Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)

Issue 9.6 of the Review for Religious, 1950.

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Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
author_facet Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus
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title Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
title_short Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
title_full Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
title_fullStr Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
title_full_unstemmed Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950)
title_sort review for religious - issue 09.6 (november 1950)
description Issue 9.6 of the Review for Religious, 1950.
publisher Saint Louis University Libraries Digitization Center
publishDate 1950
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spelling sluoai_rfr-203 Review for Religious - Issue 09.6 (November 1950) Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus Jesuits -- Periodicals; Monasticism and religious orders -- Periodicals. Ellis Issue 9.6 of the Review for Religious, 1950. 1950-11-15 2012-05 PDF RfR.9.6.1950.pdf rfr-1950 BX2400 .R4 Copyright U.S. Central and Southern Province, Society of Jesus. Permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute individual articles for personal, classroom, or workshop use. Please credit Review for Religious and reference the volume, issue, and page number and cite Saint Louis University Libraries as the host of the digital collection. Saint Louis University Libraries Digitization Center text eng Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus ¯ . A.M.D.G. .Review for Religious NOVEMBER 15, 19 5 0 Politeness or Courtesy ......... Stephen Brown All Honor andGlory ......’ ....... ¢.A. Herl~st A Contemplation of Christ " .R:J, Sch~eider A Pledge of Heaven - ~ P. De Letter The Deafened RellgloiJs. :’.. : ..... Anonymous First Annual R~eport ........... Adam C. Ellis Questions and Answers Book Reviews Communlca~ions Annual Index VOLUM~ IX RI::VII:W FOR RI:::LIGIO.US VOLUME IX NOVEMBER, 1950 NUMBER 6 CONTENTS POLITENESS OR COURTESY-~Stephen Brown, S.J ....... 281 OUR CONTRIBUTORS ........ " ......... 284 ALL HONOR AND GLORY-~C. A. Herbst .......... 285 FROM ONE SHOT-IN TO ANOTHER .... . ....... 290 A CONTEMPLATION OF CHRIST IN ACTION R.J. Schneider, S.J. 291 RELIGIOUS VOCATION, A PLEDGE OF HEAVEN~P. De Letter, S.J. 293 THE REPRINT SERIES ................. 298 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS--Anonymous ......... 299 FOR THE SOCIAL APOSTOLATE .............. 308 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT--Adam C. Ellis, S.~I ......... 309 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 27. Reading of decrees now out of date ........... 317 28. Seniority after transferring ............. 317 29. Reading in common ................. 318 30. Absence during canonical year ............ 319 BOOK REVIEWS-- De La Salle: Saint and Spiritual Writer; Neuroses and the Sacraments 320 BOOK NOTICES ................... 321 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS ................ 324 COMMUNICATIONS ................ ~ . . 327 FOR YOUR INFORMATION-- Patron of Teachers; Delightful Poetry; Bishop Brady on Christian Unity; Sister Agnesetta’s Bricks; Reprint Series; Series for 1951; The Holy Catholic Church: Communion of Saints ........ 328 ANNUAL INDEX ................... 333 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. November, 1950, Vol. IX, No. 6. Published bi-monthly: January, March,May, July, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary’s College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.3., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.2. Editorial Secretary: Jerome Breunig, S.J. Copyright, 1950, by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. Permission is hereby granted for quota-tions of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in I2. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice on inside back cover. Tke "Little" Virtues ~o[~e~zess or ~our~es~/ Stephen Brown, S.J.. LET me say at once that a little book entitled Lest We Forgqt, dealing with courtesy in convent life has recently been. pub-lished by the Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. This little book I hereby recommend as containing much more than can be compressed into the following short article, which is intended for those who cannot acquire that little book and for those whom it does not concern. The first point that I wish to make is that politeness and eti-quette are two different things. It is possible to be genuinely polite in a country, let us say, where the rules of etiquette are unknown, and it is possible to observe all the rules of etiquette and yet be not really polite in manners and speech. I say this because the two are ¯ often confounded. Perhaps a few examples may illustrate my point. Thus here in Ireland etiquette requires one to take soup from the side of the spoon, on the Continent soup is taken from the front. Again here it is the correct thing to spread one’s shall I say serviette or nap-kin on one’s knees where it is of little enough use. In France it is used to protect the front of one’s dress, in Germany it may be tied round the neck. And so it is with many other matters of etiquette. English people eat with knife and fork in hand all the time. On the Continent and I think in the States, too, the knife is used to cut the meat and then the fork alone is used. In some circles etiquette con-demns a person to the ridiculous feat of eating jelly, blancmange, and other similar things with a fork only. The general rule here is indicated by the saying, "In Rome one should do as Rome does"-- perhaps even to the Roman method of eating macaroni! The fact is that etiquette is merely conventional like fashion: it is what people who are, or are supposed to be, well-bred have tacitly agreed to be the correct thing. Etiquette may be sometimes unrea-sonable or even silly; politeness never. Yet po)iteness may oblige a person to observe the rules of etiquette, at least on occasion. It is nevertheless really independent of such rules. It is an inward dispo-sition showing itslf in actions that are in keeping with that disposi-tion. And how shall we describe that inward disposition? Per- STEPHEN BROWN Rcoiew for Religious haps we may say that it is a frame of mind which prompts one to act with refinement (as against rudeness and coarseness) and with consideration and respect towards other persons. Some examples of what is contrary to politeness may help us to grasp its nature. Thus "gimme that" is not exactly a polite request. "Go to--[well let us tone it down to] Jericho" is not precisely a polite answer. Nor would "certainly not" snapped out in the man-ner of a pistol shot, be polite either. A refusal that is blunt and harsh is not polite. The unpleasantness of refusal ought to be softened by the manner of it, instead of being enhanced by a display of annoyance at the request having be~n made at all. To fail to answer a letter is, in most cases, an act of impoliteness which almost amounts to an insult. It may be, of course, that the insult is de-served. It is highly impolite to keep people waiting unnecessarily and unduly or to walk in very late into an important meeting. It is likewise impolite to interrupt or to be noisy and self-assertive. Positive Politeness Then there is the positive side. It is politeness rather than mere etiquette that requires us to say "Please" and "Thanks," for these expressions are not and ought not to become merely conventional. We ought to mean them. "Please" should be equivalent to saying, "I am not makfng a demand nor issuing an order; I wait on your good pleasure." The French s’il vous plait says this more explicitly. "Thanks" should mean, "You have done me a favour or a kindness and I am grateful to you for it." I think we should be doing a good thing if we injected a little more genuine meaning and feeling into our Pleases and Thanks. There are people who are perfect misers of both, whereas a little prodigality in the matter would do no harm. When one ’come~ to think what are the sort of people to whom one ought to be polite, one finds it impossible to exclude any class whatever. First there are the lay people with whom we come in contact--friends, strangers, pupils, servants, trades people, the poor --to all of these it behoves us to be polite. What, polite to impor-tunate beggars! Yes, certainly. They are to us no less God’s crea-tures, and fellow human beings, our "neighbors" than anybody else. Politeness is decidedly difficult in some cases but none the less neces-sary and all the more meritorious. Our manner, of courke, will vary according to the persons concerned, but it ought not’ cease to be polite and courteous. St. James reminds us somewhat severely of this point. In his Epistle he says: "If there come into your assembly 282 N o~ember , 1950 POI.1TENESS a man in bright raiment [a well-dressed gentleman] . . . and if there come in also a poor man in sordid raiment, and ye have regard to the man wearing the bright raiment and say to him, ’Do thou sit here in a good place’: and to the poor man ye say, ’Do thou stand there’ .... are you not making distinctions [which ought not to be made] ?" It is true our manner may be different, as I have said, according to the class of persori with whom we are dealing, but it should never change so much that it becomes no manners at all. Unfortunately there are religious who largely reserve their manners for people outside the religious house, others, no doubt, who forget their manners once they are outside. Our charges, be they pupil,s, orphans, or what not, should be treated not in a rough, hectoring way but with a firm gentleness and quiet politeness. While as for women the traditional courtesy shown to them in civilized society is never out of place and might well be expected from priests even more than from laymen. As to politeness toward~ our fellow religious a great deal might be said. But much of it would be of the na.ture of truism and com-monplace. That is unavoidable. One often has to point out and even to emphasize what ought to be obvious. For instance~ our superiors (I have never been one myself) ought to be treated not only as superiors but as human beings, not with subservience but with respect and thoughtful politeness. Curiously enough, they have their feelings. I quote with full approval (and a certain feeling of compunction) this sentence from the little book I praised at the out-set: "A note of thanks to the superior who generously arranged a summer of rest or study should come warm and prompt after the Sister’s [please include the male sex] departure, as should the note to the higher superior who has graciously granted a personal request." We should remember, too, that the superior, in virtue of his or her office is a very isolated person, may even feel lonely, and may possibly be misunderstood. It is worth while turning over in one’s mind the places and occasions in which politeness is specially cfilled for. Obviously the refectory is one of these. There it demands at least the absence of all habits that are offensive to those at table with us (etiquette demands more than that) and, on the other hand, awareness of others and attention to their wants. St. Ignatius’s rule says: "Whenever at table something is wanting to anybody, he who sits next him must let the server know etc." He thought it worth while to put that into his "Common Rules." Another place is the convent 283 STEPHEN BROWN door or gate commonly frequented by the poor or, at all events, by beggars--not always the same thing. These must, all of them, be treated with Christian politeness, not spoken to roughly or harshly, even when they must be rebuked. A third occasion is when for any reason we are staying in a house of our order other than our own. While there politeness seems to demand that we should act in every way possible as a member of that community, conforming to its usages (even if it be in a foreign country) and keeping as far as pos-sible within the framework of the community life. In other words we should not regard it merely as an hotel and act accordingly. To do so would hardly be courteous to the community. This is at least indicated in another of St. Ignatius’s rules. As was said at the end of the introductory article of this series about the "little virtues" in general, so here it might be said of politeness that it seems at first sight a purely natural quality and so unworthy of the name of virtue. I refer the reader to the answer given in that introductory article, merely adding here this little sen-tence of St. Fra. ncis de Sales--to translate it would be to spoil it-- "Nous nous amusons quelquefois rant 5 ~tre boris anges que nous en laissons d’{tre bons hommes et bonnes femmes.’’1 Many books about manners, politeness, etiquette have been pub-lished. One that is sound and at the same time vivacious and amusing is How to Be Happy though Ci~)il by the Rev. E. J. Hardy, author of How to Be Happ~¢ though Married. I fear it has long been out of print. OUR CONTRIBUTORS STEPHEN J. BROWN, a well known spiritual writer, is a professor at the National University of Ireland, Dublin. R.J. SCHNEIDER is all English teacher at St. Ignatiu.s High School in Cleveland, Ohio. P, DE LETTER, from St. Mary’s theologate, Kurseong, India, has recently contributed articles to Theological Studies and Cross and Crown as well as to the REVIEW (Sept. ’50). ADAM (2. ELLIS and C. A. HERBST are members of the faculty at St. Mary’s College, St. Marys, Kan-sas. The author of "The Deafened Religious" thought the article would be m. ore effective if it appeared anonymousbr. 1At the risk of spoiling it we suggest this translation: "We are sometimes so busy being good angels that we forget to be good men and good women."