| Summary: | Issue 6.3 of the Review for Religious, 1947. Review fOr Religious MAY 15, 1947 Rosary ahd Eucharist. T.N. Jorgense. Our Lady of Fatima . John A. Hardon St.’~Janede C~hanta[ on Meditation . -Edward J. Carney Praise of Praise . Richard L. Roone¥ Litany qf the Lorn . Claude Kean Miracies Db Happen . ¢la,,de R." Oaly Book Reviews "VOLUME Communications ~uestions Answered Decisions of the Holy See NUMBER 3 RI VII W FOR RI LI®IOUS VOLUME VI MAY, 1947~ N~MBER 3 CONTENTS THE.ROSARY AND THE EUCHARIST T. N. Jorgensen. S.J. 129 LIFE IN KOREA AND AFRICA . 140 MASTERPIECE ON GRACE . 140 VOCATION BOOKLET ~ 140 ~)UR LADY OF FATIMA IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY-- John A. Hardon, S.J. ~ 141 SUMMER SESSIONS . 152 ST. JANE DE CHANTAL AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF MEDITATION--Edward J. Carney. O.S.F.S.153 COMMUNICATIONS 158 I TEACH CATECHISM ~ ?. 16~ ~ IN PRAISE OF PRAISE--Richard L. Rooney, S.J .1.63 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- I 1. "Exterior Work" Prohibited to Novices . 166 12. Repetition, of Interrupted Novitiate " " 167 13. Genuflections during Way of the Cross . 167 14. Obligation to Follow Votatlon . 168 15. Preparing Patients for-Holy,Communlon . ’. . ’ 169 LITANY OF THE LORN--Claude Kean, O.F.M .1.70 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . . ¯’. . . ¯ ’. ". . ~176 MIRACLES DO HAPPEN---Claude R. Daly, S.J .1.77 BOOK REVIEWS-- Testing the Spirit; The Apostolate of Suffering . 18’~4 BOOK NOTICES ~ 186 DECISIONS OF THE ’HOLY SEE . ¯ 191 CONCERNING "Gifts to Religious" ’ 192 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May. 1947. o Vol. VI, No. 3. Published ’bi-monthly: January,March, May, July, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Masy’s College, St. Marys, Kansas. with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act "of March 3~ 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Editorial Secretary: Alfred F. Schneider, S.J. Copyright, 1947, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotations of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, pleese consult notice on inside beck cover. .The Rosary he’i:Ucha rist: ! T. N. Jorgensen, S.J. .\yiEKNOW that our spiritual life is far,more important ~t~ than our mental and physical life. Butour constant need of spe~nding many hours in physical and mental pursuits and the fact that our fii, e senses keep the physical, in the foreground of the mind and say nothing whateverof the spiritual ’tend to m.,ake our spiritual exercises slip ,into a ,dull routine. Anything, therefore, vc, bich can overcome these handicaps and vitalize our spiritual life is Of gre~it value to us. The Rosary does this effectively, not only. by its own great graces but also by the fact that it tones up all our other spiritual exercises. It is,easier tolearn to say the Rosary well than to get ti~e habit of s.pending the hour of meditation successfully. BUt if we say the Rosary correc, tly, our medi.tations will improve greatly. Practice in re~alling the fifteen Rosary scenes is,the begto and easiest’way for us to become skilled in forming our composition of.place when meditating. Th~ particular virtue which w~e seek when saying each-mystery teaches us to formul’ate and work toward a particular fruit from ~ach, of our meditations. Thus the .Rosary trains-us,to make the two preludes of our meditation .effectively and, theieby starts off each meditation well. It does more. The virtues Which we seek when saying th~ Rosary are the very ones most. needed for advancement in our meditation and in all our spiritual exercises. Skill. in-meditation comes slowly; we must patien,tly bring our mind back again and again to tlqe subject when distractions have led us astray. This" patience under difficulty is the virtue we pray for and grow in when we say the fourth’sorrowful mystery., Meditation 1"29 .:T: N. JORGENSEN Review [or ReligiouS". is.an effort to,~get greater submission to God’s will and greater,-,courage’.to’~perform it. :.T-hi~i’subrnissiox~ we learn While sayin, g ,the>first joyful and fi~st sorrowful mysteries: this mor’~l courage We gain from all the sorrowful mysteries, ,but especi,ally from the third. Meditation seeks, to give US.a correct r approa~H t6 life b~ shpwin.g us thli emptiness,"’of worldly goods (’the third jbyfdl’m’yste.r~r), ~he dreadfuihess of sin-’(tH’e fifth sorrowful/mystery,), ’the reward ~hich a Virtubus life brings (the’ glorious, mysteries). BrieflY,, meditation seeks tO show us the t~uth, by a study of -~hrist’s life, that we ma~ knov~ love, and imitate Him more fully._ The Rosa_ry gives "us His’ life in scenes which are as easy to think about as they are crowd~d with ~;filuabl~ lessons. To learn to spend an hour in formal meditation is-hard if we make a frontal attacl~ with no help: To "slil5 the beads through our. finge~s for five or tenminutes while we look at .Maryin p~ayer, or at Christ easy. But if we do this latter habittihlly, then we"have the preparation ~which makes theohour of morning me~lit~ition far" easier.° ~ ’~ ;~ ~l-ie Ro~ary helps our spiritual-reading. ~ Once ~we grow. interested iri the Rosary and~realize’,how wonderful~a his: ,tory it had;how many,millions of. people have found’ it th’ei’r meafis of gaining !hefiven, ’how suited,,it is psych01ogicall3~ to~,our~hum~n nature;~hSw effecti~;¢ely it, briiags ’Jesus° arid Mary into all, thehours of,ou~l.i.fe; how.eagei~ ~the~Popes arid Mary hefs~If have~beemtb foster the ~p’r~ad~of the ROSary, we get an interest in reading books _which mhke the fifteen scenes of t, he minds.’ We ~want to iknow at what hour and under what. ¯ conditions and with what,-consequence~ the Annunciation tobk.place, where Elizabeth lived and~hoW 16ng Mar2 stayed with-her, how long after His"l~irth Christ.stayed at ,Bethlehem or Jerusaleln, and so on. This inquisitiveness ’130 Ma~ 1947 . THE ROSARY AND THE EUCHARIST puts.us in the best frame of~mind for reading about the lives of ~lesus an&Mary. An&,wha t we ~read fits in nicel.~ ,with one, oLourfifteen scenes~and will’ be remembered better Becaus~ Of. this. For instance; ,we "r~a°d a.bou.t,~ the ~scourging of C~rist more~readily~ because of.our past. recitations of the second sbrro.wfuLmy~tery.~nd we recall ~at we~ha~e just read- ,fibout~it,at the~su~bseq~ent rec~tat~ons;~, This initial curios~- i~y,~ this definite clasSifyingof’what we read ~ith previous and;subSequent ~. asSo~iations,,~ ahd~ ibis r~peated~r~calling of the things.w,hich~ba~e:i~terested .us give ou~ spiritual reading-. a practical~ ~pplication :,andv~an intefest~ and~,a~permanent value which it could get in no other.~way: ~,~ . .,~ The Rosary help#~ur daily~exa~inations of conscience. If ~e use,~the. Igna’tian,~m~t~od;~ we .