Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-18


take up a paper, magazine, a book, or
hear an address that this question was not
referred to. Now the question is dead. Only
the socialist who has read one page of
science thinks that is living question. Sci
ence, or, rather, scientism, for of science we
must always speak with love and admira-
ton, has failed in all it's pretentions in so
far as it was opposed to religion. 1t is
bankrupt, Brunetiere says, and, as Bal
four says. 1.-The foundations Of belief are
still secure" That is a closed chapter
The question today is social question-in-
dividualism or socialism. Whether the in
and activity, or shall be swallowed up by
the state. which shall feed him, clothe him,
house him. educate and care for him, and
keep him during all his life as child. The
hatred of society in certain classes and
brings about a general desire for change
Some want partial change, and think the
evils of society could be corrected without
destroying the essential principles of soci-
ETY.; but some, animated by violent hatred,
seek the radical destruction of the present
order of things. Society is wrong" says
the extreme socialist; lit Is the source of
all our evils, it Is the cause of all our suf-
fering. The state and the church-tear
them down. Tear down the throne, tear
down the altar; destroy the church, destroy
the state,'' and, as French writer says,
strange the last king with the entrails of
the last priest"
That there are evils to be remedied no one
can doubt. That there are wrongs in the
world every one must admit: and 1t is the
duty and the office of religion and of all re-
ligious people to assist In this reformation.
and that it must be destroyed root and
branch is a proposition that we cannot ad-
nit.
The extreme socialist makes a great mis-
nature could do after years Of patient build
ing and centuries of slow evolution, is I'M
satisfactory-how can we hope for better by
the destruction of 1t and by beginning anew,
when the same human nature which with
such laborious effort created the present Is
the same agency and the same material out
of which the new must be builded. Evil
IDENTIFY, then, the remedy is not in destruc-
ton, but in the diffusion of charity. What
we need today for the remedy of the social
evil and for the benefit of religion is
great diffusion Of charity; and what the
Christian church needs today is great and
effort, great and universal man
Hesitation of that supreme love for human
which has characterized her In every age
The intellectual difficulty the intellectual
question has been answered as far as the
church is concerned. AS matter Of fact
every controversy from st. John to St.
from ST. Augustine to ST. Thorn
as, from ST. Thomas to John Henry New
man and Orestes Brownson. Not that we
underrate or undervalue the Importance of
the intellectual side, as that is why We
make such sacrifices in this country to sup
port Christian education, but the historical
evidence, the preponderating historical evil
dence of the Christian church in her I'M
broken existence since the time of Christ.
makes it as clear as the monday sun amid
ali the warning opinions that she is the one
true church of Christ. You may deny that
evidence if you will, but you may also close
your eyes at MONDAY and say that the sun
is not shining. The question Of the day is
the social question, and We might cry out
with Lacordaire, "Oh! God, give us saints.
give US great saints" Give US a great and
manifestation of charity, the liv-
ing proof and testimony of the mission and
the truth of Christ and of His church. Give
US great bishops and great priests, and
great laymen and great women to contrib
ute toward the solution of the social diff
a new theory, not new system, not a new
scheme for the amelioration of mankind;
what we need is the diffusion of the spirit
and charity of Jesus Christ. "Caritas Del
tationum spiritus sancti.'' Love answers
the difficulty better than science For when
you have objected to all argument-and to
all argument you may object-I answer:
Oh! my brother, if you are hungry,
I will feed you; If you are naked, I will
clothe you; if you are harborless, will take
you In; If you are in prison, will visit you;
II you suffer, will sit by you and speak the
word of consolation; If you are degraded
and loathsome and besmeared and begrimed
with the filth and sin of the world. then still
will love you and worship you, for I will
see in you the personality of God Himself.
las often as you did 1t unto the least of
my brethren. you did it unto me- Come.
We, blessed of my Father" This is the So
luton of all our social evils, and only this.
1.-The charity of Christ Is diffused in our
hearts by the indwellng of the Holy
Ghost"
SUNDAY SCHOOLS
TOD HHINECE