T I G E R
B E E R
i i C i l i i O F F I C I A L O R G A N O F C A T H O L I C A C T I O N
PUBLISHED W E E K L Y .
T I G E R
B E E R
20 Pages. No. 17. SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935. 10 cents.
F R O M V I L L A G E B O Y T O _
A R C H B I S H O P .
CARLTON MEMORIES OF " ARTHUR KINSLEY/
FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS.—The bouse at Carlton, near Selby, in which was bom Monsignor Arthur Hinsley, the new Archbishop
of Westminster.—"Times" photograph.
A t the little village of Carlton, near Selby, Yorkshire, the older folk are talking about a hew A r c h bishop of the Catholic Church by his Christian name, and remembering h im as a little boy who was one of themselves. Now he is over 70 and a great church dignitary. But it makes no difference. The Most Rev. A r t h u r Hinsley, newly-appointed Archbishop of Westminster, is s t i l l " young Ar thur , " son of the village joiner. . .
A Hu l l reporter went to the v i l lage recently to collect reminiscences of the successor to Cardinal Bourne. He found them only in faded photographs, implied by old buildings, and in the minds of old people. For it is many years since Monsignor Hinsley left Carlton picked out from among the pupils of the little Catholic school as a suitable student for the priesthood. And it is about 40 years since he
last visited his birthplace. But the villagers have been basking i n reflected glory ever since the wireless brought the news to Carlton.
The house where he was born stands behind the Catholic Church, close to a mellow building wi th stained glass windows which, when he was a boy running through these treeshaded passage, was a convent. The workshop where his father, Thomas Hinsley, worked as a joiner, is now ivycovered and silent. In the house lives the v i l lage shoemaker.
" I remember Ar thu r used to play cricket for the vi l lage/ ' they say, and " A r t h u r was always a studious lad my mother used to tell me."
The Hul l and Yorkshire Times reporter searched for the school which first brought out those qualities of scholarship which have raised Monsignor Hinsley to greatness. The little room still stands
A N C H O R B E E R
SOLE AGENTS:
S I M E D A R B Y & C O . . L T D .
SINGAPORE ^ R A N C H E S
—but to-day it is a washhouse. His teacher, Miss Agnes Grew, has been dead for 20 years, but her daughters remember how she used to speak of " Ar thur . " The reporter found them in the village stores, belonging to their father, M r . Thomas Tindall, who is 90 years old, and dimly remembers the little boy who is now known to the world.
" M y mother used to speak of him often as a nice and studious boy," Miss Tindall said. " She always said he would make good, and whenever we heard of his progress she would say, 41 told you so. M y mother taught him until he was nine, and then she left to marry my father, and another teacher had him until he was 14. Then he was chosen to go to Ushaw College to study for the priesthood, helped by a legacy left, I believe, by a former Carlton priest."
There are two close relations of Monsignor Hinsley sti l l l iving in the vi l lage—Mr. Joseph Hinsley, a gardener, and Mrs . Woodhall, wife of a parish council workman, both of whom are cousins of the new Archbishop.
M r . Hinsley, who is three years younger than his cousin, remem
bers him chiefly as a young student coming home to the village for holidays from college. " H e was a good cricketer, I remember," said M r . Hinsley.
Monsignor Hinsley had two brothers, both of whom are now dead. H i s elder brother, Charles, went to London and became £ successful builder. The younger one, Thomas, stayed on as the village joiner for a time, but later he joined his brother in London.
The village priest, Father Vos, gave extracts f rom the registers, showing that Monsignor Hinsley had been born on August 25, 1865., was baptised on the 27th, and confirmed by Bishop Cornthwaite when he was nine years old. ! He served as an altar boy in the!vi l lage church for some time. There are two large stained glass windows which he gave to the church, one of them to honour B B . John Fisher and Thomas More, and the other a dumber of other saints, including St. Bridget.
" His father was called Thomas and his mother Bridget ," the priest explained. Both are buried in the churchyard, his mother dving in 1896 and his father in 1898.
{Hull and Yorkshire Times)
2
C A T E C H I S T S .
The solution, as we said before, is laymen and lay women who wil l l ive i n native surroundings and teach the catechism and prayers, —men especially who can preach sermons of instruction i n doctrinal njatters, always under the direction and supervision of the missioner himself, who from time to time spends some days or a week at the place of the catechumenate to check up, advise, administer the Sacraments and to impart the finishing touches to the course of preparation of converts.
L c us consider men catechists first. Few old Catholics make good catechists. The chief reasons are that old Catholics have often inherited a dislike for a l l converts, because of the persecutions they or the i r forbears suffered in the past at the hands of pagans, as well as a distrust of the motives o f new converts. They forget the mixed motives that led them or thei r ancestors into the fold. The old Catholic catechist is apt to expect too much from the catechumens, not realizing the severe break a convert makes wi th his past, his environment and age-old traditions. Often the best type of catechist is the convert of a few years. Where possible, he is t rained i n a school for catechists from one to three years, dur ing which course he learns to instruct, to preach and to catechise. In such £ school his inner spir i tual l i fe is strengthened by daily meditation examination of conscience, frequent reception of the Sacraments and spir i tual conferences, lest he be the source of bad example later on. We know of few native Catholics who can afford the luxury o f a full-time catechist career without salary. It is true, also, that the usual catechist's chief motive in working for the missioner is his daily bread. He accepts the added merit of cooperat ion in the apostolate wil l ingly and wi th zest, but this is not the main reason for his being a catechis t . It could hardly be otherwise, besides it is a fa i r ly good guarantee of his steadfastness and regularity. W i t h his i t is a profession. Whi le he is paid, the catechist, as we know , h im, is probably under-paid, through no fault of the missioner. Not all catechists are reliable, and the missioner must be prepared for human nature going haywire in some instances.
In this region we t ry to set a standard for men catechists in the matter of education, requir ing that they be graduates of the grammar school, at least. Catholic high school graduates are too few among, us, so we must be satisfied w i th less. Even this minimum cannot always be secured. A l though it seems little enough, it is a great distance in advance of the average peasant, who is more or
Catechists Catechumens and Catechumenates.
B y R e v . T h o m a s V. K i e r n a n , M . M ,
(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE)
as laborers, often away from home. The women not only care for the simple domestic duties, but must be carriers of water, which means bringing it a considerable distanee in many cases. It is not uncommon to see groups of women in the hills or in the hedges gathering grass, brambles, pine needles and twigs for firewood. The boys and girls have their round of duties too, the former are the watchers of the herds of water buffalo and cows that seek a scant forage from the grass along the rice field paddies or in the unfertile and rock-strewn plains and mountains. The girls are the nurse maids of the family, with a younger brother or sister forever tied to their backs. It seems that only the very old are exempt from work, and even then, lacking youngsters, they must do their turn minding the babies. It often occurs to us that the modern western man would quickly rebel at the necessity of caring for the infants which the Chinese male accepts as a matter of course.
P E T E R CHONG & CO., (The Catholic Store).
BOOKS FOR LENT SEASON:— Station of the Cross (Illustrated) Holy Week Book Bible History (Illustrated) Catholic Doctrine Imitation of Christ Holy Bible Catholic Boys' Guide Catholic Girls' Guide, etc.
These are the books that should greatly appeal to our fellow Catholics. Get them from the only Store of its kind in Malaya.
less illiterate. Some beginnings have been made to obtain a better educated class of catechists among ik-, but it wi l l be several years yet before any of our Catholic boys graduate from high school or college. It is doubtful i f they can even then be used as catechists, as positions as teachers wi l l be waiting for them.
A s for women catechists, while they do no preaching, their WTork is more difficult and the number of suitable candidates st i l l fewer. A young woman cannot be safely sent out as a catechist. Women of middle age are more suitable, less open to suspicion and danger. Due to the fact that so few girls receive any education in China, the problem of women catechists is acute. W i t h us, we t rain promising women for at least a year, under the direction of native nuns in the central mission. Here they are taught to teach the catechism and prayers, and by daily contact and conversation to ins t i l l the. rudiments of faith and practice in the converts. Most of them arc unable to read doctrinal or religious books, which is a great handicap, since they must depend mostly on the oral instruction they themselves received from the missioner or nuns to form their fund of information for teaching.
Catechumens. The catechume-.r.ate is the battle ground .on which contend the forces for good and evil, Christianity and paganism. We shall consider the catechumens who compose it. For the most part they are country folk, poorest of the poor, which is the rule among Chinese country folk. Some few men, s t i l l fewer women, have had any opportunity cases this consists of but a few years at a rural school where little besides learning to read and to write is taught. They know nothing of history, a little local geosrraphv, a smattering of simple arithmetic, and nothing of the crudest science. The missioner is frequently asked i f i t be true that it is night in America when it is daytime in China, and i f it be so what is the explanation. We have heard old men refuse to believe that the earth is round, or that it revolves around the sun. Their ideas of the size of their own country are childish. Show them a picture taken from a low altitude from an airplane and most wil l be unable to recognize a road, or distinguish fields from forests.
However, education is not everything. Without it they have a culture and a civilization which is wholesome. The natural law is written on their hearts, though in some aspects it is rather hard to delineate. There is a hospitality, kindliness and cleverness that outwits analysis. Their paganism, of course, makes for untoward customs, but the marvel is that even in paganism so much that is good and useful can be found.
The men and women daily struggle for a bare existence. Few are the days that they can relax from this vigilance. When not engaged in some k ind of farm work, those who can, seek work
One can readily seethe difficulty of getting these people down to a systematic study of the catechism and prayers. They are up wi th the sun and labor until i t sets. When night falls they are tired and seek their rest. It speaks well for their intentions that after the evening bath they wi l l spend two or more hours learning, character by character, strange doctrines and prayers which are at first meaningless to them. One can hardly wonder i f not a few fail to persevere until qualified for baptism. Their entire life's outlook has been mostly material, struggling to keep body and soul together, in a hopeless poverty that not even the late depression can match, with luxuries unheard of and relaxation at at premium. A s for pleasures, i t is hard to find them in such a drab existence. The acme of perfecti o n for them is freedom from near-staryation, a measure of health, arid peaceful political conditions. Can one marvel then that at the start their grasp of the supernatural is vague and uncertain? Their religion i n the past has been the appeasing of evil spir i ts ; with the good ones they are little concerned, as they do no harm. . . Patience and suffering for spiritual motives must strike them as queei\ the promise of a future reward and happiness can scarcely be expected to impress them deeply in the beginning, Were it not for the manifest action of grace, we feel that the entire outlook would be hopeless. It is consoling to watch them grow in spirituality, to see them gradually catch on, little by little assimilating the supernatural truths, opening their simple hearts to faith.
These are not all the crosses a convert must carry. Even today, he is persecuted by his fellow's for having entered the Church. While the occasions of physical violence aire growing rarer, there is the eternal persecution of the tongue, which our catechumens and Catholics tell us is at times almost unbearable. What there is of an intelligentsia do not often fal? into our nets. They are obstruction
ists as far as the Church is concerned, i f not openly hostile. They present one of the greatest obstacles to widespread conversions, wi th their pride, contempt and informed education. The respect for the reputed scholar is st i l l strong among the rustics, and an ignorant but well-sounding phrase in opposition to religion from one such is enough to cool the ardor of many a would-be convert. (Next Week Catechu-manates).
(From Our London Correspondent)
T H E Y O U N G E S T J E S U I T R E C T O R .
A recent appointment to St. Francis Xavier 's Liverpool, puts into the responsible position of rector a Jesuit priest who is only forty-two years of age, the youngest member of the Society of Jesus in Great Br i t a in to hold such a post. The new rector. Father Thomas Roberts, S.J., was educated, as a boy, at the adjoining college.
St. Francis Xavier 's is one of the Society's largest parishes in England. It serves a centrally-situated area, in which there are many Catholics, and it witnesses scenes of devotion which surprise non-Catholics accustomed to a colder state of affairs. A t many of the Masses it is no unusual experience to find this large church crowded to the doors, with scores of worshippers standing; and i t is edifying to see the communion rails so thronged that sometimes the distribution continunes until after the Mass is finised. Father Roberts wi l l be encouraged, in his new field of labour, by the knowledge that his parishioners are among the most responsive and enthusiastic Catholics in the country.
A N U N P L E A S A N T E X P E R I E N C E .
Although many Engl i sh newspapers have boldly recorded an incident which has been the subject of official representations, Catholics are not losing their heads, or their sense of proportion, in the matter of a mistake by some Italian police authorities, who detained M r . Hugh Montgomery, the secretary to the Br i t i sh Legation to the Holy See. and thus inflicted upon that highly esteemed gentleman a couple of days' unpleasant and unwarranted experience. No affront to the Holy See is involved in the incident. The matter was purely one of mistaken identity, a police error for which apologies were made to M r . Montgomery, directly the mistake was discovered. The whole thing was, of course, most unfortunate, especially in the circumstances of Mr. Montgomery's official position at the Legation, and there is widespread sympathy wi th h im in the indignity to which he was subjected because a blundering police officer mistook him for somebody else. But the arrest, i t should be emphasised, had no bearing whatever upon M r . Montgomery's status or duties as a diplomatist.
Hsinking (Manchukuo). — T h e population of Manchukuo has increased during the last three years by approximately 1,500,000, according to official statistics published at Hsinking. The population in December was 31,339,411. (Fides)
3
On Wngs from .Albion [FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT)
The King ' s Silver Jubliee. A s A p r i l gradually shortens to
its close, Catholics here in E n g land are preparing energetically to celebrate two events of outstanding interest in May. In this they are more fortunate than their Protestant fellow-countrymen. The latter look forward to one great event only, next month, namely the silver jubilee of His Majesty the King . Catholics, entering fully, into both the spirit and the letter of that celebration, have in store also the rejoicings for the coming canonizations of Blessed John F i s her and Blessed Thomas More.
The King 's jubilee is first in the matter of time." On May 6, a public holiday, various Catholic dioceses wi l l have, as their chief service, a solemn Mass in the Cathedral, to be sung in thanksgiving for the twenty-five year's reign which His Majesty wi l l then have enjoyed. On the social side also, and in connection with the popular rejoicings at night, scores of Catholic institutions are making their arrangements. A t Harrow, near London, it is interesting to learn, there is a beacon tower, in the grounds of a Dominican convent, which has not served its purpose for very many generations. But by permission of the nuns, i t is stated, the old beacon wil l again flare out, this time not in/warning but hr joy, for silver jubilee celebrations.
One instance- of Protestant narrowness mars the picture, and its importance is only local. In order to decide which religious body should march at the head of the jubilee procession, a Town Council resorted to the equitable expedient of a draw. The Catholics won, and were therefore announced to have the place of honour; whereupon the Protestant parson declined to take any part in the procession, so perhaps, l ike Achilles, he wi l l sulk in his tent. His point is that the Church of England, because it is the "State Church," should lead in any case. It is not made clear whether he would have objected to the draw, as such, i f the Es tablishment had drawn the winning ticket! The incident, t r iv ia l enough in itself, is symptomatic of the fact that Anglicanism can st i l l claim to show cause why it should "rule the roast" religiously, even though it dwindles in numbers and influence every year, while the Catholic Church, in both respects, steadily grows.
* * * * Archbishop Hinsley.
The new Archbishop of Westminster is expected in London shortly, probably about a week hence. In that case, If His Grace should decide to hold a customary Low Week reception at A r c h bishop's House, there will be a n -cpportunity to the Catholic Public to pay their homage to the new Metropolitan in person. The reception usually follows the annual meeting of the Archbishops and Bishops. Dr . Hinsley will be only enthroned in his Cathedral and
able interest among all classes, particularly in his native county, Yorkshire. His Grace has received messages of congratulation from Yorkshiremen's societies, and Non-Catholics in the Ridings vie wi th Catholics in proclaiming their gladness that a Yorkshire man has been so highly honoured.
* * * * The Bishop of^eeds.
A happier note pervades the bulletins from Leeds regarding the health of the Bishop, the Right Rev. Dr . Cowgill. A week ago his Lordship's state was such as to cause grave anxiety. The latest reports show that anxiety still exists, but that the Bishop is bearing up well after the shock of the operation. It is hoped and prayed that it may not be long before the doctors can report definitely that all danger is past and that Dr . Cowgill is definitely on the way to recovery.
of Syon," Blessed Richard Reynolds. The centenary is to be solemnly observed, therefore, by the historic community of nuns of that Order at Syon Abbey, in Devon. The story of the Syon nuns is a fascinating one, for they are the only English community with an unbroken history of corporate life throughout all the period of persecution. A long and checkered series of experiences on the Continent ended in the nineteenth century, when the nuns returned to England and have since remained, though not in one home during the period. Their present convent is beautifully situated at South Brent.
* * * * A n Anti-Catholic Crusade.
Catholics in Edinburgh, i f the ultra-Protestant side has its way —an unlikely contingency—look like being in for a dose of religious persecution. A "Protestant Action Society" has been formed in the Scots city, and one of the first moves by that bdtiy reminiscent of the sort of anti-Catholic bigotry which we have been accustomed to associate wi th the Orange spirit in the north of Ireland. The plan is, in short, to discriminate against
T H E G R E A T L O U R D E S T R I D U U M .
The Holy Father Pius X I , in an apostolic letter to Bishop Gerlier, calls the Catholics of the whole world to participate in the Triduum at Lourdes marking the close of the Holy Year of the Redemption.
Night and day, from 4 p.m. on Tuesday, A p r i l 25th to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A p r i l 28th, masses wi l l be celebrated at the Grotto of Lourdes without interruption by bishops and priests from all nations.
The Bishop of Lourdes writes to all the Bishops of the World, asking them to arrange in their dioceses special devotion in unison wi th those at Lourdes in order to bring together the catholic world for the most powerful supplication that can be raised to Heaven. We cannot doubt that the Catholics of Malaya wi l l answer such a moving appeal.
Let them therefore, during the triduum at Lourdes, offer masses and holy communions for the intentions of the Holy Father.
O N S U N D A Y , A P R I L 28th, I N A L L T H E P R I N C I P A L C H U R C H E S O F T H E D I O C E S E T H E B L E S S E D S A C R A M E N T W I L L B E E X P O S E D F O R A D O R A T I O N . T H R O U G H O U T T H E D A Y A N D A S O L E M N B E N E D I C T I O N I N T H E A F T E R N O O N W I T H " M I S E R E R E " A N D " T E D E U M " W I L L M A R K T H E E N D O F T H E H O L Y Y E A R .
Let the faithful remember to pray for the intentions set forth by the Holy Father when he extended the jubliee to the whole world namely:—
Liber ty for the Church and peace of the world. Greater development of the missions. Return of al l dissidents to the one single fold of Christ. Defeat and repentance of all the enemies of God and of His Church.
T H E K I N G ' S J U B I L E E .
Service of Thanksgiving to be held in all the Churches of the Diocese.
j On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty K i n g
George V , on Monday, May 6th, there will be in all the churches of the diocese a solemn Benedict on of the Blessed Sacrament with a " Te Deum " of Thanksgiving.
A s arrangements for the celebration arc not uniform and vary in each place, i t is left to the Parish Priest to fix the time for the service in accord with the local authorities and to inform the faithful in due course.
The faithful are reminded of their duty to attend this service as a token of gratitude for the friendly and impartial attitude of the K i n g towards His Catholic subjects and to beseech God's blessings upon the Royal Fami ly and the Whole Brit ish Empire. - O
f A . D E V A L S , Bishop of Malacca*
will take formal possession of the See. Ear ly in May he is io return to Rome, as leader of the Br i t i sh pilgrims for the canonizations.
Archbishop Hinsley's appointment continues to excite pleasur-
Blessed Richard Reynolds.
May 4 will mark the fourth centenary of the martyrdom of the Catholic proto-martyrs under Henry the Eighth, men who won their crown even earlier than More and Fisher. Among the illustrious band was the Brigettine "Angel
Catholics in the matter of employment. One Protestant zealot has given notice of a motion in the Council that, in future, applicants for jobs under that body are to be required to declare their religion, so that only ten per cent of the employment may go to Catholics.
T H E H E S T
W A T C H
It's not only a matter of taste....
To be a perfect timepiece, a watch has to be beautiful and accurate. Now, everyone can say whether, a watch is to one's liking or not, but it is difficult to estimate the quality. Only experts can judge the finish and precision of a mechanism as delicate as that of a watch. There remains for those who love accuracy a means of eliminating disappointment-choose a VULCAIN watch, acknowledged the best by thousands of people all over the world. With a VULCAIN you have the satisfaction of knowing that yoii possess a timepiece of unequalled accuracy and refined beauty.
Happily the frenzied outbursts against the faith, wi th which the Prostestant side has been pressing its case, seem only to have disgusted al l right-thinking Edinburgh citizens. - Meanwhile, the Church progresses in Scotland as in England. The new Cathedral at Oban, not yet completely finished and furnished, is greatly admired; and at Dumbarton a handsome new church is now building, in connection with the Notre Dame convent.
:Jc # * * Mark Symons.
A few weeks ago, these notes recorded the death of a gifted Catholic artist, M r . Mark Symons, several of whose religious paintings had caused a s t i r in art circles. Widely known as he was in life, it may be said t^iat Mark Symons has found stil l larger appreciation since his death, by the memorial exhibition of his work which is now to be seen in the Borough A * t Gallery at Reading. Nearly two hundred pictures are there shown, but unknown in the painter's lifetime. Many of the subjects are religious, as might be expected. When the history of twentieth-century Engl ish A r t comes to be written, a high place, it may be predicted, wil l be given to this devoted and conscientious Catholic worker. Mark Symons left, among those who mourn his loss, a brother who is a priest in the Benedictine Order.
* * * * Our Guests from Austral ia .
Mr . Lyons, the Austra l ian Premier, and his gifted wife, continue to win the golden opinions of their fellow-Catholics in this country. The Catholic newspapers have already devoted attention to the high qualities of these two distinguished guests from the Antipodes. It is now announced that M r . & Mrs. Lyons are shortly to be the guests of honour at a banquet to be given by members of St. Joan's Social and Poli t ical Alliance, an organization of Catholic women interested in feminism from the Chris t ian standpoint, and in all matters affecting the interests of women. In these matters the Alliance has already found in Mrs . Lyons a warm friend and ally.
2
C A T E C H I S T S .
The solution, as we said before, is laymen and lay women who wil l l ive i n native surroundings and teach the catechism and prayers, —men especially who can preach sermons of instruction i n doctrinal njatters, always under the direction and supervision of the missioner himself, who from time to time spends some days or a week at the place of the catechumenate to check up, advise, administer the Sacraments and to impart the finishing touches to the course of preparation of converts.
L c us consider men catechists first. Few old Catholics make good catechists. The chief reasons are that old Catholics have often inherited a dislike for a l l converts, because of the persecutions they or the i r forbears suffered in the past at the hands of pagans, as well as a distrust of the motives o f new converts. They forget the mixed motives that led them or thei r ancestors into the fold. The old Catholic catechist is apt to expect too much from the catechumens, not realizing the severe break a convert makes wi th his past, his environment and age-old traditions. Often the best type of catechist is the convert of a few years. Where possible, he is t rained i n a school for catechists from one to three years, dur ing which course he learns to instruct, to preach and to catechise. In such £ school his inner spir i tual l i fe is strengthened by daily meditation examination of conscience, frequent reception of the Sacraments and spir i tual conferences, lest he be the source of bad example later on. We know of few native Catholics who can afford the luxury o f a full-time catechist career without salary. It is true, also, that the usual catechist's chief motive in working for the missioner is his daily bread. He accepts the added merit of cooperat ion in the apostolate wil l ingly and wi th zest, but this is not the main reason for his being a catechis t . It could hardly be otherwise, besides it is a fa i r ly good guarantee of his steadfastness and regularity. W i t h his i t is a profession. Whi le he is paid, the catechist, as we know , h im, is probably under-paid, through no fault of the missioner. Not all catechists are reliable, and the missioner must be prepared for human nature going haywire in some instances.
In this region we t ry to set a standard for men catechists in the matter of education, requir ing that they be graduates of the grammar school, at least. Catholic high school graduates are too few among, us, so we must be satisfied w i th less. Even this minimum cannot always be secured. A l though it seems little enough, it is a great distance in advance of the average peasant, who is more or
Catechists Catechumens and Catechumenates.
B y R e v . T h o m a s V. K i e r n a n , M . M ,
(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE)
as laborers, often away from home. The women not only care for the simple domestic duties, but must be carriers of water, which means bringing it a considerable distanee in many cases. It is not uncommon to see groups of women in the hills or in the hedges gathering grass, brambles, pine needles and twigs for firewood. The boys and girls have their round of duties too, the former are the watchers of the herds of water buffalo and cows that seek a scant forage from the grass along the rice field paddies or in the unfertile and rock-strewn plains and mountains. The girls are the nurse maids of the family, with a younger brother or sister forever tied to their backs. It seems that only the very old are exempt from work, and even then, lacking youngsters, they must do their turn minding the babies. It often occurs to us that the modern western man would quickly rebel at the necessity of caring for the infants which the Chinese male accepts as a matter of course.
P E T E R CHONG & CO., (The Catholic Store).
BOOKS FOR LENT SEASON:— Station of the Cross (Illustrated) Holy Week Book Bible History (Illustrated) Catholic Doctrine Imitation of Christ Holy Bible Catholic Boys' Guide Catholic Girls' Guide, etc.
These are the books that should greatly appeal to our fellow Catholics. Get them from the only Store of its kind in Malaya.
less illiterate. Some beginnings have been made to obtain a better educated class of catechists among ik-, but it wi l l be several years yet before any of our Catholic boys graduate from high school or college. It is doubtful i f they can even then be used as catechists, as positions as teachers wi l l be waiting for them.
A s for women catechists, while they do no preaching, their WTork is more difficult and the number of suitable candidates st i l l fewer. A young woman cannot be safely sent out as a catechist. Women of middle age are more suitable, less open to suspicion and danger. Due to the fact that so few girls receive any education in China, the problem of women catechists is acute. W i t h us, we t rain promising women for at least a year, under the direction of native nuns in the central mission. Here they are taught to teach the catechism and prayers, and by daily contact and conversation to ins t i l l the. rudiments of faith and practice in the converts. Most of them arc unable to read doctrinal or religious books, which is a great handicap, since they must depend mostly on the oral instruction they themselves received from the missioner or nuns to form their fund of information for teaching.
Catechumens. The catechume-.r.ate is the battle ground .on which contend the forces for good and evil, Christianity and paganism. We shall consider the catechumens who compose it. For the most part they are country folk, poorest of the poor, which is the rule among Chinese country folk. Some few men, s t i l l fewer women, have had any opportunity cases this consists of but a few years at a rural school where little besides learning to read and to write is taught. They know nothing of history, a little local geosrraphv, a smattering of simple arithmetic, and nothing of the crudest science. The missioner is frequently asked i f i t be true that it is night in America when it is daytime in China, and i f it be so what is the explanation. We have heard old men refuse to believe that the earth is round, or that it revolves around the sun. Their ideas of the size of their own country are childish. Show them a picture taken from a low altitude from an airplane and most wil l be unable to recognize a road, or distinguish fields from forests.
However, education is not everything. Without it they have a culture and a civilization which is wholesome. The natural law is written on their hearts, though in some aspects it is rather hard to delineate. There is a hospitality, kindliness and cleverness that outwits analysis. Their paganism, of course, makes for untoward customs, but the marvel is that even in paganism so much that is good and useful can be found.
The men and women daily struggle for a bare existence. Few are the days that they can relax from this vigilance. When not engaged in some k ind of farm work, those who can, seek work
One can readily seethe difficulty of getting these people down to a systematic study of the catechism and prayers. They are up wi th the sun and labor until i t sets. When night falls they are tired and seek their rest. It speaks well for their intentions that after the evening bath they wi l l spend two or more hours learning, character by character, strange doctrines and prayers which are at first meaningless to them. One can hardly wonder i f not a few fail to persevere until qualified for baptism. Their entire life's outlook has been mostly material, struggling to keep body and soul together, in a hopeless poverty that not even the late depression can match, with luxuries unheard of and relaxation at at premium. A s for pleasures, i t is hard to find them in such a drab existence. The acme of perfecti o n for them is freedom from near-staryation, a measure of health, arid peaceful political conditions. Can one marvel then that at the start their grasp of the supernatural is vague and uncertain? Their religion i n the past has been the appeasing of evil spir i ts ; with the good ones they are little concerned, as they do no harm. . . Patience and suffering for spiritual motives must strike them as queei\ the promise of a future reward and happiness can scarcely be expected to impress them deeply in the beginning, Were it not for the manifest action of grace, we feel that the entire outlook would be hopeless. It is consoling to watch them grow in spirituality, to see them gradually catch on, little by little assimilating the supernatural truths, opening their simple hearts to faith.
These are not all the crosses a convert must carry. Even today, he is persecuted by his fellow's for having entered the Church. While the occasions of physical violence aire growing rarer, there is the eternal persecution of the tongue, which our catechumens and Catholics tell us is at times almost unbearable. What there is of an intelligentsia do not often fal? into our nets. They are obstruction
ists as far as the Church is concerned, i f not openly hostile. They present one of the greatest obstacles to widespread conversions, wi th their pride, contempt and informed education. The respect for the reputed scholar is st i l l strong among the rustics, and an ignorant but well-sounding phrase in opposition to religion from one such is enough to cool the ardor of many a would-be convert. (Next Week Catechu-manates).
(From Our London Correspondent)
T H E Y O U N G E S T J E S U I T R E C T O R .
A recent appointment to St. Francis Xavier 's Liverpool, puts into the responsible position of rector a Jesuit priest who is only forty-two years of age, the youngest member of the Society of Jesus in Great Br i t a in to hold such a post. The new rector. Father Thomas Roberts, S.J., was educated, as a boy, at the adjoining college.
St. Francis Xavier 's is one of the Society's largest parishes in England. It serves a centrally-situated area, in which there are many Catholics, and it witnesses scenes of devotion which surprise non-Catholics accustomed to a colder state of affairs. A t many of the Masses it is no unusual experience to find this large church crowded to the doors, with scores of worshippers standing; and i t is edifying to see the communion rails so thronged that sometimes the distribution continunes until after the Mass is finised. Father Roberts wi l l be encouraged, in his new field of labour, by the knowledge that his parishioners are among the most responsive and enthusiastic Catholics in the country.
A N U N P L E A S A N T E X P E R I E N C E .
Although many Engl i sh newspapers have boldly recorded an incident which has been the subject of official representations, Catholics are not losing their heads, or their sense of proportion, in the matter of a mistake by some Italian police authorities, who detained M r . Hugh Montgomery, the secretary to the Br i t i sh Legation to the Holy See. and thus inflicted upon that highly esteemed gentleman a couple of days' unpleasant and unwarranted experience. No affront to the Holy See is involved in the incident. The matter was purely one of mistaken identity, a police error for which apologies were made to M r . Montgomery, directly the mistake was discovered. The whole thing was, of course, most unfortunate, especially in the circumstances of Mr. Montgomery's official position at the Legation, and there is widespread sympathy wi th h im in the indignity to which he was subjected because a blundering police officer mistook him for somebody else. But the arrest, i t should be emphasised, had no bearing whatever upon M r . Montgomery's status or duties as a diplomatist.
Hsinking (Manchukuo). — T h e population of Manchukuo has increased during the last three years by approximately 1,500,000, according to official statistics published at Hsinking. The population in December was 31,339,411. (Fides)
3
On Wngs from .Albion [FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT)
The King ' s Silver Jubliee. A s A p r i l gradually shortens to
its close, Catholics here in E n g land are preparing energetically to celebrate two events of outstanding interest in May. In this they are more fortunate than their Protestant fellow-countrymen. The latter look forward to one great event only, next month, namely the silver jubilee of His Majesty the King . Catholics, entering fully, into both the spirit and the letter of that celebration, have in store also the rejoicings for the coming canonizations of Blessed John F i s her and Blessed Thomas More.
The King 's jubilee is first in the matter of time." On May 6, a public holiday, various Catholic dioceses wi l l have, as their chief service, a solemn Mass in the Cathedral, to be sung in thanksgiving for the twenty-five year's reign which His Majesty wi l l then have enjoyed. On the social side also, and in connection with the popular rejoicings at night, scores of Catholic institutions are making their arrangements. A t Harrow, near London, it is interesting to learn, there is a beacon tower, in the grounds of a Dominican convent, which has not served its purpose for very many generations. But by permission of the nuns, i t is stated, the old beacon wil l again flare out, this time not in/warning but hr joy, for silver jubilee celebrations.
One instance- of Protestant narrowness mars the picture, and its importance is only local. In order to decide which religious body should march at the head of the jubilee procession, a Town Council resorted to the equitable expedient of a draw. The Catholics won, and were therefore announced to have the place of honour; whereupon the Protestant parson declined to take any part in the procession, so perhaps, l ike Achilles, he wi l l sulk in his tent. His point is that the Church of England, because it is the "State Church," should lead in any case. It is not made clear whether he would have objected to the draw, as such, i f the Es tablishment had drawn the winning ticket! The incident, t r iv ia l enough in itself, is symptomatic of the fact that Anglicanism can st i l l claim to show cause why it should "rule the roast" religiously, even though it dwindles in numbers and influence every year, while the Catholic Church, in both respects, steadily grows.
* * * * Archbishop Hinsley.
The new Archbishop of Westminster is expected in London shortly, probably about a week hence. In that case, If His Grace should decide to hold a customary Low Week reception at A r c h bishop's House, there will be a n -cpportunity to the Catholic Public to pay their homage to the new Metropolitan in person. The reception usually follows the annual meeting of the Archbishops and Bishops. Dr . Hinsley will be only enthroned in his Cathedral and
able interest among all classes, particularly in his native county, Yorkshire. His Grace has received messages of congratulation from Yorkshiremen's societies, and Non-Catholics in the Ridings vie wi th Catholics in proclaiming their gladness that a Yorkshire man has been so highly honoured.
* * * * The Bishop of^eeds.
A happier note pervades the bulletins from Leeds regarding the health of the Bishop, the Right Rev. Dr . Cowgill. A week ago his Lordship's state was such as to cause grave anxiety. The latest reports show that anxiety still exists, but that the Bishop is bearing up well after the shock of the operation. It is hoped and prayed that it may not be long before the doctors can report definitely that all danger is past and that Dr . Cowgill is definitely on the way to recovery.
of Syon," Blessed Richard Reynolds. The centenary is to be solemnly observed, therefore, by the historic community of nuns of that Order at Syon Abbey, in Devon. The story of the Syon nuns is a fascinating one, for they are the only English community with an unbroken history of corporate life throughout all the period of persecution. A long and checkered series of experiences on the Continent ended in the nineteenth century, when the nuns returned to England and have since remained, though not in one home during the period. Their present convent is beautifully situated at South Brent.
* * * * A n Anti-Catholic Crusade.
Catholics in Edinburgh, i f the ultra-Protestant side has its way —an unlikely contingency—look like being in for a dose of religious persecution. A "Protestant Action Society" has been formed in the Scots city, and one of the first moves by that bdtiy reminiscent of the sort of anti-Catholic bigotry which we have been accustomed to associate wi th the Orange spirit in the north of Ireland. The plan is, in short, to discriminate against
T H E G R E A T L O U R D E S T R I D U U M .
The Holy Father Pius X I , in an apostolic letter to Bishop Gerlier, calls the Catholics of the whole world to participate in the Triduum at Lourdes marking the close of the Holy Year of the Redemption.
Night and day, from 4 p.m. on Tuesday, A p r i l 25th to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A p r i l 28th, masses wi l l be celebrated at the Grotto of Lourdes without interruption by bishops and priests from all nations.
The Bishop of Lourdes writes to all the Bishops of the World, asking them to arrange in their dioceses special devotion in unison wi th those at Lourdes in order to bring together the catholic world for the most powerful supplication that can be raised to Heaven. We cannot doubt that the Catholics of Malaya wi l l answer such a moving appeal.
Let them therefore, during the triduum at Lourdes, offer masses and holy communions for the intentions of the Holy Father.
O N S U N D A Y , A P R I L 28th, I N A L L T H E P R I N C I P A L C H U R C H E S O F T H E D I O C E S E T H E B L E S S E D S A C R A M E N T W I L L B E E X P O S E D F O R A D O R A T I O N . T H R O U G H O U T T H E D A Y A N D A S O L E M N B E N E D I C T I O N I N T H E A F T E R N O O N W I T H " M I S E R E R E " A N D " T E D E U M " W I L L M A R K T H E E N D O F T H E H O L Y Y E A R .
Let the faithful remember to pray for the intentions set forth by the Holy Father when he extended the jubliee to the whole world namely:—
Liber ty for the Church and peace of the world. Greater development of the missions. Return of al l dissidents to the one single fold of Christ. Defeat and repentance of all the enemies of God and of His Church.
T H E K I N G ' S J U B I L E E .
Service of Thanksgiving to be held in all the Churches of the Diocese.
j On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty K i n g
George V , on Monday, May 6th, there will be in all the churches of the diocese a solemn Benedict on of the Blessed Sacrament with a " Te Deum " of Thanksgiving.
A s arrangements for the celebration arc not uniform and vary in each place, i t is left to the Parish Priest to fix the time for the service in accord with the local authorities and to inform the faithful in due course.
The faithful are reminded of their duty to attend this service as a token of gratitude for the friendly and impartial attitude of the K i n g towards His Catholic subjects and to beseech God's blessings upon the Royal Fami ly and the Whole Brit ish Empire. - O
f A . D E V A L S , Bishop of Malacca*
will take formal possession of the See. Ear ly in May he is io return to Rome, as leader of the Br i t i sh pilgrims for the canonizations.
Archbishop Hinsley's appointment continues to excite pleasur-
Blessed Richard Reynolds.
May 4 will mark the fourth centenary of the martyrdom of the Catholic proto-martyrs under Henry the Eighth, men who won their crown even earlier than More and Fisher. Among the illustrious band was the Brigettine "Angel
Catholics in the matter of employment. One Protestant zealot has given notice of a motion in the Council that, in future, applicants for jobs under that body are to be required to declare their religion, so that only ten per cent of the employment may go to Catholics.
T H E H E S T
W A T C H
It's not only a matter of taste....
