The Mew Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1920. HOME

New Zealand Tablet, 29 April 1920, Page 25

The Mew Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1920. HOME

fMONG the signs of moral decay -and social disintegration in this country, two of the most striking are the loss of reverence and the disappearance of home life. These two are related as effect and cause, for the decay of reverence for God and man, and for law and order, is the direct consequence of the fact. that people are no longer fond of their homes and are unable to find in them the happiness and rest which our fathers found. When home life goes, respect for parents goes; when respect for parents goes, religion goes, and the fear of the. policeman, or a hypocritical; obsequiousness to public opinion becomes the rule > of conduct for. the ; young. The home is the... cradle -of the nation social "welfare . depends on the sanctity and on the sacredness, of home; when people cease to;care for their homes it is an infallible sign that the nation is

sick, and sick unto death. Can anyone ~ doubt that the flappers i who crowd * our streets aat - night, passing under the electric lights or % peering into milliners' windows, thick as y leaves in Vallombrosa, 'are so restless, so bitten with the fascination of nugacity, so incapable of serious thought, serious reading, serious praying;' so afraid of 1 the company of their own silly, shallow souls, that they are driven ;. out of doors as fatally as moths are driven into the flame? No home life, no reverence, no depth or breadth of. \ sanity, no robustness, no sweetness in society: these things mean decadence. : -••--. t^-&vi : m -^-. ; ~"V k -:V- ,&:qi%?-.;*.:• -i * ; When children go; forth into the world without reverence the future before them is black; they are a danger to themselves . and to: others;, they will be a -reproach to the parents who are responsible to God I for them /Therefore, on patriotic grounds, on religious grounds, on grounds of self-interest, Catholic parents must strive might : and main to do what in them lies to maintain- the sanctity of Catholic homes and save their children. The general rottenness has indeed already crept in amongst our people. Which of us does not know instances of it ? Which of us does not know cases -where spoiled children, never corrected, indulged foolishly, 1 - have become a curse instead of a blessing to the foolish parents who neglected their duty and failed to bring up the" children God gave them in His fear and love ? Our people must forget the example of those around them. They are in an environment where every influence ,is godless and materialistic; the papers they read, the conversations they hear, are burdened with unsoundness. c« All- this urges strongly the necessity of keeping close to the old Church which is the Pillar and the Ground of Truth, which alone contains the secret of salvation for man .and,; for society, which has taught from the beginning that parents must do their duty and that the home must be made on the model of that home of Nazareth in which Jesus was subject to Mary and Joseph. In a Protestant and indifferent atmosphere like ours we must keep this truth fixed in our minds; we must remember that the Church is our guide, and that the frivolous, pleasureloving spirit of the age is in all. things opposed to the spirit of the Church, which is the spirit of Christ. In direct denial of the example of the world around lis the Church proclaims that God must have first place in the home, that His Laws must be the first things taught to the young, that duty must be their guiding rule at home and from home. The children must be trained so that the eternal truths may become vital to them, may, be assimilated ,in their spiritual growth as food is assimilated in the growth of the body. The Church, speaking. in the voice of Christ, says, "Suffer the little children to- come unto Me, and forbid them not." It is the duty of parents to see to it that homelife will lead the children to Christ every day and every night, and teach them to avoid whatever might lead them away from Him. -;

-„.-, There is an old. story of. a young.man, who, when about to be hanged for some crime, asked to see his mother for the last;: time. His request was granted, and'she went up '-and stood by him on the scaffold. Pretending to kiss her, he bit off her ear, and said before all, '. '.-Let that ..remind you i .that -,if you i had brought 1 me up in the fear and love of God . I would not be here to-day.'' 'Who-can tell how many among lis j owe failure, morally and socially, to the neglect of "parents in their homes ? If a good' home and good parents are a source of strength in a nation, careless parents and unhallowed homes, are no less .a cause of ruin. r Children brought up in ; a home in -which neither by > precept ;: nor by example are- they taught to love and fear i God and -to appreciate the supernatural value of their souls, - will ; have ; as: little chance of battling -'against temptation on the sea of life as a cockle-shell would have of floating in '■ a storm. >: They will never know the peace that comes from religion;

the true meaning of charity will .always, be; a. ; mystery to them j the pursuit •of r pleasure will become L their chief aim :in life; \ and"by self, and by ; pleasure they will test all things :"■■■; 'Hence ? come the - restlessness and the insubordination of modern life, and the tendency to pull down the pillars of society. Anarchy, lawlessness, immorality, unhappiness, and the entire crop of social troubles s would to :a ' great r extent be avoided if homes were homes and if . parents - did -their duty to God and to their children. (-Religion working in the home, religion working in the school, religion 'working in the whole life of the child; and teaching ; him v how to serve God and man, and how to become a -Christian gentleman—that/ and that only, is the panacea: for/all the diseases of the world to-day. :-;:,<: ~J'T