and date and cross-dating, fix up and whatnot. I remember double-dating with the recent mayor of the city, she and her husband, because they were dating at the same time. INTERVIEWER: Did you ever reflect on how your lives may have been different if you didn't go to a prep school? ROBERT: Yeah. I would've have known a lot more people in town. We always felt left out somehow. We're that small group that we would meet monthly when we came home through a couple of contacts but never really had a lot of close peers in town because of being away. And we'd had our kids go away, we would remind them of that and say if you make friends locally, put a little extra effort into that. So that's one of the things I missed. WIFE: That's one of the reasons I didn't want my… ROBERT: Yeah, that was one of the reasons, but we tried to… WIFE: However, my daughter was hell-bent on going to Lawrence, and she liked it. ROBERT: Yeah she liked. WIFE: She did well. It did well by her, and she loved it, so that was fine and dandy. It was certainly not… ROBERT: But Jay, we tried Jay at a prep school, didn't like it. He came back and ended up going to Notre Dame, which was a local… WIFE: We knew it was a long shot for him. ROBERT: That was influenced by a [unintelligible - 00:52:51]. WIFE: But he, much like his father, he would have done better with the Cambridge School at Westin. But he went to this [unintelligible - 00:53:03] on Herman, and he just didn't like it, so after…31 ROBERT: And I knew how he felt. WIFE: And after one year, he came back and we let him pick his own school. And everyone in town said, you're not going to send him to the other school? And I said we interviewed all the school… ROBERT: And we let him pick the one he wants. WIFE: And it was [unintelligible - 00:53:25] right school for him. They had some great teachers, and he did very well, small classes and you could think for yourself. So he did well. ROBERT: He's still friends with one of the teachers now. See, that was ten years ago, maybe more. WIFE: So it's like different strokes for different folks. INTERVIEWER: I find it interesting that your father obviously got into Harvard. He must have graduated from… ROBERT: Norwich, Norwich University. INTERVIEWER: Which high school did he graduate from? ROBERT: Fitchburg High School. INTERVIEWER: But he felt prep school was better for you? ROBERT: Uh-huh. WIFE: I guess the idea was that you're always going to give your children something more than you had. That must have been it. ROBERT: Yeah, and I think that's it and in those days, it was true because of the PGs. Everybody who was going away to the colleges were coming from prep schools. Not everybody, but a greater percentage. WIFE: No, not everybody. I certainly went to Charleston High, and I did not go to a prep school. And my sister went to Simmons, and she did not go to a prep school. ROBERT: I didn't say it was bad. I just said that the percentage of people and the chances of getting into college was better from a preparatory school. At least, that was the philosophy at the time. And I don't hear of PGs at prep schools nowadays, because that's not true 32 anymore. But there was an era there, and tied with it -- it had something to do with the wars. The Korean War maybe and whatnot? No? WIFE: No. I thought it was just a phase. ROBERT: These people came back -- no, because some of these people had gone into the army for a couple of years and come back and had to spend a PG refresher year before they could get into college. WIFE: Well, ours it was -- from our school, the ones that went to the post-graduate like that, the kids that maybe were borderline, they thought they had a better chance of getting in if they spent a year. ROBERT: Yeah, or spent too much time in sports and just didn't do their work and had to prove themselves in a more structured environment [unintelligible - 00:55:25] so that was the philosophy. INTERVIEWER: Let's talk about your father's practice, his dental practice. For example, you had explained to me how your father's patients were really friends with him. ROBERT: The guy who built next to the camp became a good friend. There are still a few families in town that I do business with, and they did business with me. We don't see them socially, but our parents were good friends from doing business together, and we just keep it going and talk about it, "Hey, let's keep the tradition going." WIFE: Actually, it might be worth mentioning that your father and mother both were instrumental in bringing two doctors from Boston into Fitchburg. Your mother's friends from Newton and two of her girlfriends were married, one to a physician and one to a podiatrist, and… ROBERT: And both of those of Jewish descent. WIFE: Jewish, right. And they left Austin and came here to continue practices.33 ROBERT: And came here. Plus, maybe in the culture in there, my mother—and I think I've mentioned this—was one of the few Protestant Italians who were the [unintelligible - 00:56:56] who was a congregational minister. WIFE: And he's from Belmont, right? They lived in Newton, but I think he was in Belmont. ROBERT: Right. INTERVIEWER: So first let me ask you, do you remember the doctors' names who came here? WIFE: Yeah. Doctor Silver and Doctor Zyde was the podiatrist, and his son was a lawyer in town and a judge now. ROBERT: Judge now. INTERVIEWER: And explain to me how it was your mother was a Protestant Italian? ROBERT: I have no idea how that happened. I think the family come over from Italy were Protestants. There was a small segment of the Italian population who were Protestant Christians that aren't Catholic. WIFE: There are. Now, I don't know whether or not he was one of those, because I remember checking on the library, and I know there is a Protestant group of Italians in Italy, but I thought I remembered someone saying, that when he came over here… ROBERT: He came from Connecticut. WIFE: And I thought, perhaps was it someone in the Protestant church that had helped him or something, and that's how he became… ROBERT: I don't know. I don't remember. WIFE: I wasn't sure. I thought I might have heard that. We should've checked that out. I don't know. ROBERT: He met Grandma, who was from Milan, in Connecticut, at the church he was at. And so they get married.34 INTERVIEWER: And it was your grandmother that was a Protestant Italian? ROBERT: Must have been. Also, I don't know. WIFE: Well, it's not -- she became one when he… ROBERT: It's not -- yeah, when you marry the minister. I guess she became one because -- my mother became Catholic, but it's a… good Catholics. WIFE: I never thought of asking, but Grandpa Marlino, the minister, married your grandma. ROBERT: Grandmother. I don't know what she was, but they were Protestant growing up. But I give my mother a lot of credit. WIFE: And all the children are Protestant, so they must have… ROBERT: Yes, all our uncles were Protestants. My mother was the only Catholic out of her family. All of… INTERVIEWER: How did that happen? She changed when she married? ROBERT: When she married my father, yeah, and brought us up good Catholics. I don't ever remember a conflict there. WIFE: No. ROBERT: Other than when your grandfather says grace at meals, "Shut up. If it's too long, don't say anything." He would go for minutes and hours until our holiday meals. So of course we had to have the minister say grace, and I think -- I don' know, I never remember conflict there. We just [unintelligible - 00:59:41] Catholic. I give my mother a lot of credit in those days. WIFE: Well, certainly, your aunt and uncle, who were Protestant, never seemed to fail. ROBERT: I don't remember ever having a conflict about it. WIFE: No, not one. INTERVIEWER: I wonder if there was a conflict when you found he was getting married? WIFE: Yeah, I think there was, because…35 ROBERT: Well, he got married twice. Saturday night in Boston under the minister, and Sunday here with the priest. INTERVIEWER: I wonder how your grandparents felt about it, that you father's… ROBERT: I didn't think they knew in those years. I think it was a secret for a while. They weren't invited up to the Fitchburg wedding. They thought that was the wedding. It was all done and all went down. I think he had a second one up here, it seems. I don't really know. INTERVIEWER: Grandpa and Grandma Frigoletto, did they not meet Grandpa Frigoletto? ROBERT: Yeah, I don't know. WIFE: Taking in account all that history, and… ROBERT: Yeah, we have all that here. We weren't historians in those days. Luckily my kids are, and we are now. WIFE: Because I know all my relatives and all the stories and history. I mean, that was part of my growing up, but I think because he was away to school so much, and then when he was home, his father was just discussing school, school, school. ROBERT: Yeah, my father used to come home for supper and then go back to work. WIFE: I think we had more -- maybe my family had more contact with all the different branches. ROBERT: The other doctors used to take Wednesday afternoon off, then my father got home at 4:30 instead of 6:30. INTERVIEWER: But that wasn't typical I take it for doctors. They would… ROBERT: They would usually take Wednesday afternoons off, so now it's holiday Wednesday is the typical thing. But my father never get out of work. WIFE: I don't think you were as into what was going on in his family life, because he was just always a party guy. He was up playing all the time, and I think maybe a brother who was three years order, he might know somebody, I bet.36 ROBERT: He remembers more of the people that lived around too, but three years makes a difference in memory, too. INTERVIEWER: I know a little bit of the history. What did the Protestant and Catholic, [unintelligible - 01:01:55] think? ROBERT: No, that's done. We don't really know either. WIFE: Certainly didn't seem to be a problem, when I get into the family anyway. INTERVIEWER: Getting back to your father, he had a brother and sisters? ROBERT: One brother and four or five sisters. INTERVIEWER: Now, who was it that pushed him? ROBERT: Rose, his mother. The Padula. Yeah, because Grandpa worked for the city. He house the dirty work in the streets for the city, and Rose was the pusher and educator. So Grandmama did that. INTERVIEWER: In which ways? ROBERT: Hmm? INTERVIEWER: In which ways? ROBERT: In which ways? INTERVIEWER: How did she push him? Because I imagine that… ROBERT: I don't know, she was always -- because Grandpa died early in my life. I only remember from the tricycle and from some movies we've got down at camp. I don't remember him other than that. But Rose ended up living with us. We had a close sister who lived on the same street that we lived on, and she was always the pillar of strength. Drove a car when she was 84, had the same car, got it in '36 when I was born. It's a blue Ford. INTERVIEWER: What else can you tell me about her? ROBERT: Great cook. Peppers, which I never liked, because she used to do all the Italian spiced foods, but then my father got some stomach problems, diverticulitis, couldn't have any of those foods anymore. So as I grew up, my mother kind of lightened up on a lot of the 37 stuff my father couldn't eat, [unintelligible - 01:03:58], stuff like that. But my brother remembers all the cooking and the… WIFE: I remember your grandma Frigoletto, because she came to our wedding. She was very much alive and vibrant. She -- I didn't know her obviously when you were kids, but I bet she was a very… ROBERT: She was a big part of the household. Strong woman. WIFE: I think his father's directing people and ordering people, I think maybe that's where Josephine and Fran and Fred probably got it from. ROBERT: Got their oomph from, just her personality. Because I think Grandpa was not that powerful of a man. WIFE: And thinking that he died so long ago and she managed to… ROBERT: And I think yes it's her who decided to buy the three-decker house so that the sons and daughters could live close by. Just recently, we heard they have four, five rental things that she was… she was a go-getter and all that stuff. I'm sure he just followed along. WIFE: She sort of took care of -- she lived with your Aunt Josephine, but she ran the kitchen. Josephine and Lou worked in their business. She ran the house. INTERVIEWER: You said that you just recently learned that they had rental property? "They" meaning your grandparents? ROBERT: Grandparents, yeah, on Water Street. Yeah, they had rental properties. Sylvia just told me when I was asking about them. WIFE: This cousin Sylvia that he's mentioning, she -- her mother was Fred's oldest sister, and she died very young. ROBERT: Giving birth, to one of the other kids. WIFE: So Sylvia lost her mother when she was a young girl, and I guess she got a stepmother after that. But Sylvia went on to go to nursing school, [unintelligible - 01:06:01]. 38 ROBERT: And in fact my father put her through nursing school just financially. And she always, even to this day, she says, "Your father was so good to me. I remember paying him back after I got a job for a number of years and gave him a check. He never cashed it." WIFE: He just -- whoever he could get to go to school. ROBERT: Yeah, he was just… WIFE: She was then an instructor, in the school of nursing. ROBERT: Yeah, nursing at Burbank Hospital, her and Grace Gumo. INTERVIEWER: Do you think you grandparents or even your father ever faced discrimination being an Italian, a recent immigrant?/AT/jf/cm/es

Carla Vogel, October 1, 2013 ; Business at the Crossroads - Ogden City is a project to collect oral histories related to changes in the Ogden business district since World War II. From the 1870s to World War II, Ogden was a major railroad town, with nine rail systems. With both east-west and north-south rail lines, business and commercial houses flourished as Ogden became a shipping and commerce hub. ; The following is an oral history interview with Carla Vogel. The interview was conducted on October 1, 2013, by Caroline Olmstead. Carla discusses her memories of Ogden and 25th Street. ; 31p.; 29cm.; 2 bound transcripts; 4 file folders. 1 videodisc: digital; 4 3/4 in. ; Oral History Program Carla Vogel Interviewed by Caroline Olmstead 1 October 2013 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Carla Vogel Interviewed by Caroline Olmstead 1 October 2013 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in Special Collections. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description Business at the Crossroads - Ogden City is a project to collect oral histories related to changes in the Ogden business district since World War II. From the 1870s to World War II, Ogden was a major railroad town, with nine rail systems. With both east-west and north-south rail lines, business and commercial houses flourished as Ogden became a shipping and commerce hub. After World War II, the railroad business declined. Some government agencies and businesses related to the defense industry continued to gravitate to Ogden after the war—including the Internal Revenue Regional Center, the Marquardt Corporation, Boeing Corporation, Volvo-White Truck Corporation, Morton-Thiokol, and several other smaller operations. However, the economy became more service oriented, with small businesses developing that appealed to changing demographics, including the growing Hispanic population. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management Special Collections All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Vogel, Carla, an oral history by Caroline Olmstead, 1 October 2013 , WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, Special Collections, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Carla Vogel October 1, 2013 Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Carla Vogel. The interview was conducted on October 1, 2013, by Caroline Olmstead. Carla discusses her memories of Ogden and 25th Street. CO: Today is October 1, 2013 we are giving an interview to Carla Vogel pertaining to the Mount Ogden area. I'm the interviewer, Caroline Olmstead, and my assistant is Lorrie Rands. So, Carla first of all where and when were you born? CV: In Ogden Utah, 1932. CO: Where did you grow up? CV: In Ogden on Darling Street just below Harrison. Then we moved to 32nd and Iowa when I was about twelve, lived there until I got married in 1953. CO: How many people were in your family? CV: My parents and my brother and myself. CO: Your father, what was his occupation? CV: He was a dentist. CO: The Vogel's Drive Inn in Ogden, he was the owner to that? CV: Yes we built that. CO: So how did, why was that started? What made your father want to own a drive inn if he was a dentist? CV: Oh he always was interested in everything. He had that little piece of land, it was a garden at that time with apple trees. He thought that would be nice to have a drive inn and four little apartments upstairs. We had car hops, that was my first job. 1 CO: So if your dad was a dentist who managed the drive inn? CV: My uncle Ken Burrows. CO: On the drive inn there's a really big sign, how did you guys end up being able to get that… CV: Oh, because Tom Young the man that started Young Electric Sign Company that has done most of the signs in Las Vegas. He's one of my dad's very best friends so he said George I'm going to fix you a really nice big sign. That's how we got that. CO: Where did you go to high school? CV: Ogden High School CO: And did you play any sports or anything? CV: Yes, yes I was involved in all the sports they offered. CO: Did you break any records? School records? CV: Oh well in junior high I did for the pole vault, the high jump, and the long jump. Unfortunately I didn't keep the newspaper article. CO: Did you have any pets? CV: Always had a cat and a dog. One time we even had a little goat. CO: What about your horses? CV: Yes started out with a Shetland pony that had a colt. So I had two Shetland Ponies and from there all of the horses I got were because some of my dad's patients couldn't pay for their dental work. If they had a horse I would get another horse. CO: How many horses do you think you had throughout your childhood? 2 CV: Oh, well I worked up to about five. Pretty much all the time, I had two mares that would have a colt each year so the previous colts you know I'd train them and break them and sell them and then get new ones. So I usually had four or five horses all the time, but over the years the total I don't know. I may have had twenty that might be. I did have a great grandson of Sea biscuit one time. The government sent a stallion out to Syracuse and I got a colt from him. So he's a great grandson of Man of War and a grandson of Sea biscuit. CO: And you said that you broke the horses by yourself and you sold them? CV: Yes I'd train them then sell them. CO: Would you get to keep all the money even though your dad helped care for them. CV: Even though it wasn't a lot. I don't really remember if I kept the money or not. I know I sold that particular colt for two hundred dollars and I probably used it for school. CO: Did you have a favorite horse that was your horse that you wouldn't sell? CV: Well pretty much Goldie. She was a thoroughbred race horse from Roosevelt and her father couldn't pay for his false teeth so he gave us this horse and yeah. She was fast. CO: So she was a race horse, did you ever take her out, did you ever race her? CV: No there was really no place big enough for her to run full-out. I would race her with neighbor kids once in a while, but that was all. There were no race tracks around here. CO: Can you tell us about the time when you took her to Hill Field Road? 3 CV: Oh yes. I was probably in junior high last part of junior high and she never was able to run as far as she wanted. Once she started running she never wanted to stop and it was kind of a problem around here on 32nd street. So one day I just was a little bit cool so I didn't put a saddle on and I just rode her out from 32nd out up the hill to the Hill Field Road. There used to be great big huge hayfield, just huge. So I let her just run as fast and as far as she wanted and by the time we got clear down to the end she was pretty much was satisfied. Then I rode on home and never told a soul. 40 years later I mentioned it to my mother when we were on that road and I told her and she just, she started shaking she says good grief I can't believe you did that, but it was pretty fun. CO: Did you ever take Goldie on night rides? CV: Yes, sometimes. Not a lot, but two or three that I remember. If it was a full moon and clear, I had a friend out that lived by 37th and Harrison. Well, her house got torn down when they built the college. We would meet after my folks were asleep I would go out. We would meet and ride around in the hills. CO: So you never told your parents that you were going out? CV: No, no. CO: So right next to your house was the Mount Ogden Park? CV: Well this present house, yes. CO: Do you remember when Mount Ogden Park was built or has it been around forever? CV: No because I think it was built probably when we were away. We were away for 23 years, from 72 to 95. So it was built sometime in that period. 4 CO: Just a little bit farther down from the Ogden Park is Wagon Wheel Road. Did you ever hang out around there? CV: Oh yes, yeah one of my good friend Beverly lived on that road and I remember once in a while picking her up early in the morning and just putting her on the back of my horse. We'd just go riding around up in the hills. CO: You mentioned one day you found a distillery? CV: Yes it was all underground. I would say a couple hundred feet up from 32nd. We just kind of dug around a little bit and here was this great big underground room with all these old wood stoves and barrels and buckets and yeah even though we were young we knew what it was. CO: Did you guys ever try to light it up? CV: Oh no. We never told anybody about it either. If we had told some adults they probably would've come and caved it in. That was probably really dangerous to be under there. CO: Do, so you never told anybody. Do you think that there would be a chance it would still be there or probably not? CV: I think it is. I could show you where it was. I imagine you know there's grass over it now. It's part of the playing field of Mt. Ogden Junior High School. CO: So you wouldn't know where it is unless you had seen it before? CV: Right, yeah. My friend Penelope Dovenspike lived right close to it too. So we went to Polk School together. CO: So skipping forward quite a few years, did you attend Weber College? CV: Yes 5 CO: What was your major? What were you studying? CV: Psychology and secretarial. CO: How would you get to school each morning? CV: Well I had access to a little old 1937 Ford Coup and that's pretty much what I drove. By then a cousin was living with us her mother had died so she would go too. She took cosmetology so she only went for one year. CO: So you got to drive to school? Was that common for most students? CV: Actually I drove to Ogden High School in that little car because it was my brother's and he was away on a mission. So I think I was practically the only student that drove a car to Ogden High School. I parked right in front of the south door on 29th street. CO: So after your college education you said you were trying to study being a secretary. Did you ever get a job with that? CV: Oh I got a very good job for Makesson Robins Drug Wholesale Company. CO: Where was that? CV: Down on 24th and Lincoln. It's been torn down since, but it was national drug wholesale and I was the secretary to the manager, Mr. Tinney. CO: Do you know about what year that was that you were a secretary about what time? CV: 52 CO: Just out of curiosity do you know about how much you were making as a secretary for them? CV: Yeah I think I got about 65 dollars every other week. 6 CO: How many hours were you working? CV: Oh full CO: Full time? CV: Probably either 8-5 or 9-5. CO: So speaking of that part of Ogden, so you were a secretary on 24th street right next to that was 25th street. Did you ever spend a lot of time there? CV: Not in those days, it was very run down and there were so many men around that were drinking and sitting on the gutter. So we drove by, in fact my cousin more than once saw her father down there because he was an alcoholic. So she would say there's Frank Taylor. My dad became her dad. CO: Are you familiar with electric alley? CV: Oh yes CO: Can you tell us a little bit about that? CV: Yes, it started on Wall just a little north of 25th street in the back of the buildings. There would be lights burning in some of the windows, upstairs windows. So one day I picked up my two friends and their mother came with us, she was very worried when I turned up electric alley because she said I don't have my girdle on I shouldn't be down here. She was a very proper lady, but we survived the little two or three block trip. We wouldn't have ever thought of getting out of our car down on 25th street back in those days, no not at all. It was just bars and saloons and yeah. Later yes, when they had nice restaurants years later we would yes. CO: But not during that time? 7 CV: No. CO: I would like to know how you met your husband. What was the story with him? CV: Okay, well like I mentioned my brother who was three years older than me was up in Oregon serving a mission for the church. He left a book of Mormon next door to the boarding house where my husband was living, he was about 19 or 20. The lady didn't want to keep the book so she asked bob if he would keep it for a week which he did. He's always read everything he could ever get his hands on so he had it nearly half read when they came back a week later to pick it up. So they said, "Well did you read the book?" "Yeah I read some." "Would you like to know more about it?" He says, "Yes I really would." That's where it started, they taught him all about the church and he joined the church and then not too long after that one of the missionaries was finished with his mission and came home to Salt Lake. My brother was still in Oregon, but this other got a job at Sear's and also got a job for Bob. So Sear's called Bob one day and said you're to report to Sear's store in Salt Lake on such and such a day. It was a surprise to him, but every time he applied for a job he applied for Bob too. He got a job, he packed his little suitcase and took the bus to Salt Lake and started working at Sear's. I think it's on about 7th and State or Main. Anyway once he was there, now he not only didn't have a car he'd never driven a car. He was 19 or 20 and so I basically taught him how to drive. So Cliff brought him up to dinner and then you know I thought he was cute and Lola didn't care for Cliff too much unfortunately because he really liked her. 8 Then they went home and I don't know if we'd have ever seen him again except that mother and dad went to Salt Lake, seemed like it might have been a few months later to a missionary farewell and there was Bob. They said to him and Cliff well why don't you come up next Sunday for dinner? So that's really where it all started. CO: Then it's interesting I noticed that your husband's last name was Ellis. CV: Yes he was Bob Ellis. CO: So can you explain how Vogel became your married name as well? Can you explain the situation behind that? CV: Yes we did start going together, but then Uncle Sam called. He had to go in the army and he's been blind in one eye from birth, but when they gave him the eye exam and I have to say that's one of the only two times I've ever been mad at him. When he covered up the good eye he said he couldn't see anything. They said well look harder, he says well I guess there's an E up there. So they said okay you're in the army. Oh when I heard about that I just about went through the ceiling. CO: Were you already married to him at this time? CV: Oh no, we had been going together but I didn't know if he was the one or not. He went to Fort Lee Virginia for boot camp and while he was there my brother came home. He married his sweetheart that had waited for him, Gwen Fronk. She went to Weber too. So he wanted Bob to be his best man and he told mother that you know that there's no one else I want to be my best man. Well he's back in boot camp. Mother says I'll see what I can do and she did, she was quite the lady. 9 She could pretty much do anything. The next thing Bob knew his orders were changed and he was to go to this private airport and was going to be picked up by a private plane and flown to Ogden the day before the wedding. So he was at the wedding. They were going to go to Sun Valley for their honeymoon. Anyway, the next morning Bob was at our home, that three level home over on 32nd, he was in the basement. He came up the next morning and here was the whole family there including the newlyweds and he wondered what was going on. Mother said, "Bob would you like a family?" He says, "I don't know what you mean." "Would you like us for your family?" He grew up in an orphanage and many foster homes. That was the only prayer he ever had was for a family. So he says, "Well usually you adopt little kids and raise them." Mother said again, "We would like to adopt you." So anyway, half an hour later we were down in the judge's quarters and got him adopted. The next day he had to leave for Seattle to take the troop ship. Probably what saved his life is he could type. So he was over there typing throughout the Korean War and he would accompany the dead bodies to Japan where they could be shipped home, that was his job. So the fact that he could type probably saved his life because not many of them came back. So he came back April 15, 1953 and we were married May 15, 1953. CO: Didn't waste any time then CV: So the second time I got mad at him I didn't see where he needed to change his name because I kind of wanted to change my name when I got married. So he 10 was good to write nearly every week. Private Ellis was on the envelope and pretty soon it was Sergeant Ellis, but then the date came it said Sergeant Vogel. I just about went through the ceiling again. Years and years later I found the adoption papers where it said that he was required to change his name and I didn't know that all those years ago. He did the right thing because Ellis to him meant all these broken marriages, all these drunken fathers, it was nothing good. My mother and dad was the first happy marriage he ever saw in his life, my mother and dad. He was very determined to be a good father, more so I think than most people. CO: After he got home and you guys got married. What did he do for a career? CV: Well something he was afraid to tell me that he didn't have a high school diploma. He was afraid if he told me I would kick him to the side. Well I didn't care, but he just took some odds and ends jobs. He worked for a T.V. repairman for a while. He took the GED test? He took that, he did so well he got a scholarship to the U, but we had just moved into little duplex in Ogden and we didn't want to move down there. So he turned it down. He started at Weber and he went days, nights, and summers. Graduated fairly early and then he worked at Baker's Shoes on Washington Boulevard and helped the folks with those four little apartments where Vogel's Drive Inn was. Bob was their handyman and their painter. He became a good painter so he would clean and paint the apartments and work at the shoe store. Kind of barely got us through. CO: You also mentioned that later on he would go around and he would speak to people and tell his story. 11 CV: Yes he did get his master's. He had to go up to Logan to get it in Elementary Education. So his first teaching job was at Polk School, that was in the early 60s. He taught some pretty famous people like Rocky Anderson, Doug Felt, the Frishneck, and a lot. He taught with Edna Hardy, she was quite a fixture at Polk school for many many years. I think she taught until she was about 72. Then he went on to, he became a principal down at Washington which has been torn down, but it was on Washington. His secretary Elaine Richins, I believe it was her, one day brought in an article about Charles Mansen. Bob said, "Well I know him quite well. He was in the next bed to mine in the orphanage." She said, "Oh my gosh." He had never told people much about it, but he told her a little. She said, "Oh would you come and speak in my ward?" So he did and every time he spoke a couple of people would come up after and ask him to speak in their ward. It just grew really big. He was pretty soon speaking every Sunday, well it lasted for years until eventually we decided that we would just ask them if it was out of town if they would come and get him and bring him back after. They were happy too, even somebody in Blanding they wanted him. So they came up and got him, took him to Blanding, got a place for him to stay and brought him home the next day. People would take him to Provo and bring him home. One time they flew us both down to California for him to speak to a big group in La Canyada California. People just kept telling him you need to write your story, you need to write a book. He started several times over the years to write his story and he just couldn't seem too. So I don't know if you want me to mention a little bit more about that or not. 12 CO: Yeah feel free CV: Well one of our friends when we lived in Price just before we moved back here. She was good on the computer and you know this was back in like1989, not many people were. She really wanted to write his story and so she would call him, get together with him, take notes, record his stories until she had, she actually wrote his story. She would call him, she moved to Texas we moved here. She would call him to get all the details so she finally did finish it. She mailed it to us and he set it aside, wouldn't even look at it. I know why now because I found that manuscript last Friday. So it gives his story in his own words up until the day he was adopted in 1951—61 pages actually—telling about the vision of him, his sister, and his brother. The mother bathing them, putting clothes on and telling them this lady is going to take you for a ride in her car. These three little kids being taken to the orphanage it was a huge big building called The Widows and Orphans Asylum. That little detail I had never heard, I knew he went to the orphanage, but I didn't realize it was like that. The mother never even said goodbye. She was very mentally ill so maybe you have to be happy she knew she couldn't take care of them. Anyway this friend also made another manuscript, same story but changing all the names because they thought in case they made it into a novel they would call it a novel based on fact. Fiction based on fact and all the names were changed. So that was kind of what we thought, but she had a couple of different people read it and they both said this can't be true. This can't be true, all these coincidences. How he finally left the orphanage at 18 and went to Mesa, 13 how he got to Oregon when my brother was there. They just said all this can't be true. She did submit a small version of it to the New Era Magazine, but the editor says, "I find it very fascinating, but I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you need to find a professional writer." Well I have a granddaughter just graduating from Weber College that has specialized in writing so I found this 63 pages Friday. Saturday I read it, it took two hours and I gave her a copy. She said she will write it and I think we'll use the version with all the right names because everybody in it is dead except for me. So I guess I think that as a family we need to self-publish the book. Anyway guess I'll be putting it together over the winter. LR: That's quite a coincidence having a granddaughter that writes. CV: Yes and I didn't know it. I was telling my one boy about it yesterday and he says well you know Amy graduated in writing. She was there last night, we had us a great big family night here at the park last night. I made root beer and they brought treats. So yeah Amy will help me do it and I have a friend that's a printer, has his own printing company here in Ogden. You know what? It kind of had to happen after he died. He didn't like dealing with it and you can just see why. How horrible, he says Charles Manson would cry himself to sleep every night. His mother was alive too. Anyway I think finally it's going to be a book and I think everyone that knows him is going to want a copy. Won't be a big book. LR: That's great thank you for sharing that. I think it's fantastic. His story will finally be not just something that's told, but you can read about it. CV: It will be in print and I know it's all true because over the years he's told me all. See he wouldn't tell me some of the little details that he did with his friend when 14 she would just have him talk. It's not full of extra wordage at all, no. It's pretty much fairly precise. It's not overly wordy. I visualize it being in the neighborhood of maybe 85/90 pages, something like that. Some of the people that read the one manuscript where they changed the names wrote to Ann later said whatever happened to Bill and Connie? Did they get married? She made him Bill and me Connie. So I don't know where it might lead, but I have friends that think it should be made into a movie. It would be one of the LDS movies I know because it's a fabulous story, but it's all true. One little thing I didn't know at one point after he'd been in the orphanage for a couple of years they brought him home. He was so happy but guess why they brought him home? His mother remarried another man named Ellis and had a little child so they took Bob out of school—the orphanage—and brought him home to tend the little boy, his little half-brother. That was bitter sweet because he had grown to love him. He felt like he was the only person that loved him. He didn't ever know his brother loved him so here was this little half-brother, but he really missed school. He did love school. So I don't know long that lasted, maybe a year or two. That was what he never mentioned, but it was in the 61 pages. He ran away a couple of times, but he'd end up back in the orphanage so he was going on 18 before he actually got away. Anyway I guess the recording's stopped. LR: No it's still going. CO: There was only one other question that I was going to ask that I forgot about. You mentioned that you had a Korean brother. 15 CV: Korean? CO: Yes CV: Oh yes, Sun Chu. That's his picture, he's my age. CO: How did you become acquainted? How did he become part of your family? CV: Okay there were a bunch of young Koreans that wanted to learn English really bad and the young men really wanted to go to American universities so they got permission to teach them English. Bob a couple of other soldiers would teach them English. The only book they had was the Book of Mormon so some of these, I don't remember how many. It seemed like five maybe five or six, I have the picture up there. See they all had to have their heavy coats on—it was winter. Some of these kids wanted to join the church and when Bob baptized Sun Chu in the China Sea, they kind of had to sweep away the ice. Bob and Sun Chu became very close, like brothers. They were refugees from Seoul, they had had to run and leave everything behind and there they were just living in Puson in very shabby conditions, but his family would have Bob over for rice and fish. So then later when three or four of these young men wanted to come to America so bad they each had to find a sponsor. Well of course my folks sponsored Sun Chu so by the time he came over Bob and I had been married three or four months so he lived here. Lola got married a month after us, but they had taken another girl in, Betty. She was still living with them so Sun Chu and Betty were there and he went to Weber for two years, then he went down to University of Utah. Got his engineering degree and when the Korean government knew that, the minute he got his degree they whisked him back. We didn't get a 16 forwarding address or anything. It was just kind of so fast, didn't get to say goodbye. He maybe didn't even, well anyway he went but he was just here part of the family. I mean he would tend our first little baby and he was very close with my brother and their two little babies too. We trusted him completely to tend our little baby. So then all these years went by and in October of 2010 fortunately it was 2010 and not 2011. He came over to the U.S. and picked up his son in San Francisco, came from Seoul. His son Don who's an architect in San Francisco. They drove up to Salt Lake for general conference and a little while after it ended the phone rang. It was our boy George that lives in my family home now. He says, "Sun Chu is here." I just couldn't believe it, he had to keep repeating it. He says, "He's here at our house I'm going to bring him up." So I started down the stairs and halfway down the stairs I just started to bawl. It was just so unreal, I mean happy. I just started to bawl so bad I couldn't talk. Poor Bob he knew the phone had just rang he thought surely somebody had been killed. Finally I was able to get it out, "Sun Chu is here he's coming to our house." The whole evening was like a dream. I'd never had one like that. It just kept feeling like I'll wake up in the morning and none of this happened. All of the grandkids that were available that could come came and they all sat in a big circle around on the floor here. Bob and Sun Chu sitting here reminiscing and talking. It was so special, so special. He wanted us to come to Seoul the next summer. I wish we had, but we had all these grandkids getting married that summer. We were kind of a little bit tied down. We've been in contact ever since 17 and it's just been a wonderful friendship. He married Dr. Kim's daughter, she was one of the other ones that was baptized. Beautiful woman, I have their colored family picture when they had their 50th wedding anniversary. They were all in their Korean clothes, it's a beautiful family. So I e-mail him, I never hear from him unless I e-mail him first then he'll message right back. He won't ever take the first step, but very sweet lovely man. He was a handsome young man, now he's just a sweet older man. LR: So you mentioned the name Lola. CV: Yes, my grandmother and her grandfather were brother and sister so we're second cousins. When her father (well her mother died) had these two little girls her and her sister he just gave them away to a lady. I think her name was Mrs. Moon out in Roosevelt and they were just doing all the work for her. Herding the sheep and doing the gardening and all that. Lola was about 12, I was 12. The little sister was about 9. Well the dad needed false teeth, didn't have any money so he said he had a thoroughbred race horse so we hooked up our trailer and went to Roosevelt. It was such a long ride in those days that we had to get a hotel. The next day we met Lola and Dorothy. Two little rag muffins you know. So what I really don't remember now is how we went home and mother said I can't leave those girls there. She asked me if they could bring Lola home I said, "Yes," so we went back out. I'll have to ask Lola how long it was, I just don't remember that at all. She felt like she went from rags to riches. She had appreciated that so much and she's had a wonderful life. Her sister went back to New York to live with the older 18 sister that was married and my mother regretted that the rest of her life because she led a pretty bad life. They weren't religious at all and just very sad. They're both still alive too, but one's paralyzed in a wheelchair for many years and the younger one is divorced and poor, very sad. Lola has had a very good life in California. LR: The last time we were here you talked about over where Mount Ogden Park is now. The little shack that had that little family in it. CV: Oh the stone house? LR: Yes CV: The rock house, yeah. It's where the club house is. It's just barely a stone's throw east from that. It was just square inside, probably about the size of half of this room and they had either three or four children. The Crosley's, the Crosley family and they were feeble minded. So the state automatically sterilized their children even though I have a friend that went to school with a couple of them at Polk School and she said they were totally normal. Kind of sad so yeah they were just so poor. I guess most poor people I ever knew. LR: Oh the house that is down on 32nd. Now didn't your father build that? CV: Yes, but Art Grix did the place LR: My question is, it's kind of a new art deco home. Was that one of the first art deco homes in Ogden? CV: Yes I could show you about eight of them that Art Grix did. There's another architect that did a couple, but Art Grix mainly did most of the art deco in Ogden. LR: He's the one that designed that home? 19 CV: Yeah and all of them are white except for ours. Mother said no I have to have yellow brick. So it was yellow brick and the upper part was yellow stucco. Self-cleaning stucco and to this day it's beautiful stucco. The people we sold it to in the 70s while we were in Louisiana put a pitched roof on it, kind of ruined the look oh dear, so sad. They didn't need to make it quite such pitched because they had to cut into the windows and make the windows little, it's very sad. The only improvement inside they did was in the kitchen and they made it so you couldn't have a kitchen table and chairs in the kitchen anymore. So the one improvement they made was not very much of an improvement. So they had to eat in the dining room for all their meals. We ate in the kitchen when Bob and I lived there. We had five boys, we had room. Then Sundays we ate in the dining room. They have to eat there every day so kind of sad, but it's still a lovely home. LR: So you mentioned that in 72 you moved to Louisiana. When you came back how had things changed? CV: Well we came back every summer so it wasn't like a big change. LR: Wasn't a big CV: Every single summer we came to Ogden because in Louisiana it was so miserable in the summer. The humidity just killed you so the minute school was out and if Bob wasn't through university we came and he would fly home. So we would spend the full summer here and in the basement of the home because it had its own kitchen and bath and living room and all that. It was kind of run down, you know renters they wouldn't mow the lawn. So it was kind of sad so that's why in a few summers I put it up for sale. Bob wasn't real thrilled with the idea, but he 20 knew we had too. An older couple bought it. When they died, this was about in 1999, I think, 2000, right around there. We went by one day and there was a for sale sign out in the yard so man we stopped. The realtor was inside so we didn't tell him it had been our home and we knew every nook and cranny we just let him show us around. Anyway we told mother about it and she helped George get a down payment to get it as he needed a bigger house. She was thrilled to have it back in the family. LR: I just kind of have one more question. Having been up here the majority of your life, up here meaning in the Mount Ogden area, all but those 20 years in Louisiana. Well you were in Price too right? I'm thinking of someone else. CV: 6 in Louisiana, 17 in Price LR: So you were in Price okay. CV: When we first got married we lived in Salt Lake for three or four years. LR: For the most part I mean the majority of your life has been spent up here in Mount Ogden. You've watched it go from a really rural area to more of an urban area. Has the change been something that you've liked or is it been more of a you wish it would go back to the old ways? CV: Oh dear. Well like I say, we were here every summer all those years. We noticed changes every year. Yes I remember like in Salt Lake we wouldn't see much change, but up here we would see year to year quite a bit of change all around town. Of course like I told you I have a photograph taken from our house on 32nd to St. Benedict's and Ogden High without one single house in between. I may have to get those printed, that was on slides. I was very happy that dad didn't sell 21 any lots over there between Iowa and Tyler, between 32nd and 30th until after I was married. I had all my horses until I got married and sold them. I had to sell them, but people over the years were always begging for building lots. All those little houses on Harrison, 48 I watched all those 48 houses get built. They sold for like 6,000 dollars, cute little homes. Some of them have fixed them up nice and some of them have let them go. We were kind of sad when they built those because I was still at home, didn't seem right to have all those houses so close together. Then finally dad relented and started selling a few lots and then a developer/builder George Stettler I believe his name was, Mr. Stettler. He pretty much bought all of them and built all those homes. Those are nicer homes, but the city has a master plan to take all those little houses on Harrison down and put up high density housing. I hope they don't, those are cute little homes. That is in their master plan for someday. You can go anywhere like out in Clinton where one of our boys live. Every time I go out to visit there's 50 more homes and over the winter there's a 1,000 more homes. I mean it's incredible, but once you get past Harrison Boulevard life just kind of slows down, traffic slows down. So I really appreciate living up here and especially having Mt. Ogden park there. There will never be homes right in front of me like most people have. So I'm very fortunate. Two of my boys live within walking distance and two are ten miles away and one is in Price. All the grandkids, everyone is in Utah. I don't think I have a friend that doesn't have kids all over the country. 22 LR: I lied, I have one more question. Where St. Benedict's is now, last time we were here you mentioned that the LDS Church was thinking of putting their temple there? CV: Yes at one time. They debated whether to put it there or downtown. LR: Do you know why they chose not to put it up here? CV: No, but I heard that they thought it would kind of help the downtown area. LR: If they built it down there? CV: Yeah LR: I just think it's interesting, it's a perfect spot. St. Benedict's is huge, you can see it CV: From all over, the freeway. It would've been nice for me, very nice for me. LR: That was it. CO: Thank you Carla for your interview LR: Unless you have anything else you'd like to add. Sorry I forgot to say that. CV: Oh, well other than you know the two years I had at Weber gave me wonderful jobs. A secretary job here because of the shorthand and typing that they don't need that anymore, but it was wonderful back through those years. Then in Price I got a good job. In Louisiana, I got a good secretarial job. In Price I worked as a law secretary for a number of years. So you know the training I got at Weber look how valuable it turned out to be for me. Plus I took all the psychology classes I could get for two years and I couldn't put a price tag on how valuable that has been, especially in raising five boys. Knowing how to interact with them that has positive outcomes, I mean you just can't put a value on that. So I really am very grateful for Weber and especially Dr. Stratford, William Stratford. He lived up into 23 his 90s I believe. Yes Weber's been a big part of our whole family and still is. I've got a lot more grandkids that will be going there. I have a 30 year old grandchild that just started there last year and he's found out he's so good in math that he just got a scholarship. So he may meet Mrs.Right there. LR: You never know. CO: Thank you Carla for your time CV: You're welcome. 24

Issue 69.3 of the Review for Religious, 2010. ; ANew Chal!en~e Models of Spi~rituali, ty Liv, ing Religious Li£e ' Foliow~ing Christ QUARTERLY 69.3 2010 Review for Religious fosters dialogue with God, dialogue with ourselves, and dialogue with one another about the holiness we try to live according to charisms of Catholic religious life. As Pope' Paul Vl said, our way of being church is today the way of dialogue. Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published quarterly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393 Telephone: 314-633-4610 ¯ Fax: 314-633-4611 E-Maih reviewrfr@gmail.com ¯Web site: www.reviewforreligious.org Manuscripts, books for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious ¯ P.O. Box 6070 ° Duluth, MN 55806. Periodical postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for information on subscription rates. ©2010 Review for Religious Permission is herewith granted to copy any material (articles, poems, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the limits outlined in Sections 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this permission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribution, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written application to the Editor, Review for Religious. ~ gournalof Ca~ho~c ~piri~ua~y rel Editor Associate Editor Scripture Scope Editorial Staff Advisory Board David L. Fleming SJ Philip C. Fischer SJ Eugene Hensell OSB Mary Ann Foppe Tracy Gramm Judy Sharp Paul Coutinho SJ Martin Erspamer OSB' Margaret Guider OSF Kathleen Hughes RSCJ Louis and Angela Menard Bishop Terry Steib SVD QUARTERLY 69.3 2010 contents prisms 228 Prisms 230 238 a new challenge ~ Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age Daniel P. Horan OFM reflects on the role technology currently plays in both supporting and challenging Christians in their fellowship (koinonia) as church. Personal Reflection / Group Discussion Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Hear and Far Hedwig Lewis SJ probes the inclusive meaning and reach of frontiers for spiritual enhancement and effective ministry. The term frontiers, contained in Decree Three of the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus has gained popularity among many religious. 226] 255 268 models of spirituality ~ Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of the Cross Judith Metz SC explores a central element of St. Elizabeth Seton's spirituality: her realization of the importance of losing her life for the sake of living in closer union with Christ. A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth Avis Clendenen finds in an aging sister's simple tale a vision of the humility that our dangerously narcissistic culture seriously needs. Review for Religious 281 297 living religious life Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice Robert Nogosek CSC proposes that in order for religious life to be authentic discipleship it demands of us an ongoing reevaluation of what is required to be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious Jeffrey Mickler SSP brings together some observations and practical suggestions on how to deal with problematic religious. 3O9 316 following Christ The Liturgical Year: History or Mystery? John M. Samaha SM examines the movement of the liturgical year in order that we might enter more fully into this time of grace. Personal Reflection / Group Discussion Discipleship and Clinging to God Damian C. Ilodigwe writes on how letting go opens us to true discipleship, and we are invited to detach ourselves from wayward affections in order to attach ourselves to God. departments 324 Scripture Scope: Reading and Understanding the Prophets 328 Book Review 227 69.3 2010 prisms 228 In the middle months of a secular calendar year, we find ourselves in what is identified as "ordinary time" in the church's liturgical year. As we likely have been told many times, the liturgical "ordinary time" refers to a way of counting (the Latin word ordo meaning "an ordering") the Sundays from one to thirty-four. These are the Sundays that are outside of the special seasons of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. Yet for us Christians, there is a kind of lovely paradox in living within what we call the "liturgical season of ordinary time." While in many ways it may seem that all time is ordi-nary (since time is always countable), in other ways we can view all time as rather extraordi-nary. The ordinariness of time is caught up in our usual round of family or community life, of work and recreation, of the accustomed interaction of friends, neighbors, and fellow-workers. Some people try to break out of the day-to-day routine by deliberately scheduling in a special time for a dinner out, a day-trip to an unfamiliar town, or a different recreational activity such as biking or bowling. Review for Religious A number of people find each day an adventure and cannot imagine that there are some who would call life ordinary. These people find a newness in the chang-ing weather of this day, in the surprising interactions with their own children or friends, and even in the mes-sages of the mail, the internet, and the iphone. They have retained a certain childlikeness that retains a won-der,. about life in all its forms. For them life is not so much ordinal, that is, "countable," as it is caught up in "moments" that have no countable passage. For exam-ple, moments of insight and moments of being inflamed by love--spiritually identified as consolations--are truly beyond the countable. We Christians are blessed and graced to recognize these kinds of "moments" in prayer during which we feel caught up outside of time in our relationship with God. Surely it does not happen all the time; in fact, the "ordinary" is our "slugging away" at our prayer time. We can also know these moments when we are engaged in our various times of joy, happiness, and love. The wonder of it all is that these moments for us--those who are caught in finding life ordinary and those who are gifted to live in wonder--are actually moments that happen in the ordinary course of our daily living. Perhaps that is why it is important for us to enter fully into the paradox of our church's liturgical season of ordinary rime. There i~ the reality of the ordinary and there is also the reality of the moment. The church's liturgical year reminds us that God is always present to us both in the ordinary and in the moment. We need only to pray each day of our liturgical year to be gr.aced with the gratitude that finds God in all times and places. David L. Fleming sJ 69.3 2010 a new DANIEL P. HORAN challenge 2301 Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age If Jesus had been born in 1980 and began his public ministry in 2010, would he have "friended" the twelve apostles on Facebook instead of visiting the Sea of Galilee? While this question might at first seem comical, it reflects concern about how the church as the Christian community relates to the world in which it exists today. The world is very different from the world of Jesus' ministry. The way many people experience interpersonal communication, develop and maintain relation-ships, and share information is strikingly dif-ferent from the ways of previous generations. In an era marked by advances in technology, communication, and virtual space, we must be attentive to how much our church community is being influenced or shaped by its new envi-ronment. To understand some of these matters Daniel P. Horan .OFM has written on Franciscan the-ology, philosophy, and spirituality. He writes from Holy Name College; 1650 Saint Camillus Drive; Silver Spring, Maryland 20903. Review for Religious in what we may call the "digital age," we must look first at what unites us in faith and then at how our changing world affects that unity. What Is Koinonia? Early in the Acts of the Apostles, we are told that members of the nascent Christian community "devoted thems'elves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Ac 2:42). In Greek, koinonia was one of the marks of Christian identity, but what does it mean? It literally means "communal-ness" (community, communion, "in common") and thus fellowship. In the Christian con-text, however, this is more than club mem . bership or casual social connections. The New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson sug-gests that this under-standing of koinonia includes our unity in Christ, which explains how the Christian com-munity was able to maintain unity amid the ~hallenges it faced in the first centuries. In a 1999 lecture at St. Louis University, Johnson offered four aspects of this Christian fellow-ship: fellowship among persons, in writing, in material resources, and in convictions.1 Even in diverse cultures, regions, and languages, Christianity was unified through these four aspects of koinonia. The fellowship among persons is seen in the way net-works of New Testament figures, including the apostles The fellowship in writing is most clearly seen in the way .that. early Christian texts,. were shared among the early believers~ [231 69.3 2010 Horan ¯ Koinonia and the Cburcb in the Digital Age and their successors, helped to unify the various com-munities of believers. Johnson believes that these per-sonal connections helped to maintain coherence in the early Christian movement. The fellowship in writing is most clearly seen in the way that early Christian texts, which would later be canonized as Scripture, were shared among the early believers in different locations. The exchange of these compositions, sometimes letters and sometimes longer narratives, concretized the common experience of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The communal reflec-tion on these compositions proved to be an important means of developing koinonia. The fellowship in material resources united the first Christians in a seemingly calculable way that was under-stood more deeply as symbolizing a spiritual connec-tion with other believers. We see in both the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of Paul references to offerings for the benefit of the local community ("no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common," Ac 4:32), and the greater Christian community spread throughout the land ("conc+rning the collection for the saints., on the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn," 1 Co 16:1-2). Sharing financial resources represented spiritual koinonia. The last form of fellowship is that in convictions. Johnson notes that in the New Testament we see con-flicts arising over interpretations of some mat(ers, but that some convictions are never contested. Three of these are monotheism (identifying the one God as the God of the Torah), knowledge that Jesus was human and died, and belief that Jesus was now living with God and would share in God's triumph in the future. Review for Religious All four forms of koinonia that Johnson highlights contribute to the unity amid diversity in the early.church. We see that they have continued to unite the church. The Possibility of Digita! Koinonia With the understanding that this fourfold koinonia continues even today, we can now look at how it relates to us in our technologically advanced and technologically permeated world. It seems there is nothing that does not have a digital or virtual counterpart: Much of today's communication takes place on the Internet in such sites as Facebook and MySpace. Interacting in a completely digital environment where simple laws of nature, com-mon social mores, and geographical limits are no longer applicable is becoming more common through programs like SecondLife. These new forms of communication and social interaction allow the users to create, modify, and experiment with their identities in unprecedented ways. These new "identities" can participate in what are often called "online communities." Is it possible then to express koinonia in a digital format, to have "church" or a community of believers come together in an authentic way online? It would seem at first glance to be a possibility. The clearest congruency between koinonia and the digital age is likely found within the context 6f the fel-lowship among persons. The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gen-tium, says: "All of the faithful, scattered though they be throughout the. world, are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit" (LG §13).2 Earlier in Lumen gentium we are told that the church "transcends all limits of time and confines of race [and is] destined to extend to all regions of the earth" (LG §9). Transcending the 69.3 2010 Horan ¯ Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age boundaries of temporality and human differences sug-gests that connecting and communicating with others through digital media and the Internet is indeed a con-temporary manifestation of fellowship among persons. Additionally, the "blog" (short for "weblog") and other digital media make written compositions and reflections on normative religious texts more read-ily available. Even in graduate theological schools, the ubiquity of technologies such as BlackBoard or WebCT has reshaped the way students of Scripture and theology read about, reflect on, and share their faith. It would seem that Christians are no longer limited to parish Bible study, adult catechesis, or other forms of faith-sharing face to face. Instead, thecommunica(ion of biblical and theological reflection now transcends the previous spatial and temporal boundaries. You can read about, reflect on, and share your faith at any time and from nearly any place. The fellowship in material resources in contempo-rary Christian communities occurs largely by way of the Internet. Technology enables the faithful to share their material resources directly or indirecdy with other communities at the click of a computer mouse. When natural disaster, crime, or war affects the people of God on any continent or at any time, the Internet has allowed Christians to assist others instantaneously. This has been the case in recent years with aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and victims of hur-ricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. The sharing of material resources in these instances also represents the spiritual unity of the people of God, spread around the world though they are. The final dimension of koinonia that Johnson has highlighted for us, fellowship in convictions, can also be for Reli#ous seen in the new technologies of the digital age. From the beginning of the Internet, digital "communities" formed to share ideas and information. Early on, this occurred in what were called "chat rooms" and "message boards," where one could connect with others and contribute to a continuing conversation about a particular subject. Today the successors to those early formats might be Facebook "groups" and personal blogs. Centered on commonly held beliefs and convictions, these digital "spaces" allow people to connect with others without regard to temporal or geographic boundaries. Given the apparent compatibility of Luke Johnson's fourfold definition of koinonia with the technological advances of our digital age, it seems we could advocate a form of "digital koinonia." There remains, however, a piece of the puzzle that is not accounted for in this digital koinonia. The church is not united in this form of fellowship alone, but is also a Eucharistic community. From Facebook to Eucharist However great the possibilities for increasing koi-nonia among the Christian faithful, we must recall the passage from Acts cited above wherein the community was also devoted to the breaking of the bread. Cardinal Walter Kasper, in his book That They May All Be One,3 reminds us that the church is not simply an organization or club in which we have become some sort of mem-ber, and that we are brought into participation in the mystery of Christ as a part of Christ's Body through the sacrament of baptism. The participation--the set of relationships we enter through baptism and maintain through koinonia--comes to what Kasper calls "the summit," namely, participation in the Eucharist, a theme from Sacrosanctum concilium, 69.3 2010 Horan ¯ Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age the council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. In this light we can understand Christian koinonia as being both a communal or material unity and a sacramental unity. Kasper is in line with Johnson's fourfold koinonia, but reminds us that this koinonia is inherently sacramental, rooted in our shared baptism and Eucharist. Understanding koinonia as being fundamentally sac-ramental while also communal, we see two sets of rela-tionship in the church's koinonia, The first one Kasper calls the horizontal dimension of koinonia. It is what we have seen in Johnson's fourfold framework: fellow- - ship among persons, . , ~ in writing, in material resources, and in con-viction. The second set Kasper describes as the vertical dimension: the explicitly sacramental fellowship of believers, who in baptism are united to Christ and thus brought into the life of the Trinity. This dimension, the vertical or sac-ramental, cannot be replicated on Facebook, MySpace, SecondLife, or any other technological medium. People cannot have their SecondLife avatar baptized online and cannot participate in the celebration of the Eucharist online either. In light of the ideas of'Luke Timothy Johnson and Cardinal Walter Kasper and in line with the vision of the Second Vatican Council, the church in this digital age of ours is clearly aided in living its koinonia, but not, of course, in the matter of baptism and the Eucharist, with their water, bread, and wine. The horizontal dimension We can understand Christian koinonia as being both a communal or material unity and a sacramental unity,° 236 Review for Religious of koinonia could very likely benefit from more engage-ment with online technologies that transcend some of the usual limits of place and time. At the same time, there is a need to move beyond this digital koinonia to fully include the sacramental and vertical dimension in the celebration of baptism and Eucharist. Had Jesus "friended" the Apostles on Facebook, he would have veryqikely sent an "e-vite" to each one for an in-person gathering shortly thereafter. Notes ~ Luke Timothy Johnson, "Koinonia: Diversity and Unity in Early Christianity," Theology Digest 46 (1999): 303-313. 2 All references to conciliar documents are to Vatican Council II, ed. Austin Flannery OP (New York: Costello Publishing, 1992). 3 Walter Kasper, That They May All Be One: The Call To Unity Today (New York: Continuum, 2004). Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Study 1. In what ways do you experience koinonia in today's church? 2. How do you see technology impacting the way we live out our call to Christian discipleship? Are there other positive or negative dimensions associated with this reality? 3. What are the ways we might better use technology to support authentic communion within the Christian community today? 23.7 69.3 2010 HEDWIG LEWIS Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far 23,8 ~reOvarle daStt intuotd oens.l yI nc o2m0m06u,n tihcaet es lmanega n"icnogo blu"t walasso said to be the most popular word of the year. It had acquired a new set of meanings and suggested a specific mindset. The word, however, did not affect Jesuits: they were warming up for a general congregation (GC35) to be held in early 2008. When it was finally in session, the delegates wanted to set the world on fire. A special decree (D2) defined the Jesuit as a "man on fire" at the frontiers of humanity. Decree Three (D3) is tided "Challenges to Our Mission Today: Sent to the Frontiers." "Frontiers" became the theme of several docu-ments and the new buzzword of the Jesuits. It is no longer just a romantic term, but has evoked enthusiasm and captured Jesuit imaginations. It has become popular also among other religious worldwide.~ Hedwig Lewis SJ writes again from St. Xavier's College; P.B. 4168; Ahmedabad 380 009; India. His website is http://joygift.tripod.com. Review for Religious Understanding Frontiers The word frontier has varied meanings: the edge of empires, a place for adventure and heroism, technologi-cal testing for new industries, conquest or rich cultural exchange. In Europe it refers simply to the boundaries between nations. The colonies the Europeans established in the rest of the world became, first of all, European societies and cultures on farther frontiers. In the United States the frontier, in history and popular culture, has meant the setting for adventure and prosperity, valor and villainy. The national character is seen as having been forged in the trials and triumphs of life on the frontier. The pioneer experience supposedly pf0duced the best traits of the American people--their tenacity, individualism, love of democracy, patriotism, inventive-ness, and much more. Many historians today question such views, but few would deny that "frontier," broadly understood, has had an influence not only in North America but in the rest of the world as well. The expansion of European peo-ples brought a variety of complicated changes to human society and to the physical world itself. The frontier was an unsetding force--socially, culturally, politically, and ecologically) No longer just a geographic term implying some restrictions, "frontier" is also used in referring intel-lectual aiad scientific advances and ideological visions. Today "ideas, information, merchandise, technology, and capital circulate freely; persons also circulate, though with many more restrictions. Frontiers have become porous, and in many cases they have disappeared. The world has become multireligious and multicultural. There is no longer a notion of Christendom with delim-ited frontiers beyond which lies mission territory.''3 69.3 2010 Lewis * Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far A New Concept of Frontier Decree Three of GC35 redefines frontier accord-ing to. the interpretation Pope Benedict xvI gave it in his allocution to GC35. It implies "geographical and spiritual ,places where others do not reach or find it dif-ficult to reach . The obstacles challenging those who announce the gospel are no longer seas and vast dis-tances; rather they are the boundar-ies of a superficial vision of God and of man, which place obstacles in the way of faith and human knowledge, faith and science, faith and the commitment to justice.''4 The new frontiers exist everywhere, and we are sent to the frontiers with the very concrete mission of open-ing up passes and of "building bridges" between those who live on pne side of the frontier and those who live on the other. What is more, we are asked to be our-selves "bridges in a fragmented world" (D3 17). The frontiers have to be recognized in their variety and diversity. "The frontier is everywhere--in cyber-space, in the inner space of retreats and counseling, in the depths of depression from infirmity, in the homes that have been broken by separation or misunderstand-ing, in the midst of the secularized globalized post, modern world, in old places that call for new ways of speaking God's word. It is anywhere and everywhere that the joy and peace of the Good News is still not felt. And we are asked to go there, and 'our mode of proceeding is to trace the footprints of God. know-ing that the Spirit of Christ is at work in all places Frontiers have to be recognized in their varietyand diversity: 240 Review for Religious and situations.' . . . We turn also to the 'frontier' of the earth, increasingly degraded and plundered. Here, with passion for environmental justice, we shall meet once again the Spirit of God seeking to liberate a suf-fering creation, which demands of us space to live and breathe" (D2 10&24).s On the spiritual front, particularly for Ignatian spiriZ tuality, "~e frontiers are in giving Spiritual Exercises to every kind of person. There are frontiers in constructing an I'gnatian spirituality that can energize political action and, a renewed evangelization of faithful Christians. And there are ~frontiers in places: Moscow, for instance, and the virtual place called the web. There are older fr.on-tiers too: each human hea~;t that has to decide to follow and serve Christ the ¯K' in"g6. Jesm" t s"pirituality, because it is holistic and inclusive, "sustains the Jesuit at individual and collective, personal and strg.ctural levels for collabo-ration and networking at all levels--provincial and uni-versal in an attitude of solidarity . Jesuits are invited to build a new future in Christ for a 'globalization in solidarity, a globalization without marginalization.'''7 Those who "really try to listen" to, the Spirit end up in strange, surprising places!''s Jesuit Frontiersmen ~ Since the-foundation of the Society of Jesus, Jesuits have considered themselves frontiersmen and pioneers in .the proclamation of the faith. Pope. Benedict alluded to this in his allocution: "In its history; the Society of Jesus has lived extraordinary experiences of proclama-tion and encounter between the gospel and world cul-tures- it suffices to think of Matteo Ricci in China, Roberto De Nobili in India, or the 'Reductions' in Latin America. And you are very rightly, proud of them. I feel 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far 242 it is my duty today to urge you to set out once again in the tracks of your predecessors with the same cour-age and intelligence, but also with an equally profound motivation of faith and enthusiasm to serve the Lord and his church." He was echoing the words of his predecessor Pope Paul vI, who spoke of ~'crossroads" and "the front line" when he addressed GC32 in 1975: "Wherev.er in the church, even in the most difficult and exposed fields, in the Erossroads of ideologies, in the social trenches, there has been or is confrontation between the burning exigencies of humanity and the perennial message of the gospel, there have been and are the Jesuits," The Jesuit historian John O'Malley, writing about "the first Jesuits," said that their ."ministries and how they went about them were quintessential to the Jesuits' self-definition" of being frontiersmen. In their minis-tries, Jesuits excluded no person or place in the world. They operated at the edges of life: they preached, taught catechism., proposed _n_ew liturgical practices, and sought to .help orphans, prostitutes, prisoners, and people in hospitals. They were simultaneously writing plays, teaching in universities~ and acting as theologians at the Council of Trent. Within seven years of their papal approval, they founded and operated schools.9 Today our mission is to, go with both spiritual vigor and intellectual rigor to the "new frontiers" where we learn again that our "Jesuit identity [and mission] are relational; they grow in and through our diversities of culture, nationalities, and languages, enriching and chal-lenging us" (D2 19).1° In keeping with their vocation, therefore, Jesuits are sent beyond all frontiers "to serve faith, promote jus-tice, and dialogue with cultures and religions. The basis Review for Religious for reconciliation is Luke 4:18-19, which announces the good news to the poor, the release of captives, the recovery of sight by the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. In proclaiming God's message of love and compassion, Jesus crosses over physical and socio-religious frontiers. In the same manner, Jesuits are invited to preach the kingdom to those living outside their physical and spiritual frontiers: tax col-lectors; prostitutes; sin-ners; refugees; displaced; trafficked; women; chil- ,To cr, gss frontlers demands a strongfaith, courage, ,open ness others, and a willingness to take risks. dren; minorities; outcasts; indigenous peoples; victims of communal, caste, and ethnic violence; and persons of all kinds who are marginalized and excluded.''~l The frontiers are difficult and often uncomfort-able places. They provide none of the security of one's home turf and often require excursions, into unfamiliar or even uncharted territory. To cross frontiers demands a strong faith, courage, openness to others, and a will-ingness to take risks. It requires the ability to adapt the message of Christ and his church to cultural, linguistic, and religious realities that work with altogether differ-ent categories and reference points, as modeled by some of the great Jesuit missionaries of the past.~2 '.'Going to the frontiers," Father Adolfo Nicolfis pointed out, "means study, research, entering into the life of the people, soli-darity, empathy, inculturation, and respect for others. Going to the whole world turns out to be more difficult than we had thought. We feel like children. Perhaps we have discovered the kingdom of God.''~3 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, when asked to define "catholic" by Georgetown University trustees visiting Rome in May 2007, replied, "I have always understood 'catholic' to mean bringing the experience of those at the frontiers of the church's mission back to renew the center.''14 For the effectiveness of our mission, we need to carefully "discern" the frontiers. This demands "three important qualities: creativity, daring, and great humil-ity!" according to Father Nicolfis. "Every Jesuit work, be it in justice, spirituality, educati6n, or whatever, should ask the question, 'How are we at the frontiers?'''is That is what this article addresses. The full mean-ing and scope of "frontiers" will take much research and extensive reflection. This is, then, an introductory study from three perspectives: (1) interior frontiers, which involve (2) spiritual frontiers and (3) outreach frontiers. 244 Interior Frontiers Saints have implied that the spiritual life is the adven-ture of crossing interior psychological frontiers to reach the ever expanding horizons of the soulscape. Spiritual life always involves letting go so .that, unburdened by self-seeking, one can go forward in communion with the divine. This adventure entails a striving to compre-hend "the 'breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of Christ's love (Ep 3:18). In this regard, and with regard to the papal definition, frontiers envisage inscape and landscape--the personal and the social, the vertical, horizontal, and panoramic reaches within one's power with the help of divine grace. Frontiers can envision our environs, our neighborhood--its breadth and length-- and those living on the edge or at the fringes of our neighborhood or our society. Frontiers can include depth Revieva for Religious and height, interior knowledge that grows and expands to vision and ideals, to community and commitment. As religious men and women, committed to this journey of the soul, we are called to be "bridge-builders" on all fronts. To be effective in this mission of bridging, we have to grow unceasingly in our familiarity with the "territories" at both ends, the spiritual and the worldly. "The church is in urgent need of people of solid and deep faith, of a serious culture and a genuine human and social sensitivity, of religious who devote their lives to stand on those frontiers in order to witness and help to understand that there is in fact a profound harmony between faith and reason, between evangelical spirit, thirst for justice, and action for peace.''16 This spiritual adventure has'its own thrill and attraction. With our inner vision set on new~ and farther horizons that our Lord graciously opens up for zealous seekers, the path is "straight and narrow" (Mr 7:13-14), but along it there are obstacles and frontiers. For those disposed toward Ignatian spirituality, any discussion on "frontiers, will inevitably involve the magis, the openness to being and doing more. "We must discern our mission according to the criteria of the magis and the more universal good" (D2 22). The magis challenges one toward seeking greater depth rather than wider avenues, non multa sed multum (not many but much). The spirit of the magis transforms us into fron-tier persons, desiring to find themselves called to what is greater and better. St. Ignatius, "the pilgrim," explored the dark inte-riors of the cave of his heart before he undertook the journey to Jerusalem to "save souls." His Autobiography describes how the journey inward meant resisting dev-ilish pirates and surviving death-threatening squalls in [ 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far order to cross the frontiers to peaceful havens. An exam-ple from more recent times is that of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who indicates in her "private writings" that for the last fifty years of her life she had struggled pain-fully to feel God's presence. Through her "dark night of the soul," neverthe- The Ignatian magis brooks no comfoi't zones; it expands ou~ horizons and opens up ever-new frontiers within the heart and the world around it. less, she shone forth as an extraordinary woman of faith, who continued crossing frontiers of a more ordinary kind. The Ignatian magis brooks no comfort zones; it expands our horizons and opens up ever-new frontiers within the heart and the world around it. Only Love can satisfy our inner craving for fulfillment: Love of God, love of self, love for others. Only unconditional love breaks barriers and enables us to cross over life's various frontiers. We will reach the last frontier only when "the soul feels sat-isfied." But this will happen only with our dying breath, for, .as Augustine tells us, our hearts are resdess till they rest in God. 246 Geography of Prayer/Spiritual Frontiers To assist us in our "restless striving" to cross spir-itual frontiers, St. Ignatius has given us his Spiritual Exercises. "One tries to find one's way to the place where one desires to pray now and, when I find my way to that place, I try to stay there 'until I have been satis-fied' before moving on to a new place." This method Review for Religious applies to where I place my body (in the literal sense) and where I give my attention. This discipline of seek-ing the place of my heart's desire and trying to stay there until I have been satisfied makes a powerful disci-pline for living ordinary life as well as for finding guid-ance in prayer. A Jesuit has written: "When I pray, I pay attention to where I am (geographically, professionally, tempo-rally). I try to follow the lead of my inner disturbances (Ignatius's word for consolations or desolations), which can help me find my way to where I desire to meet, and be met by, God. If I pay attention to where I place myself in the world and where my life circumstances place me, my place in the world becomes grace for me. I can form a habit of asking whether I am called to remain in that place or whether I am called to find my way to a new place. 'Place' here can mean a given neighborhood, a particular job, a professional organization, an informal network of friends, and so forth.''~7 Familiarity with this "inner geography" helps us translate our prayer into our ministry as contemplatives in action. Hence we need to deepen our interior lives so as to better integrate our vision and mission as fron-tiersmen. Without a demanding and vigorous interior life, we allow ourselves to let go of the "contempla-. tive" side of our lives, forgetting that "in what we do in the world there must always be transparency to God" (GC35 D2 10). Without seeking and finding the paths of interiority which the Spirit of God oPens up if we are docile, we rian the risk that our apostolic generosity will wither, the meaning of our strongest commitments will become confused. Without seeking God with our inner eyes, we do not recognize how God is working in our efforts. We are likely to stop making them.~8 247 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far 248 Outreach Frontiers Frontiers "beyond geographical definitions await us, 'nations' that today include those who are poor and dis-placed, those who are profoundly lonely, those who ignore God's existence, and those who use God as an instrument for political purposes. Thereare new 'nations,' and we have been sent to them (D2 22). At the frontier, then, we encounter the tragedies of poverty, hunger, thirst, pain, and death--a world in need. But this discovery need not discourage us, for we also discover that God is already there at work, and God will accompany us. Be.cause God is already there, Jesuits and their collaborators will receive new energy and new life, even when mingled with anguish where 'the Divinity'is hidden.'" 