Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 26 June 1919, Page 14

Current Topics

Efficiency __2l£^Lil™ .''.'""We had a quiet smile last week when reading some remarks made to the Honorable Joseph Hanan during his visits to Dunedin. From what was i said it is clear that the High .. : School is far from being efficient and that it is ; a long way behind • time at present. ; Now, c we ! have ; in Dunedin t a school that is very t efficient. ; - The proof of .the ? pudding is in the eating, and we challenge/ any,/school; in New Zealand to -show.' a record equal tothat ; of .the Christian Brothers' Schools for last year." "What we say , of. the scholastic !• record we also say of their record in v athletics.;.;.- Yet a little while ago : an attempt was made ; to prevent boys :jj from taking : out scholarships in the Brothers' Schools, and the: High School was held up as the proper place to take them out. g In the light of facts we pity the Minister. The older- we grow the more we wonder what qualifications are. required"; in a Minister of Education. Is it any wonder that a contemporary, when commenting on Mr. ; Hanan's; excuse that the•■' Brothers' •? Schools were inefficient, dismissed the plea with the sarcastic remark, "Come off the grass, Joe" ? . : : - , -■: :'." ■ ■ B Diplomacy A little while ago Mr. MacPherson, the son of a Scottish carrier, was sent over to misgovern Ireland in the interests of King Carson and the Welsh wizard. In the House MacPherson stated, when asked some awkward questions about broken pledges and torn scraps of paper, that owing to the great unrest and turmoil in Ireland, self-government could not be thought of just now. Then came on the scene a group of American envoys, anxious to know why John Bull (per Mr. MacPherson) was still out-Hunning the Hun. The Americans told the whole world that Ireland was in a terrible state, but they went further and said that the remedy to clear MacPherson and his gang—his Colt-hursts-, and his Sheridans and his Pigotts—out of Ireland, where they were causing nothing but sorrow and suffering to an oppressed people. Thereupon the Scot turned a somersault as actively as the Welsh lawyer ever did. "No, no," says Mac, "it's all exaggerated. Ireland is not so bad at all." We shall see that Mac had to tell many more lies before he was done. -Don't forget that this is British diplomacy. Could one expect Lloyd George, who betrayed John Redmond and broke his word to Horace Plunket and sold every man who ever trusted him, to send anybody more decent than . MacPherson 'to govern the Irish who once were foolish enough to think that an English _ Government was serious when it talked of the right of small nations to self-determination ? God save England from such men. ■ ' ' ] - : / ; " ' - v '.' ■,"'' i '"'" : ' : Russia The news about Russia, meagre as it is, must be received with caution. Our cables are certainly controlled by persons who are not likely to be fair to the Bolsheviki, and we might as well expect justice towards Sinn Fein as impartiality towards the present Russian Government. From French and Italian Socialist papers we are able to learn a little of what is to be said for the de facto rulers. According to the Paris Humanite, it would seem that Lenin has had a struggle with Trotsky which ended in compelling the latter to recognise the presence , and policies of the Mensheviki in the Soviet Government. . Tchicherin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, succeeded in persuading Lenin to send messages to, the; Soviets in Central Europe urging them to avoid Bolshevist, tactics and- to be more conciliatory. The Italian papers say that President Wilson has found out how much the Russian situation has been distorted by a systematic policy, of misrepresentation and that he has sent unofficial investigators to Moscow and Petrograd to find out the truth. From the Italian, press we also learn that President Wilson will 1 oppose, to the last

any imperialistic attempt to overthrow the Lenin combination, which he believes represents the will of, the majority of the people. Lenin is reported to have said i that he is of r opinion that the French, British, and Italians will make a desperate effort to overthrow: the Soviet republic by force of arms as soon as the President leaves Europe for the United States. The f Scandinavian Socialdemokraten gives, as reliable, the news that Lenin holds that the -' intervention of foreign '; powers has now become too difficult to be 1 ' practical, and that Russia will go on disarming ; the bourgeoisie ! ; and t/ arming the j proletariat -until - a o; classless * state is' I assured*. He is reported as saying "that Ht/ was imposj sible to exterminate capital without civil war, and . that the whole history of the revolution' is explained by that. Germany ;.:->h:;.:; ; ■ i r ;/"'-; : On the 20th we were informed that Scheidemann : had resigned and that Germany would sign the treaty. On the 22nd we learned that'the Germans did not yet . sigh, but that they sank 46 battleships. , ; ' We shall learn ; -more later. The nominal Government.'