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Issue 16.3 of the Review for Religious, 1957. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MAY 15, 1957 Father Charles Nerinckx . Sister M. Matilda Current Spiritual Writing . Thomas G. O'Callaghan Apostates and Fugitives . Joseph I:. Gallen Roman Documents . R. I:. Smith Book Reviews Questions and Answers Summer Institutes Communications~ VOLUME 16 NUMBER 3 RI::VI I::W FOR RI LIGIOUS VOLUME 16 MAY, 1957 Nu~BER 3 CONTENTS FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX--Sister M. Matilda, S.L . 129 SUMMER INSTITUTES . 142 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING-- Thomas G. O'CaIlaghan, S.J . 143 DELAYED VOCATIONS . 154 GUIDANCE FOR RELIGIOUS . 154 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES~Joseph F. Gallen, S.J . 155 PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII FOR RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. 165 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS--R. F. Smith, S.J . 166 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 175 COMMUNICATIONS . 176 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS~ Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana. i . 180 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS~- 13. Initiation of Principle of Adaptation . 188 14. Credo in Mass . 188 15. Bowing at Distribution of Communion . 189 16. Principles of Adaptation of Prayer . 189 17. Candidates of Inferior Intellectual Ability . 191 18. Special Ordinary Confessor of a Teaching Brother . 192 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May, t957. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesi-astical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J., Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1957, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. The story of the founder of the Lorettines F :her.Ch rles Nerinckx Sist:er M. Mat:ilda, S.L. T HOUGH the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small." Sometimes we see results, more often we do not. In the life of Reverend Charles Nerinckx and the story of the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of Loretto, we see much that is tangibJe; yet there is much that is still intangible. The French Revolution was God's smithy in which Nerinckx's character and missionary vocation were forged and welded; ~the American Revolution and the adjust-ment period that followed saw the birth of Mary Rhodes and the other young women whose youth must h~ive been spent amid the problems of a young country in its new-found freedom. These lives, trained in stress and turmoil, an ocean apart, were being prepared slowly but effectively to converge in a work that has carried on through the years. Charles Nerinckx was born October 2, 1761, in the province of Brabant, Belgium, the oldest of seven brothers arid seven sisters born to Sebastian Nerinckx and Petronilla Langhendries, The father was a skillful physician, a Christian of strong and practical faith too infrequently found among the medical men of Europe of that day; the mother, a woman of solid piety and sturdy common sense. With a view to enlarging his medical practice and securing greater educational advantages for his children, Dr. Nerinckx early moved to Ninove, province of East Flanders. Here it was that Charles, at the age of six, began his primary studies. Having completed his elementary education in the local schools, Charles was sent successively to Enghien, Gheel, and the Catholic Uni-versity of. Louvain. Then, having decided to study for the secu-lar priesthood, he entered the seminary at Mechlin and was there 129 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious ordained in 1785.' The following year he was appointed vicar of the metropolitan parish of St. Rumoldus, Mechlin, over which Prince John Henry Cardinal de Frankenberghe presided as arch-bishop. Father Nerinckx filled this important post for eight years with such zeal as to attract the admiring notice of the Cardinal Archbishop. So, when the parish of Everberg-Meer-beke, midway between Mechlin and Brussels, became vacant at "the death of the aged incumbent, M. Nerinckx was appointed to fill it by the general sut~rage of a board ot~ examiners, who, after the searching examination, o'r concursus, recommended by the Holy Council of Trent for such cases, unanimously awarded him the palm over all other candidates." Father Nerinckx was then thirty-three years of age. The greatest problem encountered in the new assignment was the obstinate apathy of the people towards their religious duties. Beginning with the children, winning their love and obedience, he soon won their parents and elders. Within three years such a profound change had been wrought that the mighty wave of irreligion attendant on the victorious armies of the French revolutionists failed to engulf his parishioners. Leaders of the opposition were naturally enraged. They succeeded in having him proscribed because he refused to take the oath de-manded by the government, an oath at variance with his con-science. Thus forced into hiding, he attended his parish only in secret; finally even this became too dangerous. Disguised as a peasant, Father Nerinckx went to Dendermonde where his aunt, Mother Constantia, was the superior of the Hospital of St. Blase. For months he lived in the attic of the hospital, never stirring abroad in daylight but ministering by night to the sick, to the dying, even to condemned prisoners, and caring for the spir: itual welfare of the sisters who had been deprived of their chap. lain by the same enmity that had made their guest a fugitive. Thus by night he did God's work for others; by day he prayed, medita~ted, planned, studied, wrote, and slept a little. For four years he evaded informers and acted secretly as chaplain of the 130 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX hospital, yet his priestly zeal urged actioni free and untrammeldd action, impossible in his native land under existing conditionS. To save souls was his consuming desire; the western world, where the harvest was great and the laborers few, called him. He would go t.here. Father Nerinckx volunteered' for the American missions. On his arrival at Baltimore in the fall of 1804, he was appointed by Bishop John Carroll to the Kentucky sedtion of his vast dio-cese of Baltimore whicli embraced the whole of the United States. No'record is left us'~of what the word "Kentucky" meant to the Belgian exile on receiving this appointment. Generous in his ignorance of what life on the American frontier meant for a missionary, "it never was regretted when knowledge, the fullest and the bitterest, was his measure." After a few.months at G~orgetown, where he diligently studied the English language, he set out for Kentu.cl~y .with a colony of Trappist monks bound for the same region. Finding theil mode of travel too slow for h~is ardent zeal he pushed ahead alone and arrived on July 18, 1805, at St. Stephen's Farm, sixty miles south of Louisville. He went immediately to work aiding Reverend Stephen Theodore Badin, then the only priest in the state of Kentucky. At first-Father Nerinckx rode the cir-cuits of the missions nearer the priests'-headquarters, St. Steph-en's Farm, now Loretto Motherhouse; liter, he attended those farther away until, as he learned the country, he took the most remote. For the first seven years he shared the humble cabin, coarse fare, and weary journeys of Father Badin at St. Stephen's; after-wards he took up his residence chiefly at the log church of St. Charles on Hardin Creek, to which church he had added a room for himself. But he was seldom at home; he lived in his scaitered missions and passed long hours in the saddle. He then had charge of six large congregations,.besides a much greater number of mission stations scattered over the whole extent of Kentucky. SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious To visit all his churches and stations generally required the space of at least six weeks. When the two priests were together, they often discussed the advisab!lity of a diocese with headquarters nearer than Baltimore. Father Badin had urged it before Father Nerinckx arrived; and the latter, after a very short time in Kentucky, added his urging to that of his companion. When the diocese was created in 1808 and Bardstown named as the see city, the two priests set to work to prepare, for the arrival of Bishop Flaget by building near their own a log cabin for him where the formal installation took place. As in Europe Father Nerinckx had used the children to win the people back to God, so in Kentucky he used the same tactics to preserve and to spread the Faith. He loved these little Kentucky children; their simplicity, guilelessness, innocence drew him to them. But he well "knew youthful minds required more than an occasional lesson in the truths of religion if the Faith was to be preserved. Too, he knew education would eventually come to the Kentucky frontier; and, when it came, it would be education without religion. How could he safeguard the Faith of these little ones? Within a year after his arrival he wrote to his parents that he intended to establish a sisterhood to help him in the work. His first effort was a failure, and in his humility he shouldered the blame as being too unworthy of such an undertaking and urged Father Badin to take over the foundation. Accordingly a convent was begun and speedily completed. It stood about a mile and a half from St. Stephen's. Several young women applied to be the first religious. But God's mill does not grind so fast. He had chosen other souls for this work, and until His time came and His chosen ones were fully prepared the work would not begin.- A bolt of lightning set fire to the building before it could be occupied, leaving, only two blackened chimneys--prophetic symbols to Father Nerinckx of future SUCCESS. Father Badin, crushed as-was Father Nerinckx with disap-pointment at the failure of this cherished project, turned to the 132 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX more distant missions, leaying the nearer congregations to his co-laborer. For four years Father Nerinckx labored and prayed and hoped. God's time had not yet come; he must wait. Riding the circuit of the nearer missions gave him opportunity to study the whole situation; and his convictions became stronger that a sisterhood would arise, a sisterhood as American as the American pioneer women who would build it. This time the initiative came, not from the priests, but from a member of the St. Charles Cong. regation, a Miss Mary Rhodes who was visiting her brother and sister, earlier immigrants to .Kentucky. Mary Rhodes was born in Washington, Maryland, now the District of Columbia. She had received a convent edu-cation, presumably with the Pious Ladies who had established themselves at Georgetown in 1799 and adopted the Visitandine Rule in 1816. The Rhodes sisters were young ladies of culture and refinement, so it is easy to understand how concerned Mary Rhodes was to see her nieces growing up with few intellectual advantages and no mental ambitions beyond those which their hard-working father and mother could give them. What she could do to help them she did, by teaching them daily. Neigh-bors heard of the instruction that the little Rhodes children were receiving and asked for the same advantages for their daughters; Mary Rhodes's generous heart could not refuse what was in her power to give. She laid her project before Father Nerinckx, sought his approval to give religious instruction and the rudiments of elementary education to the girls who might come, and asked his blessing. Obtaining these, she set about converting a long-uninhabited log cabin into a school. The school prospered beyond the most sanguine expectations of pastor and teacher. The increased number of pupils induced Father Nerinckx to look for an assistant to help Miss Rhodes; this he found in Miss Christina Stuart, a pious young lady of the neigh-l~ orhood who eagerly accepted the invitation. Both young women lived for a time at the Rhodes's home; but, finding the house too' much frequented by worldly company, for ~vhich neither 133 S~ISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious h:id any great inclination, they fitted up a .second log cabin ~adjoining the school and equally dilapidated and there took up their abode where they could pursue undisturbed their studies and the development of their spiritual life. For their livelihood they trusted, solely in, Divine Providence. Till now, we are told, they had not thought of the religious life; but, with the coming of Miss Nancy Havern,to share their happiness, their labors and privations, such a desire was born. The~e is no record of which soul first conceived the idea of becoming a religious; very like~ly it was Mary Rhodes, as she had been with the sisters at Georgetown; and at least 'she knew some-thing about sisters. Again Father Nerinckx was consulted. Happy as he was at finding such piety and generosity, he prudently in-structed them on the obligations of religious life and the obstacles they might meet under pioneer conditions. But they were not fearful; their trust in Providence was modeled on that of their adviser and spiritual father; and they begged him to give them some rules to live by. He wrote down a few simple rules for the three aspirants, gave them his blessing and encouragement. As soon as possible Father Nerinckx laid the whole affair before the loca! ordinary, Bishop Flaget, "who gave the undertaking his warmest approval and placed it under the care of Father Nerinckx." Father Nerinckx had said that hardships, disappointments, poverty, toi!, death would be their portion through the years; but with trust in Divine Providence and confidence in the watch-ful direction of their pastor they persevered. They increased in numbers and spread to other localities and states until at the present time, 1957, the Sisters of Loretto have 70 houses' in the United States. They staff 106 schools counti'ng grade and high schools separately. These are: 2 senior colleges, 1 junior college~ 21 senior high schools, 1 junior high school, 80 grade schools, and 1 pre-school. They teach in Alabama, Arizona., California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas; Virginia, and Wyoming. In 1923 and 1933 they opened houses 134 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX in China which flourished until the sisters were expelled by" the Communists in 1949. In founding the Institute of the Sisters of Loretto, Father Nerinckx called into service his rich knowledge of' canon law and church history, especially the history of the religious orders of the Church, to which he added a wealth of personal experience and his acquaintance and appreciation'of the rugged American spirit of independence, initiative, and adaptability. The French Revolution had not made him fearful, but it had made him cautious. Therefore, after a three-year trial period of his simple rule based on that of St. Augustine, he journeyed to Rome and submitted it to the highest ecclesiastical, authorities. He petitioned that the young Institute be placed .directly under pontifical juris-diction. This petition was granted; the Institute of the Sisters of Loretto became an exempt order.~in the third year of its existence. The spirit of the Society was determined from its inception. It is the same today. It is succinctly expressed in the words love and sacrifice. In more detail is the following summation from the first printed Holy Rule: The Sisters of Loretto are to impress most deeply upon their minds that the sacred obligation ot: the vows they pronounce are voluntarily as-sumed and must be meticulously fulfilled; silence hnd recollection must be cherished to stimulate an ever more intimate union with the Suffering Jesus and His Sorrowful Mother at the Cross; hardships and labor must be welcomed and embraced, not only as a way of livelihood, but as well. deserved penance for sin and mortification for atonement; and, finally, a great desire and a consistent effort to see religion and morals improve by a pious education of youth. The object, therefore, of the Congrega-tior~ is. twofold: the sanctification of its members, and the education of youth. While Father Nerinckx was busy with the establishment of the sisterhood, he did not neglect his othe~ duties or the organiza-tions he had started in his various parishes and stations for stim-ulating the spiritual welfare of his people. In 1806 at his church of Holy Mary on the Rolling Fork, he established a~ Confrater,nity of the Ros~ary, a children's Rosary Sodality called "Lilietum," a Confraternity of the Scapular; and, in 1809 in St.' Charles 135 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious Church, he founded the first Holy Name Society in thee United States. Records of these organizations are still extant. It is interesting to note that there were 1,100 names on his Rosary roster; more than 600 on his Lilietum or children's Rosary Sodality list; 971 on his Scapular Society record; and 259 on his Holy Name Society register, every name. carefully written in his own hand. That Father Nerinckx was blessed with remarkable and dis-criminating foresight is shown by his efforts in behalf of the colored race in beginning a Negro oblate sisterhood in connec-tion with the Sisters of Loretto. Father Nerinckx was the product of the best European civilization, and he naturally found the conditions of slavery most repellent to his Christian principles. This is disclosed by his paternal solicitude for the wretched lot of the colored man in the United States. Whether by foresight, or by study of the American type of freedom and justice, he must have been convinced that the emancipation of the Negro would Come sooner or later in the young republic for he bent his efforts to .prepare for that crucial time of transition from slavery to freedom. To Christianize and educate these erstwhile slaves and to lead them to the right enjoyment of freedom, Father Nerinckx felt that the best means would be a sisterhood of their own race trained for this arduous work. Conviction for Father Nerinckx meant action, and he set to work. He arranged for the Sisters of Loretto to admit several colored girls into their school. It is on record that some of these became aspirants or postulants in May, 1824; but, after the death~of Father Nerinckx the following August, we hear no more of these young women. Whatever records of subsequent decisions in their regard that may have been kept were lost in the disastrous fire that laid the Motherhouse in ashes in 1858. Dr. J. A. Burns, C.S.C,, in his able work, The Catholic School System in the United States, says that this project of Father Nerinckx's, the Negro sisterho'od, "is in itself sufficient to stamp him'as a man whose educational ideas ran far ahead of his time." 136 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX Bishop Flaget, greatly~, pleased with ,the success bf the Sisters of Loretto in their educational work for girls, Wished to provide the same opportunities for boys., He asked Father Nerinckx to establish a similar society for young'men, the object of which would be the education of orphan boys and boys of the middle class, "whose poverty so often" prevents the"Church and state from being benefitted by their talents." Father Nerin~kx's mind seems to have been running ~ilong the same lines, for he very readily acquiesced to his superior's request and set to 'work at once. With money collected from his own congreg~ltions and three thousand dollars collected by the sisters, the good missibnary purchased a farm which he named Mt.Mary. The loss of the main building and four smaller ones by fire .early in 1819 blighted the .prospects for the time being .and caused Father Nerinckx to underake a second voyage to Europe to appeal to his countrymen for funds and possible vocations. He returned in 1821 accompanied by several, fine young men, toost of whom joined the Jesuits, among them the renowned Fathers Peter J. de Smet and J. F. Van Assche. On!y three came to Kentucky aS aspirants for the brothei'hood, and one of these died very'shortly after his arrival. During Father Nerinckx's pro. tracted stay in Europe, Reverend William Byrne, who had been appointed to attend Holy Mary's and St. Charles's congregations, had opened a.boys' college on the property .Father Nerinckx had bought. He was decidedly averse, on the return of the older priest, to yielding possession, so Father Nerinckx had re-course to the 'bishop. Of this~ interview .Father Howlett writes, "Father Nerinckx expostulated with Bishop Flaget. over the changed destiny of the farm; but the bishop did not care to dis-lodge Father Byrne, who had begun with his sanction," Rather than give occasion, for scandal~ the weary traveler in humble sub. mission to authority diopped, the matter. Eventually, lacking encouragement, 'funds," and property, he gave up his cherished plans for a brotherhood. 137 SISTER M. MATILDA Review ]or Religious Father Nerinckx was always a student. In his four years of forced seclusion at the hospital in [Dendermonde he must have spent much time in close application, for his manuscripts of this period, if printed, would form eight or ten octavo volumes. They were in Latin, a language in which he excelled. Much that he wrote then and afterwards has been lost, but ~omething still remains in the convent at Dendermonde, and some manuscript volumes" on pastoral theology and kindred subjects may be found in the parish library at Meerbeke. "These show the depth of his trained mind, filled with an elaborate store of Scripture, the Fathers, the history of the Church, and sound theological prin-ciples~" 'Shortly after his death an act of vandalism destroyed all his b~,oks and writings except his little Treatise on Mission-arz'es and an exposition of the Reign of Satan, edited by a Dominican Father from notes left by the Belgian priest. These and his beautiful letters to Bishop Carroll prove he was a master of Latin compositibn. His original Rule, written in English, fbr the Sisters .of Loretto and his hand-penned catechism written in Flemish are' treasured at their motherhouse: Father Nerinckx in his nineteen years on the Kentucky missions built rio fewer than fourteen churches. Some o~ these he literally built with his own hands; in fact, he e~pended some manlaal labor on all Of them. They were mostly of logs; the last on the list was of brick and is still in a good statd o'f preserva-tion. The fourteen follow: H61y Mdry, Calvary, 1805i St. Cl'iarles, 1806; St. Clara's, 1808; St. Bernard's, Casey Creek, 1810; St.' Romoldus (now St. Romuald), Hardinsburg, Breck-enridge C6unty, 1810-1816; St. Paul's, Grayson County, "181.1; St, Augustine's,' Grayson Springs, (~rayson County, 1811; St. John.'s,'Rude's Creek, Hardin County, 1812;' St. John Baptist, Bullitt' County, 1812; St. Anthony's, Long Lick,. Breckenridgh County,i: 1812; St. Benedict's~ Spencer. ¯ Cdunty," 1'815; St. Augusfine's; Lebanon," 1817, finished b)~ Father Deparcq in i820; St. Vincent's,: New Hope, 1819; Holy Cross,.1823. This last is still used as a parish church. ., ~. May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX This zealous Belgian priest loved the house of God." Log churches of necessity h~d tO be plain, their furnishings in k~eep.- ing with the poverty of the faithful; but the pastqr so. ught the very best for the altar, especially for the tabernacle where the Bl~ssed Sacrament was to dwell. Everything connected with the Holy .Mysteries fired his devotion. Unless on a long journey or gravely ill never did he miss offering the Holy Sacrifice. On each of his journeys to Euro.pe, the first, in the interests of the sisterhood, the second, in that of the intended brotherhood', Father Nerinckx accumulated and brought to Kentucky church furnishings, paintings, sacred vessels, etc., estimated at over fifteen thousand dollars. Thus were the humble log churches enriched for divine services. He kept nothing for himself so that it was said at his death that his only legacy to the Lorettines was an unbounded confidence in Divine Providence and a very deep devotion to the Suffering Jesus and the Sorrowful Mary, devotions he instilled into them from the very beginning of the Institute. Having begun the study of English when he was past forty years of a, ge, Father Nerinckx never became versatile in its use. Hence, though learned and of solid judgment, he could never be credited with brilliancy of speech or writing in English. His discourses were plain, mattei'-of-fact instructions, couched in broken English with no ornamental figures, to enhance them. Were it not for his earnestness and sincerity and the spiritual impact of his words, he probably would have been considered a tiresome and disagreeable speaker. He sought not for elo-quence, but only that he might carry God's message to souls; and this he did in his humble, simple speech. Archbishop Martin John Spalding writes of this Kentucky missionary: M. Nerinckx," though kind and polite to all, wasorather austere in his manners, as well as rigid in his discipline. He WaS, however, always 'much mord rigid with himself, than with others. He never lost a mo-ment. He. knew well ~hat a priest who does his duty has little time to spare for idle conversation. Wherever good was to be done, or a 139 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious soul to be saved', there he was. found, by day or by night, in rain or in sunshine, in winter or in summer. When not actually engaged in the ministry, he was always found at home, employed in prayer or in study. Reverend William J. Howlett, author of Life of Req;erend Charles Arerittckx, says: In matters of faith, religion, and moral practices he was stern, and made no compromise with sin and its dangers. Cursing, drinking, horse-racing and dancing were either sinful or productive of sin, and he op-posed them rigorously . If in his preaching he showed no mercy to sin, in the confessional he had the heart of a father for his sinful chil. dren, and in all his missions his heaviest work was in the confessional, which Bishop Spalding says, 'was usually thronged by penitents, from early dawn until midday, all of whom, without one exception, were deeply attached to him.' Nor do we hear that he was in the habit of refusing absolution to any greater extent than a prudent confessor does today.'. Duty was a great thing wi~h him, and when duty called him he brought into action those great powers of mind and soul which he so modestly disclaimed. These characteristics, while they made him diffident" ot himself, gave him a wonderful estimate of the faith and practices of the Church, and a dread of evel-ything that sezmed to him to be a departure from.her teachings or a relaxation in her time-honored discipline. He could never become a heretic, for he held too firmly to what he had been taught; he never could become a schismatic, for authority was to him the most sacred thing in the world after his faith; he never could become a sinner, for the shadow of sin was a nightmai.e ~o him. These three things, with his great desire for the honor of God and the salvation of his own and his neighbors' souls, will be seen to have beenthe guiding motiv'es of his life. In a letter to Bishop England, Bishop Flaget wrote of Father Nerinckx" thus: "His love for retirement wa~ such, tl~at" h~. n~ever ~aid a visit of mere Ceremony. Indeed, hi never vis-i~ edl except when the good of his neighbor or the duty of his ministry made it obligatory to do so . Praye~ appeared to be hi~ grea'tes't, and only solace, in the 'midst of his contifiual labors." And this tribute was from.his bishop. The subject of this sket'ch was a man of action as can be seerl "fro~ the variety of his 'undertakings. There remains one point still to be mentioned,, his interest in the civilizing and Christianizing .6f the Indians. ' When ~difficulties arose in Kentuck~y, Father Neririckx felt that pi~rhaps, they i:ould be effectively and. charitably settled by 140. May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX his withdrawal for atime., He was grieved to see unwarranted changes made in the rule of the Sisters of Loretto and in their schools, and he felt greater changes were still to come. If the changes came from Rome he would gladly accept--but how would Rome know the exact state of affairs? His own methods were cast aside for untried ones. Just what the deciding factor was that sent him a second time into exile, this time to Missouri, he never made known; but to Missouri he went. He performed the visitation of the Loretto house in Perry County, then trav-eled to St. Louis to meet and confer with the commissioner of Indian affairs to arrange for some Indian girls to be enrolled with the sisters at Bethlehem, the Perry County foundation.On his return journey to Bethlehem he detoured to minister to a settlement of some ten families who had not seen a priest for two years. After this last act of charity he was taken ill; he died at St. Genevieve, Missouri, on August 12, 1824. He was buried on the 14th in the sisters' cemetery at Bethlehem convent, Bishop Rosati being present and giving the final absolution. Bishop Rosati is r.eported to have said that he consideredFather Nerinckx's remains ~he most priceless treasure of his diocesel Be that as it .may, he refused Bishop Flage~'s and Father Chabrat's petitions 'for the removal of the remains~ yielding only io the diplomacy of the mother superior of Loretto. The re-enterment at Loretto Motherhouse took place in December~ 1833." : Father Nerinckx's major concrete contributions to the up-building of the Church in K.~ntucky were: the administdrin.g of the sacraments td the faithful.throughout' the" region,-th~ build[ ing of houses of worship, the organizing of districts into parishes, th'e c611ecting and. transportation of.,tho,us.ands'6f dollars~ worth of. church supplies and furnishings which he distributed to poor and needy .churches, two journeys to Europe in the interests of the Church' arid the. sist'e'rhbod which h~. h°ad fotinded in Cdn-~ junction with 'Miss Mary Rhodes and.companioris--the Congre-gation of the Sisters of Loretto, the first purely American sister-hood devoted to education founded and continuing without 1.41 SISTER M. MATILDA foreign affiliation. These, directly or indirectly, can be seen. But 0nly' the"angels of God have recorded his prayers, longings, and aspirations and measured his mental and physical sufferings, the dangers he encountered in traversing the wilderness, his penances and mortifications, his dominant virtue of humility, the frustra-tion of his desire to lead the contemplative life. Instances of some of these could be given, but the full import of them is not ours to record. His spirit lives on not alone in the religious congregation of Loretto, but in the faith of the Catholics of Kentucky, a staunch, vibrant, active Catholicity the seeds of which were planted in pioneer days by the saintly. Belgian exile, Rev-erend Charles Nerinckx. SUMMER INSTITUTES The tenth annual Theological Institute for Sisters will be con-ducted under the auspices of St. Xavier College in cooperation with the Dominican Fathers of the Province of St. Albert the Great June 24 to August 2, 1957. The double purpose of the institute is: to contribute to the spiritual development of sisters and to strengthen the preparation of religious who are teachers of religion. The basic curriculum is open to sisters without a bachelor's degree. An advanced program, for those who have completed the basic course, leads to a master's degree from the Dominican House of Studies, River Forest. For a listing of courses write to: St. Xavier College, 103rd and Central Park Avenue, Chicago 43, Illinois. In keeping with ancient Benedictine traditions and the spirit of the modern liturgical revival, St. John's Abbey, internationally known litur-gical and educational center where students may join with the monastic choir 'in chanting the divine office and may take part in solemn liturgical ceremonies, is conducting summer courses in liturgy and Gregorian chant. These courses, supl~lemented with opportunities for study of modern church music hs well as applied music in voice and organ, are designed to assist choir directors and organists in carrying out the in-structions on church music by the present Holy Father a.nd by St. Plus X. For further information write to: Dora Gunther, O.S.B., St. John!s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. (Continued on Page 175) 142 Current: Spiritual W'rit:ing Thomas ~, O'C~lhghan [Most of the readers of RE~tlE\V FOR RELIGIOUS have not the opportunity of keeping up with the numerous articles which are being written on various points of spiritual theology. It is with the intention of trying to supply for this need that we hope to publish about every six months a survey of current periodical literature. This survey will take the form mostly of quotations from, and synopses of, some of the more interesting articles which have appeared recently. For the most par~ the survey will confine itself to English language periodicals.--The Editors.] general. God Within Q. What is your ideal of sanctity? A. To live by love. Q. What is the quickest way to reach it? A. To become ~ery small, to give oneself wholly and irrevocably. Q. Who is your favorite saint? A. The Beloved Disciple, who rested on the heart of his Maste~. Q. What point of the Rule do you like best? A. Silence. Q. What is the dominant trait in your character? A. Sensitivity. What is your favorite virtue? A. Purity. What fault of character do you dislike most? A. Egoism in Q. Give a definition of prayer. A. A union of her who is not with Him who is. Q. What is your favorite book? A. Tire Soul o.f Gkris/. In it I learn all the secrets of the Father who is in heaven. Q. Have you a great longing for heaven? A. I sometimes feel homesick for heaven, but, except for the vision, I possess it in the depths of my soul. Q. What is your motto? A. 'God in me and I in Him.'~ The young Carmelite who filled out this questionnaire in the first week of her postulancy died ~fifty years ago, at ~the age of twenty-six, after just fi.ve years of~ religious life. Her~ name~ was Elizabeth Catez, but she is known today more dommonly as Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity, or Elizabeth"0f Dijon. TO this young and holy Carmelite ig dedicated the .September, 1956, issue of Spiritual Life, the,gery~ fine Catholic quarterly,,published by the Discalced Carrrielite Fathers. ~This questionnaire is quoted'by Fathbr Denis of the Holy Family, O.C.D. in "A Sketch of the Life of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," S,~iritual Life, II (1956), 149-150. THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious In "A Sketch of the Life of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," the article from which we have taken the above-quoted ques-tionnaire, Father Denis of the Holy Family, O.C.D., gives a fine introduction to the life and doctrine of Sister Elizabeth. A fuller and more theological treatment of her spiritual doctrine he leaves to two other articles, published in the same issue, by E. I. Watkin and Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. Father Gabriel says of Sister Elizabeth that "she succeeded in con-structing a lucid synthesis of the spiritual life, corhbining . . . [an] intimate life with the Trinity and progressive assimilation to Christ" (p. 174). In fact, we might say that his entire article, "The Indwelling in Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," is a develop-ment of that proposition. Those who center their spiritual life on the divine indwelling and who desire to live united to God-within will find in this issue of Spiritual Life some fine, spiritually nourishing matter. They will also understand why Sister Elizabeth, who "found he'aven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul," is rapidly becoming a favorite among contemplative souls. It might also be added here that Elizabeth's "Prayer of a Praise of Glory to the Trinity" (p. 165). contains exce~llent subject matter for mental, prayer. The Saints St. John, recalling his vision of the blessed, wrote: "I saw a great multitude [of the' blessed in heaven] which no man could number . . ." (Apoc, 7:9). In apparent contradiction to these ~vords there appeared in the American Ecclesiastical Review an excellent and. scholarly article, written by Father John F. Bro-derick, s.J., entitled "A Census of the Saints (993-1955).'" How many saints are there? No definitive list has ever been compiled, although biographical dictionaries exist which run to several thousand names; one for Ireland alone claims three -~ Vol. CXXXV (1956), 87-115. 144 May, 1957. SPIRITUAL WRITINGS thousand. Most of these dwelt in the ancient or medieval periods. But before being able to determine the number of saints, ¯ one would first have to clarify the meaning of the word saint, and then establish what authority has the right to recognize sainthood. For up to and even beyond the year 1000 A.D. the power to designate sainthood was not rest6cted to the Holy See, as is now the case, but was left to local ecclesiastical authorities. When this process later found papal approval, explicit or tacit, it became known as equivalent canonization. But by no means all the early saints have won Roman approval; some lack official approbation of any kind. Their title has come by way of popu-lar devotion on the part of the faithful, or is due to the careless-ness or mistakes of those who put together early martyrologies, etc. Hagiography abounds in problems of this kind. The present article, however, restricts itself to those saints solemnly canonized by the popes, the form of canonization with which we are nowadays familiar. A very carefully worked-out chart, the product of considerable research, forms the heart of the article. It enumerates in chronological order--according to the date of death--all formally canonized saints from the time of the first canonization in 993 up to the present. Also noted are: the liturgical classification of each saint, age at death, year of c~inonization, vocational status (laity, secular clergy, religious), principal occupation, and land of birth. The data therein contained are analyzed in the final section of the article and many interesting points are indicated. Canon-ized saints are discovered to ~otal two hundred and eighty-three, Male saints number two hundred and twenty-seven, female fifty-six. Martyrs total sixty-nine. At death ages ranged from eleven to over one hundred. Wide variations can be detected between the date of death and canonization, the periods varying from a few months to six centuries. Well over one half of the canoniza-tions have been delayed two centuries or more, a factor which 145 THOMAS G. O'(~ALLAGHAN Review ]or Religious must be kept in mind in discussing the failure of North America to produce native saints. The laity has produced about one sixth of the saints; the secular clergy, slightly less; religious, the rest. At least thirty-five saints have been married. Of canonized religious about one fifth were women, almost equally divided between contem-platives and active institutes. In external occupations the widest range is visible, from the lowly housekeeper or farm laborer to the emperor and empress. A surprisingly high number, about forty percent, were engaged in governing as civil or ecclesiastical superiors. Founders and foundresses of religious institutes, very prominent in recent can-onizations, total sixty-six saints. More than one half ~he saints have come from the upper class in society; the rest are about equally divided between the" middle class and the numerically vast lower class. Latin coun-tries account for two thirds of the saints, especially Italy with ninety-five and France with fifty-five. Three saints have been born in the Western Hemisphere, but seventeen have labored there. The current trend is toward more frequent canonizations. In the 632 years between the first formal canonization and 1625, when Urban VIII established the modern regulations, the aver-age was fourteen per century; since then it has risen to sixty. Father Broderick, s.J., made mention of the different social classes of the saints. Another article has appeared recently which throws some light on this subject. Those familiar with second nocturns are well acquainted with parenlibus who were either nobilibus or honestis or pauperibus. But they may not be sure of the precise meaning of these terms. Father Bull0ugh, O.P., writing primarily about Dominican saints in "'Class Dis-tin~ tion Among the Saints," an article which appeared in the August, 1956, issue of Life of the Spirit, helps to clarify the ma, tter. He suggests that these three words designate three 146 May, 19,67" SPIRITUAL WRITINGS distinct social classes and that these social classes in turn. were largely based, at least originally, on occupations. The nobiles were those who had money and property andwere employers; the honesti were merchants or artisans, mostly self~employed, who made a living at thei~r~ own particular work or trade; the pauperes were wage earners, obtaining their money by working for some-one else. (If that is so, it is going to be difficult to find any saints who were born, as the pleasantry has it, of paltperibus sed honestis parentibus.) ~. Liturgy in School Under the 'title, "Toward a Living Parish," Mongignor Martin B. Hellriegel frequently contributes to Worship a serids of' practical suggestions for increasing the li~ur'gical life pa~:ish. His excellent suggdstions, however, need not be limited to the parish ch'urch. Man~, of them could--by a little imagina-tive adaptation--prove most hi.-lpful to Catholic school teachers; even college professors. At times teachers would like to make a few interesting remarks to their classes about some liturgical feast which the Church is celebrating, or they may be looking for ideas as to how the students might celebrate in their school some of the more important feasts. Very often they will find in Monsignor Hellriegel's articles exactly what they are looking for. For example, in the October, 1956, issue of Worship he comments on some of the feasts which occur during that month. He opens the article with some reflections on the feast of the Guardian Angels, offering fine matter which could be used for a talk of three or four minutes to Catholic students. Then he makes some practical points about the way that this feast could be celebrated in the parish. One or two of these points could easily be used by teachers for school. The next feast on which he com'ments is 6ur Lady's Maternity, celebrated on the eleventh of October. This is a much more deeply signifidant "Mother,s Da~,'; than the second Sunday in May. What afine point that would make in talking 147 THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious to children: our Lady's "Mother's Day." Is it not true that many parochial school teachers could easily pass over this feast without even a mention of it? For the feast of St. Luke, October 17, there is a very simple suggestion for a reverent display of the Holy Gospel. This cbuld be used to remind the students not only of "the holiness and dignity of the Gospel, and of the respect we owe to it, but also of our indebtedness to the holy evangelists . . . who have recorded for us the 'God spell,' the good tidings of the life and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ" (p. 573). Today Halloween is too often identified with "trick or treat" or vandalism. Monsignor explains the original spirit be-hind the festivities held on the eve of All Saints, or Hallow's" Eve (from which is derived the word Hallo,ween). Just the explanation which he gives would be an enlightenment to so many Catholic school children. There are also detailed sugges-tions for the celebration of this feast in a parish, some of which could profitably be adapted for school use. If Catholic school teachers could find the time to glance through "Toward a Living Parish" whenever it appears,' they would surely find some helpful matter for their classroom. Prayer In Life of the Spirit Dora Aelred Sillem, O.S.B., has an interesting article on the relation between liturgical and con-templative prayer.:' Many feel that there is a certain conflict be-tween contemplative and liturgical prayer, that they even attract different temperaments and distinguish vocations. It must be admitted that some divergence does exist: there is the tendency of contemplative prayer to simplicity, while the liturgy has a certain "surface multiplicity . . . with its complexities of cere-monial and chanti its elaborate and absorbing symbolism, its richness of doctrinal content and conceptual teaching" (p. 209}. :l"The Liturgy and Contemplative Prayer," Id.[~' o, l/re Sp]ril, XI (1956), 209-217. 148 May, 1957 SPIRITUAL WRITINGS Yet, if we consider the historical relation between the liturgy and mental prayer, it will become evident that they have long existed together with mutual dependence. The primitive liturgy allowed of pauses for silent prayer, of which our [lectam'us genua and levate are a token survival to which the restored Holy Week liturgy has given back a measure of reality; and Cassian, describing the psalmody of the Egyptian monks, ~hows us how, after each psalm or section of a psalm, a pause was made for private and wordless prayer. In ancient and medieval monastic life, the hours of lectio divina, continuous in theme and sources with the liturgy, were intended to be hours of prayer as well as of study. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, partly perhaps as the more scientific and metaphysical study of theology replaced the older, more devotional and more readily prayerful lectio divina, provision was made, both among monks and friars, for set periods of mental prayer; and this obligation has passed into canon law and into the constitutions of all religious families . At all times, vocal liturgical prayer has been nourished by and overflowed into solitary and wordless.prayer (pp. 215-216). Not only has there been this historical mutual relationship, but the very natures of liturgical and contemplative prayer show their close interdependence. Thus, the author concludes his article with these words: "It is essential to consider liturgical prayer and mental prayer, not as competitors, still less as alterna-tives, but as two indispensable expressions of a single life of prayer in Christo, accepting their diversity not as a tension or a problem, but as an enrichment, convinced of their mutual dependence and of their power to deepen each other indefinitely" (p. 217). Our Lady's Titles Father Gerald Vann, O.P., has a few suggesti6ns--and he insists that they are nothing more than suggestions--about the way that some of the titles of our Blessed Mother in the "Litany of our Lady" might be more fittingly translated.4 Many titles in the Litany are "either poor translations or indeed downright mistranslation~, or at any rate show a lamentable lack of any sense of language, any feeling for the beauty of words" (p. 438). Here are some of the present tittles put side by side with "Notes on Our Lady's Litany," Worship, XXX (1956), 437-441. 149 THOMAS°G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious some of Father Vann's suggested changes: Mother most amiable --Mother so lovablei Mother inviolate--Mother ever a Maiden; Mother most pure~--Mother of .perfect love; Holy Virgin of virgins--Holiest of all virgins; Virgin most vener, able--Virgin.whom we revere; Virgin most renowned--Virgin whose praises' ,~e sing; Seat of wisdom--Fountain of wisdom; St~iritual vessel--Chalice~ of spiritual life; Singular vessel of dev'otion--Splendid chalice o.f dedication. Father Vann not ohly suggests these and other new translations, but also e~pl~ins in his. brief article the reasons why these new 'titles could be justified as prdferable. Certainly r~an.