19 "Ignatius and his first companions understood the importance of reaching out to people on the frontiers and at the center of society, of reconciling those who were estranged in any way. From the center in Rome, Ignatius sent Jesuits to the frontiers, to th~ new world, 'to announce the Lord to peoples and cultures that did not know him as yet.' He sent Xavier to the Indies. Thousands of Jesuits followed, preaching the gospel to many cultures, sharing knowledge with and learning from others. He also wanted Jesuits to cross other types of frontiers between rich and poor, between educated and unlearned. He wrote a letter to the Jesuits at the Council of Trent on how to behave, and insisted that they should minister to the sick. Jesuits opened colleges in Rome and in the great cities, of Europe, and they taught children in villages across the world" (D3 15). The metaphor of bridge-building is used often' in D3, "signaling a desire to link thoroughgoing incul, turation to a commitment to dialogue. The.strategy proposed is clear: Go to the frontiers, immerse your- Review for Religious selves in the cultures you encounter, and share in the conversation. These orientations are to drive Jesuit and Ignatian activity in the postmodern era.''2° "This tradition of Jesuits building bridges across frontiers becomes crucial in the context of today's world. We become able to bridge the divisions of a fragmented world only if we remember and live from three Ignatian principles: the love of God our Lord, the union of minds and hearts reflected in the personal bond of Francis Xavier and Ignatius across the seas, and the obedience that sends each one of us in mission to any part of this world" (D3 17). The "universal mission" of the Society of Jesus flows from Ignatius's vision at La Storta. He would "deploy Jesuits in a wide variety of apostolic ministries around the world. Jesuits were to go where the need was great-est, other religious were not already there, the good to be achieved was wide and deep, and their service would better society0while giving glory to God (see Constitutions SJ §622).''2~ Christ-centered Many tasks may call on us urgently, but we know that it is not only urgent tasks that define the Society's missions: "it is Christ's mission, of which we desire to be the servants, that is our urgency.''z2 Pope Benedict, in his recent encyclical Caritas in veritate (§20) empha-sized this IZhristic orientation behind all human endeav-ors toward social change for a better world: It is Christ's charity that drives us on: "caritas Christi urget nos" (2 Co 5:14). The urgency is inscribed not only in things, it is not derived solely from the rapid succession of events ahd problems, but also from the very matter that is at stake: the establishment of authen- [249 69.3 2010 Lewis * Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far Our o treach programs must begin from the heart, tic fraternity. The importance of this goal is such as to demand our openness to understand it in depth and to mobilize ourselves at the level of the "heart," so as to ensure that current economic and social processes evolve towards fully human outcomes. Our outreach programs, then, must begin, from the heart._ This demands that we be person-centered rather than project-oriented. Our service must touch hearts. In this outreach we will encounter personal and social frontiers, as" Christ did, but we must cross them all to get to people's hearts; for the kingdom, coming from within God's heart, is within. "The crossing of frontiers is a larger human experi-ence and is not only a matter of religious frontiers. An open church willing to relate to the world, the larger society, and many types of identities will increasingly face the question of how to go about the reality of frontiers. It is the modern version of the question of love of neighbor . Traditional Christian rec-onciliation has to express itself today in the way we face complicated frontiers and boundaries and how we cross over and reach out. :. By negotiating the frontiers and communing across them, Christians will continuously discover new dimensions of their own faith identity. ¯ Much of the Christian future lies on the periphery, in the frontier-zones. Encounter with new identities need not signify a threat to a church that understands itself as universal because it is a communion in difference.''23 "Jesus, in his outreach, embraced difference and new horizons. His ministry transcended boundaries. Review for Religious He invited his disciples to be aware of God's action in places and people they were inclined to avoid: Zacchaeus, a Syro-Phoenician woman, Roman centurions, a repen-tant thief. As water bringing life to all who thirst, he showed himself interested in every parched area of the world; and in every parched area of the world he can thus be welcomed, for all who are thirsty can understand what living water means. This image of living water can give life to all Jesuits as servants of Christ in his mission because, having tasted this water themselves, they will be eager to offer it to anyone who thirsts and to reach out to people beyond frontiers--where water may not yet have welled up--to bring a new culture of dialogue to a rich, diverse, and multifaceted world" (D2 12). The Gospels offer a vivid insight into Christ's modus operandi in his healing ministry. "Look at any healing story: the way Jesus heals the paralyzed man brought in by his friends through the roof; the leper; the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus first responds to a concrete, immediate need: the healing of a sickness. But then he goes on to respond to a deeper need: the burden of guilt or the sense of hopelessness or rejec-tion and isolation. Finally he goes deeper still and offers what they long for most, often without knowing it: the gift of the kingdom of God, of friendship with a God of unconditional love, in a way that transforms them at the core of their persons.''24 "In proclaiming God's message of love and com-passion, Jesus crossed over physical and socioreligious frontiers. His message of reconciliation was preached both to the people of Israel and to those living outside its physical and spiritual frontiers: tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, and persons of all kinds who are marginalized and excluded. His ministry of reconciliation with God 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far and with one another knew no boundaries. He spoke to the powerful, challenging them to a change of heart. He showed special love for the sinner, the poor widow, and the lost sheep. The kingdom of God which he constantly preached became a vision for a world where all relation-ships are reconciled in God. Jesus confronted the powers that oppose this kingdom, and that opposition led him to death on the cross, a death which he freely accepted in keeping with his mission. On the cross we see all his words and actions revealed as expressions of the final reconciliation effected by the Crucified and Risen Lord, through whom comes the new creation in which all rela-tionships will be set right in God" (D3 14). Words from the Heart We often fall short of being imitators of Christ in our frontier ministries. Our very words betray our attitudes: we "plan," "coordinate," "organize," mostly at the head level. "These are organizational verbs, very important, necessary for moving ahead," Father Adolfo Nicolfis noted. He added that in contrast, when Jesus commis-sioned his disciples to ministry, his words revealed the heart of it. He used "verbs of life, verbs of giving life": preach the gospel to the poor, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, expel demons, raise the dead. This clearly indicates that "the mission of God in Jesus, the business he is about, is making life flow more abundantly for humanity wherever it is lacking or blocked. And the real secret of mission is not to get rid' of the organizational verbs or the gospel verbs, but to somehow make the organizational actions that we have to perform expres-sions of the life-giving actions of the gospel.''2s Words are symbolic. When we set out with the mindset of Christ to discern "how we are at the fron- Review for Re.ligious tiers," is our definitiofi of "frontiers" congru.ent with that of the Church and the Socie,ty? Does the spirit of the magis urge us to seek and find God's presence everywhere--across the frontiers, deep and high, near and far? Notes 1 Adolfo Nicolas sJ, "Challenges and Issues in Jesuit Education," keynote address on the 150th anniversary of Jesuit education in the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, 13 July 2009. 2 Elliott West, Frontier, Grolier Online. 3 Marcos Recolons SJ, "What's New in the Decree on Mission?" Promotio Iustitiae 98-99 (2008/1): 18. 4 Pope Benedict XVI, allocution to the delegates of GC35, 21 February 2008. s Josd C.J. Magadia SJ, homily for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Philippine Province, 27 July 2008. 6 Joseph Tetlow SJ, "At the Frontiers," Review of Ignatian Spirituality 95 (2000): 17. 7 Joseph Marianus Kuiur SJ, "Sent to the Frontiers--Decree on Mission," Jivan (August 2008): 4-6. s Nicol~is, "Challenges and Issues." 9 John O'Malley sJ, The First Jesuits (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993), pp. 3 and 18. 10 Paul L. Locatelli SJ, "To Be Sent: Mission, Frontiers, and Contemplative Action," Review of Ignatian Spirituality 119 (2008/3): 27. 1~ Kuiur, "Sent to the Frontiers." 12 Len Altilia SJ, "The Inspiration for Frontiers," Frontiers 1, no. 1, online. 13 John Borelli SJ, "Frontiers of Dialogue for Discovery and Renewal," National Jesuit News (November 2008). 14 Borelli, "Frontiers of Dialogue." ~s Adolfo Nicolas SJ, "Jesuit Mission Today," address to Jesuits and friends at Gonzaga College, Ireland, 12 September 2009. 16 Pope Benedict XVI, allocution. 17 John Staudenmaier sJ "The Inner Geography of Prayer in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius," UDMcasts on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, The University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, 7 March 2007. 69.3 2010 Lewis ¯ Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far 18 Franqois-Xavier Dumortier SJ, "The Same Path as Ignatius," Review of Ignatian Spirituality 119 (2008). , ,9 Locatelli, "To ~Be Sent," p. 33. 20 Adria~ Lyons SJ, "From Centre to Frontiers," Province Express, Australia, 28 May 2008. 21 Locatelli, "To Be Sent," p. 27. 22 Dumortier, "The Same Path." 23 Felix Wilfred, "Introduction: The Art of Negotiating the Frontiers," Concilium, 1999/2. 24 Nicokis, "Challenges and Issues." 2s Nicolfis, "Challenges and Issues." Equinox 254 I was once certain of so many things Certain of light and dark life and death f!'lled and empty hatred and love I was once certain of so many things But grief broke me open and they tumbled out as one jumbled mess Certainty tumbled out among them. Kathleen Atkinson OSB Review for Religious JUDITH METZ Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of the Cross In the back flyleaf of her prayer book, Elizabeth Bayley Seton wrote a modification of the Anima Christi: Soul of Jesus sanctify me Blood of Jesus wash me Passion of Jesus comfort me Wounds of Jesus hide me Heart of Jesus receive me Spirit of Jesus enliven me Goodness of Jesus pardon me Beauty of Jesus draw me Humility of Jesus humble me Peace of Jesus pacify me Love of Jesus inflame me Kingdom of Jesus come to me Grace of Jesus replenish me Mercy of Jesus pity me Sanctity of Jesus sanctify me Purity of Jesus purify me Cross of Jesus support me Judith Metz SC is the archivist and historian for the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Her address is 5900 Delhi Road; Mount St. Joseph, Ohio 45051. models of spirituality. 69.3 2010 Metz ¯ Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of the Cross Nails of Jesus hold me in life, in death - in time and Eternity - in the hour of Death defend me, call me to come to thee, receive me with thy Saints in glory everlasting.I Elizabeth loved this prayer, writing several paraphrases of it as she contemplated at various times the outpour-ing of Jesus' love in his suffering and death. From when she was young, her spirituality found a focus in his love, shown in his giving of himself, in his willingness to suf-fer for us--and in her wish to return this love. Her father gave her a cross which she often wore, remarking that she loved it "as the mark of my Captain and Master whom I was to follow so valiantly" (3a:514). There are many references in her letters and journals to this cross, such as: "looked at my crucifix"; "Calvary is the rendezvous"; "we must be crucified." As she was nursing her dying husband, she wrote: "Not only willing to take up my cross but kissed it too" (l:257).During a tumultuous time after her return to New York, Elizabeth observed: "When people say 'so much trouble has turned her br~in' - well, I kiss my crucifix, which I have loved for so many years, and say 'they are only mistaken'" (1:401). People sometimes comment that they find little affinity with St. Elizabeth Seton because her spirituality seems negative. For them she dwells so much on suf-fering and the cross--on joy at embracing hardship in imitation of Jesus--that her spirituality does not attract them. ~ Yet the imitation of Christ must be the center of every Christian life. Holy people through the ages have shown us by their lives that the more people recognize God's outpouring love, demonstrated by Christ's sacri-fice on the cross, the more they need to imitate that self-giving love: "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, Review for Religious let him renounce himself and take up his cross and fol-. low me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but :anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it" (Mk 8:34-35). Although Ignatius Loyola did not write the Anima Christi, which we have already reflected on, he placed it at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises and often referred to it. And he did write the Suscipe that most of us are familiar with: ."Take, Lord, ~ receive all my liberty, my mem-ory, my understanding, my entire will; all that I have and possess." In her lnterior Castle, Teresa of Avila observed: "His Majesty could not grant us a greater favor than to give us a life that would be an imitation of the life his beloved Son lived. Thus I hold for certain that these favors are meant to fortify our weakness., that we may be able to imitate him in his great sufferings." Like these great saints, Elizabeth Seton was also com-mitted to living in imitation of Jesus. She wrote in her Journal: "The cup which our Father has given Us, shall we not drink it? Blessed Savior, by the bitterness of thy pains We may estimate the force of thy love . . . and therefore, if thou so ordainest it, welcome disappointment and pov-erty; welcome sickness and pain -welcome even shame, and contempt, and calumny. If this be a rough and thorny path, it is one which thou hast gone before us. Where we see thy footsteps we cannot repine" (3b:21). Elizabeth was able to enter into Jesus' life, to expe-rience his outpouring love in the events of the passion narratives, in a way that made them very real and rele-vant to her life. She recognized that Christ's story was her Elizabeth Seton was O mitted t0 living in ,imitation of ]esus: 69.3 2010 258 Metz ¯ Elizabeth Seton °s Spirituality of the Cross story. Her part was to enter into her own life and joyfully embrace the cross as a way of being in union with her beloved. She experienced overwhelming gratitude at what Christ had done for her, and she knew that her response must be to "drink the cup" and be "baptized with the baptism" of which Jesus spoke. This spirituality of hers permeated her prayer and supported her through many difficult times. One of these was the month she spent in the lazaretto with her desper-ately ill husband and young daughter upon their arrival at Livorno, Italy, in November 1803. She described the experience to her dearly loved sister-in-law Rebecca Seton: "You could not rest in your bed if you saw [me] as [I am] sitting in one corner of an immense Prison bolted in and barred with as much ceremony as any monster of mischief might be - a single window double grated with iron thro' which, if I should want anything, I am to call a sentinel, with a fierce cocked hat, and long rifle gun." "On the ship-mattresses spread on the cool floor my Willy and Anna are sound asleep, and I ~trust that God, who has given him strength through a day of such exertion will carry us on - He is our all indeed -. God is with us - and if sufferings abound in us,his consolations also greatly abound, and far exceed all utterance." "What shall we say - this is the hour of trial, the Lord support and strengthen us in it. Retrospections being anguish - press forward toward the mark and prize" (1:251,253,254). As the Setons passed their weeks, of quarantine, Elizabeth strove to keep her equilibrium by prayer and her "hidden Treasures,;--her Bible, commentaries, ser-mons, and The Imitation of Christ ~that she had carried with her from New York. She poured out her heart in her Journal, where she lamented time and again how she "read, prayed, we.pt, and prayed again" (1:256,257,265). Review for Religious But as she contemplated her situation she was also able to note: "Not only willing to take up my cross but kissed it too . I find my present opportunity a Treasure - and my confinement of Body a liberty of Soul which I may never again enjoy whilst they are united . If I could forget my God one moment at this time I should go mad -but he hushes all - Be still and know that I am God your Father" (1:257,258). With the passing days William Seton's health con-tinued to worsen so that by 5 December a doctor was called. Though he feared that Elizabeth's beloved hus-band "might be gone in a few hours," he continued to hold on. On 14 December, Elizabeth wrote: "The damp-ness about us would be thought dangerous for a pdrson in health, and my W's sufferings - Oh well I know that God is above. Capitano,. if I thought our condition the providence of man, instead of the 'weeping Magdalene' as you so graciously call me, you would find me a lioness willing to burn your Lazaretto about your ears . But O my Heavenly Father I know that these contradictory events are permitted and guided by thy Wisdom, which only is light" (1:270,271). Released from their confinement on 19 December, the lit-de family traveled to lodgings in Pisa. On Chrisunas Day Elizabeth put a little wine in a glass and said differ-ent portions of psalms and prayers which she had marked in her books, hoping for a happy moment. "We took the cup of Thanksgiving setting aside the sorrow of time, in the views of the joy of Eternity," she noted (1:273). Elizabeth then began the deathbed vigil that ended two days later. She recorded, "On Tuesday morning 27th December - [William's] soul was released - and mine from a struggle next to death." She continued, "In all this it is not necessary to dwell on the mercy and consoling 69.3 2010 Metz ¯ Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of tbe Cross 260 presence of my dear Redeemer, for no mortal strength could support what I experienced" (1:274,275). The tears, prayers, and anguish Elizabeth suffered during her long watch with her sick and dying husbandincreased her trust in God and led her to a deeper identification with her suffering Savior. Her experiences became a part of her spirituality. Her continued trust in Divine Providence during her remaining time in Italy led her along paths that she could not have imagined. Impressed with the Catholic faith and practices of her Italian hosts, the Episcopalian Elizabeth entered into a long and anguished discernment over whether to remain in the church of her birth or to join the Catholic Church. For nearly a year she considered the argu-ments on each side, trying to listen to the voice of God. Longing for support and advice, she wrote to her Italian friend Antonio Filicchi: "Judge of my disappointment when only a few lines [from you] rewarded my anxious anticipations - however, at. the foot of my cross I found consolation, and kissing it over and over I repeated and repeat, there only I am never disappointed" (1:326). Elizabeth's uncertainty seemed to grow through the months, and she wrote of being "half dead with the inward struggle" (1:372). Yet, she confided to Antonio, "when some hours of consolation come, I think 'hard as the trial is, yet it is sweet' - I never knew till now what prayer is - never thought of fasting - though now it is more a habit than eating, never knew how to give up all, and send my spirit to mount Calvary, nor how to con-sole and delight it in the society of angels - 'Patience,' says my soul, 'He will not let you and your little ones perish, and if yet your life is given in the conflict, at the last he will nail all to his cross and receive you to his mercy'" (1:339). Review for Religious Elizabeth's decision to join the Catholic Church gained her inner peace and certitude, but led, as she later recorded, to "most painful remembrances now - yet grateful for the order of our Grace, so evident through all" (3a:519). The three years that she remained in New York after her conversion were difficult and gave her ample opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ. Anti-Catholic sentiment made it hard for her to support her children and deprived her of much that her friends and family had provided. Her choice also occasioned some other troubles. Her two youngest Seton sisters-in-law, Harriet and Cecilia, and their cousin Eliza Farquhar were drawn to Elizabeth's Catholic fervor. When family members expressed disapproval, Cecilia's enthusiasm only grew stronger. Having been raised by Elizabeth from age seven, this young woman felt close bonds that were' strengthened by their shared desire for a devout living of their Christian faith. As she was. departing for Italy, Elizabeth had cau-tioned he.r young prot~g& "If you find that there are any obstacles in.your way, and doubtless you will find many as every Christian does in the fulfillment of his duty, still Persevere with yet more earnestness, and rejoice to bear your share in the Cross which is Our Passport and Seal to the Kingdom of our Redeemer" (1:224). Now, as Cecilia adamantly pursued the course of following Elizabeth into the Catholic Church, the younger woman met with severe opposition and even threats from her family. Elizabeth supported her as best she could, writing on Christmas Eve 1805: "My dear dear child I beg, beseech, implore you, to offer up all your pains, your Sorrows, and vexations to God that he will unite them with the Sorrows, the pangs and anguish which Our adored Redeemer bore for us on the Cross 261 69.3 2010 Metz ¯ Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of tbe Cross "Dwelling under :the Shadow of His Cross we will cheerfully gather the thorns which will be t~urned hereafter into a joyful crown" 262] - place yourself in spirit at the foot of that cross, and entreat that a drop of that precious blood there shed may fall on you to enlighten strengthen and support your Soul in this life and ensure its eternal Salvation in the next" (1:398). When Cecilia joined the Catholic Church, a violent storm broke in the extended Seton family. For a time she was confined to her room, threats were made to send her to the West Indies, and even to burn Elizabeth's house down over her head. Eventually the new convert tied her clothes up in a bundle and went to liv~ with Elizabeth for a time.2 During Cecilia's period of trial Elizabeth kept a daily spiritual jour-nal. In it she shared her own prayer expe-riences, along with offering counsel, and encouragement. In one entry she noted: "Pain and Resignation instead of the Treasure [Eucharist] this day -but He is then most near - while Weeping under his Cross we are there content to stay" (1:470). In another, Elizabeth encouraged her young relative: "May we never leave the sheltering wing, but dwelling under the Shadow of His Cross we will cheer-fully gather the thorns which will be turned hereafter into a joyful crown" (1:473). When Elizabeth Seton made the decision to move her family to Baltimore in spring 1808, her only hesi-tation was leaving her young relative and confidante behind in New York. Cecilia wanted to accompany Review for Religious Elizabeth but also felt an obligation to care for her brother James's children. Elizabeth missed Cecilia terribly and buoyed her-self with the thought that "there is no distance for souls united as ours" (2:6). During the year the two were sepa-rated, Cecilia continued to face difficulties and obsta-cles to her hopes of joining her beloved "Sister," as she referred to Elizabeth, while Elizabeth was peaceful and delighted with her new situation. In this light Elizabeth wrote to her "most precious child": "It is poor Sister who must beg you to pray for her --I am at rest my darling while you are mounting the heights of Sion - often too I sleep in the Garden, while you are sharing the bitter cup, but it is not to be so for long, his mercies are end-less and I shall not be left without my portion" (2:21). The two were joyfully reunited in June 1809 when Cecilia arrived in Maryland with plans to join the newly forming community of the Sisters of Charity. She enthu- ¯ siastically plunged into this new life, but her delicate health continued to decline. By early 1810 Elizabeth wrote to her friend Eliza Sadler: "My heart faints when I think of this separation. No one can conceive of.what she is to me - but - but-fiat" (2:111).,,Cecilia died of tuberculosis within several months, having well learned the spiritual lessons offered by suffering., ,As Cecilia Seton passed from Elizabeth's life, another Cecilia became an intimate companion. Cecilia O'Conway, a young woman from Philadelphia, was planning to travel to Europe to become a nun. Instead, On the recommendation of her. priest-director, she became the first woman to join Elizabeth at her school in Baltimore~ These two women shared many of the same spiritual goals and became friends almost .at once. Cecilia was enthusiastic about becoming a Sister of 69.3 2010 Metz * Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of the Cross Charity, and through the trials of the early years offered loving support to Elizabeth, who referred to her friend as "the angel of the Community. a true. and solid comfort" (2:141). Cecilia was indeed a true comfort as Elizabeth struggled through the difficulties of establish-ing a religious community and bore the sorrov¢ of'the deaths of two of her daughters. In August 1817 the two women were separated when Cecilia was amongthe first sisters sent to take charge 6f the .Catholic orphafi asylum in New York City. She was not happy to be separated from Elizabeth or to be thrust into the bustle of city life. But her spiritual mother chal-lenged her: "My own Cecilia - going on her heavenly errand and to crucify Self- . . . if you suffer, so much the better for our high journey above - the only fear I have is that you will let the old string pull too hard for solitude and silence, but look to the Kingdom of souls -, . this is not a country, my dear one, for Solitude and Silence, but of warfare and crucifixion- You are not to stay in his silent agonies of the garden at night, but go from post to pillar to the very fastening on the cross and mind, my lady, how you dare glahce a thought at pull-ing out a nail which he put in with my hand, while his own so dear will hammer it up to the very head I expect - I beg him with a mother's agony to do it softly and tenderly - would wish so to hold your dear head while he does it, but he answers, 'no one held his'., but yet he will hold it himself supporting with one hand, and fastening with the other" (2i498-499). During Cecilia's years in New York, she and Elizabeth maintained a lively correspondence .chal-lenging each other to an ever deeper union with their Redeemer. In their letters they exhorted each other to accept the sufferings, both physical and emotional, that R~view for Religious they were experiencing, and to receive them in the spirit of participating in the Lord's passion. "May you enjoy true peace in Him who has nailed us," Elizabeth wrote; "I would not pull the smallest nail out for a thousand worlds" (2:682). In her newsy letters Elizabeth kept Cecilia apprised of her declining health, telling her in July 1818, "I have no symptoms now of hastening Death as when I wrote you [earlier] - slow, slow and sure" (2:569). A few months later Elizabeth reminded her spiritual daughter of "how little is all that passes with this life . therefore we must be so careful to meet our grace," She then contin-ued: "Isaac come forth - the wood and fire are here, let not the Victim be wanting" (2:595). And the following month Elizabeth urged the younger woman to "take the abundant sweet heavenly grace from day to day, only seeking and seeing him in all our little duties . . . and taking from. the hands of all around us every daily cross and trial as if he gave it himself" (2:600). After two years in New York, Cecilia returned to the motherhouse in Emmitsburg, where she could again share her days with her beloved friend. With Elizabeth's health continuing to decline, Cecilia became one of her nurses. Staying close by her bed, she made sure Elizabeth had a crucifix available to assist her prayer, and she was present among the mourners when Elizabeth's last hour arrived. Am6ng EliEabeth's writings meditation on "the communion lof the cross." 69.3 2010 Metz * Elizabeth Seton's Spirituality of the Cross 266 Among Elizabeth's writings is a meditation on "the communion of the cross." In it she speaks of "the hap-piness of receiving our Lord and Savior in the holy Eucharist," yet points out that "we also receive him by the communion of his cross." "So," she continues, "when he invites us to come and receive him in afflic-tions' and sufferings, we should receive his chalice with the same ardor, and drink his Blood by faith . The great advantage of the communion of the cross is that we receive it when our Lord himself pleases and at the time he sees best." "Unhappily," she reflects, "we are. apt to think the very least suffering is too much, because we are lovers with our lips rather than our heart, while the true lover of Christ can never have enough of his cross." "All he asks of us is our good Will," but we. also "should bring the burning fire of love and gratitude" (3a:419-422). Elizabeth's burning love of God and desire to imi-tate Jesus was something that grew within her as she matured through her life. It gave her a deep insight into the necessity of losing herself in order to gain union with God: She understood, as had many holy women and men before her, that she was invited to emulate Jesus' self-giving love - that "the true lover of Christ can never have enough of his cross," and as they, carry the cross they "should bring the burning fire of love and gratitude." ~ The spirituality of the cross has been part of the Christian message from the time Jesus taught on this earth. Great saints, theologians, and spiritual guides through the centuries have stressed this same message. Today's Christian leaders continue to stress, as essential of our spirituality, our participation in Jesus' self-giving love, The German theologian Jiirgen Moltmann sees a kind of alchemy of Review for Religious love, where all the negativity and suffering of the world is touched by God and transformed into the victory of life.3 Johannes Metz, in his classic Poverty of Spirit, writes: "The legacy of God's total commiunent to humankind, the proof of God's fidelity to our poverty, is the cross [and] no one is exempted from the poverty of the cross.''4 Jessica Powers, in her poem "The Sign of the Cross," offers this same wisdom:5 The lovers of Christ lift out their hands to the great gift of suffering. For how could they seek to be warmed and clothed and delicately fed, when He the worthy went forth, wounded and hated, and grudged of even a place to lay His head? This is the badge of the friends of the Man of Sorrows: the mark of the cross, faint replica of His. Choose it, my heart. It is a beautiful sign. Notes ~ Regina Bechtle SC and Judith Metz SC, Elizabeth Barley Seton: Collected Writings, 4 vols. (New York: New City Press, 2000, 2002, 2006), vol. 3, part 2, pp. 74-75, hereafter cited in parentheses, thus: (3b:74-75). 2 Annabelle Melville, Elizabeth Barley Seton (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951), p. 119. 3 Jiirgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, as described in Elizabeth Johnson, Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology (New York: Crossroad, 1990), p. 121. 4 Johannes B. Metz, Poverty of Spirit (New York, Paulist Press, 1968), pp. 19-20. ~ Regina Siegfried ASC and Robert E Morneau, Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers (Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1989), p. 150. 267 69.3 2010 AVIS CLENDENEN A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth 2,68 Lheard a story a few years ago that got into the arrow of my bones and became a "dangerous memory." This term was coined by Johann Baptist Metz, who described it as an earlier experience breaking into our present lives and revealing new and provocative insights for the future. Such a breakthrough casts light on the deceptive nature of something we considered an evident good. It is a dangerous and incalculable visitant from the past. This memory has future content,~ The memory I wish to share is a story told by Sister of Mercy Betty Barrett on the occasion of her sixtieth jubilee as a vowed religious. Sister Betty Barrett entered the congregation in 1945. She devoted most of her ministerial life to education, becoming the president of Saint Xavier College in Chicago in the turbulent 1960s. In 1966 she supported an innovative idea to invite major Avis Clendenen most recently wrote for us in 2008. She is pro-fessor of religious studies and the Sister Irene Dugan RC Scholar in Spirituality at Saint Xavier University; 3700 West 103rd Street; Chicago, Illinois 60655. Review for Religious theological architects of the Second Vatican Council to the college for the inaugural symposium of the newly formed Pope John xxIII Institute. The tag line of the John xx]II Institute quoted John xxJII's call "to dedicate ourselves to that work which our era demands of us. ¯ remembering we are not on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life." . Imagine this small U.S. women's Catholic college thinking itself capable of hosting at one symposium Yves Congar, Jean Dani61ou, Charles Davis, Henri de Lubac, Johann Baptist Metz, John Courtney Murray, Edward Schillebeeckx, Karl Rahner, and others as well. The European theologians would for the first time bring the insights of the council documents to North America. For some, this would be their ~first trip to the United States. They all came. This gathering is exactly what President Sister Betty Barrett accomplished in early 1966, only four months after the council's close.2 The formation of the John xxlII Institute and the plan for the symposium became controversial. Archbishop John Cody of Chicago expressed reserva-tions about the symposium. He wrote to Sister Betty saying that such a gathering of theologians did not coin-cide with his norm for theological activities. He then issued a public decree that all ecclesiastical entities in the archdiocese must first obtain certification of cre-dentials from him before inviting to Chicago any priest from outside the archdiocese. All the council theologians invited were priest-theologians. The situation became an international story that saw the canonical authority of the local bishop as opposing academic freedom in institutions of higher education. The American press described the symposium, which drew more than three thousand participants to the little-known campus, as "an 269 69.3 2010 Clendenen ¯ A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth 270 event of unprecedented proportions," "an intellectual feast," and "a complex and strange event in the history of Catholic colleges at that time in North America." Interesting as it is, this event is not the key story of this essay. It is background for discussing the matter of dangerous memory. Sister Betty saw.the Second Vatican Council as Pope John xxIII did. She saw that aggiornamento was intimately tied,to justice and peace. While president, she became the first woman religious to be named to the Illinois Human Relations Commission. After her presidency she continued to advance the vision and mis-sion of ecclesial renewal and the claims of the social gospel through a variety of positions such as her min-istry with the Eighth Day Center for Justice and the Catholic Interracial Council. In her seventies she went to Central America to work with the poor, Though she tried desperately, she never learned Spanish well enough to speak or truly understand it. In her eighties she was asked at her sixtieth jubilee in April 2003 to share memories with those gathered to celebrate with her~ I shall paraphrase Sister Betty but speak for her in the first person. You know that when I went to Central America I could not speak the language of the people. You know I hold degrees of all kinds and functioned at a tremendous level of responsibility for many years while in the ministry of higher education. Yet, even after years and years of living among these beautiful people and interacting with them every day, I never managed to speak with them in their native tongue. So I was forced, so to speak, to plumb new depths of human communica-tion. While there, I came to realize that "being Review for Religious there"--presence--is what is most important in our ministry. Presence conveys a meaning that tran-scends even the need for words. This I learned very late in my ministerial life. Honoring this jubilee year of mine and know-ing that my ability to travel would only continue to diminish, the community offered me airfare to travel a last time to Honduras to see my friends. So a few weeks ago I took that trip. I went to the home of a family with whom I had been present during moments of joy and pain in their lives over a span of years. I walked into their humble living room and noticed something. There on the wall surround-ing the crucifix, were four pictures, each rever-ently hung near the cross. There was, of course, a picture 6f Our Lady of Guadalupe; a picture of Mother Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy; a picture of Archbishop Oscar Romero; and . a picture of me! What can I say to you about that moment in my life? Seeing the cross and our Lady, seeing that this family was so deeply touched by the min-istries of the Sisters of Mercy that they placed a portrait of a !9th century Irish woman near their own beloved Oscar Romero--and then to see my picture in that company! It was a moment of abject'humility, wonder, awe, an'd gratitude I will never forget. I could never really talk with them the way I am talking with you now, yet I was present to them over the long haul of many years. I share this story with you as an act of gratitude and humility for the gift of these sixty years of ser- 69.3 2010 Clendenen ¯ A Rare Humility and a Future-Faring Myth 272] vice, and as a testimony of wonder to 'a God who can do more in us than we can "ask or imagine" (Ep 3:20). I was mesmerized by her tale. In hearing it, my own consciousness was altered forever about ministry and mystery, about growing old yet remaining ever new, and about the lost art of humility. I recognized her story from'the past as a memory bearing future content. This elegantly simple parable resounded in me, taking on the force of a great myth; it became part of the life I desire. I say this not with any intention to mimic her experience, but in the inspiring hope of living the nearly lost art of humility. Sister Betty told a little tale about one family, and they--all unaware--became a dangerous memory precisely because she knew her telling it could break into the present moment and bring us new and danger-ous insights. Such lives disrupt self-interest and ambition by being a vivid picture of largeness of mind and heart, which our noisy egos often do not notice. The mythic story of this elderly nun speaks :to the truth of the poet Mary Oliver's words: What I loved in the beginning, I think, was mosdy myself. Never mind that I had to,. since somebody had to. o That was many years ago. Since then I have gone out from my confinement~s, though with difficulty. And I have l~ecome the child of the clouds, and of hope. I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is. I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned, I have become younger. And what do. I risk to tell you this, which is all I know? Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world.3 Review for Religious Living in an Age of Entitlement That last line is not an easy task in today's world. More than a decade ago I read, "The narcissistic per-sonality has become the most prominent~ personality type in the Western world.''4 At that time the statement caught me up short. Now I find it the lens through which I view the world I inhabit. In their new book The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement (2009), the psychologists Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell have documented and analyzed the troubling cultural trends of the past three decades. They suggest that North American culture itself is in the grip of a narcissism epidemic. According to Theodore Millon, professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, profes-sor of psychology at Miami University, and leading authority on personality disorders, "the label narcissism connotes more than .mere egocentricity. Narcissism sig-nifies, more specifically, that these individuals overvalue their personal worth, direct their affections toward themselves rather than others, and expect that others will recognize their unique and special value.''5 While I hesitate to labor the point, I think the fol-lowing list of traits and behavioral tendencies of the narcissistic personality can give us pause, in which to examine human consciousness. Those leaning toward narcissism tend ¯ To grandiosity, haughtiness, snobbishness, arrogance; ¯ To feelings of entitlement; praise for performance; ¯ To exploitation of and insensitivity toward others; ¯ To crave attention, which they see as deserved without need for reciprocity; ¯ To flout conventional rules and expectations of shared social living; 69.3 2010 Clendenen ¯ A Rare I-Iumili~y and a Future-Facing ~4yth ¯ To assume and often find that others feel hon-ored by their relationship, or to quickly train others to admire and obey them, with the result that the admirers insulate, them from self-aware hess of their limitations; ¯ To idealize those who satisfy their needs while treating contemptuously those who do not; the shifting of overvaluation to denigration occurs frequently in the same relationship; ¯ To preoccupation with personal adequacy, . power, prestige, and status; ¯ To heightened sensitivity to any form of criticism; ¯ To intolerance of perceived affronts to self-esteem that question their assumed inherent specialness; ¯ To take liberties with facts by embellishing them to maintain illusion of self-worth; ¯ To exaggerate abilities and accomplishments; to inflate and justify what they feel is due them, while depreciating those who refuse to accept or enhance their self-image; ¯ To use rationalization as a regulatorymechanism to cope with the inevitable personal failures or social humiliations by devising plausible reasons for self-justification and doing so with litde con-cern for others; and ¯ To lack interpersonal empathy.6 This detailed list of a narcissistic character is now embedded in the general population (and culture) where once such a description of human personality would have qualified as clinical narcissistic disorder. Ttie ethos of selfishness, individualism, utilitarianism, and instru-mentalism is taken for granted, not seen as problematic, and thus often remains unexamined. In turn, the values of community, altruism, and the life of the virtues are Review for Religious being undermined. A few years ago I heard the coor-dinator of the Jesuit Volunteers report that there was a lot of interest among young people who wanted to serve on their own terms. He referred to this as narclsslsnc idealism." According to Twenge and Campbell, no single event initiated the epidemic; instead, the values deep in the American psyche shifted Slowly toward individu- ~ alism, self-admiration, materialism, incivility, and entitlement. "Like a disease," they write, "narcissism is caused by certain factors, spreads through particular chan-nels, appears as various ~ ~ ~' symptoms, and might be ° - halted by preventive measures and cures. Narcissism is a psych0-cultural affliction rather than a physical disease, but the model works remarkably well.''7 Six years before The Narcissism Epidemic, Dr. ,Robert Moore, professor of psychoanalysis, culture, and spiritu-ality at Chicago Theological Seminary, in his book Facing the Dragon: Confronting Personal and Spiritual Grandiosity, announced the new contemporary crisis as "the epidemic of unregulated human grandiosity." Grandiosity refers to holding fantasies or embracing desires that are greater than your real life can support. According to Moore, either grandiosity makes you manic in running around to meet unrealistic demands or makes you depressed because your desires are essentially unachievable. Moore rallies our intellects and emotions to break through the existential denial of our "naive male" and "naive female" ,Cultural narcissism is d estructively shaping a :collusive and self-promoting ' way of livi g: 69.3 2010 Clendenen ¯ A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth 276] approach to the human situation by courageously con-fronting the aggressive cultural selling of pathological narcissism as a normative vision for human life.s The Narcissism Epidemic is replete with examples that reveal how cultural narcissism is destructively shaping a collusive and self-promoting way of living. In a chapter tided "Superspreaders!" they tell a tale from the televi-sion series "My Super Sweet 16": "Atlanta teen Allison tells a party planner she wants to block off part of Peachtree Street so there can be a parade for 'my grand entrance.' Peachtree is a major thoroughfare, the plan-ner reminds her. She responds, 'My sweet 16 is more important than wherever they have to be.' But there's a hospital across the street, the planner cautions--what if an ambulance can't get to the hospital? 'They can wait one second. Or they can go around,' she says cavalierly. Amid all of this, Allison's mother just listens. When the planner finally turns to her in exasperation, she says, 'If Allison wants it, make it happen.' So much for that dying person in the ambulance." The narcissistic "enti-dement" expressed here by the mother points to the odd perpetual adolescence of many American adults. Twenge and Campbell say that adolescence, the most narcissis-tic time of life, is being extended beyond all previous limits.9 Clearly such happenings are not isolated aberra-tions; they are cultural markers of the superspreading of a distorted collective psyche, that needs attention, fast. In Waking Up in Time: Finding Inner Peace in Times of Accelerating Change, the physicist and futurist Peter Russell said, "Our power to change the world may have made prodigious leaps but our internal development, the development of our attitudes and values, has pro-gressed more slowly. We seem to be as prone to greed, aggression, shortsightedness, and self-centeredness as Review for Religious we were 2,500 years ago . If we are to survive the critical times we are now passing through, it is essen-tial we undergo a profound shift in values and awaken to our inner truths and our full spiritual potential.''1° Effecting such a shift and awakening has been the mis-sion of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Center for Contemporary Spirituality founded by Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister. Interestingly, Twenge, Campbell, Moore, Russell, and Chittister11 all suggest a return to the lost art of the virtuous life as a way to stem and bring healing to the epidemic of entidement and grandiosity that marks and mars our current North American culture. Risking Humility The final chapter of The Narciss#m Epidemic, "Treating the Epidemic of Narcissism," sees the recovery of authentic humility as the way to lessen the narcissism in our lives and in our culture. Humility is the counter-balance to narcissism, the creative opposite to its viru-lence. Modesty, lack of pretense, absence of arrogance, and refinement of character--so evident in Sister Betty's jubilee tale--are vitally necessary in today's personal and communal reflection. Her unaffected wonder at finding her own picture in the company of Oscar Romero's, and Catherine McAuley's, and Our Lady of Guadalupe's, at the foot of the cross has to make you and me wonder: Do we truly believe that God can do more in us than we ever imagined--or could ever imagine? Her awe at seeing what she and her ministry meant to this poor, loving family puts us in awe, even a feeling of danger. What does this mean for the many in our country whose lives are far too self-focused and comfortable? Has a cer-tain impoverishment accompanied i:he world's material progress? Have we--ourselves, our communities, our 69.3 2010 Clendenen * A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth 278 Humility is the ancient ever-new ~irtue that ke~s us rooted in our earthiness and able to savor our human limits as gifts. culture--settled into a certain mediocrity, an exagger-ated feeling of entidement? Is our ministry simple and un-self-conscious enough to be a wondrous conduit for God's goodness and inspire a needy people's transcendent gratitude? Is the path to greater human success and hap-piness much more toward inwardness than upwardness? Humility is the ancient ever-new virtue that keeps us rooted in our earthiness and able to savor our human limits as gifts. Sister Betty felt her lack of facility with Spanish as a weakness, and therein was her humble open-ness to receive new graces and new skills, even in her seventies. She brought those graces to some of God's people in their times of joy and grief. Twelve-step recovery has something to say about this. It advises people to strive for spiritual prog-ress, not perfection, and to admit their powerless-ness, accept their limits, and thereby find true freedom. Such yielding in honesty to a Power greater than ourselves enables people to risk humility. In that humility they find themselves able to understand the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12) and to risk living in meekness, gentleness, empathy, self-donating love, and freely chosen accountability. The word humility comes from the Latin word humi-lis, meaning "low," which, in turn, comes from the Latin humus, which means "earth" or "dirt" or "soil." The 12th-century Benedictine abbess and mystic Hildegard of Bingen understood the dangers of not paying atten- Review for Religious tion to nature and all natural things. She devoted one of her many writings to virtues and vices. She was con-vinced that virtues are more than moral habits: they are therapeutic forces within human nature that can produce wonderful transformations. In her legendary Scivias (a Latin abbreviation for. "knowing the Lord's ways"), she said, "Virtue is like a warm garment in a cold world; it is the source of charm in a harsh world" (~1.1.4). Hildegard also wrote the following in one of her many letters of advice to religious leaders: Walk through the valley of humility and know peace. Lose your titanic, hard-to-satisfy ego. A greedy self-esteem is just a steep mountain you'll find dangerous to climb. It's also tricky (if not impossible) to come down from such heights, and anyhow the summit is too small for community. Focus on Love's splendid garden instead. Gather the flowers of humility and simplicity of soul. Study God's patience. Keep your eyes open.12 Sister Betty Barrett's humble, warm, and charming story carries a wallop, as myths do. It is much more than an elderly sister's pleasant memory. It is a dangerous memory. It can affect the future. Notes ~ Johann Baptist Metz, "The Future in the Memory of Suffering," Concilium 76 (1972), p. 15. 2 [See The Word in History: The St. Xavier Forum, ed. T. Patrick Burke (New York: Sheed and Ward; 1966). Ed.] 3 Mary Oliver, "To Begin With, the Sweet Grass," Evidence (Boston: Beacon Press, 2009), pp. 38-39. 4 L. Sperry and H.L. Ansbacker, "The Concept of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder," Psychopathology and Psychotherapy (Washington, D.C.: Accelerated Development, 1996), p. 349. 5 Theodore Millon and George S. Everly Jr., Personality and Its Disorders: A Biosocial Learning Approach (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1985), p. 70. [279 69.3 2010 Clendenen ¯ A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth 6 Theodore Millon, Personality-Guided Therapy (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999), pp. 433-463. 7 Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell, Living in the Age of Entitlement: The Narcissism Epidemic (New York: Free Press, 2009), p. 2. s Robert L. Moore, Facing the Dragon: Confronting Personal and Spiritual Grandiosi~y (Wilmette: Chiron Publications, 2003), pp. 61, 68, 69, 145-146. 9 Twenge and Campbell, Living, pp. 100.101,234. The TV stoW and other insights in this article also appear in "Book Notes," Horizon: Journal of the National Religious Vocation Conference 35, no. 1 (Fall 2009): 34-35. 10 Peter Russell, Waking Up in Time: Finding Inner Peace in Times of Accelerating Change (Novato, California: Origin Press, 1992), pp. 38, 154. 11 See Joan D. Chittister, "Pride and Humility," in Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men (Grand Rapids: ~William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), pp. 89-106. ~2 Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Hildegard of Bingen: A Spiritual Reader (Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2007), p. 159. You who calmed. You who calmed the winds and sea, Jesus, calm and center me. Draw me in and hold my gaze Soothe and silence me these days. Deep is calling unto deep. I give you all my cares to keep. You who calmed the winds and sea. Jesus, calm and center me. Mary Jan6 Higgins RSM Review for Religious ROBERT J. NOGOSEK Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice When I was nineteen years old and a university student, I made a weekend retreat in the Gethsemani Trappist monastery in Kentucky. I was ~rying to decide whether or not I should enter religious life. At one of the retreat con-ferences, an elderly monk printed in block let-ters on the blackboard the word success, putting two vertical lines through each S to make it a dollar sign. He said the world sees success as making money, but real success in life is not about dollars. We needed to turn one vertical line sideways and make a cross. ~ This said a lot about the Trappist life I was observing. The white-robed monks seemed to live a foolish life not at all conducive to hap-piness° keeping silence, arising in the middle Robert J. Nogosek CSC has been a ~heology profes-sor and a parish pastor among other responsibilities. His address is P.O. Box 929; Notre Dame, Indiana 46556. liv!np religious life 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice 282 of the night to chant psalms together in a cold chapel, and eating crusty bread in a diet often deprived of meat. But I saw in the monks a remarkable humor I had never seen before. It seemed that for them life was a big joke. I decided I wanted the joy they had, and their way of seeing the meaning of life in this world. Back at college I returned to my sophomore classes. One of the courses was on the four Gospels, printed in parallel columns to show similarities and differences in the story of Jesus. As I s~t in class somewhat bored one spring afternoon, it suddenly occurred to me that the Gospels were practical--that living the Gospels made good sense. I saw this in the story of the rich young man in Matthew 19. He already had more than enough money and possessions while keeping all the command-ments, but was still discontented. He asked what more he could do to have a better life. Jesus graciously invited him to join the community, of disciples, but first he must sell all he had and give the money to the poor. This is how the Trappist monk had explained success. It helped me to see that by joining a religious community I could live the gospel in a literal way, like those who had fol-lowed Jesus in Galilee. The greatest day in my life came some months later on my clothing day. Upon receiving the religious habit with many others that day, I saw myself as having left. the world to join with the others in a life centered on friendship with Jesus Christ. It would consist in living a religious rule. That did not seem to be a great sacrifice, but rather the way to be myself, apart from a world that ran after money and other false values. This freedom to be myself did not initially translate into becoming a gift for others, as St. Paul describes it in Galatians 5:13--"you were called for freedom, brothers. Review for Religious But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love." Instead, I concentrated on having a direct relationship with Jesus. It was only much later that I realized that God created me to live as a member of the human family, and that this meant sharing my heart with others. Gradually this was extended to seeing myself as a brother to any other human being I might meet. Seeking Perfection I began to see that progress in union with God involved seeking what was called "the perfection of charity." Vatican Council II would state that the pur-pose of religious life is to make the perfection ; of charity a "very clear symbol" (Flannery) or ~ a "blazing emblem" (Abbott) of the kingdom of God (PC §I). Our love for Jesus is to flow out in love of neighbor, which, as Pope Paul VI . . ~, wrote, is to be extended to the whole human race (Ecclesiam suam, §58). As the ancient hymn Ubi Caritas had stated, charity (caritas) united with heartfelt love (amor) makes God present in the world. Vatican II also stated that religious profession of the evangelical councils is to free us from obstacles that might draw us away not only from the fervor of char-ity, but also from "the perfection of divine worship" (LG §4). This perfection of divine worship would be our response to the Orate Fratres at Mass in praying I began to see that progress in union with GOd involved ~seeking what was called ~ '~the perfection of charity. " [283 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice 284 that our sacrifice "be acceptable to God, the Father Almighty." But this perfection of divine worship also requires the perfection of charity, as St. Paul suggests by saying that the loving gift the Philippians sent him is the "fragrant aroma'.' of "an acceptable sacrifice, pleas-ing to God" (Ph 4:18). Vatican II calls the Eucharist "a sacrament of love" and "a bond of charity" (SC §47), not unlike St. Thomas saying that Holy Communion incites into action our dispositions to be charitable (ST III.79.1 ad 2)~ He cites 2 Corinthians 5:14--"the love of Christ impels us." This could be why the new liturgy has shortened the time after Holy Communion. We are not to bury our face in our hands in private adoration of Jesus in our heart, but rather to ready ourselves for reaching out to others. It calls me "to put off the old man" (Col 3:9) of self-centeredness, and put into action the command-ment of loving others as Jesus has loved me. Jesus wants to be loved in his people, as a religious sister once heard in her heart when, upon kissing the crucifix before retir-ing, she heard the words "Kiss my people." Personal Fulfillment Even though I had often heard women religious speak of their quest for "fulfillment," it took years for me to revise my original desire for success in life into a language of personal fulfillment. I had not expected to be "fulfilled" as a person by the sacrifice represented in religious profession of poverty, chastity, and obedience, any more than I had seen the austerity of the Trappist life as a way to personal fulfillment in this world. Making life seem like a joke could hardly be called "ful-fillment." My thinking was changed, however, in part by a parable in C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity (Bk 4, 9). Review fir Religious According to an adaptation of the story, you invite a friend to live with you in your house. After some time, you notice blueprints have been spread out on the din-ing- room table. Inspecting them, you realize your guest has elaborate plans to transform your little house into a great palace--"throwing out a new wing here, put-ring on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards." As C.S. Lewis comments, it is as though your guest wants to make it a home worthy of himself. To think of Jesus as actually living with me in my heart was not something I had learned in catechism. We had been told that the Holy Spirit was the divine guest in our heart, bug the real presence of Jesus was only in the host in the tabernacle, except when Jesus cam to us in Holy Communion and stayed for seven minutes.~ But during novitiate I had read some books of Raoul Plus SJ, especially one entitled In Christ Jesus, showing from the writings of St. Paul that by baptismal grace we have, abiding in our heart,, the real presence of Jesus. It is the same Jesus as resides in the tabernacle--body and blood, soul and divinity. In Holy Communion he does not come for a visit; he comes to stay. Others around me disagreed, but I was sure Plus was right about this teaching of St. Paul. Later I would also find it in St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle. If the real presence of Jesus dwells in us, then we also meet him in others, and what others share in truth and love could well be a gift to us directly from Jesus in their heart. This makes our mutual sharing of life crucial to our relationship with Jesus. It took me beyond the Little Flower's Way of Spiritual Childhood, which long before I had been drawn to by the Trappist monks. There is something more than putting as much love as possible into each action; I am also called to make a 69.3 2010 Nogosek * Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice gift of myself to others so as to communicate the love of Jesus, who dwells within my heart. This amounts to being a grace to others. It is the language of spiritual gifts or charisms. Charisms During formation I. was repeatedly urged to rec-ognize my special talents and gifts, since religious life involves a commitment to strive for personal and spiri-tual growth. I was told that "grace builds on i~ature." So what is my nature as an individual? What talents and personality had I brought with me into religious life? These efforts at self-scrutiny often left me feel-ing quite discouraged. I lacked so much of what others around me had in talents and personality. Only much later would I see this differently, in part because of the parable in Mere Christianity--that inviting Jesus into my heart could result in my being radically changed as a person. In calling me to discipleship, Jesus may well be planning to have me express myself in wonderful ways, just as he had promised his disciples that they would do greater works than he had done (Jn 14:12). We know that by receiving his Body we become his Body, so that, like him (LG §5), our words, actions, and personal presence can reveal the kingdom of God on earth. This could represent the "abundant fruit from the grace of baptism" which Vatican II says we will be enabled to have by religious profession (LG §44). If I am to be a grace to others by charisms, I have to come out ofmy shell. This is like a cartoon I once saw. In the first frame, there is a big egg bouncing up and down. In the next frame a duckling has poked out his head through the shell, and looks around in fright. In the final frame he has dived headfirst back into the egg. It is much Review for Religious the same with charisms. We have to drop our defenses and risk being a person in new ways before others. Walking on the Water Underlying Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World is the story of walking on water in Matthew 14. Jesus is walking on the waters of today's world, and -- - invites us, like St. Peter, to get out of our boat to ioin him. This is to fol-low our discerning "the signs of the times" (GS §.4), which are the ques-tions and yearnings of people today.2 - It means trying something new. In leaving our comfort zone, we will need to keep our eyes on Jesus. St. Peter started sinking only when he looked around and felt the wind blowing hard against him. This suggests that charisms do not form part of our personal identity. Although we have been given the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit at confirmation, these are not graces to give grace to others, but rather a disposi-tion to be sensitive to the breath of the Spirit, which, as Jesus said, may come and go like the summer breeze (Jn 3:8). Our personal defects remain; it is as "earthen vessels" (2 Co 4:7) that we carry Christ's grace to others. Maybe, in our self-gift to others, the power of Jesus will be conveyed, even through our defects and vulnerability. St~ Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10--"when I am weak, then I am strong." Jesus is walking on the ¯ wafers bf today's world, and invites us, like St. Peter, . "to~et out Of our.boat to join him. 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice The opportunity for that came up early in my reli-gious life. Just as I completed studies in biblical theol-ogy, I received a letter assigning me to teach dogmatic theology. Upon arriving in the classroom a few months later, I steadied my nerves by recalling G.K. Chesterton: "If something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly." But the course turned out quite well. The students enjoyed my attempts to use the Bible to understand dogma in place of the traditional Neo-Scholasticism they had been hearing. Again, many years later, I was invited to join a team in southern California doing evangelization among Mexican immigrants. I told God that if he wanted me to do this, he would have to teach me Spanish. Initially some of the people rejected me because they sensed I did not understand what they were saying. That was quite true, but, when with them, I would repeat a word or phrase they had said just to keep them talking. Since I loved the people, I was quite happy to be able to communicate even a little bit and to keep on listening. After they came to see I really liked being with them, they began showing that they liked being with "Padre Roberto." At the same time I was making a big hit with their children, maybe because I saw each child as just as much a person as I was. With their kids so fond of me, as time went on their parents became more satisfied with me as I was. 2881 Inner Resistance to Grace Like the companions of St. Peter on the lake that stormy night, we are likely to have a lot of reluctance "to get out of the boat" to join Jesus walking on the water. This is typical of the resistance described by St. Paul's discussion of Christian freedom in Galatians 5. He calls it "the desire of the flesh." When I first arrived at Review for Religious Coachella, California, as the new pastor of an Hispanic parish, I was determined to follow the example of St. John Vianney, who had started out as cur4 of Ars by knocking on doors to visit the people in their homes.3 To make this happen, I put it on my schedule for cer-tain evenings each week. As I got into my car at 7 p.m., usually I would not feel like going, but I went anyway, and once I was interacting with the people I enjoyed it--and they did too. In Sunday homilies I would tell the people that, if they wanted to experience the Holy Spirit (and I knew they did), they should do something for someone. I said the presence of the Holy Spirit is felt mainly in our actions. Others say the same: that when they visit the sick, or even someone in jail, they "get more out of it" than they give. We may feel like new persons in our spontaneity of interact-ing with others out of our love for Jesus. People even relate that they have said things that surprised them, things they had never thought of before. This recalls the promise of Jesus about the gift of the Holy Spirit-- that we should not prepare what to say beforehand, for in our witness itself the Spirit would give us the words to say (Mt 10:20). 'The presence of the Holy: Spirit is felt mainly .fin our actionS. Charisms and Renewal In its call to renewal, Vatican II invites us to aspire to have charisms typical of the early church. Both Pope John xxIII and Pope Paul VI called for a "New Pentecost," to restore to the church today the youth- 69.:~ 2010 Nogosek * Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice fulness and enthusiasm it had when it first came from the hands of Jesus. When we look at early Christianity in comparison with the church today, we wonder what caused the rapid growth in the number of believers. Rodney Stark in The Rise of Christianity estimates that during the first three centuries the number of Christians increased by forty percent every ten years, beginning in A.D. 40 with about 1,000, and' attaining more than 33,000,000 believers by the year 350 (p. 7). As a soci- ,ologist of religion, he suggests that .the best explana-tion for this phenomenal growth was the way Christians responded to the epidemics in. the empire, which would ravage the entire population at least once every century, with mortality rates of up to thir.ty percent (pp. 73ff). Even the emperor Marcus Aurelius was among the vic-tims in the year 180. At such times the pagans would flee in panic from their homes and cities, abandoning without food and water their loved ones who had fallen ill, and even refusing to bury the dead. The Christians, however, by reason of their love of Christ, would care for their sick and with devotion bury their dead. This care was extended not only to fellow Christians but also to the many pagans married to Christians, and to some of their pagan friends as well. Stark concludes: "This meant that in the aftermath of each epidemic, Christians made up a larger percentage of the population, even without new converts. Moreover, their noticeable better survival rate would have seemed a "miracle" to Christians and pagans alike, and this ought to have influenced conversions." Typically at the beginning of religious communities there was a phenomenal growth in the number of new members, who were attracted to the founder's charism in response to a critical need, even at great sacrifice. In Review for Religious founding my own Holy Cross community, Blessed Basil Moreau was responding not only to the secularization of France after the French Revolution, but also to pleas for help from European missionaries serving in Africa, North America, and Asia. After forming a community of men and women committed to the hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, he put many of them at risk by sending them abroad with few material resources, saying that as Holy Cross religious "the Cross is our only hope." He meant that, when as a community we suffer great trials while engaged in service of others, it is a sign from divine providence that our efforts will produce fruit beyond human possibilities. With such words derived from St. Paul, Moreau was transforming the French school of spirituality, with its devotion to the mystery of the incar-nation, into a trust in the paschal mystery. This fostered a bold reliance on divine providence in undertaking dif-ficult apostolates in new environments, to which we were being invited as a new apostolic religious community committed to serving the church. A New Image of the Church According to Vatican II, the church today needs a critical reform of its image, that it be much more a sign of the good news of the kingdom of God. By his 1964 encyclical, Ecclesiam suam, Pope Paul vI challenged the council fathers on the eve of the third session "to com-pare the ideal image of the church, just as Christ sees it, wills it, and loves it. with the actual image the church projects today" (§ 11). This entails, he says, "correction of the defects that conscience denounces and rejects, as if, standing before a mirror, we were to examine interiorly the image of Christ that he has left us." These "necessary reforms," he says, will be "delicate and difficult" (§12). 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice 292 One delicate task of the council was that of altering the image of the church that Pope Pius XIl had presented in 1943 in his renowned encyclical Mystici Corporis. Pius identified the church as the Body. of Christ by being "a perfect society" in its juridical structure. Some of the council fathers would describe this image of the church as the "barque of Peter," with the clergy and religious as the crew and the laity their precious cargo to be transported safely across the treacherous waters of the world to the safe harbor of heaven. The council saw, however, that this is not the way the church should be. Gaudium et spes would call us out of the boat, and especially the laity, who were to see themselves as the primary evangelizers of modern society (LG §31). They were called to this and equipped for it in their baptism and confirmation (LG §33). The obligation came from Christ's commandment to love our neighbor, and the equipment would be the spiritual gifts called charisms. Their ordained pastors were to help them discern their charisms, form them as lay apostles, and give them "room for action" (LG §37). As a preferred image of the church, the council chose the biblical term "people of God." It was remi-niscent not only of the Hebrew people freed from the slavery of Egypt and guided by God through the desert, but also of the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish in Mark 6, where Jesus has the multitude sit down on the grass in groups of hundreds and fifties. Rather than mainly showing itself as a well-defended and highly organized juridical body, the church is to make itself seen in the world as a movement of faith-filled people. The world today needs to experience the presence of God, and that can best happen where mem-bers of the church form small Christian communities Re'view for Religious through "familial love" of one another and collaboration for the faith of the gospel (GS §22). This encourages an "ecclesiology from below" char-acteristic of the way St. Paul in Ephesians 4 describes members of the church being formed into the Body of Christ. By sharing our truth in the spirit of love, we are to "grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ." The sharing is by dialogue, which had been promoted by Pope Paul vI in Ecdesiam suam and would be declared by Vatican II to be the special charac-teristic of the mis-sion of the church today (GS §82): "In virtue of its mis-sion to enlighten the whole world with the message of the gospel and to "r ~ gather together into one spirit all women and men of every nation, race, and culture, the church shows itself as a sign of that amity which renders possible sincere dialogue and strengthens it." By this we are challenged as religious to evaluate how we form ongoing community life, and what sign value it provides for others. Are we living "that amity which renders sincere dialogue and strengthens it"? At Coachella we did receive something of a posi-tive answer regarding the sign value of our community life. Three years after we arrived, the diocese conducted a thorough evaluation of the parish put into our care. One group of parishioners reported that before we came to the parish they were highly critical of one, another as parishioners. But, having noticed that the Holy Cross , 'We are challenged as religious to evaluate how we form ongoing .,community life, and what sign value it prov!des for others. 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice 294 priests and brothers never voiced a word of criticism towards one another, they decided they also should act that way toward one another. This had not happened sim-ply from our faithfulness to prayer and our apostolic zeal as a religious community. We had made the sacrifice of having weekly house chapters, where we shared with one another what was on our minds and in our hearts. Atoleast in this respect, we hhd succeeded in being "a sign which can and ought to attract all the members of the church to an effective and prompt fulfillment of the duties of their religious vocation" (LG §44). Certainly the religious vocation of all the parishioners was to live out the New Commandment byloving one another aiad making it vis-ible. We also knew that the parishioners were .to see us as a sign that "heavenly blessings'? were already present in this wtrld, foretelling "the resurrected state and the glory of the heavenly kingdom" (LG §4). For that to take place, we would have to show the people that we loved them just as they were, and in very concrete ways. The Rich Man and Lazarus According to the council, religious are "to give an increasingly clearer revelation of Christ," which includes his choosing to live as a poor man, as also was chosen by his virgin mother (LG §46). Here Vatican II was not saying anything new. What was new, and espe-cially challenging, was that as members of the church we are to evaluate the image we give to the world in light of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16): "Everyone must consider his neighbor without excep-tion as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus" (GS §27). Review for Religious Here again we are challenged to evaluate our sign value as a religious community. According to Gaudium et spes (§88), if we are living in a nation where "a majority of citizens who are counted as Christians have an abundance of this world's goods," we are in grave danger of causing scandal to the many nations where the majority are not Christian, and where the citizens "are deprived of the necessities of life and are tormented with hunger, disease, and every kind of misery." The council says that this is "as if Christ himself were appealing to the charity of his followers through the mouths of these poor people." How will Jesus see our life as a religious congrega-tion when he comes on the Last Day? How certain are we to be among those at his right hand when he comes in glory to judge the members of all nations by the cri-terion of how they served the needy? An Acceptable Sacrifice .Since Vatican II saw the mission of Jesus being con-tinued by the church, Pope John Paul II liked to repeat that the way of the church is to be the way of Jesus Christ. Jesus said we must lose our life for his sake in order to find it (Mt 10:39). He told those who wanted to follow him: "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head" (Lk 9:58). St. Paul wrote that by our bearing affliction "the love of God will be poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Rm 5:5). Like St. Paul, we do not want Jesus to have died in vain, nor that his presence touch only those who believe in the Eucharist. As friends of Jesus, we want to help him make the world better, that the pleasing aroma cre-ated by his presence in us may indeed be, as St. Paul says, not as "an odor that leads to death" where people 69.3 2010 Nogosek ¯ Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice reject gospel values--but rather "an odor of life that leads to life" (2,Co 2:16), where people are attracted to a gift of freedom to be themselves through sharing the wisdom, help, and love of the Holy Spirit. But today, as consecrated women and men "eval-uating the contemporary world wisely in the light of faith" (PC §2), we must ask whether the way we live our religious profession is truly becoming "an accept-able sacrifice." Jesus said that before he returned "the love of many would grow cold" (Mr 24:12), and he asked whether he would find faith upon the earth when he came again (Lk 18:8). Notes ~ It takes about seven minutes for the host to dissolve in the stomach and the consecrated host to be no longer present. 2 Although some church leaders interpret these signs as today's troubles and thus may see the world as especially hostile to the gospel, I would argue that according to Vatican II our times are today's evangeli-cal opportunity prepared by God's Spirit breathing over the world. 3 Francis Trochu, The Curi of Ars (Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books and Publishers, 1977), pp. 116f. 296[ Gamble If l but touch his clothes. Mark 5:28 Did the soldier who won and wore the seamless robe allow it to touch him? Irene Zimmerman OSF Review for Religiou~ 'JEFFREY MICKLER Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious Itw"googled" the term "difficult people" and instantly o hundred million sites were found. Business managers, owners, and employees are all seeking answers on how to cope with people who are genuinely difficult to get along with. The hilarious 1980 movie Nine to Five told of the revenge three female employ-ees took against their male chauvinist boss. In real life, however, revenge is never a solution, and dealing with difficult people is never really funny. Hence, there are books like Sandra A. Crowe's Since Strangling Isn't an Option. Difficult people drain others' enthusiasm and suck the life out of organizations, as the title Working with You Is Killing Me by Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster suggests.' Dealing with difficult people in the workplace is one thing. Living with them in a religious commu- Jeffrey Mickler SSP has worked in formation and various other min-istries and was provincial of the Paulists' United States Province. His address is Box 595; 9531 Akron Canfield Road (Rt 224); Canfield, Ohio 44406. 69.3 2010 Mickler ¯ Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious 298 nity raises the bar. Although all of us can be difficult at times, some religious are chronically difficult and even hostile. Augustine Poulain SJ in his 19th-century spiritual classic The lnterior Graces describes one type of difficult religious: Another trial., is living with an irritable person who finds fault with everything, never speaks a pleasant word . These difficult characters often have the reputation of being very amiable abroad because they are full of attention for those whom they need, or those who would not allow themselves to be bullied. These nervous natures may be likened to torpe-does on account of the charges that they let fly at those who .approach them. It is impossible to arrange any matter with them clearly and quietly. Above all, let no one try to excuse himself when they accuse him of anything or [try to] prove to them that they are mistaken . The volcano will then be in full eruption. Such minds will never be in the wrong; they alone are endowed with sound judgment. This behavior shows., a grave lack of charity. In community, characters of this. nature make life very difficult for others, and are sometimes the cause of abandonment of vocations.2 Father Stephen Rossetti, of St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, in his recorded conference Spirituality of Christian Leadership, describes such people as suffering "chronically impaired social functioning." These individuals have "inflexible, maladaptive ways of dealing with other people." Wherever they are sta-tioned, they divide and disrupt communities. Their nat-ural charm ensures that they will have some supporters, but their anger at the world for not revolving around their needs makes them almost impossible to live with. When confronted by authority with a long list of com-plaints, these people blame others and are unable to Review for Religious grasp that they themselves have caused any problems. Father Rossetti points out that they have narcissistic personalities. When confronted, they erupt into a rage that sends shock waves through a community.3 Some of them end up living in their own apartments because provincials can find no communities willing to tolerate daeir divisive behavior. Rossetti says the chances of changing them for the better are extremely slim. Traditional therapies have proven fruitless. He advises giving such persons honest feedback, together with strict and clear guidelines for their behavior. Leaders must be compas-sionate towards them, but firm. ¯ theses.temperaments. The leadership has a responsibility to do all in its power to prevent them from terrorizing the community and running roughshod over people.4 Rossetti's position that modern therapy can do lit-tle to change such characters corresponds to Poulain's 19th-century assessment: "I have seen very religious persons try to cure themselves of this irritability. They have been unable to succeed . I think a miracle is required to overcome these temperaments.''5 Se~in Sammon of the Marist Brothers has done extensive research on dealing with difficult people. Drawing upon the works of Robert M. Bramson, Charles J. Keating, and Robert L. Veninga and James P. Spradley, he has developed a pragmatic and effective ~ have seen very religious persons try t6 cure themselvesof this irritabiiity. I think a miracle 'is rdqyire~:to overcome 69.3 2010 Mickler * Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious 300 approach that is presented on tapes from St Pauls/Alba House, Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Person. Like Poulain and Rossetti, Sammon acknowledges that efforts to change truly difficult people are basically fruitless. He suggests, however, ways we ourselves can change in order to better cope with them.6 He lists seven types of difficult people.7 He calls all of the first three types hostile-aggressive: they are "Sherman tanks," "snipers," and "exploders." The Sherman tanks are convinced of their ideas and dominate meetings by discounting out of hand the suggestions of others. They present their own ideas as the only rational, workable thing for the community or committee to adopt. They refer to other approaches as "stupid," a "waste of time," or "ridicu-lous." Sammon suggests meeting the Sherman tanks with calm strength. When the Sherman tanks begin to roll over a meet-ing, the chair should let them go on for a while but then abruptly intervene: "Stop right there; we have heard your objections; now we need valuable input from others." Sherman tanks will most likely add a few new objections until the chair or the presenter interrupts: "We will be covering those objections and discussing them as the meeting goes on!" Participants, present-ers, and leaders need to stand up for themselves against the Sherman tanks, clearly explaining their positions, not backing down, but avoiding a fight. Hostile-aggres-sive individuals almost always "win" in a fight, but the Sherman tanks usually respect such strength. They often do have valid insights that the community can benefit from; it is their ways of behaving that make it hard for the community to consider their input fairly. "Snipers" will make remarks that are just barely audible to the person being targeted. The remarks are Review for Religious biting and sarcastic, and the victim is supposed to laugh them off. These are different fr

