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New Zealand Tablet, 10 July 1919, Page 26

NOTES

Spiritual Books J ’ i! ■ i ‘ • A correspondent ' asks us to suggest, a. few useful spiritual books for a busy man to have at hand for reading in leisure hours. We do so gladly, . and. we hope that/not only busy * people, but . idle people, too, will take our advice. , The importance of spiritual reading is,not as well understood by the generality of Catholics as - it ought ;to be. It is a subject that does not often crop II P in the _ routine of Sunday sermons,- nor is it often suggested to preachers by the, words of the Gospel. The preachers, however (with , all respect be it said), could do worse than insist a couple of times in the year on the utility, if not on the necessity, of having spiritual books in every home, and of reading them. We say our prayers, no doubt, every morning and every night ; we hear Mass and a sermon on Sundays ; and . all the rest of the week is filled up with concerns‘that distract , our attention from the main fact that our end ,on earth is to merit Heaven. Spiritual books that we may take up when we have a few minutes to spare, or when we try to read ourselves to sleep at night, will help us as few things else could. They bring back the right atmosphere at once; they banish worldly thoughts and fill our minds with the things of God and His Saints. Besides, they convey to us in a clear and pleasant manner the instruction concerning the truths of our religion which so many of us badly need.

What Books to Get .7 .-First of all, get the 3 ew Testament, It contains the words of Our Lord Himself; and its every line was inspired by the Holy Ghostnay, its every word 3for without going, into the vexed problems concerning the extent of inspiration we hold that inspiration rightly understood extends to every word in the Bible. The language of the New Testament is so simple that a child can understand it, and at the same time so sublime that even a genius like St. Thomas could never fathom its depths of wisdom. It differs from all other books in giving us the : words Our Lord spoke; it differs from all other records in that it is the record of His Life and Death; and than the Gospel story of that Death and the Passion that preceded it there is under the heavens nothing more powerful, more moving, more piercing. The Gospels will tell you all that first-hand witnesses could tell about Our Lord: they were written by the men whom Jesus loved on earth or by their immediate disciples. After them you will do well to get a little book in which a chosen servant of His will tell you how to follow Him. Get the Imitation- of Christ, and you will have a book of wisdom and consolation and beauty, a book for every hour, a book for every mood, a book that contains the whole true philosophy of life here arid hereafter. Get it, and then be sure you- read it. *

Other Books Let us suppose that you have the New Testament and the Imitation, and that you want more spiritual books. In ; the I first* place we would recommend a study of the Life of Christ. If you read French you will like Fere , Didoxx’s ; there are many excellent Lives in English too. Fouard’s.is translated and can be bought for- a shilling. r . It is a little library ; in itself. i Then you i might ? get some Lives -of 0 Saints. g There . will be Saints that appeal to you : the Saints were human and one r will have affinities for you ; that another will not. ... .After Our Lady and St. Joseph pur inclination would lead us -to recommend. .St. Philip Neyi, St. Francis ,of . Assisi, and - St. Francis de Sales. But .there are enough to satisfy every taste. Books that .expound in a popular . manner the .truths of r our religion ' are important. And among them we can , recommend none better than Dr. Hay's works. As a. general rule the books written by the Saints are to be given preference. And there are many to select ‘from! There is ho end

to the variety and interest of Lives of the Saints. Even in the pages of old Butler in time you will be more engrossed than in a novel. Lives written more recently, in the lights of.-fuller- research and scientific method, are worth study. At any rate there ought to be a goodly collection of Lives of the Saints on the shelves "of ; every parish library. - Standard \ spiritual, works that may be recommended generally are Father Faber's; Cardinal Manning's, Father Maturin's, Father Rickaby's, and- Father Russell's. And lastly, there are v the ; pamphlets published by the ' CiT.Sl,'" covering innumerable subjects' and usually of high value. . These little publications' are written for ' all, but such" is their worth that as a rule : it;;is "the more learned among us who appreciate them rightly. We know of an Anglican minister who reads every one-of."'them upon which he can lay hands we know educated Catholic laymen who keep themselves up to date" oh social, and moral and historical questions by 'studying the C.T.S. pamphlets. Here certainlv is a branch of Catholic' literature that ought to be not only in every library but "in every church in New Zealand. That little Catholic Truth Society box at the door of the church is a fountain of light and warmth in a parish. With the help of a few words" in season from tho priest it-will do its good work almost automatically. ....

Libraries Here we are back to it again ! However wc shall not take it that we have said too much on .-this subject until we, hear that every parish has its library. At present we have personal knowledge of only a few working parochial libraries. The best is in Buckle Street parish, and Timaru and Wanganui are next. Judging by the letters we get from correspondents there is a want in this direction. A hunger and thirst-for" knowledge of Catholic matters exists among ;the few already : by care and cultivation it can be-made common. An odd lecture now and then during the winter, well-aimed questions dropped - casually .by interested people, debates, controversies, can. all be utilised , to impress on our laity the importance of acquiring a knowledge of Cathoic doctrine. If we have not got so far as that already, it is at any rate certain that a number of our people are complaining that they do not know where to find what they want. The one way to remove that complaint is the establishment of a good parish library, stocked with a sufficient supply of standard works on doctrinal, apologetic, historical, and moral subjects. As we want to travel in peace for some time to come we will not say that some of the clergy are to blame in this matter but we do say that the question of ? establishing and successfully launching a library of this sort primarily concerns the priest. (The Editor will not be at home when letters arrive apropos of this remark.) We would recommend any of our friends who are inclined to take the matter to heart to make inquiries from Father Hurley, Father O’Connell, and u Dean Tubman, or, better, to see for themselves what they have done. Having heard, or seen, the final -advice is "go and do likewise.” -