- at \ Berlin did not : rule Germany by any means. Erbert and Scheidemann could not send'couriers ; to Brunswick without the permission of Soviet republics in the way. In Prussia alone there are five Soviet republics which demand the immediate socialisation of labor and the recognition of the councils :of soldiers and workers. The former kingdom of Prussia is now a republic with a Cabinet composed mainly of Majority Socialists. In Bavaria the Bolsheviki of Munich expelled the Moderate Socialists, who migrated to Bamberg, where they exercise their authority as best they can. The peasants in various districts have refused to recognise the new Soviet Government, and have risen against —whether in combination with the Hoffman coalition or not is not known. Strikes are the order of the day throughout Germany. Rioting and looting are common, and disorder reigns everywhere. It is said that thoughtful Germans "have resigned themselves to a long period of chaos and anarchy, and that the hope of any sound reconstruction within a reason-. - ably short time is very slender. Among the peasants are still many who are attached to the Hohenzollerns and they have contributed to the general disorder/ by manifestations in favor of the Kaiser. Most of the trouble is due to the activities of the Extreme Socialists and the Bolsheviki. Hardly less than a million rioters, representing with their families about five million souls, are engaged in rioting. From Ruhr to Silesia Central Germany is shaken with the frenzy of the turmoil, and Weimar is surrounded by towns in revolt. Whatever semblance of order there is. is due to the employment of military force, which however, does not check the movement towards extreme Socialism. Reviewing the situation one cannot help feeling sorry., for the world that is to come when our Peace Conference, instead of trying to find means to remedy all this disorder ■■ and to build up a stable Germany, is actually embarked on measures calculated to unite the turbulent elements in Prussia and Bavaria with the Russian terrorists. Germany may sign, but peace is still far away. • - /, _' MacPherson's Foolishness : -i< MacPherson was more than three parts a fool to take over the Irish Secretaryship, at .all. -,;-. Had he a spark of intelligence or imagination ; he might ; have known that a blockhead whose remarks concerning certain sexual problems of the soldiers no decent paper ■ would publish would be a failure among a people who i put the highest value on purity. Of course < it; is just possible that the Lloyd George. Government, did select him because his ebullitions marked him as .likely to'; be particularly' unacceptable to , the j Irish-/ people to drive ;.' whom'; to rebellion is the aim of many English and Orange 'Tories.. Anyhow MacPherson went to Ireland and never 'in all the sordid history of , ; Castle misrule was such an arrant nincompoop, at its: head. His denialof /the;; report of the Irish-American : envoys has set the

seal .on his 1 character. ; These menwe know who they are and j how much :: more,- worth is their simple « word than that of a . MacPherson—saw with their ; own eyes J the atrocities that are'\ perpetrated in Ireland-' by the Lloyd ,George., Government, and.; they reported faithfully .what they saw. J;; Every i priest in Ireland could c report ; exactly;;the ; same. Many of them have written ' to us time and again of the i black and blackguardly Prussianism. of the Huns in Ireland. Ireland is over- 1 run with foreign soldiers ;■ Ireland is goaded to rebellion; Ireland is quivering under the heel of an armed 1 bully ; Irishmen, and Irishwomen are sent to gaol without a trial, and they are maltreated, shockingly\by the prison; 'authorities. ./Humanity and decency are outraged. Lives are , lost on account of the barbarity of.; the ''prison administration. Children are kidnapped; Adults are imprisoned for speaking their own tongue. The pastoral letters. of the Irish bishops are clear proof of the.dreadful state of Ireland under the rule of the English to-day. Now comes MacPherson, chief Hun, denying before all the world what the Irish people and their American friends are. proclaiming. What else could' he do? To admit the truth would- be to put a rope about his own, neck and that of his master. To plead guilty would put him side by side with the Kaiser in the hell of inhuman ..monsters. Nothing is left for him; but lies, and, true to old example where Ireland is concerned, he lies, boldly and badly. - Herein is' another proof of the foolishness of-MacPherson. Does he for a!moment think that any man of common sense would take the word of an Englishman in Ireland against the testimony of the priests, people, bishops, and of the American envoys who have seen for themselves that the same system that drove their fathers into exile with undying hate of England in their