The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-07-04
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THE MAN WHO MADE HIM.

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THE MAN WHO MADE HIM.
cats. Now often in a religious order,
even in a teaching order, a man like
that can get on we'll if he is distin-
guished for piety; but this man-we
shall call him Brother Ignotus-was
not so distinguished. He was a good
man, of course, but not conspiciously
sacrosanct. After some years he GER
tainly must have been a failure, be-
cause he admitted it himself-when a
man does that, monk or no monk,
there must be some truth in it.
well, Brother Ignotus told his
troubles to his superiors, and his SUI
periors gave him what consolation
they could. His nerves were in bad
way, they said, and he needed a
change. Why not go to the novitiate
community and take long walks in
the country and teach a little maybe
and do some outside work on the
farm? Brother. Ignotus adopted the
suggestion-he was monk enough to
know that suggestions are sometimes
more than suggestions.
"The country, however, didn't seem
to do him much good. His feet went
back on him, so the long walks were
out of the question. He tried his
hand at picking grapes, but after he
had tainted three times in four days
his Brothers urged him to desist
And of course he misunderstanding
had become a habit of his.
What can l do?' he asked, deep
in detection. 4 can't work, l can't
play, l can't study
"'You might try prayer his new
director suggested. That will do you
no harm, at any rate
GA bit brusque, you think? Well,
perhaps he was man who had been
around a novitiate rather too long for
his own good, and the milk of human
kindness had soured somewhat. That
| don't know. But he doesn't espe-
cially matter. He mattered very much
at the novitiate, and his novices knew
it.; but in this story he doesn't mat
ter at all-which is a good moral for
all superiors, including governors and
judges and bishops.
Brother Ignotus looks his advice.
He went daily to the chapel and
prayed and prayed. And naturally he
prayed for something. He was not a
mystic, and he couldn't simply kneel
there and lose himself in the contem-
plation of divine things. He had been
something of failure, you remember,
even in holiness. So he prayed for
a special object. And what do you
suppose that object was?
1.-THE prayer of Brother Ignotus was
substantially this: Lord, l confess
that l have wasted my opportunities,
squandered much of the time that
Thou hast given me, stamped the word
Failure on my life. And l am sorry
for these things. For them | accept
all the responsibility and all the
punishment. But one favor l beg of
Thee, o Lord! Make me to succeed
in just one thing in all my life! And
let me succeed, dear Lord, without
knowing of my SUGGEST
"Such was his prayer. And it was
answered. And Brother Ignotus went
to his grave never suspecting that it
had been answered.
"They gave him little teaching to
do at the novitiate, very little. He
helped in what is known as the junior
department, where boys who feel
themselves called to the Brothers life
prepare for the novitiate proper. Only
the better class of boys ever get to
that junior department, but they
weren't good enough to resist the op-
portunity of enjoying themselves
while Brother Ignotus was with him.
Brother Ignotus, you will remember,
couldn't keep two cats-even in the
house of the Lord.
"One day that tender-hearted mas
ter of novices looked in, compressed
his lips and vanished And the next
morning he spoke to poor Brother Ig-
notus somewhat in this strain:
It would please us very much to
let you continue in that class as long
as it keeps you. occupied: but we
really can't have this institution de
moralized. Your pupils are learning
nothing, and they are becoming dis
orderly. OF course, / don't attempt to
fix the blame know where it be-
longs, but Wen not discuss that. So
: