The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 29, 5 August 1925, Page 61

The Family Circle

- I AM NEEDY AND POOR. % ' (Psalm Ixix., 6.) • * Dearest Jesus, all Thy creatures are more ' v:• » •* :»v» vmi • • • . worthy of Thy grace Than the vile and wretched sinner who now kneels before Thy face, ' ’ • Yet one claim I have upon Thee, which Thou never wilt deny; ; : ; In. the bounds of Thy creation, no one needs ' ” Thee more than II Other souls have been more faithful, and have served Thee better far. • Many spotless hearts more fitting for Thy gracious Presence are. ' Many lips devout a greeting far more fervent ; - can supply, But, dear Master, well Thou knowest, no ore needs Thee more than I! Many loving hands have carried richer offer- ■ " ings to Thy shrine. Many generous hearts have loved Thee with a purer love than mine These Thy chosen ones approach Thee, as the doves to covert fly. I am utterly unworthy, but none need Thee more than I! Sins unnumbered, unatoned for, have made havoc, in my soul, And against me stands, as witness, the recording angel’s roll; All ~ untilled has been my vineyard, and its soil is hard and dry. 0 my God! my only Refuge, no one needs Thee more than 11 it, without Thee I am helpless, fast in sin’s strong fetters caught. Blinded by my evil passions, swayed !>y impulse all untaught; 1 could do no good unaided, it were worse than vain to try, . Come Thyself to me, sweet Jesus! No ore needs Thee more than I! Thou didst leave the Father’s bosom to icclaim and save the lost. Thou didst take upon Thee freely our redemption’s, awful cost, Thou Thyself hast called me to Thee, Thou wilt hearken to my cry, In the bounds of Thy creation, no one needs Thee more than I! ' —Salesian Bulletin. SAYINGS OF ST. BERNARD. It is only the humble that are never jealous. ' Zeal without knowledge is often more dangerous, than useful. - A magistrate should lend one ear to the oppressed and the other to the oppressor,A false Catholic is more dangerous than a veritable heretic. -.r ' . # Idleness is the mother of frivolous conversations and the cruel step-mother of the virtues. i It is | difficult to say which is guiltier, he R who retails scandal or he who listens to it. \ *V ’ ' ’ h- » ■ . -•. ■ ; , - j- . - . --"

Divine goodness permits ' that, for the preservation of humility, the more progress one makes in virtue, the less one perceives it. The repentant sinner pleases God as. much as does the just man who has not fallen; hut the ungrateful just man displeases. Him: as much as the sinner who is impentient. &O&04KVO OVERLOOKING GOD. We want a large measure of the things . thht are in this world, but we want them not on God’s terms but on our terms, and in taking that attitude we, defeat our own intentions and desires, such as they are. / We want to get things by our own efforts, and if, impelled by great eagerness to seek God’s help, we ask Him to give us worldly possessions, we have no idea of asking humbly of Him directions as to what we had better do with them when we shall have got them; we think we know all about that. Is it any wonder that God so often disappoints our plans which do not properly include Him at all? EDUCATIONAL IDEALS. In modern times educational ideals have become more earthly and more material. Hence the view that the chief aim of education is the formation of character with a view to life beyond the grave is discredited. The eye of the modern educationalist is fixed almost exclusively upon arts and sciences, literature and philosophy, and commerce and industry. We would have no objection to purely secular education, were there no life after death and had man no obligations towards his Creator. We cannot separate religion from education. Banishing God from the school means banishing virtue from the souls. WORTH REMEMBERING. Here is an alphabet of short rules A ttend well to your own business. B e punctual in all your engagements. C onsider well before making promises. D o right in all things without fear, E nvy no man his apparent prosperity. F ret not at disappointments. G ive liberally to the suffering poor. II old fast to your integrity. , I nfringe on no man’s right. •T udge not others severely.K eep away from evil company. L end to those that cannot buy. M ake no display of your charities, N ever profess what ypu do’ not practise, 0 ccupy your time in usefulness. P ay every one his just dues. Q uarrel not with your associates.. R emember your dependence on Providence. S trive to promote happiness of others. T reat everyone with civility, U se the things of this world with discretion. V illify no person’s reputation. " ‘ * W atch against temptation. , X amine your own character. " Y ield not to the persuasion of the vicious. Z ealously pursue the path of" duty, and' . hope for everlasting joy. '' . , .

