Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, 29 May 1919, Page 3

Friends at Court

CLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR ■ -I - June 1, Sunday.—" Within the Octave of the Ascension. d ,, ?t 2, Monday.Of the Octave. ’ - ~ 3, Tuesday.— : the Octave; ~- 4, Wednesday. — St. Francis Caracciolo, Confessor. ~ 5, Thursday. Octave of the Ascension. _,, 6, Friday.— St. Norbert, Bishop and Confessor. : ~ 7, Saturday. Vigil of Pentecost. St. Norbert, Bishop and Confessor. St. Norbert was born in Westphalia in 1080. After giving himself up for a time to a life of ease and worldly pleasure at the court of his cousin, the Emperor Henry IV., he received the grace of a complete conversion. He was ordained priest, and thenceforward displayed extraordinary zeal in the work of preaching and in the •discharge of the other duties of the sacred ministry. He established an Order of monks, called from their first monastery Premonstratensians, whose special object was to promote among the faithful frequent Communion and regular attendance at Mass. St. Norbert died in 1134, after having governed for over seven years the archiepiscopal see of Magdeburg. Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost. After the Ascension of our Lord the Apostles remained in Jerusalem, preparing themselves by prayer and recollection for the coming of the Holy Ghost. By commemorating this fact, the Church invites us to dispose ourselves for the worthy celebration of the great feast of Pentecost. GRAINS OP GOLD. . A SONNET FOR JUNE. O sweetest Heart.of Jesus: to Thy shrine In this dear month of June, Thy saints have brought Their offerings of word and deed and thought, Like fairest blossoms blown in fields divine, The blood-red roses of a charity Whose seed was gathered from Thy open side; The lilies of surpassing purity, Amid whose petals Thou dost please abide. Ah ! woe is me, I cannot choose but hide My blushing face, for I have naught for Thee Save these poor violets, these tender-eyed And drooping blossoms of humility ; All wet with tears they bloom for Thee alone, Ah ! make the giver and the gift Thine own. — Eleanor C. Donnelly. U- BE FLECTIONS. In general pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. All other passions do occasional good : but -wherever’ pride puts in its word, everything goes wrong, ■and what might be desirable to do quietly and innocently, it is morally dangerous to do proudly. Buskin. Though I prefer learning joined with virtue to all the, treasures of kings, yet renown for learning, when it ’is not united with a good life is nothing else than splendid and notorious infamy.—Sir . Thomas Mord. ' ’ . tr ; , At any moment death may come, not only to over- ' turn all our plans, to disturb all our pleasures, to tear from us all , our goods, but, what is infinitely more terrible, to lead us to the judgment-seat of God. Bossuefc. 'I * . When a Catholic goes to confession and Communion regularly, it is prim a facie evidence that all is well. " If a man is not honest with God, it is too much to expect him to be honest with his fellow-man. The thoughts that absorb you will also mould you. .. Bishop Lightfoot. ; - ’ '• 's' •