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

Issue 12.1 of the Review for Religious, 1953. ; Review t:or ~eligious Volume XII January December, 1953 Publlshed'at ~ THE COLLEGE PRESS Topeka, Kansas , "Edited by THE JESUIT FATHERS SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is indexed in ÷he CATHOLIC PERIODICAL INDEX ¯ The C rt:husi ns Jerome Breunig, S.J. ~"HE centuries-old Carthusian Order is breaking ground in the | NewWorld and the eyes of America are watching with interest. Through the generosity of a benefactress and with the approval of the Bishop of Burlington, the Most Rev. Edward F. Ryafi~, a pio-neer band, consisting of two Carthusian priests and two lay brothers with some Americancandid~ates, has established the first ~ommunity at Sky Farm near Whitingham in the Vermont hills. The very name Carthusian is pronounced, with reverence on Catholic lips, and in .many minds it represents the ultimate in austerity and deep spiritual-ity. The coming of the Carthusians brings many questi~ons to mind. Is there place for them today? Aren't they passe, a respected' relic of the past? Just how old are they? Who founded them and why? Do they differ from the Trappists? What do they do? What did they do? How do they live? Is it true that they do not eat meat, that they do not heat their rooms, that they always wear a hairshirt? Are there Carthusian nuns? Many of these and similar questions are answered in the Apos-tolic Constitution of Pius XI, Umbratilem, in the booklet, The Car-thusian Foundation in America, and in tw~o recent books that com.- plement each other: The Cartbusians, which gives a detailed factual' description ,of their life, and The White; Paradise, which is a glowing account of his visit to the chartethouse ~it La Valsainte in.Switzer-land by the gifted autho£-conv~rtI, Peter van der Meer de Walcheren. Mo~t of the information in this article is taken from these four sources. Any questioning of the validity; and modern relevance of the Carthusians should be cut short by Umbratilem, the Constitution issued on July 8, 1924, when the Statutes of the Carthusian Order were. approved in conformity with the new dode of Canon Law. This important document on the contemplative life states clearly at the, outset that Carthusians h~ive chosen the better part, and holds up their life to the, admiration and imitation of all. ".All those, who, according to their .rule~ lead a life of solitude 'remote from the din and follies of" the world, and who not only ~3 JEROME BREUNIG Reoiew for Religious assiduously cbntemplate the divine mysteries and the ~ternal truths, and pou~ forth ardent.and continual prayers to God that his king-- dom may flourish and be daily spread more widely, but who also atone for the sins of other men still more than for their own by mortification, prescribed or voluntary, of mind and body--such indeed must be said to have choser~ the better part, like~ Mary of Bethany. "For no more perfect state and rule of life than that *can be pro-posed for men to take up and embrace, if the Lord calls them to it. Moreover, by the inward holiness of those who lead the solitary life in the silence of the cloister and by their most intimate union with Gbd, is kept brightly shining the halo of' that holiness which the spotless Bride of Jesus Christ holds up to the admiration and imita- ~tion of all." The document also mikes it clear that there is need for Carthu- .sians today. "For, if ever it was needf_ul that there should be ancho; rites of that sort in the Church of God it is most specially expedient nowa'days "when we see so (nany Christians-living without a thought for the things of the next world and utterly regardless of their eter-nal salvation,° giving rein to their desire for earthly pelf and the pleasures of the flesh an'd adopting and exhibiting publicly as well as in their private life pagan manners altogether opposed to the Gospel. ¯ . . It is, besides, easy to understand how they who assiduously fulfil the duty of prayer and penance contribute much l~ore to the increase of the Church and the welfare of mankind than those who labo~ in tilling the Master's field; for unless the former drew down from heaven a shower of divine graces to water the field that" is being tilled, the evangelical laborers would reap forsooth from their toil a more Scanty crop." The Founder An authentic hunger for God led a diocesan priest-educator in the eleventh century to formulate a" way of life that h'appily blends community life with thelife of solitude and keeps the advantages of each form. This life was first put into practice in 1082 by the same priest and six companions at Chartreuse in the Alps of Dauphin~, in Southern France, and endures to our day. From the extant r~cord of tributes after his death, this priest, whom we know as St. Bruno, was one of the great men of his time. Besides noting Bruno's talents as a preacher, writer, and educator, these tributes single out three vir-tues for which the saint was conspicuous: spirit of prayer, extreme January, 1953 THE CARTHUSIANS mortification, and filial devotion to Our Lady, virtues also conspicu-ous in his Order. Born in Cologne, St. Bruno (1030-i l~J)'studied at the episco-pal school at Rbeims. After his ordination he remained at this school for 25 Years as '.teacher~, principal, and "diocesan superintendentl) of schools. After a short term as chancellor of the diocese he evaded the efforts of the clerg~ to make him their bishop by "~scaping" to Chartreuse in 1082. In .I090 Pope Urban II called his former teacher, St. Bruno, to Rome to be his counsellor. The orphaned community wavered in their vocation for a time and later even deserted by.following their founder to Rome, but after a year they returned to their hermitages at Chartreuse. Though Sty. Bruno made the ground plan for the Carthusian Order, it was the fifth general, Guigo the Venerable (1109-1136) wh6 xvrote the Consuetudines, the first Statutes of the Order. "The Consuetudines are the Carthu-sian gospel, Guigo our evangelist and Saint Bruno our founder and lawgiver" (The Carthusians, 17). The Life of Solitude In Rome is a famous statue of St. Bruno by~Houdon. It is so lifelike, the comment is: "It would speak if his rule did not compel him to silence." Silence and solitude, so essential to the Cartbusian life, are insured by providing each monk with a separate hermitage consisting of four distinct rooms and an enclosed ghrden plot. There is a storeroom and work shop, usually on the first floor, and, above, an ante-chamber called the Ave Maria, because it honors a statue of, Our Lady, and an "'inner chamber" or living room. A private wash-room is also provided. In the cell proper the monk has a prayer-stall, desk and book cas~, a bed, and a small table for meals. Except on Sundays and feast days the meals are brought to an opening in each cell. There is never any breakfast and m~at'is never permitted even in sickness. From September 14 to Easter the evening meal is cut down to a collation of dry bread and whatever is the most com-mon drink of the country. Penitential as it is; the diet seems to insure longevity rather than shorten life. The cell is the monk's "living toom." Except for community exercises and the occasional recreation periods the monk never leaves his hermitage. He lives for God and God alone. Here he devotes whole hours to study, to spiritual reading, and to prayer, including mental prayer, the part of the Divine Office not said in choir, the JEROME BREUNIG . Reoieto for Religious Office of Our Lady. and sometimes the Office of the Dead¯ Since "the harp needs a rest,", th~ monk relaxes from time to time with light manual work such as sawing wood for his fire, cultivating his gar-den. making religious articles, and caring for the hermitage. No siesta is permitted and the night's sleep is always broken into two periods of about three and a half hours each by the night Offce. The Comrnunit~ Life The community life which tempers the solitude provides a~ frame-work with a fixed daily'order and sustains the courage of each monk by mutual good example. 'jBrother helped by brother-makes a strong city." The main daily communal exercises are the chanting of the night Office and of Vespers and the conventual Mass. On Sundays and feast days the rest of the Office except Compline is-chanted, meals arc taken in the refectory, and there is a recreation period. Besides there is a weekly walk outside the enclosure.- ,This period is called, the spatiarnenturn and lasts about three and a half hours. Dom I.e Masson an outstanding general of the order'(1675~- 1703). says of this exercise: "It is only with the greatest reluctance that I excuse from the spatiarnentum, and then. on!y to tbe aged. So great, it appears to me. is the utility of this walk for good both of body and soul . More easily and willingly would I exempt a car-thusian monk from the night Office for some days, or from fasts, of th~ Order. than from the spatiarner~tum." (The Cartbusians. 62.) What They Did Onl.y eternity will unfold the~ contribution of the Carthuslan Order to~ the glory, ~: God- and .the salvation of souls. Even in recorded history the order is eminent in providing the Church with saints, beati, and saintly bishops, archbishops, and a few cardinals. Perhaps the greatest s!ng[e contribution is the'treasure of writings in ascetical and m~stical theology. The only wealth of any kind in a charterbouse was to be found in the library. Scbolarship'was always held in high esteem and the monks helped enrich other libraries as well as their own ldy providing both copyists and eminent writers. Besides St. Bruno,' who is said to have written bi~ famou~ commen~ ¯ tary on the Epistles of St. Paul when at Chartreuse, the list of writers includes Ludolf of Saxony, whose Vita Cbris~ti was so influential for centuries~ Dionysius the Carthusian called the Ecstatic Doctor, who has written more than St: Augustine; John Lansperg, who ~_~te of Devotion to the Sacred Heart before St: Margaret Mary l and Lau- danuar~t, 1953 THE CARTHUSIANS rentius Surius, whose Vitae still help supplement the work of the ~3011andists. The official document of the Church Ur~bratilem is quite articu-late about the contribution of the Carthusians to the. religious life. "In his great kindness, God, who is ever attentive to the needs and well-being of his Church, chose Bruno. a man of eminent sanctity, for the work of bringing the contemplative life back to the glory of it~ original integrity: To that intent Bruno founded the Carthusian Order. imbued it thoroughly with his own spirit and provided it with those.laws which might efficaciously induce its members to ad, ,vance speedily along the way of inward sanctity and of the most rigorous penance, to the preclusion of every sort of exterior, ministr) and office: laws which would also impel th~em to persevere with steadfast hearts in the same austere and hard life. And it is a recog-nised fact that through nearly nine hundred years the Carthusians have 'so wel! retained the spirit of their Founder, Father "and Law- , giver that unlike other religious bodies, their Order has never in'~o long a space of time needed any amendment, or, as they say, reform." The badge of the order is appropriate. It is a globe surrounded by~ a cross and seven stars, with the motto: Star crux dum votoitur orbis terrarum The cross remains firm while the world keeps spinning around. If, persecution is a mark of Christ's followers, the Carthusians can certainly, be identified. "They have persecuted Me. they will also persecute you.'" Three Carthusian priors .were among the proto-martyrs of Henry VIII: fifteen more mohks died on the scaffold or starved to death in prison during the English persecution which practically suppressed the order in that country.~ Spain pre-vented a Carthusian foundation in Mexico in 1559, compelled the charterhouses to separate from the order in 1784, and suppressed them in 1835. The, French Revolution was the greatest blow. In ",1789 there were about 122 charterhouses. Almost all,of-them were suppressed, first in France and then throughout Europe as the French armies over-ran the continent. The restored houses in France were again disrupted in 1901 as a result of the Association Laws. Tile. Italian houses were suppressed during the course of the Risorgimento. The Carthusian Order in 1607 had about 260 houses with 2,500 choir monks and 1,300 lay brothers and donn~s. At the pres-ent time there are 18 established charterhouses witil a total of over 600 members. There are four charterhouses in France, five in Italy and Spain, and one each in Switzerland, Jugoslavia, Germany, and England. 7 January, ) 953 The Carthusian Nuns In 1245 Blessed John of Spain,, Prior of,the Charterhouse of Montrieux, was ordered to adapt the Carthusian Rule for a group of nuns at the Abbey of Pr~bayon in Provence. Since then there have never been more than ten convents for Carthusian nuns. The nuns; live in private rooms not separate buildings, have two recreations a day, eat in a common refectory, and are not obliged to wear the hair-shirt. They spend eleven hours a day in prayer, meditation, and work, and are allowed eight hours, sleep. The nuns have always been distinguished for their austere sanctity and strict observance. Out-standing among them ar~ Blessed Beatrix of Ornacieux and St. Rose-line of Villaneuve. Both lived durin'g the fourteenth century. The body of the latter is still incorrupt. At present there are four con-vents for nuns, two in France and two in Italy. BOOKS ABOUT THE CARTHUSIANS The following can be obtained from The Carthusian Foundation, Sky Farm, Whitingham, Vermont: The'Church and the Carthusians. The teaching of Pope Plus XI as contained in the Apostolic Constitution Umbratilem; Introduction, translation and Latin text. Pp. 18. $.10. The Cartbusian Foundation in America. Pp. 24. With pictures and illustrations, $.25. The Carthusians: Origin --- Splrlt--Familg Life. First p~inted in 1924. Re-printed in 1952 by the Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, Pp. 107. $1.75. The White Paradise. The Life of the Carthusians. By Peter van der Meer de Walcheren. Witha preface by ~Jacques Maritain. David McKay Co., New York, 1952., Pp. 91. $2~00. THEOLO~Cf DI~EST Theglogy Digest, a new publication edited by ' Jesuits at. St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, is for priests, religious, seminarians, and laity who are interested 'in present-day theological thought, but who perhaps find it hard to maintain and cultivate this interest. The Digest aims to help such readers to ke~p informed of current problems and developments in theology by presenting a concise sampling of current periodical writings in America and Europe. The digests-deal with the vari-ous branches of theological learning--Apologetics. Dogmatic Theology, Scripture, Moral Theology and Canon Law, Ascetics, Liturgy, and Church History--with emphasis on the speculative rather tbar~ the pastoral aspects of theology. Published three times yearly. Subscription price in U,S.A.] Canada, and coun-tries of Pan-American Union, $2~00. Foreign, $2.25. Send subscriptions to: Theology Digest, 1015 Central, Kansas City 5, Missouri. "So Trust in God as it:. ," Augustine G. Ellard, S.J. ! [AUTHOR'S NOTE: For nearly everything in this brief account I gladly and grate-fully acknowledge my indebtedness to the article by C. A. Kneller, S.J., "'Ein Wort cleshl, lonatius oon Logola,'" in the Zeitschri?t t~uer Aszese und M~stil~, 1928, 253-'257. There one will find a fuller treatment of the matter and the original texts.] ONE could hardly be familiar with modern spiritual literature and not have encounfered one or the other, or both, of these sayings attributed to St. Ignatius: "So trust in God as if all success depended on yourself, and not at all on God; but take all pains' as if you were going to do nothing, and God alone every-thing"; and the other: "S~ trust in Go.d as. if all success depended on Him, and not at all on yourself; but take all pains as if God were going to do, nothing, and you alone everything." Both rules have become commonplace. The firsl~, more paradoxical, form occurs in various editions of the Thesaurus Spiritualis Soci~tatis desu, an official collection of documents of prime importance in the spiritual formation of mem-bers of the Society and in the hands of all of them. This version was first published by the Hungarian Jesuit Gabriel Hevenesi (d. 17i5) in a little book entitled lgnatian Sparks. For every,day of the year he proposed an aphorism of St. Ignatius. They were to have some-thing of the effect, if we may use an anachronistic cgmparison, of a spark-plug upon one's daily life and fervor. The book rhust have been excellent: it went through dozens of editions, one of them being ~s late as 1909. This di'ctum, "So trust . .," is put down for January 2, a fact which suggests that in' Hevenesi's opinion it was one of the best of the maxims which he' found in St. Ignatius. The dictum has been censured as contrary to the Catholic doc-trine of grace. It implies, the objection runs~ that man carinot do anything, not even merit, toward his eternal salvation. But the maxim is not concerned with how divine and human activities are united. I~t purports to give a working rule on how to combine one's expectations with one's exertions. It has.also been argued that the saying does not make sense, and that therefore it could not have been uttered b'y St. Ignatius. In an article on "The Tensions of Catholicism" in ThoughtI 1. Thought (December, 1950), 630-662. AUGUSTINE ~. F.LLARD Reoieuv/'or Religious Father Andr~ Godin.states that Catholic hope can deteriorate in two different vfay:~. The first is.by way of "the rationalizing tendency: to march toward salvation with assurance and in a spirit of con-quest." The secohd is the "affective tendency: to attain salvation ~hrough fear and tremblirig.'; The true "Catholic equilibrium of "the two tendencies" is "to act as though all depends on God and to pray as though all depends on us." He notes that ."the formula is sometimes r~versed, but then it ,s~ems extremely banal.''~ Father Godin takes "this celebrated formula" to mean that in Christian action there should be both humility and hope, and in pra, yer anguish as wellas ardent appeal. It excludes both Quietism and Pelagian-ism. One's life becomes a unified whole, in which there are both "the tranquil certitude of Christian hope 'and the. anxiety of invocation in .prayer." . If one were perfectly united with God and as it' were identified with Him, one might well trust in God as if all success depended on oneself, that is, really, on God, and tak~ all ~pains as if. God were going to do everything, that is again, God and oneself co-operating with Him. ~Father Pinard de la Boullaye, in his Saint Ignace de Logolq Directeur d'Ames, quotes it in French translation. He ~ays that it was inspired.by the doctrine of St. Paul: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (I Cor.3:7). It should warn us, he adds, not to be negligent in any way on the-plea that after all it is reallyGod who accomplisl~es things. But Father Pinard de la Boullaye seems to betray a sense that there is something wrong with this direction by supplementing it immediately with another "quota-tlon from St. Ignatius (and Hevenesi also) strongly emphasizing foresight and constant self-correction: "To plan in advance,, what one is going to do, and then to examine what one has done, are two of the most.reliable rules for acting r.ightly,''~ The counsel to trust in God as if nothing depended on Him, and to exert oneself as if one's efforts were to have no effect, seems indeed to be more than a paradox or an oxymoron: how understand it as something other than a perfect absurdity? One so advised might ask, "How am I to go about formulating such a trust? What is the point in doing something expressly acknowledged to be of no avail ?" Although this first form of the maxim is in every Jesuit's 2.Ibiil~, p: 64~. 3. Thesaucu~"Spiritualis Societatis Jeiu (Bruges, 1897); No. 9, p. 604.~ 10 ~la'nua~'~ 1953 So TRUST IN G6D Tbesaurus~ oddly enough it is not the one more Commonly heard, or encountered. One is more, apt~ to meet, substantially this advice:. "Trust in God as if everythifig depended on Him, and exeft yourself as if you were'doing everything by' yourself." Given "this contrary and more intelligible .turn, the principle is said to ha;ce been a favorite guiding rule of the late eminent Arch-, bishop John I~eland of St. Paul. However, with him it underwent a further minor change: "We ought to act as if everything depe'nded on us, and pratt as if everything depended on God." Praying is sub-stituted for trusting. One of the most famohs pulpit-orators of the last century, namely, the French Jes6it Xavier de Ravignan, distin-guished for the conferences he used to give in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, in advising some of his younger religious brethren how to prepare themselves for preaching, said: "Listen to St. Ignatius, " who gives us this'meaningful counsel, 'One must do all as if one were alone in acting, and one must expect everything from God as if one ¯ had done nothing.' " This form of the saying is very common' on leaflets given to .retreatants, on :religious-calendars, holy cards, and so on. Another slightly different turn given to it is this: "Let Us ;act as bravely as if we could d6 everything, and still abandon ourselves to Providence as if we ~ould do nothing." A person who hears, that St. Ignatius advises one to act a~ if everything depended on ~ne's self and then again 'as-if nothing at all depended on one's self, may rightly '.wonder what St. Ignatius really said. Reason for wondering is enhanced when one notices the long interval of time that elapsed between Ignatius and Hevenesi, namely, .150 years. If, too, one should try to. find the' original 'words of St. Ignatius in hi~ printed works or in other first-class sources, one's wonderment could become still greater. Neither the first nor the second form of this saying is a direct~ quotation from the saint. However, the substance or idea of toe ~econd form does occur repeat-edly in the documents written by him or by his contemporar{es about Hevenesi gives, as his authority the Bologna Jesuit Carnoli (d. 1.693), Who published a life.of St. Ignatius at Venice ~n 1680. In a chapter on the faith and hope of the saint he relates the follow-ing incident. Off a certain occasion Ignatius, accompanied by Riba-' deneira, a confidant and frequent companion of his, called on~ the Spanish ambassador in Rome, the Marquis de Sarria, ~nd met with a cool reception. Ighatius's suspicion ~as that the M~rquis was piqued AUGUSTINE (3. ELLARD . . Review for Religious because~ his influence with the Pope was not considered great and his intercession was not much in demand. Then Ignatius explained to Ribadeneira that thirty years earlier the Lord had taught him to employ all permissible means in the divine service, but not to build his hope upon them. Hence neither upon the noble Marquis nor upon any other creature would he base his confidence. Carnoli does not give his source. In fact at that time it was not in print. Now it is, namely Ribadeneira's work, De Actis P. N. lgnatii.* In No. 108, the pertinent place, Ribadeneira writes: "He said to me that he thought of telling him that thirty-six [sic] years ago our Lord had given him to understand that in. matters of His holy servic'e, he ought to use all the possible legitimate means, but then to place his confidence in God, not in those means." Ribadeneira himself wrote a biography of St. Ignatius, and in the account of this visit quotes him as saying: "I shall tell him [the Ambassador], an'd I shall say it plainly, that thirty years [sic] ago I 'learned from God that in doing the work of God, I should seek all helps, but in such a way that I consider my hope to rest, not in those aids, but in Godralmselr. . s In a letter to St. Francis Borgia St. Ignatius gives expression to the same thought: "Looking to God our Lord in all things . considering it wrong to trust and hope merely in any means or efforts by themselves, and also not regarding it as secure to trust entirely in God without using the help He has .given, since it seems to me in our Lord that I ought to avail myself of all aids . I have ordered . "6 I The same Ribadeneira wrote a treatise entitled "On the Method of St. Ignatius in Governing," and in it he says: "In the matters belonging to the service of ou~ Lord that he undertook, he employed all human, means to succeed in them, with as-much care and efficiency as if success depended on them, and" he confided in God and kept himself dependent on divine Providence as if all those other human means that he took were of no effect.''7 Pinard de la B'oullaye gives several other .references to old writings which witness to St. Igna-tius's use of the sam~ principle.8 4. Monumenta Historica Societatis Jesu, Monumenta lgnatiana, Set. ,~, v. 1. 391 ; cf. 400. ¯ 5. Pedro de Ribadeneira, Vitq lgnatii Loyolae (Cologne, 1602), Lib. 5. cap. 9, 615ff. 6. Monumenta'Ignatiana, Set. 1, t~. 9 (Sept. 17, 1555), 626. 7. Ibid., Set. 4, v. 1, 466. 8. Pinard de la Boullaye, Saint lgnace de Loyola Directeur d'Ame~, p. 299. 12 January, 1953 So TRUST IN GOD This principle is also characteristic of the spirit that animates the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. In one of the most important parts of them, after stating that, to preser;;'e and perfect the Society, supernatural means should be given the priority, the Founder says: "This foundation having been laid . natural means also . . . are conducive to the same end; if however they be learned and used sin-cerely and only for the service of God, not that our trust should rest upon them, but rather that, in accordance with the order of His supreme providence, we should in this way co-operate with divine grace.''9 The very same idea, in almost identical words, is proposed in the rules for priests.1° Perhaps the latest development in the long and complicated record of this aphorism :is the,following. About the beginning of 1951 Father Joseph De Lapparent, editor of Vari~t~s Sinotogiques~ wrote to Father John B. Janssens, the General of the Society, com-plaining'that the text of this dictum as it occurs in all the different editions of the Thesaurus Spiritualis was defective. In reply Father Janssens says: "Although that form of.the saying is not without -some sense~ it must be confessed that it is twisted and far-fetched, and does not perfectly correspond to very many sayings of St. Igna-tius, as one can see in the notes already published by your Rever, encen and in the study of Father C. A. Kneller, S.J., "Ein Wort des hl. Iqnatius yon Loyola.' "'~ Father Janssens goes on to say that in getting out the Spanish edition of the Thesaurus pubiished at San-tander in 1935 the'editor did well to change th~ text to: "So trust God as if all success depended on Him, not at all from, yourself; however, exert yourself as if God were going to do nothing, and you alone.everything."~3 ~ Before the times if St. Ig.natius the well known theologian, spir-itual writer, and chancellor of the University of Paris, John Gerson (1363-1429) had said something very. similar: "Presumption re-fuses to co-operate with God, and despair will not wait for ~he co-operation of God with it. The middle course is so to act that everything may be attributed to divine giace, and so to trust in grace 9. Constitutiones Societatis desu, Pars X, n. 3. 10. Regulae Societatis desu (1932), No. 14. 11. Nouvelles de la Mission de Shanghai, Sept. 15, 1944; Oct. 31, 1947; Dec. 30, 1948. 12. Zeitschrift fuer Aszese und M~stik (1928), 253-257. , 13. Acta Romana Soc&tatis desu (1952), 137-138. 13 AUGUSTINE G. ELLARD as not to give up one's own activity, doing what one can.'°14 Bossuet's conception of the matter was thus expressed: "One ought to expect everything from God, but nevertheless t0 act also. For one ought not only to pray as if God alone should do every-thing, but also to do what one can, and use one's own will with. grace, for everything is done through this co-operation. But neither should we ever forget that it is always God who takes'the initiative, for there precisely lies the basis of humility.''is St. Vincent de Paul puts it ~hus: "I cons,ider it a good maxim to avail oneself of all the means that are licit and possible for the glory of God, as if God should not help us~ provided that one expect all things' from His divine Providence, as if we did not have any human means."16 An Englishman, who like St. Ignatius, has a name in history as a military 'man and a religious leader, but was~ very unlike him in other respects, namely, Oliver Cromwell, is said to have given his followers this admonition: "Put your trust in G6d; but mind to keep your powder dry!" 14. "'De Si~nis Bonis et Malis;'" Opera (Ed. Dupin)~ III, 158 d. 15. Meditations sur l'Etaangile (40e jour).: cf. Pinard de la Boullaye, op.cit.29.9. 16. Letter t6 Markus Cogl~e (April 24, 1652), Oeuvres (Ed. P2 Coste, Paris, 19.21) ,rlV, 366. EXAMINATION OF THE PAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS" , Proposed for Superior.s General 1. Has the love of God grown in proportion to the graces offered: daily Com-mumon, develop~ent.'of liturgical life, deeper study of Holy Scripture, increased de-vouon to Our Lady, doctrine of the Mystical Body, and way of spiritual childhood? Are there more souls of prayer in our communities? Is there a deeper sense-of God? 2. Has true charity increased within our communitie~ in thought, word, and deed? 3. Is tension caused by the quantity of work undertaken, to the detriment of patience and humility which ,should win hearts and draw them, to the religious life? -4. Has motherly charity in government rather than mere administration given a true idea of the holocaust of charity? '5. Has the pursuit of technical and p~ofessional progress obscured ~he need fo~ poverty, disinterestedness, a, nd0great lo~;e for the poor? / 6. Is the Gospelspirit of self-denial, penance, and reparation not only unques-tioned but stronger~to defend religious holiness against the spirit of the world? 7. Is more consideration given to religious who are tired and over-strained, and ".what means are taken to guard against that conditibn? 8. Have fi'iendliness between congregations, collaboration in work, the "spirit of the Church," increased? 14 Lengt:h ot: Lil:e of Religious Men: Marianist:s, 1820-195! Gerald J. Schnepp; S.M~ and John T. Kurz, S.M. ~'JHAT is the average age at death of male religious? Has their W~ length ~o~ life increased, decade by decade, with the rest of the population? Are there differences by country? Finally, how does the average age at de~ath of religious' compare with that of males in the general pdpulation? Answers to these questions are now availhble for 2,380 Marian-ists who died in the Society of Mary between 1820 and 1951. Source of the st~atistics is the latest edition of the Necrolo~g of ibe Societg of Marg which lists the name, age at death, and year and place of death of each religious who persevered.1, The Soci~ety of Mary was founded in 1817 in Bordeaux,-France, "by Very Reverend William Joseph Cha~inade: during the decade 1820-29, seven religious2 were called to their eternal reward and in succeeding decades, increasing numbers died. The congregation comprises three categories of persons: Priests, Teaching Brothers, and Working Brbthers. For the present study,s no breakdown by categories is given because, first, the Necrol-ogo does not distinguish the two types of Brothers, and secondly, the number of Priests is too small (perhaps ten per cent of the total) tO supply an adequate sample over the 130-year period covered.4 Let us take up, in order, the answers to the four questions posed. The mean or average age at death of the entire group of 2,380 Marianists is 55.7 years, with a standard deviation of 22.4 years: 1purpose of, the Necrology (Dayton, Ohio: Mount St. John Press. 1952), which also lists the exact day of death, is to recall to the li~'ing members the names of the deceased, for remembrance in their prayers: the list for the following day is read in community after the evening meal. 2Here and throughout the article is included the first Marianist to die, Brother An-thony Cantau, who passed away in Bordeaux in 1819. 3The present article is based on John Kurz, S.M., Length of Life of Male Religious (Unpublished M.A. thesis, Saint Louis University, 1952). 4Research on the lengih of life of religious priests' w~uld be of interest in the light of one study which shows that, the average age 'at death of Catholic priests in Eng-land is five per cent above the average for the general population. See Louis J. Dublin, Alfred J. Lotka, and Mortimer Spiegelman, Length of Life (New York: The RonaldPress Co., 1949), p. 219. '. 15 GERALD J. SCHNEPP and JOHN T. KURZ Ret~iew for Religious this means that approximately two-thirds of the ages at death fall between 33.3 years and 78.1 y~ars. The median age, or mid-point ¯ in the distribution, is 61.5 years. A total of 844 Marianists, or 35.5 per cent, lived out the traditional "thr~e score and ten" 70 years or beyond. These figures, it should be kfiown, are weighted by com-paratively low ages at death in the earlier years of the S'ociety. Even so, they indicate a fairly "respectable" life span. Measured in terms of service, assuming that each Marianist began his active life at the age of 18, this represents 89,726 years of service which the Society of Mary has given to the Church from 1820 to 1951.5 Concerning the second question, it is known that life expectancy all over the civilized world has been increasing during the past 130 years, the period of time covered by this study. Improved living con-ditions, better nutrition, and advances in medical science undoubt-edly all played a part in this development. Likewise, the extraordi-nary development of science and industry, along with the improve-ments in agricultural and processing techniques c6mbined to improve the quality, quantity, and variety of food. These factors had an in-fluence on the lives of all who lived during this period, including the religious who are the subjects of.this study. The facts concerning the 2,380 Marianists are presented in Table 1. During the first three decades, all deaths (except one) occurred at age 54 or less, and hence the mean ages at death are very low 23.9, 25.9, and 28.1 years. This is to be expected in a young society, since, if any deaths are to occur, they are likely to be deaths of rela-tively young religious. The length of time involved is not sufficient to enable men who joined at the usual age 15 to 25 to reach much beyond 50. But there is a steady upward progression through-out the series, with slight breaks during the 1910-19 and 1940-49 decades. The explanation ~eems to be that both were decades in which world wars occurred; in some European countries, religious in the younger age brackets served in the armed for~es, and some of them were killed. Further, during the '1910-1919 decade, the influenza epidemic interfered with normal life expectancy. In general, then, Table 1 indicates that Marianist life expectancy,has increased, decade by decade, reaching a high of 67.2 years during the 1930-39 decade. In order to make comparisons with the general population, how-ever, it is necessary to consider~ the figures for each country separately; SThis figure would be considerably larger, of course, if the services of those still living were included. Z TABLE I--Ageat Death and Decade of Death (1820-19Sl) for 2,380 ,Mar;an;sts 1820-29 1830;39 AGE GROUP 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 23.9 3 8 2 0 1 ~1 1 0 0 O 0 0 0 " 0 0 0 16 25.9 1840~49 12 14 13 2 4 4 1 1 0 0 °0 0 0 0 0 1 52 28.1 -- 1850:59 12 21 17 9 6 5 5 3 I 3 2 0 1 0 1 0 86 32.4 14.8 1860-69 5 I0 18 I1 6 8 4 8 6 5 '5 4 1 0 0 0 91 40.7 16.4 1870:79 14 28 19 I1 I0 6 10 I0 10 13 14 15 5 3 0 0 168 44.3 19.5 1880-89 1.7 22 13 10 15 8 12 10 22 17 I~ 16 8 5 ,,3 1 193 48.2 20.4 1890-99 18 34 ~20 9 5 ~,6 13 13 17 23 29 32 22 13 1 0 255 :51.8 "21.6 1900-09 5 28 I0 '4 8 "12 5 11 '17 26 32 37 30 18 8 5 256 59.2 20.6 I~10-'19 12 34 18 19 16 l0 8 16 12 23 39 46 41 30 10 3 337 57.1 20.1 1920-29 6. 23 7 . 7 4 7 I1 15 22 19 28 37 35 25 13 3 262 61.1 20.2 1930-39 2 lO 14 ll 9. 1 8 14 19 ~l 34 52 56 36 34- 14 345 67.2 18.0 1940-49 3 II 21 7 lO 6 3 8 ll 20 17 37 46 60 15 13 288 66.1 20.6 1950-51 1 .2 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 5 3 2 2 2 2 0 24 61.2 Total 111 248,175 100 94 74 83 112 137 185-217 278 247 192 87 40 2380 55.7 22.4 GERALD J. SCHNEPP and JOHN T. KURZ ¯ Reoiew for Religious this will help~to answer the third question. °World-wide figures, even if available,¯ would be misleading, since the f~ctors affecting length of life do not operate uniformly all over. It is also necessary to consider tbh figures for males 'only, since female.life expectancy is generally greater; for example, in the United States at the present time, male life expectancy is about 66 years, whereas femal~ life expectancy is about 71 years. Ten countries are represented as places of death for the 2,380 Mafianists.included in this study bui~ com-parative figures can be presented only for' France (1,314 deaths) ; Switzerland (171) ; United States (370) ; Belgium (141) ; ~and Austria (11i6) ' Statistics for .Spain (175 deaths) are unavailable in regard to the male population; smallness of sample rules out com-parative figures for the'other four countries: Japan (52) ; Italy (22) ; Russia (17) ; and C~na (2). TABLE 2 I-ireExpectancy o~r Males af Age 17 ~n France, Swlfzerland, United States, Belgium, and Austria Compared to Age at Death of MaHanlsts, by SpeciRed Time Intervals MARIANISTS WHO DIED IN FRANCE Years Average Age I. FRANCE Life Expect. atAge 17(1) ~861-65 63.4 1877-81 62.9 1891-00 63.8, 1898-03 63.3 1908-13 64.4 1920-23 65.9 1933-38 66.9 II. SWI'I'ZERLAN D 1910-11 65.5 1921-30 68.4 1931-41 70.0 I939-44 71.3 III. UNITED STATES 1930-39 70.1 1945 72.1 IV. AUSTRIA 1930-33 68.4 V. BELGIUM 1928-32 69.2 Years at Death 1860-69 42.0 1870-79 45.6 1890-99 55.2 1900-09 62.8 1910-19 " 53.3 1920-29 66.0 1930-39 ~ 71.0 MARIANISTS WHO blED 1910-19 ' 66.6 1920-29 67.5 1930-39 70.8 1940-49 74.9 No. of Deaths During Decade 77 ,153 223 129 1'99 97 116 IN" SWITZERLAND. 30 40 MARIANISTS WHO DIED IN THE UNITED STATES 1"930-39 - 70.3 ~' 87 1940-49 68.6 MARIANISTS', WHO DIEDIN AUSTRIA 1930-39 71.4 27 MARIANISTS WHO DIEDIN BELGIUM 1920-29 70.0 32 (1) Life Expectancy at Age 17 computed by interpolation from Dublin, Lotka, and Spiegelman, Length of Life and here expressed, for comparison, as expected age at death (li{e expectancy at 17, plus 17). References for the various countries: France, p. 346 ; Switzerland,' p. 348 ; United States, p, 324 ; Austria and Belgium, p. 346. January, 1953 LENGTH OF LIFE As is noted from Table 2; the comparisons are not perfect, "be-cause statistics from the various countries are not always available by decades. Since it may be assumed that all the Marianists had sur-vived at least the first 17 years of life (17 is the ordinary age for taking first vows), the figures, for the various countries are presented on the basis of life expectancy at age 17. A cursory examination of the tables will bear out this general conclusion: Mariani~t life ex-pectancy is about the same as, or somewhat more favorable than, that of the general male population of each country in the years since 1900; prior to' that time,. Marianist life .expectancy was somewhat lower, and in the early years of the Society; considerably lower, than the general male life expectancy. Another way of looking at this is to return to the figures in Table I. If only the 1,512 Marianists who died since 1900 are considered, it is found that 712 or 47.1 per cent lived to age 70 or beyond. Another matter of interest is the average length of life by coun-try. Tbis is available for our study but not for the male population of the ten countries over the span of years that Marianists have been working in those countries. The figures, in' order from highest to lowest, are: Belgium, 69.2 years; Switzerland, 65.8 years; United States, 60.5 years: Italy, 58.4 years: Spain, 57.5 years;: France, 53.6 years: Austria, 52.9 years: Japan, 46.8 years; Russia, 39.8 years; and'China, 22.5 year~. It should again be pointed out that these averages are b;]sed on a small number of cases in-,regard" to Japan, Italy, Russia, and China. For the rest, cautious comparison with the over-all average of 55.7 years seems to be justified. The only couff-tries with a large number of deaths which fall below this. general average are France and Austria. Compulsory military service and war undoubtedly are factors in both cases; and, for France, the cradle of the Society, it must be remembered that figures extend back to 1820 when general life'expectancy was not so high as it became in later years. The over-all conclusion, from this study is that life expectancy of Marianists for the past 50 years has been about the same as that of the general male population. Since the unmarried population has a lower life expectancy than the general population,6 ~tbese Marianist figures demand some explanation. Why do these Marianists-- 6"Among white males at ages 20 and over in the United States in 1940, the single had a death rate just 1 2/5 times that of the married." Dublin, Lotka, and Spiegelma~, op. cir., p. 140. 19 GERALD J. SCHNEPP and JOHN T. KURZ Ret~iew for Religious all unmarried of course--have a higher life expectancy than 'other unmarried males in the population? Explanations readily suggest themselves: the screening process by which only healthy persons are accepted in'to the congregation; the fact that most of these men were male teachers, an occupational classification with a higher than aver-age life expectancy? lack of financial and dbmestic worries; regular-ity of life, i~ncluding regular hours for prayer, work~ recreation, meals, and sleep; easy access to good medical care; and, in the United States, exemption from military service. Less certain as a factor is the loss, through defection, of individuals who, if they had perse-vered, might tend to decrease the average age at death. Although it is impossible to state, from the present study, that these are the factors at work, they are mentioned here as suggestions for a more ambitious project which might be undertaken in the future. It would also be profitable to make similar studies of other religious orders and con-gregations of men and of women; to consider Priests and Brothers separately; and to make some inquiries int.o the causes of death. The general value of such studies is to provide an answer to the recurring criticism that religious life, from a physical and/or psycho-logical point of view, is unnatural and harmful. For the particular order or con. gregat!on, such studies are valuable in guiding the ad-ministration in such matters as recommendation of religious for ad-vanced studies; appointments to serve as superiors: .policies on diet and medical care; adaptation of religious life to modern conditions; and provision for the aged members who, according to all indica-tions, will be progressively more numerous in the future, propor-tionately, than ever before. Since these considerations may seem to put too much emphasis on the natural, it must not be overlooked that the Will of God in regard to the death of each religious is a fact; however, we may be certain that God does not prohibit but rather commands that all natural means be used to prolong that life as long as possible. 7Ibid, p. 219. OUR CONTRIBUTORS THOMAS SULLIVAN, the designer of a special Communion card for patients (REVIEW, Sept. 1952, p. 248),is chaplain at St. Luke,s Hospital, Aberdeen, South Dakota. GERALD J. SCHNEPP and ALBERT MUNTSCH are-professors of sociology at St. Louis University, St. Louis, ,Missouri; the latter has been teaching 49 years. JOSEPH F. GALLEN teaches canon law at Woodstock College, Wood-itock. Maryland. AUGUSTINE G. ELLARD and JEROME BREUNIG are members of' the editorial board. 20 Canonical oVisi!:at:ion ot: Nigher Superiors ,Joseph F. GaIlen, S.J. THE visitation of the houses 9f a religious institute by the higher. superiors and the local Ordinary, since it is prescribed by canons 511-512, is called the canonical visitation. The pur-pose of this article is to explain the visitation of higher superiors. 1) Frequencg of visitation. The Code of Canon Law does not determine the frequency of the visitation of higher superiors. In the practice of the Sacred Congregation of Religious in appro',;ing the constitutions of lay congregations, which is and should be closely imitated by diocesan institutes, the far more common norm is ~hat the superior general, personally or throug~ anothe~ religious, visits the entire congregation at least every three years, even in congrega-tions that are divided into provinces. Many institutes not divided into provinces, realizing that they lack the customary annual visita-tion of a provincial; prescribe a greater frequency of visitation by the superior general, for example, every second year, at least every second year, or annually. This desirable greater frequency cannot be pre, scribed in many congregations because of their large number of sub-~ jects, the great territorial extent of the institute, or both, A much lower number of congregations command a visitation by the superior general only once every six years, but at least this is commanded in the .practice of.the Holy See for lay institutes, even in those that are very extensive and large. By far the greater number of institutes im-pose an annual visitation by the provincial; a small number limit this obligation to one visitation in three years or two in three years. The annual visitation' is the much more preferable norm and it may always be made, even when not commanded by the constitutions. Some constitutions permit the provincial ~o omit the visitation during the year that the house has been or is to be visited by the supe-rior generhl, but a prudent provincial will hesitate to use this privi-lege unless some rare business of greater moment demands or counsels the omission of the visitation. A provincial cannot make the annual appoint.ments satisfactorily to himself or to others unless he knows both his subjects and the facts. 2) Moral oblioation of making the visitation. Canon 511 per- 2.1 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Relfgious mits .the particular constitutions to determine the frequency and even to omit any prescription, as to the frequency of the visitation. If the constitutions have 'commanded a determined frequency, canon 511 imposes an obligation immediately in conscience on the higher supe-riors to make the visitation according to this frequency. The omis-sion 'of the visitation, without a justifying, reason, is thus a sin. Many canonicalauthors hold that this obligation is grave.1 The~sin .is certainly.grave if the culpable omission of the visitation is the ~:ause of the existence or continuance of a serious relaxation of reli- :gious discipline or of any another seriously harmful situatio'n.2 3) The obligation is personal. Canon 511 permits a higher :superior to designate another to make the prescribed visitation only when he is l~gitimately prevented from doing so himself. Legitimate impediments are the following and others of about the same import: sickness, infirmity, old age, the great territorial extent or large num-ber of subjects of the institute or province, other business 'of serious mom, ent, and long or frequent absences on visitation that impede the proper government of the institute or province. It is evident' that such reasons will frequently excuse from only part of the visitation': Houses omitted from a visitation should ordinarily be given the pref-erence in the following visitation. A few of the excusi.ng reasons will lose" some and even all of their cogency if the higher superior is given an efficient secretary and freed from the work of a typist' and clerk. The lack of proper "courtesy is also a time-consuming element in the lives of higher superiors. Matter~ that fall within the compe-tence of local superiors should not be brought to higher superiors. Subjects should ordinarily not seek an interview for matters that can be despatched by letter. Whgn an interview is necessary, proper courtesy demands that a subject request an interview by'l~tter. The telephone should be used only when a request or a matter is urgent. It.is obviously inconsiderate and discourteous to drop in on a higher superior at any time and to expect an interview. We can .all al~o render the lives of higher superiors more useful, fruitful, and peace-ful by coming to the point quickly and sticking to it. Reasons ex-cusing from making the visitation are to be interpreted more liberally for the superior general than for the provincial. 1. Beste, 335; De Carlo, n~ 92: Fanfani, n. 70; Fine, 981: Gerster, 263; Geser, q. 364; Piatus Montensis, ,,L 636; Pruemmer, q. 170; Schaefer, a. 558; Vromant, n, 396, 2); Wernz-Vidal, III, n. 145. ¯ 2. Cf. Wernz-Vidal, III, n. 148. 22 danuar~lo 1953 : CANONI~U., VISITATION The'.understanding of the constitutions in a particular institute may be that the higher superior has full liberty either to make the visitation personally or to delegate another as visitor. This interpre-tation is more likely to be verified if the constitutions omit the.clause of candn 511, "if legitimately impeded," and is far more readily ad-mitted for the superior general than for the provincial. Aliteral in-terpretation of canon 511 leads to the conclusion that a higher supe-rior must delegate another for any visitation that he cannot make personally. This is also the: teaching of authors and is at least gen-erally true. However, if a personal visitation is mostrarely omitted, I do notbelieve that there exists a certain obligation to delegate an-other as visitor unless a, situation in the institute, province, or house clearly demands a visitation. Higher superiors are to be slow to ex-cuse themselves and to delegate a visitor. Su,bjects quite generally find it difficult to talk to a-delegated visitor. 4) Constitutions that do not prescribe ~isitations. Canon 511 does not directly command higher superiors to make visitations; it merely enforces any obligation of visitation imposed by the constitu-tions., If the particular constitutions do not impose a visitation, the higher superior has no.obligation but he always has the right of making a visitation. Some constitutions do not oblige the superior general to make visitations, but this would be unthinkable in the case of a provincial and also in that of a superior general of an institute not divided into provinces, , Canon ~I 1 is principally concerned with centralized institutes and thus with general and provin'cial superiors, who are the higher superiors in such institutes. These institutes can also have superiors of vice-provinces, quasi-provinces, regions, missions, districts, and vicariates, who should, as a general principle, follow the same norms-of visitation 'and of frequency as provincials. The canon also extends to the superiors of monastic congregations and confed.erations and ac-cordingly now affects the superior general or president lind regional superiors in federations and confederatiohs of nuns established cording to the counsel of the apostolic constit.ution, Sponsa Christi. ~,The constitutions of some institutes of ,religious. women factu-' ally consisting of many houses and engaged in the active life., contain no prescriptions on visitation, because by law they, are nuns or.con-. gregations of sisters whoseconstitutions.have been,taken from orders of nuns. The mothers superior of such institutes should make visita-tions according to the norms detailed-abo~e for .superiors general. 23 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Reoieto for Religious Theseinstitutes are factually centralized, and the purpose of a visita-tion is at least as necessary in them as in a canonically centralized in-stitute. 5) Designation of a delegated oisitor. The usual norm of con-stitutions of brothers and sisters permits a superior general to appoint -a visitor for a particular matter or an individual house but demands the consent of the general council for the delegation of a visitor for the entire congregation if this visitor is not a member of the general council.3 Some constitutions extend the necessity of ~his consent to any delegated general visitor and to a visitor designated by the supe-rior general for an entire province. The same norm ordinarily regu-lates the nec, essity of the consent of his council in the delegation of a visitor by a provincial superior. 6) Companion of oisitor. The constitutions of brothers and sisters almost universally prescribe that a superior general, provincial, or delegated visitor is to have a religious of perpetual vows as com-panion. 4 The companion can be of great assistance to the visitor by handling the latter's correspondence. He could also be delegated for the visitation of' pl.aces, i.e., the chapel and sacristy, cloister, refectory, kitchen, recreation or common room, library, and the living quarters of the religious. The whole house shofild be visited'. The general or provincial bursai would frequently be an apt companion. He could examine the books and investigate thoroughly the financial and material condition of the house. 7) Purpose of ~isitation. The 'importance that the Church places on the visitation of higher superiors and the seriousness with which canonical authors consider its obligation manifest evidently that the visitation is not to degenerate into a mere ~egal formality. The primary purpose is to learn and correct defects of religious dis-cipline, s "This includes the observance of the vows, "the laves, decrees, and. instructions of the Holy See, the constitutions, legitimate cus-toms, ordinations of the general chapter, and the regulations of higher superiors. Such a purpose implies the encouragement, of the fervent, the prudent correction of delinquents, and the prescribing of apt means to restore, preserve, and increase fait.hful and constant ob-servance. Higher superiors are to ax;oid the energy of the reformer but they-are also to shun the passivity of the quietist. Some people 3. Cf. Normae, nn. 256: 271, 9*. 4. 'Cf. Normae, n. 257. 5. Cf. Wernz-Vidal, III, n. 148. 24 January, 1953 VISITATION hold that the least government is the best government; others incline to the view that the worst government is no government. If a local Ordinary finds a serious situation in any house in his canonical vis-itation, the conclusion is almost infallible that higher superiors have been derelict in their duty. A paternal or maternal government does not exclude in religious superiors,, as it does not in our Holy Motherl the Church, decisive action when this is demanded by the circum-stances. The higher superior is~also to learn the spiritual and tem-poral needs and desires of subjects and to grant these according to the principles of the religious lifel the common good, and prudence. The purpose of the visita,tion is also to investigate the govern-ment of provincial and local superiors and the administration of the temporal property of the house and province. Defects of govern-ment and administration are to be prudently corrected. There is a general need of clarity and emphasis on the fact that the investigation of government is only a secondary purpose of the visitation. Too many religious prepare for an interview with a superior general or provincial with only one principle in mind: what is wrong with the superior and with the officials? The primary norm of the prepara: tion should be: what is wrong with me? Higher superiors should protect the good name and authority of local superiors, they should remember that in a doub~ ~he presumption favors the superior, bu~ they cannot follow the principle that a local superior never errs. Mi, nor, accidental, and occasional mistakes should be overlooked; the local superior also must be given the forbearance due to a son, or daughter of Adam. However, habitual and serious dei:ects that are ob-structive of the spirituality, efficiency, and peace of the community should be studied, and the local superior is to be admonished of them, but with appropriate consideration. It has been remarked that we can often justifiably apply to a superior the principle of what was said of a conspicuous historical character: the scrutiny fastened on him detects many flaws but entitles him to be. judged free of any-thing of which he is not charged. ~ An important purpose of the visitation is that the higher supe-rior acquires a knowledge of the Capabilities and deficiencies of sub, jects. This should be of great assistance in making the annual ap-pointments for both the common and the individual good. 8) Extent ot: the t~isitation. The visitation extends to all houses, persons, places, and things. Both superiors general and provincials should strive to visit the missions at least once during their term of ,JOSEPH F. GALLEN office. The religious on .the missions are those making the greatest sacrifice and they should not be the most neglected. Both in law and in fact it is the presumption that perfect observance is more °difficult in small houses, and yet higher superiors are inclined to make only a cursory visit of a few hours iii~such houses. Canon 511 commands a higher superior to visit all bbuses subject to him. Therefore. a provincial does not visit a house immediately subject to the superior general unless he has been delegated to do so by the" latter. Canon 513, § 1 obliges a visitor ~to interview only the determined religious and the number in a house that he judges necessary for the purpose of the visitation, but¯ the particular law or custom of an institute will almost universally oblige a higher superior to interview all the reli-gious, This is also demanded by paternal government and the pur-pose of knowing the individual religious. As stated in n. 6, the visitation extends to all places in the house. A visitor is to be sensi, tire not o.nly to the irregularities of worldliness, luxury, softness, and sensuality but also to the adequate and et~icient furnishings of the living quarters of the religious. The cell of stark monastic sim-plicity may be suitable neither for sleep nor work. The visitation extends to all'things, for example, the furnishings of the house, the chapel, the sacristy, the proper care of the sick in the infirmary, the clothing, the heating, light,- food, to the books and documents of temporal administration, and to the book of minutes of the council. A fastidiousness, over-interest, and preoccupation with food is evidently alien to the state of perfection, but the food of religious ~hould be simple, substantial, well-cookedl appetizing, and sui~cient. Religious poverty implies privation, not indigestion. Highe{isuperiors should not omit a quite careful visitation of the li-brary and should investigate the number and quality of the' books purchased during the year. It would be interesting to learn what percentage of the budget, if any, is allotted to the purchage of books in some religioushouses. The visitation covers the whole external life of the community. The suitability of the horarium to the work and climate of the community is to be studied. Some institutes, especially of women, appear to follow the l~rinciple that the religious may die but the horarium must go on. In this era of enlightened and pru.dent adaptation the higher superior is to look carefu11~r'into the matter of customs. Some of these are meaningless, antiquated, originate from the self-interest of the few, or serve only to imprison the soul of the religious life in a labyrinth of formality and detail. It - danuar~l, 1953 CANONICAL VISITATION would be unwise to conclude that the need of a~laptation extends only to religious women, not to religious men and priests. 9) Opening of the visitatiqn. A visitation customarily begins with an exhortation to the community by the visitor. "Fhe topic of this exhortation should ordinarily be a virtue or principle distinctive of the religious life, a virtue especially necessary for the particular in-stitute, or a present problem of the religious life or of the institute. 1 O). Precept of the vow of obedience. Some institutes oblige the visito~ at the opening of the visitation to.imi~ose a precept in virtue of the ",;ow of obedience on the members of the community to reveal serious offenses. A few institutes extend the precept to anything else the religious may think necessary for "the good of the community. This precept does not extend to conduct that has been completely re-formed and obliges only with regard to matters that are external, certain in fact, and serious.6 11 ) Prelirninar!/interviews. It would be profitable for the visi-tor to have a preliminary interview on the state of the community alone with the superior, with the entire group of councillors, at which the superior is not present, and for their respective fields with such officials as the bursar, the master of novices, of postulants, of junior professed, and of tertians, with the dean, principal, adminis-trator, or director of the school, hospital, or institution. In these preliminary interviews the visitor should cover such topics as the gen-eral religious discipline of the community, fidelity to spiritual exer-cises, silence, cloister, observance of pove, rty, whether necessities are obtained from the community or externs, whether material necessities are adequately supplied by the community, whether the quan.tity and quality of material things are. observed according to the tradi-tions of the community, the possession of. money by individual reli-gious, excesses or imprudences in contacts with externs, the more common defects of religious discipline, the general level of spirituality and charity in the community, the success in general of the com-munity in its work, obstacles to this success, whether all the activities. of the community are profitable, activities added or dropped, whether the community is overworked, the material and financial state of the house, state of the community in relation to the superior and:~fficials, whether the council is properly consulted, the s~.ate of the external relations of the community with the local O~dinary, the parish clergy, diocesan director of schools, hospitals, or., other institutions, 6. Bastien. n. 302 ~" JOSEPH F. GALLEN ReView for Religioud 'with the chaplain~ the confessors, and with secular authorities and agencies. Inquiry is to be made about the adjustment of the junior professed to the active life, their formation, care, direction, instruc-tion, and education. In a novitiate, an even more diligent inquiry is to be made on these headings about the novices and postulants. 