PUBLICATIONS

New Zealand Tablet, 15 May 1913, Page 51

PUBLICATIONS

The Divine Educator, or Guide to the Promotion of Frequent and Daily Communion in Educational • Establishments.- ; Adapted from The Directoire of Pere Jules Lintolo, ».J., by F. M. de Zulueta, S.J. R. and T, Washbourne, London. 257 pp.; Is 6d net paper, 2s 6d cloth. H

:. - After ;y- a Papal Decree has been published, some time always elapses before the Catholic world as a whole comes to realise the meaning and scope of the Vatican pronouncement. The book before us is an earnest and able attempt to aid Catholics, especially those in charge of children, to carry out the, Pope's wishes in regard to frequent Communion. The - difficulties, theoretical and practical, which stand 'in the way of the new regime, are discussed in a singularly calm, lucid, and practical manner, which should do much towards doing away, with them. The chief note of the ~book is insistence on the real object of Holy Communionto be the ordinary, everyday Food, the common Medicine, '.tor the ordinary Christian soul. I Father Zulueta's treatment of ! the objections' to the practice of frequent Communion is succinct and convincing. A few examples must suffice. To those who wish to limit the.number of Communions in order; that the quality of them may be more perfect, he . says: ' Before thinking of producing in souls the fuller life of Jesus, r we must first preserve, and sustain essential /.life itself. Existence takes precedence of well-being.' : To those who deprecate frequent Communion on the ground that it cannot be kept up after school-days, his illuminating comment is: ,'. That is, do not earn ten pounds a week now that you have the chance, because presently you will only be able to gain ten pence.'; Father Zulueta's outlook on subjects such as Confession and Spiritual Communion is refreshing in its practical attitude,- and so, too, is his investigation of the minutest ! -details of boarding-school life. The value of the book is enhanced by the fact that it includes among its pages the beautiful and pathetic Encyclical of Leo XIII. on the Holy Eucharist, a Decree which is quite evidently the prelude £o a Decree on Frequent Communion on the same lines as that actually promulgated by his successor, Pius X. In this connection the author has a concluding paragraph well worth quoting: ' Herein lies a sufficient answer to those who might be tempted to view the daily Communion movement as if it were merely some special ' hobby' of the reigning Pontiff. Popes may come, and Popes may go, but the Church—the moral body of Jesus Christ, quickened by the indwelling Spirit of God, pursues her continuous life unhindered.' The Sacred Heart.-; the Source of Grace -and Virtue. By Rev. Arthur Devine, C.P. Joseph Wagner, New York. 122 pp., 75 cents net. New books suitable : for spiritual reading and meditation are always a welcome asset, particularly when they come from a pen such as Father Devine's. His present work treats of the devotion to the Sacred Heart under different aspects. The careful synopsis of each chapter is a valuable aid in studying the book. We cordially recommend it to those in search of a new devotional work for the coming month of June. Outlines for Conferences to lYoung Women. From the French of Abbe M. F. Blanchard. Joseph Wagner, New York. 34 pp., 40 cents net. -

In small compass, this little book contains much good. advice in practical sanctity. The author lays stress not so much on pious exercises, as on the building of character; but he never forgets the spiritual aspect of the question, without which, as the i Psalmist tells us, they labor in vain who build the house and . guard the city. Witness these two quotations Occupy yourself less with your person and affairs,■ think more of Jesus Christ, in Him you will find all things.’ ‘The road to our eternal home leads over Mount Calvary.’ The Excellence of the Rosary. Conference for Devotions in Honor of the Blessed Virgin. By Rev. M. J. Frings. Joseph Wagner, New York.., 75 cents net. ' V,"- •’/ •- "

> This should prove ' useful as a, means of :: inculcating the devotion of the Rosary, ■ being an exhaustive survey of -the origin and excellences of the practice. It ; is attractively bound and well got up. Our Lady’s Rosary Price Id. A useful little pamphlet on the Rosary. . The Love-Story of Gaynoa\ Dace. By Kirke Brampton. R. and T. Washbourne, London; and Benziger . Bros., New York, 383 pp., 5s net. ( '- The hero (sic) of this i novel is a young. man who takes advantage of the confidence of a girl of sixteen to snatch a kiss’ when she is alone with him whose only apology for this occurrence is a flippant reference to it the.next time he sees her; and who makes repeated and passionate love to her when she is the wife / of another man. Had we met this young man in an ordinary modern novel, we should have at once characterised him as a cad, worthy of the contempt of all self-respecting men of any or no creed.: In this book, incredible as it may seem,. he is presented to our admiration as a model Catholic gentleman," on the strength of mingling his very questionable behaviour towards the heroine with efforts for her conversion to Catholicity. In one chapter he persuades her, in her ignorance of the conventions, to spend a day alone with him. in the country, when she is not even engaged to him, and closes the day with a ‘ visit to the Blessed Sacrament.’ • In another chapter, when she is the wife of an acquaintance, he ‘ makes the Sign of the Cross on her forehead ’ before he kisses her. ' This repulsive mixture of religiosity and wrongdoing, should .prevent the book doing harm to any Catholic reader ; the probable effect on a non-Catholic reader is more to be deplored. If it is taken as a bona fide Catholic novel, the conjunction of zeal for the Catholic religion with conduct which offends against ordinary morality and the elementary principles of manliness, can only be cited as’ a shocking example of hypocrisy. We emphatically .endorse America’s expression of amazement that such a book should bear the imprint of two such well-known Catholic firms as Washbourne and Benziger Bros. The Adventures of Turco Bullworthy. R. and T. Washbourne, London. 2s 6d net. s ■■

A bright and wholesome story, or rather collection of stories about- the doings of a very likable sailor-lad and his friends. If the many adventures which befell Turco are not strictly within the Bounds of probability; that fact will not be a drawback in the eyes of the boys for whom the book was written, and to whom we wish much pleasure in its perusal.