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Show i I CSburcl) Universal i CHURCH CALENDAR. 15. M. St. Gertrude. 195,063 for work, means. !16. T. St. Edmund. 1,231,811 for the clergy. 17. W. St. Gregory. 1.362,916 for re-li re-li pious. 18. Th. Dedication of the Basilicas of PS. Peter and Paul. "45,390 for seminarists, semi-narists, novices.' - , 19. F. St. Elizabeth. 9S3.1S1 for vo- ij cations. I 20. S. St. Felix of Valois 951.46G for parishes. U 21. S. 25th after Pentecost. Presenta- g tion B.V.M. G. E. Eccl. xxlv. 14-1G; G. I Luke, xi. 27-28.-825.087 for schools. ! THE GENERAL INTENTION FOR NOVEMBER. Recommended by His Holiness, Pius X. ACCEPTANCE OF SUFFERING. j The presence of suffering on the j earth began in Eden. Pain, toil, ; death, this was the threefold punlsh- i nient sent by God for the first sin. But while suffering was inflicted b5 God as a curse, it may be changed into a blessing; for though man cannot escape es-cape its all-pervading influence, yet he can so use life's ills that they will bring him nearer to that God from w hom he turned away by sin. By accepting the pains and disap-I disap-I pointment which befall us and by sub- 1 mitting our will to God's in all our trials I we prove the sincerity of our sorrow I for past offenses. Many of our suffer ings are sent as chistisements; we sin easily, and lightly forget it. But God never forgets; and it is because He loves us that He gives us an opportunity opportu-nity to atone. Besides this power of satisfaction, acceptance of suffering wins us many graces. It makes us God's chosen friends. It protects us from the allure-1 allure-1 inents of the world and the temptations which accompany unmixed prosperity. It detaches our hearts from the things of earth. Most of all, It makes us like lo Christ, the Man of Sorrows. The shadow of the cross was over His life from Bethlehem to Calvary, and His example took from suffering its char- I aoter of evil, and made it the badge of J His love. It became a grecious gift, offered most of God's holiest Saints. And such will it be for us, if we accept it in union with the sufferings of Jesus. But to do this is the work of grace, and needs the help of prayer prayer that we may have strength to drink the chalice of suffering with Christ, j and say "Thy will be done." i Canadian Bishop Dead. ! Bishop 'Froulx of Nieolet, Canada, ! t died in Rome Oct. 16. He was in Rome I for the purpose of celebrating his sac ?r- j dotal jubilee at St. Peter's. He was stopping at the Canadian college when j he was suddenly taken ill with an in- f; testinal trouble. He was conveyed to (; a hospital, where he died. The Pope's Mothr. ; The Holy Father. Pius X. tenderly ji loved his mother. She had the happi- i ness of being present when Leo XIII, in public Consistory, conferred upon him the red Cardinal's hat. Leo XIII ; also received her in private audience 1 afterwards. The next year, on Feb. 2, I. she died. !' Her son, now Pope, inscribed the ; following epitaph on her tombstone r.t Riese, in upper Italy. ; ' Here rests Margaret Sanson. She j was an exemplary wife, a woman with- ut blemish, an incomparable mother. On the 4th of May. 1S52, she lost her husband, John Baptist Sarto. Bowed down with grief, but not discouraged, resigned and valiant, she reared her hildren with virile prudence in virtue. vir-tue. She died on the 2nf February, 1S94, in age 81 years. . At her death she received, as we hope, the merited frown for a life full of works and sacrifices. Dedicated to our: dear parents par-ents by Joseph Cardinal Sarto, , his brothers and sisters. O God, vouchsafe vouch-safe to our parents eternal rest." One day, shortly after his consecration consecra-tion as Bishop of Mantua, he visited her and said: "Mother dear, took; see with what a beautiful ring they have distinguished me." It was his episcopal ring. She looked at it with tears in her a eyes and said: "Pepito" (the youthful name she had always called him) "Pe-; "Pe-; pito my dear son," showing him at th? 1 same time her wedding ring which she ' wore, "without this poor ring on my i linger, you would never have had your I bishop's ring." The Record. ' The Lay Apostolate. In the work of extending God's kingdom, king-dom, the laity can help not only by attending at-tending mass and receiving the sacraments, sacra-ments, but still more by becoming members of one or other of the church societies. There is the great society for men known as the Holy Xame So-iety, So-iety, and there is the Rosary Society for women, alsc the Third Order. There is. moreover, the Holy Family for all. Besides these, we have the Sodalities of The Blessed Virgin, one for young men, one for young women. If our people join one or other of these societies they will have special liHps they cannot find outside of them. I'iilt of all these societies have their i spiritual director, who addresses the members at