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Show Tomorrow is Passion Sunday a feast for which all Catholics should have a most profouud reverence. . 4 Victory after victory is being scored against the Balfour ministry in England. Its inglorious , c-iid seems desperately near at hand. The little Japs are not yet called upon to dic- tate terms of peace. Russia's bruin has not yet ' f bhcathed his claws for a season of hibernation. f , . : It is stated that there is danger that the owncr- t ship of the Grotto of Lourdes will be confiscated I by ihe athiestic government of France. May God I ; forbid! 1 I Lowly station and toil-stained raiment are not the popularly recognized corollaries of gentility; yet, noble bearing never had more becoming . setting.. j ' The man who would disdain" prayer when in sorrow or danger is on a par with him who would refuse to light the torch when overwhelmed with J darkness. - - I Xow that the predatory officers of the Equitable .1 Life Assurance Society arc wrangling among them- I selves, will the honest men the policy holders I get their duos? I 4 I . Self-mastery is the 'acme of human achicve- I nicnt. The practices enjoined by Mother Church j for this holy season of Lent are powerful aids in I its attainment.. - 1 Pace to face with the ever-living God! JTis thither we are, each and every one, consciously or 1 unconsciously, but with absolute and dread cer- I tainty, drifting. How shall we be prepared for this ! momentous and awful encounter? I 4 : ' Probably the most vital feature in connection 1 tv it li the municipal ownership of public utilities l that the people of Chicago will have to consider is J tlie rate of interest on the bonds that must be is- , I sued in acquiring Ihe properties. Anything in ex- ! I' j -'ss of three per cent, per annum would foist an ! unjust burden upon the city." The rate of interest allowed to capital is the fundamental problem in the. proper distribution of the wealth produced by i the toiling masses. 4- Kadiant and buoyant sanctity, not morbid, morose or peevish sanctimoniousness, is the Catholic Catho-lic ideal. The devout Christian, consciously harboring har-boring within hLs heart of hearts the God of all-comprehending all-comprehending love, good-will and holy joy, should present to the world a contcnance beaming with good cheer and fellowship. It is thus that he would captivate the hearts of his fellow-mortals and, consciously or unconsciously, lead them to the portals of the realms of everlasting blessedness. Archbishop Glcnnon of St. Louis has inaugur-I inaugur-I ated a praiseworthy enterprise, which shall be the j . means of directing the Catholic element in the vast I ' tide of immigration now directed towards our I shores to homes in the west and southwest, where ihey may be provided with the ministrations and I safeguards of their holy religion, whilst being re- I moved from the baneful influences and the physical I dangers and hardships of the congested centers of f the ca.st. This movement merits the active co- I operation of the faithful in all parts of the coun-. try. It is to be hoped that Bishop Glennon will J direct his attention to the superior advantages af- forded by the undeveloped districts of the inter- i mountain region. The climatic conditions of this section of the country offer unexcelled inducements induce-ments to' industrious and enterprising colonists, and our people would particularly welcome the frugal and law-abiding class of emigrants fortified with the faith and morals of the Catholic religion. The enthusiastic receptions accorded President Roosevelt during his recent tour by the sons and daughters of the Sunny South is a demonstration of how sensitively responsive is the heart of the average American citizen to true worth and Godliness God-liness of character. This great American nation is, at the core, genuinely Christian, and needs but to be led aright to manifest this glorious truth. How difficult it is to stem the tide of an adverse ad-verse public opinion, when once aroused, and to escape just retribution, when it has finally espied its quarry! The acceptance of Rockefeller's donation dona-tion by the Missionary Board, instead of serving the purpose of stilling the storm of public indignation, indig-nation, has only served to add momentum to its ominous rumbling. The denunciations heaped upon the recipient, must be fortified by convicting the donor! " T Much has been written in justand seemly praise of Pather John A. O'Rourke's devoted heroism and self -sacrifice in his loving and arduous ministrations ministra-tions to the victims of the horrible boiler cxploson at Brockton, Mass. In an editorial the Boston Pilot commends as follows: "The grandest thing about Father O'Rourke's action is that it represents simply what we may call the priestly instinct." Yes, indeed; to those of us familiar with the " priestly character, this heroic, conduct will bg ac- ; cepted simply and purely, as "a matter of course." 