The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-12-31
Reraing Star and Catholic Messenger
Il Grand OPPORTUNITY.
TIMELY WORDS FIFTY SPOKEN.
IN. Y. Fresman,a Journal.

chan 6fty Thousand men, able and willing
/ 10 work, and many of them skilled mecban
lfos, who can find no work to do; and whose
s@eeue means are exhausted.
There are tens of thousands of other men
In New York, giving practical illustration
OF che value of wide spread academic, or
college, scbooliDg, who, by their way of
@ducatiOn, are Incapable of the rougher
forms Of manual labor, but are without the
Gaeans of living, and can find no work they
4re able to do.
There are great many, hitherto in bust
4 uess of one kind or other, who never
dreamed they could come to want, bat
whose business has gone from them and
eoft them without means for obtaining the
6aresE necessaries of life.
And the wives and the children, of so
Wany of these various classes And then
the poor young honest girls and boys,
without parents; and, sometimes, without
akSsndsl
The utterly false and fictitious ways of
diving, cultivated especially in this coun-
s<Ey, for q generation past, is responsible
aGor much of this misery. Young people
have been brought mp with false ideas.
They have not been taught that the curse is
blessing by the example Of the voluntary
weyerty of Our Lord, of His Mother Imma-
|so9late, and of O host of His holy ones sin
the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy
eEaily bread 1" Labor has been despised.
I Un0R fault. individuals have been, COM
ezA0nly its victims, rather than its authors
E%he disastrous work of the Trades Unions,
has done its part to paralze business by it's
spreposterous demands for high wages, and
&0W hours work.
The case of 80 great portion of the
{coQntry in actual want of food and clothing
de-, however, the present fact we have to
deal with. Those very good people who
aaAve never committed fault, and have no
need to ask pardon of God Almighty-in
EAeir own esteem of themselves, may fulfil
&heif part by Gliding these suffering people
&0e their past faults. Most of US poor NOR
s&nls need to be more charitable.
Row, practically, how can we do it
4 An many Southern cities, when an Epide-
znic breaks out, such as yellow fever, or
aholera, business is Frustrated. Large
uumbers of men are often accustomed, then,
Ase0 band together in associations and, at
l$&he risk of their lives, nurse the sick, and,
Arcording to their means, help the suffer-
Z Honest poverty, especially in all our great
Itiee, has broken upon us as an epidemic!
Y a there are tens of Thousands of the shame
Il soed needy, who never framed their lips to
slc Cor alms, that are psrishing of cold and
znger.
Meantime, this general distress is the
secession for the expert and professional
s1ggars, who thrive at their trade, and will
10 no other work. They assail us in plausi
Ole tones, at every street corner. They,
Wkostly, either do not need aims, or make
Il = bad use of what they get.
IL How, then, can We reach the deserving
y Door
IA, in all our cities and larger towns, we
" have the benefcent st. Vincent de Psul's
Society. Its members go to the houses OF
abodes of the needy and suffering. Without
parade or published reports, aid is given,
J1diciousiy, and kindly-when occasion
h requires 1t, very privately.
We would suggest then; nay we would
X urge, on our young Catholic friends. the
4 Joining one or other Conference of this So
n ciety-for the period of this general distress
= ut least. IfCatholic men would take this
u matter to heart and unite with this organ
ization already admirably at work, they
would do vast amount of good they
would Fl I'D in it's works rare solace for
4 %neir own troubles, they would win merits
for heaven; and If they generally, and ear
ti-nestly went into the work, they might-who
s5euesys turn away much OF tho wrath of
q God that, evidently, is about to fall heavily
Ga every class of people in our afflicted
country.
Where are the funds to come from! This
N snceseut is time when every Catholic
should set himself to doing penRuce. With
n out injury t. the body, and with great gain
to the soul, every Catholic man il ordinary
Roalth aud in comfortable circumstances,
can, during this winter, spare something,
every day, from his food, his drink, hIs
cigars, or his innocent amusements. Make
ehis custom general. Propose it, and pro,
mote it, in a pleasant and joyful way
among all your companions. The extern
ION Of this little act of self denial would,
in the gross, amount to large sum, and
relieve a vast amount Of suffering. But
& che best work it will accomplish will be in
the soul, in the heart, in the mind in the
character, of those who will do it
Let us try it, all of us who know we can
make spariDgs from things we indulge in,
that, though not harmful, we can as well
10 without. Let US try it, for this one
winter.
.v-visL5 our readers, thcse of them that are
a. q condition to do come little in this way
would not throw aside, and forget as 8
mere newspaper article. Let us rally cact
other, and set about it. This is time o
tbrnuubOut Ia W hole world