To be a perfect timepiece, a watch has to be beautiful and accurate. Now, everyone can say whether, a watch is to one's liking or not, but it is difficult to estimate the quality. Only experts can judge the finish and precision of a mechanism as delicate as that of a watch. There remains for those who love accuracy a means of eliminating disappointment-choose a VULCAIN watch, acknowledged the best by thousands of people all over the world. With a VULCAIN you have the satisfaction of knowing that yoii possess a timepiece of unequalled accuracy and refined beauty.
Happily the frenzied outbursts against the faith, wi th which the Prostestant side has been pressing its case, seem only to have disgusted al l right-thinking Edinburgh citizens. - Meanwhile, the Church progresses in Scotland as in England. The new Cathedral at Oban, not yet completely finished and furnished, is greatly admired; and at Dumbarton a handsome new church is now building, in connection with the Notre Dame convent.
:Jc # * * Mark Symons.
A few weeks ago, these notes recorded the death of a gifted Catholic artist, M r . Mark Symons, several of whose religious paintings had caused a s t i r in art circles. Widely known as he was in life, it may be said t^iat Mark Symons has found stil l larger appreciation since his death, by the memorial exhibition of his work which is now to be seen in the Borough A * t Gallery at Reading. Nearly two hundred pictures are there shown, but unknown in the painter's lifetime. Many of the subjects are religious, as might be expected. When the history of twentieth-century Engl ish A r t comes to be written, a high place, it may be predicted, wil l be given to this devoted and conscientious Catholic worker. Mark Symons left, among those who mourn his loss, a brother who is a priest in the Benedictine Order.
* * * * Our Guests from Austral ia .
Mr . Lyons, the Austra l ian Premier, and his gifted wife, continue to win the golden opinions of their fellow-Catholics in this country. The Catholic newspapers have already devoted attention to the high qualities of these two distinguished guests from the Antipodes. It is now announced that M r . & Mrs. Lyons are shortly to be the guests of honour at a banquet to be given by members of St. Joan's Social and Poli t ical Alliance, an organization of Catholic women interested in feminism from the Chris t ian standpoint, and in all matters affecting the interests of women. In these matters the Alliance has already found in Mrs . Lyons a warm friend and ally.
A M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Y o u n g P e o p l e ' s P a g e
T H E S T O R Y O F T H E A P P A R I T I O N S O F O U R L A D Y O F T H E R O S A R Y O F F A T I M A .
(Continued.)
Now you wi l l remember that the beautiful lady from heaven had promised the three litt le shepherds that on the 13th of October, she would reveal to them her identity and the purpose of her visit , and that on the same day she would show a special sign in order to convince the people of the truth of her apparitions.
A detailed picture of this last apparition is best obtained by\sead-ing through the interview which a certain viscount had with the chi l dren, a few hours after the apparition. I shall let you have it pre-
: sently, but first I shall tell you what the special sign was that the heavenly lady showed.
The news of the supernatural apparitions to the children had spread far and wide, so that, on the evening before the last apparition was expected, a great mul t i tude had gathered at the Cova D a Ir ia . They had come from far and near. There were poor peasants and rich merchants, pious people and unbelievers, simple faithful souls and proud press-men sent by the big daily papers. Some had come like pilgrims on foot from -Ions distances, others like tourists >and sight-seers in motor-cars and i n horse-carriages. A great number of young people rode to the
jCova on push-bikes. The whole area about the Cova was one vast seething mass of humanity and vehicles. In order not to lose points of vantage gained, they decided to spend the night in the open.
~ ^eTrex t rmorn ing broke dull and cloudy. Rain fell in torrents. B u t the crowd didn't budge. W i t h umbrellas and overcoats they stood their ground. A t about 11.30, the three little children arrived. The immense crowd respectfully giving them way. they came near the small oak-tree. Of the oak-tree, by the way, there was left nothing but a small stump. People had broken it off in bits as valued relic.
•The children had been dressed by their parents in their best clothes. A little before 12, Luc ia asked the
^people to shut their umbrellas and •to recite the Rosary. The immense erowd which was estimated at fifty thousand obeyed the child's wish
-&nd, kneeling down on the mi ry •puddle, reverently recited the Rosary. The ra in stopped, the sky cleared and the sun shone, and on the stroke of 12 the lady appeared, as she had promised, wi th Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus. A t the close of the apparition. Luc ia pointed to the skv and said. "Watch the sun."
Now the immense crowd of fifty thousand people saw the sign which the lady had promised to show. The bright noon day sun dimmed and became pale as the moon. Suddenly it whirled round and round, like a ball of fire g iv ing out various colours. Then it stopped and appeared to leave its place in the sky and to drop. Aga in it started to whir l round and round emitt ing more colours than before. A g a i n i t appeared to drop. Every
.one in the immense crowd, saw th is prodigy and was aghast wi th astonishment and fear. Think ing that the day of judgment had arrived, they raised their hands and
voices to heaven, shouting, "Lord , have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us." For the third time the sun started its mad fiery dance in the sky, shooting flames of orange and red, and yellow, and blue, and green, and then resumed its normal appearance and position in the sky.
This wonderful sign in the sun was seen by both believers and unbelievers at the Cova and at places round about for a few miles. But i t had not been recorded by the observatories at Lisbon or at any other b ig cities. Therefore it could not have been a natural phenomenon, but a particular sign from heaven.
Another remarkable thing that the crowd couldn't explain was that their clothes which had been drenched through by the rain, were now found to be suddenly and perfectly dry.
Now let me give you a detailed account of the apparition of the lady herself. Visconde de Montelo had an interview wi th Lucia , Francisco and Jacinta separately on the 13th of October, after the final apparition. I shall summarise the interviews which give the most vivid impression of what the children saw and heard.
"Is i t true that Our Lady appeared to you to-day at Cova D a I r i a?"
"Yes . " "Is it true that the Child Jesus
and Saint Joseph appeared as wel l?"
"Yes, Our Lord appeared in the act of blessing the people."
" D i d you see them all at the same t ime?" "No, F i r s t we saw Our Lady of the Rosary, Saint Joseph and the Chi ld Jesus. Then our Lord alone. Then our Lady showed herself as Our Lady of Sorrows without the sword on her breast. A n d last of all she showed herself as Our Lady of The Mount Carmel."
"Where was the Child Jesus?" "He was in Saint Joseph's arms." "Was he b ig or small?" "He was very t iny ." " D i d they appear near the oak-
tree?" "No . They appeared near the
sun. and were dressed in red." "WTiere did the Lady come
from?" "From the East ." 4 Where did she go to?" "Eastward also." "Was there any light around
her?" "She always shone bright with
light. We had to close our eyes from time to time. She dazzled so."
" D i d you ask her what she wanted?"
"Yes . She told us that we must all lead a new life and must not offend our Lord , but must say the Rosary and ask pardon for our sins."
" D i d she say anything else?" "She also said that she wanted
the people to build a chapel at the Cova."
"Does she want the people to do penance ?"
"Yes. She told us to say the Rosary, to amend our lives and to ask pardon of our Lord . She did
not actually use the work 'penance'."
"Under what title does she want us to build the chapel ?"
"She told us that she was Our Lady of the Rosary."
"What was she dressed in?" "She had white dress and carried
a rosary in her hand." "When did she look most beauti
fu l ? " "She was always just the same
lovely lady from heaven with her face brighter than the sun."
" A n d did^she walk as we do?" "No. She just glided off grace
fully without moving her feet." " D i d you see the sun dance
round?" "Yes. We saw it whirl round
and round." " D i d that happen before the
Lady went away or after?" "It happened as soon as she had
vanished." "Was it the Lady who told the
crowd to watch the sun?" "No. She said nothing. She
only pointed to the sun before she disappeared."
"What colour did you see in the sun?"
"Beautiful ones, blue and yellow and lots of others."
Now you have a clear idea of what took place at Cova Da Ir ia, near Fatima in Portugal on the 13th of October 1917. The lovely lady whose face was brighter than the sun and who said that she came from heaven, was none other than the blessed mother of God, who on various occasions had favoured this world with her apparitions, bringing messages to turn the hearts of the people from sin to God.
Next week I shall give you an account of one or two miracles and how the devotion to our Lady of Fa t ima developed. You will also be anxious to know the story of Luc ia and her two cousins.
Meanwhile memorise the three sentences our Lady taught the children, "Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Release the holy souls from Purgatory, especially those whom every one has forgotten."
A . D ' C .
A Song of Hope. Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, What are you weaving? Labour and sorrow? Look to your looms again Faster and faster F ly the great shuttles Prepared by the Master. Life's in the loom, Room for i t— Room!
Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, Lighten the labour A n d sweeten the sorrow. Now while the shuttles fly Faster and faster, Up, and be at it, A t work wi th the Master; He stands at your loom, Room for H i m — Room!
Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, Look at your fabric Of labour and sorrow. Seamy and dark Wi th despair and disaster, Turn it, and—lo. The design of the Master! The Lord's at the loom; Room for H i m — Room!
All young people need milk every
day:
for preference
" M I L K M A I D "
M I L K .
Aunt ie : " A n d how did Jimmy do his history examination?"
Mother: "Oh, not at all well, but there, i t wasn't his fault. Why, they asked him things that happened before the poor boy was born!"
* * * *
Hotel visitor (at breakfast): "Waiter, this coffee tastes remarkably funny."
Wai ter : "Wel l , sir, it "~was ground only half an hour ago."
Hotel visitor (fed-up): "I see, it was ground a few minutes ago, and now it's mud."
* * «k * *
Interfering Old Gentleman: "That's a bonnie baby of yours, madam. I trust he wi l l grow to be a man of credit and renown."
Mother (pushing the pram): "Tain' t l ikely."
I .O.G.: "Madam, why do you say that? It all depends on how you bring him up."
Mother: "I can't bring him up, because the him's a her."
^ D u l l e r
C r e a m
LEE BI/CUIT/ U?
5
I N T H E H A N D S O F T H E R E D S
F r . B R A V O ' S T H I R T E E N M O N T H S I N C A P T I V I T Y .
A t ttoe end of February, thirteen momns axcer ms capture uy tne Communists in Fukien, F r . Cypr i an Bravo, O.P., walked unexpectedly into the Vincentian Fathers' Mission Station at Sinfeng, in Kiangsi .
" The good Fathers must have been surprised to see you," a friend said, when he arrived in Hongkong on St. Patrick's day.
"I suppose they were," F r . Bravo replied, " but they were not half as surprised as I was to find myself amongst them. I never expected to be a free man again."
It was on January 25th of last year that F r . Bravo was captured. A native of Palencia in Spain, twenty-eight years of age, he had come to China three years before, and had worked in the Fuchow mission one of the three sections of the province of Fukien which is under the care of the Spanish Dominicans. Towards the end of 1933, when serious political trouble occurred in Fukien, the Communist leaders took advantage of the situation and open ed an energetic campaign. A n announcement was made by the various foreign consuls, pointing out the danger and recommending the missionaries to leave their districts. F r . Bravo did not leave.
Attack on Shahsien. In due time the Communist army
came. It battered at the city walls, but its attack was feeble and it seemed as i f hopes were going to be fulfilled, and the town would escape capture. Then tunnelling began. Approaches were made from various points, and mines laid. A t last through a long tunnel a coffin filled with a great amount of explosives was placed under the wall and fired by a lenghty fuse. The mine and the method of firing i t were primitive, but the aim of the besiegers was attained. A huge breach was made in the wall and the city was entered.
Then began one of those scenes of carnage and horror to which F r . Bravo was soon to become accustomed. The eastern section of the city received the brunt of the assault. It was surrounded, a large part of it was razed to the ground, and all in i t were at the mercy of the Communists. Before evening, F r . Bravo was a prisoner with a rope around his neck, and his hands tied behind his back. Next day he was untied, but for some t ; me he was kept in close confinement. In the beginnin g: he was given over to the sport of soldiers. He was not maltreated, but was
subjected to jeers and ridicule, and was given lurid accounts of his future fate.
Held to ransom. F rom the beginning he was
threatened with death. He was told that he would be spared, and released, only i f a large ransom was paid. Many others were likewise held to ransom. In making prisoners, the one object of the Red army was to get money. The rich men, or those that they beleived to be rich, were their first victims. Pillage was a matter of course, and no effort was spared to root out hidden treasure. Anyone who was
places, only a few days being spent at any spot. Wrhen the time of release came F r . Bravo found himself near the frontier of Kiangsi .
A Captive's L i fe . Dur ing all these long months
Fr . Bravo was never allowed to forget that he was a prisoner. He complains of no ill-treatment, but his life was rough and hard. The food which he received was the same as that given to the soldiers, eight ounces of rice twice a day. with sometimes a little vegetables placed on it. The rice was coarse and unwashed. Each person had a small cloth bag for his rice. For
W H A T IT I N D I C A T E S IF Y O U DO A C A T H O L I C P A P E R .
N O T T A K E
1, 2. 3. 4.
That you have not been asked to do so. That you have little i f any interest in Catholic affairs. That you prefer not to be bothered with religious reading That i t is merely neglect. You haven't thought of it .
5. That you "take so many papers" you must economize by cutting off the best and most necessary of them.
6. That you wi l l let the other fellow defend your religion.-7. That you differed once with an editor and can't forgive
him, although you agreed with him in ninety-nine other instances, 8. That such money as you pay for papers, you give to
dailies which occasionally insult your religion, refer to your Church as "the Romish Church" and brin^ yellow immorality and scandal into your family.
Now, reader, i f you are not a subscriber to a Catholic paper and belong to the first, fourth, firth, seventh or eighth class, you wi l l subscribe at once. But i f yoi belong to the second, third or s ix th , we can do nothing for you.
considered l ikely to have money or valuables was tortured until he spoke—or died. There was utter disregard of human life. Mere suspicion was enough to cause execution without a t r ia l . Blood flowed freely during the fortnight that the army chiefs remained in Shahsien. Then they moved on, bringing wi th them over a hundred prisoners, among whom was F r . Bravo.
A long march followed, nearly two hundred miles, to Siukin. There the prisoner remained for several months, spending the hot summer months there, and moving on only when winter was at hand. Short halts were made at other towns, including a terrible ten days at* Itu where about twenty " official" executions took place every day. While he was in Sink-ong, the town was bombed by the aeroplanes of the Mational army. The last four months of captivity were spent in rapid marches by night, and short halts at various
Telephone No. 7843.
THE VICTORIA CONFECTIONERY & STORE 71, Victoria Street,
SINGAPORE.
Wedding Cakes a Speciality Assorted Cakes Maker, Tea Party Supplier,
Hot and Cold Drinks, etc.
Proprietor
JOSEPH CHONG SIN TONG
each meal his allowance was placed in this, and all were then placed in a pot to be boiled. Wrhen mealtime came each one got his bag. The meal was over in five minutes. Occasionally there was tea for those who were th i rs ty ; more often there was hot water; usually there was nothing.
The lack of clothing caused the greatest hardship. The only possible clothes or shoes which the prisoners could get were those which the soldiers threw away as useless. The thin Chinese shoes do not last long in marching, but if soles were broken and the pri
soners ' feet were bleeding no one cared. There was no rest on these hard marches. If one weire exhausted and lagged behind, he was pushed on, and threatened. The extremes of heat and cold, too, caused considerable suffering. When rest came, it was taken on the ground. There was no shelter in heat or cold or rain. A-fter the first days, surveillance was not rigid, but escape was an ^pos s ib i l i t y . A l l the districts, in the hands of the Reds were ringed about with guards, and without a written order no one could pass.
The Red A r m y .
The number of soldiers operating in that part of Fukien seemed to be about 30,000. They were in good control and received all their orders from Mau Chu Tung—the Dictator. The officers men were not unfriendly to F r . Bravo, in fact the officers seemed quite well-disposed, but made it clear that his fate or fortune did not rest with them. The army was ill-equipped. It possessed one aeroplane, the gift of a general who co-operated for a time with the Reds during the
Fukien Rebellion in 1933. For guns and ammunition i t depended on what it captured from the Government forces. There were very few pieces of arti l lery and comparatively few muskets, many of the soldiers were armed wi th old-fashioned spears. The gunners manufactured for themselves Ti kind of gunpowder, of which the chief ingredient was powdered camphor-wood.
When the army captured a town or a district, it immediately took complete control. Everything of value was seized in the name of the people, and then an attempt at ordered government was set up, a governor being put in charge at once. Every effort was made to win over the civi l population. Propanda was carried on extensively and skilfully. Meetings were held'to explain the principles of Communism, and in addition to the speeches there was music, and sometimes there were plays. The army brought with i t a band of Chinese musicians and a troupe of actors. Special newspapers were published and widely circulated, and posters giving the latest bulletins were posted on the walls. The news was uniformly optimistic. Bri l l iant successes of the Red armies in Kiangsi , Szechwan and
' other places were reported. Ha l f of the Island of Hainan was said to be in the hands of the Communists. Maps of China were published with the places held by the Communists coloured red. They showed most of the country as red.
Though no effort was spared to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm the effort was nor successful. The people remained, for the most part, just terrified. A l l who could flee before the advancing army did so. Those who remained endured considerable poverty. Business was all practically suspended. There was no work going on in the fields in all the areas through which the prisoners passed. The Communists had their own currency, and prices were fabulous. Salt, for instance, was S16 a pound. A l l the people had to co-ooerate with the Communists i f they wished to live. Doctors, for example, were compelled to put all their services at the disposal of the army. The army had its own Red Cross corps, but F r . Bravo never saw them wi th any wounded after the*r many battles, and there was certainly no provision for wounded prisoners. Bu t the Doctors tended the sick. They cared for F r . Bravo when he was laid up. and gave him quinine in jections.
Ruthlessness.
The Communists realised that gramme they had a hard task to accomplish, and they were ruthless in their methods. A l l hindrances were swept aside. The weak and old were slaughtered, the slightest resistance meant death. One of the officers pointed out to F r . Bravo the absence of beggars, claiming this as a t r i -umph of Communism. In the next town that was entered there were some beggars. That evening Fr^ Bravo saw them roped together and led to the hills, accompanied by the executioners. Next day there were no beggars.
(Contd: on page 20.)
A M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Y o u n g P e o p l e ' s P a g e
T H E S T O R Y O F T H E A P P A R I T I O N S O F O U R L A D Y O F T H E R O S A R Y O F F A T I M A .
(Continued.)
Now you wi l l remember that the beautiful lady from heaven had promised the three little shepherds that on the 13th of October, she would reveal to them her identity and the purpose of her visit , and that on the same day she would show a special sign in order to convince the people of the truth of her apparitions.
A detailed picture of this last apparition is best obtained by\sead-ing through the interview which a certain viscount had with the chi l dren, a few hours after the apparition. I shall let you have it pre-
: sently, but first I shall tell you what the special sign was that the heavenly lady showed.
The news of the supernatural apparitions to the children had spread far and wide, so that, on the evening before the last apparition was expected, a great mul t i tude had gathered at the Cova D a Ir ia . They had come from far and near. There were poor peasants and rich merchants, pious people and unbelievers, simple faithful souls and proud press-men sent by the big daily papers. Some had come like pilgrims on foot from -Ions distances, others like tourists >and sight-seers in motor-cars and i n horse-carriages. A great number of young people rode to the
jCova on push-bikes. The whole area about the Cova was one vast seething mass of humanity and vehicles. In order not to lose points of vantage gained, they decided to spend the night in the open.
~ ^eTrex t rmorn ing broke dull and cloudy. Rain fell in torrents. B u t the crowd didn't budge. W i t h umbrellas and overcoats they stood their ground. A t about 11.30, the three little children arrived. The immense crowd respectfully giving them way. they came near the small oak-tree. Of the oak-tree, by the way, there was left nothing but a small stump. People had broken it off in bits as valued relic.
•The children had been dressed by their parents in their best clothes. A little before 12, Luc ia asked the
^people to shut their umbrellas and •to recite the Rosary. The immense erowd which was estimated at fifty thousand obeyed the child's wish
-&nd, kneeling down on the mi ry •puddle, reverently recited the Rosary. The ra in stopped, the sky cleared and the sun shone, and on the stroke of 12 the lady appeared, as she had promised, wi th Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus. A t the close of the apparition. Luc ia pointed to the skv and said. "Watch the sun."
Now the immense crowd of fifty thousand people saw the sign which the lady had promised to show. The bright noon day sun dimmed and became pale as the moon. Suddenly it whirled round and round, like a ball of fire g iv ing out various colours. Then it stopped and appeared to leave its place in the sky and to drop. Aga in it started to whir l round and round emitt ing more colours than before. A g a i n i t appeared to drop. Every
.one in the immense crowd, saw th is prodigy and was aghast wi th astonishment and fear. Think ing that the day of judgment had arrived, they raised their hands and
voices to heaven, shouting, "Lord , have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us." For the third time the sun started its mad fiery dance in the sky, shooting flames of orange and red, and yellow, and blue, and green, and then resumed its normal appearance and position in the sky.
This wonderful sign in the sun was seen by both believers and unbelievers at the Cova and at places round about for a few miles. But i t had not been recorded by the observatories at Lisbon or at any other b ig cities. Therefore it could not have been a natural phenomenon, but a particular sign from heaven.
Another remarkable thing that the crowd couldn't explain was that their clothes which had been drenched through by the rain, were now found to be suddenly and perfectly dry.
Now let me give you a detailed account of the apparition of the lady herself. Visconde de Montelo had an interview wi th Lucia , Francisco and Jacinta separately on the 13th of October, after the final apparition. I shall summarise the interviews which give the most vivid impression of what the children saw and heard.
"Is i t true that Our Lady appeared to you to-day at Cova D a I r i a?"
"Yes . " "Is it true that the Child Jesus
and Saint Joseph appeared as wel l?"
"Yes, Our Lord appeared in the act of blessing the people."
" D i d you see them all at the same t ime?" "No, F i r s t we saw Our Lady of the Rosary, Saint Joseph and the Chi ld Jesus. Then our Lord alone. Then our Lady showed herself as Our Lady of Sorrows without the sword on her breast. A n d last of all she showed herself as Our Lady of The Mount Carmel."
"Where was the Child Jesus?" "He was in Saint Joseph's arms." "Was he b ig or small?" "He was very t iny ." " D i d they appear near the oak-
tree?" "No . They appeared near the
sun. and were dressed in red." "WTiere did the Lady come
from?" "From the East ." 4 Where did she go to?" "Eastward also." "Was there any light around
her?" "She always shone bright with
light. We had to close our eyes from time to time. She dazzled so."
" D i d you ask her what she wanted?"
"Yes . She told us that we must all lead a new life and must not offend our Lord , but must say the Rosary and ask pardon for our sins."
" D i d she say anything else?" "She also said that she wanted
the people to build a chapel at the Cova."
"Does she want the people to do penance ?"
"Yes. She told us to say the Rosary, to amend our lives and to ask pardon of our Lord . She did
not actually use the work 'penance'."
"Under what title does she want us to build the chapel ?"
"She told us that she was Our Lady of the Rosary."
"What was she dressed in?" "She had white dress and carried
a rosary in her hand." "When did she look most beauti
fu l ? " "She was always just the same
lovely lady from heaven with her face brighter than the sun."
" A n d did^she walk as we do?" "No. She just glided off grace
fully without moving her feet." " D i d you see the sun dance
round?" "Yes. We saw it whirl round
and round." " D i d that happen before the
Lady went away or after?" "It happened as soon as she had
vanished." "Was it the Lady who told the
crowd to watch the sun?" "No. She said nothing. She
only pointed to the sun before she disappeared."
"What colour did you see in the sun?"
"Beautiful ones, blue and yellow and lots of others."
Now you have a clear idea of what took place at Cova Da Ir ia, near Fatima in Portugal on the 13th of October 1917. The lovely lady whose face was brighter than the sun and who said that she came from heaven, was none other than the blessed mother of God, who on various occasions had favoured this world with her apparitions, bringing messages to turn the hearts of the people from sin to God.
Next week I shall give you an account of one or two miracles and how the devotion to our Lady of Fa t ima developed. You will also be anxious to know the story of Luc ia and her two cousins.
Meanwhile memorise the three sentences our Lady taught the children, "Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Release the holy souls from Purgatory, especially those whom every one has forgotten."
A . D ' C .
A Song of Hope. Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, What are you weaving? Labour and sorrow? Look to your looms again Faster and faster F ly the great shuttles Prepared by the Master. Life's in the loom, Room for i t— Room!
Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, Lighten the labour A n d sweeten the sorrow. Now while the shuttles fly Faster and faster, Up, and be at it, A t work wi th the Master; He stands at your loom, Room for H i m — Room!
Children of yesterday, Heirs of to-morrow, Look at your fabric Of labour and sorrow. Seamy and dark Wi th despair and disaster, Turn it, and—lo. The design of the Master! The Lord's at the loom; Room for H i m — Room!
All young people need milk every
day:
for preference
" M I L K M A I D "
M I L K .
Aunt ie : " A n d how did Jimmy do his history examination?"
Mother: "Oh, not at all well, but there, i t wasn't his fault. Why, they asked him things that happened before the poor boy was born!"
* * * *
Hotel visitor (at breakfast): "Waiter, this coffee tastes remarkably funny."
Wai ter : "Wel l , sir, it "~was ground only half an hour ago."
Hotel visitor (fed-up): "I see, it was ground a few minutes ago, and now it's mud."
* * «k * *
Interfering Old Gentleman: "That's a bonnie baby of yours, madam. I trust he wi l l grow to be a man of credit and renown."
Mother (pushing the pram): "Tain' t l ikely."
I .O.G.: "Madam, why do you say that? It all depends on how you bring him up."
Mother: "I can't bring him up, because the him's a her."
^ D u l l e r
C r e a m
LEE BI/CUIT/ U?
5
I N T H E H A N D S O F T H E R E D S
F r . B R A V O ' S T H I R T E E N M O N T H S I N C A P T I V I T Y .
A t ttoe end of February, thirteen momns axcer ms capture uy tne Communists in Fukien, F r . Cypr i an Bravo, O.P., walked unexpectedly into the Vincentian Fathers' Mission Station at Sinfeng, in Kiangsi .
" The good Fathers must have been surprised to see you," a friend said, when he arrived in Hongkong on St. Patrick's day.
"I suppose they were," F r . Bravo replied, " but they were not half as surprised as I was to find myself amongst them. I never expected to be a free man again."
It was on January 25th of last year that F r . Bravo was captured. A native of Palencia in Spain, twenty-eight years of age, he had come to China three years before, and had worked in the Fuchow mission one of the three sections of the province of Fukien which is under the care of the Spanish Dominicans. Towards the end of 1933, when serious political trouble occurred in Fukien, the Communist leaders took advantage of the situation and open ed an energetic campaign. A n announcement was made by the various foreign consuls, pointing out the danger and recommending the missionaries to leave their districts. F r . Bravo did not leave.
Attack on Shahsien. In due time the Communist army
came. It battered at the city walls, but its attack was feeble and it seemed as i f hopes were going to be fulfilled, and the town would escape capture. Then tunnelling began. Approaches were made from various points, and mines laid. A t last through a long tunnel a coffin filled with a great amount of explosives was placed under the wall and fired by a lenghty fuse. The mine and the method of firing i t were primitive, but the aim of the besiegers was attained. A huge breach was made in the wall and the city was entered.
Then began one of those scenes of carnage and horror to which F r . Bravo was soon to become accustomed. The eastern section of the city received the brunt of the assault. It was surrounded, a large part of it was razed to the ground, and all in i t were at the mercy of the Communists. Before evening, F r . Bravo was a prisoner with a rope around his neck, and his hands tied behind his back. Next day he was untied, but for some t ; me he was kept in close confinement. In the beginnin g: he was given over to the sport of soldiers. He was not maltreated, but was
subjected to jeers and ridicule, and was given lurid accounts of his future fate.
Held to ransom. F rom the beginning he was
threatened with death. He was told that he would be spared, and released, only i f a large ransom was paid. Many others were likewise held to ransom. In making prisoners, the one object of the Red army was to get money. The rich men, or those that they beleived to be rich, were their first victims. Pillage was a matter of course, and no effort was spared to root out hidden treasure. Anyone who was
places, only a few days being spent at any spot. Wrhen the time of release came F r . Bravo found himself near the frontier of Kiangsi .
A Captive's L i fe . Dur ing all these long months
Fr . Bravo was never allowed to forget that he was a prisoner. He complains of no ill-treatment, but his life was rough and hard. The food which he received was the same as that given to the soldiers, eight ounces of rice twice a day. with sometimes a little vegetables placed on it. The rice was coarse and unwashed. Each person had a small cloth bag for his rice. For
W H A T IT I N D I C A T E S IF Y O U DO A C A T H O L I C P A P E R .
N O T T A K E
1, 2. 3. 4.
That you have not been asked to do so. That you have little i f any interest in Catholic affairs. That you prefer not to be bothered with religious reading That i t is merely neglect. You haven't thought of it .
5. That you "take so many papers" you must economize by cutting off the best and most necessary of them.
6. That you wi l l let the other fellow defend your religion.-7. That you differed once with an editor and can't forgive
him, although you agreed with him in ninety-nine other instances, 8. That such money as you pay for papers, you give to
dailies which occasionally insult your religion, refer to your Church as "the Romish Church" and brin^ yellow immorality and scandal into your family.
Now, reader, i f you are not a subscriber to a Catholic paper and belong to the first, fourth, firth, seventh or eighth class, you wi l l subscribe at once. But i f yoi belong to the second, third or s ix th , we can do nothing for you.
considered l ikely to have money or valuables was tortured until he spoke—or died. There was utter disregard of human life. Mere suspicion was enough to cause execution without a t r ia l . Blood flowed freely during the fortnight that the army chiefs remained in Shahsien. Then they moved on, bringing wi th them over a hundred prisoners, among whom was F r . Bravo.
A long march followed, nearly two hundred miles, to Siukin. There the prisoner remained for several months, spending the hot summer months there, and moving on only when winter was at hand. Short halts were made at other towns, including a terrible ten days at* Itu where about twenty " official" executions took place every day. While he was in Sink-ong, the town was bombed by the aeroplanes of the Mational army. The last four months of captivity were spent in rapid marches by night, and short halts at various
Telephone No. 7843.
THE VICTORIA CONFECTIONERY & STORE 71, Victoria Street,
SINGAPORE.
Wedding Cakes a Speciality Assorted Cakes Maker, Tea Party Supplier,
Hot and Cold Drinks, etc.
Proprietor
JOSEPH CHONG SIN TONG
each meal his allowance was placed in this, and all were then placed in a pot to be boiled. Wrhen mealtime came each one got his bag. The meal was over in five minutes. Occasionally there was tea for those who were th i rs ty ; more often there was hot water; usually there was nothing.
The lack of clothing caused the greatest hardship. The only possible clothes or shoes which the prisoners could get were those which the soldiers threw away as useless. The thin Chinese shoes do not last long in marching, but if soles were broken and the pri
soners ' feet were bleeding no one cared. There was no rest on these hard marches. If one weire exhausted and lagged behind, he was pushed on, and threatened. The extremes of heat and cold, too, caused considerable suffering. When rest came, it was taken on the ground. There was no shelter in heat or cold or rain. A-fter the first days, surveillance was not rigid, but escape was an ^pos s ib i l i t y . A l l the districts, in the hands of the Reds were ringed about with guards, and without a written order no one could pass.
The Red A r m y .
The number of soldiers operating in that part of Fukien seemed to be about 30,000. They were in good control and received all their orders from Mau Chu Tung—the Dictator. The officers men were not unfriendly to F r . Bravo, in fact the officers seemed quite well-disposed, but made it clear that his fate or fortune did not rest with them. The army was ill-equipped. It possessed one aeroplane, the gift of a general who co-operated for a time with the Reds during the
Fukien Rebellion in 1933. For guns and ammunition i t depended on what it captured from the Government forces. There were very few pieces of arti l lery and comparatively few muskets, many of the soldiers were armed wi th old-fashioned spears. The gunners manufactured for themselves Ti kind of gunpowder, of which the chief ingredient was powdered camphor-wood.
When the army captured a town or a district, it immediately took complete control. Everything of value was seized in the name of the people, and then an attempt at ordered government was set up, a governor being put in charge at once. Every effort was made to win over the civi l population. Propanda was carried on extensively and skilfully. Meetings were held'to explain the principles of Communism, and in addition to the speeches there was music, and sometimes there were plays. The army brought with i t a band of Chinese musicians and a troupe of actors. Special newspapers were published and widely circulated, and posters giving the latest bulletins were posted on the walls. The news was uniformly optimistic. Bri l l iant successes of the Red armies in Kiangsi , Szechwan and
' other places were reported. Ha l f of the Island of Hainan was said to be in the hands of the Communists. Maps of China were published with the places held by the Communists coloured red. They showed most of the country as red.
Though no effort was spared to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm the effort was nor successful. The people remained, for the most part, just terrified. A l l who could flee before the advancing army did so. Those who remained endured considerable poverty. Business was all practically suspended. There was no work going on in the fields in all the areas through which the prisoners passed. The Communists had their own currency, and prices were fabulous. Salt, for instance, was S16 a pound. A l l the people had to co-ooerate with the Communists i f they wished to live. Doctors, for example, were compelled to put all their services at the disposal of the army. The army had its own Red Cross corps, but F r . Bravo never saw them wi th any wounded after the*r many battles, and there was certainly no provision for wounded prisoners. Bu t the Doctors tended the sick. They cared for F r . Bravo when he was laid up. and gave him quinine in jections.
Ruthlessness.
The Communists realised that gramme they had a hard task to accomplish, and they were ruthless in their methods. A l l hindrances were swept aside. The weak and old were slaughtered, the slightest resistance meant death. One of the officers pointed out to F r . Bravo the absence of beggars, claiming this as a t r i -umph of Communism. In the next town that was entered there were some beggars. That evening Fr^ Bravo saw them roped together and led to the hills, accompanied by the executioners. Next day there were no beggars.
(Contd: on page 20.)
6
E d u c a t i o n N o t e s
T h e C h i l d i n S c h o o l a n d a t H o m e
(By a Teacher).
F O U R T H I N S T A L M E N T .
H E A L T H F U L S L E E P .
Sleep, which should rest the child completely, and leave him fresh for the morrow's work, only too often leaves h im tired and cross in the morning, and very unwi l l ing to get up. Healthy sleep is dreamless sleep, and the mother must t ry to see that the half-hour before the children's bedtime is free from excitement. The child who goes to bed in an excited condition, and with an alert mind, is sure to dream. Dreams cannot be always prevented, but they are not likely to have harmful effects i f the child spends a quiet half-hour before going to bed. In these days of wireless, and motor cars, aeroplanes and moving pictures, the child is surrounded by numerous excitements, and demands some protection. Constant excitement—like perpetual boredom—is bad for the growing child.
A n d one word of caution. Try and arrange that the time for home lessons does not end at bedtime. I f the child is to sleep well and to rise refreshed, i t is imperative that he should Aot bo struggling with nightmare sums all night. Sleep, as I have said, should be deep arid dreamless.
I f nervousness in a child leads . to an obsession, an anxiety neurosis, or any other of the "functional nervous diseases"—sometimes accompanied by distressing physical symptoms,' the child should be treated by a nerve-specialist immediately. These things are easily cured in a child, but i f they develop into confirmed habits
' their cure is very difficult indeed.
The Smaller Muscles. F r o m seven or eight onwards
the smaller muscles of the hand and the eye gain rapidly the powe r to make detailed minute movements—if proper exercises are given. The brain centres concerned are developing, but they cannot be rushed. The process is very gradual. This is why the drawing or modelling lesson progresses slowly from the orange and envelope and other simple objects, and never rushes from the simple to the complex. So too the print in successive lesson books gets smaller almost imperceptibly and the b ig double-lined copy is kept in use for two or three years. This transition period is one in which the child s eagerness may be a source of danger.
Handwork and Intellectual Development.
Handwork, strange to say, has a tremendous effect on intellectual development. The child learns
' by doing things and his first teachers are his hands and eyes. Shape, form, distance, roughness, size,—he teaches himself to estimate these, and thus develops his brain by the activity of his muscles. Bu t even in the higher
•intellectual development handwork -^involved and delicate handwork —is useful, i f not indeed essential. A n educationalist says: "The small muscles of the hand, eye, ear, larynx, and tongue, have
much higher and more extensive intellectual relations than the large muscles of the trunk and limbs. If you would attain to the full intellectual stature of which you - are capable, do not, I would say, neglect the physical education of the hand.
Instrumental music, fretwork, needlework, and advanced drawing, all give excellent work for the hand, and are very important from the intellectual viewpoint. But even i f handwork had no intellectual significance, certain branches of it would sti l l have a claim to consideration. Every boy should be something -of a carpenter, and every gir l something of a needlewoman. Otherwise they wi l l have to call in the skilled worker for every little job afterwards. The ability to do small repairs saves a lot of money, and does something perhaps more important. Its exercise gives that very real satisfaction which comes from seeing something wrong and putting it right ourselves. It is a source of confidence and self-respect.
Memory and Reasoning.
Parents may sometimes wonder why so much memory work is given at a certain stage in the child's education, ??id the reason is that at that stage the memory is the dominant faculty. Between the ages of seven and fourteen the memory is wonderfully retentive, and is a powerful ally of the teacher and the parent. The child should be made to memorize large quantities of good poetry, as well as the various tables. He can do it easily during these years.
He should never be asked to memorize something he does not understand, but it is by no means necessary that he should completely understand everything he memorizes. The memory should be fully utilized to store the young-mind with well-chosen excerpts of poetry and prose. The child wil l fully understand them later on. Modern education has made a stride in the right direction in doing away with much of the useless memory work that used to feature so largely in school work—lists of dates, heights of mountrins, and so on.