--ED. 284 All I--Ionor and lory C, A. Herbst, S.J. 44THROUGH Christ our Lord. Through Whom, O Lord, Thou ~| ever createst all these good things, sanctifiest, vivifiest, and blessest them and givest them to us. Through Him, and " with Him, and in Him, all honor and glbry is .rendered to Thee, God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Forever and ever. Amen." These words said just before the Pater Noster of the Mass, at th~ ~’little elevation," at a most sublime part of the very heart of the Mass, are printed very large and beautifully in some of our newer missals, taking a whole page. That they should be printed so is quite unessential to the Mass, of course, and even to the Mass book. Yet it is nice to think that the printer’s art has been enlisted in emphasizing the fact that "all honor and glory," infinite honor and glory, is given to God through Jesus Christ in the Mass, in this sacrifice of Calvary offered again iri an unbloody manner, the same sacrifice as that of the Cross. God created the world for His own glory. Yes, for His own glory. God wills His own glory. He loves His own goodness. He has to. This is not the egotism that we hate and despise in men. It is small and selfish for a creature to will his own glory, to act as though he were an end in himself. This is vainglory, idolatry in a small way. Any glory, any honor, any praise coming to a man because of his goodness or excellence must be passed on to the Cre-ator, the source of that goodness and excellence. It is not due to the creature. But it is due to the Creator. God must love His gdodness and will His glory. Good is the necessary object of the will, the necessary object of the act of love. God’s infinite goodffess is the only proper object of the divine will. It alone merits the infinite love God alone can give. He must love His own goodness to satisfy His divine nature. It alone is the worthy, commensurate, proper object of the divine complacency. To God is due all honor and glory because everything owes its very being to Him. God created it, gave it not 9nly its present form but drew out of very nothingness the matter from which it is made. My body and soul, the stars, the mountains, tiny living things, the ocean, a grain of sand, the rose, the angels and saints, Mary: all these 285 C. A. HERBST Reaiew for Religious are God’s creatures. It is most necessary tbat we remember this. This creator-creature relationship can hardly be overemphasized in our dealing with God. It may not be forgotten even in our most intimate transports of love for Him. All things outside of God, all the things He has made, show forth His goodness. They are the rich fruits of the Creator’s power and must glorify His goodness. The primary end of creation is to manifest and glorify the goodness of God. "Should anyone deny that the world is created for the glory of God, let him be anathema" (Vatican Council, Canon 5, De Deo). The world He has made does, as a matter of fact, by its excel-lence and perfection, give God ibis glory. "The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands" (Ps. 18:2). This is the objective external glory of God, "But the other thing which could not be absent from God’s work was the very manifestation of the divine perfections: of His power especially, His wisdom, and His goodness. This showing forth of the divine perfections, since it redounds to the praise of God; is called the external glory of God." (Council of Cologne, 1860, III, 13.) That is not enough, though. God wants angels and men, spiritual beings with mind and will, to know and acknowledge the excellence of His marvelous creation and through it His own excellence, that they may love and praise Him and give Him due honor and glory. Man was made for this. As St. Ignatius of Loyola expressed it: "Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God." We praise Him when we express.our recognition of His honorable qualities and excellence. We reverence Him when we regard Him with profound respect and affection. We serve Him when we work in His interests and under His direction and bidding. This is to give God formal external glory. Not that God is made greater or changed interi6rly in any way by the external honor and glory given to Him. He is infinite iff every respect and nothing can make Him happier or more beautiful or richer or more glorious. "For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him?" (Rom. 11:34, 35.) All thi~ is to Him what a beautiful garment is to a person. It is purely exterior. It does not change him at all. It simply renders Him what is His due, external honor and glory. What is probably the greatest of the moral virtues, the virtu’e of religion, aims at giving God the glory due to Him, by acknowledging His sovereignty, by worshiping Him and treating Him with the 286 November, 1930 ALL HONOR AND GLORY most profound respect. "Religion is the virtue by which men ren-der to God due worship and .reverence". (S. Th., 2-2, q. 81, a. 1). It is part of the cardinal virtue of justice which requires that we ren-der to everyone his due. To God is due in justice all honor and glory. The first commandment prescribes the primary acts by which we give honor and glory to God: prayer, adoration, and sacrifice. Vows and oaths are covered by the second. Public and social wor-ship by the third. In observing these three we render God the honor due His divine excellence. Some of the principal acts of the virtue of religion that give God honor and glory are devotion, prayer, adoration, sacrifice, and vows. Devotion means to be devoted to, to give oneself earnestly to, to pledge oneself. "Devotion comes from devoting. They are called devoted who in some way pledge that they will surrender themselves completely to God. That is why ~mong the pagans of old they were called devoti who gave themselves over to death in honor of the false gods for the welfare of their army, like the two Decii Titus Livy speaks of. So devotion seems to mean simply ’the will to give one-self up with alacrity to those things which pertain to the service of God.’ " (S. Th., 2-2, q. 82, a. 1.) In Exodus 35:20, 21 we read: "And all the multitude of the children of Israel going out from the presence of Moses, offered first fruits to the Lord with most ready and devout mind." This is substantial devotion; we have it even when sensible consolation is absent. Sensible consolation is accidental devotion. The most common act of religion, I suppose, is prayer. Whether one defines prayer with St. John Damascene as "the ascent of the mind to God" or with St. Gregory of Nyssa as "a conversation and speaking with God" orwith St. John Chrysostom as "a speaking to God" or again with St. John Damascene and St. Thomas as "a peti-tion to God for what is becoming," almost all agree that he prays who applies his mind to the things of God. When Holy Scripture speaks simply of prayer it usually means prayer of petition rather than prayer of praise, thanksgiving, reparation, or expiation. The traditional seven petitions of the perfect prayer, the Our Father, point to this. Prayer shows that reverence and honor to God which religion demands, since when we pray we show our submission to Him and confess that we need Him as the author of all good things. "The more numerous and continual our acts of adoration become and the deeper we sink into our nothingness before the divine majesty 287 C. A. HERBST Reoieto [or Religious of God, the more precious will our religion become" (Zimmermann, Aszetik, 317). So fundamental, in fact, is adoration that all other acts are acts of religion only in so far .as they contain it in some way. It must be internal to please God. "Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me" (Matt. 15:7, 8). "God is a spirit: and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). But because man has a body and is a social being he must express his adoration externally, too. An act of faith is an inner protestation of the divine excellence and our submission. Praise of God is verbal adoration. The whole of the Divine Office is this, especially the psalms. "Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us" (Ps. 94:6). A genuflection and kneeling are common acts of adoration. Saints like Patrick and Francis Borgia were lavish, and to the’ worldly-minded ridiculous, in the extremes to which they went in their external expressions of . reverence for and submission to the divine majesty. The finest act of adoration and one proper to God alone is sacri-fice.. By it we acknowledge most perfectly God’s supreme dominion over all creation and our complete submission to Him. It is the offering made to God by man of some sensible thing by changing it in some way in acknowledgement of the supreme dominion God has over all creatures. Sacrifice is demanded by nature, by God, by the Church. There is no true religion without it. Other signs of external honor may be given to creatures, this one never. The idea behind sacrifice, is expressed well by giving away money, cutting flowers, pouring wine upon the ground. The offering of life to God, the only One who can give life, by the shedding of blood, is the best expression of sacrifice, the most sacred and solemn acknowledgement of God’s supreme dominion and our perfect submission. For life is the best of all good things and in giving it we give all. God com-manded His chosen people in olden times to sacrifice animals and offer their blood to Him. Christ offered His life to God and shed His Blood in the perfect infinite sacrifice of the Cross. By this one sacrifice, renewed daily in the Mass in an unbloody manner, every sacrifice from Adam’s time till the end of the world derives its value. By it God is given all honor and glory. Special acts of religion proper (o religious are vows. "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God of a possible and greater good" .(Canon 1307, § 1). The vows of religion are public decla- 288 Nouember, 1950 ALL HONOR AND GLORY rations accepted in the name of the Church by a legitimate ecclesiasti-cal superior that one will live one’s life in a manner especially dedi-cated to the honor and glory of God. By poverty we give up the goods of this world. By cbhsti~y we surrender the pleasures of fam-ily life. By obedience we offer to God our liberty and our will, the most precious goods of the soul. Thus religious are consecrated to God’s service. Many change their name on entering religion to indi-cate that they have completely put away the things of this world, lost their identity in it, so to speak, and have joined the family of God to live a heavenly life. One can.scarcely imagine a more com-plete dedication to the honor and glory of God than a life lived in the generous fulfillment of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedi-ence and the careful observance for the love of God of a rule of life approved by the Church. Religion is a virtue, a good habit. Venerable Leonard Lessius gives four suggestions for cultivating it. "’The First is the consider-ation of the infinite majesty of God and that all things are dependent upon it. The Second is the consideration of our nothingness. Of ourselves we are nothing and have nothing. Whatever we are and have is God’s and continually depends upon God. The Third, com-plete submission and bowing down of the mind before God, by which the mind gives interior witness to these things. The Fourth, external profession of the same in word, actions of the body, and in other ways." (Lessius, De Religione, 5.) It is not bard to see what deep and true humility these considerations will develop. "All honor and glory." God created the world for His glory. The ,whole visible universe proclaims it. The Old Testament writings resound with it. "All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever" (Dan. 3:57). At Christ’s birth the angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest" (Luke 2:14), and at the end of His life He told HiE Father: "I have glori-fied thee on the earth" (John 17:4). Theapostles in their writings love to linger on the same theme. St. Paul writes: "To God the only wise, through Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever" (Rom. 16:27). And again: "Now to the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever" (I Tim. 1:17). St. Peter says: "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and unto the day of eternity" (II Pet. 3: 18). And St. Jude: "To the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ 289 C. A. HERBST our Lord, be glory and magnificence, empire and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages" (Jude 1:25). And St.John: "Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever" (Apoc. 7: 12). Carrying on faithfully this divine revelation the Church of Christ is constantly re-echoing the beautiful and God-centered"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning," is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." This is ever on the lips of her children: in their morning and evening prayers, in the rosary, in the Divine Office, in the Mass. Especially in that devout and prayerful act of adoration, the holy sacrifice of the Mass, do we bend all our efforts to give honor and glory to God. There Jesus Christ, the Son of God, true God and true man, Himself is with us, and "through Him, and with Him, and in Him, all honor and glory is rendered to Thee, God the Father almighty, in the unity of tbe Holy Spirit. Forever and ever. Amen." FROM ONE "SHUT-IN" TO ANOTHI:R "... I have placed your health in the Sacred Heart’s keeping. ¯ . . But if it be His Holy Will I shall be most grateful if He leaves you the use of all your members. Should He will otherwise He will send all His help and graces, for what He has done for me He will do for everyone He afflicts. Now, it is all in His hands, and whatever will redound most to His glory we want--the pain, the awful dependence on creatures which at first crushes one to the earth, the thought of being useless .... From a natural viewpoint it is hard, but viewed supernaturally, there is nothing so sweet..." "Oh, I know what you are going through, and if it were not for my trust in God I would be heartbroken . . . Do not for one moment wilfully give in to thinking of the future. Tell God you accept everything for the day as coming from His hands, and try to smile at Him when those awful pains shoot through your joints. He won’t mind if the smile is wreathed with wrinkles or accompanied with groans.’ This is the only prescription that has ever brought me won-derful peace. Above all, do not grow discouraged." (Excerpts from letters written by Sister Mary Agnesetta, S.I~.) 290 A Cont:empl t:ion ot: Chrisl: in D ily Lit:e R. J. Schneider, S.J. IHAVE SEEN CHRIST. I have seen Him. I knew you would want to know about Him, so I wrote this. You see so many priests. You hear so many preachers in pulpits. I knew you would like to see Christ Himself. I’ll tell you how I met Him, how much fun I had working for Him. I’ll do more. I’I1 tell you what He’s like in conversation. It’s so hard to find Him there sometimes. I’ll tell you about Him. I met Him working. It was strange, almost amusing. I was working--and then I "saw Him. He was standing right there. I could have touched Him. His back was bent over, working easily with a hoe. He wasn’t strong. He wasn’t weak. He was a man . . . a real person I could watch and judge and analyze and appreciate and interpret and love. He was right there. It was good to have Him so close. I worked those precious minutes for pure gold. I’ve met Him many times after that--working. It’s odd, isn’t it. I know Him now. I can prove this, too. I know Him because I can laugh with Him. I can work with Him and love it. I am in His sight and company. It’s easy. The tug and pull of life is pleasure in His presence. I like to see. His face. I don’t always, but some-times He turns to me. I like the quick smile of satisfaction when He looks at me and at the work we’ve done. He likes work done. He almost laughs with happiness. Even though He does most of the Work Himself, I’m not sorry I can’t do more. He’s better than I am. He can do a better job of it than I, but He still likes me. I know this because we don’t have to talk when we work. We like to hide our love in the work we do. It’s good to work this way. I’m conscious of Him standing right there, and it makes me do a good job. When I’m tired, I stop and watch Him work. I ask Him things and He tells me simple and good answers. Then I go back fit it. With Him work is not hard, or if it is, that’s just the way I want it. Hard work is good, too. It gives me a chance to show Him I can make the best of it. It’s like getting up in the morning. I hate to get up alone. But I like to do it when He’s there. Christ makes a man of me. I’m not sure I’d like to be a man any other way. 291 R. J. SCHNEIDER There is another side to Him, though. He’s not always working. He’s,quiet and reflective too. I love Him this way. It’s the way I find Him when I’m worried. As we’re alike when we work, we’re different here. I’m complicated and confused and afraid. He’s quiet and collected. So I take my fears to Him and listen. Even though He does not say any.thing for minutes, I know He is giving His mind to it, and it is enough. I listen . . . listen. I have to have the peace of a poet to hear Him. But then He has a quiet solution, simple and methodical, looking before and after. There is nothing startling about His solution, but it is good and will accomplish the end I want, no matter what the difficulties. The steadiness of the plan is only a part of His whole character. I know that things will be done and well done--even though it will take more time than I wanted and wiI1 eliminate several anxious elements to which I was attached. I’ve seen Him in company, too. He’s a simple, quiet person who does not sparkle with glamour and personality. But though He doesn’t take the lead in conversation, He’s really the one true center of the group. Everyone is glad when He speaks. We know what we are talking about is worth while. He gives us contact with reality. .He bring~ us into focus again. Though He is simple Himself, He understands others who are not so. He reflects the beauty in every-one. There is nothing--nothing~uite so thrilling as. the moments wher~ you touch His sense of burnout and He laughs. Angels sing the melody of it in your h~art. You know that what you have said is good and rich and simple and true. But you will tell me I have not seen Christ. "You have not really1 heard Him. You’re just making this up. He is not in your life like that. Christ is spiritual. He is God. He does not live with men like that. You have not seen Him. You were mistaken." I have seen Him. I have seen Him in the fresh morning face of a Sister’s smile. I have heard Him in the light hearty laugh of a simple man. I have watched His shoulders bend to the rhythm of a worker with a rake. His voice has been rich and understanding when He whispers in the confessional. All these things I have seen and heard. They are Christ in my life. I knew you would want to know-- you who asked "Where is Christ? Have you seen Him?" He’s here. Watch for Him. Listen. 