~, of the chan~es suggeste'd are more ineaningful, as well.as being more beautifully phrased, and would thereby be helpful in our "Litany devotion. The Creation and Fall Those who teach Christian doctrine, whether in the grades, higl~ s.chool, or college, have undoubtedly found many problems in t.ryin, g t.o~interpret the sci:iptural account of the cr~eation of the world ,.and man, of the .origin of woman, of the first, sin, etc. For the first three chapters of Genesis, in which these matters occur, are one of the most difficult sections of the Bible.' But Father "H. J.: Richards, although fully appreciating the difl~- cuities, believes that it is possible to say something worthwhile on ~hese first three chapters and on the essential matter which they contain', without getting hopelessly enmeshed in exegetical difficulties. He fulfills this purpose in "The Creation and the Fall," a very brief but solid and interesting article ap.pefiring in the October, 1956, number of Scripture. The ,author of Genesis, Father Richards insists, was not a scientist. He was ,"concerned with .God's plans for the world and for mankind. He does not set out to teach us natural sciences. He has quite enough to do to teach us our super. natural science, of the one supreme God to whom everything owes it's existence, of man's place in God's scheme, of man's dignity an&his failure to live up to it, and of God's love for him '1'50 May, 1957 SPIRITUAL WRITINGS even in his sin" (p. 114).~ Father Richards shows very clearly how the author of Genesis attains this purpose. Let us give here an example of the refreshing way that Father writes on this matter. After explaining the account of the Creation as it appears in Chapter i, he goes on to write: And if there is a different account of creation in.Chapter 2, with man placed first on the list instead of last, don't let us get so excited over the difference that we forget to see the same point being made, that man cannot be lumped along with ~he rest of creatures. He is unique, and the rest is made for him. And if this time the 'whole story 'is more pic-turesque, with a Divine Potter modelling man with His own hands and breathing into him His own breath, don't let us be so prosaic about it that we miss the main point: man~s unique relationship with God. And if that relationship is illustrated even further by" the garden in which God walks with Adam in the cool 6f the evening, don't let us try ko find the garden on a map. Could anyone have devised a more dramatic way of presenting the clos2 intimacy with himself that God had planned for man from the beginning? It is we who hav~rfiade up the myth of an Old Testament God of thunder and terror and fear. It is not so in Genesis {p. 112}. After the creation of the universe and of man, Father Richards goes on in the same graphic way to explain the origin of woman and the place intended for her by God, the dignity of marriage, the fall of man, and God's love for him even in his sin. This short article is well worth reading. Spiritual Theology Series In th~ September, 1956, issue of Cross and Crown there begins a "series of articles which will explain the meaning and problems of. spiritual theology, or, if you wish, of the interior supernatural life of the Christian" (p. 252). The general title for this series will be "Spirituality for All," The first article, written by Father John L. Callahan, O.P., the editor of Cross and Crown, emphasized "the necessity of growth in charity" (p. 252), for it is in this charity, this l~abit of divine love, that per-fection essentially consists. From this beginning~ the series will proceed as follows to explain I) The foundations of this growth. Divine life is communicated to man through grace, the seed of glorj~ to possess grace necessarily~ im-plies the possession of the theological virtues of faith and,hope: . THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious 2) The cause of growth. Charity is the form, the life, the mover of all the virtues. In the words of St. Francis of Sales: 'A perfect life means perfect charity, for charity is the life of the soul.' 3) The models of growth. Christ is our perfect exemplar of charity, and His Blessed Mother a mirror of that model. 4) The instruments of growth. Divine life is communicated to man through the sacrarhents. 5) The first instrument of growth. This is the healing and cleans-ing work of the divine tool of baptism by which man is incorporated in Christ. 6) The aids to growth. Christ instituted the sacrament of penance to restore divine life lost bymortal sin. With this is coordinated the practice of mortification. 7)' The Mass, a means of growth. The Holy Sacrifice lived by as-pirants to a perfect life is a powerful instrument of spiritual progress. ~ 8) Holy Communion is the food for growth in spirituality, uniting the soul most intimately to the Source of grace and charity. 9) Signs of growth can be the advancement in both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. 10) The steps of growth through the process of purgation to 1 I) The fruition, which is contemplation, or the actual experience of the divine indwelling (pp. 252-253). Religious in a Diocese The editorial in the December, 1956, issue of Spiritual Life says: "The total function of every Catholic diocese in the world is to gather together as many men as possible into the life of Christ, and commit them to His mission. To do this with maximal efficiency, it needs the unified, intelligent, complemen-tary, planned activity of parishes and religious orders" (p. 201). What contribution can religious institutes make to this total function of the diocese? Father James Egan, O.P., gives the answer in "A Religious Order and the Spiritual Life of a Dio-cese" (pp. 217-226). "The purpose of this article is to explore other [i.e. than schools and parishes] possible services that a religious order or its members can render to the spiritual life of a diocese" (p. 219). If.such is the purpose of this article, it should be of interest to religious. Let us see very briefly some of the contributions which Father Egan believes a religious institute could and should make for the spiritual service of a diocese. 152 May, 1957' SPIRITUAL WRITINGS The first two immedi~lte fruits which should come to a diocese from the presence of a religious foundation within it are: first, the life of prayer and mortification of the religious should draw down God's rich blessings upon all the ~nembers of the diocese, bishop, priests, and parishioners; secondly., the manifest sp.iritual joy and.peace of religious should be a con-stant lesson to all who come in contact with them that true peace and happiness can be found in this world, provided it" is not sought from the world. Some religious .institutes, like the Benedictines, can offer to the faithful, especially those who have grown to appreciate the place of the liturgy in their life, the occasion of assisting, at the liturgy in all its full splendor. Other religious aid the spir-itual life of a diocese by communicating their spiritual treasures to the faithful by means of third orders. Closely linked "to this latter is the practice of spiritual direction. Many diocesan, priests, because of other spiritual demands, simply have not the time which would be required for the spiritual direction of those parishioners who would request and/or need it. Religious foun-dations in a diocese, however, would mean for the laity a greater Opportunity for that spiritual direction which is so necessary for Christian perfection. Among the other activities frequently carried on by religi-ous in a diocese are those of the parish mission, directed primarily perhaps to the conversion of sinners, and the retreat, usually aimed more at the nourishment of a ~ieeper spiritual life. The healthy spread and growth of the retreat movement, carried on mostly by religious groups, has done much for the spiritual life of the faithful in many American dioceses. There is also the c6ntribution Which religious are making in many dioceses of making "available to the. !aity a more intimate acquaintance with theology a~d philosophy as these are linked up with the cult'ural life of the modern world" (p. 224). In this intellectua'l field '~h~re could also be mentioned the help 153 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN .which~ many religious groups, ~particularly the Paulists, can offer by way of convert instruction. '~ Las.tly, it will do well to recall--although it might seem strange --that the presence in the diocese of those religious institutes who have members in the mission field means an opportunity for the faithful of a diocese to offer both men and support to the mission-ary activity of the Church. That is a blessing not merely for the religious insti~tites, but for the diocese as well. "Each religious group," concludes Father Egan, "has its own contribution to make; yet" each must not insist on i~s own good to the detriment of the common good of a diocese, which is in the care of the bishop: ~On the other hand, the bishop must respect the distinctive character of the religious groups in his diocese. With such mutual respect, the common good of all the faithful will" always be served by the united efforts of dios-cesan and religious priests" (p. "22'6). DELAYED VOCATIONS Spiritual directors who are asked about religious orders or con-gregations of sisters that have the policy of accepting older women are frequently at a loss as to where to direct these applicants for further information. If orders or congregations which have such a policy will send their title and address, the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS may be able to publish a°list in a subsequent issue. The age limitatioi~s for admit-tance should be specified as well as whether the foliowing classes of women are accepted: widows, married women who ard legally sep-arated permanently with ecclesiastical permission, those who have been ifivalidly married in the past but who have sincerely amended their lives and would-now like to enter the dbnvent. GUIDANCE FOR RELIGIOUS It seems that some who were planning on. using, Guidance for 'Rel,glous, b~,' ~ath~r Gerald Keily, S.J'.~, insummer sessmns ai'e w'on~ . dering, whether they may gtill obtain copies. F6r~kheir information;~we should like to say ~hat the second p~iht~ng of the book is now com-. pleted, and it may be obtainefl~from The Newman Press, Westminster, 154 Apost:at:es and 'Fugi!:ives I. Definition of Apostasy and Flight 1. Definition of apostasy (c. 644, ~ !). ApOstates and fugitives leave religion voluntarily but illicitly, pe~manentiy in the case of the apostate, temporarily in that of ~the fugitive. Both' me~ and women may be apostates or fugitives. Aft ~ipostate from religion is a professed of perpetual vows who either leaves or remains outside of every house of his institute without any valid permission, and manifests externally, either explicitly or impliC-itly, the absolute intention of never returning to any house of his institute. (a) Perpetual vows are necessary, Novices~ and postulant~ can-not be apostates. They are also free to leave religion at any time. A professed of temporary vows cannot be an apostate; nor is he a fugitive if he leaves religion with the expressed inten-tion of not returning, since a fugitive is one who has the inten-tion of returning (cc. 19; 2219, § 3). Solemn vows are always perpetual; but perpetual simple vows, whether in an order or a congregation, also suffice for apostasy. (b) Illicit absence required. The illicit absence necesgary for apbs-tasy is verified by leaving the religious house without any valid permission (explicit, implicit, presumed, tacit, particular, general) or, if one h~s permission to go out, by ~remaii~ing outside the house beyond the length of any valid permission. The re!igiou~ must be illicitly outside any house of his institute, e: g., ~a religious who goes to another .house of his own institute without any permission does not verify the illicit absence demanded for apostasy. (c) Intention of never returning required. "Apostasy demands that religious obedience be cast off completely and not merely to a particular superior or superiors. The ~intention'~ therdfore must be not to return to any hous~ of his institute. The inten- 155 JOSEPH F. ~ALLEN Review for Religious tion ,must also be absolute, not conditional. For example, a religiou~ who has the intention of not returning to his institute unless he is transferred to another house has a conditional, .not an absolute, intention and is not an apostate. He is an apostate as soon as his intention becomes absolute. This intention must be externally manifested. The external manifestation may be by any means sufficient to express an intention of ihe will," e. g., orally, in writing, by gestures, or facts. The intention is manifested explicitly if th~ religious states orally or in writing that he is leaving the institute forever. It is mani-fested implicitly by any fact that implies the intention of leaving the institute forever, e. g., if he attempts or contracts marriage, assume~ a permanent employment, begins a course of ,studies, or has all his personal belongings sent to him. (d) Presumption of such an intention (c. 644, ~ 2)- If there is no certain proof that the religious has ,manifested, this inten-tion, he is p~Tesumed to have done so and to be an apostate after an illicit absence of one month, ,e. g., January. 12-February 13, provided he has not actually returned during this time nor mani-fested to his superior the intention =of returning. Ii~ in these circumstances hE claims that ~he was not an apostate,, he will have to prove his assertion by establishing the lack of at ieast one ~f the essential elements of apostasy, e. g., that he was not absent illici.tly, that he did not express the intention, of. not returning, or .th.at he was-physically or morally unable to return or correspond with his superior. 2. Definition of flight (c. 644, §-3).~ A fugitive is a .professed religigus of either perpetual or temporary vows' or a member of a' society without .public vows in which common life is a grave obligation who: 1° either leaves or actually remains outside every house, of.his institute without .any valid permission beyond three complete ~days or. e'xtemally, manifests, eXplicitl~ or im-plicitly, the intention 'of.prolong!ng his absence for .this same time; 2° ~but with tbe~ intention of returning to at least some 156 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES house of his institute. An~ professed, oeven of only temporary vows, can be a fugitive. The concepts of leaving or remaining outside without any valid permission are to be understood in the same sense as explained above for an apostate. (a) Beyond three full days. An apostate intends to sever him-self completely from religious obedience, and it is therefore required that he externally manifest the intention of never re-turning to his institute. A fugitive is one who intends to with-draw himself from religious obedience for a notable period of time. This intention also must be externally manifested. There-fore, flight is verified at any moment in an illicit absence that the religious manifests explicitly or implicitly the intention of pro-tracting such an absence for a notable period. Common opinion determines this period as beyond three full days, .e.g., if begun on Monday, the notable absence i~ attained on Friday. The sole fact of an illicit absence beyond three full days is an implicit manifestation of the intention of withdrawing from religious obedience for a notable period of time. However, since many au'thors demand an actual illicit absence beyond three days for flight and say nothing of the case of an intention of notable absence, the crime of flight is not ~certainly vei'ified and the pe'nalties are not incurred unless the illicit "absence is actually prolonged beyond three cJays. When' the'intention or actual absence is for a less~r period, even if for a seriously sinful pur-pose, the case is not consi'dered one of flight but of a mere illicit or furtive departure from religion. (b) With the intention of returning. It is presumed, that the religious has this intention of returning unless he manifests externally the intention of never returning, in which case his intention is that of an apostate. It i~, thdrefore, not ndk~ssary to manifest externally khe~intention of returning, which is' con-tained in the intention of depaFting from the ifistitute' only ]~or a time. If his intention is' never to return to a partidulaF house or houses but to return to at least some hohse of his institute, his in~tehtion is still that~ of a fugitive and 'not o'f an apostate. 1.57 JOSEPH F. GALLEN, Review for Religious Apostasy is not a partial but a complete severance of religious obedience. II. Canonical Penalties for Apostasy and Flight 3. For apostasy (c. 2385). (a) Excommunication. An apostate incurs ipso facto an excommunication reserved to his own higher superior if the delinquent is a member of a clerical exempt institute or to the ordinary of the place where the absolution from the excommunication is given ff the delinquent is a mem-ber' of any other type of institute. (b) Prohibition of legitimate ecclesiastical acts (c. 2256, 2°). An apostate incurs ipso facto an exclusion from the licit exercise of legitimate ecclesiastical, acts. The more general and prac-tical prohibitions of this penalty are that the religious may not licitly exercise the administration of ecclesiastical property as a superior, treasurer, or member of a council, vote in an ecclesias-tical election, or be a sponsor in baptism or confirmation. This penalty remains after his return and after an absolution from the excommunication, but a local or religious ordinary can dis-pe. nse from it in virtue of c. 2237 in either public or occult cases. In more urgent occult cases confessors can suspend the penalty if it cannot be observed without scandal or infamy. They must impose' the obligation of having rec6urse within a month to the Sacred Penitentiary or the ordinary and of observing the man-dates of either (c. 2290, § 1). In an extraordinary case when recourse is impossible, the confessor can dispense and give the mandates himself according to the norm' of c. 2254, ~ 3 (c. 2290, § 2). (c) Privation of privileges. An apost~ite incurs ipso facto a privation of the valid use of all privileges granted by the Holy See to religious in ge.neral and to his own institute, e. g., exemp-tion, indulgence~s. It is probable that he is not deprived of suffrages, since these are not a privilege. This penalty, also remains, as ab. ove, but can be dispensed by a local or religious 158 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES ordinary., The power of the confessor is the same. (d) Perpetual loss of active and passive voice. If he returns, the apostate is perpetually del~rived of active and passive voice. Therefore, he is deprived perpetually of the right of voting val-idly in any electoral chapter, whether general, provincial, or local, and of the right of receiving validly any offce that is con-ferred by election. He can receive an office that is conferred by appointment, and a religious woman retains the right of voting for the prolongation of the term of the ordinary confessor (c. 526). This .penalty also remains after the absolution from the excommunication. In occult cases it can be dispensed "by the local or religious ordinary, but in publii: cases only by the Holy' See (c. 2237, ~ 1, 3°). The power of the ~onfessor is the same as above. Religious ordinaries can have the po~er of dispens-ing from this penalty in public casek in virtue of a privilege possessed by their institute.' (e) To be otherwise punished by superiors. Canon 2385 com-mands that a returned apostate be otherwise punished by his loc~,l or higher superiors in conformity with the constitutions and in accordance with the gravity of his crime. If any such ferendae senten/iae danonical penalties are prescribed in the constitutions of a clerical exempt .in.stitute, the superior is. ordi-narily obliged to inflict them buts'according to the norms of c. 2223, ~ 3. If" canonical penalties are not so pi'escrilSed; the superiors of the same institutes cain iriflicto canonical penalties, penances, and penal remedies when scandal or special ~ra¢ity was ~erified in the transgression, according~ to the norm of c. 2222, ~ 1. Superiors in other institutes c~ln inflict only the ordinary and private penances in use in the par'ticu[ar institute. ¯ .4. For flight (c. 2386). (a) General suspension. A religious fugitive who is a .priest, deacQn, or subdeacon ind[urs by" the ve.ry ~fact of.t0e.flight a gener~! suspe~ns!on that'~is reserved i,n.:,,exa~ct!y ~Cf. Riesner, /ll~ostates attd Vugitfiw's, /rom "Religious lnstitittes,~91; Jone, :Commentariura in Codicem luris Canonici.'.III, 553; ~Cloran, Pre~ie~'s.an,t Prac-tical Cases, 296. i;59 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious the same way as the excommunication for apostasy explained above. The suspension and other punishments of this canon certainly "extend also to thd clerical and lay members of clerical societies 'without public vows. It is probable that c. 2386 does not extend to lay societies without public' vows, since the Code Commission applies it explicitly only to clerical societies and the canon itself speaks of a religious fugitive. Therefore, in fact the canon does not extend to lay societies (cc. 19; 2219, § 1).~ (b) Privation of office. A fugitive incurs ipso facto the pri: ration of any office that he may hold in religion. Office is to be taken in a wide sense and, consequently, includes-that of pastor, parochial vicar, of any sup.erior, whether general, provincial, Or local, of any councilor or treasurer, master or assistant master of novices, of junior p3ofessed, tertians, general or prox(incial sec-retary, principal of a school, director of studies or schools.3 The fugitive is" deprived of all offices he now holds but is not rendered incapable of being elected or appointed to the same or different offices in the future. Since' it is a question of office in the wid~ sense (c. 145), this penalty can be dispensed by the local or religious ordinary,t The power of the confessor is the same as above. (c) To be otherwise punished on his return. Canon 2386 com-mands that the punishments prescribed in the constitutions for returned fugitives be inflicted; and, if the constitutions prescribe nothing on the matter, the higher superior is to inflict punish-ments according to the gravity of the offense. If any ferendae sentenliae canonical penalties are prescribed for flight in the constitutions of a clerical exempt institute, the superior designated in the constitutions is ordinarily obliged to inflict these penalties, ~ Bouscaren, Canon Law Digest, I, 330; Cappello, De Censuris, n. 539; Beste, lntroductio in Codicem, 968; Cocchi, Commentarium in Codicem luris Canonlci, VIII," n. 262; Vermeersch-Creusen, Epitome luris Cano.nici, III, n. 590; Jone, op. cir., III, 555; Schaefer, De Religlosis, n. 1565; Wernz-Vidal, lus Canonicum, VII, n. 521. z Cf. Coronata, Institutiones'luris Canonici, IV, n. 2191; Riesner, op. cir., 102. 4Cloran, op. cir., 86; 204-05. 160 May, 195"; APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES but according to the norms of c. 2223, §. 3. If canonical penal-ties are not so prescribed, the higher superior of the same insti-tutes can inflict canonical penalties, penances, and penal rem-edies when scandal or special gravity was verified in the trans-gression, according to the norm of c. 2222, ~ 1. Higher superi-ors in other institutes can inflict only the ordinary and private penances in use in the particular institute. III. The Obligations of Apostates and Fugitives (c. 645, .~ 1) 5. Apostates and fugitives are freed from none of the obliga-tions of their institute aild are consequently obliged by its vows, Rule, constitutions,~ordinances, and customs. They have a seri-ous obligation in conscience to return as soon' as is morally possible to their institute. To be worthy of sacramental absolu-tion, they must actually return, sincerely intend to return, or at least sincerely intend to submit themselves to the directions of their superiors. If the apostate or fugitive considers that he can no longer fulfill the obligations of the religious life, theforinali-ties necessary for an indult of secularization are to be initiated. If the return of the culpable religious involves grave inconveni-ence, superiors may permit him to remain outside religion until the ,indult of secularization has been obtained.~ These same obligations.are true of a professed of temporary vows who illicitly leave~ or remains outside his institute with the intention of never returning, even0though canonically he is neither an apostate nor a fugitive. IV. Obligations of Superiors with regard to Apostates and Fugitives (c. 645, ~ 2) . 6. Obligations. All the superiors of the apostate or fugitive but primarily the immediate higher superior are obliged to find him, effect his return, and receive him back if he is. sincerely repen-tant. This ,obligation in the case of an apostate or fugitive nun falls on the local ordinary of her monastery. From charity the ~Cf. Creusen, Religious Men and PVomen in the Code, n. 342; Bastien, Dir,'ctoire Canoniqu~', n. 622; Jombart, Trait/ de Droit Canonique, I, n. 909. 161 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious ordinary of the place .where she is s.taying should give l~is assis-tance as also any other local or~linary whose efforts can be help-ful. If the monastery is subject in fact to regulars, the obliga-tion extends cumulatively also to the regular superior. Superiors may fulfill this obligation personally or through another. At times, another religious, a priest, friends, or relatives may have greater influence with the offender. Superiors, especially of religious women, will frequently be compelled to deal with the delinquent through another to avoid the danger of scandal to the laity or of infamy to the institute. The seeking of the offender is always to be done with prudence and charity, i. e., with the avoidance of scandal, infamy, or hardship to either the delin-quent or the institute. Since no time is prescribed by canon law, the obligation of seeking apostates and f, ugiti.ves binds only when and as long as there is probable hope that the offender will amend and return. 7. Repentant delinquent. The institute is obliged to take back the apostate or fugitive only if he is sincerely repentant, . The institute has the right of proving the sincerity of his repentance on his return by a period of trial. If sincere repentance is lack-ing, .the superior should .counsel the religious to ask for an indult of secularization or, if he will not do this, begin the. formalities of a dismissal, If he appears repentant but his return and pres-ence can be a cause of trouble to the institute and superiors find serious difficulty/ in receiving him back, they may present the facts of the c~.se to the Sacred Congregation of Religious and await its decision.~ - ~" 8. Delinquent unwilling to return. If the apostate or fugitive is. unwilling ~0 return, superiors should ounsel him;to ask for an i"nduit of secularization; if he will not do thi~, the~) are to ~'resort to dismissal. A religious ~of temporary vows who is.a fugi-tive or' who illicitly leaves or remains outsidd the' institute with the intention of never returning may be dismissed because of this one act. His action is a crime or equivalenyly such and is of greater import tha,n.the "serious reason demanded in c. 647. 162 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES Superiors are to judge fro~ the culpability of this act, the type of religious life he had lived in the past, hope of amendment, scandal .given, harm or inconvenience to the institute in retaining him, and from other pertinent circumstances whether he should be dismissedfl V. Dismissal of a Professed of Perpetual Vows for Apostasy or Flight 9. For apostasy. The supposition is that superiors have striven to effect the return of the delinquent and he will not return. He is then to be counselled to ask for an indult of secularization. If he will not do this, superiors are to begi~n the admonitions neces-sary for dismissal. It is the common opinion that the dismissal of an apostate should not be done with precipitation and by merely fulfilling the letter of the law, i. e., by giving the first admonition at once, the second three day.s later, and then after an interval of six days forwarding the matter to the competent authority for .dismissal. One or two authors even state that three months should be allowed to elapse before the formalities of dismissal are begun. This appears to be an exaggeration of a somewhat similar norm that existed before the code. It would be prudent to allow abotit two months to elapse between the crime and the completion of the formalities requisite for dis° missal.7 An admonition lookii~g to dismissal may also be given to a repentant apostate or fugitive who has returned to his insti-tute, since his crime furnishes the basis for an admonition,s 10. For flight. The supposition i~ the same as in the preceding paragraph; and the same recommendation of a space of" about two months applies here also, particularly since flight is a lesser crime than apostasy. Frequently, therefore, the religious will be presumed to be an apostate, because an illicit absence of a month gives the presumption of apostasy. If the religious will not °Cf. Palombo, De Dimissione Reli#iosorum, n. 153, 4. 7 Cf. Larraona, Commentarittm Pro Reli#iosis, 4-1923-178. 8Cf. cc. 649-651, § 1; 656 Goyen~che, De Relioiosis, 203. 163 JOSEPH F. GALLEN petition an indult of secularization, the formalities of a dismissal are to be begun. VI. Support and Dowry of an Apostate or Fugitive 1 i. The Code of Canon Law does not oblige the institute to sup-port an apostate or fugitive. Such support may be given, espe-cially when it will aid or effect the return of the delinquent. It would often serve only to prolong the absence. The institute has no obligation to give a charitable subsidy to a religious woman except when the religious wishes to return but~ superiors do not wish to receive her back because of scandal, harm, or hardship, and the delinquent is forced to'live outside religion until she obtains an indult of secularization or the case is settled by the Holy See.~. The capital sum of the dowry is to be returned to a pro-fessed religious, woman who definitively leaves the institute, licitly or illicitly, whether her vows have been dispensed or not (c. 551, ~ 1). A fugitive from religion is only temporarily absent from her institute and therefore the dowry is not to be restored to her. Since c. 551, ~ 1, makes no distinction between a licit and illicit definitive departure, it is the more'probable opinion that the dowry should be restored to an apostate religious woman when it is certain that she will not return. It is also probable that the institute is not obliged to return the dowry until the apostate is secularized or dismissed, .since mere apostasy does not canon-ically and completely sever the apostate from her institute. The same doctrine is to be affirmed of a religious woman of tempor~ary vows who.illicitly leaves, or remains outside of the institute with the intention of not returning, even though canonically she is neither an apostate nor a fugitive. 9Cf. Riesner, 0,~. ciL, 134-35. 164 PRAYER FOR RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS [In the Vatican daily newspaper, Osser~,atore Romano, for February 7, 1957, there appeared the text of a prayer personally composed by the Holy Father for vocations to the religious life. The prayer has been enriched by His Holiness with the following indulgences: ten years each time it is recited and a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, provided the prayer has been said daily for an entire month (AAS, February 27, 1957, p. 101). A translation of the prayer from the original Italian text follows:] Lot:d Jesus Christ, sublime m~del of all perfection, who not only unceasingly invite privileged souls to tend towards the loftiest of goals, but who also move them by the powerful force of Your example and the efficacious impulse of Your grace to follow You on so exalted a path, grant that many may know Your sweet inspirations and respond to them by embracing the religious state, there to enjoy Your special care and Your tender love. Grant that there may never be lacking the religious who, as the messenger of Your love, may represent You day. and night beside .the cradle of the orphan, at the bed of the suffering, and near the old and the infirm who perhaps otherwise would have no one on this earth to stretch to them a hand of pity~ Grant too that in the lowliest school as in the greatest cathedrdl there 'should always sound a voice which is an echo of Your own and which teaches the way to heaven and the duties proper to each human person; and grant that no country, however ~backward and remoLe, be deprived of the call of the Gospel inviting all peoples to enter Your kingdom. Grant that there may be multiplied and increased those flames by which the world may be further set on fire. and in which shines forth in all its splendor the spotless holiness of Your Church. Grant also that in every regiofi there may flourish gardens of elect souls who by their contemplation and their penance repair the faults of men and implore Your mercy. And grant that through the continual immolation of such hearts, through the snow-whi~e ptirity of such souls, and through the exdellence of their virtue, there may always be here on earth'a perfect and living e~ample of those children of God whom you came to reveal. Send to these battalions of your chosen ones numerous and good vocations, souls firmly determined to make themselves worthy of. such a signal grace and of the institute to which they aspire and to a~chieve this by the exact ,observance 'of their religious duties, by assiduous pr.ayer, by,constant mortification,, and by the perfect adherence of their will to Your will. Enlighten, Lord Jesus, many generous souls with the.glowing light of the Holy Spirit who is substantial and eternal love; and by the powerful" intercession of Your loving Mbther Mary enkiridle and keep burning the fire of Your charity, to the glory of the Father and of the same Spirit, who live and.reign with You, world with6ut end. Amen. 165 Survey ot: Roman Documen!:s R. I::. Smit:h, S.J. IN THE present article those documents will'be ~urveyed which appeared in /lcta ./tpostolicae Sed~is (AAS) be-tween October 1, 1956, and December 31, 1956. Accord-in~ gly, all references throughout the article are to AAS of 1956 (v. 48). Crusade for Peace It is rare indeed when over a two-week period three en-cyclicals appear in rapid succession; but this is what happened between October 28, 1956, and November 5, 1956, when events in Hungary and the Middle East p'rompted the Vicar of Christ to publish for the entire world three encyclicals. The first, pub-lished on October 28, 1956 {'AAS, pp. 741-744), consists of a plea for all true Christians to unite in a crusade of prayer for the people of Hungary and for the other peoples of Eastern Europe who are deprived of religious and civ.il liberties. The Pontiff especially p;,.~.~s that those in their early youth join this crusade of prayer for peace, for, as His Holiness says, "We put great trust especially in their supplications." The second en-cyclical was i,ssued on November 2, 1956 (AAS pp. 745-748); in it Plus XII first gives thanks to God for the appearance of what would seem to be a new era of peace through justice .in Poland and Hungary; then he turns to consider the flame of another warlike situation in the Middle East; hence he u~ges that the crusade of prayer be continued that the grave" problems confronting the world today be solved not by the way of violence but by the way of justice. The third of the encyclicals, dated November 5, 1956 (AAS, pp. 748-749), laments the new servi-tude imposed on the Hungarian people by force of foreign arms, warns ~the oppressors that the blood of the Hungarian people cries to the Lord, and urges all Christians to join together in 166 ROMAN DOCUMENTS prayer for those who have met death' in the recent painful events of Hungary. Five days later on November 10, 1956 (AAS, pp. 787- 789), the Holy Father continued his work for peace by broad-casting a message to all the nations and leaders of the world. His speech was an anguished plea for peace and freedom and concluded with the prayerful hope that the name of God may, as a synonym for peace and liberty, be a standard for all men of good will and a bond between all peoples and nations. The Vicar of Christ's plea for a crusade of prayer leads naturally to a consideration of what he had to say on the sub-ject of the apostolate of prayer when addressing the directors of the Apostleship of Prayer on S~ptember 27, 1956 (AAS, pp. 674-677). The apostolate of prayer, says the Pope, is a form of apostolic endeavor that is open to literally every ChriS-tian, no matter what his state or condition may be; nor can th6se who are engaged in an active apostolic life neglect the apostolate of prayer; for actmn must be rooted in a spirit of prayer and of virtue. All Christians, therefore, are urged to practice the apos-tolate of prayer; and it is the hope of the Supreme Pontiff that they do so by membership in the Apostleship 6f Pr~yer since this association teaches its members.to do all for the salvation of the world and to draw ever closer to the Heart of Christ. As air penetrates and joins all things, concludes Pius XII, so too the Apostleship of Prayer should be an-exercise common to all the apostolic works of the entire Church. Liturgy and Worship ~'One o'f the most important documents issued during the last months of 1956 wa~ the teXg of th.e address delivered by His ~Holiness on .September 22, 1956 (AASI pp. 71,.i-725), to the International CongreSs. of Pastora! ~Liturgy. The Holy Father .first, considers the relations that exist between the liturgy band the ~Church, relations that~ may be summed up in the following,, two ~principles: The liturgy is a living function of th~ ~hole Church; ¯167 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious the liturgy is not, however, the whole of the Church. All Catholics, therefore, must, each in his own way, participate in the liturgy; but they should also remember that the liturgy does not remove the importance of priv.ate and individual worship and that it does not lessen the Church's functions of teaching and governing. The Pontiff then turns to a consideration of the relations between the liturgy of the Mass and Christ. It must not be forgotten, teaches the Holy Father, that the central element of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is that where Christ offers Himself; this takes place at the Consecration where in the act of trans-substantiation Christ acts through the person of the priest-cele-brant. Hence, wherever the consecration of bread and wine is validly effected, the action of Christ Himself is also accomplished. There can, then, be no real concelebration of Mass unless the concelebrants not only have the necessary interior intention, but also say over the bread and wine, "This is My Body"; "This is My Blood." It also follows that it is not true to say that the offering of a hundred Masses by a hundred priests is equal to the offering of Mass by a single priest in the presence of a hundred devout priests. The Holy Father next considers the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He first corrects an erroneous explanation of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, according to which after the Consecration Christ is present only in the sense that the appear-ances of bread and wine have a real relation with our Lord in heaven. Such an explanation, Plus XII points out, does not do justice to the Eucharist, of which it carl be simply said: It is the Lord. The Holy Father concludes this section by warning against any diminishing of esteem for the presence of Christ in the tabernacle. The altar of sacrifice and the tabernacle of the rdal presence are in no way opposed to each. other, for it is the same Lord who is immolated on the altar and who is really present in the tabernacle. 168 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Finally, the Holy Father considers the divinity of Christ and the liturgy and remarks that the divinity of our Lord must not be allowed to remain on the fringe of the liturgy. It is, of course, to be expected that man should go to the Father through Christ who is man's Mediator; but it must also be remembered that Christ is" not only Mediator, but also the equal of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Several documents were issued in the last quarter of 1956 which dealt with beatification and canonization processes. By a decree of May 13, 1956 (AAS, pp. 842-843), the Sacred Congregation of Rites approved the reassumption of the cause of the bessed martyrs Roch Gonzalez, Alphonsus Rodriguez, and John del Castillo, priests of the Society of Jesus. Under the same date the same Congregation (AAS, pp. 843-844) also approved the reassumption of the cause of Blessed Mary Cres-centia H6ss, virgin, professed member of the Third Order of St. Francis. On August 15, 1956 (AAS, pp. 804-806), the Congregation of Rites decreed that the beatification of Pope Innocent XI could safely proceed; and on October 7, 1956 (AAS, pp. 754-759), the decree of his beatification was accord-ingly issued. On the same day (AAS, pp. 762-778) His Holi-ness delivered a lengthy panegyric on the new Blessed. Blessed Innocent XI, the Pope pointed out, directed his entire pontificate to the accomplishment of three goals: the perfecting of the re-form begun by the Council of Trent; the protection of the rights and liberty of the Church, especially in France; and. the saving of Christian Europe from the inroads of Turkish power. These three external achievements were accompanied, said the Pope, by three internal qualities: constant union with God in prayer; love of poverty joined to a desire to help those in need; and a strong purpose to seek only ~he will of almighty God. Finally, it should be noted in relation to canonization matters that on February 19, 1956 (AAS, pp. 688-691), the Congregation of Rites approved the introduction of the cause of the Cardinal Archbishop of Seville, Marcellus Spinola Maestre (1835-1906). 169 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious The Sacred Congregation of Rites on October 31," 1956 (AAS, pp. 844-845), added to the blessings of the Church by issuing a formula for the blessing of stone quarries and another for the blessing of establishments for the working and finishing of marble. The Holy Father contributed to the Church's life of worship by the message which he .broadcast to the Second National Eucharistic Congresk of the Philippines on December 2, 1956 (AAS, pp. 834-838); he urged in the course of his broadcast that Catholics should show their faith and trust in Christ's Eucha-ristic presence not so much by words or songs, as by truly Christian deeds. Finally, a broadcast of October 28, 1956 (AAS, pp. 831-834), in which the Holy Father discussed the practice of consecration to the Sacred Heart, shoold not be neglected. Since the act of consecration is an act of love and of self-dedication, says the Vicar of Christ, this act can be performed only by one in the state of grace. Moreover, to live out the act of consecration once made means that the person must be grad-ually transformed into another Christ; and the Holy Father concludes his speech by teaching that whoever consecrates him-self to the Sacred Heart enrolls himself in an army of peace which neither rests nor halts until the kingdom of Christ is estab-lished in all hearts, in all families, and in all institutions. Addresses to Doctors. Medicine and its associated fields have been the repeated subject of speeches and addresses throughout the reign of Plus XII and the last few months of 1956 saw no exception to 'this general rule. The most important of these addresses was that given by the Holy Father on September 11, 1956 (AAS, pp. 677-686), to the seventh plenary meeting of the International Association of Catholic Physicians, held at The Hague, Holland. In this radio broadcast the Supreme Pontiff discussed the matters of medical morality and of positive law dealing with medical matters. 170 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS The ultimate source of all medical morality and law, begins the Pope, is to be found in the individual's right to life, to in-tegrity of body, and to the means necessary~ to preserve life and integrity. All these rights, he continues, are received by the individual directly from his Creator, not from the state or any group of states. This, means, then, that the individual does not bear the same relation to the state in medical matters that a physical part bears to the physical whole in which it exists. ~ After considering the obfligations which flow from the essen-tial conditions of. human nature and which are :measurable by objective norms and which to a considerable extent are contained in .the Ten Commandments as understood and explained by reason and the Chur~ch, the Pontiff then takes up the matter of positive medical law understood as a set of norms which have been established in a body politic to control the training and activity of physicians and which are civilly enforceable. Such positive law in medical matters, the Pope says, is necessary, since the prin-ciples of medical morality lacl~ sufficient precision to adequately cover all the concrete, medical situations that are of importance to society. Medical morality and positive medical law are in a certain sense autonomous in their respective spheres, but in the final analysis positive medical law must be subordinate to medical morality. Positive medical law, then, must never be in contra-diction, to the moral order which is expressed in medical morality. Positive law, for example, cannot permit mercy-killing nor direct abortion. A month earlier than the previous talk on August 19, 1956 (AAS, pp. 666-670), the Pontiff addressed a group of cancer specialists~ urging them to observe wheat for lack of a better name may be called medical humanism. This is an attit.ude of mind which, when treating a patient, does not limit itself to a consideration of the patient's sickness only, but considers the entire man including his economic, social, psychological, and moral conditions. .He concludes his address to these cancer specialists ~by expressing the wish that their zeal to fight the 171 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious physical evil of cancer may be matched by a zeal to combat the even greater evil which is called sin. The Holy Father also ad-dressed another group of cancer researchers on October 6, 1956 (AAS, pp. 793-797). After detailing the recent research into a cure for cancer, the Pope concludes by encouraging them in their labors, for, as he says, they are fighting one of the con-sequences that the sin of man has introduced into the world. Economic and Social Problems A number of documents issued by Plus XII in the last three months of 1956 dealt with subjects that can be termed roughly economic and social matters. On September 9, 1956 (AAS, pp. 670-673), the Holy Father addressed the First Congress of the International Association of Economists, pointing out to its members that economics, like any other science, must start with the observation of facts considered in their entirety. It was failure to see all of economic reality, says the Pontiff, that led to the contradiction betw.een the economic theory of the physi0cra.ts and the frightful social misery that actually existed in reality. Similarly too, the h/!