Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, 28 July 1910, Page 1163

Friends at Court

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK’S CALENDAR July 81, Sunday.—Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. St. Ignatius Loyola, Confessor. August 1, Monday.—St, Peter’s Chains. „ 2, Tuesday. Stephen 1., Pope and Martyr. » 3, Wednesday. —Discovery of the Body of St, Stephen, the first Martyr. ~ 4, Thursday. —St. Dominic, Confessor. » 5, —Dedication of St. Mary’s. Rome. „ 6, Saturday. —The Transfiguration of Our Lord. St. Peter’s Chains. This feast commemorates the miraculous deliverance of St. Peter from the prison into which he had been cast by order of King Herod Agrippa. The circumstances of this miracle are narrated by St. Luke in the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Discovery of the Body of St. Stephen, First Martyr. The martyrdom of St. Stephen is commemorated on December 26. The feast which is celebrated to-day was instituted on the occasion of the discovery of the remains of this great saint, A.D. 415. St. Dominic, Confessor. l St. Dominic, a Spaniard of noble birth, was remarkable from childhood for a tender love of the poor, and a filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin. After his ordination to the priesthood, these two characteristics became still more marked. To his veneration for the Blessed Virgin is attributed the institution of the Holy Rosary, which was such a powerful factor in the conversion of the Albigensian heretics, and which has ever since remained a favorite devotion of Catholics. St* Dominic died in 1221, having some years previously founded the well-known Order of monks called after him, Dominicans.

GRAINS OF GOLD STJSCIPE, DOMINE. Take, dear Lord, oh ! take this heart, Bind it fast to Thee; Bind it faster, faster, Lord ! ’Twill not yield for me. Often, Lord, I’ve tried to climb Upward to Thy feet. Ever does it play me false In its wild conceit. Wandering after poisonous flowers Trailing on the ground, Seeking rest in by-way haunts Where no rest is found. Send Thy light and make it yield To Thy love and power; Draw it upward, nearer Thee, Through the storm and shower. Let it not unyielding be! For Thy dear love’s sake Sever it from all, e’en though, Severing, it will break. v . Catholic News.

Where there is no faith in man there can be no faith in God. Death is a transition, not from one existence to another, but from one state of existence to another. A fault which humbles a man is of more use to him than a good action which puffs him up with pride. . Character is built, like the foundation of an edifice, by laying one stone upon the other. Lay hold of some single fault and mend it. Many of the misfortunes from which we suffer most are those we never experience. They are the misfortunes of the imagination. It is a fine trait in family life to see the stronger, braver spirit comforting, encouraging, and helping the weakerhearted to rise and prosper, making allowances for their shortcomings. People need to open out fields of interest. First, they must inspire in themselves more faith and courage, and then lose not a moment in grasping an opportunity, however small —obeying, with promptness, some idea—only doing something. ... . Be assured that God’s help is always nearest when most sorely needed. We may stumble and fall, but there is always a divine friend near to lift us up and set us on the way. The view from the mountain-top is worth more than the effort we made to reach it. Let us have, then, that unfaltering faith that when we reach it at eventide there shall be light and the sweet song of angels to welcome the weary pilgrim to his rest.