An Appeal from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

New Zealand Tablet, 24 July 1913, Page 28

An Appeal from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

= ' Selfish, lazy, useless, mischievous, mad!' Such are a few of the accusations hurled against religious Orders by those outside the Church; and yet, notwithstanding the ever-flowing stream of slander and misrepresentation let loose originally by the father of lies, the demand for them and their invaluable service to mankind is far in excess of the supply. Such a demand is now ringing through Australia for the daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, an Order founded in France half a century ago by a zealous priest, burning to associate our Lady with the ever-in-creasing devotion to the Sacred Heart. The priests -f the Order, well-known as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, have their Australasian headquarters at Randwick, Sydney, and in the neighboring suburb of Kensington stands the large and stately convent of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the mother where postulants are received and novices trained for-the service of God and their neighbor. - It is an open and an active Order, teaching the young, visiting the sick, laboring to promote God's interests in a pagan, pleasureloving community, yet finding ample time for devotional exercises and loving converse with the Prisoner in the Tabernacle— Divine Spouse. There are no lay Sisters in the Order; all the work is in' common, and for those who show a special vocation there are the mission fields of New Guinea and the Gilbert Islands, where the devoted missionary Fathers are doing such excellent work. There are several convents of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart scattered throughout Australia and Tasmania, but not nearly enough for the needs of the population. Notwithstanding the fact that numbers flock from all parts to the novitiate, the Mother-Provincial is in sore need of postulants to enable her to comply with the urgent requests of various bishops for new foundations in their respective dioceses. In a recent letter to a friend in New Zealand, she expressed a hope that

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart would draw young souls from these shores to enrol themselves in her service." A few have already heard the call, and cheerfully answered the summons, and have proved themselves such devoted servants of our Lord and His sweet Mother that their Superiors would gladly receive more New Zeaalndera into their particular section of God's great vineyard, where the harvest is so abundant and the laborers comparatively so few. ' iAnyone hearing the voice in her heart, and desirous of obtaining further particulars, had better write to Mother M. Hilda, O.L.S.H. Convent, Kensington, Sydney. -:;'■ — Grateful Client of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.