Issue 67.2 of the Review for Religious, 2008. ; Challenges Witnessing Being Disciples Ignatian Exercising QUARTERLY 67.2 2008 Re view for Religious fosters dialogue with God, dialogue with ourselves, and dialogue with one another about the holiness we try to liveaccording to charisms, of Catholic religious life. As Pope Paulvl said_, our way of being church is today the way of dialogue. Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published quarterly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393 Telephone: 314-633-4610 ¯ Fax: 314-633-4611 E-Maih review@slu.edu ¯ Web site: www.reviewforreligious.org Manuscripts, books for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393 Correspondence about the Canonical Counsel department: Elizabeth McDonough OP ° Pontifical College Josephinum 7625 North High Street ° Columbus, Ohio 43235 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious ¯ P.O. Box 6070 ¯ Duluth, MN 55806. Periodical postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for information on subscription rates. ©2008 Review for Religious Permission is herewith granted to copy any material (articles, poems, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the limits outlined in Sections 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this permission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribution, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written application to the Editor, Review for Religious. Editor Associate Editor Canonical Counsel Scripture Scope Editorial Staff Advisory Board David L. Fleming SJ Philip C. Fischer SJ Elizabeth McDonough OP Eugene Hensell OSB Mary Ann Foppe Tracy Gramm Judy Sharp Paul Coutinho SJ Martin Erspamer OSB Margaret Guider OSF Kathleen Hughes RSCJ Louis and Angela Menard Bishop Terry Steib S'(/'D QUARTERLY 67.2 2008 contents prisms 116 Prisms 118 134 challenges No Escape from Finitude John Navone SJ reflects about our struggle for human growth, our development with all its limitations, !n relation to our transformation through the risen Christ. Personal and Group Reflection Being Burned by the Fire Mary Joseph Schultz SCC ponders candles and fire and their symbolism in our spiritual life and growth. 114 140 159 witnessing Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley Avis Clendenen explores episodes from the lives of two churchwomen, the 12th-century Benedictine H]ldegard of Bingen and the 19th-century founder of the'Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, which show the duty and daring needed then and now in leadership that is transforming and transformational. Weavers of God: The Warp and the Weft Jeanne McNulty SFO, OCV, draws upon the art of weaving as an image of effort and pattern in our spiritual life. Review for Religious 165 173 181 being disciples Discipleship, Faith, and Commitment Damian C. Ilodigwe shows how Peter's forthright confession of Jesus as Son of the living God accentuates the importance of personal encounter with the Lord for authentic discipleship. Personal and Group Reflection Seeing with the Eyes of Christ Peter Schineller sJ suggests some practical ways that the imitation of Christ can become our way of seeing, thinking, and acting with the eyes, mind, and hands of Christ. The Celibate Aunt or Uncle: Another Blessed Vocation John J. Fisher OSFS describes the grace and gift of family as not only enriching our vocation as religious but also defining who we are as we minister to our wider, extended family in our various apostolates. Personal and Group Reflection 190 196 ignatian exercising What Is a "First Week Retreat"? David L. Fleming SJ presents a way of understanding the First Week of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, often called "sin week," as a time that is about deepening a relationship with God. Is the Church Ignatius's Fourth-Week Focus? J. Thomas Hamel SJ suggests that the Fourth Week of the Ignatian Exercises, which deals with the appearances of the risen Christ, might take' on a more ecclesial look as a kind of triptych. departments 204 Scripture Scope: The Letters and Theology of Paul 209 Canonical Counsel: The Lacuna Canon 215 Book Reviews lly 67.2 2008 prisms O~ 2 February 1974, Pope Paul VI issued his apostolic exhortation Marialis cul-tus. Following up on the liturgical reforms of Vatican I1, the pope desired to identify clearly the age-old norm for all theological and devo-tional development regarding the place of Mary in our Catholic lives. As the pope wrote, "In the Virgin Mary everything is relative to Christ and dependent upon him. It was with a view to Christ that God the Father from all eternity chose her to be the all-holy Mother and adorned her with gifts of the Spirit granted to no one else" (25). The norm is that Mary is always viewed in her relation to Jesus. Liturgical art, both Eastern and Western, has traditionally portrayed Mary with Jesus in its icons, statues, and paintings. It appears that it is only in the 19th and 20th centuries, espe-cially with the Lourdes and Fatima devotions, that the statues and paintings picture Mary by herself. The famous tilma-image of Our Lady Review for Religious of Guadalupe from the 16th century is not an exception. Mary is a woman wearing the broad band around her waist that signifies her pregnancy. Appropriately, then, our traditional imaging of Mary is always stressing her basic title from the earliest church councils. She is Theotokos--the Greek word meaning "the one who bears God." Mary is the first of the apostles; she is always the one who brings Jesus (God) to whom-ever she goes. From our New Testament account, we know that the event we identify as the Visitation follows immediately upon the Annunciation. Mary brings Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary's place in all our Christian lives remains the same as it was for Elizabeth. She is a woman always on mission. She brings Jesus (God) to us. As a result, she remains for each one of us a model of our own Christian vocation. We all are meant to be like Mary in the light of our baptism in Christ. We too are "theotokoi"--people who bring Christ to whomever we go. We are like Mary, our model. We, too, are always on mission. We bring Christ by our way of speaking and acting or just by our way of being present to others. In every situation of our daily living, we Christians are on mission, bringing Christ to others. David L. Fleming SJ Miss Jean Read, an RfR staff member from 1975 to 1998, died peacefully on 23 February 2008 at the age of 96. Answering the office phone, she was the soul of friendliness and readiness to accommodate people in whatever questions or needs or desires they had. She was a proofreader par excellence. We can have a healthy envy of her and her long and good life. 67.2 2008 JOHN NAVONE challenges No Escape from Finitude Life stories, true life stories, involve a struggle from the start. We have complex relationships to work out with the members of our family. We are marked by our early experiences for the rest of our lives, even though changes occur in the way we perceive events, imagine ourselves, understand others, and choose to act at various stages of our life. As our life goes on, changes become more and more difficult. 1181 Human Authenticity Calls for Struggle People hope to grow in sensitivity and responsiveness to true values, but such growth is not inevitable. There are human failures and mediocrities. Continuous development varies with people's roots, their opportunities, their good fortune, their adroitness in avoiding set-backs. People can come to recognize harmful, John Navone SJ has written for this journal for more than four decades. His address is Via Silvio Spaventa, 4; 50129 Firenze; Italy. Review for Religious dangerous, and misleading satisfactions for what they are and drop them. They can choose not to let discom-fort, pain, and privation obstruct their pursuit of true values. They can discover values they had previously overlooked. They can move beyond mere personal tastes and interests to benevolence and beneficence towards others. They can disdain rationalizations, open them-selves to things as they are, and help themselves and others to become what they should be. This is a matter of creative tension struggling towards personal integration. Various conflicting claims and urgencies divide us. Our human relationships can-not be free of all constraint or ambiguity. Our authentic personal development needs questions and problems no less than answers and solutions. In fact, every answer and solution prepares us for the creative tension of fur-ther questions and problems. We develop when we are steadily oriented toward goals which strain our personal resources and are truly worthwhile. Tension between Desires and Limits We experience a tension between our desires and our limits. Desire, imagination, and inquiry would seem to have no fixed limits; a corollary of the absence of limits would be the absence of any need to choose. We learn from experience which desires are impractical and to be dismissed. False or exaggerated ideals, desires, and plans could lead to negative consequences, and so we deliberate about what actually can be implemented. We settle on a possible course of action and proceed. Such a decision implies the acceptance of limits. As G.K. Chesterton wrote: "Every act of will is an act of self-limitation. To desire action is to desire limitation. In that sense every act is an act of self-sacrifice. When ,I19 67.2 2008 Navone * No Escape from Finitude Christian faith does not believe that the tension between desire and you choose anything, you reject everythingelse . If you become King of England, you give up the post of Beadle in Brompton." Goods chosen imply goods renounced. Our decisions ratify and increase our.limitations. Our commitments imply our acceptance of limitation. Our desires, hopes, dreams, and ideals strain against that limitation, but limits remain even when our desires are fulfilled. Jesus Christ, the paradigm of Christian faith, never sought exemption from limits, decisions, or death. Christian faith is lived in the concrete realities of finitude and resists flight into illusion. With no escape from finitude, it relies on God's will and grace. Our actions are sustained by desire of some kind. We seek to attain something we deem good, straining __ against limits. Changing our-selves or our situation implies an ideal which limits should be resolved by differs from our present reality. eliminating desire. This ideal must have come to terms with lim-its; if not, it would remain an empty dream. Christian faith does not believe that the tension between desire and limits should be resolved by eliminating desire. A contemporary theologian says: "For Buddhism, the supreme perfection is to kill desire. How distant the men of the Bible, even those closest to God, seem from this ideal! The Bible is, on the contrary, filled with the tumult and conflict of every form of desire D.e.sire is essential and ineradicable." 120 Review for Religious The Challenge of Serious Decision Making Often our reluctance to make serious decisions and choices is less a fear of suffering than a secret dread that permits few illusions or certainties about what will fol-low. We share with Hamlet the tendency to indefinite postponement; we might, with Heyst in Joseph Conrad's Victory, choose drift. Even that fails. Heyst elect~ some-thing that is not there to elect: security by withdrawal and passivity. Persons who choose to ignore the demands of their circumstances choose what is itself a form of death. Our very needs become known to us as inner tensions, and the way we strive to fill them requires choice. A good choice relieves the tension. Other needs will become evident later, and other choices can attend to them. If our inner tensions imply our need for new deci-sions, our decisions demand awareness and strength. The lack of such strength makes us pathetic. On the other hand, strength is of no use if we are not aware of alternatives. If decisions are to be fully free and human, all that one knows must come into play, and one's will-ingness to detect self-deception. The Second Vatican Council gives expression to the inner tension within which our decision making takes place: The truth is that the imbalances under which the modern world labors are in line with that more basic imbalance rooted in the heart of man. For in man himself, many elements wres-tle with one another. Thus, on the one hand, as a creature, he experiences his limitations in a multitude of ways. On the other~ he feels him-self to be boundless in his desires and sum-moned to a higher life. Pulled by manifold attractions, he is constantly forced to choose among them and to renounce some. (GS §10) 67.2 2008 Navone ¯ No E~cape from Finitude Fear of Insignificance There is a tension at the heart of every human life story, which Ernest Becker describes as the fear of insig-nificance. This tension reflects the human nature at the heart of the life story. As a contemporary author puts it: "Man has a symbolic identity that brings him sharply out of nature. He is a symbolic self, a creature with a name, a life history. He is a creator with a mind that soars out to speculate about atoms and infinity." At the same time, "man is a worm and food for worms." He lives in the tension of his duality. His inner self enjoys freedom of thought, imagination, and the endless reach of symbolism; his body limits, however, determine and bind him. This tension is aggravated by the fact that we are not living among ideal persons in an ideal, world. From the aggra-vation of our basic predicament, we often seek pseudo-solutions to avoid having to face the tragic aspect of life. Rousseau taught the French Revolution that people were good and institutions evil, so reorganize the institutions, and people will be able to be good. He assumed that, by their own unaided efforts, people could create institutions to resolve all their tensions and conflicts. 122 Development within Limits Some lives are more integrated than others; some are more full of conflict. We can search for our own true story only within certain limits of possibility and prob-ability. The recognition and acceptance of these limits is, in fact, the only way to the realization of our true story-- the story most appropriate to our authentic possibilities. Tensions are aggravated when we try to be what we cannot be, when we pretend to be other than we are. They are aggravated at the social level when a political ideology engenders in the masses a passionate hope for a utopia Review for Religious without the means to attain it. Both individuals and societ-ies can miss their true stories through self-deception with regard to their true and limited possibilities. Detachment from self-interest and bias is difficult to achieve. We sense the gap between our possibilities and our actual moral achievements. Awareness of our moral inadequacy cre-ates a tension which we often attempt to resolve through rationalization, a "cover story" that is out of joint with our experience. Guilt, rationalization, and self-deception imply the painful experience of moral finitude in our aspiration toward values and our true possibilities. Creative Crises The personal crises of a life story are often turbu-lent, but they do not necessarily have the disintegrating effect of severe mental illness. The powerful emotions which erupt from a personal crisis can signify a per-sonal liberation from false beliefs and lead to a more productive life'. One can emerge a stronger and better person. Some hardship, suffering, or mental anguish is the lot of everyone. These things are potentially creative; they can help individuals improve the quality of their inner self. Economic prosperity and a good educational system are no guarantee of personal morality, charac-ter, and maturity. People grow by passing through such critical periods as coming of age, getting married, the birth and raising of children, and the advent of bereave-ments, old age, and dying. Frustration, too, may assist personal development, for character and personality are achieved through overcoming difficulties with patience, intelligence, and persistence. Getting all we want when we want it does little towards personal development; it even seems to preclude personal growth. 123 67.2 2008 Navone ¯ No Escape from Finitude Some hardship, suffering, or mental anguish is the lot of everyone: The psychiatrist Kazimierz Dabrowski has developed a theory of mental growth through positive disintegra-tion. He holds that, to achieve a thorough integration of the cognitive, moral, social, aesthetic, and other such human functions, one must undergo a disintegration of a previous integration. The positive disintegra-tion of an integration characterized by biologi-cal determinism, automa-tism, rigidity, stereotyping, and a lack or low degree of consciousness is effected by a growing insight into oneself and others and a con-scious and deliberate adoption of other multilevel and multisided understandings. 124 The Correlative Notion of Self and God Our personal history in the use of the word "God" may reflect a maturation process characterized by criti-cal turning points and creative suffering. Inasmuch as our notions of self and God are correlatives, we may uncover something about our own identity by exploring our encounters with the word "God" in our personal crises. If Christ means "he who saves us from a self-centered existence," personal crises may be prerequisites for finding God's true value in our lives. Concentration on self-preservation and self-satisfac-tion, on what appears to keep us from harm, turns love in on itself and blocks it from going out to God and oth-ers. It is good if our personal crises liberate us to live in society with God and neighbor. Never to be free from self-concern about our slightest needs is the condition Review for Religious of alienation from God and neighbor. It is only in our God-given ability to respond to God's self-surrendering love that we can be free to live and love anything other than ourselves. Personal maturation entails suffering in confronting crises in our lives. Carrying our cross daily implies the Christian conviction that, to understand scriptural truth adequately, we need to experience the cross in our lives. Those who can freely lay down their lives for their ide-als and values are persons who have been strengthened by their Master's mission and by their joyful awareness of being loved by him. Such freedom comes from expe-riencing with others a grand participation in God's life of self-giving love. If our notions of the self and God are correlatives, they alert us to the suffering of others, to the reality of their condition, the condition of all those to whom we are related and whom God loves. The Book of Genesis affirms the goodness of the world when it describes God affirming the goodness of it. The compassion that Jesus felt for the afflicted is the compassion of his Father. Not only our notions but also our feelings about the self and God are cor-relative. A reasonable love for oneself betokens a rea-sonable love for others. Its reasonableness includes a profound awareness of the self as gift, as dependent for its existence on the loving generosity of the Giver. Our personal crises should help us to mature in our under-standing of the love which the Giver expresses in his gift of the self and other selves; they remind us that we are not autonomous monads, that our existence and happiness depend on others. Adrian Hastings affirms that cruel people want a cruel God, and cruelty has been a characteristic of human society: the sadism and masochism of the human 6Z2 2008 Navone * No Escape from Finitude race time after time create a face of God as cruel as itself. Old Testament theology could not be unaffected by the cruel divinities all around and the cruelty of the Israelites themselves; still, Hastings believes, the heart-rending struggle of the Old Testament was to show that such was a false face of God, that Yahweh is not mer-ciless but merciful. Our behavior reflects the face of God that we see. What we do or do not do expresses the meaning of our God-talk; our behavior reflects the healthiness or unhealthiness of our vision. 126 The Face of God in Christ Crucified The face of God is revealed in personal crises. Jesus on the cross reveals the compassionate face of God. "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" On 4:18). For Christians the cruelty of the cruel cannot express the nature of God; rather, it is the most outra-geous denial of it. A personal face, the face of Jesus, the suffering and crucified Messiah, is the face of the God of love and compassion. This is the reality which the apostolic church communicates in its preaching: "We preach Christ crucified" (1 Co 1:23). Those who die with Christ rise with him; the cross is the security of Christians. The evangelists speak of the cross in considerable detail, for this is the story of Jesus' ministry making available the way to God. To preach the cross is to preach the resurrection; for it is the message of the cross that sets us free: "dead, yet here we are alive" (2 Co 6:9). On the cross the Son of Man recovered our lord-ship in and over creation, through the obedience for which we Were created. The true face of God is revealed in the Crucified; the loving obedience of Christ is for Review for Religious Christians the model of the perfect self. What Christ has done at Calvary creates and shapes our notion of God, the correlative of our notion of the self that is Christ. Calvary reveals a God who serves his creatures with a compassionate, healing, and community-creating love; it is God giving his life for his people in the high priest who is also victim. Calvary expresses the loving servanthood of God in Christ which gives direction to Christian faith and action. The stoW of Jesus is the stoW of God waiting on us: "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them" (Mt 11:5). It is the story of a costly, commit-ted, and constant Love that prevails over death. Jesus' life is the parable of God's rule, the embodiment of God's diakonia. Paul appeals to this when he says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Ga 6:2). The way of the cross is the way of Christian maturation in a life of theocentric self-transcendence. It is the way to meet personal and social crises, not a way of escaping them. To preach the cross is to , Treach the resurrection. Communion: God's Purpose for Us All The suffering of Calvary transformed the Jewish con-cept of Messiah among the first Christians. At the Last Supper, Jesus waits on his disciples. The servant who waited at table in Jesus' day was the diakonos. Now Jesus, the master, in washing the feet of his disciples, performs the new diaconal deed, the embodiment of agape: "A new {_/27 67.2 2008 Navone ¯ No Escape from Finitude 128. commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34). "As I have loved you" points to God's kind of love, the love of costly self-giving. The diaconal deed of the Last Supper expresses the saving, community-creating love of service and friend-ship. According to John's Gospel, Jesus thought of his disciples as sharing in his diaconal work of cosmic redemption. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (3:16). "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (16:33). "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father" (14:12). Communion through Self-Expending Love Acts of self-expending love for others, rather than out-of-the-body experiences, are Christians' usual confir-mation of the life after death that the risen Jesus' appear-ances express: "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 Jn 3:14). Paul relates Christ's love to our Christian belief in life after death: "I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rm 8:38-39). The completion of God's purposes for his entire creation and our individual destiny are indivisible, for our lives occur and develop in community. Our lives are incomplete without a depth of fellowship with God and with others, even though this fellowship is only a fore-taste of our joyful participation in God's glorious life, which is the ultimate object of our Christian hope. Review for Religious The Christian vision of God is incompatible with indifference to injustice and the suffering of others. Its vision is of a trinitarian God whose being is in commu-nity, and whose self-expending love creates community. In the light of this vision, salvation is participation with others in the goodness and beauty of God's self-giving love: "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on us what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Co 2:9). Life and Death in the Paschal Mystery For Christians the risen Christ is the focal point of a theme common to all religions, the pursuit or convic-tion of the ultimate nature of reality. The resurrection of Christ is the key to meaningful life in a numinous but incomplete world. This awesome and fascinating event~ysterium tremendum et fascinans--is at the heart of the life coming out of death that is shown in love of our brothers and sisters (1 Jn 3:14). It is the key to understanding the fulfillment of our life stories in the perfect community of God's kingdom, and also to understanding the mission of the church in solidarity with all humankind. The community of Christian faith interprets the life story of Jesus Christ as a divine summons to a personal and social transformation that requires prayer, informed conscientiousness, and appropriate action. Paul is the community's spokesman both when he preaches what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and in his recogni-tion that the "old man," the old self, self-centeredness, does not die a sudden death. There is a phenomenol-ogy of both life and death at every level of our con-sciousness. There are incontrovertible signs of physical death, and there are incontrovertible signs of physical 129 67.2 2008 Na~one ¯ No Escape from Finimde life. There are similar signs at the psychic, affective, intellectual, and spiritual levels of our existence which are perhaps not as readily discerned. Many of the names or titles referring to Jesus are metaphors, Tides for the Life-Enhancing Jesus Metaphor is a way of grasping the unknown through the known, of relating our former experience, to our new experience. Our metaphors say a great deal about what we are, or are like, and about what we are becoming. They can express the self and help in telling life stories. They are a clue to our feelings about our relationships and about the Mystery which is their context. Many of the names or rifles referring to Jesus are metaphors. Jesus defines himself in terms of the life-enhancing effect he has on others, an effect which cre-ates a community. To John's disciples he says: "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, good news is proclaimed to the poor, and happy is the one who does not lose faith in me" (Lk 7:22-23). Jesus is what he does. He is sight for the blind, legs for the lame, purity for lepers, word for the deaf, good news for the poor, and the happiness of the believer. The community of faith manifests the new consciousness that Jesus Christ creates. Jesus' life shows the previous deficiency of individual and communal human existence. People diagnose illness from their awareness of what constitutes good health. Review for Religious Human Transformation through the Risen Christ "Almost twenty centuries have elapsed since the Christ-event took place, and yet no completely satisfy-ing overall explanation of that fact has been proposed," states Joseph Mitros sJ. Theological studies, the sciences, and philosophy have opened new vistas concerning the origin of humankind and its physical and moral state, concerning the problem of evil and liberation from it. These achievements and the data they provide must be evaluated and then integrated into present knowledge before more satisfying answers can be found. There is, however, no doubt among Christians about the risen Christ, the transformation of the apostles, and the community of Christian faith. The apostolic, evangelical, patristic, medieval, modern, and contem-porary theological attempts to explain the Christ-event originate in the reality of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Clement of Alexandria taught that the incarnate Logos illuminates the believer with his own incomparable light. Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria wrote elo-quently of Christ as the light of the world and as the giver of the Spirit of truth, transforming humankind through enlightenment. There is no single formulation of the .doctrine of the Christ-event in the patristic period. The exemplarist tra-dition describes the effect of the risen Christ primarily as moral regeneration, a redirection of the human mind and heart. The Western liturgical tradition tends to note what Christ's self-giving love has achieved for others. The Eastern liturgies see the event as a rescue and a healing. Christ the victor has enabled us to experience a deliverance from evil, whereas Christ the illuminator explains our entry into a life-giving reality. Humankind has been brought from darkness to light, from blindness 13,1 67.2 2008 Navone ¯ No Escape from Finitude to vision, from bondage to freedom, from turmoil to peace, through our participation in Christ's gift of his Holy Spirit, through our divinization (theosis), through our becoming brothers and sisters of Christ and sons and daughters of his Father. The experience of the lex orandi, of communion with the risen Christ in prayer, stimulates theological reflec-tion on his life story throughout the centuries. It bears witness to tile resurrection as God's action on behalf of humankind and as the transformation of humankind in relation to God. Christian Hope Transcends All Images For every doctrine which sees human lives in rela-tion to Jesus Christ's life stow, the elements of divine and human, of once-and-for-allness and human fulfill-ment, are essential. The saving effect of the risen Christ on our life stories is interpreted according to different models of various cultures throughout the centuries. When they clarify how, through the risen Christ, we may live life more fully, they serve God's people well. The community of faith, however, lives in a state of tension, aware of its limitations. It is only on the way to the fullness of life in the kingdom of God. Our present situation feels precarious, and the future kingdom seems remote. There is .tension between the kingdom to be revealed at the end of history and that same kingdom already present in the Christian faith community and in the lives of individuals going through the stages of their own life stories. Christians live in hope. There is a continuity between this hope and the grace-filled pull of God's eternal kingdom. There is, however, an obscurity surrounding this kingdom. The reason, according to Kevin McNamara, Review for Religious is that the object of our hope is none other than God, the question-raising and question-answering Mystery at the heart of all human life. And so any clear and definite idea of our true future can only be provisional. Christians cannot commit themselves absolutely to any blueprint for human happiness. We are always aware that something is missing, that our true hope eludes all human definition and planning. Josef Pieper says this about hope: "What marks the true hope is that [a per-son] holds himself in readiness for a fulfillment which goes beyond every imaginable human postulate." Hope, nevertheless, experiences the goodness and promise of the Mystery encompassing our life stories. Christian hope, defined by the Christ story, is not without some positive knowledge of what the future kingdom will be like. The titles and names of Jesus, the doctrines and models with which the church discusses our diviniza-fion in Christ, are all attempts to express this positive knowledge of and hope for the kingdom of God. Personal and Group Reflection 1. How have I handled the tension between realizing my desires and, by shutting out other possibilities, experiencing my limits? When have I experienced this tension as bringing me closer to Christ? 2. What is my response to the statement: "The face of God is revealed in personal crises" (p. 126)? 3. What name or title for Jes~s is my favorite? Can I explain the meaning of this title? " 67.2 2008 MARY JOSEPH SCHULTZ Being Burned by the Fire 134] l have come to set the earth on fire, and how I .~. wish it were already blazing" (Lk 12:49). Last year my mind and heart were caught up in this Gospel verse from a Sunday liturgy. Some phrase spoken by the homilist hit a nerve in me and inspired me to pon-der the symbolism and the reality of fire. Why do we use a flame to witness to the Eucharistic Presence in our tabernacles? Why are candles and flames frequent symbols of religious life? What is the primal image of fire saying to me today? How might God use me and my community to set the world ablaze? Open to the Fire Though I have never learned the art of creating fire, I know that kin.dling a flame from scratch requires effort, concentration, and patience. It also requires the proper materials. Using a match is so much easier, but how much more satisfying it must be to create a fire Mary Joseph $chultz SCC last wrote for us in our 65.2 (2006) issue. Her address is Assumption College for Sisters; 350 Bernardsville Road; Mendham, New Jersey 07945. Review for Religious using only rudimentary materials, persistent friction, and breath! Long ago Jesus desired to create a spark in me, at the first beckoning to religious life, when I was a child. He chose me, the most rudimentary of kindling, unknown middle child, shy and backward, plain and unassuming, and invited me to leave home and lend myself to the creation of fire. Calling me to join, at fourteen, a small and little-known religious community in a tiny, obscure New Jersey town, he knew his plan. He desired to use me as kindling, if only I would agree. The dry ordinari-ness of my life could actually catch fire more easily, I suppose. I was easily uprooted and picked up, and will-ingly I came. The chafing and friction began at once. Over these forty years, there has been constant rubbing. Isn't that what community life is for, at least in part? The twig with so many rough edges has lent herself to the Divine Hand. Personalities, assignments, self-knowledge, faults, losses, illnesses, disappointments and shattered idols-- all were offered for the kindling, warmed by the Spirit's breath, and the friction came fast, furious, and constant. How else to create a fire? God rarely uses a match! The twigs of my life were all laid bare, bark removed, and the quickening hand chafed a new spark, a blaze to be used for others. The breath of the Spirit has been ever present, gende, and at times unsettling, fanning the spark into flame. Imagine the patience of God! Most times the liv-ing Wind has been imperceptible to the kindling, stir-ring up smoke and covering its source, always keeping the promise of a blaze alive. Persistent breath needs to change direction if one side is unresponsive. The Breath never gives up in its passionate desire for flame. 135 67.2 2008 Scbultz, ¯ Being Burned by the Fire Eventually the Spirit came with greater urgency, the kindling was in just the right place and disposition for the fire to catch. Now the Breeze was more needed than ever to sustain the blaze, as is still the case. Where would I be without the constancy of the Spirit, nourishing, lighting, stoking the flame, and keeping the blaze alive? As I approach a fire I can choose to take one of three gtances: warmth, risk, or consummation, 136 Coming Close: Warmth, Risk, Consummation As I approach a fire I can choose to take one of three stances: warmth, risk, or consummation. Coming close, especially on a winter day, the warmth is delight-ful. It sets me at ease, calms the shivering limbs, and holds out to me a promise of comfort. I drop my burdens and begin to loosen my wraps, undo the scarves with which I am bound up, and settle in near the comforting warmth. The fireplace can be romantic., a rosy glow to melt away harsh realities and frozen relationships . . . the honeymoon of novitiate days and early ministries when all was right with the world. Soon a promise (threat?) of change creeps into the heart. The Spirit Breath is still blowing. The flames lick higher. Should I choose to back off?. Why risk losing comfort? The rosy glow lulls me, even into a trancelike state. It becomes easy to go through the motions of reli-gious life, near the fire but not in it. Content to observe, being warmed and even nourished, I need to take no risks and I am definitely not consumed. Safety is compromised Review for Religious by getting too close to the Fire, too involved. If I get too near I will be burned. And yet It draws me. I come closer, even at times reach out a hand, and I am singed. Fire purifies, but only when I am close enough. Gold is not refined, iron is not melted, food is not cooked, and a wick is not set alight when kept at a safe distance. I am useless unless I allow the Fire to surround me, catch hold and use me, draw me in to consume. For what else am I saving my life? The flames beckon, even mesmerize, as I contemplate them, but I had better be aware of the risks if I choose to draw closer. The Fire is painful. Over the years when times of suffering enveloped me I have rarely realized the close-ness of God. On the contrary, God seemed utterly dis-tant, mere vapor on the horizon. Only in retrospect did I realize that it was God's closeness and my immersion in the Fire that caused the pain. I could not draw close to a Flame without being burned. Risky? Yes! But also so necessary to be a part of the blaze set upon the earth. Being one with the Fire fulfills my purpose in being. Was I not called to be a holocaust? To remain on the periph-ery, insipid and lukewarm, might be safe, but it is surely not productive. Leaving the rosy, romantic glow of the fireplace to jump into the Blaze is what religious life is all about. I need to be enveloped if I am to be of any use. Being Fire Wood that is caught, right in the middle of the fire, takes on the appearance of the fire itself and loses its own identity. The log glows from within. No longer do sparks dance on the edge, no longer is there only risk of being singed, but now the blaze works its magic from the core. It consumes the willing fuel. Fire and fuel can no longer be separated. 67.2 2008 Schultz ¯ Being Burned by the Fire Leaving the rosy, romantic glow of the fireplace to jump into the Blaze is fohat religious life is all about, 138 Fire burns away the dross and purifies only as much as the wood lends itself. If I resist, roll away, fall off the pile back to a safe distance, my comfort zone, I will not be touched. I will save myself, but for what? I might still feel the warmth as I seek to return to the "safety" of my earlier days. But once I risk being part of a conflagra-tion I cannot go back or run away. My already singed self tells the tale. I had caught the light and begun to burn. Now nothing but total consumption can satisfy me. Why pretend otherwise? I have also learned that seasoned wood burns the best. Wood too moist, too green, too full of sap (self) leaves no room for the flame to take hold. It sizzles, spits, and smokes, too little fire to be of much use. I must let myself be alone to dry, to be cured, even to unfeeling brittleness, as the sap is drained from me and I lie lifeless on the ground, forgotten for the time being. The Stoker of the Fire will again pick me up when I am ready, gather me when I can be of most use, when the flames can really do their job. What does it mean to become Fire? To me it means nothing less than being Jesus, the Light of the world. He is the one who called me, the kindling. He lets me lie at times, unused because I am not yet useful., too green and full of the self-sap that deters the flame. I need to be seasoned, over and over again, dried out and left alone. Only when I am ready will he gather me up Review for Rdigious for kindling, hold me close and breathe his Spirit, all the while applying friction where most needed, turn-ing me this way and that, harder and faster for sparks to catch. There is nothing else for me but to become Fire. In this is my purpose, the purpose, I believe, of all religious men and women. Let God throw me into the Fire. Let Jesus take me over, glow in me, radiate warmth and light, and let me be a part of the blaze ignited by Love on earth. Let me be part of something much bigger than myself. In my consummation my life is fulfilled. Unveiled Hide not Your face. Show me Your face. And though that sight Be my death, I shall live indeed. Show me that incandescent, Altogether lovely face, That earth-splitting, Sky-rending, Fire-kindling face. Be my sole desire, Burn bright in me Until I am molten gold Reflecting only You. Teresa Burleson 139 67.2 2008 AVIS CLENDENEN witnessing Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley Do you remember having a Jeremiah experi-ence once a long time ago? You told God "I am only a youth" and God said, "Be not afraid for I am with you" (Jr 1:4-8). Do you remember that first consciousness of being called, when the clay of youth was moist and malleable? A time when you took for granted that the Potter was on your side, shaping you? When you felt that you and your companions were singing the new church into being? In your commu-nity, do you notice treasure dwindling away? In the anxiety and bewilderment of this our time, how desperately do you seek to prevent further loss? In these days, when I find myself among women and men religious to share faith and 140 Avis Clendenen wrote for us in the September-October issue of 1999. She is professor of Religious Studies at Saint Xavier University; 3700 West 103 rd Street; Chicago, Illinois 60655. Review for Religious community, I sometimes think of recalcitrant clay and a frustrated Potter. I wonder if some have adapted Jeremiah's words from "too young" to "too old": "Ah, Lord God! I am weary from speaking the truth in love. Our best days are behind us. I am too old." And God says: "Do not say, 'I am too old,' for even now to all to whom I send you you will go; be not afraid, for I am with you to deliver you." Jeremiah would understand and empathize with the disillusionment, even terror, of feeling that life is falling apart. The youthful Jeremiah found himself in the stocks in midlife. His view (Jr 20:1-9) provides a window into his soul. Walter Brueggemann reminds us that it is in prayer that this prophet of deep dispute finds sustenance for his life and ministry; he finds sus-tenance, however, only in continued dispute. Can you imagine the dialogue as Jeremiah struggles with the God who called him to his vocation in the first place?2 Was he not the one to whom Yahweh addressed the lovely words of "knowing him before he was formed in the womb, consecrating him, and appointing him prophet to the nations"? The help in destabilizing situ-ations, Brueggemann proposes, is honest conversation that draws God in deep and thick.3 Brueggemann goes on to say: "This is the very God to whom prayers can be reliably made, not a therapeutic God, not a warm fuzzy, not a dear uncle, but God of hosts, God with hard capacities and stern resolves. Jeremiah prays to and trusts this God, because alone he cannot withstand his persecutors and he will not appeal to a God who is kind but helpless.''4 Jeremiah's confinement is the kiln of his becoming. He finds a deep freedom; he finds duty and daring, cour-age for the next challenge. He is the patron prophet of 141 67.2 2008 lendenen * Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley 142 The Christian faith itself is built upon anamnesis/ best days ever before us, not behind us. What we know about the ministerial vocation is that it keeps unfolding in unexpected ways, that safety is never forever. We will feel fire in our bones from now till the time, as Rahner says, when the harvest of our earthly life is enfolded into the Incomprehensible Mystery of the One past-all- graspness. Until that day we are still in the world's grasp, striving to discern the Spirit's complicity in the losses we experience and to imagine a new vision from the confines of the stocks. How do we tend the fire when the embers are struggling for air? As people of faith we live in anamnesis: the retrieval of deep memory so powerful that reality being recalled from another time becomes present. The antonym of anamnesis is amnesia, the loss of a large block of inter-related memories. It is a catastrophic and sad reality to lose one's memory. People of the Book and those who treasure the long sweep of religious his-tory experience anam-nesis in their liturgical remembering and in the duty and daring of their vocation. The Christian faith itself is built upon anamnesis: "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." The lyrics of Marty Haugen's "We Remember" capture the why of our charge not to forget: "We remember how you loved us to your death, and still we celebrate that you are with us here" (GIA, 1980). This remem-bering roots us in a permanently meaningful past, holds us meaningfully in the present, and orients us toward the future whose meaning we are called to both wait Review for Religious for and bring about. Such Catholic remembering effects what it signifies by evoking and provoking what Johann Baptist Metz long ago called "dangerous memories." He said there are memories of earlier experiences that break through the center point of our lives and reveal new and dangerous insights for our present. They subvert our structures of plausibility. They are like dangerous and incalculable visitants from the past.5 Dangerous Memories Only those who have been transformed to some degree can be agents of larger transformations. Transformation usually relies on the ordinary forma-tive episodes of our lives. The Jungian scholar Murray Stein says, "The transforming person is someone who realizes the inherent self to the maximum extent pos-sible and in turn influences others to do the same.''6 Such an individual has the substance and style to inspire and elevate others to a greater moral largesse. Relatively few people desire to attain the social consciousness and do the soul-making inner work that would make them transforming and transformational persons. In describ-ing them Stein says, "Their lives show an extraordinary degree of uniqueness, imagination, and pristine indi-viduality." 7 Like the prophets of old, the 12th-century German Benedictine Abbess Hildegard of Bingen and the 19th-century Irish woman Catherine McAuley were two such transforming and transformational individuals with fire in their bones. Both women were-in their early forties when they took their first steps beyond what was toward what could be. Hildegard, a medieval theologian, visionary, and church reformer, and Catherine, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, were both fifty-two years old when 143 67.2 2008 Clendenen ¯ Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley they faced and decisively overcame obstacles to bring their visions to fruition. Both developed extraordinary skill in conflicts with church authorities, and, interest-ingly, over three hundred letters of each remain. In short, Hildegard and Catherine are dangerous memories whose legacies of duty and daring remind us of our own often untapped potential. Episodes of duty and daring in the lives of these treasured visitants from the past suggest that they can work in weary souls like oxygen on embers. 1441 Portrait of Hildegard of Bingen On the nine hundredth anniversary of Hildegard's birth in 1998, the Hildegard scholar Barbara Newman wrote: Hildegard is the only woman of her age to be accepted as an authoritative voice on Christian doctrine; the first woman who received express permission from a pope to write theological books; the only medieval woman who preached openly before mixed audiences of clergy and laity with full approval of church authority; the author of the first known morality play, and the only 12th-century playwright who is not anonymous; the only composer of her era known both by name and by a large corpus of surviving music; the first scien-tific writer to discuss sexuality and gynecology from a female perspective; and the first saint whose official biography includes a first-person memoir,s Born in the summer of 1098 in Bermersheim, Germany, Hildegard was thrust upon the stage of life at the close of one century and the dawning of the next. The role of wise women, midwives, h~alers, and coun-selors fell under new suspicions. The practice of seeing the divine in all things was eroding. It was an epoch of spiritual fervor amid the growing corruption of a Review for Religious church bent on the Crusades, which led "poor and frail" women, like Hildegard, to rise up and challenge the clergy to reform. Hildegard wrote prolifically between the ages of forty-two and eighty-one. In addition to two major works on medicine and natural science, Hildegard completed a trilogy of theological works: the multimedia illuminated manuscript for which she is most famous, Scivias (abbreviated from the Latin for Know the Lord's Ways), The Book of Life's Merits, and The Book of Divine Works. She composed seventy-seven liturgical songs and wrote them down in the Symphonia: The Symphony of the ¯ Harmony of Celestial Revelations. Fifty of her homilies are extant. The historian Gerda Lerner says, "The life of Hildegard of Bingen exemplifies the breakthrough of a female genius who managed to create an entirely new role for herself and other women without ostensi-bly violating the patriarchal confines within which she functioned.''9 Hildegard thrived at a time of political and religious tumult not vastly different from our own. "Her sheer force of will," Newman says, "combined with a dazzling array of spiritual and intellectual gifts, a courage hardened by decades of struggle, and a pro-phetic persona, which she displayed in season and out, made her a formidable opponent; and she did not take defeat easily.''~° This could equally be said of Catherine McAuley. Portrait of Catherine McAuley The life and vision of Catherine McAuley, seven [ centuries after Hildegard, provide another deep story 14~ of a woman whose spiritual and intellectual gifts, cour-age hardened by struggle, and prophetic persona made her a formidable opponent; like Hildegard, Catherine 67.2 2008 Clendenen * Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine M~uley Hildegard thrivedat a time of political and religious tumult not vastly differen~ ~om our own. did not take defeat easily. From her childhood to her middle years, she knew what it was like to be forced to the edges of her culture and to experience the prejudice of being Irish and Catholic in an age of intolerance. ~t Catherine's efforts to accomplish something lasting have their roots in the faith and courage with which she faced hardship. She reflected often upon adversity as key to her theology of the cross, the central sym-bol of Christianit~,. Over her lifetime she experienced many losses: her father's death when she was five, their fami-ly's descent into poverty, and her mother's death in 1798, when Catherine was twenty. In 1827 she buried her sister Mary, mother of five children. She cared for her sister's children and outlived some of her beloved nieces and nephews. Inheriting in 1827 the for-tune of a couple she had lived with for twenty years-- and driven by her deep faith, her sense of Christian duty, and her compassion--she built in Dublin the first House of Mercy. Her selection of a site on Baggot Street, in one of the wealthiest and most exclusive sections of Dublin, flouted the as yet unrevoked late-17th-century penal code that prohibited erecting a Catholic building on a main thoroughfare of Irish cities and towns. This proved to be the first step toward the founda-tion, in 1831, of the Sisters of Mercy, many of whom would die from the cholera and typhus that plagued Ireland in those early years. Two letters to her younger, Review for Religious most trusted colleague Frances Xavier Warde provide a window into Catherine McAuley's spirituality of the cross¯ In 1840, after the death of two young novices while a new foundation was being proposed, Catherine wrote, "I suppose all will go on well to shew us that what we think a drawback will be followed by greater progress. If they should have a new foundation--it will not be without the cross.''12 In 1841, offering words of encouragement as Sister Frances faced a challenge to her religious leadership, Catherine reflected: I know it is an affliction to you--but rest assured, God will send some. distinguished consolation¯ This is your life, joys and sorrows mingled, one succeed-ing the other. Let us not think of the means [God] has employed to convey to us a portion of the Holy Cross, being ever mindful that it came from Himself¯ ¯. Far better and more profitable for you to receive with all your heart the cross which God will send you in any form or shape He pleases. I earnestly hope you will receive this trial so as to render it valuable to you.13 Catherine's Decision for George's Hill Catherine McAuley was in her forties when she experienced a defining moment in realizing her vision. The novelty of an intentional community of lay women without religious vows and enclosure brought such neg-ative attention that "the criticism threatened to discour-age young women from joining Catherine's endeavors and thus to undermine the very stability of the works of mercy to which she was committed, including visita-tion of the sick poor in their homes and hospitals.''~4 Catherine began "a long deliberation" on how to pro-ceed. On 8 September 1830 she, Anna Marie Doyle, and Elizabeth Harley entered the Presentation Sisters' con- 147 67.2 2008 Clendenen ¯ Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley vent on George's Hill to serve the canonically required novitiate year before professing religious vows on 12 December 1831 as the first Sisters of Mercy.~5 These fifteen months away from Baggot Street were a pain-ful challenge for the fifty-two-year-old Miss McAuley. She spent the time surrounded by novices more than thirty years her junior. During the last seven months of her novitiate, a very strict mistress of novices made the duties of the time quite burdensome for Catherine. A letter from Mary Clare Moore to Mary Clare Augustine Moore describes the time: Catherine "often said it was so hard a struggle for her to remain [at George's Hill] on account of meeting there many things repugnant to her feelings that had she not the establishment of the Institute most deeply at heart she would (that very e~ce-ning) have sent for a coach to take her back to Baggot Street.''~6 This is a prime example of Catherine's sense of duty reshaping her earlier inclination to dare founding an unenclosed religious congregation. One can imagine how difficult the months of enclosure and silence must have been for a mature woman of such burning vision and apostolic zeal. Centuries earlier Hildegard had a different diffi-cult experience, but one that produced similar daring results. 148] Hildegard's Self-Awakening Following the custom of noble families, Hildegard's parents tithed their tenth child, Hildegard, as a tribute to the Lord when she was eight years old. She pro-fessed her religious vows as a Benedictine nun at the age of fifteen or sixteen. During these formative years, she watched as the original 7th-century Disibodenberg site was reconstructed into a small 12th-century Review for Religious German medieval city. It is interesting to speculate that Hildegard's own desire to found an independent monastery, which she eventually did, had its roots in a mind alert to all the construction going on around her. The physical buildings may have suggested to her young imagination the idea of being a spiritual architect. An unusual child, Hildegard confided in her mentor Jutta: "When I was three years old, I saw an immense light that shook my soul; but, because of my youth, I could not externalize it.m7 This light within her soul she would eventually name the umbra viventis lucis: a spiri-tual gleam or hint of the Living Light, appearing day or night, in full consciousness, and in multicolor brilliance accompanied by a "hearing in the soul." Hildegard, fear-ful of what others would think and what sanctions might be imposed upon her, remained silent with respect to the theological content of her visionary life. This silence and its consequent physical debilitation enfolded itself in Hildegard's daily existence. In 1136, when she was elected abbess, she received a new scope of authority. It was not uncommon for the abbess to be the magis-trate over dual monasteries of both monks and nuns. The authority of medieval abbesses included leaving the enclosure and entering into council with other abbesses. The abbess held spiritual power to bless, proclaim the gospel, instruct, lead Eucharistic processions, and hear the confessions of her nuns. Such powers exercised in Hildegard's time were forbidden a century later and have never again been held by women religious, even to the present day.18 At the age of forty-three, Hildegard finally broke silence on the content of her inner visions. She was "instructed" by the Living Light "to put her hand to writing" and "release the power and mystery of hidden 149 67.2 2008 Clendenen ¯ Duty and DaHng in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley A~ the age of forty-three, Hildegard finally b~oke silence on the content of her inner visions~ and marvelous visions." For the next thirty-eight years, she put her talents and spiritual gifts into both writing and public speaking. An official church commission went to Disibodenberg to examine her partially completed Scivias. The examiners took their findings to the Synod of Trier, where the well-respected Bernard of Clairvaux read portions of the Scivias aloud to the assembled bishops. Bernard urged the pope "not to allow such a brilliant light to be covered by silence, but rather to confirm this charism through his authority.''19 Pope Eugenius III gave Hildegard apostolic license to continue and told her to complete her "divinely inspired" work. (When completed, the Scivias was an illuminated manuscript of twenty-six visions with theological commentary address-ing an array of Christian doctrine.) Such ecclesiastical encouragement freed Hildegard to go forward into an unprecedented future. lyO Duty and Daring Both Hildegard of Bingen and Catherine McAuley successfully negotiated life at the crossroads. Living life on life's terms presents people with challenges to choose well and manage change. Hildegard and Catherine are models of midlife women who took themselves seri-ously as gifted gospel women and resisted the temp-tation toward being insubstantial, toward settling for less instead of more. Hildegard mustered the courage Review for Religious to break from her self-imposed and culturally enforced silence. On the other hand, Catherine chose to embrace the silence of enclosure at George's Hill and the confin-ing duties of the canonically required novitiate so that her vision might find acceptance. Each in her forties possessed an inheritance. Hildegard's was an internal, visionary, prophetic giftedness, and Catherine's was the material gift of £25,000 (a million dollars in today's currency) coupled with her social vision to make a dif-ference for the poor. Their midlife transition brought them to greater vistas of generativity. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke captures this moment when he writes: I love the dark hours of my being in which my senses drop into the deep. I have found in them, as in old letters, my private life, that is already lived through, and become wide and powerful now, like legends. Then I know that there is room in me for a second huge and timeless life.2° Both Hildegard and Catherine consistendy, albeit pain-fully, found within themselves a duty and daring in the daily struggle for what mattered most. Their stories help us do the same. They are dangerous memories. Hildegard's Decision to Leave Disibodenberg Hildegard experienced a vision calling her to leave Disibodenberg and establish her own independent mon-astery. The abbot dismissed the possibility of such an undertaking. Hildegard, in a pattern that marked her life, was stricken with a severe malady. She was filled with energy when she was advancing her outer and inner work and experienced terribly depleting episodes when she was impeded in what she believed to be God's will. Eventually the abbot came to see that the paralysis that 67.2 2008 Clendenen ¯ Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley turned Hildegard's body stonelike was the result of his interference with God's will. He reluctantly conceded, granting his permission for her to proceed. After her move to Rupertsberg in 1150--an excep-tional action for one who described herself as "timid and lacking boldness"--Hildegard made arrangements to acquire complete canonical and legal separation from the monks at Disibodenberg. She wanted to choose the monks who would provide spiritual care for the nuns at Rupertsberg, to keep the dowries from the families of women who joined the order, to call the free election of superiors, to hold the deed to the property, and to be accountable solely to the archbishop of Mainz. She insisted that this (secret) arrangement be put in writ-ing, and she received it from the archbishop and from Frederick Barbarossa, king and emperor of Germany. Hildegard's memory of Disibodenberg's physical recon-struction now took wings. She supervised the erection of a 12th-century monastery with indoor plumbing, a complete sewage system, and a hospice for the sick and dying. The community grew from twenty to fifty nuns. While busy with preaching tours (begun at sixty), managing affairs at Rupertsberg, giving pastoral care to her nuns and others who requested it, writing The Book of Divine Works, and maintaining an active correspon-dence amid secular and religious tumult, Hildegard, fif-teen years after founding Rupertsberg, decided to found another congregation at Eibingen. With thirty nuns she set out down the east bank of the Rhine and established it on a site overlooking Rudesheim and across the river from Bingen. Hildegard kept living at Rupertsberg but traveled twice weekly to Eibingen until her death on 17 September 1179 at the age of eighty-one. Review for Religious Catherine McAuley and the Chaplaincy Crisis The McAuley scholar Sister Mary Sullivan writes, "In the six years since its founding in Dublin on 12 December 1831, the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy had merited episcopal approval and support . But the last months of 1837 were a very painful period in Catherine's life for one specific reason: in September a deep conflict arose between her and Dr. Walter Meyler, parish priest of St. Andrew's Church, over his unwilling-ness to assign a regular chaplain to serve the sacramen-tal needs of the homeless women and girls sheltered in the House of Mercy on Baggot Street"21--a situa-tion similar to Hildegard's centuries before. Catherine thought the continuity of pastoral care very important for both the Sisters of Mercy and the residents of the House of Mercy. "By depriving the House of Mercy a chaplain," says Sullivan, "Walter Meyler had, in effect, removed the possibility of daily, and even Sunday, Mass at Baggot Street. This meant that the forty or more servant women and girls living there had to go out to a parish church on Sundays, with the consequent free-dom to dally in the city and delay their return to the House--the very shelter created to protect them from the sexual and other dangers lying in wait for them on the streets.''22 Catherine wrote to Sister Mary de Pazzi Delaney, "My dearest Sister Mary, will you relieve me from the distressing business about the chaplain? It is constantly before me, and makes me dread going home. I know it is not possible for me to have any more argument with Dr. Meyler without extreme agitation . Do get me through this--don't be afraid.''23 Catherine's cor-respondence with Dr. Andrew Fitzgerald OP notes his seven-word summation of the controversy: "a wanton 67.2 2008 Clendenen * Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine Mc~luley unwarranted abuse of church authority.''24 Catherine wrote to Michael Blake, bishop of Dromore, who sup-ported her rationale for "one individual clergyman" as chaplain to the house and encouraged her to submit her case again. In doing so (to the Rev. John Hamilton), Catherine quoted from a letter she had sent to Dr. Meyler: We were happily at home today in time for all our dif-ferent duties., but our poor young women are still about the streets, taking advantage, to be sure, of the irregularity which has been introduced among them. I will make one more effort., to prevail on the Sisters to accompany me to their Bishop . We will shew what is lost by the change that has been made . This sad alteration in our once orderly establishment cannot fail to excite pity in a mind like his. At eight o'clock on Sunday evening, a letter was handed me from Doctor Meyler. It began thus: "When is your procession to take place? I should like to see the theatrical exhibition--the Bishop must be apprised--perhaps you may not admire the reception you will meet, for he is too straight forward a person to be caught by your Juggle." I read no more and put it out of my power ever to do so by burning the letter. I must now be done with the matter entirely. I will attempt nothing more.25 In a private letter to Frances Xavier Warde in January 1838 about the situation, Catherine said, "It is humiliating no doubt, a smart attack on self-importance, and if this part of it is well managed, it must turn to good account.''26 A few months later Catherine reported to Frances, "Our Mass is celebrated very regularly every day, and the confessions pretty well attended to--but I never feel reconciled to it . Pray fervendy to God to take all bitterness from me. I can scarcely think of what has been done to me without resentment.''27 Review for Religious Crises and Character The substance and style of Hildegard's leadership in moving her community from Disibodenberg and establishing the foundation at Rupertsberg, and the per-sonal cost and art-istry of Catherine's moving through the chaplaincy cri-sis, suggest some-thing important that has a bearing on leadership that would be trans-formational. They had the capacity for liminality and pos-sessed a prophetic passion. The term liminality is taken from the Latin limen, meaning threshold. Angela Bolster RSM defines limin-ality as "all about risk., a countercultural movement on the frontier, opening up new horizons, indicat-ing new possibilities . . . fueled by a new vision of the future.''28 Those on the limen, at the edge of new fron-tiers, can live in ambiguity and perceive opportunity. Like Jeremiah, they learn to bear disquietude and use agitation and anguish as kindling for the flame of zeal. Hildegard broke silence when she could no longer hold in the content of her visions. Catherine's daring social vision took her more than once to the edge of con-frontation with church authority. Their sense of duty provoked in them an adaptability that deepened them as churchwomen and staved off the bitterness, alienation, and cynicism people feel under the weight of perceived Catherine's daring social vision took her more than once to the edge of confrontation with church authority. 67.2 2008 lendenen ¯ Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine McAuley injustice. It is especially poignant when the injustice is meted out at the hands of the church. It is easy to imag-ine each of these liminal women pr~ying with Jeremiah 20:7-9: You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a daily laughingstock, everybody's butt. . . . The word of Yahweh has meant for me insult, derision, all day !ong. I used to say, "I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more." Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not do it. Both women's large-mindedness enabled them to sus-tain the distress of the life that wanted to live in and through them and, at the same time, animate others to help them realize the possibilities they perceived were of God and worth the cost. The liminal among us often dwell at the edges of society where the anawim of God live. Transforming and transformational leaders find a home among the homeless, in fact and in faith. They bear God's pro-phetic pathos as their own. They bear the cross where they find it, whether in the medieval crusades, the Irish penal laws, or the current building of walls at U.S. bor-ders. The prophetic personality struggles and stumbles but never succumbs to despair because the umbra viven-tis lucis--the gleam of the Living Light--stirs the soul of those who artfully integrate duty with daring and daring with duty. Such transformational persons are of biblical proportions, vessels of Holy Wisdom in every generation (Ws 7:21-28). The 12th-century German Benedictine Abbess Hildegard of Bingen and the 19th-century Irish Mother Catherine McAuley are two such liminal, passionate, and prophetic women. They wit- Review for Religious ness to other courageous lives lived within the difficult confines of changing eras and changing destinies. Their dangerous memories get into the marrow of our bones. Theirs is an irreducible legacy given to us. Their names are anamnetic and, when they come among us today, they are an oasis in the midst of wilderness wandering, bearing witness to the possible future always before us, especially in times like ours. Notes ' Attributed to an insight from Sister Doris Gottemoeller RSM, senior vice president, Mission and Values Integration, Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2 Walter Brueggemann, Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers, ed. Anna Carter Florence (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004), p. 156. 3 Brueggemann, Inscribing, p. 157. 4 Brueggemann, Inscribing, p. 159. s Johann Baptist Metz, "The Future in the Memory of Suffering," Concilium 76 (1972), p. 15. 6 Murray Stein, Transformation (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1998), p. xxiv. 7 Stein, Transformation, pp. 146-148. 8 Barbara Newman, ed., Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and her World (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), p. 1. 9 Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Feminist Consciousness (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 52. ,0 Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, trans. Mother Columba Hart and Jane Bishop (New York: Paulist Press, 1990), p. 15. n See Angela Bolster RSM, Venerable Catherine McAuley: Liminalfor Mercy (Cork, Ireland: Sisters of Mercy, 1998). ,2 The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley, 1818-1841, ed. Mary C. Sullivan (Baltimore: Catholi~ University of America Press, 2004), p. 316. 13 McAuley, Correspondence, pp. 400-401. ,4McAuley, Correspondence, p. 33. ,s McAuley, Correspondence, p. 34. ,6 Mary C. Sullivan, Catherine McAuley ~nd the Tradition of Mercy [IY7 6Z2 2008 lendenen * Duty and Daring in Hildegard and Catherine Mc~uley (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995), p. 93. 17 Carolyn Sur, The Feminist Images of God in the Visions of Saint Hildegard ofBingen's "Scivias" (New York: Mellen Press, 1993), p. 26. ~s Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life (London: Hamish Hamilton Paperback, 1986), pp. 33, I01. ~9 Renate Craine, Hildegard: Prophet of the Cosmic Christ (New York: Crossroad, 1997), p. 26. 20 Rainer Maria Rilke, I Am Tob Alone in the World: Ten Poems, trans. Robert Bly (New York: Silver Hands Press, 1981), p. 4. 21 McAuley, Correspondence, p. 94. 22 McAuley, Correspondence, 2~ McAuley, Correspondence, 24 McAuley, Correspondence, 2s McAuley, Correspondence, 26 McAuley, Correspondence, 27 McAuley, Correspondence, see footnote 83, p. 112. pp. 96-97. p. 103. pp. 112-113. p. 119. p. 144. Time Dive Plunge into the.flow of time Ride the current moment Swirl awhile 'round bubbling eddies Bob lithely on sun glistened ripples Cascade over rapid rocky rills Float out into embracing arms of open sea Then soar aloft to clouds above And gently freefall Rain Drop in the river of time. Walter Bunofsky SVD Review for Religious JEANNE MCNULTY Weavers of God: The Warp and the Weft A nY artisan of handwoven fabric knows this: If the vertical threads (the warp) are weak and under uneven tension on the loom, no matter how the horizontal threads (the weft) are woven, the resulting cloth will be a puckered, slapdash mess. "Called to weave a new spirituality that generates hope and life for all humanity" was the theme of the plenary session of superiors general of women religious held in Rome in May 2007. The question was asked: "What thread are we religious, responsible for our con-gregations, called to weave in this moment in order to become prophetic and mystic 'weavers of God'?" Weaving has been a feminine image for centuries, and cave paintings document the existence of tapestry weaving as long ago as 3000 B.C. Handloom weaving flourished in the 1700s. Nowadays a few of us, mosdy women, but some men too, still send shuttles flying Jean McNulty SFO, OCV, a secular Franciscan and a consecrated virgin (see canon 604), wrote for us in 1997; she lives a semi-eremidc life. claire@wvadventures.net 67.2 2008 McNulty ¯ Weavers of God across warps and are delighted to see new designs pop up on the fabric or web before our eyes. Those who have persevered in the art can draw many analogies between our craft and the loom of our spiritual life. Everyone's vocation or lifestyle needs some structure. Without a plan, purpose, or focus, days and years may be frittered away. On a loom the "castle" is the outer encasement. Within the castle there are "harnesses," usually between two to eight of them. These are frame-like rectangles that hold the "heddles." The heddles are slender metal rods each containing a needle eye in the center. These are threaded in various sequences according to a pur-posed design. Below the heddles and harnesses, close to the floor, are the "treadles," which are attached to the harnesses in a specific arrangement. When the treadles are pedaled or tromped, the harnesses are raised and the "shuttle" (a little boat-like device that holds the bob-bin with the weft thread) flies over and under the warp threads. The interlacing threads form the pattern that begins appearing on the newly created fabric. Almost an infinity of designs can'be produced, and a great mul-tiplicity of shades and hues are made manifest as the various colored threads cross over and under each other on the web. Many designs were developed by those who have gone on before us. Others are waiting to be dis-covered. The threads on the loom can be compared to all the people that cross our paths in life and help us to become the persons we are. This interlacing of our lives with theirs helps develop the finished pattern on the web of life. On the loom there is a front and back beam. In the weaving that I do, the vertical threads are initially tied Review for Religious to the back beam, the farthest away from the weaver, and then threaded through the heddles toward the front of the loom and then through the "beater." This is a long rectangular device containing a reed with short thin metal rods. It can be expanded at least to the width of the warp. The reed keeps the threads from getting tan-gled .and also helps create the density of the fabric. The beater "beats" the weft threads into an even line across the warp, which is tied on to the front of the loom. The aim is to get all the warp threads through the castle and then though the reeds in the right sequence and then tied with even tension to the front cloth beam. This takes time and patience, and it does no good to try and expedite the process. An experi-enced weaver knows not to hurry because, if a thread is put through the heddles or beater in the wrong sequence, the whole pattern or design is flawed. It often means going back to square one with the threading. So it is better to do it right the first time and save hours of unnecessary labor. An analogy to the spiritual life is easy to see. Just as buildings need a firm foun-dation, so a weaver of a tapestry (or of the fabric of her life) should humbly spend the time and energy to thread her loom with order and precision. She should begin by looking to the future with humble and atten-tive prayer. Occasionally, despite very careful planning and execution, a warp thread will break in the middle of a weaving project. It will take a special knot with a piece of new thread in even tension with the others to fix it. experienced weaver knows not to hurry. 161 67.2 2008 McNulty ¯ Weavers of God This requires added time and effort, as it does in the spiritual realm when our sins and flaws require repen-tance, confession, forgiveness, fixing--the knot and thread renewing togetherness and integrity. In the repertoire of weaving designs, there are warp-faced patterns and weft-faced ones. This means that, in any piece of cloth, what meets the eye is either the pattern of the weft threads or the pattern of the warp. In traditional Navajo weaving, for example, the weft completely covers and hides the warp. It is considered a real flaw for a warp thread to be seen, and so the weft is always beaten tighdy into place. The contemplative life can easily be compared to the warp in Navaio weaving. It is so totally obscure. It is, however, the framework for the entire fabric. The warp threads have to be very strong to take the intense beat-ing and packing of the weft threads that will show on the sur- The contemplative life face. Strenuous active lives and ministries can easily be compared to can beat people down the warp in Navajo weaving, in their endeavors to make the world bet-ter. These endeavors, these activities, are what people see and value, but, if they are not sup-ported by the strong threads of contemplative union with God, they will not produce the desired beautiful patterns. Pope Benedict encouraged religious to "weave 62 the living fabric of a useful service to the church., yet always maintaining solid interior relations with Christ. In fact, only from this union with God can that 'pro-phetic' role of your mission flow and be nourished." Review for Religious He added: "Never yield, therefore, to the temptation to distance yourself from intimacy with your Heavenly Spouse by allowing yourselves to be overly attracted by the interests and problems of daily life." Our Holy Father encouraged religious to cultivate the mystical dimension of consecrated life, keeping united to God through contemplation. He said: "The authentic prophet, therefore, is not concerned so much to accomplish works, which undoubtedly are important but never essential. Above all, he tries to be a witness of God's love, seeking to live it among the realities of the world, even if his presence can sometimes be 'uncom-fortable' because he offers and incarnates alternative values." !n creating a piece of material on the loom, once the warp threads are threaded through the heddles and tied on to the back warp beam and the front cloth beam, and once the weaving has commenced, the warp threads can-not be changed without dismantling. It is different with the weft threads. In the active life we can change our occupations, put different yarns and a different picture on the loom of our existence, but always underneath there has to be the contemplative warp to hold things together. What is essential is our vertical and horizontal union with Jesus. If the love relationship is there and he decides to change the design, it can hurt, but it is not devastating because the contemplative warp is strong. There are times in life when the weft patterns seem to coalesce. Everything works out well, and we have a lot of good "yardage" to show, but then can come years when no matter what we do all seems insignificant. The Lord appears to be asleep in the boat, our litde shuttle, and we feel tossed about in darkness. In the obscurity of the night, we become mystic weavers who feel at odds 67.2 2008 McNulty .,Weavers of God with the surface of our life. We cannot see what is going on, but we hope and trust that something special and beautiful is happening in the context of our life. When I have thrown the shuttle for the last time on a long-woven piece of cloth, the moment has arrived to see the web completely finished. I take the scissors and cut each warp thread. I draw the material forward and fan-fold it on the bench in front of me. A passage from the Book of Isaiah comes to mind: "You have folded up my life, like a weaver who severs the last thread" (Is 38:12). We know this moment will arrive, the one when the Master Weaver severs our web from the loom of our earthly life and surveys the finished product. Then we hope that he will delight in the display of designs and intertwining coloi's. In this moment all of us are unique and original. No other person will have the same patterns, the same gifts to display in the king-dom of our God and before our sisters and brothers. Hopefully, our lives will have been prophetic examples of the gospel message, and we too will hear the words the Father spoke over Jesus at the river Jordan: "You are my beloved child. On you my favor rests" (Mk 1:11). Review for Religious DAMIAN C. ILODIGWE Discipleship, Faith, and Commitment Getting to know people is a process. It can be long and complicated, involving several phases that result in increasing knowledge of them. Yet the process can hardly begin effec-tively unless we are prepared to discover who the individual persons are and do not approach them merely in terms of what we think or what others say about them. To be sure, what we think or what others say is important and should not be ignored, but this is not enough if our concern is to know them personally and intimately. For this we need a firsthand experi-ence that gives them the opportunity to reveal themselves to us. Consider what happens when we meet peo-ple. It takes only a while before they begin to Damian C. Ilodigwe wrote on the Magnificat in our 66.3 (2007) issue. He is a priest and lecturer in philoso-phy at Ss. Peter and Paul Major Seminary; P.M.B. 5171; Secretariat P.O.; Ibadan, Nigeria. dammychuks2000@ yahoo.tom being disciples 67.2 2008 Ilodigwe ¯ Discipleship, Faith, and Commitment 166 reveal themselves to us in various ways. If we really want to get to know them, such rrioments are precious. We pause and listen to what they have to say. By so doing we might begin to penetrate the mystery that underlies their personality. Such attention involves a certain pas-sivity in the face of their self-disclosure. Indeed, this moment of self-disclosure must guide our subsequent effort to learn who they really are. The process would be skewed if we imposed some prejudice of ours on them before they had the benefit of self-disclosure. Difficult and complex though it is to get to know other people, the reward can be great even after only a little success, and the success is bound to grow the more we try. We become more comfortable in their presence, and with this at-homeness we are able to trust them and perhaps even depend on them. We grow in our appreciation of their worth, and this leads to a much better relationship. Before we realize it, the friendship becomes intimate and personal. We need such a friend-ship with Jesus. Peter's Significant Breakthrough Like all who are called to be Jesus' disciples, the apostles had to get to know Jesus. They were specially chosen by him and destined to play an important role in his mission, but that does not mean it was easy for them to get to know him. Having been with him for some time and having seen the deep impression he made on people, they held him in high esteem. They knew how much people appreciated his words and presence. They were familiar with what people thought about him (see Mk 8:27-29). Yet this did not mean they really knew him. Their knowledge of him, like that of people he healed, was at best superficial. They knew he was the Reviem for Religious son of Joseph and Mary, but it is not evident that they penetrated the mystery of his divine personality (see Jn 5:1-18). If they were to be his ambassadors, it was crucial that their knowledge of him was not superficial, limited to a few details of his parents, his hometown, and so forth. It was impor tant that they knew and understood him for who he really is. Their coming to know him was a long process indeed, which was not over until, after his resur-rection, they received the Holy Spirit (see Lk 24:13-35). Nonetheless, the event at Caesarea Philippi offered a preliminary advancement of their knowledge of Jesus. Jesus brought up for discussion the topic of his identity (Mk 8:27-38, Mt 16:13-20). It was almost like any con-versation in which we seek feedback from others about a particular issue. He began by asking them who people said he was. That was not a difficult question, for the disciples only needed to be steeped in current affairs to answer it, and they were not wanting in this regard. They mentioned the various perspectives that people had: "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." The answer touched the reality of Jesus' per-sonality, but still was superficial. Jesus did not evaluate their answer; he simply asked another question, a more personal one: "But you, who do you say I am?" This sort of question upsets people. It certainly upset them. It took them from the nonpersonal to the personal. It Jesus brought up for discussion the topic of his identity. 167 67.2 2008 Ilodigwe ¯ Discipleship, Faith, and Commitment had implications regarding their allegiance and commit-ment. The burden of responsibility became enormous. In such circumstances we usually censor what we say. We say only what we mean to say and what we have evidence for. We can imagine the disciples considering their words carefully. Indeed, it would not be surprising to discover that there was a long silence before an answer came. As usual, it was Peter who took the lead, saying: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." We can almost imagine that Jesus was surprised, a pleasant surprise, for Jesus' true identity was and is always a kind of secret. People focused (and still do) on accidents of Jesus' birth and circumstances, as happened when he preached in Capernaum (Lk 4:16-28). Focusing on these things, they missed (and still do) the essen-tial Jesus. Peter, however, was absolutely correct. But how did this happen? What emerges is that Peter had been assisted. It was not as a result of any merely human agency that he was able to enter the mystery of Jesus' personality. As Jesus put it, "it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." We can recall here Jesus' words that no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom he reveals him (Lk 10:22). So it was not through Peter's human effort that he discovered this truth. It was through the Holy Spirit, of whom Paul was to affirm that "no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Co 12:3). It was the Holy Spirit that spoke in him. This was revelation, not merely natural knowledge. Not only was Jesus satisfied with Peter's answer, call-ing him a happy man, but he moved quickly to reward him: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold Review for Religious out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven." The enormousness of this reward is breathtaking, but the content is also rel-evant to the future of Jesus' mission (see Jn 21:15-19). That declaration of Jesus' identity revealed imme-diately Peter's deep configuration to Jesus to the extent that he had the seal of the Holy Spirit upon him. Peter's reward can be understood only in the context of this deep configuration. And the logic of this is relevant to us as well, in our relationship with God and with one another. In penetrating the truth of the divine personality of Jesus, Peter moved from a somewhat superficial relation-ship to an intimate personal one. If we understand Jesus in the depth of his divine and human reality, this knowl-edge is utterly transforming, and with transformation comes the burden of commitment and responsibility. To know people at an intimate level is to become committed to them. When we recognize that our rela-tionship has reached this deeper level, we are more pre-pared to take them into our confidence and relate with them still more intimately.