Bøger af Brother Hermenegild Tosf

If it be, in general, true to say, that teaching instructs, but example influences, we could recommend no better reading for the faithful than that of the Life of a Saint. We might speak or write eloquently upon the Evangelical virtues, but could never do either with greater efficacy than by pointing out the same virtues fully realized in the conduct of a man, whose nature was not superior to our own, but who distinguished himself among his fellows by a more faithful and courageous co-operation with grace. As the life of a saint is a sketch of the diverse operations of Divine Grace, we necessarily meet certain actions which are, to use the expression, more to be admired than imitated; but the knowledge even of such actions is useful to the Christian. It shows him the marvels God works in His saints, the infinitely wise conduct of us Divine Providence, which, in the interest of society, sometimes grants to feeble mortals a power which belongs only to Himself: it explains to him also how the most admirable actions of the saints frequently tend only to the advantage and happiness of those who admire them, without looking to the end God proposes in the working of these wonders. These reflections apply in a special manner to the life of St. Antony of Padua. It is sufficient to read his biography to be convinced that, neglecting, so to speak, his own interests, he seemed to forget himself to attend merely to the happiness of others. In it we find neither the merest recital of the particulars connected with his private life, nor the picture of those interior virtues which are of habitual and daily use, in the relations between God and man, and in those of man with his fellow-man; but we meet with a multitude of noble actions, which have no other purpose but the happiness of society: the immolation of self to promote God's glory and the interests of all his brethren, was the characteristic trait which sums up nearly the whole of St. Antony's life. We may conclude from the foregoing, with what scrupulous care the saint concealed from all eyes the precious treasures of his soul - an admirable precaution, which constitutes in itself alone a rare and shining virtue. From his glorious acts flow those virtues which serve them as cause and principle; add to these the biographical information furnished by his writings, as it is specially in the writings of an author that we discover the depth and brilliant points of his character; finally, second that information by some minute details gathered here and there in his admirable life, and we can form an idea, if not complete, at least sufficiently exact, of this wonderful man. A detailed life of our saint has long been desired. Simple information and circumstantial recitals of some few miracles did not fully satisfy the pious curiosity of the faithful, to whom they taught nothing of the moral influence of the saint over his contemporaries, since they did not place his works in relation with the events or manners of his time. Nor did they follow any chronological order, thus offering to the reader a series of facts entirely destitute of logical connection. We have thought it possible to group together, in a fitting manner, all the events in St. Antony's life. We leave the reader to judge of our success. We have followed the chronology of Wadding, who has recorded, in his annals of the Friars Minor, year by year, the actions and enterprises of the saint, with many other events. We have also profited by the learned and laborious researches of the Bollandists, and made use of the chronicles of Mark of Lisbon, and many others; but the chroniclers have only furnished us with isolated facts, since they follow no chronological order. Those events, for which Wadding himself indicates no precise time, we have given such place in our history as conjecture would seem to assign; furthermore, the period during which the annalist merely mentions the simple facts comprehends at most but three years.

In 1890 a translation of Father Hettinger's Apology by Father Bowden of the Oratory appeared under the title of Natural Religion. The great reputation of the writer drew attention to the work. Many criticisms appeared and of especial interest was an article on "Reason Alone - A Reply to Father Sebastian Bowden," in the Fortnightly Review, Nov. 1890, by W. H. Mallock. The importance of the problem was brought clearly to mind. Convinced that the existence of God was a certainty - how present this truth to the mind of the present day? This volume is the fruit of the thought and study. The success attending the publication of the work on the Human Soul constrained the writer to adopt the comparative method with this treatise also. The subject is heavy and abstruse in parts. An effort has been made to render the reading as easy as possible. Hence the illustrations, and references to modern literature, and relegation of doubts and controversies to the notes at the foot of the page. The line of thought worked out in this volume is a departure from that followed in many treatises on the subject. The writer takes the idea of God as a fact of consciousness. The question is not how the idea came to the individual mind. But are we justified in holding the idea, and what is its content? Hence an investigation into the grounds of the idea. Viewed in this aspect, it becomes a study in Psychology. Now, as the idea of God is not an individual but a universal fact, the course of investigation is of more than a personal value. It is a study of the human mind. Some particular questions, e. g., capability of the mind to conceive the Infinite, the problem of Personality are not discussed at length. The latter notion has been examined in the volume on the Human Soul. The former pertains to a treatise on the Theory of Knowledge, whose proper place is in the Philosophy of Mind. This treatise is published in the hopes that it will bring light and comfort to those who believe, and help dispel the clouds of error and misunderstanding under which so many are struggling. The writer acknowledges the debt of gratitude to the kind friends who have in word and deed encouraged the progress of the writing, and so carefully examined the proof-sheets of the work.

THE Evangelisation of Ireland, mingled as it is with the life of St Patrick, is one of the most surprising facts in the life of the Church in the fifth century. Beyond the limits of the Roman world, the conquest of a whole country was achieved in a few years by the initiative of one man. True, Christianity had become the State religion of the Roman Empire. But Rome had never penetrated into Ireland. Thus, as regards the heathen population of that island, St Patrick found himself confronted with the same situation as were the Apostles in face of the Greco-Roman paganism. The conversion of Ireland was effected during a period when it seemed that civilisation and the new religion must both disappear, swept away by the tide of barbarian invasion. Yet Providence was even then preparing reserves of sanctity and learning, which in Gaul and Italy would, in the seventh century, be the leaven of monastic life and of that of the Christian people. The Apostolic enterprise of St Patrick, if considered from a merely human standpoint, was conducted with rare prudence and skill. The change of religion in Ireland was brought about very rapidly, and without the opposition and persecution which marked the establishment of Christianity in all other countries of the West. This may doubtless be partly explained by the Irish character, and also by the social state of the country, a social state which will be referred to in this volume; but I repeat that it is chiefly due to the intelligent activity of St Patrick that all shock and violence were avoided. We possess only one single work in the French language on the Apostle of Ireland. This is from the pen of M. B. Robert. His Critical Study of the Life and Work of St Patrick is a thesis presented to the Protestant Paculty of Theology for the obtaining of his degree of Bachelor of Divinity. There is much that is good in it, but it is very incomplete. Hence it appears to me that to introduce St Patrick to the public is to present to it the figure of an important, and, as it seems, but little known Apostle.

