MODERN SENTIMENT AND CATHOLIC TRADITION.

Southland Times, Issue 1725, 8 April 1873, Page 2

MODERN SENTIMENT AND CATHOLIC TRADITION.

[communicated.] Every church ought to be ready to make some advance, for if what we see around us is to be our ultimate Christianity, we can only say, what a sad dioappointment. We think, however, we see a gradual movement towards reconciling old traditions with modern sentiment. The Catholic church acknowledges days for social amusement and cheerful festivities as much as she does seasons devoted to fasting and prayer. This is the old tradition, and modern feeling would allow that there ought to be no confusion. The question of what would be good manners and right feeling is brought strongly before us at the present time, for the State has appointed G-ood Friday as a day of freedom from secular labor, because — as it has been for age 3 the historical anniversary of the sufferings and death of Christ — it is supposed that all Christians would like to observe it with religious services. There should evidently be some united action, if there is to be any common feeling about the interests of religion ; for if one party should celebrate the anniversary of the crucifixion with solemn services, and another should observe it with social amusements, there would appear either such superstition on the one side or such carelessness on the other that they could hardly be recognized as having one common faith. Three courses of action are possible : either to petition the State not to recognize the day bo as in any way to recall its historical character ; or to leave the matter as it now stands, when some devote the day set ap irt for the commemoration of the Saviour's death to prayer and watchfulness, and others meet for private or social amusement ; or for all to accept the opportunity which the

anniversary affords forspiritual edification by holding public worship in their cnurcfces. None would probably like to take the first course. The choice, there fore, lies between the second and the third. The chief objection against the second seem* to be this : it is ignoring in a Terr solemn matter a law of our social life that we should rejoice and mourn together. If there were a strong superstitious feeling against the recognition of the day, the question would be very much changed, for superstition is of undoubted use where reason and feeling are weak ; but no sufficiently strong ob jection seetnsto exist, therefore the secular celebration of this anniversary cannot but have a growing tendenoy to carelessness and infidelity. To the third course, of holding religious services on the anniversary of events that w« are all supposed to believe in, it is difficult to see any objection, for both reason and feeling i appear to lead to an unqualified consent. ' This is a question which goes far beyond I what may be supposed to be the peculiar interests of any one society. Any sceptical as well 38 any religious member of the community might say — if we keep the anniversary of a death at all, there is only one proper way of observing it. Many persons are getting tired of narrow views. They find that it is not satisfactory to take protests for beliefs ; and so there is every reason to hope that a freer use of those means of grace that ancient customs afford them, will follow the d«F«]*pznent of modern feeling.