12) Interoiews with indiuidual religious. The following is a suggested outline of topics for the interviews with the individual' re-ligious. It.is b~; no means necessary that all of these be covered with each religious. The visitation will be more helpful if the visitor suc-ceeds in getting the religious to talk spontaneously and if he directly and indirectly suggests topics rather than adheres to a formal ques-tionnaire. The visitor should, make a notation of any important matter. A notation is of great efficacy in mollifying a, tempestuous soul. a) Health. Sufficient rest? recreation? food? any particular ail-ment? it~ nature? care? the opinion of the doctor.?. b) Work. Success? progress? difficulties? sufficient time for preparation? according to the system and traditions of the institute and directions of' tho~e in authority? overwork? direction of extra-curricular activities? relations .with head of school, hospital, institu-tion? the level of moral and Catholic life among the students? the influence of the community and the individual on these? c) Studies. Studies taken during the year or the summer? in what? how profitable and practica.l? what success? What work is the individual inclined to?. thinks he will do his best in? Is there an~" time to advance by private study and reading during the year? , d) Companions. Getting along with them? Making an effprt to do so with all? Any particular difficulty with anyone or any type? Neglecting some and associafing with only a few? Any coldness, antipathy, anger? Divisions, factions, cliques in 'the com-munity? Their cause? Any cause of 'lack of peace, harmony," happi-ness, charity in the community? " e) Religions life. Any difficulty in attendance at common spir-itual exercises or in performing those prescribed? Any dispensatio, ns necessary? Why?'Any obstacle to profi.t from religious exercises? Any .problem in the observance of poverty?~ Any difficulty in securing ma-terial necessities from the communi.ty-? How is obedience going? With the superior? With officials? Sufficient opportunity for confession? Supply of spiritual books adequate? Does work, community duties, domestic duties interfere with the interior life? Sufficient opportunity 28 danuar~l, 1953 CANONICAL VISITATION to deepen and intensify the dedication to the interior life? Days of recollection, tridua, retrea~s profitable? f) Superiors and officials. Any external obstaCle to a spirit of faith towards superiors and officials? Any misunderstanding? Any hesitancy or diffidence in approaching them? g) Anything else? Any suggestions? complaints? difficulties? permissions? Everything he needs spiritually and temporally? Any-thing, else he wishes:to say? 13) Some principles for the individual interviews. The visitor , must cultivate the dexterity of giving each subject sufficient but not excessive time. The ability to end an interview promptly bui gra-ciously is an enviable gift for the life of a superior. All of us have to beware of the natural tendency to find greater truth in the story first ¯ told or greater force in the argument first presented. Fairness, judg-ment, patience, and prudence are necessary for any visitor who ~ishes .to be objective and to learn the objective truth. The fact that the subject is a friend, the possession of an attractive personality or man-ner, or a facile and orderly presentation is not an infallible criterion of truth. Our enemies and the unattractive and inarticulate are not always wrong.' The passing of the poetry of life teaches' us that man, and woman also, .too often knows only what.he desires to know, too often sees only what his inclinations want, and all too frequently finds in the objective oi~der what exists only in the desires or rebellion of his own heart. The visitor is,to ascertain the individual state of each subject. He is not to conclude too readily that a problem is. exactly the same as something in his own past life or that it possesses no distinctive note. The constant pronominal subject of the visitor's thought'should be ¯ you, nbt I. We rarely solve another's problem by the history of our own lives. The subject.should be made to feel that there is a sincere interest in him, An,interruption, exclamation of surprise, or calm remonstrance should be used to restrain any flow of words that is outracing the mind. Reluctant and forced replies, especially with re- ~gard to oneself, are very frequently suspect,in their objectivity. This is the suitable and expected time for the higher superior to administer necessary correction to individuals. The visitor should first make certain of the facts, hear all sides patiently, and correct calmly. A higher superior who never corrects should not be too quick to thank God for the fervor of his institute. The omission of correction is sometimes prudence. Sometimes it is sloth, or lack of courage, or 29 JOSEPH F.,GALLEN Reo~eto for, Rehgtous, human respect. Many a higher superior has prolonged his sleepless ~ nights by exclaiming: "Oh, if the,generals or provincials had onIy~ done something about him (or her) years ago! Now it is impossible to do anything." But now also is the time for him to do for futu're higher, superiors what he would have had done for himself: 14) The field of conscience and of religious government.~ The" forum or fieId of conscience consists strictIy of actions that are in- 'terior, or external but not readily knowable by others, provided eil~her is the type of action that one V~uld not care to reveal to an-other except under a-pledge of secrecy. The field of conscience thus consists of all completely interior acts, such as .graces: lights: good desires, inclinations, "attractions, affections, and motives; interior progress; consolation; desolation; desire of progress; conquest of self; acts and habits of virtue; interior acts of prayer; imperfect and evil attractions, propensities, aversions, and motives; interior trials ¯ and dangers; imperfections, sins, and habits of sin; and lack of in-terior effort in prayer and spiritual duties. All external actions not readily knowable by others are also restricted to the forum of con~ science. Such interior matte'rs as the ,knowledgeof. how to pray, to make the examen of conscience, the difficulty or ease in usin'g par-ticular methods of prayer or examen, the attraction or repulsion for particular types of spirituality, people, or occupations are not strictly matters of conscience, since one would not hesitate to speak of these to a friend .without a pledge of secrecy? Unless the Institute is Clerical and has the privilege of imposing the obligation of a manifestation.of conscience~ the visitor is forbid-den to inquire about any matters that appertain strictly to the forum , of conscience. If such interrogations are made, thesubject riaa.y lic-itly reply by a mental reservation. However, a subject is not forbid-den to reveal any of these matters voiuntarily to a visitor, even if the latter is a brother, ntin, or sister. All religious ale even counselled by canon 530, §'2 to manifest their consciences to superiors. If the superior is not a priestl this counsel does not extend to sin, tempta-tion, and any other matter that demands the knowledge and trair~ing of a priest. The. subject is not forbidden to reveal these n~atters also ~ to a visitor or any superior who is a brother, nun, or sister. The field of religious government consists of all external and 7. Bastien, n. 212, 3; Beste, p. 350: Creusen-Ellis, n. 128; Jone, 444; Schaefer, n. 684; Verrneersch-Creusen, I, n. 650. 3O danuar~,1953 CANONICAL VISITATION readily kriowabl~'conduct of a religious. Superiors may legitimately question a subject about such personal conduct, and the subject is obliged to answer truthfully,s Religious may therefore be questioned by the visitor or any superior on such matters as rising on time, ex-ternal performance of spiritual duties, prompt attendance fit common 'exercises, observance of silence, external charity, neglect of study, external neglect of the duties of one's offic.e, whether one went out of the house without permission, or without a companion, mailed .l~t-ters without permission, etc. 15) Denunciation of the conduct of a companion. Denunciation is the technical term that signifies the revealing of the conduct of a comp.anion to a superior." Religious do not and should not revealthe petty and purely personal defects of companions. This alone is to be classified as talebearing. Religious may certainly reveal the faults and defects of others that are of no serious malice but are disturbing, interfere with. one's own work, peace, or happiness, or with those of some others, or of the.entire.community. A religious is not obliged to lose a great deal of sleep or suffer headaches because a companion nearby tyl6es most of.the night and whis~tles most of the day. ,The door slammers, radio addicts, midnight bathers, corridor and cubicu- .lar orators and vodalists, and the nocturnal religious who flower into the life of work and talk only at night fall under this principle. A visitor or any superior may inquire and subjects are obliged to ankwer truthfully about an offense in external r~hdily khowable con-duct of ~/companion: a) if the religious by the particular law of their institute have re-nounced the righ't to their reputations to the extent that any sin or defect may be immediately denounced to the superior.9 Such a re-nuncxation is practically never found in the law of lay institutes. .b) if there exists a rumor or founded suspicion of the commission of the offense by the particular religious.I° c) if a truthful answer is necessary to avoid the danger of serious harm to the institute, the province, the house, an innocent third 8. Berutti. 109: Beste, pp. 336: 350: Creusen-Ellis, nn. 89, 2: 128: Geser. q. 510: Jombart. I. n. 839. 3°: Van Acken. q. 164; Vromant. n. 402. 9. Cf. Summary of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. nn. 9-10: Com-mon Rules, n. 18. 10. Augustine. VIIi,: ,~19-520: Coronata I, n. 540: Fanfani. n. 72: Geser. q. 377; Pruemmer. q. 110: Sipos. 339. 31" ¯ JOSEPH F. GALLEN~. Revie~o fdr Religious party, or the.delinquent himself,n This reason alone permits the revelation of the matter of an entrusted secret of counsel or official secret. 12 A religious maq reveal the offense of a companion spontaneously or in answer to the question of the visitor, since in the religious life the offense of another may always,, practically speaking, be immedi-ately denounced fo a superior without the necessity of a .previous fra-ternal- correction.13 Conduct that has been completely corrected is not to be revealed, and it is evident that a ~ubject has no right to in-ves'tigate the conduct of his companions.Subjects should be prayer-fully attentive/to the case listed above under c). In practice such a matter should be~revealed.to the superior as soon as possible. Reli-gious are apt to excuse themselves from such a revelation lest even "their own conscience accuse them of talebe.aring. Later they may painfully and shamefully hear their consciences condemn them as the cause of a human disaster and of the suffering of many or all of their fellow-keligious. Whenever the name of a companion oCcurs in a conversation with a superior, conscience should immediately signal the red warning of truth. The facts and their source should first be studied, not in the imaginative and exciting glow of the evening, but in the cold and gray stillness of the early morning. Any denunciation to a superior should also be preceded by a searching examination of conscience on one's purity of motive. An impure motive stains the soul and als9 discolors fZct. Superiors should remember that the voice, the.face, and even the bristling hair of the criticism of others often bear a.striking resemblance to those of defense of self. 16) The visitor rna~t use u2hat he has learned in the visitation. The purpose of the visitation is not mere spiritual direction but gov-ernment and evideritly gives the visitor the right of using what he has learned in the Visitation. The visitor may therefore do such things as instruct, reprehend, correct, change the employment, office, or house of a religious, or place him under the vigilance of a local supe-rior because of what he has learned in the visitation. ~ In the use of information on an~" matter that is not commohly known~in tlie 11. Abbo-Hannan, I, 523; Augustine, III, 139-40; Bastien, n. 236; Beste, p. 336; Cocchi, VIII, n. 302 b) ; Creusen-Ellis, n. 89, 2; De Carlo, n. 95; Fanfahi, n. 72; Gerster, 264; Geser, q. 377; Pruernmer~ q. 110; Sipos, 339; Vroraant, n. 402 ¢). 12. Vromant0 n. 402. '~ 13. Coemans, n. 231; Fine, 1067; Regatillo, I, n. 658; Wernz-Vidal~ III, n. 149. 32 danuary, 1953 CANONICAL VISITATION community the visitor is to be careful to protect the reputation of the subject. He is forbidden to use, outside of the interview itself, any-thing learned in a voluntar~l manifestation of conscience without the express consent of the subject. 17) Revelation of things learnedin "the visitation. To reveal is . to tell others. In general, the visitor is forbidden to .reveal secret matters learned in the visitation. This obligation of secrecy clearly does not extend to matters that are commonly known in the. com-munity, but a prudent superior avoids indiscriminate conversation on anything that even appears to have been learned in virtue of his office. Some superiors could foster a greater intimacy with secrets. The visitor is to keep secret the identity of the one who gave the in-formation, but the importance of the matter to be corrected Can in some cases prevail over this obligation. Evidently the superior should not apologize for his duty of correction by even obscurely and guardedly hinting the name of' the one who gave the information, This would be to imitate the soldier who had enlisteti for the music of the bands but not for,the whine of the bullets. .Neither should the superior strive to make it appear that the sole reason for the c0r. rection is that the matter was reported to him. The mere mention of this fact often destroys any effcacy that the correction might have had. The visitor may reveal secret matters learned in the visitation, to a higher superior or to his councillors if this is jhdged necessary for a more permanent and efficacious correction. It is always forbidden to reveal anything learned ~in a manifestation of conscience without " the express consent of the subject.14 18) Closing of the visitation. The visitor frequently gives an exhortation also at the close,of the visitation on a topic of the same nature as that used to open the visitation. 19) Instructions and regulations. The visitation will be par-tially ineffective unless means are taken to further the good that the community is doing, to bring it to dffect the good that is being left undone, and to correct abuses. The visitor should write out instruc-tions on these points. It will usually be sufficient to reaffirm existifig obligations without enacting new regulations foi the community, New laws are to be regarded at mo~t asa se'asonal delicacy, not as our daily bread. The visitor should retain a copy. of the instructions. According to the custom of the institute, these instructions may be 14. Cf. Coemans, n. 501 b): Voltas. CpR. I. 85, nota 6; Wernz-Vidal, III, n. 210, nota 57. ~ 33 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Reoieto t:oc Religious the topic.of the closing talk of the visitor, be.given only to the supe-rior, who is always charged with their enforcement, or at least part of them may be read to the community, preferably .after the visitor has left. The initructions should begin with something sincerely complimentary, which can always, be found. The defects listed should be frequent and quite common violations of religious disci-pline. Other defects are to be taken care of by individual correction. The visitor is also to strive in the instructions to further positively the spiritual life and the work of the house or province and is to avoid concentration on the negative aspect of the correction of defects. 20 Pertinent canons on visitation. Canon 51 I. Higher superior~ of religious institutes who are obliged to visitation by the constitutions must visit personally or, if they are legitimately impeded, through a delegate, all the houses subject to them at the times determined in the constitutions. Canon 513, §' 1. The visitor has the right and the duty oi: ques-tioning the religious that be thinks should be questioned and of ob-taining information on matters that appertain to the visitation. All the religious are obliged to reply truthfully to the visitor, Superiors are forbidden to divert them'in any manner whatever from this obli-gation or otherwise to binder the purpose of the visitation. Canon 2413, § I. Superioresses who after the announcement of a visitation have transferred religibus to another" house without the consent of the visitor; likewise all religious, whether superioresses or sub jerrY, who personally or through others, directly~,or indirectly, have induced religious not to reply or to dissimulate in any way or not sincerely to expose the truth when questioned by the visitor, or who under any pretext whatever have molested, others because of an-swers given to the visitor shall be declared incapable by the visitor of holding any office that involves the government of other religious and, if superioresses, they shall be deprived of their otffce. § 2. The prescriptions of the preceding" paragraph are to be ap-plied also to religious institutes of men. Canons 513, § 1 and 24.13 apply to the canonical visitation also of the local Ordinary or his delegate. The hindering of the purpose of the visitation prohibited by canon 513, § 1 can be effected in many ways, for example, by concealing objects or falsifying records or documents. The great importance that the Church places on the canonical danuarq, 1953 CANONICAL VISITATION visitation is manifest in all these canonsbut especially in the penal canon, 2413. The permanent or temporary transfer forbidden to any superior is one whose purpqse is to separate a religious from the visitor and thus to prevent the revelatibn or interrogation of the reli-gious. This purpose is presumed if made after the announcement of the visitation and without the consent of the visitor. The interference with' iegitimate interrogation' prohibited to all religious includes that done pe.rsonally or through anyone else, whether directly, by inducing or commanding others expressly to conceal the truth, or indirectly, by praise, promises, special attention or .treatment intended for the same purpose but. without expressly mentioning this purpose. To be' punishable the interference must cause the religious actually to be silent, to dissimulate, or to be insin-cere when questioned by the visitor. . The forbidden molestation can be accomp!ished in various ways, for example, by transferring a religious, changing his employment, by punishment, public or private reprehension, or by other signs of displea.sure because of replies given to the visitor. Recourse against false replies is to be made to th~ visitor or a highei superior. The offices referred to in the penalty as involving the ,government of others are, for example, general, provincial, or local sup~erior, mas-ter of novices, of junior professed, of tertians, of postulants, probably_ also deans, principals, administrators, and directors of schools, hos-pitals, or other institutions. Such a punishment demands;a serious violation of the law. The natural tendency is to conclude that this penalty, enacted by canon law, is a canonical penally and that it can be inflicted only by one possessing jurisdiction in the external forum.Is However, Larraona gives the at least probable and safe opinion that this penalty is not strictly canonical and that it may be . inflicted also by" visitors who possess only dominative power in clerical non-exempt and lay institutes and thus also by visito)s who are brothers, nuns, or sisters with regard to those subject to them either habitually or by reason of the Visitation.16,x7 15. Cf. ~'anon-2220, § 1; Augustine, VIII, 521 and note 9. 16. :L~rraona, CpR, X, 369, note 4; 370 and notes.7, 8; Bowe, 64-65: Jombart, IV, n. 1323; Reilly, 169-170. Cf. the same opinion in the interpretation of canon 2411 in: Brys, II, n. 1091: Cloran, 313: Cocchi, VIII, n. 298 d). 17. The authors and documents cited are: Abbo-Hannan, The Sacred Canons; Augustine, A Comme.marg. on Canon Law; Bastien, Directoire Canonique; Berutti, De Religiosis; Beste, lntroductio in Codicem; Bowe," Religious Supe-rioresses; Brys, Juris Canonici Compendium; Cloran, Previews and Practical 35 BOOK NOTICES BOOK NOTICES In LENGTHENED SHADOWS, Sister Mary Ildephonse Holland, R.S.M., records in considerable detail the hundred-year history of the Sisters of Mercy of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In a style that in all reverence might be called "chatty," the author, a former mother-superior, tells (1) of the founding of the'Sisters of Mercy by Mother McAuley, .(2) of the motherhouse, (3) of the twenty-eight other houses, (4) -of some senior Sisters. The book has an unusually large section of glossy prints and useful appendices,, includin~ one of chronology and lists of the living and the dead. In his foreword, the Archbishop of Dubuque, His Excellency Henry P. Rohlman, speaks of the fivefold purpose of the book. It should be of interest to the Sisters of Mercy, to Other Sisters, to pastors, to the laity, and a challenge to many young women. It certainly should. (New York: Bookman Associates~ 42 Broadway. Pp. 337. $4.50.) Some years ago Sister Mary Berenice Beck, O.S.F., R.N., ~ub-lished a little book entitled The Nurse: Handmaid of the Dfofne Ph~.tsician. The object of the book was to cbver all the various as-pects of the spiritual care of patients, as well as to offer the nurse some practical helps for her own spiritual life. That first edition was good. But the revised edition, entitled simply HANDMAID OF THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN, is s.uperior to it in every way. Content, arrange-ment, printing, and binding--all are excellent. (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1952: Pp. xviii + 31~I.: $3.00.) ' Cases; Cocchi, Commentarium in Codicem ~luris Canonici: Coemans, Com-mentarium in Regulas Socletatis lesu; Coronata, [nstitutiones Juris Canonid; Creusen-Ellis, Religious Men and Women in the Code; De Carlo, dus osorum; Fanfani, De lure Reliqiosorum; Fine, lus Regulate Quo Regitur So-cletas lesu; Gerster a Zeil, lus Religioso~um; Geser. Canon Lau~ concerning ,Communities o[ Sisters; Jombart. Trait3 de Droit CanOnique: Jone, Com-mentarium in Codicem luris Canonici; Larraona, Commentarium Pro Religi-osis; Normae Secundum Quas S. Congr. Episcoporum et Regularium iOrocedere Solet in Approbandis Novis lnstitutis ,Votorum Simplicium. 28 iun. 1901: Piatus Montensis, Praelectiones duris Regularis. ed. 2; Pruemmer, dus Re,u-latium Speciale; Regatillo, Institutiones luris Canonici; Reilly. Visitation ~Religious; Schaefer, De Retigiosis; Sipos, Enchiridion luris Canoni6: Sum-marg of the Constitutions of the Societg of Jesus: Van Acken. A Handbook for Sisters; Vermeersch-Creusen, Epitome [uris Canonici: Voltas, Commen-tarium. Pro Religiosis; Vromant, De Personis; Wernz-Vidal, Ius Canonicum, HI, De Religiosis. 36 The ,reat:es!: Moment: in !:he Hospit:al Day Thomas Sullivan, C.S.V. SEVEN A.M. is the dawn of another busy day in the hospital. A hustling corps of hospital personnel stream into the hospital entrances, crowd the elevators, and soon swing into action¯. A burst of activity greets the quiet hallways. Ni~rses hurry to the chart desks~ to relieve their weary sisters; laboratory technicians fan out to. all parts of the hospital; nurses' aids begin their chore.s; tray girls and surgery personnel are on the move. At this time of greatest activity, there;is in our Catholic hospitals a momentary pause. The sound'of the silver bell is heard and all stop in reverent prayer. A patient or stranger who hears it for the first time will naturally ask, with the blind man of the Gosp~l who heard a crowd passing on the road to Jericho, "What might this be?" , He will be rightfully told, as the blind man was, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He has but to view the respect and courtesy of every-one to know a great Visitor is passing by. Truly this is the greatest moment of the day. Each of our hospitals is greeted by the Eternal Word: "Today salvation has come to this house." More especially for the Catholic patient who receives is this the greatest moment. We all have need of the food of eternal life, but for the sick this need is acute. And' therefore the 'invitation of the Lord is more pressing. His sacred banquet is especially prepared for them, for He says, "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, and the crippled, and the blind, and the lame.'" "Come to me,," 3esus says, "all you who labor and are bur-dened, and I will give you rest." Most frequently our patients need to be reminded of the Lo~d's invitation. They should desire to receive every day while at the hos-pital. To arouse this desire, it is not sufficient that they be conscious in an. abstract way of the Catholic ,doctrine of the Holy.Eucharist, that Christ is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. They must have the truth of faith alive and.real, and be convinced in a practicai way that here is the Food of the Soul, that this is the Bread come down from heaven. And this on the authority of the Great Physi-cian who prescribes: "He who eats .my flesh and drinks my blood 37 THOMAS SULLIVAN abides in me and I in him." In the first place the devoted nurses and chaplains should arouse in themselves a zeal for better disposed communicants among their patients. Let them meditate upon the marvelous effects of this Sacr,a-menl~ whose effect is in part conditioned by the dispositions of the recipient. Scripture and spiritual books provide ~ wealth of material., ~ The bread the angel fed the prophet .Elias prefigures the effects of the Eucharist. Most patients find themselves in a predicament simi-lar to tha~ of the p~ophet of the Old Testamen't, who was worn out with trials, tortured by his enemies, wandering weak and sick through the.wilderness. In desperation Elias prayed, "Lord, it is enough for me, take away my soul." He fell asleep under the shadow of a juniper tree, and an angel awoke him, s~ying, "Arise an'd eat.'" He ate and drank and fell asleep again. The angel of the.Lord came to him a second time, "Arise, eat, for thou bast yet a great way to go." Elias .arose and ate, and the Scripture states, "He walked in the stre.ngth of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb." (Kings 19:1-8.) What a fitting parallel to the "living bread that has come down ¯ from heaven," and how like Elias is the person in sickness! In his misery and anxiety' be may be moved t'o exclaim with the prophet, "Lord, it is enough for me, take away my soul. The angel of the sick, the nurse., is at hand to arouse him, "Partake of the bread of life." In this bread he will have strength to continue his journey to the mount of God; to heaven, for-be will have "life everlasting~ and I will raise him upon 'the last day~" ViatIinc ugmiv iinn gd athneg efra iotfh fduela tthh,e tphree C.cheuprtc ohb tleiagcinhges t htheem i mtop roerctaenivcee. tohfe having Christ with us on the journEyfrom this earth. "This Sacra~ ment is called the'Viaticum by sacred writers, both because it is the spiritual food by which we are sustained in our pilgrimage ,through this life, and also because it paves our way to eternal glory and hap-piness" (Catechism of 'the Council of Trent, McHugh and Callan, p:215). Next ~ve are reminded of the health-giving properties of the Eu-charist, since it is called an eternal ~emedy of body and soul. ~If the woman suffering twelve years from h.emorrhage was restored to health merely by touching the tassel of our Lord's cloak, '~hat is the blessed effect upon the pbrson who takes Christ's body upon his tongue and receives Him into his heart? For "this is the Bread that .,38 , danuarg, 1953 COMMUNION IN HOSPITALS comes down from heaven, so that if anyone eat of it he will not die." In the prayer beforehis Communion the priest :s.ays, "By Thy mercy, may the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord'3estis Christ, be profitable to the safety and health both of soul and body." After Communion he prays, "What we have taken with our mouth, O Lord, may we re-ceive with a pure heart; and 6f a temporal gift may it become to us an everlasting healing." (Roman Missal.) And recall the prayer of the priest as he gives Communion to the faithful, "May the Body of Our Lord 3esus Christ preserve thy soullunto life everlasting." In the OffiCe of Corpus Christi we read in the second noc.turn., "of all, the Sacraments none is more health-giying, for by it sins are washed away, virtues are'increased, and the soul is fedwith an abundance of all spiritual gifts." In comparison with this health-giving food all the scientific medications and treatments available in the ~nodern hospital pale into significance. The so-called "miracle drugs" are at the best but temporary helps to better ,health. The Eucharist 'is the only real, permanent, miraculous medicine. Other medicines and treatments merely postpone the inevitable death; this keeps the soul for life ever-lasting. The great philosopher, St. Augustine, describes tile riches of this Gift of God, in these words: "God, all-wise though He be, knows nothing better; all-powerful though He be, can do nothing more excellent; infinitely rich though He be, has nothing more pre-ciou~ to give, than the Eucharist." Now, how may these truths enter into the thinking of the patient and dispose him to receive Holy Communion? This will haveto be achieved through the usual routine procedures. Neces'sarily there must be rputine, otherwiseduring the busy evening and the more busy, Morning there wo.uld be nothing done. But judgment and intelli-gence, faith and zeal, will put, Christian value in what otherwise is merely mechanical. For instance, the simple detail of drawing up the Communion list, can be done with a faith and enthusiasm that will make the patient realize the 'Lord's invitation. This can be done without catechizing or giving a discourse on the Sacrament. Tl~e initial step is most important because it involves the decision of the patient; it is the mofft delicate because people so easily miscon-strue our interest and concern ~ibout their religious'practice. The more ¯ objective and impers0n~il the nurseis in explaining the opportunity for Holy Communion the less chance there is to draw resentment from the sensitive who feel that ",it is none of your business." In 39 THOMAS SULLIVAN Reoiew for Religious giving expression to the Lord's invitation, the nurse, like St. Paul, must be all things ,to all people. This simple routine is the first step in what might be called the remote preparation of the patient for Holy Communion. The next might be notifying the chaplain, should the