The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-11-02
cARN1voRous CATHOLICS.
Those Who Indulge in Eating Meat
on Friday.

Those Who Indulge in Eating Meat
on Friday.
With perhaps more desire to ingrati-
ate themselves with their Protestant
friends than to crafty their appetites.
there are, it is sad to relate, a large
number of Catholics who break the law
of Holy Church by eating meat on
Friday. says the Catholic Press Of Sid
ney, N. S. w. 1t is phase of shoneen-
ism fortunately found little among the
poorer people, who make the majority
of the church in this country, but af-
fecting chiefly those well-to-do and
fa!irly-to-do who benefit so little by
prosperity that as they get on in the
world they begin to think more of the
approval of man than of heaven. By
ordering steak in public restaurant
on Friday they hope to give the i'm
preston that they are broadminded,
that there is no bigoty about them,
and that they belong to altogether. a
religionists of theirs who scrupulously
order fish. This type Of Catholic is
to be found we'll represented in Sidney,
and in the various eating houses we
have seen them in numbers aping this
false liberalism in religion. But if
they only knew it, instead Of creating
a good impression on Protestants,
whose opinion they appear to hold dear
er than that of God, His Church and
their fellow Catholics, they are earning
contempt and derision, for curiously
more be reconciled to a Catholic eating
meat on Friday than the Christian
mind to a pork eating Jew. Instead Of
impressing his Protestant friends with
the idea that he is decent fellow with
no nonsense about him, they regard
him with vague distrust, and among
themselves talk about him as a bad
Catholic His action savors of hyp-
ocrisy, especially when they know that
he goes to Mass. and they are rather
inclined to dislike him for his laxity.
We are Mt present Treating this subject
from a purely world point of view,
and we can assure Catholics who are
so very anxious to stand well with
proteStants that they will never lose
their friends by remaining faithful to
the precepts of their religion. The
Catholic servant who enters Il Prot
estant household and hopes to secure
hel position by eating mutton OH Fri
day ut once becomes an object of sus-
likely to count the spoons daily than
raise her wages. 1t has been observed
that when a Catholic girl has descend
ed to petty pecuation she has grown
careless of her church, and one of the
first signs of Catholic Indifference is
THE nOn-OhScrvallcc of the law regard
ing Friday. In society the same feel
ing obtains.' The Catholic young man
who happens along on a Friday to take
pot luck with Il Protestant family, and
with an alfcctation of liberty. and says
nothing when he is helped to beef in
ours the suspicion of his HOSTS ''He
is ashamed OF his religion" they whis-
per, and they regard him us Il poor
fellow, a weak-knced sycoplnnt. who
cannot he trusted. On the other hand
respect and esteem is the portion Of
the man who quietly declines the meat,
and reminds them that lit is Il day of
abstinence with him. 1t lis just what
they would expect, and he wins that
additional regard which amy man of
amy denomination INSPIRES by unaffect-
ed adherence to his principles. 1t is
just the difference between the shOnecn
and the gentleman, and Professionals IRE
quick to appreciate lit. Dr. Corbctt.
Bishop of Sale. once met Protestant
gentleman who sought to pose as Il lib
ernl man in religious matters, half
limiting that he was ready to become
convert, "for." said he II am afraid
that i am bad Protestant ''l.here-
fore" observed the Bishop Jelly, 81 am
also afraid you would make m equal
ly bad Catholic" Just as undesirable
to Professionals is the mcat-cating Cath
Ollie. In fact, they would prefer even
q pOrli-eating Jew.
But this intoxicating practice is not
confined to public restaurants and
chance dinners where silly and coward
ly Catholics try to be smart and semi
atheistc to win an approving smile
which they are astOniShed to find Is
withheld. 1t is to be found in the
home of the really bad Catholics, and
in the home of the mixed marriage.
The wife who marries Protestant
will sometimes plead that she has an
excuse to ignore her religious obliga-
tions. But there is none. Her hus-
band has married her as Catholic,
and only in extreme cases does he en-
deavor to make her lax in her religious
duties. Even agnostics prefer relig-
dous wife, if only for the sake of the
children, who in after life reflect their
mother. The excuse some times adj
vanced by the Catholic wife for her
laxity is the trouble of preparing two
sets of meals on Friday-one for her