The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 52, 31 December 1924, Page 61

The Family Circle

m THE CHILDREN HOUR. (There was a time when children were enjoined to be "seen but not heard," when j their natural playfulness was repressed. Longfellow did much to break down this foolish custom.) . . >, Between the dark and the daylight, Wk When the night is beginning to lower, *' Comes a pause in the day's occupations, That is known as the Children's Hour. J. hear .in the chamber above me The patter of little feet, The sound of a door that is opened, And voices soft and sweet. From my study I see in the lamplight, Descending the broad hall stair, Grave Alice and laughing Allegra, And Edith with golden hair. A whisper and then a silence'; • Yet I know by their merry eyesThey are plotting and planning together ;• To take me by surprise. A sudden rush from the stairway, i A sudden raid from the hall ! I' By three doors left unguarded They enter my castle wall ! They climb up into my turret O'er the arms and back of my chair; If I try to escape they surround me; They seem to be everywhere. They almost devour me with kisses, _. Their arms about me entwine, \'.'- Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen s ] In his Mouse Tower on the Rhine ! Do you'think, 0 blue-eyed banditti, Because you have scaled the wall, Such an old moustache as I am Is not a match for you all? [ have you fast in my fortress, And will not let you depart, But put you down into the dungeon In the round-tower of my heart. And there will I keep you for ever, Yes, for ever and a; day, Till the walls shall tumble to ruin, And moulder.in dust away! THE RELIGOTJS LIFE. "It is sometimes difficult to understand, when we think seriously about it, how every one in the world does not a Religious. Considering that Almighty :..;d made us and made us for Himself, I do not, for my own part, see how anyone, wise even with the I wisdom of common sense, can help giving fair whole being to Him, can help desiring bind themselves hand and foot to His perfect service. At least, it is a wonder why more do not do this. Still many cannot, more will not do it. Many who seem really to love God, yet shrink from the religious promise, the religious' spirit. There is a v j terrifying example in the Gospel of this sub-

ject. It is the young man whom Our Lord loved, and who loved Our Lord again. • He was invited to give. all to the poor and follow Jesus in a. life '"of perfection, tout shrank froriii the call and went away sorrowful. The Gospel adds that he had great possessions."— Hedley. p '-'-^y/i''/:-■:: .. THE CATHOLIC HOME. "A truly Christian home is a great blessing. But every home whose occupants are Christians is not necessarily 'a,'Christian 1 home. ' The fa<et that parents .and:.; children are Catholics' does not make it a Catholic home. What is it that makes a visitor say on coming-in: "I see .you are ' Catholics here." Is it not because he detects'that indefinable thing called the Catholic spirit. Nothing may have been said or done, but the home has proclaimed itself Catholic. What makes a home a Catholic one? It is not merely the fact that all are Catholics,because, unfortunately, there are. homes where only Catholics are found and very decidedly they are not Catholic homes. In the true Catholic home there .is happiness, because it is the nearest station to heaven and God is in the happy.homes, where His law is. observed and His love • prevails. Home is the earthly abode of happiness, for there a man finds his best and sweetest joys in the society of his wife, the companionship of his children and the pleasure of welcoming ■ friends. There is peace in the Catholic home, because this is the gift Christ left us. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth,. do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." In the true Catholic home there is love, the motive power of life. Christ came to spread this fire -of love upon the earth,' and what is dearer to His Sacred Heart than that it should be enkindled in all the Catholic homes of the world? If love should exist anywhere it should exist in the home.- Home and love are synonymous. Everyone is very industrious in the true Catholic home, because they know "Idleness is the root of evil; the devil's paradise." We have fine, example to, urge us on cheerfully in our work. Christ during. His life on earth, labored at a carpenter's* bench for the "bread His Blessed Mother ate.; Later on He taught the twelve fishermen for three years, and that class was anything but bright and intelligent. How Christ must have labored in fulfilling the arduous duties of teacher! How the Mother of God worked at Nazareth ! She did not fear to put her hands into the wash-tub, or into the dishpan, and even if modern girls will call such labor beneath them, it, was not disdained by the Blessed Virgin. St. Joseph, while he lived, worked at his trade and brought bread for the Child and Its Mother. - . In the Catholic -home you should expect to find these things: Pictures of the, Sacred Heart, Our Blessed Lady,, and some of the saints, Catholic papers and books on the