:A : BOOK-LENDING. In former days, when books were not so 1 I .1 - • y , plentiful as they are now and when lending libraries ’were few and far between, books ere taken great care of and treated with real respect. It was no flight' thing to borrow . a book in those; days; and it might frequently happen that the original borrower would pass the book on to a friend, who in turn would pass it on to another. The natural result, in many cases, was that a much-prized book would get lost. . ? Doubtless some of our young readers may at one time or another have met with a printed set of verses, dealing with book borrowing, pasted on the inside of a book cover. Benjamin Bury, of Accrington, England, wrote a set of such verses, which were printed on all his book plates. First came the statement that “This book belongs to -Benjamin’ Bury,” then

If thou art borrowed by a friend,

Right welcome shall he be To read, to copy, not to lend,

But to return to me.

Not that imparted knowledge doth

Diminish learning’s store, But books, I find, if often lent,

Return to mo no more.

Read slowly, pause frequently,

Think seriously,

Keep cleanly, return duly,

With the corners of the leaves

Not turned down.

- All will agree that his is good advice. There are many who borrow books and, if they return them at all, do so with the pages soiled and the corners of the leaves turned down,— Maria.

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A VACATION LESSON

This is vacation, and ain’t I glad ! I’ve nothing to do all day,

I’ll sleep all I want, and when I’m up, I’ve only to eat and play.

I’ll live as the birds, for they are free, Or the laughing summer stream;

Like the drowsy bee I’ll hum along, The days shall be as a dream.

But lo as Ed. looked, he saw the birds

Were busy the livelong day;

They sung and they chirped and flew about,

But to make earth seem more gay.

The stream carried life to trees and flowers,

Though, it seemed t<r gaily sing.

The bees gathered honey for their hive,

To last from fall to spring.

And this was the lesson that he learned

That happy summer day

There’s always something for ns to do,

Yes, even in times of play.

Be merry arid cheerful all day long, . Take plenty of time to rest;

But never be idle, and you’ll see Vacation will be blessed.

' *•. • JUST- WHAT? : V ' , ; “How far is it between ' these :•’ two towns?” asked the famous K.C. V ' “About four miles, as the-flow cries,” re--pliedthe little 4»i±i witness. - " i “You mean as the cry flows,” suggested counsel. v : X, ' - “No, no,” put in the judge, “she means as the fly crows.” 'S , And then they all looked\t each other, feeling something was wrong. - ' . -.* ilpXX'.•.?■■■■ - : ©wwooo ; " A WARNING TO WOMEN. X, Mrs Boffe was reading the evening paper "when she suddenly laid it down and remarked to her husband: • > “Just fancy, Alberti It says, in this, paper that a woman, in looking after another woman to see what she had on, fell out of a window.” • '“Well,” replied her husband, “that only goes to show that women, in trying to follow the fashions, can go too far!” ■f- ECONOMY. There were callers at the house and little Charles felt that he should contribute something to the conversation. “We’ve had chicken four times this week,” he said, politely. “Four chickens? What extravagance!” exclaimed one of the visitors, - v “Oh, no,” said Charles. “It was the same chicken.” SMILE RAISERS. A little girl once described a snake as “a thing that’s a tail all the way up to - its head.” W X Minister: “Do you have family prayers at your house every morning?” Little Boy: “Naw! Only at night; we ain’t afraid in the day time.” .▼ A A little girl had been on a ; visit to her aunt. When it was time for her to go home her aunt said:. “Well, good-bye, Mary; you must come again soon. We would like to see more of you.” ... “But, Auntie, there isn’t any more of me,” * }~r: .- • t “What a naughty little girl you are, telling stories like that ! You can just go to bed without any supper.” ’ A, “No, I can’t, mum. * What about 'that medicine I’ve got to take after meals?” . . K’x' j. •• -r- i \ George was one of : those bright young fellows given to the use of slang. At the teatable .the othe” day he required' the milk. - * “Chase the cow down-; this-way, please,” he said. 'll '■ ‘ "■ ; ' r “Mary,” said ihs mother, .“take: the’ cow down to where the calf is bawling.” *