hearts still exists in Ireland to-day? There was nothing .for MacPherson but lies, since it is inconceivable that he could rise to the nobility of telling the truth and admitting his guilt. And his lies will but further help to incense- the American people, who will believe their envoys against MacPherson""arid his masters, Carson and George. In face of the testimony of Lord Wimborne that there was no pro-German plot in Ireland, this nincompoop repeats the old lie. In face of the revelations of the scandalous ill-treatment of prisoners in Belfast gaol, he denies there was any inhumanity. In face of the death of Thomas Ashe, of the arrests of hundreds of men and women without a trial, and of the kidnapping of boys, he has the effrontery to tell the world that what the. American envoys saw with their own eyes is not true. MacPherson is a fool. But the way of the English in Ireland is to rule through fools and lunatics: MacPherson or Colthurstit is all the same. Thank God the end of that sort of business is nearP-^ il '\ "'v 1 ;'; '.'■.,.. -,7^ ".;' . • j r ■ ~~ Why Wilson Fails Disappointment that President Wilson does not seem to be fulfilling his pledges is common among, his admirers nowadays. Contrary to all that was said about diplomatic frankness arid about the right of the people to know what their representatives are doing, the proceedings of the Peace Conference are as far as possible wrapped in secrecy. As far as we can read between the lines, what is taking place is a long way behind the high ideals of Mr. Wilson. To be honest to him, we must admit that the fault is not his; .There are two groups in the Conference. One is. frankly out for profit, for the punishment of Germany, for the destruction of her -power politically and commercially, for the maintenance of r a huge police force that will enable the Entente to suppress,' not by the moral force of a League of Nations,';. but by weight of : arms,- any attempts made to resist the will of the victors.;' ; Almost alone stands Mr. Wilson in ; ' the other group, pleading for a reconstruction which shall be based on moral law and which will abolish secret treaties and give the people the right to know what is s being done by their rulers. •, The En- . tente's idea of a League of Nations is .nothing, else than a strong Entente Alliance ? after the war. ' f Their '^ plan ?is not to make peace certain by removing the wrongs

which, are at the root of war, but by 1 maintaining such a force as would secure peace ; : by ft terror. The n Entente agreed ito a discussion - '■'' of '-peace on ' the • : ' basis of the (V President's r fourteen t points, ■ but they ! have long u ago put the fourteen points out -of'their l minds. They L! were the first to subscribe to 'the policy - f of no annexa- 5 ' tions ; and no indemnities, but now they are 1 ; frankly trying, to grab i all < they can. Italy has' been successful as far-as we,are permitted to know, and France is likely to. follow in l her steps. s England, too, has secured her little bit ; as a reward for her disinterested champion- ? ship of small nations !oj So far;;the Peace Conference has been a failure. Instead of proceeding along humane " lines j which would remove the causes of ■ future r wars, it goes along the old lines expressed by the words Vae 1 i Yictis —woe to the conquered ! Poland has been par- : titioned : the -Entente has done what all the world in the past denounced as a Prussian crime. Italy,' on 'the basis of a secret treaty about which' English statesmen' lied magnificently, claims her pound of flesh. ; Ireland suffers still under the armed heel of John Bull. Regard them all—France, Italy, and England— find if you 3 can one single sign that truth, justice, and humanity are inspiring them in their efforts to make the world safe for Democracy ! Look at Egypt, at India; and at Ireland, and then listen to the professions of British politicians that the war was fought for the right of-self-determination! Read of what is at this hour happening in Ireland, and remember the, horror of ' our Jingoes at the reports about. German corpse-factories and mutilated children. Recall all this, and also how they plotted secretly to prevent the Pope from making peace, and then estimate what opposition President Wilson and every other man who wants a peace founded on right and justice has to encounter. The wonder is that he has done so much., He has certainly mitigated the fury of those who would have destroyed Germany in spite of the terms on which the armistice was made. t He has kept the .: German colonies out of , the hands of the greedy. Entente. He has blocked the gross proposal of a huge 'international army ;maintained in France. He has reminded the. Entente that they agreed long: ago to the formula, No indemnities, no annexations. He has helped to keep the demands made on Germany to some extent within the scope of that formula. 