Produced by Michael Gray
[Illustration: Christ and the rich young man]
If thou wilt be perfect go sell what thou hast and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven and come follow Me.
--Matt. xix: 21.
WHAT SHALL I BE?
A CHAT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
BY THE
REVEREND FRANCIS CASSILLY, S.J.
"And every one that hath left house, or brothers, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name, shall
receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting." (Matt.
xix: 29)
NEW YORK
THE AMERICA PRESS
1914
IMPRIMI POTEST
A. J. BURROWES, S.J.
_Provincial Missouri Province_
NIHIL OBSTAT
REMEGIUS LAFORT
_Censor_
IMPRIMATUR
JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY
_Archbishop of New York_
COPYRIGHT 1914
BY
THE AMERICA PRESS
LETTER TO THE AUTHOR
FROM REVEREND A. VERMEERSCH, S.J.
Louvain, le 23 fevrier, 1914.
Mon Reverend Pere: P. C.
Votre petit livre me plait extremement. Il expose une doctrine tres
solide avec une merveilleuse clarte. D' une lecture agreable, il
interessera la jeunesse des ecoles, et l'encouragera a faire un choix
genereux d' etat de vie. J' estime que, traduit en flamand et en
francais, il ferait egalement du bien a nos collegiens de Belgique.
Votre devoue en N. S. et M. I.
A. Vermeersch.
TRANSLATION
My Reverend Father:
Your little book pleases me exceedingly. Its doctrine is very sound
and set forth with wonderful clearness. It makes pleasant reading, and
will interest the young of school age, and encourage them to make a
generous choice of a state of life. In my opinion, a Flemish and
French translation would also be profitable to our college students in
Belgium.
Devotedly yours in Our Lord and Mary Immaculate,
A. Vermeersch.
TO THE THOUSANDS
OF TRUE-HEARTED BOYS AND GIRLS
HE HAS BEEN BLESSED TO KNOW
OF WHOM
SOME ARE GONE TO HEAVEN
AND MANY ARE BATTLING FOR THE RIGHT
IN THE SANCTUARY
THE CLOISTER OR THE WORLD
AND WITH ALL OF WHOM
HE HOPES ONE DAY TO BE REUNITED
FOREVERMORE
IN GOD'S OWN COURTS
THIS LITTLE BOOK
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
BY THE AUTHOR
PREFACE
In this little book the writer has aimed to present, in brief and
simple form, sound principles which may assist the young in deciding
their future course of life. The subject of vocation, as it is called,
has suffered much, during the last two or three centuries, at the
hands of rigorist authors, who so hedged the approach to religious
life with difficulties and restrictions, as to frighten or repel many
aspiring hearts from it.
Great stress was laid by these writers on the special interior
attraction, by which God was supposed always to manifest His call, so
that no one might legitimately enter the state of perfection, unless
he felt this unmistakable impulse from within. And on the other hand,
given this evidence of the Divine predilection, to disregard it was a
sinful preferring of one's own will to God's, which, in all
likelihood, would be attended with grave consequences for this world
and the next.
Spiritual writers of the last decade have been rereading the Fathers
and great Theologians upon this subject, and as a result the cobwebs
of misconception are being swept away. The Reverend A. Vermeersch,
S.J., of Louvain, deserves the gratitude of all for his lucid and
convincing treatment of religious vocation, in his "De Religiosis
Institutis et Personis" (Vol. II, Supplement III; also Vol. I, P. 4,
C. I), where he clearly shows from Scripture, the writings of the
Fathers and leading theologians, the true nature of the invitation to
the evangelical life. The reader is also referred to the article on
"Vocation," by the same author, in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Another document throwing light on the subject, is the Decree of July
15, 1912, framed by a special commission of Cardinals appointed to
examine the work of Canon Joseph Lahitton on "La Vocation
Sacerdotale." This Decree, approved by the Holy Father, contains the
following passage: Vocation to the priesthood "by no means consists,
at least necessarily and according to the ordinary law, in a certain
interior inclination of the person, or promptings of the Holy Spirit,
to enter the priesthood. But on the contrary, nothing more is required
of the person to be ordained, in order that he may be called by the
bishop, than that he have a right intention, and such fitness of
nature and grace, as evidenced in integrity of life and sufficiency of
learning, which will give a well-founded hope of his rightly
discharging the office and obligations of the priesthood." This Decree
does away, at once, with the special spiritual attraction, always and
essentially required by so many for vocation to the priesthood.
It may not be rash to conclude, in a similar way, of a religious
vocation "that nothing more is required of the person who is a
candidate for religious life, in order that he may be admitted to the
novitiate by the lawful superior of an order, than that he have a
right intention, and such fitness of nature and grace required by the
order, as will give a well-founded hope of his rightly discharging the
obligations of the religious life in that order."
The present treatise aims at no more than putting in form suitable to
the young the sound conclusions of such reliable authors as Father
Vermeersch, Canon Lahitton and Rev. P. Bouvier, S.J.
As to the advisability of priests, parents and teachers fostering and
developing in the young the desire of a religious life, the words of
St. Thomas are positive: "They who induce others to enter religion,
not only commit no sin, but even merit a great reward." (Summa, 2a,
2ae, Quaest. 189, art. 9.)
