The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-08-29
OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS.

OOh VA 4aOL1C HCAOOL0.
In a short time our Catholic
schools will reopen for the new
term. 1t is the duty of parents to
see that the children attend pune
tually and regularly from the very
first day. Lack of punctuality and
of regularity holds back the good
work Of the schools, is unfair to
the teachers, to the children who
are regular and punctual, and to
the children whose parents are
careless about this most important
matter.
In our dangerous and troubled
times parents owe it to their chill
dren, to the Church, to their coun-
try and to Almighty God, that
they do everything in their power
to secure for their children the
priceless benefits Of a sound Cath
Ollie education. Educators all over
the country see what is lacking in
the teaching afforded to non-Cath-
Ollie children, and it causes them
grave anxiety; they see also that
Catholics are right in their efforts
and sacrifices to keep the children
close to Almighty God in the ten
der years Of youth. Those non
Catholic denominations which
have managed to retain their hold
upon any considerable portion of
the great Christian tradition of
the Catholic Church, adopt our
principles and our methods in re-
gard to the religious education of
the young. Quite as instructive
to all thoughtful minds are the
efforts of the enemies Of civiliza-
ton and Of God to keep God out
Of the schools and so to rear a
generation Of atheists.
In a few short years the chill
dren Of Catholic parents will be
going out into a world whose at
mosphere is laden with the poison
GUS germs that destroy all morals,
all character, all civilization. In
the newspapers, in the popular
literature, in political and So
cial gatherings-evervwheret those
dangerous notions will meet them,
everywhere they will be con-
fronted with the most seductive
temptations against virtue and
faith, everywhere they will hear
the whisper Of the insidious temp
ter soliciting them to abandon the
paths Of uprightness and piety, to
give free rein to passion and pride,
Thoughtful men foresee the upris-
ing Of terrible storm that will
wreck our civilization, unless
mighty bulwarks be erected to
oppose it. Catholic education is
the one thing necessary. Earnest
men among the non-Catholic de-
nominations see this, and as has
been said already, they are trying
to follow our example as best they
may.
The children of today will be
the men and women of tomorrow.
Our schools are doing splendid
work; but still it can be truly said
that much more could be done if
all parents were as loyal in this
regard as they ought to be. If all
our men and women were what
they ought to be, if they knew
their religion and practised it as
they ought, we should hear little
or nothing of the outrageous
calumnies against Holy Church
which plague the country at pres
ent. A true man or woman, by
clear and ready knowledge of the
faith, and by the sturdy fortitude
and solid virtue which are the
fruits of Catholic training, would
do more to refute calumny and to
dispel prejudice than unlimited
preaching and writing can do.
The children themselves must
be trained and fortified for their
own sake. They must be made fit
to keep the faith, to preserve them
selves unspotted from the evil
world in which their lot is cast
They must learn to respect con-
science, to stand up for principle,
to regard themselves as God chill
dren, bought by the Blood of
Christ, with an eternal destiny
and responsibilities that reach out
beyond the grave. Parents who
really love their children and feel
the weight of the responsibility
which God placed upon them
when He entrusted these fresh and
beautiful young souls to their low
| ling care, viii think no sacrifice