'And if he does not do so himself, his Government never ceases to remind John Bull | that what was a crime for Prussia in Belgium is a crime of hundreds of years' standing for England in Ireland; Looking at his work impartially, we have to regret that he has been unable to do more, but we ought to be thankful that he has done so much, for his ideas alone import an element of justice • and humanity into the squabblings that are taking place in Paris. ... :■-' A Retractation.,: :.::•:.-:"-:-.; ° i ■■:,. ,?■; ; i v.vjl' !.■ , ,r:. Dunedin, May 28, 1919. ' r ;f.': Dear Sir, — have just seen copies of the Tablet of March. 27: and April 3 -last, in which you state that the chairman of the meeting addressed by Father Cronin and. Mr. C. Todd in South Dunedin on*. Sunday, March 3, was "the man who took-under his no-Popery wing .the escaped nun, Margaret Shepherd." -' I was the chairman jat : the meeting referred to, and,;' as I never, had anything to r do with the person called Mar-' garet Shepherd, or any "nun," escaped or otherwise, I have to ask you to publish this letter in the Tablet', in your next issue, under the heading "Current Topics," with a , full : retraction of the untrue statement and a sufficient apology.—Yours, etc., ;vf -' 1 ;- M rM a ' " frc > l ) />&& Ua.& nomizzj >■"•■ . Peter;Johnson. "*'^f\ | Upon 1 inquiry, 'we , found, that the report which came to us' with such apparent certainty < cannot be substantiated. u Therefore we v owe it to ourselves as well as to Mr. Johnson... to publish the foregoing letter and to express..our satisfaction .that we have this opportunity of *auow,ingf»nim to contradict a rumor so annoying to .him, ,We r express ; our regret that we were the innocent means of further circulating the report in question, and we unhesitatingly retract what we said.

PASTORAL LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOPS * AND BISHOPS OF AUSTRALASIA !« ssj : re i£ «--■ ;'-•■', :••'." ••'.'•■•■' ■:-■:■■•. «s.-«" -"'V ;■■ ,-■■'■ i'i- ■-/.' i

ON THE -''OCCASION OF : THE RE-CONSECRA-TION OF THE CATHOLIC PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND NEW ZEALAND TO THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS, JUNE 29, 1919. - ..US&ifo j-v; ".V:V ■■•..'' ..;■■' Dearly Beloved Brethren and Dear Children in Jesus Christ, At the Ajmual Conference of the Archbishops of Australasia held in Melbourne on the 7th, Bth, and 9th of /October, 1918, it was the unanimous decision of the . assembled prelates that the time was ripe for a movement towards the Consecration of Australasia to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They had already noticed with great satisfaction that many individual homes were now being consecrated to that Adorable Heart, and that the devotion was receiving a great impetus everywhere. Although years ago a general consecration had taken place, it would be well to have it renewed, and the time most suitable for doing so would be about 1 - the Feast of the Sacred Heart this year, 1919. Accordingly, the secretary was instructed to communicate "with the bishops about the proposed consecration, and' steps were taken to have a joint Pastoral issued in preparation for such consecration. "The object of this Pastoral consequently is the fulfilment of that purpose.

Never,. perhaps, in the history of the world was the need of the Benediction and assistance of the Sacred Heart more urgent than now. After the terrible world-wide war, "with its widespread devastations and myriad consequent woes in every direction, the nations are faced with problems of all kinds so serious and complex that no merely mundane wisdom is adequate for the momentous and far-reaching conclusions so urgently ; required and anxiously expected. The Governments of the world never more sorely needed illumination from on high, in order to govern wisely and well, and the people in all nations never required more enlightenment and strength willingly to receive and efficiently to carry out the wise decrees of the Governments for :their material, social, and moral welfare. Hence the /extreme urgency of having recourse to the merciful and benignant Heart of the King of Kings, that He /may aid His people to live in accordance with the principles of justice and charity, the sources of true liberty, and duly to support, as they are in duty bound, the order of the civil progress of humanity. It was the ardent desire of the Apostle of the Nations, St. Paul, that his converts in every land should be “able to comprehend with all the saints what is the-’breadth - and length and depth, to know also the