292 Religious Vocation, a Pledge ot: Heaven P. De Letter, S.J. THAT perseverance in a religious vocation until death is a safe guarantee of eternal salvation is a belief held by the members of many religious institutes. For instance, to quote but two examples, both Benedictines and Jesuits have their respective tradi-tions to the effect that all who die in the order go to .heaven. There must be many more religious institutes in which a similar conviction is commonly accepted. And rightly so. It would seem that the same belief could and should be held in all religious orders and con-gregations. In fact, it would seem to be true of the religious life in general. If it holds good for one or other particular way of perfection, there is no reason to think it would not apply to all forms of the reli-gious life which the Church has officially approved as a safe path towards Christian holiness. For that reason it may be worthwhile to examine what this hopeful belief implies. What exactly do ~eli-gious authors who propose and defend it mean? On what grounds do they base their conviction? No False Sense of Security When spiritual writers endeavor to show that all who depart this life faithful to their religious vocation may rightly hope to be saved for alI eternity, they evidently do not intend to create in their readers a false sense of security or to provide a pretext for an easy-going religious life. They do not mean that it is enough to live and die as a member of a religious institute to go to heaven, whateve’r their life and death. They have in mind those religious who sin-cerely live up to what their profession demands, that is, those who earnestly strive after Christian perfection. This sincere endeavor is not broken by occasional weaknesses and failures. Only those reli-gious who knowingly neglect this fundamental duty would be wrong in relying on the mere fact of their state e~ life as a sure basis for certain hope of heaven. But those who take to heart this first obligation and who actuaIly make use of the means provided in their institute may take it as their privilege that perseverance till death is a pledge of heaven. 293 P. DE LETTER Re~ievJ fof Religious Still less do these authors mean to contradict the Church’s teaching about the uncertainty of final perseverance in grace which is inherent in our state as earthly pilgrims on the road to heaven. At the Council of Trent the Chi~rch had to state her teaching in definite terms in face of the Protestant presumption which boasted that the justified and predestined are certain of their eternal salvation what-ever their life. She then infallibly defined that "no man can wi~h-out a special revelation know with absolute and infallible certainty that he will have the great gift of final perseverance" (Denzinge.r, ,Encbiridion, 826). She has not changed her teaching since. Theologians have studied the .problem involved and have en-deavored to throw light on the great gift of final perseveran, ce. and on the kind of certainty we can have of it here on earth. And they tell us that this doctrine of the Church excludes two extremes. On the one hand it prevents an unsound sense of security which does not tally with our naturally unsteadfast human wills. Full security does not belong to the state of pilgrimage, but is the privilege of the blessed in heaven. On the other hand, it frees from the morbid obsession of uncertainty about one’s final salvation which robs a man of peace of soul and prevents him from applying himself steadily and thoroughly to the practice of virtue. Although without a special revelation we can never have an infallible certainty that the gift of final perseverance is ours, yet we can be morally certain that, with the help of God’s never-failing grace, we are able and are going to persevere till the end. Grounds [or Conviction It is this kind of certainty that applies to our present case. A faithful life and death in the religious state gives this moral certainty of final perseverance. That certainty- is not so infallible that it would dispense with watchfulness and effort, but it is a real certitude which leaves no room for reasonable doubt. It actually guarantees an un-shaken hope of final perseverance, Within the limits of these expla-nations of the theologians we may safely believe that to die in the religiou.s state is a sure pledge of heaven. On what grounds does this conviction rest? Not Special Revelations We need not" consider here the special revelations which were granted to some religious saints or saintly religious about the happi-ness in the other world of their religious brethren or s~sters who 294 November, 1950 PLEDGE OF HEAVEN passed away faithful to their vocation. It is possible that some author or other gave undue importanc~ to these extraordinary sources of knowledge; Private revelations undoubtedly may and do, when they are genuine, convey real truth, but they do not originate an obligation to believe that is binding on the faithful, and they always have to be interpreted consistently with and dependently on the com-mon Catholic doctrine which the Church proposes. Not Excellence of Institute Nor need we insist here on the special excellence of some or other religious institute. Some institutes are said to guarantee in a special manner such an abundance of supernatural helps that it practicaIIy amounts to certainty of final perseverance. It is true that religious founders and saints loved 1~o extol the excellence of their own insti-tute, evidently not to depreciate other orders, but because of the special affection which they vowed to their own religious family. The Holy .See has openly declared that this love for one’s vocation is legitimate and necessary for all religious. Experience has shown that those religious most enamoured with their own institute are also best able to appreciate what is excellent in other orders or congregations. They on set purpose avoid comparisons which easily become odious. It is, moreover, perfectly safe to say that the best institute for each religious is the one to which Providerice has called him. Our.Lord’s Words A first reason is implied in the infallible p}onouncement of our Lord: "Everyone that has left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children dr lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlast.ing" (Matt. 19: 29). This promise applies in a true sense to the religious life. These words of our Savior give us a firm ground for certainty, firmer than any private revelation can give. Such was the opinion.of a saintly religious, the Venerable Father Lancicius, S.J. (1652), who believed in and wrote a book on the excellence of his own religious order. He said that this promise of Our Lord was the chief reason for his belief in the privilege of the religious of his order. All faithful religious may take it as certain that the eternal life promised to all those who leave everything for Our Lord’s sake will be their abundant reward. Without in any way insinuatin.g that the promise of Our Lord aims exclusively or even chiefly at the religious and not a.t the other faithful as well’--this would be nothing’else but 295 P. DE LETTER Review for Religious a foolish and intolerable presumption--we may trust and foilow the example of the Church. She has repeatedly expressed her view and she considers these words of Our Lord as applying in a special way to the practice of the evangelical counsels. And so we may take it for certain that the religiou, s life, based on these evangelical counsels, actually fulfils the condition Our Lord made for His promise of the hundredfold and eternal life. Proof from Reason W~ shall find another proof for our belief in religious life as a pledge of heaven if we see just what fidelity to a religious vocation means in actual fact. That fidelity involves all that can be demanded for final perseverance. We call religious faithful to their vocation in the measure that, and as long as, they. sincerely fulfil the duties of their state. This fidelity is no question of words but of deeds and life. All the particular duties religious have to comply with may be summed up in one: a constant effort to become better or a steady striving after perfection in virtue. As long as religious actually desire and take the means to make spiritual progress, they are faithful to their vocation. Now, it is hard to see how religious who keep up this desire and effort till the end of their lives will, humanly speaking, surely be among the.elect for eternal life. The unremitting endeavor towards a better and higher life is alre.ady a grace of God and no mere fruit of human diligence. And it is a grace that is refused to no single reli-gious because it is part of the very grace of vocation. Theologians commonly say that every duty of state imposed on men or women by God’s providential dispositions brings with it the supernatural help without which they would not be able to fulfill their obliga-tions. Otherwise God would be demanding the impossible. The same Council of Trent refuted another Protestant assertion that God’s commandments cannot be kept by men. The Council declared in the words of Augustine that God "does not command the impos-sible, but when He commands, He admonishes you to do what you can and to ask for help to do what you cannot, and He helps you so you can" (Denzinger, Ibid.. 804). When, therefore, God gives the grace of a religious vocation, He undoubtedly asks His chosen to strive unceasingly after Christian perfection, but He also most cer-tainly give them all graces necessary to fulfill that duty. Concretely, what does the fulfilment of this duty mean? For religious the way to make progress in perfection is "traced out in the laws and rules that 296 PLEDGE OF HEAVEN regulate their everyday life. Religious strive after perfection when they keep their vows and rules. That is what is meant by fidelity to the grace of vocation. Result of Fidelity When religious are faithful, they undoubtedly, if not infallibly, escape all serious sin and even the more willful and malicious venial sins which normally result from accepted and protracted negligence. Thi~ negative outcome of their faithfulness, though not the only and final one, is of great importance. It already shows that the only definitive obstacle that can jeopardize final perseverance in grace is practically excluded from a faithful religious life. Suppose even that a weakness and a fall did occur. No sooner will this be noticed than repentance and penance will make up for the passing unfaithfulness. Constant fidelity is then soon restored. Let this effort with its con-crete result of avoiding all sin be kept up till the completion of a religious life (and we may not forget that religious always have the grace to sustain the effort), it will naturally blossom into final per-severance in God’s friendship. And not into any degree’or fo~m of that frieridship, for besides the negative result of a religious fidelity to duty there is another and still more appealing one. Faithful religious not only avoid sins. They also practice many virtues and fill their days with countless good works. They steadily grow in grace and merit, and advance in holiness of life. This steady progress makes it less and less probable that they would be unfaithful in matters where unfaithfulness would result in the loss of sanctifying grace. It is, normally speaking, improbable that faithful .religious who are steadily growing in virtue and perfection would be taken by surprise to the extent that they would willfully give up their allegiance to God. For that very rea-son it is morally certain that they will persevere in grace. Not until they willfully relax their fidelity can a real danger of losing God’s grace arise. And with God’s help they can always avoid falling away in their faithful service. Such are the reasons why we may gratefully and trustfully believe that fidelity to a religious vocation is a pledge of heaven. Grace for grace. Before these signs of divine predilection who of the chosen ones will not echo our Blessed Mother’s Magn~’£cat? 297 REPRINT SERIES Reprint Series (Please read the notice, on p. 329) The following groups of articles are now available in 50-page booklets, with paper cover: NUMBER 1 : Father Etlard "On Difficulties in Meditation--I"-~-’Vol. VI, p. 5. "On Difficulties in Meditation--II"-~Vol. VI, p. 98. "Affective Prayer"--Vol. VII, p. 113. "Contemplation, the Terminus of Mental Prayer"-~Vol. p. 225. VII, NUMBER 2: Father Ellis The "Gifts to Religious" series: "The Simple Vow of Poverty,"--Vol. VI, p. 65. "Common Life and Peculium"--Vol. VII, p. 33. "Personal Versus Community Property"--Vol. VII, p. 79. "Some Practical Cases"-~Vol. VII, p. 195. NUMBER 3: Father Ketlg "The Particular Friendship"--Vol. V, p. 93. "Remedies for the Particular Friendship’--Vol. V, p. 179. "Emotional Maturity"--Vol. VII, p. 3. "More About Maturity"--Vol. VII, p. 63. "Vocational Counseling"--Vol. VII, p. 145. Prices Please note that toe cannot accept orders for less than ten copies of ang of these booklets. The following scale of prices applies to each of the booklets: 10 to 49 copies ..... 30 cents each. 50 or more copies .... 25 cents each. Instructions for Ordering 1. Order according to the Number printed abo’4e: e.g., 10 copies of Number 1 ; 10 copies of Number 2; and so forth. 2. Send payment with order; calculating the price, for each order according to the scale of prices printed above. ’ 3. Make checks or money orders.payable to Review for Religious. 4. Address your order to: The Editors, Review for Religious, St. Mary’s College~, St. Marys, Kansas. 298 The Deat:ened Religious THE purpose of this paper is to excite in readers of the REVIEW an awareness of some of the problems, arising from partial deaf-ness. Some of these problems are social in the sense that they affect all those who have dealings with the hard-of-hearing and so are of concern to all. Others may be called personal in so far as they are restricted to the hard-of-hearing themselves. We shall single out certain problems pertaining to both types and, in conclusion, will comment on some of the advan’tages and disadvantages 6f wearing an earphone. It is probably true that most religious who retain normal hearing do not realize many of the difficulties springing from partial deaf-ness. As a result, they may easily offend against fraternal charity, albeit unknowingly. Experience remains the great teacher of "men, so that if we do not have actual experience of deafness we can hardly perceive the burdensome complications resulting from it. Once these complications are pointed out, most religious will be able to eliminate some of those frictions which originate with defective hearing. We are not including in this paper those who are totally or almost totally deaf. It is true, of course, that these have even more perplexing personal problems than the p~rtially deaf, but their num-ber is relatively small. Besides, total deafness makes more impact on the consciousness of others, so that we are apt to be more aware of the difficulties of those afflicted by it. Furthermore, though the per-sonal condition of the totally deaf is more forlorn than that of the hard-of-hearing, they are preserved fr6m some of the social problems that beset the latter. Misunderstandings, for instance, which occur so often in our dealings with the partially deaf, have no place, in our relationships with those whose hearing loss is complete. It is impos-sible for us even to speak to these. It must be true of religious, as it is of people in general on the testimony of reliable otologists, that many more suffer from defective hearing than those who realize the fact. This being the case, there must be many religious who are experiencing certain personal prob-lems, usually slight, and who cause some annoyance for others, with-out even realizing that partial deafness is the cause. .Since partial deafness manifests itself by many symptoms, some of which we shall indicate, observant religious will be able to surmise when one of their 299 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS Reoieto for Religiotts brethren is partially deaf and will do a real act of charity by in-forming the party of this condition. Kinds and Degrees o/: Iropairrnent Moreover, it is worth noting that hearing impairment varies greatly both in kind and in degree. Probably no two of the hard-of- hearing are in identically the same condition. Some retain normal hearing in one ear whereas the other is either completely or partly deaf. Some have about the same degree of hearing loss in both ears. Some have a hearing disability in both ears, but it is much more p’ronounced in one ear than in the other. And even if the per-centage of hearing loss in two people was exactly the same, it would not follow that their power to apprehend sound would necessarily correspond. Other factors must be taken into account. For example, some of the partially deaf hear better in a small room: others, in a large one. Some hear better in a noisy place: others, in a quiet place. Nearly all will find that they hear better at certain periods of the day than at others, but these periods will vary with individuals. Some may hear better in one climate than in another. It is also true in many cases that the hearing faculty is affected by the general state of one’s health. A hard-of-hearing person, for instance, who also has a very low blood pressure, may find that he hears more acutely when his blood pressure is raised by exercise, medicine, or some other expe-dient. Although all the preceding conditions and others not mentioned will have their influence on the problems affecting the partially deaf, the one uniform and universal factor which lessens of inqreases these problems is the amount of hearing loss. Every religious who has an appreciable d’iminution of the hearing faculty is subject to a certain amount of nervous tension and to mental and emotional trials, minor for the most part, which others escape. Such religious are also the source of some inconvenience to others. Since, however, one special group of the hard-of-hearing evade some of the problems arising from partial deafness, it might be well to comment on this group now and then forget them. We speak of those who have one normal ear, even though the other may be totally deaf. An otologist has assured the writ~ that a person can hear almost as much with one ear as with two, just as a person with one perfect eye can see almost as much as with two. This may be some consolation to a religious who still has one perfect ear, but it does not mean that such a religious avoids all the problems of the hard-of- 3O0 November, 1950 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS hearing. For instance, just as the person with only one eye experi-ences considerably more nervous strain than others (just close one eye for a moment, keep reading and you will perceive the truth of this remark), so the religious with only one good ear undergoes more nervous strain than others--and nervous strain is a problem. More-over, the "one-eared person," if we may so call him, usually has diffi-culty in placing sound. This handicap evidently produces certain problems. It is important at times not only in the recreation room . but especially in the classroom and dormitory, to know without ocular help the spot from which sound emanates. The "one-eared person" does not know. Again, such a one will not hear well if sound proceeds from his deaf side and at a right angle to his person. This state of affairs is bound to happen from tim_" to time, and it means fatigue for the deafened one and inconvenience for the other party. One final preparatory remark. Since people differ so much in temperament and character, we do not mean to say that every deafened religious will encounter all the problems we shall specify. On the other hand, we are certain that some of the partially d~af are bearing problems which will entirely escape our notice. Again, it should be clear that we are merely selecting some of the difficulties that spontaneousl~t spring forth from the condition of defective hearing. It is not our main purpose to explain how these difficulties should be conquered. Deafened religious have additional, though usually slight, burdens to bear. That is what we wish to show. That they usually bear these burdens, with spiritual profit, we have no doubt. Problems Created for Others b~t Partial Deafness Although it is evident that the hard-of-hearing must be inac-curate judges of sound volume even when they themselves produce the sound, we would expect from them a greater, not a lesser volume, than from the average person. It is strange, therefore, that just the opposite happens. The hard-of-hearing are generally too soft-spoken and so frequently cause inconvenience to others. It is perfectly proper, of course, to inform the deafened person that you cannot hear him, but sometimes this is done in a manner that is far from Christ-like. Granted that the partially deaf should make an effort to correct this failing, nevertheless, since this soft-spokenness seems to be an integral accompaniment of their condition, we should not be surprised if they continue in their soft-spoken ways. 301 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS Reoieto/’or Religious Too, the hard-of-hearing quite frequently cause irritation by ignoring some one who speaks or calls to them. In such an event, they are not simply dreaming or excessively concentrating or deliber-ately refusing to acknowledge the speaker. Being to some extent sound-proof, they simply do not hear. They can hardly be expected to keep themselves on edge all the time in order to respond to some one’s address. When they do not hear, it is certainly no compliment to the speaker’s virtue and it is in no wise beneficial to the deaf, if the speaker’gives way to impatience. Nor is the case solved in a Christ-like way by vociferous shouting or calling; much less by ridicule or whistling (these methods are occasionally resorted to). Whistling as a form of address should be restricted to the community’s canine. Usually the communication intended for the deaf .is not so important that it cannot be delayed to a more propitious occasion. If it does have to be imparted promptly, closer geographical propinquity or a fraternal tap on the arm (not the kick you feel like giving) will rouse the deaf to attention. It happens also very often that the hard-of-hearing will mis-understand what it is said. Probably few people realize how often the failure to catch a single word will substantially alter the meaning of a sentence. It.ls also a fact in English as in other languages that’ many words, though different in meaning, are similar in sound. If you miss one consonant, you have a different word. But the partially deaf often miss one word completely or they mistake one word for another of like pronunciation. The resulting confusion will produce either of two effects on the speaker. Sometimes, especially when the matter is of consequence and he is in a hurry, he will be genuinely annoyed. Usually, however, his sense of humor will be tickled. Annoyance resuIted in the following instance. A superior announced at the end of dinner that all the scholastics whose names began with the letters from A to K inclusively should come to see him immedi-ately after the meal. A hard-of-hearing scholastic whose name began With K honestly thought the superior had said A to J and so did not report. This example also illustrates how much easier it is for the’ deafened to grasp vowels than consonants. The scholastic caught the long A in both A and K, but he mistook the consonant sound in K for that of d. Generally such misunderstandings merely lead to fun. A priest once told a partially deafened friend that a certain pastor who made his own altar candles was a "candle-maker." The friend looked at him in surprise. "You mean to say," he exclaimed, 302 No~ember, 1950 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS "that this pastor is a scandal-maker?" So partial deafness can be a legitimate source of mirth as well as an inconvenience to others. However, a general fear of misunderstanding may easily lead some of the hard-of-hearing to ask speakers to repeat what they.have said or asked. "What’s that?" is a favorite interrogatory of the par-tially deaf. This can be decidedly annoying at times. There is no use denying that the partialIy deaf sometimes ask for a repetition when by a little effort they could get the meaning the first time. They have to be careful not to fall into the habit of always breaking out with a "What’s that?" However, they so frequently fail to catch what is said that it is understandable how they can fall into the interrogative mood when they should be in the declarative. Generally speaking, a "What’s that?" from a deafened person should be answered with a patient repetition of the previous statement. Sornb Possible Mis~nderstar~dings Sometimes we hear religious gifted with normal hearing say that So-and-So who is partially deaf "hears all right when he wants to." The hard-of-hearing undoubtedly have on hand a ready excuse for pretending not to hear what they do not want to heat. We doubt, though, that they frequently use this excuse to pretend not to hear what they actually do hear. An elderly hard-of-hearing priest used to hear much better during the uproar proceeding from general con-versation in the refectory than he did in his own room or in the more subdued hum of the recreation room. It is easy to understand hbw he was accused of "hearing what he wanted to hear." As a matter of fact, however, this priest was one of those deafened persons who hears better in noisy places. He actually did hear more acutely amid the loud noise in the dining room. Again, when speaking with certain people, the partially deaf may give the impression that they are overcurious; when speaking with others, they seem to be just the contrary,---overreticent. Of course, everybody asks more questions of some than of others, and e;cery-body is more reserved to some than to others.. But with the hard-of- hearing these normal ways of acting may become so excessive that they annoy others. Those with defective hearing realize that they are missing some of the information that circulates about the com-munity, and so may easily go to excess in their quest for such infor-mation. The hard-of-hearing also inconvenience others by their noisy actions. Soft-spoken though they are, they are apt to be decidedly 303 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS Reoiew ~’or Religious loud in their movements. When sweeping their room, they do not realize that bumps of the broom against the wall are easily heard next door. The radiator in the room of a certain deafened religious developed one winter those agonizing squawks to which most radi-ators are occasionally subject. Everybody in the vicinity was both-ered by the noise. Yet when the religious was asked if his radiator was causing the trouble he denied it. He had not even noticed the loud quakings of his own radiator. Despite repeated general admo-nitions of the superior, another religious continued to tread heavily down the corridors. He was shocked when he got an earphone and heard for the first time the jarring clacks of his heels upon the hard floor. It is evident, though, that by earnest effort the hard-of-hearing could readily lessen the amount of inconvenience they cause others in this way. Finally, it is quite fatiguing for others to carry on a conversation with those whose hearing loss is considerable. ’You have to speak more loudly and enunciate more distinctly. This is wearing work, especially if the conversation is prolonged. It is, however, a genuine act of fraternal charity. The partially deaf can hardly expect so much c.harity from those who are unwell or who are tired out after the day’s labors. But not all will be so worn out, and these might give the deafened that uplift of spirit that issues from pleasant con-versation. Personal Problems Created by Partial Deafness It might be well now to list some of the unhealthy psychological tendencies "which the deaf experience. They may not yield to these tendencies in any way, but the tendencies themselves are problems which the deaf must ~onstantly face and solve. Here again we do not profess to be complete in our treatment. Some of the deafened may find that we do not even .mention some inclination that for them is their greatest difficulty. Since personalities differ so much and the very condition of partial deafness admits of such great diversity, we can only hope to pick out certain inclinations that will be quite common. That suffering is necessarily entailed by partial deafness is plain if we remember some facts connected with this condition. We admit, of course, that it also has some advantages. Claps of thunder, for instance, are not apt to disturb the slumbers of the hard-of-hearing. They may also get a meritorious late sleep on certain mornings because they fail to hear the bell or the.alarm clock. They are pre- 304 November, 1950 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS served from much of the nerve-wracking hubbub of the modern city. Indeed, their very condition can be a help to greater recollection and prayer. But granting all this, suppose we face the following facts. The hard-of-hearing are either entirely excluded from or cannot efficiently perform many functions of their order. They are scarcely fit for some superiorships. They can hardly expect to be appointed to certain positions in which verbal confidences must be communi-cated. They cannot follow the refectory reading at all, or, if they can, they must strain to do so. They cannot follow the retreat mas-ter. They find confession more difficult than others do. Many of the softer but pleasing natural sounds in the world are unknown to them. They cannot appreciate singing or music unless the radio is tuned so loud that others are inconvenienced. It is easy to see how these disabilities can excite an inferiority complex, and no one should be surprised to find symptoms of such a complex in some of the hard-of-hearing. Of course, such disabilities may be a genuine help to the priceless gem of humility, but true humility is always based on truth, whereas the inferiority complex misses the target of truth and results from false judgments about one’s self. This general feeling of inferiority may be heightened for some of the deafened by specific difficulties of their condition. For instance, the partially deaf frequently