| I suppose we are familiar with this situation. When we consider it briefly, we real-ize that it fits well the new phase in the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. With Peter's confession, the disciples were no lon-ger outsiders. They were brought inside and enabled by God's grace to perceive what others longed to per-ceive but could not perceive. The veil was lifted, and they were privileged to perceive the Lord of all creation in his true identity. Now their knowledge of him went far deeper than what people were saying. It involved 67.2 2008 Ilodig'we ¯ Discipleship, Faith, and Commitment something intensely personal, something that commit-ted them to him irrevocably. It did not, however, mean they had mastered everything about this mystery.2 In their very grasp of the mystery, something remained mysterious. They were ever in need of divine assistance to relate with him at this profound level. Toknow Jesus in his divine reality is a transforming experience, and it is our portion as Christians to attain such knowledge: 170 Peter's Confession and Our Contemporary Situation Like Peter and the other apostles, we too need to get to know Jesus better. Indeed, we can regard our journey of faith as getting to know Jesus and experienc-ing the power of his presence in our life (see Ph 1:12- 30). Also, like Peter, we need divine assistance to enter the profound reality of Jesus' divine personal-ity-- beyond a minimal grasp of what the church teaches in the creed. We need that, of course, and we need to integrate it into our faith journey. To know Jesus in his divine reality is a transforming experience, and it is our portion as Christians to attain such knowledge. The deeper our knowledge, the more we see that Jesus is our companion on our journey through life (Col 3:1-17). We see that he cares and that his presence makes all the difference in our life. We see the goodness of committing ourselves to Jesus. Living in accordance with our deeper knowledge of Jesus and our commitment brings us more and more into the divine realm. To confess Jesus as a good man Review for Religious or even a great prophet is not enough. It is to miss the whole point of his mission and our relationship with him. In the face of the artificiality and superficiality of our world, there is a need for us to encounter the full reality of Jesus, not mere extrinsic details. We must not live as if our faith were separate from our lives. Peter's confession of Jesus as the Son of the living God should make us step back and examine our own relationship with Jesus. How deep does my relationship with Jesus go? Is my relationship with him personal, or is it superficial, based on mere secondhand knowledge? God created us to know him, love him, and serve him.3 Knowledge is the gateway of love. The more we get to know Jesus and his love for us, the more we are able to love him in return and commit ourselves to him. All this may seem a tall order. It is a challenge. But it is not impossible to attain, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, our advocate and teacher. The Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, knows the depth of every reality, including God (see Jn 16:5-15). If we listen, the Holy Spirit will lead us deeper into the truth of Jesus. He will help us integrate this truth into our faith journey. We turn, then, to the Spirit and ask that our eyes be opened that we may see, our minds opened that we may understand, and our hearts so inflamed with divine love that our lives may be more and more conformed to the life of Christ. Notes 1 See Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus .of Nazareth (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007), pp. 335-341. 2 See Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Bandra, Mumbai: Society of St. Paul, 1999), pp. 29-32. 3 See the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Dublin: Veritas, 1994), §§356-361. 67.2 2008 Ilodigwe * Disdplesbip, Faith, and Commitment Personal and Group Reflection 1. How would I describe the process of getting to know another person? Do I find that this process is the one I use in getting to know Jesus? 2. In this article, I look at Peter in his coming to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Who else have been models for me in my own being able to grow as a friend of Jesus? 3. Have biblical studies been helpful or not in my coming to know Jesus? What part does prayer play in my growth? 172) Mary, at the Hour of Her Death "And not an easy dying," said her sister Mary the wife of Clopas, smoothing back Her own gray hair from a forehead marked With midnight watching; "but for all her Pain and the Weight of memories she and I Have shared, she went from us smiling." The ritual prayers she knew are said again; Lovingly, th.ey cover her. And while the women Of the cross go to buy the spices and prepare As once before burial, the Overshadowing Presence that she knew visits where she lies; When they return: Mary is not there. Nancy G. Westerfield Review for Religious PETER SCHINELLER Seeing with the Eyes of Christ A bold statement! How can we claim to see with the eyes of Christ? We are weak, sinners. We live in a different time and place, two thousand years after Jesus Christ. Yet this is what Pope Benedict says in his encyclical "God Is Love." About loving our neigh-bor, he writes: "Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessi-ties; I can give them the look of love which they crave" (§18). Following the Holy Father's lead, we might try to understand and retrieve this part of our Christian tradition. Where is Jesus? We often speak of the presence of Jesus Christ in our midst, especially in other persons. A key text that points to that presence is Matthew 25: "I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me." When we reach out to others in compassion and love, it is Christ we are touching. Mother Teresa saw this clearly: "Every person is Christ for me, and since173 Peter Schineller SJ writes from America House; 106 West 56 Street; New York, N.Y. 10019. 67.2 200g Schineller * Seeing with.the Eyes of Christ Saints live and model the Christ-life in their own day and agei there is only one Jesus, that person is the only one per-son in the world for me at that moment." We often hear that the goal of the spiritual life is union with Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. We join our lives to Jesus through word and sacrament, through prayer and action. We move to the Father Jind to his kingdom as followers of Jesus Christ. But is there another even more intimate way to speak of our relationship and union with Jesus? Is there a way that lessens the separation or dis-tance between us and Jesus, so that we begin to feel and say with St. Paul, "I live, now not I; but Christ lives in me" (Ga 2:20)? Can we not dare to say, as Pope Benedict does, that we are "see-ing with the eyes ofChrist"? Can we be bold and daring enough to say that we are to put on the heart and mind of Christ? That we reach out with the hands of Christ? Are these words true, or are they mythical, oversimplified piety? There is a story about a statue of Christ in a church. It was wartime, and the church was bombed. The statue stood, but the arms of Christ, reaching out, were broken off. Rather than remove or replace the damaged statue, someone put a note on it: "He has no hands but ours." Is this just a pious tale, or does it express a deep insight into the Christian life? Christian Tradition Speaks This Way St. Paul certainly saw his own life and the Christian life as intimately joined with Jesus Christ. We live Review for Religious and die with Christ, in him, through him. The Pauline writings use these and similar prepositions about 165 times to describe our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul explains that we are slowly, gradually being trans-formed into the likeness of Christ (1 Co 3:18). Writing to the Christians at Philippi, he urges them to put on the attitude or mind of Christ: "Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus" (Ph 2:5). All of our thoughts are to be "captive in obedience to Christ" (2 Co 10:5). With even greater boldness he says, "We have the mind of Christ" (1 Co 2:16). The Christian, through the power and reality of grace, grad-ually assumes the shape, the form of Jesus Christ. Saints live and model the Christ-life in their own day and age. We find a strong expression of how we put on Christ in a few words of St. John Eudes. He writes of the Christian's relationship to Jesus: He belongs to you as the head belongs to its mem-bers; all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body and soul, and all his faculties. You must make use of all these as your own, to serve, praise, love, and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. And so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the service and glory of the Father. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1698) How This Might Apply to Us The phrase "imitation of Christ" is a hallowed one in the history of Christian spirituality. It often refers to the classic book of Thomas h Kempis. What might it mean in light of what we have outlined above? Can we see our lives not simply as an imitation of Jesus Christ who is out there, over against us, but as one with us, cooperating with us, working in us in every good deed 67.2 2008 Scbineller ¯ Seeing with the Eyes of Christ that we perform? Can we see, think, act, with the eyes, mind, hands of Christ? Can this become a way of envi-sioning our lives? Here are a few examples. The eyes of Christ and our eyes. Jesus observed and learned lessons from the birds of the air, the lilies of the field. Jesus observed, and pointed out to the disciples, the great generosity of the widow who with her two coins put in more than all the rich men. Jesus saw with eyes of compassion the needs of the sick and the blind. Are we open to seeing the needs of others, and to seeing as Jesus saw? Or do we have a beam in our own eye and so fail to see the good in others, fail to see the needs of others, with the eyes of Christ? The mind of Christ and our mind. Jesus was one with his Father. His Father's thoughts of truth and peace-- were in the mind of Christ. Jesus emptied himself and thought of the good of others. Do we let Jesus enter into our minds and reshape our attitudes, our way of thinking? Do the needs of others have more weight than our own needs and desires? Does the truth prevail in our words and our conduct, or do we compromise and bargain with the truth? The heart of Christ and our heart. Christ says, "Come to me, all who labor and are burdened. I will give you rest." His heart went out in compassion for the crowd, hungry for food and for the word of life. His heart went out to the lepers. His heart was pierced on the cross, so much did he love us. He wants to transform our hearts into his own. From hearts that can be cold and insensitive, isolated and stubborn, he wants our hearts to become warm like his own, overflowing with love for his Father and for all God's children. The hands of Christ and our hands. As a youth Jesus assisted in the carpenter shop in Nazareth. In his min- Review for Religious istry Jesus reached out with a healing hand, a hand of friendship and blessing. Children came to receive his welcome and blessing. His hands shared food with his disciples and with the crowds. With his hands he washed the feet of Peter and the other apostles. Do we extend a clenched fist or the open hand of friendship? Do we let Christ work through our hands as we go about our daily tasks in the home, the workplace, the market? Do we see ourselves as instruments of his work, his care and concern? The feet of Christ and our feet. Jesus went about doing good. He continued steadfastly on the journey to Jerusalem, knowing that it would lead to suffering and death. He carried the cross to the hill of Calvary. In our walking and travels, are we instruments for the spread of the gospel and for works of charity? The ears of Christ and our ears. We sing with the Psalmist that "the Lord hears the cry of the poor." Jesus heard the blind cry out for help, the cry of the Syro- Phoenician woman for assistance for her child. Do we fill our ears with unnecessary noise and entertainment so that we have little time to hear the call of the child, the friend, anyone in need? The words of Christ and our words. Jesus spoke words of love and words of power. He spoke with authority. His words often evoked faithful, beautiful responses such as Peter's words "Depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man." Jesus' words gathered apostles and follow-ers, and captivated the crowds. Do our words echo the words of Christ, so that Christ can.be said to be speak-ing in and through us? Do others hear the words of the gospel, good news, in our conversation? The prayer of Jesus and our prayer. Jesus prayed before major decisions such as calling the apostles. He prayed I177 67.2 2008 Sebineller * Seeing witb the Eyes of Cbrist _178] for Peter that his faith might not falter. Jesus called God "Father" and invites us to do the same. As we pray the Lord's Prayer, do we realize that it is Jesus praying in and with and through us? He prayed for forgiveness even for those who crucified him. Do we let the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in our hearts, cry out, "Abba, Father"? Do we let Jesus pray in and through us for the needs of our world and our family and friends? The will of Christ and our will. Jesus came to do the Father's will. "Not my will, but yours be done." He became obedient even unto death, death on a cross. Do we let God direct our will, or do we resist handing over our will to the divine will? Are our choices in line with the way and the words of Jesus, letting his Spirit be the power, impetus, and guide for our choices? Prayers That Reflect This Vision Four prayers of the Christian tradition reinforce the thrust of this reflection. The first is the familiar prayer of St. Patrick on the presence of Christ, how it sur-rounds and fills us. Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. A second prayer is from the Book of Hours, of 1514: God be in my head, and my understanding; God be in my eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; Review for Religious God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at my end, and at my departing. The third prayer comes from St. Ignatius Loyola. At the end of the Spiritual Exercises, we hand over ourselves completely to the Lord, to his transforming power, for him to do with us as he wills and as he thinks best: Take, Lord, receive, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I have and pos-sess. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. All is yours. Do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me. The fourth prayer, more contemporary, the Grail Prayer, is an excellent prayer for Christians as they go about their daily responsibilities: Lord Jesus, I give you my I give you my I give you my I give you my I give you my I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me your Father and all humankind. I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me. hands to do your work. feet to go your way. eyes to see as you do. tongue to speak your words. mind that you may think in me. One way to begin to live this seeing, thinking, and walking with the eyes, mind, and feet of Jesus is by making it part of our daily examen. Rather than exclusively focus on our sins and failings, or our dominant feelings or emotions, we might focus on how we have or have not spoken, lis-tened, and acted like Jesus. With this Christocentric per-spective, we reflect on how Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ, lives in and through us. 67.2 2008 Scbineller ¯ Seeing witb tbe Eyes of Christ Jesus Christ was born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. He will come again at the end of time. He comes now in word and sacrament, and he wishes to be born again in us. He wishes to reshape, reform, and transform our bodies into his own. He wants to speak his words of love through us, and to reach out in compassion to the needy through our arms. The poet Hopkins captures this vision in his "kingfishers catch fire" poem: Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his, To the Father through the features of men's faces. 180 Mourning "I'm so sorry for your loss," I said, or I think I said that, And held out my hand to a black glove that shook, then grasped hard and held on As if my outstretched palm held gold, gold for the going, For going home tonight and leaving him there cold, alone and lonely. No, he is no longer lonely or in pain, or alone - She is. Suzanne Mayer IHM Review for Religious JOHN J. FISHER The Celibate Aunt or Uncle: Another Blessed Vocation Byrother Joe and I worked together for thirteen ears at the Catholic high school that our religious order owns and administers. Beyond our shared ministry and living in community together, we did not have much in common. As facilities manager, he was concerned with heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) issues and requests for proposals (RFPs) to read. As a (eacher and administrator, I was concerned with Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and collegial observations to write. He loved Broadway music while I played rock and roll. He would go out for a bike ride while I went out for a run. The special thing about which we agreed was that there is no greater vocation than being a celibate uncle. With excitement we exchanged stories about fam-ily get-togethers, our nephews' and nieces' accomplish-ments, and their latest activities and e~iploits. We could John J. Fisher OSFS has worked for twenty years in secondary and now college education. His address is De Sales University; 2755 Station Avenue; Center Val!ey, Pennsylvania 18034. Email: john. fisher@desales.edu 181 67.2 2008 Fisher ¯ The Celibate Aunt or Uncle Prayer is a special, gift we religious priests, brothers, and sisters offer to our nephews and nieces. 182 visit their homes, have tremendous fun with them, spoil them, sugar them up, hold the babies once changed, and then leave. We would brag about their strengths and minimize their growing pains. All of our friends heard many family stories. We knew that our nieces and neph-ews were a special grace toward living our religious life well. Let me share an anecdote. "To listen to your messages, press one; to get mes-sages, press two. 'Hey, Uncle John, this is Danny. Just calling to ask if you can pray for DJ, one of our basket-ball players at Central Catholic. He got in a car acci-dent driving home from the school dance. He must have fallen asleep and drove off into a ditch. The police didn't find him till the next morning. He's in a coma. Please pray for him. Okay? Love you.'" As Danny was only in fifth grade when he left this mes-sage, it tells me three things. First, Danny already has his sights set on playing basketball at the high school level. He even speaks as if he is already part of the team, telling me "we lost a close one last night." Second, not only does Danny believe in the power of prayer, but he is other-centered, especially if the other is a star athlete. Third, Danny looks to his celibate uncle as one to whom he can go for prayers of intercession. Danny is now in sixth grade, DJ is recovering nicely, and I am still blessed with the privilege of praying for the intentions of my siblings and their greatest gift to me: their sons and daughters. Review for Religious Prayer is a special gift we religious priests, brothers, and sisters offer to our nephews and nieces. Because of our vocation and its implicit commitment to individual and communal prayer, we become the obvious "go-to" people to pray for people's petitions. We are asked to pray for this nephew's intention, this niece's special favor,~ or that of someone we do not even know but who is dear to our loved ones. They believe not only in the power of prayer, but very specially in our including them and their intentions in ours. Our fidelity to prayer in our state in life frees us to do just that. Several years ago I was challenged by a classmate to include my family, naming each one individually, in the intercessory part of my prayer life. Daily, morn-ing and evening, I conclude the intercessory portion of my prayer by naming all my siblings and their children from oldest to youngest. I include the intentions I know abouh ones specially asked for and unvoiced ones I sense are needed. In a generic way, I pray through the inter-cession of our parents (the young people's grandparents) that all within the family may be safe, protected from harm, happy, healthy, faithful to parents' and grand-parents' good example, and open to the presence and blessing of the Lord. Depending on the situation, I add specific intentions, from guidance in choosing a college to success in a master's program. Including them daily in prayer brings to mind the gift they are as individuals and our special relationship with each other. It is also a daily reminder of the tremendous gift of prayer and the need to specially cultivate this treasure. In addition to prayer, there are other aspects of the spiritual place we have in our relatives' lives. We are always invited to receptions of a new sacrament, the yearly school Christmas plays, and every gradua- 67.2 2008 Fisher ¯ The Celibate Aunt or Uncle tion. Our relatives expect something spiritual from us, whether it is a holy card or a blessing on their fore-heads. Our small monetary gifts are always appreci-ated in a unique way, for they know we do not have the wherewithal that other aunts and uncles may have. It is often the celibate aunt or uncle that remembers all the birthdays of nephews and nieces. They count on us for the yearly birthday card, perhaps one at Halloween, and a small gift at Christmas. They call on us for that spe-cial "religion project" or an answer to some theological question. Of course, this can be a mixed blessing. When we do not know offhand who was the mother of Ruth or the pope of frequent communion, they call into ques-tion how we got ordained or what kind of a religious we are. We are, though, privileged to baptize them, to give them their first Eucharist, to witness their exchange of marriage vows or to read at their wedding. We hear of them explaining our way of life to their friends with a sense of special pride, bragging in their own way. Many of them call us weekly to "check in," affording us the opportunity to affirm and to express our ongoing love for them. We are their personal cheerleaders in each and every adventure, whether it is a passing fad or a passion that perdures. They expect us to say that they played well regardless. They understand that we have a right to be biased in thinking they were the best on the stage, on the court, or on the playing field. Every picture they paint is a Rembrandt, and every musical composition borders on something worthy of Carnegie Hall. Our nephews and nieces give us joy and hope. We are privileged to share their lives and stories in a way that maybe their other aunts and uncles cannot, because they are necessarily attentive to their own children's Review for Religious journeys. With no children of our own, we have the freedom to be the special aunt or uncle. They all become ours in a special way, collectively and individually. In a special bond of trust, we may be privy to hear-ing something that their own parents do not yet know (one getting stopped by the police for driving over the speed limit or a niece protecting a nephew from getting into trouble). Such discreet listening is usually not seri-ous, and things turn out well. We serve as a compassionate ear when they are not ready to go to their parents. They come to us for hope, under-standing, and accep-tance. They know clearly that we would never withhold something their parents need to know, but we can still listen to them as they tell us that their parents do not understand or are being unreasonable. They hope that we may serve as the voice of reason interceding for them to have a cell phone, be allowed to drive to school, or stay out just a little longer. We may be able to reach them simply because we are not their parents. We can be their sounding board, and we can help them realize how deeply their parents love and care for them, sensitizing them to the delicate vocation of parenting. All of this allows us to bring, with pride and vital-ity, this great sense of family into our homilies or our classes. In understanding them, their accomplishments, and their gradual maturation, we are able to relate to parents to whom we preach or whose children we teach. We may be able to r each them simply because we are not' their parents. 67.2 2008 Fisher ¯ The Celibate Aunt or Uncle Our love manifests itself in our being compassionate and gentle with those whom we serve and who in various ¯ ways are similar to our nephews and nieces. It lets us see that there is no vocation more difficult, more precious, and more needed than parenting. Invited into the homes and lives of our siblings, we get a real sense of what it means to parent and to grow up in this changing world as a child, teenager, or young adult. In sharing these sto-ries, our preaching and teaching become real, vital, chal-lenging, and spirit filled. We can offer a strong sense of faith because we have received it from these relatives of ours. Our siblings' fidelity to their spouses and children exhorts us to a renewed commitment to be poor, chaste, and obedient for our own sakes and for the world. The relationship afforded us as aunts and uncles reminds us that we were born into a natural family before entering our religious family. We journey like everyone else as we see our loved ones struggling in school, working tirelessly to afford tuition, striving to stay sober, searching for employment, or hoping to find that special soul mate. We prayerfully accompany their growing pains, seeing the cycle in one after another. We serve as one who, standing off in the distance, perceives the special quality in each of them and then helps them appreciate their own unique spark of the divine. With everyone we have different relationships that change and grow over the years. With each of several families, we may experience different traditions, habits, and customs. But we highlight for all of them a larger sense of family, a broad sense of gift, and the God who is the giver of all. We can also share with family our religious lives and what we have to offer from our own ministry. We can offer a sense of hope to siblings who are so closely con-nected to their children that they cannot see beyond an Review for Religious attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a poor self-image, a lack of responsibility, an inability to make this team or star in that role. We can remind them that their children's growing edges are no different from other children's, and we can offer the assurance that "things take time" and "this, too, shall pass." We may downplay the seriousness they see as concerned parents, knowing ourselves the greater severity of some other peo-ple's worries. With the passing of years, - we can reflect back to our nephews and nieces and their parents the fine growth and maturing we have observed. At the same time, we may be disconcerted that they grow up so quickly. We take another look at ourselves, our mortality, the fragility of our life, and may wonder what lessons we will have handed down to them. Additionally, we share our religious family, its mem-bers, and its charism with our relatives. We occasionally invite our natural family into the intimacy of our reli-gious family, where a mutual enrichment is enjoyed that enhances each family. We enjoy hearing our nephews and nieces call our fellow religious by their first names (Bob, Jack, Mary, Pat), showing the close bond they share instead of using titles like Father, Sister, Brother. They become extended members of our various reli-gious orders, championing our cause and ministry, even becoming our cheerleaders, bragging about our spirit, charism, and apostolates. Later in life, they invite us into their newly formed families and homes. They come We can also share with family our religious lives and what we have to offer from our own ministry. 187 67.2 2008 Fisher ¯ The Celibate Aunt or Uncle 188 to visit, take us to dinner, invite us on their vacations, and support us as benefactors. These sentiments and relationships may not always be the lived situation. For some religious, they might not be real or feel real. Perhaps we find ourselves at odds with members of our family. We religious are like people everywhere. Though wonderfully redeemed, we are keenly aware of our flaws and sinfulness, and our fellow religious remind us of them. This is a blessing of living the communal life. But, sadly, we may find our-selves estranged from members o~ one or both of our two families. If so, a question needs to be asked: Is there anything so devastating that prayer, grace, and the pres-ence of God cannot heal? Of course, we cannot make up for lost time direcdy. Our nephews and nieces only have one "first communion," special recital, or game-winning three pointer. But, still, let us work at being gende and loving toward members of our families. Let us be vul-nerable to their forgiveness or compassion so that their grace and spirit may enrich our lives and ministries. They have much to teach us about being pastoral. Our nephews and nieces have trust in us. They value our vocation as religious and the graced role we serve as their special aunts and uncles dedicated to God's wider family. They can inspire us to a tremendous sense of fidelity. They need us to be women and men of integ-rity, faithful to our calling and our ministry. When it becomes difficult to be faithful, when it feels desirable to be anything but poor, chaste, and obedient, who we are to them and for them can serve as our motive to be the religious we vowed to be in the presence of God, the church, and that family of ours. We must not dis-appoint them. Being a celibate aunt or uncle is more than another hat, another role, another relationship. It Review for Religious is a phenomenal blessing like few others that breathes meaning into who we are--and how we are that uncle or aunt for all of God's people. Brother Joe and I no longer live in the same local community. When we gather for a communal celebra-tion, we keep each other abreast not just of our doings, but rather of our lives as uncles, our blessing as uncles, and all the joy that our nephews and nieces bring to us. Personal and Group Reflection 1. How has this article stimulated me to reflect on my vocation choice as I relate to the younger members of my family? 2. Acknowledging the tensions that arise in family relationships, can I reflect on some success stories in handling a difficult time? Invitation to Prayer The lake reflects a mirror calm, scents of wildflowers fill the air, a lone deer at the water's edge stares into the depths of heaven. Evergreens frame the tranquil scene, fir and pine in a regal pose, anticipating the coming of the finch and wren and sparrow. It is a time to approach God, to savor his creations, to let him penetrate the soul, raise the spirit, possess the heart. Neil C. Fitzgerald 67.2 2008 DAVID L. FLEMING gnatian exercising What Is a "First Week Retreat"? The Ignatian retreat of a few days to a week has commonly been called a "First Week" retreat. Ignatius himself described an adapta-tion of the full four-week Exercises with the phrase "giving the First Week exercises." The assumed focus has traditionally been on "sin" as outlined by Ignatius in the five explicit "exercises" of the First Week. In the tradition it has been acknowledged that Ignatius allows for some instruction on prayer as described at the end of the Exercises and on the various examens that are briefly explained at the beginning of the First Week. In this brief study, however, I want to focus on the prayer exercises, not on the instructions the retreat director may give. :190 ] David L. Fleming SJ is nearing twenty years as this jour-nal's editor. He first published the following article in the Indian journal Ignis, volume 37, number 3. Review for Religious Despite the practice known as "traditional," espe-cially with the retreats preached in the 19th- and 20th-century retreat houses, I question whether Ignatius intends a closely literal interpretation of the First Week. Does Ignatius intend to restrict the prayer material for those making a shorter retreat to meditation only on sin? Do we not need rather to take into consideration the dynamic of the First Week in order to understand how to structure and adapt a First Week retreat? How might we describe the dynamic or movement of the grace of the First Week? It is the interplay between the grace retreatants seek and the colloquy or conver-sation they have with God in each prayer period. Although in this Week, in the second prelude, Ignatius usually suggests a specific way of praying for a grace, he also speaks generally about the way of conversing with God in the colloquies. Because he describes a colloquy as a friend talking to a friend (or perhaps a servant to his master), he presumes that the conversation flows and is not predetermined. The Ignatian dynamic appears in this interplay between the grace sought and the results of the conversation, the colloquy. In an individually directed retreat, the director listens to this interplay between the grace prayed for in the prelude and the grace received as described to the retreat director. The director thereby receives inti-mations for the direction of the following day's prayer. Ignatius places the emphasis, not on dwelling on personal sins or on evil in our world, but on being grateful t

THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY The Literary Journal of Pennsylvania College Entered at the Postofice at Gettysburg as second-class matter VOL. X GETTYSBURG, PA., OCTOBER, 1901 No. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Nature's Chain, . 137 The Survival of the Fittest, . . . .138 Man Was Not Made to Mourn, . . . 143 Some Important Deductions from a Comparative Study of My-thologies, . . . . . . 147 The Thunder Storm, . 1SS Editorial, . . 157 Resolutions of Respect, . . . . 158 Oration: The Character of Our Early American Forefathers, . 159 James Russell Eowell, . 165 Exchanges, . . . . . 170 NATURE'S CHAIN [From the "Essay on Man"] Look 'round our world; behold the chain of love Combining- all below and all above, See plastic nature working- to this end, The single atoms each to other tend, Attract, attracted to, the next in place, Formed and impelled its neighbor to embrace. See matter next, with various life endued, Press to one center still, the general good. See dying vegetables life sustain, See life dissolving, vegetate again; All forms that perish other forms supply (By turns we catch the vital breath, and die); Eike bubbles on the sea of matter borne, They rise, they break, and to that sea return. Nothing is foreign; parts relate to whole; One all-extending, all-preserving Soul Connects each being, greatest with the least; Made beast in aid of man, and man of beast; All served, all serving; nothing stands alone ; The chain holds on, and where it ends, unknown. —POPE. ^•jataut HHOMIHIHHBBHHHmBIBH 138 77/^ GETTYSBURG MERCURY THE SURVIVAL OF TME FITTEST D. C. BURNITE, '01 [dies Prize Essay—First Prize] "Ivives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime." —Longfellow. TV/fANKIND is like the face of a mountainous country. As we -*■'*■ view the human landscape, here and there, like peaks which rise above the plain and rear their snow-crowned heads among the clouds, appear, in bold contrast to the ordinary level of their fel-lows, the mighty men whose lives are the pages of history. And as we contemplate these epoch makers, there wells up in us, and quite naturally, too, a strong spirit of emulation. We admire them and would be like them. Of course, not every one of us can be a Napoleon, or a Wash-ington, or a Franklin, or a Grant; but each has abundant chances of becoming a less conspicuous, but yet quite prominent, feature in the plane of humanity. And it is the existence of such chances that prompts the youth of today to ask himself and others how best to pursue success. Geologists tell us that peaks owe their existence to their dur-able qualities. The surrounding material, by the action of aqueous erosion, has been carried away, leaving these tall projections which have been able to resist for ages the frictional action of water. Upon this same principle rests the success of the "makers of his-tory." Certain things in their make-up have enabled them to stand firm against the attrition of such circumstances as have swept their less sturdy fellows into the "realm of innocuous des-uetude." Their success is the result of the operation of the prin-ciple of the survival of the fittest. Ever since the world began, the principles and causes which have resulted in such changes as have been mentioned have al-ways been the same, and are the same, as those in operation to-day. And this is true of human affairs; so that the young man must realize that the same principles and causes which determined the success of great men, still operate. Ere he can resist the downward pressure of the busy, indifferent world about him, and, as Greely says, "bulge out over the top, where he is sure to be seen," it is necessary that he follows the same plan to secure suc-cess as that which has enabled others before him to become emi- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 139 nent. Just as they have survived innumerable discouragements and scaled the heights of fame because they have made themselves the fittest, so must the youth, in order to reach a high place, develop in himself those things which will render him, too, fit to combat opposing forces. And what are the elements of that fitness which has led to the success of men? Rvery person expects to be or do something, some day; that is, all have purposes. Yet most of these are more or less vague. But what we who would get on in the world must have, are defi-nite purposes. A race without a fixed goal is nothing. Without a definite end to strive for, life is a mere "struggle for existence," and existence is all we get. But life is more than this. The fu-ture holds out many prizes to each of us, to be won only by those who decide definitely for what prize they shall strive. The trav-eller must know, if not to what distance he desires to go, at least what is the bearing of the course he wants to pursue, or he may travel in a circle. If we want to move from our present positions, we must have purposes which, though they are not necessarily limited in extent, yet in direction must be definite. Napoleon, at the very outstart of his brilliant career, aimed at the rulership of the French nation. Lincoln had a definite intention, formed early in life, to do good to others. And how signally he suc-ceeded when he liberated those millions of sufferers! And to rise as these men did, we too must adopt this important element of their fitness,—a definiteness of purpose. Besides the fact that great men have had definite intentions, we observe that they all show elements of fitness in the characters they possessed. All the truly great—and we mean by truly great, not a Nero or Lord Byron, but those whom the good admire,— have been men of high morality. And the more elevated their moral traits, the more we admire them. High moral qualities are a part of the equipment which has bsought them, and will bring us, success. As a possessor of such characteristics, "Old Abe" stands pre-eminent,— a veritable personification of honesty; an honesty which did not allow him to support the unjust, though legal, side of a question; an honesty which made him lose in purse, but gain in esteem, till as a result of this quality he attained a world-wide re-spect, which will last as long as man and memory exist. Lincoln's is real fame, and the young man can do nothing better than adopt 140 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY \ I in his character the prime element which brought renown to "Honest Old Abe." True courtesy is a moral quality, based upon thoughtfulness and consideration for others. Men must be gentlemen, if they want to make progress. Great men are not always polished models ot etiquette, but courtesy has always been a mark of their fitness to occupy the positions at which they have aimed. ' 'Jeffersonian simplicity" did not hinder the third President from reaching the place to which he was helped by Jeffersonian courtesy. Eet us avoid error, and imitate in ourselves this essential quality of fit-ness to advance. Impure and intemperate habits invariably destroy all chances of complete success. Neither Burns nor Poe have secured all the glory which steadier lives would have brought. Irregular habits undermine and weaken all the qualities of body, mind, and spirit, and under their influence complete triumph is impossible. Better adopt the kind of habits which rendered long and useful the lives of Greely, Bismarck, and Gladstone. Their temperate lives are models from which men may safely mould their conduct and there-by place themselves among the fittest to survive. Morality is admirable, but when heightened by the influence of Christian principles, it becomes sublime. Men like Luther and Washington, who have worked under the rule of Christianity, stand at the very summit of human esteem. Elijah Morse once said: "Young man, a good character; yes, and a clean, religious life, are the foundation stones for success." But the moral and religious traits we have spoken of are not all that bring success. It is true that they are the "foundation stones," but upon these there has always been built a structure of other materials, which have made their possessors able to sur-vive opposing forces. The extremely pious are not always re-membered, but those whomwe admire most and shall never for-get have linked their piety, as we should do, with other things essential to render them fittest to endure. L,et us speak also of these. Josh Billings says- "Energy is what wins. Many men fail to reach the mark because the powder in them is not proportional to the bullet." Men must have "vim," or they fail to remove what to them seem insurmountable obstacles. The Alps were no barrier to the vigor of Bonaparte. Neither must the young man THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 141 of to-day lack this same sort of energy. It will enable him to sur-vive in the conflict with whatever comes between him and victory. The life of the man who would "fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer," testifies that the aspirant must try to imitate that in Grant which, in vulgar parlance, we call' 'sticktoitiveness.'' He must have a spirit of assiduity. Pluck cannot get along with-out Plod. Those who have become eminent have done so because they have hung to their purpose till triumph has crowned their persistence. Sir Isaac Newton, although met by what would seem to most men an impassable barrier, worked on for thirteen years before he was able to give the world the correct theory of gravity. The pursuit of success is up-hill work and a halt on the slope is fatal. Not one of the world's great men would have been able to survive the friction of ever-appearing hindrances, without this quality of persistency. Neither can any others who lack it hope to appear among the fittest. "Eternal vigilance is the price of success." It was on this principle that Mark Twain worked while becoming famous as a Mississippi River pilot, and later, while rising to his present lit-erary status. He himself testifies to the importance of this trait, when he gives this advice: "I say, young man, put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket \" We must "Stop, look and listen !" for the multifarious dangers we are liable to en-counter. It was the "Father of the New York Tribune" who turned failure into success by following the principle he himself puts forth in these words: "Do the very best you can where you are!" Concentration and thoroughness have marked the lives of those we desire to emulate. We have all made a practice of doing one thing at a time, and doing that well. It was John Wanamaker who once wheeled the delivery barrow of a dry-goods firm through the streets of Philadelphia; and he did it well, too. Concentrated effort in one direction led him finally to make for us an excellent Post-Master-General. And we also can follow his plan and rise. Close attention to little things enabled Watt to notice and use the principle he saw in the movement of his mother's tea-kettle as the means whereby his steam-engine could be impelled. It is of little things the big are made. Nothing we see or experience is too small to receive attention. Andrew Carnegie knows all the details of his immense business,—none too small to be important \ i ■ I i 142 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY to him. Nor must the youth who would succeed act differently from those whose fitness to rise included attention to little things. The best recommendation for the importance of a good educa-tion comes from those who have never had this advantage. Lin-coln's life-long regret was that he had not had a college education, and it limited his powers in many directions. However, self-taught men like he was have managed to climb the steep and reach the level of greatness without it. But just as one member of the body becomes stronger when its mate is injured, so such men, in the absence of higher education, have developed a substitute in the shape of great common sense. This we must have, or our fit-ness to survive the impositions of more shrewd men is impaired All these principles, and many, many others under which great men have worked, we must adopt if we want to aim at true great-ness. However, all cannot reach the topmost places. But an honest attempt to make the conditions in our lives conform to those manifested in the lives of successful men, will, at least, en-able us to rise far above mediocrity. Just as mountain peaks are formed of material most suitable to stand the wear and tear of ages, so must we young men be made of such stuff as will help us to throw off, without injury, those things which would keep us down, and rise till we attract the no-tice and elicit the worthy commendation of our fellows. Yet, let us not forget that the principle of the survival of the fittest extends farther than we have mentioned. For, away back, twenty centuries ago, there appeared a Great Man, a Model such as we find nowhere among the thousands of earthly great. He is the fittest and His survival is everlasting. Would we survive all the ills of this life, would we be classed among the truly fit, would we attain to higher praise than men can give,—heavenly praise ? Ifso, let us emulate him, the Model of all models, the Ideal! Then can we be like Him and join Him in the eternal survival of the fittest. "How void of reason are our hopes and fears 1 What in the conduct of our life appears So well designed, so luckily begun, But when we have our wish, we wish undone." DRYDHN. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 143 MAN WAS NOT MADE TO MOURN J. B. BAKER, '01 [Gies Prize Essay—Second Prize] OOBERT BURNS is the author of a varied and numerous array A * of beautiful poems. As a song writer he is the world's greatest. As rusticity's artist he ranks well with Shakespeare. His heart was great and his genius commensurate, winging its way to loftiest heights and recognizing the meanest things. He has been called the most directly inspired of all the poets. While the fame of other immortals rests upon the matured product of a life study, his finds its basis in the product of an hour. He goes out into the couutr)', disturbs a field mouse and ad-dresses it on the spot in quaint poetic style. A limping hare, a bank of flowers, a winding brook, a chilly blast, a neighbor's weal, a neighbor's woe, all appealed to his sensitive nature and won immediate response in verse. Such an one, however great he be, is in danger. Second thoughts, even in a Shakespeare, are preferable and it is neither a reflection upon the author nor a mark of conceit upon anyone to deferentially differ from him in a passing thought or hastily written verse. Burns said, "Man was made to Mourn.'.' The poem is sub-lime in its pathos but false, we believe, in sentiment. It shows the leaden sky but not the bow of promise. To study the end to which man was made we must ask time to turn backward in her flight for a moment or two and bring up the past. Oliver Wendell Holmes said we ought to begin a man's biog-raphy one hundred years before he is born. We would begin with generic man already when the idea of his creation was first formulated in the Divine Mind, for the idea of creation and the object of existence must have been coeval. They are concomitant notions and of a twin birth. What then was the mood of that pregnant mind at the event-ful date ? That question answered and our query is practically solved, for created things invariably bear the marks of their Creator. The readers of the world know the character and object of a literary production of a known author, before they open the book. They would not expect the sweet placid flow of an Irving from I I 144 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY the rough and rugged Cooper. Nor would they hope to hear the strains of Whittier coming from Virgil's lyre. Neither could have produced the works of the other. Their gems, in prose and song, were merely the externalization of their own minds and they could not have written otherwise because they could not have externalized that which had not already had an anterior internal existence. Precisely so, in our crude, fragmentary, symbolic fashion must we conceive of the Alpha of all reality. We are wooed to believe that everything in this central universe bears marks of kinship with Him, and particularly do we believe it to be true of man. We are like Him. Is He glad or is He sad? Does He mourn? That is the question upon the solution of which depends the pur-posed end of man's existence. To attempt an answer to a question like that, however, involv-ing as it does, eons of time and a Being unfathomable, might ap-pear a bit presumptuous, but a little reflection will prove the con-trary. We cannot escape it. The question abides with us through every period of our rational life. It presses upon us as atmos-pheric air upon our frames. It fills the human mind as star dust fills the sky. We must think of God, but without attributes that is impossible. What then are the qualities discoverable in his na-ture to give us an antecedent probability that man was made to mourn? Those qualities discoverable by us and those recognized by ages before us are wisdom, power and goodness and these in an unlimited degree. The gradual unfolding of orderly arrangement, hitherto unknown, reveals the wisdom. The spangled robe of night reveals the power. While the goodness, as for it, it shines from His very nature as light from the noon-day sun. How One possessed at once of Omniscience, Omnipotence and Infinite Benevolence could ever be sad and in mourning is beyond the grasp of human reason. Mourning implies regret at something that has happened and surely nothing could grieve Him who had the ability and fore-sight to avert the offending cause. Mourning is incompatible with the idea of Divinity as held by the majority of men to-day. But some are disposed to call these qualities into question. Not a few thinkers of eminent ability and indubitable integrity find themselves unable to predicate them of Him. I | El l SOME IMPORTANT DEDUCTIONS FROM A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MYTHOLOGIES C M. A. STINE, '01 [Gies Prize Essay—Third Prize] THE meaning of the word mythology is, literally, a treatise of *■ myths, or a writing composed of a number of fables. The term is applicable to the writings descriptive of ancient systems of religious beliefs, their various deities, and the attributes and the relations of these deities. Just as the child peoples the world about it with fairies both good and evil in their intentions toward human beings, so in a somewhat similar manner, the early races personified the phenom-ena of nature and sought to render intelligible the workings of nature thrust upon them for explanation, and which were to them otherwise inexplicable. Out of these explanations arose the vast bodies of legends descriptive of the various deities, their origin, adventures, attributes and relations. These personifications of nature with their body of attendant prerogatives arose from two principal causes: the necessity of pro-viding a cause for an observed effect, and the necessity of supply-ing a want felt in every human soul. Every human soul feels the need of a deity upon which to rest its faith and to whom it may look for aid. Whether the production is evolved by the human soul without a divine revelation does not concern us at present. To arrive at some explanation of the nature of the world, and the operation of those natural laws otherwise unintelligible, as well as of his own genesis, man invented the host of gods and demi-gods. The higher attributes ascribed to the divinities—their more purely spiritual qualities, arose out of man's need. Man is con- 148 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY scious of those forces which we call good and evil. He realizes the constant antagonism between the two, and the ethical super-iority of the former. He feels that according to his sense of jus-tice good should be rewarded and evil punished; yet his experience teaches him that such is not always the case. Hence there arises a feeling of the need of some force which may be supernatural, and which will reconcile the apparent contradictions, and fill the hiatus which is felt to exist. Thus there is the necessity of a god and a future existence. The study of ancient mythology with a comparison of the dif-ferent systems, serves a number of purposes. We gain a knowl-edge of the varying degrees of complexity of the different systems of belief, the height of their spiritual conceptions, and their degree of knowledge of the true God—that is their relation to Monothe-ism, the resemblance of the different creeds in the attributes as-cribed to the different divinities, and the similarity in their names. First. We may judge of the character and location of the people—whether agricultural, pastoral, commercial, peaceful or warlike, inland or maritime; and as to the climatic conditions, and natural features of the territory occupied. Secondly. We may judge as to the degree of civilization at-tained. An enumeration of what is included in the term civil-ization may be in place. By civilization we mean the knowledge of the arts and sciences, mechanical and political; also the degree of purity of religious conception. Upon the true or erroneous ideas of God depends man's treatment of his fellow-man, his real-ization of the principles of universal brotherhood, and divine fatherhood, and all the altruistic impulses. There is certainly but little civilization where these latter are lacking, and upon the extent of the realization and adoption of these principles depends the greater or less degree of excellence to which a civilization may lay claim. Thirdly. A comparison of these systems affords a means whereby the knowledge of the common origin of various branches of the human family may be gained. In our consideration of ancient mythology, the chief form of belief to which we wish to devote our attention is that held by the Indo-Germanic family. The systems of mythology which we shall briefly study, are those of the Greeks, latins, Norse and THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 149 Old Germans, Hindoos and Egyptians, as affording the best illus-tration of the principles enumerated. The system of mythology held and constructed by the Greeks is the one of which the most complete knowledge is attainable, excepting perhaps that of the Latins. But the resemblance be-tween these two is close, and the Greek may be taken as typical. Upon these, therefore, we shall base our conclusions. A study of Greek mythology reveals the following as to the character of the people, their location, and the climatic conditions of the territory occupied. The Greeks were an imaginative people, judging from the vast collection of myths relating to their deities, their doings among men. Every tree, blade of grass, fountain, streamlet and river; every breeze that blew and every raging storm, had its own particular presiding spirit. Gods, demigods, nymphs, satyrs, dryads and hamadryads are multiplied without number. The stories of the gods based upon nature, are given a vast body of detail, and an amount of local coloring which displays the workings of a national imagination of great activity and scope. The race seems also to have been somewhat mercurial in tem-perament. All of the earlier races are susceptible to changes in the seasons, and to the alternations of day and night, but the Greeks were particularly so. The approach of spring was heralded with the most extravagant rejoicings and sacrifices to various gods, especially to Dionysos. From the character of the deities worshiped they must have been a people engaged in pastoral, agricultural and commercial pursuits. We arrive at this conclusion because the people wor-shiped deities who were presumed to have the care of shepherds and their flocks, of farmers and their harvests, and of sailors. Some of the gods are themselves shepherds. Apollo is so repre-sented, although his flock is made up of the clouds in the fields of ether. Demeter is the goddess of the harvests. Hermes is the guardian of the sailor. The Greeks were extremely careful to preserve the favor of their gods, and maintained their sanctity to the last of their na-tional existence. They are extremely afraid of offending their deities, and must have been an exceedingly pious people. But all their piety did little for their morals. In all their business trans-actions we have evidence that they were a lying and a tricky I ; 'f. 150 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY i people. Hermes, the god of liars, the protector of the knave, was greatly venerated. From what we have already said we would infer that the land of the Greeks was suitable for the pasturing of flocks and for the cultivation of the vine. Wewouldalso infer thatit was contiguous to the ocean. It must also have been alandsubject to the change of the seasons, for we have already seen that the festivals com-memorating the change of times and seasons, formed a part of his worship. That he made much of physical excellence is evident from the fact that he prayed often to a god whose chiefprerogativewasthe care of the athlete. Mythology and history are heartily agreed upon this point. He was evidently highly intellectual and capable of abstract thought; for he worshiped a goddess who was the personification of mind and intellectuality. Her attributes are those of mind and she is above the physical desires and passions that enslave. From this recounting of the physical enviroment and the in-tellectual attainment of the Greek we can readily determine the degree of civilization attained. We admit right here that myth-ology is not our only source of information, but we do maintain that we can determine the degree of civilization from the mythol-ogy of the people. Because the Greek engaged in commerce he came in contact with other nations, and thus acquired a knowledge of their arts and sciences. The Greek had his organized household, and was far in ad-vance of the wandering tribe; but not one of his deities is repre-sented as presiding over domestic life. The L,atins with their Lares and Penates, seem to come much nearer to the conception of our modern home. The number of muses presiding over the various forms of lit-erary composition, and the completeness of attributes, together with the veneration in which they were held, indicate literature to have been one of the chief pursuits of the people. The high degree of excellence attained in this respect confirms our position. The degree of his intellectuality is evinced in his conception of the goddess Athene. Then, too, if there had been no artists and sculptors there would have been no deities to inspire that class of men. The same may be said of government and the deities that preside over magistrates. ta THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 151 The worship of a deity supposed to aid in the right government of a state, and to have the oversight of the fulfillment of the ends of justice presupposes a well organized system of government. All this is indicative of the degree of civilization of a people. But all these things are the mere externalities, the polish of civilization rather than the vital principle. Civilization of the heart, that is purity of life and worship, are the fundamental prin-ciples of civilization, and these are attained or not attained accord-ing to the character of the conception of the one true God. It is uncertain in how far the Greek attained to the idea of one God. Very high attributes and lofty conceptions were had by the Greeks, of divinity. This is plainly shown by attributes assigned to their different divinites. In a few cases Zeus is represented as exercis-ing a sort of supreme power over the other gods, which somewhat approaches the conception of the Bible of God and the angels as ministering spirits. As already stated, the Greek was pious in the extreme. His life was one of constant anxiety lest he offend, voluntary or involuntary, some one ofhis numerous deities. The names he applies to his deities are not those which would be ap-plied by a loving creature to a gracious Creator. In Aeschylus we find the words: "Zeus, wherever thou art, by whatever name it please thee to be named, I call on thee and pray." The Greeks made a constant effort to flatter and propitiate the gods, who were regarded as enemies of human happiness. Prob-ably the only god whom the Greeks truly loved was Dionysos. He was thought to rejoice in the happiness of men, and to his worship, in the festivals, the Greek surrendered himself with de-light. He was probably the only deity whom they worshipped from motives of affection rather than fear. Whilst many of the stories related of the various deities are incompatible with our conception of God; it must nevertheless be remembered that many of these stories are mere allegories created to typify and explain analogous happenings in nature. Thus they lose their revolting character. For a long time this was remem-bered by the worshipper himself, but it is feared that in later national history the Greek often gave himself up to excesses under the impression of divine sanction. Whilst many of the stories of the deities are revolting, many are very beautiful, and come close to the Christian conception of right conduct. Therefore there must i 152 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 1 i have existed a high ethical conception in the souls of many. But these conceptions are, after all, the exception and not the rule. The Greek's conception of life was largely fatalistic. Ananka, Necessity, loomed as a vast incontrovertible force from whose decrees there could be no escape. When a crime of any sort was committed the Erynys dogged the unhappy perpetrator with an awful insistence, and at some time, sooner or later, the crime was avenged. The conception of the hereafter as imagined by the Greek was gloom}' in the extreme. The spirit of the ordinary mortal passed at death to a domain of dimmest twilight, to the land of Hades. Here the shadow of the body lived an existence surrounded by in-tangible spectres, in the gloom of the mighty underworld. Only the souls of heroes and those semi-divine beings who were espe-cially, favored of the gods attained the happiness of the sunlit Elysian fields. The soul of the criminal passed to a region beneath Hades, to Tartaros, a place of torment and woe. The immortality of the soul held no joy to the mind of the Greek. His mythology gives us no reason to believe that he had the slightest conception of a hereafter portrayed in the bible. This affords us a complete understanding of the Greek mind. Polished in intellect, beautiful in body, in many ways possessing a refined nature, yet in this one essential the civilization of the Greek fell short. Self-sacrifice and unselfish devotion, whilst here and there in his mythology dimly hinted at, yet to the mass of the nation unknown, never animated the every-day life of the Greek. Thus in this cursory glance at the Greek nature we have pointed out the application of the first two principles enunciated at the beginning of this paper; but these same principles are equally well illustrated in the mythology of other peoples. Whilst our knowledge of the Norse and old German Mythol-ogies is much less complete, since the people were not literary, and preserved their traditions largely in memory and not in books, yet this mythology upon examination, is found to yield the same results as the Grecian. The conception of the god Odin for in-stance, shows the same conformity and coloring which that of the Greek Zeus exhibits. We cannot in this article enter into a de-tailed description of the mythology of the Latins, the Norse and old German, the Hindoo and the Egyptian, yet they all equally THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 153 well serve to show the condition of the peoples who originated them. Let us now pass to the third fact, namely, that by a considera-tion of the mythologies of the peoples a knowledge of their common origin is obtained. No student of mythology will deny that in all the religious beliefs of the different nations there is a certain similarity. The Aztec system with the great god at the head and with its crowd of lesser deities, the North American Indians' conception of the Great Spirit with the host of lesser deities, in common with the nations of the Indo-Germanic family, had a degree of resemblance in the wider facts of their mythologies. The consideration of the conceptions of belief and worship of all the peoples and nations we have studied drives us to the conclusion that these peoples had a common origin. Let us glance at a few of the more marked resemblances which appear. Odin of the Norse, Zeus of the Greeks, Jupiter of the Latins, and Atmer of the Hin-doo- Brahmin systems are all alike personifications of the life-giv-ing properties of the air of heaven. The Egyptian system seems to be much farther advanced at the period with which our record begins, than the other systems enumerated. In fact it had reached a more metaphysical development. Consequently there is greater difficulty in the comparison of the Egyptian conception with the others, but in this system we notice the same overlapping of the attributes of one deity with those of another, and in some degree, an identity of attributes. Zeus is the father of the muses and Odin is the father of Saga, the goddess of poetry. Thor or Donar, another Norse divinity, is the god of thunder. As the god of thunder he resembles Zeus, and as the thunder bolts of Zeus were forged by the smith-god Hephaestus, who dwelt below ground, so the hammer of Thor was forged by the dwarves (Zwerge), or black elves who dwelt within the earth. Thor and Odin are identified with one another much the same as Vishnu and Indra in the Hindoo system. Thor and Vishnu go on foot to the councils of the gods. Vishnu is represented as traversing heaven in three strides. The Norse god, Tyr, is a personification of the brightness of the heavens. He is also named Zui and Saxuot. Here there appears a striking resemblance in names. Zui is iden-tical with the root meaning to shine. Sanscrit, Dyaus, the Greek Zeus, the Latin, Deus. Among the Vedic gods, Dyaus is the god of the shining heavens in the same way as Zeus of the Greeks. 154 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Dyaus-pater is the same as Jupiter, the dy being displaced by the J in the L,atin. Indra, of the Hindoos, who hurls the thunder-bolts, and is "the cloud compeller," corresponds in these func-tions with Zeus and Thor. His beard of lightning is the red beard of Thor. The goddess Ushas is the goddess of dawn among the Vedic deities. She corresponds to the Greek Eos. We notice the striking similarity between the two words, indicating deriva-tion from a common root. Thus we might go on multiplying in-stances and giving examples of this similarity. The attributes of the Egyptian deities are to a large extent interchangeable with those of the Greeks and the Norse. The Egyptian conceptions are arrived at by the same personifications of the powers of nature, and in their attributes represent the same mingling of the mater-ial with the spiritual, as do the Grecian, I,atin, Norse and Hindoo. They all represent the occurrences of nature under similar anal-ogies of deeds performed by the divinities. Their names have similar physical meanings. For in the resemblance thus illus-trated and existing to a much greater degree than we can stop to point out, we derived unquestionable proof of identity in the origin of these peoples. It is probable from the very close simil-arity of the I^atin and the Greek systems, that these two nations were less widely separated after the first division than were the other nations, or else that the separation of these two branches took place at some time after the original body had divided and migrated to different points of the compass. From this hasty glance at a few of the ancient systems ot mythology and a review of a number of their points ofresemblance, we obtain an idea of the vast importance which this study may assume. In conclusion we must remark what is palpable to every stu-dent of mythology, that the Christian religion could never have been evolved out of these systems. In its sweet simplicity, its purity and truth, it over-reaches all others in their utmost stretch. Of a truth there is no god but God, and no revelation but the bible. There is a majesty in simplicity which is far above the quaint-ness of wit.—Pope. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 155 THE THUNDER STORM C. W. WEISER, '01 [Gies Prize Essay—Honorable Mention] Upon a sultry August noon The scorching sun came beating down, And all was wrapt in smoky haze Swelt'ring 'neath the withering rays. Above the rugged mountain brink Arose a cloud as black as ink; Dark and motionless it loomed, As if the peak itself were doomed To bear the threat'ning, murky mass, Towering o'er the narrow pass. Then arose a sullen roar, A sudden rush and down it bore Along its path, As tho' in wrath It meant to take, To bend, or break; Destruction carry, Doom, or harry. Now on its course, In mutterings hoarse, It came with rumble Loud, and grumble. A peal, a mutter, A flash and flutter, And on it swept with dire confusion, And in its wake in swift profusion Came other clouds as swift, now dark, Then livid with old Vulcan's spark. Thro' the whirling and the roar Now the rain began to pour In torrents loud upon the roof, And the pine-tree tops aloof, Dashing 'gainst the shanty walls In a way that most appalls, Beating loudly oh the pane Were the dashing drops of rain. Flash of lightning Heavens bright'ning, Peals of thunder Fill with wonder. Crash ! we hear the loud report, Crash ! returns the dread retort. Heavens lighten, splinters flying 156 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY From the mighty trees outlying ! Crash ! Flash ! Flash ! Crash I Rumble ! Roar! Crash ! Flash ! Hurling death and doom, destruction— Crash ! Flash ! in loud convulsion— Upon the forest, peaks disheveled, Rain-tossed, sighing, lowly leveled; Filling all with consternation At this freak of old creation. Flash !—growing dimmer its existence. Crash !—a pealing now in distance. Rumble, rumble, roar and rumble, Mutterings dull and muffled grumble; Rumble, rumble, rumble, roar, Down the dell, the mountains o'er. Gently now the rain is pattering, On the roof and windows clattering, While below the brook is gushing, Muddy wild and roaring, rushing. Clouds are flying, sky is clearing, The storm has passed, and sun appearing Smiles upon the world again Thro' the crystal drops of rain. i A populous solitude of bees and birds, And fairy-form'd and many colored things, Who worship him with notes more sweet than words, And innocently open their glad wings. Fearless and full of life, the gushing springs And fall of lofty fountains, and the bend Of stirring branches, and the bud which brings The swiftest thought of beauty, here extend, Mingling and made by love unto one mighty end. —BYRON. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter Voi,. X GETTYSBURG, PA., OCTOBER, 1901 No. 5 E. C. RUBY, '02, Editor-in- Chief R. ST. CLAIR POFFENBARGER,' 02, Business Manager J. F. NEWMAN, '02, Exchange Editor Assistant Editors Miss ANNIE M. SWARTZ, '02 A. B. RICHARD, '02 Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, A. M., LIT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M. D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D. D. Assistant Business Manager CURTIS E. COOK, '03 Published eacli month, from October to June inclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, One Dollar a year in advance; single copies Fifteen Cents. Notice to discontinue sending the MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Professors, and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIAL '"pHIS issue of the MERCURY is made up largely of essaj's which *■ were in the Gies Prize Contest last year. Had it not been for this supply the editor might have had considerable difficulty in finding enough material for this number. We are looking for-ward to the future of our literary publication with a great deal of hope and firmly believe that our hope can be realized. We cer-tainly have among our fellow-students many who possess consid-erable literary talent, and others who desire the opportunity for development in the literary field. To such we would suggest that they should not neglect the opportunity which the MERCURY ex-tends to them. We shall be glad to have all who are interested in literary work place into our hands any manuscripts for publi-cation. We shall carefully examine them and always exercise 158 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY I i our best judgment in the selections we make for presentation to the public. Fellow-students, it will depend largely upon the in-terest which you take in this work whether our hopes for the suc-cess of the MERCURY shall be realized or not. Let us not forget that this is a matter which pertains to the institution and not to any particular individual. By doing our duty towards this pub-lication we are making it a true index of the work that is being done in the literary departments ot our Alma Mater. RESOLUTIONS OP RESPECT CLASS VV7HEREAS, God in his divine wisdom has seen fit to sum- " mon from our midst to his eternal home one whom we most highly esteemed as a classmate and companion, Theodore Frank McAllister, Therefore, at a meeting of the class of '03, Pennsylvania Col-lege, September 7th, 1901, be it unanimously Resolved, That by this untimely visitation of Divine Providence we have lost one of the most worthy members of the class, one whose Christian character was such as to call forth universal ad-miration, whose amiable disposition gained the friendship of all whom he met, whose abilities as a student pointed to a most use-ful career; and also Resolved, That though we be saddened by this bereavement in the midst of our collegiate course, we humbly submit to the will of Him, who knoweth and doeth better than we, believing that our loss is his gain; and also Resolved, That by his death, by its great effect upon us, we have been led to a greater seriousness in the work of life; and also Resolved, That we extend to the family in its bereavement our sincere sympathy, and pray that God and Saviour, who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, to comfort them in their afflic-tion, and also Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the sorrow-ing family, and to the college journals and town papers. DAVID S. WEIMER, ROSE E. PLANK, EDWARD B. HAY. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Y. M. C. A. 159 WHEREAS, it has pleased Almighty God in his all-wise provi-dence to remove from our association our friend and faithful co-worker, T. Frank McAllister, be it Resolved, That in his death the association has lost a member whose manly virtue and consistent Christian life were a help and inspiration to all, and be it Resolved, That the college has lost a faithful student and an en-thusiastic man in all college affairs, one who lived for the better-ment of his fellows and was happiest when promoting their wel-fare, and be it Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the town and college papers. WILBUR H. FLECK, FRANK DAYMAN, F. GARMAN MASTERS, Committee. nMHMWMHIWiill^HflUllil IHl|i|IMBillililll|H|IH 1v t jj 1 111 J GQgj ORATION: THE CHARACTER OP OUR EARLY AMERICAN FOREFATHERS P. H. R. MULLEN, '01 "PAR from me and my friends be such frigid philosophy as may ■*• conduct us indifferent, and unmoved, over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery or virtue. That man is little to be admired whose patriotism would not gain force on the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Ionia." These noble words from the pen of Dr. Johnson express a sen-timent that ought to find a response in the heart of every Ameri-can citizen. We cannot visit the spots forever hallowed by the valorous deeds of enduring worth, wrought by the makers of our early history, without a sense of gratitude and profound reverence. To dwell upon such a theme without a thrill of emotion, would augur a spirit undeserving of the great legacy bequeathed to us by those venerable personages of the past. If the Greek could boast of an illustrious ancestry we can boast more; if the Roman could linger at the forum to hear the orators lavish their loftiest flights of eloquence upon the rising glory of the "eternal city," we may declare with great emphasis that its ■ 160 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY splendor grows dim before the rising sun of our national glory, as the moon pales with the advancing day. No other nation has had such a beginning. The early history of every other great nation has a vague outline that marks its transition from lawlessness and barbarism to civilization, but America, comparatively speaking, sprung into being full grown, as "Athena from the brow of Zeus." We are alone among the nations of the earth in having such colossal founders. We need only mention the Pilgrim Fathers, and there is suggested a host of associations. At what a critical period in the world's history did they appear! They shattered the power of a dominant ecclesiasticism and gave to the world re-ligious freedom. We see them committing themselves in a frail bark to a "cruel, crawling sea," uncertain whether they should not all begin their long sleep, and fill a "wandering grave" beneath its restless bil-lows, before they should set foot on American soil. But, guided by their adored Jehovah, through the trackless waters, they at length disembark upon a rock on a desolate shore, and we hear their com-mingled prayers of gratitude break the monotonous voice of the sea. From this rock they go forth to sow the seeds of a mighty nation. We hear the blows of their axes against the primeval forest, ringing out on the frosty air like the pealing of liberty bells. In the light of their burning villages we see a band of savages danc-ing in taunting glee. With unabated zeal they resurrect another village from the ashes. From a miserly soil is forced, by untiring energy, a comfortable livelihood, and the "wilderness blossoms as the rose." A noted statesman has fittingly said: "We shall not stand unmoved on the shore of Plymouth while the sea con-tinues to wash it, nor will our brethren in future time forget the place of the nation's establishment till their river shall cease to flow by it. No vigor of youth, no maturity of age will lead the nation to forget the spots where its infancy was cradled and de-fended." The years of our nation's infancy were truly the most "sad and sublime'' in history. We have dwelt at some length upon the achievements of the Pilgrim Fathers because their deeds are the best interpreters of their character. It is a noteworthy fact, much to the credit of the Pilgrims, that they were the first colonists with sufficient "staying power" THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 161 to establish a permanent colony in North America. Repeated efforts had been made in Mexico and in Florida, by the Spaniards, but those colonists had as often retreated in the face of unexpected difficulties, without accomplishing anything except the squander-ing of the resources of the borne government. France, likewise, had been unsuccessful for several reasons, chiefly because of the temper of her colonists. Several companies of English colonists also had attempted to take up land in the New World, but had repeatedly failed. It remained for the Pilgrims to be the honored founders of our great Republic, and their final success is fraught with great significance. They were constituted of ' 'sterner stuff'' than their predecessors and had an unchangeable purpose to prod their spirits in the presence of discouragement. To them physical pain was decidedly preferable to spiritual bondage, and they suffered on, unflinchingly, uncomplainingly, to the bitter end. "Religious Liberty" were the two words emblazoned upon the banner of the Pilgrims, and many times were those words des-tined to be written in blood before that banner was to be free from assault. They had, however, one harbor to which they repaired in every time of storm, one fortress in time of danger, one harbinger of hope in time of gloom, one source of truth amid the duplicity of oppressive and corrupt governors—the Bible, from which they received iron into their blood. This book was the Pilgrim's hope, his song, his prayer, his guide. The Old Testament, with its honor roll of immortal heroes, furnished the Pilgrims an ideal for their conduct in persecution and trial. The New Testament was the eternal pledge of final victory, an unfailing reward, an un-fading crown. The Puritans were characterized by a total lack of effeminacy. Their character was sturdy and masculine. No amusements were tolerated that had a tendency to destroy the severity and intensity of life. Severely religious, strict to a degree of intolerance, sternly resolute, stubbornly persistent, implicitly obedient to the dictates of conscience, the Puritans exhibit a massiveness and rugged grandeur of character that has never been surpassed. They were men of unblemished integrity, as distinguished for private pur-ity as for public virtue.'' We have never contemplated a group of men whose faults were so few, whose virtues so many, whose honor was so stainless, whose characters were so untarnished, as Stationery, Blank Books, Amateur Pho-tographic Supplies, Etc., Etc. BALTIMORE ST. R. fi. GULP PAPER HANGER, Second Square, York Street. COLLEGE EMBLEMS. EMIL ZOTHE, ENGRAVER. DESIGNER AND MANUFACTURING JEWELER. 19 S. NINTH ST. PHILADELPHIA SPECIALTIES: Masonic Marks, Society- Badges, College Buttons, Pins, Scarf Pins, Stick Pins and Athletic Prizes. All Goods ordered through A. N. Beau. A. G Miller Job Printer Students' Trade Solicited Best of Work Guaranteed Meneely Bell Co. TROY, N. Y. MANUFACTURERS OF SUPERIOR BELLS The 2000 pound bell now ringing-in the tower of Pennsylvania Col-lege was manufactured at this foundry. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. The Pleased Customer Is not a stranger in our establish-ment— he's right at home, you'll see him -when you call. We have the materials to please fastidious men. Jf. D. LIPPY, Merchant Tailor 39 Chambersburg- St., Gettysburg, Pa. L Try My Choice Line of , High-Grade Chocolates ¥¥ at 40c per lb. Always fresh at CHAS. H. McCLEARY Carlisle St., Opposite W. M. R. R. ^ Also Foreign and Domestic Fruits p Always on Hand. L. D. Miller, GROCER Confectioner and Fruiterer. Ice Cream and Oysters in Season. 19 Main St. GETTYSBURG City Hotel Main St. Gettysburg. Free 'Bus to and from all Trains Thirty seconds' walk from either depot Dinner with drive over field with four or more, $1.35 Rates $1.50 to $2.00 per day John E. Hughes, Prop. Capitol Cits Cafe Cor. Fourth and Market Sts. HARRISBURG, PA. First-Class Rooms Furnished. Special Rates to Private Parties. Open Day and Nig-ht. European Plan. Lunch of All Kinds to Order at the Restaurant. ALDINQER'S CAPITOL CITY CAFE. POPULAR PRICES F. Mark Bream, Dealer in Fancy and Staple Groceries Telephone 29 Carlisle St., QETTYSBURQ, PA. .Photographer. No. 3 Main St., GETTYSBURG, PENNA. Our new effects in Portraiture are equal to photos made anywhere, and at any price. - J PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS Manufacturers of High Grade Fraternity Emblems Fraternity Jewelry Fraternity Novelties Fraternity Stationery Fraternity Invitations Fraternity Announcements Fraternity Programs . Special Designs on Application. 140-142 Woodward Avenue DETROIT, MICH. Send for Catalogue and Price List MOTEL GETTYSBURG LIVERY GETTYSBURG, PA. LOING & HOLTZWORTM, Proprietors Apply at Office in the Motel for First-Class Guides and Teams THE BATTLEFIELD A SPECIALTY Qhe Bolton Market Square Ibarttsbura, ff>a. Large and Convenient Sample Rooms. Passenger and Baggage Elevator. Electric Cars to and from Depot. Electric Light and Steam Heat. J. M. & M. S. BUTTERWORTH, Proprietors Special Rates for Commer-cial Men "EZ 1ST IMMER CUT ET WAS ZU WISSEIN." These are the words of Goethe, the great German poet, and are as true in our day as when uttered. In these times of defective vision it is good to know something- about eyes. A great deal has been learned about the value of glasses and their application since Goethe lived. Spectacle wearers have increased by thousands, while at the same time, persons losing their eyesight have been greatly diminished. If your eyes trouble you in any way let me tell you the cause. Examination free and prices reasonable. We grind all our own lenses and fit the best lenses (no matter what anyone else has charged you) for $2.50 per pair and as cheap as SO cents per pair, or duplicate a broken lens if we have one-half or more of the old one, at a reasonable charge, returning same day received. .E. L. EGOLf. 807 and 809 INorth Third Street, MARRISBURG, PA. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. II ^entpol }4otel, ELIAS FISSEL, Prop. (Formerly of Globe Hotel) Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, Pa. Two doors from Court House. MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. Steam Heat, Electric Light and Call Bells all through the House. Closets and Bath Rooms on Every Floor. Sefton & Flem-ming's Livery is connected with this Hotel. Good Teams and Competent Guides for the Battlefield. Charges Moderate, Satisfaction Guaranteed. Rates $1.50 Per Day. GET A SKATE ON And send all your Soiled Linen to the Gettysburg Steam Laundry R. R. LONG, Prop. Horace Partridge & Co., BOSTON, MASS. Fine Athletic Goods Headquarters for Foot Ball, Gym-nasium, Fencing and Track Supplies. Send for Illustrated Catalog-. 84 and 86 Franklin Street R.W. LENKER, Agent at Penna. College. JOHN M. MINNIGH, Confectionery, lee, .andlee Gream:o>^j Oysters Stewed and Fried. No. 17 BALTIMORE ST. The Leading Barber >Sf)op (Successor to C. C. Sefton) Having thoroughly remodeled the place is now ready to accommodate the public Barber Supplies a Specialty. .Baltimore Street. GETT*I5§IIIU}, PA. ESTABLISHED 1876 PENROSE MYERS, Watchmaker and Jeweler Gettysburg Souvenir Spoons, Col-lege Souvenir Spoons. NO. lO BALTIMORE ST., GETTYSBURG, PENNA. L. 1\. ALLEAVAH Manufacturers* Agent and Jobber of Hardware, Oils, Paints and Queensware. GETTYSBURG, PA. The Only Jobbing House in Adams County.