their meetings on topics particular to their class; secondly, be-' be-' aijse meeting together special blessings bless-ings come to each and all assembled, ;ind thirdly, the strong influence for tood that one receives from the mem-'"rs mem-'"rs leading exemplary lives, as required re-quired by the rules. It is in the same spirit but vith the addition of a financial finan-cial benefit that "we have our Catholic fraternal organizations and other kindred kin-dred societies. Altogether they make a grand phalanx of Catholics that urove a great means of bearing aloft the torch of faith to those within and ithout the fold and of exemplifying 'he practice of it by good Christian lives. As individuals, too, many men i "f the congregation can find time and I an do much for the Church's welfare ? "' assisting their pastor in some of tli church work, such as acting as J Trustee, usher, committeemen and the j 'ik, whilst the women of the congre- j f-;ition can and many do assist mater- I in My by their societies for the care of I 'lie sanctuary and their sewing so- ! Hetit'g for the poor. J In a wider sense Catholics can ex- )""d God's kingdom on earth by bringing bring-ing a good influence into the general i community through correct and exem plary lives, and they can be a power f"r law and order, honesty and up-rightiK'ss up-rightiK'ss in their own particular in Ips of business life and the organization organ-ization or craft, by remembering the lnty they owe their Church, to be creditable cred-itable members thereof wherever they ure or whatever they do. In matters of conduct, as in business, ifri;r, and all the pursuits of life, there are some who are to lead the '"st by reason of their possessing the '1'ialities to do so, gifted or acquired, "nd on them rests the obligation of so ; uoing noblesse oblige. The officers ; in the different societies, the educated, ' the wealthy, the proprietor, the man ager, have the grace of their office, position, or accomplishments to aid i-hem. and if faithful to It they can do hiuch for the advancement of those vho naturally look up to them whether I it be ja u,e societies peculiar to the I - '. - - V I churches, or in those circles and organ- ' izatlons which pertain to tfiis world ! ana its affairs, for men are taught and I influenced by those above them. The 1 braver the generals the braver the soldiers, the better the leaders the better bet-ter those who follow them noblesse oblige. . Prayers for the Dead. November is the month of the Holy Souls. November 2 is All Souls' day, but the whole month is dedicated in a special manner tb remembrance of our departed ones, and the Church asks us to pray for them especially during this time. Dr. Toner, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, says that Catholic teaching teach-ing in respect of prayers for the dead is bound up inseparably with the doc- trine of Purgatory, and is in keeping with the teaching of the Council of Trent, namely, that "Purgatory exists, and that the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, faith-ful, but especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar." .v 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 satisfaction satisfac-tion by worthy fruits of penance for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified by purgatorial pains after 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 of piety usually nerformed hv the faithful for one another according to the practice of the Church." Of very few can it be hoped that they have attained perfect holiness at death, and none but the perfectly holy are admitted to the vision of God. Of few, on the other hand, will they at least who love them admit the despairing de-spairing thought that they are beyond the pal of grace and mercy, and condemned con-demned t 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 that granting grant-ing the existence of the purgatorial state, it is equally a postulate of the Christian reason that the souls in Purgatory Pur-gatory 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 own consolation as well as for the dead, we want to believe in this living intercourse of charity with our dead. We would believe in Purgatory Pur-gatory without explicit warrant of revelation, rev-elation, on the strength of what is otherwise revealed, and in obedience to the promptings of reason and natural nat-ural affection. It is for this . reason that modern Protestants are reviving Catholic teaching and practice in the matter. , There are some sayings of Christ recorded by the Evangelists which are most naturallv internrotorl i o r-nnln. ing an implicit reference to a purgatorial purga-torial state after death, and in St. Paul's Epistle a passage of similar import im-port occurs, and other passages that bear directly on the question of prayers pray-ers for the dead. When Christ promises forgiveness of all