This is a fifteen volume set, which is being brought back into print for the edification of the Faithful. Anyone who wishes to appreciate the timeless Tridentine Mass and liturgy will find this set a valuable aid in that endeavor. Dom Gueranger has produced a most excellent work, which began the liturgical movement. We pray that this set of books will bring many more to a true appreciation of the Latin Mass and the Divine Office of the Catholic Church. At one time, under the impulse of that Spirit, which animated the admirable Psalmist and the Prophets, she takes the subject of her canticles from the Books of the Old Testament; at another, showing herself to be the daughter and sister of the holy Apostles, she intones the canticles written in the Books of the New Covenant; and finally, remembering that she, too, has had given to her the trumpet and harp, she at times gives way to the Spirit which animates her, and sings her own new canticle. From these three sources comes the divine element which we call the Liturgy. The Prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore the most efficacious of all prayers. Happy, then, is he who prays with the Church, and unites his own petitions with those of this Spouse, who is so dear to her Lord, that he gives her all she asks. It was for this reason that our Blessed Saviour taught us to say our Father, and not my Father; give us, forgive us, deliver us, and not give me, forgive me, deliver me. Hence, we find that, for upwards of a thousand years, the Church, who prays in her temples seven times in the day, and once again during the night, did not pray alone. The people kept her company, and fed themselves with delight on the manna which is hidden under the words and mysteries of the divine Liturgy. Thus initiated into the sacred Cycle of the mysteries of the Christian year, the faithful, attentive to the teachings of the Spirit, came to know the secrets of eternal life; and, without any further preparation, a Christian was not unfrequently chosen by the Bishops to be a Priest, or even a Bishop, that he might go and pour out on the people the treasures of wisdom and love, which he had drunk in at the very fountain-head. For whilst Prayer said in union with the Church is the light of the understanding, it is the fire of divine love for the heart. The Christian soul neither needs nor wishes to avoid the company of the Church, when she would converse with God, and praise his greatness and his mercy. She knows that the company of the Spouse of Christ could not be a distraction to her. Is not the soul herself a part of this Church, which is the Spouse? Has not Jesus Christ said: Father, may they be one, as we also are one? and, when many are gathered in his name, does not this same Saviour assure us that he is in the midst of them? The soul, therefore, may converse freely with her God, who tells her that he is so near her; she may sing praise, as David did, in the sight of the Angels, whose eternal prayer blends with the prayer which the Church utters in time.

The first lecture, which he has entitled the war of Antichrist with the Church and Christian Civilization, is intended to treat, in as brief space as possible, the whole question of Secret, Atheistic Organization, its origin, its nature, its history in the last century and in this, and its unity of satanic purpose in a wonderful diversity of forms. To do this with effect, it was necessary to go over a large area of ground, and to touch upon a great variety of topics. The writer was conscious that much of this ground and many of these topics would be very much better known to a large n umber of his readers than to himself. Nearly every matter he had to speak about had been already very frequently handled ably and exhaustively in our Catholic revews, magazines and newspapers. But notwithstanding this fact, very few, if any, attempts have been made in our language to treat the subject as a whole. Many articles which he has seen, proposed to treat some one feature only of the A theistic conspiracy-for example, Freemasonry; or the Infidel war upon COhristian education and Christian InstItutions; or the Revolution in Italy; or the efforts of sectaries against the Temporal Power of the Pope, and ag inst the welfare of Christian States generally. Several writers appeared to assume as known that which was really unknown to very many; and few touched at all upon the fact-a fact, no doubt, difficult to prove from the strict and ably guarded secrecy which protects it-of the supreme direction given to the universality of secret societies from a guiding, governing, and even to the rank and file of the members of the secret societies themselves-unknown and invisible junta ceaselessly sitting in dark conclave and guiding the whole mass of the secret societies of the world. The Holy Father, in his late celebrated Bull, Humanum Genus, has, therefore, manifested his desire that the bishops, the clergy, and even the laity of the Church should join in exposing Freemasonry and other such societies. But without a proper knowledge of the conspiracy as a whole that cannot be done. The author attempts to give such knowledge; but he hopes that his efforts may be improved upon by others more able than himself, and that he may have the happiness before long of seeing some compendium of the whole subject in English which might form a text book for seminarists and others to whom the future fate of the people of God in dangerous days is to be committed.

This is a compilation of meditations and prayer for use in making holy Hours or otherwise adoring Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. To this has been added three methods for assisting at Mass, devotions for Confession and for Holy Communion.