~be~in 9ur examination by. recal~l,i~g al,l.,~the ,fa~ors, God-h~s given .us., This.puts~ u~ into~a3~g~atef~l ~ood ~and~o@s Up our,,o~n, selfishness, the m~re~b~co~trast~ .;,,But,,we~c6me; to understand Godrs gen~- erosit¥~, bes~ through; .the ~joyfu!,m~ste~ies of.the.Rosary which-:te~h us~the amazin~ faCt~that God,~tobk~pon ,Him~ s~l~ a" nature infinitely’ bene~h.Him~ that.He,might,di~ ;for:~.us t~ te~ch.,uwHis ,lo~e:~ ~:~ex~* o.ur~ examination ;brifigs us eonsideration,~o£’~ our sins~ :,~.l~e: tt~,to,,~undefstand foolish~ and.’malicibus~a~tbin~ sin, is~.,.It~.eyil :st~nds. ou~ de~rly~, to:one ,who has frequently said.~tbe sorrow.gfil-;myi~ teries~and.~has~een~ the. ~ufferingsOf 3esus, and~Mary,~ stiflers. ings due, en~irsly~to sin:.~ ~inall¢ffe, qome ~to tKe pgrpose of~ amendment . If ~anythmg more than Christ,s suffenngs ne~ed :t9 s~r~ngt~en.~nd enc0u~age ~.s in o~r resolf~ion avQid:sin in t~e f~t~re,;j~ will c0~e fro~ the remem~rancy of.the great, re~ardi tha~ ,virtue ~brings,, ~he reward which- is r~ye~ed ~o~us wi~h fullness a~ppg~l:in. the five g~o~io~s mysteries~ ~ ~.~ . ~.~ : .~: ~ - ,-~, ~ Saying ~he ~R6sar~ell.daily~during ,~he~ year~ js a ,great-- ~lp ~to :our .annuabr~treat.,~,,~Ou~, retreat~ teaches us, to~ get ~a 13’1 "T. N.- JORGENSEN " " Re~i-etu for Religious spiritual viewpoint, to think.bf the four last things, to put~ Go’d’s wishahead ofoour o.wn, to model our life.Upon-the life of ChriSt. ° The Rosary do~s exactly the ,same things. If we have been meditating faithfully upon ~tht fifte.en Rosary scenes and making an earnest effort.to, practice the virtues these mysteries teath, we have been filling our mind§ ali year ~vith. thou~ht.s which will make Our retreat easy~and l~rofitable. And the retreat in turn will ~ive us a fund of new thoughts and inspirations for subsequent Rosafie, s. Tl~ese Rosaries will be daily reminders to us of our retrea’t thoughts and resolutions, daily lessons,, teaching us.how to apply them to our active life. How the Rosary helps us in our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the SorroWful Mother; St-. ~J0seph, °and the Way ~f the Cross is too clear t0, need recalling. But mote important in our spiritual life., than any of th.ethings.yet mentloned---essential as all the, se. are~is the Holy-."Eucha~- fist. In the centuries since Christ’s Ascensiom His constant ~renewal. of,Calvary in the Sacrifice ~;f;.the Mass, His patient waiting for,our .visits to the .Blessed Sacrament; .and His daily readifiess tocome ~to us in,-Corhmunion~have made.the Eucharist ~the~ center-.of Catholic life, our supreme sotirce hope andstrengt.h and joy:, ,It is ong of the great blessings ’of the Rosary, therefore, that,itgfeatl,~r fosters’ our under-~ standing~and love of-tbeMassand of. the, Blessed S~icrament. "At the Annunciation w’e rejoice( with. Mary that .~hei word’ brings ~(he .Second Person of the Trinity. down"to dwell Visibly on earth~ At the C~fisecrati6n of eadh Mass the v~ord of the pries’t, like anotlaer ’Annun~(iafion, :brings the same Christot6 ’dwell physically Wi.t.h-us ,again.’~ ChriSt is the fruit of Mary a’t Bethlehem, the gift oFMary in the temple at Jerusalem, .the offering of Mary on Calvary/the SOn -of :Mary still oiri’.°H~aven:,ani:l~, uison~0ur~alt~ii?s.~’~ Tile Annunciation ’made tie’i flesh and blgod Hi.~ flesh and bl06d~ Ma~/, 194’7 ’THE ROSARY AND THE EUCHARIS~ and .that" fore,~e~; it is Mary’sAnnunciation Gift to the World .that we adore in the Bethlehem manger of two thou-sand years ago and in the Communion We received two minutes ago. At the Visitation’we envy ,John the Baptist and his mother becaus~’Mary brings Christ and Christ’s blessing t,o ~ them, and then we receive Communion and possess the sam_e Christ as fully as John ~ind Elizabeth possessed Him. Eliza-’ beth’s home in Judea must have seemed lonely when’ the three-months visit was over and M_ary carried Christ back again to Galilee. What similar loneliness would come into our life if the Eucharistic ’Christ were taken from us and the earth lost all of its ~altars and tabernacles! But perhapi Elizabeth’s and John’s loneliness can better be comp.ared to our loneliness an hour after Communion Christ’s physical presence is gone, but His visit col~tinues in the iricr~ase of. sanctifying grace,still bless~ing our souls., Mary dur.ing those months was a living monstrance; her living under the roof of Elizabeth brought her cousin the same joys and graces that the hours of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament bring to us. ,. At the Nativity we envy Joseph and Mary and the shep~heFds and the.Magi because they were at hand. to web come the long-awaited Redeemer. We wish that we c6uld have been present then. We would not be among the unseeing ones Who turned Him away from the crowded inn. At Bethlehem’s manger our faith would have pierced the infant disguise, and we woulld have knelt in loving adoration, offering whht gifts we could, At least, as we say the R6sary we dream of the joy of having such an occasion to show our faith. And then we, realize ,that in our daily Mass we have an even greater chance to display ~ind strengthen our faith. IfiBethlehem only His divinity was hidden; on the altar b6,th humanity and divinity lier 133 T. l~. ’JORGENSEN 2:, Review for.:R~ligio’us c0~ncealec~.~, With~each saying, of~ the third joyful mystery the Words bf our catechism should,~etuin to .us,’ "He is present .in.the ,~Eucharist;.’.body and bl6od, soul and divin-ity " ’ At the Presentation we see .Mary:s her6i~ offeril~g~bf C~rist to the ,F, a{hel.,~ At ourdaily Mass’we offe’r the saree Christ to’ God, ahd like Marywe offer with Him our,own life andall our love. Our lif4 and our love are far fr6m perfect-; ~’et we kriow the Father finds’our offering plea.sing because it comes° in union with Chris{’s. "When we offer Him Christ, we make. aniofferirig that can~be a complete atonement for."all our sins, an efficacious petition f6r’what.-" ever graces.We need, an acceptable.act of ~ratitude fo~ all~ pastand~future fa~c0rs, a perfect prayer of adoration. ’If we really thihk" aboUt, the Presentati6n and unde~stand~it, we long to be present again at Mass to 0ff.er~ ou.r life and work in the one acceptable way, .in union ’with Christ’s lif~. and work. At the. l~ist joyful mystery We see Mar~’s eager search for Christ’,in the streets’of Jerusidem, a seakch reward4d at length. When she finds Him in the T~rfiple. We.:na’tu~ally tliink’of our own nee8 of Christ~, our own.constant"search for °Him whb is our hapi~iriess as ~ell :as He"_ ~s . Mary’s;~and’ " ~ ’then we. rejoice’ vcith a .sudden flow of"delight .at remem= bering that our own churches hold" Christ,as !truly as the Templ~ of Jerusalem" ever did. With Ma.ry,-we hhsten tO the{templ~ ~heri Christ seems lost and we need his revivi-fyingpresence to strengthe.n us. Like her, ~¢e find Him waiting. " " And. then, as the’ sorrowful mysteries come on. our Rosary, we r~ca’ll Christ’s agony in "the ga’rden. He w~as lonel~r there, acutely conscious of {he wavering/sleepy heaviness of His chosen friends, the apostle~. He is often left ~ilone nowin{he tabernacle, acutely consciou~of the 134 Mag, ’I9.47. THE’ROSARY AND THE Ei/CHAI~IS’I wavering,!