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Show Queries About Young Men. Can you tell me, writes a lady, why Catholic young men are not nobler more high-spirited, more spiritual than they are? I have a wide circle of acquaintance. Catholic and Protestant, not only in the city of my residence, but also in other place Avhere I have friends and Where I have visited. Now as a cllss "r866 ? dSfference between "my Catholic and my Protestant acquaintances. acquaint-ances. Yet, to my mind, there ought to ' 0 be a vast difference. Why? Because our boys have in their religious training train-ing the highest ideals and then they have the sacraments to make their lives divine. What is trie matter Avith them that they are just like their neighbors who are Avltnout these supernatural su-pernatural helps? Indeed, in such matters as courtesy, refinement, considerate conduct, kindliness kind-liness and general good manners, I am not sure but my Protestant acquaintances acquaint-ances are superior to my Catholic acquaintances. ac-quaintances. And take the average Catholic young man of good'family, in comfortable circumstances, cir-cumstances, with, a parochialfi or academic, aca-demic, or even college- education, and study him. What is his object in life? What are hte thoughts? What are his amusements? What is his favorite subject of conversation? His object in life is "to have a good I time,"' to get "a soft job," to make money without earning it to be rich and to enjoy sensual pleasures. What are his thoughts? They are often., so far as they come to the surface sur-face in the presence , of ladies, like those of other men of the world gossip, gos-sip, flippancy, egotism, the passing shoAV of current events and an occasional occa-sional tendency toward the borderland border-land of wickidness. What are his amusements? Baseball, Base-ball, cards, dancing and the saloon. i What is his favorite suaject of con-A-ersation? Himself. Where is the idea! Catholic young man one who Avants to be ' a saint; one whose passion is to save his soul; Avho lives the supernatural life of , grace: who loves his God with a real affection of gratitude; to Avhom Jesus Christ is an actual person and friend; a man who has read the history of his church; Avho knows his religion and liA-es up to it, even on ember days and during Lent; and who. still, is a genial, cultured, friendly, Avide-awake, tAven-tieth tAven-tieth century gentleman, with a Avork in the world Avorth dong, that brings him: in a decent support; a man bound to be respected in any community and certain to go to the front? Are there any such aCtholic young men anywhere? I've ne'er yet met one of them, not one, not one. Yet I've lived between two and three decades of years; I've gone around considerable, and I've met regiments of young men. It is true, I do know some settled fathers of families Avho are specimens of the practical Catholic gentleman. But, needless to say, i was not acquainted ac-quainted with them before their marriage mar-riage and so I do not know Avhether or not it Avas only after that event that they developed as they are. Pittsburg Observer. |