I The College Mefcufy. VOL. IV. GETTYSBURG, PA., OCTOBER, 1896. No. 6. THE COLLEGE MEfiCURY, Published each month during the college year by the Students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. STAFF. Editor: ROBBIN B. WOLF, '97. Associate Editors : LEWIS C. MANGES, '97. ED. W. MEISENHELDER, SAMUEL J. MILLER '97. CHARLES T. LARK '98. JOHN W. OTT, '97, CHARLES H. TILP, '98. E. L. KOLLER, '98. Alumni Association Editor: REV. D. FRANK GARLAND, A. M., Baltimore, Md. Business Manager : HARRY R, SMITH, '97. Assistant Business Manager: JOHN E. MEISENHELDER, '97. -TWT,™,. /One volume (ten months), . . . $1.00 1ERMS-\Slngle copies, 15 . Payable in advance. All Students are requested to hand us matter for publication. The Alumni and ex-members of the College will lavor us by sending information concerning their whereabouts or any items they may think would be interesting for publication. All subscriptions and business matters should be addressed to the business manager. Matter Intended for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address, THE COLLEGE MERCURY, Gettysburg, Pa. CONTENTS. EniTORIALS, • - -- .".-.-- 82 A SUGGESTION, - - - - - 84 LIST OF NEW STUDENTS. - - --- 84 COLLEGE LOCALS, -- - - - - - ' - - -85 THE PENNSYLVANIA CHATAUQUA, - - - - - 89 ALUMNI NOTES, .--89 TOWN AND SEMINARY NOTES, 92 FRATERNITY NOTES, .-.--.---93 LITERARY SOCIETIES, --.-.--94 ATHLETICS, - 95 EDITORIAL. WELCOME ! boys of 1900. Words more fit-ting to open the first column of this issue, could not be found. So much enthusiasm in the reception of a class has not been shown since the advent of the class of '93. Seniors, Juniors and even "those Sophs" vie with each other in saluting the Freshmen. We welcome them because of their number, their manly ap-pearance and finally their gentlemanly de-meanor. Their memorable battles with the Sophomores are over. The war was conducted on the same lines as last year, viz: the banner fight and the class rush. The history of the banner fight is brief. The Sophomores hung theirs on a high sycamore on the campus and surrounded the tree. The Freshmen raised their banner on the college cupola and blocked the stairway. Great excitement ensued. Each class fixed their eyes on the enemy's flag and recognized the impossibility of capturing it. The struggle, as usual, ended with Dr. Mc- Knight and Gov. coming on the scene and re-moving both flags. It is about time for this child's pla}r to stop. The class rush was, beyond a doubt, won by the Freshmen. The Sophs were completely out-numbered and they could not keep to-gether as well as the enormous mass of Fresh-men. This, too, is a practice that could be dispensed with. Several boys came near losing their lives. One of them, a good foot-ball man, sustained a compound fracture of the collar bone. Often neither class bears off a de-cisive victory and even when the victory is de-cisive, it amounts to nothing. The classes had much better show their superiority to one another by base-ball and foot-ball games. * * * THE foot-ball season is again here and that 83 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. with far better prospects than we had last year. Several very heavy men fill up the vacancies in the lines created by the exit of the class of '96, and some strong active men the places be-hind the line. Nearly all our good players were graduated in '96, but the captain, man-ager and last but not least, "the trainer," are doing faithful work to put a victorious team into the field. For only the second time in the history of Gettysburg foot-ball we have a trainer. Nothing is more essential to success in foot-ball than to have a graduate from one of the university teams drill our eleven. Who-ever the captain may be, he is looked upon by the players as one of themselves and they fail to render implicit obedience, but they readily listen to the coach because they recognize his superior knowledge of the game. Mr. Best, the coach, hails from Mechanicsburg, Pa. He played left end and end rusher on the Lehigh University team for two years and not only bucked up against some very strong teams, but also had the advantage of training under such coaches as Graves, Heffelfinger and Hartwell. He possesses all the attributes of a good trainer and the effects of his work are fast becoming manifest. Mr. U. A. Jump, the former coach, brought out the best team we have ever had and doubt-less Mr. Best will do equally well. IT is humiliating to chronicle the fact that one of the students has turned thief. During the class rush one of the Freshmen had sixty-nine dollars of hard earned money stolen from his room. The thief was evidently acquainted with the room and its occupant and since he took the money and left a gold watch, we are forced to the painful conclusion that it was one of our own number. The student body has taken the matter in hand and will do every-thing to detect and punish the scoundrel. There have always been boys in college who stole books, stick-pins, etc., but this is the first considerable robbery that has ever occur-red. The business staff of the MERCURY is con-strained to give the subscribers a broad hint about the payment of their dues. We do not mean that you should pay for several 5'ears in advance, but pay your back dues. A few sub-scribers are in arrears for three years. If you continue delinquent after kindly advice, we shall have to use a more effectual method. * * * ALL new students should subscribe for the MERCURY, and not only should they subscribe for it, but they should give it their support all around. Hand in some article of interest to students or alumni, or forsooth a few verses of poetry. The paper is published solely by the students and all members of that body are ex-pected to give us their hearty co-operation. * * * COLLEGE never opened under more favor-able auspices. Sixty-one were enrolled as Freshmen, while two men joined the Sopho-more class and one the Junior. The dormi-tory is literally filled to the brim. The Pre-paratory Department also opened with a larger number than ever before. A list of the new boys will be found on another page. * * * AT a recent meeting of the Athletic Asso-ciation, it resolved upon pwe athletics. This was brought about by the refusal of Dickinson and other colleges to play with us as long as we had outside men on our teams. It is an excellent move on the part of the boys and cannot be too highly appreciated. Ever since the advent of inter-collegiate athletics, we have had non-collegiate men on our teams, and while they strengthened the teams, they put a damper to the college spirit. Students refused to support a team which was not a college team and the athletic interest was rather low. The movement was not intended as a slight to the town boys who have helped us win many games, but was simply to meet the demands of our sister colleges. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 84 A SUGGESTION. The small attendance at the Alumni meet-ings of the past three or four years has forced itself upon the notice of the General Associa-tion and caused the appointment of a commit-tee to devise a more popular entertainment for those who revisit their Alma Mater. It is un-fair to able speakers to ask them to prepare careful addresses and then confront them with thin audiences in Brua Chapel. Perhaps a formal and more distinctly social affair would have better chances of success. I have a pro-posal to offer which may be taken for what it is worth. The plan is substantially that which has been incorporated at Yale University. The thing essential to good fellowship is a dinner, or cold lunch, not expensive, but suf-ficient to constitute a comfortable repast. It ought to be at an hour near enough to the usual hour of dinner to take the place of that meal. One o'clock immediately after the com-mencement exercises, or possibly after the ora-torical contest would be a suitable time. The day on which most graduates from abroad can be present should be chosen. First of all should come the graduates seated by classes and assigned to places of honor ac-cording to seniority of degree. Those who have received honorary degrees should, of course, be included. The members of the Board should by all means be present, whether bearing degrees or not. Many of them are eminent benefactors of the college and their attendance could not but be inspiring. A few distinguished guests from outside would add in-terest and dignity to the occasion. The presiding officer should be either the President of the College or the President of the Board. He should have the privilege of calling for brief speeches from the best after-dinner speakers present. Special efforts should be made to encourage class reunions at the third, fifth, tenth, fifteenth, twentieth, and other quinquennial anniversaries. When once it is known that at these intervals one is cer-tain to meet a considerable number of his sur-viving classmates the motive for coming at such times will be very strong. At these re-unions each class might choose some one to represent them at the general alumni dinner and might notify the presiding officer to call upon them in their proper order. The tone of the speeches should be such as will conduce most to the good humor and gratification of those present. While the graver interests of the college need not be for-gotten they must not be intruded so as to in-terfere with the absolute enjoyment of the oc-casion, which should be, as far as possible, a time for renewing the care-free and generous associations of youth. It fell to my lot during the past summer to compile a brief history of the college. I was impressed as never before with the dignity and honorableness of its past, with the rank and respectability of its graduates, and with the extent and degree of its usefulness to many of the churches, to society and to the nation. More than a thousand men of power and dis-tinction, three-fourths of whom survive, are enrolled as graduates, while several thousand are indebted to it for less complete training. Surely it is worth while to strengthen by all proper means the tie that unites us and to give one another the encouragement that comes from the consciousnesss of union in a great in-stitution. J. A. H. LIST OF NEW STUDENTS. FRESHMEN. B. Baker, Lititz. R. Bechfol, Lockhaven. A. Bennett, Thurrnont. S. Bottiger, ITazelton. A. Brandt, Lebanon. E. Bregenzer, Baltimore, Md. F. Carver, Hanover. B. Cessna, Bedford. B. Claney, Allegheny. D. Clare, Abbottstown. T. Cole, Altoona. Dale, Lemont. N. Diehl, Cashtown. J. Dietrich, Frackville. C Dougherty, Gettysburg. W. Dress, Steelton, A. Dustman, Gettysburg. J. I. Humer, Middaghs. C. Hurst, Mechanicsburg. R. Z, Imler, Bedford. Miss A. M. Keith, Gettysburg.! Miss M. L. Keith, Gettysburg.! J. F. Knittel, Catawissa. F. E. Kalb, Allegheny. J. S. Kohler, Glenville. H. G. Koppenhafer, Millersburg. S. I. Lafferty, Altoona. W. G. Lawyer, Westminster, Md. J, C. McCarney, Arendtsville. J. G. Mcllhenny, Gettysburg. W. N. McNair, Middletown. J. C. Markel, Columbia. W. J. Miller, Philadelphia.! W. R. Miller, Friesburg, N. J. 85 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. R. H. Ebcrly, Mechanicsburg. H, D. K. Ebersole, Hummelstown. F. H. B. Ernest, Elizabethville. J. II. \V. Fahringer, Catawissa. A. Miss C. G. Frey, Gettysburg. E. W. Frey, York. W C. L. Gates, Gettysburg. M A. D. Gilbert, Friesburg. F. K. E. Good, Gettysburg. G. C. H. Gunter, Pierson, Fla. L. J. K. Hamaeher, Steelton. C. J. F. Hcilman, Harrisburg. W 8. A. Hitchner, Friesburg. G. C. Howard, Gettysburg. H. {Special. SOPHOMORES. W. R. Edwards, P. of Rocks, Md. W. J. Klinei'elter, Glenville. . W. Schwartz, Red Land. P. Shoup, Greensburg. L. A. Sieber, Gettysburg. T. Smith, Johnstown. S. Stalnaker, Hanover. , H. Stiefel, Allegheny. . Stock, Hanover. M. Traub, Bloomsburg. D. Weaver, Newry. A. Weigle, Mechanicsburg. Wendt, New York. , C. Williams, Gettysburg. C. Wisotzki, Gettysburg. N. Young, Anselma. JUNIORS. J. A. Singmaster, Allentown. PREPARATORIANS. Annrick, H. G., Koser. Annrick, J. B., Leffler, Buehler, Lightner. Miss Blocher, Loudon, G. W., Bordy, Loudon, C. B., Bower, Mehring. Burns, Miller, Miss Carrie Brown , McClean, Miss Cora Brown, Munro, Crouse, Key, Culler, O'Neal, Currens, Miss Peters, Deatrick, Peters, Miss Diehl, Perriod Evans, Renner, Eveler. Roscnsteel, Earnshaw, Swope, D., Easterday, Swope, C, Eckert, Stonesifer, Fredericks, Snyder,' Fite, Sharp, Gates, Miss Sieber, Grenoble, Taylor, Gladfelter, ■ Tawuey, Hageman, Trostle, Hegeman, J. L., Van Dorn.' Hegcrman, R. L., Miss Warner, Hoffman, Weber, Kahler, 'Miss Ziegler, Ziegler. COLLEGE LOCALS. EDMUND W. MEISENHELDER and E L. KOLLER, Editors. "Pearlie" says that we seniors study politi-cal economical. Mr. K., '99, asked Dr. M. whether he could be excused from taking German because he could converse in Pennsylvania Dutch. It has been learned from an ex-member of '99, that Mr. M., '96, is going "out there to the reverend school." For almost a week '99 had boasted of her physical powers. She had tired all the stu-dents with the boasts of what she would do to the "baby Freshies" in the class rush. On the night of Sept. 8th, different sounds were heard coming from the "Prep." campus. 1900, after some delay, had mustered together their forces and at 9.45 P. M. sent forth their }Tell of defiance. '99 responded in good time, and also with an almost full class. At no time during the evening was '99 in it, but they were pushed around the field from time to time, at the will of 1900 until about 11 o'clock, they decided to play "quits." We are sorry to add that during the course of the evening several men wore pretty badly hurt from being tram-pled upon ; but we are also happy to add that all are now recovered from their injuries. Dr. B., "How many declensions do we have in Latin ?" K., '99, "six." Mr. S., '97, Dr. there are cobwebs on the end of the telescope.'' Dr. N., "They must have come off of your brain." Dr. N., (to Mr. W., '97, who has been play-ing with some of the astronomical instruments) "Mr. W. you would make a good Freshman." Mr. L-, 1900 thinks that the foot-ball team is going to travel in style since he heard that they thought of getting a coach. Mr. C, '98, thinks that there is a certain Moral Freshness in "As You Like It." Prof. H., "Mr. K., do you know what a buss is?" Mr. K., '98, "No sir." "Kitzy" has forgotten it, that is all. He knew what it was at one time. Mr. H. '98, (in Latin) "I thought it meant to perpetrate the memory of the dead.'' Dr. B., "Doubtless you mean perpetuate." Mr. F., '98, thinks that the Sphinx of Egypt is a wasp. Mr. K., 1900, does not like the sulphur water he gets here. The Biological Course is at last a reality and we are glad to see such a large number of students take an interest in it. It is elective for those only who have the study of medicine in view, and the benefit derived by those from such a department is infinite. From the odors and sounds proceeding from THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 86 the room set apart for this purpose, it bids fair to excel our chemical laboratory. The MERCURY extends the heartiest wishes for the success of the department. Contrary to the usual custom of placing a class flag on the dormitory, '99 placed theirs in the top of a tall tree on the campus; giving for their reason for so doing that they did not care to have the college property injured in any way. "A poor excuse is better than none" and this departure from the time hon-ored custom was looked upon as a cowardly piece of work by the upper classmen, especially since one of the ' 99 class was stationed on the tree. This rendered the capture of the flag absolutel)' impossible. 1900 now ran up their flag on the top of the dormitory and uttered their cry of defiance, Neither class moved to tear down the ban-ner of the other and the whole affair was end-ed in a manner satisfactory to both by the ap-pearance of Dr. McKnight. As is the custom on these occasions, the Freshmen should have answered the challenge of the Sophomores instead of running up a flag of their own. Altogether it was a disgraceful proceeding from beginning to end. This college has had brought into its notice one of the most despicable deeds of which a collegeman is capable; the theft of money from a fellow student. This is the most cowardly act that has occurred for some time and the miscreant, if he is able to be found,-will and should be treated with the utmost severity. Such things must cease, since the property of no student is safe so long as there is a thief in their midst. We are glad to make note of Pearl's mous-tache. We were afraid that nobody else would. Pearl says "it is home-raised." The foot-ball team has again been organized and quite a number of new men are enrolled as applicants. A coach has been hired and the boys are working hard. Let those who do not play give the players their encouragement, for it is only by this means that the team will be a success. Our boys cannot win every game and we hope that the student body will realize this. Do not discourage the players with any unfavorable remark. Foot-ball is not play, but the hardest kind of work. Let class teams be organized, for class spirit makes college spirit and that is what we need most of all. This year's Freshman class is the largest in the history of the college, and we hope that among its numbers may be men who will do their utmost for the promotion of all college interests. Men are needed in the Y. M. C. A. in the societies, class-rooms and foot-ball field. Let each and every member of 1900 work his best in these departments. The class of '98 has always been and always will be a prominent factor in the history of this college. Her classical men have already started upon their scientific career, and won-derful discoveries are being made. The first one was made by Herbert, who discovered that Lab. matches can be ignited only on the box. The second was made by "Zim," who discovered that some of his Lab. supplies had mysteriously disappeared. The question in which most upper classmen are concerned is, "Who shall we bum for this 01 that since George L., '98, has left us? " The '98 Spectrum is now under way and contributions are solicited from the different classes. Every man in college, aside from general appeals for support to the students as a whole, should be personally and privately interested in the Spectrum. Let the Spectrum receive the hearty support of the classes, and we are sure that '98 herself will not forget the aid she has received and will, in turn, assist in every way possible succeeding Specbums. "Sister," '97, is preparing to astonish the the world with his new water cycle. The first attempt was not very successful, the only re-sult obtained being a suit of wet clothes. We would suggest that "Sister" wear a bathing suit when riding along a mill race. This would save him the trouble of borrowing another suit from an obliging farmer. One of the redeeming features of the new men is their extreme politeness. A Freshman unintentionally rubbed against a Soph, the night of the rush, and immediately begged his pardon. H., 1901, is also very polite. In the game at State College, he remarked to his opponent: I beg your pardon sir, but don't you know you daren't hold me? Y., 1900, on the return trip from State Col-lege thought he would ride on a pullman car. When the porter came round for the money, Y. told him he was traveling with the foot-ball team. THE MUSICAL ORGANIZATIONS.—We are 1 glad to see that the musical clubs have com- 87 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. menced work so early ; this is always an ad-vantage and insures good concerts all through the season. The clubs have practically the same members as last year—two having drop-ped out of the Octette. CLUB. Second Tenor, White, '97. GLEE First Tenor, Nicholas, '98. Ott, '97- First Basso. Second Basso. Roller, '98. Manges, '97. Lark, '98. VIOLIN QUARTET. Erdman,'98; Lark,98; Smith,'99; Manges,'97. The voices of a number of applicants for the Glee Club were tested recently and Armstrong, '97, for second tenor, and Lauffer and Mussel-man, '99, for second basso, were selected on trial. Mr. Manges, who so ably managed the clubs last year, was re-elected, and under his management there is no reason why the clubs should not have a brilliant and successful sea-son. POLITICS.—Just at this time, when there is so much discussion about Bryan and McKinley, Free Silver and Gold, the students of Gettys-burg College are manifesting their political views. Beginning with the first morning, and perhaps earlier, the Silverites with their Bry-an hats, were observed arguing earnestly with the Gold bugs. But, since the most conclu-sive argument is that of voting a "straw vote" was held, which resulted as follows :. McKinley, Bryan, Palmer, - Levering, - This shows pretty nearly the sentiment of the fellows, although this isn't exactly it, for quite a number agreed to vote for "Billy" Bryan "just for fun." THE Y. M. C. A. RECEPTION.—One of the pleasant things for the new men, and one that helps to relieve, or abate for the time be-ing, their homesickness, is the annual recep-tion to new Students, given under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association. This year it was held Friday evening, Septem-ber 4th, in Philo hall, and was well attended. Excellent addresses were made by Dr. Mc- Knight, Prof. Klinger and Dr. Huber. The second part—held in the historic ' 'sweat-box'' —seemed to attract most of the fellows. Ice cream and cake were served to all. It is an 108 34 18 10 excellent custom and one that should be con-tinued. JOIN A LITERARY SOCIETY !—We cannot urge too strongly upon the new men the ad-vantage of joining one of the two literary so-cieties— either the Philomathean or the Phren-akosmian. The training given by these so-cieties is helpful throughout the course and in after life, and one who is not a member of either of the societies will only realize what he is missing when thrown into contact with those who are members. Join a society ! THE TWO FIRES.—There were two fires lately, occurring in the same week, and of in-terest here because the students of college con-tributed a large share in saving property. The first was a barn north of college, struck by lightning and considerable live stock burned. The other, occurring on a cold and windy Sat-in day night, was the barn and stable of Mr. Sheads, proprietor of the unfermented wine establishment on Seminary Ridge. The fire burned fiercely for quite a while, and it was only through the efforts of the students, who were there in full force, that the house, ad-joining the burning barn and stable, was saved. Mr. C, 1900, (in History)—"At this time the Dutckess of York .'' Dr. M. (interrupting)—"I guess you mean the Dutchy of York." Now, what is the differ-ence between a duchess and a dutchy t Mr. C.—"A dutchess is a woman, and a dutchy is a man ! '' Dr. M.—"You are evidently being misled by a popular nickname. It is not the dutchy the boys sometimes call me ! " The Juniors were in Lab. learning the sym-bols of the elements, and Dr. B. said: Mr. T. what does Ba stand for?" The class, evi-dently thinking of B. A. T., roared. There are two songs—and two only—that seem to be the favorites around college: "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me," and "She May Have Seen Better Days." Morning, noon and night you can hear the soul inspiring strains of one of the two songs either sung, whistled or played on Webby's flute. Can't we have something new. "B. A. J. T.," '98, says that only the dum-mies in the Junior class take Anglo Saxon and that the ones who take the Biological course are even worse dummies because "they got their legs pulled for five dollars." He takes Calculus. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 88 L., 1900 (in History) Henry VIII tried to •'get a pull with the Cardinal, so that" Dr. M., "Mr. E- what did you say?" E., "Why Henry VIII tried to get on the right side of the Cardinal.'' F., 98, recently electrified the class by the startling statement that "in this year there were about twelve months !" Herbie always was noted for original sayings. We have been reliably informed that R., '99, received a large size turn down from a fellow traveller on the train while coming to Gettys-burg. When a free-silver Sophomore gets to arguing with a sound money politician and lawyer of Philadelphia, he is very much like the man who fell out of the balloon. Some freshmen are green, others are ver-dant; but about D., 1900, there is a delightful woodland freshness that is amusing. He was persuaded to hand in to the Athletic Associa-tion a written application to catch for the Col-lege base ball team. We have also heard that he wants to try for the Glee Club. F., '98, says "Co-operation is the thief of time." Next thing you know he'll be writing a revised version of Proverbs. "Kitzy" wanted to hear Nick give "Push along my honey, push along," on the micro-scope. Although Nick can imitate almost any-thing, he admitted that that was one too many for him. New yells lately heard : Bargains ! Bargains ! Rah ! Rah ! Rah ! Cohen Brothers! Gettysburgia ! Klink, Klank, Klunk, Klink, Klank, Klunk, Psychology, Psychology, Watch us flunk. Ninety-eight. Biological! Rah ! Rah ! Rah ! Ninety-eight, Gettysburgia. K., '99, had numerous sad experiences with some of the ladies who were here with ' 'The Lancers." One told him that she was tired of talking to kids. Another told him she could not dance with him, and pointed to her sleeve to show that she was in mourning. K., then said, "is your sleeve ripped? I can soon fix that." Again when he was happily talking to one of them, her mother came up and drove him off. We regret that he had such hard luck in his maiden effort in courtship. Y. M. C. A. NOTES. It must be gratifying to every man who loves the work of Christ, and especially de-sires its success among our students to see"the interest taken in it by the new men. The very first meeting saw many of them give themselves to the Association, entering with spirit into its aims, and manifesting an unus-ual sense of its importance in the college life. We look forward to a year of earnest, devoted, successful work. To those who have not yet joined us we say come with us, we need you, we need your thoughts, your prayers, your ability to labor for Christ. At the latest business meeting Prof. O. G. Klingc was elected treasurer of the building fund in place of Dr. H. L. Baugher resigned. The Association feels grateful to Dr. Baugher for his careful husbanding of the Association's funds, and we are sorry to have lost him. We hope he will still visit us and help us in our meetings. The Association has this year taken up a new line of work in this department, suggested in part by the Northfield Conference, where the importance of the Bible Study Department of the college association was dwelt upon at considerable length. The Freshman and Soph-omore classes will have what is termed ' 'perm-anent courses," with the student leaders as has been customary; the former studying the Eife of Christ and the latter the Eife of Paul. The Juniors and Seniors will have Professors for leaders and will, together with their lead-ers, choose their own line of work; Prof. Himes taking the Seniors, and Prof. Breiden-baugh the Juniors. These classes, it should be observed, are entirely separate from the college curriculum and are adopted solely for co-operative, devotional study. A short time ago "Simon," '98, jumped out of his bed about midnight and rrapped at his own door in order that he might get in and retire. During the heavy storm on Sept. 29, '96, Dr. Nixon is said to have been on the roof, whether to find out the velocity of the wind, or to keep the roof from blowing away is not known. The '98 Bible class called on Dr. Baugher on the eve of Oct. 1, '96. 89 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. Mr. K., '99, recently explained the familiar saying of "bench, bar and pulpit," in the fol-lowing manner : "The bench is the bench of justice; the bar is the bar-room, and the pulpit is where the preacher stands." Dr. B., "What is arsenic acid." A. B. Buun, '98, "Vinegar." Dr. M., Translate, il a soi xante millions de francs. D., 1900, "He has 60 miles of France. In a student's college course there come few such pleasant times as the class of '97 enjoyed with Mr. Wolf at his home on the evening of September 16. Great were the anticipations of the boys, but they were far surpassed in every particular. As they approached his home they found the grounds beautifully lighted with Chinese lanterns, while the novel '97 pumpkins delighted everyone. Mr. Wolf was assisted in receiving by his father and mother, his sister and Miss Nicholson, of Phil-adelphia. A large number of Gettysburg's most charming young ladies, together with some who were visiting from Washington and Philadelphia, graced the occasion. Delight-fully interesting games were provided and the happy hours sped oidy too rapidly. The cat-erer's art was well tested that night, for from oyster pate through the various courses to cof-fee, everything was excellent and most daint-ily served. Later in the evening the college songs at the piano and the sweet strains of the beautiful guitars and Spanish mandolins on the veranda, lent their charms to the tete-a-tetes and moonlight strolls. For it was moon-light, and such moonlight as the girls call "divine." It was a perfect evening in every respect and everyone left grateful to Mr. Wolf not only for his most pleasant entertainment, but for one of the brightest memories of our college days. "THE PENNSYLVANIA CHATAUQUA." The usual inter-collegiate oratorical contest was held on the 29th of last July at Mt. Gretua, under the management of the Penn-sylvania Chatauqua. Gettysburg was represented for the first time and acquitted herself in a way that dem-onstrated the thoroughness of training she gives her students. Several colleges were represented, Lehigh, Franklin and Marshall, Haverford, Gettys-burg, Dickinson, Ursiuus and Muhlenberg. Ursinus received the prize, a silver cup, and Franklin and Marshall came in second. Gettysburg, .the judges decided, was supe-rior in composition. Let us take an interest in this contest and determine that next year the palm will be ours. ALUWINI. L. C MANGES and CHARLES H. TILP. Editors. '42. Rev. Geo. Parson, D. D., of Sunbury, Pa., is recovering from a severe illness. '42. Rev. A. J. Weddell, D. D., pastor em-eritus of Trinity Lutheran church at Norris-town, Pa,, died suddenly at his home in that city on September 14th. '46. Rev. A. M. Geiger, D D., spent a por-tion of the summer on the great lakes. He is now the guest of his brother, Dr. H. R. Gei-ger, Springfield, O. '57. The volume of the Lutheran Commen-tary, by Rev. H. L. Baugher, D. D., is now in the press. '57. Rev. J. A. Earnest, D. D., of Mifflin-burg, Pa., was married on Sept. 8th, to Mrs. Maria Louisa Cronmiller, of the same place, by Rev. M. L. Shindel. We extend hearty congratulations. '58. Rev. S. B. Barnitz, D. D., the Western Secretary of the Board of Home Missions, re-cently spent a Sunday at Beloit, Kansas, win-ning golden opinions from his hearers. '62. Rev. J. B. Keller of Smithsburg, Md., has resigned. '62. By the will of Miss Sarah Acker, lately deceased, St. Paul's Lutheran church, Lion-ville, Pa., of which Rev. F. Klinefelter is pas tor, becomes the recipient of the interest of $1,000; one-half for the benefit of the congre-gation, and the remainder to be used for the cemetery. '63. Dr. Davis Garber, Professor of Mathe-matics in Mnhlenburg College, died recently at his home in Allentown. '68. Rev. Lee M. Heilman'schurch at Har-risburg, was recently the recipient of a fine THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 90 two manual pipe organ valued at $1,800. The donors, Rev. E. Dason, a retired Lutheran minister, and his wife, are members of Rev. Heilman's church. '70. Rev. E. Manges, of Felton, Pa., as-sisted Rev. H. H. Flick at his Harvest-home communion, at Fisherville, Pa. '71. Rev. S. A. Weikert was presented with a handsome nickle-plated Victor bicycle by the clergyman's friends. '71. Rev. Chas. E. Hay's translation of "Luther's Theology," by Koestlin, is now in press. '72. Rev. Jno. Brubaker was elected a direc-tor of the Seminary, by the Allegheny Synod, at its recent meeting. '72. Rev. B. B. Collins, of Meyersdale, Pa., was a delegate to the large K. of P. convention at Gettysburg, last mouth. '73. Rev. Wm. S. Freas, D. D., of St. Paul's Lutheran church, of York, was pleas-' antly surprised by his devoted people on his return from his vacation. The pastor's study had been attractively repapered and renovated. '73. Christ Second Lutheran church, of Al-toona, of which J. F. Hartman is pastor, cele-brated its twenty-fifth anniversary from the 4th to the 9th of September. '74 The new Lutheran church at New Mill-port, Pa., Rev. M. O. T. Sahm, pastor, is to be dedicated on October 18th. It is a hand-some edifice and cost nearly $7,000. '75. St. John's Lutheran church of Lewis-town, is to celebrate its centennial anniversary from October 18th to 25th. The pastor, Rev. M. S. Cressman, has arranged ah interesting program. Dr. S. A. Ort is to speak on Sun-day morning, and after a week of interesting services, the closing sermon is to be preached by Rev. J. M. Reimensnyder, D. D., of Milton. '75. Rev. M. L. Young, Ph. D., has enter-ed upon the 13th year of his pastorate at Meyersdale, Pa. '76. Rev. Wm. A. Shipman, of the First Lutheran church of Johnstown, Pa., spent part of his summer vacation in Gettysburg. '77. Hon. H. M. Clabaugh, Attorney Gen-eral of Maryland, recently paid the college a visit. He was accompanied by Governor Lowndes, of Md. He takes a great interest in his Alma Mater. '77. Rev. W. M. Baum, Jr., of Canajoharie, New York, spent his vacation in Philadelphia, Pa. '77. Rev. Charles S. Trump, of St. Johu's Lutheran church, Martinsburg, W. Va., has returned from his trip to California. '78. Rev. Adam Stump, of York, Pa., since his return from the West, is delivering a series of interesting lectures on the condition of the West at the present time. '80. Rev. Prof. L. B. Wolf, of Guntur, In-dia, has a book in press entitled, "After Fifty Years," or a history of Foreign Missions in the General Synod. '80. The work of Rev. C. W. Heisler, of Denver, Col., at the late meeting of the Rock River Chatauqua, is very highly spoken of by the press of Sterling, 111. '81. Rev. J. W. Byers, Ph. D., D. D., of Nevada, Ohio, has been appointed one of the Board of School Examiners of Wyandot county, Ohio. '82. The session of Mount Amoena Semi-nary, Mt. Pleasant, N. C., opened on Septem-ber 10th with a large and flattering attendance of young ladies, and others have entered this week. Rev. Prof. C. L. T. Fisher is still at the head of the institution. '82. Rev. A. R. Steck, pastor of St. James Lutheran church of Gettysburg, spent his vacation at Stewartsville, N. J. '83. At a recent meeting of the Allegheny Synod Rev. W. W. Austadt was elected as a delegate to the General Synod and also direc-tor of the Seminary. '83. Rev. Prof. H. G. Buehler and wife, of Lakeville, Conn., have returned from their European trip. '83. Rev. P. Livingston has entered upon the seventh vear of his pastorate in St. Mark's York, Pa. '84, Rev. F. L. Bergstresser was elected a director of the Seminary to serve an unex-pired term of one year. '85. Rev. H. M. Heilmau, of Bethany Luth-eran church, Altoona, Pa., spent a portion of his vacation at Cape May, New Jersey. '86. The corner-stone of Whitemarsh Evan-gelical Lutheran church, near Fort Washing-ton, was laid on Sept. 27, in the presence of a large number of people. The exercises were 91 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. in charge of the pastor, Rev. J. Eugene Diet-terich. He was assisted by Rev. U. S. G. Rupp, '90. '86. M. G. Motter was recently elected as-sistant Prof, of Anatomy in the Biological de-partment of Georgetown University. '87. A very good photograph of Rev. H. C. Alleman, pastor of Trinity Lutheran church, Chambersburg, Pa., appeared in the Valley Spirit, of that city, recently. '88. F. E. Metzger, professor of Ancient Languages in Lutherville College, Md., and Miss Martha Thomas, Eckhart Mines, Md., were married at Frostburg, Md., on Septem-ber 10th. '88. Rev. D. Frank Garland, pastor of the Church of the Reformation, Baltimore, Md., has tendered his resignation in order to accept a call to Taneytown, Md. He will begin at the latter place in October. '88. Rev. Luther S. Black, of the College church, Gettysburg, Pa., goes to Johnstown, N. Y., October 1st. '88. Rev. S. D. Daugherty, of Sharpsburg, has accepted a call to Grace Lutheran church, Altoona, Pa. '89. Morris W. Croll has gone to Cleve-land, Ohio, to resume his duties as teacher of English in the University School where he taught last year. '89. Prof. Ira Tipton has accepted a pro-fessorship in the Hill School, of Pottstown, a private school that prepares students for Yale College. We are informed that his duties will be to teach Latin and English. '89. Burgess R. E. Wible delivered the ad-dress of welcome to the Annual State Conven-tion of the Jr. O. U. A. M., which was held in the M. E. church of Gettysburg. '91. Mr. Schmucker Duncan has returned to Yale College to take up some special studies. '91. R N. Hartman, Ph. D., has charge of the Quant. Chem. Lab. of Tufts College, and will do investigation work under Prof. Arthur Michael. He expects to enter a German uni-versity next year. '91. Rev. C. L. Ritter was one of the speak-ers at the large gathering near Middletown, Md., on August 29th. '92. Rev. George Beiswanger, of Calvary Lutheran church, Baltimore, Md., has issued a neat card of topics of his sermons for the next 6 weeks. He will by special request preach a series of sermons on "What is Mar-riage?" "Is it a failure?" "Whom to Marry," "When to Marry," "How to Marry." '92. The newly erected church at Saddlers, near Shrewbury, York county, Pa., Rev. H. E. Berkey, pastor, is to be dedicated on the first Sunday in November. The church is a union one. Rev. H. H. Weber, of York, Pa., is to preach one of the sermons in German and raise the amount of money necessary to dedi-cate free of debt. '93. Virgil R. Saylor has been elected prin-cipal of the Salisbury schools at Elklick, Pa. '93. Rev. John C. Bowers, of Jefferson, Md., has accepted the call to St. Mark'sLuth-eran church, Washington, D. C. '93. Rev. A. A. Kelly, pastor of the Luth-eran church near Mechauicsburg, and Miss Mary C. Bushman, of this place, were married at the home of the bride's parents on Balti-more St., on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The Rev. A. R. Steck, pastor of St. James Lutheran church, of this place, assisted by Rev. W. C. Wire, pastor of Lutheran church, of Littles-town,, performed the ceremony. '93. Rev. G. W. Enders, Jr., was installed as pastor of the Lutheran congregation at Argusville, N. Y., on Sunday, Aug. 18. Dr. G. W. Enders, of York, Pa., and Rev. A. S. Hardy, of Seward, N. Y., officiated. '93. W. H. Deardorff, M. D., who gradu-ated from Jefferson Medical College in June, has been elected resident physician at the the Methodist Hospital of Philadelphia. '93. Rev. E. E. Parson was ordained to the ministry by the Allegheny Synod at its recent meeting in Altoona, Pa. '94. H. A. Allison has accepted a professor-ship in Susquehanna.University. '94. Charles Piper has opened a gent's fur-nishing store in Tyrone, Pa. '94. C. F. Kloss will take a post graduate course in Philosophy at Yale. '94. Frank E. Fickinger, Principal of the Chambersburg, Pa., schools, was here for a few days looking up his old friends. '93. Fred. H. Bloomhardt spent a few days with the boys in college before returning to the University to resume his studies. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 92 '94. Elmer E. Stahl has been elected prin-cipal of the Glenville Academy. '94. Clyde B. Stover is Dr. Breidenbaugh's efficient assistant in Chemistry. '94. We are grieved to hear of the sad death of Samuel B. Sorrick. '95. John H. Diehl and Robert L. Meiseu-helder have entered the Junior class of the Seminary. '95. Rev. L. H. Waring was ordained to the ministry by the Allegheny Synod at its re-cent meeting. '96. D. E. Rice is an assistant professor in the Harrisburg High School. '96. G. O. Ritter has gone to Selinsgrove to enter the Theological Department of the Susquehanna University. '96. A. C. Carry has entered Mt. Airy Sem-inary, Philadelphia. '96. The following have entered the Junior class of the Seminary : Fred. J. Baum, W. G. Brubaker, I. O. S. Moser, Charles O. Shaar, H. D. Shimer, W. C. Spayde, G. Z. Stup, J. O. Yoder. '96. L. P- Eisenhart is tutor in mathematics in the Preparatory Department. '96. Mr. Norman Heindel has returned to •New York city to resume his studies in the law department of Columbia University. He remarked before leaving that he would be home to cast his first vote for McKinley at the coming election. TOWN AND SEWIINARY NOTES. S. J. MILLER, Editor. The work on the new High School building is being pushed rapidly. It will be known as the Meade High School and proves to be both attractive and convenient. The St. James Lutheran church has been beautified with a coat of paint, the brick work red, the wood work olive. The Rev. L. S. Black left for his new field of work at Johnstown, N. Y., on the 10th of September. Rev. H. A. Alleman, of Chambersburg, filled the pulpit of Christ Lutheran church, both morning and evening, on Sept. 13th. The game of base-ball which was played on the college athletic grounds, Saturday, Sept. 12th, by the Gettysburg and Hanover teams, resulted in a score of 13 to 5 in favor of the former. The Gettysburg team has the reputa-tion of winning every game played this season. Rev. A. R. Steck, of St. James Lutheran church, preached his second anniversary ser-mon on Sept. 13th. About 40 uniformed firemen, accompanied by the G. A. Band, attended the centennial celebration of the Columbia Fire Company on Sept. 23, 24 and 25. The veteran Bucktails of the 150th Penn-sylvania Regiment held their Biennial reunion at this place on the 24th and 25th inst. They held a business session for the purpose of elect-ing officers, at which time it was decided that they hold their next Biennial meeting here, and also that an effort be made to have a bri-gade instead of a regimental reunion. It was in this regiment that the memorable John Burns fought and saw hard service, all the regimental officers being wounded in the fight. The 37th Annual State Session of the Jr. O. U. A. M., which met here recently, was at-tended by over six hundred delegates. The principal contest of the session was for the office of State Vice-Counselor. The successful candidate was Dr. M. P. Dickeson, of Rock-dale. The following official program was ren-dered : Tuesday afternoon—Parade. evening—Illustrated lecture on Cemetery Hill. Wednesdajr evening—Memorial Services. Thursday evening—Band Concert. From now on the electric cars will run only on special occasions. The seventy-second annual convention of the West Pennsylvania Synod convenes Wed-nesday evening, Oct. 14, in the St. James Lutheran church, this place. The veterans of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, (Rush Lancers) and their friends, arrived here on the 26th, making their ninth annual pilgrimmage to this historical place. As usual, they held a camp-fire in the evening which proved very interesting. Their tour included Gettysburg, Baltimore and Washington. Capt. Long acted as their guide while here. Teachers' County Institute, which will be held in Gettysburg from Nov. 23rd to 27th, 93 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. promises to be a grand success. Prof. Thoman has made arrangements for the following en-tertainments: Monday evening, Dr Y. M. Philip, of Penn'a. Tuesday "' Col. Geo. W. Bain, of Kentucky. Wednesday " Hon. H. W. J. Ham, of Georgia. Thursday " Hon. M. W. Howard, of Alahama. Friday " The Torbet Concert Company. SEMINARY. Seminary opened Sept. 13th, with about its usual attendance. The class which entered thisjyear numbers nineteen. The dormitory was damaged slightly by the recent storm. The trees along the path from the town to the Seminary were twisted around considerably, some having their limbs broken, others being uprooted. Rev. E. J. Wolf, D. D., preached the ser-mon at the corner-stone laying for the new Lutheran church at Spry, York county, on Sept. 6th. Rev. John C. Bowers, of Jefferson, Md., has accepted the call of St. Mark's Lutheran church, in Washington, D. C. Rev. Bowers graduated from the Gettysburg Theological Seminary in the class of '96. On the 27th of September, Rev. J. E. Hein-dle preached at York Haven. Rev. Dr. Richards assisted Rev. A. R. Steck in the administering of the Holy Communion in the St. James Lutheran church, Sept. 27th. FRATERNITY NOTES. PHI KAPPA PSI. Our institution was recently honored by a visit from two loyal Phi Psis, the Governor and the Attorney-General of Maryland, Lowudes, '64, Pa. B, and Clabaugh, '77, Pa. E. C. S. Duncau, '82, was elected President of the Alumni Association last commencement. H. P. Sadtler, '88, of Baltimore, paid us a flying visit a few days since. We were delight-ed to have him with us. We had the pleasure of having with us for a few days at the beginning of the term, W. F. Lutz, '94; A. C. Carty, '96; W. R. Reitzell,'96. W. F. Lutz, '94, is engaged in journalistic work in Bedford. H. M. Witman, '63, is now in attendance at Yale Divinity school. A. C. Carty is now enrolled in the Lutheran Seminary at Mt. Airy. W. R. Reitzell, '96, is studying law in Hagerstown. White, '97 and Lark, '98, are members of the newly organized Musical Clubs. George D. Weaver was initiated June 13. PHI GAMMA DELTA. Bros. J. A. Singmaster, '73, and E. G. Mil-ler, '85, were present at the opening of college. Bro. D. F. Garland has moved to Taney-town, where he has taken charge of the Trin-ity Lutheran church. Bro. H. C. Alleman, '86, preached in the College church on the 13th ult. Bro. F. H. Knuble, '93, returned from Ger-many on the 5th, ult., and recently spent a few days with us. Bros. DeYoe, '85; Blint, '89, and Fickinger, '94, paid us flying visits last month. Bros. Baum, '96, and Shaar, '96, have re-turned to the Seminary, and Bro. Rice, '96, is teaching at Harrisburg High School. Bro. Lichtner, of Ohio Wesleyan, was in town during the Jr. O. U. A. M. Convention. Bro. Fite, '98, and Stiefel, 1900, played on the foot ball team at State College and U. P. Bro. W111, J. Miller, Jr., was initiated the 13th, ult. . • SIGMA CHI. Dale, Lemont, Pa.; Loudon, Altoona, Pa.; Rosensteel, Johnstown, Pa., were initiated Sept. 5th. Fredericks and Monroe, of Lock Haven, Pa., were initiated on the 12th ult. We have had pleasant visits from the follow-ing Brothers: Shipman, '74; McKee, '88; Fox, '89; Fisher, Alpha Kappa, '94; Hays, Omicioh, '94; Deatrich, '94; Loudon, '96; Heindel, '96; Bixler, W. H., '98; Bixler, A. M., '99- Loudon intends entering the Medical De-partment U. of P. Heindel will continue his course in law at Columbia University. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 94 Dale, Lawyer and London represent us on the foot-ball team. Hersh, '91, has elegant prospects of being the next District Attorney of Adams county. PHI DELTA THETA. C. S. Smith was initiated Sept. 5th. C. W. Leitzell, '94, spent the summer in Gettysburg. B. R. Lantz, '94, supplied the charge at Kittinger, Pa., during the summer. L. S. Black, '88, has resigned as pastor of Christ Lutheran church and accepted a call to Johnstown, N. Y. We wish him success in his new field. C. W Ziegler, '96, spent his vacation in Gettysburg. J. W. Ott and J. E. Meisenhelder accom-panied the foot ball team to State College on the 26th of September. ALPHA TAU OMEGO. W. H. Menges, '96, was with us during the opening days of this term. A. R. Warner, '96, paid the Chapter a short visit recently. W. O. Nicklas, '94, has been admitted to the practice of law at Chambersburg, Pa. E. S. Stalnaker, 1900, was initiated into the Fraternity Monday night Sept. 14th. J. P. Michler, '97, will enter the law depart-ment of the Washington & Lee University. LITERARY SOCIETIES. JOHN W. OTT, Editor. PHILO. The first of the series of popular "Author's Evenings," was given on Sept. 18. The sub-ject was Shakespeare. Our thanks are due Miss Wisotzki and the Misses Keith, for their assistance at the piano, which added greatly to the evening's program. Miss Leeds, of Washington, D. C, and Master Mark Eckert have also played for us. We were glad to have with us our old friend Bloomhardt, '94. Every new man, and some of the old ones, too, should have heard his speech on the benefits derived from literary society work. New members thus far initiated are Spayd, '99, Ney, McNair, Heilmau and Deitrick, 1900. Others have been elected. The officers now serving are: Armstrong, President. Smith, R. L-, Vice President. Fite, Treasurer. Tilp, Librarian. Miss Sieber, Critic. Kitzrneyer, Cor. Secretary. DeYoe, Rec. Secretary. The next special program will be rendered Sept. 23rd. PHRENA. Phrena Society began her year's work on September 4th with the prospect of an unus-ually prosperous year before her. A large number of the Freshman class are already members, having been initiated while in Prep. In addition to these Weigle and Hurst ot the Freshman class, and Bowers of the Prepara-tory, have been elected to membership. Sloop, '99, and Weigle, 1900, were initiated on September 25. The reading-room was put in working order at once. The new men are welcome to its privileges at all hours. Edward W. Meisenhelder, '98, is Editor-in- Chief of the class annual which is to be pub-lished by his class. Phrena holds the editorship of the MERCURY for this year. On October 9, the following special program will be rendered in her hall. The program will begin at eight o'clock. All are cordially invited. The program of the evening's enter-tainment is as follows : SUBJECT :-HARRIET BEKCHER STOWE. Music—Piano Duet, Misses Kieth Declamation—Longfellow's—"The Slave's Dream," - Lauffer Essay—Biographical Sketch, - - - - , - - Wolf Music—Plantation Melodies. Declamation—Longfellow's—"Quadroon Girl," - Fleck Declamation—Whittier's—"A Virginia Slave-mother's Fare-well to Her Daughter," - - E. W. Meisenhelder Music—Violin Solo, Manges Essay—The Story of Uncle Tom's Cabin, . Woods Declamation—Selection from Uncle Tom's Cabin. - Carney Oration—The Effect of Uncle Tom's Cabin, - - Duck Music—Piano Duet, - - Misses Keith Essay—Mrs. Stowe's Other Works, - - - Stockslager Oration—Harriet Beecher Stowe, - Bikle, Sr. Music—Plantation Melody. The following men hold the chief offices at present: Pres., Duck, '97; Vice Pres., E. W. Meisenhelder, '98; Sec'y, Hickman; Treas., J. E. Meisenhelder, '97; Critics, Bikle, Sr., '97; Bikle, Jr., '99; Woods, '98; Stockslager, '97. Want of space forbids the names of the minor officers. 95 THE COEEEGE MERCURY. ATHLETICS. CHAUI.ES T. I,ARK, Editor. What a bright outlook for the athletics of our institution ! The large crowd of new students contains many athletes of no mean ability. Matters look decidedly encouraging. The present interest in foot-ball is unparalleled in the history of our institution. Our coach, Mr. Best, ex-Eehigb, is exerting himself to the utmost to bring our team up to a high standard-of excellence and his efforts are being rewarded. Of the men who com-posed our last season's team, but five returned to college this fall. It is on this account that the work of developing a good team is a very difficult task, as the men with whom Mr. Best has to deal, are almost all inexperienced play-ers; however, the improvement of the team since it is under his hands, is very marked. Among the contestants for the team who are training hard, are the following : '97—Man-ges, Ott, Schriver, Sheely, Wolf, Smith; '98— Nicholas, Tholan, Krafft, Briner, Kephardt, Fite, Kuendig; '99-Roehner, Herman,Spa3'de, Brumbaugh, Smith, J. M., Smith, C. H., Doty, Cumbler, Trimble; 1900—Young, Good, Steifel, Wisotzki, Koppenhaver, Dale Brandt, Eberly, Williams; 1901—Hagerman, Burns, Kohler, Eoudon. The opening game of the season was played at State College. This institution has one of the heaviest and strongest teams in the State. Our men played against opponents averaging 15 pounds heavier than they were. Had it not been for the fact that we are not in the habit of canceling games, this one would have been declared off on account of the poor phys-ical condition of our men. For the above rea-sons and as this was our first game, the result caused no surprise. Gettysburg on several oc-casions had the ball dangerously near their op-ponents' goal line, making repeated gains but fumbling at critical moments. The playing of this game was of great value to our numer-ous unexperienced men. The result was : Gettysburg, o; State, 40. Captain Burns has been looking up material for our next season's Base Ball team and is much encouraged with the prospect. Among the valuable additions for the nine are: Dale, 1900; Hagerman, 1901; Hurst, 1900; Glad-felter, 1900; Carver, 1900; Stallnecker, 1900; Ney; 1900; Heilman, 1900, and our coming catcher, Deitrick, 1900. At a recent meeting of the Athletic Associa-tion, it was decided that hereafter all our Ath-letic teams be composed of strictly college men. At the same time the Association, recognizing the excellent services rendered by Armstrong, '97, as Manager of our last season's base ball team, re-elected him for the coming season. Lark, '98, was elected Assistant Manager. We would urge on all students who have not already done so, the necessity of their uniting themselves with the Athletic Association. The joining of this Association is not only your privilege but it is a duty which you owe to the Athletics of your institution. We are more than proud of the record made by our team on Sept. 30th, against the strong-est eleven in the country, that of the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania. It is very much to the credit of our men that their team could score but four touch downs in two twenty minute halves, three in the first and one in the second. Their star half-back, Morice, helped swell the score very materially by kicking two goals from the field in the second half. Dale and White did the best work on our part. Dale kicked very well and went around the end for 8 yards, while White went through tackle for 6 and gained 8 by circling the end. In all we gained, by carrying the ball, about 25 yards and captured it twice on downs. Their touch-down in the second half came near riot count-ing, as time was up while the man was run-ning with the ball. Our fellows well deserve the rousing recep-tion the}' received on their return home for, by playing the game they did, they added much to the athletic prestage of our institution. The men composing our opponents' team, such as Wharton, Woodruff, Morice, Dickson, etc., played their positions as they should be played. The line-up was as follows : GETTYSBURG. • POSITIONS. PENNSYLVANIA. Doty left-end Boyle Nicholas left-tackle Uffeuheimer Hagerman left-guard Woodruff Steifel centre Overfeild Koppenhaven right-guard Wharton Ott, Tholau right-tackle Farrar, McCracken Young right-end B. W. Dickson Lawyer quarter-back A. K. Dickson White left-half-back Gelbert Williams, Sheely right-half-back Morice Dale full-back Jackson Score—Pennsylvania, 32 ; Gettysburg, o. Touchdowns—Jack-sou, 3; Boyle, 1. Goals from field—Morice, 2. Substitutions— Tholan for Ott, Sheely for Williams Goodman for B. W. Dick-son, McCracken for' Farrar. Referee—George W. Brooke. Umpire—Dr. Charles H. Schroff. Linesman—Geo. W. Wood-ruff. Time of halves—Twenty minutes each. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 96 The fact that no foot ball team can stand three hard games in one week, was very forci-bly presented to us on Oct. 3rd, when our boys were defeated by F. and M. to the tune of 24 to nothing. State College, U. of Pa., and F. and M., is decidedly too much of a program for one week. Our team was considerably broken up by the games with State and U. P., and played by no means in their usual form. "The game was noticeable for the small amount of kicking indulged in by either side and the gains were principally made through tackles and around the ends. For Gettysburg, White and Sheely played a star game, while Cessna, Hosterman and Eocher, made brilliant plays for F. and M." We expect to return the compliment on the 17th, at which time we meet F. and M. on the home grounds. Manager Wheeler has had some difficulty in arranging dates but has finally secured the fol-lowing fine schedule: Oct. 10—Open. Oct. 17—F. and M. at Gettysburg. Oct. 24—Ursinus at Gettysburg. Oct. 31—Swathmore at Harrisburg. Nov. 7—Open. Nov. 14—Lehigh at Bethlehem. Nov. 21—St. Johns at Gettysburg. Nov. 26—Dickinson at Carlisle. "BRE'R JOHNSON'S" SERENADE. "Oh, kum kiss me ma honey ! Kum kiss me ebery minit. Dat yaller gal acros' de way, Lor' massey ! she ain't in it. "Yo' am de darlin' of my heart, , Yo' am de one I'd die fo'! Rise quickly from yo' slumbers sweet An' luk out ob yo' windo'. "Here in de dark ob night I stan', Singin' like bluddy murder, But, honey, ef yo' don' lub me I can't go on no furder. "De coon sleeps in de hollo', De woodchuck 's in his hoi', Al' am quiet lik, an' peaceful, 'Cept my lub tormented sol'." WE follow the Wittenburger in coming out for silver; that is, the dollar you owe for sub-scription to the MERCURY. Foot Ball Supplies. EVERYTHING FOB THE PLAYER, Jackets, Shoes, Stockings, -Jerseys, Shin Guards, Etc. Spalding's Official Intercol- *$& legiate Foot Ball, W'-/;"-^. Officially adopted by the Intercollegiate Association. COMPLETE CATALOGUE FALL AND WINTER SPORTS FREE. A. Q. Spalding & Bros., NEW YORK. PHILADELPHIA. CHICAGO. L. D. HjlLLER, 19 Main St., GETTYSBURG, Q-roosT, Qonfectione? and ffiruitsrsr. Ice Cream and Oysters in season. 4fc A 1\ i\ . Send us your ad- %i* "1 Jl I low NUPO dress and we X eiHPBNfiOSB MYBfiSjfc-- WATOHMAKEE AND rlEWELER, Gettysburg Souvenir Spoons, College Souvenir Spoons, No. io Baltimore Street, GETTYSBURG, PENN'A. J. A. TAWNEY Is ready to furnish clubs and boarding houses BREAD, ROLLS, &0., at short notice and reasonable rates. Cor.Washington and Middle Sts., Gettysburg. W^aHPIllHowwiS DEALERS IN Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork, Pudding, Sausage, HAMS, LARD, &c-. GETTYSBURG, IMIM'A. JOHN L. SEEsiDS. NEW CIGAR STORE Next door io W. M. 'Depot, Gettysburg, 0 TO^ ^ ♦•HOTEL GETTYSBURG* -^BAfiBBfi SHOP.K-Centre Square. _B. M. SEFTON. 2fou will find a full line of Zrure *Drugs 6c J'ine Stationery Sreopte'a 7) rug otore. ^Proscriptions a Opocialty. cL Lj^lurqpGP, ZPhotographerj No. 2g Baltimore St., 1 GETTYSBURG SPECIAL ATTENTION PAID TO ollege £ffl ffiine QolUotion of. BATTLEFIELD VIEWS .tdU^>a'2s on hand. MAIL ORDERS RECEIVE PROMPT ATTENTION. (pStfc^ §£%jSj£^t --A-3>T:D— Hlliott & HOUSOP. N. B.—Stiff Eats made to Fit the Head in two minutes. H4T$,«P$, —^ —- BOOTS * SHOES. GS=Satisfaction Guaranteed.^) No. 6 S. Baltimore Street, GETTYSBURG, PA. por all Ihe latest styles in Suitings andTrousers, AND FULL LINE OF Cents' Furnishing Goods, Call or, D. H. WELSH, York, Pa. ADVERTISEMENTS. ••■/: • - i, . fe wj" | "~r ■ W~'~—f* I—v? ■SlV'7" A"*> ■ v/vi* I. Classical Course for the Degree of A. B. II. Scientific Course for the Degree of B. S. III. Post-Graduate Course for the Degree of Ph. D. IV. Special Course in all Departments. V. Elective Studies in Junior and Senior Years. VI. New Testament Greek and Hebrew in English Bible Department. Observatory, Laboratories and new Gymnasium. Four large buildings. All buildings heated with steam from central plant. Libraries, 25,000 volumes. Fine Museum. Expenses low'. Department of Hygiene and Physical Culture in charge of an experienced physician. Accessible by frequent railroad trains. Location, on BATTLEFIELD of Gettysburg; most pleasant and healthy. PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT, in separate buildings, for boys and young men preparing for business or college, under special care of the principal and three assistants, residing with students in the building. For full particulars, apply for catalogue to HARVEY W. MCKNIGHT, D. D., LL. D.,PRES'T., PeiiinsyUvfanSa QoHtege,, ©©ttysfoiwg, Pa»

