The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 28, 2 July 1924, Page 53

The Family Circle

' "KIND OF WORDS. You talk along so very fast By night, as well as day, But have you thought how many kinds Of words you have to say? And first of all the names of things Are always Nouns, you know. , t That is, of things you see and feel, Like “dog,” or “rain,” or “hoe.” Then Pronouns stand instead of Nouns, Their usefulness you’ll see. Instead of often saying “John,” We use the Pronoun, “he.” The Articles are little words, And there are only three, Before the Nouns they often stand, They are “A,” “An,” and “The.” Then you will find the good old Verbs, About the Nouns they tell; What they may do, or feel, or be, They show us very well. The Adjectives describe the Nouns. As “good boy,” “pleasant night,” The Adverbs show how things are done, As, “She sings well to-night.” The Prepositions, useful arc To show how Nouns may bo Related to some other Noun, , As,,“John will stay to tea.” n r. Conjunctions, always must connect The sentences, or Nouns, As “Jane and John drove out and saw The cities* and the towns.” With all these little parts of speech Well settled in your mind, To study grammar then, I think, You’ll surely feel inclined. , —Clara J. Denton. % • GETTING DISCOURAGED. Getting discouraged is something we cannot keep to ourselves. No matter how hard we try, it is bound to crop out, to show in our talk or even in our walk, and to have an effect on other people. If some one in the family is sick and mother loses heart, how quickly the atmosphere of discouragement spreads. It is like a pall hanging over the house. Every face reflects it. Every heart is weighed down by it. <*X*X*X><*> CHEERFULNESS. There is common sense and great wisdom in this little paragraph about cheerfulness: “We have reasons for being happy and reasons for being sad; which reasons predominate and direct our lives depends entirely upon ourselves. Cheerfulness is a most saint-like quality. It sheds a radiance all around, warms human hearts, makes human faces smile, and is altogether very beautiful.. It is what the sun is to nature, what the first flower is to spring, what a bright light is in a gloomy room. And it is as free as the blessed air.” FAITH. Health is a gift from God, which people often abuse because they do not bear in mind how valuable it is and consequently do things that injure and destroy it. Faith is a gift of God likewise, a more precious gift than health; people do-mot bear in mind that faith is something beyond

all price, consequently- they neglect what will preserve it, , and do those things that weaken it first, and finally kill it. MOTHER OF DIVINE MERCY. In her Litany, Mary is styled the Mother of Divine Grace. In what sense or senses is this true? Are we -uttering merely a pious metaphor? For we know that, whilst God chooses various instruments or» channels for His graces, such as the seven sacraments, and various ministers of His Grace, such as angels and priests, He is the only source, He alone is the author and finisher, of grace and of salvation. As God is the author of grace, there is a sense in which Mary, who is correctly styled the Mother of God, may also bo styled the Mother of ' Divine, or God-originated, grace. But the plan of that Redemption that purchased grace for mankind associated Mary most intimately with the author and finisher of our .salvation. God filled her with grace in order that she might be fitted for the office of the divine maternity: “Hail, full of grace,” was the angelic salutation. The author of grace was given to us-in the Incarnation, and given through Mary’s co-operation : Fiat mild secundum 'verhurn —“Be it done unto me according to thy word.” He is again given to us in the Blessed Sacrament, as the result of that wondrous transformation taking place at our altars, when the priest consecrates during Holy Mass. One author has noted the curious fact that this repeated consecration is expressed, like Mary’s co-operation, in five Latin words: Hoc est enim corpus meum. The greatest grace God could give to me is Himself, whether in the Incarnation or in the Consecration at Mass. Well does the Church choose for the feast of Corpus Christi the Preface of the Nativity, and sing in her Divine Office; jSohis datus, nobis natus ex Intacta virgine—' was given to us, He was born for us of a chaste Virgin.” Here, too, is a sense in which Mary is the Mother of Divine race. At the Visitation, Mary brought grace to John the Baptist. The shackles of original sin were broken and the Baptist leaped in the womb of Elizabeth in adoration of the divine Child still in Mary’s womb. “Ponder,- upon this, says Father Purbrick in his-il lay Papers, “gaze upon the Baptist in all the glory of his grace-robed soul. lie is already a burning and a shining light. He is already rich in heavenly gifts, already a hero and a saint. Realise all this as the result of Mary’s coming, and you will see how full of meaning is the title, Mother of Divine Grace.” The Mother of Divine Grace is given to us as our Mother. With more than an- earthly mother’s love and zeal, she is even more anxious to bring grace to us than we are to implore or to receive it. With whatsoever childlike confidence we may acquire, we shall petition her for help as the Mother of Divine Grace.—Monsignor Henry.