~ thbughtless heaviness of~,~:u~; also ~I-;Iis~ch0sen frierids; and~ we hasten totunite our #ba~ers ~i~h.~His;:’to We ~aySthe~ other,~sorrbwful mysterieS; meditating:.on Christ’s passi0~,and death; and we long to be present-,agaiw a~ ~he renewal of that. sacrifice in .th~ Mass: ~t~.~ the Last Supper,,[~hrist blessed-the bread and wine, saying, .is my body~ :?. This is~my,blood." The infinite power ,~hihgs like~.th’at~ go~.together:~’ ~ Jesu~ and~Mary~ ib togetl~r~ The Rosa’~i and’ tl~e Eucharist go together.,~,.A,t~te-r the gift of tHirfiself;, the greatest gift God gi, ves us is Ma’r~! And she isHi~’greatest~ift becauseshe givesoui God~ ’Ifi tlq~ Rosary we find a deep understanding of the gl6ry of Mar~ ~ becfiuse in the Rosary we find Christ, the source., of all, of Mary’s glory; 0. v LIFE IN I~OREA AND AFRICA ’ : Life.in Korea is well described for seventh graders in Hoto the . People o~ Kgrea Live, a .Unit of Stud~, publishe~ by the Maryknoll B’ookshelf, Malyknoll, Ne~. York. The author is Marie °Fi’sh~r. "iCh~ price is$t.00. It is recommended that this’study be ~ollow~d’Up b.y rising Maryknoll’s Korea program packets F, 2/3, ~and 4 for Primary’, Mi’ddle Grades, Upper’Grades, and High School respectively. ,Plays, songs, mission stories, legends, poetry, and anecdotes are. included in each program packet’, price, 50 cents each. - Ahother valuable ’program packet i~ n~mber’9, on~ Africa’. @his isa ~qllgw-up on a Unit of Study or~ Africal The ~nit’was for sixth graderi: the ’padke~ is :for all grades in elementary and~high :sctiools. Price, 50 cents:" ~ "’. ~ ~ MASTERPIECE. ON GRACE ~ ’ Those.who wisl~ to react a t~ruly i)eautiful and soundly theological exposition qf the nature of grace, should get Tl~e Glories of D~Vme Grace, by Matth~as Sc~eeben,. S.J., from the Graft Press, St. Indiana. Father Scheeben’s ~s one ~f th~ best theologica! treatises-on the;~fi~ject: ,and tee ~Grail now:~ublis~s"a readable E~gliih trlnsla- ¯ tion o~ the first part (on ~:the ~Nature ’of Grace) in-:an~.at[ractive 103-page boqklet.that sells for,25 cents. VOCATION BOOKLET ¯ ’ ¯ ¯ ~ "¢’~’I~ you~w~nt t~ see an ex.cep"t~o’n~al"ly attr~&ive v"o~c’a’t i"o ~n’b’doklet, write to’ the’ Sisters ~of Loretto, Nerinx~’PiO., Kintucky, and"ask for " a copy of their’ Vdcation Digest. 10 cents,. ~ copy,’with redu~tiohs for large orders: . ~ 140 Our Lady ot: I:atin a ih .the Light of I-listo.ry John A. Hardon, S.J. ’MAY 13, 1947, was-the thirtieth anniversary of the first ~Y~ apparition of the. Blessed Virgin at the grotto-of Iria on the outskirts of the little Portuguese town 6f Fatima. In October of the same year, Our Blessed Mother ri~vealed hersdf as "The Lad~r of the Rosary" and asked that all faithful Christians make ~ep~ration through her to her Divine Son for the sins of the world. She said: I p~romise to help at the hour Of death ~)ith the graces needed for salvation, whoever, on the first Saturday o of five cohsecutive months shall confess and receive, Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Ro~a~y and, keep me company for fifteen minutes while~ mediLating on the fifteen mysterie~ of the Rosary.1 It~ is estimated that over ten million pilgrims have already vis’ited the shrine at Fatim~ si.n~ that" memorat~le Saturday noon in ~Vlay wl’i’en’ "the. behutlful Lady domd frorh’he~i~c~n’; first appeared to Lucia ~li~ Jestls and her t~6 compar~ions." Countless more hav~ ’f0116wed biddin~"hnd~i~ai~h~fully made the five first Sati~:days~ in her hohor and ifi ~eparation to the Divine Majesty.~ Ou~ i0ur-pose herd will not be to dilate any further ~on the’devotion to Otir’Lady of Fatima except for rind distinctive’feature which surrofinds thedevotion a,nd, in a sense, ~onstitutes it:, Mary’s first appea.raiace to the Portuguese children,was on a Saturday, ~and the shbstance of the message which she gave to .the world’ through them centers about a special conse-cration of Saturday in her name. Why Safurday? ~Why not some other day of the week? The answer to this ques-tion carries us badk through fiftden hundred years of.CaSh- 1Cacella, Fatima and the Rosary (New York: St. Anthony’s Welfare Center. 1944). 141 JOHN A. HARDON " Renew fc~" R.etigious olic’history. ,~" : _ i :i ~ :Though we may reasgnably suppose that the last day ~f the g’eek Wa;~e~ia|l]rrdedicated to Ou, r .Lady from the first centuries of the~hurch, the earliest available evidence we have to this ~ffe~t date~ from the pontificate of St. Inno-cent I: Towards the close of,his eventful reign of sixteen years, Innocent publis~ed~a~ letter,to’the faithful, which’ ~" now shrouded in a good deal of bbsc.~rity on. exact details bu~ which sub~tanti~l.ly decreed.that the. Saturday of~ week was to be observed as a ~a~ of: absti~ence in honor of the Sorrow~ 0f the Blessed Virgin. English chroniclers are not fully agreed on .t~e credi~ which should be given to" the Benedictine-m~nk~ Alcuin, for assigning the Votive Mass and ONce of the Blessed Vir- . gin t6 Saturday: but popular tradition woul~ favor gi~ing " him entire ~redit for’ both innovations." Under’UrbanII, the rec~tatmn of she ONce of the Blessed V~rgm on Satur-day was made obhgatory on all clerNs and monks m com-mumon~ w~th Nome,~nd Vouve Masses of the Blessed V~r-gm~ were~decreed for, every Satugdag of the gear unless pro~. h~b~ted by ~xphc~t,rubncs to the contrary. It was th~s same. t~ont~, Urban 11, wDose devotion to.Mary ~rpmpted, mm to compose the beau~!ful preface of the Mass ~n Her~onor, wmcn ~s st~ll’an use at me present day. , With. the 3d~ent of~ St. ~?rnard .in .the .twelfth,ce~tur, y, a~ new er~as born in.the Church’s de~otion,to-th~ M~ther of God. This .remarkable s~int, who~duripg h~,lifetime esta she ~e~enty ~Cistercian monasteries~ assist~d~at~in- -numerable ,councils~an~ syno~s~preached ~a, ~Crusade, in France and, as~.one biographeqputs i~;., ." cran e"o~me twelfth centur~on, _ ~, ~ ~,.~ ~is., shqulders,",. heavenly Mother the ~eroic strength~h~ needed tocarry him successfully through all his labors. When you.foIIow Mary," he woul’d tell the ~eopl~, ’~(h~re is ~ostraying f~6~ ,.May;, 194 7 . OUR LADY OF~FATIMA ~th~ way ;, when, you~pray.to her, there is no Cause,to despair;" if she holds your hand; you will not° fall; and if she~pfotects you, there is no need’ to fear!’~ Now. it~,was Bernard ’ who first suggested the~,theological foundation,~.for~the Church’s consecration of Saturday ton’the Blessed,Mother.’i In.his seventh"ser~on on the Assumption,. he ~ays In Mary alone did th~ faith of the Church remain steadfast during . ~h~ three, days that desu~ lab.,in the tomb. And alt~gugh, everyon~ ~se wavered, she who conceived Christ in f~ith, k~pt,the ,faith that she h~d once for all received from.God a~d never lost. "Thus could she wait kith"~ssure~ hope for the glory of tBe’ Risen Lord. Afte~.