THE plan adopted in this volume demands a word of explanation. The reader must not look for a history of St Louis, that is, for a chronological and methodical account of the actions of his life and the events of his reign. This would not, in our opinion, correspond to the general design of the collection in which this essay is to find a place. We have thought it better to make a study of the character and sanctity of this great Christian and royal person, considered under the different aspects of his private and public life. It has been our ideal to present toour readers a series of historic pictures in stained glass, devoted to the life of St Louis. In the different compartments of this series, or, to speak without metaphor, in the successive chapters of this work, we have made large use of the text of writers contemporary with the holy king, necessarily made intelligible to modern readers. We have also given as far as possible the very words of the holy king. Nothing throws more light on the mind of St Louis than his Instructions to his son Philip and to his daughter Isabel. We cannot know and describe him better than his confessor, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, his chaplain, William of Chartres, and the confessor of his wife, Queen Margaret, whose writings afford such a valuable summary of the inquiry made for his canonisation. Wherever it was possible we have used the words of the Sire de Joinville, the good seneschal, who has in our own day found an editor and interpreter worthy of him in the person of M. Natalis de Wai1ly. We hope that our quotations may induce our readers to draw more largely and directly from this incomparable source which now flows with limpid clearness. From a somewhat different point of view we feel the same desire with respect to the valuable works which have guided us in the choice and reproduction of the original texts, and which have supplemented these texts. Since the reader will not find here a history of St Louis, it may be sought in the interesting books which are quoted in the ensuing pages. We feel that we shall not have laboured in vain if we add to the readers of M. Wailly, of M. Felix Eaure and M. Lecoy de la Marche. We must also mention particularly M. Elie Berger's remarkable work on' Blanche of Castile, and on the relations between Louis IX. and Innocent IV. A Protestant by birth and education, we wish that others of the same religion understood as well as he does the duty of. historic impartiality, and the respect due from all good Frenchmen to the national religion and the catholic glories of their country. We have also profited, although not without reserve, from the sincere homage recently rendered by an honest freethinker, M. .C h. Langlois, to St Louis's memory in a Parisian review. An appearance of learned research is not altogether

The saints were real people like you and I. The only difference is that they sought Almighty God with their whole heart, soul, mind, body and strength. And yet they ran into the same difficulties as we do. They had to deal with day to day problems and affairs. Through their letters we can learn a lot about their character and how they dealt with the day to day problems of every day life. And consider Saint Alphonsus founded a congregation and then was made Bishop of a Diocese. He lived to a very old age, which means he was dealing with many things for decades.

Here are some stories told by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson

THIS small volume of Father Sebastian Bowden's Spiritual Teachings is published partly as a tribute to his memory from those who revered and loved him, and partly in the hope of keeping that memory alive in men's thoughts-in these days of quick forgetfulness-longer than it might otherwise be kept. The "Counsels and Dissertations" which form the greater portion of the volume are taken from notes, kept for many years by people who had the privilege of the well-known Oratorian's spiritual guidance. They consist of personal counsels given, answers to questions asked, or opinions on various subjects drawn forth in conversation, and are here produced just as they were written down: -i.e., in his own words. The contributors of these notes hope that they rna y serve a three-fold purpose -that of showing forth something of Father Sebastian's own inner life; that of being a welcome possession, and reminder of his teaching, to his many old friends, penitents, and converts in various parts of the world; and that of affording some real spiritual help to others who, having been strangers to him personally, may come across the book and use it. In these days of sadness from irreparable losses, and of conditions all around us engendering difficulties and depression, his wise and strong lessons on the true way of meeting and using every kind of suffering should surely prove peculiarly valuable. The detached form in which these notes are published, as separate paragraphs, is unavoidable from their nature. A little sequence has been observed by putting together such as refer to special seasons, etc.; but there were very few that could be thus classified, and it has therefore been necessary to leave quite the larger number under the broad heading of "Miscellaneous Subjects." Perhaps the kind of unexpectedness in the utterances sometimes produced by this arrangenlent, from their not being connected with each other, may add to their interest by causing variety, and so avoiding the monotony apt to be felt in reading a series of spiritual maxims. The short notes of Hospital Addresses will perhaps be of interest chiefly to those to whom they were originally given. Some account of the Society which they concern has been prefixed to them, for the benefit of the general reader. As regards the Letters which form the concluding part of the volume, the editors much regret that so few have been procurable; but, few and short as they are-in some cases, even, only a line or two-they are here included as being very characteristic of the writer, and as giving expression to some sides of his thought and teaching not brought out in the "Counsels," or Addresses.

These pages are a continuation of papers written monthly in a very busy life for "The Messenger of the Sacred Heart." The kind and surprising reception accorded to my two former small volumes gives ground to hope that this may be equally acceptable and profitable to souls. The treatment of the various mysteries is not intended to be deep or recondite, still less novel and unusual. The simple thoughts presented are for those especially who love to linger prayerfully on the mysteries of the Gospel narrative during the Holy Hour with a view to the profit of their souls and daily lives. It is with pleasure that I add my thanks to my very dear friends, Fathers Joseph H. Smith and J. Harding Fisher, who have carefully revised these pages, and seen them through the press. THE HILLS OF CANA THE HILL OF THE TEMPLE THE HILL OF DISCUSSION THE HILLS OF BETHANY THE HILLS OF THE JORDAN THE H'ILLS OF BERSABEE THE HILLS OF SAMARIA THE HILL OF COMFORT THE HILLS OF REJECTION THE HILLS OF PLENTY THE HILL OF INVITATION THE HILL OF PLEADING THE HILL OF KINDNESS THE INLAND HILLS THE HILL OF RETIREMENT THE HILLS OF CAPHARNAUM

THESE Memoirs are a gallery of paintings in which is brought into view the Catholic doctrine on the ministry of Guardian Angels. An Angel here tells what were his duties and his impressions from the moment in which a soul was intrusted to him, to that in which she took her place at his side in glory. We see at a glance, what this best of friends has done for us in the past, is doing for us now, and will do for us in the future. May the reading of these pages excite the gratitude of hearts that receive so many benefits, and lead them to correspond with these more faithfully! This is the end which the Author had in view.

