St. Vincent de Paul Society

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 37, 30 September 1925, Page 25

St. Vincent de Paul Society

PARTICULAR COUNCIL OF DUNEDIN.

The quarterly meeting of the various conferences of the St. Vincent de Paul > Society in the Circumscription of the Particular Council of Dunedin, was held at St. Patrick’s Basilica, South Dunedin, on Sunday evening week. His Lordship the Bishop, Rev. Father Delany ' (chaplain of St. Patrick’s Conference) and others of the clergy were present, together with representatives of the city and suburban conferences. After, the recital of the Holy Rosary, the Blessed Sacrament was removed from the tabernacle, and the business of the meeting was proceeded with. The president, in welcoming the representatives of conferences, thanked Father Delany for the great privilege he had extended to the society in arranging the meeting in the Basilica; and also expressed sincere appreciation of the compliment paid the society by the presence on the occasion of his Lordship the Bishop. Heretofore the quarterly meetings have been held on eek nights, and the fact that not alone had a Sunday night been granted but the church itselfthe. first occasion he believed in New Zealandwas something for which all concerned with the society felt exceedingly grateful. The secretary read reports from all the conferences, also from the society’s nurse, and on the visiting of ships at Dunedin and Port Chalmers. Practically every conference report contained grateful reference to the splendid work being accomplished by .Nurse Boys, whose services to the community cannot be over-estimated. In her report Nurse Boys stated that she had paid 666 visits during the past quarter, and gave details of the needs of the poor and sick that had received attention. She gratefully acknowledged the fine results of the work done on alternate Tuesday evenings by the ladies who assemble in St. Joseph’s Hall to sew for poor families. The report of the Seamen’s Conference stated that 21 vessels had been visited at the Dunedin wharves and 114 Catholic men on board met with. Four meetings had been held with an average attendance of seven . members. A large number of books, papers, rosaries, scapulars, etc., were distributed, ; and 10 visits made to seamen in the Hospital. At Port Chalmers two meetings of the local conference had been held, 6 vessels visited, and 25 Catholic men met. His Lordship the Bishop expressed the great pleasure he had derived from listening to the various reports and being thus made aware of the splendid charitable work being carried out so diligently though unostentatiously by the brothers and sisters of the society. While very warmly congratulating all the conferences on their continued good work,-his Lordship pointed out to his hearers generally the many ways in which they could' assist in charitable endeavor. The Bishop then spoke of the founder of the society, whose humility was an outstanding characteristic. In concluding a helpful and instructive address, the Bishop said the community- had every' reason to feel grateful to

the members of the society who were working for the poor; sacrificing their leisure time and energy in improving the conditions of the distresssed and needy. The president on accepting the adoption of the reports and statements of accounts, thanked the ladies’ auxiliaries, who are rendering such splendid service in the interests of the society, and made special reference to the fine supply of articles of clothing recently sent in by the girls of St. Dominic’s College, who were working in a guild in association with the society. He paid tribute to the almost continuous work of Nurse Boys, and emphasised the gratitude she felt at the great help rendered her by the ladies who kept her supplied with garments for distributing among those met with in her daily rounds who sorely needed assistance; also to the mothers who met each Thursday afternoon at St. Joseph’s Hall to sew, thus helping themselves and others who were in poor circumstances. On the nurse’s behalf he appealed to the young ladies to join in the good work. The society, too, required the assistance of many more young men. A strong membership roll meant increased activities and resultsthe work "was here to be done, all that w-as needed being a greater number of willing workers. At the conclusion of the general business, the Rev. Father Collins, of Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, delivered the following address, for which, . at its conclusion, he was tendered a cordial vote of thanks: Women in Pagan and in Christian Times The most startling revolution that ever happened in the history of mankind was the introduction of Christianity. It is a most difficult task to change the character of an individual; it is more difficult to change the character of a nation ; and it is well-nigh impossible, humanly speaking, to change the character of a whole group of nations. And yet this is exactly what Christianity did. Our Divine Lord commissioned His Apostles to go forth and teach all nations. But it was a very strange doctrine that they went to teach. It told the. world that it must change entirely its point •of view, its way of living, and its aspirations. It was a teaching antagonistic to every tenet of pagan society, striking at, not. only well established customs and privileges of the masses, but also at the prerogatives of their rulers. ' Its sweeping condemnation embraced passions and vices sanctioned even by the pagan religion itself.' Other revolutions and reforms have depended for their success upon an appeal to the inclinations and prejudices of the people; ..this reform actually opposed them. It is hard for us to realise how great that change was, for we are living in the midst of institutions and traditions that are the result of Christianity. Yet when we carefully, consider the matter we must come to the conclusion that the