~arxist view failed to see all of economic reality, for it eliminated all spiritual values and thereby put men into a bondage as oppressive as any slavery. The true economist, then, must embrace in his economic theory the many facets of man that affect economic reality, especially man's gift of free and personal decision. The Holy Father concludes his address by recalling to his audience the Christian ideal of poverty as a means of personal freedom and social service; although, he remarks, this ideal is not directly within the purview of economics, still economists can find in that ideal a o general orientation that will bring them valuable insights. On October 8, 1956 (AAS, pp. 798-801), the Holy Father addressed a group of owners of small businesses from the coun-tries of Germany, Belgium, .Italy, and the Netherlands. In his allocution to them the Vicar of Christ stres'sed'the necessity of small business for the stability of a country and gave his audience salutary, reminders of the relations that should exist in such busi- 172 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS nesses between owners and employees. On the Feast of Christ the King, October 28, 1956 (AAS, pp. 819-824), His Holiness spoke to a group of Italian workers on the subject of the reign of Christ in the world of labor. The reign of Christ, says the Pope, must begin in the minds of men; and, therefore, a deep knowledge of the truths of the Catholic faith must be spread among men. But the reign of Christ must also penetrate to the hearts of men that they might all become living stones of that edifice which is Christ. Moreover, the kingdom of Christ must extend even to the factories where men work that these too may be governed by His justice, which alone can bring a solution to modern social problems. And finally, the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of love, and therefore of peace, for love of its very nature is a uniting force. In the Basilica of St. Peter on November 18, 1956 (AAS, pp. 826-831), seven thousand Italian workers from Turin were received by the Holy Father who addressed them on various social and economic matters. He recalls to their minds that, though economics must deal with such matters as the laws of production and consumption, it must also be aware of those moral laws which must be considered if any economic situation is to be handled successfully. He warns them that the enemy of the human race is today represented among men by Communism and concludes by urging the workers not to fear scientific and technical progress, for there is no reasonable basis for assuming that such progress will eliminate the need for human workers. On October I0, 1956 (AAS, pp. 779-786), the Holy Father broadcast a message to the shrine of the house of Loretto where a group 6f Italian women had gone on pilgrimage. The Pontiff first recalls to his hearers the dignity of woman accord-ing to Catholic principles; she, like man, is a child of God, redeemed by Christ, and given a supernatural destiny; further-more, woman shares with w/an a common temporal destiny, so that no human activity is of itself forbidden to woman. Man 173 R, F. 'SMITH Review for Religious and woman, then, are equal as far as personal and fundamental values .are concerned, though their functions are different. The fundamenial function of woman is motherhood; for it is by this that woman ordinarily attains both her temporal and her eternal destiny; this, of course, in no way prevents the perfection of womanhood being achieved in other ways, especially by the voluntary acceptance of a higher vocation. Finally, the Holy Father acknowledges that woman should be a force in the modern world and one :of the aims of woman's activity should be to strive to see' that the nation's institutions, laws, and customs respect the special needs of women. Miscellaneous Topics An important document issued by the Hoiy Father in the concluding months of 1956 is the text of a speech given by him on September 14, 1956 (AAS, pp. 699-711), to a group of Italian priests interested in the adaptation of pastoral activity to the needs of contemporary life. The main body of the text is concerned with the need for preaching today modeled on the preaching 6f Christ and that of the Church. At the conclusion of the talk the Supreme Pontiff then formulates a general prin-ciple tl~at should control all those working to adapt themselves to modern situations: there can be no valid adaptation to modern conditions unless that adaptation be shaped by and oriented towards the teaching power of the Church. Individual theologi-ans must remember that the teaching o~ce of the Roman Pontiff and of fhe bishops is of divine right, while their own right to teach is delegated to them. by the Church. The Vicar of Christ notes in conclusion certain areas where modern adaptation has not been shaped by the teaching power of the Church. Among such areas are to be included the tendencies of. the "new theol-ogy" as explained in 1950 in the encyclical Humani Generis; situation ethics; the pretended superiority of Christian marriage and the conjugal act over virginity;, and. the independence of art from all norms other than artistic ones. On September 20, 1956 iAAS, pp. 790-793), the Holy 174 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Father addressed the Seventh Congress oi: the International Astronautical Society. After recalling the history of human effort during the last fifty years to achieve interplanetary travel and to invent artificial earth satellites, the Vicar of .Christ con-tinues by saying that interplanetary travel is a licit aim and pur-pose, for all creation has been given to man. On the other hand, he points out that the boldest explorations of space will but lead, to greater divisions among men, unless humanity be-comes more deeply impressed with the solidarity of that t!amily of God which is the human race. The last document to be noted is a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities~ dated June 21, 1956 (AAS, p. 846), by which Niagara University is canonically and perpetually erected. This concludes the documents which have appeared in AAS during 1956; the next article will summarize the documents of AAS for the first months of 1957. SUMMER INSTITUTES (Continued from Page 142) In its second annual series of Institutes for Religious Won~en Gonzaga University aims at "equipping nuns of all congregations with the insights that reflect God's point of view." This year's schedule is as follows: June 17-28, The Sacramental Life and the Mass; July 1-12, Understanding Human Nature--Part II; Personal Holiness II. Write to: Rev. Leo J. Robinson, s.J.~ Gonzaga University, Spokane 2, Wash-ington. From July 1 to August 9 The Catholic University of America will conduct a Marian Institute which has been established to provide sys-tematic training in the theoloy about the Blessed Virgin. Address cor-respondence to: Director of the Summer Session, The Catholic Uni-versity of America, Washington 17, D. C, OUR CONTRIBUTORS SISTER M. MATILDA is archivist at Loretto Motherhouse, Lo-retto, Nerinx P. O., KentuCky. THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN is professor of ascetical and mystica[ theology at Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts. JOSEPH F. GALLEN is professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. R. F. SMITH is a mem-ber of the faculty of St.Mary's Cbllege, St. Marys, Kansas. !75 Communications [EDITORS' NOTE: Those who send communications will help us greatly if they type the communications double- or triple-spaced and allow generous margins. Occasionally we receive material for a particular issue or time of year~ Since our deadline for sending copy to the printer is two months before the publication date, such material should reach us three months before it is to appear. Communications, like articles and questions, should be addressed to our editorial office, not to the business office. The complete address is: The Editors, REW~W :FOR REL~O~0US, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. The address of the business office (where subscriptions, requests for back numbers, changes of address, etc., are to be sent) is given on the inside back cover.] Introductory Note As an editor, I should like to suggest that the communication on the religious habit may stimulate profitable discussion if our readers will ignore the suggestion that the sisters who answered Father Teufel's questionnaire (cf. our January number, p. 3) are disgruntled religious. Concentration on this point can lead only to bitterness. As a teacher, I should like to add that I once conducted a discussion (without a questionnaire) involving the same points brought out by FathEr Teufel. Sisters representing a large number of institutions took part in this discussion. Their conclusions were similar to those expressed in Father Teufel's article. I can vouch for the fact that these sisters were excellent religious, devoted to their institutes. I am sure that the same could itnd should be said about the sisters who replied to Father Teufel's questionnaire. As a priest, let me say that we men are not eager to tell women how to dress. Moreover, many of us think that the problem of garb is not limited to sisters' habits. Priests and religious men who live in hot climates (which--by the way--are not limited to mission co'n-tries) often discuss the possibility of having some substitute for the black suits and cassocks. The underlying reason of these discussions is not lack of mortification; it is rather the very important matter of cleanliness, as well as efficiency. Gerald Kelly, S.J. The Religious Habit Reverend Fathers: The article on the religious habit published in the January issue of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS has attracted considerable attention 176 COMMUNICATIONS among the religious of my. community. I am wondering about the reaction of others. Those with whom I have spoken are within the average age group mentioned in the article--at least twenty-five years in religion. Their reaction (like my own) has been one of shock at the revelation of what looks like a deep resentmefit in the minds of certain religious against the inconveniences and occasional" embar-rassment or discomfort caused by the religious habitl May I offer a few comments? 1. The attitude of a religious toward her habit. From the day she receives it, the religious in any well-trained community is imbued with the idea of the sacredness of the "holy" habit. She. regards it as a privilege to wear a garment blessed by Holy Church. On the day of her "clothing" she is reminded that she has put off (at least in will and intention) the "old" self and has puton Christi Each morning thereafter as she puts on her habit she recites a prayer recall-ing the day when she was vested with the nuptial robe indicative of her union with Christ. 2. The care given to the habit is that given to somethi~ng sacred, as, for example, the vestments in the sacristy. It is put on and removed over the head (never stepped out of). It must be lifted on going down stairs or in crossing a muddy or dusty passage. It must be kept free of spots and never allowed to become ragged. 3. Some of the remarks on the time expended on the,care, of the habit seem to indicate that the religious who made these remarks have no idea of the time and care that a woman in the world must consume in keeping well groomed. 4. These religious.applied for the habit they wear. They accepted it along with the rules and customs and the spirit of their particular commu.nity. If today they are disgruntled at its form, might not this be an indication of a falling off in fervor and esteem for the institute whose uniform they once gladly adopted? In regard to the attractibn of vocations, young girls are drawn to particular institutes by their spirit or their work. They accept the habit without criticism and love it for what it represents. 5. It is true that many communities have been loyally putting up with certain inconveniences which custom imposed in the matter of clothing. The sisters of past generations accepted all this in.a spirit of penance. The present-day abhorrence of inconvenience is--alas! 177 COMMUNICATIONS Review for Religious --carried into the convent by many a postulant; but surely her attitude changes as she grasps the meaning of mortification and in the pursuit of "personal holiness" becomes more eager for penance. 6. The Holy See, in its kindly interest in the spiritual progress of dqdicate.d souls, has made aa effort to relieve the religious of incon-veniences arising from the manner of dress designed in far distant days. If each community attends to the rectification of thos~ features of the habit which come under these benign instructions, then indi-vidual religious will have no ground for interior rebellion, much less for outspoken criticism. Suggestions may always be made; surely-- but, should we add, objectively. The personal savor of many of the criticisms published indicated an absorption in self and a seeking of ease that seemed at variance with the striving after perfection which religious life implies. The remarks on the rosary were particularly offe_nsive. 7. It seems a pity that the attitude of seventy-two religious in one small corner of the earth should be taken as indicative of the reaction of thousands of sisters all over the world. Seculars picking up this article will be justly shocked; for they generallyo have the greatest esteem for the religious habit, no matter how antiquated or outlandish it may appear at first sight. 8. There is an old saying--"Cucullus non facit monachum.'" The habit certainly does not make the sister, but it does indicate that the person ~lothed in it is set apart from the world; that the restrictions it imposes are accepted as part of the price of her dedication; and that the uniform of her pai:ticular unit.in the army of the King is worn with an ""esprit de corps'" that cancels all inconveniences and be-stows .on the wearer a certain distinction. I shall be interested in learning the reaction of other religious ¯ communities to Father Teufel's article. Perhaps it was intended to b~ provocative. If the day of persecution should ever ~me (which G~d forbid!) when these same disgruntled nuns would be stripped of the holy habit (weighing ten pounds!) and forced to don a secular dress as light as 14 ounces, what a chorus of lamentation would rise to heaven! Surely in their zeal for reform these good sisters were led by a tempting quegtionnaire beyond the limits of discretion. In their heart 6f hearts they feel, I a.m sure, that they are privileged to wear any religious habit. Surely after twenty-eight years they have 178 May, 1957 COMMUNICATIONS at least in some degree died to the world in order to put on Christ, A Sister Vocal Prayers in English Reverend Fathers: May I make use of the communications department of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS tO invite the opinions of other religious concerning a problem that has arisen in our community in regard to the conversion of many of our Latin prayers into English. I do not refer to the Divine Office or to the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, but to 'the vocal prayers said in common morning and evening, those before and after meditation, the particular examen, and recently, the grace at meals in English. When we recited these prayers in Latin we used a uniform pitch, recto tono, and the even free rhythm of syllabic chant. Now we are thinking of carrying this method over into the English versions of these prayers so as to keep perfect unison in pitch with a similar rhythm. This poses the problem of modifying the emphasis and weight of the English accent, and submerges the natural inflections of the voice ordinarily used in reading English prose. It seems to us it would be in keeping with the spirit of liturgical prayer to lift our voices above the mundane methods of ordinary speech to a higher form of vocal player similar to the Latin recto tono or liturgi-cal recitative even when it is cast in the vernacular. We should like to know what other communities are doing about this problem. Do they chant English vocal prayers recto tono? Do they strive for the even rhythm of syllabic chant? Are there any printed works on this subject? Since many communities are converting many of their community prayers into English, it seems to me the opinions and practices of other communities will be of interest, not only to our sisters~ but to many other readers of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Mother M. Cecilia, O.SIU. Ursuline Convent Paola, Kansas 179 t oo1 Reviews [Material for this department should be sent ~to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] THE SPLENDOUR OF THE CHURCH. By Henri de Lubac, S.J. Translated by Michael Mason. Pp. 289. Sheed and Ward, New York 3. 1956. $3.50 The original title of the book, Meditation sur l'Eglise, more humbly indicates the source of these reflections which magnificently reveal the splendor of the Church. We are grateful to the author for allowing us to look deeply into his soul on fire '~with an ever-growing affection" for the Church. The subject matter was supplied by informal talks and conferences given largely at days of recollection to priests with whom the author shares the treasures he has so sincerely pr!zed himself. This is consequently not a systematic treatise on the Church or the Mystical Body. Any one desiring an orderly dogmatic treatment had better not begin with this book. A gen-erous acquaintance with the scientific background of the theology of the Church is supposed, but on this new light and unsuspected bril-liancy- is cast by these conferences. What cannot but amaze the attentive reader is the erudition which has gone into the making of this brilliant book.' Tradition is literally pillaged to support the propositions presented, not so much for proof as for a luminous display of the light that has been shed through the ages on the dogma of the Church. The coverage of the literature on the subject, manifest in. numberless footnotes, is formidable, both in regard to the founts of tradition, as well as the pe¥iodical literature in many tongues. It was a pleasant surprise to find Social Order amongst the sources cited. The march of thought in the book may be here briefly outlined though it is not easy to summarize the wealth of material offered. The Church is first of all a mystery, our own myster~ par'excellence. In its dimensions the Church reaches back not merely to the apostles but tO th~ prophets, and Adam himself is to be reckoned with these; and forward to the end of."time. The one Church, however, has two aspects, active and passive, the power that assembles and the assembly thus constituted. The Church is at once our mother and ourselves; pastor and flock, Church teaching and Church taught, but always within unity. It is inspiring to note what further leads such familiar distinctions suggest to the prolific mind of the author. 180 BOOK REVIEWS A fourth chapter examines the. relation between the Church and the Eucharist, "the Heart of the Church." "If the Church is the fullness of Christ, Christ in His Eucharist is truly the heart of the Church" (p. 113). A further chapter faces the conflict that has been introdt~ced by the presence of the Church in the world, creating a rivalry between the two and constant "reciprocal embarrassment," which is really nothing more than the duality set up by the Gospel and postulated by man's dual nature as animal and spirit. The bril-liant subsequent chapter exhibits the Church as "the sacrament of Christ": "she is the great sacrament which contains and vitalizes all the others" (p. 147). There follows a warm exposition of the Church a~ our mother, "E~'Hesic~ ~1ater," which would make profitable read-ing for such as suspect a childish sentimentalism in the words "Mother Church." The author is candid enough to review the difficulties that present themselves to the man who finds his love and loyalty for the Church embarrassed by practical problems that invite criticism. Father De Lubac's solutions build up to a finer and more stable loyalty. The final chapter, "The Church and Our Lady," has appealed to this reviewer as the finest of all, being ~that of greatest length (,50 pages), and covering the treatise of Mariology from an unusual angle. The author begins by cleverly se. lecting,a Barthian denunciation of our position. "It is in Marian doctrine," declares Barth, "and the Marian cult that the heresy of the Roman Catholic Church is apparent --that heresy which enables us to understand all the: rest" (p. 239), Candidly accepting the challenge our author admits as a~.fundamental Catholic thesis that Mary and the Church must be understood togegher, and proceeds to illustrate the thesis by a. detailed review of the Church's liturgy through the centuries, above, all the liturgical, application, of theoCanticle of Canticles to both.Mary and the Church. In this conclu.ding tribute both our Lady and the Church are once again mutu.al!y illumined by a dazzling ~splendor. In its.exterior form and presentation the volume lives up to the high standards ofthe publishers. A'considerable number of errors have crept into the Latin of.the footnotes; .these sh~oulcl be cayefully chec.k~ed before a new. printing.--~AI.O~.s~u~ C. I~E.Xlp~.:R, S.~. . A PATH ~HROUGH GENESIS. By Bruce Vawter, C.M. Pp. 308. Sheed and Ward, New York 3. 1956. $4.00. Nbt many dec~ades ago, it' was ~xibmatic in bibiic~il ~ircles that 181 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious "Catholic works are not read." Fortunately, the recent Catholic rev~ival in the field of biblical scholarship has effectively challenged this intellectual boycott. If the axiom is still true nowadays, it is true in the sense that Catholics themselves are not yet acquainted with their own scholars' efforts to enrich their spiritual heritage. Usually, one dan plead lack of time and i~sufficient background for studying the Bible, especially the Old Testament. But Father Vawter has helped put the lie to that excuse. A Path Through Genesis is a concise, informative, and even inspiring introduction to private reading of the Old Testament in general, and of Genesisin particular. Its value as a general intro-duction consists chiefly in its interesting and pedagogically sound treatment of the book which is most likely to present problems to the average reader--the first he meets: Genesis. Wisely, the author has decided to write a guide for the reading of Genesis, rather than a book about Genesis. Selected portions of the ~text are printed in t:ull to save the reader the wearisome task of using two books at ,once. The commentary linking these substantially large passages is most readable, and Father Vawter uses to advantage his gift for delight-fully apt comparisons to help bridge the gap between Hebrew thought patterns and our own. Popular in style, the book is almost com-pletely free of the cumbersome apparatus of scholarship--footnotes, though it is by no means innocent of the results of serious research. In fact, it is rather surprising that the results of careful, painstaking study can be expressed with such disarming simplicity; but such is the reader's happy discovery. The author has thoughtfully included a number of maps, pictures, and diagrams which enable the book to "teach itself." This is not to say that' its reading is effortless, which "would be, after all, a doubtful compliment. With careful but not taxing attention, the book will open the eyes of the reader to the real meaning of Genesis. And it will either remove his groundless fears that "the difficulties of God's book will weaken our faith in Him," or bring the reader out of the "pious daze" that usually afflicts him when he reads the Bible without facing what it says, Father Va~cter's A Path Through Genesis is recommended not just to seminarians and teachers of college religion, but to any seri-ous- minded person who wants to appreciate God's word, especially in the New Testament. For it is hard to see how one can understand the New Testament, especially ~he letters of St. Paul, without being 182 May, 1957 .Book ANNOUNCEMENTS rather well-acquainted with the only sacred writings Paul knew and constantly used. In Father Vawter's ~vords: "I think tliere is no better way to discourage Bible reading than by the oft-repeated advice to 'read the New Testament first, then the Old.' This is one of those witless axioms supposedly based on experience, but in reality pure untested theory." Perhaps the book would be ot~ special interest to teachers of grade-school religion. Even if the matter contained in the book is not directly brought out in class, it should help form the teacher's mental background and help her avoid unnecessarily dogmatic statements about the creation of the world and the "historical facts" in the Bible. It is this reviewer's teaching experience that many well-intentioned but uninformed statements heard by students in the grades have found their reaction in a sophomoric rationalism that appears openly only several years later. In other cases, such remarks have not aided faith, which is, after all, a light, but rather have fos-tered that "pious daze" which befogs the knowledge of God and His striking providence. Any grade-school teacher knows what embar-rassingly straightforward questions can be asked by' those precocious little ones who could well be the Church's most valuable. ~apostles in future years. A wise teacher will need to face such ~i~:t~roblem-filled child not just with an answer, and a sound one at thai, but with her own informed assurance. Father Vawter's book serves this twofold need admirably.--CH~,RgEs H. GIBLI~, S.J. 8OOK AN NOUNCF:/~I=NT~; THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. The Shroud of Turin. By Werner Bulst, S.J. Translated by Stephen McKenna, C.SS.R., and James J. Galvin, C.SS.R, This is the most complete book in English on this controversial question. Though written by one man, it really represents th.e combined work of experts in many fields who allowed the author to use the results 6f "~heir in-vestigations and checked his final copy to make sure that ~th.ey were ~orrectly presented. The photographs are excellent and wogih the ~pric~ of the book. In addition to the information you acquire~in read- 'ing the book, you will find that you. have gained~.,a ,better and more vivid appreciation of what the Passion meant to Christ.° Hence, ~though it is a strictly scientific book, it may well ~erve as spiritual 183 ]~OOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review fo~" Religious reading. It will make Christ much more real for you. Pp. 167. $4.75. Reflections on the Passion. By Charles Hug9 Doyle. These are short essays, one for each day of Lent except Holy Saturday. They are what you .would expect to hear from a pastor before the p~lrish Mass each day of Lent. Pp. 93. $1.85. Our Saviour's Last Night and Day. By Rev. A. Biskupek, S.V.D. In these brief pages the author gives us a moving account of the Passion of our Lord. He harmonizes the history of the Passibn as given by the four evangelists. Pp. 80. Paper $1.00. The Rubricator. By Earl Dionne. The rubricator is a rotating di~k which indicates "the proper position of any officer of a solemn high Mass at any.part of the Mass. There are four such rubricators: one for the solemn high Mass, one for the solemn requiem high Mass, one for the pontifical solemn high Mass at the faldstool, and one for the pontifical solemn high Mass at the throne. Each sells for $1.00, the set for $3.50. THE DEVIN-ADAIR Company, 23 East 26th Street, New York, 10. A Brief Introduction to the Divine Office. By Joseph J. Ayd, s.J. Revised by James I. O'Connor, S.J. Seminarians and all who are trying to learn the Divifie Office will find this book very hel'pful. Pp 7. $0.3~. FIDES PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION, 744 East 79th Street, Chi-cago 19, Illinois The Journal of aSouthi~rn Pastor. By J. B. Gremillion. Many a problem of pastoral theology is presented, and dis~cussed ifi these pages which you will not find in the standard texts on pastoral theology, for .they w~re not problems when the texts wei'e written. Pp. 305. $3.95. M. H. GILL AND SON, LTD., 50 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland. The Incurable Optimist and Other Spiritual Essays. By Robert Nash, S.J. Father Nasb has a talent for putting the truths of faith, particularly as they concern the trivialities and cafes of every day livi'ng, in an interesting and ,striking way. 'The essays first appeared in The Sunday Press, Dul~lifi. You may judge his popularity by the 184 May, 1957 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS fact that this is the third collection of his essays to be published. Pp. 112. 6s. B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY, 15 S. Broadway, St. Louis 2, Missouri. Handbook of Ceremonies. By John Baptist Mueller, s.J. Revised and re-edited by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. This seventeenth edition of a very popular handbook has been completely revised and, to a great extent, re-written to bring it into conformity with the ne# rubrics for both Mass and office. Even the new ceremonies for Holy Week are included. The musical supplement is now printed in the Gregorian notation. You will like everything about this book with the possible dxception of its price. Pp. 482. $6.50. THE LITURGICAL PRESS, St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. Meditating the Gospels. By Emeric Lawrence, O.S.B. The two leading ideas of this new meditation book are: prayer is a convers

Issue 15.3 of the Review for Religious, 1956. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MAY 15, 1956 Mofher Xavier Ross . Sister Julia Gilmore Sis÷ers' Retrea~s--III . Thomas Dubay Our Lady and ~he Apos÷ola~e . EIIwood E. Kieser Communffy C;rosses . Wlnfrld Herbst Devotion ÷o fhe Sacred Hear÷ . c:. A. Herbsf Book Reviews Questions and Answers Summer Schools VOLUME XV No. 3 RI:::VII:::W FOR RI:::LIGIOUS VOLUME XV MAY, 1956 NUMBER CONTENTS MOTHER XAVIER ROSS --- Sister Julia Gilmore, S.C.L . 113 SISTERS' RETREATS-~III Thomas Dubay, S.M . 128 SOME BOOKS RECEIVED . 134 OUR LADY AND THE APOSTOLATE--Ellwood E. Kieser, C.S.P. . 135 COMMUNITY CROSSES--Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. : . 141 DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART--C. A. Herbst, S.J . 145 FOR YOUR INFORMATION . 152 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 17. Quinquennial Report . . 0 . 156 18. Offering Holy Communion for Others . 157 19. Exempt Religious Obliged to Say Orationes Irnperatae . 158 20. Obligation of Religious to Make Will . ; . 159 21. Computation of Time for Profession . 160 22. Impediment for Renouncing the Catholic Faith . 161 23. Meaning of Patrimony . 162 REPRINT SERIES NOT AVAILABLE . 162 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 162 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTSI Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana . 163 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May, 1956. Vol. XV, No. 3. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November, at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by- St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approb.ation. Entered as second class matter, January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J., Geriild Kelly, S.J., Henry Willmering, S.3. Literary Editor: Edwin F. Falteisek, S.J. Publishing rights reserved by R-EVIEW FOR: RELIGIOUS. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. fl ot:her Xavier Ross Sister Julia Gilmore, S.C.L. [Editors' Note: This account of the foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Leaven-worth is adapted from Sister Julia's book, Come Northt.] TO the first call of the West, many of the Pennsylvania settlers responded, following the turnpike surfaced by the new bound-stone method inventedin England by John McAdam, driv-ing their Conestoga wagons on. through Indiana over its corduroy roads; others drifted their keelboats down the Ohio and Mississippi, breaking them up later and rebuilding them into settlers' cabins; others went no farther than Cincinnati, which was already calling itself "The Queen City of the West." Ann Ross was born there on November 17, 1813, the fourth of five children in the family of Richard Ross, a Methodist preacher, and his wife Elizabeth Taylor ROSS. Cincinnati at heart and in spirit was a frontier town built by pioneers, and Ann caught their spirit and courage early. Even in childhood she showed qualities of leadership as she decided the games for her playmates and captained every undertaking. Attractive, though never considered beautiful, she drew atten-tion unconsciously through her physical appearance as well as through her personality. Small, scarcely five feet, she was graceful in her movements, quick in perception and response, her dark wide-set eyes glowing with alertness. Her father's favorite always, he delighted in having her waiting for him after the evening meeting, when he came home with nerves so taut he had to let himself "run down" before he could attempt to sleep. His long discourses drilled his children in close listening and logical thinking--a boon to Ann all her life. Little is known of her early schooling or companionship; but, when she was about fifteen, she became acquainted with a convert, Victoria Robinson, a young girl of very decided character. As the friendship grew, Ann asked to accompany her on~ day to a church service. Although she knew nothing of Catholic devotion, at Bene-diction she knelt when Victoria knelt and stood when Victoria stood, yet for some unsurmised reason burst into tears during the service, but wisely said nothing about it when the girls left the church. The Rosses hearing of this visit made no effort to hide their displeasure, telling Ann that under no condition was she to repeat 113 SISTER JULIA GILMORE Reoieua for Religious the offense. However, this admonition seems to have made little impression upon Ann; for, in less than a year, she insisted upon at-tending Mass one Sunday with Victoria. During the Mass Ann felt coming over her the sweet sense of well-being until the Com-munion when she knew he'rself to be definitely outside the pale. She tried to conceal her tears while insisting after Mass that she be introduced to the priest who had said the Mass. Reluctantly, Victoria yielded to Ann's persuasion; and, when Father Mullin heard her expression of desire to be instructed in the Faith, he ac-quiesced and not too long after baptised her. As on previous occasions the Rosses were vociferous in their disapproval. Her approach to her father in his study tl~e afternoon of her baptism was direct and determined. The ensuing conversa-tion resulted in Richard Ross' mounting anger causing him to forbid Ann not only attendance at Catholic services but also the very men-tion of the name of Catholicism. His sneering abuse changed his house that evening from a haven of peace to a veritable cave of Aeolus full of storm. However, Ann showed her heritage of will power. Regretting as she did the breach in family relations, she, nevertheless, slipped out of the house regularly on Sundays to hear Mass. From her position as loved daughter of the house she soon became an outcast; even her picture was removed from the family group. This strained situation continued about a year; yet Ann seems to have been permitted (at least she continued) her friendship with Victoria. During the following summer Victoria told her she had learned about religious life as lived in communities and that she had decided upon such a life .as she felt a strong desire to turn all her efforts toward helping others. Ann knew nothing of sisterhoods, but in her quiet persevering way learned more of them after that conversation. The day she saw Victoria off at the wharf for her admission into a novitiate, Ann said in farewell, "But it won't be for long; I, too, have applied and have been accepted' for the convent at Nazareth." With her customary directness she approached her father when she returned home that morning and told him of her intention to become a Sister of Charity. His derision and rising temper did not deter her from following her set purpose. Hard as it was to separate herself from the family she loved so deeply, that very night she packed in her old-fashioned suitcase, called 114 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS~ a telescope, the few things she thought might be of use to her in a convent; and, in the early morning before anyone knew she was up, she slipped out of the house, heard Mass, then purcha, sed at the wharf her passage to Louisville from where she would go by stage the remainder of the journey to Nazareth, Kentucky. As she stepped over the threshold of the mother house of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth that August 22, 1832, she felt neither sense of fear nor strange exaltation. She was being led a willing follower to some great untried destiny. What it was she did not know, but she was content to feel that she was cooperating in every way she could. The scene changes now. Up to this moment her life had been as simple, as free from adventures, as uneventful as a girl's life could be. If no.thing .had occurred to alter it, she might have con-tinued to be a rather lively versatile young person of uncatalogued tendencies. Her potentialities were unknown to others, whatever she felt ~ within herself. What she sought was a work or a calling in which life would yield its maximum possibilities, bringing into fullest play latent faculties. She had never complained about the loss of friends and com-panionship which her conversion to Catholicism had brought her. But it must have been very hard for her to leave the old environ-ment and come to live as she did among strangers. She accepted it all willingly, even joyfully, and certainly with tranquility. The evening of her arrival at Nazareth she was received into the novitiate: and, as was the custom at that time, she received a religious name as a postulant by drawing a slip of paper from among several held in the apron of the mother superior. As she looked at the paper her face expressed bewilderment. She had never seen the name Xavier before. (In various documents her name is spelled Xavia and in her own handwriting can be seen La Soeur Xavia written on the flyleaf of her old French reader.) Getting acquainted took little time; for the new postulant, Sister Xavier, adjusted readily. Nothing seemed strange to her. She rose at four-thirty with the others for the morning prayers said in common, followed through the prayers and work of the day, enjoying the routine of learning how to work on. the farm, in the dairy, the kitchen, the chapel. Under Bishop Flaget and Father David, her religious training and her secular studies progressed. Christmas of 1832 came and went: New Year's, 1833, was unmarked save by the cold and raw- 115 SISTER JULIA GILMORE Review [or Religious ness of winter. February held a great deal for the new postulant as the community council met and approved her for the habit which she received on the twenty-fourth of the month. With black curls gone, but with the same sparkling dark eyes flashing from under the white cap, Sister Xavier may have been less captivating in appearance; but she was nonetheless attractive. There was something compelling about her that obliged the casual observer to closer scrutiny. Her novitiate continued to be interesting to herl although it had its hard moments when the command "Possess your soul in peace and true humility" seemed to her an impossible counsel of perfection. Occasions had come, too, when the thought of home called so imperiously that it was all but impossible not to go back. Whether she heard from her parents during her first six months at Nazareth is not known. That she wrote at rather r~gfilar inter-vals may be presumed, for the custom of writing to parents seems always to have been part of the rule of the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity. She had not been a novice very long, however, when one day she was called to the parlor. Her joy was made poignant by the thought that at last her mother and father had forgiven her and had come to see her habited as a Sister of Charity. But the thought need never have formed; for as she stepped over the threshold of the parlor, her mother rushed toward her screa'ming in tears, "Oh, my poor disfigured child!" Taken aback Sister Xavier turned hope-fully to her father only to see his rude gesture and hear ugliness of tone as he said, "Take off that hideous cap!" at the same time removing it himself. With confidence gone, she stood bewildered for the moment. Then dashing from the room, she ran to Mother Frances' office where sobs had to subside' before her explanations took on coher-ence. Mother Frances' mind was made up' instantly and together they drove the three miles to Bardstown to consult with Bishop Flaget. He listened attentively and compassionately 6nly to say at the end, "You are under age, so you will have to return with your parents." So Ann put on the secular clothes brought by her parents; and the Rosses with their recovered treasure set out as soon as possible for Louisville by stage, only to be thwarted when they tried to purchase tickets there for the upriver trip to Cincinnati as the cap-tain at the wharf told them cholera was raging along the river. 116 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS, Frustrated, Mr. Ross took his family to the Galt House,. leaving them while he went about town on other business. A friend of Mrs. Ross', noting Ann's tears, said in the course of conversation, Ylsn't it a pity to pluck this young flower from the hand of God?" No reply was made, but Ann followed up her advantage; and, when they were alone in their room, she said to her mother, "How can you see me suffer so and make no effort to make me happy?" Her mother's reply was like blinding sunlight bursting through storm clouds, "Well, Ann, my dear child, if you can get away without your father seeing you, you may go with my blessing." In a flash Ann kissed her mother, ran down the stairs, across the lobby and up the street, fearful every moment of meeting her father. She went to the Infirmary of the Sisters of Charity, ex~ plained her being there, waited a few days, and, when her parents did not come for her, returned to Nazareth, resumed her novitiate and upon taking her vows the following February was sent to be a member of the staff of the Orphan Asylum in Louisville. She seemed particularly adapted to the routine of the orphanage and showed in many ways her enjoyment of working with the children. After several years she was appointed the sister servant of this same orphanage (the term then used to designate a sister superior). Whatever time she could afford away from the children, she spent in a little unheated dormitory alcove, planning lessons, doing mend-ing, making up accounts. During the winters, and these can be very severe in Kentucky, an actual poverty demanded heat be pro-vided only' in that part of the house occupied by the children. This took a toll of Sister Xavier, as one winter she contracted a heavy cold" that settled in her ears and resulted ultimately in her total deafness. But nothing deterred her from continuing her work., : Following the Louisville assignment came appointment as sister servant of the academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Her itiitial moiathd there began propitiously, but. in the springof 1848 cholera broke out:; the academy:dosed, and Sister Xavier,with the other teachers joined the si~ters at the.hospital caring for .qictims of the plague. Ofteri' she went about the streets of Nashville'~fom house"to house doing" everything possible for the sick and giv;ing whatever 'con-solation she could to the stricken, many ofwh6m hard made s~afit preparation .for death that was so imminent. A tardy f~ll followed a long,i.hdt surhmer"bef0re"the scourge abated ~and teaching.w~s:~resum~d: ?'(That yhar~.fini~fied," Si~te~ Xax;ier,. 1i7, SISTER JULIA GILMORE Reoiew for Religious .much weakened by :her experience, . was .reassigned as sister servant of the orphanage in Louisville. Some few letters still extant describe the times with their anxi-eties and reveal, as letters do, the characteristics of the writer. One of these in a significant way points up Sister Xavier's simplicity and loyalty at the same time that it makes a reader aware of her out-bursts of temper. The fact is that many who knew her, loved her, and admired her greatly never denied nor tried to conceal what ap-parently was a source of grief and embarrassment to her. Her tem-per, however, seems matched by her humility as she invariably sin-cerely and with simplicity asked pardon for her outbursts. The early and middle nineteenth century was an era of new modes. These were transitional years; changes came in ways un-expected; and customs of long years' standing were being laid aside to give place to the demands of a new and more progressive era. Among other things the administration of schools felt these modi-fications. Bishop Richard Pius Miles, O.P., of Nashville was not com-pletely satisfied with changes made in his staff by the mother house at Nazareth and a prohibition of the sisters' singing in the parish choir. Wishing to retain some as permanent members of his faculty and have a purely diocesan religious order, free from outside author-ity, he petitioned the mother house at Nazareth for a group of its sisters to establish such a community in Nashville. A tradition exists in the Nazareth community that the con-templation of this diocesan foundation in Nashville was generally known for quite some time. In the summer of 1851, Mother Cath-erine Spalding officially made Bishop Miles' request known to her entire community. Since this would mean the loss of some sisters to the still young Nazareth organization; and, as she knew well the countless dangers and hardships which confront communities in their initial stages, Mother Catherine wisely attempted to dis-suade from any precipitancy. She feared that courage might lead to peril. However, in due course, she gave full permission to any member who wished to form the nucleus of the new diocesan foun-dation. The very kindliest of feelings were distinctly manifest .as she made it clear that any sister wishing to remain in or go to Nashville was free to do so. The matter of this proposal was considered seriously, and none of those who accepted it arrived at her decision without thought and meditation. Many nights, lying awake hour after hour, Sister I'18 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS Xavier deliberated upon the proposition before she saw the step that she must take; and the grace came to take it. A new sphere of activity was opening; she was asked to fill it; she determined to lay personal considerations aside and follow the Master with im-plicit confidence in His providence. It was not, however, until the end of ,June that she was able to say t6 herself, "I will cleave to His command, 'Leave all and follow me.' " Not only for her, but also for each one in the group going to Nashville, there was a "giving Up," an "acting against self." Their sorrow was perceptible and deep. They were giving up forever their convent home and life-long friends in Kentucky. Such action brought grief of a nature fully understandable only to those who have had a like experience, but the urgent request they had received could not be lightly disregarded. For Sister Xavier and her five companions there was, along with other ties, the severance of companionship that had grown very close during nineteen years of religious life. She was endeared to the sisters of Nazareth and they were endeared to her. But now, in response to Bishop Miles' persistent request, they withdrew from the Nazareth community in the summer of 1851. Though the Sis-ters of Charity at Nazareth looked upon the separation in varied wa);s, in the years to come they would say of Sister Xavier with unanimous sincerity, "She was a heroine!" Others making the Nashville foundation were Sisters 3oanna Bruner, 3ane Francis 3ones and Ellen Davis (both of whom died in Nashville in 1854), Mary Vincent Kearney, and BaptistaCarney (who returned to Nazareth to be with her own sister in that com-munity). Two others, from Nazareth joined the Nashville group the next year: Sisters Pauline Gibson and Dorothy Villeneuve. All the members retained the religious names they had received upon their entrance into the Nazareth community. Not until 1895 were any alterations made in the habit they wore. Trials were not wanting to Sister Xavier and her valiant band; and, humanly speaking, it was hard for her to realize during these days the truth which she expressed so emphatically: "One finds God everywhere one seeks I~im; He alone is all one needs." But there were compensations, too. The number of sisters was not diminished but augmented, for several young girls sought da - m~sslon to.the new community as postulants as soon as the s~sters would receive them. The beginnings in Nashville were meager; the teaching sisters 1 19 SISTER JULIA GILMORE stayed at the hospital with the nursing sisters until an orphanage for boys was opened. This was followed in rapid succession by a school for girls and an orphanage for girls which also served as a boarding school. Within a year Sister Xavier had been elected the mother superior. Under her guidance the institutions grew, and work awaited the sisters on all sides. Mother Xavier apparently acted as mistress of novices as well as superior of the growing community. Some few 6f her instructions to members of the novitiate are still extant. Be-cause she knew the value of discipline and had learned God's ways with the soul, she could personally share such counsels as these: "Instead of reviewing in a too self-satisfied manner whatever you may have done well, cherish and improve every day the spirit of prayer and habitual recollection, obedience, humility, charity, sim-plicity, modesty, and fidelity. Then Christ will be with you and His presence is the only thing in which to take satisfaction . The conventions and courtesies of social intercouse should not be neglected nor disdained, as they are the natural aids to the promo-tion of God's work . Refinement of manner and virile spiritual life are close companions. They are essential to the keeping of the Rule . Every act of obedience is an act of faith, and the just man lives by faith .Divine love and humble prayer must animate you." Father Ivo Schacht (pronounced Scat), a zealous.Belgian priest, was appointed by Bishop Miles spiritual director of the community. He worked constantly toward the spiritual development of the sisters as well as the expansion of facilities in order to. care for more and more children.