give the impression of intel-lectual inferiority. They look dumb at times in conversation because they miss certain words or confuse one word with another, and so do not grasp the intended meaning of the sentence. Although all of us know that nothing gets into the human mind without first passing through one of the five senses, we may forget this practically when dealing with the hard-of-hearing. When people do not catch the meaning of a plain statement, we.naturally tend to fix the blame on their minds, not on their ears. As a matter of fact, the partially deaf are compelled to use their minds much more than others during a conversation. Not only do they have to unify into a judgment the words that are spoken, just as everybody else does, but they have in addition to figure out first just what words have been uttered. If the deafened person cannot figure them out, he looks dumb. If be does figure them out, he often figures out the wrong words, and so looks dumb anyhow. Again, some of the hard-of-hearing may find that they experi-ence feelings of loneliness and a tendency to isolate themselves. Unless their fellow-religious are truly charitable, they may feel like avoiding 305 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS Review for Religious common recreation and may hesitate to converse even with individ-uals. Talking at table is burdensome for them. In general, theyshould not be expected to join in group conversations. As a result, they are not likely to be considered good community religious. It is clear, however, that the deafened religious must put up an unyielding fight against the inclination to isolate himself. If he surrenders to this impulse, h~ may easily suffer deep spiritual harm. From all this it is evident that the deafened religious suffers many minor fears and worries of which others know nothing. This con-stant additional strain can readily reakt upon bodily health, unless it is countered by entire trust in God and submission to His will. After alI, deafness, too, is a divine gift and can help one to his eternal goal. This admonition is particularly necessa.ry for those who are dogged by the fear that their hearing may progressively deteriorate. The fear itself is by no means groundless in many cases, but "God’s will be done" is the only true remedy for the worry. Earphones for the Partiatl~l Deaf Not all the deafened can’better their hearing by using an ~ar-phone, but the majority can. Certainly any religious or priest who has defective hearing should find out whether the instrument will help him. To do this, it is not ordinarily n~cessary to consult an otologist first. All that is required is to visit the studio of one of the earphone companies. Their representatives have had a special training, will gauge the amount of hearing loss and will be able to say whether they can help or not. No religious, if the community can possibly afford it, should be prevented from. obtaining an earphone because of the cost. It is true, that many of these instruments are dear, some of them ranging be-yond $200. However, one company sells a reliable instrument for only$75. The upkeep of an earphone does not in’volve much expense. The cost of batteries should not exceed $25 per annum. Although the instruments are delicate, they operate efficiently and continuously unless they are dropped or otherwise damaged by accident. The writer obtained his most recent phone one year and a half ago. It is as efficient now as when it was bought. It has never had to be repaired. The only. cost has been that of batteries. Moreover, the writer wears the hearing aid all day every day, though, of course, the battery is not always turned on. Embarrassment seems to be the main reason why many people in the world hesitate to buy an earphone. This reason, of course, should 306 Nooernber, 1950 THE DEAFENED RELIGIOUS not deter religious. In the case of Sisters whose ears are always cov-ered, there can be no embarrassment. Other Sisters who do not wear the ordinary habit, as well as priests or Brothers in general, will-soon forget any embarrassment when they find out how much the machine helps them. The earphone will solve most of the problems of the partially deaf. It will not solve them all. It too has its disadvantages. The inconvenieiace of putting on, wearing, and taking off: the machine soon disappears. Wearing an earphone is really no more inconvenient than wearing glasses. However, earphones pick up all sounds. So does natural hearing, but for some reason or another, the writer has found that he cannot focus sound as well when wearing the hearing aid as he could without it. As a consequence, he has to use his eyes to find out the source of sound in many cases. But he do~s get the sound, and he would not get it without the instrument. Group con-versation remains difficult, but it is at least possible, and there is no difficulty at all when speaking with one person. Moreover, earphones generate what may be called "static." This simply means that the instrument, delica..tely attuned to catch any sound, picks up the rasping of one’s garment upon the microphone. If one is motionless, there is no static. If one is walking or otherwise moving, the static is present but one soon learns to ignore it. o It may not be true for all who wear an earphone, but the writer finds that he cannot distinguish the ctualit~t of sounds as well with the machine as with natural hearing. It is not as easy to judge merely from the voice that 2ohn is speaking, or whether the loud roar outside is an airplane or a locomotive. Even this is compensated for by the fact that one does apprehend the sound which without the phone would escape him entirely. Much humor results from the wearing of a. phone, but we need not now discuss that aspect of the machine. Most people, for instance, . are convinced that it won’t produce results. If they notice someone wearing a machine, they are apt to speak so loud as to make the microphone quiver. Such is the distrust of science in our scien-tific age. [EDITORS’ NOTE: This article was written at the suggestion of religious who are keenly conscious of problems created in community life by the fact that some are hard of hearing. Further suggest,ons concerning means of solving these problems and thus increasing community hlppiness will be welcome.] 307 For the Social Apost:olat:e For several years American Jesuits have been publishing for their own restricted use a magazine entitled Social Order. Jesuits have found this magazine to be of such great help as a means of informa-tion and inspiration in the social apostolate that they have finally decided to remove the restriction on circulation. Beginning with the January, 1951, number, Social Order will be for the general public. We recommend Social Order to all our readers. We are confident that it would be for them what it has been for us during its period of restricted circulation--informative and inspiring. There will be ten issues a year, with 49 pages per issue. Yearly subscription is $4.00. Subscriptions should be sent to: Institute of Social Order, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, Saint Louis 18, Missouri. Editor of Social Order is Francis J. Corley, S.3. Associated with . the magazine will be a group of Jesuit social scientists who form the coteof the Institute of Social Order. Principal among these are: Leo C. Brown,°S.3., of St. Louis, Mo., national director of the Insti-tue of Social Order; Joseph M. Becker, 8.J., of Chicago, Ill.; Cor-nelius A. Eller, S.3., of Buffalo, N.Y.; Albert 8. Foley, S.3., of New Orleans, La.; Mortimer H. Gavin, S.3., of Boston, Mass.; Philip S. Land, S.J., of Spokane, Wash.; William A. Nolan, S.3., of Cincinnati, Ohio; and John L. Thomas, S.3., of Dubuque, Ia. Articles in the magazine will especially concern the problems of industrial relatio.ns, vocational order, the family, interracial justice, and rural life--with a view to a.pplying Catholic social principles to the American scene. Though the magazine is primarily for the purpose of discussing American social problems, it will not neglect international problems. And though the initial corps of contributors is drawn from Jesuits, the collaboration of others who are interested in the deve!opment of. Catholic social thought in America will be most welcome. "The presentation will be scholarly, but popular," says Father Brown. "While we propose to discuss important social problems on the basis of sound information and serious research, we shall strive to avoid technical language and academic treatment of subjects." 308 Firs!: Annual Report: Adam C. Ellis, S.J. ONaJnUeLwY d 9e,c 1re9e4 7r,e tghaer dSiancgre tdh eC oqnuginreqguaetnion.nia ol fr eRpeolirgt iwouhsi cishs ureeldi-gious superiors must send to the Holy See every five years. The last article’of this decree also prescribed a new kind of report to be sent every year. This article reads as. follows: "IX. At the end of each year all religious institutes, societies of common life, and secular institutes and federations, whether pontifical or diocesan, shall send directly to the Sacred Congregation of, Reli-gious an annual report for the year, according to the schedules con-tained in the formulas which will be made up and distributed by the Sacred Congregation, stating the principal matters concerning the state of persons, works, or other matters which seem to be of greater importance either for the Sacred Congregation or for superiors." When the forms for the annual report were ready for distribu-tion, the late Cardinal Lavitrano (d. August 2, 1950), then Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, under date of February 9, 1950, issued a circular letter addressed to all superiors general, in which he announced the fact and gave some practical instructions as to bow these forms are to be filled out. When superiors obtain the forms for the annual report from Rome, they will also receive an English version of this letter. But the forms themselves will be only in Latin. In the present notes we shall include the practical sugges-tions contained in the Cardinal’s letter and shall also add a number of points designed especially to help Brothers and Sisters who may find the Latin unfamiliar. Once the content of the questions is understood, the actual filling out of the report should .not be difficult, as it is purely statistical. I. GENERAL IDEAS (1) When must the report be made? Every year, beginni,ng with the report for the year 1950 (January 1 to December 31). It must be sent in during the first three months of the year following; in our case, on or before March 31, 1951. " (2) Who must make this report? The highest superior of every organization subject to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. In particular, the following are mentioned in the instruction:-the 309 ADAM" C. ELLIS Reoieto /:or Religious abbot primate; the abbot superior of a monastic congregation; the superior general of every religious institute Whether diocesan or pontifical; the superior general of every society Ibcing in common whether diocesan or pontifical; the superior general of all secular institutes whether diocesan or pontifical; the president of every fed-eration of religious houses; the president of every federation of socie-ties living in common; the president of every federation of secular institutes; major superiors of independent (sui iuris) monasteries or religious houses which belong to no monastic congregation and are not federated with other houses; superiors of all autonomous houses of a society living in common; superiors of every autonomous house of a secular institute. Superiors of all organizations of women are included in the above. Religious institutes, societies living in common, secular institutes, independent monasteries, and houses directly subject to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith are not obliged to send in this annual report to the Sacred Congregation of Religious. They are governed in the matter of reports solely by the instruction and questionnaire (115 questions) issued by the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith on June 29, 1937 (see Sylloge, 1939, n. 225, pp. 656-667). (3) To whom must this report be made? This annual report must be made directly to the Sacred Congregation of Religious by all, even by" diocesan institutes, societies, and the like. Since these annual reports are purely statistical, the Congregation wishes them to be sent directly, not through the diocesan chanceries, so that they may be available without loss of time. These reports need not be countersigned by any ordinary. (4) What is the nature of this annual report? The annual report is purely statistical, and includes the following: status of houses and provinces; of persons: aspirants, postulants, novices, pro-fessed, deceased; of works: corporal as well as spiritual. (5) How is the report to be made? It mu~t be made on the very.forms obtained from the Sacred Congregation. These forms are available in Latin only. All clerical institutes, congregations, socie-ties, independent monasteries and houses, must fill out the report in Latin. Lay religious (Brothers and Sisters) may make it out in their own native tongue (English, French, G~rman, Italian, Portu-guese, or Spanish), but on the Latin forms supplied by the Sacred Congregation. 310 November, 1950 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT II. COMMENTARY ON THE FORMS The report, as sent from Rome, consists of a cover; an inside sheet marked "Schema Annuale Unicum"; and then ten sheets marked successively, "Schema Annuale n. 1," "Schema Annuale 2," and so forth¯ Our remarks will be distributed according to these various divisions. But first it will be well to indicate some general points more or less common to all the forms. (1) At the right top of each page the year should be filled in, that is 1950, since th~ report is for this year, even though the report is made during the early months, of 1951. (2) At the left to]9 of each "Schema Annuale" (1 - 10) the name of the institute (titulus retigionis) is to be filled in, as well as that of the diocese in which the mother house is located. (3) In giving numbers of persons a distinction (1 cL ~ 2 cl.) ¯ is made. This refers primarily to male institutes where there are two classes: those destined for the priesthood (clerical) and those destined for domestic work only (lay brotherhood). A similar distinction is found in some orders and congregations of religious women as between choir sisters, teaching sisters, nursing sisters on the one hand, and lay sisters, dedicated solely to domestic work on the other. If the institute.has but one class, numbers should be given under 1 cl. only. (4) Statistics regarding houses and provinces are to be given alphabetically according .to the following order: (a) Continent: Africa, America (includes both North and South), Asia, Europe, Oceania; (b) Countries in each continent .in English alphabetical order; (c) Provinces in each country in alphabetical order of title. (5) While nothing is said about signing the report, the superior making it may sign it together with the members of his council on the back inside page, if he wishes to do so. The Outside Cover Titulus Religionis Name of the Institute. (a) In Latin; (b) in English; (c) abbreviations used. Diocese in which the mother house is located. Domus generalitiae inscriptio~Address of the mother house. (a) street address; (b) for telegrams; (c) telephone number. Sedis procuratoris generalis inscriptio~Address of the procurator general (only for p6ntifical institutes of men; canon 517). (a) street address~ (b) for telegrams; (c) telephone number. Schema Anuuale Unicum This is the one and only form for independent (sui iuris) mon- 311 ADAM C. ELLIS Reoieu2 for Religious asteries and houses not belonging to any union or federation. Titulus monasterii-~name of the monastery (or house). Diocese in which