Parents can do a lot to encourage the love of literature in their children, by constantly reading pieces which the children themselves like, and which they can afterwards be easily coaxed to memorize. The parent who succeeds in getting his child to appreciate—that is to really like a good poem, has done h im an immense benefit. It is not wise to try "heavy" pieces that have a purely adult appeal. It is ridiculous to expect the children to see the beauties of Tennyson's blank verse. He needs a long preparation before he can make any attempt at such appreciation. Give him the lyr ic first, something with colour and noise and sound in it. G. K . Chesterton's "Lepanto" is ideal for the purpose, and it teaches
some history incidentally, telling how the despised Duke of Aust r ia saved Europe from* the infidel. The clang and jingle of the poem wil l make a powerful appeal to the boy, even if his understanding of it is very imperfect. "Stiff flags straining in the night
blasts cold, In the gloom black purple, in the
glint old gold; Torchlights gleam on the copper
kettle drums Then the tuckets, then the trum
pets, then the canons, and he comes,
Don John laughing in the brave beard curled
St i r r ing in his stirrups like the thrones of all the world,
Love-light of Spain—hurrah, Death-light of Afr ica Don John of Austr ia is riding to
the war."
Lucky is the child who is taguht at home to appreciate a poem like "Lepanto, and to get suitable sections of it off by heart. The pieces he learns like this wil l be a consolation to him always. They wil l be of far more educational value than any similar piece that he is forced to memorize in school. Fo r after all, the aim in the teaching of Literature is to get the pupils to appreciate some of the best works in prose and poetry, and before a child appreciates anything he must like something. Before his preference may be trained in the right direction it must first be aroused.
T H E F I R S T V I C A R A P O S T O L I C O F T H E I V O R Y C O A S T D I E S I N
F R A N C E .
Rome.—The Most Rev. Jules Moury, of the Afr ican Missions Society of Lyons, who for 40 years was a missionary in west Afr ica , died March 29 at Agnat, Haute-Loire , France. He was the first Vicar Apostolic of the Ivory Coast having been named head of all the missions of the colony in 1919.
Bishop Moury was born in Agnat October 11, 1873. He reached the Ivory Coast in 1895, four years after the first missionaries entered t&at part of the continent. The early years of his missionary life were filled with hardships. The priests had to contend with the deadly fevers of the west coast; the people among whom they worked were a barbarous race; and then, as i f to crown i t all , they had to close their mission schools at the time of the separation of Church and State when the anti-clericals came i nto power in France and suppressed the institutions of learning maintained by religious. Afterwards conditions improved, and the work progressed
When he left the mission last May there were approximately 50,000 Catholics in the Vicariate of the Ivory Coast and 5,000 in the Prefecture of Korhogo, a division of the original mission. Before leaving Afr ica bishop Moury ordained his first native priest, Rev. Rene Kouassi, who is now at the little seminary of Dabou preparing other native young men for the priesthood. (Fides)
B I S H O P F I N N E M A N N L A U D S P H I L I P P I N E S A N D E U C H A R I S -
TIC C O N G R E S S P L A N S .
Vienna.—"We shall not have at Manila such crowds as visited Chicago, Buenos Aires , and Dub
l in , but the forthcoming Euchari-stic Congress, for which a number of committees are making preparations, will nevertheless take an impressive and magnificent course." This was the statement of the Most Rev. Wil l iam Finne-mann, Auxi l iary Bishop of Manila, who is a visitor at the Mission House of St. Gabriel, near Vienna, of which he was formerly a member . . .
"The Congress", Bishop Finne-mann continued, " w i l l be held in February 1937, as that time of year is best suited for a visit to the Philippines and that month is comparatively cool and dry. We also wish to give the visitors we expect from foreign countries a chance to spend Christmas in their homeland."
''Those who attend the Congress wil l return home deeply impressed by the Catholic life of the Philippines. These islands, with IS millions of Catholics, may be •:ounted among the most important Catholic countries in the world. In the F a r East it. is the only country with an almost purely Catholic population, for only 30,000 are followers of Islam, while about 700,000 being to various pagan sects. The moral standards of the Fil ipinos are so high that many Catholics in the Old World might take example from then:. The frequent reception of the Sacraments, the high esteem in which the family and marriage are held, is full proof of this . . . For the Filipinos Catholicism is religion. The schism of Aglipay, who founded a so-called National Church with revolutionary tendencies has become quite insignificant."
"Poverty is almost unknown among us! The country supports
evergrowing Doniilation."— ( L ^ m e i v N . C . W . d )
M A L A B A R R E U N I O N M O V E
M E N T C O N T I N U E S TO M A K E
P R O G R E S S .
The Catholic Reunion Movement among the Syrians of Malabar, India, st i l l goes on. Since its inception four years ago more than 16,000 souls have found their way into the fold of the Church. Of these, over 4,000 belong to the Diocese of Thiruvalla.
On January 20, H . E . Most Rev. Mar Theophilos, Bishop of Thiruvalla, formally opened his new " cathedral," a shed capable of accommodating over a thousand persons. This replaces a former one no longer adequate to the growing number of converts.
The better to carry on the work of conversions without neglecting the needs of the neophytes, Bishop Theophilos has laid the foundations of a diocesan religious order for men. A beginning has been made with six aspirants. They are undergoing training in a new building, Holy Redeemer Monastery, which was recently blessed by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Leo Kierkels. This venture is in charge of three priests from the Syro-Malabar Carmelite foundation.
A diocesan congregation for women has also been started. This work is superintended by two nuns of the Imitation of Christ from Trivandrum. (Lumen).
7
C h i l d r e n a n d P r a y e r .
Most children are apt to perform the duty of prayer in a careless, superficial manner, which is owing to their natural giddiness and in-
' attention to everything serious. Wherefore i t is the duty of parents to teach them how to pray. They should instil into them a high idea of this essential duty, and show the necessity of it from total dependence on God as to the
, goods both of this life and the next. For example, let them often say to their children: "We must never forget to pray to Almighty God, because He is the Giver of ali good gifts. It is He alone who can supply us with all things necessary both for soul and body/' A t other t imes: "We can never arrive at the eternal happiness of Heaven unless God helps us by His grace. Now, He wil l help us by His grace i f we ask it by humble and fervent prayer."
Let them often admonish their children of their duty when going to prayer, as follows: "Remember you are now going to speak to God Himself, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth. See that you do it wi th great reverence, modesty, and attention." In order to impress on the minds of children a due sense of the presence and majesty of God they must first say their prayers aloud, in a mild, humble, and moderate tone, upon their knees and with downcast eyes and their hands joined, and they should never be allowed to huddle over their prayers as is often the case, nor to look about here and there while saying them:
After prayer say to them occasionally: " Did you think of A lmigh ty God? Was your heart raised up to H i m , to adore H i m , to praise H i m , and to beg His blessings? . . . Parents should, as much as possible, hear their children say their prayers morning and night, and in hearing them should not be employed about the business of the house.
If they cannot themselves perform this duty, they ought to entrust i t to such servants only as are truly pious and who wil l see that the children perform it in a proper manner. It cannot be expected that children should be duly impressed wi th the importance of this duty i f allowed to perform it in a careless manner, or i f they see their parents equally indifferent about so essential a point.
T h e A l t a r L a m p .
It is no danger signal, that red lamp which burns before the tabernacle, but a loving invitation to us to draw near to H i m who, for our sake, is always l iving and loving in the Blessed Sacrament. How like a throbbing human heart it seems, as the little flame now rises and now falls, " in its tmtired unrest," as i f joy or sorrow really ruled its feeble, fluttering pulse ! In that red altar lamp there is a fitting symbol of the "faith that worketh by charity" (Gal. v.. 6), for though its light is white in itself, like the light of faith in the human intellect, yet to the bystander and to H i m of whose hidden Presence it is the outward sign it appears through its coloured medium, just as our faith is manifested by the love of our ruddy human heart. A t times it is suggestive also of the Passion of Our Blessed Lord, as it seems to burn with an oil racy of the reddened soil beneath that olive-tree of the Garden of Gethsemane. So may my poor heart burn faithfully with love for my dear Redeemer whenever He deigns to take up His abode within the l iving tabernacle of my breast !— Rev. John Fitzpatrick, O.M.I.
T H E E N E M I E S OF F A I T H .
A n act of faith is not, like some acts of reason, the product of a single faculty of man. It is elicited by the whole man, in his three faculties of the intellect, the wil l and the heart. Fa i th is not a mere opinion or conclusion of the intellect, nor a mere resolve of the wi l l , nor a mere sentiment of the heart. A real l iv ing act of faith is an act whereby we subject ourselves to God wi th our whole mind and with our whole wil l and with our whole heart. Thus Fa i th has, as i t were, three strongholds within us. And therefore our three enemies, always allies, and always adopting a skilful plan of attack, have so to speak, divided the field of our soul between them. The Devil besieges our intellect, the World invades our wil l , the Flesh allures the affections of our heart. If the intellect is seduced, the result is Heresy; i f the wil l is overcome; the result is Infidelity; i f the heart is enticed, the result is Superstition.
Fame only comes when deserved, and then it is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.—Long
fellow.
T h e M i n i s t e r ' s G r i e v a n c e s .
"Brethren," said the aged minister, as he stood up before the church meeting on New Year's Eve, "I am afraid we wil l have to part. I have laboured among you now for fifteen years, and I feel that that is almost enough, under the peculiar circumstances in which I am placed. Not that I am exactly dissatisfied: but a clergyman who has been preaching to sinners for fifteen years for five hundred dollars a year, naturally feels that he is not doing a great work when Deacon Jones, acting as an officer of the church, pays his last quarter's salary in a promisory note at six months, and then, acting as an individual, offers to discount it for him at ten per cent, i f he will take it part out in clover seed and pumpkins.
"I feel somehow as i f it would take about eighty-four years of severe preaching to prepare the deacon for existence in a felicitous hereafter. Let me say, also, that while I am deeply grateful to the ecngregation, for the donation party they gave me on Christmas. I have calculated that it would be far more profitable for me to shut my house and take to the woods than endure another one. I wi l l not refer to the impulsive generosity which persuaded Sister Potter to come with a present of eight clothes pin; I wil l not insinuate anything against Brother Ferguson, who brought with him a quarter of a peck of dried apples of the crop of 1872; I shall not allude to the benevolence of Sister Tynhirst , who came with a pen-wiper and a t in horse for the baby; I shall refrain from commenting upon the impression made by Brother H i l l , who brought four phosphorescent mackerel, possibly with an idea that they might be useful in dissipating the gloom in my cellar. I omit reference to Deacon Jones' present of an elbow of stove-pipe and a bundle of toothpicks, and I admit that when Sister Peabody brought me sweetened sausage-meat, and salted and peppered mince-meat for pies, she did r ight in not forcing her own family to suffer from her mistake in mixing the material. But I do think I may fairly remark respecting the case of Sister Walsingham, that after careful thought I am unable to perceive how she considered that a present of a box of hair-pins to my wife justified her in consuming half a pumpkin pie, six buttered muffins, two platefuls of oysters.
Cut here.
SUBSCRIPTION FORM.
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R .
73, Bras Basah Road, Singapore.
Please enrol me as a subscriber to the above journal for a period
0 f : _ * T h r e e , six, or twelve months From
to N a m e Private Address
Business Address
I am enclosing as subscription fee for the aforesaid
period.
Rates postage iactai 3 month- SI.50 6 3.00
12 „ 6.00
Signature of Subscriber
'Strike off the figure that does not apply.
Cut here —
and a large variety of miscellaneous food, previous to jamming herself full of preserves, and proceeding to the parlour to join in singing 'There is rest for the weary!' Such a destruction of necessaries of life doubtless contributes admirably to the stimulation of commerce, but it is far too large a commercial operation to rest solely upon the basis of a ten-cent box of hair-pins.
" A s for matters in the church, I do not care to discuss them at length. I might say much about the manner in which the congregation were asked to contribute clothing to our mission in Senegambia; we received nothing but four neck-* ies and a brass breast-pin, excepting a second-hand carnage-whip that Deacon Jones gave us. I might allude to the frivolous manner in which Brother Atkinson, our tenor, converses with Sister Priestly, our soprano, during my sermons, and last Sunday kissed her when he thought I was not looking; I might allude to the absent-mindedness which has permitted Brother Brown twice lately to put half a dollar on the collection-plate and take off two quarters and a ten-cent piece in change; and I rn^ght dwell upon the circumstance that while Brother Toombs, the undertaker, signs i I would not live alway' with professional enthusiasm that is pardonable. I do not see why he should throw such unction-into the hymn T am unworthy though I give my all , ' when he is in arrears for two years' pew-rent, and is always busy examining the carpet-pattern when the plate goes round. I also—"
But here Brother Toombs turned off the gas suddenly, and the meeting adjourned full of indignation at the good pastor. His resignation was accepted unanimously.
Moshi .— (Tanganyika Territory, Br i t i sh East Africa) .—Twenty-seven native young women have made their religious profession as Sisters, of Our Lady of K i l imanjaro, a congregation founded by the Holy Ghost Fathers and trained by the Sisters of the Precious Blood, of Aarle-Rixtel , Holland. Several native chiefs were present at the first ceremony of profession.
A SYMBOL It is difficult to express the reverent love we feel for those who are gone. A funeral here and a Symbol of remembrance aid and
comfort the ^bereaved.
S I N G A P O R E
C A S K E T C O PENH AS ROAD. SINGAPORE
6
E d u c a t i o n N o t e s
T h e C h i l d i n S c h o o l a n d a t H o m e
(By a Teacher).
F O U R T H I N S T A L M E N T .
H E A L T H F U L S L E E P .
Sleep, which should rest the child completely, and leave him fresh for the morrow's work, only too often leaves h im tired and cross in the morning, and very unwi l l ing to get up. Healthy sleep is dreamless sleep, and the mother must t ry to see that the half-hour before the children's bedtime is free from excitement. The child who goes to bed in an excited condition, and with an alert mind, is sure to dream. Dreams cannot be always prevented, but they are not likely to have harmful effects i f the child spends a quiet half-hour before going to bed. In these days of wireless, and motor cars, aeroplanes and moving pictures, the child is surrounded by numerous excitements, and demands some protection. Constant excitement—like perpetual boredom—is bad for the growing child.
A n d one word of caution. Try and arrange that the time for home lessons does not end at bedtime. I f the child is to sleep well and to rise refreshed, i t is imperative that he should Aot bo struggling with nightmare sums all night. Sleep, as I have said, should be deep arid dreamless.
I f nervousness in a child leads . to an obsession, an anxiety neurosis, or any other of the "functional nervous diseases"—sometimes accompanied by distressing physical symptoms,' the child should be treated by a nerve-specialist immediately. These things are easily cured in a child, but i f they develop into confirmed habits
' their cure is very difficult indeed.
The Smaller Muscles. F r o m seven or eight onwards
the smaller muscles of the hand and the eye gain rapidly the powe r to make detailed minute movements—if proper exercises are given. The brain centres concerned are developing, but they cannot be rushed. The process is very gradual. This is why the drawing or modelling lesson progresses slowly from the orange and envelope and other simple objects, and never rushes from the simple to the complex. So too the print in successive lesson books gets smaller almost imperceptibly and the b ig double-lined copy is kept in use for two or three years. This transition period is one in which the child s eagerness may be a source of danger.
Handwork and Intellectual Development.
Handwork, strange to say, has a tremendous effect on intellectual development. The child learns
' by doing things and his first teachers are his hands and eyes. Shape, form, distance, roughness, size,—he teaches himself to estimate these, and thus develops his brain by the activity of his muscles. Bu t even in the higher
•intellectual development handwork -^involved and delicate handwork —is useful, i f not indeed essential. A n educationalist says: "The small muscles of the hand, eye, ear, larynx, and tongue, have
much higher and more extensive intellectual relations than the large muscles of the trunk and limbs. If you would attain to the full intellectual stature of which you - are capable, do not, I would say, neglect the physical education of the hand.
Instrumental music, fretwork, needlework, and advanced drawing, all give excellent work for the hand, and are very important from the intellectual viewpoint. But even i f handwork had no intellectual significance, certain branches of it would sti l l have a claim to consideration. Every boy should be something -of a carpenter, and every gir l something of a needlewoman. Otherwise they wi l l have to call in the skilled worker for every little job afterwards. The ability to do small repairs saves a lot of money, and does something perhaps more important. Its exercise gives that very real satisfaction which comes from seeing something wrong and putting it right ourselves. It is a source of confidence and self-respect.
Memory and Reasoning.
Parents may sometimes wonder why so much memory work is given at a certain stage in the child's education, ??id the reason is that at that stage the memory is the dominant faculty. Between the ages of seven and fourteen the memory is wonderfully retentive, and is a powerful ally of the teacher and the parent. The child should be made to memorize large quantities of good poetry, as well as the various tables. He can do it easily during these years.
He should never be asked to memorize something he does not understand, but it is by no means necessary that he should completely understand everything he memorizes. The memory should be fully utilized to store the young-mind with well-chosen excerpts of poetry and prose. The child wil l fully understand them later on. Modern education has made a stride in the right direction in doing away with much of the useless memory work that used to feature so largely in school work—lists of dates, heights of mountrins, and so on.
Parents can do a lot to encourage the love of literature in their children, by constantly reading pieces which the children themselves like, and which they can afterwards be easily coaxed to memorize. The parent who succeeds in getting his child to appreciate—that is to really like a good poem, has done h im an immense benefit. It is not wise to try "heavy" pieces that have a purely adult appeal. It is ridiculous to expect the children to see the beauties of Tennyson's blank verse. He needs a long preparation before he can make any attempt at such appreciation. Give him the lyr ic first, something with colour and noise and sound in it. G. K . Chesterton's "Lepanto" is ideal for the purpose, and it teaches
some history incidentally, telling how the despised Duke of Aust r ia saved Europe from* the infidel. The clang and jingle of the poem wil l make a powerful appeal to the boy, even if his understanding of it is very imperfect. "Stiff flags straining in the night
blasts cold, In the gloom black purple, in the
glint old gold; Torchlights gleam on the copper
kettle drums Then the tuckets, then the trum
pets, then the canons, and he comes,
Don John laughing in the brave beard curled
St i r r ing in his stirrups like the thrones of all the world,
Love-light of Spain—hurrah, Death-light of Afr ica Don John of Austr ia is riding to
the war."
Lucky is the child who is taguht at home to appreciate a poem like "Lepanto, and to get suitable sections of it off by heart. The pieces he learns like this wil l be a consolation to him always. They wil l be of far more educational value than any similar piece that he is forced to memorize in school. Fo r after all, the aim in the teaching of Literature is to get the pupils to appreciate some of the best works in prose and poetry, and before a child appreciates anything he must like something. Before his preference may be trained in the right direction it must first be aroused.
T H E F I R S T V I C A R A P O S T O L I C O F T H E I V O R Y C O A S T D I E S I N
F R A N C E .
Rome.—The Most Rev. Jules Moury, of the Afr ican Missions Society of Lyons, who for 40 years was a missionary in west Afr ica , died March 29 at Agnat, Haute-Loire , France. He was the first Vicar Apostolic of the Ivory Coast having been named head of all the missions of the colony in 1919.
Bishop Moury was born in Agnat October 11, 1873. He reached the Ivory Coast in 1895, four years after the first missionaries entered t&at part of the continent. The early years of his missionary life were filled with hardships. The priests had to contend with the deadly fevers of the west coast; the people among whom they worked were a barbarous race; and then, as i f to crown i t all , they had to close their mission schools at the time of the separation of Church and State when the anti-clericals came i nto power in France and suppressed the institutions of learning maintained by religious. Afterwards conditions improved, and the work progressed
When he left the mission last May there were approximately 50,000 Catholics in the Vicariate of the Ivory Coast and 5,000 in the Prefecture of Korhogo, a division of the original mission. Before leaving Afr ica bishop Moury ordained his first native priest, Rev. Rene Kouassi, who is now at the little seminary of Dabou preparing other native young men for the priesthood. (Fides)
B I S H O P F I N N E M A N N L A U D S P H I L I P P I N E S A N D E U C H A R I S -
TIC C O N G R E S S P L A N S .
Vienna.—"We shall not have at Manila such crowds as visited Chicago, Buenos Aires , and Dub
l in , but the forthcoming Euchari-stic Congress, for which a number of committees are making preparations, will nevertheless take an impressive and magnificent course." This was the statement of the Most Rev. Wil l iam Finne-mann, Auxi l iary Bishop of Manila, who is a visitor at the Mission House of St. Gabriel, near Vienna, of which he was formerly a member . . .
"The Congress", Bishop Finne-mann continued, " w i l l be held in February 1937, as that time of year is best suited for a visit to the Philippines and that month is comparatively cool and dry. We also wish to give the visitors we expect from foreign countries a chance to spend Christmas in their homeland."
''Those who attend the Congress wil l return home deeply impressed by the Catholic life of the Philippines. These islands, with IS millions of Catholics, may be •:ounted among the most important Catholic countries in the world. In the F a r East it. is the only country with an almost purely Catholic population, for only 30,000 are followers of Islam, while about 700,000 being to various pagan sects. The moral standards of the Fil ipinos are so high that many Catholics in the Old World might take example from then:. The frequent reception of the Sacraments, the high esteem in which the family and marriage are held, is full proof of this . . . For the Filipinos Catholicism is religion. The schism of Aglipay, who founded a so-called National Church with revolutionary tendencies has become quite insignificant."
"Poverty is almost unknown among us! The country supports
evergrowing Doniilation."— ( L ^ m e i v N . C . W . d )
M A L A B A R R E U N I O N M O V E
M E N T C O N T I N U E S TO M A K E
P R O G R E S S .
The Catholic Reunion Movement among the Syrians of Malabar, India, st i l l goes on. Since its inception four years ago more than 16,000 souls have found their way into the fold of the Church. Of these, over 4,000 belong to the Diocese of Thiruvalla.
On January 20, H . E . Most Rev. Mar Theophilos, Bishop of Thiruvalla, formally opened his new " cathedral," a shed capable of accommodating over a thousand persons. This replaces a former one no longer adequate to the growing number of converts.
The better to carry on the work of conversions without neglecting the needs of the neophytes, Bishop Theophilos has laid the foundations of a diocesan religious order for men. A beginning has been made with six aspirants. They are undergoing training in a new building, Holy Redeemer Monastery, which was recently blessed by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Leo Kierkels. This venture is in charge of three priests from the Syro-Malabar Carmelite foundation.
A diocesan congregation for women has also been started. This work is superintended by two nuns of the Imitation of Christ from Trivandrum. (Lumen).
7
C h i l d r e n a n d P r a y e r .
Most children are apt to perform the duty of prayer in a careless, superficial manner, which is owing to their natural giddiness and in-
' attention to everything serious. Wherefore i t is the duty of parents to teach them how to pray. They should instil into them a high idea of this essential duty, and show the necessity of it from total dependence on God as to the
, goods both of this life and the next. For example, let them often say to their children: "We must never forget to pray to Almighty God, because He is the Giver of ali good gifts. It is He alone who can supply us with all things necessary both for soul and body/' A t other t imes: "We can never arrive at the eternal happiness of Heaven unless God helps us by His grace. Now, He wil l help us by His grace i f we ask it by humble and fervent prayer."
Let them often admonish their children of their duty when going to prayer, as follows: "Remember you are now going to speak to God Himself, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and earth. See that you do it wi th great reverence, modesty, and attention." In order to impress on the minds of children a due sense of the presence and majesty of God they must first say their prayers aloud, in a mild, humble, and moderate tone, upon their knees and with downcast eyes and their hands joined, and they should never be allowed to huddle over their prayers as is often the case, nor to look about here and there while saying them:
After prayer say to them occasionally: " Did you think of A lmigh ty God? Was your heart raised up to H i m , to adore H i m , to praise H i m , and to beg His blessings? . . . Parents should, as much as possible, hear their children say their prayers morning and night, and in hearing them should not be employed about the business of the house.
If they cannot themselves perform this duty, they ought to entrust i t to such servants only as are truly pious and who wil l see that the children perform it in a proper manner. It cannot be expected that children should be duly impressed wi th the importance of this duty i f allowed to perform it in a careless manner, or i f they see their parents equally indifferent about so essential a point.
T h e A l t a r L a m p .
It is no danger signal, that red lamp which burns before the tabernacle, but a loving invitation to us to draw near to H i m who, for our sake, is always l iving and loving in the Blessed Sacrament. How like a throbbing human heart it seems, as the little flame now rises and now falls, " in its tmtired unrest," as i f joy or sorrow really ruled its feeble, fluttering pulse ! In that red altar lamp there is a fitting symbol of the "faith that worketh by charity" (Gal. v.. 6), for though its light is white in itself, like the light of faith in the human intellect, yet to the bystander and to H i m of whose hidden Presence it is the outward sign it appears through its coloured medium, just as our faith is manifested by the love of our ruddy human heart. A t times it is suggestive also of the Passion of Our Blessed Lord, as it seems to burn with an oil racy of the reddened soil beneath that olive-tree of the Garden of Gethsemane. So may my poor heart burn faithfully with love for my dear Redeemer whenever He deigns to take up His abode within the l iving tabernacle of my breast !— Rev. John Fitzpatrick, O.M.I.
T H E E N E M I E S OF F A I T H .
A n act of faith is not, like some acts of reason, the product of a single faculty of man. It is elicited by the whole man, in his three faculties of the intellect, the wil l and the heart. Fa i th is not a mere opinion or conclusion of the intellect, nor a mere resolve of the wi l l , nor a mere sentiment of the heart. A real l iv ing act of faith is an act whereby we subject ourselves to God wi th our whole mind and with our whole wil l and with our whole heart. Thus Fa i th has, as i t were, three strongholds within us. And therefore our three enemies, always allies, and always adopting a skilful plan of attack, have so to speak, divided the field of our soul between them. The Devil besieges our intellect, the World invades our wil l , the Flesh allures the affections of our heart. If the intellect is seduced, the result is Heresy; i f the wil l is overcome; the result is Infidelity; i f the heart is enticed, the result is Superstition.
Fame only comes when deserved, and then it is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.—Long
fellow.
T h e M i n i s t e r ' s G r i e v a n c e s .
"Brethren," said the aged minister, as he stood up before the church meeting on New Year's Eve, "I am afraid we wil l have to part. I have laboured among you now for fifteen years, and I feel that that is almost enough, under the peculiar circumstances in which I am placed. Not that I am exactly dissatisfied: but a clergyman who has been preaching to sinners for fifteen years for five hundred dollars a year, naturally feels that he is not doing a great work when Deacon Jones, acting as an officer of the church, pays his last quarter's salary in a promisory note at six months, and then, acting as an individual, offers to discount it for him at ten per cent, i f he will take it part out in clover seed and pumpkins.
"I feel somehow as i f it would take about eighty-four years of severe preaching to prepare the deacon for existence in a felicitous hereafter. Let me say, also, that while I am deeply grateful to the ecngregation, for the donation party they gave me on Christmas. I have calculated that it would be far more profitable for me to shut my house and take to the woods than endure another one. I wi l l not refer to the impulsive generosity which persuaded Sister Potter to come with a present of eight clothes pin; I wil l not insinuate anything against Brother Ferguson, who brought with him a quarter of a peck of dried apples of the crop of 1872; I shall not allude to the benevolence of Sister Tynhirst , who came with a pen-wiper and a t in horse for the baby; I shall refrain from commenting upon the impression made by Brother H i l l , who brought four phosphorescent mackerel, possibly with an idea that they might be useful in dissipating the gloom in my cellar. I omit reference to Deacon Jones' present of an elbow of stove-pipe and a bundle of toothpicks, and I admit that when Sister Peabody brought me sweetened sausage-meat, and salted and peppered mince-meat for pies, she did r ight in not forcing her own family to suffer from her mistake in mixing the material. But I do think I may fairly remark respecting the case of Sister Walsingham, that after careful thought I am unable to perceive how she considered that a present of a box of hair-pins to my wife justified her in consuming half a pumpkin pie, six buttered muffins, two platefuls of oysters.
Cut here.
SUBSCRIPTION FORM.
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R .
73, Bras Basah Road, Singapore.
Please enrol me as a subscriber to the above journal for a period
0 f : _ * T h r e e , six, or twelve months From
to N a m e Private Address
Business Address
I am enclosing as subscription fee for the aforesaid
period.
Rates postage iactai 3 month- SI.50 6 3.00
12 „ 6.00
Signature of Subscriber
'Strike off the figure that does not apply.
Cut here —
and a large variety of miscellaneous food, previous to jamming herself full of preserves, and proceeding to the parlour to join in singing 'There is rest for the weary!' Such a destruction of necessaries of life doubtless contributes admirably to the stimulation of commerce, but it is far too large a commercial operation to rest solely upon the basis of a ten-cent box of hair-pins.
" A s for matters in the church, I do not care to discuss them at length. I might say much about the manner in which the congregation were asked to contribute clothing to our mission in Senegambia; we received nothing but four neck-* ies and a brass breast-pin, excepting a second-hand carnage-whip that Deacon Jones gave us. I might allude to the frivolous manner in which Brother Atkinson, our tenor, converses with Sister Priestly, our soprano, during my sermons, and last Sunday kissed her when he thought I was not looking; I might allude to the absent-mindedness which has permitted Brother Brown twice lately to put half a dollar on the collection-plate and take off two quarters and a ten-cent piece in change; and I rn^ght dwell upon the circumstance that while Brother Toombs, the undertaker, signs i I would not live alway' with professional enthusiasm that is pardonable. I do not see why he should throw such unction-into the hymn T am unworthy though I give my all , ' when he is in arrears for two years' pew-rent, and is always busy examining the carpet-pattern when the plate goes round. I also—"
But here Brother Toombs turned off the gas suddenly, and the meeting adjourned full of indignation at the good pastor. His resignation was accepted unanimously.
Moshi .— (Tanganyika Territory, Br i t i sh East Africa) .—Twenty-seven native young women have made their religious profession as Sisters, of Our Lady of K i l imanjaro, a congregation founded by the Holy Ghost Fathers and trained by the Sisters of the Precious Blood, of Aarle-Rixtel , Holland. Several native chiefs were present at the first ceremony of profession.
A SYMBOL It is difficult to express the reverent love we feel for those who are gone. A funeral here and a Symbol of remembrance aid and
comfort the ^bereaved.
S I N G A P O R E
C A S K E T C O PENH AS ROAD. SINGAPORE
M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Woman's Page D R E S S O R F A S H I O N S ?
Money is a trust from God. It is not ours to expend for the grat i fication of pride or ambition. We could br ing happiness to many hearts by using wisely the means that is often spent for show, but alas! unhappiness is very often the outcome of a full purse.
A contented g i r l is one who has learnt to do without things. Discontent means wanting what we cannot ' have or may not have. They say that the only way to cure a woman who wants what is bad for her, is to let her have i t ; but that is a desperate remedy. Midas was discontented because he wanted more and more money, and he was cured by being allowed to turn all that he touched into gold. When he kissed his daughter and she turned into a big eighteen-carat nugget of gold, Midas was cured of his greed.
A t the present day there is the weariness, the unrest and wretchedness that result from the rule of fashion! Think of the styles that have prevailed for the last few hundred years, or even for the last few decades. How many of them when not in fashion would be declared immodest; how many would be pronounced inappropriate for a refined God-fearing, self-respecting woman.
Changing fashions squander the time and means of the r ich and lay waste the energies of the mind and the soul, while they impose a heavy burden on the middle and poorer classes. Many a poor g i r l , for the sake of a stylish gown, has deprived herself of substantial food and paid the penalty with her life. Many anothor, coveting the display and elegance of the rich, has been enticed into paths of dishonesty and shame. Many a home is deprived of comforts, many a man is driven to embezzlement or bankruptcy, to satisfy the fashion craze' of his wife and daughters. Many a woman, forced to prepare for herself or her children the stylish cuts demanded by fashion, is doomed to ceaseless drudgery. Many a mother wi th throbbing nerves and trembling figures toils far into the night to add to her children's clothing ornamentation that which contributes absolutely nothing to real beauty. F o r the
sake of fashion she sacrifices health and that calmness of spirit so essential to the right guidance of her children. The culture of mind and heart is neglected. The soul is dwarfed.
The mother has no time to study the principles of physical development that she may know how to care for the health of her children. She has no time for ministering to their mental or spiritual needs, no time to sympathise with them in their little disappointments and trials, or to share in their interests and pursuits.
Almost as soon as some children can walk, they are subjected --te-fashion's influence. They hear more of Dress than of God. The display of dress is treated as of greater importance than the development of character. Parents and children are robbed of that which is best and sweetest and truest in life. For fashion's sake they are cheated out of a preparation for the life to come.
It was the adversary of all good who instigated trie invention of the ever-changing fashion. He desires nothing so much as to bring grief and dishonour to Almighty God by working the misery and ruin of human beings. One of the means by which he most effectually accomplishes this, is the devices of fashion, that weaken the body as well as enfeeble the mind and belittle the soul.
The enemy of our soul knows, that i f the fashions are corrupted, in time, even good women wil l fall into the snare. If their sole outlook is a struggle to meet the demands of dress or fashion they wil l resemble the lady who went to buy a new hat. She insisted that it must be the very latest thing." The tactful milliner thereupon said: "Take a seat for a few moments, Madam, because the fashion is just going to change."
Many women have played the fool wi th the good taste which God gave them, and so He took i t back. Many a man has been led to choose the society of the club-house or the saloon, because his wife is a Fashion Plate. Many a boy is led to the street, because the influence of the home is not what God designed it should be, a lifelong blessing.
" A good wife and health are man's best wealth."
Mothers should remember that
growing children need milk-every
day:
for preference
-MILKMAID" MILK
HE WILL BE WHAT YOU WANT
HIM TO BE ON COW AND GATE
A c o m p l e t e F o o d m a d e i n a m o m e n t b y t h e m e r e a d d i t i o n o f h o t w a t e r .
I n g u a r a n t e e d a n d d a t e d , a i r t i g h t c o n t a i n e r s .
For Better Babies Agents for South Malaya, B.N. Borneo & Sarawak:
JACKSON & CO., LTD., 55, Robinson Road, Singapore.
S i m p l e F i r s t A i d .
Bed-sores. These can be prevented to a large extent by careful nursing and in the nursing profession they are generally regarded as a disgrace. There are, however, a few cases where bed-sores wi l l develop in spite of all one's efforts to avoid them, and they are by no means easy to cure. They cught to be washed with carbolic lotion aboutt 1 in 40, with boracic lotion, or a fairly strong solution of Condy's fluid and water. The wound should then be covered wi th a piece of lint spread with boracic ointment, and this may either be fixed on wi th narrow strapping or simply laid on the place. Care must be taken to avoid pressure on the part By the use of a circular air-cushion, or by turning the patient on the other side i f possible. Very superficial bed-sores wi l l often heal when well dusted two or three times a day wi th equal parts of starch and zinc powder. No dressing need be applied, but clean linen should be next the wound.
Bronchitis may be acute or chronic, and either an independent affection or due to some other d i sease especially certain fevers. The disease consists of inflammation of the l ining membrane of the bronchi, which are the tubes into which the windpipe opens. The treatment should be confinement to bed in a room the air of which is moistened by a steam-kettle and kept at an even temperature of 60 degrees in winter and 65 in summer. A few drops of terebene may be added to the water. Special care is required between two and four in the morning not to let the temperature of the room fall. The diet should be light, and plenty of barley-water and lemon drinks allowed. Counter i r r i t a tion over the upper part of the chest is at times useful. This is effected by the application of mustard leaves or of turpentine liniment. Medicine is required to make the skin act and to check the useless cough in the early stage, and the best for this purpose for an adult is probably ten grains of Dover's Powder at bed-time. E x cept in very mild cases the treatment should be in medical hands from the onset.
Corn is an overgrowth of the horny layer of the skin caused by repeated pressure, such as that due to a tight boot worn daily. Between the toes where perspiration is often copious, the soft variety
R e c i p e s .
SHORTBREAD. .? ozs. flour. 1 oz. ground rice. 2V2 ozs. butter, j oz. castor sugar. Rub the butter into the mixture
of flour and ground rice, add the sugar, and work well wi th the hand until a stiff paste i f formed Rol l out and cut into pieces and take in a moderate oven., a pale fawn colour. Pu t on greased paper to bake, or on a well greased tin. The pieces may be decorated with glace cherries, cut in .half, or wi th blanched split almonds i f liked.
BREAD A N D BUTTER
PUDDING.
Grease a pie dish, cut some tread and butter very th in and lay in neat layers i n the pie dish. Raspberry or strawberry j am or marmalade, or currants and raisins, may be added to each layer. Al lowing 2 beaten eggs to a pint of milk, pour over the bread, allow to soak for a few minutes, sweeten to taste, and bake in a moderate oven until set nicely. Flavouring of lemon or mutmeg may be added as liked. The whites and yolks of the eggs may be separated, the yolks used wi th the mi lk and the whites beaten s t i l l wi th sugar and put on top before serving.
develops. Soft corns can be quickly cured by the following treatment: Powder well between the toes and put in a t iny piece of old soft linen. Starch and zinc or starch and talc powders can be used. Powder and linen should be renewed night and morning.
When the corn is over a joint, a felt plaster w i l l give great relief, or the corn may be destroyed by painting i t night and morning with a saturated solution of salicylic acid in collodion, and by protecting it with the plaster. Many other remedies have been tried for corns such as soaking the feet in hot r a t e r and cutting wi th razors, the u?e of a file, and the application of gaibanum plaster, but the salicylic collodion is preferable.
J P. L . B. A L W I S X GOLDSMITH & JEWELLER. • For Exquisite Taste & Design. I A VISIT WILL CONVINCE YOU.
I 195, Middle Road, Singapore.
r
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R , S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 27th, 1935.
W h a t i s M e a n t b y B a d B o o k s .
W i t h the increasing laxity of public opinion the problem of choosing what books can be recommended unreservedly for Catholics to read becomes more important as it grows more complex. Indiscriminating prudery does only less harm than injudicious laxity. Clear thinking is necessary to avoid both, ;
fand *so without attempting a facile definition of •'bad books" we venture to set out 3 few considerations which may help towards a prudent discrimination in what is or is not suitable reading for Catholics.
To begin wi th books may be -divided into those Jwhich appeal
primarily to the intellect and those which appeal primarily to the imagination, feeling and emotions.
I .—BOOKS W H I C H A P P E A L P R I M A R I L Y T O T H E
I N T E L L E C T .