This is a fifteen volume set, which is being brought back into print for the edification of the Faithful. Anyone who wishes to appreciate the timeless Tridentine Mass and liturgy will find this set a valuable aid in that endeavor. Dom Gueranger has produced a most excellent work, which began the liturgical movement. We pray that this set of books will bring many more to a true appreciation of the Latin Mass and the Divine Office of the Catholic Church. At one time, under the impulse of that Spirit, which animated the admirable Psalmist and the Prophets, she takes the subject of her canticles from the Books of the Old Testament; at another, showing herself to be the daughter and sister of the holy Apostles, she intones the canticles written in the Books of the New Covenant; and finally, remembering that she, too, has had given to her the trumpet and harp, she at times gives way to the Spirit which animates her, and sings her own new canticle. From these three sources comes the divine element which we call the Liturgy. The Prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore the most efficacious of all prayers. Happy, then, is he who prays with the Church, and unites his own petitions with those of this Spouse, who is so dear to her Lord, that he gives her all she asks. It was for this reason that our Blessed Saviour taught us to say our Father, and not my Father; give us, forgive us, deliver us, and not give me, forgive me, deliver me. Hence, we find that, for upwards of a thousand years, the Church, who prays in her temples seven times in the day, and once again during the night, did not pray alone. The people kept her company, and fed themselves with delight on the manna which is hidden under the words and mysteries of the divine Liturgy. Thus initiated into the sacred Cycle of the mysteries of the Christian year, the faithful, attentive to the teachings of the Spirit, came to know the secrets of eternal life; and, without any further preparation, a Christian was not unfrequently chosen by the Bishops to be a Priest, or even a Bishop, that he might go and pour out on the people the treasures of wisdom and love, which he had drunk in at the very fountain-head. For whilst Prayer said in union with the Church is the light of the understanding, it is the fire of divine love for the heart. The Christian soul neither needs nor wishes to avoid the company of the Church, when she would converse with God, and praise his greatness and his mercy. She knows that the company of the Spouse of Christ could not be a distraction to her. Is not the soul herself a part of this Church, which is the Spouse? Has not Jesus Christ said: Father, may they be one, as we also are one? and, when many are gathered in his name, does not this same Saviour assure us that he is in the midst of them? The soul, therefore, may converse freely with her God, who tells her that he is so near her; she may sing praise, as David did, in the sight of the Angels, whose eternal prayer blends with the prayer which the Church utters in time.

THE reading of the lives of the Saints has been at all times recommended by the Church. God, in fact, raised them up to bring back to him, by the spectacle of their example and miracles, the nations among which they lived. In permitting public honors to be paid to them, the Holy Ghost, who directs the Church, has wished their virtues to be thus perpetuated in the memory of men. Hence the numervus panegyrics of our Christian orators: hence, too, the immense labors undertaken by the learned of every age to elucidate and recount their wonderful works. Some among them have shone with a brighter light, like the stars of heaven, whom the Supreme Ruler of all things had set differently in the vast expanse of the firmament. Angela Merici, whose life we write, was evidently raised up by God to serve as a light to her age, to revive faith, then almost extinct, and to found an order of virgins, till then unknown in the Church. This institute, whose origin dates from the revival of learning in Europe, has spread with astonishing success, and diffused Catholic doctrines at a time when a struggle was going on between the religious parties that divided whole kingdoms. The order of Ursulines, founded by Saint Angela, has fulfilled this mission with ever increasing happiness, especially in France, till the period of the unhappy Revolution in that country. Then the many monasteries that had been created in its provinces were suppressed; but scarcely was religion restored to the soil of France, when new communities arose in almost every diocese. In 1801, Pope Pius VII. canonized the Blessed Angela Merici: this was an encouragement for the Ursulines who had survived the revolution. Aided by the bishops, and even by the civil authorities, they formed new establishments for the instruction of youth. A few years sufficed to restore more than a hundred communities, now very flourishing. A complete life of Saint Angela was needed among them, and we have undertaken this. The authors that have aided us in its composition, all bear the approbation of the ecclesiastical authority. The chief are Father Quarre, of the Oratory; a life inserted in the History of the Order of Saint Ursula, printed at Paris in 1516, in two volumes; a short life issued at Rome in 1118, and a nearly complete life published at Fougeres in 1837. We have besides consulted Alban Butler, the Journal of the illustrious nuns of the Order of Saint Ursula, and the brief of her canonization.

MANY circumstances will determine the character of our preparation for the visit of a guest-his rank, his relations with us, the object of his visit, and perhaps Onr special needs at the time. But one disposition will ensure its fitness and its acceptableness in every caso. Let him but hear "Welcome" from our lips, or rather see "Welcome " in our face, and he will be satisfied. "Welcome" greets the sovereign in letters of light. It is seemly on the lips of the poorest peasant, of the casual acquaintance, of the intimate friend, of the parent, and of the child It never tires, it never grows monotonous or superfluous. For it takes a new meaning with every change of circumstance affecting our guest or ourselves. If either is joyous or sad, wronged, weary, anxious, burdened, disturbed-it suits itself to every need. Our Lord is one of us and like us in all things, sin excepted. His Heart responds like ours to the sound of "Welcome!" It beat quicker as, tired at evening with His daily toil, He crossed the threshold of His house at Nazareth and read it in Mary's face. As He saw it stamped clear and bright all the house over at Bethany. As He heard Martha.'s greeting, reverent yet hearty, and her sister's whisper inaudible to all but Him. So sweet to His ear is its sound, that He condescends to invite it: "Zacheus, make haste and come down, for this day I must abide in thy house. And he came down and received Him with joy." "And they drew nigh to the town whither they were going, and He made as though He would go farther. But they constrained Him, saying: stay with us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. And He went in with them."