: difference between paganism and 'Christianity was the difference between earth arid; heaven. yf->4«SS Conditions in the Pagan World. Writers on the beginnings of Christianity tell us of the various conditions in the pagan world that it had ,to contend with. Such were the prerogatives of the rulers of the 1 world who were considered almost- as gods; some of them indeed ere paid divine honors.'; Then there as the opposition of the people themselves, with no restraint whatever lon their passions or vices, practising an idolatry which allowed them full play in their (baser inclinations, an idolatry whose very rites were associated with the most degrading and disgusting immoralities. There w’ere , also child-murder and slavery. But the improvement of the lot of woman was perhaps the greatest social conquest of the religion -of - Christ. And it is this phase of the triumph of Christianity that I wish to bring before you this evening, for it was upon this, - as on a corner-stone, that the new Christian society arose. The great pagan philosopher Aristotle says that wherever the institutions that concern the female sex are faulty, the State can enjoy only a very imperfect prosperity, for the family relations are the great beams on which society reposes, and whatever tends to strengthen them makes in the same measure for the solidity of the social framework that rests thereon. ' , 1 Pre-Christian Ages. This fundamental truth, if it had ever been considered seriously, had become almost totally obscured in the pre-Christian ages. With very few exceptions the condition of woman as that of a weak and degraded being. She was merely a thing,' a toy, an instrument for man’s pleasure; and like a toy he could cast her aside at will. “Woman, with her youth, her beauty, her virginity, saw these gifts rudely snatched away from her, and afterwards set aside,!or thrown out, to make way for another younger or more beautiful than herself.” It may be said that she was almost beyond the pale of humanity. She was man’s drudge, his slave, his chattel; a thing to be ‘ bought and sold, to bo played with in idle hours, and after that to be obscured in the darkness of ignorance. As one writer expresses it: “The savage went wife-hunting as he hunted beasts of prey; the barbarian also coptured his woman in, war, or he bought her ; the civilised pagan was a polygamist, or looked on himself as wholly free from obligations of marital fidelity. Woman was the great outcast of the human race, y and it would seem that only the coming of a god could have given her courage to hope for a better fate.” , J * Opinions of Philosophers of the Time. • Listen for a moment to the expressions of even the wise philosophers of the time. Seneca says: “She is an impudent animk), and unless she has advanced in philosophrakl! knowledge gnd in various learning, shells; cruel and incontinent.” dSschylus' remarks: “Neither in woes nor in welcome prosperity.: may < I be associated with womankind.” > > j!