The "intellectual" book may take the form of a serious treatise or a popular handbook, and i f i t
^ets-eut theories contrary to_true^_ religion or history, sound philosophy or morality, its danger wi l l be commensurate wi th its plausibil i ty and accessibility. Popular manuals, therefore, because they easily reach the indiscriminating many, are more dangerous than serious treatises which are read chiefly by the few who are more able to judge of their intrinsic worth. Moreover, the latter aim at cogency of reasoning, while the former at plausibility of presentation.
I L — B O O K S W H I C H A P P E A L P R I M A R I L Y T O T H E
I M A G I N A T I O N .
Among imaginative works, the novel occupies the most prominent place. It is not always devoid of "Intellectual" appeal—in the sense we mean—but i f it inculcates false theories i t usually does so by enlisting the support of emotion and feelings. The skil l and subtlety, with which this is accomplished is the measure of its danger. But the novels most to be avoided are those which by describing sensual emotion and immoral acts make a direct appeal to the imagination. The reader's imagination is stimu-.lated to reproduc^ tfhe hcidents described so that in a real sense he experiences them and the resulting emotions and feelings become his own. So far from real literary merit just i fving the reading of such books, the fact is that the more imagination and descriptive power the author displays the greater is the harm likely to be done. A novel is not "bad" because in it bad 'people do bad things. It is bad i f their actions and emotions are so graphicallv and intimately described as to produce through the medium of imagination similar results, for example, that the enacting of such things upon the stage would produce through the medium of sight.
Novels in a greater or less degree present some aspect of life. They are necessarily selective, and it is no just criticism to object that the proportion of good to bad People in a novel is not that ' to be found in the country or the world at large. Moreover, the novelist's art is not photographic. Within the "spatial" range of his subject the novelist selects certain aspects
for his main theme which seem thereby to be given undue prominence because the ordinary observer either never sees them at all or never rises above the idea of photographic representation.
"What is one man's meat is another man's poison" is true of books. A book that is not only harmless, but because of its psychological insight, even profitable reading for an adult, may be definitely injurious to adolescents. Moreover, description which may leave an adult cold may prove excessively stimulating to the imagination of youth. On the other hand, there are classics which contain perhaps one passage which the adult will think makes them unsuitable for the young, whereas, in reality, the passage may be couched in such terms that its "unpleasant" meaning is completely hidden from them.
III .—INSIPID A N D B A D L Y W R I T T E N B O O K S .
One final word. There are a number of "improving" and in-nocuous tales, so insipid in their theme and so crude in their style
* that no intelligent person can have the patience to read them. If such books as these, which are not the works of our best Catholic novelists, are continually forced upon young people as the only proper reading for them, they are likely to associate purity wi th insipidity and find undue pleasure in surreptitiously reading more exciting and perhaps more harmful ^books.
S E A A P O S T O L A T E W O R K I N C R E A S I N G I N U N I T E D
S T A T E S .
More than 163,000 visits were paid to the Apostleship of the Sea Centre at San Francisco last year. Dur ing the seamen's strike at that port the Seaboard Hotel in which the A . S . Club is situated, was taken over by the Federal Government authorities, at the instance of Father J . O'Kelly, Port Chaplain, and relief was administered from there to the seamen, more than 150,000 free meals being served by the Ladies Auxi l ia ry of the Apostleship of the Sea. As a result of this public service the Apostleship of the Sea is now firmly founded as a vitally important civic institution in the great Pacific port.
Father Keyes has been appointed Port Chaplain at .Mobile , A l a . by His Excellency Bishop Toolen. A t Mobile the Vfricentian brothers have for the past two years carried out most fruitful ship-visiting work and they hope, with the new Port Chaplain's help, to establish a Club for the sailors. A t Galveston. Texas, the Catholic Action Club of St. Mary 's Cathedral have established an Apostolatus Maris service centre which is operating with success. Brooklyn and Philadelphia have also Seamen's Institutes, F r . A . M . Rickert being Port Chaplain at Brooklyn. Officers and men of the French naval cadet training ship, "Jeanne d ' A r c " in the course of a recent cruise—heralded by advance notification to Apostolatus Maris workers from the A M I C . Office in London—visited Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego and other ports and received special services and hospitality from A . M . port organisers. (Apostolattcs Maris)
M A L A Y A ' S
H E A L T H F O O D
For health, sleep
and
bright awakening
C a d b u r y ' s
B O U R N - W l T A
"I(s better for you"
MA AS—1 A.
M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Woman's Page D R E S S O R F A S H I O N S ?
Money is a trust from God. It is not ours to expend for the grat i fication of pride or ambition. We could br ing happiness to many hearts by using wisely the means that is often spent for show, but alas! unhappiness is very often the outcome of a full purse.
A contented g i r l is one who has learnt to do without things. Discontent means wanting what we cannot ' have or may not have. They say that the only way to cure a woman who wants what is bad for her, is to let her have i t ; but that is a desperate remedy. Midas was discontented because he wanted more and more money, and he was cured by being allowed to turn all that he touched into gold. When he kissed his daughter and she turned into a big eighteen-carat nugget of gold, Midas was cured of his greed.
A t the present day there is the weariness, the unrest and wretchedness that result from the rule of fashion! Think of the styles that have prevailed for the last few hundred years, or even for the last few decades. How many of them when not in fashion would be declared immodest; how many would be pronounced inappropriate for a refined God-fearing, self-respecting woman.
Changing fashions squander the time and means of the r ich and lay waste the energies of the mind and the soul, while they impose a heavy burden on the middle and poorer classes. Many a poor g i r l , for the sake of a stylish gown, has deprived herself of substantial food and paid the penalty with her life. Many anothor, coveting the display and elegance of the rich, has been enticed into paths of dishonesty and shame. Many a home is deprived of comforts, many a man is driven to embezzlement or bankruptcy, to satisfy the fashion craze' of his wife and daughters. Many a woman, forced to prepare for herself or her children the stylish cuts demanded by fashion, is doomed to ceaseless drudgery. Many a mother wi th throbbing nerves and trembling figures toils far into the night to add to her children's clothing ornamentation that which contributes absolutely nothing to real beauty. F o r the
sake of fashion she sacrifices health and that calmness of spirit so essential to the right guidance of her children. The culture of mind and heart is neglected. The soul is dwarfed.
The mother has no time to study the principles of physical development that she may know how to care for the health of her children. She has no time for ministering to their mental or spiritual needs, no time to sympathise with them in their little disappointments and trials, or to share in their interests and pursuits.
Almost as soon as some children can walk, they are subjected --te-fashion's influence. They hear more of Dress than of God. The display of dress is treated as of greater importance than the development of character. Parents and children are robbed of that which is best and sweetest and truest in life. For fashion's sake they are cheated out of a preparation for the life to come.
It was the adversary of all good who instigated trie invention of the ever-changing fashion. He desires nothing so much as to bring grief and dishonour to Almighty God by working the misery and ruin of human beings. One of the means by which he most effectually accomplishes this, is the devices of fashion, that weaken the body as well as enfeeble the mind and belittle the soul.
The enemy of our soul knows, that i f the fashions are corrupted, in time, even good women wil l fall into the snare. If their sole outlook is a struggle to meet the demands of dress or fashion they wil l resemble the lady who went to buy a new hat. She insisted that it must be the very latest thing." The tactful milliner thereupon said: "Take a seat for a few moments, Madam, because the fashion is just going to change."
Many women have played the fool wi th the good taste which God gave them, and so He took i t back. Many a man has been led to choose the society of the club-house or the saloon, because his wife is a Fashion Plate. Many a boy is led to the street, because the influence of the home is not what God designed it should be, a lifelong blessing.
" A good wife and health are man's best wealth."
Mothers should remember that
growing children need milk-every
day:
for preference
-MILKMAID" MILK
HE WILL BE WHAT YOU WANT
HIM TO BE ON COW AND GATE
A c o m p l e t e F o o d m a d e i n a m o m e n t b y t h e m e r e a d d i t i o n o f h o t w a t e r .
I n g u a r a n t e e d a n d d a t e d , a i r t i g h t c o n t a i n e r s .
For Better Babies Agents for South Malaya, B.N. Borneo & Sarawak:
JACKSON & CO., LTD., 55, Robinson Road, Singapore.
S i m p l e F i r s t A i d .
Bed-sores. These can be prevented to a large extent by careful nursing and in the nursing profession they are generally regarded as a disgrace. There are, however, a few cases where bed-sores wi l l develop in spite of all one's efforts to avoid them, and they are by no means easy to cure. They cught to be washed with carbolic lotion aboutt 1 in 40, with boracic lotion, or a fairly strong solution of Condy's fluid and water. The wound should then be covered wi th a piece of lint spread with boracic ointment, and this may either be fixed on wi th narrow strapping or simply laid on the place. Care must be taken to avoid pressure on the part By the use of a circular air-cushion, or by turning the patient on the other side i f possible. Very superficial bed-sores wi l l often heal when well dusted two or three times a day wi th equal parts of starch and zinc powder. No dressing need be applied, but clean linen should be next the wound.
Bronchitis may be acute or chronic, and either an independent affection or due to some other d i sease especially certain fevers. The disease consists of inflammation of the l ining membrane of the bronchi, which are the tubes into which the windpipe opens. The treatment should be confinement to bed in a room the air of which is moistened by a steam-kettle and kept at an even temperature of 60 degrees in winter and 65 in summer. A few drops of terebene may be added to the water. Special care is required between two and four in the morning not to let the temperature of the room fall. The diet should be light, and plenty of barley-water and lemon drinks allowed. Counter i r r i t a tion over the upper part of the chest is at times useful. This is effected by the application of mustard leaves or of turpentine liniment. Medicine is required to make the skin act and to check the useless cough in the early stage, and the best for this purpose for an adult is probably ten grains of Dover's Powder at bed-time. E x cept in very mild cases the treatment should be in medical hands from the onset.
Corn is an overgrowth of the horny layer of the skin caused by repeated pressure, such as that due to a tight boot worn daily. Between the toes where perspiration is often copious, the soft variety
R e c i p e s .
SHORTBREAD. .? ozs. flour. 1 oz. ground rice. 2V2 ozs. butter, j oz. castor sugar. Rub the butter into the mixture
of flour and ground rice, add the sugar, and work well wi th the hand until a stiff paste i f formed Rol l out and cut into pieces and take in a moderate oven., a pale fawn colour. Pu t on greased paper to bake, or on a well greased tin. The pieces may be decorated with glace cherries, cut in .half, or wi th blanched split almonds i f liked.
BREAD A N D BUTTER
PUDDING.
Grease a pie dish, cut some tread and butter very th in and lay in neat layers i n the pie dish. Raspberry or strawberry j am or marmalade, or currants and raisins, may be added to each layer. Al lowing 2 beaten eggs to a pint of milk, pour over the bread, allow to soak for a few minutes, sweeten to taste, and bake in a moderate oven until set nicely. Flavouring of lemon or mutmeg may be added as liked. The whites and yolks of the eggs may be separated, the yolks used wi th the mi lk and the whites beaten s t i l l wi th sugar and put on top before serving.
develops. Soft corns can be quickly cured by the following treatment: Powder well between the toes and put in a t iny piece of old soft linen. Starch and zinc or starch and talc powders can be used. Powder and linen should be renewed night and morning.
When the corn is over a joint, a felt plaster w i l l give great relief, or the corn may be destroyed by painting i t night and morning with a saturated solution of salicylic acid in collodion, and by protecting it with the plaster. Many other remedies have been tried for corns such as soaking the feet in hot r a t e r and cutting wi th razors, the u?e of a file, and the application of gaibanum plaster, but the salicylic collodion is preferable.
J P. L . B. A L W I S X GOLDSMITH & JEWELLER. • For Exquisite Taste & Design. I A VISIT WILL CONVINCE YOU.
I 195, Middle Road, Singapore.
r
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R , S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 27th, 1935.
W h a t i s M e a n t b y B a d B o o k s .
W i t h the increasing laxity of public opinion the problem of choosing what books can be recommended unreservedly for Catholics to read becomes more important as it grows more complex. Indiscriminating prudery does only less harm than injudicious laxity. Clear thinking is necessary to avoid both, ;
fand *so without attempting a facile definition of •'bad books" we venture to set out 3 few considerations which may help towards a prudent discrimination in what is or is not suitable reading for Catholics.
To begin wi th books may be -divided into those Jwhich appeal
primarily to the intellect and those which appeal primarily to the imagination, feeling and emotions.
I .—BOOKS W H I C H A P P E A L P R I M A R I L Y T O T H E
I N T E L L E C T .
The "intellectual" book may take the form of a serious treatise or a popular handbook, and i f i t
^ets-eut theories contrary to_true^_ religion or history, sound philosophy or morality, its danger wi l l be commensurate wi th its plausibil i ty and accessibility. Popular manuals, therefore, because they easily reach the indiscriminating many, are more dangerous than serious treatises which are read chiefly by the few who are more able to judge of their intrinsic worth. Moreover, the latter aim at cogency of reasoning, while the former at plausibility of presentation.
I L — B O O K S W H I C H A P P E A L P R I M A R I L Y T O T H E
I M A G I N A T I O N .
Among imaginative works, the novel occupies the most prominent place. It is not always devoid of "Intellectual" appeal—in the sense we mean—but i f it inculcates false theories i t usually does so by enlisting the support of emotion and feelings. The skil l and subtlety, with which this is accomplished is the measure of its danger. But the novels most to be avoided are those which by describing sensual emotion and immoral acts make a direct appeal to the imagination. The reader's imagination is stimu-.lated to reproduc^ tfhe hcidents described so that in a real sense he experiences them and the resulting emotions and feelings become his own. So far from real literary merit just i fving the reading of such books, the fact is that the more imagination and descriptive power the author displays the greater is the harm likely to be done. A novel is not "bad" because in it bad 'people do bad things. It is bad i f their actions and emotions are so graphicallv and intimately described as to produce through the medium of imagination similar results, for example, that the enacting of such things upon the stage would produce through the medium of sight.
Novels in a greater or less degree present some aspect of life. They are necessarily selective, and it is no just criticism to object that the proportion of good to bad People in a novel is not that ' to be found in the country or the world at large. Moreover, the novelist's art is not photographic. Within the "spatial" range of his subject the novelist selects certain aspects
for his main theme which seem thereby to be given undue prominence because the ordinary observer either never sees them at all or never rises above the idea of photographic representation.
"What is one man's meat is another man's poison" is true of books. A book that is not only harmless, but because of its psychological insight, even profitable reading for an adult, may be definitely injurious to adolescents. Moreover, description which may leave an adult cold may prove excessively stimulating to the imagination of youth. On the other hand, there are classics which contain perhaps one passage which the adult will think makes them unsuitable for the young, whereas, in reality, the passage may be couched in such terms that its "unpleasant" meaning is completely hidden from them.
III .—INSIPID A N D B A D L Y W R I T T E N B O O K S .
One final word. There are a number of "improving" and in-nocuous tales, so insipid in their theme and so crude in their style
* that no intelligent person can have the patience to read them. If such books as these, which are not the works of our best Catholic novelists, are continually forced upon young people as the only proper reading for them, they are likely to associate purity wi th insipidity and find undue pleasure in surreptitiously reading more exciting and perhaps more harmful ^books.
S E A A P O S T O L A T E W O R K I N C R E A S I N G I N U N I T E D
S T A T E S .
More than 163,000 visits were paid to the Apostleship of the Sea Centre at San Francisco last year. Dur ing the seamen's strike at that port the Seaboard Hotel in which the A . S . Club is situated, was taken over by the Federal Government authorities, at the instance of Father J . O'Kelly, Port Chaplain, and relief was administered from there to the seamen, more than 150,000 free meals being served by the Ladies Auxi l ia ry of the Apostleship of the Sea. As a result of this public service the Apostleship of the Sea is now firmly founded as a vitally important civic institution in the great Pacific port.
Father Keyes has been appointed Port Chaplain at .Mobile , A l a . by His Excellency Bishop Toolen. A t Mobile the Vfricentian brothers have for the past two years carried out most fruitful ship-visiting work and they hope, with the new Port Chaplain's help, to establish a Club for the sailors. A t Galveston. Texas, the Catholic Action Club of St. Mary 's Cathedral have established an Apostolatus Maris service centre which is operating with success. Brooklyn and Philadelphia have also Seamen's Institutes, F r . A . M . Rickert being Port Chaplain at Brooklyn. Officers and men of the French naval cadet training ship, "Jeanne d ' A r c " in the course of a recent cruise—heralded by advance notification to Apostolatus Maris workers from the A M I C . Office in London—visited Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego and other ports and received special services and hospitality from A . M . port organisers. (Apostolattcs Maris)
M A L A Y A ' S
H E A L T H F O O D
For health, sleep
and
bright awakening
C a d b u r y ' s
B O U R N - W l T A
"I(s better for you"
MA AS—1 A.
io
R A T E S O F S U B S C R I P T I O N
Post Free, Local and Aoroad: 12 Months . . . $6.00
6 Months . . . $3.00 3 Months . . . $1.50
All correspondence and literary
contributions should be addressed
to The Managing Editor, Rei.
R. Car don, 73, Bras Basah Road,
Singapore.
Tel . 7376, Singapore.
Jftfefetg* Cnihxxlh ILtnbzx
Saturday, A p r i l 27th, 1935.
YOUTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT. A m o n g the many social prob
lems confront ing us to-day the subject o f unemployment is perhaps the most vexatious. In fact i t dominates d ie thoughts o f e g g y family , as its members are i n some way or other affected by this scourge. Some effort, i t must be admitted, has been expended both
. by the Government and publ ic
. bodies to alleviate the distress arising f rom unemployment and to discover ways and means of remedying the situation. Despite
! the methods adopted at finding a j cure and the note of optimism
assuring us that we have turned the corner and are well on the highroad to prosperity, the future s t i l l seems to be wrapt in a mist of uncertainty.
The aspects o f unemployment are twofold-economic and psy-
i chological. The economic aspects ; alone seem to have engaged our • attention generally, while its psy
chological aspects are best appre-. ciated by those who are in close
touch w i t h the unfortunate u n employed. A m o n g the vast n u m ber of youths who are subjected to this enforced inaction, the mental and moral reactions thereof are deplorable. Menta l ly speaking, long periods of idleness induce a feeling o f despair which eventual-
I l y depresses the mind and robs the hapless you th of every atom of mental ' v i m ' and Verve. ' A s a sequel to his persistent failure i n securing an honest l iv ing , force of circumstances often drive the v i c t i m to stoop to acts of dishonesty i n at tempting to gratify his wants. Baulked of the opportuni ty of enjoying possession of the bare necessaries of life through the legitimate medium of exchange, the youthfu l mind is sometimes tempted to deviate f rom the path of virtue. Cases of dishonesty and misappropriation in recent years reveal a class of offender who w i l l not have fallen foul of the law, were he i n possession of a billet to place 'purchasing power' wi th in his means and set a routine of life ensuring a sense of responsibi l i ty and consequent approach to respectability. It would not be out o f place to mention here
that at the K u a l a L u m p u r Rota ry luncheon our thoughtful Gover nor recently referred i n very humane terms to this aspect of unemployment. H i s Excellency graciously remarked that some of the inmates o f the jail were there owing to lapses into which they had fallen through stress of c i r cumstances and net through c r i minal propensity. Such cases call for sympathy and assistance, as these victims would have normally averted the ignominy and stigma of being placed behind the bars, had they been employed i n the ordinary course.
The present state of affairs gives no incentive to ambit ion even to those fortunate few who take on any job that they come across. These openings may be aptly called ' b l i n d alley situations' i n that a boy learns nothing of sufficient value or spends insufficient consecutive time i n that particular w o r k to fit h i m for a more progressive billet i n that trade. It is rarely that a boy, on leaving school, is apprenticed to a trade w h i c h w i l l offer h i m scope for promotion on complet ing his term of apprenticeship.
The remedies of a complex problem that has grown f rom economic causes to psychological results must perforce be elusive. This is par t icular ly so in this part of the w o r l d where there are limited avenues for the absorption of the increasing number of boys and girls that are th rown yearly on the already flooded labour market. A p a r t f rom the G o v e r n ment clerical service and the c o m mercial houses that have hitherto served as the ' dumping ground ' for seekers o f soft sedentary jobs, the country is not sufficiently i n dustrialised to offer scope for technical or vocational employment. The Government Trade Schools are endeavouring to ease the situation i n this line, but they cannot create any appreciable demand in the absence of a field sufficiently large to accommodate their output . The Medical and Teaching professions which connote the cu l tu ra l callings out here have also exceeded the limits c f demand by overproduction. There is however no reason to be dismayed at this. In the learned professions there has always been a struggle for the survival of the fittest, as the less efficient ones are often forced back to the wal l .
W e are not so m u c h concerned wi th cu l tura l training as w i t h vocational t ra in ing i n trades and crafts. It is more for the capitalist class of people to industrialise the country and open up new avenues for technical skilled la bour. The government of course w i l l be too pleased to assist any sensible venture i n this line, in so far as is reasonably possible. Youths nowadays must be made to realise that t h ^ old order of things has changed giving place to a new one wherein the d igni ty of labour stands out as the hall mark
to be put to the next meeting of Edinburgh Town Council by the two Protestant Act ion members, M r . John Cormack and M r . James Marr .
The motion is to call the Lord Provost's Committee's attention to the following proposal, that there should be an inquisition into the religious beliefs of the Corporation's employees and future employees, in order to ensure that no more than 10 per cent, of Corporation employment be given "to Papists or Roman Catholics.' ,
The disgusting intolerance of the motion should ensure its rejection, but we are becoming tired of these tyrannous attacks on our brethren in Scotland and we remind all concerned that they are t ry ing to start a game at which two can play, and that, once started, wil l end in civil commotion such as rent and dishonoured the Ci ty of Liverpool to such a degree that a Royal Enquiry had to be held.
We do not intend to take such treatment ly ing down. (Catholic Times).
(There is further reference to the same vexing subject of anti-Catholic Act ion in Scotland in our Special Correspondent's letter—'On Wings From A l b i o n / We extend our sympathies to our co-religionists who are wantonly being penalised merely on the score of their 'creed/)
of human existence. The work of craftsmen, artisans and mechanics could be more efficiently carried out by specially trained boys who have normally no aptitude for intellectual training. It is not advocated that the totally unschooled worker must be hounded out of existence, but the type of youth who has had at least an elementary education together wi th a vocational training w i l l certainly go one better than his illiterate prototype who lacks initiative.
Under the scheme proposed above we w i l l be in position to surmount this vicious problem of unemployment gradually by substi tuting a saner outlook of life i n the younger generation and dispell ing that false sense of value that is attached to any particular class of work. Furthermore, a more rational demographic distribution could be effected in the urban and rural areas. In every modern ci ty there is a class of people ill-suited for c iv ic life and responsibilities, whom the glamour and gaiety of c i ty life have attracted only to be a drag and danger to society. These 'misfits' w i l l be qu ick ly spotted out under a more responsible and rigid social order and consequentlv switched back to their natural environs in keeping w i th their bucolic tendencies.
N O T E S A N D C O M M E N T S . ^
Triduum at Lourdes.
Now that we are nearing the time for the Triduum of Uninterrupted Masses between A p r i l 25 and 28 at the Grotto of Lourdes, as a peace supplication appointed by The Holy Father, let us prepare to join worthily and earnestly by invoking the intercession of Our Lady, the Queen of Peace. His Holiness refers to this forthcoming event as "a truly wondrous spectacle, portending the full realisation of our hopes." The Pope further desires, "Dur ing those days, the- whole Catholic world, from the r is ing of the sun to the going down thereof, with one voice and with one mind will offer supplication to God and to His most holy Mother, imploring Mercy, Peace and Salvation/ '
* * * * The spirit of blind nationalism -
has placed the nations of the world, at variance with one another. Patriotism is apparently placed on a level with religion, thus detracting the honour and glory that is due to God alone. Herein lies the pressing need for His Mercy to deliver us from our iniquities. As for the promise of Peace which the herald angels sang on Bethle- Madam. " What hem's slopes, man through his owrr~~1ow you are, Bob.
We regret to have to observe that a few correspondents have sent us from time to time hectoring enquiries that are not strictly in keeping with good taste. Perhaps the following excerpt from Mr. W. Ar thur Wilson's address to the K . Lumpur Reparians on the 'Life of a Journalist ' may help them to view the situation in a more charitable and sportsmanlike spirit Speaking of editorial views snd 'news-sense' Mr . Wilson aptlv remarks:—
"There is no man in the world who can attempt that without often beinsr at fault, in both his facts and his arguments. It is a chastening experience, which begets some discretion in the course of year*; but infallibility is humanly unattainable. Therefore, I commend to the kindness of your hearts the old saloon entreaty: "Don't shoot the pianist: he is doing his best."
The editor is always ready to publish corrections of any misstatements, or letters expressing opinions conflicting with his own, i f they are courteous and constructive. There are some who think that anything they write should be published however foolish or offensive it may be. They would probably be very impolite i f an editor burst into their offices with wild suggestions as to how their own business should be conducted."
callous inhumanity to his neighbour has shattered all hopes of meriting it. That 'Peace' was meant for 'men of good-will/ Whom shall we blame but ourselves, i f we languish in strife when peace should reign. Let us make ourselves worthy of the gift ere we receive it. The final hope of 'Salvation' wil l naturally follow when His Mercy begets Peace.
Sectarian Discrimination. Catholic Action has provoked an
ugly sectarian reaction in Scotland which apparently calls itself Protestant Action. Its unchristian spirit is manifest in the notice of motion
a funny fel-Every time I
sing you rush to the window." Bob.—Well , darling, i t is to
show our neighbours that I do not beat you and that when you shriek like that, I am for nothing in the business."
In a drawing room, after a young lady had cut up a sonata of Mozart, she took a seat near Theophilus Gauthier, a poet and a great lover of good music:
— " Do you like piano, dear Mr. Gau th i e r ?" she asked with simpering airs.
— " W e l l , Miss , " answered the poet coldly, " I prefer it to the gallows."
11
This Gospel is so full of precious teachings that it is absolutely impossible to review them all . We shall leave out therefore the divine institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the mission of the Apostles, the incredulity of St. Thomas, to concentrate our atten-t ; on on the words which Jesus directed to his disciples: " Peace be to you."
D I O C E S E O F M A L A C C A . C A T H E D R A L O F T H E G O O D
S H E P H E R D , S I N G A P O R E .
Calender for the Week.
Vpril 2Su Sunday—Low Sunday. (1st After Easter) . 1st CI. Greater Double. Last day of the Jubilee. Mass of the
. . Sunday. Vespers of the following.
A p r i l 29. Monday—St. Mark, The Evangelist.
Vpril 30. Tuesday—St. Catherine of Sienna, V . Double.
May 1. W'day—Ss. Philip and * James, Apostles.
May 2. Thursday—St. Athanasius, * B . and D. Double.
May 3. Fr iday—The Finding of ' the Holy Cross.
May 4. Saturday—The Good * Shepherd, (The Most Holy
Redeemer) Titular of the Cathedral Double of the 1st Class wi th Octave for the whole Diocese.
T R U E R E L I G I O N . The late Bishop Stang's Definition.
Religion is not a mere sentiment or sentimentality, prevalent among women and children: it is not a passing emotion of the heart, nor a vague aspiration for things beyond the stars, nor a general dissatisfaction with existing conditions. Religion does not and cannot have its origin in sentiment, because sentiment works instinctively even without reason, but religion is in the rational part of man, though it purines and sanctifies the sentiment. This is the way religion takes hold of man: The mind recognises the existence of a God and Father in whose keeping we are; the wil l then submits to this authority, and is anxious to serve H i m . Only man, having reason and free wi l l , can possess religion, because rel igion must be an act of a rational nature and an act of a free wi l l . But i t is the most ennobling duty which man can render, by submitt ing mind and heart to his Creator. There is nothing sentimental in this : i t is the problem of our existence; through religion we give to God what belongs to H i m . what we owe H i m .
Religion is more than good behaviour. You may be considered a £ood man; you may be true and kind and generous: you may lead a peaceful, beautiful and blameless l i fe; all this is not religion. Yo;^r natural goodness wil l fade like the fragrance of a spring flower; it shall pass like the soothing tran-ouillity of a calm summer's night. Moreover, i f you lead a "good" life, i f vou abstain from intoxicating drink on account of your social standing or your saving habits, i f you avoid other excesses fo)? similar reasons, you do not thereby advance one step nearer your God : nay, i f you do these things to be seen and praised, you are a hypocrite, and not a religious man. The question that religion puts to you is th is : How do you *tand before God? What is the state of your immortal soul ? You may stand well before men; you may satisfy public opinior-: yon may be well behaved, consistent, truthful, respectable, just in your the eye of man. You may be free dealings wi th your neighbour, kind from gross and hideous vices in and loyal to your fnends, and the sight of man; but the decent generous to the poor. But is God and decorous sinner may be fur-satisfied with you ? Remember ther from God than the social outs a t God searches the inmost re- cast. If you are satisfied with cesses of the heart; He sees your yourself and thank God that you
. e i i V ° n - S a n ( * w e * ? n s y°ur m°tiv- are not like the rest of sinful man-^s; He judges evil thoughts and kind, you are a sham, and reli-tfesires, sins of pride, envy and gion is not *found in you. No ambition, sins which are hidden to matter how good and holy a man
G O S P E L
for L O W S U N D A Y (ST. J O H N , X X , 19—81).
A t that time, when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear c i the Jews, Jesus came, and sto<;d in the midst, and said to them. Peace be to you. And \xhn\ he had said this, h » showed them his hands and his side The disciples therefore \ver3 glad, when they saw the Lord . He said therefore to them again, Peace be to you: as the Father hath sent me. I also send you. When h i had said this, he breathed <m them; and he said to them. Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins .ou sh?Jl forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is call 3d Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord . But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails* and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be to you. Then he said to Thomas, Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered, and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Because thou hast seen me, Thomas thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed. Many other signs aiso did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, you may have life in his name.
C O M M E N T A R Y . words did not He speak to them. They had the first glimpse of their divine mission, they understood that they had been chosen by God for something higher. The mysterious words pronounced by Jesus had a double effect on their hearts. They restored at the same time peace and self-confidence based, of course, in Jesus' personality. A n d they had peace.
Peace, the longing of the human heart.
The disciples had no peace, to be sure, at that stage of their lives. Their Lord and Master had been crucified, a most unusual and extraordinary epilogue to H i s divine Mission. They were expecting, in their worldly minds success, and failure came over them; it appeared that they had nothing to hope for. Their dreams had vanished before the dawn of dire and crude realities. They coul hear sti l l the muffled and hoarse shouts of the Jews asking for their Leader's death and crucifixion. They had, no doubt, heard about Hi s resurrection, but it was all so uncertain. They were so afraid it might turn to be a deception! Their minds staggered between hope and despair. And they had no peace. A n d yet they longed for it. Jesus knew it and this was perhaps the reason whv he greeted them: Peace be with you. The disciples could not believe their eyes and their ears. They who were assembled with the doors shut, " for fear of the Jews " had in front of them the Master, the Leader, the Lord, the Wonder-Worker, Jesus at last. And peace came at once to thir minds. They were " therefore glad." They forgot the Jews, the crucifixion, the anxious hours past, to remember that they had Jesus with them. And what consoling and soothing
Peace with or without Jesus? . There is no peace without Jesus. A t least real peace, consoling peace, which pervades the innermost recesses of the human heart. Peace of eonsciene is this peace. Storms may gather over one's head, worries may come and go, friendships may begin and end. prosperity and adversity may take their turns, health and sickness too may have a chance at one's body, but, i f peace of conscience reigns over his intimate kingdom of self, every variation shall pass on almost unnoticed. We read in Isaias (Chapter 48, v. 22) that the Lord has said: " there is no peace to the wicked." And everyday experience confirms it.
Mortal sin is the first obstacle to peace. It is indeed sarcastic irony that makes man look for peace and pleasure in mortal sin, to discover in it nothing else out J remorse and disturbance.
The Church, as the Lord Jesus, insists continually on this peace. Her Li turgy overflows with such wishes of peace. " Peace be with you " is a phrase oftentimes repeated at almost every Church ceremony. And the last wish of hers, when taking leave from her children, is again one of peace and res t :—"May they rest in peace."
When shall we be convinced that there is no possible peace without Jesus Christ who as Prophet Micheas has said, "shal l be our peace"? (Chapt. 5, verse 5).
D I O C E S E O F M A C A O .
C H U R C H OF ST. J O S E P H .
Calendar for the week.
Apr i l 28. Sunday—Low Sunday and first after Easter. Great-double. White vestments. Proper of the Mass p. 163. Second collect of St. Paul of the Cross. High Mass at 8 o'clock, to be followed by E x position of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the day, solemnizing the closing of the Holy Year. Evening Service at 5:—Miserere, Te-Deum and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Apr i l 29. Monday—St. Mark , the Evangelist, double of the second class.
Apr i l 30. Tuesday—St. Catherine of Sienna, V i rg in . Double.
May 1. W'day—Sts. Phi l ip and James, Apostles. Double of the second class. Plenary Indulgence for the members of the Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th . Evening service during the whole month at 5.30 on week days and at 5 on Sundays.
May 2. Thursdav—St. Athanasius, B . C. D. Double.
May 3. Fr iday—The Finding of the Holy Cross. Double of the second class. Abstinence. F i r s t Fr iday of the month. General Communion. Plenary Indulgence for the members of the Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th . Evening service: H O L Y H O U R from 5.30 to 6.30.
May 4. Saturday—St. Monica, Widow. Double.
H O L Y H O U R A T ST. J O S E P H ' S C H U R C H .
The devotion of the Holy Hour is to be introduced at the Church of St. Joseph on the Fi rs t Friday of May.
We hope that this devotion, which is so widely spread all over the Catholic World, Europe especially, wi l l attract many loving hearts of the Sacred Heart to the Church of St. Joseph. This pious practice was first suggested by our Lord Himself to St. Margaret Mary AJacoque and its result must surely be an abundant infusion of graces and favours.
The Holy Hour consists of an hour's company, by means of prayers, meditations and hymns, to the Divine Heart of Jesus, in memory of His Agony in the garden of Gethsemani, when he complained to St. Peter about his indifference towards H i m : "Could you not watch one hour with me?"
We hope that the Church of St. Joseph may be crowded in the evenings of all Firs t Fridays. The service wil l be from 5.30 to 6.30 p.m.
may be thought to be, if he has got religion he will be thoroughy convinced that he is nothing but a poor, wretched sinner, an ignorant and wayward creature, that he must come to God for pardon of sin for power to resist it . God does not need you; you need God.
Religion does not require of you that you spend your life in church in praying on your knees, that you
look grave and severe, that you abstain from the pleasures and enjoyments of the world; but it requires a strict performance of your daily duties, not for the ultimate purpose of making money or pleasing those above you, but in doing all for the honour and glory of God. Wherever God has placed you, in whatever circumstances you find yourself, do your work cheerfully and in conformity with God's holy wi l l . This is religion.
io
R A T E S O F S U B S C R I P T I O N
Post Free, Local and Aoroad: 12 Months . . . $6.00
6 Months . . . $3.00 3 Months . . . $1.50
All correspondence and literary
contributions should be addressed
to The Managing Editor, Rei.
R. Car don, 73, Bras Basah Road,
Singapore.
Tel . 7376, Singapore.
Jftfefetg* Cnihxxlh ILtnbzx
Saturday, A p r i l 27th, 1935.
YOUTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT. A m o n g the many social prob
lems confront ing us to-day the subject o f unemployment is perhaps the most vexatious. In fact i t dominates d ie thoughts o f e g g y family , as its members are i n some way or other affected by this scourge. Some effort, i t must be admitted, has been expended both
. by the Government and publ ic
. bodies to alleviate the distress arising f rom unemployment and to discover ways and means of remedying the situation. Despite
! the methods adopted at finding a j cure and the note of optimism
assuring us that we have turned the corner and are well on the highroad to prosperity, the future s t i l l seems to be wrapt in a mist of uncertainty.
The aspects o f unemployment are twofold-economic and psy-
i chological. The economic aspects ; alone seem to have engaged our • attention generally, while its psy
chological aspects are best appre-. ciated by those who are in close
touch w i t h the unfortunate u n employed. A m o n g the vast n u m ber of youths who are subjected to this enforced inaction, the mental and moral reactions thereof are deplorable. Menta l ly speaking, long periods of idleness induce a feeling o f despair which eventual-
I l y depresses the mind and robs the hapless you th of every atom of mental ' v i m ' and Verve. ' A s a sequel to his persistent failure i n securing an honest l iv ing , force of circumstances often drive the v i c t i m to stoop to acts of dishonesty i n at tempting to gratify his wants. Baulked of the opportuni ty of enjoying possession of the bare necessaries of life through the legitimate medium of exchange, the youthfu l mind is sometimes tempted to deviate f rom the path of virtue. Cases of dishonesty and misappropriation in recent years reveal a class of offender who w i l l not have fallen foul of the law, were he i n possession of a billet to place 'purchasing power' wi th in his means and set a routine of life ensuring a sense of responsibi l i ty and consequent approach to respectability. It would not be out o f place to mention here
that at the K u a l a L u m p u r Rota ry luncheon our thoughtful Gover nor recently referred i n very humane terms to this aspect of unemployment. H i s Excellency graciously remarked that some of the inmates o f the jail were there owing to lapses into which they had fallen through stress of c i r cumstances and net through c r i minal propensity. Such cases call for sympathy and assistance, as these victims would have normally averted the ignominy and stigma of being placed behind the bars, had they been employed i n the ordinary course.
The present state of affairs gives no incentive to ambit ion even to those fortunate few who take on any job that they come across. These openings may be aptly called ' b l i n d alley situations' i n that a boy learns nothing of sufficient value or spends insufficient consecutive time i n that particular w o r k to fit h i m for a more progressive billet i n that trade. It is rarely that a boy, on leaving school, is apprenticed to a trade w h i c h w i l l offer h i m scope for promotion on complet ing his term of apprenticeship.