Saint Bonaventure prefaces his work: "AMONG the many encomiums and praises bestows on the holy Virgin, St. Cecilie, it is recorded of her, that she kept the Gospel of Christ continually enshrined in her breast: the meaning of which seems to be, that she selected such passages from our Lord's life and actions, contained in that divine volume, as tended most to raise her devotion, and inflame her love. On these she meditated day and night, and such was the fervor of her heart, and the ardor of her affections, that she did not content herself with a single perusal, but was accustomed to read the most striking parts many times over, and carefully deposit them in the sanctuary of her heart. The like practice I recommend to you, as I look upon it to be the most material branch of spiritual study, and even the most beneficial of all devout exercises, and that which is most capable of leading you to the summit of Christian perfection. For surely the holy life of Christ, not merely free from the minutest blemish, but even divinely perfect, must be the best and only sure fountain whence we can hope to draw the perfect knowledge necessary-to arm our breast against the flattering, yet fleeting vanities of the world; to render us steady amidst tribulations and adversities; and finally, to preserve us from vice, and facilitate the possession of every virtue. Frequent and habitual meditations on that divine subject being the readiest means to introduce the soul, as it were, into such a kind of familiarity, confidence, and love of him, as will insensibly create in it a contempt and distaste of everything else, and will effectually instruct it., both in what to do, and what to avoid doing.

This work is designed for the Holy Week of the 1962 Missal as promulgated by Pope Pius XII in 1955. In the Instruction that accompanied the decree for the restored Holy Week Ordo the first point set forth reads: "Local Ordinaries should carefully see to it that priests, especially those who have the care of souls, should be well instructed not only about the ritual observance of the restored Ordo of Holy Week but also its liturgical meaning and its pastoral purposes." The ceremonies of Holy Week are perhaps the most beautiful, yet the most difficult of the liturgical year. Their beauty lies in the deep richness of their meaning and in their power to bring us so close to our Divine Saviour and the events that transpired in the last days of His mortal life. Unless these ceremonies are carried out with precision and accuracy, their wealth of beauty and meaning are lost. To bring the sacred events commemorated in Holy Week home to the faithful so that they may participate in them more fruitfully, we have undertaken this manual. If Holy Week ceremonies are difficult for priestly minds to grasp quickly, how much more so for the laity. To make this task a little easier for fellow priests during those days when pastoral duties are numerous and varied, has been our objective in setting forth these ceremonies according to the new regulations decreed by Pope Pius XII. If carried out correctly, these ceremonies have a deep beauty which all will learn to love and appreciate. But we priests must first study them and present them as correctly as possible. The effort on our part will be amply rewarded. We have tried to keep in mind all churches, large and small, churches where the ceremonies can be conducted in a solemn manner, where only a missa cantata is possible, and finally where there is no choir present. The anxiety of our brother priests for this type of book has been keen. We have worked under pressure; time was of the essence and so we beg your kind indulgence for possible errors and omissions. Our great objective was to present in as short a time as possible a complete working manual for the Holy Week services of 1956.

The document popularly designated as the Bull Coena, or the Bull In Coena Domini, derives its name from the practice, which is of great antiquity in the Roman Church, of publishing annually, on Maundy Thursday, the anniversary of the institution of the Lord's Supper, thence called Dies Coena Domini, certain sentences of excommunication against the enemies of the Roman See and the Roman Church. The document containing these sentences being in the form of a Papal Bull or Letter Apostolic, is accordingly called the Bull Coena or In Coena. For the last two centuries and a half it has undergone no change, being republished from time to time by successive Popes without alteration or addition, and adopted into the body of the Roman Canon Law, some of the most important principles of which are contained in it. According to the usual manner of citing Papal Bulls by the initial words, the Bull in its present shape is called the Bull "Pastoralis Romani Pontificis" but there were other Bulls before it, which, on the same ground as this, viz., their publication on Maundy Thursday, were, in their time, the Bulls Coena, or In Coena. In fact the Bull Pastoralia is the latest edition of a series of Bulls issued at different times, and by different Pontiffs, for the excommunication of heretics, for the assertion and maintenance of the Ecclesiastical supremacy of the Roman Pontiff, and for other collateral purposes. The different excommunications which are now thrown together into one Bull, were originally scattered through a variety of Bulls, and by degrees incorporated with the Bull published annually on Maundy Thursday.

HAD Blessed Therese de l'Enfant Jesus remained on earth she would have been fifty years of age this year, 1923, which sees decreed to her the honours of Beatification. Other young saints, it is true, have in as short a time had the happiness of sanctifying themselves and the glory of being beatified. But what is new, we believe, in the history of canonizations is the unprecedented movement to which her cause has given rise throughout the whole world. From every quarter of the universe, in fact, from uncivilized as well as civilized countries, from all classes of society, have come innumerable and most touching supplications begging the Holy See to raise to the honours of the Altar the humble little Carmelite, who, on the last evening of September, 1897, passed gently away at the Monastery of Lisieux, without, however, having done anything remarkable in the ordinary sense of the word, and, at all events, practically unknown to her contemporaries at the time of her death. Such a movement, astonishing though it be, may, apparently, be explained by the extraordinary abundance of favours attributed to her intercession. But these favours in their turn demand explanation. For God does nothing without motive, and, above all, He is not lavish of His miracles without weighty reasons. In the designs of God the miracle is the letter of recommendation that He gives to His envoys in order to accredit them with men; it is the impress of the Divine Seal upon their acts and the authentic proof of their supernatural mission. Had then Blessed Therese de l'Enfant Jesus a providential mission to fulfil? Yes, and the shower of roses that she had announced before her death, and has never during twenty-five years ceased to let fall upon the world, is but the Divine signature certifying her commission. The meaning and purpose of this mission Soeur Therese explained clearly a short time before her death: I feel, she said, that my mission is soon to begin, my mission to make others love the good God as I love Him . . . to give to souls my little way. I will spend in heaven in doing good on earth. This is not impossible, since the Angels from the very heart of the Beatific Vision keep watch over us. No, I shall not be able to take any rest until the end of the world. But when the Angel shall have said: Time is no more! then I shall rest, shall be able to rejoice, because the number of the elect will be complete. And being asked what way she wished to teach to souls, she replied: It is the path of spiritual childhood; it is the way of trust and of entire self-surrender. I want to make known, to them the means that have so perfectly succeeded lor me, to tell them there is one only thing to do here below: to cast before Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices. to win Him by caresses! That is how I have won Him, and that is why I shall be so well received. It is this" little way" of spiritual childhood that the present work proposes to make known. It is addressed to all seriously Christian souls, but particularly to those whom Blessed Therese always called" little souls," designating by this word those who, not being called to imitate the splendid achievements of the great Saints, must for that very reason walk in the simplicity of the common way during their whole life.