patient want to go to -confession. Especially in the case of a patient who is to have surgery~ the next morning is this very necessary. If the patient is not in a. private room, the nurse should arrange for con'fession in a place where there can be privacy; and, too, she should advise the ch~plai'n of the best time to come so as to avoid the rush of surgery proce-dures. The chaplain will want to take greater pai.ns with his patient~ penitents, and it will be his absolution in the Sacrament :of Penance that will make ready the "large upper room furnished." The Master says, "Make ready the guest chamber for.Me'." Do we need another reminder? Then, reflect on the care and pains of the hospital procedures before surgery.' The success of surgery depends much on the proper preparation of the patient and his physical and mental condition. For this it is necessary that the patient be in the hospital the night before, that all tests and precautions,be taken. There is a striking parallel in the reception of Holy Communion, counseling us to exercise some care to make ready the patient-com-municants. A contrary parallel follows. Surgery at the hands of even the most skilled surgeon is a great risk to the life of a person in poor physical condition. So likewise this most health-giving Food can mean eternal death to the one. not proper!y disposed. Remem-ber the severe words Of the Lord to the guests who had not on the ,wedding garment. Think; too, of what St. Paul says of those who eat and drink condemnation to themselves. Ther~ is an immediate preparation for Holy Communion that is also very important. At an early hour of the morning the nurse will awaken the patient; and, while she is tidying up the room, seeing that things are clean and in order, and a fresh sheet on the bed, she. has the opportunity to explain the reason, the coming of a great Visi-tor. All. must be clean and neat, especially the soul of the recipient. If 'the patient has a prayer-book and rosary, place them conveniently at his reach. Many hospita.ls hav.e a special card with prayers before-and after Communion. If the patient is unusually drowsy, as is the case so often with those who have taken sedatives, the night nurse should see that the patient is again aroused shortly before the priest comes. The priest 40 danuarv, 1953 will often hesitate, except in the~case of Viaticum, abofitgiving Holy Communion to a person who is too sleepy to keep awake. It goes without saying that the patient should not be ~listurbed for some ten minutes to allow for s, uitable thanksgiving. Tests and trays and shots can be delayed a few minutes; these moments after Holy Communion belong to God. The patient should be alone with His Gbd. , Language cannot express adequatery the great benefits of Hol.y Communion and the hospital cannot do too much to help the patient profit by each Communion. But even the most zealous efforts in establishing p~oper hospital procedure to assure worthy recipients of the Sacrament are not sufficient. Human efforts are necessary, but it "is God's grace that is more so. Our Blessed Lord in His famous dis-course on the Eucharist in St. ~ohn's Gospel reminds us, "No one can come to me unldss he is enabl.ed to do so ~by the Father." This is why we must invoke the angels and the saints t0 assist our weak human efforts to help patient-communicants be better dis- ~posed. St. John the Baptist could well be selected as the patron for worthy reception of Communion, since it was his vocation to "make ready the way of the Lord." Such is the mind of the Church in the Liturgy, as in the Confiteor we pray, "the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, the blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me." The priest fore distributing Communion begs God to send His angel down from" heaven "to guard, cherisl~, protect, visit,, and defend all that,assemble in this dwelling." MEDICO.MORAL PROBLEMS Part IV of the series of booklets entitled "Medico-Moral Problems, by Gerald Kelly, S.J., contains the article, "The Fast Before Communion," formerly pub-lished in REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS,. March, 1'945. Other topics treated in the book-let concern the consent of the patient, the need of having and 'following consulta-tion, the relationship of doctor~ and department supervisors, induction "of labor, unnecessary surgery, the papal teaching on rhythm, and so forth. The booklet also contains a critical list of recommended readings for doctors. Taken together, the four b~oklets cover most of the practical ethical and reli-gious problems that confront doctors and hospital personnel. For the most part, the articles are commentaries on various sections of the Catholic hospital code, Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Hospitals. Price of the code, 25 cents: of 'each part o~ Medico-Moral Problems, 50 cents: of the complete set of five booklets, $2.00. Reductions on quantity orders. Order from: The Catholic Hospital As-sociation, !438 So. Grand Blvd., St. Louis 4, Mo. 41 Congress in Rome THE first International Congress of Mothers General was held in I. Rome September 11 to 13, 1952. The address" of the Holy Father to the delegates in a special audience on Sdptember 15 was printed inthe November number of the Reoiew (pp. 305-308). The present incomplete report on the congress itself is based on notes sent us by some of the delegates and on the newspaper accounts of the event from-L'Osseroatore Romano (September 11, 12, and, 14, 1952). Perhaps other delegates can supplement this material by sending communications with their own impressions. The congres.s of mothers general of pbntifical institutes was con-vened by the Sacred Congregation of Religious to discuss and co-ordinate more efficiently the religious and technical training of mem-bers of the apostolate. The papers prepared for the congress described the conditions and needs at the present time, gave helpful suggestions, and put forward the idea of establishing at Rome a pontifical, uni-versity for religious women and a commission of mothers:general to facilitate communication and liaison betw.een ecclesiastical superiors and individual institutes. The latter, it was said emphatically, is not to be a kind of "super-government.". The superiors general and tl~ose who represented and accompan-ied them came in Such large numbers that the, meetings v~ere trans-ferred from the assembly room of the Sacred Congregation of Reli-gious to that of the Gregorian L'lniv~rsity. after the first morning. An eye witness writes of the first afternoon session: "I counted the num-ber of Sisters in the Gregorian assembly room, since I didn't u~nder-stand the .Italian. My count was 800." Of these, 200 were dele-gates representing 800 religious institutes for women. Countries represented inelude~i Italy, Australia. India, France, Germany, Eng-land. Spain; Canada, and the 'United States. The opening address was given by the Most Rev. Arcadio Lar-raona, C.M.F., the secretary Of the Sacred Congregation of Religious. He pointed out that the purpose of the meeting was not "reform-- for which, thank God, there was no need but improveme'nt, by bringing up to d~te the ideals 6f the founders and foundresses with a willing, intelligent adaptation of means to the end. "We. r~ust do today what our founders would do if they were alive." The next speaker, the Rev. Riccardo Lombardi, S.J., stressed the grave~ resp6nsibility of superiors general to make the best use of their 42 CONGRESS IN ROME subjects' talents. To waste them or leave them unused is a fault just hs much as wasting one's own talents through carelessness or sloth. Natural capabilities and qualities of heart, and mind, which would have given a Sister considerable influence in the world had she not entered religion are to be cultivated by good training. The general subject introduced by Father Lombardi, the training for the apostolate, was next developed in four talks which indicated specific modifications for different parts of the world. The Rev. A. PlY. O.P. "the editor of La Vie Spirituelle. reportedon the training of religious in France. The representative for Spanish-speaking peo-ples. Father Leghisa. C.M.F., made a special plea for a better local distribution of various apostolic efforts. Mother Bernarda Peeren-boom. 0.S.U.' spoke for Germany, and Mother Magdalen Bellasis. O.S.U. for English-speaking countries. 'Mother Magdalen pointed out that some prevailing conditions in English-speaking countries .would call for greater emphasis on cer-tain aspects of training. Greater temporal prosperity (not i~ Eng-land since the war) underlines the need to stress poverty of spirit: "They must learn to want to be poor, to prefer to have less rather than more." The spirit of self government and the earlier emanci-pation of women reqmres more stress on-and explanation of the principles of religious obedience. The fact that Catholics are a mi-nority is a spur to.zeal, but it demands of faith. "There is a certain danger selves in a small minority, will suffer which, prevents energetic action. They that they have something splendid to solid instruction in the truths that.Catholics, feding them-from an inferiority compl~x must be given the conviction offer to the world and that their religion is something to be proud of." Monsignor Giovanni Battista Scapinelli,.under-secretary of the Shcred Congregation of Religious, gave a long, documented account of the co-operative efforts and .the movements toward federation in various countries and then proposed the formation of a central" and international co-ordination of forces. 'As an example of a co-operative effort, he proposed the foundation in each country of a hos-pital reserved for sickSisters. (It seems that in some countries Sis-ters- have to be cared for in pfiblic.hospitals.) The study of u'nit~- was continued in the three talks the fol-lowing morning. D6n Secur~do de Bernardis, S.D.B. ~poke of the need of gr.eater mutual knowledge and complementary co-operation among the different institutes. Then Mother M. Vianney, O.S.U., read a pap,r on the advantages of having a permanent Commission 43 CONGRESS IN ROME Review for Religious of Superiors General a[ Rome. The third speaker, Monsignor Luigi Pepe. the General Secretary of the Congress, spoke of the need of higher studies in religion. He urged provision for such studies in each country and proposed a financial plan for founding a faculty of religious studies at Rome for nuns and women' engaged in apostolic work.~ An auditor 'called the afternoon talk by the Rev. l~mile Bergh, S.3., "a soul-stirring conference." The heart of this talk was a,n examination of conscience for the past twenty-five years. This examination is given in the present number on page 14. He also gave some suggestions for the future. For instance, he mentioned that real days of recollection and retreat be organized that would provide a rest for the body too so that the soul might be ableto profit more from these exercises. After this, Father Larraona gave some practical directions of the Holy See for apostolic work in the field of education, re-education, care of the sick, and social wbrk. On Saturday morning he met with the superiors general while the other religious held group discussion in their own language groups. The congress was then closed with a brief address by His Eminence Cardinal Pizzardo, the secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Studies. , Observations . , The foregoing is a running, factual account of the congress as we. have been able to piece it together from our sources. To this we might. add a few of the more personal observations made by some Ameri-cans who attended the congress. ¯ Several have noted that there seemed to be very little realization in Italy of what we already have in this country. For example, we already have a splendid system of Catholic schools providing higher st.udies for women, not excluding religious. Also, many of our hos-pitals provide special care'for Sisters. As was noted in the Holy Father's address, previously published in the Review, he recommended modifications in the religious habit when this is necessary for hygiene or the better accomplishment of the work of the institute. We have not yet' obtained a copy of Father Larraona's address, but we have heard that when he mentioned this question of modifying the habit, he said that permission would readily be granted if the iequest was sponsored by amajority of the members of. an institute, and if the change could be made without ,]anuarg, 1953 CONGRESS IN ROME loss of harmony. The main thing, he said, is to keep peace in the family. (Not his exact words, but a good English equivalent.) And this reminds us bf another observation made by an Ameri-can delegate. "Looking at the habits that garb som~ of these dear, good religious,, we can't wonder that the Father of us all would like to see us clad in less grotesque and more unostentatious dress! Ours is surely the simplest here.'" Then she added: "'But it may be that everyone else, thinks tbe~same of hers!" (We have supplied the italics.) We c~onclude with another observation from an American mother ger~eral: "It was a grand and glorious assembly, and since we were there in obedience to the wish of our Holy Father, our being in Rome was grand and glorious too. However, the language q(~estion was a great drawback. We realized that it was international, but we felt that we lost too much since we, so many of us, had no knowl-edge of Italian. We were generally given a resum~ of the talk in the various languages, but that wasn't too satisfactory." SUMMARY OF THE CONGRESS ~ The superiors general, reunited in Rome, 'in response to the de-sires and directives of the Holy See, consider it opportune to sum-marize the work and conclusions Of the Congress as follows: The superiors general with their council will ~ollaborate in the holy movement of revitalizing the religious spirit, conforming to the needs of the Church and of the world in this historic moment. This revitalizing of the religious spirit must be basedon the spirit of our founders and fo~ndresses and of their outstanding disciples, while adapting itself to present needs and utilizing the immense resources at band in order to reach hearts and minds with the same broad vision and courage which the holy founders and foundresses would have bad today; Points for the Ascetical Life 1. Particular care must be taken to develop the personality of each religious in the exercise of Christian virtue and in the generous. dedication to religious virtue. 2. Maternal care must be taken of the health of the' religious; the work of each must be 'orderly and moderate; each religious must have time for her exercises of piety. 3. The schedules must always be reasonable and adapted to the various regions and apostolic ministries today confided to religious; 45 ¯ CONGRESS iN ROME Review for Religious 4. Care must be taken of the sick with promptness and exquisite charity. , Superiors must co-oper~lte in the organization of hospitals and s~anatoriums for religious. 5. In their individual houses, the superiors general will make it possible for al~ religious to lead a Christian life, by giving ample bp-portu. nity to receive the sacraments, and to carry out the duties im-posed on them by their consecration to God, by providing time for days of retreat, Spiritual exercises, and devotional practices common to the individual institute. Points regarding Government , I. It must. be remembered that we have need of superiors arid of teachers W.ho are well~balanced, nobl~-minded, refined holy souls or those strongly resolved to become so. They m!~st be ,well pre-pared for their sacred mission and, forgetful of themselves, give gen- ¯ erousI~ to their offide, striving to evaluate justly the natural and supernatural gifts of their subjects. 2. S.ubjects gifted With prudence and foresight should be chosen for superiors and for such offices as mistress ~)f novices and postu-lants. Young religious should not be excluded from higher office if they have the necessary natural and spiritual qualifications. Care must be taken not to ask more than canon law exacts nor should we be obstinate in the question of re-election. It is the mind of the Church that her laws and the cons'titutions of the institute be ob-served, both of-which prescribe the change of superiors so that no religious superior may be deprived pf the blessing of obedience. ,.' It is to be noted that when conditions are equal between a superior in office and a new carJdidate, preference should.be given to the new candidate. In :this way unpleasant situations'can be avoided and a greater num-ber of religious will be formed for governing. 3. In governing, in making the necessary decisions, such as changes, transfers, the equal distribution of work, one must "be guided by wisdom and charity. ' 4, In making ;¢isitations all the necessary time should be taken to examine well everything regarding the subjects, the houses, the registers, and the like. Each religious should be given an opportunity to speak freely and privately. The superiors and religious charged with various offices should enjoy a certain amount of' trust, while they sh0t~ld always remember that they are religi0u,s, subject to dis-cipline according to their respective offices. 46 d~nuarg, 1953 CONGRESS 'IN) ROME Special, Training 1. The creation of institutes of" higher education similar to those already existing for religiousorders of men. In these institutions the religious will study at least the essential' elements of Christian asceti-cism, of the religious li~e, of theology, of philosophy, of pedagogy, of psy~chology, of canon and civil lav~, and other subjects necessary for the direction of cofisecrated souls. 2. The introduction of a cours~ in orientation. This course may be given in the individual institute or tothe religious of various con-gregations grouped together. The. aim of this course is to acquaint religious with the needs and the trends .of the times in their various fields of activity. ~= 3, The diffusion among the religious of reviews of general and specific interests that may be of value'to them in their apostolate.~ 4. An intelligent, study of the documents of the Holy See. The Apostolate 1. It must 'be remembered that the apostolate is a grace, a voca-tion to which one must correspond, faithfully fulfilling the new ob-ligations which have been aisumed. The spiritual values must be main.tained,"tbe spirit of. prayer must be re-awakened, and the tell- ¯ gious'must be given 'the opportunity of making their spiritual re-treats. They must have the benefit of courses an'd have access to lit-erature that will enrich' their spiritual life. 2. It must b~ remembered that the apostolate is also a science and an art and that the Holy S~e ir~sists on high standards in literary, .technical, and profession.al training of religious, on the necessity of degrees required for the exercise of the various prbfessions; on the ne-cessity of aspiring to a greater degree of proficiency, never thinking that one's training is adequate for the present need. 3. It must be remembered what great profit can be derived from the formation of secretariates for apostolic works" both in the single provinces and in the entire congregation. Collaboration' It is sad to say. that religious frequently are indifferent to one an-other in their apostolic work. Perhaps this is more noticeable among superiors than among the members. There is a tendency to act and to think as though we were not perfect Christians bound fraternally to those who like ourselves are, striving for religious perfection. Milch harm is done to the Church and to souls by this indifference and 47 danudr~,1953 many worthy apostolic works are hindered in their development by this deplorable lack of union. By fraternal collaboration we can in-tensify our common actions for the greater glory of God and ,thus realize works which would be impossible to the individual congrega- ,tions. , The superiors general conforming to the designs of the Sacred Congregation and following the example of the superiors of the reli-gious orders of men, will constitute a committee to provide a com-mon center of information, of co-ordination, and of collaboration. General Aims of Committee 1. To gather in accordance with the Secretary of the Central Commission, already existing .at the Sacred Congregation of Reli-gious, that information which could be useful to the congregation ,regarding. various problems such as questions of the apostolate, ori-entation, defense, propaganda, administration, and authoritative reports. 2. To promote congresses, conferences, and courses of general and particular interests which are deemed necessary or useful and to organize them, after having informed the proper authorities. 3. To. reply to questions that may be asked by the Holy See. 4. To present to the Sacred Congregation of Religious any in-formation that might reflect the needs and the desires of the various~ congregations. 5. To serve as a secure and rapid means of t.ransmitting~com-munications of importance to the religious 'congregations. 6. To organize works of common interest and benefit or, at leasi~, to study the concrete projects that may be presented. Particular Aims of the Committee i. To create a pontifical institute of higher religious education. 2. To suggest the organization in various countries of courses for the ascetical and pedagogical formation, both for the religious in general and for specialized groups such as superiors, mistresses of novices, and prefects of study. ;. 3. To collect sVatistics regarding the distribution' of work, ,vari-ous apostolic needs, the fruits obtained, the difficulties encountered, ~and the like. 4. To formulate conclusions on common problems to be sub-mitted to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. 5, To promote the organization of schools for higher education by groups of congregations. ' 48 Shunfing Facilities Albert Muntsch, S.3. RAILROAD yards possess shunting facilities which enable the yard-master to move quickly a row of cars ~to a siding to make room for incoming or outgoing trains. The more complete such provisions, the less danger of collision at times of heavy traffic and travel. As we go thrdugh life we all need, at times, facilities, of escape-from spiritual or moral dangers that threaten ruin 1~o the immortal soul. We need them also to find relief from the worry, depression, and disappointments that beset every traveler through the pilgrimage of life to the eternal homeland. We may regard such avenues of escape as spiritual shunting facilities. Fortunately we have them in abun-dance. Like the "rare day in ,lune" they are free to all. And what is more, these "shunting facilities" have a beneficent effect. They will surely work if we do not place an obstacle in the way. Some of the great heroes whom we honor in the calendar of (he saints tell us that a reverential glance at the crucifix was to them a source of courage and of spiritual strength in the hour of trial.~ It is easy, to imitate them. We carr~y,the cross on our rosary. How easy ¯ ¯ to look devoutly and with confidence at the sweet symbol of salva-tion! Surely there is always hope and healing for the troubled soul in the cross of Christ. Pragers consisting of three or four words--prayers which may be uttered on the crowded street, as well as in the quiet of the home, are an easy way to gain new strength and much-needed hope. Let us try to cultivate this practice of utteri,ng such ejaculatory prayers. "My 3esus, mercy," is a familiar example. We shall become the richer s~iritually for forming this excellent habit. It can provide a good avenue of escape from many of the little'worries, that eat into the~ heart and make the soul unfit for larger efforts in God's Kingdom. A brief visit to the chapel--what a wonderful means for fighting . off weariness in well-doing and for laying up new resources against the,.hour of temptation! We are in God's house.Perhaps we see other souls praying for the same graces we need in the spiritual journey. It is always edifying to enter St. Peter's Church, near the D~ar- 49 ALBERT MUNTSCH born,Station in Chicago, at any hour of the day, and become one of the man,y dev6ut clients of the Sacred' Heart. There ~ill be scoies of men and women frbm all walks of life who have turned aside from the busy street and the roar of commerce to find hea!ing for the soul. Rich and pgor, young.and old, saint and ~inner, native son and im-migrant all on the same high quest. They needed a spiritual siding so they turned into God's holy house~to avoid some snare or spir-itual danger or to lay up strength for the day's, ceaseless conflict. With a song of g.ladness from the heart we may take up anew life's daily burden. We are not like those who are without hope. We see a light ever-shining. There are many beacoi~ lights even in the darkest hour. For a loving Providence has providedus weary pil-grims, with many a station at which to stop for second wind while press!ng forward to the goal. Now such spiritual shunting facilities are of immense value to, and even of great necessity for r~li~ious. Many are engaged 'in the splendid work o~ Catholic hospitals, following in the footsteps of Christ, the Divine Physician. But both patients and nurses may. at times become wearied and their hearts may become oppressed with bitterness. They need a spiritual._siding. Religious persons should often dwell on one of the g[eatest prob-lems the problem 9f human suffering. It is contemplation on the su.fferings, of Christ which will enable them to find thoughts of hope and inspiration for their suffering patients who are about to give up the struggle, abandon ~hope, and listen to the tempter'of souls. An eminent physician refers to the immense value of the "simple habit of prayer" for those who are nervously depressed. This simple habit of prayer and an act of faith in the divine value of suffering patiently borne may provide spiritual shunting facilities.for both the nurse and heb patient. "The drudgery of the classroom" has become, almost a proverbial expression. When the duties of teaching seem hard, it would'be well for teachers to realize that in ten or twenty years the boys or girls, who~ are now often a sourde of trouble, will be young men and women. They will be on the front line and may be exposed to seri-ous temptations. Under the tutelage of the Catholic teacher, they fnust prepare themselves now for victory in that critical hour. T~his vision of the future will help provide shunting facilities for the tem-porary snarl of discouragement. The vision should prove an inspi-ration to persevere .faithfully in the Christian apostolate of teaching. 50 ( uestdons an.cl Answers When H01y Saturday services are held in a convent chapel on Satur-day evening, terminating with the Mi.dnlght Mass, what is the correct order for the Divine Office on Holy Saturday, and what versicles, re-sponses, and prayers should be used for' grace at the noon and evening meal? Should the Alleluia be omitted at grace when the Holy Saturday services take place in the-evenlng? The answers concerning'the Office are contained in a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, dated January 11, 1952 (Acta Apos-toticae Sedis, January 25., i§52, pp. 50-63), giving_ directions for the c~lebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening with the Easter Mass followiiag about midnight. Regarding the grace at ~able, which is not covered by the Decree, confer below. The pre-scriptions for the Divine Office are as follows: MATINS and LAUDS are not anticipated-.on Friday ev,ening, but are said Saturday.morning at.a convenient hour. At the end of Lauds the antiphon Christus factus est is ~epeated with a Pat'-'r Nos-ter, but the psalm Miserere is 6mitted. and the following prayer is substituted for the Respice quaesumus: Concede, quaesumus, Omnipotens Deus: ut qui Fitii tui resurrec-tionem devota expectatione praeuenirnus; ejusdem resurrectionis glo-riam- consequamur. The conclusion Per eundem Dorninum is said silently. SMALL HOURS are ~aid as on Holy Thursday, en~ling with the antiphon Cbristus factus est and a Pater Noster. The psalm Miserere is omitted, but the new prayer Concede is said as indicated above at Lauds. VESPERS are 'said at a.convenient h6ur in /he afternoon as on Holy Thursday, with the following changes: Antiphon 1: Hodie agtictus sum valde, sed cras solvam uincula Antiphon for the Magnificat: Principes sacerdotum et pharisaei munierunt sepulcrum, signantes lapidem, cure custodibus. The antiphon for the Magnificat is repeated and the Christus factus est, Pater Noster, and Miserere are omitted. The prayer noted above for Lauds is said: This concludes ~espers. COMPLINE is omitted on Holy Saturday evening. 51 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Revietv ?or Religious Until the Sacred Congregation of Rites issues an official text for grace at meals,, the f,ollowing, which keeps the parallel between the Office'and the meal prayers to be found in t'he Breviary at present, is suggested as a form which may be used on Holy Saturday: AT THE NOON MEAL: Cbristus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis and a Pater Noster. Then recite the new prayer Concede, given above at the end of Lauds, ter-mmat! ng it with Per eundem Dominum "to be said silently. AT THE EVENING MEAL: V. Principes sacerdotum et pharisaei munierunt sepulchrum. R. Signantes lapidem, cure cus-todibus. Then a Pater Noster and the prayer Concede as given abo~e with its silent ending. The Alleluia will not occur in the Office or grace at table on Holy Saturday because it has not yet been su.ng officially. This will occur during the Easter Vigil. ~2m Throughout ~he year we chant the Little Office of Our Blessed Lady in choir. During the last three days of Holy Week we replace this¯ by the Office of the Roman Breviary. However, at Matins on these days we spy only the first nocturn. Is this a proper'and permissible omission? In his Hol~l Week in L. arge and Sm~ all Churches, Father Law-rence J. O'Connell states the following: "Tenebrae.services may be .held not~0nly in cathedral, collegiate, conventual, and parochial churches,.but also i,n chhpels of convents and other institutions where the Blessed Sacrament is habitually reserved . If all three nocturns of Matins cannot be sung, it is sufficient to sing the first nocturn and the Benedictus.'" (See also W'apelhorst, n. 360, 6!). The custom of replacing the Little Office of Our Lady with the Divine Office during the Sacred Triduum seems reasonable and jus-tifiable. In a congent where the Holy Week services are not held, when is it proper to uhcover the crucifix on Good Friday? There does not seem to be any special legislation on the .subject. Hence it is suggested that the crucifix be uncovered after the services held in the parish church in whose territory it is situated. Our constitutions state that if anythlncj is left over it is to be sent to the provincial house. Sometimes we have to send our salaries before we 52 Januarg, 1953 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS pay our food and book bills. We have to make so many excuses when the collector comes. This cjives us a bad local reputation, and our credit is not good. Hence firms expect us to pay cash. Is it proper to