The remedies of a complex problem that has grown f rom economic causes to psychological results must perforce be elusive. This is par t icular ly so in this part of the w o r l d where there are limited avenues for the absorption of the increasing number of boys and girls that are th rown yearly on the already flooded labour market. A p a r t f rom the G o v e r n ment clerical service and the c o m mercial houses that have hitherto served as the ' dumping ground ' for seekers o f soft sedentary jobs, the country is not sufficiently i n dustrialised to offer scope for technical or vocational employment. The Government Trade Schools are endeavouring to ease the situation i n this line, but they cannot create any appreciable demand in the absence of a field sufficiently large to accommodate their output . The Medical and Teaching professions which connote the cu l tu ra l callings out here have also exceeded the limits c f demand by overproduction. There is however no reason to be dismayed at this. In the learned professions there has always been a struggle for the survival of the fittest, as the less efficient ones are often forced back to the wal l .
W e are not so m u c h concerned wi th cu l tura l training as w i t h vocational t ra in ing i n trades and crafts. It is more for the capitalist class of people to industrialise the country and open up new avenues for technical skilled la bour. The government of course w i l l be too pleased to assist any sensible venture i n this line, in so far as is reasonably possible. Youths nowadays must be made to realise that t h ^ old order of things has changed giving place to a new one wherein the d igni ty of labour stands out as the hall mark
to be put to the next meeting of Edinburgh Town Council by the two Protestant Act ion members, M r . John Cormack and M r . James Marr .
The motion is to call the Lord Provost's Committee's attention to the following proposal, that there should be an inquisition into the religious beliefs of the Corporation's employees and future employees, in order to ensure that no more than 10 per cent, of Corporation employment be given "to Papists or Roman Catholics.' ,
The disgusting intolerance of the motion should ensure its rejection, but we are becoming tired of these tyrannous attacks on our brethren in Scotland and we remind all concerned that they are t ry ing to start a game at which two can play, and that, once started, wil l end in civil commotion such as rent and dishonoured the Ci ty of Liverpool to such a degree that a Royal Enquiry had to be held.
We do not intend to take such treatment ly ing down. (Catholic Times).
(There is further reference to the same vexing subject of anti-Catholic Act ion in Scotland in our Special Correspondent's letter—'On Wings From A l b i o n / We extend our sympathies to our co-religionists who are wantonly being penalised merely on the score of their 'creed/)
of human existence. The work of craftsmen, artisans and mechanics could be more efficiently carried out by specially trained boys who have normally no aptitude for intellectual training. It is not advocated that the totally unschooled worker must be hounded out of existence, but the type of youth who has had at least an elementary education together wi th a vocational training w i l l certainly go one better than his illiterate prototype who lacks initiative.
Under the scheme proposed above we w i l l be in position to surmount this vicious problem of unemployment gradually by substi tuting a saner outlook of life i n the younger generation and dispell ing that false sense of value that is attached to any particular class of work. Furthermore, a more rational demographic distribution could be effected in the urban and rural areas. In every modern ci ty there is a class of people ill-suited for c iv ic life and responsibilities, whom the glamour and gaiety of c i ty life have attracted only to be a drag and danger to society. These 'misfits' w i l l be qu ick ly spotted out under a more responsible and rigid social order and consequentlv switched back to their natural environs in keeping w i th their bucolic tendencies.
N O T E S A N D C O M M E N T S . ^
Triduum at Lourdes.
Now that we are nearing the time for the Triduum of Uninterrupted Masses between A p r i l 25 and 28 at the Grotto of Lourdes, as a peace supplication appointed by The Holy Father, let us prepare to join worthily and earnestly by invoking the intercession of Our Lady, the Queen of Peace. His Holiness refers to this forthcoming event as "a truly wondrous spectacle, portending the full realisation of our hopes." The Pope further desires, "Dur ing those days, the- whole Catholic world, from the r is ing of the sun to the going down thereof, with one voice and with one mind will offer supplication to God and to His most holy Mother, imploring Mercy, Peace and Salvation/ '
* * * * The spirit of blind nationalism -
has placed the nations of the world, at variance with one another. Patriotism is apparently placed on a level with religion, thus detracting the honour and glory that is due to God alone. Herein lies the pressing need for His Mercy to deliver us from our iniquities. As for the promise of Peace which the herald angels sang on Bethle- Madam. " What hem's slopes, man through his owrr~~1ow you are, Bob.
We regret to have to observe that a few correspondents have sent us from time to time hectoring enquiries that are not strictly in keeping with good taste. Perhaps the following excerpt from Mr. W. Ar thur Wilson's address to the K . Lumpur Reparians on the 'Life of a Journalist ' may help them to view the situation in a more charitable and sportsmanlike spirit Speaking of editorial views snd 'news-sense' Mr . Wilson aptlv remarks:—
"There is no man in the world who can attempt that without often beinsr at fault, in both his facts and his arguments. It is a chastening experience, which begets some discretion in the course of year*; but infallibility is humanly unattainable. Therefore, I commend to the kindness of your hearts the old saloon entreaty: "Don't shoot the pianist: he is doing his best."
The editor is always ready to publish corrections of any misstatements, or letters expressing opinions conflicting with his own, i f they are courteous and constructive. There are some who think that anything they write should be published however foolish or offensive it may be. They would probably be very impolite i f an editor burst into their offices with wild suggestions as to how their own business should be conducted."
callous inhumanity to his neighbour has shattered all hopes of meriting it. That 'Peace' was meant for 'men of good-will/ Whom shall we blame but ourselves, i f we languish in strife when peace should reign. Let us make ourselves worthy of the gift ere we receive it. The final hope of 'Salvation' wil l naturally follow when His Mercy begets Peace.
Sectarian Discrimination. Catholic Action has provoked an
ugly sectarian reaction in Scotland which apparently calls itself Protestant Action. Its unchristian spirit is manifest in the notice of motion
a funny fel-Every time I
sing you rush to the window." Bob.—Well , darling, i t is to
show our neighbours that I do not beat you and that when you shriek like that, I am for nothing in the business."
In a drawing room, after a young lady had cut up a sonata of Mozart, she took a seat near Theophilus Gauthier, a poet and a great lover of good music:
— " Do you like piano, dear Mr. Gau th i e r ?" she asked with simpering airs.
— " W e l l , Miss , " answered the poet coldly, " I prefer it to the gallows."
11
This Gospel is so full of precious teachings that it is absolutely impossible to review them all . We shall leave out therefore the divine institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the mission of the Apostles, the incredulity of St. Thomas, to concentrate our atten-t ; on on the words which Jesus directed to his disciples: " Peace be to you."
D I O C E S E O F M A L A C C A . C A T H E D R A L O F T H E G O O D
S H E P H E R D , S I N G A P O R E .
Calender for the Week.
Vpril 2Su Sunday—Low Sunday. (1st After Easter) . 1st CI. Greater Double. Last day of the Jubilee. Mass of the
. . Sunday. Vespers of the following.
A p r i l 29. Monday—St. Mark, The Evangelist.
Vpril 30. Tuesday—St. Catherine of Sienna, V . Double.
May 1. W'day—Ss. Philip and * James, Apostles.
May 2. Thursday—St. Athanasius, * B . and D. Double.
May 3. Fr iday—The Finding of ' the Holy Cross.
May 4. Saturday—The Good * Shepherd, (The Most Holy
Redeemer) Titular of the Cathedral Double of the 1st Class wi th Octave for the whole Diocese.
T R U E R E L I G I O N . The late Bishop Stang's Definition.
Religion is not a mere sentiment or sentimentality, prevalent among women and children: it is not a passing emotion of the heart, nor a vague aspiration for things beyond the stars, nor a general dissatisfaction with existing conditions. Religion does not and cannot have its origin in sentiment, because sentiment works instinctively even without reason, but religion is in the rational part of man, though it purines and sanctifies the sentiment. This is the way religion takes hold of man: The mind recognises the existence of a God and Father in whose keeping we are; the wil l then submits to this authority, and is anxious to serve H i m . Only man, having reason and free wi l l , can possess religion, because rel igion must be an act of a rational nature and an act of a free wi l l . But i t is the most ennobling duty which man can render, by submitt ing mind and heart to his Creator. There is nothing sentimental in this : i t is the problem of our existence; through religion we give to God what belongs to H i m . what we owe H i m .
Religion is more than good behaviour. You may be considered a £ood man; you may be true and kind and generous: you may lead a peaceful, beautiful and blameless l i fe; all this is not religion. Yo;^r natural goodness wil l fade like the fragrance of a spring flower; it shall pass like the soothing tran-ouillity of a calm summer's night. Moreover, i f you lead a "good" life, i f vou abstain from intoxicating drink on account of your social standing or your saving habits, i f you avoid other excesses fo)? similar reasons, you do not thereby advance one step nearer your God : nay, i f you do these things to be seen and praised, you are a hypocrite, and not a religious man. The question that religion puts to you is th is : How do you *tand before God? What is the state of your immortal soul ? You may stand well before men; you may satisfy public opinior-: yon may be well behaved, consistent, truthful, respectable, just in your the eye of man. You may be free dealings wi th your neighbour, kind from gross and hideous vices in and loyal to your fnends, and the sight of man; but the decent generous to the poor. But is God and decorous sinner may be fur-satisfied with you ? Remember ther from God than the social outs a t God searches the inmost re- cast. If you are satisfied with cesses of the heart; He sees your yourself and thank God that you
. e i i V ° n - S a n ( * w e * ? n s y°ur m°tiv- are not like the rest of sinful man-^s; He judges evil thoughts and kind, you are a sham, and reli-tfesires, sins of pride, envy and gion is not *found in you. No ambition, sins which are hidden to matter how good and holy a man
G O S P E L
for L O W S U N D A Y (ST. J O H N , X X , 19—81).
A t that time, when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear c i the Jews, Jesus came, and sto<;d in the midst, and said to them. Peace be to you. And \xhn\ he had said this, h » showed them his hands and his side The disciples therefore \ver3 glad, when they saw the Lord . He said therefore to them again, Peace be to you: as the Father hath sent me. I also send you. When h i had said this, he breathed <m them; and he said to them. Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins .ou sh?Jl forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is call 3d Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord . But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails* and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be to you. Then he said to Thomas, Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered, and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Because thou hast seen me, Thomas thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed. Many other signs aiso did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, you may have life in his name.
C O M M E N T A R Y . words did not He speak to them. They had the first glimpse of their divine mission, they understood that they had been chosen by God for something higher. The mysterious words pronounced by Jesus had a double effect on their hearts. They restored at the same time peace and self-confidence based, of course, in Jesus' personality. A n d they had peace.
Peace, the longing of the human heart.
The disciples had no peace, to be sure, at that stage of their lives. Their Lord and Master had been crucified, a most unusual and extraordinary epilogue to H i s divine Mission. They were expecting, in their worldly minds success, and failure came over them; it appeared that they had nothing to hope for. Their dreams had vanished before the dawn of dire and crude realities. They coul hear sti l l the muffled and hoarse shouts of the Jews asking for their Leader's death and crucifixion. They had, no doubt, heard about Hi s resurrection, but it was all so uncertain. They were so afraid it might turn to be a deception! Their minds staggered between hope and despair. And they had no peace. A n d yet they longed for it. Jesus knew it and this was perhaps the reason whv he greeted them: Peace be with you. The disciples could not believe their eyes and their ears. They who were assembled with the doors shut, " for fear of the Jews " had in front of them the Master, the Leader, the Lord, the Wonder-Worker, Jesus at last. And peace came at once to thir minds. They were " therefore glad." They forgot the Jews, the crucifixion, the anxious hours past, to remember that they had Jesus with them. And what consoling and soothing
Peace with or without Jesus? . There is no peace without Jesus. A t least real peace, consoling peace, which pervades the innermost recesses of the human heart. Peace of eonsciene is this peace. Storms may gather over one's head, worries may come and go, friendships may begin and end. prosperity and adversity may take their turns, health and sickness too may have a chance at one's body, but, i f peace of conscience reigns over his intimate kingdom of self, every variation shall pass on almost unnoticed. We read in Isaias (Chapter 48, v. 22) that the Lord has said: " there is no peace to the wicked." And everyday experience confirms it.
Mortal sin is the first obstacle to peace. It is indeed sarcastic irony that makes man look for peace and pleasure in mortal sin, to discover in it nothing else out J remorse and disturbance.
The Church, as the Lord Jesus, insists continually on this peace. Her Li turgy overflows with such wishes of peace. " Peace be with you " is a phrase oftentimes repeated at almost every Church ceremony. And the last wish of hers, when taking leave from her children, is again one of peace and res t :—"May they rest in peace."
When shall we be convinced that there is no possible peace without Jesus Christ who as Prophet Micheas has said, "shal l be our peace"? (Chapt. 5, verse 5).
D I O C E S E O F M A C A O .
C H U R C H OF ST. J O S E P H .
Calendar for the week.
Apr i l 28. Sunday—Low Sunday and first after Easter. Great-double. White vestments. Proper of the Mass p. 163. Second collect of St. Paul of the Cross. High Mass at 8 o'clock, to be followed by E x position of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the day, solemnizing the closing of the Holy Year. Evening Service at 5:—Miserere, Te-Deum and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Apr i l 29. Monday—St. Mark , the Evangelist, double of the second class.
Apr i l 30. Tuesday—St. Catherine of Sienna, V i rg in . Double.
May 1. W'day—Sts. Phi l ip and James, Apostles. Double of the second class. Plenary Indulgence for the members of the Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th . Evening service during the whole month at 5.30 on week days and at 5 on Sundays.
May 2. Thursdav—St. Athanasius, B . C. D. Double.
May 3. Fr iday—The Finding of the Holy Cross. Double of the second class. Abstinence. F i r s t Fr iday of the month. General Communion. Plenary Indulgence for the members of the Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th . Evening service: H O L Y H O U R from 5.30 to 6.30.
May 4. Saturday—St. Monica, Widow. Double.
H O L Y H O U R A T ST. J O S E P H ' S C H U R C H .
The devotion of the Holy Hour is to be introduced at the Church of St. Joseph on the Fi rs t Friday of May.
We hope that this devotion, which is so widely spread all over the Catholic World, Europe especially, wi l l attract many loving hearts of the Sacred Heart to the Church of St. Joseph. This pious practice was first suggested by our Lord Himself to St. Margaret Mary AJacoque and its result must surely be an abundant infusion of graces and favours.
The Holy Hour consists of an hour's company, by means of prayers, meditations and hymns, to the Divine Heart of Jesus, in memory of His Agony in the garden of Gethsemani, when he complained to St. Peter about his indifference towards H i m : "Could you not watch one hour with me?"
We hope that the Church of St. Joseph may be crowded in the evenings of all Firs t Fridays. The service wil l be from 5.30 to 6.30 p.m.
may be thought to be, if he has got religion he will be thoroughy convinced that he is nothing but a poor, wretched sinner, an ignorant and wayward creature, that he must come to God for pardon of sin for power to resist it . God does not need you; you need God.
Religion does not require of you that you spend your life in church in praying on your knees, that you
look grave and severe, that you abstain from the pleasures and enjoyments of the world; but it requires a strict performance of your daily duties, not for the ultimate purpose of making money or pleasing those above you, but in doing all for the honour and glory of God. Wherever God has placed you, in whatever circumstances you find yourself, do your work cheerfully and in conformity with God's holy wi l l . This is religion.
12
The Origins of the Clean Films Campaigns E a r l y in 1934 a Legion of De
cency sprang into being in different parts of the United States. Its orgin was the spontaneous and simultaneous rebellion of Catholics to the continued offences of the film-producers against Christ ian morality.
Short ly after Easter the four Bishops who had been appointed by the American Hierarchy to study the problem of unclean films recognised the Legion of Decency as a practical method of influencing the film trade. The Bishops gave their support to the Legion and approved the pledge to be taken by members which promised, among other things, abstention from films known to be offensive to morali ty and the securing of other Catholics to co-operate likewise. Thenceforth, the Legion grew in numbers al l over the Uni ted States—without headquarters or organisation. The cinema industry quickly felt the loss of revenue and, disturbed by the decline, promised to establ i sh internal censorship.
In Great Br i t a in the first move was made in A p r i l by the newly-established Cardiff Board of Catholic Act ion . In conjunction wi th the Westminster Catholic Federa
tion this Board secured advance opinions on forthcoming films and arranged for representations to be made to the managers of cinemas concerning those of immoral tendencies. Threats of boycotting cinemas which continue to exhibit distasteful films have been, and continue to be made, wi th some good effect.
In July last, the Holy Father approved of the American campaign saying: "I am heart and soul with you for the discouraging of immoral films in the cinemas." Directly afterwards the Westminster Catholic Federation decided to launch a nation-wide Clean Fi lms Movement-, and the Catholic Press has co-operated in encouraging their readers to pledge themselves to abstain from all films except those which do not offend against decency and morality. Those who sign the pledge promise also to arouse public opinion against immoral films. The late Cardinal Bourne blessed and commended the Campaign in September.
Recently, some non-Catholic religious organisations have evidenced a desire to co-operate with this desirable Catholic movement.
S T R A N G E I N C O N S I S T E N C I E S .
Does it not seem strange that the man who can spend shillings for drinks and cigars every day in the week cannot find a sixpenny piece for religion on Sunday?
That the woman who can describe all the new hats and dresses at church cannot see the almsbox, no matter how large?
That the man who never gives a cent to the church fund always finds the most fault about the manner i n which it is distributed?
That the pastor who does his full duty to God is usually unpopular w i t h many of his parishioners?
That people wi l l pay high prices for a seat in the theatre, but a l ways steal one in the church when they can?
That our young men wil l assume bar-room attitudes at devotions and take on photographic postures i n the parlours cf their young lady friends ?
That people wi l l buy boxes and stalls at a theatre whom nothing could induce to rent a seat in church ?
That persons who are always pressing their employers for larger salaries expect their pastors to live on good wishes and the grace of God?
That parents who never attend their religious duties expect their children to become model Christ ians?
That many of the men who worship in the rear of the church and block the entrance are always found in the front seats at places of amusement?
That the sermon which touches the guilty conscience never fails to find warm condemnation?
That those who never help to defray the church expenses demand the most comforts and conveniences?
That those who make the least haste to get to service in time are always in a rush to get away before i t is over?
(Cont: at foot of col. 2.)
T H E A S S O C I A T I O N O F
M A L C O N T E N T S .
It has been said that this is the greatest association in the world. Let us not belong to i t . Not that we must think that al l is well wi th the world, and wi th this ioolish optimism as our starting-point inter that the world does not need our services. But why should we say that all is wrong? A n d yet that is the mania from which some people—in fact, perhaps the majority—suffer.
It was very well for Napoleon's old soldiers; their courage was some excuse for their bad temper. But they, at least, did not regard the expression of their discontent as a form of action. They grumbled, but they marched, too. Nowadays it is the grumblers that usually do not work.
The man of action is fond of his own generation. He does not disguise its faults; but he knows how to see its good qualities. This is a sufficient stimulus for him to stifle his complaints and to set about removing the cause of them, by suppressing abuses and correcting defects.
Grumbling does nobody any good, and achieves no object. It kills that of our hearers. Take as your model the soldier who. when he was wounded by a bullet, put his handkerchief to his mouth. "Are
-you wounded in the j aw?" he was asked. " N o / ' was the answer, "that was to prevent myself from crying out, and frightening my comrades."
"The growlers," the brave growlers, belong to another generation. We want, soldiers of the same stamp today.
( F A C I N G L I F E ) , by Raoul Plus, S.J.)
R E P U T E D M Y S O R E G O V E R N M E N T P R O D U C T S ? FROM THE HOME OF T H E GENUINE SANDALWOOD
( S a x t a l u m A l b u m L i n n e . )
M Y S O R E S A N D A L W O O D O I L B.P. & U.S.A. STANDARDS.
RECOGNISED AS THE FINEST, PUREST AND AS THE STANDARD Of OUALITY BY THE LEADING AUTHORITIES
THE WORLD OVER.
F O R Q U A L I T Y F O R P U R I T Y F O R E C O N O M Y USE
M Y S O R E S A N D A L S O A P A SUPREME TOILET S O A P . . . . DELICATELY PERFUMED WITH
THE WORLD'S BEST SANDAL OIL. MATCHLESS FOR BEAUTY AND COMPLEXION.
OBTAINABLE EVERYWHERE Selling Agents:—
N A R A Y A N A S W A M Y & S O N S , 43, Selegie Road. Singapore, S.S.
C O R R E S P O N D E N C E
That those who have spent years of their lives in sin expect to satisfy Divine Justice by a deathbed repentance of a few moments? Strange inconsistencies.
[Tie M.C.L. does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by correspondents. Correspondents are requested to adhere to the topic of their letters and to avoid long rambling epistles. Pen names may be used but, in every case, the name and address of the writer must accompany each contribution, not essentially for publication but as a token of good faith.]
T H E Q U E E N ' S S C H O L A R S H I P .
A Plea for Less Secrecy.
To the Editor, Malaya Catholic Leader.
Sir, Every year in October the E x a
mination for the Queen's Scholarship is held in Singapore and Penang. Then at the following Christmas rumours precede the official publication of the names of the two winners. The man in the street, who may be. and generally is, very interested in the matter, is left entirely in the dark concerning how the awards are made because of the intense secrecy that enshrouds the whole affair.
Comoetitors are only provided with their individual marks and sometimes their positions in the examination. Heads of schools and parents of candidates have to penetrate the fog of secrecy in order to learn other and important details and very often do not succeed.
Now I ?sk why should there :b° so much hush-hush? In the good old days all results were published in detail for the information of all parties concerned and were accessible to the general public. Cannot this procedure be reinstated? Last year, the winner of the Queen's scholarship was a pupil of St. Xavier 's Institution, Penang, and the runner u d hailed from the Penang Free School. In the F .M.S . the same scholarship fell to a pupil of St. John's Institution. Kuala Lumpur.
Thus out of the 3 Queen's Scholarships awarded in 1934, 2 went to boys from the Brother's School, which is certainly a mosf
creditable performance and one in which all Catholics rejoice.
I am positive all readers of the " M . C . L . " wil l be the first to favour the removal of the secrecy that exists to-day and the same feeling too holds with every member of the public interested in the scholarship that means so much to the successful candidates. I cast no slur on anyone but I beg the Authorities concerned to give this
(Contd: at foot of col. 4.)
V A L U E OF M I X E D C O L L E G E S A N D S C H O O L S .
" Mixed colleges are sometimes advocated on the plea that the early association of the two sexes engenders a mutual respect and sympathy and prepares them for the meeting in later life which is inevitable. But boys and girls need not resort to such artificial means, of contact; nature has provided it for them in the home. It is in the family more than anywhere else that the two can learn to respect and develop the truest fellow-feeling for each other. Elsewhere a famil iar i ty might lead to license. A s for the social advantages of that association the parents are in a better position to ensure them than the college authorities. It is the duty of the former to provide suitable companions for the children and to accustom them to social intercourse. A s the utmost prudence is required in the choice of companions of the opposite sex the judicious selection by parents is decidedly preferable to the chance and indiscriminate companionships at college. It is only the solicitous parents that can maintain the necessary vigilance over the association of the young of both sexes and prevent any dangerous intimacy between them springing up."
Rev. J . A . Lobo.
matter due consideration. Rumours have often in the past ffoated around, generally vicious and unfounded, about unfairness creeping into the final allocation of the winning candidates. Catholics refrain from placing any credence on gossip but the only possible way to scotch once and for all those murmurings is to publish full details of the results of the Queen's Scholarship.
Yours , etc.,
INQUIRER-
P O W E R O F P E N A N C E . Was there ever an offence so
great that God could not forgive i t? Was there ever an erring child that sinned so greatly that the Holy Church would not seek him out to forgive h im? Into the dungeon, into the mansion of sorrow, into the hovels of the despised and neglected, the Church's forgiveness enters and acts. It raises up the fallen and the dead souls of wandering men to light and forgiveness and joy.
18
T h e B e g i n n i n g o f a T a m i l S e t t l e m e n t i n M a l a y a : T h e F o u n d a t i o n
o f S t . J o s e p h ' s P a r i s h , B a g a n S e r a i
( T R A N S L A T E D F R O M T H E F R E N C H )
CONCLUDED.
T H E M A D M A N
He was the son of the preceding beggar. He had been a fine young fellow, intelligent, wi th some education and a fair ski l l in cooking. Like his mother he was a pagan and when she first broke to h im her intentions to become a C h r i stian, he fretted and fumed. F o r all answer she placed a catechism book in his hands and ordered h i m to read over and again for her the prayers and the religious instructions. He obeyed and thanks to that unwilling catechist the old woman learned her religion and was baptized. A s for the son he remained a pagan. Once I happened to meet h im in the Province. He was unknown to me then. He approached me and told me that he would come the following Sunday to ask me to baptize him. He had so often read and repeated the catechism in order to teach it his mother that he had learned it himself and had not forgotten it. So well that after a decent probation I gave him baptism. Soon after he came to me and asked for a catechist diploma."* He wanted to quit everything and go to preach the gospel to the pagans around and abroad. I checked his zeal by sending h im back to his stoves. Bu t his brain went on brewing and fermenting, and one day on seeing a procession of Mohammedans, pass by, he seized a knife and dashed for them. He was then arrested and locked up. There they found out that they had to do wi th an i l l -poised mind and instead of sending him to gaol they sent h im to Singapore Mental Asy lum. A few months later he came out much the same as he had gone in and then came back here with his mother the begger. He is st i l l more or less cracked. This does not impede his working and giving an occasional good advice to those saner than himself. After all , he has never caused us any harm or trouble.
The Drunkard. I should like to say as much of
the drunkard. This one, on arriving here spread his vice and found disciples and imitators among the new and the old hands. One day when coming from Penang I found on my way into the settlement a toddy shop established there by a bad Chris t ian. I manifested so loud my discontent and my anger that the shop was demolished on the spot and the keeper moved off. B u t he did not go farther than the village of Bagan Serai where he put up a new shop, and where his faithful customers, amongst whom our drunkard, continued to pay h im their regular visits. I then placed the shop and keeper under an interdict. Our drunkard thereupon had a luminous idea and found another way ™ drink good "calloo" free of charge and without incurring the anamema. He would climb up the coconut trees from which the precious liquid was extracted and 1 , 7 . c o m f s t a b l y on the top he would drink out of the flasks wfterem it was collected. The co-W ^ e e s w e r e a t l e * s t 70 to 80 sn t l h l ? h * In<*eed, to climb up s u c n a height for a refreshment
one must be twinged by a real craving. But it is generally known that a drunkard, to quench his thirst, wi l l leave nothing unat-tempted. Unfortunately his shrewd device got abroad. The council of the "grandees" of Soossey Pale-yam met for the t r ia l of the incorrigible. He was judged and sentenced. In execution of the verdict his furniture was carried "to the highway and he was served with the notice of his ejection.
R E S U L T S .
Miseries.
Before entering upon this final chapter let me mention the accident that, the beginning of the 2nd year, bereaved us of the best and most intelligent of our first pioneers. A tree that he was felling met in its fall some obstacle that made it deviate so as to come down on him and fracture his leg. His companions thought that they themselves could cure him and committed the fault of not conveying h im to Hospital. He grew better but just as he was believed to be out of danger, tetanus seized upon him and carried h im off in less than half-an-hour. That was the only wretched accident that we had to lament. In spite of our mishaps, drawbacks, and some spokes in the wheel, the colony progressed slowly but surely. The forest skirts went further and further back. The plots began in the preceding year were enlarged and fresh clearings were undertaken. In Ju ly His Lordship came to bring to the labourers his encouraging words and to their works his blessing.
A l l the cleared land was sown early that year and we had reason to expect a good crop. A la s ! we were not at the end of our troubles. In November a host of rats, sprung I do not know whence, invaded our rice-fields. In less than 15 days all was devoured. In the fields nothing was left except faded and dried straw mowed down and fallen in huddles. One would have thought that a squadron of heavy cavalry had passed through. In their desire of atoning, making some sacrifice and appeasing the heavenly wrath, our colonists signed a written promise not to get drunk any more and to deduct 5ci from their harvest and offer it *o St. Joseph. Then I dealt out holy water and ordered directly to go and sprinkle i t over the fields. F rom that day the rats disappeared, and stubble grew again and the aftermath gave us enough not to die through famine.
Though the harvest was scanty, some more new colonists came in and the felling went on again in a fair way. The third year (1884) was to be more calamitous still . Worn out by fever, engrossed by all kinds of worries and cares in Penang, I was unable to devote to the colony the time and the attention it required. Left by themselves our cultivators managed to be tardy in sowing. They had noticed that the ^earliest paddi was the most preyed upon hy rats and they thought it wise not to hurry. But the dry season which . unusually occurs at the
end of January in these forests began this time in the early days of December and to make things worse, the drought was of a dispi r i t ing duration, such as is seldom experienced in Malaya ; it lasted t i l l after Easter. The result was that the fields ran short of water, that the most part of the standing crop withered away before earing. The little grain we collected was of a poor quality and we found ourselves before a second year of dearth more terrible than the first. We had to stop the felling work, and to resort to some shift in order not to die of starvation. Some colonists went to look for employment, the others sowed millet, indian corn and some other t iny seed to make up for rice. A l l were in distress and needed assistance, and I could not come off well but by running into debt.
And Consolations.
However, that th i rd year so distressing from the material point of view was comforting in another respect. Several colonists, themselves new converts, succeeded in having their pagan families come over here from India. Once they had set foot on this Christ ian land and were r id of the influence of H indu surroundings, these good people had no objection to conversion, were soon instructed and baptized and became fervent neophytes. Since then, the good movement has gone on thus at a consoling rate, so that many who were the only Christians in their respective families are nowadays at the head of groups of six and seven households numbering 25 and 30 souls and more. Those small nuclei like roll ing snow balls wi l l gradually increase, in attracting the rest of their relatives "that sti l l sit in darkness." About the same time the Government of Perak, desirous of favouring the colonisation of the country by Indians, advanced fair sums towards their immigration movement. The result of which was that, in the course of 1885, about 30 new Indian families came to settle in Soossey Paleyam. The new comers whose homeland was the barren plains of South India were at first somewhat bewildered amidst our virgin forests. A few of them seized with fear left, but most of them held out and soon became first rate wood-cutters.
Yet the felling of trees had been stopped in 1885 and was taken up again but last year (1888). The two previous years having been awfully rainy, the forest was transformed into a marsh and work was not practicable. Last year was somewhat better. During the dry season we were able to open, across our concession, a road or rather a footpath V/2 mile long on either side of which, the land was cleared, surveyed and portioned out into 60 lots. So that the area now under cultivation is 450 acres. I have forgotten to mention that having previously been offered facilities to round off, I availed myself of the opportuni ty to make an anneation of another 500 acres. That brought the
territory acres.
of the colony to 700
Expectations—Conclusion.
If we can complete the road that we have begun to make, the yet unoccupied portion of our concession wi l l be handed over to new occupants and, before two years, the whole of our land w i l l be under cultivation. Fortunately land is not wanting in Malaya. Thousands upon thousands of acres are sti l l wi ld forests and domain of the tigers and elephants. I f we had hundreds of colonies like this to settle in this country there would be no room lacking for them . . . Such is the story of the first years of that small settlement of Soossey Paleyam (St. Joseph Enactment). Hardships have not been spared for it , but, thank God, it has lived on, and subsists. And in spite of its many and various trials and difficulties, not only has it held out but has fair ly progressed as shown by the followings figures.
Returns of St. Joseph Parish, Bagan Serai, October 1889:
Families 105. Population 600. Baptisms 180. Marriages 49. Children of the Settlement at
tending our Schools 70. Cultiivated land 450 acres.
O C E A N I A .
Rome.—Almost all the plantations on the island of Rarotonga, Cook Archipelago, in the southern Pacific, were destroyed by a cyclone which swept the islands February 7 to 11. The coconut plantations and the orange groves of the Picpus Fathers have been ruined, and this year, the missionaries write, there will be no harvest. Msgr. Castanie, the Prefect Apostolic, says that some of the mission buildings were damaged and that the cemetery was under water for several days. (Fides).
Historic Manila Universi ty has ever-growing enrolment. — The Spanish Dominican Universi ty of Santo Tomas, founded more than three centuries ago-in 1611, manifests signs of vigorous youth rather than age. The number of its students is constantly on the increase. The enrolment for 1934-5 is 3,408, and is distributed among various Department as follows:
Medicine 1,688 L a w 601
. Pedagogy 384 Pharmacy 208 Civ i l Engineering 143 Chemistry 94 Architecture 91 Commerce 83 Philosophy 65 Theology 51
About eight years ago a magnificent edifice of vast proportions was erected to replace the ancient buildings. A s earth-quakes are very common in the Philippines, this was scientifically constructed in such a way as to resist damage from shock. Recently another new building was added to house the Central Seminary and at the same time incorporate a large and very beautiful University chapel. (Lumen).
12
The Origins of the Clean Films Campaigns E a r l y in 1934 a Legion of De
cency sprang into being in different parts of the United States. Its orgin was the spontaneous and simultaneous rebellion of Catholics to the continued offences of the film-producers against Christ ian morality.
Short ly after Easter the four Bishops who had been appointed by the American Hierarchy to study the problem of unclean films recognised the Legion of Decency as a practical method of influencing the film trade. The Bishops gave their support to the Legion and approved the pledge to be taken by members which promised, among other things, abstention from films known to be offensive to morali ty and the securing of other Catholics to co-operate likewise. Thenceforth, the Legion grew in numbers al l over the Uni ted States—without headquarters or organisation. The cinema industry quickly felt the loss of revenue and, disturbed by the decline, promised to establ i sh internal censorship.
In Great Br i t a in the first move was made in A p r i l by the newly-established Cardiff Board of Catholic Act ion . In conjunction wi th the Westminster Catholic Federa
tion this Board secured advance opinions on forthcoming films and arranged for representations to be made to the managers of cinemas concerning those of immoral tendencies. Threats of boycotting cinemas which continue to exhibit distasteful films have been, and continue to be made, wi th some good effect.
In July last, the Holy Father approved of the American campaign saying: "I am heart and soul with you for the discouraging of immoral films in the cinemas." Directly afterwards the Westminster Catholic Federation decided to launch a nation-wide Clean Fi lms Movement-, and the Catholic Press has co-operated in encouraging their readers to pledge themselves to abstain from all films except those which do not offend against decency and morality. Those who sign the pledge promise also to arouse public opinion against immoral films. The late Cardinal Bourne blessed and commended the Campaign in September.
Recently, some non-Catholic religious organisations have evidenced a desire to co-operate with this desirable Catholic movement.
S T R A N G E I N C O N S I S T E N C I E S .
Does it not seem strange that the man who can spend shillings for drinks and cigars every day in the week cannot find a sixpenny piece for religion on Sunday?
That the woman who can describe all the new hats and dresses at church cannot see the almsbox, no matter how large?
That the man who never gives a cent to the church fund always finds the most fault about the manner i n which it is distributed?
That the pastor who does his full duty to God is usually unpopular w i t h many of his parishioners?
That people wi l l pay high prices for a seat in the theatre, but a l ways steal one in the church when they can?
That our young men wil l assume bar-room attitudes at devotions and take on photographic postures i n the parlours cf their young lady friends ?
That people wi l l buy boxes and stalls at a theatre whom nothing could induce to rent a seat in church ?
That persons who are always pressing their employers for larger salaries expect their pastors to live on good wishes and the grace of God?
That parents who never attend their religious duties expect their children to become model Christ ians?
That many of the men who worship in the rear of the church and block the entrance are always found in the front seats at places of amusement?
That the sermon which touches the guilty conscience never fails to find warm condemnation?
That those who never help to defray the church expenses demand the most comforts and conveniences?
That those who make the least haste to get to service in time are always in a rush to get away before i t is over?
(Cont: at foot of col. 2.)
T H E A S S O C I A T I O N O F
M A L C O N T E N T S .
It has been said that this is the greatest association in the world. Let us not belong to i t . Not that we must think that al l is well wi th the world, and wi th this ioolish optimism as our starting-point inter that the world does not need our services. But why should we say that all is wrong? A n d yet that is the mania from which some people—in fact, perhaps the majority—suffer.
It was very well for Napoleon's old soldiers; their courage was some excuse for their bad temper. But they, at least, did not regard the expression of their discontent as a form of action. They grumbled, but they marched, too. Nowadays it is the grumblers that usually do not work.
The man of action is fond of his own generation. He does not disguise its faults; but he knows how to see its good qualities. This is a sufficient stimulus for him to stifle his complaints and to set about removing the cause of them, by suppressing abuses and correcting defects.
Grumbling does nobody any good, and achieves no object. It kills that of our hearers. Take as your model the soldier who. when he was wounded by a bullet, put his handkerchief to his mouth. "Are
-you wounded in the j aw?" he was asked. " N o / ' was the answer, "that was to prevent myself from crying out, and frightening my comrades."
"The growlers," the brave growlers, belong to another generation. We want, soldiers of the same stamp today.
( F A C I N G L I F E ) , by Raoul Plus, S.J.)
R E P U T E D M Y S O R E G O V E R N M E N T P R O D U C T S ? FROM THE HOME OF T H E GENUINE SANDALWOOD
( S a x t a l u m A l b u m L i n n e . )
M Y S O R E S A N D A L W O O D O I L B.P. & U.S.A. STANDARDS.
RECOGNISED AS THE FINEST, PUREST AND AS THE STANDARD Of OUALITY BY THE LEADING AUTHORITIES
THE WORLD OVER.
F O R Q U A L I T Y F O R P U R I T Y F O R E C O N O M Y USE
M Y S O R E S A N D A L S O A P A SUPREME TOILET S O A P . . . . DELICATELY PERFUMED WITH
THE WORLD'S BEST SANDAL OIL. MATCHLESS FOR BEAUTY AND COMPLEXION.
OBTAINABLE EVERYWHERE Selling Agents:—
N A R A Y A N A S W A M Y & S O N S , 43, Selegie Road. Singapore, S.S.
C O R R E S P O N D E N C E
That those who have spent years of their lives in sin expect to satisfy Divine Justice by a deathbed repentance of a few moments? Strange inconsistencies.
[Tie M.C.L. does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by correspondents. Correspondents are requested to adhere to the topic of their letters and to avoid long rambling epistles. Pen names may be used but, in every case, the name and address of the writer must accompany each contribution, not essentially for publication but as a token of good faith.]
T H E Q U E E N ' S S C H O L A R S H I P .
A Plea for Less Secrecy.