TOWN OF DON’T-YOU-WORRY. " “There’s a town called Don’t-You-Worry On the banks of River Smile; i Where the Cheer-Up and Be-Happy Blossom sweetly all the while, Where the Never-Grumble flower Blooms beside the fragrant Try, And the Ne’er Give-Up and Patience - Point their faces to the sky. “In the Valley of Contentment, In the province of I-Will, You will find this lovely city, At the foot of No-Fret hill, X' There are thoroughfares delightful In this very charming town, And on every hand are shade trees Named the Very-Seldom-Frown. “Rustic benches quite enticing You’ll find scattered here and there And to each a vine is clinging Called the Frequent-Earnest-Prayer,; Everybody there is happy, And is singing all the while, ■” In the town of Don’t-You-Worry, y On the Banks of River - Smile.” : .

r 1 "' AN OPTIMIST. Jr' :ii ;A German shoemaker left the gas turned on, in his shop one night, and upon’ arriving iruthe morning, struck a match to light it. There was a terrific explosion, and the' shoemaker was blown out through the door and almost to the middle of the street. A passer-by. rushed to his assistance, and, after helping him to arise, inquired if he was injured. The little German gazed at his place of business, which was now burning quite briskly, and said: “No, I aint : hurt. But I got out shust in time. Eh?” WHAT SHE HEARD. A woman was very ill. Her doctor brought a specialist to see her. She had warned her sister to hide behind a screen in the drawing-room, in order that she might overhear their opinion when in consultation after examination. When the doctors came into the drawing-room the specialist said: “Well, of all the ugly-looking women I ..ever saw, that one’s the worst.” “Ah,” said the local doctor, “but wait till you see the sister.” LEARN IT OVER AGAIN. The inspector was paying his monthly visit to the village school. He examined the children in reading and general knowledge, as was his custom, and was very pleased with the answers he received. After the last question had been asked and answered satisfactorily, he rose to his feet, and, looking slowly round on the upturned faces, ho remarked genially: “I wish I was a little boy at school again.” He allowed a few moments for this to sink in, and then added: “Do you know why I wish that?” For a moment or two there was silence, and then a childish voice from the back of the room was heard to say: , “ ’Cos you’ve forgot all you ever knowed.” SMILE -R AISERS. “Now I want yon to save me an extra supply of flowers next week,” said Mrs. De Smyth-Jones to the florist. “My daughter Alice is coming out, you know.” “Yes, mum,” the proprietor of the stall replied, “I’ll save her the very best, pore thing! Whatever was*she put in for?” V Mrs. W.: “You never nag your husband, do you?” Mrs. G.: “Only when ho is beating our rugs. When he is thoroughly irritated he makes a better job of it.” “Let me see,” said the young man thoughtfully, “I’ve got to buy some flowers, and some chocolates, and theatre tickets, and ” “Doing mental arithmetic?” asked the senior clerk. “No, sentimental arithmetic,” was the reply. V “Listen, Smith,” said the producer to the elderly actor who was “resting.” “I’m willing to give you a part— is, if you think you can dp the landlord in ‘ The Lady of Lyons.’ ” , ■ “Bless me!” said the old stager. “I’m the very man for the part. I’ve done landlords all over the country.” 9 Mabel: “Papa, does our family own a planet?” Papa: “What nonsense, child! Who put that idea into your head?” “Why, I asked sister last night what big star it was above us, and she said it wasn’t a star, -but a planet, and that it was ma’s.” -