Issue 12.4 of the Review for Religious, 1953. ; The Spiril: ot: SI:, Clare and I-ler Order Sister M. Immaculata, P.C: CEVEN centuries'ago, on August 11, 1253, the shadows of death ~ were lengthening around a group of sorrowing nuns whose ~ foundress and Mother lay dying. In ecstatic joy, she clasped to her heart a roll of parchment sealed with the Fisherman's seal. Clare Sceffi, a. noble lady of Assisi, had fled from her castle home when she was eighteen to follow Francis Bernardone. Francis had dreamed of adventure for. Christ, and no one had caught~ the flame of love that burned in his heart more ardently than Clare. Fran~is's course had now been run a full quarter of a century, and he was already b.eing venerated as the great saint whose popularity would grow even to our own day. pope Innocent IV had ascended the throne of Peter but the year before. His keen vision scanned the lower!rig storm clouds over a Europe ever beset by the Moslem threat. Could he but make the rulers of the Christian countries bestir themselves out of their com-fortable and only too often lustful letha/gy, to heed his call "God wills it !" With the burdens of ~his exalted, office heavy upon him, he, the Vicar of Christ thought of one little virgin, hidden behind cloister walls in Assisi. He knew Clare, heard she was dying; and he remem-bered the intrepid courage with which she had pleaded with him and some of his predecessors for approval Of her Rule, and of the Seraphic poverty to which she and her Daughters aspired. Innocent, like several Pontiffs before him, had,hesitated to approve a rule of life requiring such poverty as Saint Francis had bequea.thed to Saint Clare and her Daughters. Men, they thought, might oblige themselves to observe it,-but what of cloistered nuns? What would become of a community thus deprived of all revenue and financial security? Innocent was thinking of Clare, thinking of how she lay dying, her one wish and desire unfulfilled. He did not send her a message of comfort and his blessing. Under the inspiration, no doubt of~ the Holy Spirit, he grasped his pen, signed the Bull of approval con-taining her Rule; and then, with his retinue, turned his face toward Assisi. There at San Damiano he entered tl~e lowly cell of Clare and placed in her hands the approval for which she had prayed and 169 SISTER M. IMMACULATA Re~evo :or Religious ~)leaded and suffered for over f.orty years. We can imagine" the astonishment of Clare and her Sisters when the Holy Father himself stood at the convent portals. How she must have pre,ssed that docu-ment to her heart and sung her last hymn of love to Christ her Spouse. Clare had imbibed th.e spirit of Francis at its source, .cher-ishing it firmly and wholly, and bequeathing it to her Daughters as they knelt at her death bed. And they have cherished, loved, and guarded it. They have preserved it unchanged since 1253. Through 700 years the Rule of Saint Clar~ has often been buffeted by storms, and has been wounded at times by the infidelity of her children, but it has always emerged in its first freshness and .strength. It still lives in 1953, and today there.are 19 houses of Poor Clares in the United Stat~s. Our modern age has not been able to undermine the observance of the Rule nor destroy its spirit. The order has grown silently, spreading its branches in neaily every country of the world. No nationality but has found the Rule and its spirit congenial, so that the daughters of Saint Clare scattered throughout the countries of the world have always been able to adapt themselves to her Rule, which .has proved .independent of time or place. Today our American girls still observe the Rule Innocent IV placed in the hands 0f the dying foundress. " What is the spirit, contained in the Rule of Saint Clare? As. in ¯ her own time, her Daughters live a contemplative life in strict en-closure. The spirit, one of poverty, love of prayer leading to closest union with God, is joyous, and their personal sanctification is as much for the efficacious gaining of gra~e for"soul~ as for the strength-ening of the bond of love in the order. It is a life of joyful giving, closing the doors to what the world calls pleasure by the vow of en-closure, thus finding the treasure which is worth more than all pos-sessions. Though it embraces the deprivation of "the things the world de-sires and cherishes, this seclusion with its penance does not entail a sad, bleak; and joyless existence. It is not the thing~ that are barred from the cloister which bring peace and joy to the soul, but those that are found within, of which the world knows nothing. There is song in the heart of the cloistered nun. for she is not burdened with the superfluous gadgets and noises which fill so many hours of our com-plex modern life. Saint Francis has been coi~sidered a model of penance and self-abnegation, but was ever saint more joyous? Hadever a saint a heart 170 ,July, 1953 SPIRIT OF ST. CLARE more full of music? His seemed to be an overflowing fountain of happiness, and he communicated it to those around him. In this, as in all else, Saint Clare was his faithful follower. Penance for her was not practiced for penance's sake. It was an outlet for the love burning in her heart ,and reaching out for more adequate fuel to feed its flame. This joyous spirit still pervades the cloisters where the Daughters of Saint Clare follow in her footsteps and observe her Rule. Their hearts are the cups that still hold the happiness of which the world has now so little, because their lives are still spent in genuine love and wholehearted giving. The worlff today is filled with sorrow and suffering,, and count: less hearts.are bearing a burden they could well consider supreme penance, did they but think of accepting all in a spirit of penance. The heart's most loving, if inarticulate, acceptance of penance is the willing b~aring of the unwelcome burdens so often placed on it by God. To be silent and lovingly resigned is always, to practice pen-ance in a very perfect form. The Daughters of Saint Clare vowing a Rule which imposes manypenances are but reaching out for greater love, ~vhich is warded With greater joy in God's service. Penance is not ugly, harsh, and fearsome. The bell which call~ one to ri~e from welcome sleep to seek the light of the sanctuary in the dead of night may sound un-welcome to a tired body: but is theie anything rfiore beautifuf_than the religious wending their silent 'way to the choir to make their first act of adoration before their Lord in the taberf.acle when the day has just begun? Standing in their stalls, they offer the praise of virgins before the face of~God, a prayer with the Son of God, ",bhile the world sleeps or sins. Does anyone know the joy in the hearts of those who give Him this homage? So it is with all the penances.prac7 ticed by the Daughters 6f Saint Clare. Penance for penance's sake is repugnant, meaningless, and very often food- for pride and phari-saism, so entirely alien to the spirit of Saint Clare. Penance for "love's sake is sweet. If there are still hearts in the world today which know unalloyed joy, they are undoubtedly those whose lives are being poured out in the most unselfish and wholehearted giving. Their joy is most full because their lives are most full of giving. The transition from the life of our modern girl to a postu!a~nt the cloister is not so drastic as some would suppose. Young, eager, lighthearted, with a soul attuned to God's grace, she assumes by slow degrees the duties and customs to which she adapts herself. She learns 171 SISTER M. IMMACULATA Review for Religious to love the hours of prayer, the Divine Office, the silence and regu-larity, The joyous acceptance of the sacrifices imposed by the Rule creatds a deep happiness and peace, which is found" especially in the hours of prayer. Prayer is not a ready-made gift in anyone. It en-tails mortification, is often itself mortification, but a mortification that decreases as the spirit of prayer and union with God increases There are no secrets of rapid progress over the rough path that leads to union with God, except the secret of persistent self-abnegation and striving for that wlsich obliterates self, and builds up in us the Christlikeness which alone makes us one with Him. But God does not lure us into the wilderness of. the contemplative life to forsake us and l'eave us to our own helplessness. True, we seem to take a leap in the dark When we embrace the contemplative life, but our Lover is not a human being whom we fear to trust. Like Clare who left her castle home in the dead of night, her Daughters follow where their Divine Spouse leads, and the path. is ever to union with God and the embrace of the Holy Spirit. While the enclosed life of contemplation should not be glamor-ized, neither should it be made a fearful existence df joyless sacrifice and penance. Too often is either mistake made. Those who look for a thrill rush to embrace what they do not understand, looking for something occult, dxpecting tangible thrills of gra.ce or ecstatic prayer before they have hid anything like the foundations of the spiritual life. On the other hand, ferszent though timid souls are often over-come by fear of what may be expected of them once they step behind the cloister walls. Neither is the correct attitude. Those to whom God gives a vocation to the contemplative life, have, nearly always, a natural yearning for God. They want Him, are looking for means of. union with~Him, "have a certain joy in prayer, and, with the light affd guidance of the Holy" Spirit, find pehce of soul in the difficult stretchds of the way as well as happiness in His tornforts. Union with God is a growing state, and though it often advances in dark-ness there are times when it comes into the light, and a light that does not fade entirely even when the way is again through dryness. There is too much emphasis put on the trials, sufferings, and dark-ness of the interior life and not enough on the joy in God and peace Of soul found therein. It has been said that Saint Clare, had she lived in our day, would have founded a missionary order. No Daughter of hers would ever consent to this opinion. Clare knew without a doubt to what she 172 dulg, 1953 SPIRIT OF ST. CLARE was called and she never wavered. She did not simply follow a pat-tern of her time. Indeed, we know that a number of:Benedictine houses, especially the large one at Florence, took the Rule of Saint Clare. It was Agnes, her sister, who was sent there to be the abbess under the new Rule. Francis knew Clare was a contemplative, as he was himself, and the hearts of both were so much the missionary's that no field of labor would ever satisfy' their zeal. Nothing less than the entire world would be Clare's mission field, as it was that of Francis and his Order. Italy and Assisi were no closer to her than the farthest-flung mission. No contempla.tive is one indeed if she has not' the heart of a missionary. Francis's was the call to go out and preach,. Clare's the outstretched arms of a Moses on the mount of contemplation. Clare would give to Christ, her Spouse, not only herself, but all the world. She'knew the fields were white for the harvest and she would obey the words of Christ and pray that the Master send laborers into it. He did not bid her go out and gather it in, bu~ strengthen the arms of the workers. She knew the limita-tions of her own weakness, but prayer and sacrifice, united with the prayer of Christ in the Divine Office, in in~erior love and union, were and are the all-powerful weapons which can reach the opposite ends of the earth at one and the same time. It was the spirit of Clare. as it was the spirit of Francis, to be daring enough to wish to support the Church, on her own weak shoulders, knowing that the Hands and Heart of her Divine Spouse were supporting her. The Spirit of Saint Clare, the foundress of the "Poor Clares, is still living and burning brightly after seven centuries. It calls to the heart cJf the modern girl of our cities as it did t6 those of the middle ages. The life she and Francis instituted for her Daughters is not outmoded in the 20th century, but instead is as living, warm, and joyous in the hearts of the novices of ~oday as in the days of Saint Clare in the little monastery of San Dami~no in 1253. ST. CLARE PLAY BY A POOR CLARE Candle in Umbria is the story of Saint Clare of /~ssisi told in a verse play by a Poor Clare Nun. The play of four acts, eight scenes is suitable for production by college :students or by high schools with special direction. The play was written to honor the foundress of the Poor Clares on the seventh centenary (1953) of her death. The authi~r is a regular contributor to Spirit magazine. ~$1.00 per copy, including the music for the "Canticle of the Sun" which is embodied in the play. Those interested in obtaining a copy of this productior~ should write to: Poor Clare Monastery, Route 1, Box 285 C, Roswell, New Mexico. 173 News and Views Yocational Institute at Fordl~am The Third Annual Institute on Religious and Sacerdotal Voca-tions will be held by. the School of Education, Fordham University, Wednesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 30, on the Fordham. campus. Ways of encouraging, fostering, and guiding vocations~.to the diocesan priesthood an/d to the religious life will be~ discussed by outstanding experts. For further information write to Rev. John F. Gilson,.S.J.,' Fordham Univ. Sch6ol of Education, 302 Broad-way, New York 7, N.Y. ,~ Institute of Spirituality At the National Congress of Religious, held last summer at the .University of Notre Dame, it ,was suggested that the University offer summer school courses in spiritual theology and an institute of spir-ituality each year for the Sisterhoods. This suggestion was favorably received by the representati(,es of the Sacred Congrdgation of Reli-gious and by th.e religious superiors who attended the congress. To carry the suggestion into effe~0 the Notre Dame Department of Religion is inaugurating this summer a program of courses in spir-itual- theology as part of its graduate work in view of a Master's De-gree in Religion. Moreover, since many superiors and mistresses of novices are unable to be present for the summer school, courses, the University is offering a distinct. Institute of Spirituality for them. This is also sponsored by the Department of Religion. The Institute is not a part of the academic program and offers no credits towards a degree. All the lectures and discussions are specially arranged for Sisters superior and novice mistresses. A~ the formal opening of the Institute, on the evening of July 31, His Excellency,. the Most Reverend John F. O'Hara, C.S.C., D.D., will deliver the address. From August I to 7, there will be three lectures each morning. Topics and speakers for these series of lectures are: "'The Role of the Sister Superior and Novice Mistress," by Rev. Paul Philippe, O.P.; "The Theology of the Religious Life and the Vows," by Rev. Joseph Buckley, S.M.; and "Ascetical and Mystical Theology," by Rev. Charles Corcoran, C.S.C. Each after~ noon, August 1-6, the three lecturers will cbnduct workshops on their subject-matter. On four evenings, August I-4, there will be 174 Julg, 1953 NEws AND VIEWS special lectures, running simultaneously, as follows: "The Liturgy and the R~ligious Life," by Rt. Rev. Martin Hellriegel; "Canon Law for Religious," by Rev. Romaeus O'Brien, O.Carm.; and "Psycho-physiology and Religious Sisterhoods," by Rev. Gerald Kelly, S.J. The Institute will close on the morning of August 7 with an address by Very Rev. Theodore M. He.sbargh, C:S.C., President of the Uni-versity of Notre Dame. Morol Theology ond Love There was a day when the science of Christian moralit~r included everything that is now partitioned into moral theology, ascetical the-ology, and mystical theology: in othei~'words, it included the entire Christian life, in all its degreesof perfection. Bdt the very growth of the su,bject-matter made some kin~i of division necessary, at least for teaching purposes. This division more or less limited moral the-ology to the sphere of what is obli~Tator(/: tb the study of laws, of the exact limits of the obligations imposed by the laws, to the.conditions which might constitute exemptions from these laws. and so foith. There is one great advantage of this ~partiti0n: it makes a dear distinction between what is obli~Tator~l and what is superero~lator~t; and this distinction is ext~rbmely important for the preservation of peace of soul. Nevertheless, from the point of view of moral the-ology, there is also a decided disadvantage: the science is made to ap-. pear too negative. Perhaps every student and professor of moral the-ology has been conscious of this disadgantage, and perhaps many of them h:~ve tried to find some way of introducing a more.positive and inspirational dement into moral theology without, of course, scaring its basic clarity. Father G. Gilleman, S.J., a Belgian Jesuit who teaches theology in India, suggests that moral theology can gain its necessary inspira-tional note by emphasizing charity as the very soul of the Christian life--which it truly is, whether in the sphere of obligation or' of supererogation. Those who ire'intdr~sted in improving.the method of moral theology should nbt fail to read Father Gilleman's book. The title is, Le primat de la charitd en thdologlie morale. It is pob-lished by E. Nauwelaerts, Louvain, Belgium. The price is 225 Bel-gian fr'ancs. $t. Joseph Research Center A St. Joseph" Research and Documentation Center has been estab-lished at St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal 26, Quebec. The constitu- 7.5 NEWS AND VIEWS tions of this organization have the approval of His Eminence, Paul Cardinal Lel~er, Archbishop of Montreal. The purpose of the so-ciety is to encourage a more profound study of the position of St. 2o-seph, and eventually to subsidize works published on the saint. It will sponsor research in fields such as church history, liturgy, and the arts, as well asin theology. Membership is open to' all interested in-dividuals or groups. Inquiries can be sent directly to St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal or to Rev. F. L. Filas, S.J., at Loyola Univer-sity, Chicago 26, Illinois. Scholarships at Catholic University" The Catholic University of America has made provision for. 160 half-tuition scholarships for post graduate studies for the next aca-demic year. Open to lay men and women, priests, Brothers, and Sisters, the grants/ worth $300 towards 'tuition, will be awarded on the basis of scholastic excellence and financial need of the applicant who is entering on post graduate work. Grants are available in all studies except philosophy, engineering, and architecture. Appli-cants should write to the Registrar, Department G, Catholic Univer- ¯ sity of America, Washington, D.C., for additional details on the program. Office of the Passion in English The Confraternity of the Passion, in answer to many requests, has had The Little Ofl$ce of the Passion of Our Lord desus Christ translated into English and made available in Small booklet form. The booklet may be obtained for 25 cents from the Confraternity of the Passion, Sacred Heart Retreat, 1924 Newburg Road', Louisville, Kentucky', or from any Passionist Monastery. ~ Layos Catholic Records Layos Records is a Hollywood recording company devoted ex-clusively to the production of Catholic records. The first record, " "Act of Contrition," is already in circulation. Original music was composed by Peter; Jona Korn, and the piece is performed by the Roger Wagner Chorale. The company plans to sell the recordings through advertisements in the Catholic press. A five-year schedule calls for the production of a new Catholic record, at six-week inter-vals. The firm is being advised in its musical program by Father John Cremins, head of the music depastment of the Los Angele~s Archdiocese. The record company is anxious to ha~,e suggestions from Catholic music and audio-visual departments regarding the type of material to be recorded. 176 On !:he Particular i:::xamen [EDITORS' NOTE: The first two articles on the particulmr examen .arrive~l almost simultaneously. The fact that the first is from an American Brother studying in Switzerland and the second from a Belgian missionary in India would seem" to indicate, universal interest in this practice of asceticism. The third contribution to this "sytfiposium"'is .from a member of the Jesuit Mission Band of the New Yot;k province. Communications from Our readers that may bring some more hdpful ideas to the practice of the particular examen are: welcome.] William T. Anderson, S.M. UMAN nature is prone tO falling into a rut. Those who lead very ordered lives often become slaves to routine. Religious sometimes feel the deadening effe~ct of routine and.habit: in fact, if we ark not car~eful, we find ourselves going to chapel without any preparation and without ~any aim. Day after day slips by and, before we know it, a year is gone. When .we 'take inventory at the annual-retreat, the shelves of our spiritual warehouse look" bare indeed. Perhaps we ought once in a while to ask ourselves a few embar-rassing questions on our religious duties. The reflections listed below are the result of just such a scrubbing of the~ soul. What effect has particular examen had on me? What is my attitude towards this ex-ercise? What importance has this exercise ir~ the spiritual life? Is there any direct ratio between successful zeal and progress in particu-lar examen? After .asking yourself these questions, try to answer them honestly. Then read on and see whetheroyou agree with the ideas given below. 1. A written record is a "'must" for examen. A record book for examen was insisted on in the novitiate. Over and over we heard how necessary this was. Yetsome 'religious perhapscast their examen book out the window of the car carrying them from the novitiate to the train station. Some of us used it for a while, but then discarded it. And that ~ras the beginning of the end. Perhaps most religious who do not make examen with a record as a help do not make exa-men. I~ this a rash statement? Do .you make examen faithfully without a iecord? Does your personal experience agree with this observation ? 177 "~,VILLIAM T, ./~NDERSON Re~iea2 for Religious 2. The subject for~ examen must be specific. If the subject is not limited to definite occasions during the day, or to specific'times scat-tered oxier the usual schedule, after a time the examen, period becomes' " 6nd during which 6u~ Stomach continually reminds us "that a meal is not,far off, or it is a p~eriod of planning unconsciously our work for the rest of the day or the morrow. Vagueness here is the deadly ene-my of progress. 3. Our apostolic influence is in direct ratio to our efforts at par-ticular examen. We learned in the scholasticate that while knowl-edge is very necessary for a teacher, the more important ingredient for a successful teacher and religious educator was the hbility to get along with people and to attract souls. Anyone who has taught fora few years will attest to the authenticity of this statement. Any one will also agree that teaching boys, especially adolescent b.oys,.can be a very nerve-racking job. Nervous tension may ruin any influence which we might have with students when we use sarcasm or unjust punishments, show favoritism or laxity on some occa-sions, or exercise undue ~ever!ty on others. Examen is the means which we have at our disposal to develop in us that self=control which is so necessary for the teacher. To be kind when words of sarcasm rise to outlips, to be exacting ~h~n we fed sluggish and lazy, to give words of correction which yet, do not cut, to be patient when we have had little sleep or food (as on fast days), ~o work steadily despite the fact that "results" are not forthcoming--is M1 this.poisible without examen? Most prob-ably not. As soon as we stop working at examen, we find ourselves difficult to get along with, harsh, lazy, or sarcastic. The weeds of our defects spring up rapidly'bnce we lay down the hoe of particular exam'en. 4. Particular examen is a sine qua non for communit~l life. All of the.foregoing can be just as well applied to community life. Com-munity life sometimes causes a lot of friction, some heat, and at times, even fire. Examen is the~exercise we need to mold our charac-ters so that we learn to avoid occasions which.cause arguments' or to cement, fraternal relations, once they are broken.~ Community life is sometimes a big cross; there is no need to make Jrbigger for a fellow r~ligious. 5. Examen is one of the best means we have of attaining our ideal, desus,'Son of Marv. Putting off the old man and putting on the new man is quite a job for us weak mortals, afflicted as we.are by 1"78 953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN the effects of original sin. It seems impossible that a religious can be sincere and continue hi~ striving for perfection in religious life with-out keeping up with the daily examen. Progress tgward making ourselves like to Jesus, Son of Mary, is made only by the grace of God and constant striving on,our part. Much of oar progress in the spiritual life proceeds, ex opere operantis. And examen is an excel-lent measuring rod for our own effort. 6. Examen is one of our most poten~t means of recruitment. Stu-dents join our ranks, not because of what we say or what we write. but because o~ what we are. If we are real religious, if we are. happy in the knowledge that we are striving to perfect ourselves,, if we show the acquired virtues of patience, charity, humility, and piety, it is ~mpossible that recruits will not come to us. Is there a. better adver, tisement for the religious life than a real religious, one who is daily advancing in virtue? Holiness attracts. Examen is a potent means of holiness. . Perhaps you do not agree with all or even any of the foregoing reflections. 'Be that as it may, you must admit that, granted that particular examen is necessary, we often negl.ect this important reli-gious exercise. Not only must we strive to be present for the examen each day, but we must make it fruitful by daily striving.~ Growth. in" virtue seems to demand the daily examen. As his particular examen goes, so goes the religious. P. De Letter, S.J. The particular examen i~ a common practice of modern spiritual-ity, As every canonical fiovice knows, it consists in direct.ing atten-tion to a particular point, either a fault to be corrected or some practice of virtue, to be fostered. Popularized if not originated by St. Ignatius~ of Loyola, this has become a common tactic in the spir-itual life. All have a passing acquaintance with it. As proposed in the Spiritual ExWcises, attention is to be focused on the particular examen three times every day: at the morning oblation, in theexam-ination of conscience at noon, and again 'during the evening exam-ination. Through this practice gifferent defects, are "gradually elim-inated and needed virtues acquired. 179 ~ P DE LETTER Remeto for Rehgtous A Fact from Experience Yet some religious do not succeed with the particular examen. They apparently fail to see its use 6r grasp its meaning: At any rate, they draw little, profit from it even whrn they do not drop it alto-gether as a useless formality. This is true even among religious who in no way neglect their interior life. Their failure is not due to wil-ful neglect or to tepidity. They simply do not' see their way to making a success of the practice. . Since sound spiritual writers speak so highly of the worth of the particular examen, it seems desirable to examine some apparent neglect and to revalue._.this spiritual exercise. We may sum up its importance by saying it is a sign of spiritual vitality, especially for those who have spent some years in religion. It may not be all-important m itself, at least when it is thought of and practiced in too narrow a manner. Generally its practice is a good indication that.the interior life is thriving. More often than not, its neglect means alack of spiritual vitality. In a limited sense, fidelity to" the practice of the examen can serve as a barometer reading of spiriti~al fervor. A Restricted Conception of the. Exarnen The formal idea of the particular examen can be applied in two different ways regarding both the choice of the subject matter and the manner of conceiving its pragtice. One way is very concrete and definite, perhaps too mechanical and artificial at least for life-span practice. For instance, we decide on rooting out a habitual fault such as the neglect of silence, resolve to avoid transgressions, and keep a record of the eventually-decreasing faults. Or we concentrate our attention on a specific practice of virtue such as kind interpretation of the actions of others and endeavor to. increase the number of these acts throughout the day, checking at noon and night to see how we have succeeded. This method is very rightly advised in the beginning of the religious life. It is an effective means of correcting exterior faults and defects and of gradually developing a religious way of thinking, speaking, and acting. It is also useful at other periods in life when it is necessary to remedy some faulty way of speaking'or acting that has crept in unnoticed. Another Approach If the particular examen is to measure up to what writers say about it and be a really powerful means of progress, there ought to be another way of conceiving its practice which does justice to its 180 1953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN importance. A number of religious have given the assurance that the following approach "works." Instead of taking just any particular fault or practice of virtue, we should fix on some central interest or need of our spiritual life. If the subiect is important it will less easily be forgotten. Then its !