St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-07-17

twain, and with one-half clothes the beggar.
The succeeding night his biographer
narrates, he sees Christ, the Lord, one-half of
Martins own garment wrapped around his
sacred limbs. St. Elizabeth of Hungary in
her forgetful zeal nurses leper upon the
couch of the landgrave TOMS, her husband.
He is told of the occurrence, and hastens in
rage to the palace, but uplifting the coverlet
his eyes are dazzled, the legend says, with the
brightness of Christ's own countenance. St.
Jane of Chantol, the daughter of q princely
house of France, was wont to speak to the
poor with the reverence due to sovereigns
for she beheld in them, she declared, the
King of Kings. The Catholic church aims to
be in her action consistent with her teaching,
and she supports this teaching with the force
of powerful organization. She not only
teaches the duty and value of charity She
officially urges the practice OF charity, pre-
pares the way for it, organizes it. The priest
for his parish thesbishop for his diocese. the
sovereign pontiff for the whole church is by
virtue of his position, the father of the poor,
the consider of the afflicted. What he cannot
do personally he is bound so far as circum-
stances allow, to have done by Others The
churchs entire organization, with its ten
thousand ramifcations and the manifold
ENGINES OF POWER
it controls, whatever other purposes it NAV
serve, is committed to charity, the works of
which from her own declaration are the evil
dences of her life, end her titles TO the respect
of the world. Suffering anywhere and every
where is her golden opportunity. She seeks
it out, she rejoices when she has found it. and
bends herself at once to the task of relieving
it with all the glad hopefulness of the tried
warrior stepping into the field Of battle, his
appearance upon which has ever been the
signal that fresh laurels shall decorate his
brow. Her ambition is to carve for herself
in monuments more enduring than brass or
fDv fN,. al
of men this record: She has passed by doing
good. 1t is not to be presumed however high
the ideal of Catholic charity, or however res
olute be her will to realize the ideal. that all
members of the church shall be possessed of
true charity. Individual free will re mains to
obey or toreSist; circumstances, too, of time
and place may interpose obstacles, and there
will be the many who will bear the name but
who will be strangers to the spirit of he
church; there will be the many who will give
only partial loyalty to her teachings. But
due allowance made for the shortcomings
of human nature in times and places
where Catholic action has play, great
charitable work must and does ex-
iSt. Immense sums are contributed
in aims deeds, asylums, schools, reformato-
ries are numerous, each center of Catholic
life, an Episcopal see for instance, is made a
center Of charitable institutions. He who
has visited with painstal1ng eye Catholic
city, or Catholic country, or city and couu-
try, in which Catholics are largely repre-
sented be he friend or foe of the church,
be he a believer, if you wish that he has
found in other matters d hundred subjects of
blame and scorn, | am sure he will bear me
out in my statement as to the facts of Catho-
lie charity. | will name but one cty-Rome.
A non-Catholic traveller, Mr.. Eustace. (Classi-
cal Tour) writes: mo country exhibits more
splendid examples of public benevolence or
furnishes more effectiug instances of private
oh ar itv She has the hnnOra hla a1y of
surprising all the kingdoms OF Europe in the
number and magniticence Of her charitable
foundations. To describe these in detail
would require separate work of considera-
bic extent; and it will be sufficient to inform
the reader that there is no disease of body,
no distress of mind, no visitation of Provi-
dence, to which the human form is liable,
from its first appearance to its final deposit
ton in the grave, which is not relieved with
tenderness, and provided for, if beyond relief,
with prodigality of charity seldom witnessed
elsewhere From my own personal observa-
ton OF the charities of Rome, can say that
Mr. Eustaces words literally true. 1t
would be impossible to name a want for
which provision has not there been made. To
protect helpless infancy and provide for de-
crepit age, to shield the innocent from
temptation and bring forth the fallen from
crime, to spare the blushes of shrinking pow
erty, to assist the exertions of struggling
merit, and to repair the broken
fortunes of honest but unsuccess-
full industry, 10 afford consolation and
relief to the sick, the prisoner and the
dying, and secure the honors of Christian
burial for the dead-such are the leading OBJ
ects, branching out into thousand details,
OF the compreh enSive charity Of Rome.
Heroic charity blooms in the portico of the
church. [ mean that charity which cheer
fully sacrifices life in the service of the
neighbor. The missionary embarking for the
island of Molaki to spend himself IN the serv-
ice of the lepers, certain beforehand that the
loathsome disease should one day spread it.
self over his own body; the sisters, leaving
their New York convent at moments no.
tice 20 land on the island in the East river,
where smallpox patients need their care: the
priest, rushing headlong amid shells and bull
lets to whisper consolation into the ears of
the dying warrior; scenes of this kind are
ordinary, common occurrences. No one
wonders at them. The marvel would be if
they didn't exist. The church organizes char
ity, organization establishing unity of ac-
ton amid members is in all matters the means
to great and enduring success The Catholic
church herself, great and powerful organ-
cation, is fully conscious of this fact, and her
usual rule of conduct is to seek results
through minor organizations modelled some
what upon her ownself and governed by her
own supreme power. Through history, in
the world to-day, wherever work of char
ity is to be performed, an evil, moral or ply
sic al, to be encountered, battalion of de-
voted persons. men or women as the case
may warrant, spring up if one
ALREADY SUITED
to meet the emergency IS not in existence and
pledges in the name of charity, strength and
life-thoroughly disciplined, inspired by the
highest motives, with an eye single to the pur-
pose in view. l speak of the religious orders
in the church. You have read their name in
story and legend, you have eSpied their mem
bers moving through the streets of our cities
with odd dress and manner demure / will
tell you the secret springs that control and
maintain these organizations. Their men,
bers have spoken before the altar their VOWS
binding for life, of virginity, poverty and ODE
dience. The VOWS fit them for and confne
them to their vocation. They are freed from
all family ties and obligations, they are freed
from all care of worldly things from all desire
of worldly advancement, from ali promptings
of selfish interest. Their time, their love is
undivided-all going into the service of God
and the neighbor. Poor themselves by choice.
they love those who are poor from necessity,
and the latter love them, knowing well what
sacrifices have been made by them. Belong
ing by birth and association to all classes in
society, often the highest, they are
the Intermediates between the rich
and poor, drawing from one to relieve
the other, and bringing all into mutual con-
tact and love, fusing all hearts by the warmth
of their own into one brotherhood. Obedience
which is however limited by the terms of the
rule of each community, and which never, as
the world sometimes supposes, brings the
surrender Of conscience, gives unity of di-
rection to the energies of all, putting each
one in the right place, obtaining movement
at the right time, with the order, precision
and certainty of the best drilled armies. Each
religious order is an entirety of itself, having
its own rule and governments. All are sub
jected beyond their own immediate superiors
to the chief governor Of the church, and
under him. with certain well defined limita-
lions, to the heads of dioceses. The three
vows are common to all orders. Special de-
tails in the rules. Special training of the
members secure adaptability for the special
work assigned to each one. Whence the holy
and daring courage of those soldiers of char
ity, for courage is needed to leave homes
and lands, to close the soul to visions of