The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-04-14
DESHONoR TO THE DEAD.

mortal Of the departed awaits the
pious offices of affection to consign it
to its last resting place on earth.
Then our reverential regard for the
dead, il indeed it be enlightened and
sincere, should shield the lifeless and
decaying body from dissertation, and
reminding us of the necessities of the
immortal spirit that is gone, make us
have immediate recourse to the power
full influence of prayer and of all the
sacred ministrations of religion to Sc
cure its eternal repose.
Liquor at Wakes.
How sad it is to see a senseless
pride Or hospitality pervert the house
of mourning into scene of debauch,
OF drunken revelry, where prayer-but
there can be no prayer from the mind
that is stupefied-rises from the lips
that are dyed with the stain of liquor,
where in place Of the angel of peace,
waiting in silence to carry the offer
inSs of the just to the throne of God
to plead the cause Of the departed
soul, stands the demon of discord, the
demon of intemperance, joyous at the
sight of the foul crimes, at the aims of
drunkenness that ascend as insults
before the face Of God. What des-
ecratiOn to the dead! What a bias
phemous hypocrisy on the morrow TO
bend their knee before God in His
Tabernacle, to utter their "Requies-
cat" and to stand with bowed, uncoy-
cred head, as, on the brink Of the
grave, the solemn words are ''Remem-
Der, man, that thou art dust, and unto
dust thou shalt return!"
1t is often on such occasions that
children receive their initiation into
vice, that the virginia. bloom of their
youthful innocence is first furnished,
and their early habits of temperance
destroyed. Often the young man with
his fair companion, through human re-
spect, or fear of ridicule, or a false
sense of sympathy, is forced to break
through the barriers which were raised
around them when, at the moment of
First Communion or Confirmation,
they raised their hands to heaven, and
uttered the solemn promise never to
yield to the temptation of drink. And
so that house of death becomes a den
of sin, seducer of youth, an insult to
| the sacred memory Of the dead.
Cost what it may, we should remove
this disgrace from our midst; for if we
believe in the Immortality of the soul,
| in the resurrection of the dead in the
sacredness of the body which is the
temple of the Holy Ghost, and we do
| profess this belief, such conduct gives
| the lie to our faith. In many dioceses
| Of Ireland, the serving of Intoxicating
liquor on such occasions is so grievous
an offense that the Bishops have re-
| fused to permit the remains to be
| brought to the Church, and the pray
ers Of the faithful to be asked on the
| following Sunday. A very severe reg
ulation, but one which the authorities
| deemed necessary to correct an abuse
which is only too prevalent.
Stop the Abuse.
Refuse the offerings of the friend
| "AoSc oyApdCEy oScho AASpll ciCAoll
from the fumes of liquor, whose words
ring not with the sound of truth, but
with base sycophancy, who seizes the
| hour of sorrow to satisfy his base ap-
| petite. He is no friend; he comes not
| to condole with the living, nor to
mourn for the dead-he comes because
the glitter of the liquor bottle draws
him. If the wake of the dead means
revelry, it were better that the dead
remain without attendants, that the
door of the Christian home be closed,
and the sorrow-stricken family left
alone in the hour of their grief.
The Req. John G. Be0ne.