THE JUI ERCURV The Literary Journal of Gettysburg College. VOL. XVI GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1908 No. 8 CONTENTS. THE GOVERNMENT OF STUDENTS 2 E. VICTOR ROLAND, '07. A MISDIRECTED MESSAGE 5 T. T. COOK, '12. WASHINGTON THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. .11 G. L. KIEFFER, '09. THE BOYHOOD OF LINCOLN 14 T. T. C. THE USE OF BEER IN GERMANY IS MRS. J. H. W. STUCKENBERG. WILLIAM McKINLEY 23 C. MCLEAN DAVIS, '11. EDITORIALS 28 BOOK REVIEWS 31 EXCHANGES 3£ THE MEBCURS Third, THE GOVERNMENT OF STUDENTS. E. VICTOR ROLAND, '07. RESIDENT HYDE, of Bowdoin College, says in one of his recent books, that there are six partners in college administration. This sextette is composed first, of the founders, donors, and benefactors. Second, the State, the trustees, regents, or overseers. Fourth, professors-and instructors. Fifth, the students. Sixth, the constituency of the college, that portion of the public from which money and students come, and to whom the institution must look for in-terest, guidance, and support. I presume that all will be quick to admit, that the most important element in this portion which President Hyde has seen fit to characterize as the constituency of the college, is the institutions' own alumni. It is not purposed in this article to assign to each of these six parties to college administration their respective rights and duties. Neither is it our purpose to speak of the comparative importance of any one in respect of the others. If the college does not have the proper support and, co-operation from all these sources, it is hindered, in a greater or less degree, in its mission of preparing and training men and women for efficient service-in the various avenues of life. We shall take it for granted that all are agreed that the welfare of an institution depends more on the discharge of duties on the part of some of these partners than others. Let us turn our attention to but one of these part-ners. That the student body of any institution is a most important factor in its welfare and success, is a truism. With a high class of men, intellectually, and morally, coming into a'n institution, men who have a high sense of loyalty, that will make them go out and talk about the superior advantages and opportunities their college offers, an institution of learning is bound to pros-per, and many will be the defects that will be eradicated on the-part of other agencies not giving their proper support. Thus we see that that phase of college administration which has to do with the student body is of very great importance, and must be-administered with much foresight and wisdom. THE MERCURY. How then shall a student body be governed? What method will yield the greatest results? In answering these questions two things must be taken into our consideration. First, the prestige and authority of those who rule must be maintained. In the second place, all discipline among students is pre-eminently .for the purpose of affording the general student body the greatest opportunity to obtain the best that the college can give. This is a fact that the student should always consider, and if such were the case, it would prevent many criticisms of the actions of the administrative authorities. Before stating our views as to what method will be most effi- -cient in the government of students, let us consider briefly the history of such government in the colleges of America. As one makes such a study he is impressed with the fact that the gov-ernment of students in American colleges is marked with in-creased liberality and orderliness. That of the colonial period was very similar to that of the civil government. It was most minute in its inspection of students, and likewise severe in met-ing out punishment. In the oldest university in this country, in 1674, students were fined and even whipped. The plan of .fining for a large number of offenses continued not only in Har-vard, but in most all of our American colleges, down to the mid-dle of the nineteenth century. It does not become us to criticise -wholesale this form of student discipline. Such government may have been as efficient in its time as that which is in opera-tion to-day. We know, however, that some of the worst rebel-lions on the part of the students occurred in those days of rigid -discipline. As a proof of such we refer to the rebellions at Har-vard in 1768 and 1807; the rebellion of 1808 at Williams; the .bread and butter rebellion of 1828 at Yale; and the rebellion of 1836 at the University of Virginia. All this resistence to power must be due to the fact that stu-dents and faculty view things in different lights. The problem •in discipline, then, is to utilize such methods as will best enable students and faculty to get the same viewpoint. In order to do this two theories have been advanced. Accord-ing to the first view, the relation of the college to its students is a sort of family relation—the college officers standing in the place of the parent, and the student in the place of the son. Ac- L '4 THE MERCURY. •cording to this theory the student must be guided by a set of rules and regulations laid down by the governing board. The second system is the very opposite to that of the domestic; the system is distinguished by its lack of government on the part of the faculty. In other words we may call it student government. This brings us to the important part of our discussion—the feasibility of student government. It may be remarked that these two systems seldom exist in the naked and bald form as outlined, and between these two sys-tems exist many practical modifications. Is student government a practical and feasible thing ? This de-pends very much on the size of the college, and the limitations -of this student governing power. In a large university or col-lege, student government must play an important part in admin-istrative affairs. In a small college where every student knows every other student, and where every student is known by all the professors there must be a limitation of such power. In every true college it will ever be essential to maintain a firm authority and circumstances may arise when the college should close its doors, rather than yield an essential point of moral character or intellectual efficiency to the student clamor and caprice. Yet this authority should be kept somewhat in the background, and used only when necessitated. The strong point in student government is that it places a re-sponsibility on the student. Because of this it would be a most 'effective means in maintaining proper decorum in the class-room and the morning chapels. It should also be made use of in'the maintenance of proper order and conduct about the dormi-tories. Just a closing word with reference to a very important factor in student discipline. One of the best methods for guiding the personal morals and proper actions on the part of students is through making and requiring severe intellectual demands on him. This always has been, and always will remain the very best method in maintaining uprightness of conduct, and if com-bined with a proper balanced student government, and a personal friendliness and intelligent sympathy on the part of professors, will make an ideal college life. THE MERCURY. THE MISDIRECTED MESSAGE. T. T. COOK, '12. VERY workaday morning since he had met Miss Johns, just two months and a week by the calendar, Joe Ab-bott from his desk in the Post Office Building, had tele-phoned "1836-Gernrantown." This morning as usual, the little morocco-covered clock in a pigeon hole of his roll top pointed to eight-thirty as he lifted the receiver. Instead of for-getting his business hours because of his little affair, it drew him to the office—and to the telephone—with such regularity that his clerks and demure young stenographer, already were dubbing him "Punctual Joseph." In a few minutes his bell tinkled and the operator reported. "I have Miss Johns for you." By which you will see that this operator was no ordinary soul, for she knew, long since, that "nice" Mr. Abbott wanted a particular party at "1836-German- 'town." With A low "thank you, put it on the booth, please," to the lady of the telephone, he began the morning service. "Morning, Sybil. How's the beautiful siren feeling this .morning ?" "That's good. No, indeed. Never felt more wide-awake in my life. Too much sleep doesn't agree with me, you know." And thus the little nothings flew back and forth over the wire for. several minutes. But it was a mighty satisfactory talk to at least one of the people concerned, for Joe Abbott had coaxed per-mission to call that evening at the home of his lady. And— significant fact!—this was the first time he had been allowed to ""act like a fool" two evenings in succession. He then emerged from the telephone booth and sat down be-fore a stack of correspondence to begin the day's work. On top •of the pile lay several unopened personal letters. Two of them he sized up at once as duns, and promptly swept them into an open drawer. The third he looked over with a degree of curi-osity. It was a large, perfectly plain white envelope with no advertising matter whatever on either side. •6 THE MERCURY. "This is about the eighth shoe catalogue I've received this Week," he thought. Suddenly he gave an exclamation of surprise and straightened up in his chair. A smile replaced the blank look on his face. "Well, I'll be ," fell from his lips. The cause of this sudden interest in things was evident on a close inspection of the envelope. The address, in black type- Writing, read "Mrs. Joseph Abbott, Philadelphia." "Phew! If Syb saw this there'd be a lovely fuss!" "Gad! I'm going to do it! I've got enough catalogues on hand to last me a year anyway. Here goes." And suiting the action to the words he scribbled a disguised "Try 5300 Germantown Ave." across the face of the envelope ■and tossed it in a basket bearing the legend, "Out." "I'd give a five to see Sybil's face when she sights that 'Mrs.' " Thereupon he dismissed the subject and dictated a stream of letters that met with the ever increasing disapproval of his sten-ographer. "Well, Miss Dennison, I think you'll have plenty to do this afternoon," he said, as the young lady finally arose and gathered up the armful of papers. "I'm going to lunch now. At four o'clock bring me what you have finished and I'll sign 'em. Leave the rest till to-morrow." So saying, he walked a half block to his restaurant, and buried himself in the sheets of a newspaper. When the waiter appeared, he carried the consomme in one hand and in the other a telephone, which latter instrument he connected to the nearest socket and placed it in front of the would-be luncher. "Call for you, Mr. Abbott;" he announced. Talk right here?" "Sure," he assented, while to himself he wondered if that stenographer would ever be able to get his letters straight with-out help. "Hello. Yes, he's talking to you." "Who? Miss Johns?' THE MEBCUEY. "Miss Johns' maid? Oh, I see. What can I do for you,. Anna?" 'What's that?' "Indisposed? Can't see me to-night? The Dev— er, is that all, Anna?" Bang! Up went the receiver. "Here waiter. Keep the rest." "No, I've had plenty. Yes, indigestion—that's it." Out in the fresh air again, he leaned up against a lamp post to think it over. "Lord, what a mess! Who'd have thought she'd take it so hard ? If I only had a car, like that young Van Ormer, I'd motor out there and see her right now. Well, I guess it's up to me to see-her anyway, car or no car. First thing is to get leave from the boss." And thereupon he hurried to the office of his superior, whom he was lucky enough to catch at leisure. Bather flustered, he blurted out his request to be excused for the rest of the day. Usually the old man had to know why and wherefore of the pe-tition of this kind, and the immediate and cordial nod of con-sent with which he now answered Abbott was a most unlooked-for surprise. As he hurried to the door the chief raised his head and called after the retiring shoulders—"I say, Joe. Be careful you don't celebrate too hard." "What in thunder," thought the bewildered fellow, "is the old bear talking about now." But too many other thoughts were crowding his brain as he swung to the platform of a trolley, and the boss's remark was shunted to the background. At last he alighted; walked a short distance to "5300 Ger-mantown Avenue" and ascended the familiar spotless steps. His feelings at this time closely resembled that accursed state called rattled. Moreover, "Anna," the same who had spoiled his lunch, opened the door. Anna was a splendid servant, but she had one affliction that was most disconcerting to a serious-minded caller. The nerves of her right eye were uncontrollable. Consequently THE MEECUEY. she winked; winked continually, and on occasions when even the slightest little wink was entirely out of order. The appearance of Anna, therefore, was quite ill-timed from the viewpoint of a man already on the verge of the rattles. He managed to withstand the fusillade, however, and after vainly trying to persuade her, with all the eloquence at his com-mand, to tell Miss Johns that he must see her, he did the next thing; brushed her aside and stalked majestically, if somewhat fearfully, into the library. Anna followed, her aggressive right eye still unconquered, and winking madly at-the back of Ab-bott's head. A dire foreboding filled her when she thought of the accounting that would come after her mistress rid herself of the "impid'nt young spalpeen." "Punctual Joseph" pierced the shadows of the library, only to realize that the much used room was empty. Hesitating but a second, he passed between the curtains toward a stairway which he knew led to Sybil's own sitting room, a combination of cozy corners which he had been allowed to enjoy on numerous de-lightful occasions. Foolhardy enough, he gained courage with every noiseless step on the carpets. He smiled as he thought—"I'll beard the lioness in her den." Bounding the turn he was forced to stop abruptly. A startled "Oh-h-h-h," struck his ear. Almost within arm's reach stood Sybil Johns. Something told him she had been listening, but had not heard his footsteps. A foolish feeling of exultation took hold of him, and in a flash his plan of confessing the miser-able joke and begging forgiveness faded and in its place he found a bold, yet apparently feasible idea. He would deny all knowl-edge of the letter that had caused the friction and thus make a beautiful proud girl feel the humiliation which he had been about to accept. And then Sybil was speaking, in a voice that now was fully composed, but utterly cold. "Mr. Abbott. This is—inexcusable." " My dear Miss Johns, it isn't half as inexcusable as your ac-tions." "Why Joe—Mr. Abbott, didn't you send that"—pointing ta an unopened white envelope lying on the table. » THE MEKODBT. 9 3 it?' vish he could play lidn't you say 'yes, a different forgive n» part. It But 'Send what ? What 'Joe!" said so plainly—"Wl it was too late now. Then her expression changed. Again she wore that "Justice" look. With "wait a minute, please," she stepped out of the room. When she came back she walked straight to him and placed in his hand a little leather bound volume. "Did you ever see that book before ?" She asked the question more with her eyes than her lips. "Tennyson's Idylls! Why to be sure, I sent it last Valen-tine —" "You did send it," she interrupted. The truth had rushed from the amateur lips in spite of him. Although he did not know how, something whispered a sinister warning that he was caught—caught fairly and squarely. "Look at the disguised writing on the fly-leaf," she com-manded, "and compare it with this." It was neatly executed. But her finger trembled the tiniest bit as she pointed to "Try 5300 Germantown Avenue." and then -to the "My Valentine." The inscriptions were identical. Mr. Abbott's stage career was ended. In a few well-chosen words she told him how small he had made himself appear. He tried to say something adequate, but the right words would not -come. What could he say ? He did the only remaining thing— started toward the door. At the portiers he turned and saw the fragments of the en-velope fall from her fingers. That settled it. The funeral procession (for Anna was bringing up the rear with a supply of winks) had reached the vestibule when some-thing happened. From the floor above he heard a sweet voice •calling, "Joe! Joe!" And then, while he stood there, unbelieving, it came nearer and nearer until a trembling girl appeared above him. She started down the stairs and he recovered his senses in time to rush to meet her. As he approached he saw that in her franti- 10 THE MEKCUEY. cally waving hands she held the remains of the letter. There was a new note in her voice. "Oh, Fro—I know I shouldn't have done it, but Joe, did you know—why didn't you tell me what was in that letter ?" "Why—why Sybil! Tell you? What was it?" "Look." She held up a torn portion of a sheet. He stared as if at an apparition. "It's the boss's signature," fell from his lips. "And what's this—'the right woman will soon be yours.' Syb! We must get it all. Quick. It's important. Help me!" Excitedly they pieced the bits together. Their hurrying fing-ers seemed all thumbs. Gradually, but all too slowly, each jag-ged piece of paper found its mate. At last the letter was com-plete. "Please read it to me." It actually was Sybil who spoke. Straining forward in the poor light he read the words, first huskily, then with a ring in his voice as the import of it all sank in his mind. "Just a line to advise you of your appointment to the recently vacated post of Special Postal Agent for the District of Penn-sylvania, to become effective on the first day of the coming month. I might add that I have been withholding my decision in this matter to discover, if possible, a suitable married man to fill the position. I need not tell you that it is the policy of this Depart-ment to appoint only men of settled character (which usually means married men) to the more important posts. However, from what I can learn, I am led to believe that the right woman will soon be yours. P. S.—I have instructed my stenographer to use a perfectly plain envelope, and to mail this letter, so as to prevent its being opened in mistake by one of your clerks." "Well." It was all he could say. "It's—its what you wanted, isn't it?" "Well rather. But I had given it up weeks ago." And then he looked at the girl, and what he saw in her eyes made him bold. Leaning toward her he whispered, "Sybil—am I forgiven ? THE MBKCUEY. 11 Think how independent we can be. — You darling! And I dare hope ? Tell me." "Why did you fib to me?" "And why did you say you were ill ? Shall we call it quits ?"' Silence—with the proper accompaniments—followed. WASHINGTON, THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY. G. L. KIEFFER, '09. 1HEN the American colonies were about to declare them-selves free and independent, they naturally selected the most representative man to lead the small number of men around Boston—the little band which they called the "Continental Army,"—the army through which they meant to establish their declaration. But why was George Washington selected as the commander-in chief of the so-called army? He himself declared that he had not sought the appointment and had done all in his power to avoid it because he considered the task beyond his capacity. In fact, it seems the hand of destiny had selected him, prepared" him for the task, and he could not refuse. There was none other in all the colonies equal to him in many respects. He was representative, being of the aristocracy of Virginia, and then,, no doubt, the richest man in the South. Carefully had he been trained for the very work that he now was to perform. Through noble service rendered to his native colony in many ways, he rose to honor and respect among his people. His ability manifested during the French and Indian War made him commander of the provincial troops and as such while serving with the royal army he had learned their tactics and now when he was to become-their antagonist in the person of commander-in-chief, he cer-tainly would be most dangerous to them. Why should not Congress naturally have selected this well-trained and disciplined man who had sat among them from the time of their first assembly, dressed in his uniform, all in readi-ness for the field of action? Then, too, they manifested their.- 12 L'HiS MEBCUBY. wisdom by selecting the most representative man from the South. which selection would tend to bind the South to New England, and thereby bring harmonious and unified action in the great struggle. Thus became Washington at the very birth of the nation its unifying and guiding, spirit. Quietly this man of common sense and sound judgment went to work and organized an effective army and then began to bring forth results even though hampered and misrepresented in every way conceivable. But the man who knelt in the snow in the grove at Valley Forge and prayed his God for success was at the helm, and even though he often himself became anxious there was no flaw in his devotion to his country and his cause, never even allowing himself to become despondent. At last he tri-umphed over the British army and the sovereignty of the Colo-nies was established. But now came his greatest task. He was the only source of authority and law that had more than a local force and, but for this governing influence mani-fested in the personality of this one man, the weak confederation might have been broken asunder into many petty and feeble states. Furthermore, but for his noble and unselfish principle and character the great American republic never could have been possible. The idea of making him king pained him and he warned his people to banish such thoughts from their minds for-ever. After he had secured the rights of his soldier companions he fondly and fatherly bade them farewell and returned to Vir-ginia. But even before retiring to private life' his guidance and solicitude for his country at large was manifested. To every state governor letters full of golden maxims and great wisdom were addressed ever advising the formation of an "indissoluble union of the states under one federal head," as one of the four essentials of the existence of the United States as an independent power. Again after retirement letter after letter was written emphasizing the necessity of' this union. When the constitu-tional convention met, naturally he was chosen its president. As the keynote of their deliberations he gave: "The consolidation of the Union." When a president of the new government was chosen, Wash-ington was the only logical choice. Reluctantly he left his home - THE MEBCUEY. 13, life. But duty to his people called and he accepted the inevita-ble difficulties before him. In his first inaugural he attributed. all success to "the Almighty Being." With this reverent spirit was his new task undertaken, and of the crises of his administra-tion it was said: "The president's amiable disposition, how-ever, smoothes and sweetens everything." He found out the people's needs and then with methodical precision guided all legislation, so as to fulfill those needs. Thus was life added to the skeleton of the new government and the frame work of the. whole political, social, and industrial systems erected. After having given his people a strong and righteous govern-ment he, on Sept. 19, 1796, bade them farewell and shortly after that retired to his estates followed by the love and admiration of a people who now fully recognized his public spirit, his staunch integrity and the extent of his intellectual resources. But once more was he to serve his nation. When war with France was threatened, as President Adams said, "his name would have more efficacy than many an army," so where duty called he again responded. Soon, however, events allowed him to retire again only to have death overtake him. On Dec. 14, 1799, he died, uttering the words: "It is well." Yes, his guiding hand safely piloted the ship of state until she-was anchored securely in port. Bancroft says: "But for him the country could not have achieved its independence; but for him it could not have formed its union; and, but for him is could not have set its government into successful motion." In the words of Gen. Henry Lee: "He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." His countrymen were his children for he had no other. He-truly was the Father of his Country. 14 THE MERCURY. THE BOYHOOD OF LINCOLN. T. T. C. JlOGIiAPH'EES usually skip lightly through the opening chapter of a man's life and, like a girl with the latest novel, hasten on to more stirring scenes. To say that we lose much by this practice is indeed putting it mildly. We are deprived of information that we really ought to. have. "Life is a minute; youth but a second," says the poet, and verily in that little "second" happen most of the pleasant affairs of our allotted span. In it are born all the thoughts, hopes and ambitions of later days. And while all this is true of great men as a class, it is particularly true in the case of Abra-ham Lincoln, savior of a nation. Abraham Lincoln was born the twelfth day of February, in the year eighteen hundred and nine. His birthplace was a log cabin of the rudest sort. He came into this world surrounded with all the privations incident to pioneer life in the wildest section of Kentucky. It would be foolish to enter the discussion which his biographers are continually waging as to whether his parents were or were not shiftless. It is sufficient that there is not the slightest doubt concerning their extreme poverty. Born as he was there would have been manifold excuses for any faults or failings which he might have developed. But instead of shortcomings we shall presently see that an account of his early life is one long list of virtues. Upon approaching the subject a question which is likely to prove distracting presents itself. The writer is to tell about the "Boyhood of Lincoln." "That will be easy," he thinks and off' he starts to the library to collect material. Of course there is no trouble about the starting point. So far, so good. But sud-denly he starts as if shot. He has found the puzzler. Listen. "I wonder when Lincoln stopped being a boy?" Over and over again the student turns the bristling interrogation point, and then at last a light disperses his cloudy thoughts. He has found the answer, and it is one of the greatest lessons we learn from our martyred president's life. It is this. Abraham Lincoln was a man from the cradle; he was also,.however, a boy 'till his THE MEUCUBY. 15 death. To illustrate. When eleven years of age his mother •died. She was buried, and what a funeral that must have been! Not a friend was present to comfort the husband, not a play-mate to sympathize with the son. Abraham saw his mother laid away in a rough, home-made, pine box. He was troubled, deep down in his young heart, to think that his mother was taken away from him without a minister's kind words, without a pro-per funeral service, almost without a prayer. He suffered si-lently until the thought became unbearable, then he sat down and wrote such a letter as to move an itinerant parson to ride fifty miles over the roughest roads, unpaid, to preach a sermon for the departed Mrs. Lincoln. Surely this was the thought and action of a man. On the other hand, when he was already quite a prominent personage, we hear this of him. He was the guest of honor at a large fair. After his speech, a proud committee took him about the grounds to see the various exhibits. They came to a professional strong man's tent, entered and at once Lincoln was ■enraptured. He was spellbound. Throughout the exhibition •of strength his only remark was frequently repeated, "By George!" At the close of the performance Mr. Lincoln met the strong man and tried to do some of his tricks. When he found that he was the weaker, he looked down on the professional with a curious mixture of mischief and envy in his ej'es, and said, "AH the same, I could lick salt off the top of your head." From the time he lived in that famous log cabin in the woods of Kentucky Lincoln showed a most versatile nature. On a cer-tain page in one of the most reliable of his biographies }rou will find these words: "Abraham Lincoln was melancholy by nature." Farther on these occur: "His wit, humor, physical strength and reputation of being a general good fellow, made him a favorite with all." At first these statements seem contradictory, but when one thinks of it, it is only an indirect way of saying that he possessed the greatest intellect of his age. A comparison of Abe Lincoln with the average poor boy of to-day is sure to reflect badly on the latter. It shows, however, the immensity of the difficulties under which the youth labored. It is actually amazing to think of what he accomplished. Think, for instance, of the fact that altogether Lincoln spent only six 16 THE MERCURY. months in school; while the average boy of to-day spends twice as many years. Think how he must have worked both day and night when he achieved the feat of mastering surveying in six weeks; when the boy of to-day considers himself bright if he knows something of the intricate subject in as many months. Think how he walked scores of miles to borrow books; while you and I are literally hemmed in by libraries. Think of all these obstructions—and many more—which lay thick along his path, and then, if you please, consider that his was the masterly hand that guided the ever-veering ship of state through the greatest storm she ever encountered. Lincoln never waited for "something to turn up." He had that kind of an eye which sees opportunity where others see un-opportunity. His perception was such that when he had seen an opportunity, he grasped its possibilities at the same instant, and then, with his indomitable energy, made the most of it. Sup-pose he had developed his mother's weakness of bewailing her lowly station in life. Probably no one but his mother would ever hate known him if such had been the case. Instead of de-ploring the trick Dame Fortune seemed to have played him, he picked up his axe, strode out into the forest, and chopped down trees, and split rails until physically he was able to cope with life's struggles with every advantage on his side. Abraham was that kind of a chap who does not wait for things to "turn up." He belonged to the small class of people who get under things and turn them up. All through his young life we see his mind was being shaped along the lines of thought he afterward carried out. His ideas concerning the slavery question, especially, were of early origin. To us have been handed down the words he uttered when first he saw human beings bought and sold. This event happened in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-one, when Abe was sent to New Orleans. It is said his entire soul was so stirred up by the sight that then and there the mighty resolve was formed, and from that time his every effort converged to that heaven-inspired climax, the freeing of the slaves. Much has been written about every stage in Abraham Lin-coln's life, from the time he first saw daylight through the cracks of his log home, until the moment when, mourned by a nation. THE MEEUUBY. 17 he lay on his stately bier. But of all the eulogies ever spoken or written of him, not one bears with it the weight of the words that fell from the lips of his mother. What better passport through life and the gates of heaven could one wish ? She said: "Abe is a good boy. I can say of him what scarcely one mother in a thousand can say; he has never given me one cross word or look, and never has refused, in fact or appearance, to do any-thing I requested him. His mind and mine—what little I have —always seem to run together. He is a dutiful son to me al-ways. I think he loves me." Abe's associates were exceedingly fond of him and proud of his prowess. One of them swore up and down that he knew his friend could lift more, throw farther, run faster, jump higher, wrestle better than any man in the country, not to mention such little accomplishments as those of story telling, "figuring," and bting the "smartest" and "likeliest" lad in the region. Coupled wivh these qualities we must remember that he was by all ac-couats big, poorly clad, awkward and shy. It is obviously hard to choose a phase of Lincoln's young life which may be called with accuracy the final one of his boyhood. But w* now have seen what events came to pass in his earlier days tiyt went to make Abraham Lincoln, the statesman, the leader, aid the man. We can realize how rare was the humor, how beautiful the character, how marvelous the intellect, and how amazing fine the spirit with which the Almighty endowed this gaunt, ungainly youth. It lifts one to a higher sphere to think of thl Power that could, and does, infuse divinely wrought qualities into weak mortal clay and then use the vessel in the doing of immortal deeds. 18 THE MEBCUHY. THE USE OF BEER IN GERMANY. BY MRS. J. H. W. STUCKENBEUG. ECEATT experiences in Germany have directed scientific methods of investigation to the alcohol question, includ-ing the sale of beer. An abundance of German litera-ture, thorough, impartial, now affords information con-cerning the history, the development in the use of beer, and its relation to the health, the intelligence and the morals of Ger-man people. Modern invention and concentration of capital have produced such floods of beer, seeking purchase, as to arrest thoughtful attention, especially from the professional men brought into contact with masses of men; in particular, the phy-sicians in hospitals, asylums and prisons, and the medical inves-tigators in universities. The use of beer has a long history in Germany. Martin Lu-ther in his "Table Talk" execrates "the first man to brew Veer, as the pest of Germany," and says, "I have often implored God •to destroy the whole brewing business." But neither befoic Lu-ther's time nor since, has habitual beer drinking been universal ■among his countrymen. Even yet, despite its comparative cheap-ness and recent accessibility, the great body of the peasants and the city proletariat still find beer too dear for their coirmon con-sumption, and seek temporary exhilaration in varieties >i Brannt-wein (whiskey). An authority on this question, Ir. Wilhelm Bode, reports in the article on drunkenness in the Jncyclopedia of Political Science (Handbuch der Staat's Wisenschaften). that "survey of the comparative drink tables of European lands shows that Germany consumes more distilled liqu>rs per capita than even Bussia, so notorious in this respect." Luther complained in his commentary on th Hundred and First Psalm, "Tippling is an almighty idol amAg us Germans. . The outrageous daily injuries, all manner >f calamities cer-tainly ought to frighten us out of the habit." But whatever the tipple used in various parts and by various passes in Germany, the history of its use shows fluctuations in is extent and reign. Far more in the past than in the present hs it been true that the common people were not able to male habitual use of in- THE MEKCURY. 19 toxieating drinks, as has been shown by Prof. Ganle of Zurich University. It was only on rare festivals and holidays that op-portunity offered to become "drunk as a lord." Again I quote Prof. Konrad's "Encyclopedia of Political Science," to indicate-something of the changes within the centuries with reference to. drink manufacture and general drink opportunity. "At the close of the Middle Ages the brewing interests of North Germany were in a flourishing condition, and at that time- North and Central Germany were the beer drinking lands, while in South Germany beer played a very significant role. After-wards, brewing declined in North Germany and began to flourish in Bavaria. "It was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century that beer drinking began again to attain great dimensions in North Germany. The most recent phenomenon in this connection is the astonishing increase in the use of bottled beer since the in-vention of the well-known patent self-sealing bottles." With regard to changes in the varieties of beer usage, Berlin furnishes a case in point. For a considerable period previous to somewhat more than a quarter of a century ago the common so-cial beverage in Berlin was Weissbier (white beer), so mild in alcohol that it was customary to use huge .glasses resembling our grandmothers' high-stemmed preserve dishes. In ordering it, the flipptnt demand "eine kiihle Blonde" (a cool Blond). la -appearance it resembled our lemonade when clear, was slightly-acid, scarcely bitter, pleasant only to an acquired taste. I have-heard old Birliners regret general adoption of stronger varieties: of dark beer^ including at times the heaviest quality from Ba-varia. As a We Berliners depreciate the drinking of lager beer as too strong. \ Even the Berlin dailies began sounding an alarm when some ten years ago beer palace after beer palace was being-erected in the splendid Priedrichstrass. They exclaimed, "Wo will das hinaus?^ (What are we coming to?). Are we in AmeiW making a mistake not to insist on the man-ufacture of such pVe beer as that whose production is so care-fully guarded by g both heart and rea-son and is indispensable to every cultivaid being, for reading he has no time." Dr. Binz, professor in fte University of Bonn. says in a pamphlet on alcohol drinking: "This daily beer drink-ing for hours at a stretch customary amog great numbers of the / / THE MERCUKT 21 lower and middle classes in Germany, I regard it all as a national evil, whether considered from the hygienic, economic or intel-lectual point of view." Prof. Carl Hilty in his book on "Gluck" has written: "Brewers are probably the worst wasters of time in our country." Virchow, the celebrated medical professor of Ber-lin, demonstrated "that the stomach trouble and near-sightedness of our contemporaries are related to beer and tobacco, and that in this case as in so many others, the children must suffer for the sins of their fathers." E. von Hartmann, author of "The Phi-losophy of the Unconscious," says in his book "Das Judenthum:" "Although of all nations the German has the greatest capacity for culture, the general culture of its higher classes is undergo-ing frightful retrogression because the beer consumption of its student youth is affording neither time nor sobriety to acquire more than is demanded by the advanced requirements to prepare for their professional life." As to the truth concerning drunkenness in Germany, Dr. A. Baer, of Berlin, pronounced the best axithority on the German drink situation, reports that in 1885, 11,974 cases of delirium tremens were treated in the hospitals of Germany. Prof, voni Bunge calls attention to the fact that only the minor of such, cases are sent to the hospitals, and states that chronic drunken-, ness antl delerium tremens are increasing there at a frightful' rate. Di. von Birch-Hirschfeld, professor in the university at. Leipsic, s*id in a lecture: "Based upon the anatomical and pa-thological experiences, I have come to the conclusion that in Leipsic, as in other large cities, a very great proportion of our laboring men, perhaps one-half of our male population twenty-five years old and upward, manifest more or less organic injury resulting from the use of alcohol Without exception they show a decrease in the number of tissue cells with a correspond-ing loss in power and endurance." In a temperance address to., students Prof. Forel expressed himself as follows: "This I can affirm, that in Germany, Switzerland, and Aus-tria, yes, and in France, a large part of the intellectual power off our academic youth is actually drowned in beer, wine and aibsih>- the. The ridiculous drink compulsion and idiotic vainglory at the drinking festivals German students have introduced, are un-doubtedly the most hideous deformity of our civilized century^ 22 THE MEBCUBY. At the same time they are a revelation of the mental deficiency than which they could hardly have invented one more silly. Students often poke fun at the Paris fashions in the woman-world; I also am heartily opposed to their unesthetic uniform aping of one another, according to change of season, which, by the way, has this in common with the drink custom: it puts money into the purse of a few speculators. But how much more stupid and unesthetic the students' drinking fashion! They call it jovial. Yes, a pretty joviality with its accompaniment of palsied tongues, staggering, fighting, vomiting, and the 'Kat-zenjammer', in which the most collosal imbecility is applauded and the most vulgar beastliness arjd misdemeanors are excused and glossed over. "Gentlemen, I believe there is only one way to work out of our academic degradation, by organizing total-abstinence societies among the students. How superbly organizations abstaining from all intoxicants could occupy themselves with the cultivation of the beautiful and the good, with what produces real courage and physical force; turners' societies, musical societies, botli vocal and instrumental, art associations, literary, dramatic, scientific societies, boating clubs, the cultivation of social science outside the realm of political party folly, furthering enlightenment among the people, etc. However, gentlemen, don't forget that the means is not the end. Don't let us make an idol of total-abstinence, a mere substitute for the drinking places, letting the mind run to waste. It should only serve as one of fhe means for extricating ourselves from this degradation and for attaining higher ideals. For that reason a student's' total abstinence so-ciety ought to engage in all departments of intellectual endeavor with great zeal, ambition and energy, in order to win as members not merely a few visionaries but all the studerts of the most in-tellectual promise. We do not want to becone gloomy ascetics. but joyous, active beings We do not wan: to repress natural. healthful impiilses and enjoyments, but to leep them within the bounds of the moral development of huma-iity which necessarily conform to the requirements of hygiene, aid to subordinate them to higher ethical and esthetic aims, the orly sort that affords life., real permanent joy." Recently the Accident Insurance Department of the South THE MERCURY. 23 Austrian Government published and distributed 100,000 copies of a pamphlet entitled "Weg mit dem Alkohol" (Away with Al-cohol). It is an able treatment of the subject of German drink-ing and contains a statement that "in Munich every sixteenth man dies of 'Beer Heart.'" It proceeds to relate that this esti-mate founded on revelations in the dissecting room, does not in-clude the deaths from other diseases, those of the liver, walls of the bloodvessels, etc., induced by the use of beer. An eminent Munich physician, Prof. Bollinger, has given it as his opinion that for one man in every seven in that city, death is caused by the use of beer. As is well known, Munich is pre-eminently the German beer city. "Wo will das hinaus?" WILLIAM McKINLEY. C. MCLEAN DAVIS, '11. [HEIST confronted by the life of William McKinley, and awed by the strength of his character and personality into affectionate esteem, we hear within us a still, small voice asking: "Whence the power of this man ?" Then follow the course of his life. Go to the smoke-reeking, flame-flashing sections of Ohio, where every town has its iron foundry and smelting furnace, and there in a soot-covered town filled with the roar of the furnace and the clangor of the foundry, darkened by day with clouds of smoke and lighted by night by flaring flames, single out a little school urchin distinguished only by a somewhat more studious mein than is ordinary in boys of his age. Follow him day in and day out as he studies in school, mastering every detail, and as he plays with his companions enjoying everj'thing thoroughly. When he enters the academy observe in him the same studious habits; and as postal clerk later the same clear-sighted, honest discharge of duty back of which is an unquenchable ambition to get fur-ther education. But here, stop ! Listen! To his ears comes the clear call of his country, and though a mere boy of seventeen he throws all 24 THE MEKCDKY. youthful aspirations aside and dedicates his life to the cause of freedom. • Need we follow him into the battle? Need we watch him as alone he rides in the face of the enemy to carry a message to a regiment that otherwise would have perished? Need we ob-serve that like the Father of his Country his horse was shot out from under him and he himself escaped unscathed? Is it not sufficient to say that he entered the army as a private and in four years was advanced to the office of major ? And what higher tribute can we pay to him than to say that his life purpose was so strong that at the end of the war he was able to refuse the offer of a permanent position in the regular army with all its promises of glory and achievement, and go back to his study of the law? His habits of concentration and mas-tery of details now told, we find him soon beginning the practice of law, and soon after the possessor of a wide reputation for eloquence and success. His natural interest in questions of government policy and x'hief of all in the tariff question now led him into politics. It -would be a long but interesting matter to follow his public career. He was first honored by the office of county prosecuting attorney. Then followed fifteen years in Congress in which he won for him-self recognition as an able and interesting tariff debater. He was taken from Congress to serve his state as governor for two terms; and quickly after this came the honor and office twice be-stowed upon him by his country, the office of its Chief Executive. Without the aid of political machines and questionable re-sources, he had risen round after round on the ladder of Ameri-can esteem and popularity, and though at first misunderstood and bitterly attacked by the people, his own name being used as a means of reproach, he maintained his policy because he knew it was right. His eloquence was the means of converting the people to his cause, but back of that eloquence was the spirit of the man, the burning zeal for the welfare of his country and countrymen that flashed forth in soul-searching flames which struck into the heart of eveiyone who heard him and fired them with his own enthusiasm for God, his country, and his fellow-men. But not eloquence alone could have secured him his glorious attainment. There was about him an air of quiet, approachable THE MERCURY. 25 dignity which attracted the masses and won their confidence and friendship. To see him was to create in one the feeling of hav-ing known him for years, and still of his being one who was su-perior to all other men, wiser, kinder, nobler and more congenial. He was pre-eminently an American among Americans, a. trust-worthy recipient of the heritage which Liberty here alone can grant. But to pass by his private life would be to miss the key to his public success, and the most beautiful side of his character. Wil-liam McKinley will always be present in the minds of the Ameri-can people as a devoted husband and true friend. His love for his wife was more intense, stronger, nobler, and more affectionate than that which only too often the honeymoon outlasts. They were united in bonds so strong that together they bore the over-whelming sorrows of bereavement, sickness and misfortune, and yielded submissively to the nation's call to duty though it meant much personal sacrifice. His mother, too, came in for a large share of his care and at-tention. In boyhood she had nurtured him and had given him his training, and all through his life she remained his gentle ad-viser. Though proud of her son and made happy by his achieve-ments, she always mixed with her commendation "a wee bit of admonition due," which was always received with filial affection. Moreover, William McKinley formed friendships which naught but death could rend asunder. He denied self, forfeited both his own and his wife's entire fortune, and frustrated the first attempt to nominate him for the presidency because of his loyal devotion to his friends whom he had pledged himself to support. Nothing seemed nobler to him than to be true to his friend. His life was the living of the motto: "To God, thy country, and thy friends, be true." Is it a matter of astonishment then that the sudden loss of this man caused such deep mourning throughout the land? As his body was borne through the country on its way to its last rest-ing place, millions of heads were bared and bowed, and the hearts of the people uttered their anguish in solemn silence. Millions filed past the bier to obtain one last look at the fea-tures of their tried and true friend. Statesmen whose faces were-rigid and cold as steel were moved to tears by this bereavement. 26 THE MERCURY. Soldiers who had seen the terrors of many battles and had wit-nessed many men die tragic deaths without flinching, stopped here and wept. Here was a nation's grief and well did the na-tion express it. The funeral services were almost ended. Softly the strains of "Nearer, My God, to Thee," rose upon the air. Slowly the fu-neral car proceeded through a parted sea of humanity. The bands played the funeral march and minute guns were fired from the heights of Westlawn cemetery as the solemn column approached the grave. The way was strewn with sweet peas and the mausoleum was a bower of roses. When the casket reached its resting place a salute was fired by the artillery. After the burial services were concluded, eight buglers of the G. A. E. sounded "Taps," and as the last notes still lingered in the air the mourners filed slowly homeward. At the same time throughout the country not a wheel moved. The nation stopped its work to honor the dead. Memorial pa-rades halted for five minutes. Street cars were stopped and motormen and conductors stood with bowed heads; railroad trains in their mad race across the continent ceased to move; telegraph instruments ceased their ticking; telephone bells si-lenced their ringing; business houses were closed and profound silence prevailed, only broken by the strains of "Nearer, My God. to Thee," which filled the churches of the land. Thus it was that amid weeping and regret the nation honored her dead. "Such was he, our Martyr—Chief, Whom late the nation he had led, With ashes on her head, Wept with the passion of an angry grief: Forgive me; if from present things I turn To speak what in my heart will beat and burn, And hang my wreath on his world-honored urn. How beautiful to see Once more a shepherd of mankind indeed, Who loved his charge but never loved to lead; His was no lonely mountain peak of mind,. Thrusting to thin air o'er our cloudy bars, A sea-mark now, now lost in vapors blind; THE MERCURY. 27 Broad prairie rather, genial, level lined, Fruitful and friendly for all human kind, Yet also nigh to heaven and loved of loftiest stars. Great captains with their guns and drums, Disturb our judgment for the hour, But at last silence comes; These all are gone, and, standing like a tower. Our children shall behold his fame, The kindly-earnest, brave farseeing man, Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame, New birth of our new soil, the true American." I H E HERCU RV Entered at. the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class Mailer. VOL. XVI GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1909 No. 8 Editor in-Chief P. F. BLOOMHARDT, '09 Exchange Editor H. REY WOLF, '09 Business Manager CHARLES L. KOPP, '09 Ass't Bus. Managers G. C. KNIPPLB, '10 PAUL B. MILLER, '10 Assistant Editor CHARLES F. V. HESSE, '09 Associate Editors SAMUEL FAUSOLD, '10 EDWARD N. FRYE, '10 Advisory Board PROP. C. F. SANDERS, A. M. PROF. P. M. BIKLE, PH.D. PROF. C. J. GRIMM, PH. D. Published each month, from October to June inclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, one dollar a year in advance ; single copies 15 cents. Notice to discontinue sending THE MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Professors and Alumni are cordially invited to contri-bute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIALS. The four years of FAREWELL,. a man>s Ufe which are spent at college are, perhaps, the most enjoyable that he will experience. In them he develops from the boy into man-hood. He enters college with a boy's thoughts and ideas which are usually immature and lack-ing in wholesome judgment. By the Senior year discretion, wider and broader knowledge, experience among men should be his. THE MERCURY. 29 He should be able to decide better and more quickly, questions of thought and action. Perhaps at no other period of his life will he be able to notice so plainly this evident growth and de-velopment. He is easily able to realize the difference in his personal being between his first and last years, and feels himself a broader and bigger man although realizing that he is yet far from being experienced in the broader paths of the active world. With this issue the present staff concludes its official rela-tion with the MERCURY. It is with a mingled feeling of pleas-ure and sorrow that we lay down the editorial pen for others to assume. It has been the occasion of much labor and thought on the part of those who have had it in charge, but we have come to learn more fully that we care most for those things in life upon which we have bestowed the most care and effort. One year ago we felt our inexperience keenly when we first viewed our new duties and frequently throughout the year it has been very evi-dent. Many mistakes have been made but we can only claim indulgence through the fact that we tried to do our best. We feel thankful, however, for the opportunity for personal develop-ment which such relation to the MERCURY has afforded us, and hope that our successors will profit as much by the responsibili-ties incurred. We also wish to extend our heartiest thanks to all who have assisted in its publication, whether financially, or in contributions for its pages. A special word of thanks is due Dr. Bloomhardt for his continual interest in its success and the prizes amounting to twenty dollars which he has so kindly de-voted to the welfare of this paper. We hope that the winners can be announced in the near future. Often, when weary of the routine of college duties, it delights and edifies one to spend a little time in the college reading room, especially if that reading room be well conducted. Not onty this, for there are educational advantages which only a general reading room can afford the student who would do research work in his chosen department. These advantages are absolutely necessary, if we wish to be properly informed as to modern, ad-vances in art and science. Surely no one can fail to agree that this is true. 30 THE JIEECUKY. It is greatly to be deplored that we do not have the desired fa-cilities in this department. We can not attribute this need to the so-called conservative spirit. But, to say the least,, it must be due to gross indifference, and, to excuse this, we can only state that those who have the authority -tp act are not conveni-ently located for the purpose of directing^ A committee consisting of three members of the faculty was appointed to advise; but, this only conferred nominal authority, and tends to keep both the committee and others who are inter-ested from even suggesting improvements. This is the condi-tion of affairs that has hindered the much needed improvements. The management of funds has been sadly neglected. Two cus-todians receive pay for doing almost nothing, or for merely throwing out old newspapers. The rooms are dirty and improp-erly located, and the literature is merely such as many of the students subscribe for, or can read in the fraternity houses. These facts can not be hidden, nor do we wish to do so. The fee required from each man who lives in the dormitories together with that which should be paid by those living elsewhere, and who make free to appropriate all privileges, would be sufficient to maintain a large and well supplied room. As has been said, we need more professional periodicals, and, of course, these should be kept in the college library and bound at the end of each year. As it is they are lost or completely destroyed before many of the students can find an opportunity to use them. The daily news could be read in the same old loafing place, if it seems best. There are other and more grevious facts that could be men-tioned in this connection, but that is not our purpose. We have been compelled to recognize the fact that some change must be made, and we wish to express the hope that at an early date we may find our magazines increased in number and better cared for. We are sure that this can be done without increasing ex-penses. There is no reason why Gettysburg should not have an excellent reading room, or at least the best possible for the amount of money expended. THE MERCURY. 31 BOOK REVIEWS. ESPER, by Hamlin Garland, Philo, 11:7. The scene of action is in the western part of the United States among the mountains. The title of the story is the fanciful name given to the mountains of this region by Philip Bupert, the father of the boy who figures rather actively in the plot. The book serves to show the warm and animated spirit in contrast with the cold and formal; how the unresponding nature of a young woman is changed to the impulsive as the real mean-ing of life is revealed to her by the strong, manly character of Eobert Eaymond. The plot though somewhat complex, centers about these persons with the climax coming near the end. The characters used in this novel are life-like excepting that they may be somewhat overdrawn. They are of all classes of society but are treated in such a way that there is no confusion. The coarser elements form the background while the leading parts are-played by persons of a higher character. In this story there is-more interest in the characters than in the plot. In the narra-tion the author proceeds directly from one scene of action to-another, omitting all uninteresting details. There is no lagging. The style is clear, animated, well balanced and in no place is it confused or obscure. The language is pure and simple with as-little of the colloquial as possible. The author reveals his ani-mosity for colloquialism by making some of his characters cor-rect the speech of others. He evidently has a high ideal of life. He is earnest, broadminded, cheerful, and a lover of mankind, coupled with a keen appreciation of the beauty of nature. After reading the book, one will feel that it was time well spent. He will get some thoughts and inspirations from it that will be a benefit to him in his daily life. 32 THE MEhCUKY. EXCHANGES. |ITH this issue the present staff retire to give place for others. The work during the year has been very pleas-ant and it is with some reluctance that we take our farewell. In reviewing the year's contributions from a literary standpoint, we may say that while the usual amount of fiction and stories whose fundamental purpose is entertain-ment rather than mental development, have appeared, yet there has been a goodly number of contributions of a higher literary character. So then, let us not be in despair, but console our-selves with the thought that there are at least a few who are di-recting their energies along literary lines, striving after the tilings that are worth while, and which will ultimately make them more efficient servants in their respective spheres of life. In the December issue of the "Augustana Observer" we find an excellent article on "Othello," one of Shakespeare's tragedies. The author gives a very detailed account of the tragedy and fur-nishes a few diagrams showing the introduction, rising action climax, etc., of the tragedy. In the same magazine we have an account of "Grendel," the hero of the English epic Beowulf. Biography brings to our attention our great men and their deeds. The "Western Maryland College Monthly" gives three short character sketches. The first entitled "Lincoln as a States-man," shows Lincoln as he was in public life. "Darwin, the Scientist," and "England's Great Commoner," referring to Glad-stone, call our attention to two men of renown. It seems that the novel as a form of literature has come to stay. "Winston Churchill as a Portrayer of American Life and Character," is discussed in the "College Student." The author speaks of the political novel and cites "David Copperfield," "The Newcomers," "Bavenshoe" and "Adam Bede," as examples. He states further that "Mr. Crewe's Career," by Churchill, is prob-ably "the best specimen of the political novel written in our country." The plot and characters are then commented upon and intelligently discussed. "The Dangers of Freedom" is also worthy of perusal. We gratefully acknowledge the usual exchanges. PATRONIZE OCR ADVERTISERS. . GdlEGE M There's no pen that gives such all-round satisfaction i Conklin's Self-Filling Fountain Pen. It's the best pen for College Men. When an ordinary fountain pen runs dry in the middle of a word, it means you've got to stop right there, hunt up a rubber squirt gun, fill your pen to overflowing, clean both pen and dropper, wash your hands, and then endeavor as best you can to collect your lost Crescent If train of thought. It's different with Fill "¥ TftJ9© SELF-LJjIi\ \3 FILLING i "THE PEN WITH THE CRESCENT-FILLER" To fill, just dip it in any ink, press the Crescent-Filler, and the Conklin is filled and ready to write instantly. You can't over-fill it Hence no inky fingers, no loss of time, no ruffled temper. The feed of the Conklin is perfect. No waiting for ink to come—no jerking—no slips, balks or blots. Leading dealers handle the Conklin. H yours does not, order direct.' Look for the Crescent-Filler and refuse substitutes. Prices, $3.00 and up. Send at once (or handsome new catalog. THE CONKLIN PEN CO. 31 Manhattan Building, Toledo, Ohio. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. FU^NTTU^E Mattresses, Bed Springs, Iron Beds, Picture Frames, Eepair Work done promptly. Under-taking a specialty. - Telephone No. 97. ZEE. B- IBend.ex, 37 Balllmort St., ettttytbnrg, fn EDGAR C. TAWNEY BAKER West Middle Street. J. B. WINEMAN, DEALER IN CHOICE FAMILY GROCERIES, PROVISIONS AND FRUITS, BOARDING CLUBS A SPECIALTY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON HELPS AND SUPPLIES, P. ANSTADT & SONS, Publishers, Book and Job Printing of all Kinds ttrUe for Prices. YORK, PA . PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. EMIL ZOTHE COLI^EMS ENGRAVER, DESIGNER, AND MANUFACTURING JEWELER 722 Chestnut St., Fhila. SPECIALTIES : MASONIC MARKS, SOCIETY BADGES, COLLEGE BUTTONS, PINS, SCARF PINS, STICK PINS AND ATHLETIC PRIZES. All Goods trdered through G. F. Kiefler, CHARLES S. MUMRER. DEALBR IJV TSPTTT3 *M"n*TTT3 TT1 PICTURE FRAMES OF ALL SORTS * W ***N * * W £*\,+*&9 REPAIR WORK DONE PROMPTLY I WILL ALSO BUY OR EXCHANGE ANY SECOND-HAND FURNITURE NO. 4 CHAMBERSBURG STREET, GETTYSBURG, PA D. J. SWARTZ DEALER IN COUNTRY PRODUCE, GROCERIES, CIGARS AND TOBACCO. OEITXSHURO. NHOEs KE^AIKEI) —BY— j. H-i3akep. 115 Baltimore St., near Court House. GOOD WORK GUARANTEED. —TS— j. i y\uy[iPKf\ Your Photographer ? If not, why not? 41 BALTIMORE ST., GETTYSBURG, PA. 8EFT0N 5 FLEMING'S LIYERY~ Baltimore Street, First Square, Gettysburg,,Pa. Competent Guides for all parts of the Battlefield. Arrange-ments by telegram or letter. Lock Box 257. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. W. T. BRUBAKER, Manager. Midway between Broad St. Station and Reading Terminal on Filbert St. A convenient and homelike place to stay while in the city shopping. An excellent restaurant where good service combines with low prices. ROOMS $1.00 PER DAY AND UP. The only moderate priced hotel of reputation and consequence in 3?Ib.ila,d.elp±iiei THE . . . . OF YORK . . Offers the COLLEGE STUDENTS first-class work at Special Low Prices. E. C. STOUFFER, Local Agt. C. D. SMITH, Prop. COMPILER IMPRINT ON JOB WORK MEANS TASTY WOEK CAEEFULLY DONE. MENU CARDS. LETTER HEADS, WINDOW POSTERS ENVELOPES, f'ANCE CARDS TICKETS, Programs of all kinds. Everything the College Man wants in Paper and Ink. Specially designed work. Latest Effects in Paper, done in Colors along lines of College Men's Associations. Catalog and Book work. The Gettysburg Compiler will keep old and new students in touch with town and college life.