monastery is located; if recently transferred, give name of diocese from which it was transferred. lnscriptio---~ddress: (a) street; (b) telegrams; (c) telephone. Finis specialis special end (~ontemplation, teaching, care of abandoned children, and the like). The superior: family name, name in religion, age, nationality; day, month, year of election; end of term of office. The assistants: same information as above for each one. Opera quae exercentur--works actually engaged in by the com-munity. Status Iaersonarum In this form are to be put the number of postulants, novices, professed of temporary vows, and professed of perpetual vows, according to the following headings: (1) at the beginning of the year (January first, 1950); (2) how many entered (ingressi) during the year; (3) how many left during the year (dereliquerunt) ; (4) how many died; (5) present number (actu existentes). Summa--give totals at the bottom of each column. Schema Annuale I Question I Nature and Regimen (N.B. In his letter the Car-dinal styles each schema annuale as a question with a Roman num-eral). Natura Religionis: canonical nature of the institute: religious or-der, congregation, society living in common; federation; pontifical or diocesan; clerical or lay. Finis specialis--special end (as given in constitutions). Founder--name, date of birth, and of death. FOR PONTIFICAL INSTITUTES: (a) decree of praise (day, month, year); (b) approval (final) of the institute (day, month, year); (c) first or temporary approval of the constitutions (day, month, year); (d) definitive or final approval of the constitutions (day, month, year). FOR DIOCESAN INSTITUTES: (a) decree of establishment (name of local ordinary, day, month, year) ; (b) approval of the con-stitutions (day, month, year of last approval and name of local ordinary who gave it). For all institutes: Superior General (family name, name in reli- 312 November, 1950 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT gion, age, nationality, day, month, year of election, end of term of office). Assistants general: same information for each assistant, Schema Annuale 2 Question ll--Status Domorum [. All institutes, whether divided into provinces or not, must fill out this form. It is not necessary to give a comple.te list of all the houses, but only of the total number in each nation, that is, in each independent country, such as the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, and the like. By house is understood a canonically established community, whether it be [ormed (at least six professed members) or not. If in one and the same house there are several sections or communities, as, for example, the curia, the novitiate, and the like, such a group is to be considered as only one house or domus. There are four columns to be filled in for each institute, according to the countries in which the houses exist. (1) houses existing at the beginning of the year (initio anni); (2) houses established during the year (durante anno); (3) houses suppressed or closed during the year; (4) number of houses at present (actu existentes). Schema Annuale 3 Question III. Status domorum II (to be filled out only by insti-tutes having provinces; hence to be passed over entirely by institutes not as yet divided into provinces). In the first column, in the alphabetical order of continents and nations or independent countries, are to be given the provinces, also in alphabetical order of names in each country. In the second col-umn (ambitus territorialis provinciae) indicate briefly the country or the part of a country throughout which each province extends. The last four columns show the number of houses in each province (a) at the beginning of the year; (b) established during the year; (c) suppressed during the year; (d) existing at the end’of the year. Be sure to add up the totals for each column. Schema Annuale 4, 5 Questions IV and V. Status Personarum Iet II. The Cardinal deals with forms 4 and 5 together in his letter since they treat of the same subject. Form 5 is mereIy a continuation of form 4. Both deal with the number of persons in the institutes: aspirants, postu-lants, novices, professed, both temporarily and perpetual; priests; exclaustrated; fugitives and apostates (see canons 644, and 645). 313 ADAM C. ELLIS Review for Religious In the first column give the names of the individual provinces, if there are provinces, according to each country in alpha, betical order as explained above. If there are no provinces, give the name of the. country or countries in which the persons are established. Only the total number of persons for each group is to be given in each province or country, as the case may be. Aspirants or postulants in the broad sense (faro sensu) are stu-dents in apostolic schools or the like destined for the institute; postulants are to be understood in the strict sense of canon 539. Only the total number of aspirants and postulants need be given for each province or country. For novices, six columns are to be filled out (according to 1 cl. and 2 cl. if they exist) : (1) number at the beginning of the year; (2) entered during the year; (3) how many took the [irst vows; (4) how many returned to the world; (5) how many died; (6) present number. For the professed (temporary and perpetual), four columns are sufficient: (1) number at the beginning of the year; (2) how many left during the year; (3) how many. died; (4) present number. For priests two columns: (1) number at the beginning of the year; (2) present number. This number should be given absolutely, even though the priests have already been included in the previous columns of professed religious. The last three columns of Schema Annuale 5 are for the number of exclaustrated, fugitives, and apostates, during the current year. Schema Annuale 6 Question VI: Status Personarum III. This form calls for the number of novices, professed of temporary’ vows, and professed of perpetual vows according to countries (nationes) in institutes divided into provinces. It is to be omitted entirely by institutes not so divided. Schema Annuale 7 Question VII: De operibus misericordiae corporalis~Corporal works of mercg. This form is divided into two parts: First part: cura int~rmorum-~care of the sick (1) hospitals owned by the religious (nosocomia propria) : bow mang (quot), and how many religious attached to these hospitals; (2) hospitals owned by others (aliena) : how many such, and how many religious; (3) clinics or dispensaries (ambutatoria) where the sick come for 314 November, 1950 FIRST- ANNUAL REPORT treatment but do not remain; how many such owned by the insti-tute, and how many religious; (4) assistance of the sick in their homes (adsistentia in domiciliis); the number of the sick thus cared for, (quot aeqroti), and the number of the religious thus employed (reliqiosi addicti). Second part: Under the title of "asylums" (asyta) there are three columns with triple spaces for numbers: (1) old folks (pro seni-bus): how many such houses (quot), how many inmates (degen-tes), how many religious devoted to the work (retigiosi addicti); (2) orphans (pro orphanis): number of houses, orphans, religious , as in (1) ; (3) for special classes (pro quibusdam classibus) such as for the insane (pro amentibus), the blind (pro coeds),.and the like Where houses for such special classes are had, the two columns marked "’quaenam’" should be used, and tbe proper title such as "insane," or "blind," or some other class be written in, as the case may be; and under each give the number of such houses (quot), the number of inmates (deqentes), and in the final column the number of religious engaged in the work. In this form 7 the alphabetical order of countries (nationes), not that of provinces, is to be followed. Schema Annuale 8 Question VIII: Ministeria spiritualia-~Spiritual ministries. This form is to be filled out only by clerical religious, according to the alphabetical order of continents, countries, and provinces as ab(£ve. All non-clerical institutes (Brothers and Sisiers) omit this form. Schema AnnuaIe 9 Question IX: Scholae pro externis--schools for externs or out- . siders, that is those who are not aspirants to or members of the insti-tute itself. This form deals only with schools for secular persons, hence it should be filled out only by institutes which actually con-duct schools for the laity. The first column represents countries (not provinces). Under the heading studia are included thre~ kinds of schools: elementaria (grade schools), media (high schools and junior col-leges), superiora (senior coll~ges and universities). Each group has five columns: (1) domus propria, a college or other school owned by the institute and conducted by them inde-pendently; (2) domus alienae, schools owned by other persons but conducted by religious for a salary; (3) alumni, number of pupils; 315 ADAM C. ELLIS (4) professores sodales, teachers who are members of the institute; (5) professores non sodales, extern or lay teachers. If there is more than one type of school in the same building or group, each school should be listed separately under its proper heading. Only totals for each column should be given for each country. For the second division of schools, schotae professionales, there are two columns. In the first column are to be listed technical schools of the arts and trades. (Cardinal Lavitrano calls these "arti .e mestieri.") The second column is for commercial schools, normal schools, and the like. ¯ If you have such schools, you can mark the columns "technical," and "commercial and normal." Schema Annuale I0 Question X: Gradus academici-~degrees, diplomas, and the like held by members of the institute. This form must be filled out in the alphabetical order of countries, and provinces as well. Two totals are to be written into each column of this report, one under the other: on top or in the first place, the total number of degrees, diplo-mas of various kinds, obtained during the year 1950; below, in parentheses the total number of degrees, diplomas and the like held by all members of the institute in a given country or province. There are three columns or headings: (1) gradus interni, degrees granted by the order itself, the names~ of which should be written in the perpendicular columns provided for that purpose under the heading. Brothers and Sisters need not bother about this first col-umn. (2) Gradus Facult. Ecclesiasticarum--ecclesiastical degrees granted by faculties established by the Holy See, such as licentiate and doctorate in philosophy, theology, canon law, church history, and the like. These titles should be written into the perpendicular col-umns immediately under this heading. (3) Gradus :acult. et insti-tut. civilium, that is, degrees granted by authority of the state or civil powers, as are all the ordinary degrees granted by Catholic colleges throughout the United States. Under this head would come: A.B., A.M., Ph.D., B.S., M.S. and the like. These should be written into the perpendicular columns directly under this title according to the facts for each country and province. To conclude, this form deals, not with degrees granted to outsiders in the schools of a religious insti-tute, but solely with degrees possessed by the members of the insti-tute. The term degrees, especially in the third column, includes di-plomas, certificates, and so forth, grante~l in music, nursii:g, and the like. 316 Questions and Answers u27-- In the back of our constitutions revised according to the Code of Canon Law and approved by the Holy See in 192S, we have three decrees printed with the injunction that they must be read to the community once every year. These decrees are as follows: (I) Ctuemadmodurn, December 17, 1890, (2) Sancta Tridentina Synodus, December 20, 190S, and (3) Cure de Sacramenfalibus of February 3, 1913. A priest who gave us a retreat recently told us that these decrees are out of date, and should not be read to the communlfy any longer. May we have your advice in the matter? Father was right. Canon 509, § 2 requires that local superiors shall take care "to have read publicly once a year . . . the decrees which the Holy See shall prescribe (praescribet) to be read publicly." The obligation applies only to decrees which have been issued by the Holy See after May 19, 1918, the date upon which the Code of Canon Law went into effect. There is only one such decree, the Instruction Quantum Religiones, issued December 1, 1931 by the Sacred Congregation of Religious by order of Pope Plus XI, and it must be read in its entirety at the beginning of each year to all clerical students in all clerical religious institutes and societies living in common. At the present time there are no decrees which must be read in communities of Sisters and Brothers. Mag the three decrees in question still be read publicly in reli-gious communities? They certainly may not be read publicly as if they were the present law of the Church; for, although their content has been incorporated into the Code of Canon Law, it has been modified to conform to the present mind of the Church in these mat-ters. Moreover, the Sacred Congregation of Religious has omitted these documents from constitutions approved since the Code, and ~hey really should not be in a book of constitutions approved as late as 1925. The documents may be read privately, of course, but the members of the community should be warned that their value is only historical, and that they should be guided by the present Code of Canon Law and by their own constitutions in the matters contained in the three documents in question. m28-- A S~ster w~fh perpetual vows transfers to another insfltufe, and, after the canonical year of novitiate, takes perpetual vows in the new institute 317 QUESTIONS,AND ANSWERS Reuieto /:or Religious in accordance with canon 634. The constitutions of the new institute state that sen[orlty or rank is counted "according to the seniority of the first profession." How is the sen~orlfy of this’ newly-professed religious to be determined with regard to the members of the community who have taken temporary vows but who have not, as yet, taken perpetual vows? ¯ On the day she takes perpetual vows in the new i~stitute Sister takes her rank as the youngest of the perpetually-professed Sisters. But all the Sisters who have taken temporary vows before Sister took her perpetual vows will take precedence over her after they take their perpetual vows, since their first profession of temporary vows pre- ’ceded her first and only profession of perpetual vows. After three years the situation will adjgst.’itself permanently and Sister will have a fixed place in seniority a~ there will be no other Sisters left who have taken their first temporary vows before she took her first per-petual vows. m29m Our constitutionS read as follows: "Besides the reading at dinner and supper, the religious, devote fifteen minutes daily to spiritual reading in common." Many of our refiglous feel that they would profit far more by doing this reading themselves. Would if. be within the spirit and letter of the constitutions quoted if all the religious in the community assembled daily in the same room at the appointed time and each one brought his own book and made his reading by himself? Spiritual reading in cdmmon dates back to the days when lights were poor, spiritual books few and costly, and not all reiigious were able to read. These factors, however, were not the only reasons. Today we can have good lighting in every room, all religious are able to read, and spiritu, al books are plentiful. Younger members especially have been accustomed to do a great "deal of reading of all kinds before entering religion, and superiors should not be surprised if they express a preference for spiritual reading in private. The constitutions, however, must be observed as they stand until they are changed by the proper ecclesiastical authority. While one might