- .=. With this endin view, late in 1856, heobegan the construction of an academy and mother house on a part of farm grounds on which he had previously built an orphanage. To finance these buildings he used with the permissibn of his.bishop deposits re-ceived from members of the Nashville: congregation. The construc-tion was completed; the sisters, :no~cices, arid.postulants were living in the part to be used as a mother house; the academy had promise of a full enrollment. It would be but a short time before the debt on the building would be paid. Then, early in 1857, clouds began to appear on the horizon, small at first and not much noticed; but with the months they increased in size and proportion, throwing deep shadows upon the .young Nashville community. A misunderstanding .that had.lbeen brewing between Bishop 120 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS Miles and Father Schacht resulted in the latter's, withdrawal from the diocese. Whatever the difficulty between the two, certainly it should never have affected the sisters. But it did. Father Schacht deeply regretted the complicated situation in which he would be obliged to leave this group of Sisters of Charity, but he was power-less to assist them further. About July or August of 1858 when the depositors learned of Father Schacht's departure, they grew clamorous for their money. Had they but consented to wait, the debt in due time would have been liquidated; but they would not. Mother Xavier finding that the Bishop refused to assume the responsibility of payment took counsel with the sisters, and "the group resolved to sell everything they had in the world and pay those to whom money was due. Another Via Crucis had begun. All the institutions were flourish-ing; all would have to suffer. Mother Xavier was filled with so-licitude for the sisters, patients, orphans, and students. She had always regarded the bishop as a very pious man prompted by the best motives. Never, even in this trial, did an expression of bitterness or lack of reverence escape her in speaking of him. Invariably she said, "He means well." She understood how, without malice on either side, misunderstandings happen and cause very keen suffering to those whose aim is to make others happy. During this period of insecurity and anxiety, she made ac-quaintance with distress of mind, human weakness, misunderstand-ing-- all a part of the apostolate. The future appeared to her a maelstrom of black emptiness. As she said years later, it was this tribulation that taught her that "each loss is truest gain, if day by day Christ fills the place of all He took away." One consolation alone remained: the sisters were in agreement that whatever Mother Xavier undertook they would stand by her. Their one definite, expressed wish was to stay together as a com-munity. Previous to this, only flitting thoughts had come of ever leav-ing Nashville where they found themselves hemmed in on all sides by older communities; now the thoughts took deeper hold. As a metropolitan co.uncil would open early in September of that year, 1858, it was suggested that Mother Xavier make a trip to St. Louis to see if a new home could be found for the entire community. After much serious thought and 15efore reaching a decision, she urged the commu'nity, "Let us pray over the matter 121 SISTER ,JULIA GILMORE Reuiew for Religious first. Divine Providence has never failed us. It won't now. 13ut, Sisters, pray! We have come upon a crucial time; prayer alone will help us in this trial, and let your prayers brim over with faith!" Had she been made of less durable stuff, her interview with Archbishop Kenrick of St. Louis would have been most discourag-ing; for, although he gave close and sympathetic attention to her presentation of the situation, even asking an occasional question, his comment was terse: "I know of no bishop who wishes sisters." But Mother Xavier's faith and hope led her to ask, "Most Rev-erend Archbishop, if anyone of the bishops belonging to your prov-ince were willing to receive us into his diocese, would your Grace prevent him ?" A ring of admiration and honest sincerity shot tiarough his reply, "No, my child, I would not." When 13ishop 3ohn 13. Mieg~, S.3., from Indian Territory heard the facts the next day, he not only signified willingness to receive the community, but also radiated enthusiasm in his urgent "Come north as soon as possible!" The night Mother Xavier left Nashville for St. Louis, she and the sisters promised that should a home be found for them as a community, in gratitude to our Lady a novena in her honor would be said in perpetuity in all houses of l~he order daily. This novena begun in Nashville has continued down the years as the community made its foundation in Leavenworth and established houses in ten different states. With auctioning off re.al and movable properties, packing, find-ing homes for orphans, closing up houses, days passed rapidly: and by November, 1858, the first group of sisters left for Leaven-worth City, Indian Territory. In December the remainder of the community followed with the exception of Mother Xavier and Sister ,Joanna who remained behind to conclude all business trans-actions. This they accomplished by the end of 3anuary, 1859; and left the South with a balance of $9.00 to join the other members in Leavenworth City. Ability to endure hardship, coupled with foresight and perse-verance, had enabled the sisters to begin at once a day school and a boarding school. Cramped quarters constantly called for expan-sion; and with expansion came the work dearest of all to Mother Xavier--an orphanage. From the beginning of the new foundation, candidates joined the community; more could be accomplished as numbers increased, but with the increase other trials came. With 122 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIEI~ ROSS the opening of the orphanage, adverse opinions arose; criticism came from within--the kind hardest to bear. But Mother Xavier con-stantly kept the supernatural motive before her saying, "Let the joy be in the doing, not in the end. If the Work succeeds we will know it is God's will." The sisters realized, of course, that in the mighty drama of " human living there was nothing less than a supernatural goal to attain. Education was simply too broad a term for them; there was more to the formation of their students than that "their minds be instructed, their hearts and heads be cultivated" as the Leaven-worth reporters penned in grateful tribute at the end of the first school year in Indian Territory. There was, rather, an ideal to be embodied in their students' lives: the ideal of the Maid of Naz-areth. To make this ideal a vibrant reality in the hearts and minds of their charges, the sisters toiled consistently, unfolding behind the curtain of daily living the drama of true advancement. In all ways the community toiled. The regular routine of domestic work included the gathering of wild fruit and nuts, for the sisters needed every bit they could garner; they planted, har-vested, canned, preserved, fished in the streams along with the other townsfolk, made their candles and soap as 'all pioneer women did. Wherever the sisters worked, Mother Xavier worked with them. Manual labor was a part of her day the same as her teaching of French and English composition, literature, music and art, manag-ing the household and going into the homes to nurse the sick until a hospital could be established. ,Her participation~ in all community activity was a transparency through which can be seen her charity and deep concern for the sisters, and the joy it gave her to be with them. As acquaintance with the sisters grew so did applications for membership. Accommodations were so meager that the time came when prospective members had to be refused for lack of space. This led to the planning and construction of a building outside the city limits that would serve both students and sisters. But, before the place was finished, it had to be boarded up for lack of funds. Never a financial wizard,, Mother Xavier had been unable to .do more than care for running expenses at the same time that the community lived in real poverty. When a loan was suggested as a means of getting the new academy finished and ready for occupancy, she was appalled by the idea. Debt w, as the nemesis that had dogged her footsteps before; 123 :SISTER JULIA GILMORE Review [or Religious now ag~iiilit was to pursue her. Raffles were resorted to, and for at least-six years two sisters and sometimes four went from coast to coast begging for funds .to pay off the debt. When Mother Xavier sent them "on the road" to "Trust in God and beg for funds," she had no way of knowing the humiliations that would come to them through sus-picion of being imposters, having all their luggage stolen, and the .refusals of bishops and pastors to permit them to solicit. When she .heard of these trials, she suffered with the sisters through-their hard-ships and anxieties but never lost hope. In one of her letters she said, "We. must put our shoulders to the wheel, and pratt, too, without ceasing." Through the united efforts of all the sisters, two years after the boarding-up, the new building was finished and opened, filled to capacity. Every. waking minute was taken up for the sisters with routine duties and spiritual exercises. Much of the time out: side of class went.to "being with the girls," conversing while busy with sewing or other needlework; for the foundress felt that her ,responsibility was to teach Catholic girls to take their place in so-ciety and to be a part of the world they lived in. She believed that all the ends she proposed could be gained by showing interest and trust in the students, and this she wished all the members of the community to show. She maintained that the best opportunities for association came during the free time when classroom formality ceased. Much as the future looked glowing for the young community and their charges, respite from anguish was short-lived for them. ~Tbe new academy was not open six months when, one cold Janu-ary day, the contractor called upon Mother Xavier demanding im-mediate payment of notes with 12% interest. Both she and the treasurer, Sister Joanna, begged for tim~; the notes were not due; and not a cent of money was available. It took an amount of per- .suasion to induce the contractor, James McGonigle, to wait; he was reluctant even to leave the building, threatening to put the place up for auction if payment were not made immediately. Again the sisters .faced the possibility of being made homeless. Calling together the entire community, novices and postulants as well as professed, Mother Xavier laid before them the circum-stances saying, "We .have no recourse except God; I tell you we have. nothing earthly :to. depend upon. You will have to pray hard. God will not forsake us in this our hour of need." 124 May, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS It was then she asked the sisters to form bands of three and rotate hours of petition before the Blessed Sacrament. The greater part of the next three days and nights found her keeping the vigil of petition, kneeling upright, her eyes closed, her hands clasped. She was oblivious of time. Grhdually the hope faded that .Mr. Mc- Gonigle would relent and withdraw his demands. The community council met and authorized Sister 3oanna to try to negotiate a loan in St. Louis for the required $27,000: During her absence the most severe of fasts was observed at the mother house while the prayers of petition continued strong and unabated. Weeks passed; weeks of hope. and faith and peni-tential prayer on the part of each one in the community. Not until five months had elapsed, however; did the answer come in the form of a telegram from Sister 3oanna urging Mother Xavier to come to St. Louis immediately as a loan could be negotiated. This was but a part of the answer to the petition. When the sisters returned from St. Louis, they were hurrying in to Leaven-worth to pay Mr. McGonigle when a gentleman, a Mr. 3ohn F. Lee, who had met Mother Xavier previously in St. Louis called at the mother house to tell her he had already paid the contractor. There was no way, naturally speaking, to express adequate gratitude for such magnanimity. As long as Mother Xavier lived, she used to say to the sisters, "Pray for him, for it is the only way we can-show our appreciation to him. Had it not been for his kindness and indulgence, Mount St. Mary's would long since have gone under the hammer of the auctioneer." In spite of those years of trial, the community grew and ex-panded, opening schools, orphanages, hospitals, foundling homes, from Missouri west to Montana and New Mexico. Mother Xavier continued to govern the community, although handicapped by deafness that first caused her to use a trumpet, then a dentiphone, until finally no sound of a~y kind penetrated from the outside although within her head constant pain was accompanied by a noise that seemed like huge slabs of stone knocking against each other. She continued helping with all tasks, gave conferences, and visited the houses of the community showing interest in every-thing, done by the sisters, admonishing, praising as the need might be. Through dispensation she had guided the community since its inception as Bishop Midge had thought it wisdom for her to do so; 125 SISTER ,JULIA GILMORE Reuiew for Religious in 1877 she asked to be relieved of the responsibility of office. With hearing completely gone and ravages of age making inroads, she asked that someone else take up the burden. ~Election resulted 'in Mother 3osephine Cantwell being placed in office; immediately she asked Mother Xavier to assume the spir-itual training of the members of the novitiate. For this position she was apt, as she possessed a particular gift in character discernment. She could hold up a very unprepossessing person in a certain light. and immediately that person seemed to take on new and unseen qualities: When asked her secret, she insisted she had none. Ob-viously she had; obviously, too, she interested herself in each indi-vidual .m~mber, learned the names of her family, her likes and dis-likes-- these gave the clue to abilities that once developed could make fo~ ha~opy and satisfying placement. All this taken together helped make Mother Xavier a contemporary of everyone, and an absolute absence of partiality gained the novices' confidence. " Mother Xavier's instructions to the novices, which fortunately are extant in part, brimmed with practical application. In these conferences she often repeated that the poor were to be treated with the same courtesy and respect as those abundantly blessed with the comforts and luxuries of life: "Be respectful to strangers; treat them with courtesy and kindness in order to draw them to God through yourself . Meet guests in a quiet dignified manner and. with a quiet cheerfdl look. Never go before externs with a dark gloomy.expression or in a frivolous manner . The Lord loveth a cheerful giver--then give cheerfully!" Invariably her instruc-tions closed with" "And, Sisters, be kind to the orphan; be good to the" poor." Busy herself always, she decried idleness in anyone, a fact which probably gave voice to these admonitions: "Always do what is expected of you, and more, much more: Do .not wait to be asked or told to do something. If there is a task to be done, do' it---quickly, quietly. The feet will go to the place the heart "is. Do .not boast either about doing extra work. In fact, nothing" is extra. As long as it remains to be done, it is your work . If we.have confidence inGod, we will have'cbniidence in ourselves. ¯ . . Be able to do things alon~! It is pitiful.to see Sisters unable to. do chores; study, go to prayers without ~eeking companionship:' Remember-~crows and sparrows flock together; eagles fly alone i"" Filled as her life was with the serious purpose of religion, Mother Xavier .still found ~ime for' much ~fun.She loved .drama, 1'26 Ma~, 1956 MOTHER XAVIER ROSS charades, pantomimes, and wrote and .t~ugb~t more than'one script for the novices or professed. He hearty laugh, spontaneous response to enjoyment, led one novice to write to her "father, "If you want to learn to laugh, come to our novitiate and we'll show you how." Gloominess had no part in her. She often said, "The sovereign remedy for mental agitation is prayer; we carl be bothered only if we let ourselves be bothered.". Through the years, she lived what she taught. Her words were not without example when she cautioned, "If you love God 'you will be courteous to each other . Guard your tongues, when a hasty thought would express itself. And remember, a witty person must be most careful, for often wit stings, and we never know how a word said in jest might wound severely a sensitive nature . Warm yourselves at the tabernacle fires. Love the Blessed Sacra-ment! There is no need of books when we speak to our friends; neither is there any need of books when we speak to our Great Friend." On the occasion of a community jubile.e when asked about the seeming length of years and community growth, she answered, "During the years I have watched our community grow, I have thanked Godfor the increase, it is true; but mostly I thanked Him for the spirit that makes our members practice virtue. I have noted, too, the development of ingenuity and a certain practical philosophy. This we need together with faith in God and the propensity 'to pull on through.' " When death came she had definitely left an impress on the community she had established. Hers was a vast life; sixty-three years of it were spent in re-ligion. During those years Mother Xavier's companions consciously or unconsciously imbibed her spirit which has become the heritage of the order. Her place in the hearts of the sisters can be estimated through a tribute given by one member at the time of Mother Xavier's death and which seems representative: "She was always solicitous for. our welfare and gave less heed to her own comforts than to ours. She encouraged us in every undertaking, consoled us in our troubles, nursed us in our sickness and advised us on all occasions. " : ;'She was mother to the poor and suffering, for no one enter[ ing her door to ask for help ever was turned away. Her helping hand banished poverty from many a pioneer home and. s.ent re.any a traveler on his way.rejoicing. No small, numb.e.L.oJ: orpha.n chil-drei~ found shelter,.food, care, and love under h~rroof '~. 127 Sisters' Ret:rea!:s--III Thomas Dubay, $.M. IN this present article of our retreat study, we shall consider three disconnected problems: the meditation expose, the use of humor, and the private conference with the retreat master. MEDITATION EXPOSI~--TIME LENGTH The first question to which we shall turn our attention deals with the length of the ordinary meditation expos~ given by the retreat master. The item was worded as follows: What time length do you ordinarily prefer for a meditation expose? __15 min. __20 min. __30 min. __45 min. __60 min. Further com-ment: (space provided) Table I gives the distribution of the sisters' answers to this query. Table I Meditation Expose--Time Length 15 min . 17 (2.5%) 20 min . 64 (9.3%) 30 min . " . 380 (55.1%) 45 min . 208 (30,1%) 60 min . 21 (3.0%) As would be expected, the majority selected a middle course of thirty minutes~ while the two extremes of 15 and 60 minutes are rather sparsely represented. It may be surprising to some that so large a number of sisters prefer the somewhat long expos4 time of 45 minutes, while relatively few favor the 20-minute meditation outline. More interesting than mere figures are the sisters' reasons for their choices. These we will consider under the heading of each time bracket and apportion according to the number of votes in each category. 15 minutes: Leave some of the period, especially thefirst period, for meditating by the sisters. Short--concise. 20 minutes: It should give the sisters sufficient time to develop the ideas or points exposed. It is not up to the retreat master to make the retreat for the sisters. 128 SISTERS" RETREATS--III . If the expos~ is longer, it usually is due to poor organization or needless repetition. No matter how good the speaker, ~ long expos~ tends to make listeners restless, especially in summer. Retreat masters seem to lack faith in sisters' poweb to meditate and weary them with too much talk. No energy left for meditation. 30 minutes: This would vary depending on the subject matter. Some 15 minute conferences seem more like 60 minutes and sometimes the reverse is true. There is a limit as to the amount one can take at one time. This seems relative to the amoun't of time provided for meditation following the expose. Our retreat meditations average I~ hours. Were less time provided, I would want less than 30 minute expose. This gives us 30 minutes for reflection and, therefore, would give a good balance to the meditation. I think usually some of the meditation lectures are too long, thereby not providing enough time for reflection. I have indicated the maximum. We are not permitted to leave the chapel until the full hour is completed. We need time to do a little thinking and praying for ourselves. If sisters spend free time in sewing, orifice work, etc., then it would be better to have longer medi-tations. If the retreat master has well chosen material and really gives it even 45 minutes is short. But if he has to read--well--let's make it 15! 45 minutes: I'm generally too tired mentally to meditate long myself because of going directly to retreat from school. It depends on the speaker. If he is really saying something, all right; but if not, cut it short. It is too hard to fill in the time when the retreat master makes it so short. Some conferences and meditations are entirely too short and I'm not contemplative enough. During retreat there is always plenty of time to think over all that has been given during the periods between talks. If the retreat master devotes less time all angles are not attacked. 60 minutes: Sixty minutes if it's stimulating. I admit I'm one of those rare creatures who likes instructions. Perhaps some mental laziness is implied in the fact that the time taken by the retreat master does not have to be occupied in personal reflection. All of which, of course, leaves the poor retreat master in a quan- 129 THOMAS DUBAY Review for Religious dary. He cannot possibly satisfy everybody. On the bright side, however, he can cgnsole himself that somebody is likely to be pleased no matter how briefly or protractedly he speaks. . . In a practical vein we may conclude that the whole picture sug-gests that most sisters would be pleased and fewest displeased by a meditation expos~ in the neighborhood of 30 minutes. In view of the sisters' remarks it may often be wise for the retreat master to consider varying this figure accbrding to subject, temperature, and an honest estimate of his own ability. HUMOR We next take up the question of intentional humor, in a medi-tation expose. It is of set purpose that we mention intentional humor (usually in the form of jokes), for, while the sisters universally like a sense of humor in the retreat master, not all of them desire jokes in the meditation expos& T16e' present item was worded as follows : Do you like jokes in a meditation expose? __.I prefer none at all ___It depends on the subject --_I enjoy a few Further comment : In this survey sisters who prefer no jokes at all in the medita-tion expos4 formed a small minority of 49 (7.1%); those who enjoy a fewnumbered 285 (41.4%); and those who specified that joke-telling must depend on the subject of the meditation numbered 355 (51.5%). Several sisters pointed out that the answer would depend also on the fitness of the joke, the manner of telling;-etc. One mentioned that she always enjoys a joke, while only one stated that she likes many. ~., Excerpt,s from the sisters' written comments follow: Just enough to break the tension which ordinarily comes durin'g retreat. Maybe three or four, but at.retreat [ really want to make a retreat. If it is a real meditation exposd I prefer none; in a conference on.ly a few. Most sisters really serious about the business of sanctity do not come" to retreat to be entertained. .'. . 'Jokes for.the most'part are out of place. On the other, hand a greatness of faith brings with it a delicateness and. lighm~ss .of touch that/sees the'bt~.m~r ir~.'our seriousness, ¯ .'" ' ::.d ¯ " I never enjoy a joke during retreat if it is obviously told just to be clever. If it makes a'poinr it "is appreciated. " " , ¯ 130 May, 1956 SISTERS' RETREATS--III If they are real incidents or experiences, they are.good. Sisters are not so stupid as to enjoy stale old jokes. It depends on the fitness and the manner of telling as well as on the subject. Distinguish anecdot~tge and jokes from the wit and humor which flow out naturally and relax tension without distracting attention. Personal memoirs are rarely wel-come in quantity. These often bring home the point, and'it lessens the tension. Making a good retreat is hard work, and nerves get taut. Jokes help! There are some people--myself included--who can't really tell them. If one can't it is better to skip it. Be natural. I think most sisters are eager to hear more about our Lord and the spiritual life. In themselves these are serious subjects and do not call for joking as a rule. We don't have to make a retreat to hear jokes. There are sut~icient'magazines,'etc., that can supply us with jokes. Not standard jokes, but a real sense of humor that sees through things, to what makes them really, funny, or unimportant, or ridiculous, or sublimely delightfu.1. The "Jokers" usually "give the impression that they missed their calling. A stage might better be their proper place. What sister wants jokes brought into a" medi-tation on the Passion? Yet I have heard such. And some jokes are just a trifle risque--a serious, saintly priest doesn't need such "props." I do not like too rriuch joking and funny stories. Nor do I prefer someone who seems to lack a sense of humor. I like,.to !augh ,once in a while! Sometimes meditation exposds are awfully long and dr'y, or they.are deep. A joke helps and relaxes you so you can benefit from the rest of the meditation. Or maybe one is just tired before starting retreat. A'man.who knows and enjoys life and people cannot help being amused at the in-congruit. y he finds. I like to share his amusement, but I do not like "planted" jokes put in to get us in a good mood and least of all "corn." (T.V. comedian type of joke) I prefer a humorous aside when the occasion fits rather than formal jokes of the story type. To my mind, holy things should never be the subject of jokes: at times I have heard them lightly treated by priests who do not seem to. be sensitiv~e on this subject. I enjoy a f.ew jokes, .definitely yes, and I think they are ggod tension, breakers and interest revivers. And I want to put in a vote for well told anecdotes, pithy well-turned phrases, and apt short quotations. Not only do they make for interest and easier listening, but, even more important, they lodge in the memory, perhaps for years. From the above statistical breakdown and the. sisters', expressed opinions one conclusion towers above any othdr: while the sisters appre.ciate humor in gogd taste, they decidedly dislike jokes for the sake of jokes. Or to put.the matter in.othei.words, they want the jokes used ~O'fit the subject, to be well selected; .to have a worth-while purpbse,." and to be gomparatively few. in number. . THOMAS "]~UBAY Reoiew t~or Religious PRIVATE CONFERENCE The soul in its efforts to win the heights of holiness oftenfeels the need of. personalized counsel and guidance from a spiritual di-rector in some sort of situation or other. In our survey the sisters were asked ~vhether or not they thought a private conference with the retreat master and on the occasion of the annual retreat is a de-sirable answer to this need. The exact wording of the question is here given: Would you consider a private conference with the retreat master quite desirable? __.yes, sometimes __no Further comment" A majority, 436 (66.2 %), of the sisters favor the availabilit'y of a private conference: These religious do not think that such a cbnference need be frequent, but rather that it should be available for those who on occasion could benefit from it. A strong minority, 223 (33.8%), fed that the need and advisability of a private in-terview with the retreat master are either non-existent or almost so. These latter universally feel that the sister can and should get her prbblems settled in the confessional. The excerpts that follow give a representative picture of the views of the sisters who would find the private conference desir~ible. At times a private conference may be in order. During the whole year in some mis-sions there is no opportunity to get advice or help from a religious priest. Prob-lems do arise. For obvious reasons one does not wish to detain the retreat master in the confessional. Sometimes that is very beneficial. At one time I had a confessor when out on the missions who did not understand me. He got me all muddled. I was in agony. The retreat master straightened me out. Many times I would like to discuss some problems with the retreat master, but being a proud human being, I always find excuses for not doing, so and hence go on being bothered. It would be good if he were available without any red tape about getting to see him. One doesn't care to have many "women" know that one did so. What. they don't know does not create comment. It is impossible for every sister to talk with the retreat master, but sometimes it is essential to do so. In rare instances. Usually the retreat masters don't want them. They feel confes-sion is su$cient. Yet, I think here is a great lack of understanding. This, too. should be explained. When can a religious go with her problems to a priest? Why are higher superiors reluctant to see her do so? Why should the attitude be taken, that one will immediately degrade her community, etc.? If a religious doesn't 132 May, 1956 SISTERS' RETREATS~--III feel she has that freedom, she Will look for oth(r means to ~olve her problems, or just drop them and give up . . . I have been a superior . Sometimes the conferences, would have never cleared up my dit~cultieS, but a private conference where I can ask. questions did. I don't mean being a nuisahce. Let it be brief as possible and to the point. Let it not be of a nature which concerns your superior and yourself. Some do not seem to know how to draw the line between what should be discussed or what [not]. I have never had one so I do not know. It would be awfully nice to be able to ask questions sometimes. I have only taken the opportunity once, but it was a marvelous help and brought very lasting, peace and understanding of some questions. Not often, but some few times a conference would be definitely desirable. Again, private conferences are something else that some sisters have, perhaps, abused; but for the sister, say, with grave temptations against her vocation or perplexed by some moral problem, or the like, such a conference could be a golden opportunity. Per-haps, retreat masters do not realize how often sisters may be _extremely limited in their opportunities for such help during the year. It would have saved me worlds of worry in the past, but it is not the custom in our order, and so I've done without. There are some matters one simply can't get straight in the confessional. I have always been afraid to ask for one. It is much frowned upon. I feel it would be a great help. Not often, but it would be a big help if such an opportunity were provided. I know several sisters who actually need this help, and if it were offered to everyone, these would not feel embarrassed. In many cases it is necessary. The mission life presents many difficult problems. I know that I often long for a spiritual advisor and I am disappointed when I find that the retreat master has no time for me. Typical of those who oppose the private interview are these opinions: All the advice I need can be gotten in the confessional where ple.nty of time is given and personal satisfaction is not sought. There is such ,a thing as community loyalty and one way in which a disloyal member could prove herself so would be this. If a conferencd is needed, I think the confessional would be more suitable and proper. Nol because I have seen that they have brought discontent and envy among the religious themselves. if a retreat master is generous with his time and a competent advisor in confession, it so far has solv, ed all troubles. I can't see'how a retreat master in one private konferen~e c6uld possibly help one --~esp. when two or three hundred people are making the re.treat that usually lasts 5 or 8 days. I realize that there are exceptions, but my ow~ .feeling is that it is the "oddities" that usually ask private conferences. 133 THOMAS DUBAY ,.,'" I think you.can settle most questions in the confessional. You should go to your own superior for a privat~ conference. I think for a time this was overdone and it took time from retreat priest [sic] he should have spent.in preparation. The confessional at retreat'tim~ is a good place to settle problems. The Holy Spirit is more likely to be in on it too. One sister made an interestihg distinction: I think it depends on the individual. If she ii seeking attention"and sympathy, NO. If she is seeking higher heights of sanctity, YES. In accord with our expressed policy of not stating a p~eference for either opinion, we will allow the reader to evaluate the sisters' reasonings for himself. It seems compatible with this policy, how-ever, to point out that religious superiors and retreat masters should consider seriously the request of so many sisters for the availability of a private interview. Whether their decision be affirmative or nega-tive, the above discussion seems to demand a thoughtful examina-tion of the problem and a solution that will do the greatest'good to the greatest number. " SOME BOOKS RECEIVED " Only books sent directly to our book-review editor (see address on inside front cover or on p. 163) are included in our "Reviews and .AnnounCements." The fol-lowing books were sent to St. Marys: ~'., :. Index of The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volumes 10 i- 130 (July, 19392- dune, 1954). The Catholic University of America ",Press ~.620. Michigan Ave.,.N.E., Washington 17, D. C. $3.75. . ~ :.,, The Catholic Booklist, 1956. St. Cattiarind 2unior,~College,.St. Catharine, Ky. $.75. Salt It With Stories. By Cyprian Truss, O.F.M.Cap.JQseph F, Wagner., Inc., 33 Park Place, New York 7, N. Y. $3.95. There's More to Life than Living It. By Albert J. Nimeth. O.F.M. FranciScan Herald Press, 1434 W. 51st St., Chicago 9, II1. $.95. . ; , . The Eternal Shepherd-~4th Series. By.Thqmas H. Moore.S:4., Apostle.ship of Prayer, 515 East Fordham Road, New Ybrk 58, N. Y. $2.00. No Cross No C?'owfi." By Rev. Clement H. Ci'ock. Societ.y of St. patli, .2.1.8~ Victory Blvd., State~ Ikland 14, N. Y. $2'.50. " John Duns Scotus, A Teach& for~ Our T~rnes. B;/ ]3~ra'ud de Saint-Maurid~i Franciscan Institute,.St. Bonaventure; N.:¯.Y~-;,.~" -/." .~,: . : ¯ " Works of Saint Bonaventure: I. De Reductlone Artium ad Theologlarm "A° co'm-mentary with an introduction and translation by Sister Emma Therese Healy. ,Fr.an- ,Ciscan Instithte, St~ Bon~(,~iu're, N. Y. ' "" '" Maqt in the Franciscan Order. Proceedings of the Third Naticmal Meetin~ of Franciscan Teaching Sisterhoods. "Franciscan', Institute, St. Bonaventure," N. Y. "" M.aq¢ in Historg,i'n"~Fi~ith;, imd fn Devotiod. By Rev. "Anselm Burke, O. Carm: :Scapular Press, 329'E. 28thSt., New Y6rk',16,N. Y. $3.50. . (Continued bh "i~ge 162) " 134 Our Lady and t:he ,Apost:olat:e Ellwood E. Kieser, C.S.P. IN the year 747 of the city of Rome, a Jewish girl made a decision which completely changed the course of human history. She un-loosed a tidal wave which will forever break against the shores of time, washing with its current the souls, of all mankind. The girl in question: Mary of Nazareth. Her decision: to be the Mother of God, the first and greatest of all Christl~earers. Why her impact on history? Because the fate of mankind de-pended upon that decision. Mary spoke for humanity. Her consent was our consent. The consequences of her decision intimately effect our lives. 1-°op~ Plus puts it this way: "In the name of the whole human race, she gave her consent for a spiritual marriage between the Son of God" and human nature." Mankind, until this time separated from.God and condemne'd to frustration, Was rejoined to the divinity in the person of God's own Son. Infinite God was clad in finite flesh. Eternity entered time. Omnipotence became child. The source of all truth, goodness, and beauty dwelt among us in the womb of this girl. The drama of redemption has begun, and Mary con~ents to play the supporting role. Mary knew the implications of her rolel the price she would be required to pay,"its'effects upon millions of human lives. She faced her destiny. She adcepted it. She gave herself to its fulfillment with all the ardour and courage of her grace-filled soul. This destiny meant two thing's. She must possess Christ. She must give Christ. These are ihe two'poles of Mary's mentality to-w~ ird which all else converge. Without possession, without giving, Mary's life would have been incomplete. The~e two poles are found in every Christian who wants to give Christ to" others. He possesses and he gives. Both are absolutely necessary. He cannot give Christ to others if he does ~o~i. first possess Him by l~nciwledge and love. He cannot be a vehicle for Christ's grace if his soul has not been chiseled in Christ's likeness. This it is that makes the apdstle: possessing :Christ, he naturally tries to share his happiness. He tries to give Christ to others. In this, as in all else, Mary is both model and helper. Mary possessed Christ vcith an intimacy and completeness un-known to the greateit saints: .From her youth, she lives amid the highest reaches of'the transforming union. Christ identified Hirhself 135 ELLWOOD E. KIESER Reoieto for Religious with her so that she became for Him an alter ego. He made her another Christ. This caused her to project herself into God, who perfected and strengthened her as the vehicle of His love. She found the perfection of her thoughts in His thoughts; the satisfaction of her desires in His desires; her happiness in His happiness. It was God's thoughts that she thought; God's love that she loved; God's happiness that she shared. While retaining her own personality and freedom, she had become one spirit with God. She had put on the mind of Christ. She could say, even more truly than St. Paul, "I live, now not I, but Christ lives within me." This means that she drew God into her own soul, which be-came His temple and dwelling place. The depths of her soul were wrapped in His presence. Whenever her occupation permitted, she folded back within herself to commune with that Person who was closer to her than she was to herself. Her faculties were completely docile to His inspiration. She be-came a perfect instrument for His action. It was not she alone who thought, spoke, and worked. God did these things in and through her. This grace of indwelling is not specially reserved for Mary. Every Christian who is willing to pay the price, who allows the life of grace to flower in his soul, can.enjoy it. The degree of God's indwelling in our souls will never approach that of Mary. It may not become a matter of experience. We m~iy not feel His presence. But the fact of God's presence in the Christian soul remains. This is a matter of faith. God has promised it to us. There is, of course, a grace and a manner of possessing God which is reserved strictly for Mary. She is God's mother. It was in her body and through her cboperation that Jesus came into the world. He received His human nature from her. She gave Christ His human body, the hands to bless us, the tongue to teach us, the blood to redeem us. She is liter-ally, in the strict physical sense, a Christbearer. Their union could not have been more intimate. Their destinies were intertwined. His mission was her mission. He came to restore men to God's friendship, to take up mystical residence in their souls. She was to help him. She was to give Christ to the world. This ¯ is the second pole of Mary's mentality. She was not content with possessing Christ. Neither must any Christian be. Goodness naturally overflows. Sanctity diffuses itselL Christianity is essentially apostolic. Because she had identified her- 136 ,May, 1956 OUR LADY AND THE APOSTOLATE self with Christ and His mission, she bent all her efforts that others might possess Him also. Her love extended to the entire human race. She knew that 3esus was the first born of many children, that His Mystical Body was to reach out and embrace men of all ages. Because she loved Christ, she loved His adopted brothers, who were to continue His presence through history. This is why she tried to serve them. Love shows itself in gifts. Mary's gift was of infinite value-~her own Son. She could not have done us a greater service, for to give Christ is to give everything. He includes all else. Her gift of Christ took two distinct forms~ The one was in-visible and internal. The other was visible and external. Both are of great importance. The first of these is within the interior of Christ's Mystical Bod~. She is not the head of the Mystical Christ. But she is i~s mother. She cannot appeal to the divine justice. Only Christ can do that. But she can appeal to the divine mercy. What Christ mer-ited in justice, Mary merited in mercy. This is whq she is called the mediatrix of all grace, the aquaduct of divine life. It is through her that Christ's merits are applied to our souls. She merited for us through prayer and through sacrifice. Both of these activities are supremely fruitful in Mary, since she is so in-timately united to her divine Son. Her prayer is the prayer of Christ, simple, trustful, loving. She knocked and the door was opened. She asked and her prayer was answered. She sought and always found. The wedding feast of Cana is a good example. She asked 3esus to perform a miracle before His time had come. He seemed reluctant, but how could He refuse His mother? The miracle was worked, not that the hosts might be spared embarrassment, but that Mary's re-quest might be granted. Now she prays for us, that Christ may live in our souls: And she adds to this the merit of her sacrifice, which is that of her Son. He suffered as priest and victim. She suffered as mother. He offered the sufferings of His body and soul. She offered a heart pierced by seven swords. In their sacrifice, as in all else, the mother and Son were intimately united. Hers was the perfect sacrifice. She could have given no more. The victim who was sacrificed was more precious to her than life itself. Perhaps I should say that He was her life. In giving Him, she gave everything. Nothing could have been more pleasing to 137 ELLWOOD E. KIESER Reoiev3 for ReligioUs the Father, nothing more fruitful for our welfare. Her sacrifice was so complet~ely bound up with that of bet Son.that theologians call bet the coredemptix of the world. ¯ The modern apostle can merit as Mary merited. The degree dif-fers, but the fact remains the same. By prayer and sacrifice, we can bring Christ into the souls of men. kVe can earn for them the grace the)~ need so badly. Why is this? Because the Church is an organism, with many tnembers sharing a community of life. The good fortune of on~ member is the good fortune of all. My prayer and sacrifice make you holy, and your sanctity overflows and contributes to mine until we all attain the fullness of grace to which we have been called. In the spiritual economy, a single good act has reverberations through-out the entire universe. One act of charity performed today in Wash-ington, D; C., has immediate consequences for the entire world, for those in Canton and Moscow and Nexv Delhi as well as *those for whom I explicitly make that act. There seems to be a direct connection between the concentration camps of Siberia,. filled with witnesses for Christ, and the crowded seminaries "6f Catholic University', Menlo Park, and Maryknoll. I did not earn my own vocation. My cooperation was slow and halt-ing. Someone else earned that grace for me. Someone else brought Christ's merits down from heaven, that" they might be applied to my soul. Somewhere, todhy, a priest is cleaning a latrine: a Chinese peasant slips away from her neighbors to refresh herself.with the presence of God; an American girl slips an invoice into a. typewriter with the words, "For you, Lord." These are the people who are keeping the v~orld going, who are bringiflg down the grace which is life and strength. They hre Christbearers; they are apostles in the fullest and noblest sense. Th6s~ "whO" pray and make sacrifices giv~ power to the aposto-late, pr6v]de the fuel for those in the market place. They are'doers in the s'upreme' sense, for theirs is.the highest of activities. The world cannot be changed#ithout pr3ye~ and sacrifice. But with prayer and ~acrifice, the w6rld will be chang~d~ Grace will abound. Christ will be brought into the souls of /neff. This is Mary's promise at Fatima. "" But is this enough? Is this all' Mary did? No, this is not all. Contemplation overflows and expresses itseff in-activity. Both ale an int'egral part of the Christian life. i~Both are.flecessary for the 138 Mat!, 1956 OUR LADY AND. THE APOSTOLATE cont:inuadon of Christ in history. Mary prayed for others. Then she went to them, that they might learn to recognize and love ~her Son. This is the visible, external form of Mary's apostolate. She had no sooner pronounced those words, which, changed the ¯ world,, which brought eternity into time and the Infinite 'into finite flesh,' than she hurried off to Ain-Karem to share this joy with an-other. She alone possessed the good news, but she would not keep it to herself. Over the mountains she went and across the plain, that others might know. that the Messiah had come. To Elizabeth, she brought the presence of Christ. To tbe~infant John, still in his mother's womb, she brought the Holy Spirit. To both, she brought the joy of knowing that the kingdom .of God was at hand. To accomplish this, no price was too high, no inconvenience was too gr.eat. Material discomforts, heartaches, and disappoint-ments were all accepted in the spirit of her original, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word~" Detached even from success, she had but one desire--to .do. the will of God. Nothing else. mattered. .