the number and beauty of the banners there displayed, the principal of
which was a large standard in the nave representing the archangel St.
Michael victorious over the dragon. On the balustrade in front of the
altar were hung the sword and banner of General Lamoricière, with his
motto, _In Deo spes mea_. Within the balustrade were erected the two
episcopal thrones. The chapel of St. Michael, which occupies the left
arm of the cross, and in which is the statue of the archangel, was
thickly hung with the banners of the different parishes represented in
the pilgrimage. Among their mottoes were such as these: _Quis ut Deus?_
_Defende nos in periculo_; _Deo soli semper Honor_; _Deo et Patriæ_,
etc. Above these floated the banner of the Sovereign Pontiff. There is
in the same chapel some rich tapestry, the work and offering of the
ladies of Avranches—_les Avranchines_, as they are prettily called in
the country.
In the chapel facing this one, and in the left arm of the cross, are the
two crowns offered to the glorious archangel, the one by the Holy
Father, the other by the faithful of France. The latter, resplendent
with diamonds and other precious stones of great value, is to be used
next year for crowning the statue of St. Michael.
High Mass having been sung by the Bishop of Bayeux, his right reverend
colleague addressed the assembled multitude. Mgr. Germain, although one
of the youngest members of the French episcopate, is also one of the
most eloquent, and owes simply to his merit the rapidity with which he
has risen to be chief pastor of one of the most religious dioceses of
France. As chaplain of the _Lycée_ of Caen, he quickly gained the hearts
of the youth placed under his spiritual care; as _curé_ of the Cathedral
of Bayeux, he made his influence felt in the whole city; and now, as
Bishop of Coutances and Avranches, the influence for good which has
marked each step of his career finds a wider field of action, of which
he does not fail to profit. With a few words from his discourse, which
are a summary of the whole, we conclude:
“The days in which we live find the church still engaged in a warfare
similar to that which St. Michael, the champion of God, sustained
against the rebel angels. Still the same revolt continues, and man has
learnt from Satan to declare, ‘_Non serviam!_’ As children of God and of
his church, let it be our happiness, as it is our privilege, to _obey_.
God and his church having an authoritative claim on our obedience, let
us see that ours shall resemble that of the blessed angels, which is
loving, intelligent, thorough, and prompt.”
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NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE LIFE OF MARIE LATASTE, Lay Sister of the Congregation of the Sacred
Heart. With a brief notice of her sister Quitterie. London: Burns &
Oates. (For sale by The Catholic Publication Society Co.)
The history of the church is marked at intervals by the appearance of
favored souls whose wonderful gifts of the supernatural order fully
attest the holiness which our divine Lord has willed should be the
pre-eminent attribute of his blessed spouse. These manifestations of
sanctity in individual souls have, besides, a special reference to the
wants of those times in which they appear. When rapacity and luxurious
wastefulness characterized the upper classes of French society, Almighty
God raised up St. Vincent de Paul, the grand apostle of charity, to
rebuke men’s hardness of heart towards their poor and suffering
fellow-creatures. So likewise, in an era of spiritual torpor and
cowardice, he gave to the world that prince of spiritual warriors,
Ignatius of Loyola, and his devoted band of spiritual heroes to awaken
men from their lethargy. Our own times are a period of intellectual
pride, of contempt for spiritual things, and a corresponding exaltation
of the material order; and divine Providence has seen fit to confound
this dangerous spirit by working great things through weak instruments,
and by proposing new devotions which demand an increased exercise of
faith. As there is nothing more opposed to the peculiar spirit of the
world of to-day than devotion to the Real Presence, the Sacred Heart,
and the Blessed Virgin Mary, so the church directs the attention of her
faithful children to these objects of pious veneration with renewed
fervor, and God himself attests her wisdom by many wonderful signs
having reference to these three goals of spiritual life. No doubt it was
with such intent that he bestowed those extraordinary favors on the
simple peasant girl of Mimbaste, Marie Lataste, which, studied in the
light of worldly philosophy, confound and bewilder, but which, viewed as
part of God’s supernatural economy, cannot fail to edify and encourage
the devout Christian.