sins that a man may commit, except ex-cept the sin against' the Holy Ghost, "which shall not be forgiven him in this life or in: the life to come," is the concluding phrase nothing more than a periphrastic equivalent for "never?" Is the forgiveness of certain "sins in the world to come" not implied? No rational difficulty can be urged against the Catholic doctrine of prayers pray-ers tor the dead; on-the contrary, as we have seen,.' the rational presumption presump-tion in its favor is strong enough to induce belief in it On the part of many whose rule of faith does not allow them to prove with entire certainty that it is a doctrine, of Divine revelation. True Voice. TWO DAYS OBSERVED. In the first volume of the Catholic Encyclopedia is given an instructive explanation ex-planation of the two festivals of All Saints and All Souls, which occur Nov. 1 and 2. . Al Saints is a feast of highest rank, celebrated on the first of Xovember, having a vigil and an octave, and giving giv-ing place to no other feast. It is instituted insti-tuted to honod all the saints, know and unknown, and according- to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's faith-ful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year. In the early days the Christians Chris-tians were accustomed to solemnize the aniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century neighboring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer trans-fer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast, as is shown by the invitation in-vitation of St. Basil of Ceasarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution perse-cution of Diocletian the number of martyrs mar-tyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common com-mon day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St, Ephrem the Syrian (373) and in the 74th homilv of St. John Chrysostum (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honored by a special day. Other saints were added gradually and increased in-creased in number when a regular process pro-cess of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Chal-dean calendar a "Commemoratio Con-fessorum" Con-fessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the west, Bonifoce IV, 13 May, 609. or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blesed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for Nov. 1. A basilica of the apostles already al-ready existed In Rome, and its dedication dedica-tion was anually remembered on May 1. Graegory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on Nov. 1 to the entire Church. The vlrll spems tn Jiai-n hoon held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by SIxtus IV (1471-84). Al Souls' Day. The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated celebrat-ed by the Church on Nov. 2. or if this be a Sunday, or a feast of the first class, on Xov. 3. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy and all the Masses are to be Requiem, except one of the current feast, where this is of obligation. The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body; are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, trans-gressions, ar3 debarred from the Beatific Beati-fic Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, alms deeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass. In the early days of Christianity the names -of the departed brethren were entered in the diptycus. Later, in the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration com-memoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide. In Spain there was such a day on Saturday before Sexagi-sima, Sexagi-sima, or before Pentecost at the time of St. Isidore (d. 636). In Germany there existed (according to the testimony of Widukind. Abot of Corvey (c. 980) a j time-honored ceremony of prayer for t i' the dead on Oct. 1. This was accepted and sanctioned by the Church. St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) ordered the commemoration com-memoration of all the faithful departed to be held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. Thence it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians. Carthu-sians. Of the dioceses, Liege was tht-first tht-first to adopt it under Bishop Notgcr (d. 1008). It is then found in the mar-tyrology mar-tyrology of St Protadius of Besancon (1053-66). Bishap Otricus (1120-25) introduced in-troduced it into Milan for Ooc. 15. In Spain, Portugal and Latin America priests on this day say three Masses. -A. similar concession for the entire world was asked of Leo XIIL He would not grant the favor, but ordered a special Requiem on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1888. In the Greek rite this commemoration is held on the eve of Sexigesima Sunday or on the eve of Pentecost: The Armenians Arme-nians celebrated the passover of the dead on the day after Easter.' |