~. :-,.We must- possess, the .same attitude. W.e. possess Chr.ist.The world .needs Christ. We must give Christ to,.the world. Beca.use we are Christians, we must not rest until society is Christian, .until all those who are looking for Christ have found Him. This will not be easy. World-changing is an expensive voca-tion. It demandstime, ~energy, and sacrifice. Often it means disap-pointment and fatigue, .But it is worth it. These things must.be accepted in Mary's spirit. She did not withdraw her commitment; retract her fiat. Neither must we. . . . The spirit of sacrifice which carried her,up. Calvary'sslopes is t.he same which ought to dominate our lives and make us always available when others are in need. The indifference to human recog-nition which carried Mary to Bethlehem and Egypt will .make us personable and kindly .even with those who .do not. seem to deserve such-treatment. The acceptance of God's will which filled her soul when she watched her neighbors reject Jesus will detach" us from suc~ cess, from" a craving for immediate results. "In ev.ery.way~ she is the model of tbose'.who desire to bear Christ to th~ world. - She possessed all the virtues of. the apostolic life in their fullness. The first of these is alertness--to the voice of God, to.the needs of others. The depths of Maryfs soul were ever wrapped in the divine presence, but the surface of her soul was keenly a.war_e of the desires and needs of those around her. At the marriage 139 ELLWOOD E. KIESER Reoieto for Religious least'of Cana, she quickly sensed the awkward position of her hosts. She felt their need and so went to Jesus that He might help them. She was always.in the right, place at the right time, on the spot when needed. On Calvary, at the crisis of His life, when His redemp-tive activity reached its fruition, Jesu~ wanted Mary nearby. She was there--to be proclaimed the mother of the Mystical Christ. The apostolic spirit is always marked by this alertness. The apostle has a great mission. He must look for opportunities to ful-fill it. This means tact and patience and instant response to the needs of others. It mean~ a constant search for those apostolic occasions --for the substitution of love for hatred, truth for error, decency for indecency. The apostle, like Mary, must be in the right place at the right time, with the needed word or deed. "Optimism is another apostolic virtue which Mary possessed in its plenitudi. Hers was not a superficial rose-tinting, but the pene-tration of reality to its depths, beneath its surface evil to its basic goodness. Mary knew that her mission would be fulfilled, that victory would be hers. God had told the serpent, "I will establish a feud.between thee'andthe woman, between thy offspring and hers; she is to crush thy heat1, while thou doth lie in wait at her heal." This optimism does not exclude suffering. But it does trans-form and give meaning to suffering. Mary's anguish on Calvary can hardly be exaggerated. And yet, amid it all," she knew that this death marked the beginning of a new life for her Son-~His mystical reign in the:souls of men. For~this reason, she could rejoice even on Calvary. The modern apostle should be permeated by the same spirit. His is a joyous life, for he possesses Christ. When met with trying situations, with seeming failure, he can say with that other apostle, "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." Assured that the truth will out, that the gates of hell shall not prevail, he sings the magnificat with Mary. Victory will be his. But I('Iary has still another lesson to teach the modern apostle. She did not try to do extraordinary things. She took the ordinary; trivial duties of everyday life and made them the raw material for perfect sanctity. How did she do it? By performing these' little actions with great love, with a love which invested these insignificant things with momentous importance. This is the way she ~hanged the worldl. Her impact on history cannot be overestimated. Henry Adams calls her, "The. highest en-ergy ever known to man, the creator of four-fifths of his noblest art, 140 May, 1956 COMMUNITY CROSSES exercising vastly more attraction over the human mind than all the steam engines and dynamos ever dreamed of." He who is mighty has done great things through Mary. He will do the same for us. God does not want us to change our way of life. He wants us to sanctify it.He may not want us to take on additional duties. What He does want is the performance of those duties in the most Christlike way possible. There are plenty of op-portunities for Christbearing, for world-changing" in every walk of life, in every moment of the day and night. By seizing these occa-sions, by doing our job with great love for God and our fellow men, we will sanctify ourselves. We will change the world. It is trite to say that the world is in a frightful mess. But it is true. Men are unhappy as they have seldom been. Two billion peo-ple brood over atomic warfare. Children commit crimes shocking in adults. We grope for a solution, for a means of changing the world. And the solution, the means is given to us. When Christ's vicar on earth declared 1954 a Marian year, a year of special devotion to the Mother of God, he told ug to. go to her, that she might "bend tenderly over our aching wounds, convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble~ quench hatreds, .sweeten harshness, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness." Though the Marian year is over, Mary's influence has not come to an end. To the apostle, to all those who want to change the world for Christ, she offers strength, .guidance, and love. If we go to her, she~will-form Christ in our souls, that we might make Him incarnate in history. If we study her life, we will find the living blueprint which must become our own. She did what we are try-ing to do. We must walk in bet footsteps. Communit:y Crosses Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. ONE of St. Bonaventure's helpful "Twenty-five Maxims" is as follows: "Bear all the persecutions of this world for the love of God, with great equanimity of mind; nay, more, accepting in desire all such persecutions were it possible, rejoice only in the sufferings of Christ. Refusing. the joys of this life, make merry in tribulations and be convinced that their purpose is to purify your soul from sin and to enrich it with merit." In this article I am not going to consider the big c~osses that a 141 WINFRID HERBST Reoieu; [or Religious community may have, those of which it seeks,, sometimes in vain, to rid itself because self:preservation is the first law of nature; for, according to the dictum of St. Thomas, every being resists as much as it can what tends to corrupt it. I am merely going to touch upon some of the numerous little crosses that are encountered in the religious life. They make up in number what they lack in size, and it is terrific how they can get on one's nerves. To make merry in these tribulations and to en-. dure them for the love of God, to be more like Christ in His suffer-ings, is indeed an endless source of merit. "Their purpose is to purify your soul from sin and to enrich it with merit," says St. Bonaventure. The crosses I have in mind have their roots in diversities of character. I might call them peculiarities, certain characteristics that one has and another has not.-Generally they are in themselves trifles, little things like the flies of the fourth plague, that finally began to breakthe v~ill of Pharao, as we read in the eighth ch~ipter of Exodus: "And there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies.'" .These bothersome' little things certainly do put one's patience to the test in community life. Often enough one would be justified in, losing his equanimity in the midst of them. As one religious confided to another: "Yes; he is a saint and everybody, admits it; but he is getting to be such a strain on my nerves, that I. cannot stand it much longer!" If one has the saving sense of humor, it is amusingto recall how one aspirant left the religious life because a table companion was so utterly lacking in good manners; another, could hardly endure, it any longer because there was such a slamming of doors all over the pla.ce; and a third became all excited because doors and windows were left 9pen everywhere. One prays in a tone that is much too high; another, in a tone that is much too low. One prays too fast; another, too slow. One talks too much;.anqther,.too little. One laughs too much, too long, and too loud; another is. grim and morose and apparently sunk in the slough of despon.dengy. One is sensitive to a degree tQ ev.erytbing around him; another is so.hardened that be.hardly knows wheat is going on around him,but unconcernedly pursues his way. But let this indication suffice.A complete enumer~. ation, were it possi'ble,: would take too long. Each rFader will have little difficulty in adding to this list peculiarities that he finds in 142 May, 1956 COMMUNITY. CROSSES himself and in others. How should one react to this situation? In the expressive phrase of the day, so what? Well, to all such complaints the answer could be given that these are things from which no man can be entirely free. This is not saying that nothing can be done about it. In the first place e~eryone should honestly examine himself. Those who may or should do so might call the matter to the attention of the thotightless one. But this is not an easy thing to do. For some reason or other, it is easier to call another's attention to a big blunder than to get oneself tocall his attention to some little fault of his. One hesitates to do so; and, meanwhile, the community will have to bear the cross. The best thing is for the educators to take the young people in hand, while they are still pliable and can take it, and get them onto the beaten path. This is. not saying, however, that the educators are always to blame when some of the.ir onetime students give evidence of a lack of. consideration for others. It seems that even stainless steel will rust if for a long time no atten-tion is given to it. So what? Quid ergo? 3ust be patient! Not much consolation, to be sure, but actually the only thing to do. Take the divine Savior Himself; see how He had to bear with the imperfections of those around Him. "What are you arguing about .among your-selves? . . . How long shall I put up with you?" (Mark~ 9:15, 18.) We simply must ,accustom ourselves to bear with equanimity the manifold imperfections of others, to tolerate their ways, even when they are diametrically opposed to our own views and wishes. Cer-tainly no one would venture to look upon himself as a model in these things, for the simple reason that no one is absolutely perfect. In Psalm 90 we read: "You shall tread upon the asp and the viper, you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon," and we stumble over pebbles and get all excited over little peccadilloes! In this connection a "good resolution might be: to tread manfully upon the asp of peculiarities, the viper of abnormalities, the lion of idio-syncrasies, and the dragon of eccentricities. Plenty of them can be found in religious communities. St[ Paul tells us what to do: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, whereas he is noth-ing, he deceives himself. But let everyone test his own work, and so he will. have glory in himself only, and not in comparison with another. For each one will bear his own burden" (Gal[ 6:2-5). There are some zealous souls who think that the superior can 143 WINFRID HERBST without more ado, and as a matter of duty must, eliminate all the things that I am calling community crosses. But that is not at all as easy as one might think; moreover, it is often difficult to say who is r!ght. All of us are Wont glibly to say: "'Virtus star in medio.'" But just where is virtue's golden mean to be found~ab, there's the rub! How often we are taken in, cunningly deceived, by our own self-love and our own big or little weaknesses; and we complain about our brethren, and about our surroundings, and almost about Almighty God Himself, when in all truth we should be complain-ing about our own sensitiveness. Quite in place, then, is the ad-monition of the Imitation of Christ: "Try to bear patiently with the defects and infimities of others, whatever they may be, because you also have many a fault which others must endure. If you can-not make yourself what you would wish to be, how can you bend others to your will? We want others to be perfect, yet we do not correct our own faults. We wish them to be severely corrected, yet we will not correct ourselves. Their great liberty displeases us, yet we would not be denied what we ask. We would have them bound by laws, yet we will allow ourselves to be restrained in nothing. Hence, it is clear how seldom we think of others as we do of our-selves. If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God's sake?" (Bk. I, Ch. 16.) I think it sometimes happens that a religious runs to the superior to complain about these community crosses and, while doing so, mentions apologetically that, of course, they are just little things. If they are just little things, why not practice mortification by en-during them! And if the superior would rebuke for his own faults the complainant and measure the reprimand as he is asked to measure it out to others, what an uproar there would be! Here I cannot help thinking of these words which the ordaining bishop addresses to the clergy and the people with reference to the deacons about to be or-dained to the priesthood: "If anyone has anything against them, before God and for the sake of God let him confidently come for-ward and speak. However, let him be mindful of his condition." Many a complaint we would never make, were we mindful of our own pitiable failings and more concerned about what we our-selves ought to do in order not to lose face in that tremendous day of dread and day of judgment, when we stand before that all-just 3udge who once, as the all-merciful Savior, spokethe words: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her" (3obn 8:7). 144 Devot:ion t:o t:he Sac ;ed I-lead: C. A. Herbst, S.J. DEVOTION to the Sacred Heart is one of the great devotions in the Church. It is most characteristic of Christianity, be-cause it is devotion to Christ, to the whole Christ, represented by the most important organ of His humanity, His heart, which symbolizes His greatest virtue, His love. One can hardly conceive a devotion more proper to.religious whose very purpose is to make their lives as conformed as possible to Christ's through the practice of charity. That it is most fitting for religious to practice the devo-tion appears also from the fact that .our Lord complained expressly and specifically that it is religious who treat Him in shabby fashion, "hearts consecrated to me that treat me thus," that is, with ir-reverence and contempt. 'God became man, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity as-sumed a human nature, so that "we may be made partakers of His divinity, who vouchsafed to become partaker of our humanity," as we pray every day at the Offertory of the Mass. He wanted to be-come one of our human family so that we might with confidence draw close to Him. So in the many devotions to the sacred humanity of Christ which have naturally grown up as a result of the Incarnation there is a certain familiarity, though it be tempered with reverence. "There is a certain boldness of approach, a certain freedom of human lan-guage, a certain deeply reverential familiarity, yet still familiarity,, which distinguishes devotions to the Sacred Humanity. We have a distinct picture of the object of our worship in our minds which affects both our language and our feeling. Our Lord's assumption of our nature is a peculiar approach to us, to which we on our side have to correspond, and we correspond by this familiarity." (Faber, Bethlehem, ch. 4.) Since Christ is God, we offer His sacred humanity hypostatically united to the Word the same kind of worship we offer the Word Himself. This is divine worship, but of a kind "of which neither angels nor men could ever have dreamed without revelation, but which has been invented by God Himself." It has a character of its own, because based on created images and historical facts, and for this reason imprints on the soul a peculiar spiritual character with special force. The chief reason for which we worship Christ 145 C. A. HERBST Review for Religious in His mysteries "is the amount of the living spirit of Jesus which they both contain and communicate, contain in an inexhaustible measure and communicate according to the degree of our purity and fervor: and all holiness is but a transformation of us into the sub-stantial likeness of our Lord" (ibid.). We practice devotion to the various mysteries of Christ's life in order that we may come to know Him better arid love Him more. For the same reason we practice devotion to His sacred wounds, which place before our eyes His external sufferings, and to the Sac-red Heart, which manifests to us His internal sufferings. Such prac-tices are very valuable and help us imbibe the spirit of Christ, put on His virtues, and become inflamed with His affections. When enshrined in the sacred liturgy of the Church they have "no other object than that of acquiring this [true Christian] spirit from its foremost and indispensable fount, which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Cbu'r~h" (St. Pius'X, Motu Proprio, Nov. 22, 1903). Devotion to the Sacred Heart is one Of the last and most power-ful means God has given to save and sanctify men. "This devotion is a last effort df His love to save men in these latter days of His loving redemption" (St. Margaret Mary, Letter 133). In one of His apparitions to St. Margaret Mary, Christ said: "My divine Heart is so~ififlamed with love of men . . . that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning charity, It must.needs spread-them abroad . and manifest Itself to them [man-kind] in order to enrich them. with the precious treasures . . . which contain graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition" (Autobiography, no. 53). "He showed me that the ardent desire He bad of being loved by men and of drawing them from the path of perdition into which Satan was hurrying them in crowds, had caused Him to fix upon this plan of manifesting His Heart to men, together with all Its treasures of love, mercy, grace, sanctification and salvation. This He did in order that those who were willing to do all in their pov~er to render and procure for Him honor, love, and glory might be enriched abund-antly, even profusely, with these divine treasur'es of the Heart of God. It is the source of them all., It must 'be honored under the symbol of this Heart of flesh." (Herbst, The Letters of St. Mar-garet Mar~I Alacoque, 133.) "It must be honored under the symbol of this Heart of flesh." The heart of the God-Man, the ,heart formed by' His mother; the 146 May,. 19.56 DEVOTION TO THE sAcRED HEART "Heart of God," is the. material object of devotion to the Sacred Heart. ""Behold this Heart," our Lord said in the l~ist greag revela-tion He made to St. Margaret Mary. It is a physical heart, wounded and suffering. "After that I saw this divine Heart as on a throne of flames, more brilliant than the sun and transparent as crystal. It had its adorable wound and was encircled with a crown of thorns, which signified the pricks our sins caused Him. It .was sur-mounted by a-cross which signified that, from the first moment of His Incarnation, that is, from the time this Sacred Heart was formed, the cross was planted in It" (Letter ,133). He asked her for her heart "and placed it in His own adorable Heart" (Autobt'ography. no. 53). Of course we do not honor and adore the Sacred Heart of Christ as separated from His divine person. It is an essential part, the center, of the .life of the God-Man. '.'Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me, all, resplendent with glory; .His five Wounds shining like so many suns. Flames issue from ever~r pair" of His Sacred Humanity, especially from His adorable Bosom, which re-sembled an open furnace and disclosed to me His most loving and most amiable Heart, which was the living source of these-flames" (ibid., no. 55). On December 2-7,. 1673, feast,of St. John, whom pious tradition assumes to have rested his head on our Lord,'s~breast at the Last Supper, "He made me repose for a long time.upon His Sacred Breast, where He disclosed to me the marvels.,.of His love and-the .inexplicable secrets of His .Sacred Heart, which so, .far He had concealed from., me. Then it was that, for the first time,. He opened to me His Divine Heart" (ibid:, no. 53). "~. .: The formal object of this devotion .is the love, of the Sadred Heart for men. "Behold this Heart, which, has loved, men so much, that It has spared, nothing, even to :exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify to them Its love'.' (ibid., no. 92): The heart is the natural symbol of love. -TO' it is attributed our love, our affections, Our interior dispositions. We are .said to love One with all our heart:, People are called, good-hearted or kind-hearted or great-hearted.'-We express tenderest affection when we.say: "I give you my heart." "My divine Heart," our. Lord said,. ".is so inflamed with lo.vef0r.men that it is.unable any longer to contain within Itself the flariaes of Its burning,charity.': He."disclosed to me His m6st loving and most ~miable Heart, which was the living source of these flames.It was-then, that He made~known to me the ineffable, marvels of his pure [love] and showed reel.to ,what-an 147 C. A. HERBST Reoiew [or Religious excess He had loved men" (ibid.; no. 55). This heart.is, presented to us as a heart that is wounded and bleed-ing and broken, a love that is unrequited, disregarded, spurned, re-ceived with ingratitude, and that even by religious. "And in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me. in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel the most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus" (ibid., no. 92). His heart, wounded, bleedir~g, encircled with thorns, surmounted with a cross, "was filled, from the'.very first moment, with all the bitterness, humiliation, poverty, sorrow, and contempt His sacred humanity would have to suffer during the whole course~of His life and during His holy Passion" (Letter 133). The natural appeal of a heart that is wounded and of a love that is unrequited is that we love it in return and make reparation to it. To this natural appeal our Lord adds an explicit request. He "showed me to what an excess He had loved men, from whom He received only ingratitude and contempt. 'I feel this more,' He said, 'than all that I suffered in My Passion. If only they would make-me some return for My love, I should think but little of all I have done for them and would wish, were it possible, to suffer still more. But the sole return they make for my eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness. Do thou at least console Me by supplying for their ingratitude, as far as thou are able" (Autobiography, no. 55). He asks that on a day espe-' cially set aside we honor His heart "by communicating on that day and making reparati6n to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars" (ibid., no. 92). Reparation is one of the most outstanding features in devotion to the Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary writes: "I think He will be very generous in granting you these [graces] if, by following the lights He gives you, you make reparation for the insults offered His adorable Heart" (Letter 14). Our Lord asks'for someone "who will most humbly ask pardon of God for all the offenses committed against Him in the Holy Sacrament of the altar" (Letter 50). The idea of reparation runs all through the new Mass and Office of the Sa~red Heart; and the Holy Father Pius XI, in.hisletter issued with them, says that "if this same Uncreated Love has either been passed over through forgetfulness or saddened by reason of our sins, then 148 May, 1956 DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART we should repair such outrages, no matter in what manner they have occurred . We are held to the duty of making reparation by ,the most powerful motives of justice and of love; of justice, in order to expiate the injury done God by our sins and to rfiestablish, by means of penance, the divine order which has been violated; and of love, in order to suffer together .with Christ, patient and covered ¯ with opprobrium, so that we may bring to Him, in so far as our human weakness permit~, some comfort in His sufferings." (Miser-antissimus Rederoptor, 1928). For this reason we have the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Communion Of reparation, the First Friday, the Holy Hour, even the Morning Offering. In the Act of Repar-ation prescribed for the feast of the Sacred Heart, we are "~eeking ¯ With special tribute ~f honor to atone for the sinful indifference of men and for the outrages heaped from every side upon Thy most Loving Heart." Consecration is important, too. In it "the intention to ex- Change for the love of the Creator the love of us creatures stands out most prominently" (Pius XI). The Holy Father Leo XIII ordered that an act of consecration especially written for the occa-sion be read in all the churches in the world on June I1, 1899. The substance of this consecration, ordered again by Pius XI in 1925 to be recited by all on the feast of Christ the King each year, is contained in the words: "We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Why most Sacred Heart." This is an ot~icial expression of St. Margaret Mary's "I give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ my per-son and my life, my actions, trials and sufferings," and of Blessed Claude Colombiere's "I give myself entirely to Thee, and henceforth I protest .most sincerely that I desire to forget myself and all that re-lates to me." All the elements of devotion to the Sacred Heart are wonder-fully' summed up in the prayer of the feast in June. "O God, Who dost deign mercifully to bestow upon us infinite treasures of love in the Heart of Thy Son, which was wounded for our sins; grant, we beseech Thee, that we who pay Him the devout homage of our piety, may in like manner show unto Thee our due of worthy satis-faction." It is to the looe for us of the human heart of Jesus wounded for sin that we want to render homage by consecration and make reparation. 149 C. A. HERBST : .': "Re~eu~ for Religious BIBLIOGRAPHY . Note. Thig'is a short, simple bibliography giving a few books written in English from which one can get a g6od, authentic knowledge of de;cot;on to the Sacred Heart. A brief description and app?eciation of each book is given. Autobiogr'alJh~ . Life of Saint Margaret Mar~ Alacoque. Trans-lation of the Authentic French Text by the Sisters of the Visitation. Roselands, Waimer, Kent. Visitation Library. 1952. Hei'der Co., St. Louis. This is an account of her own interior life ~ri~.ten by St. Margaret Mary under obedience about five years before her deash. It contains the great revelations the Sacred Heart made to' her. It is a small book of about 125 pag~ and the most authentic source of the devotion to the Sacred Hear~. He~bst, Clarence A., S.J. (Ed.) The Letters of Saint Margaret MaGI Alacoque. Translated from the French. With an Introduc-tory Essa~ by J. J. Doyle, S.J. Henry Regnery Company, Chicago. 1954. Next to the Autobiograph~t, this is a most authentic source of devotion t6 the Sacred Heart and supplements the Autobfographt.t. There are 142 letters, the most predominant ideas in them being fervent devotedness" to the Sacred Heart and an enthusiastic love of suffering for Him. Letters 130-139 were written to Father Croiset and form the basis for the book bt~ published on devotion to the Sacred Heart immediately after her death. C~oiset, John, S.J. The Deootion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Newman Press, Westminster, Md. 1948. This work is based on the letters mentioned above. F~lther Croiset deliberately waited until after the death of St. Margaret Mary to publish his book s0"that h~ could preface it with.a life of her. This life covers some forty pages. After that are explained the disposi-tions and means necessary to acquire the devotion and the obstacles and means to overcome them. Then come motives, and practices for every yeaL month, week, day, and even hour.: The intimate connection betweefi devotion to the Sacred He~l~t"iafid th.e)Hol~r Eucbakist is~ brought out by explaining how to visitS:the Blessed Sacrain~nt,.he'ar M'~iss, and receive Holy Commuhion. MeditatiiJns for Friday "are given. In an appendix are given the complete prayers of St. Margaret Mary and others prayers to the Sacred Hefirt: Gall;fief; .3oseph d~, S.J; The 7~dor~ble Heart of Jesus. "With Preface and'Iiii~roduc'tion by.:Father Richard" Clarke; S.f." Burns and Oates, London. 1887. Father Gall;fret was a spiritual son of 150 May, 1956 DEVOTION TO THE SACRED I-IEART Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, the director of St. Margaret Mary. He wrote this book only thirty-six years after her death and spent his life in promoting devotion to" the Sacred Heart and working for the establishment of a feast in its honor. He explai'ns the origin, progress, and nature of the devotion ~and the excellence of its object and end. He goes on to the interior and exterior workshop of the Sa.cred Heart and to the devotion, feasts, office, and pictures of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary together. He is a theologian of the Sacred Heart. Bainvel, J. V., S.J.Devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Doctrine and Its History. Translated from the Fifth French Edition by E. Leahy. Edited by Reverend George O'Neill, S.J., M.A. Burns Oates and Washbourne, Ltd., London. 1924. This is a classi-cal exposition of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, written by a learned scholar and theologian. He ~first )resentg the devotion as revealed by the Sacred Heart in the great apparitidn.s to St. Margaret Mary, then explains the practices, spirit, and promises: There fol-low. doctrinal explanations on the meaning and object of the de-votion, its historical, dogmatic, and philosophical foundations, and on love as its speciaI act. Its historical development from the be-ginnings through the middle ages to early modern times is given, and the new impetus given by St. Margaret Mary. For the most recent and crowning glory given the devotion by the Holy Father Pius XI we go to a more recent book. McGratty. Arthur R., S.J. The Sacred Heart Yesterday and Today. Benziger. Chicago. 1951. This is the more receht book, written by the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer. It gives the nature of the dbvotion and its bistory tbrou~b tbe Re-formation. After a chapter on St. John Eudes; it explains the de-votion as given to St. Margaret 'Mary in the great app.aritions, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere's connection with it, and the Sac-red Heart Badge. After the defeat of Jansenism and the nineteenth-century advance, we come to the times of Leo XIII and Plus X[ when the whole world is consecrated to the Sacred Hoart and de- ;;;Orion to ti4e Sacred He'art has become the world'~ d'~votidn. At the. end of the book is a select bibliography which wiilriehly sup-plement the meager one given here. 151 For Your Informal:ion Shadowbrook Fire Three priests and a lay brother died in a fire which destroyed Shadowbrook, the 3esuit novitiate and juniorate at Lenox, Mass., in the early morning of March i0. The victims were Fathers Stephen A. Mulcahy, Henry B. Muollo, Arthur B. Tribble, and Brother Henry A. Perry. Among six who were hospitalized with burns and other injuries was Father 3ohn R. Post, master of novices and one of our consistent contributors. The more than one hundred novices and juniors have since been "adopted" temporarily by the Jesuit novitiates in neighboring provinces. Plans for a new Shadowbrook are already under way. Revised Hospital Directives A second, and revised, edition of Ethical and Religious Directioes for Catholic Hospitals was recently published by the Catholic Hos-pital Association of the United States and Canada. The revision in-cludes not only clarification of a few somewhat obscure provisions of the first edition but also new matter concerning professional sec-recy, experimentation, ghost surgery, psychotherapy, shock-therapy, unnecessary procedures, and the spiritual care of non-Catholics. An appendix contains abundant reference material, with apt references to recent statements of the Holy See. There is also a detailed alpha-betical index. An especially useful aspect of the revised edition is that the individual directives are numbered consecutively, thus fa-cilitating reference to the booklet. The price per copy is 25 cents; quantity prices are available. A set of six booklets, including the Directioes and five small volumes of Medico-Moral Problems by Gerald Kelly, S.J., can be obtained for $2.50. Order from: The Catholic Hospital Association, 1438 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 4, ¯ Missouri. Franciscan Poems The Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure, N. Y., has just pub-lished Where Caius Is, a small book of poems by Sister Mary Francis, P.C., who wrote the article on St. Thomas Aquinas, "The Silence and the Song," published in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, March, 1955. Sister Mary Francis has also published two plays, Counted as Mine and Candle in Umbria, and a smaller book of poems entitled Whom I Have Loved. The new book (Where Caius Is) may be obtained From the Franciscan Institute or from: Rev. Mother M. Immaculata, P.C., Poor Clare Monastery of O.L. of Guadalupe, Route 1, Box 152 FOR YOUR INFORMATION 285-C, Roswell, New Mexico. Price: $1.75. Vocation Insfifutes The tenth annual Vocation Institute will be held at the Uni-versity of Notre Dame, July 12-15. For information, write .to: Rev. John J. Doherty, C.S.C., the Vocation Instituge, Notre Dame, Indiana. On July 25-26, the sixth annual Institute on Religious and Sacerdotal Vocations will be held on the campus of Fordham Uni-versity. Priests, religious, and laity are invited to attend. A special week-long workshop for mistresses of novices is also planned. Ad-dress all communications to: Rev. John F. Gilson, S.J., Fordham University, New York 58, N. Y. Summer Sessions Special courses in the sacred sciences will be offered for religious this summer at St. Bonaventure University. These courses (includ-ing dogma, moral theology, liturgy, ascetics, Sacred Scripture, etc.) will be designed to assist the teacher of religion on the college, high-school, and grade-school level. A course in canon law for religious superiors and directors of religious vocations will include the teach-ing of the Church regarding the reception and profession of religious, the government of religious communities, privileges and obligations of religious. Sisters of Franciscan communities will have the oppor-tunity of taking classes in Franciscan theology and spirituality. Registration will be on June 30. All graduate courses lead to the master's degree. Those who are not qualified for degrees may ob-tain a certificate in theolbgy provided they fulfill the other require-ments. For additional information, write to: Director of Summer School of Theology, St. Bonaventure, N. Y. In its summer session of June 18-July 27, St. Louis University will pioneer in the United States in presenting Kerygmatic Theology as academic courses. Father J. Hofinger, S.J., a noted lecturer in this "new" theology, will teach tWO classes (both 3 credit-hour courses), one on basic doctrine, the other on method and discussion. Other standard religion courses will also be offered. For further informa-tion on this and other summer sessions, write to: Director of the Summer Sessions, St. Louis Uniyersity, St. Louis 3, Missouri. The Creighton University continues with its cycle of graduate-level courses in theology for religious. The offerings this summer include courses on the Incarnation and Redemption, on the New Testament and St. Paul, on principles of moral guidance, and on 153 FOR YOUR INFORMATION Review for Religious fundamental theology. Six h6urs of advanced nursing will be available. Besides these and the standard summer-session courses, there will be many workshops. For the workshop on liturgical music in conjunction with Boys Town, see below. Creight6n'~s summer faculty includes several religious as guest lecturers: from the Bene-dictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Sisters of Charity of the B.V.M., Sisters of the Humility of Mary, and the Servants of Mary. For a complete list of the workshops and for other information, write to: Director of the Summer Session, Creighton University, Omaha 2, Nebraska. Boys Town will hold its fourth annual workshop in liturgical music, under the director of inusic, Father Francis P. Schmitt. The dates are August 20-31, inclusive. This two-week workshop will include a survey of liturgy and liturgical music, reading and per-formance of materials and chant, polyphonic and modern liturgical music. Rich library facilities and extensive consultant service will be provided. Boys Town conducts this workshop in conjunction with the Creighton University, thus offering an opportunity to quali-fied persons to earn three college credits. Address all inquiries to: Rev. Francis P. Schmitt, Director of Music, Boys Town, Nebraska. A summer school in theology for religious will be;held at the University of Ottawa, July 2--August 7. Courses this year will be on the Triune God, the sacraments, creation and providence, and the Christian virtues. For detailed information, write to: Director of the Summer Scho61, University of Ottawa, Ottawa 2, Canada. The Institute of Theology for Religious Wc~men, offered in co-operation with the. Dominican Fathers, will be held in Immaculata College, Iha~actilata, Pennsylvania, June 27--TAugust 8. A pro-gram of four summer sessions" leads to a certificate in Thomistic Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Canon Law. The presqribed courses in the realm 6f'sacred sciences furnish an excellent background for religious teache~[ " Summer of 1956--the first and ~econd year pro-grams will beoffered.Residence facilities will be available. For further information address: The Director of Summ~'r Session, Im-macfilata Col.lege, Immaculata, Pennsylvania. MidnigM" Mass on Christmas in Religious and P!ous. Houses Can. 821, § 3, ~eads: "But in all religious houses and pious homes,"if "they have an oratory with the right of ~habitual reserva-tion. of the Most Blessed~Eucharist, on Christmas.night one priest may celebrate"the:three Masses of the liturgy.or,, observing the usual 154 Ma~!, 1956 FOR YOUR .|NFORMATION regulations, a single Mass, at which all present can satisfy their obligation of hearing .Mass, and at which the priest may distribute Holy Communion to those who request it." 1. Admitted interpretation in the past. The privilegeof having such Masses is granted by the Code of Canon Law, and no further permission of ecclesiastical authority is required for its use; The privilege extends to all religious houses, formal or non-formal, of any religious institute, whether an order or a congregation, exempt or non-exempt, clerical or lay, pontifical or diocesan, of men or women, and likewise to all houses of societies living in common without public vows and to those of secular institutes. The privi-lege applies equally to all piou~ homes. These areinstitutions de-voted to pious works, especially of mercy and charity, e.g., hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged, schools, seminaries. Prisons are also included, since the chaplain devotes himself to ~he reform and rehabilitation of the inmates. It is not necessary that these insti-tutions be directed by or depend strictly on ecclesiastical authority nor that they be in the care of religious. The oratory of habitual reservation of the Blessed Sacrament may be semipublic or public. One, two, or three Masses may be celebrated, but by the one priest. Mass may be begun at any time after, but not before, midnight. 2. PractiCal poir~t that was doubtful in the past. On Novem-o bet 26, 1908, the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office declared that it was not permitted to celebrate such Masses "with the doors of the oratory open." This restriction was not included in can. 821~ ~ 3, and both canonists and moralists have disagreed as to whether the restridtion remained in force after the Code of Canon Law became effective on May 19, 1918. The restriction forbade the admission (;f .tb.e general public but not of a small number of externs nor of invited guests. :.:. 3. Autboritatit~e solution of the doubt. An. apostolic nuncio submitted, the.following q.uestion-to the Pontifical Commission for. the Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law: "After the promul-gation of the CodeofCanon Law, does the declaration .of the Holy OffiCe ~f November. 26, -1908, " .oncerning the first question [cele-. brating with,the doors, open] remain .always .valid with regard to. the use of the faculty authorized by can. 821, § 3;. and if in the. ~ffirmative~ does this imply, the exclusion, of externs from,assistance at: the midnight .Mass bn Christmas?.': His. Eminerice~. th~:;late.Car-. 155 QUESTIONS AND'ANSWERS Review for Religious dinal Massimo Massimi, then president of the Commission, gave the following interpretation on March 5, 1954, Prot. N. 1/54: "One cannot see how it can be maintained that in the sacred func-" tions of which the aforesaid canon speaks externs may not be ad-mitted and still less that the doors may not be kept open, since there is no trace of such a prohibition in this same canon which regulates the matter." This reply, although not as yet officially promulgated, is to be considered as authentic, general, and merely declarative of the sense of the canon, as is obvious from the words of the reply. There-fore, it is now certain that canon law places no restriction whatever on the admission of externs to the Masses in question. Cf. Ochoa, Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 33 ( 1954), 329-52 ; Bergh, Nouvelle Reoue Tb~ologique, 77 (1955), 188-90; Revue des Communaut~s Religieuses, 27 (1955), 111-13; La Vie des Communaut~s Re-ligieuses, 13 (1955), 263-64. ( ues ions and Answers ml7-- Is the quinquennial Repod" fo the Holy See due in 19567 Father Ellis explained this report in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 8 (1949), 234-40; 10 (1951), 20-24. The following is a sum-mary of his articles. 1. Who must make this report in 19567 All congregations of brothers; all superiors general of religious institutes of women in all the countries of North, Central, and South America; and the higher superioresses of independent monasteries or houses of the same countries. The superioresses general of societies of common life, sec-ular institutes, and confederations throughout the world will dis-charge this obligatibn in 1957. 2.Lan. guage in which the report is to be ~vritten. Brothers and religious women may use the vernacular, that is, English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. 3. May it be typed? The report should be typed if at all pos-sible. If written by hand, the handwriting must be clear and good ink used. Good bond paper, not too heavy, and not translucent should be used. 4. Merely number question. Merely put the number of the question before the answer; db not repeat the question before the 156 Maq, 1956 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS answer. 5.Method of a~swering. Answer the questions with a complete sentence, not with a mere "yes" or "no." . 6. Time of handing in. The report may be handed in any time .during 1956, but it should cover the five-year period from ! 9.51-55, inclusive. 7. Signing the report. The superior general and all the general councilors must sign the report. 8. To wbbm t's report sent? After it has been authenticated b~r the signature of the local ordinary of the mother house, the rep0rt is sent by pontifical institutes directly-to the Rev. Segretario, S.Con: gregazione dei Religiosi, Palazzo delIe Congregazioni, Piazza S. Cal-listo, Roma, Italia. All diocesan institutes and independent monas-terles and houses.are to send their report to the local ordinary of their motlqer house. When he has read it, he will add his comments and S~fid the report to the S. Congregation of Religious. If the diocesan congregation has houses in other dioceses, the local ordinary of the mother house must send copies of the report to these, local-ordinaries and, after receiving their comments, add them to his own before se.nding the report to the S. Congregation. " 9. Where ma~. copies of tbb"report be obtained? Copies may be o~Dined fo, r $1.50 from the Rev. Ar.chlvlsta, S. Congregazmne Rel!giosi, e.tc., as above in n. 8. The questions for pontifical insti-i: utds' are obtainable from this source in Latin, English, French, Ger-man, Italian, and Spanis.h; those for diocesan in'stitu'tes and inde-p~ endent monasteries' and houses only in Latin. 10. In what other sources can.the, r~;vort be found? T'he report for pontifical institutes is found in English in the REVIEW FOR RE-LIGIOUS, 9 (.1950), 52-56: 108-12; 166-68; 209-24; 269-79, and also in'B0uscaren, Canon Law Digest, III, 162-203. The re-port for diocesan institutes in English is found in Creusen, Religious Men and Women in the Code, 5th ed., 278-316, and in French in "La Vie des Communaut& Religieuses, .8. (1950), 257-88. The re-port for .independent monasteries.and houses in E.nglish is found in {he REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 13 (1954), 251-269, and in French in Revue des Communaut~s Retigieuses, 24 (1952), 3-16. --18- ,,We offer two Holy Communions for any deceased member of our In-stitute. However, Ihave been instructed more than once that no one can offer a Communion for ~no+her. Holy Communion as a suffrage for the. dead is a common and 157 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Re~iew ~or Religious ancient practice in religious institutes and also among the faithful in general. A Communion received for another does not effect grace in the other person ex opere operato. The intention in a Communion received as a suffrage for the dead is to obtain the deliverance of a soul from the pains of purgatory. The influence of Communion to this effect is ex opere operantis, by way of merit de congruo, im-petration,. and satisfaction, and also by the application of any in-dulgences attached to the Communion and applicable to the souls in purgatory. The fervor of prayer and its impetrhtory value are usually greater because of the reception of the Eucharist. The satisfactory value arises from the increase of divine charity effected by Communion and also because Communion contains the note of something diffi-cult and contrary to the inclination of nature. Since the union with God in Holy Communion is highly conducive to the increase of these values, it is evident that Holy Communion as a suffrage for the dead is a most commendable practice. Cf. Van Noort, De Sacra-mentis, I, n. 397; Doronzo, De Sacramentis, I, 733-35: Beraza, De Novissimis, n. 1268. Are exempf religious ob]iged ÷o say 7o Mass collecfs prescribed (ora-flones imperatae) by fhe local ordinary? All priests, diocesan or religious, even if exempt (S. R. C., 2613, ad 1; 3036, ad 5: can. 612), also if they are visiting priests and do not reside in the diocese, are obliged to say the orationes imperatae in any church or oratory, even private,, within the diocese in which it is prescribed. (Cf. J. O'Connell, The Celebration of Mass, 189; Hecht, Rubricae Generales Missalis, 48; Hebert, Lecons de Liturgie, II, 203.) The local ordinary may establish that the irnperata is to be omitted on more days than those stated in the rubrics. (S. R. C. Lauretana, December 14, 1927.) A pad he may also exempt places that are not exempted by the rubrics. If he has not expressly done either, these prayers are to be said according to the norms of the rubrics, which are given above with regard to person and place. While the obligation is clear, it is also a fact that at least very many priests find the orationes imperatae of prolonged duration highly monotonous, annoying, and a complicating factor in Mass. It is frequently stated by commentators that in the spirit o~ the General Decree on the Simplification of the Rubrics of March 23, 1955, orationes imperatae should now be prescribed less frequently and for lesser periods of time. A quick analysis of the general de-cree will reveal that a prolonged imperata is not in keeping With the 158 Ma~ , 1956 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS evident purposes of the decree of decreasing ~omplications, reducing the number of prayers, of lessening monotony, and eliminating ex-traneous elements in both the Mass and the Divine Office. A prolonged oratio imperata pro re gravi also loses its nature of a special petition. 