Marie Lataste was born in the department of the Landes in 1822, and died
a lay sister of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart in the year 1847;
so of her it may be said that she compressed a long career of virtue
into a brief compass of time, and earned by intensity of work the crown
which is most frequently won by many years of laborious effort. No
sooner had she made her First Communion than our divine Lord began to
attract her most powerfully to himself as he exists in the sacrament of
the altar. As a little girl she had been wilful and rebellious, and with
difficulty was brought to study her catechism and the merest rudiments
of learning. Indeed, her schooling never went beyond the art of reading
and writing, so that the wonderful theological and ascetic knowledge
which her letters disclose cannot be otherwise regarded than as revealed
to her by God. After her First Communion a wonderful change was made
manifest in her. Thenceforth her sole delight was to commune for long
hours at a time with our divine Lord in the tabernacle, to converse
familiarly with him, and to hold him for ever in her thoughts. She was
never easy when other occupations kept her aloof from him, and when
released from these she sped to him again with all the ardor which could
impel a loving heart. Nor did our Lord fail to reward in a signal manner
this intensity of devotion to the sacrament of his love. One day,
towards the close of the year 1839, as Marie was repairing to the
village church to perform her usual acts of adoration, a mysterious but
irresistible force hurried her along; earthly objects faded from her
view, the Spirit of God filled her soul, and when she entered the sacred
edifice she beheld our Lord himself upon the altar, surrounded by his
angels. “She did not,” the recital states, “see him at first with
perfect distinctness. A thin cloud, like an almost imperceptible veil,
appeared partially to conceal him from her sight.... At last Jesus
descended from the altar and approached, calling her benignantly by name
and raising his hand to bless her. Then she beheld him with perfect
clearness in the brilliant light with which he was invested.” “From that
moment,” she said, “the society of mankind has never ceased to be
displeasing to me; I should wish to fly from them for ever and shut
myself up in the tabernacle with him.” Thus did her interior life at
once ascend to the highest plane of sanctity, and she, the poor, almost
illiterate peasant girl, began to experience those intimate dealings and
relations with our divine Lord which are usually deemed to be the
prerogative of the greatest saints—of those in whom supreme holiness
goes hand in hand with profound knowledge.
But it is a well-known characteristic of the divine economy to select
feeble instruments for its higher operations and manifestations, and in
this manner to confound human presumption and to put our pride of
intellect to the blush. “Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones.” And if ever it pleased
Almighty God to show forth his power through the humblest of his
creatures, he seems to delight in doing so at the present time. He
permits our philosophers to split hairs over the subtleties of
evolution, to wander in perplexity through the mazy intricacies in which
they have enveloped themselves, whilst he reveals the undreamt wonders
of his wisdom to the lowly and simple-minded. Father Faber has happily
designated a too common class of Christians as “viewy”—_i.e._, holding
opinions which are but the reflection and expression of their petty
egotism. Such was not the case with Marie Lataste; she was simplicity
itself, and our Lord favored her accordingly. She sat at his feet as
meek and docile a pupil as ever listened to the words of an instructor,
and he poured into her heart the treasures of his wisdom. It is truly
wonderful to read the profound sentiments with which her letters abound,
and to reflect that she, a girl barely able to read and write, has given
expression to the most abstruse and difficult points of dogmatic
theology with correctness, clearness, and force, and has left behind her
precepts for our spiritual guidance which savor of the wisdom and
prudence of the most consummate masters of the spiritual life. Many
things in her letters may appear strained because of the minuteness with
which she describes her visions of spiritual things, unless they are
scanned with the eye of faith. But both internal and external evidences
of the genuineness of the apparitions with which she was favored, and of
the absolute reliability of her statements, are so numerous that in the
face of them to doubt is to question the validity of all human
testimony. There can be no doubt that God has vouchsafed to our
generation this beautiful picture of a soul thoroughly united to himself
in order that our pride may be abashed, our faith strengthened, and our
love for him, because of his manifold mercies towards us, increased. The
style of the book is attractive, and whoever reads it cannot fail to
reap a large share of edifying knowledge.
