Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1914-01-15

&c give worship before all slse 4
the Lord God alone.
Oar civilization is founded OF
the consciences of our children: and,
gentlemen these consciences Of oul
children are in your hands, and your
country calls to You for their de.
fence. l need not remind you of the
children of your own family. II i.
often heroic task to defend them
against the assaults of their moral
enemies. And the children of YOU,
neighborhood will be just what YOU
are and no more. They will judge
you and they will emulate you. no,
by your mere profession of temper
ance and respect for the Holy Name;
but by the veneration which you
show for that Holy Name in your
lives, in your loyalty to the Church
and to the Sacraments, in your re-
spect for your superiors, civil and
religious.
Our schools depend OH you. You
have lifted the heavy burden of edu-
eating our Catholic children from the
State on To your own shoulders. Why
are there frequently certain Catho-
lies who do nothing for our paro-
chial schools: For the same reason
that there was weak and short
sighted secretary Of the navy i'm
Perrys time. They are men who
have not the education and princi-
pies To understand how vitalIv our
spiritual interests depend on these
same schools and being short-sight-
ed they make very little effort either
To erect them. support them. or man
them. Happily there are not many
Catholics who will echo the s-nti-
ment uttered at 4 recent convention
by an eminent non-Catholic prelate,
he was disturbed perhaps by the
sight of sixteen hundred boys regis
tered-last month in Catholic col
lege in the same city of Boston
that parochical schools are "A fetish.
Why he asks, should religion ne
cessarily he taught under the same
roof with geography and arithme-
tie: For the simple reason. my
friend, that the children spend five
days ont of the seven under that
roof, whether you approve of il or
not, their ideas not only of geography
and arithmatic. Yes and of history
and literature and civics rs we'll.
but also their lasting notion of pa
triotism. of conduct, and OF all that
they are expected to value in life.
But the duty of patriotism does
not stop there. II is not enough
not to be n traitor To out country S
welfare. In time Of campaign we
want what our country wanted when
she sent Commodore Perry to Erie.
men not only of fidelity, but Of en-
terprise-men who will build their
ships, and create the men to man
them. And you. gentlemen, in
this campaign for the salvation of
The young. you, too. must build
your ships, and create the men to
man them. The materials are at
hand for you in the Erie of today.
rs the trees of the forest were al
hand for Perry a century ago.
With the help of our Catholic Fed
Grafton and other Catholic societies.
y,ur parish organizations, your
splendid and instructive Catholic
periodicals, you can fashion, under
the guidance of your bishop and
pastors, works that will lift up every
young man in this diocese and face
him squarely heavenward, that will
redeem our own from the evil one.
and he an encouragement Of all that
is noble and God fearing in our non
Catholic brethercn. You have in
your means to save the immigrant
childred that wander here from the
Eastern ports, TO teach them, unlike
many of the false teachers who greet
all too readily our candidates for
American citizenship. that Ameri-
can liberty is founded not on license
or goodlessness, but on respect for
God and His Church. By union, by
cooperation, by rapid and decisive
action. you have the power to check
the wanton calumnies of the press.
that SO mislcad our young. to pen
alize improper shows and songs and
plays. TO cry halt to those who ex-
ploit our children's feeble powers.
whether in factory or workshop.
Thank God. you have used those
powers nobly in many instances. /
need. only recall the countrywide
action of the knights of Columbus.
in banning evil dances. But our
action should be more prompt, we
must be watching for the enemies
of morality on the horizon, and be
ready with our ships to be up and
at them. Is there Catholic school
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