The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-06-02
DEV0II0N TO TIE SACRED HEART IN
p SCHOOLS.
Children can Understand all that is Essential

SCHOOLS
Children can Understand all that is Essential
| WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN ONE COL
| LEGE. M
(From the Messenger of the Sacred Heart for June.
| - =" That children can understand all thai
| is essential for devotion to the Sacred Heart
and that they will eagerly practice 1t when
once it bas been explained to them, is proved
| by every day facts. In numerous converts and
colleges all over the world, the confraterpity
has been successfully established. We find. in
all these institutions, young boys and girls
| between the ages of eight and fourteen, per
| forming not only the ordinary practices in
honor Of the Sacred Heart, but besides these,
| numerous other acts of piety and modification
even dream. In many piaces it is customary
to suspend near the door of the chapel q box
into which, at the end of the week. each one
drops clip of paper, giving the number Of
the Apostl.ship of Prayer. The list Of Com
| munioDs, penauoes. prayers, acts of charity
and self-denisl, found in one of these boxes at
the close of month, would surprise many
who imagine that children are incapable of
anything but play and forced application to
study. We can call to mind at the present
large proportion Of the pupils are weekly com
municants. We have often seen some of these
same pnpils-merry, fun-loviDg, quick temper.
ed bel ings-stealing away from the play groond
fore the Blessed Sacrament. We have seen
them tolerating without murmur the rude
ness and petty prosecutions of their compan-
ions, or even submi ittng to punishment
imposed on them, by mistake, for faults which
they had not committed all this they
did in order to have something to offer the
Heart of Our Lord.
Thank God there are many such schools in
the United States; and the proficiency, piety.
and good conduct of their pu pills show that Onr
Divine Redeemer has kept His romise of be-
StOwinp sDecia al n all fhOaA who shO nld
encourage the devotion to His Sacred Heart
We hope that the day is not long distant hen
this devotion will be practiced as it should be,
in all our institutions of learning. Let Us
instil an earnest practical love of the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary, into ali the members of orr
younger generation, and we need have little
fear of shipwreck for their faith or morality.
Tt e writer has seen colleges thoroughly re-
formed and made schools of notity we'll as
of science, by the forts of one energetic man
who introduced and fostered this devotion
amongst the students.
Some years ago friend OF ours was in charge
of q large class of young men in q well-known
of the session, after insisting on the necessity
of labor for success, he dwelt at some len 9Th
on the still greater necessity of prayer. This
gave him an occasion of mentioning the pro-
mises which Our Lord made to Blessed Nsrgs-
ret Mary in favor of those who should honor
His Sacred Heart. From this he very naturally
passed to brief explanation of the devotion
itself, and finally suggested that it might be
we'll if the students were to enroll themselves
in the Arch.con fraternity, and form bands of
nine for the officer. The next morning list
professor, with request that he should have
it Transcribed in the Register of the Apostle |
ship. Several of the young men were Protest |
ants, and, upon being asked by one of their |
com mpanions for their motives in joining, ans- |
wered: s'Weli, of coarse we can't go to Com |
munion like the other boys, but we can surely /
love the Heart of Jesue which loves Us y
much, and we osn try to behave ourselves bet |
ter, and to do something in atonement for the |
insults offered to Oar Lord"
By means of q little dexterous management, |
and few words of exbortation spoken from |
time to time, the fervor of the class was easily
kept up. At the end of the school year, the |
result was as follows: Most of the students |
had become weekly commu nicsnts the Pro.
into the Church; the custom had been adopted |
of making q general novena before every seri-
Gus sundertsklng-such as examinations, COM
petitions, etc; the admirable conduct of the
class excited particular notice, even in a col-
lega eases of bad behavior were rxceed-
lngly rare; the diligence of the young men " as
such that the professor bad rather to restrain
thep, than to urge them on in their opplica-
tion TO study. And these were ordinary college
boys, full of llte and fan, and fond Of play.
There was not single 'tnope" among them
either before or after their adopting the devo.
ton to the Sacred Heart on the contrary the
more fervent of them were the very ones who
were continually in demand on the play. ground
10 take leading part in some game or other.
One of them. whose long and frequent Visits to
the Blessed Sacrament were source of con-
,inual edifcstion to his professors, was as
much enved by the younger Students for his
Ikill in base bali and gymnastics as he was
admired by his classn Rtes for his ease in unra-
Yelling knotty passages of Tactus and st.
asil These facts will not seem strange to
bose who have had much dealing with youth.
oious, straightforward lads who can be trusted
n all circumstances, are always cbeerfol.
COST OF THE ARMY BEFORE AND SINCE