To the Editor, Malaya Catholic Leader.
Sir, Every year in October the E x a
mination for the Queen's Scholarship is held in Singapore and Penang. Then at the following Christmas rumours precede the official publication of the names of the two winners. The man in the street, who may be. and generally is, very interested in the matter, is left entirely in the dark concerning how the awards are made because of the intense secrecy that enshrouds the whole affair.
Comoetitors are only provided with their individual marks and sometimes their positions in the examination. Heads of schools and parents of candidates have to penetrate the fog of secrecy in order to learn other and important details and very often do not succeed.
Now I ?sk why should there :b° so much hush-hush? In the good old days all results were published in detail for the information of all parties concerned and were accessible to the general public. Cannot this procedure be reinstated? Last year, the winner of the Queen's scholarship was a pupil of St. Xavier 's Institution, Penang, and the runner u d hailed from the Penang Free School. In the F .M.S . the same scholarship fell to a pupil of St. John's Institution. Kuala Lumpur.
Thus out of the 3 Queen's Scholarships awarded in 1934, 2 went to boys from the Brother's School, which is certainly a mosf
creditable performance and one in which all Catholics rejoice.
I am positive all readers of the " M . C . L . " wil l be the first to favour the removal of the secrecy that exists to-day and the same feeling too holds with every member of the public interested in the scholarship that means so much to the successful candidates. I cast no slur on anyone but I beg the Authorities concerned to give this
(Contd: at foot of col. 4.)
V A L U E OF M I X E D C O L L E G E S A N D S C H O O L S .
" Mixed colleges are sometimes advocated on the plea that the early association of the two sexes engenders a mutual respect and sympathy and prepares them for the meeting in later life which is inevitable. But boys and girls need not resort to such artificial means, of contact; nature has provided it for them in the home. It is in the family more than anywhere else that the two can learn to respect and develop the truest fellow-feeling for each other. Elsewhere a famil iar i ty might lead to license. A s for the social advantages of that association the parents are in a better position to ensure them than the college authorities. It is the duty of the former to provide suitable companions for the children and to accustom them to social intercourse. A s the utmost prudence is required in the choice of companions of the opposite sex the judicious selection by parents is decidedly preferable to the chance and indiscriminate companionships at college. It is only the solicitous parents that can maintain the necessary vigilance over the association of the young of both sexes and prevent any dangerous intimacy between them springing up."
Rev. J . A . Lobo.
matter due consideration. Rumours have often in the past ffoated around, generally vicious and unfounded, about unfairness creeping into the final allocation of the winning candidates. Catholics refrain from placing any credence on gossip but the only possible way to scotch once and for all those murmurings is to publish full details of the results of the Queen's Scholarship.
Yours , etc.,
INQUIRER-
P O W E R O F P E N A N C E . Was there ever an offence so
great that God could not forgive i t? Was there ever an erring child that sinned so greatly that the Holy Church would not seek him out to forgive h im? Into the dungeon, into the mansion of sorrow, into the hovels of the despised and neglected, the Church's forgiveness enters and acts. It raises up the fallen and the dead souls of wandering men to light and forgiveness and joy.
18
T h e B e g i n n i n g o f a T a m i l S e t t l e m e n t i n M a l a y a : T h e F o u n d a t i o n
o f S t . J o s e p h ' s P a r i s h , B a g a n S e r a i
( T R A N S L A T E D F R O M T H E F R E N C H )
CONCLUDED.
T H E M A D M A N
He was the son of the preceding beggar. He had been a fine young fellow, intelligent, wi th some education and a fair ski l l in cooking. Like his mother he was a pagan and when she first broke to h im her intentions to become a C h r i stian, he fretted and fumed. F o r all answer she placed a catechism book in his hands and ordered h i m to read over and again for her the prayers and the religious instructions. He obeyed and thanks to that unwilling catechist the old woman learned her religion and was baptized. A s for the son he remained a pagan. Once I happened to meet h im in the Province. He was unknown to me then. He approached me and told me that he would come the following Sunday to ask me to baptize him. He had so often read and repeated the catechism in order to teach it his mother that he had learned it himself and had not forgotten it. So well that after a decent probation I gave him baptism. Soon after he came to me and asked for a catechist diploma."* He wanted to quit everything and go to preach the gospel to the pagans around and abroad. I checked his zeal by sending h im back to his stoves. Bu t his brain went on brewing and fermenting, and one day on seeing a procession of Mohammedans, pass by, he seized a knife and dashed for them. He was then arrested and locked up. There they found out that they had to do wi th an i l l -poised mind and instead of sending him to gaol they sent h im to Singapore Mental Asy lum. A few months later he came out much the same as he had gone in and then came back here with his mother the begger. He is st i l l more or less cracked. This does not impede his working and giving an occasional good advice to those saner than himself. After all , he has never caused us any harm or trouble.
The Drunkard. I should like to say as much of
the drunkard. This one, on arriving here spread his vice and found disciples and imitators among the new and the old hands. One day when coming from Penang I found on my way into the settlement a toddy shop established there by a bad Chris t ian. I manifested so loud my discontent and my anger that the shop was demolished on the spot and the keeper moved off. B u t he did not go farther than the village of Bagan Serai where he put up a new shop, and where his faithful customers, amongst whom our drunkard, continued to pay h im their regular visits. I then placed the shop and keeper under an interdict. Our drunkard thereupon had a luminous idea and found another way ™ drink good "calloo" free of charge and without incurring the anamema. He would climb up the coconut trees from which the precious liquid was extracted and 1 , 7 . c o m f s t a b l y on the top he would drink out of the flasks wfterem it was collected. The co-W ^ e e s w e r e a t l e * s t 70 to 80 sn t l h l ? h * In<*eed, to climb up s u c n a height for a refreshment
one must be twinged by a real craving. But it is generally known that a drunkard, to quench his thirst, wi l l leave nothing unat-tempted. Unfortunately his shrewd device got abroad. The council of the "grandees" of Soossey Pale-yam met for the t r ia l of the incorrigible. He was judged and sentenced. In execution of the verdict his furniture was carried "to the highway and he was served with the notice of his ejection.
R E S U L T S .
Miseries.
Before entering upon this final chapter let me mention the accident that, the beginning of the 2nd year, bereaved us of the best and most intelligent of our first pioneers. A tree that he was felling met in its fall some obstacle that made it deviate so as to come down on him and fracture his leg. His companions thought that they themselves could cure him and committed the fault of not conveying h im to Hospital. He grew better but just as he was believed to be out of danger, tetanus seized upon him and carried h im off in less than half-an-hour. That was the only wretched accident that we had to lament. In spite of our mishaps, drawbacks, and some spokes in the wheel, the colony progressed slowly but surely. The forest skirts went further and further back. The plots began in the preceding year were enlarged and fresh clearings were undertaken. In Ju ly His Lordship came to bring to the labourers his encouraging words and to their works his blessing.
A l l the cleared land was sown early that year and we had reason to expect a good crop. A la s ! we were not at the end of our troubles. In November a host of rats, sprung I do not know whence, invaded our rice-fields. In less than 15 days all was devoured. In the fields nothing was left except faded and dried straw mowed down and fallen in huddles. One would have thought that a squadron of heavy cavalry had passed through. In their desire of atoning, making some sacrifice and appeasing the heavenly wrath, our colonists signed a written promise not to get drunk any more and to deduct 5ci from their harvest and offer it *o St. Joseph. Then I dealt out holy water and ordered directly to go and sprinkle i t over the fields. F rom that day the rats disappeared, and stubble grew again and the aftermath gave us enough not to die through famine.
Though the harvest was scanty, some more new colonists came in and the felling went on again in a fair way. The third year (1884) was to be more calamitous still . Worn out by fever, engrossed by all kinds of worries and cares in Penang, I was unable to devote to the colony the time and the attention it required. Left by themselves our cultivators managed to be tardy in sowing. They had noticed that the ^earliest paddi was the most preyed upon hy rats and they thought it wise not to hurry. But the dry season which . unusually occurs at the
end of January in these forests began this time in the early days of December and to make things worse, the drought was of a dispi r i t ing duration, such as is seldom experienced in Malaya ; it lasted t i l l after Easter. The result was that the fields ran short of water, that the most part of the standing crop withered away before earing. The little grain we collected was of a poor quality and we found ourselves before a second year of dearth more terrible than the first. We had to stop the felling work, and to resort to some shift in order not to die of starvation. Some colonists went to look for employment, the others sowed millet, indian corn and some other t iny seed to make up for rice. A l l were in distress and needed assistance, and I could not come off well but by running into debt.
And Consolations.
However, that th i rd year so distressing from the material point of view was comforting in another respect. Several colonists, themselves new converts, succeeded in having their pagan families come over here from India. Once they had set foot on this Christ ian land and were r id of the influence of H indu surroundings, these good people had no objection to conversion, were soon instructed and baptized and became fervent neophytes. Since then, the good movement has gone on thus at a consoling rate, so that many who were the only Christians in their respective families are nowadays at the head of groups of six and seven households numbering 25 and 30 souls and more. Those small nuclei like roll ing snow balls wi l l gradually increase, in attracting the rest of their relatives "that sti l l sit in darkness." About the same time the Government of Perak, desirous of favouring the colonisation of the country by Indians, advanced fair sums towards their immigration movement. The result of which was that, in the course of 1885, about 30 new Indian families came to settle in Soossey Paleyam. The new comers whose homeland was the barren plains of South India were at first somewhat bewildered amidst our virgin forests. A few of them seized with fear left, but most of them held out and soon became first rate wood-cutters.
Yet the felling of trees had been stopped in 1885 and was taken up again but last year (1888). The two previous years having been awfully rainy, the forest was transformed into a marsh and work was not practicable. Last year was somewhat better. During the dry season we were able to open, across our concession, a road or rather a footpath V/2 mile long on either side of which, the land was cleared, surveyed and portioned out into 60 lots. So that the area now under cultivation is 450 acres. I have forgotten to mention that having previously been offered facilities to round off, I availed myself of the opportuni ty to make an anneation of another 500 acres. That brought the
territory acres.
of the colony to 700
Expectations—Conclusion.
If we can complete the road that we have begun to make, the yet unoccupied portion of our concession wi l l be handed over to new occupants and, before two years, the whole of our land w i l l be under cultivation. Fortunately land is not wanting in Malaya. Thousands upon thousands of acres are sti l l wi ld forests and domain of the tigers and elephants. I f we had hundreds of colonies like this to settle in this country there would be no room lacking for them . . . Such is the story of the first years of that small settlement of Soossey Paleyam (St. Joseph Enactment). Hardships have not been spared for it , but, thank God, it has lived on, and subsists. And in spite of its many and various trials and difficulties, not only has it held out but has fair ly progressed as shown by the followings figures.
Returns of St. Joseph Parish, Bagan Serai, October 1889:
Families 105. Population 600. Baptisms 180. Marriages 49. Children of the Settlement at
tending our Schools 70. Cultiivated land 450 acres.
O C E A N I A .
Rome.—Almost all the plantations on the island of Rarotonga, Cook Archipelago, in the southern Pacific, were destroyed by a cyclone which swept the islands February 7 to 11. The coconut plantations and the orange groves of the Picpus Fathers have been ruined, and this year, the missionaries write, there will be no harvest. Msgr. Castanie, the Prefect Apostolic, says that some of the mission buildings were damaged and that the cemetery was under water for several days. (Fides).
Historic Manila Universi ty has ever-growing enrolment. — The Spanish Dominican Universi ty of Santo Tomas, founded more than three centuries ago-in 1611, manifests signs of vigorous youth rather than age. The number of its students is constantly on the increase. The enrolment for 1934-5 is 3,408, and is distributed among various Department as follows:
Medicine 1,688 L a w 601
. Pedagogy 384 Pharmacy 208 Civ i l Engineering 143 Chemistry 94 Architecture 91 Commerce 83 Philosophy 65 Theology 51
About eight years ago a magnificent edifice of vast proportions was erected to replace the ancient buildings. A s earth-quakes are very common in the Philippines, this was scientifically constructed in such a way as to resist damage from shock. Recently another new building was added to house the Central Seminary and at the same time incorporate a large and very beautiful University chapel. (Lumen).
14 M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Catholic Affairs from Far and Near
A S I A . Madras.—A python, 21ft. long,
was killed by Father Paul Baggier, of the Archdiocese of Madras, while going from his mission at Arambakam to a nearby village. The priest's only weapon was a heavy club. (Fides.)
Trichinopoly (India) .—Sixty-three statues, carried on huge cars elaborately decorated with flowers and precious stones, were drawn through the streets of Mylapore during the festival held recently at the Temple of S r i Kapaleezwara-zwamy. Dur ing the celebrations, which lasted 10 days, thousands o f people bathed in the sacred tank at the temple. (Fides.)
* * * * Trichinopoly (India).—Mr. Ge
rald A . Barron-Boshell, Chief of the Ceylon Labour Commission and founder of the Aero Club of Trichinopoly, who was killed recently in an aeroplane accident, was one of the leading Catholics of Trichinopoly and a generous supporter of missionary work in the district. (Fides.)
* * * * Madras.—More than 230,000
publications were distributed by the Catholic Truth Society of India during 1934. These pamphlets are printed in Engl i sh and i n local native languages. (Fides.)
* * * Madras (India).—Monkeys en
tered the banana plantation of the Salesian Mission at A m i , about 7£ miles southwest of Madras, one night recently and caused damage estimated at more than 200 dollars. The banana plantation is maintained in connection with the missionaries new farm school. .(Fides.)
* * • * Manila.—There are 3,408 stu
dents this year at the Univers i ty of Santo Tomas, Mani la , of whom more than half are studying medicine. This insti tution founded by the Spanish Dominicans in 1611 is the.largest Catholic university of the far east. In a new building which was added recently to house the Central Seminary there is a large and beautiful Univers i ty Chapel. The American Jesuits have taken over the Ateneo. (Fides.) *
* * * * * Shanghai.—The population of
Tibet, which is commonly believed to be two millions, is less than one million, Dr . Jefferson Lamb, Councillor of the Minis t ry of Foreign Affairs, said in an address delivered after his return from a tr ip to Lhasa. One-fifth of the population consists of lamas, he said. There is little arable and cultivated land, and mineral resources are limited. Japanese goods dominate the Lhasa market, with Indian and Nepalese goods next. Chinese wares take third or fourth place, and there are also some European and American products found in Lhasa. (Fides.)
* * * * *
Shanghai.—More than a million Chinese poor persons, says an article in a recent issue of China L igh t of Shanghai, receive free medical treatment from Catholic priests and sisters every year at the Shanghai mission. For most of these people, this is the first
contact wi th Christ ian charity. The Catholic Church maintains several clean and well-equipped dispensaries in Shanghai. (Fides.)
* * * * National President of Catholic
Action Pays Visit to Peiping— Peiping, A p r i l 3 .—A large group of his friends were on hand to welcome Mr . L o Pa-hong, National President of Catholic Action, when he arrived in this city on A p r i l 1. M r . L o was accompanied by his son Joseph and by the Rev. Dr. Paul Y u P in , returning from Shanghai.
During the two full days M r . L o spent in Peiping, he had a busy time. He attended a Trustees Meeting of the Peiping Central Hospital, visited not a few public and private institutions of charity and education, attended several banquets arranged in his honor, received and addressed various Catholic Act ion groups of Men, Young Men, and Women, and granted various private interviews.
On the day of his arrival, M r . L o called upon H . E . the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Zanin, wi th whom he discussed matters relating to Catholic Act ion . He was the guest of Archbishop Banin at a dinner tendered in his honor, to which the entire Board of Trustees of the Apostolic Delegation was i n vited. This took place the evening of A p r i l 2.
M r . Lo left on the morning of A p r i l 3 for Tientsin, where he was entertained by various leaders of Catholic Act ion before continuing his journey to Shanghai. (Lumen).
* * * * Exposition of Catholicism figures
in Tientsin u Week of Religions " — Peiping.—For some year the Tientsin Y . M . C . A . has featured a Week of Religions, during which one evening is devoted to a presentation of each of the more important world religions. No worship of any kind takes place and no discussions are permitted; just a mere presentation. This year, for the second time, Catholics were invited to participate. W i t h the approval of H . E . Bishop J . de Vienne, of Tientsin, the Rev. John N i u , Secretary General of Catholic A c tion, and Dr . George Chao E r -Ch'ien, professor at the Catholic Universi ty of Peking, propounded Catholic Theology and Philosophy in outline.
The programme lasted from 7.30 unti l 10 p.m. Though more than 1,000 persons were present, excellent order prevailed throughout and close attention and frequent applause were given. Great genera l satisfaction was expressed by those present. (Lumen).
* * * * Chinese Catholic Weekly of
Amoy to be Enlarged—Amoy, Fukien.—Easter Sunday, A p r i l 21, wi l l mark the 6th anniversary of the founding of the "Cathol ic W e e k l y " published in Kulangsu, Amoy. From that day forward this praiseworthy pioneer of the Catholic press in China will appear in greatly enlarged form, the present 16 pages expanding into more than 4 times that number. On the first Sunday of each month, a pictorial supplement wil l be included. Lumen's Chinese releases wi l l be reproduced in full form instead of being abbreviated as heretofore due to limitation of space.
Despite the great increase in the number of pages, the subscription price is to remain as at present. SI.00 per year. What is
more, those who from dire poverty would find it difficult to set aside this sum annually, wi l l be accommodated at half price upon furnishing a testimonial letter from their pastor.
The "Catholic W e e k l y " merits congratulations on its adolescence and expansion, and even more on its splendid spirit of charity. (Lumen).
Hongkong.—An association similar to fhe Catholic Truth Society of England is being planned by a group of priests and Catholic laymen of Hongkong. Books and pamphlets on Catholic faith and morals wil l be printed in Chinese and sold throughout the country at a low price. The founders contemplate a vast organization with which it wi l l be possible to circulate several million publications in the country every year. (Fides.)
Madras (India).—"The scholarship of the Roman Catholic Church and the superiority of her educational institutions, not only in this Presidency but throughout India, is unquestioned," says a writer, signing himself " A Bangalore Protestant", in a recent issue of the Madras Ma i l , "and the charge of ignorance levelled against her recently by certain advocates of birth control at their public meetings is not worthy of notice. Invective and abuse are not argument, and are weapons employed only by a defeated opponent." (Fides.)
Dr . Yu Pin Returns to Peiping after month's absence—Peiping.— Accompanied by M r . L o Pa-hong, National President of Catholic A c tion, the Rev. Dr . Paul Y u P in , Director General of Catholic A c tion, returned to Peiping A p r i l 1.
Dr . Y u had been absent for nearly a month. He left Peiping March 4 for Shanghai where he made preliminary arrangements with Bishop A . Haouisee concerning the National Congress of Representatives of Catholic Action which is to meet in Shanghai in early September.
Dr. Y i i also visited Nanking and Hangchow. In the latter city he spent three busy days delivering conferences on Catholic Action and addressing diverse bodies of students and seminarists. He also spoke by special invitation at the Provincial University. (Lumen).
Japanese Radio Station Broad-Casts Programme of Catholic Chants—Dairen.—A programme of Catholic liturgical music, mostly Gregorian chant from the Mass but including also hymns in Japanese and English, was broadcast recently over the Dairen Radio Station. This is believed to have been the first Catholic broadcast in Manchuria. The music was furnished by the choir of the Star of the Sea parish in Dairen assisted by the two Marvknoil Fathers in charge of the parish. Rev. John C. Murrett, the pastor, and his assistant. Rev. John J . Walsh.
The authorities of the broadcasting station were so pleased with the result that they have invited the missionaries to arrange another programme Tor Easter. (Lumen-Fides).
What Do Fashion Papers Mean To You?
You ladies who delight to scan the fashion papers, is it not tiue that your interest and enjoyment are greater when you are feeling- fit? It is then that yon visualize yourselves in the different creations, and not when worry over your health is uppermost in your' mind.
So it is throughout the routine <»f daily life, your enjoyment depends on your state of health.
To be happy and well you must keep your blood in good condition, and in the East great demands are made upon it, due to excessive perspiration in the heat which renders it thin and poor. A tonic capable of maintaining- the blood at a high level both in quality and quantity is what yon require, and for this purpose there is none better than Dr. Williams' Pink Pilis, known throughout the woi Id on account of its proved efficacy for rehabilitating: the blood.
Tokyo.—Students of the Catholic University of Tokyo are aiding 1,000 needy families l iv ing in the poor quarters of Mikawashima. Vis i t ing the poor at their homes, they combine their activities with those of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Associations of St. Elizabeth. (Fides.)
Catholic Action Association for Women Founded in Hwangchow.
Kichow, Hupeh.—A Women's Branch of Catholic Act ion was established here i n Kichow March 17 by the Prefect Apostolic, Mgr. Raphael Cazzanelli, O.F .M. While the initial membership is not very large, excellent results are expected j n the course of time, these hopes being justified by the good work accomplished even before organization took place.
[Lumen].
Editor of Hong Kong Catholic Paper Leaves for Italy
on Furlough.
Hong Kong. — The Rev. A. Granelli, I .P .M. , founder and Director of the K u n g Chiao Pao. Chinese Catholic monthly of Hong Kong, left for Italy on the Conte Rosso March 15. He has been in poor health for some time and is taking several months' leave of absence on the recommendation of his physician. A large gathering of friends saw him off at the pier. He is expected to return in September.
Under his direction the Kung Chiao Pao gained an important position among the papers of the Southwest, and has subscribers throughout China and the Malay Archipelago as well. More than 7.000 copies are printed each issue. Mr . Paul Ch'en, the editor, will be in charge during Father Granelli'-absence. [Lumen] .
15
C a t h o l i c A f f a i r s .
E U R O P E .
NEW MISSION TERRITORIES.
Xew Mission Superiors Decrees oi the Sacred Congregation of
Propaganda Fide.
Rome.—Four new mission superiors have been named in decrees issued by the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda A p r i l 8. Two new missions have been erected and two others have been elevated in rank by decrees of the same date.
The Prefecture Apostolic of Mount Currie, South Af r i ca , a division of the Vicariate of Mar i -annhili, has been erected and entrusted to the German Franciscan missionaries.
The Prefecture Apostolic of Chaotung, Yunnan Province, Ch i na, a division of the Vicariate of Yunnanfu, has been erected and entrusted to* the Chinese secular clergy.
The Pi*efecture Apostolic of Kroonstad, South Afr ica , staffed and directed by the Holy Ghost Fathers, has been raised to the rank of vicariate.
The Independent Mission of Tungchow, Shensi Province, under the direction of the Italian Franciscans, has been elevated to the rank of prefecture apostolic.
The Very Rev. Damian Tcheng, Chinese secular priest of the Vicariate of Ningyuanfu, Szech-wan Province, has been named Prefect Apostolic of Chaotung.
The Very Rev. Peter Moret t i , O.F.M. has been named Prefect Apostolic of Tungchow.
The Most Rev. John M . Aubin , of the Maris t Missionaries, has been nanfed Vicar Apostolic of the South Solomon Islands. He was
: i n at Chateaubriand., in the Diocese of Nantes (Lower Loire, France) in 1882. He was ordained in 1906 and left for the missions o* the southern Pacific the following year.
The Most Rev. Leo Klerlein, of the Holy Ghost Missionaries, has been named Yicar Apostolic of Kroonstad. He was born at Ober-haslaeh, in the Diocese of Strasbourg, Alsa t ia , in 1877. He was ordained in 1903 and went to the missions of South Afr ica in 1924. He was named Prefect Apostolic of Kroonstad in 1924. (Fides).
Rome. — Another ecclesiastical division in China was entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy A p r i l 8 when the present Vicariate Apostolic* of Yunnanf u, in Yunnan Province, was divided. One part, which includes the northeastern corner of the Province, w i l l henceforth be known as the Prefecture Apostolic of Chaotung and wi l l be administered by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Damian Tcheng, a Chinese secular priest from Ningyuanfu in Szech-wan Province. This information comes from a decree issued by the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda F.de.
Twenty-three ecclesiastical territories of China are at present administered by the Chinese secular clergy. (Fides.)
T> * * * * *
Kome.—A telegram from Shanghai Apr i l 8 says that the Rev. Joachim Martinez Manrique, a Spanish Jesuit missionarv of the vicariate of Anking . Anhwei Province, has been murdered by Communists. He is, the fifth Jesuit of
this province to have fallen into the hands of reds in recent years. Father Manrique was 38 vears old. (Fides).
New Director of Fides Service Appointed—Rome.—M. l'abbe A n drew Bouquin, Editor of the French Section of Fides Service, has been named Director of Fides Service by the Superior Council of the Pontifical Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th in its assembly of February 28. Abbe Bouquin, whose home is in Lazenay, in the Archdiocese of Bourges, France, was formerly professor in the seminaries of Issoudun and Fontgombault and in the Oratorians' College at Saint-Lo. He has been French Editor of Fides Service since 1931. (Fides).
A M E R I C A . Cure of Cripple following Pray
ers attested by Doctor. Quebec, Feb. 11—The "Semaine Religieuse de Quebec," official bulletin of the Archdiocese, reports the well authenticated miraculous cure of an 11-year old gir l , Lorraine Parent of Levis, at the Levis Hotel-Dieu, on OctQber 1, 1934, through the intercession of Mother Catherine of St. Augustine, one of the foundresses of the Hotel-Dieu at Quebec.
The bulletin publishes a statement sworn to by Dr . Roland Tremblay which states that the child had been confined to her bed with acute articular rheumatism since November 1933- had been brought to the Levi^ hospital June 2, 1934, and had been given treatments without beneficial results. On October 1, 1934, he further cites, following prayers and nove-nas in honour of-Mother Catherine, the child arose and walked easily, although the -evening before both knees and all the lower region of the spine were completely rigid. "This is to certify," Dr . Tremblay states, "that under the circumstances there had been divine intervention."
After all treatments had failed to give relief to the little sufferer, her nurse decided to ask for the intercession of Mother Catherine. It was soon after the publication of a letter by H . E m . Rodrigue Cardinal Villeneuve asking for the interest of priests and laity in the cause for canonization of Canadians who had died in the odor of sanctity. A relic was given to little Lorraine, and the Sisters of the hospital, her family, and the little invalid herself began a novena to Mother Catherine. The little gir l began to add supplications of her own to the prayers usually recited and often through her tears she would exclaim: "Good Mother Catherine, cure me, cure me? and I promise to become a Religious like you and to care for the sick."
A first novena was ended without any sign of amelioration. A second was made. It was in the midst of the third that the child's condition became so serious that it was decided to try to loosen the joints by force. A l l morning the child was disconsolate and again and again called upon "Good Mother Catherine." A little before noon she called her nurse and asked her to move her legs, although she usually screamed with pain when the nurse touched her.
However, to satisfy the child, the nurse pretended to straighten one leg. The knee flexed and the child did not utter a moan.
The nurse was so astounded that it was a few moments before she could cry: "Mother, come quickly." The Religious in charge of the ward found the little Lorraine seated on the side qf her bed, her once rigid legs dangling over the side.
"That is not enough," the Mother said, " Y o u must walk." "I can do that," the child replied, and sliding from her bed, lightly supported by her nurse, she made several trips up and down the room.
Lorraine has returned to her home and is l iving a normal life. Before leaving the hospital she was visited by Cardinal Villeneuve. In the presence of ten or more priests, His Eminence questioned Lorraine about her miraculous cure. She was a little shy, but quite unabashed in her defense of Mother Catherine when the Cardinal questioned her about the efficacy of her prayers.—Lumen-NCWC.
A F R I C A . Famous German Ai rman wil l
Work for Catholic Missions in Af r ica .
Rome, March 21.—The famous German trans-Atlantic flyer, Captain Hermann Koehl, who, together with his comrades Herr von Huenefeidt and Captain Fitzma-urice was the first to cross the Atlantic from east to west, wi l l henceforth be active on behalf of the Catholic Missions in Afr ica with the airplane " Saint Peter," which he recently piloted from Cologne to Rome after the machine had been named and blessed by the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne.
The Pope received Captain Koehl in audience today and imparted the apostolic benediction, after which he conveyed the heartiest good wishes for the success of his important and "most up-to-date form of missionary activity which was organized by the German missionary Society " M i v a , " founded a few years back by the well-known " F l y i n g Padre," Father Schulte. The Society's aim is the speeding up of communications between the remote missionary stations and the outside world, notably in the interests of the sick.
The airplane "St. Peter," which is the first ever to land on the territory of Vatican Ci ty , is now being exhibited in front of the Governor's Palace. After flying back to Cologne, the airplane will be shipped to East Afr ica , whence Captain Koehl wil l fly with it to the principal Catholic missionary centres in Afr ica . (Central News-Trans-ocean)
Moshi.—(Tanganyika Territory, Bri t ish East Africa).—The Massai, a famous nomadic tribe of East Afr ica , have asked the American Holy Ghost Fathers of the Vicar i ate of Kilimanjaro to establish schools for their children. Ttie missionaries have opened a school for them at Sanya, in Tanganyika Territory, and will open others although they foresee difficulties because the Massai are children of the plains; walls and closed doors are a terror to them. The missionaries are considering the possibilities of open-air schools. (Fides)
T H E
N E W D E P T .
of A U R E L I A ' S
a n d e c o n o m i c a l
Young Ladies who must economize and yet maintain traditionally high standards or
goods will be happy to pay a visit to
A U R E L I A ' S N E W Dept a rendezvouz for shrewd
shoppers where exquisitely fashioned hats of fine quality
maybe had from
00 U P $1
new AT
CAPITOL BLDG. ^
Lydenburg.— (Transvaal, South Africa).—Three young chiefs of Sekukuniland, eastern Transvaal, are attending the Catholic mission school directed by the Missionary Sons of the Sacred Heart, of Wurt -temburg, Germany. They were induced to go to the mission school by the brother of the head Chief ef Sekukuniland who sent his own son to the school after revealing the lies of a stump orator whom he heard hurling abuse and insults against the Catholic Church. The brother of the chief knew little or nothing of the Catholic religion and in order to learn whether o r not all that the man said were true, he visited the mission at Glen Cowie. The missionaries say that he has become one of their staunchest supporters- (Fides)
Kumasi.— (Gold Coast, Br i t i sh West Africa) .—Nana Agyiman Prempeh II, K i n g of the Ashant i Confederacy, the Queen-Mother, and 50 chiefs were present at a Solemn High Mass celebrated i n the pro-Cathedral of Kumas i March 3 in thanksgiving for the restoration of the Confederacy. The Ashant i Confederacy, which was broken up by the Br i t i sh Government in 1896, was restored last January.
Although the K i n g is a non-Catholic, he like his predecessor, has always been well disposed towards Catholic Missionaries and has helped them to build their Secondary School and the.Kumasi Cathedral. (Fides)
M 0 0 I C H I N R E S T A U R A N T
For European and Chinese Foods, Day and Night, under experienced Management, ensuring excellent cuisine, prompt service and moderate charges, opened ^recently at No. 420, North Bridge Road, (Corner of Purvis Street) Singapore.
14 M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
Catholic Affairs from Far and Near
A S I A . Madras.—A python, 21ft. long,
was killed by Father Paul Baggier, of the Archdiocese of Madras, while going from his mission at Arambakam to a nearby village. The priest's only weapon was a heavy club. (Fides.)
Trichinopoly (India) .—Sixty-three statues, carried on huge cars elaborately decorated with flowers and precious stones, were drawn through the streets of Mylapore during the festival held recently at the Temple of S r i Kapaleezwara-zwamy. Dur ing the celebrations, which lasted 10 days, thousands o f people bathed in the sacred tank at the temple. (Fides.)
* * * * Trichinopoly (India).—Mr. Ge
rald A . Barron-Boshell, Chief of the Ceylon Labour Commission and founder of the Aero Club of Trichinopoly, who was killed recently in an aeroplane accident, was one of the leading Catholics of Trichinopoly and a generous supporter of missionary work in the district. (Fides.)
* * * * Madras.—More than 230,000
publications were distributed by the Catholic Truth Society of India during 1934. These pamphlets are printed in Engl i sh and i n local native languages. (Fides.)
* * * Madras (India).—Monkeys en
tered the banana plantation of the Salesian Mission at A m i , about 7£ miles southwest of Madras, one night recently and caused damage estimated at more than 200 dollars. The banana plantation is maintained in connection with the missionaries new farm school. .(Fides.)
* * • * Manila.—There are 3,408 stu
dents this year at the Univers i ty of Santo Tomas, Mani la , of whom more than half are studying medicine. This insti tution founded by the Spanish Dominicans in 1611 is the.largest Catholic university of the far east. In a new building which was added recently to house the Central Seminary there is a large and beautiful Univers i ty Chapel. The American Jesuits have taken over the Ateneo. (Fides.) *
* * * * * Shanghai.—The population of
Tibet, which is commonly believed to be two millions, is less than one million, Dr . Jefferson Lamb, Councillor of the Minis t ry of Foreign Affairs, said in an address delivered after his return from a tr ip to Lhasa. One-fifth of the population consists of lamas, he said. There is little arable and cultivated land, and mineral resources are limited. Japanese goods dominate the Lhasa market, with Indian and Nepalese goods next. Chinese wares take third or fourth place, and there are also some European and American products found in Lhasa. (Fides.)
* * * * *
Shanghai.—More than a million Chinese poor persons, says an article in a recent issue of China L igh t of Shanghai, receive free medical treatment from Catholic priests and sisters every year at the Shanghai mission. For most of these people, this is the first
contact wi th Christ ian charity. The Catholic Church maintains several clean and well-equipped dispensaries in Shanghai. (Fides.)
* * * * National President of Catholic
Action Pays Visit to Peiping— Peiping, A p r i l 3 .—A large group of his friends were on hand to welcome Mr . L o Pa-hong, National President of Catholic Action, when he arrived in this city on A p r i l 1. M r . L o was accompanied by his son Joseph and by the Rev. Dr. Paul Y u P in , returning from Shanghai.
During the two full days M r . L o spent in Peiping, he had a busy time. He attended a Trustees Meeting of the Peiping Central Hospital, visited not a few public and private institutions of charity and education, attended several banquets arranged in his honor, received and addressed various Catholic Act ion groups of Men, Young Men, and Women, and granted various private interviews.
On the day of his arrival, M r . L o called upon H . E . the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Zanin, wi th whom he discussed matters relating to Catholic Act ion . He was the guest of Archbishop Banin at a dinner tendered in his honor, to which the entire Board of Trustees of the Apostolic Delegation was i n vited. This took place the evening of A p r i l 2.
M r . Lo left on the morning of A p r i l 3 for Tientsin, where he was entertained by various leaders of Catholic Act ion before continuing his journey to Shanghai. (Lumen).
* * * * Exposition of Catholicism figures
in Tientsin u Week of Religions " — Peiping.—For some year the Tientsin Y . M . C . A . has featured a Week of Religions, during which one evening is devoted to a presentation of each of the more important world religions. No worship of any kind takes place and no discussions are permitted; just a mere presentation. This year, for the second time, Catholics were invited to participate. W i t h the approval of H . E . Bishop J . de Vienne, of Tientsin, the Rev. John N i u , Secretary General of Catholic A c tion, and Dr . George Chao E r -Ch'ien, professor at the Catholic Universi ty of Peking, propounded Catholic Theology and Philosophy in outline.
The programme lasted from 7.30 unti l 10 p.m. Though more than 1,000 persons were present, excellent order prevailed throughout and close attention and frequent applause were given. Great genera l satisfaction was expressed by those present. (Lumen).
* * * * Chinese Catholic Weekly of
Amoy to be Enlarged—Amoy, Fukien.—Easter Sunday, A p r i l 21, wi l l mark the 6th anniversary of the founding of the "Cathol ic W e e k l y " published in Kulangsu, Amoy. From that day forward this praiseworthy pioneer of the Catholic press in China will appear in greatly enlarged form, the present 16 pages expanding into more than 4 times that number. On the first Sunday of each month, a pictorial supplement wil l be included. Lumen's Chinese releases wi l l be reproduced in full form instead of being abbreviated as heretofore due to limitation of space.
Despite the great increase in the number of pages, the subscription price is to remain as at present. SI.00 per year. What is
more, those who from dire poverty would find it difficult to set aside this sum annually, wi l l be accommodated at half price upon furnishing a testimonial letter from their pastor.
The "Catholic W e e k l y " merits congratulations on its adolescence and expansion, and even more on its splendid spirit of charity. (Lumen).
Hongkong.—An association similar to fhe Catholic Truth Society of England is being planned by a group of priests and Catholic laymen of Hongkong. Books and pamphlets on Catholic faith and morals wil l be printed in Chinese and sold throughout the country at a low price. The founders contemplate a vast organization with which it wi l l be possible to circulate several million publications in the country every year. (Fides.)
Madras (India).—"The scholarship of the Roman Catholic Church and the superiority of her educational institutions, not only in this Presidency but throughout India, is unquestioned," says a writer, signing himself " A Bangalore Protestant", in a recent issue of the Madras Ma i l , "and the charge of ignorance levelled against her recently by certain advocates of birth control at their public meetings is not worthy of notice. Invective and abuse are not argument, and are weapons employed only by a defeated opponent." (Fides.)
Dr . Yu Pin Returns to Peiping after month's absence—Peiping.— Accompanied by M r . L o Pa-hong, National President of Catholic A c tion, the Rev. Dr . Paul Y u P in , Director General of Catholic A c tion, returned to Peiping A p r i l 1.
Dr . Y u had been absent for nearly a month. He left Peiping March 4 for Shanghai where he made preliminary arrangements with Bishop A . Haouisee concerning the National Congress of Representatives of Catholic Action which is to meet in Shanghai in early September.
Dr. Y i i also visited Nanking and Hangchow. In the latter city he spent three busy days delivering conferences on Catholic Action and addressing diverse bodies of students and seminarists. He also spoke by special invitation at the Provincial University. (Lumen).
Japanese Radio Station Broad-Casts Programme of Catholic Chants—Dairen.—A programme of Catholic liturgical music, mostly Gregorian chant from the Mass but including also hymns in Japanese and English, was broadcast recently over the Dairen Radio Station. This is believed to have been the first Catholic broadcast in Manchuria. The music was furnished by the choir of the Star of the Sea parish in Dairen assisted by the two Marvknoil Fathers in charge of the parish. Rev. John C. Murrett, the pastor, and his assistant. Rev. John J . Walsh.
