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Show I I ; P""1 - ' "This is the 1 -h P Church 'Zlnmrsdl CHURCH CALENDAR. X I Friday, Jan. 1 Circumcision. Saturday, Jan. i Oct. of St. Stephen., St. Ma-. 0 j H"ius. ' '. R Sunday, Jan. J Oct. of St. John. St. Ge'ne- y I tk-vo. Gal. iv, 1-7; G. Luke ii, 33-40. i Monday, Jan. 4 St. Gregory. j Tuesday, Jan. .j St. Simeon Stylitcs. J Wednesday, Jan. 6 Epiphanj-. ' I Thursday, J an., 7 St. Lucia'n;v-f : . J Friday, Jan. S Sti Apollinaris. Saturday, Jan. 9 SS. Julian and Basilissa. I NO MOKE. The gold that flushed the waters lias faded all away, i And Niht has wrapped the mountains X In veils of solemn gray; " '-, Q I With clinging steps we linger O 1 Uron the dreary shore. And look across the ocv:an C j For sails that come no more. ; P "VYTien life was in its splendor, Q 1 And hearts were brave and higV 0 With sunshine on the water Q I And summer in the sky, x I Our ships, with (spreading canvas X . i Went bounding from the shore, - v O But years and years departed, C ' And yet they came no more. -' ' Q f ;t- X What buoyant hopes and fancies, n I What flaflshing gems untold, O 5 Within our gallant vessels V 1 Across the billows rolled! V I O winds in might so cruel, X ; O sea with angry roar, Q i Where have you swept oar treasures? Q J Why do they come no more? ! And when busy day is over And night with soothing balm . . I Smoothes out the brow's deep furroughs I And tarings the spirit calm j , """It seems a mournful pleasure j To look from life's dull shore i Across the past's broad ocea.n For ships that come no more. . i i-Mary A. Ford (Uua. j AMERICANS AND THE CHTJECH. 5 The Religious Situation in the United States. Our American people are a people of education. . They are a religious people They are seeking I higher standards, imitating better ideals. The ma- I j"rity in some way aim for a higher life, the Christ life. They are yearning for knowledge. This is a healthy appetite in a people; for it imports an I awakening and an opening of minds and hearts 1 1' ihe higher "thing-"' of life. Every department I f knowledge contributes to the popularizing and J humanizing of truth and assists in guiding the 5 "multitude"' to the higher life. Education which I might be utilized by a Julian tto deflect and even bar the official way to knowledge of Christ today is J dissipating the mists and fogs of religious preju- dice than hung over the "multitude " and is di- f reoting them' to seek the highest truth and its of- ! Jicial teacher. f .Today wlnle the : walls of Protestant Church f organizations are admittedly insecure and in need j f props, while many have deserted the pews, it is I a delusion to imagine that they arc abandoning ' religion. They are abandoning the inconsistent I formulas and undigested dogmas; bill they are " fulllowiug tlie light of their-conscience, they1 are v adoring in the temple of the hearts. They are DO ii ilmging for the light of the way. They are seek- S ' iiing for the freedom, truth and peace of Christ. Q i They want a higher life, nobler living, and they X ' want it more abttndantly. They have not looked i O I inward the Catholic Church; they have not discov- rod the way nor known the truth nor lived the life O 5 hti 1 fullness; not beqause of unwillingness, but 0 ;; va''tly because of language, our expressions and q i'Y formulas had no signification for their irn- 0 iriiined minds, partly .because of the lack of intcl- q ; I'gejice and charity in some of the household of 0 faith; partly because it was felt that the Cath- Q 'H Church would destroy their beliefs, their de- 0 j voi ions and their -spiritual life. The Catholic Q 1 ("mirch. the official teacher of the way, the truth O I mkI 1 life, stands today as she never stood, with Q ihe ideals of Christ, with the standards of Christ, ' Q I with the knowledge and truth and love of Christ. q ; She is the teacher and educator. She was com- V missioned t feed the "other sheep.' to teach all Q ; iliings Jesus commanded. Christ came "not to Q destroy, hut to save." His Church, likewise, does C ! not pull down, but builds; it does not