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Show I J I Cfturcb aniversal j The Prospect. iSM? do as fretful children do. i J-e anlng their faces on the window pane io Blh the glass dim with their own breath's stain, ' And Bhut the sky and landscape from ,1 their view; Vj t And hus- ala8 since God, the Maker, - H drew f T f Tv,mi5tlc seParation twixt those twain E The life beyond us, and our souls in pain S, "'e miss the prospect which we are called unto . By griefs we are fools to use. Be still and strong, ! O man, my brother: Hold thy sobbing . breath. And keep thy soul's large window pure from wrong! That so. as life's appointment issueth. Thy vision may be clear to watch along The sunset consummation lights of death. f Mrs. Browning. The Meaning of Excommunication. The question of the late Father Tyr-rell'e Tyr-rell'e excommunication from the Church having been raised by his death some weeks ago a study of the subject of excommunication as offered by the latest volume of the Catholic Encyclopaedia Encyclo-paedia proves interesting reading. In its first and general sense, it means exclusion from communion, depriving the guilty Chrisian of all participation participa-tion in the common blessings of ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical society. It is the most serious penalty the Church can inflict, and it is a medicinal rather than a vindictive penalty, says the Encyclopaedist, Encyclo-paedist, inasmuch as it is intended not so much to punish the culprit as to correct him and bring him back to the patch of righteousness. Since excommunication is the forfeiture for-feiture of the spiritual privileges oi -eclesiastical society, all those may be excommunicated who by any .right whatsoever, belong to this society. The Church excommunicates not only those who abandon the true faith 'to embrace schism or heresy, but likewise the members of heretical and s t schismatic communities who have been v. born therein. Catholics, on the con-r con-r K trary, cannot be excommunicated un-1 un-1 j' less for some personal, grievously of-i of-i fensive aft. Thus internal fallings, t S. e- doubts entertained against the rNsA .T Catholic Faith, cannot incur excom- L " I munication. An external, or pub-j pub-j f y lished doubt calls for the ban, how-- how-- j , ever, providing that all the conditions !x prove the offender to be fully conscious of the evil he is doing and the nature of his offence, f The immediate effects of excommu- I v nication are: Loss of sacraments, pub-! pub-! lie services and prayers of the Church, -j: ecclesiastical burial, jurisdiction. ben-Is ben-Is eficos, canonical rights and social in- tercourse. The excommunicated per-I per-I son who remains a year without any ft effort to obtain absolution, becomes suspected of heresy and can be followed fol-lowed up and condemned as such. Excommunications specially reserved re-served to the Pope are twelve in number, num-ber, the main among which are the following: All apostates from the Christian Faith, all heretics or recusants recu-sants to explicit Catholic dogma, and all who defend them. All who knowingly know-ingly read books written by these same apostates and heretics, without especial es-pecial permission. These books are mentioned for the most part in the Index, or by especial Bull. All who wilfully and obstinately withdarw from the authority of the reigning Pope. All. .who "kill, mutilate, strike, sieze, incarcerate, detaind or pursue cardinals, cardin-als, archbishops, bishops, legatees or nuncios, or those who abet such offenders. of-fenders. All falsifiers of Apostolic Letters or Briefs. All who usurp or sequester the jurisdiction property or revenues belonging to ecclesiastical persons by reason of their churches or benefices, and those who invade, destroy de-stroy or detain cities, lands, places or rights of the Church, and all who abet in such offences. In excommunications simply reserve re-serve to the Pope, all defenders of teachings condemned by the Church, are included: so also are those who lay violent hands on, or assault, religious re-ligious of either sex, duellists, freemasons free-masons or other members of anti-Catholic anti-Catholic societies, those guilty of simony, si-mony, those who steal relics from Ro-man Ro-man shrines and those woo assist an ' excommunicated person in his offen- ces. By section 25 of the Council of Trent, all are excommunicated who ' ''A unjustly oblige a woman to enter a t convent against her will, or who pre-1 pre-1 vent her from doing so, should she 1 wish. Iv Prayers for the Dead. Catholic teaching in respect of I ' prayers for the dead Is bound up in-i in-i ' separably, says Doctor Toner of May-'Nf May-'Nf nooth, in the "Catholic Encyclopedia," with the' doctrine of purgatory, and is in keeping with the teachings of the Council of Trent, namely, that "purga-. "purga-. , tory exists, and that the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but especially by the ac-t4 ac-t4 c-f-ptable sacrifice of the altar." I The Council of Florence in 1439 also declared: "We define likewise that if the truly penitent die in the love of God, before they have made satisfac-j satisfac-j tion by worthy fruits of penance for j their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified by purgatorial pains aft-r death, and that for relief for those pains they are benefited by the suffrages of the faithful In this life, that is, by masses, prayers and almsgiving, and by the other offices for one another according to the practice of the Church." Of very few can it he hoped that they have attained perfect holiness at death'; and none but the perfectly holy are admitted ad-mitted to the vision of God. Of few, on the other hand, will they at least who love them admit the despairing thought that they are beyond the pale of grace and mercy, and condemned to eternal separation from God. and from all hope to be with God. On this ground alone it has been truly said that purgatory is a postulate of the Christian reason; and I i that granting the existence of the pur- I gatorlal state it is equally a postulate of J the Christian reason that the souls in I.