~ractlce, oreferably positive rather than nega-tive, should be conceived in a broad and inclusive manner. By means of the resolve made and renewdd at the three times--morning, noon, and night--we work at gradually penetrating our working day with an ideal or conviction rather than at c.ounting a number of particular acts 6r ,defects. To be more specific, the most suitable ;sub.iect matter for our par-ticul~ r examen is the main resolution or resolutions of our annual re- " treat. When this subiect is properly" chosen, it answers a real need and generMly our great~st one. It may crystallize into some maxim or mqtto. Then the oractice will consist in keeping this before our mind or recalling it when needed and pbssible. We thus slowly come to live in the atmost)here or disposition which our watchword con-veys. ¯ We begin to think, speak, and act accordingly. Some examples are: "The LordIoves a cheerful giver": "Ndt for me, Lord, but for Thee": "To have that mind in you which is in Christ." The prac-tice of framing our resolution in a driving maxim or a quotation from Scripture can be very helpful 'though it is not essential. What is essential is to keep before our mind a definite objective, sufficiently central and important for our personal interior life, such as cannot be lost sight of as long as our effort for spiritual "progress is kept alive. In this method our faithfulness and success in the,practice of the par-ticular examen are the criterion of our vitality and fervor. This will create a .congenial interior climate in which our souls can thrive. The importance of tEis concep~ion of the examen is evident at once. Nor is there any danger that we shall overlook and forget it throughout a busy day. If our work is permeated with a driving spiritual ideal, as it should be if it is to be different from mere secular work, a particular examen that looks after 6ur present main spiritual need will help sustain this retreat-clear inspiration. It is only in moments of forgetfulness when we neglect grace and allow natural-ism to guide our thought or conduct that the particular examen will also suffer from this spiritual thoughtlessness, But the examen itself, by reason of the resolve and the effort it implies, helps to forestall or exclude and .certainly to dimi6ish these "secular moments" in our days. 181 P. DE LETTER Review [or Religious Room [or Varietg We need not fear that this method will leave no room for a helpful variety that will maintain interest. When our particular examen aims at our central, yet definite, spiritual interest or need, its subject, matter can and naturally will take on many different aspects according to the variations of that interest or need, directed both by grace and by our psychology. As a matter of fact, our spiritual needs and interests evolve gradhally according to seasons and circumstances and to the inspirations of grace. These will reveal now one,e, ~now another side which before remained more or less hidden or unnoficed. Moreover, when our retreat resolutio.n, as is gener~ally the case, is not restricted to one but foresees several particular needs, we can alternate the practice and change from one to the other when the 'one seems to have worn out and lost its grip. Later, we can often return to the first with a refreshed outlook and new ardor. ( Dispositions and/or Acts Does this manner of practicing the examen require specific acts as does the first, or may we dispense with these? It may require them and generally does. That depends on the subject matter and on in-dividual dispositions. Some people can maintain a habitual disposi-tion of recollectedness or selflessness without insis(ing on or multiply- , ing definite acts. Others are in need of such acts, which arise spon-taneously from their resolve to be recollected or self-forgetful. spirit of praye.r normally demands some explicit acts of formal prayer; habitual or virtual prayer alone would not be sufficient. Self-lessness, trust, apostolic zeal can be habitual dispositions, but some explicit acts, whether exterior or interior, would not do any harm but would help very much even if they were not altogether necessary. The marking in a book after the noon "and evening check-up, which is generally a real help to our dodging human nature,'is not to be overlooked in this second way. But it need not be done in numer-als. Some people are congenitally poor in.arithmetic. Instead of marking the number of acts or df faults, a gener~al notation may suf-fice, for instance: good, average, poor; or A, B, C; or any way one prefers. When we mean business with our particular examen and make use of all the means to succeed, we still must expect times when our effort will have little success. Some days everything goes well spir-itually; other days it does not. These ups and downs need not be 182 July, 1953 PARTICULAR EXAMEN ; magnified; even in0 the "downs:' our effort can and generally does remain substantially faithful and successful to an extent. This should not be oveHooked: otherwise unwarranted and naive optim-ism may flounder during low moods, Provided our desire and effort .does not flag, even this partly unsuccessful particular examen still marks a steady progress. - The second way of conceiving and. practicing the particular exa-men makes the exercise not just a small device for casual use if it suits but rather an important ~nd obligatory factor in every serious effort for progress. Without it. spiritual life~.slackens if it does not die down. Perhaps we should say that every, fervent life actually keeps this practice of the particular examen, though possibly without giving it that name. Every fervent spirituality is practically boun,d to aim at and concentrate on some definite objective required by the present need. Fervent sduls do so spontaneously. It can only make for better ~esults if they are aware of this law of spiritual vitality and resolve to follow it. Seen in this light, the particular examen-is an essential unit inthe structureof spiritual progress. It is, not just a decorative trifle. We need not fear that this determined and steady effort at lJrog-ress in one particular direction will result in a state of uneasy t~nslon and nervousness. As in the whole spiritual life, so also here, ti~e-de-sire and endeavor for advancement must combine ardor and peace,, earnestness and patience, genuine'effort and disinterested acceptance of the results. For is it not grace that makes our effort possible and suc-cessful? Human endeavor is a subordinate factor. It is no doubt, necessary: grace does ndt replaceit. But it is trust in grace combined with sincerity in not sparing ourselves unduly that makes a burning, yet peaceful ardor possible. The particular examen, understood in this grand and realistic way,, repays, th~ effort we make in a measure which it is impossible,to anticipate. Fidelity to grace is often re-warded beyond human expectation. Gabriel A. Zema, S.J. 1. Let us take, for example, the habit of passing on to a friend or acquaintance our low opinion of the fault or sin 0f another. De-pending on circumstances, the thing may be no sin at all, a.venial, or a mortal sin. Even if no actual sin, it is a habit that belongs to no 183 GABRIEL A. ZEMA lady or gentleman; and it can lead to a lot of trouble. 2. On rising, or after morning prayer, write a figure, say "3," some place where you can again see it at the end of the day. (Even nosey people will never know what "3" stands for.) For you "Y' means you are determined to control your tongue three times that day on the habit you set ouk to break. 3. When you look at the figure at the end of the day while examining your conscience as every sincere re!igious.should--it is pos- Sible you won't know what it stands for yourself. You may even have forgotten you put it there. ,But a little reflection will bring back the breaking-that-habit idea. 4. Very well, begin all over again. On the second day you may find that you have not controlled your tongue even once. Go to the third day more determined than ever. 5. I~eep'up the practice for ten or twelve days. You will find a definite improvement if you are at all serious about it. 6. At the end of ten or twelve days take tip another fault and give it ~he same treatment. Follow the same procedure. After you have worked on three or four faults.--never forgetting to keep im-' proving on them--go back to the first one and see how the patient looks! 7. In morning and evening prayers ask Our Lady to come to your aid. BOOK NOTICE THE INTERIOR CARMEL: THE THREEFOLD WAY OF LOVE, by John C. H. Wu, a very brilliant Chinese. convert, diplomat, and scholar, "wi'll help highly intellectual.lay men and women to raise their spiritual lives of contemplation and divine love td an equal height and to give them something of the lofty mysticism that char-acterized St. John of the Cross. It will also aid very busy religious or priests to make their exterior activities conducive to a ,higher and more intense internal spirit. Interestingly and inspiringly Dr. Wu quotes the ancient Cbiriese sages, Confucius and Mencius, to rein-force the lessons of modern Catholic and Spanish Carmelite mysti-cism. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1953. Pp. xii + 257. $3.25.) 184 Child Mo!:her: r cious ynt:hesis Mother Winifred Corrigan, r.c. AT HOLY COMMUNION, the soul authentically in love with ~ God, is sometimes conscious of itself as a banq~ethall in which the memorable gospel of the anointing of the Lord's feet by "a sinner" is being reenacted. This soul becomes aware in itself of two sep.arate impulses. One is the generous spirit of the Magdalen, utterly expending self for the beloved Master, freely offering to spend its best years in obscurity or lovingly giving its body to be burned. The other impulse, also within .the soul, is viewing, rea-soning, even objecting: "To what purpose is this waste?" It is the soul speaking in terms of the apostle 3udas, not yet the traitor, who prudently considers the extravagance of broken alabaster."For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." That Our Blessed Lord openly favored and approved the sym-bolic self-surrender ~f Mary Magdalen, the sinner, we know. "The poor you have always with you but me you have not.always." We have experienced, too, bow the logic of Divine Wisdom reconciles our opposing desires and restores equilibrium. "Thy. sins are for-given thee. Thy faith hath'made thee safe, go in peace." Devotion to Mary performs a similar function. It tends to unify two spiritual realities sometimes thought to be at variance: the doctrines of spir-itual" cbildbood and spir!tual motherhood. Why are these doctrines ever considered incomigatible? In the natural order, it is plain that the two states, childhood and mother-hood, are not in opposition. Obviously, the same person can be both child and mother. The basic concept, mother, one who merci-fully sustains the life of her offspring ("do not kill it"), is unfor-gettably presented to us as illustrating the wisdom of Solomon. "Give the living Child to this woman.for she is the mother there-of." This concept of mother ~choes the first woman's name, Eve, mother of the living. The concept of child, in the Divine Mind, is expressed for us in the Fourth Commandment. In the Book of Ec-clesiasticus (Chapter 3) the blessings of fruitfulness and long life are promised in detail to the loving, obedient child. Writing to his dear Ephesians, St. Paul confirms this divine revelation for New Testa- 185 MOTHER WINIFRED CORRIGAN Review for Religious merit times.- "Children, obey your parents in. the Lord, for this is just. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first command-ment with a prorriise: that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest be long lived upon earth." Thus, for the Christian, it is natural for the faithful child to become fruitful, nor would the sacrifice of mar- ¯ riage and family usually be required in order to keep the Fourth Commandment. In the supernatural order, the harmonious' sequence between the roles of child and mother is less apparent. In making ready to lighten up the mists by reference to M.ary, it may be well to clarify the meaning of the terms, spiritual childhood and spiritual mother-hood, according to Scripture and the lives of the saints. Spiritual Childhood Our Lord has strongly set forth the reality, even. the necessity of spiritual childhood. "Amen, I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little, children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." He then counsels the humility of a little child for his disciples, and for all who would be "greater in the kingdom of heaven." The reality of spiritual motherhood is presented for us in the forceful language of St. Paul. "My little dhildren," he wrote to the Galatians, "of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you." His apostolic cry for souls re-echoes the appeal of the Divine Lover, heard in the Old Testament (Isaias 49:15). There it tran-scends rather than distinguishes itself from the pangs of .natural motherhood. "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her wombs. And if she should forget, y.et will I not forget thee/' Amid the miracles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we find this divine, motherly concern for human needs manifesting itself in a sweet, considerate way. He took the hand of Jairus' 12"-year-old daughter and raised her from the dead. Then, having counselled her parents to secrecy, he "commanded that something should be given her to eat." Some of tl'Je saints have discovdred the .beautiful qualities of spir-itual childhood and spiritual motherhood.contained in the above and similar passages. At Holy Communion, they have explored the mystery of their Eucharistic Lord .entering the human body, resting there like a helpless, unborn child, in order to nourish the life of the soul. The Divine Word, repeating the mother's cry: "Do not kill 186 Jul~,1953 GRACIOUS SYNTHESIS it!" 'daily fulfills His own promise: "The bread that I will give. is my flesh, for the life of the world." The saints have understood how, by their very self-effacement, by being belittled and becoming as little children, they too can maternally assis~ in the birth, growth, and' development of the Mystical Body. St. Th~r~se of the Ch'ild Jesus (1873-1897) has renewed the interest of the modern world in the doctrine Of spiritual.childhood: Her position as youngest child of the Martin family and her early entrance into religious life preserved in her soul the true attitude of a child. How this spirit of utter dependence on her heavenly Father helped her to fulfill her maternal duties as nox}ice mistress to the souls "who came to me asking for food," she tells with unique charm in her Autobiographgt (p. 213). Her present title of patroness of the missions suggests the breadth of her spiritual moFherh0od, hidden deep in her youth and Carmel. No discordant contrast is the spirituality of Blessed Th~r~se Couderc (1805-1885), foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacl~. As the oldest girl in a large family and as young superior of a religious community, sloe early developed the valiant traits characteristi(of spiritual motherhood. Then. con-sequent upon bet consecration to Our Lady, shesaw her responsibili-ties removed and she went down willingly into years of oblivion. In her 60th year, Blessed Th~r~se or, as we know her better, Mother Th~r~se, had emerged from the darkness of humiliation and failure, to find herself a humble, cherished adorer confronted with the holi-ness of God. "He treats me always." she wrote at this time, "like a child who would not have the strength to bear trials, Also the sweetness He makes me feel in His service makes me forget and bear all." This is the stage at which she detailed her doctrine of self-surrender. While it graduall~ led her into the thicket of unitive suffering and reparation, she continued to call it an easy means of sanctification, noting that there is "nothing so sweet to practice.': Marg, the Ideal The ideal of self-surrender is Our Lady of the Cenacle. It is Our- Blessed Mother in th~ last. perhaps 15-year, epoch of her earthly life. She has already received her Divine son's formal commission for the motherhood of mankind, on Calvary. In the Cenacle or "upper room," by a mother's persevering prayer and a claild's anonymity- ("who when she was first of all became-the last" St. Bernard), 187 COMMUNICATIONS ReotetO [or Reltgtot~s Mary continues to attract us to the sublime by the gracious synthesis of her life. In religious life, Mary's spirit is learned and gained in a'variety o.f ways: perhaps in the shared intimacy of Holy Communion, perhaps in the fragrant solitude of a retreat. Our Lady is ever the, true child ,and the true mother. Her spirit, '!meek and strong, zealous and prudent, humble and courageous, pure and fruitful," imparts to us our own proper measure of both these roles. When we have reverently analyzed ~and appreciated the doctrines of spiritual childhood and spiritual motherhood, we may be allowed to accommodate an angel's words as our simple directive,. "Take the Child and His mother." Thus, sincere, day to day imitatio'n of Our Blessed Mother. gradually becomes our meaningful response to an ever more imRerative invitation. We then find that we have tended to integrate in our spiritual .life the two ways'of which Mary, our model, is the gracious synthesis. Reverend Fathers: I agree with Sr. Ma~y Jude', 0.P., in her articl~, "The Summa for Sisters" (March, 1953), that a study of the works of St. Thomas would help our Sisters become better religious and better teachers However, I do not agree with Sister regarding "the distinctive phe-nomenon of the active orders today." Professed religious who are seeking admission to contemplative orders are a growing concern of the Church, but they are not a phe-nomenon. They are the logical result of the transition that has been taking place within active orders. Truly "their final profession is far enough behind," but a glance at those former days may illuminate the darkness, mistrust, and mis-understanding that surrounds them. When ~hey entered religious life the goal was one--it was clear-cut, that is, perfection which would I, mean intimate union with God. During their novitiate and perhaps I' for the first ten years of their religious life their concentrated all their it efforts to attain this end. Then stress was not on education, nursing, i! or Catholic Action, but on the presence of God and the pursuit of I virtue; however, because of pressure from without, the change of l 188 duly, 1953 COMMUNICATIONS standards, and the requirements by the St'ate, professional knowledge, ability, and skill became a necessity. Therefore. higher education with Saturday and weekday classes was added to teaching, plus parent-teacher m~etings, sodalities, public relation groups, discussion clubs and first~id courses. These religious lack neither intelligence nor good will. They readily admit with St. Thomas the greatness of the charity of the apostolate. Theylive, for the most part, lives of self-renunciation and sacrific6. Other,wise they would not be seeking admission to the cloister.- Nor are they seeking only the joys of contemplation. Most of them would gladly spend themselves and be spent in the apostdlate if they could still be c~rtain that their union with God was increasing not decreasing. But the signs point in the opposite direction. Let us look at one of these Sisters of fifteen y~ars ago. Today, instead of the one goal of 'union with God, she has another, that of professional competence. What has happened to her.as a result? First, the intensity of her desires and her efforts in the spir~itual life has naturally been weakened by her concentration on her work. Second!y, the virtues of the interior life, silence, and recollection do not have the opportunity for development they had in fdrmer days. Distractions in one form or another and activity hinder their growth. Thirdly, the virtues of the hiddefi life have become watery. They lack the positive yirility that so characterizes interior souls. She is in the world and does not wish to be of the world, yet its spirit of ac-tivity and distraction are now hers. ~ Viewing these results, she finds a growing conviction that her. spiritual life is deprived of the degree of vitality that once was hers and thai the culprit is activity. From this conviction flows the fear that her work and its accessories are separating her from Christ. It is not the fear of a neurotic; it is a well:founded fear that demands recognition and attention. No zealous religious desires to go to heaven alone; no thinking religious denies the value of the apostolic life,, but there is much ac-tivity in the life of the religious today that could not conceivably be put in the category of Apostolic. Those who strive to unite prayer and action as St. Paul and St. Thomas, St. Catherine and St, Teresa of Avila did, find they fall short of the ideal, in fact they fail. Tl~is is not just subjective thinking. It can be proven without much spiritual examination. As in nations, so in groups, and so with the individual, the pe- 189 COMMUNICATIONS ~" riod of adjustment is 'fraught with dangers. These must not be spurned. They should be recognized and analyzed. It is the chal- . lenge of our age. , The desire for contemplation is rapidly growing in America, not o~ly.in orders of women but also among men. We have a Father Moore, a Father Raymond, and a Father Merton, to name only a few outstanding ones, to prove this. Not only is contemplation sought by' religious in active orders, but so many young, eager Americans have sought admission to the Trappist Monastery in Kentucky that they .have had to build five new foundations in a short time, The Carthusians, stiil in their infancy in America, have a waiting list. All. this is significant. ¯ Would Sr. Mary Jude say all these people were exceptions, or that they lack the ability to find the delicate balance between prayer and work. I doubt it. Looking at it from this' broader .point of view, we see that this cbndition of which~ Sister M, Jude speaks i~ only a branch of a much larger river that is sweeping America from coast to coast. If we wish to insure the vitality and growth of our active orders, we must see that. the desire for intimate union 'with Christ is given outlets and opportunities for development, .even if it means the curtailment of many activities. We can do without the latter, but without the for-mer all action is but sounding brass and tinklilag cymbals. --A SYMPATHIZER. "BLESSED BE HER GLORIOUS ASSUMPTION" .On December 23, 1952, Our Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, decreed that the in-vocation printed above is.to be added, to'the Divine Praises whenever they are re-cited after Mass or'after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.' In the official publi-cation of this decree, which appeared in the Acti~ Apostolica Sed~'s under date of March 21, 1953, vol. 45, p. 194, it was stated that this new invocation should be inserted after the invocation "!Blessed be~ th~ Name of Mary Virgin and Mother." However, L'Osseroatore Romano for April 9 contained a correction, issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on Apr!l 8, to the effect that it should be inserted im-mediately after the other invocation: ',',Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate C.oncep, tion." ,. The ob'.i~ati0n of inserting this new. invocation into the Divine Praises begins on dune 21, 1953, that date being three months from the date of the ACtu Apos-tolicae Sedis in which the decree appeared, in conformity with canon 9 of the Code of Canon Law. We take this occasion to remind our readers that on Oc~0ber 31-, 1950, in con-nection with the formal definition, Pope Pius XII decreed that the invocation Queen assumed into f-leaven should be added to the Litany of Loretto after the ~'oCation "Queen conceived without original :sin." At the same time he also up-, proved a new Mass which is to replace the Mass formerly said on the Feast of the Assumption. 190 I Spiri :ual Progress and Regress Charles A. Nash, S.J. AN IDEA as old as St, Augustine, and. rebbrn in Rodriguez, pic-tures the spiritual life "as a ,b~all of string you are carefully winding up. IL once you drop it, it readily unwinds, and it takes a long time and much effort to .wind it up again. This same idea, on a natural plane, permeates the business day of six thousand psychiatrists in the United States who have become profoundly, interested in what happens once the ball of life is dropped and starts to unwind. Their technical name for it is regression or the reversal of t~ae normal steps Of growth. Regression is of such paramount im-portance in psychiatry that it is often .defined as "the science of re-gressive phenomena." The aim of this article is to picture regression in the spiritual life and.to use psychiatric data in order to empha.size certain psychological factbrs that underlie spiritual progress. " Because it is their.daily, business, psychiatrists today are fast be-coming experts in the delicate art of character change or the forward step to maturity, As modern scientific.innovators in an ancient field. these medical specialists have made many valuable scientific investi-gations and acquired much practical experience in the last twenty-five years. Religious ark wise to profit by some of their ideas on regress and pr,og~ess toward maturity 'which have a direct practical bearing on the religiou~ life. Like the psychiatrist, a religious, too, practices daily the delicate art of character change, but be aims at a greater spiritual maturity. The forward progress at which a psy-chiatrist aims in treating his patient strikes a close parallel to the for-ward progress of a religious in the spiritual life. Both involve a gradual change of character. Psychiatrists must know character change in two directions, both Zegre~s and progress. The classic exampl,e of regression or unwinding in human life is old age. We are often a casual witness when time, by its slow process, lays its fingeron a man. We have watched elderly PerSons gradually drop things most cherished in !ife, one by one. first a man b~gins to lose the wide ifiterests he once had. Sports no longer interest him; he stops traveling is much as he used to; his friendships narrow dow.n; interest in his daily, work begins to lag. All gradually culminate in his retirement.1 If he.k~eps his mind open '~Leland El Hinsie?Concepts and Problems of Ps~ychotherapg, p. 124: Understand-able Psgchiatrg, chapter on "Regression." * 191 ¯ CHARLES A. NA~H Reoietu for Religious and pliant and is ready to welcome whatever the future may bring, the elderly pers.on often mqves gracefully through his last years. Often enough, however, his mind closes up and he loses track of the day and the hour. He becomes hostile to what is new, to change, to innovation, closing off hislmind to the future. In the ,course of time he may become self-centered and petulant, and fall back upon the 'manners of his childhood, then of his infancy. He may have to be bathed, fed, dressed, assisted in walking. For him it is a haven of repose, a citadel of safety. He has reverted to his "second child-hood" and regressed to the activities of an infant. Besides the com-plete unwinding of habits of maturity in "second childhood," there are many pictures of partially unwound habits which are but-smaller portraits on a much reduced scale. Unwinding Spiritual Life Complete spiritual regression can be 'seen in-the nominal of "fallen-away" Catholic of any age who knows his religion but drops. its practice entirely. The unwinding spiritual, life runs down a path more or_ less parallel to "old age and ~econd childhood." The ¯"fallen-away" .Catholic's practical interest in religion slowly wanes, and he gradually closes off his mind to religion, becoming spiritually self-centered. One by one he drops the religious practices he once cher-ished. -Sunday is like any other day; the churchdoor remains ever .i:los~d. He stops going to Mass; he falls away from the Sacraments: his prayer life diminishes to a minimum or none at all. Gradually, his acquired spiritual habits Unwind until he is back to "childhood," where spiritual obligations and.moral responsibilities are at a mini-mum. He has traded away God for careless, vacant ioaming. As far as religion is concerned, he is once' again like a small boy, sans reason and his seventh birthday. Instead of progressing to an ever greater possession of God, he has gone backwards. Here, too, miniature por-traits of regression are quite common in the spiritual life where a spiritual habit or two may start to unwind. Progress and regress follow definite patterns. .One is a dynamic, forward-moving pattern toward maturity; the other moves back-ward down the path a man has come up, Life experience normally present~ the picture of a continuum of, forward growth along a life-line which falls into natural periods: birth, childhood,, adolescence, young manhood, adulthood, change of life, and decline. It is the common lot of mortal man to :crown his numberless daily experi- 192 Jul~j, 1953 PROGRESS AND REGRESS ences with.an ever greater maturity. This growing maturity is dearly won through countless small successes. In sharp contrast, the re-gression pattern, at any age and at any level of development, is a're-versal of the' normal steps of growth along', this life-line. Read the life-line forward and you have progress; read it backward and you have regression. Psychiatrists'~tell us that every man takes a backward step now and then. No one, save Christ our Lord and His Blessed Mother, is co,mple.te master of his every action. For religious, the single back-ward step may occur in problems of obedience,' the daily order, pov-erty, t~he practice of virtue, the daily rosary, spiritual reading--to name but a few possibilities. The single backward step is not. so significant. When this backward step becomes a definite pattern, then real spiritual regression is beginning. But despite" occasional backward steps, psychiatrists say the nor-real person is about ninety per cent adjusted to life.~ About ten per "cent of life he cannot quite master and he dodges it in one way or another. In other words, man's daily batting average is about .900; the ratio of small successes in life to small failures is about ninety to ten. Whether saint or sinner, some failure pursues him every day, but success (forward progress) definitely predominates in his actions. Dgnamic Equilibrium Because he is fundamentally successful but always carries some failure in tow, the average person strikes a balance with life. He reacts in terms of an equilibrium--a dynamic, forward-moving equilibrium in which progressive factors predominate, ,but regressive ones are also present. This equilibrium ,is built into the very struc-ture of his mind through the years. It is his own practical system of reacting to life, his working method of dealing with experience de-rived ,from his past.psychological history. Psychiatrists have learned~ to investigate this equilibrium scientifically and now actually measure it,.with~scientific formulas,a When it breaks down, regression begins. If it does not break down, progress continues. ~This figure refers to the over-all or.comprehensive picture of all man's actions in meeting life. Personal success in one particular action, however, may vary from mastery, to littleor no control. Leland E. Hinsie, Concepts and Problems of Pay-. chotherapt./, p. 77. Edward A. Strecker, Fundamentals of Ps~/chiatr~/, graph on p. 231, 3E~lward A. Strecker, Fundamentals of Psv. chiatr~t, p. 51. Franz Alexander and H~len Ross, Dgnamic Psgchiatrg, p. 140. CHARLES A. NASH Reoieto for Religious This dynamic equilibrium produces manifold effects. It gives an even tenor to, man's ways and stability to his character. It embeds past success in the human system for'future successful operation. As a result, whatever a man does in his normal day leaves most of his old order standing. A singld act, forward or backward, leaves most of his autobiography of character largely unchanged. Occasional back-ward steps are readily tolerated and absorbed without throwing the forward motion offstride. Because of it, a major change of character. occurs slowly. A spiritual character change requires many actions over a considerable period of time. In many aspects of life this equilibrium acts as a shock-absorber, an internal ,resistance built right into the structure of personality for resisting the "blows of outrageous foitune." For instance, a death in the family may score a temporary psychological and emotional knockout in other members of the family~. But soon the pendulum swings back to normal and old habits take over once again. Gradu-ally, the appreciation of life built up through the years prevails, and life goes forward once more. Because of his equilibrium, a man does not deteriorate psychologically at one major blow, nor can ,he turn himself'inside out, for better or worse, overnight. Role o~ Failure After much failure or long-enduring stress, this same personal balance or equiliblium can wear thin or even "break down." When this occurs, the backward pattern of regression slowly begins. Then, a religious falls back upon lower and lower levels of his spiritual life, and becomes beset by earlier and earlier habits of his career. The first failure is easy to take, but not a series of them. Failtire is hard on morale, and daily failure has a numbing effect on our effort. The effect of failure is to close off the mind to the difficulty and 0fall back upon.earlier habits. After repeated failure, for instance, a religious may gradually close off his mind to formal mental prayer, and fall back upon his earlier habits when mental prayer was not part of the daily schedule. All spiritual regression has one point in common: it is a back-ward step to an earlier and easiei adjustment to the difficulties of the spiritual life. At the, same time, unfortunately, spiritual progress either slows down or stops. Part of the goal drops out of the picture "for the present," and there is a partial farewell to hopes of greater things. Instead of the "new man in Cl~rist," it is a return to the 194 PROGRESS AND REGRESS "old man" of self when spiritually less mature. The significance of regression in the spiritual life is that it sounds the knell of forward progress. Continued progress requires that a religious take failure~ in stride. Often small successes in life become so integrated into a religious per-sonality that they almost go unnoticed. We only see and take note of our failures, and they can come to loom large on the daily hori-zon. After repeated failure, therd is danger that a religious will close his mind and chart his future course by past failure. The true measure of the future, bower(r, is past success. There is no small touch of humility and wisdom in expecting some daily failure and not charting our future course by it. Man normally moves forward in a dynamic equilibrium with a ninety per-cent rate of success. American Stgiritualitg The pace or tempo of character chahge is a slow one. Being' American-minded, we naturally expe.