The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 45, 12 November 1924, Page 53

The Family Circle

FAIRY MUSIC. _ When the .fiddlers play their tunes, you may some times hear, ! , Very softly chiming in, magically clear, k (.Magically high and sweet, the tiny crystal notes Of fairy voices bubbling free from tiny fairy throats. When the birds at break of day chant their morning prayers, Or on sunny afternoons pipe ecstatic airs, Comes an added rush of sound to the silver din — Songs of fairy troubadours gaily joining in. When athwart the drousy fields summer twilight falls, Through the tranquil air there float elfin madrigals, And in wild November nights, on the winds astride, Fairy hosts go rushing by, singing as they ride. Every dream that mortals dream, sleeping or awake, Every lovely fragile hope—these the fairies take, Delicately fashion them and give them back again , In tender limpid melodies that charm the hearts of men. —Rose Fyleman, in Anthology of Modern Verse. A TRIBUTE TO THE SISTERS OF NAZARETH. One cannot too much admire the pluck, the generosity, the kindliness of those open-hearted nuns who never say “No!”to a genuine call of distress (says a writer in a r contemporary)* One often comes across them trudging quietly along in the heat of the summertime and through the cold and rain of winter. But I need not enlarge—everyone knows the Sisters of Nazareth. But what I would say is that here is a wonderful vocation for the high-souled Catholic girl or woman whose charity urges her to a wider sphere of usefulness than that of her own small family circle. While many of our fellow-women are shaking off what they are pleased to call the shackles of family life these noble souls are voluntarily shouldering the duties and responsibilities so often shirked by their fellow-men and women. They are just living again the holy life of self- . sacrifice and charity that Mary, Joseph, and the Holy Child led at Nazareth, And so, Catholic mothers, when the Sisters of Nazareth come to your homes, make their lives an object-lesson to your daughters. In your quiet hours, and in your heartto- heart talks with your girls, show them the beauty of lives so spent to the greater glory of God and in the loving service of humanity. Who knows but that God, in His wonderful Providence, may speak through your words to her soul, and that one day you may have the great honor of acclaiming your own child as a Sister of Nazareth. A PAGAN ON TRUE HAPPINESS. True happiness does not consist in base subservience to money, ambition, and vanity. It can be found in the mind anc[ in the energy and effort that purify the mind. It v •mes # from stainless living and will develop a worthy character. The words of the old philosopher Anaxagoras apply here, when he answered a question as to who, in / his opinion, were the men favored by life. “No one is jgl happy among those whom you think to be happy,” he said. “You will find, happiness among those who seem un- ./ fortunate to you; not in the midst of riches and honors, |||||but among those who, with persevering and loyal heart yV,cultivate their acre of ground or the fields of useful knowledge.” •., ,■ ' ; V.;

AUTHORITY: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CLAIMS TO TEACH AND TO COMMAND WITH AUTHORITY 1. Because Jesus Christ her Head and Founder, so taught and so commanded. “He taught as one having power” (St. Mate, vii.‘29). “You have heard that it was said to them of old. . But I say to you ...” (St. Matt. v. 21 ff.). He ranks His claims as supreme. “He. that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me” (St. Matt. x. 37). 2. Because He invested His Apostles with this same authority. “As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you” (St. John xx. 21). “He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me” (St. Luke x. 16. Cf. St. Matt, xviii. 18). This authority was given without restriction of time, place, or people. “Going therefore teach ye all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (St. Matt, xxvii.i. 19, 20. Cf. St. Mark xvi. 15). 3. Because the Apostles understood Christ in this sense. So the first council of Jerusalem claimed to settle disputes with divine authority: “It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay no farther burden on you” (Acts xv. 24, 28). St. Paul tells the Corinthians that he is empowered “to bring into captivity every understanding ( unto the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. x. 5). St. John declares: “He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth us not” (1 St. John iv. 6), 4. Because a supreme, living authority alone can declare with certainty the revelation brought by Christ. There are two possible alternatives: A. The Bible. But this itself needs an interpreter. By private interpretation men have derived from, it different and even contradictory doctrines. Further, who is to guarantee the Bible? It is not one book, but a selection made from numerous documents known to the early Church. The collection we receive as the inspired word of God was not definitely fixed before the 4th century A.D., and, when fixed, it was fixed by authority. Lastly, the Bible itself nowhere claims to set forth the whole of revelation; but expressly points to tradition. “Stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle” (2 Thess. ii. 14. Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 2 St. John xx. 30). B. Personal Infallibility, i.e., the Holy Ghost in every man, guiding him unerringly in his interpretation of the Scriptures. But again the contradictions arrived at by individuals left to themselves show that God has not in fact chosen this course. Truth is not self-contradictory. 5. Because Christianity is meant for all mankind. If the acceptance of it depended on merely personal investigation, by far the greater number of men would be unable to attain it, for want alike of ability and leisure. For these five reasons, the Catholic Church maintains that she holds a commission to teach and to command with the authority of Christ Himself, expressly delegated to her, “the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth” (1 Tim. hi. 15). —C.A.S. Leaflet. FOR A CHURCH BELL. I chime at eve and morn. I peal the happy wed, I ring for mortals born, And toll the blessed dead. * • • • • ■■■■ '■ - • ' ... ’• * I . v\ When all my work is done, Then am I busied most In silence praising Son, - And Father, and Holy Ghost! ' —Shane Leslie.

COULDN’T UNDERSTAND. A When the woman motorist was called upon to stop, she asked, indignantly: “What do you want with me.” “You were travelling at forty miles an hour,” answered the police officer.” “Forty miles an hour? Why, I haven’t been out an hour,” said the woman. “Go ahead!” said the officer. “That’s a new one to me.” OUT OF ACTION. An inspector was examining a class in geography, and addressing a small boy in the back row, he asked: “Now, sonny, would it be possible for your father to walk round the earth?” “No, sir,” replied the, boy, promptly. “Why not?” asked the inspector. “Because he fell down and hurt his leg yesterday.” TWO REASONS. “When one meets one of the modern women one must be careful how one expresses oneself,” remarked Sinks. “How do you make that out?” asked Smith. “Why,” replied Binks, “I was proposing to Ethel the other night, and I said, ‘My dear, I would go to the ends of the earth with you!’ “She said, 1 No, you wouldn’t. I inquired why not, and she added, ‘ One reason is that I wouldn’t go, and another is that there aren’t any.’ 55 SMILE RAISERS. Teacher: “Now, children, what is 'above par’?” Johnny: “Please, sir, ma!” *? He: “My love for you is like the deep, blue sea.” She: “And I take it with the corresponding amount of salt.” j . f “You told me to put my tongue out, doctor, but you have not looked at it.” “No; I merely wanted time to write your prescription,” V Mrs. Gabb (reading) : “Do you know, my dear, that there are approximately 700,000 words in the English language?” Mr. Gabb: “Only 700,000! Why, I thought you used a great deal more than that every day!” V Mamie: “Father, why don’t you grow some hair on your head?” Father: “Why doesn’t grass grow on a busy street?” Mamie: “Oh, I see! It can’t get up through the concrete.” .i t w Two little girls coming from Sunday school, where reference had been made to his Satanic Majesty, were discussing the lesson. Do you believe there is a devil?” asked one. . -^ oj said the other. “It’s just like Santa Claus; it’s your father. ■ - / .