- purgatory should continue to share in the communion of saints, or in other words, be helped by the prayers of their brethren on earth and in heaven. ' For our consolation as well as for the Jl dead, we want to believe in this living intercourse of charity with our dead. We would believe in purgatory without explicit warrant of revelation, on the strength of what is otherwise revealed, and In obedience to the promptings of reason and natural affection. It is for this reason that modern ! Protestants are reviving Catholic teach-" ! ing and practice in the matter. Catholic Catho-lic Sun. j About the Acme of Politeness. f. i In the Catholic Standard and Times we have this snappy sketch: "There t is not in all the world a more kindly unselfish and considerate soul than i Father Mack. He is a big. jovial Irlsh- i man, but his voice is soft and gentle and his manners those of a Chester-' Chester-' field. It was something of a shock, 1 therefore, to the Observant Parish ioner who watched his behavior In a crowded trolley car one afternoon recently. re-cently. Father Mack, comfortably ftnsconced In a corner seat or, remem bering his displacement, let us say a seat and a half was placidly reading ! his breviary. Two women entered the car, and finding no vacant seats, stood in the aisle directly in front of Father Mack. Each woman had a book, which she read with apparent interest, and yet with an interest not too deep to permit of an occasional glance of hopeful hope-ful expectancy at the large man who was occupying room enough tor both of them. Finally Father Mack noticed no-ticed them, pulled his large frame together to-gether as if about to rise, but immediately imme-diately changed his mind and settled back again in his corner. The Observant Ob-servant Parishioner was pained, and when he and Father Mack at length alighted from the car he said to the good priest: "I suppose these hot days are hard on a big man like you, father." "No, my sun,' said Father Mack, "and they don't affect my mental acuteness, either. I know just what you're thinking of those two women to whom I didn't give my seat. Well, I'll tell you. Each one of those women was reading Mother Eddy's 'Science and Health.' Of course, no real Christian Chris-tian Science lady is ever really tired; she only thinks she's tired, so rather than Insult the religious convictions of those two I kept my seat, my son." Few Divorces in Canada. There is a surprising difference between be-tween the divorce statistics of the United States and those of Canada. While in this country divorces are granted by the thousand, on the other side of the boundary the number rarely reaches even two figures annually. an-nually. Since 1867 there has been a grand total of one hundred and thirty-six thirty-six divorces granted in Canada. The figures are given in detail in the St. John Globe, as follows: In 1867-68 one was granted: in '69. one; '70, '71 and '72, . none; '73, one; '75, one; '76, one, '77, four; '78 three; '79, one; '84, one; '85, four; '86, one; '87, five; 88, two; '89, four; '90, two; '92, four; '93, seven; '94, six; '95, three;' 96, one; '97. one; '98, three; '99, four; 1900, five, '01, two; '02, two; '03, seven; '04, six. In 1905 nine were granted: in 1906, fourteen; 1907, five, 1908, eight, while last season eclipsed all records with a total of sixteen. Apostle of the Negroes. When Leo XIII raised to the Altar St. Peter Claver, he held up to our veneration a rival of St. Francis Cav-ier, Cav-ier, if we may speak of rivalry among the saints. Towards the end of the sixteenth century St. Peter was born of an Illustrious family in Catalaunia. In 1602 he was admitted into the So-. cieyt of Jesus, and eight years later i he left the land of his birth for the ! missions of South America. j Claver was never to see his native land again. In 1615 he was ordained priest, and then, daily fortified by the Bread of Angeles, he began a life to which few lives in the annals of history his-tory can be compared. At his solemn profession shortly after ordination he made a vow "to be until death the slave of the negroes." How faithful he was to that vow, how true to his solemn word, only those familiar with his life can have any concept. His career has been justly called "a perpetual martyrdom." In those days a brisk and cruel slave traffic was carried on in the ports of South America. As shipload after shipload of unfortunate negroes came into the harbor of Carthagena. Claver was there to welcome them. It was he who crept among those dying in the holds "of the vessels, where the air was fetid and pestilential. It was he who consoled them with loving words of hope. Into their saddened souls he brought some consolation. He followed them to their wretched quarters quar-ters and shared their privations and sufferings that he might strengthen them to bear up under their hard fate. This brave apostle would sit long hours In the confessional during the heat of the tropical days, and though fainting in the stifling