The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1874-10-04
October.

Sohoa tho Wine-mOntD, anu GTuty a1t nAbut'
seems sparkling with ripe and gracious sweet
ness but in our latitude, we think it nigh
more appropriately be styled the month of ap
pies, for, coming from far and near, these beau
ties, golden checked and tan," greet the eye
on very side. We are not only charmed with al
infinite variety of the species but they ars
presented to us in every color and of all sizes
until we imagine that they have been grown
under every sky and that October is their har
vest III onth.
According to some quaint authority, the ap
pie has been regarded as the type of manly
Independence. Unlike the slavish fig aud soft
voluptuous grape, it cannot be packed in boxes
or robbed of its individual proportions. 1t in.
sists upon entire freedom, exacts extensive
elbow-room, and will not yield to force nor to
persuasion.
1t is at the same time q classic fruit, for as a
golden prize to the most beautiful, it was the
cause of all the shame and glory, love and
sorrow sung by Homer in his immortal Ilisd.
1t is, moreover, the most ancient of all fruits,
for its name comes down to us with the first
accents of love and temptation as portrayed
by the inspired pen of Moses. Hence October,
which thus recalls the happiness of Eden, and
the misery of Troy, may well be called the
month of apples,-the fruit which marred the
bliss of one and made the anguish of the
other. 1t is recorded in the life of st. Doro-
thea, that her pagan lover, seeing her go to
martyrdom with smile upon her lips, scorn-
fully requested her to send him fruits from her
bridegroom's garden. In less than an hour
joys of her Lord, radiant youth bore to the
coa;n S;.b ~
rare and ruddy apples.
"How is it that you bring us fruits that do
not grow in Cappadoca 7" asked the con-
science-strcken lover. The Christian martyr,
Dorothea," said the shining one, "sends you
these from Paradise" Before the sun had set
that day, Theophilus confessed himself
Christian, and joining his beloved, stood in
the presence of God. baptized in his own blood
And this reminds us how through all this
golden month the lives of saints have mellowed
into perfect radiance, and, like it's fruits, been
garnered mp into the treasury of Heaven.
On the 1st of October we have the festival
of the Rosary, that garland of golden grains
which, sown in time, bring forth most blessed
fruits upon the eternal shore.
On the 2nd we have the feast of the Holy
Guardian Angels, those reapers of mems deeds,
who shield them from the storms of Earth and
bind them into sheaves for Heaven.
On the 3rd we read the name of st. Diony-
sius, the learned aeropagite, whose mind con-
ceived the idea of God even through the
mists of pagan philosophy, and who, ilIumined
by the light of truth, fell, like ripened fruit,
into the arms of Death only to be borne into
the realms of fadeless beauty.
On the 4th there shines before us the seraph-
ic vision of st. Francis at Assisium, during
which he received tho marks Of the divine
stigmata. and who, in ecstatic joy, acknow-
lodged tn at love had struck such deep roots in
his beart that the rich fruits thereof dispensed
such bliss as to ravish sense, and transport his
soul beyond the bonds of flesh.
On the 18th, st. Edward, the glory of Eng
land, meets our gaze around whose brow
shone not only the kingly diadem, but the
saints refulgent halo. To those who wept
around his bed of death, he said: Departing
from the land of the dying, hope to see the
good things of the Lord, in the land of the
living"
On the 18th we celebrate st. Theresa's festi-
val, that glorious saint of Spain, whose heart,
like luscious grapes, poured out it's love for
God, like wine; and whose influence, even
through three hundred years, still invigorates
all who walk in the way of perfection.
On the 18th we honor st. Luke, the blessed
Evangelist who was crucifed, recording to the
Greeks, upon an olive tree ;-another precious
fruit offered up to God all glowing with the
sweetness left upon it by the sunshine of Our
Lords own presence.
On the 21st we road the name of st. Hila-
rion. the saint of Cyprus, who spent the bright
est years OF his life upon a solitary mountain
aide, where there was water and fruit trees
but of the latter he never tasted, feasting his
soul always upon the contemplation of the ce-
lestial fruit prepared for him in his Masters
Kingdom.
And thus, through all these October days, |
we learn how Divine Grace, like the sunshine
Of Heaven, ripens in the heart of man, those
Christian virtues which alone can earn for him |
the glorious privilege of being garnered up,
one day, within the granary of Heaven
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