The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-07-03
THE WEIGHT OF EDUCATION.

We are aware of the numerous evils
affecting society. knowledge becomes
wisdom when it reaches the heart and
draws the will from evil to good. Next
to the knowledge of God there is no
knowledge that clears the mind from
so many delusions, solves so many of
the mysteries of life, or more effectu-
ally helps us to the wise shaping of our
conduct, than thorough knowledge of
the cause of evil and how to combat 1t.
We find the causes of the existing evils
in mans will. In the very beginning, |
man revolted and said to his God: 81
will not serve AS a consequence of
this disobedience his intellect was
darkened and his will perverted. Then
Gods Incarnate Son took upon Him.
self the work of regeneration-ofI
bringing man back to God. This per-
verse tendency of evil is working to-
day. 1t strikes it's first blow at the
family, the unit of society. The un-
stable family, is the great social prob
lem of the hour. 1t is the result of
Luther's revolution against authority.
AS a result, the superstructure of So
ciety, of which the family is the basis.
is completely undermined; respect and
obedience to law are wanting; in many
cases the street is the school wherein
the children receive their first princi-
pies of knowledge and, of course,
those principles are evil and produce
evil in the growing mind.
Now, then, what is the work of
Christian education regarding the I'M
home, back to the fundamental idea
of the family. The family is from
God, therefore, it must be religious.
! There at the mothers knee the young
child must get his start in life, and
we all know the wonderful, eternal
blessing that the Christian mother
and father exert. The Church has
ever stood for the sacredness and in
dissolubility of the marriage tie. Our
late Holy Father has done a great
work for the souls of children in al
lowing them in their innocence to par
take of the Celestial Banquet, thus
keeping their souls in innocence, in
faith and in love.
Another evil to the family life is
the presence of irreligous reading in
4 the home. And again what is the
remedy? A good Catholic paper or
magazine. Anything savoring of the
insidious ideas of Socialism or any
other ism should never be seen on the
table of the Christian home.
Having considered the family, the
next step is the commune, an aggrega
ton of families. Here the evils are
! appalling The spread of commercial
ism, the greed for the almighty dol
lar, has caused the rise in the price
of commodities. The remedy lies only
in clear-cut knowledge of justice
distributive. contributive and retribu
tive. We must do all we can for the
good of one another; we must con
tribute to the existence, preservation
and prosperity of the state, that il
may promote the happiness and very
being of the individual. In so doing
we have a right to demand from the
state protection of property, of life
and liberty. So that retributive jus
tice in the form of penal punishment
should be inflicted upon those who
violate the law. This equalization Of
justice is the only solution for the
struggle between capital and labor
Christian principles of education teacl
i nc fol n of ho irf ~
the individual and not treat man as
machine, capable of turning out st
many finished products; but rather al
a person with body that needs rec
reation and rest, and a soul capable
of wonderful development Capita
! man may enjoy the fruits of this labor
and the laborer is taught to look upol
the interests of his employer as hi
own, to advance in every way tn
enterprise in which he is concerned
The world today is arrayed into tw'
great contending forces, Socialism, Of
one hand battling against the right
of the individual, and the Church Of
the other, contending for the dignit
and personality of the individual an
striving to protect him in the RICH
to enjoy the fruits of his labor Sc
cialism would take us back again t
the days of pagan Greece and Rome
when the individual was absorbed il
the interests of the state.
/ Another grave problem that educs
ton must solve is that of social pleas
ure. Man needs recreation. Anyon
that can read between the lines know
that the average theater or pictur
show presents the grossest vices an
tendencies of the human heart wit
| a satanic method. Shall we do ava
. with picture shows and theatres altt
gether, then? Why, no, ave must hav
them because they represent huma
activity but let us go back to tn
days of real drama and enjoy a goo
Shakespearean play or witness on tn