destroy, but 0- fulfills and perfects. This missionary movement ! of ihe Church towards non-Catholics is an educa- ; tional one. It. is bearincr to the multitude of other I siiopp the fullness of Christs message, the nolder 5 living, the higher ideal. It is not a discussion; it 5 i an assertion. It has exposed much error and ex- phnned much truth. It has done much to popular- p for this generation the great verities o,f Christ. t has striven to adjust and accommodate the lan- piage and expressions of Catholic truth to ihe 1 i-i'senT-day minds and hearts of non-Catholics. This movement of the Church aims, not to extin- ,' j:nish thfir spiritual life, but to nourish it; not dost. i.y their devotion, but to -increase it; not i" abolish iheir faith, but to perfect it. The Mis- f fch'iiary. . - - THE CATHOLIC PAPER IN THE HOME. I Who can estimate ihe influence .on a fan-ily of J 'aiholic paper that is taken into their home every v'.-.-k for, say, ten years t I Its instructive articles on the doctrines of the I :aith, its elucidation of correct principles . of ' ac- j i '!!. its inspiring thoughts, its devotional features, -J 4 i,e incitements to the practice of piety and the jt . highest t-pe of the Christian life, its record of, the f "rials and triumphs of the Church, its news of the ! 1 hors. sacrifices and needs of the missionaries reaching the Gospel in heathen lands, its Cath- lit comments on questions of the. day, etc., etc. . '; : these ideas 'cannot help -but affect the minds ; m direct the motives, and shape the Qonduct of . j 3's readers. j The Catholic paper- is, therefore, a power for j j ood. It makes an impression on the family as a I Mhole, as well as on its individual members. ' The j homes into which it goes are usually noted for the . S regular reception of the Sacraments, for the per- formance of every parish duty, for unusual respect I fr the clergy and for a loyal, intelligent and open "" profession of religion. j The 4 cents a week that a Catholic paper costs I i the money from which a family gets the most benefit of "any of its expenses that are not of obli- 1 nation. I 1 ACTRESSES OF FIFTY YEARS AGO AND NOW. I i Lovely Mary Gannon played in the best theatres ! f New York fifty years ago, and her pictures may i si ill be found in the collections of theatrical celebri- I 1,s. An old priest is authority for the statement that she was as good as she was clever and beau- i if ul, i hat her manners were .refined arid charm- i lrr. and that she died in the bosom of the Church I filter an honorable Calholic life. She was an Irish rir plump, dignified, even stately, if her por- i t'ans arelo be trusted. The modern actress gets Iter photograph-with such complexity that the 5ac-e Incomes a puzzle to find. Lovely Mary Gan- ( P 'I m aS 1''"V '"ae ncr wien Buchanan was presi- ) ( 'tent, stands in her pictpre like a Roman matron f aiiK'suc, simply clad -and beautiful. She played I 5u the fctrangc plays of -the period.. .Their very. s ' ' b names are. forgotten outside of the playbills, and we Have no means" of estimating her ability except ex-cept if rom her popularity. She was nearly contemporary con-temporary with Laura Keene, the actress man- - arer.' whose celebrity has never been, surpassed,, even in these press, agent. days; for Laura, besides having been a fine actress and a successful manager, man-ager, won a place in history in connection with the assassination of President Lincoln. On that fatal fa-tal 'night she was playing her part in "The Ameri? can Cousin," at Fiord's." theatre,.' Washington, with the president and his wife as part, of her audience. When Booth leaped -to the stage after the frightful fright-ful crime, ZUiss Keene hastened to the president's box and held his head ii; her lap while the horrified horri-fied attendants did what was possible for his relief. re-lief. , On the beautiful dress which she wore the great man's life-blood left an indelible stain, and Laura Keene kept the relic while she lived, reverently reverent-ly passing it on to a friend before her death. Miss . Keene was a convert to the faith, and died with ' the grace