The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons was the brightest ornament of that great pope's reign; or at least it is that which the Church seems to prize above all the rest, for to this day, three hundr ed years after the great revolt, St. Gregory is still described in the Roman Martyrology as he "who brought the English to the true faith." Of St. Augustine himself, the chief lieutenant of the papacy in its conquest of England, but little is known. His life and his virtues are overshadowed by his mission. That mission dates from the abortive schemes of St. Gregory while still a monk, and ends with the death of the last Italian archbishop of Canterbury. It is that period which I have included in my sketch. Perhaps it was rash of me to undertake the task; for Montalelnbert has already told the same story, and he is a bold man who would invite comparison with the glowing pages of The Monks of the West. Yet the critical value of that work has been denied: I think with justice. The passionate soul of the orator not unnaturally chafes at the restrictions imposed upon the student of history, though the historian who fears to pall by the dulness of his own pages may well envy the tender but stirring narrative of Montalembert. So I have sought to tell again in my own way what Montalembert has told so well already. Moreover the occasion seemed favourable, for while France was holding festival at Rheims in memory of the conversion of Clovis, on the other side of the Channel Catholics and Protestants alike were thinking of St. Augustine and the baptism of Ethelbert. English Catholics are about to hold their commemoration of that event on the very ground where the saint is believed to have landed with his monks. The Anglicans have already held theirs. The occasion happily concurred with the celebration of the diamond jubilee of the queen's reign; and nearly two hundred Protestant bishops gathered in synod from every part of the British empire, They had held such meetings before, and it was easy to anticipate that those prelates would have a difficulty in finding a common ground for debate in which their differences should not too much obtrude. We knew they would discuss reunion, and they could not wholly ignore the appeal of the holy see. Could they fail to draw a comparison in their own minds between pope Gregory who sent England the faith, and pope Leo who invites her to reunion? Could they fail to recognize that at an interval of thirteen centuries there breathes in the utterances of Leo the same spirit that inspired the action of Gregory? "Father, that they may be one!"

"THIS is that happy and holy place," says Thomas of Celano, referring to the convent of Saint Damian, "this is that holy and happy place wherein, not quite six years after the conversion of Blessed Francis and through his efforts, the glorious religion and most excellent order of poor ladies first began. The foundation stone is stronger and more precious than all the other stones of the pile-to wit, the Lady Clara, bright in name, more bright in life, most bright in conversation. She is a native of Assisi, of noble birth and by grace nobler, a virgin most pure In heart, young in years but hoary in resolution, very steadfast of purpose, but withal wise and meek and a marvellous lover of God." "The admirable woman Clara, whose name signifieth brightness and the light of whose glorious life doth shine in every land, was the child of all illustrious house of the little town of Assisi; she was the fellow citizen of Blessed Francis on earth, and in Heaven they reign together. Her father was a knight and all her kinsmen of like rank-an influential clan, and rich in all those things that are accounted riches in the land wherein she dwelt." "Her mother's name was Ortolana, and she, destined to bring forth a most prolific little plant for Christ's garden, was herself fruitful in good works. For notwithstanding household cares and the marriage yoke, she found time for the service of God and to cherish Christ in His poor. Nay, she crossed the sea for the sake of devotion, and traversed the places which the footsteps of the God-Man had sanctified, and returning with joy to her native land must needs visit Saint Michael in his shrine on Mount Gargano and undertake a pilgrimage to the threshold of the Apostles. And when at last she was with child and her hour was almost at hand, whilst she was praying before the Cross in church to the Crucified to preserve her from the great pain and peril of childbirth, behold she heard a voice saying, Fear not, woman, for thou shalt bring forth a light in safety that shall enlighten the whole earth, ' and thus it came to pass that when presently a maid-child was born she called the babe Clara, hoping that the words of the oracle would one day be fulfilled." This work covers her life and the rule of life prescribed for the Poor Clares.

WHAT is it that changes the world? Events? Ideas? or men? Not mere inhuman events, certainly. An earthquake, even of Messina; a volcanic eruption, even of Mont Pelee; the sinking of a, Titanic, do not jerk the globe off its axis. Doubtless the advent or recession of a Glacial Period; the depression of a continent below sea-level or its reappearance would alter history; but these processes are too gradual or too wholesale to be given, in its ordinary sense, the name "event." Therefore, not just the cannon-ball at the bygone siege, of which we shall have to tell, is, half-jestingly, to be offered as the cause of that tremendous influencing of the world's history we aro to speak of, though it had its rebound from the battered wall never wounded Don Inigo of Loyola, who can foresee his career! Ideas, then? That is far nearer truth. It was the ideas set sailing down the wind by a Rousseau, for instance, which, far rather than any grinding tax or aristocratic privilege, settled maddeningly in men's brains, and bred the Revolution?