A POPULAR LIFE OF POPE PIUS THE NINTH. By Rev. Richard Brennan, A.M. New
York: Benziger Brothers. 1877.
THE LIFE OF POPE PIUS IX. By John Gilmary Shea. New York: Thomas Kelly.
1877.
A LIFE OF PIUS IX., DOWN TO THE EPISCOPAL JUBILEE. By Rev. Bernard
O’Reilly. New York: P. F. Collier. 1877.
The appearance within the space of a few months of three extended and
elaborate biographies of His Holiness Pius IX., some of which have
already run into two or three editions, is a fact most significant of
the deep interest which is taken by the reading public of America in
everything connected with the venerable head of the church on earth. The
length of years vouchsafed the present successor of St. Peter, his own
illustrious character, and the preternatural malice of his enemies have
naturally heightened the curiosity regarding him of the non-Catholic
portion of the community, while his piety, benevolence, and
long-suffering have endeared him to the hearts of all true children of
the church. The magnificent displays of Catholic sympathy and loyalty to
the Holy See which everywhere characterized the celebration of his late
episcopal Jubilee have also increased the popular demand for information
concerning the life of a man who, morally and officially, is
acknowledged to be the foremost in Christendom. Judging by the volumes
before us, it will not be the fault of our Catholic writers if this
laudable desire remain long unsatisfied. Each of these valuable works,
written by gentlemen of varied accomplishments and qualifications for
the task, is, in style, mode of treatment, and selection of matter,
different from the others; yet all present the same leading facts and
reproduce the same vivid scenes which have rendered so instructive and
dramatic the long and eventful life of the Holy Father.
Father Brennan’s book, justly called a popular life of the great Pope,
is written in a simple, concise, yet comprehensive manner, with little
attempt at ornamentation or philosophic deduction. The author evidently
intended that his work should be read and understood by persons of
average intelligence as well as by those of higher mental gifts. He has
therefore aimed at telling the story of Pius IX.’s life plainly and
consecutively, without departing to the right or left, except when
absolutely compelled to do so in order to elucidate what is yet but
imperfectly understood in the policy of the Catholic powers of Europe.
While stating conscientiously the details of a career so full of changes
and reverses of fortune, he succeeds in placing before us the true
lineaments of his august subject in all their simplicity and beauty of
expression. This is more particularly observable in the chapter on “The
Supernatural Life of the Pope,” which will doubtless be read with great
satisfaction by those who consider the Sovereign Pontiff a providential
man; and by such as do not, with respect and admiration. It is to be
regretted that Father Brennan had not given at length an account of
proceedings in Rome and the Catholic world generally for the past few
years, thus completing an otherwise very full and instructive biography.
Mr. Shea has also succeeded in producing a very readable life of the
Holy Father, though we do not think he has done full justice to his own
merits as an accomplished and painstaking writer. There are evident
marks of haste throughout his pages which, though they do not seriously
interfere with the continuity or authority of the work, are apt to
produce an unsatisfactory impression on the minds of critical readers.
His _Life of Pope Pius IX._ will, however, have its admirers; for,
excepting these slight defects, it is a book that will interest the
general reader, no matter what may be his opinions or prepossessions,
written as it is by an intelligent layman whose reputation as an author
has long since been established in this country and in Europe.
The Rev. Father O’Reilly’s biography is, however, not only more
voluminous and more ample in its details than either of the preceding,
but it is enriched by copious extracts from encyclical letters and other
important documents, the proper understanding of which necessarily
belongs to the elucidation of the history of Pius IX.’s pontificate.
Apart from its completeness and elegance of style, its chief
distinguishing feature is the insight it gives us into the policy and
designs of contemporary rulers and conspirators in France, Italy, and
Germany in their attempts on the integrity of the church, and their
underhand alliances with the secret societies to effect their evil
purposes. Only a man who has had personal knowledge of the actors who
figured in the bloody drama of “United Italy,” and an intimate
acquaintance with their present and prospective strategy, could unfold
to the public gaze, in all its base enormity, the culpable indifference
of the men who professed the greatest regard for the sovereign of the
states of the church, and the insidious schemes of the modern champions
of liberty, whose sole and whole object is the disruption of all forms
of government under which civil and religious freedom would be possible.
