The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 23 September 1920, Page 45

The Family Circle

THE SCHOOL OF SORROW. I sat in the school of sorrow; The Master was teaching there: But my eyes w,ere dim with weeping, And my heart oppressed with care. Instead of looking upward, And seeing his face divine, So full of tender compassion For weary heart like mine. I only thought of the burden— The cross that before me lay, • The clouds that hung thick about me Darkening the light of day. So I could not learn my lesson, And say "Thy will be done"; And the Master came not near me As the leaden hours went on. At last in despair I lifted My streaming eyes above, And I saw the Master watching With a look of pitying love. To the cross before me He pointed, And I thought I heard Him say: "My child thou must take thy burden, And learn thy task to-day. "Not now may I tell the reason; 'Tis enough for thee to know That I, the Master, am teaching, And appoint thee all thy woe." Then kneeling, the cross I lifted ; For one glimpse of that face divine Had given me strength to bear it, And say, "Thy will, not mine." And so I learned my lesson, And through the weary years His helping hand sustained me, And wiped away my tears. CATHOLIC HOSPITALS. The convention of Catholic hospitals in St. Paul recently recalls the great debt that the world owes to Catholic nursing (says the Catholic Bulletin of St. Paul U.S.A.) Florence Nightingale is generally looked upon as the foundress of modern nursing- she merely introduced into England the art and science that had flourished on the Continent for many centuries. * J When the Crimean War broke with all its fury England found herself unable to minister to the needs of the wounded of her armies; hospital nursing in England had fallen deplorably low and was scorned by the better classes. Florence Nightingale had studied abroad the most scientific methods, chiefly from the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy in Paris and Rome. She thus was enabled to inaugurate a complete system that was afterwards developed in Eng- . . • Hospitals in the real sense were practically una ennU°-rf e Pagan ? ° f ,° ld - Chris tian charity originated the idea of caring for the sick and needy; ChrisrCfr rf ogni?ed Part of monstraSo, hf Be * we ™? the first practical de-

nursed the sick villagers' in their Homes or in hos-pitals.-if-:. The Crusades gave new impetus to this branch of Christian charity. .From Paris to Jerusalem- the sick, wounded, and weary lay along the roads that led to the Holy City. In order to care for these warriors, as well as for travellers and pilgrims, houses, and nursing stations were opened all along the way. Some merchants of Italy contributed an immense sum of -money and two hospitals were established in Jerusalem, one for women and the other for men. The Knights of Lazarus founded many hospitals for those afflicted with leprosy, and the fame of. their charity and careful treatment spread broadcast. In France Queen Cunegundes built hospitals and established nuns in them, whose sole care was to ameliorate the suffering of the poor, ill, and needy. Rome early saw the foundation of the hospital of - Santo Spirito, still one of the largest and best institutions of its kind in the Eternal City. The English at an early date had their hospice for the sick and pilgrims near St. Peter’s in Rome. And so with the other nations. Later on St. Francis of Assisi by his tremendous efforts and the work of his monks and the Poor Clares succeeded in stamping leprosy out of Europe. The Third Order of St. Francis became in reality the first oiganisation of what are to-day called visiting nurses. St. Vincent de Paul broadened the scope of visiting nurses, and by means of the Sisters of Charity he placed the nursing profession on a high and scientific plane. These holy women have made their name a synonym for charity the world over. Thus through the ages Catholic charity has been found at the base of all efforts for the physical betterment of mankind : hospitals and nurses in the modern sense are the product absolutely of Catholic initiative. Catholic charity and faith. The work has grown to so colossal a stature that to-day the vast majority of the Orders of Sisters devote some time and a part of their united efforts to the care of the sick. Strange would it be were it otherwise, for Christ Himself gave the example of love and care for the helpless, and the corporal works of mercy are but the embodiment of the Christian principle to love one another as . brothers. The Church is proud of the record made by her sons and daughters in the alleviation of suffering throughout the world. Many of our Sisters devote their entire lives to this work, which for them is as much a divine command of love as it is an answer to human appeal in distress.

GUIDING THE BABY FEET. . "If we would truly guide the baby feet And place them firmly on the way to God, We must have love within our hearts; A smile is better far than any rod. "Wayward and wilful, still the Saviour drew The little souls within His sheltering arm. Can we do less than follow Him, Protect these little lives from fear and harm? "Teachers of children, yours the task sublime To guide the little feet to paths of light, Yours the great mission of Our Lord To fill these little hearts with love of Right. i t, VI am honored (says th writer of the above lines) to have the privilege of just saying how much I respect the women who can set aside their own hurts and remember that the baby feet need guiding and that the baby minds are like delicate flowers which once crushed or eyen bruised seldom regain their freshness or sweetness.. ._..... Jh£ ;i^ the S ot^~ note the Saviour sounded M« L? e / a K-y^ Suffer little children to come unto tf heaven- *" **' ° f SUch is the kingdom

.-'V ; - : - ? ' THE LIMIT. - : -- .-■.-.-..: The fat proprietor of the confectionery shop was puffing and blowing, and his face had taken on the color that is usually associated with ripe tomatoes, as he laboriously placed in position the last shutter in front of i his shop-window. '_. -' At this moment he felt a touch on his arm, and when, by an effort, he turned his perspiring face and fixed his eyes on the little girl who stood waiting for his attention, she asked, in a delightfully expectant manner: "Please will yer take the shutters down again, as I want to see what to spend me 'apenny on?" WHAT IT MEANT TO HIM. The temperance reformer was justly proud of having converted the biggest drunkard in the town, and induced him—he was the local gravedigger— get up on the platform and testify. This is how he did it: "My friends," he said, "I never thocht to stand upon this platform with the Provost on one side of me and Toon Clerk on th' ither side of me. I never thocht to tell ye that for a whole month I've not touched a drop of anything. I've saved enough to buy me a braw oak coffin wi' brass handles and brass nails, and if I'm a teetotaller for anither month I shall be wantin' it." SMILE RAISERS. Mr. Newlove: "This lettuce tastes beastlydid you wash it?" Mrs. Newlove: "Of course I did, darling—and I used perfume soap, too "Mamma, I'm afraid you don't know much about bringing up children, do you?" "Why do you think that?" "Because you always send me to bed when I'm not sleepy and make me get up when I am sleepy." Teacher: "Why are you late?" Jimmy: "Please, ma'am, it's so icy. Every step I took, I slipped back too." Teacher: "Then how did you get here?" Jimmy: "I started back home." j A woman met with an accident, which concerned escaping gas and a lighted match. When her husband came home and found her in bed as a result, he said: "But, my dear, you surely should have known that it was unwise to go looking around for escaping gas with a match." "I did, dear," replied the wife, "but I took a safety match." Professor: "What three words are used most among college students?" Weary Pupil: "I don't know." Professor: "Correct." Bore: "Yes, I don't know how it is, but I feel thoroughly wound up to-night." Hostess: "How very strange! And yet you don't seem to go." Bobbie: "My father must have been up to all sorts of mischief when he was a boy." Johnny: "Why?" Bobbie: "'Cos he knows 'xactly what questions to ask me when he wants to know what I've been do-