The authorities of the broadcasting station were so pleased with the result that they have invited the missionaries to arrange another programme Tor Easter. (Lumen-Fides).
What Do Fashion Papers Mean To You?
You ladies who delight to scan the fashion papers, is it not tiue that your interest and enjoyment are greater when you are feeling- fit? It is then that yon visualize yourselves in the different creations, and not when worry over your health is uppermost in your' mind.
So it is throughout the routine <»f daily life, your enjoyment depends on your state of health.
To be happy and well you must keep your blood in good condition, and in the East great demands are made upon it, due to excessive perspiration in the heat which renders it thin and poor. A tonic capable of maintaining- the blood at a high level both in quality and quantity is what yon require, and for this purpose there is none better than Dr. Williams' Pink Pilis, known throughout the woi Id on account of its proved efficacy for rehabilitating: the blood.
Tokyo.—Students of the Catholic University of Tokyo are aiding 1,000 needy families l iv ing in the poor quarters of Mikawashima. Vis i t ing the poor at their homes, they combine their activities with those of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Associations of St. Elizabeth. (Fides.)
Catholic Action Association for Women Founded in Hwangchow.
Kichow, Hupeh.—A Women's Branch of Catholic Act ion was established here i n Kichow March 17 by the Prefect Apostolic, Mgr. Raphael Cazzanelli, O.F .M. While the initial membership is not very large, excellent results are expected j n the course of time, these hopes being justified by the good work accomplished even before organization took place.
[Lumen].
Editor of Hong Kong Catholic Paper Leaves for Italy
on Furlough.
Hong Kong. — The Rev. A. Granelli, I .P .M. , founder and Director of the K u n g Chiao Pao. Chinese Catholic monthly of Hong Kong, left for Italy on the Conte Rosso March 15. He has been in poor health for some time and is taking several months' leave of absence on the recommendation of his physician. A large gathering of friends saw him off at the pier. He is expected to return in September.
Under his direction the Kung Chiao Pao gained an important position among the papers of the Southwest, and has subscribers throughout China and the Malay Archipelago as well. More than 7.000 copies are printed each issue. Mr . Paul Ch'en, the editor, will be in charge during Father Granelli'-absence. [Lumen] .
15
C a t h o l i c A f f a i r s .
E U R O P E .
NEW MISSION TERRITORIES.
Xew Mission Superiors Decrees oi the Sacred Congregation of
Propaganda Fide.
Rome.—Four new mission superiors have been named in decrees issued by the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda A p r i l 8. Two new missions have been erected and two others have been elevated in rank by decrees of the same date.
The Prefecture Apostolic of Mount Currie, South Af r i ca , a division of the Vicariate of Mar i -annhili, has been erected and entrusted to the German Franciscan missionaries.
The Prefecture Apostolic of Chaotung, Yunnan Province, Ch i na, a division of the Vicariate of Yunnanfu, has been erected and entrusted to* the Chinese secular clergy.
The Pi*efecture Apostolic of Kroonstad, South Afr ica , staffed and directed by the Holy Ghost Fathers, has been raised to the rank of vicariate.
The Independent Mission of Tungchow, Shensi Province, under the direction of the Italian Franciscans, has been elevated to the rank of prefecture apostolic.
The Very Rev. Damian Tcheng, Chinese secular priest of the Vicariate of Ningyuanfu, Szech-wan Province, has been named Prefect Apostolic of Chaotung.
The Very Rev. Peter Moret t i , O.F.M. has been named Prefect Apostolic of Tungchow.
The Most Rev. John M . Aubin , of the Maris t Missionaries, has been nanfed Vicar Apostolic of the South Solomon Islands. He was
: i n at Chateaubriand., in the Diocese of Nantes (Lower Loire, France) in 1882. He was ordained in 1906 and left for the missions o* the southern Pacific the following year.
The Most Rev. Leo Klerlein, of the Holy Ghost Missionaries, has been named Yicar Apostolic of Kroonstad. He was born at Ober-haslaeh, in the Diocese of Strasbourg, Alsa t ia , in 1877. He was ordained in 1903 and went to the missions of South Afr ica in 1924. He was named Prefect Apostolic of Kroonstad in 1924. (Fides).
Rome. — Another ecclesiastical division in China was entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy A p r i l 8 when the present Vicariate Apostolic* of Yunnanf u, in Yunnan Province, was divided. One part, which includes the northeastern corner of the Province, w i l l henceforth be known as the Prefecture Apostolic of Chaotung and wi l l be administered by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Damian Tcheng, a Chinese secular priest from Ningyuanfu in Szech-wan Province. This information comes from a decree issued by the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda F.de.
Twenty-three ecclesiastical territories of China are at present administered by the Chinese secular clergy. (Fides.)
T> * * * * *
Kome.—A telegram from Shanghai Apr i l 8 says that the Rev. Joachim Martinez Manrique, a Spanish Jesuit missionarv of the vicariate of Anking . Anhwei Province, has been murdered by Communists. He is, the fifth Jesuit of
this province to have fallen into the hands of reds in recent years. Father Manrique was 38 vears old. (Fides).
New Director of Fides Service Appointed—Rome.—M. l'abbe A n drew Bouquin, Editor of the French Section of Fides Service, has been named Director of Fides Service by the Superior Council of the Pontifical Association for the Propagation of the Fa i th in its assembly of February 28. Abbe Bouquin, whose home is in Lazenay, in the Archdiocese of Bourges, France, was formerly professor in the seminaries of Issoudun and Fontgombault and in the Oratorians' College at Saint-Lo. He has been French Editor of Fides Service since 1931. (Fides).
A M E R I C A . Cure of Cripple following Pray
ers attested by Doctor. Quebec, Feb. 11—The "Semaine Religieuse de Quebec," official bulletin of the Archdiocese, reports the well authenticated miraculous cure of an 11-year old gir l , Lorraine Parent of Levis, at the Levis Hotel-Dieu, on OctQber 1, 1934, through the intercession of Mother Catherine of St. Augustine, one of the foundresses of the Hotel-Dieu at Quebec.
The bulletin publishes a statement sworn to by Dr . Roland Tremblay which states that the child had been confined to her bed with acute articular rheumatism since November 1933- had been brought to the Levi^ hospital June 2, 1934, and had been given treatments without beneficial results. On October 1, 1934, he further cites, following prayers and nove-nas in honour of-Mother Catherine, the child arose and walked easily, although the -evening before both knees and all the lower region of the spine were completely rigid. "This is to certify," Dr . Tremblay states, "that under the circumstances there had been divine intervention."
After all treatments had failed to give relief to the little sufferer, her nurse decided to ask for the intercession of Mother Catherine. It was soon after the publication of a letter by H . E m . Rodrigue Cardinal Villeneuve asking for the interest of priests and laity in the cause for canonization of Canadians who had died in the odor of sanctity. A relic was given to little Lorraine, and the Sisters of the hospital, her family, and the little invalid herself began a novena to Mother Catherine. The little gir l began to add supplications of her own to the prayers usually recited and often through her tears she would exclaim: "Good Mother Catherine, cure me, cure me? and I promise to become a Religious like you and to care for the sick."
A first novena was ended without any sign of amelioration. A second was made. It was in the midst of the third that the child's condition became so serious that it was decided to try to loosen the joints by force. A l l morning the child was disconsolate and again and again called upon "Good Mother Catherine." A little before noon she called her nurse and asked her to move her legs, although she usually screamed with pain when the nurse touched her.
However, to satisfy the child, the nurse pretended to straighten one leg. The knee flexed and the child did not utter a moan.
The nurse was so astounded that it was a few moments before she could cry: "Mother, come quickly." The Religious in charge of the ward found the little Lorraine seated on the side qf her bed, her once rigid legs dangling over the side.
"That is not enough," the Mother said, " Y o u must walk." "I can do that," the child replied, and sliding from her bed, lightly supported by her nurse, she made several trips up and down the room.
Lorraine has returned to her home and is l iving a normal life. Before leaving the hospital she was visited by Cardinal Villeneuve. In the presence of ten or more priests, His Eminence questioned Lorraine about her miraculous cure. She was a little shy, but quite unabashed in her defense of Mother Catherine when the Cardinal questioned her about the efficacy of her prayers.—Lumen-NCWC.
A F R I C A . Famous German Ai rman wil l
Work for Catholic Missions in Af r ica .
Rome, March 21.—The famous German trans-Atlantic flyer, Captain Hermann Koehl, who, together with his comrades Herr von Huenefeidt and Captain Fitzma-urice was the first to cross the Atlantic from east to west, wi l l henceforth be active on behalf of the Catholic Missions in Afr ica with the airplane " Saint Peter," which he recently piloted from Cologne to Rome after the machine had been named and blessed by the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne.
The Pope received Captain Koehl in audience today and imparted the apostolic benediction, after which he conveyed the heartiest good wishes for the success of his important and "most up-to-date form of missionary activity which was organized by the German missionary Society " M i v a , " founded a few years back by the well-known " F l y i n g Padre," Father Schulte. The Society's aim is the speeding up of communications between the remote missionary stations and the outside world, notably in the interests of the sick.
The airplane "St. Peter," which is the first ever to land on the territory of Vatican Ci ty , is now being exhibited in front of the Governor's Palace. After flying back to Cologne, the airplane will be shipped to East Afr ica , whence Captain Koehl wil l fly with it to the principal Catholic missionary centres in Afr ica . (Central News-Trans-ocean)
Moshi.—(Tanganyika Territory, Bri t ish East Africa).—The Massai, a famous nomadic tribe of East Afr ica , have asked the American Holy Ghost Fathers of the Vicar i ate of Kilimanjaro to establish schools for their children. Ttie missionaries have opened a school for them at Sanya, in Tanganyika Territory, and will open others although they foresee difficulties because the Massai are children of the plains; walls and closed doors are a terror to them. The missionaries are considering the possibilities of open-air schools. (Fides)
T H E
N E W D E P T .
of A U R E L I A ' S
a n d e c o n o m i c a l
Young Ladies who must economize and yet maintain traditionally high standards or
goods will be happy to pay a visit to
A U R E L I A ' S N E W Dept a rendezvouz for shrewd
shoppers where exquisitely fashioned hats of fine quality
maybe had from
00 U P $1
new AT
CAPITOL BLDG. ^
Lydenburg.— (Transvaal, South Africa).—Three young chiefs of Sekukuniland, eastern Transvaal, are attending the Catholic mission school directed by the Missionary Sons of the Sacred Heart, of Wurt -temburg, Germany. They were induced to go to the mission school by the brother of the head Chief ef Sekukuniland who sent his own son to the school after revealing the lies of a stump orator whom he heard hurling abuse and insults against the Catholic Church. The brother of the chief knew little or nothing of the Catholic religion and in order to learn whether o r not all that the man said were true, he visited the mission at Glen Cowie. The missionaries say that he has become one of their staunchest supporters- (Fides)
Kumasi.— (Gold Coast, Br i t i sh West Africa) .—Nana Agyiman Prempeh II, K i n g of the Ashant i Confederacy, the Queen-Mother, and 50 chiefs were present at a Solemn High Mass celebrated i n the pro-Cathedral of Kumas i March 3 in thanksgiving for the restoration of the Confederacy. The Ashant i Confederacy, which was broken up by the Br i t i sh Government in 1896, was restored last January.
Although the K i n g is a non-Catholic, he like his predecessor, has always been well disposed towards Catholic Missionaries and has helped them to build their Secondary School and the.Kumasi Cathedral. (Fides)
M 0 0 I C H I N R E S T A U R A N T
For European and Chinese Foods, Day and Night, under experienced Management, ensuring excellent cuisine, prompt service and moderate charges, opened ^recently at No. 420, North Bridge Road, (Corner of Purvis Street) Singapore.
16
SPORTS NOTES CRICKET.
The cricketing public of Singapore is clamouring for the formation of a local Cricket Association. Considering that almost every other form of snort has its union which functions most satisfactoril y the cricketers should now get together and make p*ans for the establishment of a controlling body. The S.C.C. should re»)W move first in the matter and they wi l l find the other clubs favourably inclined.
I beHeve I am correct in asserting that every other state throughout Malaya possesses today its Cricket Association but Singapore lags behind in 'splendid' isolation.
One has come to associate the term 'Cricket' w i th the very highest ideals of true sportsmanship and so I humblv beg all lovers of this K i n g of Games to urge the formation of an Association as speedily as possible. The S.C.C. have generously given up their annual fixtures wi th Selan-gor and Negr i Sembilan and for that step the public is not onlv greatly indebted to them, but looks up to them to make the first move in the r ight direction. I appeal to every other cricket club to help in the question at issue.
I N T E R S C H O O L C R I C K E T .
~ T h e r M a f e c c a - L i % h - ^ h i o o U C r i cket X I visited Singapore during Easter and - at the moment of wri t ing have defeated the Anglo-Chinese School, Raffies Institution and St. Joseph's Institution quite
. decisively.
It is expected that they wi l l beat St. Andrew's School, though cricket is very uncertain.
The Standard of Cricket in the Singapore Schools is very low today due to lack of talent and lack of proper coaching. M r . C y r i l de Vaies has put the Malacca H i g h School Boys in splendid shape as is evidenced by their run of reserved success i n Singapore. In Malacca however the M . H . S . eleven have not had things all their own way, for the boys of St. Francis 's Institution have quite recently lowered their colours. A s things stand in Malacca each of the two mentioned schools has one victory, to its credit and the 'rubber' game wi l l be played shortly, we must
not forget to mention the painstaking work of the H . N . Balhet-chet at Raffles' School and we hope that his coaching efforts will bear fruit i n the near future. A t St. Joseph's it is expected that Mr . Cecil Mosbergen wi l l give a helping hand while at St. Andrew's I believe there is no proper coach as yet. Two years back all the Singapore Schools had excellent sides wi th St. Joseph's the pick of the bunch. For about ten years the Brothers' boys were undefeated among the Singapore Schools. May we hope that those good old days repeat themselves soon.
C A T H O L I C S I N SPORT.
Henry Boon plaving for S.C.R.C. against the P .C .R .C . on Easter Sunday and Monday scored 80 runs and took 4 wickets for 16 runs i n the second innings. The Singapore Chinese won by an innings and 55 runs.
It was a pleasure to find Boon strike true form.
Dr . Moreira performed quite creditably for Perak against Penang at Easter. Af te r capturing 4 wickets in al l he scored 25 and 32 runs in each innings. For Penang Andres and Reutens captured 5 and 7 wickets respectivelv. Andres made 23 runs in Penang's first innings.
In the interstate cricket game between Selangor and Singapore at Kua la Lumpur, Dionysius of the home team captured 3 wickets. Poor Chia Keng Hock, whom we all know to be a very fine batsman, did nothing to enhance his reputation. 'Argus ' of the Singapore Free Press calls h im overrated. We who know Keng Hock well are humble enough to hope that i f his past achievements have not sufficed to stamp him as reaUv good in the eyes of Argus and his kind the future wi l l reveal his genuine worth. The very best batsmen do sometimes fai l as did. Don Brad-man in the first t^ree Test Matches last year i n England.
The Singapore Ceylonese journeyed to K . L . to play the T.P .C.A. also during the Easter holidays and won quite handsomely. Pius for Selangor scored a valuable 35 runs in the 2nd innings and Ignatius, that hardy veteran, scored 58 mns and then took 5 wickets for 23 runs.
J U S T T H I N K o f the m o n e y t h a t i s g o i n g up i n
the flames as t h e y demolish
y o u r p r o p e r t y ! D o n ' t hesitate
u n t i l J t i s too l a t e — y o u can
f u l l y p r o t e c t y o u r s e l f w i t h a
m i n i m u m o f e x p e n d i t u r e by
t a k i n g o u t a n N . E . M . Po l i cy .
Our Rates are Competitive
The fact that you are already insured need not hinder you from asking for a quotation— perhaps we can help you to economise in premium.
E V E R Y RISK R A T E D ON ITS MERITS .
A P R O G R E S S I V E B R I T I S H N O N - T A R I F F C O M P A N Y .
N A T I O N A L E M P L O Y E R S * M U T U A L GENERAL I N S U R A N C E A S S O C I A T I O N L T D . Z CORPORATE©
E N G L A N D
MEYER CHAMBERS, RAFFLES PLACE.
SINGAPORE. 'PHONE: 2845.
Wel l done, Selangor Pvangers to give the Malays such a tough fight. What a pity they took so long to settle down! The Rangers with seven Catholics are brilliant side. Clem de Silva, well known to Singapore and Pahang soccer enthusiasts, is back in K . Lumpur now and playing as well as ever.
The S .C.F .A. team, without "Chia" Keng Hock did well to defeat the strong Selangor Rangers' side. In John Then the Chinese have a rare skipper who not only plays brainy football but knows thoroughly all the finer points of the game.
M o b i l o i l
R E C O M M E N D E D
F O R ALL M O T O R
C Y C L E E N G I N E S
The Edi tor of the M . C . L . would like to have the names of Catholics pre-eminent in all forms of sports. J
S T A N D A R D - V A C U U M O I L C O M P A N Y < IweOftPOftATSO IN U. ft. A.)
SINGAPORE. KUALA LUMPUR 1PCM*
B R I G H T L A D .
Five-year-old Wil l iam had been taught that Sunday is not a day of play, but one to be set aside for church and kindred matters. Naturally his mother was surprised and shocked one Sunday morning to find him sailing his toy boat in the bath.
"Wi l l i am! Don't you know it is wicked to sail boats on Sunday?" she demanded.
"Don't get excited, mother," replied Wil l iam, calmly. "This isn't a pleasure tr ip. This is a missionary boat going to Af r i ca . "
I N T H E H A N D S O F T H E REDS.
(Contd. from page 20)
F r . Bravo's period of captivity-has left him somewrhat enfeebled in health—though he makes light of it—and completely unimpared in spirit. His attitude towards
~his~ former captors is one of pity rather than of blame. His love of China and his people is as warm as it was before, and his thoughts are with his mission. But everything that he tells of his experiences among the Communists is a further proof of the ghastly character of the menace to civilisation that passes under the name of Communism, and of the urgent necessity of eradicating it i f peace and prosperity are to flourish in China. (T. F . Ryan, S.J.)
N O T E S .
It is pleasing to notice that Mr. John McGovern, Labour M.P. for Glasgow (Shettleston), who is a Catholic, at the Independent Labour Par ty Conference * at Oxford on Easter Monday, stated most emphatically that the I .L .P . refuses to take orders from Moscow and wil l not affiliate wi th Communists.
So many foolish workers look to Moscow for relief and support that M r . McGovern's words should show them their folly and make them realise that Communism is * curse instead of a blessing.
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R , S A T U R D A Y . A P R I L 27th. 1935. 17
The Conversion of An Actress. fBy Rev. Father R. Alexander J
Convent, although I did not think about it for a long time."
"Where did you go to school, my chi ld?" "To boarding school—to St. X . Academy, Pennsylvania." (I knew the Convent well. I paused, amazed at her story, told wi th difficulty, for her sufferings were evident.) "Won't you baptize me, Father, and then give me absolution? Baptism is enough I know, but I want absolution." She folded her hands, and looked steadily at me with dark, soft eyes, in which I saw death. "Indeed I will child," and I took out my stole and, seizing a goblet of water from his table, I exhorted her to perfect contrition, and fervently baptized her. Thank God!" she whispered and closed her eyes. It seemed to me after a few moments' pause that the ghastly hue of death had given place to a more lifelike colour. 1 waited.
"Father," she said, "I'm suffering terribly, and I know now that
^ wi l l die soon. I want you to give me Holy Viat icum and Extreme Unction." I hesitated. I was amazed. Here was a dying actress, just baptized! How did I know whether she was sufficiently instructed. She read my thoughts. " Y o u don't think I am instructed, Father? I believe firmly that the Blessed Eucharist is our Lord Himself, His true Body and Blood, which I am to receive without
•Talking about Apostolates," *aid a Massachusetts priest to me some time ago, "let me tell you of an experience of mine. I was called out one night at ten o'clock by one of our hotels to the bedside of an actress. They said she was unconscious and dying, and that she might be a Catholic, for she had a rosary on her dressing table. I went hastily with the holy oils. I found a gi r l of about twenty-two lying pale and helpless on her bed. Her eyes were closed, and her long, dark hair, disordered on the pillow framed a singularly sweet, innocent face. One of the hotel maids was busy about her, and it was not hard to know what faith shone in her honest, kind blue eyes. Stepping reverently aside, she said in a hushed voice to some of the troupe that were in the small room: "It's the priest."
Every one made way and I stooped over the g i r l . She opened Tier eyes and tried to smile. "Are you priest?" she asked. "Yes, my child," I answered. " A m I very hadly hur t? I am in great pain, but maybe I ' l l get better." Then she suddenly fainted. The maid I spoke of gave her restoratives, and I hurriedly asked what was the matter.
"Why, Burtie was performing her great trapeze act to-day and she missed her count, Father ; she
- ie l l th i r ty feet, The surgeon_says_ her spine is injured and there is no hope. He gave her only twelve hours to live, perhaps nq£ that. It is her grit that keeps her up, Father, "said the young woman with tears in her eyes. "She is the best performer in the company," said another young woman. -"Is she an actress?" "Oh, yes, Father. We have refined vaudeville. But we are a very select organization," said the woman ^vvith emphasis. "Burt ie is very correct. Not a breath of gossip -ever touched her! She kept us all straight. Poor Bur t i e ! "
Just then Burtie 's eyes opened. "The priest," she said faintly. I made a sign to them. "Yes, Fa ther, Xhey said obediently, a n d - L was alone wi th the dying gi r l . "Father, I want to make a general confession," said she and she began with difficulty a clear, honest, sincere confession. It took her some time, but she would not let me hurry her. I said a few words and gave her as penance one 'Ha i l Mary ! ' She began to say it aloud slowly. " M y child," I said, "make a fervent act of contrition first. I" am going to give you absolution."
"Oh, no! Father," she said, "you must first give me the sacrament of Bapt ism!" "Bapt ism!" I said amazed. "Surely you are baptized." "No Father, I am not a Catholic. I was never baptized. In brief I am and always have been a Catholic, but I never received any sacrament. I go to Mass every Sunday and say my rosary. I learned that at School, but •our life has been so roving that I could do only that much. I never had much chance, yon see. I was wild and self-willed, and when grandma died I left school, and as there was no one to restrain me. being alone in the world, I drifted from dancing school, to riding wild Worses and doing burlesque. But I never forgot all i learned at the
las t ing because He is my V i a t i -cum; and Extreme Unction is the last anointing of the purified Catholic before she goes to meet her Judge! Father, I remember it all . I used to listen to Sister Veronica telling the class. Her instructions could never be forgotten! Father, won't you give me the last sacraments?
Here was an Apostolate fulfilled! That good Sister, whoever she was, had saved this soul! "Wait ten minutes, dear child. I wil l br ing Our Lord to you." A n d I went hastily to the door and summoned those outside. To the Catholic maid who was nearest me I said, "I am going to the Church for the Blessed Sacrament; I will
Jbe back inside of fifteen minutes," and I hurried out.
In less than fifteen minutes I was back at Burtie 's bedside. She was breathing quietly and unclosed her eyes when I came in. I whispered my instructions to the maid. A little table with lighted candles, holy water, etc.. was quickly prepared, and I laid the pyx upon it . A s I lifted the Sacred Host the girl 's eyes were fixed upon it and I heard her say, ' M y Lord and my God!' I could hardly keep back a tear. I administered her Fi rs t and Last Communion. Extreme Unction followed. She held out her hands for the holy oil , and when I read the final prayers and gave her the Last Absolution, a little sigh of content broke from her lips.
"Thank God," she said again, but it was in a whisper. There was silence in the room. It was full of hotel people and the young women of the company, but all were deeply impressed and very reverent. The doctor came, and made a short examination. "Any hope?" I whispered. "She may last an hour/ ' and he left the room. I sat down by the bed. for this little convert had Tone to my heart. She lay very still, fingering her rosary. She opened her soft,
dark eyes and her lips formed some words. I bent over her and she said, with difficulty of breath, but very distinctly.
"Father-write to St. X.—won't you—? Tell Sisster Veronica—I died—a good Catholic; that I made my—Firs t Communion—on my death-bed—she used to talk—so much about—the happy day of F i rs t Communion! I know now. She used to say 'My Lord and my God!' It was engraved on her silver ring—yes. ' M y Lord and my G o d ! ' " I promised. These were her last words. She seemed to sleep and then awoke with wide, distressed eyes. I began the prayers for the dying, and gave her the Plenary Indulgence. The lines of pain wore away, and at the end her face was radiant. When all was over a marvellous expression of peace and content was there, and the weeping women who crowded round the pillow of death, sobbed out, " O h ! how beautiful she i s ! " I made the sign of the cross over the lifeless remains and left.
When I got home I sat for a long time in my study, thinking over the whole occurrence, and I am not ashamed to say I dashed away some tears. Before I sought my bed I wrote a letter to 'Sister Veronica, St. X . Academy, Pennsylvania, and told her all I had witnessed. Several days passed by. The company carried away the remains of poor Burtie to her home city. I heard no more about the episode. I had forgotten to inquire the correct name of the
GRAND DISPLAY of
THE VERY LATEST in
CLOCKS & WATCHES NOW O N
You are cordially invited to inspect the Wide Range on view.
Moderately Priced. Y I C K W O H H I N G
429, North Bridge Road. (Near Middle Road).
V A T I C A N B E Q U E A T H E D V A L U
A B L E L I B R A R Y O F 8,000 B O O K S
Vatican Ci ty .
The late Prince Gelasio Caetani by his wi l l has enriched the Vatican Libra ry wi th his personal library of 8,000 volumes together with the archives of the Caetani. The library is a gift to the Vatican and the archives are placed in the keeping of the Vatican perpetually.
The Caetani archives include 200,000 documents, 2,700 volumes of history, philosophy and litera-ture, and 4,600 parchments covering the period from 954 to 1852; also the correspondence of Cardinal Onorato Caetani, of General Caetani, who commanded the Pontifical mil i t ia at the battle of Lepanto, and documents of Cardinal Enrico Caetani during the period when he was Legate in France.
poor child for registry, and felt I had been rather negligent in an important matter, but at the end of the week a letter came from the Superior of the Academy. It read as follows:
Dear Rev. Father, Your letter was received and
made a profound impression on the Sisters. We all remember poor Burtie Carr. She was a bright spirited gi r l , and everybody liked her. Knowing she was never baptized, and would have few opportunities for instruction after she left us, her teacher did all in her power in her class in structions to explain Catholic doctrine, she told me she often said a silent prayer, and looking at Burt ie would t ry to fix her attention, as she was the only non-Catholic in the room. This dear Sister has now passed to her Heavenly Home, young in years, but full of grace.and merit. Her name was Sister Veronica Ewing , daughter of the late Gen. Hugh Ewing, soldier and author. She was of a distinguished American family, niece of General Sherman and cousin of Father Sherman, S. J . She is sleeping in our little cemetery, and we can readily believe her soul has met the ransomed soul of her pupil, converted through her words and prayers after many years. I think you for wri t ing this account, dear Rev. Father, and recommending myself to your prayers, I remain with respect.
Yours in Christ , Sister Stanislaus,
Superior.
I folded the letter and thought. What a history, and how many more are unwritten! Then J said aloud, " O h ! ye good Sister, who give out the milk and honey of the Fai th to young souls who cluster round your school desks, have ye not an Apostolate in your cloisters?"
In the last 40 years, the Vatican archives have received, either as gifts or for perpetual deposit, the archives of many of the great patrician families of Rome, including the Borghese, Albani , Chigi , Ruspoli and Barberini families. ( N C W C Lumen) .
A L L E L U I A ! (Acrostic)
A risen is Christ the Lord, our God;
" L o , I have foretold it to y o u ! " Luke and Cleo at first disbelieving, Exulted to assert when they
saw H i m . Last He appeared to The Eleven, Upbraiding them, and Thomas
more— "I say to thee, Bless'd they
who have not seen A n d have believed!"
P. P. / . ESPECKERMAN.
N U M E R I C A L E V I D E N C E . "I see in the papers," said Mrs .
Bright , "that M r . Thompson died on Sunday."
"It is a mistake, my dear," replied the husband; "he died on Monday."
"But the papers said Sunday." "I know, but it was the printer's
error.' "I thought so too, at first but I
got half a dozen copies of the paper, and it was the same in all of them. They surely couldn't have made the mistake over and over again."
[The next time a 'Printer's Devi l ' occurs in our issue our readers might do well to buy a dozen copies to see i f the error has survived consistently . - E d . M.C .L . ]
A Standing Joke. A n old lady being late at Church,
entered as the congregation was rising to sing the final hymn. *
"Dearie me," said she, with a smile "don't get up on my account."
16
SPORTS NOTES CRICKET.
The cricketing public of Singapore is clamouring for the formation of a local Cricket Association. Considering that almost every other form of snort has its union which functions most satisfactoril y the cricketers should now get together and make p*ans for the establishment of a controlling body. The S.C.C. should re»)W move first in the matter and they wi l l find the other clubs favourably inclined.
I beHeve I am correct in asserting that every other state throughout Malaya possesses today its Cricket Association but Singapore lags behind in 'splendid' isolation.
One has come to associate the term 'Cricket' w i th the very highest ideals of true sportsmanship and so I humblv beg all lovers of this K i n g of Games to urge the formation of an Association as speedily as possible. The S.C.C. have generously given up their annual fixtures wi th Selan-gor and Negr i Sembilan and for that step the public is not onlv greatly indebted to them, but looks up to them to make the first move in the r ight direction. I appeal to every other cricket club to help in the question at issue.
I N T E R S C H O O L C R I C K E T .
~ T h e r M a f e c c a - L i % h - ^ h i o o U C r i cket X I visited Singapore during Easter and - at the moment of wri t ing have defeated the Anglo-Chinese School, Raffies Institution and St. Joseph's Institution quite
. decisively.
It is expected that they wi l l beat St. Andrew's School, though cricket is very uncertain.
The Standard of Cricket in the Singapore Schools is very low today due to lack of talent and lack of proper coaching. M r . C y r i l de Vaies has put the Malacca H i g h School Boys in splendid shape as is evidenced by their run of reserved success i n Singapore. In Malacca however the M . H . S . eleven have not had things all their own way, for the boys of St. Francis 's Institution have quite recently lowered their colours. A s things stand in Malacca each of the two mentioned schools has one victory, to its credit and the 'rubber' game wi l l be played shortly, we must
not forget to mention the painstaking work of the H . N . Balhet-chet at Raffles' School and we hope that his coaching efforts will bear fruit i n the near future. A t St. Joseph's it is expected that Mr . Cecil Mosbergen wi l l give a helping hand while at St. Andrew's I believe there is no proper coach as yet. Two years back all the Singapore Schools had excellent sides wi th St. Joseph's the pick of the bunch. For about ten years the Brothers' boys were undefeated among the Singapore Schools. May we hope that those good old days repeat themselves soon.
C A T H O L I C S I N SPORT.
Henry Boon plaving for S.C.R.C. against the P .C .R .C . on Easter Sunday and Monday scored 80 runs and took 4 wickets for 16 runs i n the second innings. The Singapore Chinese won by an innings and 55 runs.
It was a pleasure to find Boon strike true form.
Dr . Moreira performed quite creditably for Perak against Penang at Easter. Af te r capturing 4 wickets in al l he scored 25 and 32 runs in each innings. For Penang Andres and Reutens captured 5 and 7 wickets respectivelv. Andres made 23 runs in Penang's first innings.
In the interstate cricket game between Selangor and Singapore at Kua la Lumpur, Dionysius of the home team captured 3 wickets. Poor Chia Keng Hock, whom we all know to be a very fine batsman, did nothing to enhance his reputation. 'Argus ' of the Singapore Free Press calls h im overrated. We who know Keng Hock well are humble enough to hope that i f his past achievements have not sufficed to stamp him as reaUv good in the eyes of Argus and his kind the future wi l l reveal his genuine worth. The very best batsmen do sometimes fai l as did. Don Brad-man in the first t^ree Test Matches last year i n England.
The Singapore Ceylonese journeyed to K . L . to play the T.P .C.A. also during the Easter holidays and won quite handsomely. Pius for Selangor scored a valuable 35 runs in the 2nd innings and Ignatius, that hardy veteran, scored 58 mns and then took 5 wickets for 23 runs.
J U S T T H I N K o f the m o n e y t h a t i s g o i n g up i n
the flames as t h e y demolish
y o u r p r o p e r t y ! D o n ' t hesitate
u n t i l J t i s too l a t e — y o u can
f u l l y p r o t e c t y o u r s e l f w i t h a
m i n i m u m o f e x p e n d i t u r e by
t a k i n g o u t a n N . E . M . Po l i cy .
Our Rates are Competitive
The fact that you are already insured need not hinder you from asking for a quotation— perhaps we can help you to economise in premium.
E V E R Y RISK R A T E D ON ITS MERITS .
A P R O G R E S S I V E B R I T I S H N O N - T A R I F F C O M P A N Y .
N A T I O N A L E M P L O Y E R S * M U T U A L GENERAL I N S U R A N C E A S S O C I A T I O N L T D . Z CORPORATE©
E N G L A N D
MEYER CHAMBERS, RAFFLES PLACE.
SINGAPORE. 'PHONE: 2845.
Wel l done, Selangor Pvangers to give the Malays such a tough fight. What a pity they took so long to settle down! The Rangers with seven Catholics are brilliant side. Clem de Silva, well known to Singapore and Pahang soccer enthusiasts, is back in K . Lumpur now and playing as well as ever.
The S .C.F .A. team, without "Chia" Keng Hock did well to defeat the strong Selangor Rangers' side. In John Then the Chinese have a rare skipper who not only plays brainy football but knows thoroughly all the finer points of the game.
M o b i l o i l
R E C O M M E N D E D
F O R ALL M O T O R
C Y C L E E N G I N E S
The Edi tor of the M . C . L . would like to have the names of Catholics pre-eminent in all forms of sports. J
S T A N D A R D - V A C U U M O I L C O M P A N Y < IweOftPOftATSO IN U. ft. A.)
SINGAPORE. KUALA LUMPUR 1PCM*
B R I G H T L A D .
Five-year-old Wil l iam had been taught that Sunday is not a day of play, but one to be set aside for church and kindred matters. Naturally his mother was surprised and shocked one Sunday morning to find him sailing his toy boat in the bath.
"Wi l l i am! Don't you know it is wicked to sail boats on Sunday?" she demanded.
"Don't get excited, mother," replied Wil l iam, calmly. "This isn't a pleasure tr ip. This is a missionary boat going to Af r i ca . "
I N T H E H A N D S O F T H E REDS.
(Contd. from page 20)
F r . Bravo's period of captivity-has left him somewrhat enfeebled in health—though he makes light of it—and completely unimpared in spirit. His attitude towards
~his~ former captors is one of pity rather than of blame. His love of China and his people is as warm as it was before, and his thoughts are with his mission. But everything that he tells of his experiences among the Communists is a further proof of the ghastly character of the menace to civilisation that passes under the name of Communism, and of the urgent necessity of eradicating it i f peace and prosperity are to flourish in China. (T. F . Ryan, S.J.)
N O T E S .
It is pleasing to notice that Mr. John McGovern, Labour M.P. for Glasgow (Shettleston), who is a Catholic, at the Independent Labour Par ty Conference * at Oxford on Easter Monday, stated most emphatically that the I .L .P . refuses to take orders from Moscow and wil l not affiliate wi th Communists.
So many foolish workers look to Moscow for relief and support that M r . McGovern's words should show them their folly and make them realise that Communism is * curse instead of a blessing.
M A L A Y A C A T H O L I C L E A D E R , S A T U R D A Y . A P R I L 27th. 1935. 17
The Conversion of An Actress. fBy Rev. Father R. Alexander J
Convent, although I did not think about it for a long time."
"Where did you go to school, my chi ld?" "To boarding school—to St. X . Academy, Pennsylvania." (I knew the Convent well. I paused, amazed at her story, told wi th difficulty, for her sufferings were evident.) "Won't you baptize me, Father, and then give me absolution? Baptism is enough I know, but I want absolution." She folded her hands, and looked steadily at me with dark, soft eyes, in which I saw death. "Indeed I will child," and I took out my stole and, seizing a goblet of water from his table, I exhorted her to perfect contrition, and fervently baptized her. Thank God!" she whispered and closed her eyes. It seemed to me after a few moments' pause that the ghastly hue of death had given place to a more lifelike colour. 1 waited.
"Father," she said, "I'm suffering terribly, and I know now that
^ wi l l die soon. I want you to give me Holy Viat icum and Extreme Unction." I hesitated. I was amazed. Here was a dying actress, just baptized! How did I know whether she was sufficiently instructed. She read my thoughts. " Y o u don't think I am instructed, Father? I believe firmly that the Blessed Eucharist is our Lord Himself, His true Body and Blood, which I am to receive without
•Talking about Apostolates," *aid a Massachusetts priest to me some time ago, "let me tell you of an experience of mine. I was called out one night at ten o'clock by one of our hotels to the bedside of an actress. They said she was unconscious and dying, and that she might be a Catholic, for she had a rosary on her dressing table. I went hastily with the holy oils. I found a gi r l of about twenty-two lying pale and helpless on her bed. Her eyes were closed, and her long, dark hair, disordered on the pillow framed a singularly sweet, innocent face. One of the hotel maids was busy about her, and it was not hard to know what faith shone in her honest, kind blue eyes. Stepping reverently aside, she said in a hushed voice to some of the troupe that were in the small room: "It's the priest."
Every one made way and I stooped over the g i r l . She opened Tier eyes and tried to smile. "Are you priest?" she asked. "Yes, my child," I answered. " A m I very hadly hur t? I am in great pain, but maybe I ' l l get better." Then she suddenly fainted. The maid I spoke of gave her restoratives, and I hurriedly asked what was the matter.