of the sacraments after an eminent and successful career. Very few people ever knew that Georgie Drew Barrymore was a Catholic, and left the legacy of the faith to her three children. She was the daugh- . lerof the noted Irish, comedian, John Drew, and his still more famous wife, Mrs. John Drew, and undoubtedly the cleverest member of the famous Drew family. She married Lionel Barrymore, the son of: "an Angelican clergyman, a great leading man for many years, now dying of brain trouble in a sanitarium. She became a convert to the faith while traveling in England, . and died some ten years ago in California of nervous prostration. Her two boys were educated in Seton Hall col--lege. ..and,, her daughter has- Avon as great prominence promi-nence as her mother, both on the stage and in , social life, .isqne.of .jQharles Frohmau's stars. Her son, Lionel, hi his uncle's company last sea-' sea-' son, won favdrable notice by his acting of a character char-acter rpart. Mrs. Barrymare's last appearance -in -' Xew-York was with Crane, in "The Senator," a successful suc-cessful play in which she shone as the widow. She remained a devoted Catholic to the last, and her three children seem to have inherited both her faith and her talent. j, We look at these matters more sensibly now-: now-: adays. Instead of 'crushing what we dislike, we . reform it. We guide the social instincts, having learned that we cannot suppress them. The novel now enjoys a place in the household, the dance has become ordinary, the play is a subject for table talk, the actor dines with us, and universities confer con-fer degrees on managers "and playwrights. - Sir Henry Irving! Sir Gilbert Parker! Sir Waltcr Besant! There are names and titles for you! And at last we Catholics have become proud of our Catholic actors, and are willing to admit their ability to keep the ten commandments and get to heaven, if they choose. Our condescension is hard-ly hard-ly appreciated. They have seen too many cold t shoulders inrJast. years to be charmed suddenly at : 1 . - ts i ! f I.--: l. - tine signi oi smiling ices loosing over me same cold shoulders. . Who were these Catholic actors of the long 'ago? -Who are our Catholic actors today? to-day? The record is long and remarkable, but no one has gathered the precise .detajls. John Talbot Tal-bot Smith -in Dohahob's. v. . - THE HAPPY MOTHER. Two small, bright eyes, two little hands, two feet; -- A yoioe that, croons, so lustily . -, , - These were the gifts flung from God's pure, "white hand, u .That made her crown of Motherhood complete. j - : Outside the walls of that lone stable drear , The lambkins watched so drearily; The shepherd's prayer stole o'er the empty world; "Be still, sad heart; yon Babe will quell thy fear!" The moon passed by so silently and -jslow; He bowed his 'head so wearily To catch the music of that lullaby; So sweet it was and he was loth to go. " I The etars stole in and kissed that little face; , The winds sang, oh, so cheerily; " - A Mother-heart was filled with eestacy; It built its heaven in that lowly place. I And M.ary took the bpeninsr rose, so still, To her warm breast, glad, tenderly. Love was too sweet, she did not feel the thorn So eoon to sting her heart on Calv'ry's hill. William J. Fischer. OUR BURDENS. Who is there that hath not a burden.' who that stands in no need of relief? The burden of ignorance ig-norance weighs heavy on one man. He finds him--self lamentably in the dark with regard to many most important things. The burden of responsibility responsi-bility weighs upon another. The burden of some fsocret failty,- some unconquerable weakness, op-i op-i presses another. The burden of doubt is rushing to this tormented soul. The burden of mortality, the fear of death, is more than another can hear. The burden of levity and thoughtlessness is heav-Vier-todnie'than-i.s generally supposed. To one and all the command is: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord." He will not. move your burden so that you : will have nothing to do no moreneed of Him but he will sustain you. He will administer sup-; port. . A ; . . |