~S~. Bern~rd~had~iaid th~ fo~dad6n for the ~ra- ’ditiofiil Felief that lviary s:fatth never fglterid even during ~he m~st-trying ~ays ’bfher life, i(was left f~ T~omas h~inas to interpret ’fhis convictibn i~ terms b( the cen-turies- old custom of. dedicating Satflrdays t6 Mary. There, ~are at’A~’st tw~ p~laces in St.~Thomls’ publ.ish~d works which, sl~ce.his t~me, fiave serVedto explain GH~ of all .Other da~ S~turday should be,spec~ally~devoted, to Mary. In’h~s commentry on the prop~ecy ., of Isa~as (63:3), h~ writes’:-"Isaias was-speakipg of ~[is~*~en"h~ "(~0daefi ~Be:~i~e-,~e~ alond, :~0 0f the’gdn~il’e~’~there is not a man (wr) w~tB Me. The~ prophet uses~tBe word mao pu~osely, because of the Blessed Virgi~, ’in whom faith never failed. Even more exphc~t are Aquinas reflec-. tiondon the Third~C6mmandm~fit of the Decalogue~" w~ere he goes.into considerable detail to explain why Almighty God ~rdered mankind to keep holy the Sabbath Day. :Orig~nal!y the reason Was to make.men mindful-of the fact that the.world did not exist from all eternity but was cre-ated~ in a limited period of time, after which "God rested off the seventh day from all the work which He had done." The Jewish’Sabbath was, therefore, to be a memorial .of the first creation 0f the physicgl universe. With the coming of 14,3 ’ JOHN ~.HARDON Christ, the Lord by His grace made man into a new creature and this new creation was begun with the Savior’s Resur-rection from the dead. St. Thomas declares: Since thexResurrection to6k place on a Sunday, w~ keep holy t~is day instead of the Sabbath.as did the Jews of old. However, we also sanctify Saturday in honor of the glorious Virgin Mary who remained unshaken in faith all day Saturday after the death of her Divine Son. ’Early in the ~ixteenth century and about forty years after the discov~r.y Of the New W_orld, the Mother of God consecrated the soil of America by her miraculous appari: tion to a poor Indian laborer, Juan Diego, in what is now Mexko City and was once the stronghold of’Montezuma, Emperor of the Aztecs. Juan Diego had only. recen.tly been, baptized and was on his wa9 to assist at the Mass of the Blessed Virgin, at a place called Tlaltelalco, when he sud-denly saw a Lady of marvelot~s beauty standing .in ~the ~ midst Of the multi-colored light~ of a rainbow. "Her gar-ments," ohe later testified, "shone so much that the ro~gho rocks which rose on the hill top, struck by the .rays, seemed to.glitter like polished gems." -". ’ Looking upon him with a soft and endearin~ s/nile, the ~Lady said to him in his own simple dialect: "Juan, my Child, #here are you going?" "M~r noble mistress and Lady," he answerd~, %’I am.on ,m~ why to hear the Mass to which God’s minister.s admit US. Without ftirther introduction, ,the Blessed V~rgin tdld him: "Know, my,. child, tha~ I, am Holy Mary, ever Virgin, the Mother of the true God,~ Who is the Author of life and " the Creator of a!l things.[ And know that I~wish to have’ built here on this spot a church in my honor. From it,,I ;is a merciful Mother to ygu and others like you will show forth my affectionate clemency.’’~ $Veg~, Our Ladg of Guadalupe (Mexico City: Buena Prensa, 1939), pp. 6 sqq. 144 Ma~, 19~47 OUR LADY OF FATIMA °0 i Such ,was,the noble origin of,.the, shrine of.,Ou:r Lady of Guadalupe’; ,which Pius,~"X expressly called,-"by,~ common right, a monument of the piety Of the who!e of America." The yearof the first apparition to Juan Diego was 153"1: -the day was Saturday, D~cember the-ninth. Charles B0rr~meoarid John of the Cross were undoubt-edly two df the greatest devotees of Mary among the~saints Of the sixteefith century. They, died within seven yea, rs of .each other, Borromeo at Milan and John at Ube’zla in Spai.n. But we could hardly find" two ot.hdr saints~ in’ God’s Church who’were more Widely separated in temperament and, in their mdnner of serving’God. One~vas h"mystic, Whos~ characteristic virtue was a profound humility born of years-of the hardest-interior trials and,persecu~:ion at the ,hands of his enemies; ,fl£e other wasa sciofi~ pf. thee MedMs, bishbp.~ ,reformer, and mah Ofadtion, Who has" justly merited the tile of "the second Ambrose." Yet these ,two. disparate souls wereunited in,their .common ~love of Mary,. comrri:only ~xpressed, by a Special ,consecration,ofl,the’ Saturday ~,df each week-oin :her honor. .,,, .,,, ~. ,- .Orsenigo,, the officLal b~ographer of St:,Charles Borro: meo, w~ites of 15ira: "~Oti~ shin’t"s zeal*fot- the’cfilt: ~f Maiy Immaculate< was.’extraordinary. ¯ He, may be’ called° the apdstle df devotion to, Mary in the’Milanese diocese in the. sixt&nth:i:enthry."~’ He recited her Ro~ary aswell~ as her Ottice every~ da9 on his knees.:" On hea~ing the Angelug~bell, thgugh the ground might be wet and mudd~r,he would fall~on his knees~even in the public street. ’Over the main doorof every church in the archdiocese, he caused an image of Mary to be ,placed as, a reminder ,to the, faithful that she is the .Gate of Heaven. But more pertinent to our interest, Liguori ~ecords’of,him that h~’-fasted on ,bread anal water / aOi’senigo, St. Charles Borromeo (S.t. Louis: B. Herder Book Co. 1943), p.~ 286. ¯ - J45 JOHN A~ HAR~DON " ’ Re.view f~R~ligio’u’s every~Saturday, of~ the year~un prmse"o~,the.Mother, o~-God. ~nd. in the:first ~prowncml synod held under ~h~s~ authority he’ordered that~Mass~be celebtated ever, y Saturday~:m h6nor of~the Blessed Virgin,%r~ if’~this "~were n0t. f~aSihle ~-that: at least a commemdratiom of ’ the~ ~irgin, ~be .a~ded t6: tfi~ prayers of the Mass, ~Hn, the’ninth ~sy.n0&W<xead~ that he o~dered, tbe~ clergy work a ’blessiffg;,’fdhra:ptiplpe. h: f"e i.s. i.n.v~ a/ r~i’a b’ ly, the- ’full, active lifg -, AS ~’fi~al ~hfa~e’in’~he Lit~ny>of thg Lorn we s6metimes ,hdar ~hiS~ "I ~Uff&" p~ivafibns." Thus’6ne young. ,nun went~about~,her’rdonvent ~t~gically mute andpal~-cheeked ./dr:a ~hole day.,:b?caflsg in ;~he-extremest ,sekerities ~f Wh r2 rat~omng the ,superior had~beemunable <to prowde but-term’for the breakfast~table that dly:~ And thus a-grogp of ~o~g religidug men "~we~e i~’,’hlgh’: dudgeon-, f0r~:we~i ’because~ likewise during the ,wartiNe shortages, tbew favor-ite brands of ;igarettes wer~,,n%t:t& be- fou~d, in"tb~ eom~ munity’supply room~ And "thus"~nother group of bider :religioufosr m. a-By"~prot~ested’’ to "high,~au~horiti~s because, als~ duHh~ the" war/~thei~ :rooms were~ not :constantl.y heated,~to ~eight~:five:~ degrees;, ~, Pnvatmns~ ’ i~ thisnot the languag~ dfrspoil~d~’childrefi?~ ~Are the majorit~ of bur ’,’ha~dsh~ps’~ " . 1’~ :not~)i(fiyune¢~ fiq~-find’-ten-cent’~tOff?~’ r~e they not frankly unfit to menti0fi~am0ng’Chnsti~s?-~ ~e d~e~ up.~a comprehensrve g~ousqffe ~mposes upon. us; sb0h}d ~ ha~ raft, courage to show that list to ou.