20 In our concjrecjafion no one makes a will. Aren't we oblicjed by canon law to make wills? This is a case of disturbed and even disturbing ignorance of canon law. A will is a disposition in whole or in part of the property that one will own at death by an act that is revocable until death and effective only at death. All novices in all congregations and also in monasteries of nuns of only simp.le vows, whether they actually own property or not, before their first profession and consequently in the last weeks (about the last month) of the noviceship, must make a will for all property that they then actually own and that they may own in the future. If for any reason the will was not made during the noviceship, it is to be made after first profession and as soon as possible. Those who made profession before the Code of Canon Law (May 19, 1918) are not obliged to make a will. At least .if they actually own property, they are to be most strongly urged to do so. The subject is perfectly free in the determination of the dis-positions of the will. Novices in orders (institutes of solemn vows) are not obliged to make a will, but they may do so. They also are to be strongly urged to make a will, at least if they actually own property and especially if the interval between the noviceship and solemn pro-fession is very long. A novice destined for only simple perpetual vows in an order should make a will. The will of novices destined for the solemn or an equivalent simple vow of poverty will be ef-fective only if they die before taking such a vow, since the solemn profession takes away all property rights. The will is to be made even if the novice does not actually own property, i. e., he is then to make the will only for property that he may acquire in the future. Even if they are under age and their wills are invalid by civil law, the novices are to make a will, which will oblige by canon law and in conscience. When they reach the requisite age, they are to make ,the will in a form that is civilly valid: but they are not to change the dispositions without the necessary permission. It is illicit but not invalid to change the dispositions of a will without the permission ordinarily of. the Holy See; but, if the case 159 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religious is urgent and" there is no time for recourse to the Holy See, without the permission of a higher superior; and, if recourse cannot be made to a higher superior, without that.ofthe local superior. A novice made his temporary profession on August 18, 1953. May he make his perpetual profession on August IS, 19S6, when all the others of his group will be making their perpetual vows.'? If .he does, his perpetual profession, whether solemn or simple, will be .certainly and evidently invalid. Canon law demands three ,full years of temporary vows for the validity of any perpetual pro-fession.~ The time in this case expirep on the anniversary day (August 18, 1953-August 18,¯ 1956). The time in this and all of the fol-lowing cases is computed physically, mathematically, not morally. Therefore, if the perpetual profession in the preceding case is made on August 17 and only an hour or only a minute is lacking to August 18, the perpetual profession is certainly and evidently invalid. ¯ The. time is completed on the day" following in these cases, in all of which the duration is required for validity: the complete year required for the validity of the noviceship (August 1~4, 1955-August 15, 1956) ; 'the fifteen complete years of age required for the validity of the canonical year of no,ciceship (~August 14, 1941-August 15, 1956); the sixteen required for any temporary profession (August 14, 1940-August 15, 1956); the twenty-one for perpetual profes-sion, whether solemn or simple (August 14, 1935-August 15, 19~6) ; the forty required for a superior or superioress general and for a superioress of a monastery of nuns (August 14, 1916-August 15, 1956) ; the thirty for other higher superiors (August 14, 1926- August 15, 1956); the ten complete years from first profession re-quired for any higher superior (August 14, 1946-August 15, 1956). The following are computed in the same way as in the preced-ing paragraph but are required only for liceity: the postulancy (Feb-ruary 14, 1956-August 15, 1956) ; the thirty-five years of age usu-ally required by the constitutions for general officials and" demanded by the Code for'the master or mistress of novices (August 14, 1921- August 15, 1956); the thirty years commonly required by the con-stitutions for local superiors and demanded by the Code for the as-sistant master or mistress of novices (August 14, 1926- August 15., 1956); the ten years from first profession required by the Code for the master or mistress of novices (August 14, 1946-August 15, t956) and the five years also demanded by the Code for the assistant master or mistress of novices (August 14, 1951-August 15, 1956). 160 Mar , 195~ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Unless the particular law of the institute states otherwise, a noviceship of two years is completed on the second anniversary (August 15, 1954-August. 15, 1956). The'same principle is true ofa noviceship of eighteen months. When the constitutions demand a greater duration than that required by the Code for validity, this added duration is prescribed only for liceity unless the constitutions certainly state that it is necessary for validity. This principle is true of a noviceship of eighteen months or two years, of temporary vows prescribed for four, five, or six years, of a greater age for the profes-sions, for the office of higher superior, or of added years of profession demanded for this same office~ For example, can. 504 requires that the provincial have completed his thirtieth year for the validity of his appointment or election. If the constitutions demand thirty-five years of age, the added five years are required only for liceity. Time is especially to be .watched with regard to the noviceship and temporary profession. The first canonical maxim of the novice-ship is that an invalid noviceship renders any subsequent profession invalid. The first canonical maxim of temporary profession is that a temporary profession of less than three full years renders the per-petual profession invalid. The first canonical maxim of all these cases of time is that time is computed physically, mathematically, not morally. A candidate appl!ed for our institute who had been born of a mixed marriacje and baptized a Catholic in'infancy. The Catholic parent died durincj his infancy, and he was then broucjht up ,~s an Episcopalian. lie was converted to the Catholic Church'at tfi~ ~.cje of fifteen. Is he af-~ fected by the impediment of, "those who have renounced the C;atholio faith and joined a non-C:atholie sect (c. 542; '1 o)?. An impediment is to be strictly interpreted, i. e., its extension is to be confined to the narrowest sense possible within the proper meaning of the wording of the law (c 19).'Therefore, those bap-tized as Catholics, whether their parents were Catholics or non- Catholics, but brought up from irlfar~cy in heresy, schism, infidelity, or without any religion and who were later converted to the Cath-olic Church are not included in this impediment of can. 542, 1", which demands that the subject have. knowi.~gt~ pro~fessed the Cath-

Issue 11.5 of the Review for Religious, 1952. ; A. M. D.G. ' ' Review for Religious SEPTEMBER i5, 1952 Congress of Religious . The Editors Towards Continual Prayer . Pa.I DeJaegher Cases o~ Illegitimacy . Joseph F. Gallen ' "~ . Pius XII and Our Lady . JohnA. Hardon "Meaning" of A.M.D.G . Walter ~J. Ong Q, uesfions and Answers Book No÷ices VOLUME XI NUMBER 5 REVIEW FOR. RELIGIOUS VOLUME XI SEPTEMBER, 1952 NUMBER 5 CONTENTS CONGRESS OF RELIGIOUS~The Editors . 225 TOWARDS CONTINUAL PRAYER--Paul De Jaegher, S.J . 231 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . ¯ . 241 PRACTICAL AND PASTORAL C/(SES ON ILLEGITIMACY~ Joseph F. Gallen, S.J . " . 242 COMMUNION CARD FOR HOSPITALS . 248 COMPLETE TEXT OF SPONSA CHRIST1 IN ENGLISH . 248 LEGISLATION OF SPON,$A CHRI,~TI . 248 POPE PIUS XII AND OUR LADY---3ohn A. Hardon. S.J . 249 "A.M.D.G.": DEDICATION OR DIRECTIVE~Waher J. Ong, S.J. 257 TEN-YEAR INDEX--LIMITED SUPPLY . 264 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSm 21. Moral Obligation of Voting . 265 22. Boundary of Novitiate . 269 23. On Reading Rodriguez . 269 24. Change in the Habit . 270. 25. Applying Indulgences to Souls in Purgatory . 270 26. Honoring'Bequests for Masses . . . '. . 270 27. Unrealizable Desires for Sanctification . 271 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS . 272 BOOK NOTICES . 274 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, September, 1952. Vol. XL No. 4. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November at the Colleg.e Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by Sty Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matteb ,January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the a~t of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Jerome Breunig, S.J.; Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Adam C. Ellis, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.3.; Francis N. Korth, S.3. Copyright, 1952, by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. Permission is hereby granted for quota- ~ions of reasonable le.ngth; provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. Congress ot: Religious The Editors ~"HE first National Congress of Religious of'the United States w.as .| held at "th~ University of Notre Dame, August 9 to 12, 1952. Three members of our editorial staff attended as delegates. At the various sessions we tried to note points that would be bf special interest to our readers: and, since it was impossible for us tobe per-sonally present at ail the different sectional, meetings, we asked many friends t~ make similar n6tes. ,The present report is made up from these notes "jottings" might be a better word. .Regarding our report, let us make two observations. First, it is not intended to be a complete a&ount of the Congress. Official Proceedings of the Congress will be published soon and will give this complete accountl ' Secondly, even as an incomplete account, our re-port is not adequate; it represents merely what a comparatively tiny number of de'legates considered point.s of spedal interest. It would .help us greatly if other delegates who read this rePort would Suppl~- ¯ ment (or~ correct, if need be) this material by sending us communi-cations containing their own impressions: And it would also ,help if any r.eaders, whether delegates or not, w, ould send their observations on the points recorded her~. This "request for commtinications r~eeds emp,hasis. The Congress opened up for discussion many vital points concerning our religious life; but because of lack of time it could do,no more than start the discussion. Readers' of this Review would do a great service to the ~ellgious life in this country if they would continue this discussion. by the frank and constructive expression of theii own observations-on these ~;ital points. Purposes of Congress " The Congress was summonedby the Sacred Congre~gfition of Religious, as a mean~ of intensifying and. strengthe.ning the religious life in the United States, of givii~g religious of all institutes an op-portunity to exchange ideas and particularly to discuss the problems ~ertaining to the adjustment of the religious life to ~onditions, pie- ¯ vailing in our land without compromising the principles on which the religious life is based. We believe that the. first purpose of.the Cbngress the intensi- ' ,225 THE EDITOP~ Review f6r, Retigious lying ~nd strengtt~ening of. our own. r~eligious life--~as. easily .the central point of the meetings andthat' ~ good start was m~de towards its accomplishment.~ C~rtainly all of us were~ inspire~d with-the de'sire of becoming better religious arid of making our" institutes more.effec-tive means in the great work of the Church. As c~n'e Sisterwho helped us p~epare?these notes put it:. "Probabl~ among the fi, nest outcomes of the First National .Congress of Religio,us of the Ufiited States will be a'faller.realization'on the.part ofeach community, whether large or ~all, of iis.actual, p~iticipation and impqrtance.in i~he Mystical -Body. of ~hrist; a deeper feeling of p~rspnal love for our Holy Father' and an appreciation Of his interest in our spiritual and temporal well- .,being; an~under.standila~g of the ,eagerness,. of the members 6f the Sacred Congregation of Religiou~ to serve our need~s and tO assist us to b~come holy, saintly' religious; and finally, a cloker bond among th( religious communities'of the United States, with e~ich ~roup cor~: scious of its imp6rtance to the good of the whole 'and, ready to assist in furthering the 'apostolic endeavors of every, other institute:" ¯ The other purposeF-~-the ekchange of ideas and the consideration of nece~sary adjustment~--also received their due attention" at both the scheduled sessiofis and the informal meetings of smaller groupL The on.e flaw in the plaorfing of the Congress, if there was 0ily fl~w,. was that there were so many.papers that the.re was not sufficient time for discussion°fr0m the floi3r. Nevertheless, a fine beginning was made, and w,e hope that what was begun at Notre Dame can be car- ¯ tied on much further in' the discussi6ns in this R~view and in smaller meetings that can be arranged from time ~o time. . Organization .The Sacred Congregation of." Rhligioussent. f~ur representatives to theCongress: .The Most Reverend Atcadio LarraonL C.MIF., Secretary of the Congregation: the Very Reverend Giuseppe\Gi.am- ~pietro, S.J., the assistant to Father Larraona i~ the organization of regional "meetings of religious; the .Very Reverend Elio Gambari, S.M.M'., .whose specihl duty is-to handlethe affairs of refigious :in the United States; and the ~i~y Re;gerend Edward 'L. Heston, C.S.C:, the Secretary G~ner~l for, the Congress in the United States. ¯ The Congress was divided into two sections, for religious n~dn and religious women respective.ly. The Very-P(everend John ~J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., who was President of the University of Notre .Dame atthe time the C6ngress was.plhnned, wasHonora.ry~Chair- 226 ~September, 1952 , (~ONGRESS OF RELI,.GIOUS manfor both groups. Executiye Chairman for Religious Men was. the "Very Reverend FranCis J.Connell, C.SS.R.; and for Religious W~men, the_Reverend Mother Mary. Gerald Barry,. O.P., the Supe-rior, General 6f the.Domlnican Sisters of Adrian; Michigan. Co- - ordinato.r of the. Congress'was the Re~'e~end Alfred F: .Mendez. C.S.C. The work done by Fathers Connell and Mendez and Mother " Mary Geriild in preparing for th~ Congress "was little shdrt of miraculous. They had only al~out three months tb make their pre-parati6ns, yet every detail, both Of the preparations and Of the'actual carrying out of the"Congre.ss,: was S~l~erbfy:planned and executed. As one small sample.migh~ l~e instanced the plans for daily Masses: there, were seven hur~dred Masses.each day; yet there was not the 'slightest -c~nfusion or difficulty in getting, iri ~he Masses. ~ ¯ Other members of the Committee for the sectlon of Rehgmus ¯Men were: theVery Rev~:end Godf.rey Diekmann, O.S.B.; the Very Reverend Philip F. Mulhern, O.P.: the,.Very Reverend'Thomas .~. Plas'smann, O.F.M.: the Ve~y Reverend Adam C. Ellis, "S.J.: the Very Reverend Basil Frison, C.M.F.; Venerable Brother Alexis Vic-.- tor, F.S~C.; Venerable Brother Ephrern O'Dwyer, C.S.C.; Vener-able Brother William, ~.F.X. O~her members of the committee .for Religious Women were: the Re~,erend .Mother M. Catherine Sullivan, D.C.: the Reverend'. Mother-M. Rose Elizabeth, C.S.C." the Reverend Mother M. li~n, C.S.J.; the Reverend 'Mother M. Joan 0t: Arc Cronin, O.S.U. the Reverend. Mot'her Mari~Helene,. S.P.: and Sister M. Madeleva.;" Spiritual Ideals In one wa.y'or anothe'r many. of the discussions at the C~ngr~ss centered on the clarification of the spiritual ideals common to reli-gious. ins~itfltes and on the .means. of¯ attaining these ideals., Particu-larly stressed was.~he fact that religious.need a deep pers'orial devo~ tion to Christ. Basic to such a devotion is the knowledge of.Christ; iand the young r~llg~ous must be.helped ~o get th~s knowledge, partly through Well-planned reading, and~mostly through prayer--for it is ~i knowledge.of the heart, and it is given by the Holy Ghost to ~hose " who humbly and perse~'erifigly seek it. ¯The fervent-reception of. Holy Communion-is a great help to.the atta!ning of this interior -knowledge and devotion. Incidentally, in. the men:s discussion 6f this tiepin, it was poin~e~, out that here, as i~ Other aspec~so,of their religious training, youri~ religious are inspired.by the goqd example ¯ 227 THE EDITOR,S " Review/:or Religigus of thei~ elders-and are proportib.nate!y harmed by thelack of such example. Several discussions also emphasized the need of a sense of per, sor~al responsibility. For. instance, one danger oK the religious life, with its many exercises in common, is .what migl~t be called "~herd-spirituality": one goes to the exercise automatically and takes.part with a sort, of detached numbness, ,as though ¯partially anesthetized. The chief wa~ to counteract this is the constant striving on the part of the individual to make the exercls~ personal. Also, some religious who lead an active aposl~olate, especially in small houses, .are fre-quently unable to have common exercises. They can lose the rell-gious spirit completely Unless through their own personal efforts they try to form a plan for making their various spiritual exercises in private. " The same idea of personal responsibility, under the formality of per_sonal initiative, was prominent in the men's discussion of religious obedience. It was pointed out,that apostolic initiative is n6t stifled by obedience, though it must often be controlled for the common good, as well as for the good of the individual. The rel, igious who always waits to be told what to do. is by no. means the model of perfect obedience, and the superior who requires this of his subjects is by no,means the perf.ect superior. , In a paper t, bat all will read With interest and profit, the Very Reverend Giles Staab, O.F.M.C~'p., reduced the moral qualifications of candida.tes to the religious life to the)four virtues of generosity, docility, prudence,~and loyalty. The generous candidate will¯have the r~quisite piety, the fight intention,' the chastity, and the zeal. The docile candidate will be obedient and thus further the Work of the i.nstitute. The prudent candidate will have good jiadgment and emotional control. And ~he candidat~ imbued with a spirit Of loya[t~t.will, be ready to subordinate his own interests to thqse of the community and will, as a natural consequence, b~e a, gobd communi@ man: a religious withsocial 'balanch, cgurtesy, and considerateness." Conte~ptative Life The .Right Reverend Abbot M. James Fox, O.C.S.O., gave' an interesting and informative talk about the contemplative life in gen-eral and the Trappists' life inparticular. He said that there is.a great hunger for thec0ntemplative life in modern America, . and he illustrated this statement.by quotin~ excerpts from man'y letters'that h'e has received from applicants to the' Trappi~ts. The Trappists,., 228 " ' v Sep~ei'hber~ 1952.- " CONGRESS OF RELIGIOUS he said, have about ~700' novices in their varigus" houses ~throu.ghmit the world';" ,approximately half:of these novices ,are, in the' United State~.'In less than ten years the" Trappist monasteries in 'this country have increased from three' to ten.," °, "'- .~, Why the attraction to "contemplative orders?.+. At one of Sisters' sessions it was suggested that yout.h are attracted to the co.n= templative life because they,feel that in this life they can

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

Issue 5.2 of the Review for Religious, 1946. ; l~/Iarch 15,,,1'946; NUMBER. i RgvIgW,FOR L.IGIOU S.: ¯ VOLUi~tE V " 'MARCH 15, 1946 : NUMBER 2 " CONTENTS BOOKLET NOTICES . . ~ - : ¯ , ,.84 " ~BIL~. OF RIGH'~S FOR RELIGIOUS James E. Risk, S.J . VOCATION BOOKLETS . , . °92 '\ OUR "CONTRIBUTORS . 92 - THE PARTICULA~R FRIENDSHIP--Gerald Kelly,'S.J .9.3. CHRISTIAN UNTOUCHABLES ?--John E. Coogan, S.J, . "COMMUNICATIONS . : . ; ¯ ¯ , 113 GOD FORGIVE~ AND FORGETS--Clarence McAuliffe, S.J .1. OUR LADY'S LACK OF FEAR--Charles F. Donov~n, S.J. 122 ,'QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 8~. Toties Qucties Indulgence in Community Chapel . ~. ¯ . L26, 9; Indulgences on Beads not Ldst by Restringing . . : . 126~ I0. Pater.nAve. and Gloria at Each Station . 11. ,Visit to "Church or Public Oratory;' in Community Chapel ., ~ 127" 12." :Foundaffqns for Ma~ses . 13. "Stretching" and Disposalof Holy Water . 128 14. Dispos!tion of Life Insurance by Religigus . 129 15. Holy Week Services in Hospital Chapel . ]31 ~ 16. Profits from S;~les Placed in School Fund ." . . . 2 . 132 BOOK REVIEWS~ ,John Henry Newman: Sermon Outlines; Splritual;Problems of Our Times; The Splendor ~f the Rosary; Going His Way; Gregorian Chant; Speech Models: 'The Divine Pursuit: The State in Catholi~ Thotlght: The Life of of Our Lord; The Flowering Tree: The Priest of the Fathers: The Religion Teacher an, d the World; Pascal and His Sister 0~cqueline; The Clean Oblation: Heads Above thy.,Stars 1~3 ¯RECOMMENDATIONS ¯ ¯ . . . " . 143 BOOKS RECEIVED , . . 144 R~VIEW FoR RELIGIOUS, Marcfi, 1946. Vol. V, No. 2. Published' bi-inonthly; January, March. May,,July, September. and November at the Co!lege Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka.Kansas, by St. Mary's College; St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as secohd class matt, er January "at the Post Office, under the act of March 3, '1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. A.ugustine Ellard~ S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. ! Ed~torial,Secretary: Alfred F. Schneider, S.J. Copyright, 19:46 b~ Adam C Ellis. Permission is hereby g.r~anted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due c~edit be given this rewew and the author. St~bscription price: 2 dollars& yhar. Printed in,~U. S" Before writing to us,,please consult notice 6n inside back.cover. B r ' , . - ~ ~.,G. Augt~stine Ellard "THE OUr Fathe~0 which Christ taught the ApostIes when . |.they had asked.Himhow to pray,, has always been con- .:~ sidered the :great Christian prayer Bar. excelter~ce. The Fat'hers of the Church, theologiansr and.spiritual writers have .vied .with one another in extolling its virtues, in ~xplai~ing its meaning,-and in urging the faithful" to make. th~ .mbst of it. Not. 10ng ~ago a-new translation 0f ¯St.-Te~esa's study of the Our Fath~_was published in thi~ .country (see ~his REVIEW for March 1943, page 135). In .~theie brief remarks the Our Father is onsidered mostly with respect,~to one idea, .namely,. that of the ~disposition -which itsuggests to prefer the. more.~erfe~t thing. -~ : In view of th~ magfi~cen.t promise~:m~de by. cfiriSt to those ~h6"~ray and"bf fhe special merits of this, Hi~ own reco~mdnded f0rmul~ for ~r~ye¢~:~n~ would.expect 5hat ~he results achieved by it~would be incalculable. It is hardly conceivable.that a. Christian who prays atall would not 'sometimes use the.OAf Father. But gg'~ matter of factare its ~ruits as good and a~ great as the tree seemed' to promise? ¯ .~e gan hardly blame the~.prayer itself~ ~0ssibiy khe fault lies in.th~ state of will of him who pronounces it. '~Y~ ask ~and~ ye receive not, because ye ask ,amiss" (3ames 4:3, ¯Westminster Version). Possibly; as. St. Augustin~ sug-gests, we ask badly, or we ourselves are bad, or we~ ~sk f0r~ ~bad: thifigs. " . ~ - The Our Father consigns of two pfineipal parts: the invocation~nd the petitions. -~e opening word~, ';Our Father, who art in heaven,", constitute the invocation. ~e ¯ .number of.petitionSi~ variously giveh by ~aiious authori- . - ties. Since~St. Augustine'm0st ~estern~wrif~rs count Seven. G. AUGUSTINE ~ELLARD Reuiea~ for Religious The Greek Fathers and most ,modern-commentator~ take-all the hst .w.ords", .Lead us not into temptation, but deli¢ero us from evil," together and find only six." By t.akihg the words, '.'Hallowed be T, hy name," as an expression of praise and reverence rather than a request and joining them with what was given above as the invocation, the numbdr of petitions may be reduced to'five. In.any case these requests fall into two groups oi part~. " As in the case of ~he decalogue an~d of the two great commaffd-ments (Matthew 22:40), the first, part refers to .God, the sdcond to man. In the first thiee petitions, we seeb the glory of our hea~,enly Father, in the last three [if sixbe counted] the .advant:ige of ourselvgs and our fellows. But there is n9 sharp line of separation between these two. The glory of God is a blessing to His children, and what behefits them is a'glory t0 their, heavenly Father., Thus, while the first three petitions sh6w the end which ~ve should have in view the a~ccomplishment of Gdd's glory, kingdom, and will: the last three show the means provisio.n, pardon, and protection. The [different members of ~the] t.wo tril~lets corresp~r~d thus. The first petition is addressed to God as our Father, the°secOnd as our King, the third as our Master. We ask our Father for sustenance, our King for pardon. our Master for guidance and guardianship. The transition from the one triplet to the other, from man's re.gard for God to God's care for man, is made in the third petition; which would raise earth t6 heaven by securing that God's rule~ should be equally complete in both.- And in each ~riple.t the~e is progression. In the first, the hal-lowing of God's name leads to the c0~ing of the kingdom, and the coming of the kingdom to the perfect fulfilment of God's will. In the second, the obtiiining ot~ good is followed by the remo~,al of evil, past, present, and future. (Plummer,~.Comrnentaq/ on. S. Mat-thew, ,96.) The words of the invocation, "Our Father, who art in heaven," remindus at once who' God. is, who we are, and what our relations to, Him are.- Hence they su'ggest what our dispositiffns toward Him should be. With immense ~ondescension and 'liberality God ~vishes to be cailed upon and regarded as a father rather than, say, an almighty and 74 Mbr~b, 1946 : " .~ ::-:~F~:L~)RD'S,"P.P~'Y~R eternal "lord: Address.ing i~im a~ Father. w~ are .reminded that our feeling toward Him should be filial and full. of childlike.' love and confidence. Since He is a°father .who .dwells in heaven, we recall that our reverence, love, anal confidence should be in proportion to the h~ight and, mag-nitude of heaven: His infinite excellence asia father'c~lls for the be~t possible attitude upon our part.: If, as is more likely, we :address, not the First. Person, but all-three Persons of.the Blessed Tr~inity, as Our Father, God's incom-prehensible excellence and what our filial spirit should be are brought out into still greater relief. Moreover the fact .that our Father is in heaven should help us to realize where our true home is, where our.inheritance is to be found; and how great and permanent it is. If we ~dare to. call-the ~infinitely great and high God :"OutFather," we ought. feel thatour manners and lives should correspond to that- . dignity. Arid'if we t, ake complacency in God as a father, it would be oi~ly reasonable that we should give .Himoccasion to bepleased with us. " " -Of the petitions; th~ firstis: "Hallowed be Thy name." "'To hallow" isan old English term for":t0 make holy." The mode. of ex~pression is Semitic. '.'.Name" stands~'for the divine nature0r rather for God Himself in: sofar asHe ~i~s known, name being that.by which one. is ,known. We cannot make God more hol~; but' we .can recogniz~ Hi~ sancti~y an~d honor it.and"s~rive to mttke:0th~rS revere it, We. can acknowledge th~ immeasurable perfec~ibri¯ hnd excellence of God, admire it, esteem" it, love it," and exert ourselvesto bring others to the knowledge and love of God. In other words we can glorif~ God; and, briefly, that is what we pray for here. Before asking for anything for our-. selves, we show our willingness to look to God'sown inter-ests. Before begging for the means, we :petition for the end, namely, the divine glory, with which our own' beati- 75 ~. AUGUSTINE.ELLARD Reoiew ~or Reh'glo~s .~de is r~ally identical. Thus this firs~ request has°f0rqts object that which~ is ~highest and best. and~ ultimate in0~the -.whole scheme of things, the end Of~creatlon°and of the uni-verse. . , _~, ¯. If we tell God that we desire His glory, it,is o~nly rea-sonable that we should understand what we. desire~ and really 'mean what We understand. To glorify.,God ~is n~ot so much to keep reciting "Glory be to the Father., .'"as to share in His perfection, pa.rficularly in. His knowledge and love of His own infinite goodness. Thus we manifest~it.and acknowledge i~. in proportion as we make ourse_,lves better sons of G6d and advance in the knowledge and'10ve Of Him, we mirror forth and appreciate, His grea~hess more'-and more and s'o add to. His glory. That is what ~e profess to desire. Now there is ~nold axiom-to the~effect that he w.h0 wills ~he end, wills the means a!s0. in our prayer we do not e~xpress a limited, desir,e;: we ,wish°simply ~ind ~ithout r~se_r- ~vation th~it.God be glorified. If;that wish be whglehearted, we shall be willing to use all the means reasonably at our disposal. We, shall be glad not 'on!y-to do some things for the glory.of God, but all that we can; we shall be willing to use the be(ter means, ~to choose the bette~:- or more perfect way to the enid. ~The best ~of all ways of glorifying God's sanctity is to fulfill that ancient injunction: "Be ye holy because I-the Lord your God am holy" (Leviticus -19:.2). The second petition is: "Thy kingdom come": that is, "May Thy rule be extended." ".The devout Christian prays that the divine reign.may prevail everywhere.and at'all .times, individually and socially, in private derisions and publicpglic.ies, in,Church and'in State. The kingdom~of God will come to the Christian himself when he removes all,obstacles to 7divine grace and gives it his fullest coopera-tion. ~He hopes similarly, that infidels.and~fieretics will be con.v~i~ted to God, that°sinnerswill reform, that the tepid "Match, 1946 THE LORD'S PR~YER will become fervent, and that all Will become perfect: God Hill reign in the State Hhen it publicly and officially.hQnors Him, promotes His cause, and .lets all its laws and acts be inspired by His spirit.~ The divine kingdom will-come fully to ~he ChUrch when the human eli~ment in it is brought into cbmplete harmony with the divine, and when all members of the Mystical Body attain perfect adaptation to their Head. If all nations should treat one another with justice and charity and live in peace and concord, the king-dom 'of God would come to" the peoples of the world. Finally, we pray that- the celestial reign of God, with con.- summated gloryfor Him and final bli~s for us all, may not fail to arrive. "It seem~ evident enough th'atone who expresses to God, a desire that His kingdom should come in all its fullness and grandeur--and who is not satisfied with half-measures-- ~should realize that, to be consistent with himself, he o.u, ght to be willing to do whatever he can to advance that coming. He could not at the same time really wish for gomething and not do his best to bring it about. Rather he will be alert discern the opportunitlies given him to promote .God's inter-ests and glad to make the best use of them. Next follows'the third petition: "Thy will be done on - earth as it is in heaven." From the moral and spiritual point-of view this i~ probably the most practic~l part 6f the ~vhole Our Father. Doing the will of God is assuredly the gr.eat means both of glorifying God and of expanding His rule, at least in so far as achieving these purposes dep,ends Ul~On us. . Here Our Lord instructs us, to follow His own example: "I am come down from heaven, not to do'mine own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John 6:3"8) ; "My food is to do the will of him that sent m~, and to accomplish his work" (Ibid., 4:34). .o In the total will of God we may distinguish His abso- 77 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Review for Religious ~fite will and His normative will. The former-is manifested in the couise of events inasmuch as these are independeiit of our control and shbject'only to .-the direction of divine providence: Misfortunes which c6me Upon us without any. act-of our own.exemplify this division of the will' of God; ~so do fortunateoo~cui:rences .which we have nothelped to briiag about. When therefore one recites the. Our Father, he Jiubmits it would seem,-at least implicitly, to whatever Providence may have in store for him. One may accept all these dispositions of the divine absolute will for God's own" sake, for one's own, .or even for the good of. souls. ,Rever-ence for God's supreme dignity and unselfish love for His infinite goodness could move one to accept becomingly and bear patiently, say, a painful, lingering illness. Enlightened self-interest would lead anybody wh6 really andpiac~ically believes in th~ divine guidance of events to take things as il~ey come from the infinite wisdom, benevolence, and power of his own heavenly Father. A man who says .this petition sincerely,-and realizes what it means, Shares in God's providence. He makes God:s plan. for him his own and then, strives-to accomplish it. He iswise enough to that no other counsel could be better. The normative'will of God is addressed to Our intelli-gences and wills., and depends upon us for" its accomplish-ment. It is simply that which is indicated by the divine precepts and counsels. To°the precepts, or as we may Say, to the preceptive Will of God, belong all laws, divine or human, imposing an obligation in ~0nscience, whether~ serious or slight. The object of the counsels, the directive" will of God, comprises all thegood or better things that God recommends and would like to see us embrace. They are proposed but not imposed: The evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience are an example. So is, other things being equal, giving ~i generous alms w_hen a 78 Marcb, 10~6 '- THg LORD'S PRAYER less¢.r One would satisfy all obligations, or receiving Holy. Communion daily rather than only once a year at Easter time.' Docility to grace will be a response to the pieceptive will bf God when grace inclines one to obey a legitimatd commandment, and to the directive will of God when His influence inclines one to some additional gdod that is not obligatory. In many, if not most, religious institutes of modern origin, the rules of.themselves pertain to the direr-- rive will of God. Evidently enough, in heaven God's will is carried out by each and every angel and saint with the greatest possible perfection, even down to the last little jot and ~tittle. It °could not be otherwise. He therefore who profes.~es to desire that God's will be executed on earth, just as it is done in heaven would, it seems, commit himself to doing his v~r.y .best for God. If that desire is genuinel and as long aS it remains genuine; he will not refuse to adopt any reasonable means to realize it. Of course it is not at all implied that so much generosity is of obligation. .~ This disposition would be the most perfect that one could have; and, if maintained steadily, it should quickly lead one to a very high degree of, virtue. One who wills. just what God wills would participate in the maximum possible measure in' the w.isdom and sahctity of God, in His divine work, in His peace, and eventually'in His Beatific life in heaven. All real and true reasons are in favor of a~dopting and kdeping such a .disposition; against it there can be only apparent reasons. All the reality of God Himself; a veritable infinitude of reasons, is on that side of the scale: His divine dignity and majesty calling for the deepest reverence, Hi~ boundless goodness alluring to wholesouled love, His im-mense, and numberless benefits suggesting gratitU'de, His outrag,~d excellence' demanding penanc, e and sa'tisfaction, and similarly with all the other'divine attributes. EaCh and ~G. AUGUST ~INE~ELLARD Re~ieua [or'Religlou8 ever~y divine attribute is an inexpressibly potent in~entive to carry out God's will on earth as in heaven. Self-interest will impel the enlightened Christian to strive manfully to execute, the whole planof God during his ear[hly p~lgrimage as he will hereafter. No other,pro-gram. could promise fewer disadvantages and more ad~an-rages. Even if~ t~e designs of God should contain much sufferiffg for one, .as in fact they-often do for those whom God loves most, those tbibulations would be still greater opportunities. ~One may losea cent, but one would gain.a dollar. God's service pays ~ell~ ~hatever God"intends for any of His children is meant eventuallyfor~that per-son's enrichment and ~appiness. If a man were looking out purely and simply for his own. profit, the best course that he could choose would ~e precisely that which God has already chosen for him. His prudence could hardly surpass God's,. he cannot love himself more than God loves him, nor could his e~cienc¢ improve upon the divine method. To attain fully to the.life and beatitude destined for us, it is necessary .to do all that enters into. the divine scheme for. that .purpose. And God's wishes are always possible and reasonable and accommodated to our weaknesses. _ The words "on earth as it is in heaven" may very,~ell be understood not only with the third petition, but al~0 wi~h all the first three petitions taken together. If so; We should pray that the way in which God is glorified, His kingdom brought about, and His will carried out in this life should be like that in which those great effects are achieved among the blessed. That would indeed be the best possible prayer. "In any "case these words prepare us for humbler~ requests. From the ~ivine-heights we descend to our human~needs. Havi0g, sought the .kingdom of God,:and, -- His justice, we are in a .better.positi6n to geek material bles- ~Marcb, 1946 THE LORD'S PP~YER sings. After professing 6ur willingness to do all that God asks of. us, 'we can more decently and.confidently go'on to ask for things for ourselves. Hence it is logical in the next place to pray for our natural necessities: "Give us this day our dail~; bread." We acknowledge that we depend~ upon our heavenly Father for even such lowly and .common things, as~ bread. We dq not ask for delicacies or luxuries but for that which js necessary or becoming. Nor do we desire" an abundance of material good: a supply for the present is enough. .In the fifth petition, "Forgi've us our itrespasses, as we forgive those who trespass agai.nst us," we are admonished of our sinfulness, sincg we must beg for the remission" of it; of our continual frailty, since we must plead fo~ indulgence continually; of God's willingness to pardon, ~ince He teaches us so to ask ~or cancellation of our debts; of ~he condition upon which it depends,, namely that we forgive ~others; ~nd finally of the measure in which we may expect it. "Pardon and-ye shall be pardoned; give, and it shall be given to you; good measure,jpressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they pour into your lap. For with what m~asure ye nieasure, it shall be mealsured~unto you in return" (Luke 6:38). .Thinking of God's liberality and benefits and the gratitude we owe Him should remind us of the contrast between the generous way in which He has treated us and the ungrateful manper in. which we have behaved toward- Him. A sense of shame and sorrow" will make our plea for fo.rgiveness more effective. It foilows that the greater our debt to God, the greater is our need of good will. The best means of paying tha,t debt~for p~ist sins ,is to have the best disposition to fulfill the whole plan and Will of God in the future, always to cho6se the more perfect alternative, to let grace abound where before we pr,efe.rred sin. Similarl~r the best way of making reparation to the 81 G. AUGUSTINE ELLARD Review for Religious Sacred. Heart of Jesus is to try fully to do what pleases- Him best. Finally we-pray for protection, an obvious.r.equest for ¯ a child to make to a father. This petition refers to the future as the One for-pardon regards the past and the0ne:, for provision pertains to the present. "Lead us not into temptation"-: that is, "Do. not permit us to get into circum-stances in which we should be allurdd t0.sin and, as a mat-t~ r of fact, really yie.ld to ~theoenticement." We do not ask simply to be freed from temptations. -That would.ind~ed be in itself a most excellent and desirable thing; but it ~ould not be in a~cordance with the present order of divine" providence and would hardly be granted. But we do hope with God's grace to be shielded from dangers of sinning that w6uld be too great for us and to-do well ih those that ¯ God for good reasons does permit. We ask for the necessary help to turn such dangers into profitable opportunities. Now~ one would hardly deny that the first means of dealing well with t~mptations and of turning them to our benefit~ rather than allowing them to ruin us moially, is precisely to make the best use ofthe power we already have at hand to do good and avoid evil, that is, to do as much .good as we can. Doing our best implies choosing what is relatively to Us the more peri:ect thing-. The best defensive heke at~ least is a total offensive against the forces of evil. " ' Havi.ng asked to be saved from falling into sin, we end by.begging" for deliverance from evil: "But deliver us from evil.''~ There never has been agreement as to just-what is meant by "evil:" Some understand it generally of what-is" bad, and others of "the dvil one," that is, the devil. The latter sense is preferred in the Westminster Version:~ :'But deliver us from the evil one;" (Matthew 6:1.3) : Again some consider these words to be a parallel expression of the petition, "Lead .us not into t.emptation," and others" take 82 ThE LORI)'S PRfi.YER them tO constitute a new petition. It seems advisable, with St. Cyprian, to understand evil in the most comprehensive ".sense and also t.o interpret these final words as summing up aH our requests to Gdd. Thus we should ask to be freed from all evil whatsoever, moral and physical. Included would be sin, mortal and venial, imperfections, and phys.b cal evils such as disease, destitution, .war, and so inasmuch as they would be an impediment to our moral ~ progress) Anything at all that would prevent-us from realizing God's plan in its entirety and from winning-.for ~ ourselves and for others the full measure of beatitude is really a great evil. On the other hand, we should be very shortsighted and unkind to ourselves to seek to be spared any 6f these tribulations or sufferings which in the end would redound to our greater good. With this disposition, .reaffirming our desire tO accomplish fhe whole divine plan for us and fully to c0~form to God's schemk of pr~destina:- tion for us, we would conclude our petitions on'a strong and noble note. Catholics are sometimes,surprised to hear non-Cath01i~S ending the Our Father With the wordb: ',For thine is the l~ingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amem" -These words are not a Protestant addition. They occur.in some. manuscripts of the New Testamen~ and have always. been used by Oriental Christians, Catholic as well as schis-matic or heretical. They are found at the end of the Our Father as it is recited at the altar in most of the eastern liturgies. HoWever they do not seem to have been a part of .the prayer as it originally came from the mouth of Christ. It is.generally ackngwledged now that they are a liturgical doxologywhich was added afterw.ards, in keeping ,with the general tendency to end prayers, psalms, and hymns with an explkit expression of praise .an~ glory to God. A similar formula, from the royal Psalmist himseif; addressing God 83 ~. AU~GUSTINE ELL.~D as father, may be read in I Paralipomenofi 29:10, 1I: "Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of'Israel, our father from eternity to eternity. Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, andpower, and glory . thine is the kingdom, O Lord." BOOKLET NOTICES From The'Apostolate of Suffering, 1551 North 34th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wisconsin, we have received the Good Samaritan Almanac: 1946 (25 cents) and "'Sunnie'" One of God's "'Pets," (10 cents). The latter contains the brief but -inSpiring autobiography of Vera Marie Tracy, author and poet.of the ~hut-ins. together with some of her sketches and poems. This little booklet is a must for all whowould learn from example how to find happiness in the midst of' suffering. Mother Frances Schervier: Foundress of the Sisters of the Poor of Saint Francis, by the Most Reverend Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, D.D., (a reprintof the Intro-duction to the biography of Mother" Frances). comes from Rev. Roland , Burke, O.F.M. Vice-Postulator of her cause. Mount AIverno. Warwick, N.Y. Retreats for Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, by James L. McShane, S.J. which aims to encourage veterans to make retreats, is distributed gratis by the Central Bureau Press. 3835 Westminster Place, St. Louis 8, Missouri. The Heart in Divine Praises, by Frail is P. Donnelly, SJ. contains a series of reflections on the Divine Praises (used ai" Benediction) and on th~ Seven. Last Words. The booklet may be obtained from the author at Fordham University, New York 58, New York. The Radio Replies Press, St. Paul 1. Minndsota.'sends the following booklets: .Theolpgg of the Crucitixion, 10 cents, ,by the Reverend Francis'X. Sallaway; The Mosaic Manifesto (Fhe Ten Commandments simply explained for children and converts), 50 cents: New Light on Martin Luther, 15 cents: Why Squander Illness? (Prayers and thoughts for Catholic and ~non-Catholic patients), 15 cents: The Music of Ireland, radio commentaries on Irish songs, 15 cents. The October 1945 issue of St. Meinrad Historical Essays is unique. It is devoted exclusively to Holy Scripture. The ten essays.are the first-fruits of. an inter-seminary contest sponsored by St. Meinrad Historical Essays for the purpose of arousing greater interest among seminarians in the stud}' and practical presentation of Holy Scripture. Some of the titles read as follows: "The Family Bible," "Motives for Reading Holy Scripture," "The Bible as a Book of Meditation." Seminarians should find interesting and profitable reading" here. Single copies ma]r be obtained. for 60 cents from St. Meinrad Seminar}', St. Meinrad. Indiana. The Reverend Julius Grigassy sends us "Devotions to Our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified," a timely pamphlet for Lent. This may be obtained from Prosvita- Enlightenment, 611 Sinclair Street. McKeesport. Pennsylvania, or from Amer. Russky Viestnik. Greek Catholic Union.Building, Munhall, Pennsylvania, Price: 15 cents. 84 ¯ A Bi!l o1: Right:s for Religious James E.'Risk, S.J. 44~RELIGIOUS has no rights!'_'. Too often the calm t~ atmosphere of a retreat has been disturbed by this ill-considered though pious maxim. Called upon to defend such a statement, a director, would doubtless interpret it to rn'ean the unlimiteh extent of the ~elf-renunciation demanded by the religious profession. B~it the ambiguity likely to arise from this and similar devout overstatements m.ay make for confusion in the" spiritual life of a religious who is reader to accept every such statement at its face value. In virtue of his profession, a religious enters into an agreement with his institute, pledging himself to seek per-~ ¯ fection according to the plan of life adopted by the same organization. The institute, on its pa.r~t, assumes certain obligations to be discharged in favor of the religious. Hence, the institute enjoys rights and the subject enjoys rights.