1- The Rev. William .1. Kerby, S. T. L. Ph. I)., associate as-sociate professor of sociology in th.': Catholic Uni- Iversity, in a recent discussion of the ethics of gaming gam-ing before the Contemporary Club of Philadelphi i appealed to his hearers to aid in banishing all games played for money or prizes. This practice, whilst not essentially sinful, is vicious in its tendencies. ten-dencies. It is one of the social vices of the day that insiduously tend to blunt our finer moral perceptions per-ceptions and thas render us incapable of properly responding to the dictates of the higher ethical ideals presented to us by the Christian religion. . What is more irresistably charming than womanly wo-manly grace, purity and loveliness, radiating and dispensing the divine light and sweet aroma of intellectual in-tellectual and emotional piety? What more admirable ad-mirable and inspiring than manly vigor and intellectuality,, intel-lectuality,, prostrate before the altar of God in rapt communion and adoration, seekiug thence light, strength and guidance for a life of holiness to be pursued in the midst of worldly world-ly distractions? Of such is the leaven of our American society, and, it is to be hoped even as tho God of righteousness and holiness reigns within, around and above us their benign influence will ultimately accomplish the salvation of this passion-racked passion-racked and tempest-tossed sea of humanity. , S In his letter to Cardinal Svampa, Archbishop of Bologna, condemning the attitude of the Autonomous Au-tonomous Christian Democracy of Italy, the Holy Father employes language that admits of no misconstruction. mis-construction. The members of that organization seem incapable of recognizing the obvious distinction distinc-tion between the just and proper exercise of individual in-dividual political liberty on the part of Catholics, which has never been called into question, and the consistent attitude of a public organization, ostensibly representing Catholic society. For the latter to openly and formally avow its independence of ecclesiastical co-operation and influence is. as llis Holiness so clearly and forcibly elucidates, a manifest absurdity and impiety. Cain, the aboriginal fratricide; Judas' Iscoriot, the universally despised betrayer of his Divine Lord and Master; Benedict Arnold, the most justly and intensely hated traitor to country, and all the aboriginal free-booters, pirates and other ruthless despoilers of the public, might have made an equally valid plea in justification of their crimes as that made by Mr. Rogers in behalf of the Standard Oil company, i. e., that they had violated no formal statutory enactments. This fact does not, however, secure them immunity from tho consequences con-sequences of their flagrant transgressions. Nor should such a pittifully puerile plea avail this industrial in-dustrial monster. It is now squirming on the rack of incensed public sentiment, and the screws should be so drastically applied that its escape with any of the iniquitous plunder will prove utterly impossible. im-possible. k "The Prince and the Pauper" In the spiritual realmn the first is typical of the man who though impoverished, humble and despised by his undis-cerning undis-cerning fellow-men has enriched his immortal koul with the divine graces so lavinshly dispensed by Holy Church by means of her holy ordinances, her magnificent sacraments and the ineffable Sacrifice Sac-rifice of the Mass. The last by. the man who though revelling in opulence and heavy-laden, v.ivh , worldly honors; with social, political, royal or ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical preferment and distinctions has arrogantly arro-gantly disdained or fatuously neglected to accept unto his immortal soul these priceless gifts of God: II is choicest, most muuificient and most precious dispensation to the human' race. Ah, verily, '"What profiteth it a man to gain the whole world if he lose his immortal soul" since the enjoyment of the world is of so flectingly transitory a character and the life of the soul is for all eternity! Walter Wellman, the noted newspaper correspondent, corre-spondent, charges that Mover and Haywood, respectively re-spectively socialistic president and secretary of the Western Federation of Miners, incited the disastrous disas-trous Cripple Creek and Telluridc strikes for the purpose of filling the coffers oLthat organization with funds mulcted from the Labor Unions of tho count ry. Mr. Wellman cites a conversation had with Haywood in corroboration of this charge, and Mr. Gompers, the veteran and esteemed labor-unionist, labor-unionist, justly evinces much righteous indignation indigna-tion at the dastardly outrage. It is due the accused to state that Mr. Haywood denies the charge, but the puLlic will probably accept Mr. Gompers' viev of the affair. These revolutionary-socialistic pro-podangists pro-podangists are, as a rule, animated by the seme pernicious spirit of ruthless self -aggrandisement as that which controls the predatory plutocrats at ihe other end of the line. The baneful mfli-ence upon society of these rapacious forces of iniquity must be destroyed, in order that decency, justice, peace and prosperity may once more bless our common country. coun-try. " |