~t rapid results. The very at- . mosphere of our times--an era of modern machine .efficiency, high- 13ressure business methods, production miracles, and high-speed travel--promotes an ingrained bent toward immediate success. Rightly' or wrongly, we feel there should be a twentieth-century ¯ masterkey to the spiritual life, a foolproof device as dependable ?s the multiplication table. Yet strangely enough, our spiritual life seems to move at the tempo of the first centuiy in a twentieth-century World. True character change may be hard to see. We Americans see the, entrancing picture of industrial production, but we look upon spiritual progress in our own lives as a vague or blank picture. Sanc-tifying grace and internal actual grace are both intangible and invis-ible. We sow the representative crops, the seeds of humility, love of God, obedience, and the other virtues, yet always wonder2--when's the harvest? To see results, we often make one good resolution suc-ceed another in rapid succession, turning our spiritual life into a series of short-term cycles, partly for variety, partly to convince ourselves that we are getting somewhere and making progress. But after six months of short-term cycles we are ready to doubt whether we are changed an iota. That old spiritual problem which we settled once, and for all two weeks ago somehow surges back to life again today. A series of .these experiences can readily warp ore: spiritual judgment or ~lgrudence and lead to loss of effort and discouragement. Then 195 CHARLES A. NASH Review for Religious failure charts our course. Being constitutiOnall~y successful, we shift our effort to some more promising line of_ endeavor, and the spirit of' spiritual progress becomes like a ghost on the outermost rim of the real business of daily living. 200-300 Hours Psychiatrists have much this same time-problem. How much time is required to make a permanent change in a patient's character~ How long to turn a man around and start him forward again on the life-line to maturity? A considerable body of evidence indicates that it takes two hundred to three hundred hours, roughly speaking; to make a permanent character change.4 This means one hour a day, seven days a week for about nine months devoted to making the change, whate;cer that change may be. No matter how un-American it may sound, there seems to be normally no substitute for time in a 'permanent character change. Even if our minds thunder and rever-berate in syllogisms, it still takes from two to three hundred hours to drive' the lesson home permanently and to relate it in experience to the concrete parts of life. A religious may profitably add a bit of timing to his spiritual motor; Permanent growth is not like reading through a spiritual book in three or four days ~nd expecting the result; it is more l,!ke the slow, nine-months' nurturing of the child in the mother's womb. It is not the work of a day or a week, but it finds a closer parallel in the one hour a day for nine months thata student devotes, say, to mathe-matics ~r history or language in school. Putting on a facet of Christ's personality is not done in one meditation; it slowly develops like the b.aby slowly developing back and neck muscles, balancin'g on his feet at six months, and finally learning to walk near the end of a year. Permanent character change, is more in the image of St.,Peter and the Apostles learning confidence in Christ over a period of several years, and still being a bit shaky at His death when confronted with actual life experience. But worth noting is the ever-recurring fact of suc-cess. After nine months in the womb the baby actually is born; a year later he walks; in nine months the student knows his history, mathematics, and language. In time the Apostles did attain cona-dence in Christ. Actual success is the constant experience of the hu-man race if timk and energy are dev6ted to the task. 4Leland E. Hinsie, Concepts and Problems of Psychotherapy, 11-12. 169. John Knight, S~o'ry oI My Psychoanalysis, 2-3. 196 155, 166- Ju~,~, ! 953 PROGRESS AND REGRESS ¥~rhat l~appens in two or three hundred hours? In that time our perso.nal equilibrium changes. Through ~ur mind and emotions there slowly winds a new track of virtue all its own. Character change invoIyes a rather thoroughgoing shift in our habitual reaction to life. It requires a new appreciation of life as a permanent part of the m~nd, a' new emotional pattern, a new reaction to a vast number of concrete situations. Suppose, for example, a close friend dies with whom you have associated night and day for ten years. In all the old situations which constantly remind you of this lost friend you m~lst make clear to yourself that you have this friend no longer, and that a renunciation is necessary. He is Vividly represented {n many personal memories and experiences. You will have to correct your reactions for many a day, and detachment must t~ke place separately in each instance. Similarly in character chan, ge. "The single action, the passing thought hardly dents the human system: it remains more like a feeble echo in the soul. A single action leaves one's equilibr!uin for meeting life largely unchanged. In two or three hundred" hours, however, the new reaction "works through" and permeates our mind and our thinking~ In that time it develops its own emotional pat-tern and becomes permanently related in experience to most of the concrete parts of life. Factors in Adult Progress As adults, we tend to sell human nature short. We frequently forget what a long way we have come since childhood, the countless number of small successes involved in our present degree of maturity. Starting out as a helpless babe, man slowly learns t6 walk, to speak, to run, to master language, to enjoy countless new experiences,, to cope with school life, to earn a living, to marry and support a fam-ily. Any one of thesehas practical difficulties of time and energy and personal ability somewhat like those in the spiritual life: Yet by the common experience of mankind, their attainment ih practically cer-~ rain if sufficient time and energy is devoted to the task. As adults we tend to forget the countless milestones we have already passed, and even come to expect no new milestones in the future. Often as adults we cut down on spiritual time and energy, and act in the practical order as if religious experience had been exhausted. If a religious tries to compress thirty hours int6 twenty-four, it is inevitable that he will have to scalp time from his spiritual life to ac-complish this feat. In this regard it would seem that all of us are endowed with a certain native shrewdness of the horse-trading vari- 197 CHARLES A. NASH ety. But little time means little progress. Sometimes we run our spiritual life like a carburetor with too thin a mixture of energy to operate the machine. Life's fast teinpo drains away energy. The more our limited daily energy is channeled to other things, the less remains available for character change or spiritual growth. ~ If there is no time and energy, there is no progress. As we grow older, our ideas of spiritual experience tend to become mote and more .rigid. Spiritual progress is difficult in a rigid mind, like mov, ement in a. straitjacket. Progress demands an open and pliant mifid with the door ever open to wider spiritual experience. Often in order to pro-gress we first have to unstiffen our spiritual ideas and keep them lim-ber. Age is not a true limit to spiritual growth. Remai'ning ever an experiencing being, man normally moves ever forward irma dynamic equilibrium toward an ever greater maturity in God. If the human mind closes to the future, it falls back upon the past. Not age but the man himself puts a stop to progress, by refusing new spiritual ex-perience. The Divine Plan Time, energy, and an open mind docile to the Holy Spirit fit into God's design for human experience on earth. In His divine plan as the Creator of human nature and every human experience, God has an eminently skilful regard for bo~h the strength and the weakness of the earthly pilgrim in his slow daily progress. He assists the slo~v, three-hundred-hour pace by the superior motivation of divine reve-lation, by countless actual graces, by the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity. When only a miracle can be substituted for time, when our very best efforts are always attended by some failure, we catch no small glimmer of the "divinity that shape~ our ends" in the gift of-the three theological virtues. For without hope progress stops; without faith the path grows dim: without love the heart grows faint along the way. But in God's design for religious ex-perience ,the pilgrim is fortified by God Himself. Faith illumines our mind along the road to God; hop~ keeps effort alive and the goal be-fore our eyes; and love is even now a participation of the goal itself while progressing along the way: Divine assistanc~ and a ready w~l-come ever await the pilgrim at every step of his journey. "Come to Me all you that'labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you." The lq.ng-run trend of spiritual growth, in God's design, is a quickening triumphal march. ~ 198 The Unseen World Jerom~ Breunig, S.J. THE telescope and microscope have extended our horizons im- | measurably. They have opened up unseen worlds for us. "How mean is earth when I look to heaven," said St. Ignatius one night in Rome more than 400 years ago. Hbw much more mean-ingful this remark is today when the giant eye at Mt. Palomar, California, a 200 inch telescope, helps us penetrate into the sky to the staggering limits of more than one billion light years" and reveals millions of suns like our own moving at the incredible .speed of 500,000 miles, per hour. .~Apart from the findings of the great ob-servatories, even a good telescope on a clear night can reveal wonders hidden to the eye. We can see the pock marks that craters ma~ke on our next ~lo~r neighbor, the moon, which is a scant 238,000 miles fr6m our planet. We. can see the nine moons that cluster about Jupiter, the'ring of light about Saturn, as well as the fiery masses said to be billions of stars. ~The inicroscope opens another unseen world. To the unaided eye what is on the glass slide lo6ks like'a drop of water. Under the microscope we see many protozoa of all kinds. We can see scores of little slipper-shaped animals called paramecia caromin~ about in the water. Perhaps a sluggish, slow-moving amoeba can be sighted or a green euglena of the mastigophora (whip-bearing) family, propel-ling itself by its whiplike tail. After human vision gtopped, the zo-ologist has pushe,d on with his microscdpe to discover 30,000 kinds of protozoa in an unseen world. But there is another world still more 'marvelous and far more important than the worlds that the magnifying glass reveals. It is the unseen world of spiritual realities. Higher visual aid is required to penetrate far into this invisible but real world. We are blind and helpless without the eyes of faith. St. Paul speaks right to the point. "What is faith? It is that which'gives substance to our hopes, which convinces, us of things we cannot see." What are some of the realities in this unseen world? What are some of the "things we cannot see" except with the eyes of fai'th? No one has ever seen a soul at the moment God created it,'when it.left the body, or at any other time. Nor has anyone seen the re-birth of a soul at Baptism when the higher life of grace is infused and the human clay is made immortal diamond, when the bap'tized 199 ,In I JEROME BREUNIG Reoieto for Religious is made a son of God and heir of heaven, when the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity come and make their home in the soul, trans-forming it into a temple of God. "Blessed are those who have not .seen and have believed." Faith convinces us of things we cannot see. No one has seen a soul red as scarlet washed whiter than snow by the absolution of a priest. Nor has anyone seen the bread of heaven restoring the waning strength of the soul. No one has seen the inexpressible joy of the elect in the mansion,s of heaven, the chastening anguish of the souls in the prison of purgatory, or the black despair of the damned 'in hell. "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Faith convinces us of things we can-not see. Opposition of the Sense-World It is essential to salvation to stay aware of the unseen world but it is not easy. We live in a world of sense. Our very mode of learning is rboted in sense impressions. There is nothing in the mind / that was not first in the senses. Even faith comes by hearing. Our convictions about what we cannot see are constantly being challenged by things we can see. It is a losing battle, naturally. For instance, we will ordinarily be more vividly impressed by paging through a national picture magazine for a few minutes than we will by reading the Imitation of Christ for the same length of time. Unless we con, stan.tly cultivate supra-sensible reality by reading, reflection, and prayer, we will not be able to offset the ever-present attraction of the sensible. We.are also at the m'ercy of our less immediate environment. We are influenced by what we see, hear, feel; and much of this is secular. It is not informed with respect for the sacred unseen realities. There are also abundant examples of godlessness. To claim there are no atheists in foxholes, on the operating tables in our hospitals, among the alumni of our schools; Or ("there but for the grace of God go I") among ex-religious is to close one's eyes to the facts. The lack of respect for God's creative co-operation in h.uman generation is widespread and appalling. There are hardened, blinded men who look on death like the fallen-away who "assured" the hos-pital chaplain: "If I die on the operating table, there will not b'e any-one to take me away." Many non-believers patronize our "naivete" in accepting the sacramental system. A Catholic mayor was openly ridiculed in the public press: "How can he be fit to manage the city goverttment when he is foolish enough to believe a little wafer is his 200 duly, 1953 THE UNSEEN WORLD God." Communists use brutal methods.to eradicate, "to wash away," a sense of the supernatural, but secularism has a smooth ap-proach that sometimes is even more effective in uprooting faith, hope, and charity. The recent ~u.rvey of religion in the United States has produced some startlin~ data. The first report that 99% of the people be-lieved in the existence of G~od was heartening, but the subsequent studies revealed the shallowness of much of this belief. Thd eighth" of the series, "What Americans Think of Heaven and Hell," reported the following statistics in the March number of the Catholic Digest. "Do you think there is any real possibility of your going to.hell? Yes, answered .I 2 %; No, 29 % : Don't know, 17 %; Do not beh.eve in hell, 42 %." In other words, 88 % of those questioned were not greatly concerned with .a truth that Christ underlined clearly, in His teaching. And this is the. environment, through the press, radio, television(?), and a thousand other contacts, we live in. The un-seen world of faith has competition. Witnesses to the Unseen The greatest Witness to the reality of the unseen world was" Christ, God2s Son, who clothed Himself with flesh and blood, a true human nature, worked miracl~s, and founded a ,visible Church to bear witness to the invisible grandeur of divine realities. He invites religious in a special way to continue to bear witness. He has invited them to prove the eternal value of.a better world to a money-mingled, sex-sick, rugged-individual generation by being poor, chaste, and obedieht as He was in the wor'ld. "But if religious are not inhabi-tants of this unseen world they will never impart the irresistible con-viction that the unseen world exists." The recent communication from a Poor Clare (REVIEW, No-vember~ 1952, 312-14) contained the eloquent witness to the un-seen world that is afforded by contemplatives. "There is an unseen world which to her (a Poor Clare) is very real. The incidents of daily lilt'are mere accidentals which are of value so far as they pur-chase for her more perfect union with God. This unseen world is as real to her as the things she can reach out and touch, and touching it she can make every action of hers prayer. I am speaking of prayer,mnot prayers," Until the unseen world is as real to us as the things we can reach out and touch, we will not convey the conviction so badly needed. 201 C. A. HERBST Reuieto for Religious, There is on~ way to make this world that real. It is by living in it. I remember a retreat master's remark on tills point. "You have to have darkness to find a picture on the sensitive plate, and you ha~e to have prayer to bring out the invisible presence of God." Again, it is ' prayer and not prayers that will enable us to live the convictions of our faith. Chari!:y C. A. Herbst, S.J. W~HEN a learned man among the Jews asked Our Lord: "Which is the great commandment in the law?" Christ answered: "Thou shalt love the' Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, andwith thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment." (Mt. 22: 37, 38). This was not new with Christ. It is the burden not only of the New but als0 of the Old Testament. written, as St. Paul says, "with the Spirit 6f the living God.in the fleshly tables of the heart" (II Cot. 3:3). The theological virtues are the greatest of all the virtues. Thdre are three of them: faith, hope, and charity. "And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three." Of these three, love of God' for His own sake is the queen: "But the greatest of these is charity" (I Cot. 13:13). Its object is God Himself, and our motive for loving Him,. too, is His own dear Self, "because Thou are all good and worthy of all love." "I call charity that virtue which moves the soul to love God 'for His own sake and oneself and the neighbor for God's ~ake," said St. Augustine. Charity makes all the virtues live. It is the soul even of faith, without which it is impossible to please God. "The life. of the body is the soul. By it the body moves and feels. Even so the life of faith is charity, because it works through charity, as you read in the Apostle: 'faith that worketh by charity' (Gal. 5:6). When charity grows cold, f~ith dies, just as the body does when the soul leaves it." (St. Bernard, Serrn. "2 In Resurr.) "O my God, ,I love Thee above all things." How can I truth-fully say this when I prove many times every day by committing venial sins that I love even tiny creatures more than I love God? Or why is it that I do not cry for love of God wheaa I lqse Him by mor-tal sin but I do cry when I lose my mother by death? Although ¯ 202 drain, 1953 CHARITY these actions seem to be contradicting my words "0 my God, I love Thee above all things," they, really do not. I can weep over my mother's death and commit venial sins and" still love God objectively above all things. That is, I can, and do, go on sincerely and earnest-ly wishing Him the l~reatest good, .that He will continue to be the supreme object of all love and receive divine honors. I can commit venial sins and weep over temporal ld~s and still love God above all things appreciative4 , too. by preferring God with an efficacious will to all created things, by esteeming Him as thehighest good. I can so value and esteem Him ak to be r~eady to lose all else rather than abandon God. We canndt recall too often that true love is in the will, not in the fe~!ings or ~motions. A mother's instinctive and spontaneous feelings and enfotions may draw her to love her child more ir~rensel~, with greater ease, tenderness, and alacrity, than she does God, yet she is ~eady to lose her child rather than offend God seriously. Her love for God is greater and deeper, and influences her soul more p[ofoundly. She loves God objectively and appreciatively more, and intensively and emotionally less. Thihgs of sense appeal more directly and affec-tively than spiritual things do. That in the supreme test, love for God is greater and stronger than any natural love is wonderfully shown in the death of St. Perpetua, martyr. "Neither the tears and oft-repeated prayers of her. aged father, nor the mother-love for the baby boy at her breast, nor the ferocity of her tormentors could move Perpetua from her faith in 3esus Christ." This is brought out, too. by the incidents in the daily lives of the "little people" in Christ's Church' in this living present, so well presented by Father Trese. " 'We've a good pastor,' my.people say --and I am ashamed. Ashamed as I stand beside Katie Connelly at the bed of her just-dead son, and hear her say, 'It's God's will. isn't it, Father?' while she clutches my. hand. Ashamed as I stand beside Ed Fetter at his wife's bier, and hear him say, with three little tykes hanging to his pants-legs, 'If this is what God wants,, we've got to take it, Father.' Ashamed as I ride with the Martins to the Stat~ Hospital where they are taking their son, and hear the mother say, as she bites her lip, 'Well, we've all got to have our cross, Father.' " (Leo Tress, Vessel of Clapt, 24.) Love has various degrees. - In the love of concupiscence there is something of self. I love another because I will get something out of it for myself. This is love of God for my own sake, with selfishness, 203 C. A. HERBST but a very good selfishness. This is the great virtue of hope. Then there is the love of complacency, in which I am glad and rejoice, take pleasure in, another's good, just~ because it ishis good. By it I re-joice in ~the divine perfections~ "Thus approving the good which we see in God, and rejoicing in it, we make the act of l~ve which is called complace-ncy; for we please ourselves in the divine pleasure infinitely more than in our own,' (St. Francis de Sales, Looe of God, V, i). A third and higher'degree of love is~ the love of benevolence, By it we wish another well, want good to come to him. This love we express in the Our Father when we pray: "Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom ~ome, Thy will be done!" Love consists more in deeds than in words. "If you love me, keep my commandments," Our Lord said (John 14: 15). Every-body knows that "talk is che~p,'° but actions filled with love are purest gold. A fine expression of love is a gift. That is why we give gifts on birthdays and on other joyous occasions. Gifts are the language of love. This is shown most strikingly at Christmas time. It is ~ the . feast of giving, of the Gift. Men give then because God taught them to show love that way. He gave the first Christmas Gift by giving Jesus Christ, His son. "God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son" (John 3:16). That was Bethlehem. That was Calvary, too. "God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son." The .lesson ChriSt taught from the crib and from the cross is the same lesson; love in deed, in giving. The soul that loves God cannot miss that. It is convinced that love consists in a mutual exchange of gifts. "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for cnrlst. The answer leaps forth: "Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding~ and my whole will." One gives oneself whole and entire. We cannot do more. But we can do it more solemnly and more specifically, and we have. Religious surrender to God the goods of the world by the vow of poverty. They surrender to .God the goods of the body and of family, life by the vow of chastity. They surrender to God the goods of the soul, especially that most precious thing, their will, by ~he vow of obedience. "Almighty and Eternal God, I vow to Thee perpetual poverty: chastity, and obedience." This is our answer to the divine challenge: "Thou shalt love'the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy .whole soul, and with all thy strength, and wi'th all thy mind . This do, and thou shalt live." 204 The Moral Code Cat:holic I-lospit:als Gerald Kelly, S.J. SOME years ago there was a colorful basketball official who used to delight (and sometime~ enrage) spectators by his dramatic way of telling players, "You can't do that[" Again and again his whistle would be heard and he would be seen speeding across the floor, an accusing finger' pointed at some offending player, as his piercing voice insisted," "You can't do that!" ¯ For all too many people, I fear, this officialmminus his pleasing dramatics--might represent the Catholic hospital and its moral code. Engraven in the minds of these people is the picture Of a devoted non- Catholic physician bending over his patient in the operating or de-livery room, yearning to do something to save the patient's life, but frustrated in this salutary design by the Church, which, through the Sister superior or supervisor or chaplain, raises its restraining hand 'and says unsympathetically, "You can't do that!" Certainly much of the publicity given to v~arious events that take place in our hos-pitals caters to this impression. For example, a few years ago, in Brownsville, Texas, a physician who had sterilized a woman in defiance of the hospital code was dis-missed from the staff. The incident received nation-wide publicity in the daily'papers; and the correspondent of one widely-read weekly devoted to it considerable space and ev?n more emotion. The Sisters of Mercy had closed the doors of mercy to the doctor whose only purpose was mercy~ Follow-up letters from doctors, including one from the vice-chief'-of-staff of their hospital, favored the Sisters and showed little sympathy for the expelled physician. Other letters, however, showed marked sympathy for the doctor and for his emo-tional reporter. One letter in particular expressed great !mpatience with this.Church which insists on projecting the taboos .