charity of Christ, which surpasseth „ all ."knowledge."! "(E'pti'. iii. 18V79.)" ■'- "-"' ;. •: ; Now, there aire many pious souls who do not know as well as they ought the precise object of the Devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; who do not: sufficiently i distinguish the-.difference- between this devotion and that of the Passion or the Blessed Sacrament. It will* therefore be advantageous, at the beginning of this Pastoral, to explain what we understand by the Heart of Jesus, and sketch , briefly its qualities and powers. This will at the same time establish its special claims to our. veneration, gratitude, and love. Mankind have,; as by common consent, chosen ; the heart as the symbol of their affections, their passions, and especially their love, the source of all the other' affections. "As by : the head we understand not only that noble part of .-the' body so called, but often also the intellectual faculties, of which it seems to be the seat, so by the heart we understand more than that fleshly vessel /whose function is to diffuse life through every fibre of our frame. The heart is the man —man with all his variety of emotions and proclivities, likes and dislikes; man with his wonderful admixture . of, strength and weakness, fortitude and cowardice. ,•.-■■ By His Incarnation, the Word of God became a real Son of man, true and perfect man, in such a way that the Divine nature and the human nature subsist in one and the same divine person, the Second Person of the Adorable Trinity. In this mystery He has united to His Divinity a heart like our own, and inherited through the immaculate blood of the. Virgin Mary—who is our sister in Adam—the principle of our affections. But this heart, being that of a God, has characteristics vastly superior to ours. No doubt man's heart- —despite the Fallcontains noble and godlike instincts. What examples, even in paganism, of disinterested love, friends dying for friends, husbands for wives, children for parents! What touching mother's love ! What pure and exalted patriotism! Yet the human heart is very limited in its capacities, as man's mind is very limited in its intelligence. To put forth all its forces it needs concentration; they are weakened by dispersion. But we are not simply imperfect by nature. God's work in our souls has been sadly- marred by sin, and it is in the heart that sin has made most havoc. It is unnecessary to say that the Heart of Jesus, the God man, has none of these defects. 1. It is the most loving of all hearts. Because love corresponds to knowledge, the faculty of loving must be as immeasurable in Christ as His immense intelligence. The ardor of the saints and that of the seraphic choirs combined, yea, that of the Queen of Angels herself, cannot reach the intensity of one sigh of the loving Heart of Jesus, towards God, and, proportionately, the same holds good concerning His love for man : not originally, on account of any merits of ours,

for, as St. Paul says, "God for His exceeding charity loved us, even when we were dead in? sin.&~ (Eph. ii. 5.) And again: "God commendeth His charity towards us, because when as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. v. 8,9.) It is sweet to plunge into this ocean without effort to 1 -fathom it. y v2. -Again;; the ; Heart l of ' Jesus is 1 the 1 broadest, or most comprehensive, of all hearts. Every individual member of the human race is known to It, and loved by It. INo-'strangers '■ are any of 'us to Himall ' His "friends," His "brethren," His "members." To Jesus alone can be fully 'applied the poet's -words': "I am a man and nothing human is strange to me." Jesus loves each of us just as if one of us alone were with Him in the world. The immensity of His love does not impair its personalness. Look at : the reflected image of the sun in a fountain on a calm day. : Therein glows the entire solar image, and that same / image glows entire in every lake and fountain and stream and pool under the same circumstances. Thus Jesus gives Himself to "each and all entire. And, without seeking illustrations from nature, does not the Holy Eucharist, the special Sacrament of the Heart of Jesus, render this truth vividly apparent? The multitude of communicants, each and each, receive Him whole and entire. 3. The Heart of Jesus is the 'most compassionate of all hearts. He knows every affliction of the human family in general and particular. He is the Mercy Seat, always accessible by day and by night. He is like a temple standing in the centre of the universe, built with such consummate art that the slightest sound here below is distinctly heard. The Heart of Jesus echoes our most secret sighs. Hearken to the words of St. Paul: "Nowhere did He take hold of the Angels, but of the seed of Abraham He taketh hold. Wherefore it behoved Him in all things to; be made like unto His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful high-priest." (Heb. ii. 16, 17.) "For we have not a high-priest who cannot have compassion on our; infirmities, but one, tempted in all things such as we are, without sin." (Heb. iv. 15.) How beautiful and soothing is this doctrine! Christ, naturally pitiful and compassionate, determined to undergo all our miseries, except sin, to become compassionate by His own experience, or, rather, to excite in us a greater confidence in His compassion. For mercy is acquired in the school of suffering : and whereas, happily, we are spared from experiencing all the many forms of suffering, few can say ''all the heights and the billows have passed over me." (Ps. xli. 8.) . It was otherwise with Christ. Thus in the loss of friends, who can feel so much for us as He who wept over the grave- of Lazarus, in sympathy for His desolate friends ?