The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1889-06-22
THE GOOD OF SOCIETIES,
Haterialism and Indifference Sufficient
Reason Why Young Men Should
Enroll Their Names in
GOOD CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS
To Regard Associations as Unneces-
sary Often a Grievous Error
of Parents.

The necessity for the organization
and maintenance of spiritual and liter
ary societies for our Catholic young
men is shown by the fact that The
Church, says a recent issue OF the
Church News. is constantly losing hun
dreds and thousands OF her children
either on account of the gross material
ism of the age or through spirit of in
difference like that which for brief
time dried up the waters of faith in the
heart of the brilliant Lacordaire.
The history of our Catholic literary
societies is by no means as encouraging
as we desire. We can all remember
how many of these organizations after
a short life ceased to live; and yet the
good accomplished by them is recog-
nized by all. Unfortunately, many
Catholic parents seem 70 regard such
associations as unnecessary, and con-
slider that they have done their duty
toward their SONS by sending them to
Sunday school and attending to their
religious instruction while they are
young. They are not willing to admit
that there is a possibility of their child
rem ever falling away from the Church.
Consequently they do little or nothing
to encourage them to aid in the build
ing up OF Catholic associations.
If those who are thus blind to an i'm
portant requirement of the age would
reflect for moment and see how many
brilliant minds have surrendered to the
evil one, they would not feel SO secure
either for themselves or for their child
rem. The history of the Church is full
of the records OF the fall OF her sons,
and should be a warning to those who
are so Indifferent to the welfare of tens
of thousands Of young men who are
liable to be led away from the true fold
by the first summons of some infidel ad-
vocate. A little over half century ago
the Christian world looked with ad-
miration upon brilliant coterie Of
master minds in France, headed by M.
Damennais. Among the conspicuous
figures of that group were Gerbet,
Lacordaire and Montalembert, but
above them all rose the form Of the
leader, who in IN hour fell from his
high position to place of abject
wretchedness So & eat was his fall
that Madame Swetchine declared that
none but priest or angel could fail so
low" When de Lamennais fell moth
ing but the grace OF God prevented
many of his followers from experience
ing the same sad fate. When they dis
covered that in spite of their prayers,
enUreaties, and warnings he was deter
mined to walk over the precipice, they,
to save themselves. sorrowfully left
HIM, Lacordaire taking his flight from
La Chesnaie without pauslng to say
farewell to it's master.
When we consider how manv men
have fallen from faith in the past and
how great is the effort made today by
the enemies of God to drag His children
into destruction, we should certainly
endeavor to throw around them all the
protection in our power.
1t was with this aim that Ozanam.
Baillv. Lallier. and few companions
organized the Society of St. Vincent de
Paul at time when infidelity, under
the guise of st. Simonianism, was so
rife in the schools of Paris. The seed
planted by those men has brought forth
good fruit, but there are manv Of our
young men who cannot be interested in
the noble works of this society. We
should therefore try some other means
Of interesting them, and when we con.
slider how successfully our Protestant
friends are using literary associations
for the propagation of heresy, we should
determine to endeavor to infuse new
life in existing Catholic societies and to
organize new ones where they are
needed.
In Protestant circles we find the
wealthy, the scholarly. and the influ-
entail laborinR faithfully to keep the
young men IN the same paths of error
in which they walk themselves. Un.
some of our more prom
inent Catholic gentlemen do not seem
to realize that there is great work for
them to do among the young, especially
by encouraging organizations which
afford both amusement and instruction,