"Why, Burtie was performing her great trapeze act to-day and she missed her count, Father ; she
- ie l l th i r ty feet, The surgeon_says_ her spine is injured and there is no hope. He gave her only twelve hours to live, perhaps nq£ that. It is her grit that keeps her up, Father, "said the young woman with tears in her eyes. "She is the best performer in the company," said another young woman. -"Is she an actress?" "Oh, yes, Father. We have refined vaudeville. But we are a very select organization," said the woman ^vvith emphasis. "Burt ie is very correct. Not a breath of gossip -ever touched her! She kept us all straight. Poor Bur t i e ! "
Just then Burtie 's eyes opened. "The priest," she said faintly. I made a sign to them. "Yes, Fa ther, Xhey said obediently, a n d - L was alone wi th the dying gi r l . "Father, I want to make a general confession," said she and she began with difficulty a clear, honest, sincere confession. It took her some time, but she would not let me hurry her. I said a few words and gave her as penance one 'Ha i l Mary ! ' She began to say it aloud slowly. " M y child," I said, "make a fervent act of contrition first. I" am going to give you absolution."
"Oh, no! Father," she said, "you must first give me the sacrament of Bapt ism!" "Bapt ism!" I said amazed. "Surely you are baptized." "No Father, I am not a Catholic. I was never baptized. In brief I am and always have been a Catholic, but I never received any sacrament. I go to Mass every Sunday and say my rosary. I learned that at School, but •our life has been so roving that I could do only that much. I never had much chance, yon see. I was wild and self-willed, and when grandma died I left school, and as there was no one to restrain me. being alone in the world, I drifted from dancing school, to riding wild Worses and doing burlesque. But I never forgot all i learned at the
las t ing because He is my V i a t i -cum; and Extreme Unction is the last anointing of the purified Catholic before she goes to meet her Judge! Father, I remember it all . I used to listen to Sister Veronica telling the class. Her instructions could never be forgotten! Father, won't you give me the last sacraments?
Here was an Apostolate fulfilled! That good Sister, whoever she was, had saved this soul! "Wait ten minutes, dear child. I wil l br ing Our Lord to you." A n d I went hastily to the door and summoned those outside. To the Catholic maid who was nearest me I said, "I am going to the Church for the Blessed Sacrament; I will
Jbe back inside of fifteen minutes," and I hurried out.
In less than fifteen minutes I was back at Burtie 's bedside. She was breathing quietly and unclosed her eyes when I came in. I whispered my instructions to the maid. A little table with lighted candles, holy water, etc.. was quickly prepared, and I laid the pyx upon it . A s I lifted the Sacred Host the girl 's eyes were fixed upon it and I heard her say, ' M y Lord and my God!' I could hardly keep back a tear. I administered her Fi rs t and Last Communion. Extreme Unction followed. She held out her hands for the holy oil , and when I read the final prayers and gave her the Last Absolution, a little sigh of content broke from her lips.
"Thank God," she said again, but it was in a whisper. There was silence in the room. It was full of hotel people and the young women of the company, but all were deeply impressed and very reverent. The doctor came, and made a short examination. "Any hope?" I whispered. "She may last an hour/ ' and he left the room. I sat down by the bed. for this little convert had Tone to my heart. She lay very still, fingering her rosary. She opened her soft,
dark eyes and her lips formed some words. I bent over her and she said, with difficulty of breath, but very distinctly.
"Father-write to St. X.—won't you—? Tell Sisster Veronica—I died—a good Catholic; that I made my—Firs t Communion—on my death-bed—she used to talk—so much about—the happy day of F i rs t Communion! I know now. She used to say 'My Lord and my God!' It was engraved on her silver ring—yes. ' M y Lord and my G o d ! ' " I promised. These were her last words. She seemed to sleep and then awoke with wide, distressed eyes. I began the prayers for the dying, and gave her the Plenary Indulgence. The lines of pain wore away, and at the end her face was radiant. When all was over a marvellous expression of peace and content was there, and the weeping women who crowded round the pillow of death, sobbed out, " O h ! how beautiful she i s ! " I made the sign of the cross over the lifeless remains and left.
When I got home I sat for a long time in my study, thinking over the whole occurrence, and I am not ashamed to say I dashed away some tears. Before I sought my bed I wrote a letter to 'Sister Veronica, St. X . Academy, Pennsylvania, and told her all I had witnessed. Several days passed by. The company carried away the remains of poor Burtie to her home city. I heard no more about the episode. I had forgotten to inquire the correct name of the
GRAND DISPLAY of
THE VERY LATEST in
CLOCKS & WATCHES NOW O N
You are cordially invited to inspect the Wide Range on view.
Moderately Priced. Y I C K W O H H I N G
429, North Bridge Road. (Near Middle Road).
V A T I C A N B E Q U E A T H E D V A L U
A B L E L I B R A R Y O F 8,000 B O O K S
Vatican Ci ty .
The late Prince Gelasio Caetani by his wi l l has enriched the Vatican Libra ry wi th his personal library of 8,000 volumes together with the archives of the Caetani. The library is a gift to the Vatican and the archives are placed in the keeping of the Vatican perpetually.
The Caetani archives include 200,000 documents, 2,700 volumes of history, philosophy and litera-ture, and 4,600 parchments covering the period from 954 to 1852; also the correspondence of Cardinal Onorato Caetani, of General Caetani, who commanded the Pontifical mil i t ia at the battle of Lepanto, and documents of Cardinal Enrico Caetani during the period when he was Legate in France.
poor child for registry, and felt I had been rather negligent in an important matter, but at the end of the week a letter came from the Superior of the Academy. It read as follows:
Dear Rev. Father, Your letter was received and
made a profound impression on the Sisters. We all remember poor Burtie Carr. She was a bright spirited gi r l , and everybody liked her. Knowing she was never baptized, and would have few opportunities for instruction after she left us, her teacher did all in her power in her class in structions to explain Catholic doctrine, she told me she often said a silent prayer, and looking at Burt ie would t ry to fix her attention, as she was the only non-Catholic in the room. This dear Sister has now passed to her Heavenly Home, young in years, but full of grace.and merit. Her name was Sister Veronica Ewing , daughter of the late Gen. Hugh Ewing, soldier and author. She was of a distinguished American family, niece of General Sherman and cousin of Father Sherman, S. J . She is sleeping in our little cemetery, and we can readily believe her soul has met the ransomed soul of her pupil, converted through her words and prayers after many years. I think you for wri t ing this account, dear Rev. Father, and recommending myself to your prayers, I remain with respect.
Yours in Christ , Sister Stanislaus,
Superior.
I folded the letter and thought. What a history, and how many more are unwritten! Then J said aloud, " O h ! ye good Sister, who give out the milk and honey of the Fai th to young souls who cluster round your school desks, have ye not an Apostolate in your cloisters?"
In the last 40 years, the Vatican archives have received, either as gifts or for perpetual deposit, the archives of many of the great patrician families of Rome, including the Borghese, Albani , Chigi , Ruspoli and Barberini families. ( N C W C Lumen) .
A L L E L U I A ! (Acrostic)
A risen is Christ the Lord, our God;
" L o , I have foretold it to y o u ! " Luke and Cleo at first disbelieving, Exulted to assert when they
saw H i m . Last He appeared to The Eleven, Upbraiding them, and Thomas
more— "I say to thee, Bless'd they
who have not seen A n d have believed!"
P. P. / . ESPECKERMAN.
N U M E R I C A L E V I D E N C E . "I see in the papers," said Mrs .
Bright , "that M r . Thompson died on Sunday."
"It is a mistake, my dear," replied the husband; "he died on Monday."
"But the papers said Sunday." "I know, but it was the printer's
error.' "I thought so too, at first but I
got half a dozen copies of the paper, and it was the same in all of them. They surely couldn't have made the mistake over and over again."
[The next time a 'Printer's Devi l ' occurs in our issue our readers might do well to buy a dozen copies to see i f the error has survived consistently . - E d . M.C .L . ]
A Standing Joke. A n old lady being late at Church,
entered as the congregation was rising to sing the final hymn. *
"Dearie me," said she, with a smile "don't get up on my account."
18
AROUND THE PARISHES S I N G A P O R E ,
C H U R C H O F ST. J O S E P H .
Baptisms.
A p r i l 16. Gilbert N g Teng Han, born in Singapore on the second of May, 1917, son of Tan A h Chia and of N g K i m Yong. God-parents:—Stephen Manuel Louis and Our Lady of Fat ima.
Apr i l 16. Joseph Leong Tye Pang, born in Malacca on the 21st October 1912, son of Pang Teck Choon and of Lee Chung Neo. God-parents: — Jose Fidelis Bonamis and Our Lady of Fa t ima .
A p r i l 20. Joseph Peter Hammond, born on the 11th A p r i l , 1935, son of Phi l l ip Hammond and of Jenny Nonis. God-parents: —Harold Cecil Batten and Helen Batten.
OBITUARY.
April 11. Eugenie Hammond, aged 34, married, daughter of Florentino Minjoot and of Mar ia Nunes.
April 12. Paul da Conceicao Oliveiro, aged 17, son of Charles Ferdinand Oliveiro and of Josephine Oliveiro.
April 13. Catherine Andrade, aged 86, widow, daughter of Garry Minjoot.
B I R T H .
Reutens: — A t the Maternity Hospital, Singapore, on Monday, 22nd A.pril 1935, a son was born to Lyd ia , wife of M r . Clovis J . Reutens. Mother and child are well. Deo Gratias.
O B I T U A R Y ( S I N G A P O R E ) ,
The death is announced of Mrs . Jagathambal Govalam, widow of late M r . A . A . Govalam. The deceased passed away, fortified by the rites of the Church, at 12, K l a n g Road, on 17th A p r i l , 1935. The burial took place at 4.30 p.m., on the 18th inst. wi th Rev. F r . L . Burghoffer officiating at the graveside.
E X P .
M R . L A M B E R T D E S O U Z A
C E L E B R A T E S 56TH B I R T H D A Y .
M r . Lambert de Souza celebrated his 56th birthday on 16 instant. Born in Malacca in 1879 he received his early education at St. F ran cis' School there. When he was 12 years old his parents removed to Singapore and M r . de Souza continued his education at St. Joseph's under Revd. Brother Benedict. On the death of his father early in 1895 he proceeded to Penang to further his studies at St. Xavier 's Institution under the Revd. Brother James the present Vis i tor . Returning to Singapore the same year he joined the Government Service. M r . de Souza retired on pension on 31st March
last year after completing 39 years service 34 of which were spent at the Land Office. M r . de Souza has been a Wrarden of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the last 15 years and on the Committee of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for many years.
We sincerely hope M r . de Souza may long be spared to continue his good work to the Church.
K E D A H .
R E V . F A T H E R L . R I B O U D
Entertained on his return from France at Sungei Patani, Kedah.
It was a year ago that Reverend Father L . Riboud left the Par ish of Kedah as a convalescent on leave to France to recuperate his health that everyone had assem
bled to wish him a bon voyage and a safe return, as his was a beloved figure in the hearts of everyone who knew him and particularly the parishioners and the orphans who lived under his care.
Though he now returns to take up his duties entrusted to him by the Bishop of Malacca in another Parish outside Kedah, the news of his arrival on Monday the 8th at 6 p.m. on a visit to this Parish was not an ordinary one, as everyone had once again assembled at the Church of the Kingship of Christ to welcome him. It was indeed an anxious moment, for it was more than an hour after the scheduled time that he arrived accompanied by Reverend Father Bonamy the present Parish Priest of Kedah.
The Parishioners then greeted him at the entrance and presented an address of welcome in Tamil . They had also composed a song for
The Rt. Ret. P. Ruaudel, Vicar-General, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd who is aboui to leave shortly for France on a much needed furlough. He will be the guest of honour at a Farewell Tea Party to be given on Monday 29th, April at ) p.m. by his parish/oners. We
wish him heartily r BON VOYAGE ' and GODSPEED.
the occasion which was sung by three boys to the accompaniment of a viol in at the conclusion of which Reverend Father Riboud addressed the audience in a tone of placid serenity expressing his delight at being so loyally received and said that his happiness on this occasion was more than what ho had cherished when he was wi th them before and it will be much more than the present if the parishioners would continue to cooperate w i th Reverend Father Bonamy his successor in all possibil i ty to fulfill his mission.
At St. Theresa's School. Following the welcome accorded
by the parishioners the previous evening the students and teachers of St. Theresa's School had also drawn up another programme of welcome for the following morning on Tuesday the 9th bound by duty, goodwill and gratitude as the activi ty of this school was brought to prominence by the endeavour and foresight of Reverend Father Riboud.
Just as the mass was over the students collected themselves in front of the church where a platform had been erected and formed a Welcome when both Reverend Father Riboud and Reverend Father Bonamy appeared and took their chairs facing the boys and prepared for the programme before them.
W r ith the recitation of the opening rhyme by the students, one of the students, M . Gnanapragasam Sebastian presented a boquet and addressed in Engl ish eulogizing the benevolent qualities of Reverend Father Riboud and conveying to him their heartfelt gratitude for establishing an institution to stamp Character, imbibe discipline and ensure progress by the glory of their institution and well being oi the Catholic Spirit which is the hidden force of all Glory.
In response to which Reverend Father Riboud rising emotionally from his chair thanked the students and the teachers who are responsible for their fitness to face life and said that it was with the call of the Spirit of Christ that he was leaving them and taking up the duties of another Parish in Penang and added that ho wil l never forget anyone of them in his prayers and demanded the whole-hearted co-operation with those who are superior to them and wi th Reverend Father" Father Bonamy who is their present Vicar . A t the conclusion of which, a loud response to the call for three cheers to Reverend Father Riboud and Revereno Father Bonamy respectively brought the function to a close after a group photograph was taken to mark the occasion.
Group photo of the St. Theresa*$ School (Sungei Patani—Kedah) taken on the occasion of welcoming the Reverend Father Umis Riboud,
. Tuesday, 9th April, 1935.
C Y M A W A T C H E S
and CHRONOM E T E R S
acknowledged the B E S T
in all the Countries.
Agent:
RENE ULLMANN,
SINGAPORE.
M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
A R O U N D THE PARISHES.
P E N A N G .
A S S U M P T I O N C H U R C H . Marriage Banns.
Between Felix Louis Peterson, son of Noel Albert & Sarah Josephine Peterson, and Sybi l Eleanore McCulIoch, daughter of Hope Lloyd & Victoria Mary McCulIoch. The marriage ceremony wil l take place on the 30th instant.
Baptism. Brian Mart in George, son of
Angela Barbara and Francis J . M . George, of Hongkong. Godparents:— M r . Anthony Joseph Ritchie Sousa and Mrs . J . D . Nelligan. Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait officiated on 14th A p r i l , 1935.
Mrs. Mildred Peterson, wife of Mr . G. A . Peterson, a .section Member of the Catholic Action Society, gave birth to a baby boy Both mother and child are doing well.
Penang Catholic Act ion Meeting. The monthly meeting of the
Catholic Act ion Society, Assumption Branch, Penang, was held on the 14th instant at the Parochial House under the guidance of the Spiritual Director, Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait. Several items were discussed and it was decided:—
1. To appoint a sub-committee to visit the sick in the hos
pital . Messrs. W m . Read and C. A . Reutens volunteered to perform this charitable work and it was unanimously approved by the Members.
2. To illuminate the Church Bui lding during H . M . The King ' s Silver Jubilee Celebrations at a reasonable cost.
M r . C. A . de Cruz, the Chief Meter Inspector of the Municipality, undertook to
find out a suitable contractor to carry out this work.
3. To meet on Maundy Thursday at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulo Tikus, at 5 p.m. and after the prayers to visi t the other three Churches with a view to gaining the Jubilee Indulgence.
Jubilee Indulgence.
In order to gain the Jubilee Indulgence the parishioners of A s sumption Church with the parish priest, Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait, made a mass visit to each of the four Churches, beginning with the Immaculate Conception Church and ending at the Church of The Assumption, on Maundy Thursday, 18th A p r i l , 1935. There were over 300 persons, and, being a day of adoration, they were naturally affected by the feeling of piety and worship.
Several young men and boys ^vere seen r iding on bicycles and following the motor cars at top speed. They must have been very tired when the visit ended, but they ^vere quite happy as they had gained a reward much more precious Than their temporary exertion.
It was very grat i fying to see such a big crowd although only a short notice was given. This is a real feature of Catholic Act ion, and it is hoped that all wil l always remember this unique occasion and serve Almigh ty God more fervently.
P I L G R I M S F L O C K T O L O U R D E S .
P E A C E T R I D U U M .
was said for the parish priests and the parishioners of all the churches visited. The people were then convejred to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, where they dispersed.
The parishioners are grateful to their parish priest for affording them this unique opportunity to gain the Jubilee Indulgence.
Paris, April 23.—Pilgrims from every part of the world, including China, are flocking to Lourdes for three days and nights of prayer beginning on April 25th when the whole world will be asked to intercede for peace.
Catholic bishops throughout the world have ordered similar intercessions.
It is calculated that four masses every second will be said during the three days.
Seventy high prelates will be present at Lourdes, including the Papal Legate, Cardinal Pacelli, four other Cardinals and eight British Archbishops and Bishops.
The solemnities terminate on April 28th when the Papal Benediction will be broadcast from Rome.
An English priest originated the idea. Cardinal Bourne submitted it to the Pope and learnt with joy a few days before his death that his Holiness had approved of it.
(Reuter).
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulau Tikus, Penang.
On Palm Sunday, the parishioners of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, led by their parish priest, the Rev. F r . V . Renard, visited the different churches so as to gain the Jubilee Indulgence.
Invitations had previously been issued by the Catholic Act ion Society to all the parishioners to join i n a mass visit , and the response was exceptionally gratifying, over 300 people participating in the simple yet inspiring cere-money. Thanks to the generosity of one of the leading parishioners, taxis were supplied free of charge to those who desired conveyance.
Punctually at 3.30 p.m. the parishioners who had already assembled in the Church grounds entered the Church where a short prayer was said. The congregation were then ushered into the waiting taxis by the members of the Catholic Act ion Society who had charge of all the arrangements.
The first Church visited was the Church of the Assumption. Precisely at 4 p.m. the prescribed prayers were said by the parish priest, with the whole congregation answering in response. The next visit was to the Church of St. Francis Xavier where the same ceremony was gone through. A t 5 p.m., the parishioners met in the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. Here once more the same simple ceremony was repeated. A t the end of the prayers a special prayer
homage to Our Lord Jesus Christ . The procession with the effigy
of our Lord carrying the cross closely followed by the Mother of Sorrow emerged from the church, while the compound was illumiated with candle lights in reverence of the vows of those devotus who filed along in solemn silence.
Malacca is a very ancient
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, KUALA LUMPUR.
M A L A C C A
Baptism. Teresa Mary , daughter of M r . &
Mrs . Dolphus de Costa was baptis-er at St. Peter's Church, Malacca, on Sunday, A p r i l 14th. God- ' parents:—Mr. Mauricio de Silva and Mrs . Caroline Rodriguese.
Revd. F r . Laurencio officiated.
Obituary.
M r . Victor de Cruz aged 20 years son of M r . & Mrs . Phi l l ip Rodriguese of Banda Hi l i r , Malacca, who was ailing for the last six or seven months passed away on Saturday night at 10 p.m. A p r i l 13th.
The funeral took place on Monday morning at 8 a.m. A p r i l 15th and Revd. F r . Laurencio officiated both at the house and the grave. It was largely attended.
Engagement. The engagement is announced
ana the marriage will* shortly take place between Mr . Charles de WTitt, or* the P. W. D. dredge, son of M r . & Mrs . F . A . de Wit t , ex-chief clerk of the Police Department, Malacca and Miss Jennie Hope, daughter of M r . J . Hope and the late Mrs . Hope, clerk of works of Sime Darby & Co., L t d . new premises, Malacca.
"Pageantrv at the St. Peter's Church."
The Pageantry of Our Lord to Mount Calvary was carried out very solemnly on Palm Sunday-evening at the Portuguese Church, Bunga Raya, Malacca where thousands of devotees including pagans thronged the compound as well as the interior of the church to do
settlement where the Chinese Pranalans' follow the Catholic Tradition during the Holy Week.
Churchdoor Literature Racks F ind Favour in Germany and Belgium—First introduced i n E n g land and the U.S .A. , the idea of the Catholic Literature Stands or Racks placed in the vestibule of churches has been largely adopted in Germany and Belgium.
In the former country, 2,500 cases have been installed, of which 1,800 are in churches. The Society chiefly interested in the work is the Johannesbund. In 1924 this association founded the Katholis-che Schriftmission at Leutersdorf a:R., which has sold to date 1.000.156 copies of the books and pamphlets it has published and a multi tude - of leaflets besides.—It has now a branch establishment in Ber l in . There is furthermore the Winfridbund, founded in 1921 under Franciscan auspices, which disseminates chiefly the productions of other publishers, of which it has sold 1,027,000 copies. Both the Johannesbund and the W i n fridbund publish several magazines.
In Belgium, l'Oeuvre du Tract Catholique has made great strides since it was started only a few years ago. It has established 177 Churchdoor Racks, of which 68 are in Brussels, 48 in Antwerp, and 27 in Liege. Belgium being a b i lingual country, the Association has to supply both French and Flemish pamphlets; and there are even some Racks which add publications in Engl ish for the benefit of the tourist. W i t h true missionary zeal a Belgian apostle of the Catholic press introduced similar racks in six churches in Nice. France, with the will ing aoproval of tfieir respective cures. (Lumen-C B ) .
18
AROUND THE PARISHES S I N G A P O R E ,
C H U R C H O F ST. J O S E P H .
Baptisms.
A p r i l 16. Gilbert N g Teng Han, born in Singapore on the second of May, 1917, son of Tan A h Chia and of N g K i m Yong. God-parents:—Stephen Manuel Louis and Our Lady of Fat ima.
Apr i l 16. Joseph Leong Tye Pang, born in Malacca on the 21st October 1912, son of Pang Teck Choon and of Lee Chung Neo. God-parents: — Jose Fidelis Bonamis and Our Lady of Fa t ima .
A p r i l 20. Joseph Peter Hammond, born on the 11th A p r i l , 1935, son of Phi l l ip Hammond and of Jenny Nonis. God-parents: —Harold Cecil Batten and Helen Batten.
OBITUARY.
April 11. Eugenie Hammond, aged 34, married, daughter of Florentino Minjoot and of Mar ia Nunes.
April 12. Paul da Conceicao Oliveiro, aged 17, son of Charles Ferdinand Oliveiro and of Josephine Oliveiro.
April 13. Catherine Andrade, aged 86, widow, daughter of Garry Minjoot.
B I R T H .
Reutens: — A t the Maternity Hospital, Singapore, on Monday, 22nd A.pril 1935, a son was born to Lyd ia , wife of M r . Clovis J . Reutens. Mother and child are well. Deo Gratias.
O B I T U A R Y ( S I N G A P O R E ) ,
The death is announced of Mrs . Jagathambal Govalam, widow of late M r . A . A . Govalam. The deceased passed away, fortified by the rites of the Church, at 12, K l a n g Road, on 17th A p r i l , 1935. The burial took place at 4.30 p.m., on the 18th inst. wi th Rev. F r . L . Burghoffer officiating at the graveside.
E X P .
M R . L A M B E R T D E S O U Z A
C E L E B R A T E S 56TH B I R T H D A Y .
M r . Lambert de Souza celebrated his 56th birthday on 16 instant. Born in Malacca in 1879 he received his early education at St. F ran cis' School there. When he was 12 years old his parents removed to Singapore and M r . de Souza continued his education at St. Joseph's under Revd. Brother Benedict. On the death of his father early in 1895 he proceeded to Penang to further his studies at St. Xavier 's Institution under the Revd. Brother James the present Vis i tor . Returning to Singapore the same year he joined the Government Service. M r . de Souza retired on pension on 31st March
last year after completing 39 years service 34 of which were spent at the Land Office. M r . de Souza has been a Wrarden of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the last 15 years and on the Committee of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for many years.
We sincerely hope M r . de Souza may long be spared to continue his good work to the Church.
K E D A H .
R E V . F A T H E R L . R I B O U D
Entertained on his return from France at Sungei Patani, Kedah.
It was a year ago that Reverend Father L . Riboud left the Par ish of Kedah as a convalescent on leave to France to recuperate his health that everyone had assem
bled to wish him a bon voyage and a safe return, as his was a beloved figure in the hearts of everyone who knew him and particularly the parishioners and the orphans who lived under his care.
Though he now returns to take up his duties entrusted to him by the Bishop of Malacca in another Parish outside Kedah, the news of his arrival on Monday the 8th at 6 p.m. on a visit to this Parish was not an ordinary one, as everyone had once again assembled at the Church of the Kingship of Christ to welcome him. It was indeed an anxious moment, for it was more than an hour after the scheduled time that he arrived accompanied by Reverend Father Bonamy the present Parish Priest of Kedah.
The Parishioners then greeted him at the entrance and presented an address of welcome in Tamil . They had also composed a song for
The Rt. Ret. P. Ruaudel, Vicar-General, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd who is aboui to leave shortly for France on a much needed furlough. He will be the guest of honour at a Farewell Tea Party to be given on Monday 29th, April at ) p.m. by his parish/oners. We
wish him heartily r BON VOYAGE ' and GODSPEED.
the occasion which was sung by three boys to the accompaniment of a viol in at the conclusion of which Reverend Father Riboud addressed the audience in a tone of placid serenity expressing his delight at being so loyally received and said that his happiness on this occasion was more than what ho had cherished when he was wi th them before and it will be much more than the present if the parishioners would continue to cooperate w i th Reverend Father Bonamy his successor in all possibil i ty to fulfill his mission.
At St. Theresa's School. Following the welcome accorded
by the parishioners the previous evening the students and teachers of St. Theresa's School had also drawn up another programme of welcome for the following morning on Tuesday the 9th bound by duty, goodwill and gratitude as the activi ty of this school was brought to prominence by the endeavour and foresight of Reverend Father Riboud.
Just as the mass was over the students collected themselves in front of the church where a platform had been erected and formed a Welcome when both Reverend Father Riboud and Reverend Father Bonamy appeared and took their chairs facing the boys and prepared for the programme before them.
W r ith the recitation of the opening rhyme by the students, one of the students, M . Gnanapragasam Sebastian presented a boquet and addressed in Engl ish eulogizing the benevolent qualities of Reverend Father Riboud and conveying to him their heartfelt gratitude for establishing an institution to stamp Character, imbibe discipline and ensure progress by the glory of their institution and well being oi the Catholic Spirit which is the hidden force of all Glory.
In response to which Reverend Father Riboud rising emotionally from his chair thanked the students and the teachers who are responsible for their fitness to face life and said that it was with the call of the Spirit of Christ that he was leaving them and taking up the duties of another Parish in Penang and added that ho wil l never forget anyone of them in his prayers and demanded the whole-hearted co-operation with those who are superior to them and wi th Reverend Father" Father Bonamy who is their present Vicar . A t the conclusion of which, a loud response to the call for three cheers to Reverend Father Riboud and Revereno Father Bonamy respectively brought the function to a close after a group photograph was taken to mark the occasion.
Group photo of the St. Theresa*$ School (Sungei Patani—Kedah) taken on the occasion of welcoming the Reverend Father Umis Riboud,
. Tuesday, 9th April, 1935.
C Y M A W A T C H E S
and CHRONOM E T E R S
acknowledged the B E S T
in all the Countries.
Agent:
RENE ULLMANN,
SINGAPORE.
M A L A Y A CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 1935.
A R O U N D THE PARISHES.
P E N A N G .
A S S U M P T I O N C H U R C H . Marriage Banns.
Between Felix Louis Peterson, son of Noel Albert & Sarah Josephine Peterson, and Sybi l Eleanore McCulIoch, daughter of Hope Lloyd & Victoria Mary McCulIoch. The marriage ceremony wil l take place on the 30th instant.
Baptism. Brian Mart in George, son of
Angela Barbara and Francis J . M . George, of Hongkong. Godparents:— M r . Anthony Joseph Ritchie Sousa and Mrs . J . D . Nelligan. Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait officiated on 14th A p r i l , 1935.
Mrs. Mildred Peterson, wife of Mr . G. A . Peterson, a .section Member of the Catholic Action Society, gave birth to a baby boy Both mother and child are doing well.
Penang Catholic Act ion Meeting. The monthly meeting of the
Catholic Act ion Society, Assumption Branch, Penang, was held on the 14th instant at the Parochial House under the guidance of the Spiritual Director, Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait. Several items were discussed and it was decided:—
1. To appoint a sub-committee to visit the sick in the hos
pital . Messrs. W m . Read and C. A . Reutens volunteered to perform this charitable work and it was unanimously approved by the Members.
2. To illuminate the Church Bui lding during H . M . The King ' s Silver Jubilee Celebrations at a reasonable cost.
M r . C. A . de Cruz, the Chief Meter Inspector of the Municipality, undertook to
find out a suitable contractor to carry out this work.
3. To meet on Maundy Thursday at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulo Tikus, at 5 p.m. and after the prayers to visi t the other three Churches with a view to gaining the Jubilee Indulgence.
Jubilee Indulgence.
In order to gain the Jubilee Indulgence the parishioners of A s sumption Church with the parish priest, Rev. F r . J . B . Souhait, made a mass visit to each of the four Churches, beginning with the Immaculate Conception Church and ending at the Church of The Assumption, on Maundy Thursday, 18th A p r i l , 1935. There were over 300 persons, and, being a day of adoration, they were naturally affected by the feeling of piety and worship.
Several young men and boys ^vere seen r iding on bicycles and following the motor cars at top speed. They must have been very tired when the visit ended, but they ^vere quite happy as they had gained a reward much more precious Than their temporary exertion.
It was very grat i fying to see such a big crowd although only a short notice was given. This is a real feature of Catholic Act ion, and it is hoped that all wil l always remember this unique occasion and serve Almigh ty God more fervently.
P I L G R I M S F L O C K T O L O U R D E S .
P E A C E T R I D U U M .
was said for the parish priests and the parishioners of all the churches visited. The people were then convejred to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, where they dispersed.
The parishioners are grateful to their parish priest for affording them this unique opportunity to gain the Jubilee Indulgence.
Paris, April 23.—Pilgrims from every part of the world, including China, are flocking to Lourdes for three days and nights of prayer beginning on April 25th when the whole world will be asked to intercede for peace.
Catholic bishops throughout the world have ordered similar intercessions.
It is calculated that four masses every second will be said during the three days.
Seventy high prelates will be present at Lourdes, including the Papal Legate, Cardinal Pacelli, four other Cardinals and eight British Archbishops and Bishops.
The solemnities terminate on April 28th when the Papal Benediction will be broadcast from Rome.
An English priest originated the idea. Cardinal Bourne submitted it to the Pope and learnt with joy a few days before his death that his Holiness had approved of it.
(Reuter).
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulau Tikus, Penang.
On Palm Sunday, the parishioners of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, led by their parish priest, the Rev. F r . V . Renard, visited the different churches so as to gain the Jubilee Indulgence.
Invitations had previously been issued by the Catholic Act ion Society to all the parishioners to join i n a mass visit , and the response was exceptionally gratifying, over 300 people participating in the simple yet inspiring cere-money. Thanks to the generosity of one of the leading parishioners, taxis were supplied free of charge to those who desired conveyance.
Punctually at 3.30 p.m. the parishioners who had already assembled in the Church grounds entered the Church where a short prayer was said. The congregation were then ushered into the waiting taxis by the members of the Catholic Act ion Society who had charge of all the arrangements.
The first Church visited was the Church of the Assumption. Precisely at 4 p.m. the prescribed prayers were said by the parish priest, with the whole congregation answering in response. The next visit was to the Church of St. Francis Xavier where the same ceremony was gone through. A t 5 p.m., the parishioners met in the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. Here once more the same simple ceremony was repeated. A t the end of the prayers a special prayer
homage to Our Lord Jesus Christ . The procession with the effigy
of our Lord carrying the cross closely followed by the Mother of Sorrow emerged from the church, while the compound was illumiated with candle lights in reverence of the vows of those devotus who filed along in solemn silence.
Malacca is a very ancient
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, KUALA LUMPUR.
M A L A C C A
Baptism. Teresa Mary , daughter of M r . &
Mrs . Dolphus de Costa was baptis-er at St. Peter's Church, Malacca, on Sunday, A p r i l 14th. God- ' parents:—Mr. Mauricio de Silva and Mrs . Caroline Rodriguese.
Revd. F r . Laurencio officiated.
Obituary.
M r . Victor de Cruz aged 20 years son of M r . & Mrs . Phi l l ip Rodriguese of Banda Hi l i r , Malacca, who was ailing for the last six or seven months passed away on Saturday night at 10 p.m. A p r i l 13th.
The funeral took place on Monday morning at 8 a.m. A p r i l 15th and Revd. F r . Laurencio officiated both at the house and the grave. It was largely attended.
Engagement. The engagement is announced
ana the marriage will* shortly take place between Mr . Charles de WTitt, or* the P. W. D. dredge, son of M r . & Mrs . F . A . de Wit t , ex-chief clerk of the Police Department, Malacca and Miss Jennie Hope, daughter of M r . J . Hope and the late Mrs . Hope, clerk of works of Sime Darby & Co., L t d . new premises, Malacca.
"Pageantrv at the St. Peter's Church."
The Pageantry of Our Lord to Mount Calvary was carried out very solemnly on Palm Sunday-evening at the Portuguese Church, Bunga Raya, Malacca where thousands of devotees including pagans thronged the compound as well as the interior of the church to do
settlement where the Chinese Pranalans' follow the Catholic Tradition during the Holy Week.
Churchdoor Literature Racks F ind Favour in Germany and Belgium—First introduced i n E n g land and the U.S .A. , the idea of the Catholic Literature Stands or Racks placed in the vestibule of churches has been largely adopted in Germany and Belgium.
In the former country, 2,500 cases have been installed, of which 1,800 are in churches. The Society chiefly interested in the work is the Johannesbund. In 1924 this association founded the Katholis-che Schriftmission at Leutersdorf a:R., which has sold to date 1.000.156 copies of the books and pamphlets it has published and a multi tude - of leaflets besides.—It has now a branch establishment in Ber l in . There is furthermore the Winfridbund, founded in 1921 under Franciscan auspices, which disseminates chiefly the productions of other publishers, of which it has sold 1,027,000 copies. Both the Johannesbund and the W i n fridbund publish several magazines.
In Belgium, l'Oeuvre du Tract Catholique has made great strides since it was started only a few years ago. It has established 177 Churchdoor Racks, of which 68 are in Brussels, 48 in Antwerp, and 27 in Liege. Belgium being a b i lingual country, the Association has to supply both French and Flemish pamphlets; and there are even some Racks which add publications in Engl ish for the benefit of the tourist. W i t h true missionary zeal a Belgian apostle of the Catholic press introduced similar racks in six churches in Nice. France, with the will ing aoproval of tfieir respective cures. (Lumen-C B ) .
O F F I C I A L O R G A N O F C A T H O L I C A C T I O N P U B L I S H E D W E E K L Y .
S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 27th. 1935.
F r . B r a v o W i t h T h r e e V i n c e n t i a n
Looking Cheerful Despite His Ordeal
F a t h e r s .
Picture taken at Catholic Mission, Sinfeng, Kiangsi, Feb, 27, 19S5 immed'aiely after the release of Father Cypriaan Bravo, O.P. by the Communists. Left to right Rev. Aloys Tcheng, Chinese priest, Rev. John McLaughlin, CM., American Vincentian, Rev. Cypri.n Bravo, O.P., Spanish Dominican, Rev. Fredrick A. McGuire, CM., American Vincentian.
(Continued from page 5) Torture was applied as a matter
o f course, and it was ingenious i n i ts brutality. Uufortunate victims were placed kneeling on rods w i t h heavy weights on the soles of their feet. Then the rods were rolled, causing untold agony. The hands of others were racked and crushed, while the mouths of the vict ims were gagged to stifle their cries. There was no secrecy about either the executions or the torture. F r . Bravo had to be a spectator of both as a daily occurrence. Several times he was as* sured that his own turn had come More than once, when a messenger arrived, he was told that it related to him and that it had been finally decided to execute him. And he waited from hour in expectation o f the end.
Dur ing the last months, when the position was constantly being changed, and the sound of gunfire was heard in the distance, it was
quite clear that the Red army was being pressed, but no hint of failure was ever given. F r . Bravo had ceased to regard the successor failure of the Communist movement as having any reference to himself. He knew that a sudden victory or defeat would not alter the decision in regard to him. Now and then he was able to communicate with his religious superiors, but these messages could be of only a very general character, for they would be seen by his captors.
Necromancy?
The strangest thing that F r . Bravo had to tell of his captivity was of the kind of spiritualistic seances that were held. When an invocation had been made he heard voices speak that he knew did not belong to any of those present. Stranger st i l l , while the influence remained he heard officers
speak fluent Spanish, though he knew them to be ignorant of that language. They even spoke in it to him oh some of those occasions, telling him of Spaniards whom he knew, and imitat ing to perfection their particular provincial accents. Must it be attributed to diabolical influence? F r . Bravo does not claim to give any explanation. Strangest of all was the fact that he was told that it was due to a message given in one of these seances that he was set free. They told him that it was through these means that they communicated with Mao Chu Tung, and that a message was given that he was to be released. It was replied that he did not believe in Communism, but was opposed, to It. and that all who opposed it should be killed. But the massage insisted that he should not be killed but released. Then it was objected that he did not believe in the truth o^ their spiritualistic communica
tions and was opposed to themr
but still i t was insisted that he should be released. Again Fr* Bravo makeS no comment on what he was told, but simply states what was said to h im.
He was brought before the commanding officer and told that he would be set free. The officer asked him to let people know that he had not been ill-used, but had been treated as well as was possible in the conditions of a campaign. He was given a signed paper which would assure him a passage through the lines. He was told where he was to go, and was given recommendations about the best route to take. The directions were excellent, and a five days' journey on foot brought him to safety and freedom in Sinfeng. where he arrived foot-sore and delapidated on February 27th. He had been captured on January 25th of the previous year.
(Continued on page 16)
Published by Rev. Fr. Cardon and Printed by Lithographers Limited. 37/38. Wallich Street. Singapore, S.S.
Recommended