- (St. John x.. 33.) If we are deceived by those whom we trusted, who can feel so much as He who was betrayed, sold, given up to.death by His chosen one? If we groan under the weight of . calumny, stung to madness by the fangs of slander, who can so readily share our, feelings as He who "endured such opposition from sinners against Himself"? (Heb. xii. 3.) If we suffer mental pain, a thousand-fold more agonising than bodily pain, let us find patience in. the shades, of Gethsemane. If we are tried in our worldly goods or in our, health, if we are reduced to poverty or abased by contumely, He has experienced it all, nor is He a stranger to any heart torture. Nay, more, s He lias, remedies for . all. He never, beheld suffering but He was, touched, and never touched but lie gave solace. ..r .. ~,.•. T . '._'■_■ Nor can we say that now, seated on Heaven's highest throne, He has lost His human feelings.' He lovingly remembers the crib and the.coarse swaddling clothes; His lowly mother ; the carpenter's .shop;, the ignominy of the Cross. We can, covered with the rags of our mortality and misery, present ourselves' trustfully in His Kingly Court and announce ourselves His brethren. Our prayers have no discordant note amid the" resounding 'songs of the electf :; nor will they pass unheard like the beggar's wail amid the v revelry of : : Dives. How significant the ~ divine saying, "My*thoughts are not .your thoughts}". The -Son- of God is—-

——»^—■»»—»—^BBSSBSSSS"—^*^BSSB I not ashamed of nature which; He preferably assumed.:' l "He is not ashamed to call; us brethren." (Heb.ii. i . 11.) > Only those will he be ashamed' of—as He declares t -—who -have been ashamed of Him here, ■■ and have re- ;|' fused to confess Him before men. (St. Mark. > viii. 38.) I Ashamed of our nature, indeed !■ Why, He deigns a through it to make known "the manifold wisdom of ; God .to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places." (Eph. iii. 10.) What a glorious achieve- :■ ment to make , from this clay of ours cherubim and seraphim ! When Christ returned, to His Father He did not say: "I go to reap my victory, I go to receive the homage of the heavenly lowers." No; -"I go to ; prepare a place for you. (St. John xiv. 2.) He would silence the choirs of Heaven rather than leave..-tin-. heeded a cry of the least of . His own. : ',..•. -^JW 4.. The. Heart of Jesus is the most generous of all hearts. The sublime is the element of His intelligence and heroism, the element of His Heart. He is more than a hero, as we understand the term. He is love personified. "GccT is love." (St. John iv. 8.) A hero is one who by force of character towers above his fellows by some almost superhuman effort. But Christ "went about doing good."' (Acts x. 33.) He sacrificed Himself as a holocaust without any effort, --as: without any display. "His work was as natural"— says St. Francis de Sales —"as when a mother soothes herself by nursing her infant." He bestowed the unspeakable • boon of the Holy Eucharist at His Last Supper .with less ostentation than a rich man would give a piece of bread to a beggar. Read the simple. story in the Gospel and judge for yourselves. . .. ...., 5. The Heart of Jesus is the most indulgent of all, hearts. Jesus being our Creator "knoweth whereof we are made, He remembereth that we are dust.". (Ps. cii. 14.) Behold, for instance, His indulgence 'to the woman taken in adultery: Worn an, where ; are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?" "No man, Lord." "Neither will I condemn thee; go, and now sin no more." (St. John viii.. 1 to 11.) Another sinner, publicly known as such, comes to the festal board and bathes His sacred feet with her tears. His self-righteous fellow-guests despise her, but He declares that lie prefers her repentance, to the scornful conceit of the Pharisee. (St. Luke vii. 37 to 50.) The profoundly bigoted Samaritans refuse Him a passage through their town. James and John, jealous of their Master's honor, wish to call down' fire from heaven upon the offenders. He replies: "The Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save." (St. Luke ix. 52 to .55.) We also know how compassionately He wept over guilty Jerusalem at the foresight of'her tremendous chastisement: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would 1 have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather tier chickens under her wings, but thou"wouldst not." (St. Matt, xxiii. 37.) Peter thrice denies his Master: Jesus punishes him with a look of tenderness: (St. Luke xxii. 61.) And in the bitterness of His. last awful hour on His uplifted Cross He cries: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (St. Luke xxii. 34.) '. ...' .. ■. -....