The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 33, 23 August 1923, Page 53

The Family Circle

THE DESIRE OF MY SOUL. I gather' d a wreath of roses, Sweet Heart of Love, for You; Pure white, spotless roses, Kissed by the morning dew. Removing all the thorns thereon, I placed them at Thy feet. Thy Sacred Head was bending down To breathe their perfume sweet. And then, Dear Heart, You spoke to me • (Oh, how my poor, soul thrill'd!) And begged that I should offer Thee My heart with true love fill'd. And wand'ring forth into the field, O'er many paths of stone, I sought the roses that would yield '" Perfume of a sweeter tone. And I gather.' d a wreath of roses, Sweet Heart of Love, for You. Pink, flushing, budding roses Like my love, so. new! Removing all the thorns thereon, I placed them at Thy feet. Thy Sacred Head was bending down To breathe their perfume sweet. And then, Dear Heart, You spoke again (Once more my soul was thrill'd!): "My child, thou lov'st Me not in vain — Give Me your heart with true love fill'd." Again I strayed into the field, O'er many paths of stone; And sought the roses that would yield Perfume of the sweetest tone. And I gather'd a wreath of roses Thy Yearning Heart to soothe. Deep-red, blushing roses As finest velvet smooth. Removing all the thorns thereon, I placed them at Thy feet. Thy Sacred Head was bending down To breathe their perfume sweet. And tenderly You spoke to me (My joy-thrill'd soul aglow!) "What thou hadst thou gavest Me, What gift in turn shall I bestow?" And kneeling humbly at Thy feet (My love was like a burning coal), I whispered: "Thou, Most Sacred Heart, Art the Desire of my soul." —Rose L. Helfbich, in the Marist Messenger. * ALL ARE TEMPTED. Every man possesses in himself all the possibilities of badness. His temptations do not make him weak; they are his opportunities, and they either reveal him or expose him. There are weak and shallow, cynical men who make light of their temptations. The man who laughs at his temptations is not safe, while the man who scoffs at his temptations which he has accepted is profane. No wrong can satisfy; it can only gratify "the brief bitter bliss one has for a great sin." Temptation is an opportunity to work out an immortal career — "sow a thought and you reap an act, sow an act and you reap a habit, sow a habit and you reap a character, sow a character and you reap a destiny."

To be a Christian does not free a man from temptations. It only sets him free to meet and master them. Man is "lord of all below him and witness to all above him." It is only when he surrenders to his temptations that he becomes a slave to all below him and false witness to all above him. He has betrayed himself, for in caricature of himself he has "dared to lower his ideals to the level of his practice." A NUN PRINTER: BEAUTIFUL ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART. • The following beautiful Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is printed in the cloister by a nun of a strictly enclosed community. She is immensely devoted to the cult of the Adorable Heart. She keeps a perpetual lamp burning before the statue of the Sacred Heart, and in the solitude and seclusion of her abbey, not only prints herself these Acts of Consecration, but also takes opportunity of spreading the devotion by sending out leaflets, badges, and pictures of the Sacred Heart when writing to relations and friends. In this way, this holy nun has cultivated a clientele of the Adorable Heart. The following very beautiful prayer, which this cloistered nun prints for the greater glory of the Sacred Heart, was composed by the Very Rev. Canon Agar, a very holy priest of the diocese of Plymouth, who long since passed to his eternal reward: ACT OF CONSECRATION- TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESTJS. 0 Thou Blessed Jesus! Saviour, agonising for us, Oh! inflame our hearts with love of Thy Sacred Heart, so burning and intense that neither pleasure nor sorrow, life nor death, may ever quench it again. Thou hast offered to the Father Thy Sacred Heart in our behalf, that we may be engrafted into the Vine. Thou art the Vine, we are the branches. Oh, may those streams of blood, shed from Thy veins and Sacred Heart, flow like life-giving sap through all our hearts and lives, and circulate in us, and quicken us, and be to us a principle of self-sacrificing endurance. Let not Thy Precious Blood be shed for us in vain. Thou hast sacrificed Thyself for us ! Oh ! give us the hearts to sacrifice ourselves for Thee. 0 Heart of Jesus, all love! we offer to Thee our souls and our bodies, in all that we love and all that we do. 0 holiest Heart of Jesus, most lovely! we offer to Thee our pleasures, our sorrows, our labors, and our tears; we will work for the love of Thee; we will live as they who are not their own, but purchased by Thy precious Blood, and consecrated to Thy Most Sacred Heart. Here, as we kneel before Thee and behold the pledges of Thy love, those Five Sacred Wounds' in Hands, and Feet, and Side, perpetual founts of mercy, from which the fulness of Thy eternal love flows from Thy Sacred Heart ever fresh, ever powerful, over bountiful to all who seek Thee, here in Thy Sacramental Presence, we renew and offer to Thee our repentance, and our prayers,' our praises and our homage; Thine from our birth-hour.. Thine now, Thine through all moments whilst we breathe, even to the end of our lives. 0 most loving Jesus! receive us once more into Thy Sacred Heart, and do with us whatsoever Thou wilt! BE KIND. Be kind, for oh! a kind word spoken To those whose hearts aire well nigh broken Shall never pass away.. That kind word is a secret treasure, Where recompense, beyond all measure Waits the great reckoning day. Be kind, be kind unto thy brother The love thou would'st have from another Do thou thyself mpart. The kind deed wrought shall pass oh! never, Its blesSed fruit remains forever Deep in the Sacred Heart, __ Thy kindly word again shall greet thee When Jesus shall come forth to meet thee When thou His Face shalt see, The Heart of Jesus has remembered; "The Kindness," He will say, "thou'st rendered Was rendered unto Me." —S.M.R.

