LIVES OF SACRIFICE

Hokitika Guardian, 22 August 1931, Page 6

LIVES OF SACRIFICE

SISTERS OF COMPASSION. CEREMONY AT WANGANUI. WANGANUI, August 16. The Aubert Horne of Compassion was officially opened by his Grace Archbishop O’Shea this afternoon. Despite some showers of rain a large crowd was present at the ceremony, which was presided over by Mr J. D. Crowley. The speaker, in addition to his Grace the Archbishop, were the .Mayor of Wanganui (Mr Is. G. Armstrong), the Hon. W. A. Veitch; Rev. Father Hoare, and Air J. T. Hogan, M.P. for Rangitikei. Father Hoare expressed gratitude to all those who had assisted to establish the home in Wanganui, fie was particularly grateful to the branch of the British Medical Association, the members of which would attend the sick in the home gratis. The. speaker 1 mentioned also- the furnishing committee and the valuable help it had received from a generous public. When it was known that the .Sisters of ■Compassion were starting their work in Wanganui, Father Hoare proceeded, he had appealed for funds for furnishing, and the generous response testified to the growing feeling of appreciation of the work of the sisters and of the great foundress— Mother Mary Aubert. The public had responded most generously to the great cause of alleviating sorrow and sulftr-

EX-GOV ERN OR-GEN ERA L’ S TRIBUTE.

The Mayor, Mr N. G. Armstrong, accorded a welcome to the Mother Superior and Sisters of Compassion to Wanganui. He reminded his hearers of Sir Charles Fergusson’s reference to their work as “the most popular charity in New Zealand.” “It fills a want in this community of ours,” Mr Armstrong continued, “caring for the crippled arid afflicted who are not provided for in the ordinary way. It is given gratuitously and is undenominational.’’ No person in want could pass the door and be hungry, he added.

■ iVe older members of the community remember 'the little lady with the kindly smile,” said the mayor, in recounting the late Rev. Mother Mary Aubert’s work for suffering humanity. Jerusalem, on the Wanganui River, where she commenced her life in New Zealand,,' was not the settlement of present days. There was not the same friendly atmosphere there when Mother Aubert set up her little abode. But she had the courage and the faith of the pioneers about her, and her work went on to the end, not in a realm-of bitterness and drudgery, but with a wealth of godliness.

HAVEN OF REFUGE. The Hon. W. A. Veitch said he beJjpytjd there was a lesson to be learned at that gathering and it was the lesson of seli-sacrifice, of goodwill toward others. For those who were likely to be overwhelmed by the stormy .seas of life he hoped the homo would be a

light-house and a haven of refuge. Mr .1. T. Hogan paid tribute to the work of the late Mother Au-bert. There was a monument to her at Island Bay, Wellington—the 'Home of Compassion there. In one section of that home children romped the floor happily. It was the only home they had known. In another section the aged, were careu for. Young and old all received the same care—a care that could not be brought with money, but one that was purely the result of love for the work—the result of self-sacr-ifiice. SOMETH!NG CONCRETE.

“It gives me great pleasure to come among you to-day to open this new institution,’’ said his Grace Archbishop O’Shea. “That pleasure is all the greater because of the nature of the institution being opened. As you have been told, it is a Home of Compassion, a home in which people will be received for whom provision is not- made in ordinary institutions of the kind, whether they be public or private.’’

His Grace, referring; to the work of the Sisters, the chief phase of which was to look after Incurables who were unfortunate in the struggle of life, said that there had always been something concrete in the church’s care of unfortunates and down-and-outs.

“The great principle underlying all the church does for the poor and needy is the principle that the earth and all it produces belongs to the Lord who created it,” his Grace went on. “The present owners are merely stewards and trustees. They have , tile right to use these goods for their own needs and after they have supplied their own legitimate necessities they are bound to use the superfluous wealth for those who are unfortunate and not able to look after themselves.”

His Grace paid a tribute to the Sisters of Compassion. They divested themselves of this world’s goods and took vows of poverty. All that was given them was bestowed on their charges, they themselves accepting clothing, food and drink, and a home to protect them from the elements.

After referring to the perilous times of economic depression, his Grace declared the home open, imparting his blessing.