~ ¯ The superibr, vested with the authority necessary to direct the activities of a community, is us.ually the custodian if need be, the defeiader of the rights of the.ii~stitute. The rights and duties of both superiors and subjects often need elucidation. The present article i~ directly con- -cerned.only with the rights of subjects. A brief explana- 0 tion of.the notion of a right will be followed by an indica-tion of the.sources bf the rights enjoyed by religious. The addition of a few illustrations will, we hope, clarify the explanation. What Is a Right? A right is a power to do or to possess something. It "is also said to be a title or a claim excluding interference on 85 JAMES E. RISK Rbuie~ [of Religious the part of others. One may-lawfully possess a house because he. has some title or claim-establishing his exclusive ownership of it. Perhaps he has bought oro inherited it. The purchase or the bequest gives him the title or claiin to it. ~ It is his. Or again, his claim or title may extend to some #piritual object, some imponderable, such as his reputation, a possess!on not to be ravaged ,by the tongue of the d~trac-tor.~ His person, too, is to be trei~ted with respect. To these rights or claims there corresponds the d.ut~l on the part of others not to interfere with their peaceful enjoyment. Hence, one is obliged not to pillage his neighbor's home, nor to.maim him, nor to blight his good. name by irrespon-sible gossip: Sources of the Rights of a Religious . All will readily a~dmit that in virtue of the act of self-surrender formulated in his vows, the.religious relinquishes his right to the independent use of material things; he sol-emnly- forswears the consolations.and the pleasures natural to the married state; most of his actions are, at least implic-itly, under the supervision of a superigr. Yet, after this abdication from the empire of self, the religious still retains some inviolable possessions. This residual dominion of. rightssprings principally from a threefold source. The natural law itself endows each child of the"human race with certain rights. Canon law extends this charter still, further. Lastly, this endowment of spiritual possessions is aug-mented by rights granted by the constitutions of the indi-" vidual ins~itu.te. In other words, a religious truly pos-sesses an.-aggregate ofhuman rights, a spiritual dowry emsatayb ilnicsihdeedn tbayll yG°o rde'manadrk H, tihs arte penretrsaennctaet iivnetos roenl iegaiortnh .d Woees-not imply ~he forfeiture of civil rights, though the exigen-cies of cloister'life may impose'some limits on,their exercise. 86 March, ¯ A BILL OF R~GHTS FOR ¯R~LIG~ous Be it remembered~ that neither the possession~npr the !egitimate.exercise of one%rigbt need be'detrimental to spir-i( ual progress. We may add too ttiat, while one may respectfully, insist on" the exercise Of his right, the actual manner in .which this right is exercised may be determined by the rule or by the competent superior. ~ , Examples of Rights from the Natural Law On profession day, a religious does not renounce his right to ~food and shelter or to the proper care of his health. While the precise manner in which these rights are, to" be reaiized is subject to the prescriptions of common life as indicated by canon 594, § 1, or to the special provisions of - superiorfi, the basic riglqt to the means of sustaining life and health remains. Brother Jbhn, fc;r example, requires the immediate attention of a dentist. The superior gives him permission [o visit Dr. Will, the community dentist; but "Brother John prefers, the ministrations 6f his personal friend, Dr. Albert) The superior in the. interests of com-- mon life insists on the community doctor. B~bther John, unresigned to the superior's decision, voices, his opinions about the violation of his rights to proper medicat or dental attention. "The natural right of the Brother to appropriate health measures has been r.espected by the superior. - He is not obliged-to make an.y purely personal concessions desired ¯ by a .subject. -- Recreation,~ in"quality and quantity becoming a reli- "greiloieuvse, tihse r teeqnus_irioend obfy c ltohiest enro lrimfe aaln dintod irvepidaiura tlh ein d aomrdaegre dto. cells of human temperament. To some kind of genuine relaxation, the religious has a strict right, a right often explicitly-incorporated into the gonstitutions or the legiti-mate customs of the institute. Entrance into the cloister doesnot imply, the forfeitur.e 87 JAMES E. RZS~ -~ Review for Religious. ¯ of one's" natural right to his good name. " A co-religious acquainted with his brother's transgression has the obliga-tion to forego the wanton dissemination of it among members of the same community. Even the public denun-ciation of a secret fault can~be the means through which an offending religious loses his reputation in the ey.es of the community. The censorship of one's correspondence, as an antidote .against Worldly contagion, is freely conceded by the reli-gious "of many institutes. Immune from this ,censorship is the correspondence destined for .or received from certain authorities mentioned in canon 611. To provide enter-tainment for others by making the contents of a relig!ous' correspondence the subject of recreational gossip would "be an infringement of the natural right to secrecy enjoyed by the. religious. The seriousness of such an offense would be commensurate with the gravity of the matter revealed, or with the degree of pain and humiliation, experienced by the writer, or with the resultant diminution 6f Cbnfidence in superiors, not to mention the disedificati0n in.evitably to follow. : - Rights from Canon L~W. ' The religious is noli only vested with nature's rights, but the Church through the medium of canon law clarifies and extends nature's grant. The special dignity of the religious state demands rev-erential treatment; it furthermore calls for immunity'from .the obligation of military service and from arraignment before-any but an ecclesiastical tribunal. These rights are derived from canons 614, 119, 120, 121., A novice has the right to choose freely the adminis-trfitor oi: his prdperty and to assign the revenue accruing, .from the same to the beneficiar~ of .his own choosing ~accdrding to canons569, § 1. 88 A BILL OF I~,IGHTS FOR RELIGIOU~ By.reason of canon 530, § 1, no moral pressure may be employed to extract the manifestation of c~)nscience from a religious. - Unless his condition was fraudulently concealed before his profession, an ailing religious has the right to remain in his institute by the disposition of canon 647, § 2, 2 ° The exclusion of a religious with temporary vows from renovation, or from the. final profession, for other than ~just motives would constitute a violation of the right extended to such a religious by canon 637. A right familiar.to all religious women is that embod~ led in canon 522, whereby a nun or Sister, in order to insure her peace of conscience, may seek the ministry of the occasional confessor. The favor of this.law is to be sought in a reasonable manner, however. Reason demands that this right be exercised without the threatened collapse of religious discipline, or the entailment of extraordinary expenses. While shopping, for example, a Sister may take advantage of her presence outside the convent walls to con-fess in some church along the route. This is her right; it is the corresponding duty of the superior not to impede the enjoyment of this right, nor to make inquiries in the mat-ter. Rights Conferred by~ Constitutions It would, of course, be impossible to give a detailed out-. line of the rights conferred or determined by the various reli~i6us institutes. However, worthy of particular men-tion here is the right to a reasonable amount of time and opportunity to perform with satisfaction one s spiritual duties. The very nature of the religious.life demands this; and every religious institute at least implicitly guarantees it. A schedule of teaching, study, or other activities that habitually absorbs the best time and vit.ality of a relig[o.us, leaving but fragmentary moments for the fulfillment of the o JAMES E. ~RISK Review for R~ligiou~. duties,most .proper. to his vocation, is an encroachment on the fundamental ~ight of that religioias, to avail himself of the ordinary means necessary to his spiritual well.-being: . . Another right that calls for more than passing mention is the right on the part of the religious to appeal or t9 have recourse from the decision of a lower to the judgment of a " higher superior. For example, canon 647, § 2, 4° gives to the dismissed religious of. temporary~ vows .the right ~to appeal to the Holy See, Specific provision for recourse in other matters is made in many ~nst.itut~es. Customand everi reason itself approve of this remedy. For the existence of this right is necessary for the harmonious "ftinctionifig., of . any organization. Like the judge_in a court of appeal, the -higher superior, artier a re-examination of the 'case, will-overrule or sustain the decision Of the lower superior. Appeal to a higher saperi0r generally supposes that the lower or local superiorhas already been app.,roached _by the subject for a reconsideration of the order: A reversal of ¯ decision by the local superior will eliminate, of course, the necessity of approaching the higher authority. In-some cases; circumstances may determine the imp~r.acticability or impossibility.of a reconsideration by the localosupe.rior. In exercising .his right of recourse, the religious should make as complete and dispassionate a statement as possible, proposing the reasons allege.d, by the local superior for his-refusal to revoke or modify the original decision. Natu-rally, the lower s~perior will be granted the opportunity to presen.t his side of the .case, for the indispensable rule for making an equitable adjustment of disputes is to hear b0tb. parti.es. While the. appeal~ is under consideration before the court of the higher superior,, the subject should comply w~iththe ~rder of the lower superior as far as-pos'sible. To illustrate this right of appeal or recourse: Suppose that .Father Clyde, an excellent litera~y scholar, but~ of, ¸90 BILL OF RIGHTS FOR RELIGIOUS iet~rded scientific growth,' has been assigned by the local superior to'teach.advanced differential equations: To avert an academic disaster and perhaps.a sin against justice, .he asks the. superior to recbhsider the appointmerit, and to readjust the clasg schedule. The'~local superior cannot see his way clear to modify the original schedule. " An appeal to the higher superioris now in order. Since the misplaced professor of .mathematics seems to rest his case on a basis of academic justice, he should present to his ¯ higher superior a complete picture of his scientific incompe-tence. The ultimate decision, favorable or unfavorable to the protesting teacher, would not reflect on his right to file his recours,e. Depending,on the canonical status of the par-ticular institute, a worthy case might find its,way ,to the hands of the superior general. Needless to remark, the.use of the right of appeal should be marked by an absence ~personal resentment; ~ather it should be char~icterized by sincerity and the sweet .unction of religious charity. -To compile an exhaustive list of .the rights of r~ligious, even if it were possible, would be quite purposeless for the present study. The limited, examples already given should suf/ice to lay the retreat ghost: "Religious have no rights!" The Code of Canon Law and the constitutions will reveal re.any others. imitation of Christ A last question. Should a religious, sincerelydor;scious~ of his rights, always tak~ measures¯necessary to insure their vindication, or should he b~ar in silence the further rationing of his already shrunken liberty? Provided' no detriment follows to one's fellow religio.us or to the good ¯ of souls, a love of one's spiritual progress and the desire for a close conformity to the Redeemer .might p~ompt, a reli-giot~ s to bear in silence an act of injustice or the violation Of JAMES E. RISK his rights and to. forego the exercise of his right of appeal: Peculiar circumstances and the advice of an experienced con-fessor will more accurately determine the course to be fol-loWed in a gixien case. To proceed without counsel in these matters is not recommended to young religious. Such then is our brief comment on the religious' bill of rights, the joint bequest of nature, of the Church, and of his own institute--a~heritage directed to guide him in his quest for perfection along the ways of peace. VOCATION BOOKLETS Informational booklets which explain the nature of vocation and describe the work of a particular institute seem to be growing in popuiarity. Most of.them make effective use of photographs and drawings to illustrate the text. The following have been received" in recent months: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, ,from St. Joseph's Mother, House, 6400 Minnesota Avenue, St. Louis ~11, Missouri: Chosen Arrows, from the Ursu-line Nuns of the Immaculate Conception, Congregation of Paris, Louisville, Ken-tucky; The Gra~/moor Fathers: An Outline of Tl~eir Life and Work, from the Franciscan FHars of the Atonement, GraymOor. Garrison, New York: B~nedicrins Conuent Life° from Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas: _,To Seek God (¯ clear and readable explanation of the "way and goal of the Benedictine Sister"). from St. Meinrad's Abbey. St. Meinrad, Indiana. What Others Haae Done, by Father Howard Ralenkotter. C.P. (Edit.) is ¯ collection of huh~an interest vocation stories;--facts, not fi~tion. Copies .may be obtained from the Good Counsel ~ Club. 5700 N. Harlem Avenue, Chicago 3'1, Illinois, Price: I0 cents (by mail 12 cents). OUR CONTRIBUTORS JAMES E. RIS~( is a professor of canon law at Weston College, Weston, Massa-chusetts. JOHN E. COOGAN,'a professor of sociology at the University of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, is actively interested in promoting interracial amity. CHARLES F. DONOVAN is a student of' ascetical theology at St. Robert's Hall, Pomfret Center, Connecticut. CLARENCE MCAULIFFE, G. AUGUSTINE~ELLARD, and .GERALD KELLY are professors of sacramental theology, ascetical theology,, and moral theology ¯ respectively at St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 'The two last mentioned are iikewise editors of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. 92 The Part:icular I::rieridship Gerald Kelly, S.J.- THE novice closed the bOok, le~lned back in his chair, arid looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. He had been reading about the friendship of two saints. It was a warm and ~ intimate friendship; yet spiritual Writers would °surely call it commendable and sanctifying. On the other hand, only. a few days before, he0had heard a talk on "the particular friendship"; and this was definil~ely branded as reprehen-sible for religious and an obstacle to their sanctificat_iori. What is the difference, he mused, between these two types of friendship? Why is one good, the other bad, for religious? How can one enjoy the benefits of~the first while guarding "against the evils of the second? That novice might be any novice. In, fact, the puzzled reader of the account of friendship between the saints might w'ell be a-religious professed for many years. "Experienced spiritual directors say that the qhestion of friendship is a problem for many, if not .most, religious. These dirdctors think that the solution to the problem lies in a proper Understanding of the particular f.riendship; and they are of the opinion that an informative psychological discussion of this-topic would be helpful to religious. The following-notes represent an attempt .to-treat, or at least to outline,_ .the main points involved in understanding the particular friendship and in distinguishing it from what might be called ordinary friendship. What Is the Particular Friendship? ~ .A particular friefidship, ,as the expression is used in this article, is an exclusive companionship bet~veen two persons u~hicb is based on emotional fascination. In explaining 93 GERALD ~(ELLY Reoiew for Religious this definition it may be well at least for the present to limit 6u/selves to some concrete situation: for instance, to a p.ar-ticular friendship between two religious of the same.com-munity; or, even more concretely, to such a friendship between two novices. Later in the article the remarks can ,easily be applied to other situations. The definition I have given is.fi technical one. It is so worded as to exclude certain companionships that are,some-times rather inaccurately ~tyled palticular friendships. The clique, for example, is an exclusive companionship; it is limited to a few and excludes others. And because it is exclusive it is harmful to. common life. But it is not a par-ticular friendship in thestrict sense of the expiession because it is not limited to two persons. Even exclusive" companionships between twb persons are not. necessarily particular i~riendships in the technical sense. For instance, one-,pair of novices may be drawn together simpl.y becaus.e, each dislikes a crowd. Another pair may associate merely because of some mutual hobby a liking for birds, or for flowers, or for some.game or work. .And s~ill another pair may unite for the sole. reason that misery loves company; each is, as the saying goes, "agin the government," and their companionship furnishes, an outlet for this cbntrariness. In companionships like these there seems to be no strong emotional binding force; the exclusiveness appears to be the result of some purely external circumstances. Of course, associations sucti as these can easily lead to emotiona! att_achment; but until they do so,. they are not to be considered particular friend-ships in the sense in which we are now using the expression. In the real particul.ar friendship the precise reason for thi~.excl.usiveness of the companionship is ~motional f~scina-tion. The parties conduct themselves much in the manner of yoiing lovers. The whole pr.ocess of the formation aia,d 94 Match, 1946 THE PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIP. growth of the friendship follows a rather definite psycho-logical pattern. Religious should be acquainted with the psychology underlying this companionship so that they ¯ can protect themselves against tendencies that might other, wise prove very harmful to them. The Adolescent It will help towards a better understanding of the poar-ticular friendship .if we now leave our novitiate s~tting fo~ a time and take a brief glance at the emotional life of the growing boy. (I chb'ose the boy merely to be more definite. Everything that I say here. applies, with the necess~ary. changes of gender, to the growing girl.) In the years just preceding adolescence the normal boy has very likely limited hisclose friendships to other boys and has.had as little-as possible to. do with girls. Girls had no attraction for him, except perhaps to arouse his curl-. osity. But as'the weight of adolescence settles upon him things'change. He finds girls mysteriously charming, very; attractive; he wants to please them, and he seeks to be a 'hero in their ~yes. Perhaps, even in the very early years of adolescence, he experiences what is popularly called "puppy love"; he might, in fact have this romantic experience rather frequently. Usually, though not always, these youthful romances are of short, duration. There may be great emotional exhilaration for a time; but it.~ is easily exploded, like a child's balloon, and normally has .no severe lasting effects. But as the boy moves on into the upper years of ad£- le~cence, it is quite normal for him tocenter his attraction on one girl; and this .experience, though it follows the same pattern as the earlier cases of "puppy love," is more pro-found: It is this more matured experience that I want to analyze here--to observe its usual manifestations, its origin; 95 GERALD KELLY " ~ Review for Religious and its purpose. If you were to' ask a young man how he happened to fall in love with a certain girl, he might, be unable" to tell you. And if he could tell' you What had suddenly caught his attention ;and captured his heart, his answer might be: ¯ it was the" color of her eyes, the wave of her hair, the way she danced, the special musical quality of her voice-- all apparently trivial things. Or it might, be a word of sympathy, a word spoken in his defense, an impression of great virtue--things of greater significance. It is~ditficult to analyze this first step of falling in love; it is to a great extent mysterious. But the reaction to that first stimulus is not so mysterious. " The boy's heart is captured---riveted, as it were, on that one girl. The thought of her tends to absorb his mind; spontaneously he desires to share with her his thoughts, his wi~hes, his dreams, even his prayers. She has'become the center of his emotional life to the exclusion of other girls; and he wants a similar place in her affections. Hence he burns with jealousy if another boy enters into the picture. ,. ~ Of course, the .boy who falls in love still retains his affedtion for his parents, for his b~others and sisters, and fo~ his boy friends. He may still have a friendly liking for many other girls. But over all these affections--dominating them, as it .weremis this one distinctive attraction. If the girl he loves is absent, he suffers torture, oHe feels .dissatis-fied; he finds it hard to study, to do his work, even to be pleasant to others. He seeks some satisfaction in ,the posses-sion of little souvenirs, is inclined to telephone, to write frequent and effusive letters, and so for, th. When with his beloved, he is overjoyed. He wants to express his affection in sweet owords, in kissing and cares-sing. Incident~ally here lies the great dange~ to chastity in ever the purest courtship. It may be that these manifesta- -96¸ THE PARTICULAR FRIENd)SHIP tions of affection are joined with the deepest revere',nce; yet they tend to'heighten emotion, and thus to increase in fre-quency, ardor, and physical intimacy. It is easily seen that if the girl reciprocates the boy's affection, the natural result of the ~u.tual exclusiveness and intensity of,their companionship is a. complete assimilation of interests.They tend to have the same likes and dislikes. They want to share everything--from the prosaic act of munchi.ng the-same sandwich to the exchange of the most delicate secrets. In a word, their affection locks their hearts together; each is con_vinced that this state of affairs will las.t forever, and each craves a complete oneness with the other. They want to blend and share their entire lives. The experience of fallingin~ love is not something occa-sional or extraordinary. It has been happening'through0ut the world since" time was y~oung; it is happening now; and it will go on happening, so it seems, till the end of time. Because it is so common, and because it follows such oa definite pattern, it seems logical to conclude th,at the tend-ency to fall inlove'is instinctive. I do not mean that every-one h-as the experience; many factors can intervene toblock off the ~actual experience. But I do mean that, - speaking generally, .we all-have this tendency, an instinctive tend-ency; and if that is true, it must come from God, and He must have a reason for giving it. As a matte'r of fact it is not difficult to find a very good. reason why God should have placed this tendency, in human ,nature. God's plan for the family containsthe explana2 tion. In the divine~ plan for human beings, children are brbugl~t into the world ~is very helpless little things. They develop, slowly; they need the care of father and mother for. a long time. God ev_idently wants the faiher and m~)ther ¯ ,.to live together in the closest intimacy all the days of their lives. This long-.continued life togethe~ invoFces many- 97 GERALD KELLY "~" Revie~v [or Religious [~burdens: iind grav, e :~esponsibilities ~w~irds~ each other and ¯ towards the children: If this kindof,life did not haverits attractive features as Wall as.its b, urdens and responsibili-ties; only the hero~s Would have the courage to embrace.it. " As we know, God does not lay burdens:and responsb biliti~s on humhn nature without also providing compensa-tions. He. creates' e~ery human.being a potential.parent, .and He also gives each certain capacities and instinctive tenden- "c!es that make married life and parenthood not only.bear-able but ~am?a~tive. One of ,these instinctiv~ tendencies is the.!nclinati0n toan exclusive, tender.companionship. This serves as a powerful inducement to marriage; and after mar-riage, iif this mutual tender ¯love is fostered,' it not only pro- ~vides for the dare of the children but also i!ghtens the bur-dens of thelparents, and protects them, at least to some i~Xtent, from dangers that might come from outside the family circle. Applig, ation to N6oices The foregoing analysis 6f falling in love suffices for0i~r present purpose. We have answered the questions .that ~eemed fundahaental. It is t!m,~ noN to retu~rn to our novitiate setting and to apply the conclusions ,of our psychological analysis to the case of a particular friendship among novices. . - The applkation, ~it seems to me, should be fairly obvi-ous. A young man enters the novitiate at just about the tim:~when this tendency towards exclusive em6tional com-panionship is most apt to manifest itself. That it should m~inifest itself is perfectlynatural. On the other hand; the~ atmosphere of the novitiate is not natural; the novice's com-p) ini0nshlp is limited'to members of his own sex. But this fact is not in itself enough 'to suppress the instinctive y,earn-. ingfor exclusive companionship: Strong appetites have a March, 19 4 6 THE PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIP way of asserting themselves; and if they cannot find their normal object; they look for h substitute. The no~ice's tendency .to form a particular friendship seems tO be an unconscious seeking-for such a substitute. That is why ~he .particular friendship exhibits, as was remarked previously, many of the signs of a love affair: exclusiveness, absorbing ¯thoughts, secret meetings; and sentimental demonstrations of affection. Harmful Effects From what has been said it is easily seen how fosteri;ag a particular friendship:has disastrous effects on the religious "life. Its exclusiveness renders well-nigh impossible the practice of that universal and impartial charity which is so impor(an.t for harmony within a religious family and for carrying on apostolic works. The absorption of mired the love-object not only interfereswith study and work, but most of all it prevents the union with God that the life of prayer and other spiritual exercises ought to develop. The third source of danger is the ~.tearning to manifest one's affection, by bmbraces. Ifthese cravings are satisfied a great ~protective barrier to chastity is broken down, and serious sins can result. Moreover, once this barrier is broken by familiarities, it is very difficult to rebuild it. I might mention here that this danger is probably greater in a friend-ship between two women than in a similar friendship between men. Men are protected so some extent by the consciousness that kissing and embraci.ng are not custom, ary among the members of their sex, whereas among women it is more natural to express even ordinary affection in such ways. Embracing, of course, is not the only source of dangeb to chastity. Other little familiarities can also break down reserve and open th~ way to temptatio.n. And even when 99 GE ~RALD KELLY ¯ ~ Review for Religious external modesty is preserved, the emotional friendship can be a source of great disturbance to the imagination. Day,- dreams will not always remain on the spiritual plane. . We can end this enumeration of~ spiritually harmful effects by stating summarily that fosterifig a particular friendship strikes at the .very ro~t-significance of religious consecration. The vows themselves are but means 'of ¯ leading the soul to God; and t~he vow of chastity in particu~ lar is intende~l as a means of giving the heart to God. The particular friendship draws the heart away. Even if it does not lead to actual violations of chastity, it still deprives that vow of the fruit it should naturallfproduce. Not Limited to Novices' The particular friendship~ in the full sense in which we have described it, is hardly of frequent occurrence among religiousl But the tendency to form this association is cer-tainl'y common enough to warrant a thorough discussion of the sub.ject. And this tendency is not limited to novices. In fact, the possible combinations in Which the-part.icular friendship, might appear are quite varied. For instance, two religious of about the same age, both of whom have been professed f3r several years, might form such an attach- -ment while teaching or carrying on some other apostolic -work. The dangers in this case are generally much more grave than they would .,be in the novitiate because of the greater opportunity of indulging_the affection. ~ "Then there is the possibility ofa particular friendship between a young religious (perhaps a novice or a recently professed, religious) and an older religipus. One can hardly overestimate the.possible harmful effects of this relation-ship;, especially for the young religious. Indeed; a very .pr°mising vocationocan be lost in this way. The young religious is unwarily drawn into the affaiL loses interest in 100 March, :1946 . THE [SARTICULAR: FRIENDSHIP ~spiritual exercises, ~ suffers perhaps many grievous tempta-tions against chastityiand at last, with former .high. ideal~ of religious perfection completely shattered, returns to~tl~e world. A~ older religious who would take the i'i~itiative in a companionship of this kind or willingly encourage it would be running a risk of giving grave scandal. Fortu-nately, ignorance excuses from. guilt; 'but such ignorand~ should not be perpetually fostered. 'Again, the particu!ar friendship is not li~hited to the religious family;, an extern may begone of .thd ~parties. For example, it is not entirely uncommon for a pupil to develop what is sometimes referred to as a "crush" on the teacher. If the teacher al~o loses~emotional control, there results the particular friendship of the teacher-pupil~ variety. This topic is usually treated ratlqer thoroughly by ~he psycholo-gists ¯ of adolescence. Many" ad61escents develop these "crushes"; on.their elders. These young people~, we. must remember, arestill in the ~ransitional period; their emo.-~ 'tional life is just developing~ It will go on develop'ing nothing happens to fix it at a childish level. Bu~ ~, long-continued .reciprocal "crush" can fix it at that level: Thus one of the great evils" of ~be teacher-pupil particular fri~nd-ship is the retardatioh of emoti6nal development in" the This is a di~icult ~ituation to handle, as anyone wilt~ admit. In the first place, it may require self-crticifixion for ~the teacher; for religious t~achers are apt to get very lonely. They may ~find themselves spontaneously yearning for affection and attention, especially in times of discourage-ment. The affection of the pupil would satisfy this yearn-ing. But if itis satisfied by reciprocating the pupil's atten-" tions (and much.more so by ta ~king the initiative in seeking attentions) a very harmful-situation arises. The pupil's own emotional growth is stunted, .as we mentioned above; lOl GERALD KELLY Reoie~ for Religious and scandal is given toothers because of the partiality. which is usually shown and because of the 0ut-and-out childishness that a teacher sbmetimes manifests in Such cir-"~ cums~t.ances. Youth have a right to expect better emo-tional control-of us. Yet, even if the teacher's own emotions are perfectly under control, the handling of the adolescent "crush" is a delicate matter. As it is unfair to the pupil for the teacher to initiate these emotional attachments or to respond emo-tionaliy to them,° so it seems equally damaging to deal harshly with such a pupil. The teacher, has to be both objective and kind. L- uella Cole, in her books, Ps.qcholog~/ of Adolescence and The Background for College Teach[ng, suggests three p.~inciples for the teacher to follow on these occasions. The first principle :is one we hive already indi-cated: namely, the teacher should never show emotional interest in the pupil. The second principle is to avoid being alone with the student, especiallY behind closed doors, because it is then that the emotions are most li~kely to riln liot. The third principle-is to pro,vide ,the devoted student (whether boy or girl) with plenty of work. The author suggests such physical ~ctivities as cleaning erasers and washing blackboard.s, and, with special reference to the col-lege student, some mental occupation such as special work. .in the library. It is her opinion that several weeks of these physical .or'mental tasks will be sufficient to cool theardor of the student.1 Her suggestions ~eem very. helpful. The one precaution that might be added here is that in assigning Work the teacher should guard against giving, the appear~ ance of favoritism. Perhaps what I have written about the teacher-pupil attachment was a digression; yet I believe it is not wholly 1Luella Cole: The Backgruond for College Tea__ching,. Farrar ~ Rinehart, 1.940, pp. 164-5 ; Ps~Icholog!l o? Adolescence,'same pub!is.hers, I 942, pp. 147-9. 1-02 THE PARTICULXR =- F~IENISSHIP without pertinence. And the remarks made with reference .to this relationship ~re also¯ applicable to other situhtions in which religious deal with youth. Similar attachmeiats can be formed; similar .dangers .are present; .and similar precau-tions and treatment are necessary. ¯ ¯ We can conclude ~he enumerationof the various'situal tiol~s that might: occasion .a particular .friendship .by ieferring biiefly-to °thd most obvious case, though fortu-nately not the most- common namely the possibilit~ Of ¯ falling in 10ve with a person of the opposite sex, In theii early years of training religious are u~ually prote~te.d from this danger, at least to a great extent,;by the)fact tha~t they do not ass0.cia, te much with externs. Andeven in lat_.er.years, when ~hey. are engaged in works of,the apostolate, they are somewhat piotected ~by the ordinary regimentation and super.vision of their l~ves. They .would be ~sMeguarded grill :.m0~e if .th~.'pr0.~iSi0ns. f0~r ~iois.te~,. comp~fii0hs) eXteiaal reserve, and.so forth, Were alwa~s~rigorouslg 0bserved.But nothing save a.sl~ecial grace of God can protect¯¯ them to¯the point of utter immunity. As human beings, they are alivays susceptible to ~uch attachments. A very realistic .professor of pastoral theology used to tell his seminarians: "In youe priestly lives.you will often h~ve to deal wi~h women. In some cases you will neces.sa.rily. be ai0ne with them. If, on ~he of these occasions, a woman "should ¯burst into tears, do not yield to th~ impulse to dry ~hem for her." This is a rather concre.ge way of saying that bn"e must not let ~impathy'interfere with judgment. EVen spiritual ministries and apostolic words can be very dagger: ous, especially when sympathy plays On the heartstrings. A prudent reserve is always chlled for if one wants to keep his heart where he placed it at th~ time of hisconsecration to God in the Heart of Christ. GERA~LD. KELLY. ., R~eview [.or Religious ¯ Ordinary Friendship. Artier hearing a discourse on the particular f~iendship,'. oa~young religious is apl~ to be~confused. "What does it.all mean?" is his .question, even thofigh unspoken. "Am~I supposed to have .no intimate friends? Must I keep my heart in solitary connnement. The answer ~to such questions, whether spoken or unspoken;" should be very straightforward, T, rue friend-ship is one of the great blessings.of life, and it ~belong~ to religious just as much as to others. Father Tanquerey, after treating ofthe benefits of true friendship, has.the fol- - lowing.pertirient paragraph: The question has been asked whether or hot such friendships should be encouraged in cdmmunitieg.-~It may be feared tlSat .they will be detrimental to the affection which should unite all the mem-bers~ and that~ they .will be the cause of j,e,alousies. " As,suredly, car~ must be taken that such friendships do not interfere with th~ charity due to_ all, that thhy~be supernatural and be kept within the limits set by Sfiperiors. With these provisions, friendship, retains in com- . munities all the advrintages dessribed 'above, since religious as-well as others need the counsel, comfort and protection that a friend alone can give. However, in communities more than elsewhere, all that savors of.false friendship must be avoided with jealous care. (The S~iritual Life, n. 599.) Certainly the lives of religious who 'became canonized saints furnish ample proof that genuine friendship is not at variance with the ideals of the religious life. These saints had intimate friends within their communities and outside their communities, friends among those of t.h, eir own sex ,~nd friends of the 6pposite sex. Moreover, the mere reading of some of their letters indicates that their friendships were warm and affectionate. And we-need not confine ourselves ¯ to the lives of canonized saints as if true friendship were a'i~rerogative "of heroic sanctity. Very likely most religious who are now in-the declining years of life could tell us that- - 104 , March, 19~46 " .~ ~ . :- THE PARTICULAR' FRIEIqDSHIP,-. the~fiieridShips they-have ~formed ha~e been "a sohrqe .gre~it joy~ m their h~es~and of much help, in the Ser)ic&of ' ;~-7-'~God. ~" "~ " ~ ' " )=": ~--~ he.essential difference apparently lies in qualit:y:~on~ kind ~f friendship is good for ~eEgious; ~an0?her "a~ harmful. With'regard tS h~man compafiionship,, th~d~i~i ~.on~ ssnse in which religious must go,to-God alone; iense in which c;mpanionihi0, intimatd compahionsNp,~is ?n ootnly permissibl,e u bt e h u ipf 1. ~ -- ~" - How to Distin uish? . ' how can .one -"jadge:~gether a f)ien ship is jast o~dinary friendship o~ But, "the young rehg~ous will ask; " - . p2r~i~Ul~r friendship? The simples~ way of makmg,tBi~ diStinCtion is to examine a companionship to see,,if it mam~ fest~ the specific ~igns of the particula~ friendshlp. 2 ~ One Sp~c~c characteristic of ~he particular fri~ndshi~ -~ts exclus¢oen~s. Ordmary~fnendsh~p ~snot. eXclus~v~.~ mdy be that,:, because of circumstances or,-because of" one"~s own temperament, he has only one good.friend; bu~.thi~ .,is- not of the, nature of ordinary friendship~ One person can,h ve_many ~ood friends. ~ _ ;:~ :'~:' -, T~d~ exclusive tenddncy of the particular friendshipS" easily~,breeds jeatohs~. The ~fact thh~ One's friend has other' friend~, is resenred.'~ Ordinary. friendship does n6i have this effect:- Irma!lows freedom not only for oneself but for one's fri~ffd in thi choice of other friends. - ~- . .,~ TBe particula) friendship' is marked by-internal absorp:~ .tio~ o~ .,.mind on the ~riend. ., The ~houghts. ~ and affections'~ t"~ . :are;.as ~t were, bounff to one person: . i n t e r,"n ~a,"l ffee~om to :,~:;p~g~,~O~studg, to work, to be with. other do~panions; to rook separano~, ~s hampered, :Or&nary friendship,; on ~e ~h~ hand~ does not greatly interfere witKthis I~sa~at _ does not greatly interfere, because ~t' seems ~to ~'~ ~':- . ~,,- - ~.~ ., " ~, " ,~. "_ ~ 105 . Do ELLY . -- ~ ::that one cain& Without-.qualifi~atio~ apply tO ordinary f~iend~hip the dictum,"'out o~ Sight, ouvof mind.'," E~en :th):tTue~t and mosg s~iritual of fridndships is not~as co~d as that. Perhaps it gogld be more accurate to say that in . paiticgNr friendship ~.internal ¯adjustment ~to separ~tion:~is exVa°rdmanly, d~Ncult,~ whereas, m the case of. the s~mple ~ ~ .u .~r~e'asu:~ it is campara~:~e~y~ ¯ ¯ ~ yaas". . " '. ~, "~ ~ ~ ~ Finally, the tendencg.td manifest affection bg soft wo~dg :;~nd embraces arises spontaneously ~hen a.particular friend- " shi~-is fdstered. This4s ffot a distinctive characteristic o~ ~o~dina~) friendships. It is~ tgue, ~} course, that so~e people are'much more externallg affectionate :' than others; true al~o that a certain amoun~ of external demonstration is :.'.~more natural with women tBan ,~ith.mefi. Ndvertheless; these things are not characteristic ~rks o£ the:, ~i~le friendship: ~n, un~ual-tendency to sgch manife~t~tlons ig ~isign. ~hat sgmething other than ordinary friendship ~S ' mvolvea.~ ~" To sum the matter up negatively: or~ina~friendshi~- doe~ not ifiterfere~ with the common 1)re, with. imparfi~al ;:charity, with prayer,, with the-p~rfprmance of One's du~y,~ .with the prfident reserve tha(must characterize the bearing ~4:-~f religious, Agxin; briefl~ ~ut still negatively: ~n)friend-'~ ~.shi~ ~hich does not interfere with the attainment of r~li- :gibus ideals is a iound friendship. Finally,, m put it' posi- ~tigely: any friendship which helps 9ne to lead ~ gdod ~reli- ¯~ious life i~ not only s~fe and permissible, but actually gi, ft~ Of Gbd. , ~-,[EDf~O~s' NOT~: Our nSxt Kumbtr will contain some, suggestions for b~eaking a p~r~icular friendship ~nd for preventing the formation of on~.] -~- ¯ ~: . rl lan. n ouc a hies. ~ohn =. C6o~dn~ S.~.~ ~ Negroes attack segregation? Why, as they cbnve~t: .~ the color~d, don:t they b~ild for them churches and schools bf .their own? Then when they are all converted,~ interracial 9nderstanding will come of itself." ~ This sincere question from a zealous priest.surely ~omes at the '~eleventh-ho~ r." When law~ both federal- ' and . state are ~anning racial discrimination in public employment and privgte . :industry; when state ~ivil rights bills are making it criminal (evegqn the priest's own state) to make racial discrimiqa tions in hotels, restaurants, and places of public r~sort; when labor ~unions are d~manding that ~no. man's color should deprive him of an ~qual chance, t~ earn his ~ail~ - '~read~this is a late hour indeed for a champion to rise in_ ~ fhv6r of Catholic racial segregation. But the ~uestion has been honestly' asked ~by one wh~ is otherwise the soul 0f .~kindliness; and the voiced query of suCh a one is certainly-~ ~e unvoiced query of many. As the-priest live~ north of~ _ the Ohio River, traditionally the '.'River~30rdan'~ t0 t~e freedom-seeking Negro, we sfiall, frame our reply accord-" ingly. We oppose segregatioa in our Cath01icyhurches and schools because it is unj~st, impious,-~gd scandalbus a bar to the conversion of non-Catholic Negroes, and a cadge-of perversion of the Catholics. _. Such segregation is unjust because, for one thing, it rob~ -~tfie Negro of, self-re~pect. If yogr test of acceptability were - condhct or character or virtae, each might hope one fl~Y t~ q~alify. " But" iLyou~tell h~ that your ban is:o6 all those~ oLhis hne," ~ then the offense is in his blo~d. He Knows.~it .IOI-IN'E. 'COOGAN ' ' " l(evie~,tor Rdi~iOu. ~L .n6t merely that his appearance does not pIeaSe. Negroes , -'~o~ne in all shape'-and Sizes, in all mixtures of blood, imhll ~,shades of .complexion, in all .types of features. Some Negroes are strikingly handsome, far more so surely than. many whites; and yet almost any white c~in at least be. tol- o. erated, whereas no Negro need apply. He knows that ygu draw no such rigid line against members of another religion. Non-Catholic whites are admitted.to ~Catholic institutions. fr~in" whicl~ Catholic Negroes%are excluded. The right" ~eiigion seems less.important than the righ.t race. It is use.- "x ,.less to tell the Negro that acr'ods town somewhere there is a Catholic church for his kind; that mil'~s away ~there,is'a "o schoi~l to which he can send his childrefi. Miles. away, ac'rosg-'railroad tracks and through traffic; miles away, out ~from" St. Luke's parish they may go, past St. Thomas', ,past St. Mark's, past St. Ignati.us~ and St. Ma.ry's,. to find .refuge at last in St. Peter Clhver's or_ St. Benedic~ the.~ ;Moor'.s. " Such mass rejections by a dominant m~jorlty inevit~aMy weaken and destroy self-respec't in a weak minority. How destructive this can be wheff the Church herself se'ems' to" jgin.'in the accusing chor~s. Pope Leo XIII rightly :declared that poverty can so dehumanize that morality ~becomes. inhumanly difficult. Racial bars can be at least as demoralizing; for even a beggar can dream of 0utlivin~." want; but race is an act of. God and is bled in th~ bone. We add that these-~racial bars are not merely unj6st in -that they destroy self-respecl; they are impious in that they., are effective denials of the most solemnl~ proclainied reli- ¯ gio~s truths. If God is the. Father of all, .why must His .children besegregated before His face? ~If all share Adam's nature, Whence comes this special taint of blood? If theS~sn ~f Man is each man's Brother-, whence comes th~ color bar? "A'nd if H~ died eqUally for all, why these pretensions of:the Caucasoid?~ Did Christ's vt am the vine, and you branches" extend only to the lily-_whites? And, in the Mystic_al Body is pigmentation more important t'hafi sanc2 tifying grace?- Christ and His Church have told us_wha~,o~, things count in God's sight; .and race is not among.~he.m.~ The separation of the sons of men into sheep and goats on ~.any other basis than Christ's is a consequence of the ~s~ime di~cisiveospirit that has rent His seamless robe fnto the mulr °tiple tatters of Protestantism. Mother Church has give, n -'both impieties a lille repudiation. Racial segr3gatiori we have called'not merely unjust arid~ ~ impious; i~ is scandalous.in the strictest sense'of the word; it is a moral stumbling ,block and .lock of offense. ~ Few better-class Negroes will listen to'the call,of what ~ee~ms'to them a-white man'.s church. "To. the rrfajority of ~du-" cared Negroes," the President of Howard, their national " urfi'vers~ty, has truly said, "the Catholic ChUrch simp!y does not exist."" The march of grow,ing Negro leade~ship~ i~'seldom towards Rome. In some centers of special Cath- ,~ olic effort the"un, derprivi!eged eagerly~ answer :the call df truth, but the great masses remain untouched. Yet this bar to~conversion is but one 6f the scandals arisihg from. "5~reljgious segregation; of both born. Catholics and converts many find it unbearable to think themselves step-children Mother Church. It is the wildest flight from reality for us to~ imagine-that we can convert and hold the' N~gro through a system df segregated churches arid schools. It-will cost us the ~,loyalty of the race if we t, ry it. The Negro will not tol~ ~erate'a pariah Oosition of untouchability. And even if ~this were not so, where, when, how could we man and-finance an,adequate separate system ofchurches aiid schools? Eyen~, tgX-~,_,upported separate school systems have broken down. Conversion of the race will require all the efforts of the-~ - - "~- 109 .~. ,°~,,~ Boston,- Grand Rapids, oor Indianapolis. The $i~ste~s of : JOHN.~. ~00G~_ N* .~." "" ' - . Review for Religious ~.Whole Church laboring, an~d g[vihg with ,a Willing heart and hand. .Tying our hands behind us through a-policy of segregation means le.aving closed the door of opportunity;_ much, many will be lost; and with what gain? The hao~rement.awi~y from segregation in educatibn and . ~religion is so strbng that the reactionary is hopelessly dated. There is "hardly a~ollege or university in thi~ North, from Maine to California, that professedly, defends the ~olor~bar. .," The haost renowned girl~' scho~ols;: registers of social accept-ability, have their" colored students, sometimes even teadhers> 2Each spring, Negro magazines, pieturg, their scores of degree "~inners, including many Ph.D.'si and these from theooldeg't and~most respected American universities, Catholic schools~ ,~despite a belated start are ralbidly accelerating; .one in a-,bor- . der cityhas raised its colbt?ed enrollment from'-none to more than one hundred in a single year, and announces th~ move_ a complete success. Even our schools for problem childre.n ~:h~Lve fdund it desirable to repudiate any color bar: two at least of the, local Good Shepherd homes, have Ye.c~ntly - opened their doors to all. Boys To~n flung wide its doors from the beginning: As Father Flan~agan explains: ' . ~I know when the idea of a boys~ home grew i~ my miniJ.I never thought of anything remarkable ~bout taking in all of the r, aces affd all the creeds. To me, they are all God's children. -They are.my brothers. They are children 6f God. I must p~otect them to the best of my ability. These Negro boys h~iv-e been just as fine and . decent as the boys of my own race . If I were apastor of a parish. '- whether it was located in the slums of the city or in millionaire row. ~I would follow the same policy. ~- Recently~ a bi-racial "convent for Dominican cont~m~ plat!vies .