say that the members of the community assembled in the same room, each reading his own book, are ’~reading in common" physically speaking, still the obvious meaning of the constitutions is that one member of the community reads while the rest listen. To remedy the situation, the matter should be brought up in the next general chapter, and if a majority freely vote to ask for a change, the proper ecclesiastical superior should be asked to change 318 November, 19 5 0 QUESTIONS AND ANSWER S the constitutions: the Holy See in the case of a papal institute, and the local ordinary if the institute is diocesan. It would be considerate to make provision for spirituaI reading in common for those members of the community who prefer it. --30-- A novice is unavoidably absent for twenty days during the canonical year of novltlafe.. Since it is left to the religious superior to decide whether or not an absence of not more than fifteen days must ’be made up, may the superior in this case subtract fifteen from the twenty days of absence, and allow the novice to take his first temporary vows after five full days have been supplied? The old law upon which canon 556, § 2 is based, was more rigid though perhaps more logical inasmuch as it required that all days of absence from the canonical year of novitiate up to thirty inclusive had to be made up in order, that the subsequent profession of temporary vows shall be valid. The Code is more liberal since, it does not require that fifteen days or less of absence be made up. Hence one might argue that when there is question of sixteen to thirty days of absence, the first fifteen need not be made up, but only those days exceeding fifteen. However, we must take the law of the Code as it stands. "If the novice . . . has passed more than fifteen days but not more than thirty days even interruptedly outside the precincts of the house.., it is necessary and sufficient for the validity of ~he novitiate that he supply the number of da[ts so passed outside.’" This final clause makes no distinctions, and undoubtedly refers to all days so passed, and not merely to those in excess of fifteen. Hence the superior may not subtract fifteen from the twenty days in ques-tion, but the novice must supply twenty full days in order that his novitiate and his subsequent first profession of vows be valid. [EDITORS’ NOTE: We sometimes receive questions which, for some special reason,, we cannot answer in the REVIEW. And sometimes these questions appear to be of considerable importance for the individual who sends them. In such cases we try to communicate directly with the sender. But obviously we cannot do this when the question is sent anonymously. We strongly recommend that all who send questions would include their names and addresses.] 319 Book Reviews DE LA SALLE: SAINT AND SPIRITUAL WRITER. By W. J. BoHersby. Pp. xx -t-" 207. Longmons, Green and C:o., Inc., London, 1950. 14/-. In 1949 Longmans brought out Battersby’s De La Satle~ Saint and Pioneer in Education, in wfiich the publication of this second volume was announced. They belong very strictly together, both being parts of a doctoral dissertation presented in 1946 at the Uni-versity of London. Neither book is a biography in a strict sense. The former one, making a magnificent presentation of De La Salle’s contributions to the science of pedagogy, gives only such biographical detail as is needed to carry the thread of his narrative. This second volume is even less a biography. After giving a handy list of dates of the chief events in De La Salle’s life, it proceeds to deduce (one might almost say, to distill) from his life, his formal and informal writings, "the salient points which characterize LaSal-lian Spirituality" (xvii). By way of isolating such salient features the author deals in turn with Oratorian, Sulpician, Minim, Benedictine, and Jesuit spiritual-ity on the orthodox side, and on the unorthodox, with Quietism and especially with Jansenism. Since the chief events of De La Salle’s life fell at a time when the Archbishop of Paris and many other prelates were openly rebelling against the Holy See, on behalf of the heretics of Port Royal, this is the most interesting and thrilling part of the book. His opposition against the Jansenists was so marked that Pope Leo XIII singled it out for special comment in the Bull of ¯ Beatification (1900) .--GERALD ELLARD, S.J. NEUROSES AND THE SACRAMENTS. By Alon Keenon, O.F.M. Pp. xl -J-- 161. Sheed ond Word, New York, 1950. $2.50. With more than a little hesitation does one.pick up a book with such a title as Neuroses and the Sacraments. So much drivel has been written on psychiatric subjects recently that it is natural to distrust even titles of books. The fast-becoming-a-bromide statement that psychiatry has little if anything to offer Catholics lulls most people into too ready agreement and smug condemnation of something they have failed to investigate but have accepted on the word of "author-ity"-- which itself has been too ready to condemn without proper knowledge of that which is condemned. 320 BOOK NOTICES Father Keenan’s small volume is excellent and well worth any-one’s reading who is interested in the field of mental health. More than that, it joins dogma and ascetics to some of the best of conclu-sions concerning neurotic difficulties, and as a consequence is excellent for spiritual reading--a purpose probably high in the mind of the author. "Neurosis is an fllness of the personality resulting from an indi-vidual’s inability to withstand external stresses." These stresses are’ usually felt most strikingly on the emotional level, but they can also affect the intellectual and moral level of human experience. Stresses frequently come from choosing wrong ends not in conformity with the ultimate end for which man is made, from overemphasizing proximate goals to the exclusion of the final goal, and so forth. Father Keenan spends these pages in showing that many neuroses can be cured by proper appreciation and evaluation of the Sacraments and of what they are meant to do--develop Christ life more per-fectly in each of us. By understanding and getting the most out of our "Gethsemanis," we can hope for better "Thabors." The foregoing brief synopsis will seem to be an oversimplifica-tion of the pages of Neuroses and the Sacraments. As a consequence challenges will be urged in defense of favorite opinions. To each challenger, we urge a thorough reading of this volume, a careful study of the definitions, distinctions, and conclusions. The effort will be more than amply repaid. The reviewer fervently hopes that the writing of this book is the beginning of a trend away from the too frequent fulminations against the good things in psychiatry by Catholics. --J. J. CAMPBELL, S.J. BOOK NOTICES GUIDANCE OF RELIGIOUS is a translation by Rev. A. Simon, O.M.I., of a book first published in German by Father Ignaz Watterot, O.M.I., in 1916 under the title Ordensle[tunq. A third and last edition appeared in 1918. This book is distinctive inasmuch as it is addressed to religious superiors Ionly, and is intended to help them in directing the members of thelir communities to that high degree of sanctity envisioned in their rl.ules and constitutions. The forty conferences which make up. this book discuss the knowledge of human nature which every superior should have, as well as the various virtues which will enable them to direct their subjects in the 321 BOOK NOTICES Review [or Religious Observance of the vows and constitutions. For the most part, these conferences are directed to superiors of clerical religious, and are unsuitable to superiors of communities of religious women. A few conferences seem to have been given to groups of religious Sisters who were superiors. The book is written in the abstract, theoretical style of writing popular in Germany before World War I, and it has not been made more readable by the translator who, for the most part, translates the abstract terms literally, and renders it ,heavy going. For most superiors, excepting possibly the Oblate Fathers, the book seems of little value. (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Com-pany, 1950. Pp. x + 426. $6.00) All who are familiar with the writings of the Abbot of Mared-sous will welcome MORE ABOUT DOM MARMION. The book con-tains a biographical sketch by the Earl of Wicklow based on Dora Thibaut’s masterpiece, an unpublished chapter of Marmion on "The Priest and Our Lady," and a translation of essays on Mar-mion’s teaching and spirituality that appeared in La Vie Spirituelle. (St. Louis, B. Herder Book Co., 1949. Pp. 128. $1.75.) BENEDICTINE PEACE the author, Dom Idesbald Van Houtryve, shows is the result of prayer, asceticism and work informed by the virtues of faith, hope and charity.. He draws much from ancient writers like Cassian, St. Gregory the Great, St. Leo, and from St. Benedict and other earlier writers of his order. The book seems better suited for meditative rather than continuous reading. Leonard J. Doyle translated the book from the French. (Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 1950. Pp. xiv -t- 235. $3.50.) The secondary title, "A Commentary on the Prayer of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity" gives the reader a clearer idea of the nature of the book than the given title, THE DOCTRINE OF THE DIVINE INDWELLING. In the book, a translation from the French, M~re M. Amabel du Coeur de J~sus applies the second method of prayer to the beautiful prayer of Sister Elizabeth to the Trinity, taking it phrase by phrase and giving appropriate reflections rich in inspira-tion and devotion. The book is intended primarily for Carmelites but will be helpful for the private prayer of all who are desirous of meditating on the consoling truth of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity within the soul. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1950. Pp. 150. $3.50.) Father Heribert Jone, O.F.M,Cap., is well known to priests and 322 November, 1950 BOOK NOTICES seminarians in the United States because of the English edition of his Moral Tfieology. His exceilent three volume commentary on the Code of Canon Law published in Gerrhan (1939-1940) under the title Gesetzbucb des kanoniscben Recfites is not so well known. Priests and seminarians now have the opportunity to become acquainted with it through the new Latin edition, the first volume of which has been published under the title COMMENTARIUM IN CODICEM JURIS CANONICI, Vol." I. From our ten years experience in the use of the German edition we take pleasure in recommending it highly for clerics. (Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schoeingh, 1950..Pp. 628. 24 marks [cloth]; 20 marks [paper].) THE SPIRITUAL LEGACY OF SISTER MARY OF THE HOLY TRINITY contains the autobiography and notes of a Poor Clare of Jerusalem edited by Father Silv~re van den Broek, O.F.M. Sister Mary (Louisa Jaques), born of French-Swiss Protestant parents, was a favored soul who felt a strong attraction to the religious life before her conversion to the Catholic faith. After several disap-pointing attempts to find her vocation in different convents of Europe she became a Poor Clare in Jerusalem in 1938. She died in 1942. Her notes constitute the spiritual legacy. They consist in gemlike paragraphs full of inspiring thoughts presented as Our Lord’s own words to her. The spirit of the Gospels and sound asceticism is omnipresent. For convenience the paragraphs are num-bered and carefully indexed according to content: Love of Neighbor, Silence, Vow of Victim, etc. Among the striking thoughts is that of Our Lord recommending His Mother as a model of calm confidence in God, gentleness, and the hidden life. (Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1950. Pp. 363. $3.50.) THE INSERVlCE GROWTH OF THE COLLEGE TEACHER by Rev. W. F. Kelley, S.J., is a planographed report of a study of twenty-three Catholic colleges for women. It analyzes the measures used in these colleges to promote the professional improvement of both lay and religious faculty members while they are serving as ’ teachers. The method employed is a study of the frequency with which certain generally recognized methods for promoting such improvement are employed in these schools. The conclusions form useful suggestions for college administrators. (Omaha, .Nebraska: The Creighton University, 1950. Pp. xii + 178. $2.00.) Mother Maria de La Virgen Dolorosa’s life was, as is described 323 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review for Religious by a Religious of the Society of Mary Reparatrix, IN THE FURROW OF THE CROSS. Suffering from a serious spinal disease for almost forty years, she still lived an incredibly active life, particularly during the Communist regime. She became so well known to the Madrid Cheka that green prisoners were sent to her with the remark, "Go to that Prioress; she will tell you the customs of the place." Once a member of the Cheka found her a place in a crowded tram by shouting out, "Give this comrade a seat. She’s delicate." But she was not so delicate that she could not succeed in making the flat at No. 12 Hermosilla Street a Catholic center known as "The Cathe-dral" or even as "The Vatican." (Dublin: M. H. Gill ~ Son, 1950. Pp. ix + 97. 3/6.) GOOD MORNING, GOOD PEOPLE: Retreat Reflections for Reli-gious, by Hyacinth Blocker, O.F.M., is a refreshing and stimulating treatment in nineteen chapters of standard retreat topics. Provocative chapter titles, "Glory Road" (Obedience), "A Language All Can Speak" (Charity), "One Book We Must Read" (the Crucifix), numerous illustrative examples drawn from the lives of the saints, and a sympathetic, hearteningly positive and common sense attitude to the problems of religious combine with a swift, informal, and often witty style to make the book profitable and delightful reading. An outstanding chapter is that on Scrupulosity, (Are You Also Queer?) in which Fr. Blocker consolingly describes his own battle with scruples. Though the conferences are addressed to Sisters and arethoroughly Franciscan in spirit, they make good light spiritual reading for all religious of all orders both during and outside retreat.. (Cincinnati, Ohio: St. FranCis Book Shop, 1950. Pp. 341, $3.00.) LITTLE QUEEN, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, translates the Little Flower’s "The Story of a Soul" into language suitable for children of intermediate grades. Simplicity of style blending with the simplicity of the saint of "The Little Way" makes the book profitable reading for older children and adults as well. (St. Meinrad, Indiana: A Grail Publication. Third Printing, 1950. Pp. 165. $2.00.) BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS [For the most part, these notices are purely descriptive, based on a cursory exam-ination of the books listed.] BENZIGER BROTHERS INC., New York, N. Y. Pret~ace to Happiness. By E. F. Smith, O.P., and L. A. Ryan, 324 November, 1950 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS O.P. Pp. xx ÷ 281, $4.00. This is volume two (corresponding to the Summa Tbeologica, I-II) in the series: "A Guidebook to the Summa." These Guidebooks are designed to. lead the student to the text of St. Thomas. BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Selected Writings of St.. Teresa of Aoila. By Rt. Rev. William J. Doheny, C.S.C., J.U.D. Pp. xxxv ~- 443. $5.00. Monsignor Dobeny, Associate Justice of the Sacred Roman Rota, using the translation of J. Allison Peers, selects and arranges passages from St. Teresa’s writings according to subject matter. The twenty-four chapters include doctrinal subjects like "The Blessed Trinity" and moral subjects such as the virtues of the religious llfe. THE CARROLL PRESS,Westminster, Maryland. A Spiritual Directorg for People in the World. By St. Francis de Sales. Newly translated by Francis E. Fox, O.S.F.S. Pp. xxii q- 176. $1.20. A neat prayer book