atmosphere, he won by his sweetness his poor slaves to Christ. At his approach, faces which never ( smiled, and eyes that were rarely dry of tears, would brighten. At night, when he took some respite from the labors of the day, no small portion of his repose was spent before the altar In prayer. It was there before be-fore the tabernacle that he got the courage to minister to the mosOoath-some mosOoath-some diseases, and even to kiss the hideous wounds upon the bodies of his children. This great apostle won to Christ no less than four hundred thousand souls during the thirty-nine years of his martyrdom. So for years this courageous cour-ageous man toiled, as his brother In religion, St. Francis Xavier, had toiled before him. A like death, too, crowned his labors, and he passed away far from home and his native land, but cheered by the smile of the Master, who whispered to him: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Messenger of the Sacred Heart. Maritan Exploration. We trust that a Martian controversy will not be added to the polar feud. As the red planet is a varying number of millions of miles from the earth, it does not interest the polar explorers with their sextants and flags; but the snow caps of Mars are under constant observation, ob-servation, and the honor of establishing establish-ing the fact that there is a water vapor In its atmosphere may be disputed "by rival observers. Mr. Percival Lowell, who long ago claimed Mars as his special spe-cial field of study and has had It photographed pho-tographed and measured from the Andes and the Arizona highlands, being firmly convinced that sentient and perhaps per-haps marvelous beings exist upon It, will ot doubt scan with jealous interest the printed negatives of Director Campbell Camp-bell of the Lick observatory, who, with Rirector Abbott of the Smithsonian institution in-stitution and other Martians, has lately had the planet under surveillance from the top of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the states. There can be no doubt about the equipment of Professor Pro-fessor Campbell and his associates for the work. They have used the most delicate instrument, the condition of the polar snow caps has been carefully noted, and they have taken protographs of the spectra of Mars and the moon. There can be no doubt that they reached the top of Mount Whitney, although al-though it took them an unconscionable long time, four days, nor can their statement that they spent seven nights in a shelter of stone, steel, cement and glass be successfully assailed. Until their negatives have been developed thpre can be no controversy at all. Director Di-rector Campbell has given the following follow-ing interview: "We cannot tell exacti" f- three or four days what the photographs will show. We hope they will show whether wheth-er there is water vapor In sufficient quantities to sustain life. Whether life is possible is shown by the presence pres-ence of water vapor. In a great quantity quan-tity at all comparable with the earth, it "is strong indication that human life can be supported." . The director makes one observation on which issue may be Joined ultimately. ulti-mately. He says that If there is sufficient suf-ficient quantity of water vapor upon Mars to be dected by his observations "it will not be proof, however, that lire exists on Mars." Then. if the quantity of water is inadequate the conclusion would disuose of the contention that the canals on Mars were built by human hands. , That the canals are there the Martians agree, but whether they are now dry or contain water supplied by irrigation or by a natural rainfall, we do not think has been settled conclusively. conclu-sively. The distance of Mars from the earth' is always so great, running up into many millions of miles In the most relatively favorable position, that there will always be sceptics on the flow of water in the' canals, even among professional pro-fessional photographers and makers of astronomical instruments. But it should be understood that Professor Lowell harbors no doubt concerning the population popu-lation of Mars by sentient beings. He has said over his own signature: "The planet is at present the abode of Intelligent constructive life. The theory of- such life upon Mars was In no way an a prlari hypothesis on my part, but deduced from the outcome of observations, and my observations have since confirmed it." It may be gathered rrom the statement state-ment of Director Campbell after coming com-ing down from Mount Whitney that although he hopes for the best he thinks the existence of sentient human beings on the planet may still be debatable. de-batable. In his opinion the question turns upon the volume of water vapor. If his observations show a dry Mars with no oases and the canals empty, he may not be able to shake the confidence of Professor Lowell, but he will be a doubting Thomas himself. A few days may shape an issue. If there is to be one we hope the Martians will conduct the discussion without short and ugly words and in the true and scientific temper. Above all things we hope that Mr. H. G. Wells will keep out of it. New York Sun. Here and There. Two violins, magnificent specimens of Antonius Stradivarius' are, made their way to Berlin and are for sale. Their united value is estimated by connisseurs at $47,000. On instrument, dating from 1703,' splendidly preserved. Is remarkable for the exquisite red tone of its varnish. The purflin on both is of exceptional beauty. Tops and backs hardly show a crack. , An old Christian Abbey known as the Abbey Dore, is the only one of that Order now used for church purposes pur-poses in England. Last month it was reopened after extensive repairs. It belongs be-longs to the Church of England. The Abbey was founded in 1147. In 1534 it was closed. It was reopened as a Protestant Pro-testant church in 1634. A movement Is on foot at Ottawa to erect a statue of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, the Irish-Canadian statesman and poet, in one of the beautiful parks of the Dominion's capital. Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his government are behind the scheme. More than 50,000 children were enabled en-abled by the authorities of Berlin to spend this summer on land within easy reach of the city limits. They were assigned plots where they could play and cultivate gardening profitably with the help of their families and the advice ad-vice of public instructors. . . A press dispatch from Rome chronicles chron-icles the death there recently in the College of the Spanish Dominicans of Right Rev. Jorge Barlin. D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Nueva Cacaeres, Philippine Islands. The deceased prelate,, pre-late,, who was the first native Fillpine elevated to the episcopacy,' was consecrated conse-crated in Manila on June 29. 1906. Stories About Harriman. It had been Mr. Harriman's habit for years to work only four days a week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday he did not go to the office. It was at Ar-den, Ar-den, his country home, that Mr. Harriman Harri-man had most of his fun. There he rode horseback, drove fast horses, motored mo-tored and golfed a little did what most floks of his class do. In the winter time it was his custom to get out with the boys on the. ice. They played hockey and other games, and the battle was always hot. The play always had to be fair and according to rules. Mr. Harriman had an instinct for building good roads, and was elected road supervisor of his home county. At first it was hard to get money to build good roads, and in one year Mr. Harriman had spent $70,000 more than the appropriation. The object lesson told, however, and thereafter he had difficulty in keeping the county from spending more than it ought to. His Indomitable will is illustrated by this story: Along In July, 1899, the Harriman Alaska expedition reached the end of its charted course. Beyond lay the Bering sea, huge, unknown, treacherous. It was time to turn back, but Mrs. Harriman wanted to see Siberia. Si-beria. "Very well," Harriman said, "we will go to Siberia." They had not been under way an hour when the ship ran upon a hidden reef. John Bur-j Bur-j roughs, the historian of the expedition, tells the rest of the story: "Some of us hoped this incident would cause Mr. Harriman to turn back. Bering sea is a treacherous sea; it is shallow; It has many islands; and in summer is nearly always draped In fog. But our host was a man not easy to turn back. In five minutes he was romping with his children again, as If nothing had happened." They went to Siberia. The fog was so dense and the charts so imperfect im-perfect that they missed an island they had hoped to touch. But they went to Siberia. The moster of the ship would have considered the expedition a failure fail-ure If they had not. Mr. Harriman was not in the habit of underrating himself. In the insurance insur-ance investigation Mr. Hughes said to Mr. Harriman: "It has been openly charged that, through your relations with Mr. Odell, you have political influence." influ-ence." "Well," Mr. Harriman replied. "I should think that Mr. Odell has political influence because of his relations with me." Kansas City Star. Beauty of Daily Mass. When the priest at the altar offers the sublime sacrifice the angels stand beside him, and all around the altar are arranged choirs of heavenly spirits who raise their voices in honor of the Victim Who is immolated! Wherefore Where-fore if thou dost unite thy prayers during dur-ing mass to those of the angels they will, together with them, pierce the clouds and will obtain a favorable hearing more certainly than if thou didst offer them at home or alone. Let us do what in us lies to hear mass daily, that our prayers may be carried up to heaven in the angels' pure hands. St. Chrysostom. Grand Old Man of Hierarchy. The senior bishop of tnis province, the dean of the hierarchy -f the United States, and the first rector rX the American Ameri-can College in Rome, pasd away last Friday morning, Sept. 11, In the death of the Rt. Rev. William George Mc-Closkey, Mc-Closkey, head of the diocese of Louisville Louis-ville for forty-one years. Bishop McCloskey was 86 years old and his death was due simply to old age and the gradual weakening and disintegration dis-integration of the vital forces. His keen and active intellect remained unimpaired unim-paired to the end. "Doctor, I know my condition perfectly," he said to his attending at-tending physician a day or two before death. He recognized those about him and his mind was clear and he was in the possession of all his remarkable faculties fac-ulties almost to the minute he closed his eyes for the last time. He passed away gently and peacefully at Preston Park Seminary, with hardly a flutter to mark the moment of the passage of the soul from the body. Present at his deathbed was his sister, Miss Mary McCloskey Mc-Closkey of New York, the only surviving surviv-ing member of his family. He had long been prepared for death, had made all arrangements for his funeral fu-neral and had even named the officers of the Requiem Mass. |