~"~i~kdin ", who,-~now .wHat ;real hardships are? "O this complaining,., God- help u~, among nuns!" exclaims Saint Teresa of Avila (and she might have added, wi~h equal cause, ::~ng,.,gehg~9.U~’~ men, too’~") And, ins.t.e.ad,of prescribing, :~",mi!k" for. the complainers shgorders th~s~-strong meat":: ,"Make gp~ your ~minds~ :~ . ithat you ca~e h~’~e togid f& Chrigt, ahd figt to’ ga~e ,’~ -~ ".’ O~S~ CHris~!"’ D Stri~e a~ th ~o0t oLthe matter~ Once we-fixMear!y, im mind. the thesis.that, as ,we go~ t~, a b~ker’s for bread, to a .butcher’s f~r meat, we have come~tb religiou~ life for mortification, for humiliation, for suffer-ing, then we shall develop no morbid self-pity, no complex of martyrdom. " (ZLAUDE KEAN- - " Yes,-we need-~to catch the ~tbne for our-religio.us life not from the modern bedside.books, but f~rom the lives of real religious: of th~A~postles, w.ho°, .r.e.3.olced because.they w~re found worthy to suffer for Christ’-’~;. of a Saint Paul, who. could ’say, "Henceforth let no man be bothersome to me, for I,bear jn m~r flesh the wounds of the Lord Jesus"; of "a Fr~i~ncisof Assisi/who called pyramided ~lifficulties. and mis- Understandings and maltreatment-~’perfect joy"; "of a Teresa of Avila organ. Angela Merici or a Mother Seton, who all protes.ted that their starkly bare cells were so much better than the stable of Bethlehem. "Or, to cite ,a modern instanc.e, we need to catch some-thing of~ th~ .sp~irit of the mother, of those fixce Sul!ivan~’b0ys who went down at sea-on the some, battles.hip. "Five wounds?~’ she ec.hOed, in answer to a ~reporter’s question. ,’,’~yes, five wounds. But th_en, Christohad five wounds.- And after all." she added in a tone thav seemed~.to~x~lain everythihg,’ "we are Catholics." _ :o If.-some]gra,ce,.of the wounds ~of Christ, comes upon us, shall~ we.complain? Or shall we not. rathers/ay, "W~ounds? ’Yes. ~-But, after,~ all,, we are rel.~glous o. ¯ "" ~; ’ OUR CONTRIBUTORS -~" EDWARDJ. CARNEY is Superior of De Sales Hall, ~he Scholast~cate of tfae Ol~htes of. St. Fraticis de Sales. Washington, D:C. CLAUDE R. DALY is a niissiohar~ Ceylon. dOHN A. HAP, DON is a student of theology~at West Baden College, West Baden Springs, lndianal ’-T. N.JO~GENSEN is OU ihe faculty of Creighton Uni-versity, Omaha, Nebraska. CLAUDE KEAN is Prii~cipal ’of~Timon High School. Buffalo. New York. " RICHARD L. ROONEY is Editor of Queen’s-Work, publica-tions. Miracles Do. I-hppen Claude R. Daly, S.J. NOT many years ago it was fashionable to regard mir-acles as impossil~le, " Certain crit,ics of tl’ie Gospels blithely assumed’~hat the marvelous evehts recorded by the Evangelists just co, uld not have happened, ~ and they s~t about finding the "real meaning" of the words they read. Now, it seems, the fashion has chahged. Everything, is ,miraculous. It was the "miracle~of logistics" that brought supplies to eight million men scattered over the earth; radio and television engineers are preparing new "miracles" of science; new medicines are promised, more spectacu.lar than the "miraculous’’~ penicillin and sulfa drugs. Now the word miracle, as used-in the Church, has a technical meaning. A miracle is a ;¢isible event, of divine origin, that cannot be explained by natural laws. Not every wonderful event can be called a miracle. As St. Augustine remarks (Breviary, 4th Sunday~ in Lent, III Nocturn), the governing of~ the~ universe is a greater w’onder than feeding five thousand men with five loaves Of bread. There is a stup,endou~ marvel of divine powe~ hid- "den~ in every grain~ of.wheat, if only, men would stop to think about’it) All nature is marvelous, but dvents that occur in, .the ordinary c6urse of nature are not calldd ,miracu-lous. A miracle’is an exception to the l~ws of nature. ’Men -get so Used to the.wonders of nature that they are taken for granted; but men fhil to see the attributes of God mani-fested in His creatures. So God in His mercy reserves cer-tain events which are beyond the.ordinary course.of nature and which He brings about at opportune times. T--ho~e ! who pay no.attention to the everyday wonders of nature 177 CLAUDE R. DAL¥ Review for_ Religious will be struck by the m~iracle, not because it is more won.- ~lerf~u~l, but" (to- clte"St~., Augustine- again) because it ~s untlsual. ~Nb matter h6w phenomenal an event may be, it is not miraculous if the laws of nature ~xplain it. Sometimes a writer, inttod,uc~ a~noiak"’6f the thirteeiath c~n~ury ’.asa -visitor to the m0d~rn ’world, and~, p"~. c’tures him regarding ;everything he sees as mir~icul0tia: He s.prink!es holy water~ ’bn tfi~ radio to drive awa~ tile devil whose’.voic~ he hears. The fiery, "smoke-brea t, hing ~’dtagori i~f a,,locorriotive ,terrifies- ~flim,:: And.~6ther ridiculous detaiil~ are added~ to :suit the writer s imfigiriation. This pic~tur~.:i~ b~sed on the°SulSpo-si~ ion that"mi’ra~cles are’events Whose natural ~cause~ ~we’tt6 not kfiow ;,~vshich is a false supposition. "Th~ monk .wduld" dofibtl~sS"be amazed: at ~he progr~ss;men havre made in,rising l~he forces of ffat~uref But l~e w6uldn6t° ~8n~id~r~it ~ira’cu~ lous toe’sit at’,a., ~adio "in Amerika: and listen’: to the Holy ,Father ~speaking ih’ R~ome., Even,ln~ the.thirteenth~centu~y it wpuld not h~ive :been~rfii~acul6us to :uSe-a radio’; and on the other,~hand, t6~talk across the ocean without~an instru-men~ t would; be miraculous, even; today.-.We stil.l~ db not know how much .can ’be~ done~b,y~pFoper use.~.of.n~ttur~al "for~es; but ’there are-some things:.w~hich we know nature ca_nnot do. _Fotqnstance,~ dead,men, do .not. naturally come ,back tO life.,~ Ih-other.cases, what happeias may be~ n~itural .~nough, but the way it happens~is,,beyond the powers of nat.ur.e. People db recover fromtuberculosis; but they do not recover instantageously and perfeCtly’after 6n~ immer-sion. in cold spring water. The day may come when iep-’ 1Soviet scientists are reported to have revived persons who were "clinically dead": that is, persons who gaveno perceptible signs of life. But. :iccording to the report.- the longest time that has.elapsed betweei~ apparent death and revival bY their methods has been six minutes: after that time .th’ey have been unable to restore circulation to the brain, "These experiments are not examples of raising the ~dead_. They merely confirm.what is alread, y widely known. "Clinical death" is not always the same as real death. 178 Ma~, 1947 MIRACLES DO HAPPEN ro,~r, cancer, and arthritis will bd curable; but, the~r t~eatm.enr will be "more~ complicated than ,.kissing: a belic, o~ drinking Lourdes.water,oor wearing a Sacred~Heart~ bridge. EVeff Catholic~g" sometim’es~-call "miraculo~i~’-’~ !@h~t woi~ldbe better fiamed;pro#i~ential:~ God~ea~’su~p~d tile iaws 0~f n~rufe "~Vh~neve~.