: 1 ■ -c | ;; Both Aristotle and Sophocles were of opin- ; ion that “A modest silence is the honor of ;. woman.” ~ » \ . ‘' . And Pericles held that the chief care of/’ Athenian women ought to be that neither good nor l evil should be spoken of them: their highest honor, then, should be utter self-effacement. Apart altogether. from the debauchery to which she was , subjected, woman, in nearly all the ancient systems of law that have come down to us, is exhibited in a dependent position.” | The Mosaic law permitted divorce to the husband alone; a woman’s vow might be disallowed by her father or husband; daughters could only, inherit in the absence of sons. The Jew, on account of the hardness of his heart, was allowed to practise polygamy; and divorce was granted for the most frivolous reasons. . How Various Races Regarded Woman, The Celts also looked upon woman as inferior to man. Two kinds of marriages existed in ancient Ireland, one temporary and for a year, the other a permanent union. Marriage 'was always a sale of the woman by her father, or nearest male relative. Children weakly or deformed might be put to death by the father. The husband looked upon his wife just as he would upon his sheep or cattle, e.g., one man was said to be worth seven females or twenty-one horned cattle. The causes for divorce were numerous and trivial. Another strange custom, most offensive to our sensibilities, was that of obliging their women-folk to fight in war. Amongst the barbarian peoples woman and the slave were on the same footing ; , while with the nations of the East woman is a being of inferior quality, existing only for the pleasure and comfort of man, and obtaining her salvation only through him. The Hindoos represent her as unfit for freedom, a wrathful, dishonest, malicious being, whose mutable temper and natural heartlessness make it necessary to keep her in dependence night and day. The “Laws of Mann,” the Hindoos’ ancient code, state: “In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sonsa woman must never be independent.” An indelible stain ,on the pages of the history of the Greeks is the low view it takes of the nature and calling of woman. She was esteemed but little and treated as a mere child, shut out from all social life and confined to the women’s apartments, which ..were usually locked by the husband when he left home. The husband but rarely dined with his family. ■ • When visitors appeared the wife dared not show herself. Special .officers were deputed to look after the women, and in many places they were forbidden to appear abroad until after sunset. The Greek literature of the times abounds ; in mockery of her, and tells us that whatever a man did by the request of a woman possessed no legal value. / i! The Ancient Laws of Rome. U . / ■> The ancient laws of Rome were very severe in her regard. Marriage placed her complete!/ in her husband’s power. He might

punish or evten put her to 'dearth with slight formality. But at the time of Our Lord, through favorable interpretations of the ancient law, she had freed herself ; from this situation. Her. influence had made itself v felt even in the imperial household, in the army, and ,in the public administration. Yet, strange to relate, as her social influence and social status were on the improve, there never was a time when her. womanly virtues were more forgotten 'or her morality had sunk to a lower depth of degradation. Her life, during those times might be summed up as a “gigantic debauch.” “The Roman , women were the mistresses of the masters of the world.” The treasures of the jjloman world were laid at their ; feet, : and vast sums’ of gold were shipped to r the {(East to purchase rare jewels for their adornment. As one writer says: “Divorces became the order of the day. Many Roman dames counted their years by their marriages. The population decreased and the public morality was at • its lowest ebb.” Indeed, the condition of woman was so debased that a fuller description of it would be offensive to pious ears. Suffice to say that the Romans’ very religious rites and ceremonies gave full sanction to her debasement. Their popular* goddess was Venus, whose shrines were everywhere, and beside whose temples were her groves consecrated to the lowest and most degrading of vices. And as cruelty usually follows in the wake of lust, so we find these Rom air women attending the gladiatorial combats, clamoring for blood and for the death 1 of the victims. A Sad Picture. A sad picture, surely;.perhaps the saddest in the whole history of the world. Yet it was in that very city of Rome and among those same Roman matrons that the religion of Jesus Christ was so soon to make such brilliant conquests. It would seem as if, having touched the very depths of moral abyss, a. reaction had been setting in within the higher circles of the female world. They were heartily sick of gold and power and blood, and yearned for the higher goods of life. Then it was that the teachings of their crucified Lord brought the healing balm to their disturbed and suffering hearts. And now recall that it was this pagan .world, imbuedvwith these ideas, accustomed for centuries, to this mode of life, that the Apostles came to conquer. They said to pagan men, “Stop! Heretofore you have been all wrong. Woman is your equal, not your slave. She has been redeemed by the Precious Blood of God the Son, just ns you have. No longer must she be a mere toy or plaything, but your companion; the object of your love, not of your lust. The woman who is your wife, who has given you her heart, her youth, her beauty, she must be yours as long as life shall last the honored mother of your children and the sharer joys and sorrows;” What a startling doctrine for those poor fishermen, the followers of the Crucified Jew, to impose upon the world ! Yet impose it they did, not by human agency . truly, but by the help of Him Who said: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the .world.”:- * rX'Av:- g . -A -• • - •; • ■ -■ '•

