The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-06-10
THE VIRTUE or GLADNEss.

Father Robert Kane, S. j., the we'll
known blind preacher of Dublin, is
continually intoxicating the virtue of
gladness and cheerfulness. The spir-
it of gloom, which not only makes one
finch in the face of danger, but causes
one also to see imaginary danger
where none exists, should be looked
upon as a fault. In the course of one
of his New Years sermons he says:
''All things are intended by God to
work out our good, and our good is in
reality identical with our happiness.
In this life God never sends what we
call misfortune, except in so far as it
is useful or necessary for our good
Trials or troubles God never allows,
but with such pervious aim and actual
ordering as makes them, when we
bear them as we ought, but in joy
and ripen into happy harvest. Mere
punishment, as such, that is, the war
ring down of evil, is for hereafter.
But in Gods present Providence the
real worth and real beauty of life only
reach their full freshness and fruitful
ness when they have been sown in
tears. Yet, even these tears, though
dull and bitter at the time, become
bright and sweet as dewdrops touched
by sunrise, for their falling passes, but
their fruitfulness remains They are,
then, only blessings in disguise. Thus
there is no evil in human life which
may not yet be put to happy profit;
there is no good but may be blessed.
This is a very bright way of looking
at human life. 1t is the only true way.
Look, then, at the bright side To all
this some people answer that the
bright side is, indeed, the right one to
look at, but that they find themselves
hopelessly confronted with the dark,
or they will say that they do look at
things under their most favorable as
pect, when, in reality they shut them
selves up obstinately in brooding
| gloom. In all such cases there is one
chief characteristic, worry; and one
chief cure, resolute control of
thought. In our age of over-anxious
haste and ever harrassed energy, when
life is whirled forward at the maxi
mum of high pressure in work and
with the minimum of pause for rest,
when men are mature at sixteen and
worn out at thirty-fve, when effort is
let loose without guidance, and
spurred on without control, it is no
wonder that the nerves should lose
their steadiness, the mind it's balance,
and the will it's sedateness. No won
der that now there should be such
fretfulness in thought, such sickness
in resolve, such fever in life. No won
der there should be worry. Worry,
understand to be, as a cause, "use-
less thought about trouble with it's
consequent result of inward morbid
ness and outward peevishness." Trou-
BILE of whatever kind, is what casts a
shadow over life. Now, to take such
shadow into consideration in a wise
and healthy way never causes worry.
That man should meet his trouble
face to face, measure it, weigh it,
grapple with it, and by the invincible
power of his spiritual will make of it
no curse but blessing, this is manly;
makes one sturdier and, therefore,
Drawer, and, therefore, brighter
Coming from the lips of one totally
blind, these inspiring words are dou-
bly, and trebly inspiring. Let us try
in the year now before us to follow
the blind preachers advice.