New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1895-03-20

thescaprices Of fads. The difference be-
tween the theoretical and practical OBJ
servance IS . satiric CONNIE ntary upon
the faith of the church il her own doc
trincs, the loyalty Of her members and
sincerity Of their professions, and the
consistency Of the deeds.
The popular idea of Lent seems to Be
that is q sort of q clearing house for re-
lligious obi gations. q time wien all III.
lyirtuous deeds necessary for a year may
be performed. Pennance is done for the
sins Of the past 10 months, ii order to
g gain imm unity from punishment for the
transg ressions to come. This pennance
does not consist IN the prescribed fasting
worship ping. almsgi living and foregoing
gaiety. A much more simple arrange
ment has been discovered. It consists
in selecting some one pleasure and deny
ing ones self that indulgence during
Lent. Very often it is an article Of food !;
most frequently it is card aying. This
simple device obviates many Of the diff
fculties Of doing pennace. It's an easy
matter to select some foible that is not
at all indispensable to ones comfort
And as for card playing, of course, one
may continue to play in the house circle
or at small gatherings-'sjast our set,
= and as no large parties are given, there
is really nothing lost, A disagreeable
prude-possessed Of highminded princi-
ples-m light critic1se such methods. He
might argue that they evade zthe require
ments of the church and the purposes of
Lent. He might add that they are a
form Of deception, hide and-seek with
conscience that bushes good impulses
with pretense of acting, that blunts
the PERCEPTION of right and wrong and
forms habits of insincerity, falseness and
hypocrisy st.. i -.a*
SO much for the Inconsistencies of the
popular observance of Lent. The literal
doctriDal Interpretation is also open to
severe criticism in the light of modern
science, psychology and ethics. It is a
relic of the Pagan ideas that colored the
theology of the early church. 1t is prim-
arily system of doing pennance, which
is contrary to the teachings of Christ.
The infection of self-punishment is a
barbarous and primitive custom, identi-
cal with the savage's mutilation of him.
self to avert the consequences of his sins
and appease an angry deity. At the best
the abstinence can only be regarded as a
method of self-denial. It is SORT of
gymnastic feat of the soul, by which it
displays it's proves in virtue. Its os-
tenslble purpose is to strengthen the
spiritual muscles for the resistance of
evil. How much strength can be gained
in six weeks exhibition, while hygenic
exercises are neglected for The rest Of
the year, is something of question. But
granting that the soul is strengthened
by this metaphorical club-swlnging, it
must be admitted that the purpose of
self-improvement is the lowest possible
ideal of spirituality. It is a sordid, mar
row, selfish view of ethics.
This puny subjective virtue is the very
element that is nauseating practical,
charitable people with Christian preten
sions. A morbid, interpretive hoard
ing and jingling of few little misery
virtues is contemplate piece Of egot-
ism. If the good people would refrain
from lifting their Immaculate skirts from
the worlds mire while they indulge in
the edifying process of analysing their
own qualities, complacently approving
the good and rebuking the bad. if. in
stead, they would put on work-a-day
clothes and help "clean up the result
would be infinitely better. It is told>of
the gleat Wilburforce, whose life was
overlooking with noble. spontaneous cf-
forts for the good of those about him
that he was once questioned by relig-
ion monger about the condition of his
soul. The philanthrepist stared at the
little man in amazement. and confessed
that he had been so busy that he had
never given the subject any considera-
ton. ,Self-denial IS No virtue unless it
has some worthy objective purpose. 1t
might as we'll not be performed unless
some one else is benefited by it. Self
improvement is not legitimate aim. It
should be the reflex of right living. :sa
If penance and self-denial are con-
trary to the laws of ethics, what shall
be said of the material shape they as >
sumo in fasting. It has long been a dis
putting point where the soul is located,