This it is that makes Father O’Reilly’s book not only interesting but
highly instructive; for, to a certain extent at least, it furnishes us
with a key to the enigma of European Continental politics which we
Americans, happily removed from kingcraft and secret terrorism, so much
require. The venerable and venerated Chief Pastor of the church has been
fortunate in his American biographers, and we have little doubt that he
will find some solace in his afflictions in the thought that three among
our writers have almost simultaneously devoted their pens to recording
the incidents of his life and defending his rights as a spiritual and
temporal sovereign.
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE MEDICO-LEGAL SOCIETY UPON SCHOOL
HYGIENE. New York: Terwilliger. 1876.
Few subjects are of more engrossing importance than the conditions
requisite for the physical well-being of the rising generation; and as
our embryo men and women spend a very large portion of their lives in
school-rooms, it becomes a serious matter to determine whether these
nurseries of learning are constructed in such a manner as to consist
with the highest possible health standard. The investigations undertaken
by Dr. R. I. O’Sullivan and his fellow-committeemen at the instance of
the Medico-Legal Society reveal a condition which is truly startling.
Oxygen is the life of our life-blood, and, if it is not supplied in the
requisite quantity, the human system becomes predisposed to every
disease and the foundation of a lifetime of misery is laid. Yet it is
notorious that the arrangements of our much-vaunted school buildings go
far short of ensuring a sufficient supply of this life-sustaining gas.
Much of this deplorable lack of suitable arrangements is the result of
ignorance. Many self-constituted sanitarians deem loftiness of ceiling
to be the main and, indeed, the only condition required to ensure proper
ventilation and a sufficient supply of air. They accordingly build
without referenced horizontal breathing-space, in the absurd belief that
all foul air ascends and is got rid of, some way or other. Now, the
truth, says the report, is “that a lofty ceiling only makes that portion
of space above the tops of the windows a receptacle for foul air, which
accumulates and remains to vitiate the stratum below.” This is of itself
a proof that a scientific supervision of our school buildings is the
only guarantee we can have that the health of the children will be
properly considered. The quantity of carbonic acid gas given off at each
expiratory effort is far in excess of what our amateur sanitarians
imagine; and when school buildings are erected without due regard for
the diffusion of this deadly emanation, we must not be surprised to see
our schools filled with pale and stunted children. In addition to the
carbonic acid gas other deleterious exhalations of the human body poison
crowded rooms, and are especially the cause of the peculiarly offensive
and stuffy odor at which healthy olfactories revolt. Who that has
entered one of our city public school class-rooms, between the hours of
two and three in the afternoon, has failed to experience this
disagreeable sensation? Yet physiology, as well as common sense, tells
us that this effete organic matter which is constantly escaping from the
lungs and from every pore of the skin is eminently injurious to health.
Not only this, but in certain crowded portions of the city the adjoining
streets and buildings lend their quota of noxious effluvia to the
poisonous agents mentioned. The committee visited “one of the newest,
best-arranged, and best-appointed schools in the city, and found it
overcrowded and unventilated, tainted throughout the halls, and at
times, by way of the fan-lights over the doors in the class rooms, odors
arising from the latrines in the basement, which are emptied only once
or twice a week.” In this model school-house only from thirty-three to
forty-one cubic feet of air are allowed to each child, while nature
vigorously clamors for at least eight hundred feet in the twenty-four
hours.
