The Irish standard., 1905-10-14
CATHOLIC GIRLS
Mary Sarsfleld Gilmore Writes
Another Choice Article
Fer Young and Old Of the
Catholic Faith.

trembles sob; and Its smile SHIN
mers with shed and unshed tears as
Spring sun shines between April
showers. The days when boy is girls
childish duplicate are golden days in
deed; but his subtle transformation
into her social complement marks the
dawn Of troublous era. There are
transitional phases Of attraction
through which every girl is bound to
pass. and continual readjustment of
conviction accepted by her innocence
and inexperience as final, frets and
fevers her impatient young spirit,
writes Mary Sarsfield Gilmore in N.
Y. Freeman's Journal.
Were she but left to her own soul
wherein Christ, with the spirit of
love and light, lives and acts-she
would solve in due time, and with no
risk of error, the deep and delicate
problems of womanhood and vocation.
But at this crisis she is not left i'm
the peace her spirit Graves, more's the
pity; but rushed in upon by the in
veterate flippancy and vulgarity Of
matrmony-mad matrons or would-be
matrons, whose banal badinage pro-
fanes the virginia. ground that the an
gels of childhood still tread!
In the first blush of self-conscious-
ness and knowledge, girl is not
only sensitive plant, but sensitive
plate indelibly and disproportionately
impressed by the social spirit environ
ing her; and many precocious and
disastrous marriage no. made in heav-
Ell results from the social microbe in
girl with an unholy horror Of coming
into the unpopular title of 'old maid!"
TO be, or not to be-love and mar
riage?" in truth is the vital question
of every girls life; but it should be
left to ask and answer itself in Gods
good time; and the spiritual and So
cial crudity that anticipates it in mere
wanton frivolity has an account-a
grave immortal account-to render!
But the Catholic engaged girl and
her elder sister whose single blessed
ness is established as permanent
state of life have escaped the perils
of youthful mistake, and solved the
problem Of girlhood differentially, yet
with equal rectitude, each according to
her vocative lights! The bride elect
represents the natural woman super
naturalized; the confirmed spinster-if
her choice of the single state be vol
untary-the exceptional woman whose
marked individuality of temperament,
taste, Or ambition, demands the indie
pendence Of the unmarried life.
Comparison of the social value and
personal happiness of these represen-
tative types is neither just nor deli
cate. Under Divine law, each legiti-
mately is spiritual law unto itself,
bringing free will to the service of
destiny.
Yet the truism is irrefutable that
Gall the world loves a lover" and the
pretty, poetic, blushing, smiling mag
netically joyous and hopeful young
"sweetheart"-as the beautiful old
name signifies the maiden loving and
beloved-undoubtcdly monopoizes pop
ular favor. The spinster, convention
ally maligned as soured and embittered
by disappointment and envy yet whom
countless instances prove the most UNI
selfish and tenderhearted of creatures,
preference that she shares openly or
in secret. In truth, it Is she who above
all other women, reveres love as mys-
terry of beauty and joy, and idealizes
the human lovers.
To sustain the ideality Of love in the
face of realities, is the characteristic
mission Of the Catholic sweetheart To
her alone Is marriage a sacrament OF
the spirit, and not mere social con.
ventton. 1t is she who brings to hel
engagement sense Of moral respon.
sibiNty-a spiritual standard which is
the touchstone of emotional privilege
and romantic precedent. She stands
not only for love, but for Its youthful
Innocence, its tender purity, its divine
obligations. In these sacred attributes
rather than in mere personal happines.
and social honor, the real dignity ant
sweetness of her position consist.
In these, too, lie her supreme charm
her resistless spell for her lover. Ma
terialism is bred in men, but they ar
born ideaMsts, and like Esau. pine 70
their bartered heritage. Their socia
pretence Of flippancy is case of "sti1
waters" Even as these run Deep" s
masculine levity is the mask of ear
nestness; and in spite of appearance
which are against his depth and LOTT
ness of character, the Catholic man |
rare who is not grave and nobly ster
at heart. He has tests and touch
stones which the average woman fail
all unknowingly, and standards Q
Judgment Of which he reveals no sigr
But the Catholic sweetheart need no
fear the husband Of whom the love
is but the gallant precursor. She full
fills-she surpasses his highest ideals
and her little hand not only holds hi
Joy Of earth, but also his faith in tn