YOL. XII FEBRUARY, - 1904 NO. 8 The Gettysburg GETTYSBURG COLLEGE GETTYSBURG, PA. N. C. BAR8EHENN, BETTY6BUR0 3 Q. 'TE I1I I: PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. £«*«-*m-m+««4 fl|. \ te\ttt Latest Styles in HATS, SHOES AND GENT'S FURNISHING .Our specialty. WALK-OVER SHOE M. K. ECKERT Prices always right The Lutheran puMigging pouge. No. 1424 Arch Street PHILADELPHIA, PA. Acknowledged Headquarters for anything and everything in the way of Books for Churches, Col-leges, Families and Schools, and literature for Sunday Schools. PLEASE REMEMBER That by sending your orders to us you help build up and devel-op one of the church institutions with pecuniary advantage to yourself. Address H. S. BONER, Supt. WE RECOMMEND THESE FIRMS. The Pleased Customer is not a stranger in our estab-lishment— he's right at home, you'll see him when you call. We have the materials to please fastidious men. J. D. LIPPY, iXIsi'crlna.n.t Tailor, 29 Chambersburg Street, GETTYSBURG, PA. CITY HOTEL, Main Street, - Gettysburg, Pa. Free 'Bus to an from all trains. Thirty seconds' walk from either depot. Dinner with drive over field with four or more, $1.35. Rates, $1.50 to $2.00 per Day. Livery connected. Rubber-tire buggies a specialty. John E. Hughes, Prop. TflF PHOTOGRAPHER. Now in new Studio 20 and 22 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, Pa. One of the finest modern lights in the country. C. E. Bcrbehenn THE EAGLE HOTEL Corner Main and Washington Sts. Dracj Stove, 36 Baltimore St. HOT AND COLD SODA AND CAMERA SUPPLIES £ PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTIZERS. It "We al-wrays nave the sea-sons novelties, besides a. complete line o£ staples at prices to tempt you. SPECIAL CARE TAKEN TO MAKE WORK STYLISH AND EXACTLY TO YOUR ORDER. Olill Ol. Seligman, T«IIO*, 7 Chambefsbupg St., Gettysburg, Pa. R. A. WONDERS Corner Cigar Parlors. A fun line of Cigars, Tobacco, Pipes, etc. Scott's Corner, opp. Eagle Hotel GETTYSBURG, PA. Pool Parlors in Connection. D. J. Swartz ■ Country Produce Deal% Groceries Cigars and Tobacco GETTYSBURG. Established 1887 by Allen Walton. Allen K. Walton, Pros, and Treas. Robt. J. Walton, Superintendent. HDimqelstown BFOWU Ston jaiDjaiij, and Manufacturers of BUILDING STONE, SAWED FLAGGING, and TILE, fALTONVILLE, ESS PENNA. Contractors for all kinds of cut stone work. Telegraph and Express Address, BROWNSTONE, PA. Parties visiting Quarries will leave cars at Brownstone Station, on the P. & R. R.R. FAVOR THOSE WHO FAVOR US. E. C. TAWNEY Is ready to furnish Clubs and Boarding Houses with . . . . Bread,Rolls,Cakes,Pretzels,etc At short notice and reason-able rates. 103 West Middle St., Gettysburg Shoes Repaired J. H- BAKES, 115 Baltimore St. near Court House. Good Work Guaranteed. J. W. BUMBAUGH'S City Cafe and Dining Room Meals and lunches served at short notice. Fresh pies and sandwiches always on hand. Oysters furnished all year. 53 Chambersburg St -C^ -C^ -^ JC^ _C* _C^ -f^ _C> ^. rs fv !-•-? U-PI-DEE. A new Co-ed has alighted in town, U-pl-dee, U-pi-da I In an up-to-datest tailor-made g-own.U-pi-de-i-da The boys are wild, and prex is, too, N You never saw such a hulla-ba-loo. CHORUS. — U-pi-dee-i-dee-i-da I etc. Her voice is clear as a soaring lark's. And her wit is like those trolley-car sparks ! When 'cross a muddy street she flits, The boys all have conniption fits 1 The turn of her head turns all ours, too. There's always a strife to sit in her pew; 'Tis enough to make a parson drunk, To hear her sing old co-ca-che-lunk ! The above, and three other NEW verses to U-PI-DEH mm m mm m m JJPO and NEW WORDS, catchy, up-to-date, to ill It 0.tl,18rs "' *e popular OLD FAMILIAR TUNES; l)e'- 5i?Tj s s OLD FAVORITES ; and also many NEW SONGS. jTJt SONGS OF ALL THE COLLEGES. E7ji Copyright, Price, $r.SO, postpaid. 13*1. 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You will find a full line of Pure Drugs and Fine Stationery at the People's Drug Stoie Prescriptions a specialty. * f THE GETTYSBURG JIERGDRY The Literary Journal of Gettysburg College Vol. XII. GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1904 No. 8 CONTENTS THE BEACON, 232 CHAS. W. WEISER, '01. THE PRESENT MOVEMENT TOWARD PROTECTION IN ENGLAND, 233 FRANK LAYMAN, '04 TALES OF A BACHELORS' CLUB—NO. 1, 238 JAMES GARFIELD DILLER, '04. THE NEED OF RENEWED INTEREST IN THELITER-ARY SOCIETIES OF OUR COLLEGE^ . . . 249 CONVERSATION AS AN ART 254 HARRIET A. MCGILL, '06. EDITORIALS, 256 EXCHANGES, ' . . 260 232 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY THE BEACON. CHARI,ES \V. WEISER, 'OI. *AR across trie wooded valley, Miles and miles across the plain, On a distant hill top gleaming Thro' the mist and drizzling rain, A beacon light is glaring, Dancing, leaping, spluttering, flaring As it catches at new fagots, Licks and laps the heap of pine Built far out upon the coast line, Where the land meets foamy brine, Warning signal to the vessels, Rocked upon the stormy sea, Of the rocks and shoals that threaten As they're drifting to'_the lea. And the night comes down upon it, Folding close her sable wings ; Darkness reigns, save for the flaring Of the beacon as it flings Its ruddy light in warning Thro' the stormy night till morning. Heaped up by silent figures Silhouetted on the flame, As they wander round the beacon Heaping up the burning flame. And the night rolls on terrific, Loudly still the tempests roar, Wierd and mystic sounds and sights Flit along the storm-beat shore. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 233 THE PRESENT MOVEMENT TOWARD PROTEC-TION IN ENGLAND. FRANK LAYMAN, '04. THE one live question in English politics today is that of tariff. For many years, while the United States and the nations of continental Europe have been hedging them-selves about with high protective tariffs, free trade has been the guiding principle in England's tariff legislation. This unique position of England is easily explained. For some reasons, and among them her great natural advantages in the immense deposits of coal and iron, England has become a great manu-facturing nation, and so it has been to her advantage* to get foodstuffs and raw materials free of duty, while no prohibitory tariff was needed on articles which she herself manufactures be-cause of her own advantages in their manufacture. In the world's division of labor, manufacturing has become her work and she has thought it unwise to increase, by import duties, the price of the food required while doing that work. There have not been lacking, however, efforts to establish a protective tariff, especially on grain. Of this nature were the so-called Corn Laws, passed in 1815 and repealed after long and bitter discussion in 1846. Then free trade held the field with-out interruption until the time of the Registration Act, passed in 1902 and repealed in 1903. The present movement for pro-tection, started by Mr. Chamberlain, is like the others in that a tax on grain is proposed, but it differs from them very ma-terially in the means proposed and the ends aimed at. What is Mr. Chamberlain's plan ? For the most part he has discussed it in rather vague and general terms, but on one oc-casion at least, speaking more specifically, he said that he does not advocate a tax on raw materials such as wool and cotton, but that his scheme included a tax of six cents a bushel on wheat and a five per cent duty on meat coming from the United States and other foreign countries, while the same arti-cles from the British colonies would be admitted free; also a 234 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. tax of ten per cent on manufactured articles and a reduction of the present duty on tea, coffee, sugar and cocoa. For this favored treatment of colonial goods a similar differential for the products of the English factories is expected in the colonial markets. According to Mr. Chamberlain, three good results will follow the adoption of this scheme. They are: (i) the encourage-ment of the agricultural and meat-producing industries of the colonies ; (2) the advancement of the manufacturing interests of England due particularly to favorable markets in the colon-ies; (3) the consolidation of the Empire by binding the colon-ies to the mother country by ties of self-interest. Let us ex-amine each of these separately and try to determine whether these results may reasonably be expected. The agricultural and meat-producing interests of the colonies will be encouraged without a doubt. The case of American and Canadian wheat will illustrate. The English people will pay just the same for their bread, whether it is made of wheat coming from the United States or from Canada, but the importer of wheat can and will offer just six cents more for Canadian than American wheat because of the six-cent tax that he must pay on the latter. This difference in price will encourage Ca-nadian farmers to the same extent to which it will discourage American farmers, and, as ordinarily happens in such cases, the higher price will greatly stimulate the production of Canadian wheat. The cost of transportation from the two countries is about equal, but the result will be the same wherever the cost of transportation from a colony does not exceed that of trans-portation from the United States or from other foreign countries by as much as six cents. This would include all or nearly all the colonies. On the second point, the advancement of England's manu-facturing interests, the scheme will fail for several reasons. In the first place, the cost of food for the English laborer will be increased almost in the same proportion in which colonial agri-culture is benefited. If,- as seems likely, the importer of wheat will offer six cents less for wheat from the United States and THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 335 other foreign countries, then, until agriculture in the colonies is further developed, the supply of wheat in the English market will be considerably reduced. The supply being lower, the price will necessarily be higher. It may be argued, however, that within a few years the stimulated production of the colonies will fur-nish such a supply that the price will be greatly lowered. This seems plausible upon the face of it, but certainly it is not reason-able to suppose that the price will thus become as low as it would if this colonial wheat had to compete in a free market with the wheat of the rest of the world. The same will be true of other food products affected by the tariff. That the price of bread and meat would thus be raised by the tariff is one of the disputed points in the debate now going on in England, but it was virtually admitted by Mr. Chamberlain himself, when, in answer to the cry that he would raise the cost of food for the people, he proposed a reduction of the duties on tea, coffee, sugar and cocoa as a compromise measure. It is hard to see, however, how a reduction of duties on these few luxuries can lower the total cost of living as much as a high tariffon the chief necessaries of life would tend to raise it. If the cost of food for the English laborer is thus increased, then, as Prof. Maxey, of the University of W. Va., points out, one of two results will follow—an increase of wages or a lower standard of living. As wages are determined by the demand for labor/and as no greater demand would necessarily be created, there is no reason to suppose that wages would be raised. A lower standard of living would injure the manufacturer in two ways— it would decrease the efficiency of his workmen and lessen the demand for manufactured goods. Now, the English manufac-turer is not prepared to sustain either of these injuries, especi-ally not the first. An impairment of the efficiency of the laborer would mean increased cost of production, and England is already meeting with such keen competition that this might suffice to shut her out of the market altogether. But further than this, the colonial markets would not offer the advantages to English goods that are hoped for. The pro-tectionist sentiment is growing in the great colonies, like Can- 236 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. ada and Australia. They are anxious for the" development of their agricultural interests, but they are not willing to have their manufactures ruined. They would be perfectly willing to-grant a differential in favor of England provided that the mini-mum tariff still be high enough to protect their own industries. But of what advantage would such a differential tariff be to England ? How would it benefit her, if, while the products of other countries are shut out of the colonial market, her own are shut out, though by a somewhat lower tariff? That this would be the case has already been proven by the working of a differ-ential in Canada for a number of years. This gave an advan-tage of thirty-three and one-third per cent to English products,, and yet during the time it was in operation, British exports, be-ing mostly manufactured articles, increased less than thirty per cent, while American and French exports in the same markets increased one hundred per cent. It must be granted, however, that if the smaller colonies,, which now have free trade, would change their policy and tax all imports except those coming from England, and if the smaller protectionist colonies would allow the articles now on the free list to come in free only when coming from England, English goods would acquire considerable advantages in these markets. But these are rather unimportant when compared with the great markets where no advantages would be gained. This slight advantage, however, would be more than off-set by a loss in another direction. Only a small fraction of England's exports now go, and for many years will go, to the colonies. The great bulk goes to foreign countries, where, as a free trade nation, she enjoys minimum tariff rates. When once she adopts a protective tariff this favored treatment can no longer be given her and a large part of her manufactures will be threatened with ruin. All in all, then, this tariff scheme would not only not benefit, but more likely would greatly injure, English manufactures. As to the third result aimed at, the consolidation of the Em-pire, many think that the scheme would work the contrary effect. To carry it out would be a tremendous problem. To THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 237 arrange a system of tariff duties that would be satisfactory to the United Kingdom and all the colonies would be too much for the intellect of any statesman of this generation. Exports to the various colonies differ both in quantity and kind; like-wise the imports from the colonies. Then, too, both imports and exports vary in these respects from year to year. For these reasons it would be impossible to hit upon a scheme satisfactory to all. There would be a constant fear and distrust lest one colony should be accorded more favorable treatment than another. Instead of harmony, discord would result; instead of consolidation, a tendency to disintegration. THE PI.AN OF SALVATION. O how unlike the complex works of man, Heaven's eazy, artless, unencumbered plan ! No meretricious graces to beguile, No clustering ornaments to clog the pile ; From ostentation, as from weakness, free, It stands like the cerulean arch we see, Majestic in its own simplicity. Inscribed above the portal, from afar Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, Legible only by the light they give Stand the soul-quickening words—Believe, and live. Too many, shock'd at what should charm them most, Despise the plain direction and are lost. WlLUAM COWPER. 2j8 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. TALES OF A BACHELORS' CLUB—NO. i. JAMES GARFIBI.D DIIAER, '04. THE great metropolis was struggling in the grasp of a mid-winter storm. Up and down the broad avenues and narrower thoroughfares the icy winds howled and blustered, the intermittent gusts catching up the harsh, granular snow and depositing it again in miniature drifts in the area-ways ot the larger buildings ; or, by its great velocity, creating a vacuum between the tall structures which sucked up the snow in swirl-ing cloud-masses and enveloped the chimneys in mantles of glistening white. The storm king was abroad in state, attended by a numberless array of his spotlessly livened retinue. A clock, in the tower of a building on one of the most fashionable thoroughfares of the city, was just announcing the hour of midnight, the strokes of the bell sounding alternately clear and distinct, and again muffled and far away, varying with the fluctuations of the storm. The street was almost deserted —only an occasional, belated pedestrian hurrying homeward, or some habitual night prowler stealing to an appointment at an uncertain rendezvous. As the night wore on, the storm abated and the subsiding wind left the air clear of snow. The electric lamps along the avenue shone forth again with an enhanced brilliancy, illumina-ting the dark corners with their ghostly glare, and revealing fan-tastic shapes of snow where the wind, cavorting with a too pretentious drift, had left evidence of his passage in the most erratic grotesquerie. Athwart the silence which succeeded the tumult of the ele-ments, the neighboring clock-tower chimed the hour of two and the last reverberation had scarcely died away when a little gust of wind, which seemed to have lost its way in the wake of the storm, hurried round the corner of an intersecting street and seemed to carry with it, in the midst of a flurry of snow, the muffled figure of a man. It was evidently no uncommon thing for this lone pedestrian THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 239 to be abroad at this hour, for he seemed to pursue his way-somewhat leisurely, as if well acquainted with the locality. He floundered along through the snow which now covered the side-walks to the depth of some inches, and seemed to main-tain his equilibrium fairly well, albeit he collided with a post or tree now and then, and once, when his silk hat blew off and wheeled its way to the middle of the street, he recovered it with an unsteady grasp which betrayed an evening spent in convivial enjoyment. When about halfway down the square he began to look up-ward as he passed along, scanning the handsome buildings for some distinctive architectural feature by which to recognize the one which was evidently his destination. Suddenly he paused, walked to the curb, and hesitated a moment, standing in the patch of rose-colored light which a large electric chandelier of stained glass and Venetian iron-work, hanging in the vestibule of the building, threw upon the side-walk. As he stands there undecided in his inebriated condition, whether or not he has found the right place, let us survey with him the exterior of the structure. It was the most impos-ing edifice on the whole avenue and was constructed almost entirely ot elaborately carved brownstone. The windows were of the triple style—a broad, square pane of heavy plate, with a narrower one on either side, surrounded by irregular, yet artistic, patches of vari-colored and heavily leaded glass, with miniature pilasters of carved brownstone intervening, the whole surmounted by a capping of heads of satyrs among twining vines in the form of those long, flat curves which in modern architecture give such a graceful and substantial effect. In the spaces between the windows, niches were let into the walls to accommodate statues—graceful figures, whose well defined out-lines and elegant curves caused one to forget that they were produced by the magic chisel, from the same hard, cold material as the rest of the building. At either end of the cornice a Cerberus head scowled, as if just emerging from its lofty lair, while just below a frieze of dancing nymphs completed the ex-terior of the modern palace, at which both the artist and the 240 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. craftsman might well gaze with self-satisfied pleasure, and each shake the other's hand in mutual congratulation. However, lest a too lengthy description of the building should become tedious to the reader, we will leave the interior of the structure to the imagination of those who can appreciate what prodigal extremes may be attained in the desire for modern convenience and luxurious ease. Such was the home of the Bachelors' Club, and the center of action for the stirring adventures which shall be recounted in this series of storiettes—of'which the following is the first, in their chronological order. Mr. Robert Carson, Esq., prominent in the legal profession and member of the Bachelors' Club, was—his bibulous tenden-cies notwithstanding—a most methodical man. In matters of dress and general decorum he was usually beyond reproach, while he never forgot an engagement, and was always courteous and friendly. With this estimate of his character in mind, one can well appreciate the astonishment of Rudolph, the colored attendant, who admitted him to the club in the small hours of the night. Rudolph was a sort of despot among the large corps of servants, asserting his position by right of long service in the employ of the club, and acquaintance with a majority of its membership. He had just dispatched a few of his subordinates and was making his nightly round of the building when a sharp summons of the bell brought him hurrying down the main hall-way to the front door. Having admitted Mr. Carson, the obsequious attendant pro-ceeded to relieve him of his hat and coat. Then, his practised eye noting that this late comer was inclined to stagger, Rudolph took the lawyer gently by the arm and escorted him into the spacious lounging-room, saw that he was comfortably ensconced in an easy chair, placed the latest newspaper on the table at his elbow and noiselessly withdrew. Not a word had passed be-tween them—the usually amiable and gentlemanly Carson and the faithful menial who was always eager to please and quick to detect any sign of gruff indifference. "He's surely got THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 241 somethin' on his mind," soliloquised Rudolph, as he re-ascended the broad staircase. Left to himself, the half-stupefied Carson fumbled in his breast pocket and produced a crumbled piece of note paper. Smoothing it on his knee he read aloud : "Meet me at the club tonight, after the Bench and Bar Banquet. Have some friends from the South visiting me. Will bring them around and we will make a night of it to-gether. "Sincerely, "NELSON BRENT." He refolded the paper without comment, replaced it in his pocket, and sat for some minutes lost in a reminiscent train of thought. Presently he began a mumbling, half coherent soliloquy: "Make a night of it, eh ?•—well; not the first time. Queer fellow, that Brent. Used to be one of my best friends at col-lege, until—oh ! Deuce take it. If the girl preferred me it wasn't my fault. And then, after all, her father forced her to break off the engage—, pshaw! Can I never forget it ? Strange, though, the way he seemed to forgive all when he voted me into the club,—looked a little suspicious for him to—there, there! I am getting nonsensical. Feel so dull and drowsy. That digestive tablet the young lawyer from Savannah passed me across the table musn't have worked right. Banquet was quite an enjoyable affair, though, made several new acquaint— friends—no; not yet—acquaintances." His talk became a mere jumble of words, spoken in a sort of petulant monotone. Slowly his head nodded back and forth. Then his chin rested upon his breast, his hands relaxed their grip on the arms of the chair, his eyelids dropped and he sank into a deep unnatural slumber. Half an hour passed, and again the musical whirr of the electric bell brought Rudolph to the door, this time to admit two men who entered quickly and with a certain wariness of manner, as if something of importance was about to be done surreptitiously. 242 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. "I say, Brent," blustered he who had entered first, "you cer-tainly get some beastly weather up here in the north states." And he rubbed his hands briskly. The other lifted a cautious finger and turned to Rudolph. "Has Carson come yet ?" "Yessir. He's in there now fast asleep," and Rudolph ges-tured toward the door of the smoking-room. Brent gave his companion a glance of mingled surprise and gratification, and the Southerner replied with a shy wink and a sinister smile. "You may go, Rudolph," said Brent, lifting his hand with a wave of dismissal, and the two passed into the apartment where Carson's regular breathing could be heard from the depths of a big easy chair. "There he is," whispered Brent, as he paused suddenly and laid a hand upon the Southerner's arm. That gentleman there-upon leaned over to get a better view of Carson's face, and nodded to the other. "The same fellow," he said. "One would not think, to look at him, that it would have been so easy to 'dope' him with a morphine tablet under the pretense that it was for his stomach's sake." "You did work it cleverly, though," observed Brent, with a ■complimentary accent. "How long do you think it will last?" "Oh !" was the careless rejoinder, he's good for a couple of hours anyway. And now, Brent, since I just got into the city this evening and went right to the hotel, so that we had no chance to talk, would you mind telling me what your idea was in getting me to assist you in what looks to me like the begin-ning of a dirty piece of work ?" "Steady, now, old man," said Brent, reassuringly. "I'll explain the whole affair if you give me time, and you'll agree that I am only exacting a just vengeance for a wrong which this man Carson did me years ago, and but for which I should now be a wealthy man, instead of being compelled to follow a meagre law practice, and scarcely able to keep up my membership in this club." THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 245 "Yes, I understand," interrupted his auditor, impatiently, "But what are you going to do with him now ?" "I'm coming to it," Brent replied hastily. "In order to understand the why and wherefore of what is going to happen tonight you must first know something of this man Carson's past, and, incidentally, a little of my own." He glanced at the sleeping figure in the easy chair, assured himself once more that the victim of his contemplated treachery was yet in the land of dreams, nonchalantly lighted a cigar, and settled himself to begin the narration of his tale. The little Southerner seated himself also, but with a reluc-tance which indicated that he was beginning to regret having taken a hand in this business, and was anxious to have it over with. "We were good friends at college," Brent began, "until—well,, it was the same old story. Two men and one woman. Her father was one of the wealthiest cotton planters of the South. By judicious manceuvering I succeeded in creating such a favor-able impression on the old man that he once told me himself that he thought I would make a good son-in-law. "But here steps in this fellow, Carson, and wins the affections of the heiress so completely that, from the time of his advent upon the field, I was gradually compelled to recede into the back-ground. In order to circumvent him I was obliged to concoct several false reports, which, by cleverly concealed methods, I managed to convey to the old gentleman's knowledge. The result was that her father forbade Carson the house. But the daughter, after several passionate scenes, declared her inten-tion to marry him, if she had to elope to do it. Finally, her father put her under the rigid surveillance of a strict spinster governess, and so the matter seemed to rest. Carson accepted his dismissal with an apparent good grace, and I gave the case up as hopeless. Thus the affair ended, neither of us gaining anything by it, and our former close friendship was replaced by a bitter enmity, which years seemed only to accentuate." "But how," ventured the other, "do you come to be members of the same club ?" 244 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. "I was coming to that," hurriedly asserted Brent, "and when I have told it you must give me credit, or rather discredit, for a piece of the most diabolical cunning. After we had gradu-ated from college I did not hear of Carson for some years. Meanwhile, I came here, built up a small law practice, and joined the Bachelors' Club. What was my surprise, one even-ing at our meeting, on learning that a certain Robert Carson was a candidate for membership. When I discovered that this prospective member and my old enemy were one and the same person, I hesitated. But it occurred to me that here was a splendid opportunity for revenge. I would vote him into the club, pretend to forgive and forget all that had formerly passed between us, and await my chance to strike the blow." "Yes, yes," said the Southerner impatiently, "that brings us up to the present time. I understand the circumstances now completely. But what do you intend to do with him ?" For answer a long, low whistle sounded from the street and Brent started in his chair and sat bolt upright. After some seconds the signal was repeated and he rose and went to one of the large windows. The Southerner heard the clicks of a latch, felt a draught of cold, outside air, and then the window was lowered and he turned to see a figure, muffled in a large storm coat and wearing fur driving gloves. The newcomer was talk-ing to Brent in an undertone and the listener could just catch the words: "Come near fergittin', Guv'nor, was just goin' ter ring th' bell when I minded as how you was t' let me in by th' winder, so as not t' rouse th' nigger." "Yes, yes," Brent whispered hurriedly. "But we must be quick, now. It's getting on toward morning and the thing must be done in time for me to catch the early train." He motioned his confederate toward the sleeping figure in the easy chair and, to the Southerner's astonishment, the burly fellow picked up the unconscious Carson as if he had been a child and carried him to the window. The perfidious Brent again raised the sash, revealing a cab in waiting at the curb-stone. The cabby lowered his burden to the sidewalk, slid THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 245 through the window and dropped below then again lifted the helpless form, carried it over and deposited it in a dark corner of the conveyance. Brent and his companion resumed their hats and coats and made their exit by the window, closing it after them. Crossing the sidewalk, with stealthy glances up and down the street, they entered the cab, the driver mounted his box and gave a sharp "cluck" to the horses. Only the faint crunching of the wheels in the snow was heard, as the vehicle rolled away into the darkness. Five minutes later the front door of the Bachelors' Club opened, a figure in dark blue livery stepped forth and a dusky face peered out into the gloom with an anxious and excited look. Rudolph had come into the smoking room, found Mr. Carson missing, his hat and coat left behind, the window-catch unfastened and many foot prints in the snow on the sidewalk just beneath. Hastening down to the curb, he observed, with a gleam of satisfaction, the tracks of wheels in the snow. In another moment he was hurrying back into the house, and up stairs to the servants' quarters, a grim determination written on his swarthy features. In a small, upper room of a low tenement house, on an obscure street of the slum district, an old man was sitting at a rough table, reading a week-old German newspaper by the light of a tallow dip. He was the common type of naturalized im-migrant of the lower classes. Teutonic features, snub-nose, double chin and ample girth were all present as the recognized signs of his nationality. He was clad in coarse, threadbare garments of antiquated pattern, the waistcoat unbuttoned for greater ease, and his feet slipped into loose goloshes with which he shuffled across the floor when, at frequent intervals, he arose and went to the window to peer with expectant gaze up the dark, narrow street. The room was scantily and poorly furnished, and gave evi-dence of those straitened circumstances which oftentimes force 246 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. honest and well-meaning folk to participate in deeds of rascality for the sake of the bare means of subsistence. And such was the case here. The old German had hesitat-ed, upon being approached by a refined-looking stranger with the offer of a handsome remuneration, if he should do just as the person dictated, for the space of a few days; but, when the al-luring proposition was reinforced by the guarantee of absolute safety from detection or punishment on the part of the German, the old man had consulted with his wife and, after sundry ar-guments pro and con, had accepted the offer. And now he was awaiting the arrival of the man to whom he had pledged himself to act as a tool. For the twentieth time, it seemed, he had gone to the window to watch for any sign of life up the de-serted thoroughfare. The fussy little clock in the corner pointed to five minutes of four, and the old man, weary of his vigil, re-sumed his chair and began to go over in his mind the plans which he and his unknown employer were about to carry into execution. It was three days, he mused, since he had been accosted on the street by a well-dressed gentleman, who, after some preliminary talk, conducted him to an obscure restaurant and, in the seclusion of a curtained booth, had made him the proposal which he had so reluctantly accepted. A wealthy young lawyer was to be kidnapped, smuggled into his humble quarters in the tenement, kept there against his will and forced to sign certain papers which the German's employer would turn into money and make good his escape before the victim of the plot could be located and rescued. It was all very neatly arranged, the old man thought, but was he not a fool to let the other fellow get away while he would have to remain and per-haps feel the strong arm of the law? He was just beginning to-regret his bargain and to wonder whether the pay justified the risk, when his attention was attracted by a noise in the street outside. Starting up, he snatched the candle from the table and rushed to the door. In the strong, upward draught from the steep stairway the feeble taper winked and spluttered and finally went out, leaving him in utter darkness. He groped his way down the dingy flight, in a tension of nervous" dread, THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 247 I . tore open the door and stepped out upon the front stoop. A cab was standing in the middle of the street, a short distance away. The horses were stamping the snow impatiently, the driver's box was vacant, the fur robe dangling from the seat and trailing upon the ground, and the door of the vehicle stood wide open. In the gloom about him the old gentleman heard the sounds of a scuffle, and could just make out the figures of half a dozen men who seemed to be engaged in a free-for-all fight. A familiar voice shouted dreadful oaths above the bab-ble of the melee, and a lithe, active little figure mingled in the struggle with furious vigor, hissing fierce invectives with a Southern accent. The battle royal lasted for some moments. Now and then one of the combatants would lose his footing and flounder about in the drifted snow, then regain his feet and plunge again into the conflict with redoubled fury. Finally, just as the terrorized witness was about to turn back and flee terror-stricken up the stairs, one of the factions in the contest seemed to gain the mastery. Three of the struggling forms broke away. Two of them sprang into the carriage and banged the door after them. The other clambered to his perch on the box, snatched up the reins, belabored the horses with vicious lashes of his whip, and, smarting with baffled rage, turned his head and hurled back a parting shot that was a veritable bomb-shell of besmirching epithets, as the cab rolled away. Some of those who remained on the sidewalk attempted to overtake the retreating vehicle, but, giving up the pursuit as fruitless, return-ed to join the little group which was now holding a hurried consultation. After a moment or two they picked up a limp figure and started away down the street, bearing the uncon-scious form as the trophy of their victory. ****** At a special meeting of the Bachelors' Club the next even-ing, a full account of the affair was given by one of the mem-bers, who gathered his information from those who had been most directly concerned in the disgraceful episode. From his disclosures it appeared that Rudolph, after noting the suspic-ious circumstances of Mr. Carson's disappearance and fearing 248 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. foul play, had aroused a half dozen of the servants and begun a search. The rescuing party tracked the cab to the street in the slum district by following the wheel marks in the snow. After overcoming the resistence of Mr. Carson's would-be ab-ductors, they had brought that gentleman back to the club-house, sent for a physician to resuscitate him from the effects of the drug and the rough handling he had received, and reported the affair to the police. When Brent's shameless duplicity became generally known, the assembly room of the Bachelors' Club was in a turmoil of indignation. A bitter, crushing letter of dismissal was drawn up and despatched to his law office, in case he should have the audacity to return and attempt to explain by some elaborate falsehood, as many of the members believed he would do. But the letter remained unopened upon the desk of Brent's deserted office and the shrewdest detectives of the city failed to obtain a single clew as to his whereabouts. Nelson Brent and his ac-complice, the little Southerner, had completely disappeared. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 249 THE NEED OF RENEWED INTEREST IN THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF OUR COLLEGE. THE subject of the advantages of membership in a literary society andof general literary discipline is an aggravatingly old one, and one which has been preached from the college ros-trum ever since the literary society found place as an appendage to an institution of learning. Notwithstanding, it is, with all its ponderous burden of repetition, a most vital and important phase of collegiate training, and its importance needs all the more to be emphasized in lieu of the widespread lack of ap-prehension among students in general of the highly beneficent results which it confers. At'Gettysburg the existing state of affairs needs considera-tion. The reason as to why our literary societies are so lethar-' gic demands investigation. As to the why and wherefore of this depression in the field of literary effort let us briefly in-quire, and try to recognize the necessity for improvement. It is quite in harmony with a reasonable supposition to in-fer that the chief cause of this apathy is to be discovered in a failure to realize just what the literary society means to the student. To start with, it offers a chance for development in composition. Writing, in an intelligent way and with the use of good diction, is an accomplishment every college man should own. To be able to write what one thinks and offer it to be read by others is as much a demand on the college man as to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation. If a man has a reasoning intellect, descriptive ability, poetic sentiment, or thought-power and observant faculties along any particular line—which we all have in greater or less degree—he should surely appreciate his endowment to an extent great enough to insure its permanency and highest efficiency by a proper amount of use. This state of affairs would be conclusively guaranteed by an occasional essay, poem, or story, which a keen interest in his society and college monthly should unhesitatingly lead him to construct with a gratifying result to both writer and reader or listener. 250 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. The aptitude to compose one's thoughts, which ability is also a thought-training process, is an accomplishment which no stu-dent of Gettysburg College will ever disdain.' Secondly, and somewhat interwoven with what we have just said, is to be recognized the happy knack of being able to stand before an audience and do clear thinking. This is a something that is of incalculable importance. Not one man in one hun-dred can do it. Every college graduate, to be worthy of the name, ought to be that one man. To face with self-poise a congregated mass of people and address them with a calm dig-nity and a smooth-working brain is a modern requirement of the college man, and justly so. The world insists upon and demands this qualification. He who possesses this proficiency will always cherish it, and he who lacks it will ever be sensible of a lost opportunity. With this showing, as manifested in two main ways, of what the student of our college, in many cases, is foregoing in his educational career, let us give heed to one or two phases of our literary society work which are sore in need of a rectifying remedy forthwith, and the existence of which implies another cause for general unprogressiveness. The literary contests between the Phrenakosmian and Philo-mathean societies should be the means by which a great and lasting enthusiasm would be aroused in and a powerful impetus given to general literary work in the college. The approach of these competitive performances should instigate a rival zest between the members of the respective societies which would be satisfied only after having placed him, whom it has ani-mated, on the program, or upon the accession thereto of some more competent person, whose position was gained only by dili-gent and effective work. Such conditions would conduce to a mighty good. They would establish a propensity for literary practice certain to be wholesome for both societies. But how different? This year there is scarcely a little bit of interest manifest. Neither society seems to consider the issue worth more than a meagre amount of preparation. As the time for the contests draws nigh a sort of stringent necessity does impel a preparation which has the appearance of a greater or less THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 251 amount of haphazardness. The training for these programs, instead of having been systematic, steady and critical, has par-taken too much of an abrupt, spasmodic and thoroughless course, which is bound to assert itself, we are afraid, in their rendition. Before this paper has appeared the literary contests shall have taken place. By them let our society members judge their tactics henceforth. To be sure, these programs are going to support some kind of success, but how much better might they not have been had they been subject to a more ap-propriate preparation by harder individual work, more enthusi-astic collective energizing? Who dares set the limit? Within the precincts of each society the indifference of in-. dividuul members to the success of a program of the usual routine order is most exasperating. Every society member is entitled to a performance at certain intervals. Each society member anticipates that privilege when he joins his society. Deny it him and he resists. Henceforth it becomes his duty as well. But at present the inclination to slight this duty and privilege is quite ad extremiun. If a member be posted for an appearance on any particular program, the liability of the actual reality of his presence for the purpose of doing his duty and enjoying his privilege is, in so many cases, quite remote. Nowadays the president of Philo, the president of Phrena never knows, with any degree of certainty, what his program is going to be until rt is over. Indeed sometimes doesn't know if it is going to be at all or not. A member if unable to be present, whether on account of unavoidable circumstances, or on account of an acute indisposition to move aggravated by an attack of voluntary brain inactivity, instead of procuring a substitute, which is certainly the only proper course, simply lets the affair drift until it produces its ruinous effect on some program, whose purpose to please gives way to a decided reactionary effect. When will you realize your duty to yourself and your society, my inactive friend? How will you retrieve your loss? And now, fellow-student, having been made conversant with the facts, will you avail yourself of this offer; this lasting and essential advantage extended to you ? You who are going to 252 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. become ministers and lawyers—will it pay you to wait until you are in the pulpit or before the bar to learn how to handle your faculties, to control your thoughts and temper your actions ? And you, doctor and man of science, can you afford to descry the work because it is beyond your immediate province ? The truth is that whatsoever we be—professional men, business men, or scientific men—we are going to be called upon to per-form certain functions in life because of the significant fact that we are college men. The college man stands in such vast pro-portion to his fellow-men that, with his superior ability, he will be compelled to assume certain obligations within the field of .his active life. Suppose, for instance, you should be asked to make an address, you who are so negligent in society work, at a certain place, after your college days have passed and you are in the great fight of the world whose finish is victory or defeat, or that you are prevailed upon to preside at some meeting, in both of which cases you could positively not escape, unless on the plea of inability, would it not be your sincere desire that your success, in either instance, should be somewhat commen-surate with what would be expected of you, and would it not be of vast humiliation, and even perhaps a check on your ma-terial advancement, to confess inability, or to fail in the under-taking? Such cases as this are not improbable ; on the other hand they are both very probable and almost certain. Prepare now, fellow-student, and escape the penalty of the future. With such conditions at Gettysburg we should try and im-prove. At the same time we may find relief, over against this depicted "depression, in the fact that ours is not the only insti-tution wherein there is a lack of concern for literary discipline. In looking over the magazines of many of our contemporary schools we find, apparently, just as deplorable a situation. In brief, the American college might conveniently stand a "renais-sance." But the fact that an analagous disinterest is prevalent in other colleges should lead us to recognize more fully the greater necessity for a revival. The necessity is becoming a stern one and our duty it is to set in operation causes that will be productive of more satisfying results. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 253 Lastly, the welfare of Gettysburg demands that we get to work. Gettysburg College, we have reason to believe, is on the eve of a new departure. Nothing can long remain inactive. It must either advance or retrograde. For some time our col-lege has been in a state of comparative inactivity, but the spell is bound to be broken, and, judging from recent movements, we may judiciously conclude that the election of a president will soon be assured, and that such a step will be attended with success for Alma Mater. Anticipating such progressiveness, in no place can the student body initiate its expanding interest more appropriately than in literary society work. If we can make our two societies flourish, the influence will be far-reach-ing and the end worth the beginning. A few days ago the writer casually chanced upon the follow-ing : "Without good literary societies a college is certainly not worthy of patronage." This passage clearly defines the merit of the literary society. It is a necessary adjunct to the equip-ment of any institution of learning. Some of our neighboring colleges have valued this importance so highly as to make a certain amount of literary society membership compulsory. Our own school even has provision in its regulations for such membership with an alternative of certain extra work to be provided by the faculty. This rule, however, has not of recent years been subject to a rigorous enforcement, nor do we advo-cate its active operation after years of dormancy. Literary work should be voluntary. The student should find pleasure in it. The reward it offers should be its stimulus. No stu-dent is going to gain much from that into which he is forced. Now, if this work is so superlatively requisite, it certainly is worthy of support. It deserves a proportionate share of our labor. Recognizing the significence of our literary societies, let us upbuild them again, improve them by active work and by performing when called upon to do so. L. A. G. 254 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. CONVERSATION AS AN ART. HARRIET A. MCGILI;, '06. AGROUP of girls were talking about the expected visit of some college students to their town. The first and chief topic of their conversation was that pertinent to dress, and on all sides might be heard the statement, "I must have a new gown made for the occasion." The second, and by no means unim-portant consideration, was, "How shall we feed them; what shall we give them to eat?" This phase of the anticipated event was discussed in many ways, and with a due considera-tion of the fact that the appetite of the average college student is not easily satiated, but craves an abundant variety. After more or less of time had been indulged in this manner, it was suddenly discovered that by far the most attractive and intelli-gent girl in the company had been strangely quiet. She also happened to be of wealthy parentage and it was well known that she could easily afford many new gowns and tender many elaborate parties. " What are you thinking about?" asked her friends, almost in concert. "Why girls," was the reply, "to tell you the truth, I was just pondering as to how to formulate some scheme to put an intellectual edge on my ideas, in order to be able to entertain the boys when they are here with something interesting to talk about." Now, all girls like fine and beautiful dresses, and the elim-ination of hunger from the nature of the guest friend is, by no kind of argument, a meagre consideration, yet, despite these two pending necessities, the quiet girl, who had been thinking of interesting topics for conversation, had, without doubt, the proper conception about entertaining guests. We do not care about addressing statues, no matter how beautiful they may be; we gaze upon them for a while with admiring interest, and then pass on into contact with our liv-ing, breathing fellow-beings, less beautiful, it may be, but cer-tainty more attractive to us. The analogy finds its comple-ment in those persons who exist apparently for the sake of ap- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 255 pcarance; to see and be seen; to attract attention by every device and to pass on their face value. They have no in-dividuality. They may be admired, but never loved, or even scarcely liked by those with whom they come to be associated. Such is the person, for the most part, who is unable to employ the conversational art. The cultivation of conversational abil-ity has suffered by an undivided attention to the superficial. But let such individual recognize the relative importance of conversational power and seek to attain it, and his or her per-sonality will assert itself; vanity will subside. Education is a great factor in advancing conversation as an art. However, it is only a factor; it cannot do all. One must, first of all, be unselfish and amiable, must have a real desire to please, and not have feelings tending to provoke the state-ment: "Well, I have been put here to.talk with this person, and I presume I must make the best of it." Conversation to be worth the time and effort must be a pleasure. To be in-structive it must be conducted with mutual interest. The re-moval of the selfish element is always advantageous. Some people are naturally somewhat bashful or reserved. Such an one the considerate talker will address with careful thought- He will use tact in endeavoring to draw him out, and in having him speak of himself, to a certain extent, his work and aims, friends, and those things which seem to savor of interest for him. Under such circumstances time will pass rapidly for all ■coucerned, and the intellectual intercourse will be thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. Among the educated conversation certainly flows with great-er ease than among those who have had fewer advantages. It is a fact that, no matter where one lives, who has been well ed-ucated, the world's interests are his interests and, as a result, he is acquainted with those interests. He is more at ease, broad-er- minded than his less fortunate brother, since he has studied about the great deeds of men and has seen " Footprints on the sands of time." All these superiorities assert his greater abil-ity in conversational art. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter Vol. XII GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1904 No. 8 Editor-in-ch ief LYMAN A. GUSS, '04 Exchange Editor M. ROY HAMSHER, '04 Business Manager F. GARMAN MASTERS, '04 Asst. Business Manager A. L. DlELENBECK, '05 Associate Editors JOHN B. BOYER, '04 BRUCE P. COBAUGH, '05 C. EDWIN BUTLER, '05 Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, LITT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M.D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D.D. Published each month, from October to June inclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, one dollar a year in advance; single copies 15 cents. Notice to discontinue sending the MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Professors and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Busi-ness Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIALS. SOME PARTING Upon the appearance of this issue of the WORDS. MERCURY the duties of the present editorial staff and management cease. We have performed the tasks incident to the publication of one volume of this paper and herewith surrender all obligation, together with the good will of the journal, to our successors. During our supervision we have tried to labor with a due sense of the responsibility rest-ing upon us, not only for the continuance of the heretofore es-tablished literary plane of the MERCURY, but for the constant exaltation of its general tone. We have felt strongly the neces-sity of unremitting, vigorous effort in the interest of the charge entrusted to us, and we have made it our particular concern to employ appropriate methods in our work. In short, our aim THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 257 INDIFFERENCE. has been not mediocrity but perfection. To be sure, we have fallen short of this aim, and our ideal has been but imperfectly-realized, yet we feel we have done all possible in our desire to evolve improvement in our college monthly. That our exer-tions have been productive of good results at times we modestly admit, but that they have likewise borne barren fruit is beyond doubt. This lack of what might have been gain under different cir-cumstances is happily explainable, and a brief indulgence in the facts pertaining thereto may avail to remove the exigency henceforth. The first great drawback during the past year has been a manifestation of indifference, or lack of co-operation. This is one reason why the MERCURY has not been as creditable to the college as we conceive it should have been. There has been a general disinterestedness in its pages. Some one may say that there hasn't been such a great deal contained within its covers tending to inspire inter-est. This, we grant, is, in part, true. But, criticising friend, if you would remedy the situation you must set to work on the cause, not the effect. As every subscriber knows, this paper is published by the literary societies of the institution, and in them as publishers it expects to find hearty supporters and loyal contributors. In-stead it has found apparently hearty non-supporters and dis-loyal contributors. True it is that the articles appearing on the MERCURY'S pages from time to time have been mostly written by society men, yet there has been no united effort or obvious interest displayed by either society on behalf of this paper's general improvement. If it succeeds, good; if not, good again. Concern in and for it is dormant, dead. The very fact that it is the organ of the societies should cause every man interested in his society to subscribe for it; should make it the duty of each and every member so to do, but, to the contrary notwithstanding, a great many members of both Philo and Phrena do not take it. They are unaware, one would think, that financial support is absolutely a requisite to the ex- 258 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. istence of a college journal, even if they are deaf to the fact that a large subscription list gives editorial encouragement, and will later stand for merit. But if society men themselves, by general disregard, show no disposition to aid the paper, how can we expect a new initiate to voluntarily sink a dollar in something, which from a fellow" member's action is, according to indications, a losing game; so much of money wasted ? We are not given entirely to pessimism, but inflated optimism cannot long be floated on a stream of adverse conditions. These may seem to be strong statements. So we intend them, and we believe the means justifies the end, and if we hope to continue a monthly strictly creditable to Gettysburg something will have to happen. Therefore, let us take things as they are, and try to adminis-ter an antidote. Show more interest in this paper, member of Philo, member 'of Phrena, then we will seek other means of heightening its influence. It will pay an effort so expended, both in good to the college and individual development. DEARTH OF A second salient cause for non-progressiveness MATERIAL. lies in a deficiency of material, both in quan-tity and in variety. At the present time we are generously thankful to get almost any kind of a contribution. "Anything prints just now" is a sorry statement for the editor of a college magazine. By no means do we propose to disparage the pro-ductions of those who have aided us during the past year with their compositions. To them is due our grateful thanks. The point we wish to make is simply that the staff of such a paper as this purports to be, instead of being compelled to go a-beg-ging, should have some right to choice; instead of being forced to take what it can get, it should have the privilege, to a cer-tain extent at least, of selecting what it wants. When will you give us a chance, fellow student ? And further, we should not only have more than just enough to print in each issue, but some variety. Point out the student and general reader who doesn't tire of the forced essay—that which is produced as so much task work. "Dry as punk," he THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 259' says and flings away the paper containing it, and thereby all that is good therein goes unnoticed and unread. Indeed, some such essays are good and commendable, but they so often lack in spirit and enthusiasm, both of which are necessary traits of a good essay. No student can write anything worth reading on a subject in which he feels no concern. He may draw out a few facts and truths for argument's sake, but that is not the substance of a good literary production. What we need is good, solid, substantial essays to start with, full of life and con-viction, enthused with the personality of the writer. Again, give us something of fiction. This is, indeed, a form of variation of which we feel the sorest need. The short story is a powerful factor in adding to the charm ot a college maga-zine's pages. The creation of a healthy bit of romance is in-vigorating to the reader and beneficial to the author. It relieves the stern ruggedness of a journal otherwise filled, perchance,, with bleak prosaic composition. Fact and fancy will mix to advantage on the pages of the college paper if intermingled in the proper proportion. And, yet more, let us have an occasional poem. Poetry lightens the soul and stirs the reader to better things. We do not reckon upon an outpouring of full-toned poetry akin to that of the masters, but we do find justification in asking for poetic sentiment in verse such as many students are, without doubt, capable of contributing. Our exchanges contain it. Are we so much farther down the scale as to preclude all possibility of anything similar? Surely not. We can have poetry, fiction, and good essays, if you will, fellow-student. FOOD FOR Our monthly can be made better and must be THOUGHT. made better. Remember that to our Alumni and to other colleges this paper is the chief measure by which they judge our literary standard. That standard must always be kept high. A college displaying but meagre literary ability in its representative magazine is certain to feel the disadvan-tageous effects. And, last of all, remember that a paper can always be improved externally as well as internally by making it more attractive and elaborate, and that a full treasury, through 26o THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY the agency of a large subscription list, is the only way to gain this end. The foregoing has been written—a large proportion of its substance not for the first time—we believe, under the impulse of the right motive. Although, as said previously, we are about to relinquish active relations with the MERCURY, we are, under no circumstances, going to cast aside all interest in it. In fact, the contrary shall be the case. Its advancement will be our pleasure, and its prosperity our lasting desire. If you will but co-operate with us, student-friend, and if we let our good inten-tions take the form of material aid, all will be well. The pres-ent stringency will slacken. The MERCURY will improve and we shall indulge a just pride in our college monthly. ^^-^-^ EXCHANGES. THE Touchstone came out in January, clothed in a pretty gray and silver cover. We noticed at the foot of the cover-page—it may have been because of its attractive appear-ance— this sentence: "Published in the interest of Literary Lafayette." A sermon would be forthcoming on a theme which that sentence suggests, were it not for certain suggestions we have previously made concerning "much speaking." We would make that theme—"The Literary College." However, all honor to Lafayette if she is as thoroughly imbued with the literary spirit as she seems to be. There is one note to which most of our exchanges seem to be keyed : the warning of literary en-thusiasm. One comes out with an editorial declaring that at that particular institution literary spirit is dead. Another is continually appealing to the student body for poems and stories and essays. Were the productions of such a magazine as The Georgetown College Jo7irnal less worthy of praise, we might notice that the same group of men are the contributors month after month, and might draw our own conclusions. But we will not preach. Let us pray the oracle to send a great revival of literary spirit (f\ THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY. 26l upon our colleges, to make them centers of American literature. May the dead come io life again ! From the unassorted heap on our desk, we pick up the Mani-ton Messenger. We are made glad, as we read an announce-ment for the February number. It does not bewail a lack of material, but it announces such interesting subject material for the coming month that one becomes anxious to see next month's issue. We are not quite so pessimistic now. The article in the January number which warrants us in our expectations is a study of the leading character in "The Mer-chant of Venice." The author's interpretation of Shylock, as actuated by love for his persecuted race, places him in a some-what new light. "Side by side with the epithets, the Avarici-ous, and the Avenger, let us place the epithet, the Martyr." In a well-written article on "Panama," a rather partisan view is taken. The story of Herbert Spencer's life, with a statement of his theory, is very clearly shown. There is, however, a lack of the short story, and the poet does not venture to show him-self. Some of the ex-men have been quoting specimens of the college man's poetry. With apologies to the ex-man of the University of Va. Magazine, we quote: "The twilight palls The shadow falls And round me like a massive shawl The night descends." Author unknown. It may be better to lack poetry than to give the poet's Pegassus a chance to roam in such a way. But the magazine which carries something of this nature has at least the credit of having variety. We wish to acknowledge a new exchange, the Brown and White. It is a sprightly paper from Brown Preparatory School, Philadelphia. We wonder what the Dickinsonian might mean in her ex^ change notes, referring to the seven articles in the December number of The Gettysburgian, which is characterized as " a mediocre college weekly." No doubt the printer is at fault. 262 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Last night I held a little hand, So dainty and so neat, Methought my heart would burst with joy So wildly did it beat. No other hand into my heart Could greater solace bring, Than that I held last night, which was Four aces and a king. —Tlie Courant. The author of the following effort is nameless. Perhaps sometime he may come to college, and we can only hope that that time will be soon (for his own good). " The mouth is the front door to the face. It is patriotism's fountain and a tool-chest for pie. Without the mouth the pol-itician would go down to an unhonored grave. It is the gro-cer's friend and the dentist's hope. It has put some men on the rostrum and some in jail. It is temptation's lunch counter when attached to a maiden; tobacco's friend when attached to a man." The Review, edited by the students of Washington College,, has just arrived at our desk for the first time. " Why Brer Rabbit Has No Tail" seems to be an elaborate attempt at dia-lect. There is a tendency with some of the exchanges to arrive at least a month late. The St. Johns Collegian for January is at hand for the first time in several months. The issue, how-ever, is worthy of perusal, and the short story, although not particularly interesting as offered in this issue, unites with the essay to form a well-balanced college paper. The article on " The St. John's Spirit" should stir one's blood for his alma mater. "Spirit of Old-Fashioned Roses," Breathing the air of the spring, Spirit of far-away roses, Sweet as a song you sing. Now in the dusk of the twilight, As evening softly falls, Kiss the farewell of forever, Ere the thought of forever appalls ; Touch his lips gently and sweetly As leaves touch a castle's walls. —The Haverfordian. ma® PATRONIZE Ol'R ADVERTISERS. EAGLE HOTEL Rates $2.00, $2.50 and $3.00 per day. HAS A CAPACITY OF 400 GUESTS —=. FRANK EBERHART, PROP'R. Dealer in F Picture Frames of All Sorts. Repair work done promptly. Wl will also buy or exchange any second-hand furniture 40hanibersburgSt., - GETTYSBURG, PA. Buy Your^^^^s SUMMER SUIT -_A_T-IT FITS. IS STYLISH, LOOKS WELL, WEARS WELL. CLOTHING We mean Hand~TailoPed Ready-to-uuear Nobby Dress Hats, Swell Neckwear, Fancy Shirts, Men's Underwear. YORK, PENN'A. LWatch for his Representative when he visits the College j PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. Geo. E. Spacer, PIANOS, ORGANS, MUSIC/LL MERCHANDISE Music Rooms, - York St. Telephone 181 GETTYSBURG TEACHERS! TEACHERS! Teachers wishing to prepare for Examination should write im-mediately for our Teachers' Interstate Examination Course, as taught by mail. This course is endorsed by many leading educators, and every progressive teacher who wishes to advance in their profession should begin work immediately. Address nearest office, with stamp, for reply. AMERICAN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, 174 Randolph Building, 1423 Arch Street, Memphis, Tenn. Philadelphia. k M. ALLrEMAN, Manufacturer's Agent and Jobber of Hardware, Oils, Faints and Qieqiwar Gettysburg, Pa. THE ONLY JOBBING HOUSE IN ADAMS COUNTY W. F. Odori, -DEALER IN^ Beef, fork. Lamb, Veal, and Sausage, SPECIAL RATES TO CLUBS. York Street, Gettysburg:, Pa. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. ECKENEOBE & BEGKER CHAMBERSBUBG ST., Dealers in Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Pudding, Bologna, Hams, Sides, Shoulders, Lard, Prime Corned Beef. The Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia! DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE Offers exceptional facilities to graduates of Gettysburg College, especially to those who have taken a medical preparatory orbiological course. The instruction is thoroughly practical, particular attention being given to laboratory work and bed-side and ward-class teaching. Ward-classes are limited in size. A modified seminar method is a special feature of the Course. Free quizzing in all branches by the Professors and a special staff of Tutors. The College has also a Department of Dentistry and a Department of Pharmacy. All Gettysburg College students are cordially invited to inspect the College and Clinical Amphitheatre at any time. For announcements or information apply to SENECA EGBERT, Dean of the Department of Medicine, 17th & Cherry Streets, PHILADELPHIA, PA. Wright, %j \ Co. 140-144 Woodward Avenue, DETROIT, MICH. Manufacturers of high grade Fraternity Emblems Fraternity Jewelry Fraternity Novelties Fraternity Stationery Fraternity Invitations Fraternity Announcements Fraternity Programs Send for Catalogue aad Price List. Special Designs on Applicatisn THESE FIKMS ARE O. K. -PATRONIZE THEM. DO YOU KNOW WHERE The Choicest Candies, The Finest Soda Water, The Largest Oysters, The Best Ice Cream, Can be found in town? Yes, at Young's Confectionary On Chambersburg Street, near City Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa. IF YOU CALL OH C. A. Bloehef, Jeuuelet*, Centre Square, He can serve you in anything you may want in REPAIRING or JEWELRY. SEFTON & FLEMMINGS LIVERY Baltimore Street, First Square, Gettysburg, Pa. Competent Guides for all parts of the Battlefield. Arrangements by-telegram or letter. Lock Box 257. J. I. 41 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, Pa, The improvements to our Studio have proven a perfect success and we are now better prepared than ever to give you satisfactory work. TEACHERS WANTED. We need at once a few more Teachers, both experienced and in-experienced. More calls this year than ever before. Schools supplied with competent teachers free of cost. Address, with stamp, AMERICAN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, 174 Randolph Building 1423 Arch Street, Memphis, Tenn. Philadelphia. HELP THOSE WHO HELP US. t Tie IntereoIIeglafe Bnrean of Academic Costume. Chartered igo2. Cotrsll S^ Leonard* jPs.lba.rxv, 3NC. IT. ffiakefs of the Caps, Gouuns and Hoods To the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Min-nesota, Leland Stanford, Tulape, University of the South, Wel-esley, Bryn Mawr, Wells, Mt. lolyoke and the others. Illustrated Bulletin, Samples, Etc., upon request. A. B. BLACK, Gettysburg College Representative. E. A. Wright's Engraving House, 1108 Chestnut St. PHILADELPHIA We have our own photograph gallery for half-tone and photo engraving. Fashionable Engraving and Stationery. 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Issue 50.5 of the Review for Religious, September/October 1991. ; Review Religious Volume 50 Number 5 September / October 1991 50 TM ANNIVERSARY VOLUME REVIEW FOR RI:.LIGIOUS (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bi-monthly at St. Louis University by the Missouri Province Educational Institute of the Society of Jesus: Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard, Room 428; St. Louis, MO 63108-3393. Telcphonc: 314-535-3048. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis MO and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to R~:\'~EW Foa R~:I,I(;IOUS; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, MN 55806. Subscription rates: Single copy $3.50 plus mailing costs. One-year subscription $15.00 plus mailing costs; two-year subscription $28.00 plus mailing costs¯ See inside back cover for subscription informa-tion and mailing costs. © 1991 REVIEW I.'Oa R~:t,tc, IOUS. David L. Fleming, S.J. Philip C. Fischer, S.J. Michael G. Harter, S.J. Elizabeth McDonough, O.P. 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This order is for [] a new subscription [] a renewal [] a restart of a lapsed subscription MAIL TO: REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ¯ 3601 LINDELL BOULEVARD ° ST.LouIs, MO 63108 IIII III IIII II IIII III I PRISMS. What did you go out to the desert to see? A prophet? The question which Jesus asked his own people takes on a special poignancy for us toda~y in the Church. Our biblical tradition indicates that God raises up prophetic people in dark and difficult days. Because many see the time of renewal called for by Vatican II as a period of continuing strug-gle and tension--sometimes sadly with positions defended or fixed rather than with dialogue explored--affecting people and priests in parishes, bish-ops in national hierarchies, and religious in the same congregation, there is a greater tendency today to go running out, searching for a prophet. As usual there is also the temptation for some to play the prophet. But the prophetic tradition strongly emphasizes that tree prophets do not identify the role for themselves. God plucks people out of ordinary circum-stances, evokes some kind of personal conversion, and then speaks and works through them, even in their own reluctance for the role, and in their fear and trembling. Although we tend to apply the word prophet glibly to some modem-day leaders, educators, and writers, we perhaps are not far off the mark when we search for those movements and calls of God that come in incremental ways through ordinary-looking people and events. It is to acknowledge that prophets, like saints, have a range from "capital P" prophets (like our canonized "capital S" saints) with a major message of modeling and influence ~o the almost hidden (because of everydayness) small-letter prophets who in limited and confined ways raise questions, sug-gest new directions, make us uncomfortable, and at the same time give us hope. Prophets of lasting influence are s~arce at any time in our world's his-tory. Yet we may find it all too easy, even now, to mute the "smail p" prophet either ir~ our fixated search for major prophetic voices or in our disdain for less-than-radical calls. The even greater loss, however, happens when we may intentionally or unintentionally downplay our own lived (small p) prophetic witness to Christ's values--an integral part of our own chosen way of life. Review for Religious has been p~rivileged through the years to present voices of personal witness and articles of challenge and critique which repre-sent this common spectrum of our e ~eryday prophets. In this issue, "Inner Africa: A Journey of Conversion" by Susan Rakoczy is a personal witness to 641 642 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 God's continuing call to go beyond a familiar homeland and to pay its enlivening costs---costs borne more within oneself than without. Jean Steffes considers directly in her article the theme of the prophetic-witness aspect of contemporary religious life. The articles by Giallanza, Levey, Arbuckle, and Mueller give further reflections on various aspects of religious life that affect its present and future witness. From the area of contemplation, the ground of all prophetic activity, Joseph Tetlow uses a very simple image from the changing seasons of the year to present an understanding of God's calls and our responses for a com-monplace continuity of spiritual growth. In a similar way Gerard Luttenberger sees through the contemplative Fourth Mansion of St. Ter6sa a way of praying apostolically. A prophetic relationship of faith with our United States culture grounds Hoffman's treatment of creative leisure and, in a very different fashion, Hinojosa's suggestions for formation, as he espe-cially has the Hispanic candidate in mind. Rywalt shares his experience of the sometimes dark journeying required of religious trying to follow God's lead in the transfer process in this consecrated lifeform. The prophetic and priestly people which we are will find fresh insight into the manna-food for our joumeying in Billy's "The Bread Kernel," clari-ty in Meyer's restating of the ministerial priesthood foundation through a deeper appreciation of an ambassador's role, and consolation in the gentle wisdom of living reflected in McDonald's "Faithful Servant." Perhaps, in our effort to identify prophets, McDonald's theme goes right to the heart of the matter. No truer discernment or greater tribute can be given to any prophet, spelled with large or small p, than to be identified, like Moses, as a faithful servant of God. David L. Fleming, S.J. Four Seasons of the Soul Joseph .4. Tetlow, SJ Father Tetlow wrote "The Mirror in the Field" for our November/December 1988 issue. His current address is Jesuit Hall; 3601 Lindell Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63108. I~uring the experience of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, you have a sense of movement and of progress. Particularly during a nineteenth-annotation experience of them, you have the sense of getting along with things and of genuine growth in God. When you have finished the Exercises, if you are like many exercitants, you miss that sense of movement and progress. Even though you continue to pray as long and as seriously as you did during the Exercises, you may well come to wonder where "growth" has gone, and a sense of your life in Christ unfolding for you. You know how times of consolation and times of desola-tion mark spiritual growth or its absence, but this is the microeconomy of the spirit, a topological map of a mountain that does not tell you which range it is in or even which hemisphere. You might find some sense of getting along by applying the traditional phases or stages of spiritual growth. You would recognize, to start with, the stages of the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways. You have heard of the Dark Nights, of the Senses and of the Soul. But reading these stages requires great expertness and an intense concentration on the interior life. You may find them of limited help in reading your growth in the Lord while you live an ordinary life in the world. Furthermore, these traditional stages of spiritual growth have focused tightly on the individual spirit. They do not comprehend a lot of the "your life world." They do not illuminate the interplay of others' needs and inter-ests with your own, or the tension between remaining faithful to your self and growing more faithful to those whom God gives you to love and be 643 644 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 loved by. Each of these traditional ways of gauging where you are in your interior life instructs you how to pray at a given time and what to pray about. They do not much tell you what to pray for. Now that you know the Spiritual Exercises, you might find it useful to think of phases or stages of the interior life in terms of the Four Weeks. You can take the Weeks as seasons distinct from one another. They really do match the phases or stages of growth that we go through as we live contem-platives in the active world. If you interpret your experience in these terms, you will not find a lot of instruction on what to pray about (that instruction will rise out of your current experience), but you will find sound instruction on what to pray for. The Seasons of the Four Weeks Think of the seasons not as four parts of one whole life, but as a cycle that we all go through in our life world. Consider life as a whole at this given moment, and picture how it is colored seasonally. The first season would be like this: You go along working hard and praying easily. You feel like springtime, and your whole self sprouts new life. Your life world seems filled with promise. Life is given to you, rising up from within your self and teeming all around you. In such a time, you are in the season of the Fourth Week. The truth is that Jesus came to "give you joy, and to the full," and he was transcendently powerful to achieve what he set out to achieve. As you know, we are created to live in consolation, which means that we share the sureness of the risen Christ that the reign of God comes, for each one of us and for all of humankind together. So we live in the joy of Christ, as we have a fight to do, and this is the Fourth Week. You enter Christ's joy, in work and in prayer. Ask yourself: During this springtime, what do you ask for? You go through times, as all of us do, of confusion and darkness, your inner world and life world matching. Your life world itself may be in tur-moil, and perhaps threatens your family, career, or health. All of us have experienced these times as wars succeed one another and one national crisis after another: toxic waste, the Savings and Loans debacle, the awesome national deficit. In a very real sense, when we suffer these times we are bear-ing the sins of all peoples--the sins of unjust rulers, of greedy people with economic power, of self-centered people who feed on us. In these times you feel powerless and perhaps even helpless. You live in depression or doubt or perhaps even jeopardy. In such a time you are walk-ing with Jesus Christ in his Passion. This is not merely metaphor: our Master warned us that we would feel persecuted and hunted, for if his life world Four Seasons of the Soul / 645 treated him as it did, then we are to anticipate faring no better. St. Paul said that we are to fill up the sufferings that Christ Jesus has still to undergo for the sake of his body, the Church. Sometimes we live in the Passion of Jesus, feeling the terrible weight of taking up our cross daily. In this wintry time of the Third Week, what grace gives you a sense of growth and movement? Again, at times you seem merely to be working along from day to day. You do not feel any great consolation or any notable desolation. You trust God by enacting your own desires and conscience and by doing the next good thing. You do not feel any great pressure to have life all figured out, or the vexing pressure of strong temptation to this or that sin you are prone to. You pray to the Father and listen to the Spirit. You live out your discipleship faithfully and enduringly. This is the Second Week, as you walk with Jesus of Nazareth, either in the long decades of his hidden life or in the brief exertions of his public life. It is full summertime, and you are growing in God. You take summertime concerns to prayer and stay with Jesus proclaiming his Good News. But summertime can seem lazy and unmoving. What grace will help you sense progress? Finally, there come times when you feel the weight of your own sin. You do again something that you thought you had truly put behind you. You fail to do something that you had set yourself most resolutely to do. You are in the First Week again. You find out that your ideal has little of the noble in it, or that your self-image includes falsehood, or that you have been acting as though you loathe your self and despise your life. Then you feel the deep burning of shame. Or you realize that you have been violating your own conscience, deliberately deceiving your own self and spreading your poison around you. Then you feel the icy sting of guilt. Yet all of this time you already know how God loves you, even how God keeps on being your Creator and Lord. This is the season of fall, when you join the cycle of life and death that belongs to this earth of ours. You flirt with spiritual death, but you know that you will not die, but live. You cannot doubt that God forgives again and again, and you take into your prayer that utter confidence in God's forgiving love. This is the season of the First Week. Once you have asked God's forgiveness, what else are we to ask for in order to have the experience of movement and growth? It is to find the answer to this question that you think in terms of the sea-sons of the Four Weeks. Other stages and phases instruct us in the kind of prayer we might give ourselves to. The "unitive way," for instance, suggests a prayer of deep quiet. Other stages help us hold onto the kind of faith and 646 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 hope we need to exercise. The Dark Night of the Senses helps us know that it is, indeed, faith we are exercising, and not doubt. Other stages or phases name kinds of temptation and grades of consolation and desolation. A pray-ing person who has been drawn to apophatic prayer will readily recognize daydreams of food as a desolation. But the stages and phases give little instruction on the very humble question of what, specifically, we are to ask for. Or perhaps more accurately, what instruction they do give is not readily accessible to the majority of praying Christians. "I Ask for What I Want" Matching the Four Weeks with the seasons of discipleship suggests immediately and accurately what you ought to ask God for. Each of the Weeks has a specific grace. These specific graces are precisely what we need in each of the four seasons of discipleship. When we feel the burning of shame or the icy sting of guilt, obviously, we ask forgiveness. Equally obviously, we receive this forgiveness even before we ask it. Then what? You would immediately reject dwelling on the shame or the guilt. You would repudiate self-lacerating examination. What you need is a sense of your complicity in humankind's sin, and a sense of how the disorder manifest in your life world lies waiting to manifest itself in yourself. You can ask for that plainly, and you will have a sense of getting on with God's project. You can also ask another gift of the First Week: the answer to the three questions in the colloquy of the first exercise. The deepest grace of the First Week is to be given eyes to see Jesus Christ. While you stand under the cross of Jesus Christ, you ask yourself, "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What might I do for Christ?" The growth and movement in answer to this prayer have to do with understanding the past and looking to the future. If you have been sinning, then start with how God succeeded in you, with what you have done for Christ. If you are acting sinfully, you need to attend to what else you are now doing: What are you doing for Christ? And as you repent yet again, you stand with Christ and ask what you might do for him and for his body the Church. This is the growth in the season of fall. A second season: of busyness. Your attention runs in a hundred direc-tions. You face concrete decisions hour by hour. You have to deal with oth-ers day after day. You have to remain authentic to your own self and grow more and more fully a member. Here, in this heated season of summer, you might ask most appropriately for the gift of the Second Week: to know Jesus Four Seasons of the Soul / 647 better, to love him more, and to go the way he goes. He has been through this summer and through the desert of busyness. For some the life of the Lord will be an inspiration (as Carl Gustav Jung said it ought to be). They will learn from Jesus of Nazareth how to relate in the dusty marketplace to the God who chooses to be father and mother to us. For others the life of the Lord will be an example for imitation (as the Church has taught since Jesus proclaimed himself Way, Truth, and Life). For all of us, growth in God means growth in loving Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ. That is the grace you ask for in the summer, the Second Week. When winter comes upon your self and your life world, you cannot escape suffering. Well, in the Third Week, you have watched with Jesus through his Passion. Remember this accompaniment and what you asked for then. Perhaps you will ask to accept your suffering in compassion with Jesus suffering and to know shame "because the Lord is going to his suffering for my sins," while you have acted in complicity with all humankind in sinning. This is the grace of the first contemplation at midnight. In any pain or suffer-ing, growth will lie in and through compassion. You might be drawn, again, to ask that your own suffering somehow be "with Christ in sorrow, [your] anguish with Christ in anguish, [your] tears and deep grief because of the great affliction" Christ endured for you. This is a great gift, and those who embrace their own suffering in the world know what Jesus knew. This pain will end nothing, but will end; ifI can discern no movement toward life, I know my growth is where I am; God is faithful. This prayer to God transmutes a wintry time from merely a depression or recession or grave aggravation to a time of growth in Christ. Finally, when you live in happiness and your life world hums along in springtime, you can most reasonably beg God that you enter into the joy of Jesus Christ. There lies the way of movement and growth, first of all because you will not be immobilized by anxiety. We hold the happiness of earth tightly because it is given and taken away, apparently randomly. Unlike the joy of the earth, Jesus' joy is not given and taken away; it is given and to the full. Growth does not mean having things permanently or living secure or figuring everything out. All of these are illusory, and depending on any of them is writing on water. Growth for Christ's disciples entails precisely shaking off dependence on possessions and all defense against risks of personal encounter. You grow a more complete self with every deeper realization that God's is the initia-tive, the victory, which is Jesus' joy and glory. You grow more secure as you accept more and more fully that you did not earn life or joy and that, if you can make no demands, the One who gives constantly turns out more willing 648 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 to lavish gifts than you are to accept them. This is Jesus' joy and his glory. So in these springtimes we find our growth in begging "to be glad and rejoice intensely" not because of the great go6ds God is bestowing on us, but "because of the great joy and the glory of Christ our Lord." A Simple Matter of Moving Along Understand, the Four Weeks are not epigenetic stages that build one on another in succession, with the latest stage transmuting the earlier ones. This is the model used by Erik Erikson and the growth psychologists, and it is not appropriate here. The "seasons" mean something much simpler here. Nor does the word refer to an account of the adult life cycle, the "seasons. of a person's life" devised by Daniel Levinson and his colleagues. The "seasons" here are briefer and include not only internal dynamics but also the actuali-ties of your life world. As phases or stages, they would hardly be long-term and do not name permanent changes in the self. Think of it this way: Many skilled retreat directors begin an eight-day retreat by asking the retreatant what Week they are living. The retreat guide does not imply that the retreatant is going through a life cycle or.a phase with permanent effects--nothing so essential and long-range. The implica-tion is that we all go through certain seasoris and that we can usefully think of those seasons in terms of the Four Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises. Many who have made the Spiritual Exercises yearn to keep the sense of progress and of forward motion that sustained them through the long days or months of prayer. They can help themselves do that by continuing one exer-cise that promoted that sense of progress during the Exercises: the preparato-ry prayer. Even those who turn to the Church's lectionary for the material of daily meditation or contemplation can ask for the special grace of the season they are in. They feel no unease or contradiction. On the contrary, they have a sense of familiarity and consonance, and a sense of getting on with life and with prayer. Few of us feel inclined to go back through the prayer texts and cycles of the Four Weeks, particularly over and over again. But you might find it useful to keep mindful of the special graces of the Weeks, and of the preparatory prayer. Re-creating Religious Life Joel Giallanza, C S. C Brother Joel recently completed his service in the ministry of provincial administra-tion and is currently Adjunct Retreat Director at Maryhill Renewal Center. His address is Maryhill Renewal Center; 600 Maryhill Road; Pineville, Louisiana 71360. /'~mong the principal tasks confronting religious life as the twenty-first cen-tury approaches is refoundation or, more descriptively, re-creation. While religious may not be completely comfortable with the demographics of increasing ages and decreasing numbers, they do not appear discouraged or despairing about the future: In fact, some communities have been reporting a modest and consistent increase in vocations and new apostolic ventures. Chapters, assemblies, and other gatherings of religious continue to search for the most effective means of responding to the needs of the Church and the culture in which they live. Among those means they assign high priority to ~'efounding or re-creating religious life itself. To that end, religious have explored the !ives and teachings of their founders and foundresses as well as the experiences and events which shaped the darly years of their communi-ties. The work now is to interpret those lives, teachings, experiences, and events for further practical application to contemporary religious life. The work now is to prepare for the future. Any creation, by its very nature, does not follow a predetermined blueprint. Nevertheless, there is one primordial model we can consider: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." These reflections will focus on the first three days of creation as a metaphor for the re-creation which religious need to undertake as they move toward and into the twenty-first century. In the Beginning During the first three days of creation, as Genesis relates the story, God 649 650 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 separates creation, giving each part a distinct identity. Only after this funda-mental work of separation and identification does God begin the cultivation of creation, filling it with a rich variety of living things, culminating in the appearance of humanity. Day 1 ~ Observation In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, covered in darkness; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day (Gn 1:1-5). It is intriguing that, after the heavens and the earth, light is God's first creation. Light enables us to observe and to distinguish; light enables us to see what needs to be done. God was present and active, though creation was covered in darkness. The creation of light makes observation and identifica-tion possible. Thus, light is distinguished from darkness; the former is iden-tified as day, the latter as night. Re-creating religious life involves observation. Religious must look courageously and see clearly the quality of every aspect of their lives and then distinguish between what will enhance that quality and what will not. To some degree this self-observation has been going on as religious respond-ed to the Church's call to read the signs of the times. However, with chang-ing demographics and subsequent adjustments to communal life and institutional commitments, religious need to refresh their response to this call and examine their lives yet more closely. In recent years apostolic religious life has known what it is to be "with-out form and void, covered in darkness." Some of this experience stems from the demographics and economics which have signaled the significant change--if not the death--of the religious life of twenty-five years ago. Some stems from the communal, ministerial, and structural implications of those demographics and economics. Some stems from modifications which religious themselves initiated through the process of'revising their constitu-tions and the traditional practices of their personal and communal lives. The ways in which religious live and minister and organize their congregations have changed and no doubt will continue to do so. Clearly, religious life has responsed to the Church and the cultures in which it witnesses. That religious life has undergone change is by itself no indication that nothing further need be done. Could the formlessness, emptiness, and dark- Re-creating Religious Life / 65'1 ness which religious sometimes feel about their way of life be the result of not observing areas needing yet further clarification and identification? These observations of mine focus on one area central to the lives of apostolic religious: celibate community. There is an asceticism inherent in any way of life in which two or more individuals have committed themselves to one another. Principally, that asceti-cism involves maintaining the common good over personal preferences. The acceptance of such an asceticism is essential to a healthy marriage and family life and to a healthy celibate community. Without that asceticism, the basic mutuality of the commitment begins to erode, and eventually the passion and dynamism within the relationships dissipate, then disappear altogether. If we observe the quality of our celibate community life over recent years, we have to ask whether there are times when consecrated commitment degenerates into corporate complacency. This is not to imply that religious have lost the ability to live community. Rather, it asks whether we have suf-ficiently explored other models of living a celibate communal lifestyle with-in the heritage and tradition of our congregations. Frequently in the past, community "happened" in a relatively large resi-dence associated with a congregational ministry. The daily schedules and general patterns of life within the community were much influenced by the needs of the ministry. Generally, those schedules and patterns reflected and were consistent with individuals' expectations. As ministry diversified (and individualized) during the last twenty-five years, expectations also diversi-fied. Common schedules and patterns became less possible and less realistic, given the broad spectrum of responsibilities and time commitments of local community members. Unless those expectations are observed, articulated, and modified as necessary, particularly in residences originally associated with a single ministry, those members unable to be present at certain times and events can be branded as having lost their sensitivity to or even their appreciation of the value of community. The ways in which expectations are lived are not solely internal; others observe how we live together, for better or for worse. Coworkers and other associates shape their perception and understanding of religious life by the pattern and quality of life they observe among us. Though we cannot live our lives in slavery to the multiple, diverse, and often inconsistent expecta-tions and assumptions with which others characterize us, we should not for-get that religious life is a form of witness to the Church and the culture. It bears a responsibility to be a living example of the Gospel and a working model of Jesus' mission. We need to observe our life as celibate community with a probing and 652 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 questioning eye. Are our communities prayerful, hospitable, and happy? Do we take individual and collective responsibility for the house in which we reside? In our communities, can we comfortably and frequently discuss the Gospel, faith, and religious life? Do we invite and welcomethose consider-ing religious life? Do we enjoy one another? Do we know one another? Do we live our life together with passion? Day 2 -- Separation God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." God made the space and separated the waters which were under the space from the waters which were above it. And it was so.And God,called the space Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day (Gn 1:6-8). With the dawn of the second day, God begins to put order into creation. Specifically, he makes some working room, so to speak, space in which to continue and complete the work of creation. If the first day emphasized observation and identification, then this second day emphasizes separation and distinction. Re-creating religious life involves separation. In recent years religious have spoken and written much about the need for continuing renewal. Chapters and other gatherings have focused extensively, and sometimes exclusively, on the renewal and refoundation necessary for religious life to be a continuing evangelical and apostolic force. Chapter documentation often remains disembodied as the demands of ministry and the routines of daily life reassert themselves after the chapter closes. Patterns of life change neither quickly nor easily. Regardless of how sublime and profound chapter proceedings may be, we will never effectively legislate renewal and refoun-dation. We must provide space for patterns of individual and communal life to be re-created. For celibate community, the observation and articulation of differing and conflicting expectations may suggest creating some new space. Can quality of life be sustained and intensified if those expectations are left to coexist without enough space for coordination? But, on the other hand, if coordina-tion becomes synonymous with the lowest common denominator, is the effort to provide such space worthwhile at all? Sometimes, no doubt, coordi-nation will bring about re-creation, but this does not seem to be the normal pattern; more often than not, re-creation by separation should be considered. Separation will involve establishing new local communities. Alternative housing could be provided for members who are committed to exploring and implementing a communal lifestyle that will meet their expectations and Re-creating Religious Life / 653 maintain a consistency and an integrity which reflect clearly their commit-ment as religious. The assumption here is that such alternative communities would be established with the highest common denominator as the standard. Prayer and relationships and the practice of the vows would be regularly reviewed to assure that standard. Separation is not schism, it is not a condemnation of other communal lifestyles within a congregation. Twenty-five years ago it was possible to find striking, and even exact, parallels throughout the local communities of a sin-gle congregation. Often those parallels were evident among many congrega-tions, also. Today, even between large local communities of the same congregation, we can find striking differences. Separation has to do with dis-tinction, not division. It seeks to express the rich diversity of ways in which a congregational heritage can be embodied among those committed to it. Major superiors have a significant role in this, a multifaceted role. First, they can take the initiative of identifying people and providing resources for new ventures even if the original initiativecame from community members themselves. The major superiors' involvement could signal the validity of the venture for those whose first reaction is critical. Second, major superiors can offer their support, encouragement, and assistance as new communities get underway. When some "red tape" needs cutting or some bureaucratic procedure needs streamlining, they are usually in a privileged position for expediting whatever needs to be done. Third, they can serve as initial observers and objective consultants for new local communities, Their role is not to mold groups into their own image and likeness, but to see that the members remain faithful to the principles and practices they have agreed upon for their life together. Finally, major superiors can be a buffer between nascent local communities and the established community. Not everyone in the latter group will agree with new ventures and the direction they repre-sent. Major superiors should avoid any defensive posture which would make the new communities look like aberrations in the eyes of the established community. They should focus their explanations about these ventures on their continuity with the congregational heritage. Separation is a means of re-creating celibate community; it is an invest-ment in the future. No doubt there are risks involved, but the prophetic nature of religious life has always placed religious in precarious situations. The risks are a challenge to acknowledge God's providential presence and activity. As religious we must reaffirm our faith in providence and move boldly into the future. Without faith, we undermine the very foundation of our religious life; without movement, we betray any assurance we profess to have about the future. 