The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-12-11
MORNING STAR AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER SUNDAY DECEMBER

poor In England and tllis countrys tho cost
for salaries ID op6- third or one-fOurth or
one-6fth thS whole sum expended The
Charities il 1859 shove that the amount
expended for county prisons for ten years
visa %, 300 ,90040 Of which amount $685.
429 :N went for salaries. One-half, nearly,
OF the Whole amount expended for the
Asylum for the Blind has gone into the
and for other. wages. 4 don't think they
pay too much to the officers it Is the eys-
tenn complain of. There is an institution
devoted to charity in this city, the Proyi-
dent Soclety-a very good society, but you
VIII md, II you look over its records,
abOnt 0ne-fourth or one-fifth will go for itae
expenses, and the expenses are principally
for its officers. The State has undertaken
by motives of self.interest what can only
be done by divine charity. 1t has attempt.
ed to do it BY money, when only divine
love could do it. The result has been to
in which they are assisted, and at the same
time making it so expensive that modern
society is threatened by q revolution, either
by communism or agrarianism and espe-
cially England, Who has tried this expert
ment to the fullest extent. I do not
ask you to go back to the middle ages.
What ask of you is to recognizes this
divine principle of charity which exists
to-day in all its vigor and fullness, adapted
to our present wants. Bysthis adaptation
to our present wants mean, let such Or
CARNATIONS that are instituted In our time
and are adapted to the renovai Of these
evils, let them have full play. Let the
Little Sisters of the Poor, who are in your
city and hospitals, founded on this princi-
pie, like the Carney Hospital, the st. Vim
cent SOciety-let them have their play.
You will see very surely what will be the
results. We talk about the religion of
good deeds; but sometimes when I go up
and down Broadway or Washington street,
and see how some of our women are deck ed
out, and look at them and see them at all
points and do not wish to misjudge them,
but to all appearance the very expression.
of worldliness and vanity, and II think
that you need here the Little Sisters Of the
Poor to come alongside as balance to this
.wOrldliness, to keep the balance straight
before God. Father Hecker gave a very
interesting account of the Little Sisters of
the Poor, an order that was originated in
France, and has been represented in this
country but q short time. If should go
and ask the Sisters, said he, What do
the salaries cost Z" they would look at me
and they would say, I" What do you meant
Everything we have we give to the
poor" Now, remember, it is not wholly
them most, but it is the way in
which we give it. When the poor are dis
heartened, and when they feel their lot is
so hard, why, of course, they lose their
energy, and self exertiOn evaporates. But
now let Little Sister come alongside such
o person-she who is still poorer than they
with cheerful face and kind way, and
then when she bestows what she has, and
bestows it with goodness and with q
spirit of love refined by gentleness and
charity, why, the poor man or woman for
gets his poverty. He is elevated by di-
vine principle. Is not that what we need :
Would not that stop the increase of pau
perism7 Not remove it entirely-that is
impossible. Father Hecker then gave
statement of the number of Roman Catho-
lie charitable societies in the city, and
what they have done, and also of the mem-
bership Of the sciety of 81. Vincent de Paul
can Be substituted for divine love. It has
its own work, and in it's effort to do that
can well afford to let religion have her own,
bers of society. The American people are
considered practical people. You know
how practical they are. They look at
every thing in practical light; and would
that they would look at this in a practical
light. If they would. they would soon
ter of Charity, with'a little Sister of the
Poor, or with member of the ST. Vincent
de Paul Society, would go further than
two thousand dollars with an official. And
If this came fairly before their minds, am
| sure it would reach their intelligence and
conscience. Oh, they are sensitive, Amer
lean people, in the pocket, and they would
not stand up against this argumentum ad
pocketem The American people are an en-
terprising people. What do they not, with
their steam and electricity They run
over the continent to California to find
gold, in spite of danger of fevers or any
thing else. They will dig down into the
bowels of the earth, and put shaft to
pump oil. They will do more. They will
cross o continent, and even a Pacific Ocean,
and bring here John Chinaman, with his
big tail, to peg on shoes. And why Be-
cause John Chinaman, will peg away one
month for what a Yankee would charge in
one week. And here in our midst there is
Il power, inexhaustible, permanent, ll-po-
tent, and more important than all things,
and we studiously ignore it. Is that act
ing like practical and enterprising men
1 believe the day is fast coming when the
less prejudiced and more sincere members
of our American community will begin to ex-
anime fairly into this matter, and with this
additional wisdom which they will gain
desire for public interests, and true
love for humanity, they will let in our
Little Sisters of the Poor to take care of
the aged, our Sisters of Charity in our hos
pitfalls, our Brothers of ST. Vincent de Paul
to look out for the outdoor poor, and by
the aid of this divine principle, which the
Holy Church has in her keeping, society
will march on peacefully to her destiny,
and socialism and agrarianism Will threaten
US in vain.