WORTH KNOWING. He who knows not and-knows not that he knows not is a fool. Shun him. He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a simpleton. Teach him. He who knows but knows not that he knows is asleep. Awake him. But he who knows and knows that he knows is wise. Follow him. UNCONSCIOUS FUN IN NEWSPAPERS. The Archdeacon of Stow complained recently that lie had been misrepresented in the Chronicle of Convocation. In one of the sentences used by him occurred a warning to members "not to speak to the helmsman when entering the rapids." This was turned into "Do not speak to the huntsman while he is hunting the rabbits." Not long ago a journalist was pained to read his description of a famous man in this form: "I found him considerably aged. His one black hair is very gray." A certain member of Parliament once stated publicly that he had "burnt his boats and destroyed his bridges." How hurt he must have been when he saw that Mr. Printer had made him say he had "burnt his boots and destroyed his breeches" ! Some years ago an unfortunate error occurred in a New York paper. This publication printed its shipping news on the same page as its obituary notices. One can imagine the surprise of readers to find the captions changed one day, and a long list of respectable names being set forth under the heading, "Passed through Hell Gate yesterday." Hell Gate is the well-known entrance to the harbor of New York. IN A NUTSHELL. A certain Scottish minister in a West Highland parish had never been known to allow a stranger to occupy his pulpit. On one occasion, however, an Edinburgh divinity student, who happened to be spending a few days in the parish, called at the manse on the Saturday and asked the minister if he might be allowed to preach the following day. "My dear young man," said the minister, laying a hand on his shoulder, "gin I let ye preach the morn and ye gie a better sermon than me, my folk wad never again be satisfied wi' my preaching; and gin ye're nae a better preacher than me, ye're no' worth listening tae. SMILE-RAISERS. Captain (to new middy): "Well, boy, the old story, I supposefool of the family sent to sea?" "Oh, no, sir," piped the boy; "that's all altered since your day." Little Girl: "Grannie, I can't do my sum. Will you please help me?" . Grannie: "No, I must not, it would not be right." "Little Girl: "I know that, Grannie, but have a shot at it." "And What about your references?" asked the employer of the applicant. "References?" "Yes. My advertisement stated, l Best references.' " "But I thought that applied to you!" W It was at a charity dinner that a careless waiter spilled a plate of soup over one of the clergymen present. "What "he commenced. Then remembering himself, he turned to his neighbor and asked, "Will some layman kindly say a few words appropriate to the occasion!"