IT is a long-established custom on missions conducted by the Dominican Fathers to give each evening a short instruction on the Rosary previous to reciting the beads, which are always said in common before the night sermon. This instruction has a two-fold object: to make known to the faithful the origin and efficacy of this great devotion, so dear to the heart of our Immaculate Mother, and to inspire them with greater fervor, devotion and confidence in reciting the Rosary. For many years it was the privilege of the writer of this humble book to give those Rosary talks. No longer able to engage in mission work, some of his esteemed friends in the priesthood have urged him to prepare a course of Rosary talks for the press, in the belief that they would not only be useful to Directors of Rosary Societies, but would also be an aid to the faithful in meditating on the mysteries of our Mother's cherished Rosary. Another motive prompted the writer to prepare these considerations for the press. He feels strongly urged to remind both priest and people of a sacred duty which they owe to God, to themselves, and to their neighbor. During his mission life he of ten con trasted the presen t leniency of priests to penitents with the rigor manifested by the early Church in giving canonical penances to her erring children. Yet we know she has not changed her doctrine, nor has God changed in His justice, nor has sin lost its malice. There is, however, a marked change in the Church's discipline. She has considered our weakness, and our unwillingness to perform pu blic penances; and, mindful of the wonderful power bestowed on her through the keys given to her first Visible Head, St. Peter, and through him to hIs successors, she opens to us the infinite treasures of the meri ts of Christ and of His saints, and urges us to gain through them indulgences to satisfy the debt due divine justice for our sins. Yet, when we give our light sacramental penances to our people, often in re gravi, do we urge them to supply for our leniency by gaining indulgences? Do we ourselves appreciate as we should the necessity of gaining indulgences, and of aiding poor sufferers whom the law of charity binds us to assist? In an Appendix to the present work, will be found a treatise on indulgences, with a list of those which all the faithful may easily gain. We earnestly recommend its perusal to the devout reader. St. Alphonsus would have priests always labor for God and for souls-during life by their active ministry, after death by their writings. Soon to lay down the sweet labor of life, this book is lovingly placed by the writer at Mary's feet, and he asks her to accept its dedication, to protect its readers and to pray for himself now and at the hour of his death.

Let us consider this on how the early Christians worshipped: It can be clearly proved that the manner of celebrating the holy sacrifice of the Mass was from the first in all essentials the same as it is now. The Apostle Paul writes: "We have an altar whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle." (Heb. xiii. 10.) Now everyone knows that in the Christian religion there is not, and never has there been, any sacrifice but the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Justin Martyr gives a description of the manner of celebrating Christian worship in his time: "On the prayers being ended the kiss of peace is exchanged. Then bread, together with a cup containing wine and water, is given to the bishop. Taking it in his hands, he gives praise and glory to the Father in the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and recites an expressive prayer of thanksgiving for the gifts bestowed on us. At the conclusion of this prayer the people answer aloud: Amen, i. e., so be it. Thereupon the ministers, whom we call deacons, distribute the bread, the wine and water, that has been consecrated by the giving of thanks, to all present, and they also carry it to those who are absent. This food we call the Eucharist; none may partake of it except those who have been baptized for the forgiveness of sins and the inheritance of eternal life, and who live in accordance with the precepts of Jesus Christ. For we do not receive this as if it were common bread or common drink, but, as Jesus Christ by the word of God was made man, and took human flesh and blood for our salvation, so, we are taught, this food, which by change of substance is the nourishment of our spiritual life, through the command expressed in His words, becomes the body and blood of the God made man. For the apostles in their writings, which are called the gospels, tell us that Jesus Christ commanded them to do what He did; that, after He had taken the bread and given thanks, He said to them, Do this for a commemoration of Me: this is My body. Likewise, after He had taken the chalice and given thanks, He said: This is My blood, and gave it to them all. It is curious to observe how the very same prayers which the priest now recites at the altar are to be found in the most ancient liturgies or orders of divine worship. We will give a few prayers taken from the oldest liturgy, that of the apostle James, who for twenty-nine years was bishop of Jerusalem. They are as follows: "Send upon us and upon these Thy proposed gifts, Thy most holy Spirit, that, coming upon them with His holy and good and glorious presence, He may hallow and make this bread the holy body of Thy Christ, and this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ." At the breaking of bread, while the priest holds the one half of the sacred Host in his right hand and the other in his left, and dips in the chalice that which he holds in his right hand, he says: "The communion of the most holy body and blood of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. It hath been united and sanctified and accomplished in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, now and ever." The celebrant then continues: "Behold the Lamb of God, the Son of the Father, sacrificed for the life and the salvation of the world." The thanksgiving runs thus: " We give Thee thanks, Christ Our God, that Thou hast vouchsafed to make us partakers of Thy body and blood for the remission of sins and eternal life." Hence it will be seen that the prayers appointed for the celebration of holy Mass in the early Church coincide not merely in their meaning, but in their very wording, with those in use at the present time; thus they afford unquestionable proof of the truth of the Catholic doctrine concerning the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

The saints were real people like you and I. The only difference is that they sought Almighty God with their whole heart, soul, mind, body and strength. And yet they ran into the same difficulties as we do. They had to deal with day to day problems and affairs. Through their letters we can learn a lot about their character and how they dealt with the day to day problems of every day life. And consider Saint Alphonsus founded a congregation and then was made Bishop of a Diocese. He lived to a very old age, which means he was dealing with many things for decades.

With the Pontifical Office of a Bishop in his own Diocese compiled from the Caeremoniale Episcoporum to which are added various other functions and copious explanatory notes. All is harmonized with the latest decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. The Introduction states: "Advantage has been taken of the opportunity afforded by the call for yet another edition, to revise and improve the present work, and thus in some degree make it still more worthy of the patronage so kindly bestowed upon it. Those chapters marked with an asterisk (*) in the table of Contents, have been translated from the Esposizione delle Sacre Ceremonu of JOSEPH BALDECHI, Master of Ceremonies of St. Peter's, and some time Prefect of the Exercises at the Mission-house in Rome. The rest of the Volume has been compiled from the Pontificale, Caeremoniale Episcoporum, Memoriale Rituum, of Benedict XIII" the Clementine Instructions, the Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and other authentic sources which may be said to comprise the Law of the Church on the Ceremonial of her Worship, For the solution of doubtful points, and where amplification was deemed desirable, the beet authorities on Liturgical Science have been freely cited. A list of Authors' names, and of the particular editions of their works consulted, is given. Amongst the more recent Commentators on the Rubrics, the name of P. MARTINUCCI, Prefect of the Apostolic Ceremonies at Rome, is deservedly held in the highest esteem."