~e chobses and ~ often a~ He chooses; but ifi His’Ordin~ar~- prowdence He makes Use them. I~ a soldier’s:lif9 is s~q6d bdcauie his ~capul~r’~e6al defleits a ’bullet, he, ean certainly attribute his escap~ to’~th? protection of the’BleSsed Vii~in;"but it i~ not a miracle: A dime or a good-luck charm might have deflected the bullet just as well. God freqhently answers pra’~ers b~y ~eans of unexp, ected coincidenceg, by playing’one natural force against, another. It is,~bg means,of His n~tural laws that God~ar~s for :the,lili~s~0~ the field and,the birds of the air. By,these.same laws: He takes ~uch more c~re of us. God’s o~dinary prowdence is ~just ~s wonderful’ as His ~iracl~i~ ~ .O.n :l~y. "th~e’ommpotence of God~ c ~an ch~ht~hee s u "b~s t~an :c~e of bread into’~-the su3~t~hc~ of the body of Christ. ~BOt~ is no~ called a miracle b~dause’it is not visiBie.’ ~ pur-pose of miricles*is to ~all’ men’S attention fb th~’~istence a~d power of G~d~ oi~d’-~dm~ other r~igiofi~ fact. ~’When~ evera’man has cl-~i~ed to ~e a messenger or ~on, ~ii feilb~ citize~ ~ave al~a~s d~m~n~ed tfi~ h~how sdm~ sigh.:6f his divine mission. The sa~e demand ~s~ made of Church tod~ since she claims to Speak m th~ name 6f God. She: ~oints "-td miracles~" the mi~a~le~; ~f. Christ; ahd’ the ~iracles"of"her’~aih’ts~’ ~visibelv~e’n "ts ~; ~ ~ t’a~n g’i"ble hermlss~on, whose meam~g ~s easgy grasped by ev~rg~ody. Nature follows a course governed’by fixed an~ well-known laws; ~nd When me~:ge~ sbmeth’i~gh~p~en afva~iince ~ith th~se laws,, they r~’ Ogniz~: the ~ntervention~,df ~a power.~ . " ~-Can:the’devil:work miracles~ ~ben M~s~s and Aaf6n , ~1~9 CLAUDE R. DALY " ~ Review for.Religious ~ appeared~ before Pharao, they showed signs to p~o~re they w~re sent by God. But Pharao sent for wise men and magi~ clans to do whatever they did. Aaron, at Moses’ com-mand, castdown his rod, and it wasoturned into a serpent: the ~,m~gicians~ likewise cast down their rods, which were turned into serpents. Aaron touche~ the river with his rod, and .it was turned into bloo_c!; the magicians did likewise. Aaron s~;ret~hed forth his hand° upon the waters of Egypt, /and.frogs came up and covered the land; the magicians also produced frogs. _ But- wher£ the third plague came, in form of sciniphs on men and beasts, the magicians were unable to duplicate Aaron’s perforinance And they said to Pharao, "The finger of God is here." Whether they did t~hei.r first wonders, with the .help of the devil, or by some sleight, of hand (for which the Egyptians are even today famous), ~e~ cannot definitely sl, y. ’The histories of false mystics record a number ,of astonishing feats apparently p~.rformed with the aid of the evil spirkt. B.ut-a genuine. miracle is from God, and is good in ,al.l itsoaspe~ts. -ILthe devil ,d.~es some~thing ex,traordinary; it is onlyrwith G~d’s P~rm~ission; find God will see to ito that no innocent person ,s harmed. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. God sometimes allows,him to assume the form~£~ an angel Of light, but he alwaysbetrays himselfobY his serpent’s tail He cannot work a miracle.~ 0. Do miracles~happe.n any ~nore? They do. At~least two .miracles are required, in addition to proof of heroic virtue or of martyrdom, for the formal beatification of a servant of God: and for canonization, [wo fu?ther miracles must. be wrought after beatification. How are miracles recognized in suchcases? First, there is the question of fact. What happened?. Most frequently the favors alleged as miracles are cures, and the investiga-tion determines whether the person said to be cured is really 180 ’ May, 1947 MIRACLES:Do HAPPEN cured. The second question,is ~wlSether t~he;fact alleged as a ¯ miracle, c~in;~be explained by .the ’laws of, nature. ~ ~,’T.~l’ie fac~ is disc6vered~as an~r" fact is discovered inca court of law . Testimony is takefl from’the patient"con-cerned,,. from the" att~ridirig ighysician, from other doctors, the.nurses, and other eye-witnesses. All witnesses testif~y ur~der oath~and, are subject to cross-e’xamihation. Anyone whoha~ grounds for believing that the miracle is n’o~ gehu~ ifie i~ bouiad.t0 say what he knows, evemthough he is not asked.~ More recent cures’ard in general well documented. "I-IospitaLrecords are betterkept than formerly,, and X rays and other .records are.available, to show the, patien~’s?con-ditidfi . , o ~. = = B~ides the usual ,~i[nesses,.,tw6 experts ate designated to inquire into the case. If they agree that there i~ no mir.- acle, the" caseris rejected without, further discussion. "If one thinks there is a ::miracle~ and the other, disagrees, the opin-ions" of two Other experts are~sought. For cures, the experts are physicians ~’ahd surgeons ;widelykn~own~’for theirknowl-edg~ and ~experience, ;’ and are. preferably specialists., in’- the dise~ase al!eged:~tO have been cu~ed.- . ,, ¯ Thus the facts:are established. Such’anti’such a person w, as si~k of ~uch and~ sfich a’.disease.~ Ona definite ~at~’~ in certain cibcfimstances,.the:patient,recovered!o Fore’example, Ida,.aged ~6, was°treatedr with X,~r.ays fbr-osteomalacia (~oftening of~the.bones due to a’qoss,of mineraLmatter)~ Fromthis I~reatment.she received, serious burns ori th~ abdo’- men, one fibout 15 ~by 12 centirrieters,,,-the other ,slightly less._- These burris were. considered~ in~u~able, not tO say fatal. Particles ~o~ tl~e relicsof a saint were applied On Sep~ terhber,".3~1922. Ida’~was instantly cured,~ not’only of the ~e~xcept the colifess0r. Tl~e confessor is ilot allowed to give testimony’ about,~any-thing he has learned in a sacramental confession, even though he be released from theseal. In fact,: whate’~er ~vas le;irned b)~ anyone i~i any~manne~ On tl~ 6ccasionof a sacramental confession is not ~dmissible a’s e~ide~ce.’ Canon 175-7,’ § 3, 2"~ ,~ " 181 CLAUDE R~. DALY" ~ ’~ :burfis~bd~ :of~ t~e.dsteomal~cia~as,~el.l.~ Anoth~r~.~example: "Alvih, d ten@ear-olO, boy; always a;sickly, c~ild.~, There.~as,tuber~ulosis ih hi~’,fam-ily,:~ and, from,.’infan@ heiwa~ alway~ s~ffering,~f~om~one ailment, or;~nother.~ Ih J.une;,1 ~25, he was pretty: sick,"but ’the~doctor said it was nothing serious.~ However, before.he recovered .fro~ this,illness;~ he,shoW~d,sym~to~ ofo a~hew ~nd~.critica~;disea~e, which ~was di~gnbsed as~miliaty ~tuber-culosis: ,." The,.~irulence of .the.~disease com~ined~it~ ~he boy:s;~gen~raF’debility wrought such. havoc th£t-~ in a few .days 2~ver~bod~,~concern~d :had giveh’~upl recovery.,; ~H~s.mother ~had e~en made all ~the arrangements for the funeral and had selected the memorial card’~she man.t.~ed~rinted. ~ But the rectoroAflvtn, s ~college; ~,~ho did n0t~yea.li~e~the~ gra¢ity of his coddition,*or~an~zed~anQvena,. beginning June .2.1:: ~ ;On the 2,Sth, Alvin ,was’ defini~el,y improved;, t. anda:b~ the.~, 29 th~.,;~wh~n~ the Al-vin’s4fings mere~f~ee~rom all-signs;Qf’ the~diseasemnd.the - b~as, restored to .perfeat/and ;lasti~g;h~alth~ ~ ’~ ~he"m’"e x"t, step:igto deter~in~:whet~et’~the f~ct:s; disdovered, can be expla~ned~naturall:y.