~as 6pened in Alabama. The Dis.caked c~rmelites have announced:the same Christ-like policy; already the- .,colored spouse Of Christ can find a haven id the Carmel Of i March,?194~ ,~ " " ~ CHRISTIAN ~.U.~ Social ~6ik,, too; ha~ opened their , ~anks: to daughters :" Ybla~k bu~'- beautiful." And a~ ciea'~-eyed Domihi~fin ~Mother General has scorned the mcons~stencF of praying Blessed Martinde~Porres fo~ vocatiofis wh le ~efus~ng raceSisters. , . ~, .~. "~ ", Advocates. of.racial segregation within the Churkh~ ~e recently~ dealt a body-blow through publication, of the.story ':~,of the foundation of the Sisters; Servants of th( ImmacfiL .late Heart of M~ry, at Monroe, Michigan, a handred years a"g doT. W ° f o t h -e t h" r e e~Sh o' u n dfNmegg mo ers w~re-o ro ¯ .-blbo ; bne of these was the first m6ther general,-#ho b~ids~ fair. to become a"canonized saint[ From th~ three m0~her ~ houses' in Monroe, Philadelphia, and Scranton have gon~- forth ~h0usands of cons&rated women giving~,thei.r' all~q ~ervice in the two Americas. Their blue-clad rffnks today number ~h~r~y-seven hundred, truly a princel~ pro0f,0f~th~ ~-fertil~.y of race brotherhood. Among ~the .cle;gy, to~ fibta~e blows are ~eing ~truck at segregation. Father ~ohn La Farge, S[J., is authority for the statement~ that 'the ,[~ardinal-El~t of -New York has ordered tha~_~here color line:draw.n in any institution of ,his archdiocese: Much th~ same statement is made of Los Angeles. " The~e are 9nl f6ur-known ~colored ~iocesan priests at present; bfi~ 'yearother seminaries ~o inter-racial. The~notable-~ucce~ Of N~gro.pries~s already Orddined makes their rapid inevitable. ~T0 the merits and success of tile largest ~in~le ~:~ group 6f these priests~seven ~f "" ~ the.,Soc~ety of ~th e D~i v=ine. Word working within the Lgfayette Diocese--its-bisho# gives~this ~revealing t~stimbny: The enthusiasm.with which they were received, and t~e spiend[~ ~rk~ they~are doing.in the t~ree parishes now entirely "under theirS'~ :dtre~t~on,,slay for.all time t~e groundless and mischievous~yth tha~ he'colored do not care to have pr~esis of their own ra~e fo mihister ~hem~ .JOHN E~ COOGAN. ,~ "Revtewfor~Re! g~ou~, . " '.~he New "England Province of the Society of J~sus.has ~ele~en Colored members from Jamaica. -~e Benedictines ~ . - Colle~ewlle, ~-M~nnesota, have e~ght Negro 'youths- ~n. their ~, seminary, studying for the priesthood. Their c~reers ~lthln- ~t~e~order will be determined.by their abilitigs and interests; -_Lff+t~by any'accident-of race. At least eight~other r~ligious orders and congregatiois .claim ,a share Of the present-one.i. hundre~nd se~en Nflgro seminarians. All thii ~s littf~ in. Lompaiisdh,with _the ~ative clergy .of so-called"'darke~t Affica,".With its three bishops, four hundred and-~fty, priests,-t~ree' hundred and sevefity:fivI Broihers, and~t&O~. .~thbusand nuns;. But America is awakening from" th£:,~ .n~gh~mar~of s~gregat~on and willnot sleep again. ~-~ ~ Th~ battle'against segreg~tio~ must promptly be-won in'~our~schools. From segregated schools; race leadership . continues to come "too little and too late." As a" ~esult,. - through whole vineyards ."branches'"are dying on the Vine.~ ~Meanwhile our many largely lily-white Catholic schooig . are'beiffg-~alled~and-democratic, in sharp contrast to the public schodls which admit all races and colors. And in, "O--~E dul.own~ ranks we suffer from the p61icy~of exclusiveness. :. ? Mutual appreciation co£es only from mutual.knowledge;-.,,) ' ~:and our thildren are being denieff the education to be ha&~ from a~ pers6nal knowledg~ of fellffw Catholics drawn ~ from other'branches of the human race. ~ " " ~ We Catholics must then ~choose betweem segregation~ and thk c0nve~si~n of our thirteenmillion Negroes. We~. a~ "perhaps have 0neor the other; we most surely cannot~'h?v~ :bot~. It~will riot avail ~us to s~y that our racial policy -" mbre liberal tha£ tha'f of any o~her, creed. Since when. ha~ theY"pillar and-groundo~ the truth" ~hought it suCcinCt ~:, merely to ~e a bit more just or more kind than sbme, tag-tag_ ~heresg? S~gregati°h~tmust gR; ~o~_~'There ii neither "nor . Greek-- :'"there- is .~ither gond not~ free: there :is, neither March, 19 ~ 6 COMMUNI~ATIONS ~ale nor. female. For you are all, one. in Christ Jesusi" ~(Galatians 3:28.) " ~ "'The Negro poet'saccusihg query addressed tO Anierica" is addressed as well to our every churc~h and school: How would you have us-Z-as we are, Or sinking "neath the load we bear? Our eyes fixed forward on a star? OF gazing empty in despair? Rising.o.r falling? Men.or things? With dragging.pace, or footsteps fleet? Strong, willing sinews in your wings? Or tightening chains about your feet? . ommunicaffons Reverend Fathers': .~ " . That a Christian.attitude can be cultivated foward the N~gro even in the deep South is a fact proved" by successful attempts which.- have been matle by students of Mr. Carmel Academy, Lakeview, ,New Orleans, in this pha~e of Catholic living. The student actlvi:, ¯ ties in this field of endeavor are given here~ in sketchy form: ,-,, First and foremost, the study of the Mass and the Liturgical Year were helpful means to strengthen the spiritual llfe of the students, which naturally found expression in a more Christian attitude towards all members of the Mystical Body of Christ. In the January, "1936, issue of their school pa.per, Echoes of Car-mel, a first hesitant step was taken by reprinting from the the Inter-racial Review an article, entitled,. "Can Prejudice Be Cured?" by the Reverend J~hn LaFarge,-S.J. This article showed the effects of prejudice and the power of personal example. "Prejudice can be cured if we use our natural reason and the gifts of God wherewith to. cure it:" No reaction sprang from the appearance of this article, which might have l~ad the effect of an atomic bomb inthe racial eldment of the South. ¯Then followed a~.series of articles by th~ student COMMUNICATIONS Review for, Reli#iou's Men-Are Eqtial;" .which-was a de~reloPment of the Manhattanville Resolutions concerning racial prejudice. .Devotion to Blesse.d Martin de Porres, the Negro ~D0minican Br0th'er, was pi~om0ted 'thro.ugh the ~0dality, while the school paper introduced an Interracial C01t~mn in' the December, 1937, issue. This column endeavored '~to instruct the students.in their duties towards the Negro as a member of.the.MysticalBody." On several occasions during, the annual vocation week s~onsored by the school, the Reverend Cl.arence Howard, S.V.D., leading" mem-ber of the Negro Apostolate, addressed the students on the vital sub-ject to most Southerners--the racial-question. The ~reaction of th~ students to these talks was gratifyihg. A Sister of the Holy Family, a Community of Colored Sisters founded in New Orieans, was guest speaker for the monthly Catholic Students' Mission Crusade meeting. Th~ crusaders were edified and voiced their appreciation generously. A soptiomore of Xavier University, a lovely colored student, also addressed ~the Carmel .students during one of their observances' of mission week. She was given a thunde"rous applause, and, together with her companion, an6ther Xavier student, was sh0wfi every -~of c6firtes~ during their stay at Mt.Carme1.~ In the afternoon of that sam~ day, the ~wd Xavier students a~c0mp;inied.eighty Carmel stu-dents to Visit Xavier Univ, drsity;- the 0nly Cathtilic Ufiiversity foi Negroes in-the United States.The visit through Xavier ended in the~ cafeteria where a delightft~l musical programwas enjoyed. Refresh: men~s were ~erved while six Caimel students sat at each tabl~ with Xavier"stu~lent acting as hostess. Here Color was forgotten'whil~ beautiful social contacts were enjoyed between the colored and White students of Xavier and Mr. Carmel: /~nd this was in the deep South! It Was du~ng another' missioia week .ffhen Xavier students of tiae music-department ,were invited to give a."rausical program at Lake-view Caimel. " The sttidents Weredeeply appreciative of the, display of fine ~alent and served a luncfieoh to the visiting Xavier students. -H~re a~ain "c01oi was overlooked and°.dile recognition .was given to high taldnt. " After sch6ol was dismissed that same afternoon, a youhg lady Called, accompanied by her sister Who was a first year student at Mt. Carmel, and said ~he would-withdraw her sister from a school ~ which entertained Negroes. No excuse was offered by°othe school. authorities, nor was any step taken to retain the little first year stu- 114 March, 1946 COMMUNICATIONS dent. It was thought that a student with a spirit of that type Would be better elsewhere. ~.- Dark Symphbny, a life-sketch by Elizabeth. Laura'Adams, a highly talented Negro girl, was interesting reading during.Religion class-- so much so, that one of the students dramatized the book, then" directed the staging of "it by members of the class. The-play was presented for the entertainment of the student body. The spirit dis-played by the players and the audience was very satisfying. Books and magazines w~hich promote the welfare of the Negro are found in the fac,ulty and student libraries. The books arc: Dark .Symphony, Adams: The Dove Flies South, Hyland; ~oi-ored Catholics in the United States, Gillard; Royal~Road, Kuhl; George Washington Carver, Holt; The 'Negro American, Gillard; Marian Anderson, Vehanen; Interracial Justice, LaFarge; Up From iSlavery, Booker T. Washington; ,Negr~ Builders and Heroes, Braw-ley; Street or: the Halt: Moon~ Farnum. The magazines on display are: "Interracial Review, Colored Harvest, St. Au[~astine Mes, sei~ger, The Negro Child, The Catholic Worker, and Twinkle. i This last" is edited by Miss Ora Mac Lewis, a graduate of Xavier University; New Orleans. Sister Consuela, O.Carm. Rev~erend Fathers: While I fully approve the Catholic campaign (especially in the press) to secure for the Negr~ his civil, social and economic rights,. .I cannot help being convinced that the best way of making him a convert to the faith is by personal contact. Nearly all Negro converts have been made exclusively by colored missions and schools. Here is an experiment of seven years' standing. In 1939 I tried to get some chil'dren to attend a Sunday-School arSacred Heart Church in Denver, Colorado. ~ The Franciscan" Sisters offered their assistance. We had an attendance of from 12 to 1 It proved a failure. In 1940 we tried a vacation school in July inthe basement of a house close to the center of Negro population. Our attendarice,was 42, but, the basement was so crowded we had to give up_for lack ,of standing room. In July, 1941, we secured an empt~y .storeroom on East 26th Avenue. We had 103 children nearly all of whom were non- COMMUNICATIONS Catholics. ' For the next three years our efforts met-with equal suc-cess; but'in 1945 we could not find a location in.which to h01d our summer school until the. very last minute. We, finally' obtained a portion of a large empty garage on the outskirLs of the N~gro district. Due .to its location and the delay in obtaining it, we had only 43 children in regular attendance," of whom all but four or-'five were non-Catholic. _ In commenting the 1945 summer school ~e made an appeal to all colored or non-Catholic children by theans of a circular letter. Our summer school is supplemented by a regular adult instruction. Class lasting six m~nths, which meets twice a .week: In 194~ there were eighteen adult converts. Z~he results So far have been the' con-version since th~ year 1940 of five entire colored families, numbering ~rom eight to. ten children each, with their parents, and of more than sixty other cbnversions of adults and children.~ The enrollment in. our palish school now includes sixty colored children. Several .bap-tisms of colored babies have followed as a mattet~ o2 course. /~irchbishop Vehr and a fine Catholic attorney are patrons of the' school. They pay the bills, amounting tO approximately $400.00 a year, including cahdy, ice cream, a yearly, picnic to the mountain, ¯ parks or the Denver city parks, salaries to teachers, rental of clas~- rooms, and the transportation of equipment. A location for a Negro center in the heart of the Negro district has been obtained, and a few. days ago the archbishop informed me that he ig'ready to begi.n building as soon"as circumstances permit. The Franciscan Sisters were originally in charge of the summer school, but for the last several years the'Sisters of Charity have been in charge. [ have one final" observation. It i~ difficult for the priest or sister to approach the adult non-Catholic Negro .on matters of ~ligibn.~ However; we have found as a result of this work that it is easy. to approach these adults through the children. These you.ngster.s, of course," report to ~heir parents what they °have been taught in school and the attitude of their teachers, and as a consequence and in a'sh~rt time the parents themselves visit the schoolmake inquiries, and in many cases enroll ifi the adult education classes. This w'o~k has resulted ~n approximately 125 converts in the last six years and with but one or two exceptions all have proved to be fine Catholics. A. Versavel, S.d. 116 ,od Forgives and Forgets Clarence McAuliffe, S.J. THE meditation on mercy is always one of the .bright hours of the annual retreat. We may not have com-mitted a serious sin at all, but the unknown pitfalls of the° future lie ahead. We are keenly conscious of our-own weakness. We might some day commit a mortal sin. Hence we are glhd to devote some time to the consoling parables of the Prodigal Son or the Lost Sheep; or to the actuaLcases of St. Peter or Mary Magdalene or the Good Thi_ef, "God is ready, even happy, to forgive," That is the purpQr~t of. both parables and case records. Moved by grace we are impressed with the thought and we rise from our colloquy reassured, confident, inspired to greater love by the realiza-tion that God will extend His succoring hand 4f we ever become His enemy. But although this'poignant and lasting consciousness of God's readiness to forgive is the main purpose of the reflection on mercy, we should not overlook a secondary aspect of thi~ meditation. This has to do with the manner in which God forgives sin. When God forgives, He forgives completelt.I. "He casts all our sins to the bottom of the sea" (Micheas 7: 19); when the sinner repents, "his iniquities will no longer harm him" (Ezechiel 33:12); sins may be like scarlet, but repentanc.e "will make them white as snow" (Isaias 1 : 18). God forgives and forgets. "God's ways are not our ways," says the Prophet Isaias. These inspired words are applicable to the sum-total of our thoughts, viewpoints, attitudes, and actions, but they have a very special application here. Most of us are ready to forgive. Indeed, we are obliged to forgive even .thotlgh offended repeatedly. To-this extent we bear a !ikeness to I17 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE Revfew for Relfgious God Who is always willing to forgive the repentar~t sinher. But is our manner of forgiving like God's? Is our forgive-ness burnished by the quality of comp.teteness? Do we not only forgive, but forgive so thoroughly that offenses once pardoned.exert no influence upon our future conduct? H~re, indeed, "God's ways are not our ways." We forgive, but we remember. Previous offenses skulk about in the recesses of our minds; and when a fresh offense is committed against us by the same party, the forgiven ones come back with their pristine vigor. We refuse to look upon the latest offense as an isolated fact. it is always a link in a chain; and the wholk chain captivates our imaginations and" stirs up. our resentment when the latest injury shocks our oversensitive. selves. We forgive ;~ but we don't t:orget. Take that unkind remark or act, that .gossiping behind our-backs; that garbled report to a superior. The perpe-trator by a Slight favor, a kindly'attltude, a show of humil- ~.ity wins. our forgiveness. But we feel that our attitude tow.ard him in the future should not be the same as before the offense. Our relations will incline n6t to the lubri-cating, but to the frosty side. It's best to maintain a cool reservd towards such a one. Otherwise he ma~, jolt us with another slight. That's the way we are strongly impelled to act. It's the way we frequently do act; and though this may involve, no culpability, it reveals that our forgiveness was not like God's. It was offered willingly, but it was not complete. We remembered. But perhaps we plead "Not Guilty" here. We do really forgive and forget in single instances. Then just alter the case a bit. Suppose the gossiper continues on with his backbiting. You forgive him once; twice, three tim~s, and oftener. Ask yourself how you reacted to the second and subs.equent offenses. Did you view thdm as separate, segre-gated indignities? Or did you recall offense number one 118 .Ma.¢c~, 1946 . . , . : GOD FORGIVES AND. ~'.ORGI~T$ .when~.-offense number two occurred? And when number. .two occurred, was the. extent of your,displeasure measured ~by number two alon.e or was it enhanced by the remem~ brance of number one.?. Did yo.u ever say to yourself~i:~ter, r.epeated offenses:, "That's the~ straw that broke the ~c~n~el~s :b~ck," 6r ':I. can't .stand.: it. any longer,'.'¯ or (in Hitler's words)'"My patienc~ is exhausted,", or '0'I forgave .him' 0iace an.d he did it again?". Suchexpressions indicate'that our fo.rgiveness is: not complete. Old-offenses ha.ve com~ back to merge~ With. the latest one. Offense :number sever~ is no~ j.ust numberseven.¯ R's number se.ven comblned.withsix of its predecessors. We forgave; but we did'not forget.:We " allowed pardoned offenses to influence our futur~ 'condu&': ¯ But with God it is otherwise. Let us suppose that",~ person, commits a mortal sin. .He has disobeyedG0dW15o ~b~s a right to our service and hence h_eh~is offered~God :~per2_ , sonal insult. This insult deserves two penalties: The first ~ ,is'.eternal. damnation. The.second is a~ temporal punish-ment incurred by xhe misuse of God's~property. Burthe sinner r~pents; 'He goest0 the sacrament~ofpenance, of h~ makes an. act. of perfect contrition intending to og0 'tO" tl6b sa¢rament later~, or perha'ps., he' is not a m~mber .of the Church and so is baptized.' 'His' sin is forgiven. "God remits'the personal insult . and ~ becomes the man's friend: He lifts the threat of hell from the man's path. He takes aCay some, even all, of the temporal punishment according to the perfection of the penitent's dispositions. But that.ii . not the whole story. So far we may appear to act in. a: similar way when we forgive an'offense. However,iet us suppose that the ab.~olved man gOei forth from the: confes: sional and commits another mortal sin, be it of the same or a~ different kind. By thisfresh iniqu~ity, he again is stibjedt to.God's personal displeasure.° ' He als0 deserves hell a~d temporal punishment again, But how about thefor,.me~. 1'19 CLARENCE MCAULIFFE Review ~¢or "Religions sin already committed? Does it come forth from the tomb again? Does God say to Himself: "I-~forgave that man once. Now he hasbffended me again. I can't forget. His ne~ sin is really a double one. I am personally insulted twice, not once. He deser~,~s a twofold punishment in h~ll, one for the forgiven sin and one for this added one. His temporal punishment for this latest, sin should be double what it was for the former one"? God does no such reasoning. That's the way toe argue . with OUrselves when offenses are repeated. But God for-gives and forget~. Once a sin is remitted, a new sin is not a rung in a ladder. It's a rung all by itself. It's not a warship in a. flotilla. It's a warship all alone on the high sea. .Repentance impels God to "cast. our sins to the bottom of the ocean" never to be retrievedor resurrected again. ~ God's forgivenessjs complete. He really .forgives and forgets.He " refuses to be influeaced by tr.ansgressions which He has pre- ~iously remitted. This is not theological guesswork, It is so certain that many theologians.say it would .be imprudent to doubt it. It is so certain that no arguments brought up against it will everalter it. If we look over those texts in Scripture that have to do withGod's way of forgiving sins, we find t, hat they are all unconditional. God doesn't say:, "I forgive you provided you don't sin-again." He states: "Once you .repent, your former sins will never be allowed to harm you in .the future. I shall cast ~rour iniquities to the bottom of .the sea where nothing can. ever get at them and bring them, ¯ back." That this is God's loving w,ay of forgiving sins is also clear from the manner in which the sacrament of penance is Conducted. All morial sins must be revealed in this tri-bunal, except those that have already been properly' con-fessed, if these former sins came. back to life when a fresh 1-20 March, 1946 GOD FORGIVES AND FORGETS mortal sin is committed, tl~en they H0uld necessarily have to be confessed again. But such is not the case. The sinner is obliged tb accuse himself only of those mortal sins com- - mitted since his last worthy confession. The others, there-fore, have been completely wiped away. God has t~orgotten fhem. If the penitent wishes to mention them, he maydo so; but he is under no obligation whatever. ;Fhis complete forgiveness of our sins is one of God's wonderful mercies. If Hi were small-minded like ourselves, He, would brood over past offepses when new ones are com-mitted. But His 10re is too great. When we repent, we always start again-from scratch. We are never just on parole; for when a judge pe.rmits parole, he forgives but he places a condition. He says: "You are free to go back to your family, to engage in. your work on condition that don't violate the taw again. If you do, you will go back to jail to finish your sentence for your foirner crime and to get an additional term for .your new crime." God never puts the repentant sinner on. parole. But just because God forgets our sins by true repent-ance, it doesn't follow that we should forget them too. Per-haps not1-iing is more profitable in the spiritual life than an abiding sorrow entrenched in our :minds by the thought of past forgiven sins. Such sorrow induces humility, grati-tude, confidence, love, mortification, fraternal Charity, ~and a host of virtues. But if God forgives and forgets, then surely it would be improper for the sinner,ever to woi'r~ about past forgiven sins. That would be to forget the cev tain doctrine of theology propounded in this paper. Such sins have been. cast by God "to the bottom of the sea.i.' True, the sinful acts enter into the historical record of our lives. They were once committed and nothing-can" ever alter ~hat fact. But their recollection should furnish fuel for piety, not for ~inxiety. God forgives and forgets~. 121 ,Our Lady's Lack ot: Fear Charles F. Don.ovan, S.& ~S WE.READ St. Luke's restrained .description of the .~'~ visit made to Mary by the A~rchangel Gabriel, bearing ¯ . the most amazing message ever to reachthe world,, we are apt to pass over a notable feature, of the scene Mary's calmness, her complete lack of fear when Gabriel lighted her ~room by his sudden presence. The. Gospel, to be sure, says Marywas troubled; but this was not fear.of the angel. She was not troubled until he had spoken; it was his message, not his presence, that bothered her. When she had seen him, "she'was troubled [Monsignor Knox aptly says 'per-plexed'] at his word, and asked herself what manner of salutation this might be" (Luke 1:29) .She did not under-stand Gabriel's braving before her and telling her that she was full of grace, that the Lord was with her, that she ~as blessed among women. Her humility made her wonder at these expressions, but she was undismayed by the sudden appearance of an" angel. How unique Mary'~ reaction was and how unparalleled in sacred, history we can gather by recalling the fright, the real terror that seized even very holy peoplewhdn, "lil~e Mary, they .found themselves face to faee ,with an angel. When the Archangel Rai~hael disclosed who he was .to Tobias and his son, "they were troubled, and being seized With fear they fell ,upon the ground on their face" (Tobias 1.2:16). Mary,'s own messenger, Gabriel, appeared to Daniel; and the saintly prophet tells us, "I fell on my face trembling . and when he spoke to me I fell flat on-the ground; and he touched me and set me upright." (Daniel 8:17, 18.). When this same Gabriel stood at the right of OUR LADY'S LAc~ OF FEAR the altar where Zachary was burning incense to God, "-Zachary seeing him was troubled, and fear fell upon hin4'~' (Luke 1 : 12). On Christmas eve, while shepherds of Beth-lehem were keeping watch over their flock, "an arigel of.tlhe Lord stood by them and the glory of God shone round about them and they feared with a great fear" (Luke02:9) On ,Easter morning at the tomb of Our Lord the holy women "were stricken with fear and were turning their faces toward the ground" (Luke 24.:4, 5). We. could enforce this picture "of the normal ~human reaction to.heavenly apparitions by adding othe~ Gospel instances, like the apostles' terror when they dimly saw Christ on the water and when:they heard God's voice at the qZransfiguration; .and there are non-scriptural examplesof fear in similar circumstances, asin the cases of,St. Teresa ~f Avila and St. Bernadette. But even limiting ourselves the scriptural record of the spontaneous human fright at the sight of an angel, we can see that Our Lady's composure in the presence of Gabriel is a detail that is small and almost hidden in'the Gospel record but rich in its revelation of her character. - -Let us not make the mistake of dismissing this.point by saying, ".Why should Mary be afraid of an angel? After all, she.is Queen of Angels and God's Mother, isn't she. In viewing a past event we are always in danger of re~,ding into the minds o'f the people involved our o~n knowledge of subsequent history. When the angel saluted Mar~., she was not the Mother of God. She was not yet Queen of Angels; .or if .you wish to think she was, at least she v~a.s not conscious of it. As f;ir as ~he knew,'none of the glori- Ous titles which were to follow upon the decision she was about to make tould be attri.but~d to her. Her oi:ily title when Gabriel entered the' room was th~ one she told him handmaid of the Lord. i23 CH!~RLES F.'DONOVAN' " Review fo~ Religious, ~ That this young girl--:--for that is what. she. was--~, should beso imperturbable, so much mistress of herself and ~v~°of the situatiffn where-others--saints,~ grbwn men, chos~in friends of God-=-had been smitten to the, ground in fright i~ Certainly a luminous and distinctive fact,, a fact whichthe Holy Ghost has recorded for h~r honor and our instruction. What it revealsabout Mary is no(courage'or fearlessness; "such was her nature that there was. hardly .even a question of exercising the virtue of courfige here-. Rather it seems to-be a sign and a measure of Our Blessed Mother's-spirituality, her pure faith whereby she was habitually alive to supernatural reality and consciously immersed from day to day and,frorfi minute to minute in a sea of the divine presence and goodness and 16ve. It seems as simple .(and marvelous) as this, that Mary was not surprisedoat a visitor from heaven because r~ally and truly, and constantly i. her conversation was there. :The significance of this incident; Our Lady's matter-of~ fact receptionof the archangel and all that it impli~s~-- sanctity, at~home-ness with the worl~ of~ the spirit~ com-plete at-home-ness with God--these are things which we c_arinot~ grasp in a single reading Of St: Luke or by a few .medit~i~ions: Years of spiritual refinement may gNe us a -truer appreciation of the mystery; but I think tha~.the more deeply we probe it, the more baffling and awesome will become the truth that Mary was full of grace. We customarily address Mary as Mother.of God,as our and heaven's Queen, as Mother of Sorrows, as Medi-atrix of All Graces. In otherwords, we habitually think. of Our Blessed Lady as she is after her Eat. But we can also think profitably of her as she was before that da~zling instant. As soon as Gabriel spoke God's proposal, Mary ¯ knew that she was someone special, that She was by God's 124 March, 1946 OUR LADY'S LACK OF. FEAR :grace the most extraordinary of women. B~t up to that moment, thou_gh God loved her as He loved no other crea-ture, she apparently did not realize how much He loved her or"how°mu~h she deserved His love. Dare we hope that Mary's unawareness of impending glory we have, in some analogous way, a figure of all elect souls, who with varying constancy and ardor peer towards God through the mists of faith, little dreaming what blessings He has prepared for-them, until, in a moment, in the twinkling of a.n eye, there bursts Upon them the flood of beatific light and they are penetrated with the undiminishing su.rprise and joy of God seen, embraced, and embracing? Before the Annunciation Mary was already a soul set apart, but she was not conscious of it. She lived an obscure, e~ternally ordinary life, but a life of perfect union with God.~ DeCaussade says, "Mary's reply to the angel, when ¯ all that she said wasFiat mihi secundum Verbura tuum was a r~sum~ of all the mystical theology of our ancestors . Everything in it reduced, as still today; to the purest, the simplest abandonment of the soul to the ~¢ill of God in whatever form that Will might present itself." Before the Annunciafionmbefore that event which suddenly made her the center of history, the core of a new divin~ economy, the hope and channel of salvation--Mary was living from momer~t to moment so totally in the hand of God, so aban-doned to His Will, that each moment was a dress rehearsal for ~her mighty fiat. When Gabriel appeared She was calm and poised, because.this moment was no different from any~ other.-. The content of God's will did not matter, whether it indicated something big or little, marvelous or common~ ,place. Just so it uJas G6d's will--that is what counted.~ So we have a calm little girl looking quietly at .the angel and uttering with the ease of endless practice: "'Fiat mihi.'" 1'25 ¯QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Re~e~ for Rdig~ous ~ Dear little maid of Israel, truly blessed virgi.n even when not yet Virgin-Mother of God, grant.us somehow to under- Stand, in some way to imitate the unique, the hidden, the Unmeasured surrender to God their brought Him from His flaming home, through Spread clouds of planets, to one , sphere, one land, one heart--.to you, Mary, and tO us. Questions and ,Answers Can we Sisters gain the totles quotles indulgence on the feast of the Most Holy Rosary as it !s granted to the members of the Confrafe;nity'of the Most Holy Rosary by mak;~ng the v;sits in-our own communffy chapel, or must we make the visits in the parish Church? We were told by our pastor that in order to gain these indulgences we must visit the parish church which~has this special privilege. Provided you are members of the Rosary Confraternity, you ~an g.ain the indulgences mentioned in your own community chapel. This is clearl~r stated in the official collection of indulgences,to be. gained by membersof the Confraternity of the Most Holy'Rosary,'published in pamphlet form by the Dominican Fathers at The Rosary Aposto. late, 1909~South Ashland~Avenue, Chica~o8, Illinois. We quote in full: '"Religious Women, all in Colleges, Seminaries, Schools a~id Catholic Institutions who are members of th~ Rosary Confraternity, can gain all the Indulgences which require a visit to the chapel or Church of th~ C0nfr.aternity, if they visit their bwn Church or Chapel (p. 13, n. 3 I, Note H). If a rosary is taken apart for the purpose of restringlng it, are +he indulgences Io~t? Nff, they are not. The indulgences are attached to the beads, not ~to the chain which holds them together. This may be renewed again and again. Individual' beads which have been broken or lost may be replaced (S. Congregation of I~dulgences, Jan. 10, 1839), and this .may be done repeatedly without losing the indulgence on the beads. Nor need the beads be restrung in their original order. ¯ 126 March, 1946 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ~0 ,, Is it necessary to recite" a Pateri Ave, and Gloria at each station when making fh_e Way of the Cross, and fo say the same six flmes af the end? Neither "is necessary. ~he S~icred Congregation of Indulgences stat~rd explicitly on 3une 2/ 1838: "The recitation of the Lord's Prayer~and of the Angelic Saluthtion for each static~n of the Way_ of the Cross, as well as the sixfold repetitibn of the same at the end of the stations, is only a laudable custom introduced by certain person.s. It is by no means a condition necessary for gai.ning the indulgence~ attached to the Way of the Cross, as the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences very plainly declared in the ad.monitions to be observed ih making the exeicise of the Way of the Cross, issued by order and with the approbation bo~h of Clement XII, April 3, 1731, and Benedict XIV, May 10, 1742:" The more recent decree imued b~- the Sacred Penitentiary on October 20, 1931, changed the indulgence.s "gr.~anted to this devotion, but did not change the requirements- for gaining them. ~ " II Certain indulgences require as a condlflon for gaining them fhaf a visit b6 made.to "a church or public oratory." Can all religious make this visit in their communlfy chapel, or is this privilege granted only"to-certain instltufes~ Yes, all reI~gious may satisfy the obligation by makin~ the ; isit in their community cbai~el, provided their they can satisfy their obli"- gation of hearing Sunda)? Mass in that chapel. This is stated explicitly in canon 929 of the Code, and applies not only.to religious of both ~exes but also to the laity who lead a community life in ~a boarding school, hospital, institution, and the like. Two condition~, hov,;ever, are lald down: (I) that the community has no church or. public chapel (otherwise the visit must be made there), and (2) that "for gaining the indulgence a visit is prescribed siropl~/.to a churchoor public oratory. If a specific church or public oratory is prescribed for the visit, then it cannot be made. in the ordinary community chapel but must be made in the church or public chapel specified. It m~y be well to note here that various privileges to ~he contrary have been. granted. To mention but two: Franciscan Tertiaries mawr gai.nthe P6rtiuncula Indulgence in their own convent chapels; membersof tti'e Confraternity of the Holy Rosary livifig in community °(both r~lii gious and lay persons such as boarders, patients, inmates of an i ngti- 127 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ~ Review [or Rdi~ious tution) may gain all the indulgences requiring a visit to the Conga: ternlty church or chape~ by making the visits in their own chapel. Wha~ is the exac~ meaning of foundation Masses? .Are ~hese Masseg to be taken care of at ~he motherhouse or at the individual missions? A "foundation for Masses,'" or "funded Masses," is a sum of money given with the intention that it" be inuested and the annual income used as stipends for Masses to be said for the intentions of the donor (canons 826, ~ 3, and 1544, ~ 1). The place where the Masses are to be celebrated depends upon the will of the donor or founder. A religious institute must have the consent of-the local ordinary, given in writing, before it may accept such a foundation (canon 1546, n.l)." .It must likewis~ have the consent of the local ordinary b~fore investing the capital and for every change of investment (canons 533, ~ 1, nn. 3 and 4; canon 1547). Finall%, the religious institute must give an account of the administration of such fohnda-tions to the local ordinary on the occasion of'his canonical visitation (canon 535, ~ 3, n. 2). Undoubtedly the motherhouse is in a better position to administer -such a foundation than a local mission house. But if the will o£the founder requires that the Masses be said locally, and if in such a case it 'is desired to transfer the foundation to the motherhouse for its admin-istration, then permission for the transfer must be obtained from the ordinary of the place where the Masses are to be said and an account must be given to him by the Id'cal superior on ~he occasion of his canonical visitation. Futtffermore, his permission must be obtained for the initial investment of the' foundation and for every change of investment. The modern tendency, at least in the United States, i~ against pecpetaa~ foundations. Hence it would be preferable to have the foundation made for a definite number of years twenty-fiye, or, forty, or at most fifty. Some diocesan statates require this, and the faithful are informed that their wills will be thus interpreted. How much water may be added to holy water in order to "stretch" i~? ~lday hol~ water be diluted more than half and then disposed of,'as it has lost its blessing ? ~ Canon 757 p.rovides for such a method of "stretching" baptisraa! 128 ~arcb, 1946 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS~ ~water (l~y adding less th~n half~of~he quantity on hand). Perhaps one might argue-that, the same method could be fo|lowed with regfird to'ho!y water. However, there seems to be no need for such a pro-cedure since it is so easy~ to have holy water blessed. On.e may dilute holy water more than half and then dispose of it because it has lost its blessing. But this does not seem to be neces-sary since holy water which is no longer suit.fible for' use may be dis-posed of by pouring it into the sacrarium, 14 A youn.g woman off entering religion is already insured in a family insurance policy: besides she has taken out a twenty-year endowment pol- " icy upon which she must still make seventeen annual payments. (I) When it comes to making her will befoPe first'-profession, is she oblkjed to refer to the above facts at all? (2) If no mention of insurance is made in her will,-and the insurance on the endowment policy becomes due, what right has the religious or her community to the money? (3) If her parents keep up the premiums on the family insurance policy, is the religious entitldd' to make any claim on the insurance when it comes due? (4) If the religlous dies before the time when her endowment policy falls due, who gets the insur-ance? (5) If the beneficiary of a life insurance policy should die shortly before .the religious does, so that the latter has no opportunlty.to appoint° another beneficiary before her own death, who gets the insurance money? Life insurance is a contract by which the ir~surer, in ~onsideration of a certain p.remium, undertakes to pay a stipulated sum (6r an. annuity equivalent) upon the death of the person whose'life is insured" to the person (the beneficiary) for whose benefit the insurance is written. In a wide sense any insurance policy which is p~yable to any member of the family" could be called "family insurance." Inca strict sense this term refers to small policies written on young children for small weekly or monthly payments made by their parents. Usually the insurance is payable to the parents upon the death of the child, or,. in the case of an endowment policy, at the expiration of the~ period of the policy. In cases where parents insure their children between the ages of ten to fifteen years, the parent can give the child the right tO change the-beneficiary after he has attained a certain age (usua|ly 1"8 .- to 21), and the policy will be writfen accordingly. Tfaus ~he chil~ will have the right to change the beneficiary automatically upoh" reaching the specified age. Lea~cing aside now the specific form of family insurance expihined Review fo~ Reli~lious above, adults can kake out life ins°urance in one of ~three different ways :~ .either ordin~r.y life pla~i, or limited life .policy, or by endow-ment policy, The ordinary life plan involves paying a premium" annually throughout life: the limited life plan requires~ the p.ayment~ ¯ of a premium for a specified number of years only (for instance, 20 Y~ars), after which no further premiums need be paid, but the ins~ir-~ ance is not payable until after the death of the person insurdd; an endowment policy involves the payment of a premium for a defihite number of years at the expiration of which the insurafice may be col-lected only by the insured either in a lump sum, or in definite annual phyments for a definite number of years.~ Sl4ould the in~ured die befole the expiration of the term of the endowment ~policy, a defini~td sum ~f insurance will be paid to the dir'ect beneficiary .whose name has been written into the Policy. Keeping t'hese geheral ideas in min~l, 'let us now take up the ques- ¯ tiofis "proposed. "(1) Is a novice required t6 mention her insurance pol.ic!~es in the will she is obliged to make shortly before her firgt pro-fdssion of ~row~? The answer is no, since, an insurance policy is a contrhci by which the insurance will be paid automatically to the-be'fi~ eficiary 6f the polic.y upon the death.of the insured person. This - ~.- .-insurance is the equivalent of a- g!~t morris causa, and does not enter-" in-to .the will of the deceased. However, if the novice is to. continue the payments of premiums on an insurance policy during her life-time, she will have to make.provision for these payments when she appoints her administrator and determines what use is to be made of . her annual' income. - She may provide that ~these~ payments be made from her annual incom.e, if that is sufficient to cover it. " ~2) What right has the religious or her community to the insur-ance 0r/an endowment policy when it becomes payable? As regards the religious herself, we must distinguish between the two policies mentioned in question one. (a) If her parents have paid the pre- -miums on the family insurance policy, and have. not grafited th~ reli-gious the rigl~t to change the beneficiary, she has no right to the ~insurance, since it belongs to her pa.rents. If they have granted her this right, and she has changed the beneficiary in her own favor, the insurance comes to her and isto b~ added to her patrimony. (b) In the case of ~he twenty-year endowment policy, the insurance belongs ~o her, provided the religious has made all the payments herself. It is p~rt of her 'patrimOny, and should be reinvested. ~,Thecommunity ha~ no right~ to ahy of the insurance under either 130' ,~arcb, 1946 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS policy when it becomes~payable by reason of the expiration of the - term for- which the endowment policy was issued.'~ In case the reli~ gious'w~re tO die before the expiration of the period for which endowment policy had been issue~, and provided° that the community had been written into th~ policy as the direct beneficiary in case of death, then of "course the insurance would go to the community. (3) If. the parents keep up the premiums on the family insurance policy, the religious has no right to claim the insurance when it is due at the expiration of the period for which it was written: but belongs to heb parents ~nless they had given her the right to change the beneficiary and she had done so in her own favor. (4) If the religious dies before the expiration of the twenty years fo~ which her own endowment policy was written, the direct beneficiary gets the insurance. (5) If the direct bene.ficiary of a life insurance policy ~hou!d die Shortly before the death of the ieligious who had taken out the pol. icy, and the latter had no opportunity to appoint another beneficiary or for some reason failed to do so, then the insurance reverts to the. estate of th~ deceased religious, and it would be distributed ~long~.with her other per.sonal propery in conformity with her last will and tes- ~° tament. To avoid such a ,contingency, it is always advisabld to desig- ¯nate in the policy itself a second or contingent beneficiary who will" take the place.of the direct beneficiary in case of his death. " . Supposing that the novice,-because of l~ck of income or for any: other reason, does nor care to keep oup the payments of the premiums _ on her twenty-year endowment policy, she may do one of three, -things: drop the policy altogether; or better, if the'polic~r allows it, take a c~sh value payment based upon the amount which she has alrea.dy paid in: or make an agreement with her parents or witl~ her ,kommunity Whereby either would keep up the payments and collect." the insurance, and then pa); back the amount of money the religious had already paid as premiums up to the time that she turned the pol-icy .ove.r to them. In this last case the parent or community should -be written into the policy as the direct beneficiary in case of death before th.e expiration of ~he endowment policy. In our.hospltal we have a chapel which is frequented byt.he rellglo.u~s communi~.h/, patlen~, and, hospital emplo,/ees. ~Are ,~e ~llo~ed ~o h~ve the Holy Week services in our. chapel? Q.u,~s~to~s ~o/~sw~s " " I~evlew rot l~etigious ' You~ chapel is a se~ni~p'ublic chapel as defined in canon 1188 of the Code. In Such a semi-public oratory or chapel lawfully erected, all divine services and ecclesiastical functions may be celebrated, unless the rubrics f6rbid or the ordinary has made ;ome exception (c.: 1193). The rubrics requi.re that the services-of the last three days of Holy Week be celebrated solemnly, that is, with deacon and sub-deacon. If.~these can be had, you. may have the solemn services in y.our chapel. If only one priest is available you may not have the simplified services (without.deacon and sub-deacon)~unless you get special permis~sion fromCyour local ordinary: " In the case of a paroi:hlal grade and high school conducted by Sisters, there exists a school bank fund from which all the expens.es of the school are " paid. In general, is it permissible to place all profits arising from school activities of various kinds into this fund? In partic.ula;: (I) May the profits of the school cafeteria be.put into this g,ene~al fund? 12) If a gym fee is charged', may what is left over at the end of the_year after expeqses are paid be.put into thls same fund? (3) If a fee is charged for children's, sup-piles-- ink, crayons, and the llke--may what is left over after expenses are ~--. paid.be.transferred to tee cJeneral school fund? (4) May the balance 0t! .~Jepo~;~s made for br~ak~cje ;n the science department be transferred fo ~ ~ the cjeneral school fun~ at the end of the year? This general sch6ol fungi has'no connection with the expenses and receipts of the religious com-munffy. The tuitibn paid by pupils of parochial and d~ocesan scl~oois .iS ordinarily not sufficient to cover running expenses of the school, including upkeep of buildings, furnishings, and other necessary? equipment; hence any profit derived from the pupils could be con-sidered as being given back to them by~p'lacing it in the general school" fund,, as it helps to keep the school going for their'benefit. The .sup-position is; of course, that all such profits are legitimate, and not sub-ject to or.her conditions. (1) The profitsderived from the scho~Lcafeteria may .certainly be put in the general fund, since they must be given back to the pupils in some shape or form to avoid forbidden selling. (2) In the case of the gym fee, there is no question of buying and selling; hence a°profit. may be legitimately derived from such fe.es. !f these fees are charged merely, for the Use of the gym, the profit arising may be used for any purpose; hence it may also be put into the general fund. If the 132 March, 1946 BOO~ REVIEWS express purpose ot: the gym flee is to provide for the upkeep of the. gym and for improved equipment, then the profits should be kept and used for this purpose only. (3) The profit derived from the fee for supplies such as ink, ~crayons, and the like will either be small or large; if it is small,~-it may be added to the common fund; if it is large, that.would be an indica-tion that the fee is too high. The balance should ~b.e kept~ in the ink and crayon fund and used for further supplies to be distributed gratis to the children until the fund.is exhausted, when a new fee may be asked of them. (4) The very nature of a deposit for breakage precludes ahOypos-sible profit from this source. What is left at the end of the year must be returned to each student, since he has a right to it in justice. t ook Reviews JO~N HENRY NEWMAN. By John Moo'dy. Pp. xlv -I-353. Sheed and Ward, NewYork, 1945. $3.75. This life of Newma