Woman’s Place of Honor To-Day. • ... ;i*n:as£ia In the civilised world woman to-day holds a place of honor. Mother and wife are two ■ beings the most, respected on earth. She -j who formerly* had sunk to the lowest depths of'moral degradation, now stands upon the Jfj& highest peak of . reverence. There are those in the ‘world, unfortunately, who forget the . respect due to her and endeavor to drag her down to the condition of pagan times. Di- 4 |||| vorce is recommended and practised, and the facilities for obtaining it are made more f ridiculous day by day. Yet this is no fault {||| of Christianity. Those who advocate it can only <,lo so by relinquishing the true teach- \ ings of Christ, and adopting once more the views and teachings of pagans. Pagans they themselves must be in very truth. But centuries before them the great improvement x : in the lot of woman had been accomplished, .£.*s and accomplished by Christianity. Her up- |||| lifting began when Christ, the founder, rm chose as His mother a woman, a virgin, the pure maid of Nazareth. From her He drew || His human nature and the Precious Blood with which He redeemed mankind. During -Bfa His public life many Jewish women were £|p his faithful disciples. With them He was as gentle and pitiful as with little children. We have instances in His consoling words for the women of Jerusalem, in His most touching miracle for the wiodw of Maim. t And what more heart-moving scene in the |M| Gospels than that of the poor penitent Mag- * dalen washing her Master’s feet with her tears and drying them with her flowing hair, while from His lips fell the consoling words: . “Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much!” - In .return for his consideration of them, these Jewish women were His faithful friends. They rejoiced at His triumphal en- M try into Jerusalem, they sorrowed when con- /p spiracy was formed against Him, they wept ,S as He passed them on the way to Calvary, .-7l| and they remained until the end beneath the cross when all others had fled. • They accompanied Him on the way to burial, and, on; the Resurrection morn, they were the/pap first human witnesses of the Resurrection and , the first to announce the glad tidings to tfieM world. ' rBBXfI Sill Early Days of the Church. j^ggS .. - ■. : r ‘.v :• til In the early days of the Church, too, we find women the greatest helpers in apostolic < work. Those of the highest and noblest families placed their worldly possessions in %|| the hands of the Apostles; many of them might truly bo called the mothers of the infant Church. Time does not permit {of a detailed account. We have abundant evi- j dence in the Acts of the Apostles and the various Epistles of the New Testament. Since apostolic times, right down through i the ages, woman has received the highest honor and respect in the Catholic Church. In return she has set .an example of the ' ] highest Christian virtues. As martyrs for "I the Faith during the dark days of persecu- J tion, they met death with a constancy and ' J heroism unsurpassed by their husbands and ; J sons. In the matter of Christian charity : j they have been famous from the time the -1 holy women attended the burial of Our Lord Wm

down to the present day. Institutions are spread ; over the face of the earth in which pious women who have left home and friends and all that is dear to them spend their lives in tending to the poor and needy, to thy aged and ; infirm. lln the ; various reports of your own society read for you this evening the name of : one lady • such . as these was repeatedly mentioned. Examples of the most wonderful: sanctity are legion from the days of Our Blessed Lady down to the Little Flower. In the arts and in literature she stands for all that is pure, noble, and beautiful.

Woman's Place in Religion.

Her wonderful progress in virtue may be due to the fact that it was upon womanly virtues that Our Lord seemed to lay particular stress; and in the propagating of which His religion has been most successful.

Love, chastity, enthusiasm, devotion, selfsurrenderthese are woman's glory, and in the exercise of these virtues she is superior to man. Our Divine Lord appeals rather to the heart than the head, and to such an appeal woman yields assent more readily than man. What He asks is that we be drawn to Him with a personal love that overcomes all worldly ties, and of such a love woman is more- capable than man. Whatever the explanation, Almighty God has worked this great change in the lot. of wo-man-kind, for her own glory and for His. For such a change every Christian's fervent prayer should be: Thanks be to God. And let us ever remember,, but let Christian women especially -remember, that .if they hold ah exalted and respected position in the world to-day, it comes from the respect which Christians had for the Immaculate Mother of God and which has passed to women generally. Our Divine Lord and His Blessed Mother are the ones they must thank for it.