~4 ~ere-aie’~ }hdu,’ ~ands .of people, who ~uff~r,-fio~_imaginar~ disease~’;~ and }h~r, cures~re ~:just:as imaginary. ~’ Aa~hypodermic;injec~ion 9f ~alt wate~ quiets ~the, pan~s ,of some"mo~hine,,addicts;~. 0ad~ br~ad pills~ bring:sleep .to} persons, with ~ipsbmnia. ~Emo-tiona} strain somet.imes bring~ ~n symptoms :of ~a" ~eal dis-ease;.,~ bu~ the. symptoms disappear a~ soon:as the relieved. In August,~-1946, tee papeis car;ied the, sio}y’:of a man who had ~been considered paralyzed for twenty years; when he saw his~Son return after five years 0f war, he t~ew~away his crutches and walked. Functional dis-eases, in Which the organ is structurally sound but forsome ~Ida was cured by St. Andrew Bob£1a. AAS ~IX. 1937~ pp. 347-349. Alvin bE St. R~b~rt Bellarmin% AAS ~II. ,1930, ~p. ~93-604. 9.4 7 , .~o o reason does,,not:work, sometimes disappear of themselveS: ¯ Psychology textbo6ks describedhow hysteria imitates other diseases. " 0,,.~ Now all these,oddities are w.e.ll-known by the men who decal Nith alleged miracles; ahd j.f there is.anyprobability of so.explaining a, cure, they reject ~the case,.°. But,.there are definite limitations to these natural explanatio~n~ oLsudden (ures. An unconscious chil.d is .not gqing to .be cu.red ,by" suggestion; and it takes more than a strong emotional dis-turbance tO heal a broken skull." The only cases seriously considered are cbncerned with organic diseases,¯ where damaged tissue has been re)toted in. a.n__.ext.r~aordin~ry.way. The exampl’es cited above are typical Of’ th~dis~ases cared; and a curg0ry gl~ance :at -the~miracles )ecognized in. recent ca/ionizations reveals cures "of~ chemical .burns, "uicerated tumors, tuberculosis, peritonitis, glomerulonephritis, and concussion of ~the brainl Diseases such. as these Cannot,.b~ cur~’d by imagination, or emoti~6n,- o? suggestion. The most remarkal~le feature of miraculous ~cures is their rai~idity. Most frequently, they are instantaneous. At one moment the person is sick; at the~ next he is well. In other cases, such as a novena, the ~ure takes place, in the space of a few day.s. There is no l~;ag period of convales-cence; strength and vigor are restored without delay. The cures are lastii~g: cases whers ~ relapse occurs are reject.ed. When the evidence has all .been gathered and the investi-gating commiti:ees all agree that there is question of some2 .\thing beyond the powers oLnature, the decision whether, the cure is a real miracle or not is reserved, in the ’causes of saiiats, to the Holy Father personally. In a general session -of the° Sacred Congregation of Rites, all the testimony is briefly" reviewed the Ca’rdinals, the prelates who were on the several boards, and the. consultors give their opinions. " The Holy Father usually postpones ~his~ decision fbr a few i BOOK REVIEWS °~ ~ Reoieto fdr Religious -days .whil’ehe prayerfully considers the matter. Then, if ¯,and,when he.chooses, he publishes 15is decree: "It is certain .that a miracle has been wr6ught." , .~ , "But theApostles went-forth and preached everywhere, " while the Lord worked with-them and-confirmed the preaching by the-signs that followed." The Church still preaches everywhere; and,the Lord still works with her, confirming the preaching by s~igns. Book Reviews TESTING THE SPIRIT. By the Reverend Felix D. Dr,ffey, C~.S.C:. Pp. 174. B. Herder Book Company, St. Louis, 1947. $2.00. Religious superiors have long recognized the need of a careful scrutihy of candidates to discover emgtional defects which, if not corrected, might prove serious obstacles to adjustment and progress iia the religious life. In the second of the four parts of this book the author provides vocational counselors with twenty-one questions which-they may use as the basis for such a scrutiny. The questions: are accompanied by brief commentaries, usually including suggesti’ofis for. the correction or control of the undesirable tendencies revealed by the scrutiny. Despite the fact that the questions-are not arranged according to an orderly plan and that the commentaries are-often too brief to afford much help to one who is not already rather well-e~ quipped, with a knowledge of psychology and mental hygiene, this ’ section of the boOkis, I believe, the most original and the one most likely~t.o be useful to vocational counselors. In the third section Father Duffey lays great stress bn the efficacy of the particular examination of conscience as a means of teaching young’ religious to know and to improve themselves. By making proper use of the examen they can discover their "predominant tendenc~r of pride," eradicate the faults springing from this tendency, and control the tendency itself through the application of inspiring motivation. The author’s plan runs as follows: There are. five different kinds of pride to which the faults of human beings can." - 184 " Ma~l, 1947 BOOK REVlEWS usually be traced. The young religious, is to Check,his own faults and.,an~lyze~them :until~be has discovered the particular’kind:of pride from~,whicb they arise~ LThis is his owfi predominant tendency,.’or predomir~’ant passion. Once he knows this, he is to compare the resultan~.~p!cture~ of himsblf with-Christ’, his vocational ideal, .rand . through ,prayerful ~reflection he is to be inspired to eliminate"these . fa~lts~ and*control his pride in order to be more like Our Lord. The ~ method of accomplishing this growth into Christ is likewise the par-t~ cular"exam~nat~on bf conscience, w~ich may be use~, ne~ativ~l~ b~ ehm~natlUg faults a~n~ ~o~iti~ely~ by ~th~ cultivation of the contrary Christlike~virtue:~ ~ ,. o : . ~ -The idea 0f s~If:fe’formation th~oug~ Wholesome motivation~ is ce~tai~]~ a ~ound one. And t~e ide~ of using the ~articular examina= tiod of conscieh& to accomplish:this result is als0’ qhite~sou~d. ~t it seems to me that the author’s use of the word "pri~e" qs.]ikely to~e confusing and that he’might better call" the five main tendencies by their~ specifi~ names, and drop the wdrd .~’pride.’,~ Moreover, though"the theory of th~ predominant tendency has stroag tradi-tional b~cking, I believe,that, it has been~,greatly overrated~. Religious often waste, a great deal of. t~me searching fgr a predominant pare,on whic~ often ~ither?dbes not exist o~ which~ manifests itself in .such subtle forms that only~ a~traine& psychologist could discover it. The sec0h~d ~nd~third sections make uff:the~ubstance of:t~is book: the first a~d ~durth parts seem to be more in the nature of fore-word and epilogue. (Fa~. ~Uffey ~ight not agree with this evaluatiou, for he seems to consider ,the fourth part of ~reat impor-tauce.) In the first pa~,~he,~Ethor discusses the pros and cons of having mental hygiene-tests for candidates for the religio~s life. He comes to the~e conclusions: that no such tests are at present available; that it,would be di~cul~,~if nor impossible, to "devise rhorougbly’a~de,.