-,..>,-• 6. Finally, the Heart of Jesus is the tender est of ■ all hecints. See Him surrounded by the eager Hebrew mothers asking Him to bless their children. > His dis- ; ciples want to send them away, but He graciously in- ■ vites them, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me." "And embracing them and laying His hands upon them, He blessed them." (St. Mark x v l3, 17.) Who does not recollect the Saviour's ' friendship for the youngest of the sons of Zebedee, and for the family l \of Bethany ? What a thrill of satisfaction devout -souls \ feel at hearing the virgin apostle glorify himself by the title, "The disciple that Jesus loved." 71 Who has ] not envied him the place that he occupied at the Last 1 Supper—Jesus' breast ? Who would , not have -been 1 in his place when Jesus said .to His Mother, "Woman, | behold thy Son"? ;\ Q . 0 >iC>Si&6i#o; t \ I. ; And this Love of the Sacred V Heart;l so mytd; generous, indulgent, and tender, is^a

'iritis' "'friendship-. Though He has bridged the infinite :: distance, between -Himselfi- and us, iHe has not thrust 1 Himself upon us.A- He stands at ( our heart's door arid knocks/.-a mendicant ; ' for 1 love,, cHe promises Ito come id us with his, Father, the sweetest guest; of the soul, not to sojourn but to abide, and sup with: us in- the intimacy-of friendship. (Apoc. iii. 20.) - :; I ",. to In short, Love is the guiding principle of all our Saviour's conduct towards its. He "asks only love in return for His countless benefactions. "My son, give Me thy; heart.'' (Prov. xxiii. 21.) He is ready to obliterate the greatest crimes, if there is but love. We are now able, in conclusion, to realise the object of the Devotion of the Sacred Heart. First a material or physical object, second a spiritual or moral object. -The physical object is our Lord's natural human heart, that sacred organ wherein was formed the saving blood of our Redemption, spilt on Calvary, arid ; still mystically flowing upon our altars. That Heart whose every pulsation, in prayer, in work, in agony, was for us and our salvation. - The spiritual or moral object is the Love of Jesus for Us.' First, His Divine love, uncreated, with which He has loved us from everlasting as God. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Second, His created love. His human love as a man together with the other affections that filled His Heart during the 33 years and caused it to throb so often for us, and finally to-shed its last drop in keenest agony for our redemption. '■'*- "<• '-'/' And, by uniting these two objects, we have Jesus, the only Son of God and of the Virgin Mary, who loved us even unto death, considered in that part of His divine nature, which was the special victim of love. This is what the Heart of Jesus is, O pious souls! Say, is it not deserving of your love? This is that Heart to which we earnestly, beloved brethren, invite all the Church of Australasia, clergy and people, to be consecrated again most solemnly. Arid it. behoves us, one and all, to make that consecration with suitable disposition, and especially with heartfelt gratitude and intense love. With gratitude for all : the favors and blessings which that Sacred Hearthas bestowed upon —all the gifts of nature and grace-our creation—our preservation—our Redemp-tion-—-the Holy Sacrifice of the Massthe Seven Sacraments Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, as our advocate and Mother—and finally, the Holy Catholic Church. With love, as a return of love for love. For each of us can truly say to the Sacred and Loving Heart of Jesus: "O Jesus, for me Thou wast born in a stable; for me Thou wast circumcised in suffering; forme Thou didst flee into Egypt to escape the tyrant's cruel wrath; for me Thou wast persecuted, ill-treated, calumniated, slain in excruciating torments on the Cross of Calvary; for me Thou didst rise triumphant from the dead, and for me Thou didst ascend into Heaven to prepare for me a place in reward for my unworthy'service." To Him therefore we consecrate our lives, our homes, our country, and all that we hold most dear for time and eternity. ,-; Accordingly we enjoin that this year, on June 29, the Sunday within the Octave of the Feast ! of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the solemn consecration of Australasia shall be made in all the principal churches of Australia and New Zealand, and that the formula of consecration shall be the one adjoined to this Pastoral. ''.. May the Grace of God abide with all of you, clergy and people, for ever ! ; Given at Sydney, New South Wales, on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australasia, 24th day of May, A.D. 1919. --k* MICHAEL KELLY, D.D., Archbishop of Syd- \-~ ney. ■: 1 . * JOHN GALLAGHER, D.D., Bishop of Goulburil. *P. V. DWYER, D.D., Bishop of Maitland. ,- iii * JOHN DUNNE, D.D., Bishop of Bathurst. v . *P. J. O'CONNOR, D.D., Bishop of Armidale. &w * JOHN & CARROLL,, D.D., Bishop of Lismore.