654 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 The future will come, but not in a vacuum. The choices we make now will determine the quality of that future. In making those choices, we need to create a fresh space, to provide a place for the future. Day 3 -- Cultivation God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. God said, "Let the earth produce growing things, plants bearing seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit containing their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, plants bearing seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit containing their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Gn 1:9-13). The third day brings cultivation to what has been created. With the emergence of land, "growing things" can appear; each of these growing things contains individuality and generativity. Life--and all of creation-- will continue; there will be another day. "And God saw that it was good." With this third day, God has completed the foundation for what will appear on the succeeding days of creation. And the foundation was good. Re-creating religious life involves cultivation. The future quality of celi-bate community will not appear by spontaneous generation, nor will it be manufactured according to elaborate specifications. It must be cultivated. Establishing new local communities does not signal the dawn of the seventh day; it is not the time to rest and lay aside further efforts. Quite the contrary, it is the time to move forward enthusiastically and confidently with every-thing that has been initiated thus far. This is the time for "growing things?' The root of the word cultivate is a term which can be translated "to move around" and "to dwell," depending upon the context. This dual ety-mology is quite appropriate for these present reflections. Cultivating celibate community requires some moving around. Community compromises vitality if it stops moving according to its own informed choices; that is, if it begins to operate on automatic pilot. Vitality springs from the continuing observa-tion and articulation of expectations. Patterns of personal and communal life must be mutually monitored with integrity and without fear of reprisal. Relationships must be nurtured naturally With quality time and refreshed regularly through reconciliation. Cultivation assumes that expectations and patterns and relationships will evolve. Cultivation flourishes in an environ-ment of exchange, interest, care, and concern. Cultivation moves around Re-creating Religious Life / 655 within and among community members to prevent that stagnation which taxes commitment and tempts to convenience. Cultivating celibate community requires some dwelling. Cohabitation is not celibate community; it merely means that two or more people inhabit the same residential space and need not involve any interpersonal commitment. Dwelling goes beyond living together to include entrusting our lives to one another. If we do not have mutual trust with those with whom we live, then what grounds do we have for claiming we entrust our lives to the Lord? It is a basic tenet of faith that the quality of our relationships with one another verifies or falsifies the quality of our relationship with the Lord. Truly dwelling with one another, recognizing that our life together makes a home of the house, is a certification of our love relationship with one another and with the Lord, and a witness of integrity to others. There is no flawless formula for assuring cultivation; it involves all the effort, discipline, and asceticism requisite for any healthy relationship. There are, however, some principles which can support that effort, discipline, and asceticism. First, clarity of vision: Members must have a sense of the direction in which they hope the community to move. More than an in-house conve-nience, that vision is part of the apostolic character of celibate community. Second, communication of values: A common vision is built upon shared values. Without this sharing, there is little common ground to cultivate; com-munity quickly becomes an arid land. Third, cooperation for vitality: This is a discipline and an asceticism which positions the common good as the high-est priority. The vitality of vision and values can be cultivated only coopera-tively; it cannot be assumed. Fourth, concern for vocation: This is the foundational principle. Vision and values have no vital and substantive pur-pose and meaning unless community members share a sincere concern for the integrity of their commitment to the vocation of religious life. In practice, these principles are skrategies which must characterize the re-creation of celibate community. Cultivation is a daily enterprise which will mark the presence and activity of community members with one anoth-er. Thus, cultivation never comes to a point of sufficiency, beyond which no further efforts are necessary. There will always be both peaks and plateaus in the quality of life within any community. The principles of clarity, communi-cation, cooperation, and concern are reminders that neither the peaks nor the plateaus are places of permanence. We must cultivate celibate community if it is to have a prophetic place in the future and even if it is to have a future at all. We must cultivate it since the culture will not support it. We live in a culture whose materialistic, indi- 656 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 vidualistic, and sensualistic preferences and practices have compromised its capability for fostering the personal commitment which lies at the heart of both celibacy and community. The decline of marriage and the family is but one testimony to that compromise. Celibate community can stand as a prophetic sign that such a commitment is humanly possible. For the future, that sign may be the small seed which is cultivated into the means of trans-formation for the entire culture. In the Days to Come "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." As the story is presented, nothing existed before God began his creative work. Everything could be made as an original, without the pressing and pressuring influence of a long-standing tradition. God could, so to speak, work from scratch. Re-creating religious life, and celibate 'community in particular, cannot assume the absence of any influence. There are values and traditions and practices by which communal religious life has endured and prospe,red over the cen-turies. The observation, separation, and cultivation which will position reli-gious life for re-creation cannot dismiss that influence as unnecessary, nor distance it as untouchable. The influence of those realities which have shaped religious life can be incorporated and assimilated into the re-creation; thus will be their creative transformation. Admittedly, some refinement may be necessary to preserve the spirit of those values, traditions, and practices. Nevertheless, such refinement is not a ruling of inadequacy, but a rendering unto new life. In the days to come we must observe closely the ways and means of our religious life together. We need to articulate clearly and forcefully the values by which we will actually live.Prophetic statements from individuals or chapters or other gatherings that remain forever disembodied phrases will never be true characterizations of religious life. Indeed, they can become pharisaical, lofty ideals without living intent. Observation, as I have used the term, has more to do with enacting motivation than with simply gathering information. In the days to come we must separate ourselves from whatever patterns of life have compromised or constricted our desire and ability to live our religious commitment with intensity and integrity. We must re-create the spirit of being called, of being set apart for the Gospel. Without that spirit, the prophetic prowess of religious life is neither affectively experienced nor effectively expressed. Within that spirit, religious life claims the power and proclamation which are the inheritance of Gospel witnesses. In the days to come we must cultivate our life together. We need to re- Re-creat.ing Religious Life / 657 create the commitment we have made to God and to one another. We have at our disposal a power for and a promise of common life that can bring hope to a world broken by betrayal, gouged by greed, and disheartened by deceit. The passion with which we live our celibacy, poverty, and obedience will counteract the standards set by that betrayal, greed, and deceit. The convic-tion with which we re-create and realize our communal life will cultivate and confirm the presence and activity of the kingdom within and around us. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This is an old story, but one that may be enacted once again as religious life approaches the twenty-first century. Observation, separation, and cultivation are strategies which can support the work of re-creation; and yet we should never displace the fundamental truth that this is God's work, all is grace. The alliance between those strategies and that grace will enable us to speak of religious life and of celibate community with the same bold confidence which marked Yahweh's promise for the temple. "The Lord Almighty speaks: 'Is there any-one among you who can still remember how splendid the temple used to be? How does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all. But now do not be discouraged, any of you. Do the work that is needed, for I am with you, so do not be afraid . In the_days to come the new temple will be more splendid than the old one, and there I will give you prosperity and peace' " (Hg 2:3-4, 9). To the Bird of My Prayer Songster, your hymn of praise Never ceases in a melody all your own; Chanting a song--pleading, thanking-- With the sheer joy of having voice to sing. From highest pole to roof, you find your perch, No earth-bound bush can stifle flight to God. Anna Louise Staub, S.S.J. 217 W. Commercial St. East Rochester, NY 14445 Prophetic Witness in Contemporary Religious Life Jean Steffes, CSA: Sister Jean Steffes has been general superior for the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Agnes. Her address is: 427 Gillett Street; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935-4598. The notion of being prophetic in today's society can conjure up many images in us, depending upon our perspective. For some of us being prophetic might seem a quality to be admired in Dorothy Day, Archbishop Romero, the martyred Jesuits of El Salvador, and the Agnesians Maureen and Teresa of Nicaragua, but one to which we could never aspire. It wo~ld mean speaking, acting, or giving witness in larger-than-life situations that may never be the platform for most of us. Another perspective might give rise to images of angry demonstrations directed at society and culture or at our Church. The call for greater inclusion of women in roles in Church and society, for the right to life of the unborn, the unwanted, and the elderly, and for the preservation of our environment can result in tactics that seem or are angry. For those who shrink from such approaches, even the very valid and necessary content can be lost. A third image of the prophet (which we may enjoy) is of one who foretells the future. In our society there are those who use past patterns to predict our economy's collapse or other dire conse-quences. For those of us who live a Gospel faith, such prophets do not give the hope so necessary to engage in present realities and so make the world a better place here and now. The images I have shared are overdrawn stereotypes, but they show the difficulty in speaking on the topic of prophetic wit]aess. In this reflection I will explore three broad areas: (1) What does it mean to be prophetic? (2) prophetic witness and the current experience of religious life: (3) an agenda for the future. 658 Prophetic Witness / 659 What Does It Mean to be Prophetic? Walter Brueggemann says in The Prophetic Imagination, "The time may be ripe in the church for a serious consideration of prophecy as a crucial ele-ment in ministry."~ Prophets understood how change is effected. They knew the power of language, how to "evoke newness, 'fresh from the word.' ,,2 Let us develop at some length Brueggemann's ideas of prophecy. He states, "The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the domi-nant culture around us . ,,3 I believe his approach can help us understand prophetic witness as it applies to the goals and meaning of religious life. Beginning with the story of Moses, we can learn what it means to form an alternative community. The story of the Exodus shows us how Moses and the Israelite people were brought out from their domination by an imperial religion and the politics of oppression and exploitation. The religion and pol-itics of Pharaoh worked hand in hand to keep him in power and control. Through the interaction of Moses and Aaron with Pharaoh and his regime, the Israelites began to see the difference between the freedom of God and the lack of freedom of the Egyptian gods. Belief in the Egyptian gods served to maintain a social order that allowed for oppression and exploitation. The God revealed to the Israelites is tied to no social order. God is a God of free-dom who calls for an alternative community built on the politics of justice and compassion. The alternative consciousness that Moses fostered in the Israelites was both critical and energizing. His critique, validated when the Egyptians were struck by plagues which their gods were powerless to counter, showed up false claims to power and authority which could not keep promises in the face of the free God. Prophetic criticism has an element of grieving in it as the prophet mourns the oppressions encountered. The Israelites were afflict-ed, oppressed, and ground down by the dominant Egyptian culture, and so they risked the freedom of the free God against the regime. The energizing happened not through what the Israelites already possessed but through what was promised. God went before them in pillars of fire and cloud and trans-figured this fear into energy. The people were energized to follow the free God to establish an alternative community built on justice and compassion. Though the Israelites left Egypt to live more freely, they, too, eventually developed a dominant culture. It was characterized by the reign of Solomon, whose whole achievement appears to have had the self-serving purpose of securing the place of the king and king's dynasty. Solomon did not welcome the ideas of a free God and an alternative community any more than did Pharaoh, for they threatened the established order. There were three bases 660 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 for Solomon's rule that generally mark any dominant culture. First, there was incredible well-being and affluence, though it was not equitably shared. Some went without enough so that others might have too much. Second, an oppressive social policy sustained the standard of living. There was a system of forced labor in which laborers met the needs of the state although unable to meet their own needs. The politics of justice and compassion disappeared, and the order of the state became the overriding agenda. Third, there was the establishment of a controlled and static religion. God and God's temple became part of the royal landscape. How could God, seen as living in a house provided by the king, say anything critical or abrasive? Solomon was countering the counterculture of Moses: the economics of equality was countered with the economics of affluence, the politics of justice with the politics of oppression, and the religion of God's freedom with the religion of God's accessibility. The dominant culture of Solomon managed to brush aside Moses' vision. The gift of freedom was taken over by the yearning for order, and the human agenda of justice was used for security. Against reali-ties like these, people are called to utter prophetic words. Moses both criticized and energized. Like him, Jeremiah is shown as proclaiming the critique while Second Isaiah offers the energy for the new vision. The prophets offer symbols that contradict a situation of hopelessness and give public expression to long-unspoken fears and hopes. They show us that the dominant culture leads people to despair of new life. They present an alternative consciousness, grounded in the unwavering faithfulness of God, that can energize the community to new forms of faithfulness and vital-ity. Jesus, too, is shown as a prophet who criticized the dominant culture of his day. "Jesus is remembered and presented by the early Church as the faithful embodiment of an alternative consciousness.''4 Jesus' ministry and death oppose the politics of oppression with the politics of justice and com-passion. The counterpart to the crucifixion is the birth of a new reality that finds full expression in the resurrection. What does this very challenging reflection on prophets and prophetic consciousness have to say to us in religious life? What is apostolic religious life's prophetic role in church and society today? It is important to reflect on this, recognizing that we have generous portions of both dominant culture and alternative consciousness within us. We recognize our conflicted nature, yet we aspire to a prophetic role in church and society. We must ask, then, whether apostolic women religious have been co-opted by our dominant consumer culture or whether we manifest an alterna-tive consciousness based on the freedom of a free God. Do we show a belief in community and interdependence as inherent in our way of life, or are we Prophetic Witness / 66'1 fragmented and self-centered? Are we motivated by a desire for justice and compassion, or do we prefer stability even at the price of the exploitation and oppression of "invisible" others? The questions are hard but necessary as we examine the religious way of life for evidence of prophetic witness. Prophetic Witness and the Current Experience of Religious Life Our challenge as women religious is to position ourselves to recognize the revelation of the future. One current writer, Mary Jo Leddy, N.D.S., speaks of the need to develop a postliberal model of religious life. Her thesis is that the basis for our contemporary religious life in North America is a declining culture that depends on the liberal thought fed by industrial capi-talism. While liberalism has made many contributions to modern society, it cannot deal with the reality of limits. If there can be no limits, ultimately there can be no meaning or values. Liberals tend to see themselves as contemporary or progressive and in conflict with the conservative or traditionalist ideas of Church and religious life. In Leddy's view, the more serious obstacle to the transformation and renewal of religious life results from the tension between the liberal and the prophetic approaches. The prophetic leads us to a more radical response in spirituality, mission, ministry, and community. The prophetic is risky, for it calls us to response to an unknown future rather than reaction to a no-longer-valid past. Leddy says, "We who live in a disintegrating empire today are summoned at prophetic moments to criticize the patterns of decline within our culture and within ourselves, to contemplate the holiness of God in the midst of these dark times, and to evoke the creative desire in one another for a meaningful alternative for the future.''5 These words are very similar to those Brueggemann uses to describe the prophetic imagination. The prophetic intersects with our apostolic religious life. Contemporary writers call religious to the same challenge the prophets faced in biblical times. Religious congregatiohs represent an alternative to the values of the dominant culture but do not stand apart from the people. Rather, apostolic religious recognize clearly the need for reflection, discernment, and a ground-ing in the holy as they criticize, yet energize, themselves and their peers to bring the values of the Gospel into contemporary society and culture. We have reflected on what it means to be a prophet. We have also recog-nized the challenge it presents to apostolic religious. Let us now look at cur-rent beliefs and responses regarding apostolic religious life in light of prophetic witness. I will consider mission direction, the meaning of member-ship, and some current realities. These areas provide us with the material to critique and energize our own prophetic potential. 662 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 Mission Direction Although expressed differently in each congregation, mission direction today involves in some way a commitment to transformation of the world, the Church, and ourselves through promoting systemic change for the quali-ty of life; justice for the economically poor; furtherance of the role of women in church and society; and mutuality, inclusivity, and collaboration in all relationships. Such mission direction clearly reminds us of our partici-pation in the mission of Jesus. When we call ourselves to systemic change for the quality of life, what do we mean? We are asking for two things, systemic change and quality of life. When we say the system is not working well, how do we want to change it so it will work better? For whom do we want it to work better? If we take a global view, we see that entirely too much of the world's popula-tion is forced to live at a level that does not meet its basic needs of food, shelter, health care, and education while a minority has more than its share. We see that, in order to feed the wants and needs of a market economy, rain forests are irrevocably destroyed, topsoil is depleted, deserts are expanded mercilessly, and the world's fresh-water supply is tainted and diminished. On local and national levels we 'must ask ourselves how the needs of the poor are being met. After all, Jesus was clear in showing us that whatever we do to the least of his people we are doing to him. The poor are receiving poorer education, less nourishing food, substandard or no housing, and inad-equate health care in this country so rich in resources and technology. We must use our ingenuity, gifts, and talents to change a system that has canonized greed and competition in order to satisfy wants. How can we in our own daily living point the way to change that would benefit those with least access to the system without denying the legitimate gains and goods of our society and culture? Such responses as simplifying our lifestyle by avoiding use of Styrofoam, recycling our disposables, and making thought-ful choices regarding food and other consumer goods can raise our con-sciousness and lead us to getting others involved and to networking with those already involved. Indeed, most changes begin as ordinary people change their thinking and the patterns that go with their thinking. We must know our values so that they, rather than the manipulative marketing of an over- consumptive dominant culture, will shape our choices and responses. We claim that we want justice for the economically poor. This value links with the goal of systemic change for the quality of life. Jesus' life and ministry showed us his love of preference for the poor. This is not to say that Jesus does not love all, but that his ministry was not directed in the main to those who were the power brokers of his day. These, of course, he invited to Prophetic Witness / 663 join him in loving God and neighbor, but the cost was generosity, sharing their possessions. Jesus was good news for the poor. Are we who are called to continue Jesus' mission also good news for the poor? Whether in direct service So the poor or in ministry with middle- and upper-middle-class peo-ple, are we focused on a more just distribution of and access to necessary goods and resources? Do we in our teaching and in our healing, pastoral, and social works always have in mind those who are less fortunate than we are? Are we willing ~o call others to this consciousness even when we see and know that the poor are not to be idealized? They, like us, have faults and failings and may not reflect Christ as we might want them to. A reverence for the poor calls us to a view of Christ very different from that of popular piety. While comforting, it is challenging; while open and inviting, it is demanding; and while satisfying, it never ceases to call out for more--more love, more generosity, more hospitality. Not all of us are called to direct ser-vice with the poor, but all of us are called to seek justice for the poor. In this quest we continually recognize that we, too, are among the needy and are enriched by those we serve. Another commitment common to religious is to the furtherance of the role of women in church and society. Worldwide, the conditions of women vary from those in countries where women have legal equality to those where brides are still considered property. Women the world over have the primary responsibility to feed and care for the children even though means and resources are not equitably at their disposal. In the United States a vio-lent crime is committed against a woman every three minutes, and a woman is raped every six minutes. Households headed by women are increasing while the rate of their income is dropping. Children are our most precious resource, but those who care for them are denied the necessary means. Our Church struggles with the role women are to play in its pastoral, liturgical, and philosophical reflections.In the U.S. the most recent draft document on women's role in the Church and society calls for equality for women in theory but holds back in p.ractice. As John XXIII said in Pacem in Terris in 1963, "Since women are becoming ever more conscious of their human dignity, they will not tolerate being treated as inanimate objects or mere instruments, but claim, both in domestic and in public life, the rights and duties that befit a human person.''6 The women's issue is more than an issue, it is a perspective that demands attention and response. Once unleashed, the forces of confusion and dissension drive towards resolution. In our lives we will use inclusive language, advocate for women, and net-work to help make society a friendlier place for women to develop and share their gifts and talents. Despite such a commitment on the part of congrega- 664 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 tions, there is dissension among women religious in language usage and other matters. Our heads and hearts find themselves in conflict here, leading to results that could be less than satisfying. Can we avoid being our own worst enemy in the search for inclusivity? Let us not deny the richness of our past, the demands of the present, or the call of the future as we work for justice and right for women in contemporary society and church. Another area of commitment of apostolic religious today has to do with mutuality, inclusivity, and collaboration in all our relationships. The values implied here are very positive, and yet to achieve them one must give in order to receive. The mystery of sacrifice is contained in these words in a way that is not apparent at first glance. For mutuality to occur, I must not only believe in myself, I must also learn to believe and trust in the other. With whom do we allow ourselves to be mutual? Do we let power, position, language, style of dress, or education prevent us from speaking our truth or hearing that of others? In terms of inclusivity, do we go to the extremes either of having no boundaries or expectations or of expecting everyone to fulfill every role or function in an organization? Inclusivity involves includ-ing others in the concerns affecting their own lives. Not all will do every-thing, but there must be input from those affected. In terms of discernment, though all are included, not all perspectives can be responded to or chosen. We often try to make inclusivity mean pleasing everyone all of the time even though this may be impossible. Finally, let us look at c.ollaboration. If we pull the word apart, we can see the meaning as co-labor or working with. At one time we may have considered ourselves collaborative if we hired lay teachers and nurses and more so if we hired lay administrators. Collaboration at its most radical, however, calls us not just to bring others into our projects and have them do things our way, but to work with others and to respond to the signs and needs of the times together. Unhe.althy com-petition or too rigid control in ministry or community strikes at the heart of the love which binds us together so that the 'risen Christ may be discovered among us and in our world. The Meaning of Membership The consideration of mutuality, inclusivity, and collaboration leads us into the meaning of membership. Community life is a topic, issue, and reali-ty that continues to generate much attention. As apostolic religious we have such different experiences, expectations, and definitions regarding commu-nity life and the meaning of local community. Sometimes when the phrase "local community" is used, the assumptions and expectations already in place cause us to "shut down," to become unable to continue a dialogu~ Prophetic Witness because we are really unable to h~ar one another. (I personally have felt anger, despair, defensiveness, longing, fear--and also hope--around this topic.) What has led religious women to this state and what can we do to move beyond shutdown and breakdown to a breakthrough? It is clear that, in this matter, apostolic women religious are striving, striving to understand meaningful bonding and to express it through authentic participation in community. Someone recently said that we may have so emphasized mission and ministry in the years of renewal following Vatican II that c6mmunity has become the shadow side of our way of life. If that is the case, the difficulties surrounding our efforts to deal with community life are deep and profound. We must face and deal with this central area of our way of life so that we are nok torn apart by unclear expectations and assumptions. I offer three perspectives for consideration in the area of community: human-growth issues, the importance of faith community and faith sharing, and l~ousin~ in community. We sometimes get bogged down by human-growth issues in our lives with one another on the local or on the broader community level even though our lived experience points to the need for human growth and development among ourselveg. Each of us knows how difficult it is to change herself and how truly futile it is to expect to change another. Each of us must deal with herself and her own issues in as healthy a fashion as 16ossible. Only when my behaviors and patterng are healthy may I be able to imiarove the dynamics between myself and those with whom I interact on a r~gular basis. The challenge here is to deal with my own behav-iors, realizing that I have no real or lasting power over the behaviors another may choose. My role is to try not to feed into unhealthy behaviors that may be pre.sent around me. Although unatteiaded human-growth issues can wreak havoc on healthy relating within community, still apostolic religious must recognize that we will never overcome all of these problems either individually or corpbrately. Gra~e biailds on nature; it will not replace or deny our humanness. We must realize how eadh sister's desire and motivation influence her choices regard-ing her behavior and interaction. We cannot choose for each other, only for ourselves. Each ~'eligious needs to be challenged to a self-knowledge and self-awareness leading to growth. Practices such as spiritual direction, the annual retreat, and the daily consciousness examen can keep us grounded in reality yet open to ongoing conversion. We must deal with human-growth-and-development issues, but not remain there. We must be committed to the making of or participating in faith community as a means of nurturing shared life, shared love, and shared vision. We must find ways to relate regularly and meaningfully with our sis- 666 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 ters in community in order to reflect on, renew, and recommit ourselves to the mission, charism, and spirit of our congregation in our daily lives. Depending upon our miriistry and the proximity of other congregational members, how we do this will differ; that we must do it if membership is to mean more than an annual touchdown or the reading of congregational mate-rials is the reality we face. Some Current Realities I. recogniz9 that each congregational member will have other communi-ties thai will lay claim to her time, energy, and affection. That is good and healthy. My point is that we must have quality time for our own congrega-tion as well, as part of the ordering rhythm of our lives. Sometimes one's commitment to ministry or to parish can become so all-encompassing that ther~ is. little or no time or energy left for her to express her membership in her religious congregation. For me, the making of faith community involves reverence for one another, presence to one another for celebration as well ag dialogue and reflection, honesty so that we can affirm one another or call each other to growth, and a commitment to the goals and developing agenda of our congregation. This topic of makirig and participating in faith community leads to another important topic: the difference between housing and local communi-ty: We often equaie the two and this ~quation may not reflect that community life is broader than housing. The recent lived reality of women religious shows that faith community on the "local" level is not necessarily synony-mous with where a sister lives. In some locales th~ sisters have committed themselves to hei,ng a faith community without walls; regular meetings, cele-brations, and gatherings among them challenge and deepen their member-ship in the cbngi'egation, in other locales the sisters in a particular house function well as a faith community. We must recognize such differing com-munity realities and encourage them on the local level as well as on the con-gregational level. A commitment to community in our current society of intenge individualism and consumer gratification keeps us involved in a prophetic role. An Agenda for the Future The prophetic nature of this life to which we are called leads us to cob-sider an agenda for~the future. Any living organization must be open to change or it will die. In a sense change is an ordered type of death, not death as final but rather death leading to new life. One of the greatest strengths of apostolic women religious is the serise that the agenda or common goals Prophetic Witness / 667 belong to all of us. This strength we will build on as we look at change and new life for us religious. Central to understanding ourselves as women religious is understanding our spirituality. I believe that the biggest challenge for each of us with regard to spirituality is to lead more integrated lives. Integration does not just hap-pen in a person's life. It must be worked at daily through a continuous blend of action and reflection leading to further action. Somehow the aspects of one's life must be part of a whole rather than segments that do not overlap. In an integrated life my religious commitment is not separate from who I am when I am at leisure. My response in mission and ministry is not limited to my paid professional work but may overlap into volunteer involvements in food pantries, visiting the sick or elderly, letter writing, and other activities. Community life is not an end in itself in an apostolic religious institute, nor is it merely a refuge that ought to be there when I want and need it. Community is a place or space where I share faith and vision, humanness, and the quest for the divine. My ministry is not all-consuming; I do allow myself necessary time for recreation and reflection. And my prayer life is more than specified exercises or spiritual reading. All these somehow fit together and reflect my spirituality, my integration of life. An integrated life has powerful witness value in a society that wants everything and does not want to be reminded of the need for balance. Integration is not synonymous with transformation, but it can surely open us to being transforming elements in the institutions and structures of society and culture. In our desire to be prophetic witnesses, we commit our-selves to transformation of the Church, the world, and ourselves~ I recently read that one way of understanding transformation is to look at the life cycle of the butterfly. First there is a caterpillar; next there is the chrysalis stage, in which the organic matter is quite shapeless and formless; finally, there is the butterfly. Transformation is what happens in the chrysalis stage. The process is not very appealing; it suggests a profound letting go as well as an openness to a different future. While transformation has global ramifications, it will not begin at the global level but rather at the local level, where we can encourage one anoth-er to let go of attitudes or practices that may have been more helpful to a known and comfortable past than to the needs of the present or the concerns of the future. The desire for transformation of the world, the Church and our-selves flows directly from our relationship to God, self, others, and creation. It is expressed in a commitment to justice, peace, and the integrity of cre-ation. Transformation is not something anyone can directly make happen by willing it. No one person caused the recent freedom movement in Eastern 668 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 Europe, nor can one individual move our economy from a military focus to a domestic and global focus responding to human and planetary needs in a humane fashion. Likewise, no ond person's recycling of materials will reverse our problem with excessive waste. Yet all of these and many other alternative responses can indeed lead to transformation. When such respons-es begin, networking or replicating starts to happen and systems begin to change. At the May 1990 meeting of the council of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) in Rome, the following global challenges to evan-gelization were identified: the widening gap between the rich and poor; indi-vidualism characterized by greed, violence, terrorism, abandonment, indifference, and irresponsibility; loss of human dignity through political oppression, social discrimination, and economic injustice; the breakdown of family life; the destruction of the environment; inability to trust the human community, coupled with a preoccupation with survival. These challenges help us to formulate an agenda for transformation that is larger than ourselves, and they clearly link with the transformative ele-ments for religious life in the future developed by the major superiors of U.S. women's and men's communities (LCWR/CMSM) in August 1989: prophetic witness; contemplative attitude toward life; poor and marginalized persons as the focus for ministry; spirituality of wholeness and global inter-connectedness; charism and mission as sources of identity; change of the locus of power; living with less; broad-based inclusive communities; under-standing ourselves as Church; and developing interdependence among peo-ple of diverse cultures. These challenges and transformative elements reflect in broad strokes the goals and concerns ofapostolic religious. Though the future depends in part upon us and our efforts, it depends even more on the grace of God our Creator, the inspiration of the Spirit, and our cooperation with each other as members of the body of Christ, joined in a common humanity and gifted with a common creation. Our communion with and in Christ calls all humanity "to reclaim relationships with family, clan, and tribe, to choose the common good, to seek solidarity with one another and with the earth.''7 For transformation to occur, we must believe and act in such a way that we give the message that life has meaning and that, assisted by God's grace, our responses make a difference. The prophetic imagination described by Brueggemann remains viable as we respond in our own times with an alter-native consciousness, as we critique our dominant culture and yet energize one another for a more just and compassionate future. Our faith gives us the vision and the mission, our hope gives us spirit and energy, and our love Prophetic Witness / 669 grounds us in the mysterious blend of transcendence and immanence that is life. I close this reflection on prophetic witness and apostolic religious life with Isaiah's words: "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Is 43:18-19). NOTES I Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978), p. 9. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid, p. 13. 4 Ibid, p. 88. 5 Mary Jo Leddy, Reweaving Religious Life: Beyond the Liberal Model (Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1990), p. 164. 6 John XXIII, Pacem In Terris, in Seven Great Encyclicals (Glen Rock, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1963), p. 297. 7 Helen Maher Garvey, B.V.M., excerpt from notes on the Meeting of the General Council, UISG, Rome, Italy, May 7-11, 1990, p. 2. Storms Tornado watch, the weatherman said, to last until ten o'clock. Four hours to wait for what may be or not. Storms of spirit come suddenly; swirl through the heart's towns and wash its skies to morning clean-- with no hours to wait for what so swiftly is. Sister Elizabeth deSales Dee, S.S.J. St. Joseph Convent 7300 Torresdale Avenue Philadelphia, Pa. 19136 Mission or Consecrated Religious Person: Which Comes First in Apostolic Institutes? Marie Therese Levey, R.S.~. Sister Marie Therese has taught school in country areas of Australia. Later she spe-cialized in teaching instrumental music: piano and violin. More recently she has done research in liturgical music and earned a Ph.D. Her address is St. Joseph's Convent; P.O. Box 472; North Sydney, N.S.W. 2059; Australia. In May/June 1988 this joumal published Sister Georgine Scarpino's article "The Unemployed Sister: Challenge and Opportunity." It defines the unem-ployed sister as a woman religious physically and emotionally capable of active ministry who, despite seeking work, currently has no formal position. It gives two causes for this modem phenomenon: the location of the work and the way ministry decisions are made. In summary, Sister Georgine points out the need for congregations of women religious to develop programs within religious institutes to address both employment and unemployment. Surprisingly, no published response has followed her article until now. Since women religious have sacrificed potential material wealth, marriage, and motherhood in order to serve the Church in institutes devoted to apos-tolic works, it seems unjtist that the situations described occur. However, occur they do, and the first step toward rectifying the problems is to admit them. One then asks why they exist and seeks an appropriate cure. Sister Georgine presents causes of these problems in the United States. Although here in Australia there are general parallels to what she describes, yet the causes and thus the cures seem somewhat different here. The present writer has, in religious life, personally experienced "job search" and the special type of demoralization which occurs in close-knit communities when one is the "odd man out." I thus feel equipped to write on this subject. Regardless of the differences between countries in reasons for the phe-nomenon of the unemployed sister, I believe that the two elements most 670 Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 671 needed in addressing the problem of appropriate placement in apostolic works of religious personnel in institutes of consecrated life are: (l) a correct balance in religious leaders between their attitudes towards responsibility for the institute's authentic mission and their attitudes towards the rights of the individual members; (2) adequate use of written media, particularly those which are internal to the religious institutes and which include forums for peer review and the opportunity for subjects to respectfully challenge those directives or oversights of superiors which seem to threaten the authentic mission of the institute or the rights of its members. Mission and Person The religious state belongs to the life and holiness of the Church (canon 574), and the primary mission of the Church is the care of souls. Ecclesiastical law insists that apostolic action for institutes of consecrated life should confirm and foster union with God (c. 675, §2). The Church has Msb a social mission, namely, to support and protect people's material well-being and to inspire and promote true civilization through Christian philoso-phy. 1 In the social category of mission can be placed the apostolic pati'imony of many institutes, and the Church insists that such patrimony, or intentions of the founder, should be.preserved by the institute (c. 578). Thus, leaders of institutes of consecrated life f6unded for apostolic works, in order to justify their ongoing existence and their acceptance of candidates, need to ensure that both the corporate entity and the individual members have a correct con-cept of this patrimony as well as machinery to implement it. Bearing in mind that the Church places the person at the center of the social order, religious leaders have a r~sponsibility to see that members of the institute are placed in apostolic works which are appropriate to the tal-ents and needs of each (see Perfectae Caritatis 18). The pastoral commit-ment of a leader in an apostolic institute does not remove--but, rather, ¯ increases--her obligation towards seeing to appropriate placement of per-sonnel. Although religious leaders nowadays delegate administrators for works for which members of their institute are the trustees, a large part of the responsibility of preventing serious damage to the person through long-term lack of appropriate apostolic work must lie, by the nature of their role, with the religious leaders. Moreover, the responsibilities leaders have to individtial persons within the institute vary according to how long and in what manner they have contributed to the institute (see REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 1989, p. 460). Since it is often claimed that consecrated religious are in short supply, the application of the above principles might seem straightforward. In reality 672 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 there are circumstances in the modem world in general, and here in Australia in particular, which cause it to be very difficult for congregational leaders. As in the United States, the location of the work in Australia affects the opportunity to do it, and the way ministry decisions are made in America has parallels h~re. Some details may clarify the differences between practices in the two countries. Conditions in Australia Prior to Vatican II, the missioning procedures in Australian apostolic religious congregations were relatively simple. Obedience, or the will of God, was equa~ed with doing what a superior told one to do and living where the superior told one to live. In larger Australian congregations, (over 1,000 members) often more than half were primary school teachers, and a large proportion of the remainder were either secondary teachers or nurses. Changes of residence for those "in the ranks" usually involved interchange between personnel engaged in similar works. This principle of interchange was fundamental to the smooth application of the third vow. When a difficult posting was required--for example, to isolated rural areas--younger reli-gious under perpetual vows were usually sent. Postings to apostolic works almost invariably came directly from a major superior, whether or not that superior's apostoli~c background was in the relevant work. Recruitment of staff for a school or a hospital by an administrator, or board, was foreign to most Australian apostolic religious congregations of women prior to about 1960, whether the mission was in the city or in the country. In the early 1960s a radical change occurred in the overall secondary education system in the most populous state of Australia, New South Wales. That change to what was called the Wyndham System, emphasizing science and the arts, was much more revolutionary in Catholic education for girls than it was either in state education or in Catholic education for boys. In the typical local Catholic school run by consecrated religioi~s women in Australia before that time, the girls remained in the same school, almost entirely staffed by r(ligious, from kindergarten through secondary school years. In state education and in Catholic education for boys, secondary schools were already separated at least from lower primary schools. Thus, state-school teachers and men religious in secondary education had been required to have university degrees before some larger institutes of w~men religious recognized such a need. When the more farsighted Catholic educa-tors pointed out that it would now be a problem to provide adequate sec-ondary education for the girls of less well-off families in local pa~:ish schools, some congregations saw in their higher grades a source of more Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 673 thoroughly trained religious personnel. That vain hope made difficulties in long-term planning for the transition from religious to lay staff. A further dramatic change in Australian education, which was to affect all ministries, occurred in the early 1970s. After a break of twenty years, the Australian Labor Party, headed by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, was elected to govern the country. One of its earliest reforms was to make uni-versity education free. Although some criticized the extraordinary cost this was to the nation, the move brought the opportunity for tertiary education to the masses. Before that time, university education had been for the fortunate and the chosen. Now the initiative for tertiary education was up to the indi-vidual. The suc.c~'ss achieved by some "late starters," many in their forties and fifties, revealed how much talent had previously been unused. From about 1975, attitudes within religious congregations changed for both superi-ors and subjects. Superiors began to listen more attentively to those who did well in their tertiary studies, and subjects found their personal confidence and self-esteem strengthened by their academic achievement. With the advances made in the study of theology and the social sciences, it is now rarel~ pretended that apostolic religious life is simple, or that doing the will of God is always as clear-cut as that decided by another human being alone, whether or not that person h.appens to be a religious superior. Because of the broader scope of ministries open to women religious, modem specialization, and improved administrative techniques, the principle of interchange among personnel--which for many years had been integral to the practice of the third vow--is now becoming more and more difficult. In addition, although the median age of religious congregations is rising faster than that of the general population, many religious feel they have the right, and indeed the duty, to request proximity to aging parents. Religious congre-gations in serious decline have virtually no young sisters under perpetual vows who might be sent to isolated schools in rural areas. Since the majority of Australian sisters have reached the "winding down" stage of their lives, many now look to the cities from whence they originally came. In addition to these developments within the Church, the governments of Australia and New Zealand have acknowledged, in the form of funding, the benefits to the country as a whole of certain works of the private sector, including Catholic, and have thus made it necessary to rethink the ecclesias-tical structures for some ministries in which religious are involved. The equitable processing of government funding necessitated merging many local works, including parish schools within dioceses, into larger systems, most of whose personnel are now lay. These mergings required the develop-ment of policies acceptable to the relevant bishops, major religious superi- 674 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 ors, and state and union representatives for the management of the works, particularly those of healthcare and education. Making the policies work in practice required the establishment of sophisticated structures, which in turn required religious or lay personnel with the proper management skills. As a result, the power of the leaders of religious institutes with regard to the placement of personnel in traditional works in Australia and New Zealand has been lessened. Unlike lay staff, religious in Australia are not permitted employment status; this is not the case in New Zealand.2 Because of all of these circumstances, religious superiors have had to rethink how to preserve their true patrimony oi" authentic mission and what human cost would be involved. Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? The whole issue of the employment, or active involvement, of religious personnel leads to the question: Which is of greater importance to an insti-tute claiming to be dedicated to apostolic works, the works for which it was founded or the persons who will serve in those works? For leaders of insti-tutes whose acceptance of candidates demands that they offer them appropri-ate apostolic work, the answer is neither obvious nor simple. However, the Church has offered some very sound advice in the general area of human work. Of the documents which have come from the Vatican since the council, few could be more relevant to our times than the encyclical letter Laborem Exercens (LE) of the present pope. Pope John Paul II presents human work as "one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of the crea-tures." It is "from work [that man's life] derives its specific dignity" (LE Introduction). Pope John Paul describes the "conflict between labor and cap-ital in the present phase of history" (LE 1 l f f). The Church, he points out, has always taught "the principle of labor over capital." Both are causes of pro-duction, but while capital is the mere "instrumental cause," labor is the "pri-mary efficient cause" (LE 12). In the labor-over-capital issue, Pope John Paul equates labor with per-sons and capital with the material returns from their labor. Consecrated reli-gious, even those who have employment, individually receive no capital }'or their labor. They have sacrificed this right for a stable form of living by which they can follow Christ more closely under the action of the Holy Spirit (c. 573). In Australia and New Zealand, more than half of the person-nel in apostolic institutes made their commitment in the years when religious superiors had supreme control over placement into works, and they are now beyond the stage at which they might have arranged for alternative security Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 675 in old age upon seeing that the original system in which they sacrificed pos-sible wealth, marriage, and motherhood was beginning to break down. So the competent authorities obviously have a serious question of obligation towards them now. Many of the religious have perhaps forty years of life which they could still offer in apostolic works within the Church. Pope John Paul also writes concerning the roles of the "direct and indi-rect employer" (LE 17). By the "indirect employer" he refers to many differ-ent elements in society which make up the human environment of the worker. He says: "The role of the agents included under the title of indirect employer is to act against unemployment, which in all cases is an evil, and which, when it reaches a certain level, can become a real social disaster" (LE 18). These are strong words from the pen of the vicar of Christ. The principal agent in the concept of indirect employer for religious personnel would be the wider Church in that country. Should not, then, sections of the local Church accept part of the responsibility to address any problems of unem-ployment for religious? As well, the question should be raised within reli-gious institutes: Is it justifiable for religious superiors to accept candidates to poverty and obedience within a particular institute when those superiors do not have the power to place them in suitable work soon after profession? Perhaps declining numbers in a congregation increase the temptation for superiors to do so, and perhaps they excuse their actions with the reminder that all should "trust in God." I believe that succumbing to such a temptation would constitute power abuse of a particularly destructive kind. The abuse would surely be more damaging if others within the institute were already searching for similar employment, and were exposed to the same market forces. Power and Recruitment for Apostolic Works The power of recruitment brings us to the heart of the present discus-sion, namely, the opportunity for or deprivation of suitable apostolic work for religious personnel. It is neither possible nor desirable to completely sep-arate apostolic persons from the society in which they live. Professed mem-bers of Australian religious institutes are exposed to the forces which are part of the sophisticated living of the decade leading up to the twenty-first century. In this society ~nd age, control of recruitment for works represents power. For religious personnel, recruitment can be translated into mission-ing. Procedures for the missioning of religious should be such that they lead to the spiritual strengthening of the members and the corporate growth of the institute. The immediate practical problem to be faced by governing bodies of religious institutes is to develop policies for missioning procedures that 676 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 are within their power to implement, that support evangelization, that are just and equitable and adapted to the personhood of each sister, and that accord with both canon and civil law. Nowadays apostolic work for religious may be broadly placed into four categories: (1) viable institutions of which the con-gregation is the trustee, (2) charitable works of the congregation or of other ecclesiastical bodies, (3) viable institutions of other ecclesiastical bodies which pay stipends or salaries for the work of the sister, and (4) viable and nonviable works found in profane structures at the initiative of the religious. (1) Viable institutions owned by a religious institute are, in a distinctive manner, part of its patrimony. They are, as well, material assets of the insti-tute, which its leaders should, in. poverty, care for "with the diligence of a good householder" (canon 1284). Viable works of religious congregations are businesses, and for businesses to survive and attract personnel today, they must be competitive. Vatican II (Gaudium et Spes 64) teaches that eco-nomic development through technical progress "must be fostered, along with a spirit of initiative, an eagerness to create and expand enterprises," and that the purpose of productivity "must be th.e service of. the whole human per-son, viewed in terms of his or her material needs and the demands of his or her intellectual, moral, spiritual, and religious life." Pope John Paul points out that "capital cannot be separated fr6m labor" (LE 13) though, of course, in the case of religious persons, the capital is, through poverty, directed elsewhere than themselves. Religious persons, knowing that they are materially contributing towards the whole, find in the capital "confirma-tion and support" (LE 13) for the work done. Sound economics and evangel-ical poverty should go hand in hand. In order to maintain the correct balance between responsibility to the institute's mission and respect for the rights of the individual members of the institute, congregational leaders (trustees of the works) must regard the work and those involved in it as separate entities: the work itself is important regardless of who does it. Individual members must have the same percep-tion so that they may practice the spirit of poverty, or detachment. There should, accordingly, be protective structures for the ministry, including sometimes the combining of similar works under one administration so that they will continue even in cases of illness or of anyone's taking longservice leave. It is particularly important that this principle of continuation be respected when works require only one person in the local area, for example, instrumental music practices.3 Setting up protective structures for ministries in order to maintain the institute's patrimony will include policies for recruitment of staff. In those works in which a number of religious and lay people, are engaged, religious superiors have the direct power to influence Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 677 administrators in the recruitment of personnel. It stands to reason, then, that---other things, like professional qualifications, being equal--in recruit-ment for works of which the religious institute is the trustee, preference should be given to its own members. (2) The category of charitable works might include refuges for the needy which are supported by the congregation and by external donations. Without viable works there can be no charitable works. The Church's teaching on a "preferential option for the poor," by which the poor should have a preferen-tial claim on the Church's resources, cannot be initially applied without the resources. Once competent authorities decide that a charitable work is authentic to the charism of the institute, then the congregation should set up, as it should for its viable institutions, protective structures to preserve the work, whether or not there are religious personnel to staff it. Indeed, true missionaries strive to make themselves ultimately dispensable--teaching the disadvantaged how to be self-reliant and how to recover the dignity which is their right (see LE 9). Protective structures would include finance arrange-ments which can be monitored, and the work should be the source of support for the individual religious workers; that is, their salaries or stipends should be fed back into the general system. Again, for a religious institute's own charitable works, other things being equal, one would expect that members of the institute who are under civil retirement age should be considered first when positions are vacant. In Australia, women over sixty years of age (men over sixty-five) who have limited assets (a category which includes religious) are eligible to apply for the Social Security payments from the government. With the pres-ent societal structures, it seems that religious who receive Social Security should not deprive others (perhaps more deserving) of needed employment positions. In some dioceses it is established policy not to accept into stipend-ed positions religious women who are over sixty. If protective structures for an institute's works do not include allocationof salaries, or stipends which are independent of Social Security payments, then receipt of the latter would generate for the ministry an artificial security which could destabilize long-term plans for it. (3) In the third category above, which here in Australia refers principally to Catholic education, lie the greatest current problems of placement of reli-gious personnel. In most of Australia, the recruitment of staffs for nonpro-motional positions in Catholic schools is in the hands of local principals. This power evolved with the gradual acceptance of lay staffs into the parish schools previously staffed by religious. Perhaps to our discredit, it is only recently (since about 1975) that there has been widespread acceptance of lay 678 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 teachers into promotional positions. In general, the power of religious supe-riors to place personnel in diocesan works is limited to those positions which were previously held by other religious of their own congregations. Declining numbers, and thus declining positions, led to some religious being exposed to market forces for ministries. School principals, whether religious or lay, still have the power and responsibility of staffing. This has now become an excessive burden for principals of Catholic schools in the coun-try, and an excessive power for those in the city. One solution would be to have staff recruitment moved to the systemic level so that consistent staffing policies might be applied across dioceses. This might lessen the number of religious who today feel forced into the fourth category above. The exposure of some religious to market forces in the area of ministry is quite a different method of missioning than the appropriate placement of a person by a religious superior. The question should be asked: Is it just for the two types of missioning to coexist ~within the same religious institute? The answer to this important question will require great honesty and humility on the part of religious leaders. Religious exposed to market forces are some-times refused employment in diocesan works or, when school enrollments drop, dismissed by school principals of their own congregation who have the power of recruitment. Such practices are effectively structuring out of Catholic education the few teaching religious who are left, and are a serious cause of unemployment amongst religious. Some religious teachers even turn to the state school system for employment rather than lose touch with the classroom and "real life." Considering the authentic commitment which the religious have made, this alternative seems to the present writer an anomaly. On the other hand, relatively little investment has been made by the wider Australian Church over the last twenty years for the education in theology of lay teachers for Catholic schools. The above problems can now be solved only by negotiations between diocesan and religious leaders who have in mind the well-being of both the mission and the persons. As well, past oversight in planning could perhaps be avoided in the future if religious are encouraged to contribute ideas through appropriate media. Adequate Use of Media There are two levels of written communication which are particularly important in preserving a correct balance between responsibility for authen-tic mission and respect for the rights of individuals. These levels are media within the wider Church and media within religious institutes. Media within the Wider Church. Recruitment of personnel for Catholic works is effected via both the Catholic journals and the metropolitan dailies. Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 679 Like most other countries, Australia has its regular Catholic state and dioce-san papers. Because these are virtually all the Catholic community has for information on what is happening in the Church, they warrant better support and readership than they receive~ In general, editorial staffs in this country strive to maintain an adequate standard of journalism. Despite these vehicles of communication, religious leaders sometimes offer only private invitations to coveted positions which become available. They would avoid much criti-cism if they were to justify, via the Catholic media, such private invitations, especially those to academic posts in Catholic theological institutes, which remain predominantly male. Media within Religious Institutes. If any group of people ever needed to be skilled in transmitting information to each other, it would surely be the members of a religious community. Today there is frequent reference to the "role of the prophet" within religious institutes. Prophets must have vehicles in which they can deliver the message, and the printed word offers the par-ticular benefit of time for considered expression and response. I believe that religious institutes need especially these two kinds of print media: directo-ries and forums for challenge. Directories. In order for general leaders to affirm a work as part of the institute's authentic mission, they must understand clearly what the work is about and be sufficiently convinced of its value to defend it, if necessary, at the general chapter. On the other hand, if chapter delegates believe that the congregation has more ministries than they can validly affirm, they should seriously and courageously argue that systematic steps be taken towards reducing the number.4 Chapter delegates, in order to make valid contribu-tions to discussions and debates regarding works, must have information about their nature and value. Since this is so, it stands to reason that those who elected them--namely, all members of the institute--should have it too. Therefore, each apostolic institute in today's world needs its own official directOry, revised and published annually and containing information on the residence and mission of each member. The directory, which would be an implicit demographic study of the institute, should contain, as well, an annu-al financial statement of the institute and its provinces, with statistics on works which had some elements in common. I believe this would assist greatly in the appropriate placement of personnel and act as a deterrent to increasing fragmentation in ministries. Forum for Challenge. If members of religious institutes with at least parallel qualifications to lay teachers are to have the same work opportuni-ties in the institutes' traditional ministries, then positions that are open should be advertised first within "the system." Trade unions insist on this 680 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 right for their civilly employed members, so it should not be too much to expect within the religious institutes themselves. As well, religious subjects often have insights and ideas for better management which are unknown to superiors. They should have the opportunity to share them. Their ideas may be of benefit to all so that problems like unemployment may be addressed before they gain a hold. Since religious women were, for over a hundred years, to an extent indoctrinated not to express an opinion, they will need to be encouraged to contribute. Therefore, internal journals which contain forums for challenge must have a mandate from a competent authority and must be frequent and regular. When what is written in them is not uncharita-ble- that is, criticizes a policy or a structure and does not attack a particular person--and is limited in audience to professed members of the institute, then it is not a threat to loyalty. Indeed, such a forum could become a c.orpo-rate examination of conscience and could preserve or restore the balance between responsibility for authentic mission and the rights of the person. It could also act as a specific prevention or cure of the evil of unemployment within the religious institute. In educating religious to the use of an internal journal, it should be pointed out that the institute, being made up of human beings, is quite subject to error and that it could be harmful to their beioved congregation to write only of its virtues and to overlook its faults, including possibly incorrect policies with regard to the placement of personnel. Conclusion More than twenty years have passed now since religious congregations first experienced declining numbers and lay teachers became an ac.cepted part of Catholic education here in Australia, so there has be~n adequate time to face up to problems which have occurred regarding recruitment for specif-ic works. Sister Georgine recommends that a program "address all the dimensions of employment and unemployment." However, "job clubs" and "comprehensive programs" are unlikely to take shape until religious leaders acknowledge that the problem is there. I believe that leaders also have the duty to provide those engaged in the works with information and reflection based on surveys or particular works so that they will know what the scope of that work will be in the future, how long the work itself is likely to sur-vive, and what the superiors are planning in that regard. There is no guarantee that any of the above proposals are a complete cure for the evil of unemployment within religious life. However, endeavor-ing to maintain a correct balance between responsibility f~r the mission and respect for the persons of the members of the institute goes to the causes of the evil and is more likely to effect a long-term cure. The use of appropriate Mission or Consecrated Religious Person? / 681 media is a method of achieving the "maximum feasible participation" in effecting a cure. We are living in a world at the brink of the third Christian millennium. It is a world which needs the commitment of consecrated reli-gious life as much as ever and perhaps more than ever. A life wholly dedi-cated to contemplation is a rare gift. However, there is plenty of evidence to indicate that apostolic institutes of consecrated life have an important place in contemporary society. The chief characteristic of Christian moral doctrine besides its Christocentric orientation is the integration of love and justice, the latter being "the strong and firm will to give to each his due.''5 For a reli-gious woman who has sacrificed potential marriage, motherhood, and career in order to serve the Church in an institute devoted to apostolic ministry, unemployment is a serious injustice. The Church and religious institutes should work together for both prevention and cure. NOTES I See R. Hoffman, "Mission," in The New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2 For the purpose of the present article, the word employment will sometimes refer to apostolic work, whether or not the religious has employment status in the civil law. 3 The present writer admits to a certain bias towards instrumental music teaching. I believe that this work is of great importance to the liturgy of the Church. One of the long-term effects of the mergings of parish schools and the employment of lay teach-ers in Australian Catholic education was the death of much traditional music prac-tice, which was not absorbed into the diocesan systems and had few protective structures. It seems to me that the most important strategy for preserving the practice of music is to remove revenue management from the hands of the individual teacher. Otherwise the work tends to become like that of a self-employed person--a situation which is not compatible with either poverty or obedience. Skilled musicians in parishes attract worshipers. I believe that budgeting towards producing musicians for the Church should be part of its primary mission. 4 The idea of permitting novices to have unlimited scope in "working out" their future ministry is, I believe, a recipe for disaster; apostolic congregations already have difficulty in staffing missions recognized as authentic to their charism. 5 New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 8, p. 70. Quotation from St. Thomas Aquinas (ST 2 a2ae, 58.1). Inner Africa: A ,Journey of Conversion Susan Rakoczy, 1.H.M. Sister Susan Rakoczy, I.H.M., began ministry in South Africa in October 1989 and currently lectures in systematic theology and spirituality at St. Joseph's Theological Institute in Cedara. Her address is 21 Buchanan Street; 3290 Howick; South Africa. It was about 2:30 in the morning as the door of the plane was opened. The humid and steaming air of West Africa enveloped me as I was pushed down the stairs by the crowd onto the tarmac of Ougadougou airport. Swept along with women carrying immense bondles on their heads, children looking for their parents, and determined men striding forward, 1 suddenly thought, "I am on holy ground--I am in Africa." But if I had bent down to kiss the ground I would have been trampled--better to let myself be borne by the flow of humanity to the small airport terminal and the arrival procedures. In the rush and confusion of all the formalities I could sense that I had now entered something deeper than my own self for 1 was touching "mother Africa." Later, as we stowed our luggage in a friend's car for the drive to the hostel to spend what was left of the night I wondered, "What have I done with my life?" What indeed. ? The experiences of my years in Ghana (1982 to 1988) provided many different answers to that question. Most essentially they led me into the depths of conversion Which I can describe now as "inner Africa" for I soon learned that "mother Africa" would ask everything of me. The Call Some people dream all their lives of serving outside their own country, but that was not my experience. Not until I was finishing my doctoral studies in religion at Catholic University in 1980 did I sense a call to serve beyond North America. Through the months of preparation, prayer, and discussion 682 Inner Africa: A Journey of Conversion / 683 which preceded my journey to Ghana, people often asked, "Why are you going?" Slowly I clarified my own sense of call, speaking of my desire to share something of my gifts and education with the "young Church" of Africa. As I read about Africa and its needs, struggles, and promise I became aware of a continent and Church reaching towards maturity of faith and vision. Somehow I sensed very deeply that I wanted to be part of that. But it is not enough just to desire to serve in Africa. It is an immense continent, large enough to contain the continental United States two-and-a-half times. I received an invitation to teach in the major seminary in northern Ghana (our congregation had come to that section of the country in 1976) and so the plan was to come and spend a year getting acquainted with the culture and life of the people and then to begin teaching in 1983. As with many people who come to Africa, things did not turn out quite as I had planned. While I did work in Navrongo, a small town in Ghana for a year, the seminary door never opened wide enough to admit a woman theologian. But life at the Centre for Spiritual Renewal, a retreat center in the city of Kumasi, gave me a much wider scope for ministry with opportunities in retreats and spiritual direction, intensive leadership formation with prayer group leaders, and writing and editing, all of which enabled me to enter more deeply into Ghanaian life and culture. All the preparation I tried to do, while helpful in some ways, was still inadequate to the challenge of Africa. After I arrived I realized that what I needed was a radical openness, a sense of adventure, a desire to meet the continent and its people on their own terms. As the day of departure neared my own sense of expectancy of what was ahead increased. Shortly before I left I spent a few days on retreat at our com-munity hermitage. The entries in my journal for those days speak of praying for courage and joy and experiencing great wonder at this call I had received. The night before I left I wrote: Tomorrow~departure. I feel more than ready. Mostly I feel a deep free-dom and joy which has placed fear on the sidelines. Somehow 1 know I will meet the Lord--in and of his people--in ways never before imag-ined and experienced. And that is enough--more than enough--to move me across oceans and cultures. 1 go in utter joy and freedom. As the plane left United States soil the next day, ! remember how my whole spirit moved forward towards Africa. Soon I descended the steps of that plane that hot morning in Ougadougou. Inner and outer Africa now began. Call To Conversion As I reflect on my years in Ghana, I experience them in the images of 684 / Review for Religious; September-October 1991 "outer" and "inner" Africa. The first was the living of African reality in terms of my ministry; it describes what I did, with whom I lived, the rich-ness of my experience in those years. But "inner Africa" was the core of it all. My years in Ghana were fore-most an experience of conversion--a turning from, in order to turn to some-thing else, something which challenged everything I thought I was, knew, and had within me. Paul Robb, S.J., describes well the essence of conversion as a journey into the unknown: It is difficult to endure conversion because it seems to put into jeopardy our very lifestyle and ministry, but even more so because we sense that it touches the very roots of our life. It reaches deep into our being---our personality, our choices, our very self. It touches in places that are unknown, places where we are strangers. To begin a journey into an unfamiliar, haunting land is frightening, but not to know whether we will find life or death, blessing or curse, at the end can be terrifying. To enter the journey with all its uncertainties proves the possibility of finding life and life in abundance. Not to begin the journey, but to harden and steel oneself against it, is already death.2 The images are true and strong and evocative of my own African experi-ence. In my first weeks, as I entered "outer Africa" in its immensity with all the challenges of a new culture, 1 also experienced a sense of inner chaos. Some days I felt as if I were drowning, the waters of Africa enveloping me, About two months after I arrived I realized that I had to truly "walk through the door of Africa" ifI were to survive. In my journal I wrote: I have straddled first- and third-world existence in great disharmony. Today I felt that part of this is ended--it is within Africa now--that (God's) grace will work, from the inside out. It is as though 1 have now truly entered Africa. Once I had walked onto the solid ground of Africa never again did I feel this inner chaos. The work of conversion could now begin. These conver-sions were multiple and touched every dimension of my life as a North American woman of faith in a radically different culture: My first-world perspective was turned upside down; I was called from idealism to realism; I moved from giving to receiving; 1 experienced strength becoming weakness; I passed from death to life--from myself to God alone. Inner Africa: A Journey of Conversion / 685 First-World Perspective Turned Up-Side Down We come to a new culture as we are. If we are even halfway faithful to the challenges of cross-cultural experience, our own self-understanding of our home culture will change dramatically. This I experienced very pro-foundly. I discovered that I had brought a very large amount of cultural bag-gage with me. It was disconcerting to be criticized as "too American" at times--that is, too self-assured, too curious, too organized, too conscious of time; too ready with my questions and opinions. What was salutary, if painful, was the opportunity to allow my world-view to shift into new patterns. I first learned that the United States is not the center of the universe, even if it often acts that way and its military and eco-nomic policies impact the rest of the planet in such dramatic ways. It is one country among many, with its own strengths and weaknesses. I learned also how diverse and beautiful are the gifts of the people of other countries. 1 especially experienced this gift in the opportunities 1 had to meet people from so many different parts of the world and to enter into something of the richness of the world's cultural heritage, to see how differently people can feel, think, and organize human life. There were two central ways in which my world began to be "turned upside down": my experience of poverty and my attempts to learn new dimensions of the common life and hospitality. Poverty is a hard and often a "loaded" word. We fight it and yet some-how sense that in being poor we will find the key to new life in solidarity with others. The Gospel's call to detachment from riches and from every-thing that would hinder our response to the invitation from Jesus to disciple-ship has always challenged Christians profoundly. To come to Ghana was certainly to see poverty and share in it in some small ways. It was indeed a shock for me to see the extent of poverty and marginality: lack of clean and safe water for so many, schools with few books, hospitals and clinics without supplies, limited transportation, rudi-mentary communication, erratic electricity. Some of the practical details of my new lifestyle were a challenge. It was "farewell" to dependable electrici-ty, unlimited water, telephone service, easily available fuel, and to book-shops, movies, and regular postal service. It was, on the other hand, "hello" to a sense of living on the "edge of things" at times--lanterns and attempts to get kerosene for them, recycling every possible drop of water, limited food supplies, simple amusements, and difficulties in communication. All these changes were hard in different ways. I wrote: I am struck again by the gap between theory and practice in my life, for 686 / Review for Religious, September-October 1991 example, to talk about poverty, being with the poor--and then not to embrace poverty wholeheartedly, as indeed Jesus did. The:conversion to acceptance of and a certain ease with my new simple lifestyle took time. I never did get used to the erratic postal system and its consequences for poor communication with family and friends. On the other hand, as the years went by I gradually experienced in myself a certain ability to live with much less and to find in that a real freedom. To have to do things simply and patiently experience inconvenience gradually became a way for me to share some sense of solidarity with the poor who have no options and no outside resources. I was becoming comfortable with the simplicity of Ghanaian life and my heart was slowly becoming centered on what was most essential. I was not poor in the way the ordinary Ghanaian is poor but I did come to experience in small ways the shocks and diminishments of poverty. 1 also learned new meanings of community life and hospitality because African life is lived in common. The extended family of several generations living together in one compound has been the normal pattern in rural areas. Daily activities take place outside, and people are inside only when it is rain-ing, or at night, or if they are sick. The atmosphere in both urban and rural areas is one of physical and psychological openness to friend and stranger. Entering into such a different cultural atmosphere of hospitality and availability also challenged my Western habits. In the West we live inside; people come into our lives generally at our convenience thanks to the cultur-al presuppositions that one lives by calendars and schedules. But in a situa-tion where the culture says "welcome" all that changes. People walk into one's life often unannounced, and the person at the door could bring the unexpected pleasure of a friend coming to visit or someone arriving for a retreat without any previous communication or someone coming to ask for prayer---or the bishop with overseas visitors. 1 learned to be always ready to adapt to people's needs and to realize that my life and my time were really no longer my own, Prayer time was often interrupted; reading and study had to be immediately abandoned to answer someone's need. Privacy became very relative since, although I had my own room and office, my own space and time were now the resources of the people I tried to serve. These demands taught me much about my own selfishness, the need to have my own way, my own schedule, my own plans. I never did become totally comfortable with being physically and psychologically available at all times. Yet gradually I learned to absorb something of the spirit of welcome and hospitality which are so important in Ghanaian culture and to live them in my halting way. Inner Africa: A Journey of Conversion / 687 The first dimension of conversion in my life then was a shift in con-sciousness from being a woman of the first world to one living in the third world and trying to enter fully into life there. My American perspective and cultural habits were turned upside down and inside out. The result was a double-consciousness for I saw, and felt, and experienced first- and third-world realities at the same time. Nothing could or would be the same again. From Idealism to Realism Soon after I came to Ghana I realized what a "good press" the African Church has in the West. The reading I had done before I arrived had given me the overwhelming impression of a "young Church" on its way to real inculturation as a true African expression of the Christian faith, with signifi-cant achievements already made in liturgy and catechesis. It is true that inculturation is happening, theological development and reflection are proceeding, liturgy is more authentically African in some places--but the pace of everything is slow and that is the pace of Africa. Idealism about the Church was gradually replaced by a realism about the Church as it is. To be a "young" Church is exactly that. In the southern part of Ghana modern Catholic