The Irish standard., 1908-12-19

Everything connected with so joy
Gus q feast as tho coming OF Christ
into the world has q charm and an
attractivcness which we strive to pro-
serve.
It is always with qualm Of mis-
giving that we cast our withered ard
d1sintegrating wreaths into tho fire
and although We are anxious TO repel
the charge Of sentimcntalism, yet 'vc
carefully hide in a safo place the
cards which accompanied our gifts.
We are often yielding to an instructive
longing for permanence.
We cling to the pleasant things of
life with pathetic tenacity and
we feel that In losing even the tr;fles
connected with Christmas pleasure
we suffer all irreparable loss. says q
writer in the Boston Pilot.
Giving to the emotional side Of mn
ture it's Importance. every true tclch-
er realizes that tho mind cannot be
nourished while the heart is Bei,g
starved. The intellect receives its
phantasms through the senses, and the
more delicately sensitive these are 20
and firmly the mind will grasp its OBJ
ject. This truth has been expoundcd
for centuries by tho masters OF pill
osophy and is cxemplified by the
Church at this season Of Christmas.
The Catholic Church has always
been a place Of warmth and beauty.
l'or centuries. art found Il welcome
within her walls and architecture
found her a generous friend. Spires
and domes and lofty towers rai.ed
mems minds above the earth as well
as pure and exalted doctrines.
The wonder Of Gods ways with
man was cxpounded from the pulpit
and while the intellect was endeavcr-
ing to comprehend the vast and UNI
ending love which God has for the
soul, the eye was charmed by the
many symbols and scenes from the
life Of the Savior, and the ear re-
joiced in the great wave Of devo-
tional music which rolled through the
arched nave from tho organ. Mind
and heart and senses were absorbed
III tho one thought Of Gods goodness
and power. The whole man. adored
God as every faculty found a stimulus
in the splendor Of Catholic worship
and ceremony.
Some Of the most beautiful customs
in Catholic countries have been mod
ined as civilization advanced. All
may now be instructed by the print
ed page, where formerly the spoken
word Of the preacher was supreme.
The invention of printing was hail
cd by the Church as blessing, and
the sermon changed from long DIS
course Of instruction to an exhorta-
ticn to live according to the preccpts
they had learned. AS education be.
came more general and the possess
sion of a book was no longer cause
for offensive pride, the work Of :he
schools. wisely governed by cathedral
chapters, gave to the children knowl-
edge Of Gods revelation which their
ancestors were obliged to learn from
the lips of tho priest. The change
from oral instruction to the study Of
books was inevitable and was well
coined by the Church. .
The press gained immediate recog-
milton as powerful agent in the diff
fusion Of knowledge and the stage
retained an honored place as a meth
cd Of instruction. It was but natural
that horror of the stage should have
been engendered by the coarse and
obscene comedies which had pleased
the lower strata Of pagan populaces,
but the possibilities Of the stage were
never ignored. ..
Scenes from the scriptures were
often enacted and the vivid imaeina-
tons Of the spectators more than