(a favorite epithet for commandments, divine and human) of the Dark Ages into the twentieth-century operating and delivery rooms. In this and similar incidents We have examples of the old prob-lem of misunderstanding.' The critics usually do not understand our hospital code. Even Catholics, I think, seldom realize what goes into a code. In fact, many seem to have the impression that a Cath- 205 GERALD KELLY Review fur Religious olic hospital moral code consists in ond supreme principle (which, incidentally, is "best-seller" nonsense at its best) that mothers must die fortheir babies. These people ought ko have more accurate in-formation, and it seems logical that they might expect to get it from religious because the Catholic hospital, is one of the most distinctive and extensive achievements of our religious institutes. The following paragraphs p~ovide at least the minimum essentials for giving correct information. ~ Why a Code? Since.the administrators of Catholic hospitals are men and women whose lives are consecrated to God, they can conscientiously conduct these hospitals only when they have a reasonable assurance that the law of God will be observed in the treatment of the sick. One way of obtaining this assurance is to formulate the pertinent moral prin-ciples and their applications into a code and to have the staff-members guarantee that they will observe this code. The first reason for having a code, therefore, is to satisfy the conscience of the admin-istrators. This is aptly stated in the introduction to the present code of the Catholic Hospital Association: "Catholic hospitals exist to render medical and spiritual care to the sick. The .patient adequately considered, and inclusive of his spiritual status and his claim to the helps of the Catholic religion, is the primary concern of those entrusted with the management of Catholic hospitals. Trustees and administrators of Catholic hos-pitals understand this responsibility tbwards each patient whom they accept, to be seriously binding in conscience. "A partial statement of this basic obligation is contained in the present Code of Ethical and Religious Directives. All who associate themselves with a Catholic hospital, and particularly the members of the medical and nursing staffs, must understand the moral and reli-gious obligations binding on those responsible for the management and operation of the hospital, and must realize that they are allowed to perform only such acts and to carry out only such procedures as will enable the owners and administrators to fulfill their obligations." What was .lust said might be construed as meaning that the sole or primary purpose for having a moral code is to protect administra-tor~ against doctors who might perform illicit opera.tions in their hospitals. This" is not true. Generally speaking, doctors and nurses, both Catholic and to a large extent the non-Catholics, want clear 206 July, 1953 ~ HOSPITAL CODE guidance in the ethical problems of their profession. And they want it because they are conscious of a need. As members of a. profession ithat deals constantly with life and death, with mutilation of the hu-man body, with expensive and sometimes dangerous remedies, they are faced again and again With acute ethical problems. Yet large numbers of them, even among tl~e Catholics, have never had the op-portunity of taking~a course in medical ethics. Others who have had such a course have grown "rusty" and need some convenient way of refreshing their memories. For all of these a moral code, which con-tains concisely-stated principles and practical applications to the field of medicine, satisfies a definite need. Making a Code What have our Catholi~ hospitals done to provide the needed guidance through a moral code? For many years the hospitals of the United States and Canada used a very brief ~ode which was excellent at the time it was formulated but which became more and mor~ in-adequate as the progress of medicine introduced new problems and threw new light on old ones. A new and more complete code was needed, and many dioceses prepared such a cod~ for their own use. It was not until 1947 that work was begun on a revised code for the Catholic Hospital Association of the United States and Canada. The work done by the committee on this revised code may be of interest., The committee first made a careful examinationof all the recently-composed diocesan codes, selected what seemed the best material from them. and arranged this material plus their own contributions in a manner that seemed best for handy reference. When this was done, a preliminary draft of a new code was sent for criticism to a large number of doctors and moralists in various parts of the United States and Canada. The doctors consulted included both Catholics and non-Catholics. They were chosen for eminence in their profession and not for ~hei~'religion. These consultants, doctors and moralists;: submitted criticisms some of them. very detailed---of the prelim-inary formula. The criticisms were carefully weighed by the com-mittee and a new formula was drafted. , This was referred again to the original critics; more suggestions were offered; and the code was finally formulated in a manner that met"with universal apprbval. This code was publ!shed in 1949 by the Catholic Hospital Associa-tion of the United States arid Cahada, and it is used today in most o'f the dioceses of these two countries. Some dioceses which had gone~ 207 GERALD KELLY Review [ur Religious to great trouble to prepak-e their own codes still use these in preference to the revised code of the C~tholic Hospital Association. Two observations are in place here in order to ~0revent misunder-standings. First, there is a question pertinent to revising a code: does this mean that morM principles change, or, as some people would put it, does it mean that the Church has changed its moral ~tandards? Obviously, the revision of a hospital code should have no such im-plications. Moral principles do not change: and, from the stand-point of ~principles, the only'reasons for revising an approved code might be to include some principle not beret0fore included, or to ex-press more clearly and simply one of the principles already included. But the application of moral principles to medicine can change be-cause this application depends on the medical facts, which can change with the progress of.science. For example, there was a time when the only way of successfully treating certain infections was' by surgical operation, but tod~ay many of these infections can be arrested by the use of recently-discovered drugs. A fact like this can be the basis for declaring that an operation which was permissible several years ago because necessary for the patient's welfare is no longer permissible. This is but one example of how the application of principles to con-crete cases can change. The revision of a code is largely concerned with these concrete cases. A second observation concerns ~he fact that different codes are fol-lowed in various dioceses. Does this mean that what is morally good in one place is immoral in another? Again the answer is in the nega-tive. The differences in the codes concern neither the moral prin-ciples nor the licitness of specific operations and treatments. They concern rather the selection and arrangement of materi.al, with per-haps the addition of some purely disciplinary regulation .which may be thought necessary in one place but not in another: for example, on the need of consultation before some operation is allowed. Content of Code .: At this point, if not before, someone might well ask just wh~it, is a code, and what goes into it. I can best answer this question by're-ferring specifically to the revised code of the Cat.holic Hospital As-sociation, which is entitled Ethical and Religious .Directives/~or Cath-oti~ Hospitals. As the title implies, this code contains two sections. The second section contains directives of a religious nature which concern the reception and administration of the ~acraments and the 208 dulg, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE reverent disposal of.amputated members and immature babies. For the most part, this sectibn of the code would directly concern only Catholics or those who wish to become Catholics. The first section contains ethical directives, that is, principles of the natural law with applications to medicine. Since the natural law binds all men, the provisions of this section apply to all patients, doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel, regardless of their religion. This is really the moral code of our hospitals. My subsequent remarks app.ly to this section. Basic Principles The,baslc moral principles which are ~ formulated and applied in ¯ our ethical directive~ can be reduced to these six: (a) the .need of the / patient's consent; (b) the inviolability of innocent human life: the intrinsic.evil 'of contraceptive practices: (d) the principle~.of the "double effect"; (e) the principle of "liberty" and (f) the principle of "totality." Perhaps a few words about each of these principles will .be informative without being unduly soporific. ~) The patient's consent. Each individual human being has bqth ~the right and the duty to care for his health. When a doctor treats a patient, he is simply exercising the patient's own right of self-preservation for him, and he may not perform even legitimate operations without the consent of the patient.,. This Consent may be' given explicitly, as would be the case if an operation would be ex-plained to the patient and he ~would then agree to it. Or it may.be implicit, as would be the case if the patient asl~ed for a cure, with the understanding that he is.willingto Submit to all the necessary pro-ce. dures, even without .explanation. Or it may be reasonabtg pre-sumed, as is the case when a doctor gives emergency treatment to an unconscious man. Sound morality requires consent in one of these forms and l~oth civil law and medical associations recognize ~his. For infants and others who are incapable of acting rationally, the parents or guardians have the right to give the consent., b) The inviolabilitg of innocent human life. The meaning bf this principle is strongly and clearly explained in a memorable pas-sage of our present Holy Father's Allocution on the moral problems of married life (October 29, 195 I). This.passage Should be f~imiliar, not 0nly to religigus in hospital work, but to educators as well. "Now the.child, ~ven the unborn child," said the Pope, "is a hu-man being, a human being in .the same degree and by ~he same title as 209 ,,It GERALD KELLY Review for Religious is its mother. Moreover, every human being, even the child¯ in its mother's womb, receives its right to life directly from God, not frdm its parents, nor from any human society or authority. Therefore there is no man, no human authority, no science, no 'indication,,' whether medical, eugenical, social, economic/or moral, that can show or give a valid juridical title for a deliberate and direct disposing of an innocent human life, that is to say, for an action which aims at its destruction, whether such destruction be intended as an end or as a means towards some other end which may "itself be in no way illicit. So, for example, to save the life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of the cl~ild as a means to that end is not law-ful. The direct destruction of the 'so-called 'valueless life,' whether born or unborn, which was practised a few years ago in numerous in-stances, can in no way be justified. And therefore when this i~ractice began the Church formally declared that it is contrary to the natural law and to the positive law of God, and consequently" illicit--even under instruction from the public authority to kill those who, al: though innocent, are nevertheless by reason of some physical or-ps3;- chical taint useless to the nation and even become a burden on the ¯ community. The life of an innocent human being is inviolable, .and any direct assault or. attack on it violates one of those fundamental laws without which it is impossible for human beings to live safely in society. We have no need to teach you the particular significance of this fundamental law and its bearing upon your profession. But do not forget it: above any human law, above any 'indication' whatso-ever, there stands the indefectible law¯ of God." The Pope's words are obviously directed against doctbrs and others who think that in certain situations there are good reasons (they call them "indications") for the direct killing of an unborn child. Against these men he defends the right of the child. But he does not limit his words to the child; he defends all innocent human life. The direct (i.e., the intentional) taking of such life is never permissible. Any procedure which'would result in death for either the mother or the child (or for any other innocent person) can be justi-fied only when the death is an unintended and unavoidable by-product of the procedure. Incidentally, this principle of the inviola-bility of human life also condemns the so-called mercy-~killing (the taking of a patient's life to relieve him of suffering), whether it is done with or without the patient's consent. c) The intrinsic evil of contraception. The Church, especially in 210 July, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE the oi~cial t~aching,of the two last Popes, has'constantly branded artificial birth control as contrary to the law of nature, and therefore intrinsically evil. The most ~adical form of this evil is direct steri-lization, which means the intentional destruction of the procreative power. Doctors have many ways of accomplishing this, and all of of them.are forbidden by our code. .d) The principle oF the "'double effect.'" Students of ethics are familiar with this principle and know that it contains the solution to many of the practical,~problems of life. Conscientious people often use it without knowing it exists. The aviator who bombs an im-portant military target, foreseeing but not desiring the deaths of some civilians, is perhaps unwittingly using this principle. The student who must read a treatise on sex, foreseeing but not wanting tempta-tions against chastity, is using perhaps also unwittingly the p~inciple of the double effect. And all of us. whether we realize it or not, are following this same principle when we perform some good and neces-sary action, realizing that, despite our best intentions, certain others will misunderstand and will be'led to rash judgments and to criti-cism. The deaths of the civilians, the sexual temptations, and the harsh thoughts and criticism, are all simply unavoidable and un-wanted by-products of actions that are good in themselves and of sufficient importance to be performed despite the evil effects that at-company them. The principle of the double effect has many applications in medicine, especially as regards surgical operations on diseased repro-ductive organs with the unavoidable destruction of the procreative power and as regards treatment of a pregnant mother with some un-intentional but unavoidable risk either to herself or to her child. This last point was clearly explained by. Pope Plus XII in his Allodution to the "Family Front" (November 26, 1951): "On purpose," he said, "We have always used the expression "direct attempt on the life of an innocent person,' "direct killing.' Be-cause if, for example,-the saving of the life of the future mother, in-dependently of her pregnant state, should urgently require a surgical act or other therapeutic treatment which would~have as an accessory consequence, in no way desired or intended but inevitable, the death of the fetus, such an act could no longer be called a direct attempt on innocent life. Under these conditions the operation can be licit, like other similar medical interventions, granted always that a good of high worth is concerned, such as life, and that it is not possible to 211 GERALD KELLY Review fur Religious postpone the operation until after the birth of the child, or to 'have recourse to other efficacious remedies." e) The principle of ."libertt.t." Physicians do. not always see eye-to-eye on the value of certain treatments or operations. For ex-a.~ ple, take the much-discussed and too-much-popularized operation called Idbotomy. Thisoperation consists essentially in severing cer-tain fibers in the brain, and its general purpose seems to be to reduce emotional tension and thus help in the cure of some mental illnesses and in relieving otherwise unbearable pain. The sharpest kind of con-troversy exists among reputable physicians as to the good produced by the operation, the risks it involves, the types of patients that might benefit from it, and so forth. And this is but one example of many decidedly controversial questions in the sphere of medicine: Theologians, too, have their differences of opinion; and this is especially true when they are faced with a new problem. "There are pros and cons to many of these problems, and it may take a long time before the issues are sufficiently clarified to have a ffnanimous opinion for either side or until the teaching authority of the Church inter-venes to settle the matter. Sound morality supplies this practical principle that may be fol-lowed in these legitimately debated matters: obligations (i.e., pre-cepts and prohibitions) are not to be imposed unless they are certain. This is what I mean by the principle of "liberty." For the doctor, this means that, with the consent of the patient, he and his consult-ants may follow what they sincerely judge to be the proper medical procedure as long as this procedure is not certainly wrong. I f) The principle of "totality." I have taken this woful from Pope Pius XII, who said in his address on the moral limits of medical research a~ad treatment (September 14, 1952): "By virtue of the principle of totality, by virtue of his right to use the services of his organism as a whole, the patient can allow individual parts to be destroyed or mutilated when and to the extent~necessary for the good of his being as a whole." Obviously, this is an extremely important principle in medi'cal practice. Every time a doctor, acting according to the principles of sound medicine, and with the consent of his pa-tient, removes an eye, a hand, a gall-bladder, etc., he is following this principle of totality. He removes the member, which is a part of the whole, because it has become in some way.a threat to the survival or the well-being of the whole. 212 Jul~, 1953 HOSPITAL CODE Conclusion The foregoing are. the main, if not the only, principle~ that form the core of an~] sound medico-moral code. Perhaps I have giventhem too much space: yet it seems to me that one really appreciates our hos-pital codes only when he sees these basic principles grouped together and briefly explained. It may be taken for granted that an~ doctor who conscientiously follows these principles will act, not ~nly ac-cording to sound morality, but also according to sound medicine. Earlier in this article I suggested that in the minds of many people the supreme moral principle of Catholic hospitals seems to be that mothers must die for their babies. This, as I said, is best-seller non-sense at its best, and perhaps I should have said at its worst. Implicit in this attitude is the idea that in a critical situation a Catholic mother must always prefer her baby's life to her own. The idea is erroneous. Obviously, no mother may allow the direct taking of her life in order to save her baby, because, as Plus XlI declared, the direct destruction of any innocent life is morally wrong. And even a~ regards the risking of her life, e.g., by submitting to a dangerous operation, for thd sake of her baby, we must be very careful about making universal state-ments. We would have to consider many concrete factors before we could decide whether such a risk is obligatory or even permissible. Closely related to this erroneous notion that in our hospitals mothers must die for their babies is the idea that, since Catholic hos-pitals do not permit thereapeutic abortion (a "gentle" expression for the practice of killing babies to "save" mothers), they lose more mothers than do other hospitals. Not only is there no statistical basis for this, but what statistics we have indicate the very opposite. /~or example, two Boston doctors, Roy J. Heffernan and William "A. Lynch, recently obtained information about maternal deaths from 171 hospitals in various paris of our country. This information covers a period of eleven years, 1940-1950. In these hospitals, during this long period, there were more than ~hree million deliveries, about evenly di~iided, between hospitals that permit therapeutic abortions and hospitals that exclude this practice. The maternal death rate in the hospitals that do not allow therapeutic abortions was .87 .per thousand deli~ceries, whereas in the hospitals that do allow therapeu-tic abortion the maternal death rate was .98 per .thousand deliverles. According to these and similar statistics', the keeping of God's law saves not only babies but their mothers, as well. This is a too-littld-known aspect of the apostolate of Catholic hospitals. 213 .ues!: ons and AnSwers ~18m What can be done to counteract some Iong-sfandincj practlce, s en-gaged in during time of retreat by Sister-retreatants, for example, re-hearslng daily for one or two hours the Mass and hymns to be used ,for the reception ceremony; embroidering and crocheting between conferences2 The Sisters who participate in these works find that it interferes with thei~ recollection. ¯ Some work ab.out the house, some choir practice, and other little jobs (like needlework) would not seem to interfere ,too much with retreat recollection if indulged in only for about aft hour or so a day. That would still allow the retreatants a fair amount of time for un-disturbed private reflection an~l personal duties. If, however, the re-treat schedule were already extraordinarily crowded (which is usually not the case), there might be little time left for such tasks as indi-cated in our question. In any case, it is important that retreatants h~ve a fair amount of leisure time for private reflection, for jotting down. spirittlal "lights," for additional rest, and the like. ml9m At times it is necessary to post items pertinent to religious' in various departments of an establishment in regard to keeping rooms in order, having greater care of furniture, and the like. Would it not further a bet-ter ~om;nunity spirit if such directions were posted in the community room rather than on the doors of the different departments where outsiders may read them and make comments? Yes, it would be better to post items of a personal or private na-ture, whether they pertain to the community as a whole or to indi-vidual members of the community, in some place reserved to the reli-gious family .in preference to other more or less public places. Thus criticism might be lessened. It is possible, :though, that sometimes superiors ihtend such notices not merely nor primarily for religious who are in charge of or are working in a department, but especially for the outside help. Then such notices would be posted where those for whom they a~e intended would see them. In these cases, however, care should be taken that the wording of the notice does not occasion criticism of the religious. 214 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS In a religious congregation (in which simple vows are taken) may a ~ell-glous who is subiect fo a provincial superior have a right of appeal to the superior general when the religlous wants a farad or extra permission? To begin with, religious have the right of communicating with higher superio.rs: such correspondence is sealed. Religidus could. therefore, ask for various permissions from higher superiors. Some extraordinary permissions are usually asked of higher superiors ra~ber than of the immediate superior. Ordinary permissions, however, as a general rule are to be sought from the immediate superior. If that superior refuses the permission, one should not request the same per-mission from a higher superior without informing him that the per-mission was refused by the lower superior." Good government dic-tates that procedure, as ~ell as courtesy ahd possibly the rules of the institute. Before asking for any extra permissions or "favors," religious should remember .that superiors are to help their subjects observe common life; hence superior~ may not readily grant extra permission.s to a subject unless the Circumstances of the case warrant it. Likewise superiors must then be willing, and able, to grant the same permission to any other, subject in the same circuhastances. Subjects should try to lighten° the superior's burden' of of~ce by not requesting permis-sions which superiors should not grant either because they are not consonant with religious life, or because they would violate or harm common life, or because of some other good reason. Besides being a violation of common life, "favoritism" in a community is always odious. The cause of our Venerable Founder has been in progress at Rome for thirty years. In order to help Stimulate popular devotion to our Founderu particularly among ou~ students and their parents--our Order is in the habit of prlntlng, from time to time pictures and devotional pamphlets about him. Up to now. printed matter of that type only bore the nlhll obsfaf of the ordinary of the diocese where our motherhouse is located. It was brough~t to our attention lately that we need the approbation of the Holy See ~or an~ printed material about our Fo, under who has been de-clared Venerable. Is that observation correct? Canon 1387, of the, Code of Canon Law states that what per-tains in any way to the causes of beatification and canonization of 215. QUESTIONS ~ND ~NSWERS Servants of God may not be published without the permission of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. @his restriction applies only~to causes which are pending before the Sacred. Congregation; not to those which are finished (person b~s been canonized), or are pending be-fore some other body "than the Sacred'Congregation of Rites. During the time permission must be obtained from the Sacred Congregation, no further permission of the local ordinary is necessary for publica-tion of matter approved by the Sacred Congregation. The Codex pro Postulatoribus Causarum Beatiffcationis et Can-onizationis i4th edition, 1929, page 26, nos. 21 and 22) repeats the abo~ce and includes pictures (imagines) under the provision of can-on 1387. Several author~ who comment on canon. 1387 say that it seems to refer only t6 documents and. acts connected with the prosecution of th~ cause, such as summaries and proofs proposed for furthering the cause, opinions of consultors; comments of. the prornotor tidei, and the like. These authors rely on a Monitum of the Sacred Congrega-tion of Rites of February 12, 1909, which required previous' permis-sion of the Sacred Congregation for the publication of accounts,of the llfe, virtues, and "wonders" of Servants of God. Consequently it seems probable that the devotional pamphlets and pictures mentioned in our question need not be submitted to the Sacred Congregation for approval. m22-., Postulants are being sent out to the missions to hel'p with the teaching in schools*. They return to the motherhouse fop the week-ends. Are supe-riors justified in extending the postulancy for,three or four months, because the number of novices to be 'professed is not sufficient to fill the places of Fhe postulants? The Normae of 1901 (which have been used as a model for the constitgtions of rehgzous ,congregations) allowed a period of pos-tulancy ranging between gik--and twelve months. They permitted the superior general f~ a ~just cause to prolong the postulancy up to three additional months i~ particular cases (n. 65). A just cause was considered to exist if superiors remained uncertain about the vocation of the candidate, about his qualifications Or defects, or about his ad, justment to the life of the institute. ¯ The Code of Canon Law speaks of a postulancy of at least six entire months which must. be made by all women in religious insti- 216 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS tutes with perpetual vows and by the lay brothers in the.institutes of men. It permits the major superior ,to prolong the postulancy, but not beyond another six months (canon 539). This may be done in particular cases. The purpose of the prolongation is again to allow superiors more time to size up the applicant's vocation and more pre-cisely. his aptitude or fitnes~ for their religious institute. In the light of the above, it is rather difficult to see how superiors wbuld be justified in extending the postulancy for three or four months in the case under consideration. It might be well to add that the Apostolic Delegate has special .faculties to shorten or prolong the postulancy pre~scribed by the Code of Canon Law. Relatives of a relig;ous send money to a mutual friend with the under-standing that the religious will let that friend knowwhat he wants the friend to buy for him on the occasion of his blrfhday, Christmas, Easter, and the like. Is such procedure in keeping with poverty, or would the religious be considered as having a reserved fund of money? In the final .analysis the practice outlined' in the question reduces itself to a private fund of money at the disposal of the religious, a form of peculium generally contrary t~o the poverty professed by most. religious institutes, At best, this is contrary to cohamon life and the spirit of povert, y. A religious who countenanced such a practice could very well profit from reading Father Gallen's excellent article on "The Spirit of Poverty'" (REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, VIII .[1949], 35-43), not to me.ntion various other articles on common life arid the vow of poverty. As a practical solution, the religious could advise his relatives, who wish to give him a present, to send the money.to 'him rather than to the mutual friend. It would be understood that the reli-gious will turn in the money to his superiors to be added to the com-munity funds; then, when the religious needs something, the superior will provide it from the community funds. In that way both the vow and the spirit of poverty, as well as commott life, will be safe-guarded. A Sister acts as organist for the children's choir and for the adult choir during Mass and other services. Does canon law forbid this? A similar questi6n about a Sister organist was answered in the 217 Review ?or Religious BOOK REVIEWS pages of this REVIEW, VIII (1949), 325. Attention was called to possible diocesan regulations on the matter, even though the Code of Canon Law says nothing about it. In genera~ it seems that there would riot be much objection to a Sister acting as organist for a chil-dren's choir. In case of reai need this might also be stretched to in-clude an adult Choir of women only. But for a mixed adult choir:. "In practice,no Sister should undertake to play the organ for amixed choir of men and women without the express permission of the local ordinary and of her ownhigher superior" ibid.). / Book Reviews .~IRACLES. By Jean Hell~. Translated by Lancelot CL Sheppard. Pp. v~ -h. 288. David McKa¥ (~omp~ny, Inc., New York, 1952. $3.~0. This work is not a philosophical or tbeo16gical treatise on mir-acle. s. Rather, by a fairly detailed historical presentation of selec.ted cases, it is designed to give the reader a fairly general knowledge of, them. It is "a synthesis, or more modestly perhaps, an attempt at a synthesis" (p. 14). The whole story is built around persons, and l~eferably persons Who are not very remote from us in time. The language is not technical, but adapted to all intelligent readers. ,, The first chapter is an account of "miracles of humility": it: pre-sents the "stories of the Cur{ .of ~Ars and of Bernadette Soubi~ous; Then there follows, "Fatima, or the Age of Mary." Therese Neu-mann does not measure up to the author's standards and require-ments. But--surprisingly enough--"Catberine Emmerich, 'Narra, tot' of .the Gospels" and her writir~gs touched up by Clement Bren-tano meet with his full approval. The apparitions at Beauraing, BelgiUm, 1932-1933, are judged t6 be "childish fiction.'" Neverthe~ less' this is one of the few among recent cases that have received epis-copal approbatton. A particularly interesting feature of th~s book is the final chapter: "imitators and Fakers of Miracles." By contrast it serves especially well to bring out the great differences that obtain be-tween, genuine supernatural signs and others that are ~fraudulent, and how the pretended marvelous can be detected and distinguished from whaTt his~ a wuthhoelnet iwc.ork emphasizes the prudent reserve and critical spirb of the Church toward whatever is proposed as surpassing the limiv 218 duly, 1953 BOOK REVIEWS of nature, and tends to,bring about in the mind of the reader a simi-lar wise attitude.---AUGUSTINE G. ELLARD. ., A LIFE OF CHRIST. By Aloys Dirksen, C.PP.S. Dryden Press, New York, 1952. Pp. 340. $3.75. This book is unique in two respects: first, it has the '.'split-p~ge format." that is to say, in the upper part we find the Confraternity text of' the Gospels, and entirely separated from this section, a com-mentary on the Gospel text. One can turn the pages of the upper section without disturbing those below. Secondly, the Commentary and its Introduction are models of intelligent compression. Eight introd_uctory chapters furnish,,~i background for a better understanding of the actual commentary. These include a brief dis-cussion of the sources for a life of Christ, an outline of the geography of Palestine, a survey of the l~revious history of the Jews. the politi-cal and social conditions and prevalent religious beliefs of the period when our Lord was onearth. Such a comprehensive introduction can treat these matters only in barest outline, and if a few inaccuracies have crept in, this can readily be excused. The commentary, too, is suggestive rather thar~ exhaustive: but it is usually very much to the point. The ordinary reader will find there what he wants to know about the Gospel text he is reading. At the end of the commentary, by way of appendix, is a list of messi-anic prophecies found in the-Old Testainent. and of the Old Testa-ment quotations found in the four Gospels. Since the author uses many tec