And the Third Council of Baltimore, urging priests to develop
vocations to the priesthood, says: "We exhort in the Lord and
earnestly entreat pastors and other priests diligently to search after
and find out, among the boys committed to their care, those who seem
suited and called to the clerical state. If they find any boys of good
disposition, of pious inclination, of devout and generous minds, and
able to learn; who give promise of persevering in the sacred ministry,
let them nourish the zeal of such, and sedulously foster these
precious germs of vocation." (Paragraph 136.)
Priests, teachers, confessors and others who have dealings with the
young, will find it very practical to have at hand several copies of
some reliable booklet on the priesthood and religious life, which they
may give or lend, as occasion offers, to promising boys and girls.
Such books will, at least, make their readers think, and God's grace
frequently acts through the medium of the written or spoken word.
_Creighton University, Omaha,
Easter Sunday, 1914._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I Getting a Start
II Aiming High
III The State of Perfection
IV Who Are Invited?
V Does Christ Want Me?
VI I Feel No Attraction
VII Suppose I Make a Mistake?
VIII The World Needs Me
IX Must I Accept the Invitation?
X I Am Too Young
XI The Priesthood
XII The Teacher's Aureole
XIII Showing the Way
XIV The Parents' Part
XV A Parting Word
CHAPTER I
GETTING A START
Youth is the dream time of life. It views the world through the prism
of fancy, tinting all with rainbow colors. It lives in a creation of
its own, where it rules with magic wand, conjuring into its realm the
beautiful, the heroic and the magnificent, and banishing only the
prosaic and commonplace. To the youthful dreamer, every ruler is
all-powerful, every soldier brave, every fire-fighter a hero, and every
editor a wizard, at whose nod the news of the world flies to the huge
cylinder presses, and then flutters away in white-winged sheets
through town and country.
But gradually, the stern realities of life forcing themselves on the
maturing mind, it realizes that it must choose from the various
activities that make up the sum of human existence. The thoughtful boy
and girl then begin to ask the question, "What shall I be?" or "What
shall I do?" The various walks of life spread out before them like a
maze of tracks in a railway station, all leading away in dwindling
perspective to the witching land of the unknown.
An ambitious boy views with delight the various professions, and
pictures to himself in turn the great deeds and triumphs of the
soldier, the statesman, the lawyer, the physician, the architect, and
finally perhaps the electrician, who plays with the lightning and
harnesses it to the ever-extending service of mankind. All these are
votaries of noble avocations, and he who excels in any one of them is
a hero, and a benefactor of his kind. Every occupation which is useful
to the human race, which contributes to the sum of man's comfort and
happiness, is laudable and worthy an intelligent being. St. Paul was a
tent-maker by trade, and he gloried in the fact that, even during the
days of his apostleship, he was not a burden to others, but supported
himself by the labor of his hands.
Life pursuits rank in dignity and worth, according to the perfection
or benefit they bestow upon the worker himself, and his fellow-man.
Far above the artisan or husbandman, who occupies himself with the
material needs of his neighbor, with providing him food, raiment and
shelter, rise the teacher, writer and professional man, who minister
to the needs of the mind. And highest, perhaps, of natural callings is
the conduct of the government, which gives peace, order and happiness
to entire nations.
But not every pursuit is suited to all dispositions, nor can any one
hope to excel in all trades and professions. The strength of body and
skill of hand required of a mechanic may be lacking to a professional
man, and the long years of study and experience demanded of a
physician are possible to but few. Nature destines some for a life of
action and adventure, for the command of armies or the conquering of
the wilderness; others it dowers with literary tastes, or the power to
thrill an audience or guide a State.
No one is necessarily tied down to any special occupation of life.
According to your disposition and character, your ability and
inclination, education and training, you are free to select any sphere
of action within your reach and opportunity. But this very freedom of
choice sometimes leads to mistakes. One without the proper temperament
or ability, lacking in patience and sympathy, and unable to make a
diagnosis, aims to be a physician, and he becomes only a quack. Many a
one, who aspires to direct the destinies of the State, achieves only
the station of a political subordinate or spoilsman. And one whom
nature destines for the free and independent life of a farmer, often
sentences himself to life imprisonment behind the "cribbed and
cabined" desk of a counting house.
Perhaps the most frequent mistake of young people is to tear
themselves away from school, where they have the opportunity to
prepare themselves for the higher positions of life, and by so doing
deliberately limit themselves to a life of mediocrity. They have an
ambition, but a false one. Eager to enter, though unprepared, the
arena of life and accomplish great deeds, they lack the student's
patience and industry, which would crown them in after years with the
laurel of success.
Be ambitious then, my young friend, aim high in life; endeavor to
achieve something great for yourself and for mankind. You will have
only one life in this world, then make the most of it. Take advantage
of your opportunities. Attend school as long as you can, because
generally the greater your knowledge and learning, your training and
preparation, the higher and wider the career that will open before
you.
All legitimate pursuits of life have been illustrated and adorned by
numberless Christian heroes and heroines, who served God, sanctified
themselves, and brought glory to the Christian name by their fidelity
to duty. Would you be a soldier? Could there be more glorious names
than those of St. Sebastian and St. Martin; the Crusader, Godfrey de
Bouillon, and the Grand Knight of Malta, de la Valette?
Do you long to ride the ocean waves, and brave the tempest? What more
heroic predecessor would you have than the great "Admiral," the
navigator and discoverer, Columbus? If your ambition be to sit in the
councils of State, to steer your country safely through breakers and
shoals, fix your gaze on Sir Thomas More, Daniel O'Connell, Windthorst
or Garcia Moreno--Christian heroes all.