THIS little work is compiled, partly from "The Theology of the Holy Rosary," of the French Dominican, Father Chery, partly from "The Complete Rosary Book," published. by a Dominican Father in England. Several Rosary books have already been published in this country, but, whilst some have omitted very important nlatters with regard to the Dominican Rosary, others have confounded that great Rosary confraternity with a popular little devotion, called the Living Rosary. The Living Rosary was lately organized by a lady in France. It offers no bond of union, except that of fifteen persons, which bond is often broken. The Dominican Rosary comes down to us from the thirteenth century. It was revealed to one of God's most illustrious Saints. It unites its millions of members in one great confraternity-one powerful apostleship of prayer-enriched with the most abundant favors of the Church, and sharing in all the suffrages of the three great branches of the Donlinican Order. Since its establishment, the Dominican Rosary has taken possession of the world. There is no devotion more ancient, there is no devotion more widespread, there is no devotion enriched with so many indulgences. We know of no one eminent for sanctity since the days of St. Dominic, who was not a Rosarian, and devotedly attached to saying the beads. The Rosary, is a solid devotion, most pleasing to God and to our Immaculate Mother, drawing down the choicest graces of Heaven on all who practise it with fidelity. Dear Immaculate Mother, it was to increase thy children's love for thee, to make the treasures of thy cherished Rosary still more known and more appreciated, that this little work was compiled. Deign to bless this offering, which is placed at thy feet, and obtajn for all thy children an increase of devotion to thee, and an advancement in those virtues which thy Rosary inculcates. An excellent book for First Saturday Devotions

When that book was opened, men were able to read the writing. It was written, as we are told, within and without. The writing inside was the Word of God, which was written on the humanity of Christ by the operation of the Holy Ghost. The outside writing recorded the injuries, the wounds, the shedding of the precious blood, and the ignominy of the cross, which His cruel persecutors had written in so many dark letters. It is chiefly the outside writing of this book which forms the subject of this work-the narrative of the wounds, ignominies and sufferings endured by our divine Saviour in His bitter Passion. These are considered not so much in the mystical and internal sense, as in their literal and historical meaning, and in my treatment of them the following method has been observed. At the beginning of each chapter, I give in English the text of the Gospel narrative, according to the harmony of the four Evangelists. The comments and notes' are then given to explain the meaning of the text, and the various circumstances in connection with the events of the Passion. The first three chapters are devoted to the immediate antecedents of the Passion, namely, Christ foretelling His sufferings; the Last Supper, and the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament. The subsequent chapters treat of the various events of the Passion in the order in which they happened! A special chapter is given on the Last Seven Words; another, on the Resurrection of Christ; together with a concluding chapter on the Seven Dolours of our Blessed Lady, in which each of her dolours is separately considered. An Appendix is added, containing instructions on the erection and the manner of visiting the Stations, or the Via Crucis-that chief devotional exercise in honour of our Saviour's Passion and death. The pious reflections and affections contained in 50 many useful books on the Passion already published, are not introduced into this work, but are left enyirely to the disposition and devotion of the reader; my object being to bring before the mind as clearly and accurately as possible the subject matter for these reflections and affections, as supplied by the details of the history of the Passion. The numerous works already published on the Passion are, for the most part, confined to the domain of piety, and on that account are most valuable and useful to devout souls; but I believe it will be equally useful, for the purpose of pioty and devotion, to study the Passion from a historical and exegetical point of view: Inasmuch as to meditate does not mean to think of nothing, the mind has to be supplied with knowledge derived from history and Scriptural exegesis, that it may be able to profit by the time spent in prayer, and this knowledge is the foundation on which the whole meditation rests. It is, therefore, my earnest hope that this work may serve as a help to devout souls who are accustomed to the practice of daily meditation; that to the faithful in general it may be the means of making the sufferings of our divine Redeemer more known and better understood; and that, in the words of Mgr. Isoard, Bishop of Annecy, a complete history of our Saviour's Passion, well studied and explained, may prove a signal advantage and a great blessing in every Christian parish into which it may be introduced.

THIS is my Rosary: God is so good He giveth this to me, Stead of much food, Much gear of body, gold, or what may be. These beads-Ah, God is kind ITo fashion, trail The fingers of my mind Over their frail, Rough forms, that so my soul may not be blind.

On February 11, the Holy Father delivered one of his practical homilies before the" Pious Union of Roman Women," one of the most flourishing of religious philanthropic societies in Rome. "It, vas a good and beautiful thing [he said] to see ladies devoting their time and their care to the poor, but, voman's greatest influence would always be exercised in her household. Mothers have a divine mission to see to the Christian education of their children; wives have a special power for good over their husbands: for what husband [asked his Holiness] can resist the tender and tactful appeals of a good 'wife, when she urges him to attend his religious duties? And sisters, by their piety and purity, exercise a chastening and subduing influence over brothers, who, otherwise, would be inevitably drawn into the vortex of the world." It is well to premise that there is no thought or intention of making little of woman-quite the contrary; or of supposing that men have not as nlany and as great imperfections as she has. Women seem to excel in at least two noble virtues, unselfishness and devotion. When all men fell away from our Lord in His darkest hour, a few faithful women bravely kept true and close to Him, and gave to Hin1 their full-hearts' sympathy, the help and comfort also which they could. This study will be confined to the ordinary mission of woman called by God to Iive in the world, not to exceptional or individual cases. Under the heading Woman, I place first of all the wife and mother, not excluding, however, daughter and sister. God it is true, as we shall soon see, speaks mostly of the wife, mother, mistress of the home; stil1, at times, of other phases of woman's life. Besides, the education of the daughter should be in the direction of wife and mother, whilst sisters are a great power for good in the home,