~ quake tests; but that sdme ~uch ~crutin~y, :even’ ~hbfigh. inadequate, is gb~sr’all~ .useful.: This dissussion clears the ground for t~ sedfion. The fourth part of the book contai~s.,an’analy~is of’the nature of ~ocation to the ~re~igious life. My impression is that ~atber Duffey’s e~rnestness in trying to make this point clear leads him into a wordiness that obscures ~he very notion he is attempting to ~lucidate. " The f6regoifig paragraphs are a ru~ning survey of the contents . of Te~ti~O tbe Spirit .and of the impressions made on this revi~we~. The~ author is a master of no~ices, and his book is obEiously the 185 BOOK NOTICES Review [~r,-Rellclio,,s product~of~,his o~wn critical reading and experience. "It treat~ of mat+ ters 0f.,vitaI’importanc~ t0-religious’superiord’and.;vo~ation~I coun~ selors.~,~It is _i~tended to help ~hem in ~dlecti~g~candidfite~ and :in forming the, characters ~of )young religious. " It has defects, ~bfi~ if has touch’merit, too; ~nd f6f this reason superiors find counselors shbuld .read it and make hse 6f th~ many helpful points~t~ey. ~ill find in ~ ",,~ ~ " G. KELLY,’S~J,~ THE;XPOSTOLATE OF SUFFERINg. ~y R~,.~R ,~B. ~t ~he riddle of pain still perplexes mann"minds ~as ~brough~ int~fOSus last f~fLin~ the atheistic ~roadcast O~pb~rt H., SSo~. ,~ Said ath~.ist Sco~t, in ~den~ng t~e existence of an all-wise ~nd a,~!~goofl God: ~He couyd have :prevented tuberculosis, cancer ~and infantile pa r as c. y. . ’i.? " , ~ . -. ~ ~ ~ ,~F~ther~tEiten ,not onl~ ~reconciles suffering.with a wise. an~. loving God, s.but weds,~the~, kPatient suffering is.an~apostolate?to bring sal-vati~ and sanctificati6n ,to. men;.through pain men ~share :in tht Rede~ption~ the. greatest, work of their,~est:Friend and-L0ver, ~esus; r ,,,,~-.SoJidity and,.unction’~blehd nicely in _this _work; .~hich inter-felates,.~ uffering, "doctrinds~ and devotions. ~ While it is not’ easy reading;~its’populgr appealds apparent ~-the~widespread demand~.f0~. ~e,cbap~gs,. which,’o~ginall.g appeate~d i~.Thf~ Apo~t{e._ M, B. MAdOLI, S.J. T~d 8re~iloquiam of St. Boaaventaie h~i beea tr~aslated into En~ii~heb~ Ef~m~ser Nemmers (B. Herder Book~Company, St, Louis. 1946; pp3 xxii ~ .248; $3.00), It~is the authoEs, stated ,pu~ose ’~to rendei as~clearly.,,a~d~accurately as po~ible th~thought of the original," The translation seems "to havd been ~aken~ripcipally for ~’,’those students of medteval phdosophy ~ho m~ght find the , be noted however that’ the Brevdoq~um is primarily a theological work. I ".=~ Q~r Neigbbgrs of t~ Andes, by Florence D. David, a member ofthe Maryknoll Sisters’ community (Field Afar Pfe~, New York, 1947. Pp. 92, 35 cents [pa~er]), is a brief historical suivey~ of the Church’i foreign mission .work Peru, Bolivia, and EcUador, "Suggestions fo~ Further Study" at the end of each chapter and a brief bibliography offering some further sources of information tile three countries mentioned-add to the book’s u~’fulness. Worthy of special men-~ tlon is the author’s treatment o~ the cultural life, natural resources, and system of "reduetions’f in these republics. _ .May, ! 947 , - BOOK NOTI £shirao Parish, by Paul ~’Connor,.:S.J. (The Bruce Publishing:Comp.any, Milwaukee, 1947; pp.~viii -1- 134: $1.75) presents a fascinating picture of mis-sionary life in one of, the’most difficult missions .in. the’ world. The author’has achieved, the ~ideal of the Church in his graphic narrative of Alaskan living in"as much as he gives us among other interesting items a. detailed account of the hard-ships endured by the missionaries without, emphasizing "the hard’part" and without in any way disparaging his Innuit Eskimos. On the contrary, he makes these tiard-ships .something to be laughed-at and enjbyed; and.the philosophy,bf ~ife of his Eskimo parishioners compares most favorably to say the least, with that of _many of their whi~e would-be-uplif~ers[ Every religi~oUs should read this book (it will make’excellent refectory reading) if only to contrast his little trials With those of an ~Alaskan missionary, and to imbibe some of the enthusiasm, courage,, and good humor of Father O’Connor. And every religious might apply to himself the que[y of the Eskimos: "They wonder why the white man, who has so much, finds so much to complain of," The scope of True Devotion to ;he Blessed Sa’crament (Frederick Pustet .Co., New York, 1946: pp. xxii q- 217~ $2.50) is to explain and give the th.eologiia.l foundations for the "Devotion to Jesus,in All the Tabernacles of the World." This was a favorite devotion of the late Father_ Joseph Damien Penderg;ist, O.P., who in the midst of a holy and hidden life was himself sanctified by this practice of adoring and praying to Our Lord, not in one tabernacle alone, but in all the taber-nacles of the world, and who found it a, fruitful source of. holiness for souls he directed.~’" The book c~ntains much theology; and it is not’eas~, reading, even fo’r a theol0gia9. The aut~aor prefers to remain anonymous because he does not.wish to detract in any way from ,Father Pendergas~, who conceived the idea of. props-. gating this devotion and asked that it be done. This motive for anon.ymi.ty is laudable indeed: .yet one might question the wisdom of failing to acknowledge authorship of a work which is so dominantly theological. Not that the. theology itself is questionable--i~t seems quite sound, although in many places’it might be somewhat clarified; but one reads a.th, eological work with greatest.ease and confi-dence if one knows the author. .- The. Burial Service and Funeral Mass (Rev. Wilii~am I-L Schulte, R~dio Replie~ Press, St. Paul, Minnesota;. ,102 pp., $.50) is a booklet that gives its readers a deeper appreciation of the mdaning andobeauty of the funeral Mass ind ceremonies. The "author has cleverly arranged his material. Each double-’pa’~e is~ ~ unit divided into four columns; two of the columns, printed in black, give the Latin text bf the Mass and ceremomes and an English translation: the~ remaining two, p~inted’iff red;:.- describe’and explain respectively the various ~erdmonies. One may perh’ap’s ques~iiJu some of the explanatio~is given and an o~casioffal liberty taken with the Latin tegt in-the English t.rauslation, but the-book as a whole is excellent. A well-made monthly recollection can do much to,keep religiou~ fervent in striving for perfection. To help Sisters in this imporyant exe,rcise,. Reverend Father Victor, C.P., a Belgian Passionist, who h.as had a wide experience in giving retreats to religious communitie.s, has written Monthly Recollection with Exarainatioti o¢ Con-bcience ~or Sisters (The Newman Bookshop, Westminster, Md.i 19.46; pp. ,’63, $.30). The fourteen chapters treat such topics as the vowi, the rule, men~al and. vocal prayers, and so forth. "Each.’ chapter consists of considerations and an examen,. and occasionally a formal meditation isadded. Th~ booklet concludes wi~h a special chapter for
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