table, showing evidence that they are read i conversation on Catholic topics at the table and in the living-room; rosaries and scapulars worn by all; regular attendance at. Sunday Mass; frequent approach to the sacra-; ments; a peep in the nursery would find r the.! little "children at mother's' knees saying their night and morning prayers night and morn-r ing prayers reverently said by all. ~ The sound of the Angelus bell recognised;.a' firm,' conviction on the part of all the children; that they had.the best mother and the best home in the world manly boys, and womanly, girls, all desiring to help mother in any way they can ; a profound respect for father, the head of the Catholic home, a loving deference, and a happy union in the family life. One day Our Blessed Lord said that the children had guardian angels, who always saw the face of His father in heaven. We, know they are there, pleading and praying for the little ones with the hope that at last they may be worthy to receive the great re.ward promised; to them who. persevere. With what delight do the guardian angels think of the home where such care is taken, and where every good example is given the little ones of Christ?. —Pauline Ryan. .

HOW TO SUCCEED. : ; Most young men and most older men consider a man successful when he has accumulated considerable wealth. In a measure, the accumulation of wealth does indicate success, but it is a mistake to think that -all men who are wealthy are successful and that all men who die poor are unsuccessful. Some of the most successful men in the world have died with little or no wealth. Some of the wealthiest men in the nation, when the real test of success is applied to them, are failures. Wealth does not necessarily measure success, or a lack of wealth failure. Success depends on rendering a capable and an honest service, doing the things that need to .- be done. ~.: If all young men would make up their minds to prepare themselves for some job they like and pledge themselves to discharge the duties, which fall upon them, faithfully and to the best of their ability, all would be successes. One of the greatest assets in- a young man's life is character and it requires character to be a success. r <' ; <X*X*X*X> ■;..;-■

SACRIFICE. Praise of the lips is valueless, ','••• Which has no echo in the heart; The hollow cry of Lord, my Lord! :%-, Is worthless coin in heaven's mart. • The sterling currency of deeds, Wrought in the crucible of pain, . Shall only pass where Christ is King— Loss with God is the only gain. It is the universal law, ' ' ,-'! Gain through loss, escaping none; ' Mary beneath the crimson tree, •'-• .'"• And nailed to the tree her .'gentle Son; Purple and gold, aye, let me wear! , But the purple be; the streaming flood From Christ's capacious heart; the gold, Deeds tinged by sacrificial blood. • _.,;^ t • —William V. Doyle, S.J.

KNEW MORE THAN THAT. ; . A number of recruits were practising the 'art of taking cover. The officer in charge turned to one of his rawest men. .."Get down behind that hillock," he ordered, "and, mind, not a movement or a sound!" 'A few minutes later he looked round to see if all the men were concealed, and to his anger observed something wriggling behind the small mound. "I say," he shouted, "do you know you are giving our position to the enemy?" "'Yes," replied the recruit; "and do you know that this is an ant-hill?"

NOT THEIR FAULT. Travelling by train to market one day, half a dozen burly farmers completely filled the railway carriage. At one stopping-place a. tall, cadaverous-looking individual opened the .door of the compartment and tried to get a seat between two of the men. Finding this beyond him, he stood up and remarked : "Excuse me, gentlemen, but you really must sit up a bit. You know that according to Act of Parliament every passenger is entitled to eighteen inches of sitting accommodation." "Aweel, my mannie," replied one of the farmers, "that's a' very fine for the like o' you, but ye omnia, blame us if we're no' constructed accordin' tao Act of Parliament

SMILE RAISERS. "I thought you said your husband was going to swear off smoking with the New Year, and hero you are giving him a box of cigars." "I'm going to help the resolution along. That's why I bought these cigars." The schoolmistress was about to dismiss tho. class for the holidays. ".Now, children," she said, "I hope that you will have a very pleasant time, and, what is more important, that you will all come back with a bit of sense in your heads." Promptly came the chorus of voices, ''Same to you, miss."

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