The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-11-12
.THE BOOK OF THE LILY"


academy III TINS city last saturday
,lgnt, MISS LlIllan DAVIS. II, gave [
reNieW or The Book of the Lny,' BY
Sister Rita, VINO, before she entered
the order was a pupil al st. Mary's
As many of the oder graduates Were
present on this occasion, IT wa,
deemed fitting and timely u render
some slight tribute OF appreciation II
one whose death had caneu forth 81
many glowing eulUgIes. Her memory
IS revered by al VINO knew ner or her
work. Miss Davis saiu, in part;
me BOOK OF the Lily Is d yolu-
ume of poems ON whose title page We
ind the Individuality OF the author,
modestiy suppressed in these words;
~ .-isttr OF the Holy Cross" 10
which mlgnt be audeu, anu by an o!d
pupil OF st. Marys of Utah." TOR such
IS really the case. OF unis Alumrae
association, indeed, she SHOULD right
! fully be enrolled as member. al
though her name Is not found on Inc
list of graduates; for she left Salt
Lake TO hollow ner religious vocation
two or three years before the 81.
Marys charter was obtained Thai
she was a leader IN the class ranks,
however, may be inferred from an m
scription on The fly leaf of large 81
BILE III the graduates room. which
reads thus:
ITO Miss Louise Hefernan, as ID
memento of ner distinction IN the
class of Christian Doctrine ST Mary's
Academy of Salt Lake City, Utah, July
/, 1876. by one devoted and grateful
~ devoted TO her father General Ref
fernan.-Joseph S. Alemany. Arch
Blshop of san Francisco.
Fitting is it. then. on such an
occasion as this, 10 add our little
woru 10 the testimony that has been
accorded the rare merits and worthy
achievements of an old pupil of our
alma mater. Many, If not all of you,
nave, l am sure, read some of those
beautiful tributes to the memory of
Sister Rita that have been published
in different parts OF the country ever
since her death last July.
\; x *
The life sketch of sister is brief
ly told: The day she received the holy
habit, the date Of her profession, the
employment she filled in holy obedi-
ence, and the date of her death. In
that short statement, however. vol |
umes are implied; and from all that
we have heard and read descriptive of
Sister Rlta's character and work, we
The confident that many volumes might |
be filled with recOunting her virtues |
ind her many gracious acts. The poems !
we have studied from her pages are |
sufficient to teach us much about her;
for in The Book of the Lily we be-
hold the fair, white thoughts that
from out the fertile soil of a
mind and heart consecrated to God
ana all that is pure and sweet and
holy. This little volume is said to
contain only her choicest poems AT
he time of the golden jubilee of the
Mother House of the Sisters of the
Holy Cross at Notre Dame, Ind, she
wrote history of the order down to
hat date, entitled THE Story of Fifty
Years"
IN preparing this little appreciation
If one We are so pro8d 10 call our
cry own, yielded to the temptation to
Iuote from some of those tributes L
lave mentioned. In doing this, how
yer, | found a new dificulty-an en-
of richeS-for each in
urn seemed more beautiful and more
incerely laudatory than the other. l
i've the following two excerpts. both
rom non-Catholic pens:
In face and disposition she was a
eautiful woman" wrote the editor of
he South Bend Tribune. Her pres
nee was like sunshine, and her con-
ersation brilliant and most interest
1g. Wherever she went she was wei
ONE: and her coming was like the
dvent OF soft and wonderful
ght'
My second quotation is from an ar :
Gle by Hamilton Wright Mabie: She
ore the dress Of her order as natur- 8
lly as if it were the universal dress ;
women, and her religion was at ,
nee faith, service, poetry. She was ,
It apart to a life of holy thoughts,
ut her beautiful humanity was not
bscured but made luminous by il.
er face was wonderfully responsive {
, fine thoughts and beautiful speech. :
he taught literature as one who lived :
eside the fountains of it's inspiration. ;
he had quiet seriousness, a charm :
g humor, natural gift of judg-
ent. To know her was to be in the
mosphere of the saint, without any i
Turing to the grace and sweetness I
the woman" f
At the close of the address three s
her members of the graduating class "
ad the following selections from
he Book of the Lily" each one being
efaced by pointed appreciation of is
particular merits: THE Song of the q
lies THE Heights" Sunset at No +,
: Dame MY Castle of Dreams" o
he Bell l Hear" and THE Heart of o
a w - :.