In the second report read by Dr. R. I. O’Sullivan we are invited to
contemplate a picture which but faintly reveals the evil effects that
the early overcrowding exercises in after-days over the adult
population: “Look around us in public assemblies, and see in those
scarcely entering middle life the evidence of physical decline, the
prematurely bald and gray, the facial muscles photographing the wearied
brain and overtaxed nervous system.” Few can fail to realize, on due
reflection, how much of the terrible truth of this picture is
attributable to the bad condition of our school-houses. The conclusion
is plain that the judgment of the trained sanitarian is of vital
importance in the erection of school buildings, and that, until the
necessity of his sage interposition is recognized by the Department of
Public Instruction, diseases, the result of early confinement in close
and crowded schools, which are quite preventible, will continue to
prevail among us.
GOD THE TEACHER OF MANKIND: A plain, comprehensive explanation of
Christian Doctrine. By Michael Müller, C.SS.R. New York, Cincinnati,
and St. Louis: Benziger Bros. 1877.
CATECHISM OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, for Academies and High Schools. With
the approbation of the Most Rev. J. Roosevelt Bayley, D.D.,
Archbishop of Baltimore. Intermediate No. III. Benziger Bros. 1877.
This is a most useful and comprehensive book, clear and definite in its
plan, popular and interesting in its style. It is divided into two
parts. Part I. deals with “The Enemies of the Church” from the beginning
down to our own times. These enemies Father Müller sets down in the
order of time as “Heathenism,” “Heresy,” and “Freemasonry.” Part II. is
occupied with showing what in these days of vague beliefs and religious
indifferentism it is most important to show—namely, that God himself is
the teacher of mankind, and therefore that his voice must be listened to
and obeyed. The church is the voice of God on earth; consequently, the
everlasting object of the enemies of God is to silence and destroy the
church. These avowed enemies were in the old days the heathen; later on
the heretics. A deadlier foe than either, and combining the evil
elements of both, the author points out to-day as Freemasons, the term
covering, of course, all forms of secret oath-bound societies.
Father Müller’s sketch of Freemasonry is very extensive. For his charges
against the societies comprehended under that head he relies mainly on
Masonic documents and publications. Amid a vast amount of rubbish and
jargon in the official rites and ceremonies of Masonry is plainly
discernible a distinct purpose and plan, which can be considered none
other than the destruction of all fixed belief in God and his
revelation, in his church, and in the order of society and government
founded on that belief. To expose this conspiracy against God and
man—for such it is, and nothing less—is as much a service to any
civilized state as it is to the direct cause of religion. On this
account we do not think that in a book intended as much for ordinary
readers as for those who are better instructed Father Müller has been at
all wasteful in the large amount of space devoted to this portion of his
subject. There is a tendency sometimes to pooh-pooh Masonry as a
convenient scarecrow. Yet those who have noted the march of events in
Europe within the century, and particularly within the latter half of
it, will discover a startling resemblance between events as they have
occurred, and as it was desired they should occur according to the
programmes laid down beforehand by the leaders of the secret societies.
The church does not waste her excommunications, and the fact that these
societies have been again and again solemnly condemned by her ought to
be sufficient warning against any Catholic joining, not simply societies
which are avowedly Masonic, but secret societies of any kind whatever. A
good and lawful society has no need of secrecy.
The second and more important portion of the book is taken up with what
is really a most lucid and careful explanation of that portion of the
catechism which refers more especially to God and the church. The
questions and answers in the catechism are necessarily brief, and the
explanation of the answers is left to the teacher. The teacher,
unfortunately, is not always as instructed as he or she might be,
without at all being a paragon of learning. For such, as indeed for all,
this portion of Father Müller’s book will be of the greatest assistance.
Here, for instance, is a question in the catechism: “How do we know that
Jesus Christ is the promised Redeemer and the Son of God?” Now, upon a
right answer to this and a thorough comprehension of the answer depends
a Christian’s faith. The answer in the catechism is: “We learn it, 1,
from the mouths of the prophets; 2, from the declarations of the angels;
3, from the testimony of his heavenly Father; and 4, from his own
testimony.” A correct reply, doubtless; but simply to give such an
answer to the ordinary student of whatever age is to speak to him almost
in an unknown tongue, while to saddle the average Sunday-school teacher
with a clear and comprehensive explanation of the answer is quite to
overweight him.