edition of the classic with many heIpful prayers and devotions in a large appendix. THE GRAIL, St. l~Ieinrad, Indiana. Our Ladg’s Tinker: William Joseph Chaminade. By Marie Chaminade. Pp. 57. $1.25. The simple story ’with many inter-esting illustrations by Gedge Harmon will introduce younger folks to the saintly founder of the Marianists. B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY, St. Louis, Missouri. Realitg. By Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. Translated by Patrick Cummins, O.S.B. Pp. xiii q- 419. $6.00. The sub-title, "A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought," indicates the controversial nature of the book. Sermon Matter from SL Thomas Aquinas on the Epistles and Gospels of the Sundays and Feast Days (Advent to Easter). By C. J. Callan, O.P. Pp. vii q- 311. $5.00. A welcome aid to priests for substantial doctrinal sermons. LITTLE COMPANY OF MARY, 4130 Indiana Ave., Chicago, Illinois. The Path of Marg. Pp. 128. $1.00. A faithful and devout exposition of Montfort’s The True De~;otfor~ to the Holg Virgin. MARYHURST PRESS, Kirkwood 22, Missouri. The Marianfst Wag: Meditations on the Religious Life, Vol. I. By Henry Lebon, S.M. Translated by Peter A. Resch, S.M. Pp. viii q- 359. $3.75. Contains 133 meditations on the practical virtues 325 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review [or Religious of the religious life. What was said of Father Resch’s own book (REVIEW VIII, 47-48) is applicable here. NEWMAN PRESS, Westminster, Maryland. An Anthology of Mysticism. By Paul de Jaegher, S.J. Trans-lated by Donald Attwater and others. Pp. viii ÷ ,281. A reprint. Father De Jaegher gives characteristic passages from the writings of twenty-two mysticsfrom Angela of Foligno in the thirteenth cen-tury to Marie Sainte Cecile de Rome in the twentieth century. He has a short biographical note on each mystic and an introduction on why and how the writings of mystics should be read. The Ideal of the Monastic Life Found in the Apostolic Age. By Dom. Germain Morin, O.S.B. Translated from the French by C. Gunning. Pp. xvi -]- 200. $2.50. A series of simple but not commonplace conferences, written and published before the first world war, on the fundamental virtues of the monastic life. The Kingdom of Promise. By Robert A. Dyson, S.J., and Alexander Jones. Pp. 213 ÷ maps. $2.50. This fifth volume of Scripture Textbooks for Catholic Schools in England brings out the unity of the Old and New Testaments and shows Catholic Chris-ti. anity as the true heir of Israel. The Mystery of Christ. By C. V. Heris, O.P. Translated by Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. Pp. 214. $3.50. A synthesis of the third part of the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas written "to help us realize that Christ means everything to us, that to be a Chris-tian in the full sense of the word is to belong wholly to Christ, the total principle of our life and actions." The Religious State: The Episcopate and the Priestly Office. By St. Thomas Aquinas. Edited by Very Rev. Father Procter, S.T.M. Pp. viii q- 166. $2.25. A translation of the minor work of the saint on the perfection of the spiritual life. The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life. By Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange, O.P. Pp. xii ÷ 112. $2.00. A reprint of the English translation that was published in 1938. It is the original draft for the larger work, The Three Ages of the Interior Life (REVIEW, VI, 249 and VIII, 297-317). Your Brown Scapular. By E. K. Lynch, O.Carm. Pp. xv q- 141. $2.50. A history of the origin of the Brown Scapular and an explanation of the promises, duties, and privileges for those who wear this "garment of salvation." 326 Nooernber, 1950 COMMUN ICATIONS SHEED ~ WARD, New York 3, New York. The Breaking of Bread. By John Coventry, S.J. With Photo-graphs by John Gillick, S.J. Pp. vii q- 192. $3.00. Called by Father Gerald Ellard "a masterpiece in miniature,’: this book gives a historical explanation of the parts of the Mass and "illustrates what most people never see or know: just what the priest is doing" with striking photographs dramatic in content and unique in artistry. The Gospel in Slow Motion. By Ronald Knox. Pp. x -~- 182. $2.50. The third of Msgr. Knox’s Slow Motion series con-tains talks based on the Epistles and Gospels of the Sundays. ommun catdons Reverend Fathers: How many young women, graduates of our Catholic colleges throughout the country, are or have been willing to give their lives as religious in the cause of Catholic education? Such a question has recurred to me countless times, especially in the fall when diocesan and metropolitan papers carry names and pic-tures of high school girls entering religious life. Occasional comments indicate that college graduates hesitate or are somewhat reIuctant to make the sacrifice of becoming brides of Christ. They seem. unaware of the hundredfold promised. High schools and academies, in far greater numbers, send prospective can-didates to novitiates. The theory seems to be that our high schools are feeding grounds for vocations but our colleges, burying grounds. Would it be possible, through this column, to receive a cross-section survey from Catholic coIleges apropos of alumnae working as religious in the apostolate of education, contemplation, and social service--during the last ten years?--A TEACHING SISTER. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Further communications and information on the question of vocations from Catholic colleges ~vill be welcome.] 327 For Your/nforma!:ion Patron of Teachers On May 1-5, 1950, His Holiness Pope Pius XII issued a papal brief declaring St. John Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the Chris-tian Brothers, "the heavenly patron of all teachers of both sexes, whether clerical or lay, whether actually engaged in teaching or pre-paring for the profession." It has been remarked that, in view of the important role of the Teaching Brother in the eyes of the Church, the lack of recognition of these Brothers at Catholic educational ~atherings is rather incongrous. F6r instance, addresses so ofte’n begin: "Your Excellency, Reverend Fathers, Venerable Sisters, Ladies and Gentlemen:". The Brothers, of course, are included among the gentlemen; but this does not express their special dignity. Defightful Poetry Marg at Nazareth and other oerse, by Paul Stauder, S.J., is a booklet of refreshing poetry: refreshing for the soul, because of its profound religious content; refreshing for the mind because of its simplicity and, at times, delightful humor. One can use it for medi-tation; one can use it to relax. 25 cents a copy; $11.25 for fifty copies; $20.00 for one hundred copies. Obtainable from: The Queen’s Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Bishop Brady on Christian Unity On May 9, 1950, as one of a series of Knights of Columbus ledtures, a memorable address was given at Aberdeen, South Dakota, by the Most Reverend William O. Brady, Bishop of Sioux Falls. The address explains one of the most difficult of present-day religious problems, the "intolerance" of the Catholic Church. It was printed in the June number of Columbia and reprinted in the October num-ber of The Catholic Mind. It is now available in pamphlet form. The pamphlet is entitled Christian Unit[# 8 cents per copy; $6.00 per hundred. Obtainable from: The Chancery Office, 214 Fulton Bldg., Sioux Falls, S.D. Sister Agnesetta’s Bricks An article in our September number mentioned Sister Agnesetta, who cheerfully endured a twenty-year martyrdom through arthritis. Having seen this mention of Sister Agnesetta, one of her friends sent 328 FOR YOUR INFORMATION us the following story about her. The Sisters of Loretto wanted to have an infirmary for their sick and aged Sisters. For Sister Agnesetta, an invalid herself for twenty years, this was indeed a desirable project; and she pondered how she might help. Having no wealthy friends, she could not expect to do much in a financial way. Yet she did have good friends, and many of them, and to these she wrote from her sickbed asking them to help supply the bricks for the building. Typicfil example of her appeal, after an individual greeting to the friend, was this: "Last summer, while lying here idle, I got an inspiration to start a Little Flower Burse to create a fund for a home for our sick and aged members. The burse is composed of bricks at one dollar per brick, and I am writing to all my friends and their friends asking them to aid me in my project. If your heart prompts you to further this good cause, I should be very happy and grateful." Sister Agnesetta died in 1942. The infirmary was completed in 1949. Many bricks rise above those she obtained. But hers form a firm foundation, joined together as they are by the durable mortar of suffering and zeal. Reprinf Series In our September number (p. 280) we announced that we would make another printing of our reprint b~oklets if enough of our readers wanted them. From the number of letters we have received since September it seems that many readers still want the reprin.ts; hence we are making the second printing. Because this is a second printing, we are able to reduce the cost somewhat. Please see page 298 for a com, plete announcement con-cerning these reprints; and please read this announcement very care-fully before sending us any ordeis. And, if you wish any of these booklets, kindly send the orders at once, as we should like to avoid the Christmas mail rush. At present we must adhere to our original plan of not selling less than ten copies of any of the booklets. We do not have the clerical help needed for handling smaller orders. One final note: These booklets are to be ordered from the EDITORIAL office, not from the business office. Special Series for 19SI For many years we have cherished the desire of publishing a num-ber of articles on the distinctive spirit of some of the great religious 329 FOR YOUR INFORMATION Reoiet~ for Religious founders. 1951 will bring the realization of this desire. The series will begin in January with an article on Benedictine Spirituality. We hope that this series will provide all religious with valuable informa-tion for themselves and for use in their vocational apostolate. The Holy Cafhollc Church Our January, 1949, number carried an article entitled "Sancta Ecclesia Catbolica," by J. Putz, S.J. In this article Father Putz gave a brief sketch of the beatified and canonized during the reign of Plus XII up to the early part of 1948. The article was reprinted from The Clergy Monthly, a magazine edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary’s Theological College, Kurseong, D.H.Ry., India, and published at the Catholic Press, Rancbi, B.N.Ry., India. Other brief biographies published by The Clergy Montht~ are these sketches of two foundresses of religious congregations who were canonized in 1949. Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac: died in 1640; beatified in 1891; can-onized May 15, 1949. She was a niece of the famous writer, Michel de Montaigne. Her mother became a Calvinist and tried to tamper with the child’s faith; when bet endeavors failed, Jeanne was ill-treated and persecuted. When seventeen she married Gaston de Mont-ferrand, who was related to the royal houses of France, Aragon, and Navarre. At the age of forty-seven, when her husband was dead and bet four children provided for, she became a Cistercian nun but had to leave for reasons of health. In 1606 she founded the Institute of Notre Dame whose object was the education of girls of all social classes, especially in order to counteract the influence of Calvinism. The institute prospered, but the foundress was removed from it~ con-trol by the intrigues of one of the Sisters. This woman eventually repented, but only a few years before the death of St. Jeanne. Saint dosepha Rossello, 1811-1880; beatified in 1938; canon-ized June 12, 1949. Born of poor parents, on the Italian Riviera, this highly gifted glrl was led by Providence to found a religious in-stitute, the Daughters of Our Lady of Pity, which spread with extra-ordinary rapidity throughout Italy and to the Americas. Faithful to its name, it undertook a great variety of works of. mercy: creches for abandoned children, schools for all classes of girls, rescue homes for young women who had gone astray, hostels, hospitals, and so forth. dosepba saw the image of God in all men, how ever much it might be hidden or disfigured by misery or sin. Her existence was one of restless activity, of ever new founda- 33O November, 1950 FOR YOUR INFORMATION tions, yet (as the Holy Father pointed out in his panegyric) "We find in her in an eminent degree the intimate union of contemplation and action. How could a woman realize so perfectly in herself the ideal both of Martha and Mary? . . . In spite of her extraordinary activity she was always in prayer; or rather, it would be more correct to say that her exterior activity flowed precisely from this continual prayer as from its most pure fountain." This contemplation in action she summed up in the motto: "The hands are made for work, and the heart for God." Communion of Salnfs Another item of special interest in a recent number of The Clerg~ Monthly is the answer to these questions: "In what ways can the good actions of a person help other living members of the Church? Can he merit for others and atone for another’s sins?" The Clergy Monthly’s answer, with slight adapt~itions, runs as follows: The Communion of Saints exists between the members of the Church here on earth no less than with the Church suffering and the Church triumphant. As St. Gregory puts it, "In the Church each one both bears the other and in turn is borne by him," not merely by visible mutual help and edification, but more particularly by the supernatural power our. good actions have before God. Of course there is something in every good action that is strictly personal: exer-cise makes life grow; my good actions make my supernatural life (sanctifying grace and charity) grow. This increase of life is merit in the strict sense, which cannot be passed on to another, any more than the psychological or physiological facility for virtue which is the natural fruit of good actions. As St. Thomas Aquinas says: "One man’s fast does not tame the flesh of another." But besides this essentially personal fruit, every good action has a social value over and above the power of good example. In a plant the green leaves pour part of the product of their activity in to the common circt~lation so that the vitality of each leaf increases the vitality of the whole plant. So also in the spiritual organism which is the Church, all the cells form one living unity and communicate with one another through the Holy Ghost who is, as it were, the common vital principle. Again St. Thomas: "The action of him who is one with me is in some way my own." Thus "in that Body no good can be done, no virtue practiced by individual members, which does not, thanks to the Communion of Saints, redound to the welfare of all" (Plus XII, M~lstici Corporis). In this spiritual influ- 331 FOR YOUR INFORMATION ence of one on another we may distinguish three elements: i. Atonement. Every good action has a satisfactory value which can be applied to others. Thus one can atone for another’s sin, one can suffer for another. This is the foundation also of the "treasury . of the Church," from which indulgences can be applied to the dead and the living. 2. Me~it. A gc~od action pleases God and thus creates a certain title of equity to obtaining special graces from God, even for others. Since a man in the state of grace is fulfilling God’s will, it is fitting that accor City of Saint Louis (Mo.), http://www.geonames.org/4407084 http://cdm17321.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/rfr/id/203

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