❖ WILLIAM H?ATDEN, D.D., Bishop of Wil- ~ , cannia-Forbes. rd s* ,xoi - ,;' ❖ JOSEPH W. DWYER, D.D., Bishop of Wagga -oj Wagga. df&b'n»iamor> hcO’ ■ bnA -(M ❖ DANIEL MANNIX, D.D., LL.D., Archbishop; :r . of Melbourne. : (,q :6 :„v .isoßV' ”.g'« boY-4wife ❖ PATRICK PHELAN, D >D., Bishop of r Sale, a. : ❖ DANIEL FOLEY, D.D.j Bishop of Ballarat. . ❖ JOHN McCarthy, D.D., Bishop of ; Sand-.; n hurst. eosi 'fix-.jrfi.di -hL- |o •»od/itefW H ❖ PATRICK DELANY, D.D., £ Archbishop: of: ■ Hobart. : " «yddriV'‘- \ ❖ ROBERT W. SPENCE, 0.P., D.D., Arch-, bishop .of Adelaide. . J - . - a* ❖ JOHN H. : NORTON, D.D., Bishop of Port. .. Augusta, .... .- : y V , ❖ PATRICK JOSEPH CLONE, D.D., Arch- • bishop of Perth. - ... veti ❖ WILLIAM BERNARD KELLY, D.D., Bishop ■ of Gerald ton. rnniv. ❖ ANSELM CATALAN, 0.5.8., Abbot Nullius, New Norcia. ; - .. ❖ JAMES DXJHIG, D.D., Archbishop of Brisbane. ❖ J. SHEIL, D.D. , Bishop of Rockhampton. -L-y^ ❖ JOHN AUGUSTINE HE AYE Y, D.D., 0.5. A., Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown. • . ■ ❖ FRANCIS REDWOOD, D.D., S.M., Archbishop of Wellington. ; _ ❖ HENRY WILLIAM CLEARY, D.D., Bishop .v of Auckland. =; : ❖ MATTHEW BRODIE, D.D., Bishop of Christ-'. church. . ; ACT OP CONSECRATION o-ea Of the (Parish or Congregation) to the Sacred Heart" of Jesus. ® Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who didst : manifest to Blessed Margaret Mary the desire of reigning in Christian families, we to-day wish to proclaim Thy most complete regal dominion over this parish and its people.; . We would live in future with Thy life, we would cause, to flourish in our midst those virtues to which Thou hast promised peace here below, we would banish far from us the spirit of the world which Thou hast cursed ; and Thou shalt reign, over our minds in the simplicity" of our faith, and over our hearts by the whole-hearted' love with which they shall burn for Thee, the flame of; which we shall keep alive by the frequent * reception - of Thy Divine Eucharist. ' ;i ""‘ Deign, O Divine Heart, to preside over our assemblings, to bless our enterprises, both spiritual and temporal, to dispel our cares, to sanctify our joys, to alleviate our sufferings. If ever one or other of us should have the misfortune to afflict Thee, remind him, O Heart of Jesus, that Thou art good and merciful* to the penitent sinner. And when the hour of separation strikes, when death shall come to cast mourning into our midst, we will all, both those who go and those who stay, be submissive to Thy eternal decrees. We will console ourselves with the thought that a day will come when the entire congregation reunited in Heaven can sing for ever Thy glories and Thy mercies. 1 May . the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the glorious Patriarch, St. Joseph, present this consecration to Thee, and keep it in our minds all the days of our life. All glory to the Heart of Jesus, our King and our Father. - v r - i: ■ On the 29th day of June, 1919, the undersigned, by a solemn Act of Consecration, has dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus the congregation 0f.............:.LV Church at —,*;.. —... ! - • * g;i-i i Signed • (the priest) . :51 .;... fig t <s N.B. —A copy of this Act of Consecration, signed by the parish priest and framed, should be set up in the sacristy. " ' . ' ’ ; '