Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 3 November 1921, Page 39

Catholic World

SEVEN CENTURIES OF APOSTOLIC WORK. / It is unusual, outside the Catholic Church, to find societies flourishing and powerful after centuries of existence (says the Catholic Bulletin of St. Paul, U.S.A.). The * great Orders of Christianity Franciscans, Dominicans, Benedictines —present a history that extends back seven, and in the case of the latter, fifteen, hundred years. In the course of ages many religious institutes arose, flowered, .. and then disappeared, or remained to the present day, but in an anaemic condition. The families, however, of; Francis, Dominic, and Benedict have withstood every blast and every assault from out the gates of hell. Just 700 years ago, in 1221, St. Dominic yielded up his sainted soul to his Maker. The organisation which he had established, that of the Friars Preachers, was something new in the spiritual militia of the Church. It consecrated, by papal decree, a large body of men to the apos- , tolic work of preaching as a profession, so to say. Not only ordinary sinners, but pagans, Jews, and infidels were the objects of their attack with the sword of the divine t word. The office of preaching included that of teaching; [ hence it is not to be wondered that the Dominican Sfi- | ciety gave forth a perfect galaxy of intellectual stars of the first order. The prince of philosophers and theologians, St. Thomas of Aquin, heads the noble array of j scientists produced by that valiant body. A long list of % brilliant men, extending down to the present day, comprises many of the brightest and most prolific minds to lie found in the intellectual life of these centuries. Since Catholic teaching reaches out and embraces all the mental and natural sciences, it was but natural that the Dominicans should enter these fields. With trained specialists in every branch of human learning, they achieved the highest distinction not only in the sacred sciences but in all those spheres wherein art, history, and J||ts human lore of all kinds held sway. Painting and architecf ture especially owe a profound debt to the Dominican f genius which has left some of the world’s masterpieces as ' proof of their attainment. The duty of preaching has carried the Dominicans into v the great mission fields of the world. The blood of their H . martyrs stains many a foreign land, while the triumphs of their zeal are legion. Saints in large numbers from . the ranks of St. Dominic have been canonised or beatified; St. Pius V., the last Pope to receive the honors of canonisation,' being among them. To-day, the Order of St. Dominic is a power in the Church of God. Aside from the wonderful work of the Dominican Sisters and the Brothers of the Third Order, I the devoted sons of Guzman continue their task of preaching and teaching in all the chief countries of the world, 1 not to mention the foreign missions. Learned and saintly I men to-day carry on, the work as zealously and successI fully as their renowned ancestors, and. the present strength C . and influence of these apostolic men are a source of credit y to the stability .of their institute and of glory to the ; ! : Church of God of which they form so noble and important ■ | a part.

J . PILGRIMAGES TO LOURDES. C A Paris message under date September 1 states that h 50,000 people from every section of France formed the y annual national pilgrimage to Lourdes. Three miraculous , cures, affirmed by a conference of physicians, are recorded i; as having been effected on the occasion of the solemn y y ceremony intended as a memorial of interallied gratitude. | > The Archbishop of Algiers presided. Prayers were offered I ' ■ for America and the Allied nations, fe w For the first time since the war, pilgrimages of six A different nationalities have recently met at Lourdes. They, wfi came from Belgium, England, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, t \ and Italy, and all met at the foot of the Grotto. The I v Brussels pilgrimage numbered 600, in spite of the strikes. A:::; The English national pilgrimage numbered 275, led by

Mgr. Doubleday, Bishop of Brentwood, representing the Archbishop of Westminster, The other pilgrimages included 1600 ..Swiss, 135 Dutch, 250 mountaineers from tho Asturias, in Spain, and 60 Italians from Turin. Recently the Holy Father received in the Consistorial Hall about a hundred pilgrims who were leaving Rome to join the national pilgrimage, about a thousand persons strong, that left Ventimiglia on August 28. Amongst those who left Rome there were about forty sick, four of -whom were seriously ill. The total number of sick taking part in the pilgrimage is about 110. The pilgrims were presented by Cardinal Ratti, who is also taking part in the pilgrimage. The , Cardinal presented the pilgrims to his Holiness, saying that they desired to receive the Apostolic Blessing, and promising that all would pray to the Holy H Virgin for the Pope. The Holy Father answered, saying that, if envy were not a sin, he would be envious of those fortunate ones who were going to Lourdes, which he himself visited in 1913, of which he has such sweet memories, and from which he returned with the longing desire of going back again. If Divine Providence has not permitted this, it is, however, a profound consolation for the Holy Father to see such a numerous group of Italian pilgrims. He accompanies them with the augury that all may obtain some grace; either the cessation of material tribulations or holy resignation to the Divine Will. For the Holy Father himself has seen by experience that at Lourdes, although one may not obtain .corporal favors, spiritual ones are surely obtained. Therefore the Pope has specially advised the pilgrims to have an increase) of Faith, Hope, and Charity because Lourdes is the*arm of God, which is not shortened; Lourdes is the blessed land where the Virgin opens abundantly the treasures of beneficence. At Lourdes there are no distinctions; all are in their own home. Lourdes is the antechamber of Paradise, from which one may pass with security to Paradise itself! With this augury the Pope implored the benediction of God on the Cardinal-Archbishop, the sick ones, and the pilgrims, present and absent.

' DEATH OF WESTMINSTER CANON. Canon William Fleming, one of the best known priests m London, has just died in his 77th year. The late Canon was Rector of St. Mary Moorfields, and a member of the Westminster Metropolitan Chapter. The parish of Moorfields has a remarkable history. The old church, which stood close to the railway terminus at Liverpool Street, was one of the oldest of the post-Reformation Catholic churches in London. One. perilous incident in his career is dramatically described by Dickens in his novel Barnahy Budge, when he tells of the sacking of Catholic chapels in London during the No-Popery riots that were engineered by the mad Scotsman Lord George Gordon. The old church had to be demolished a few years ago, and the site was sold and the present fine church built with the proceeds. The late Canon Fleming was a native of Tramore, in Co. Waterford. On the occasion of, the celebration of his golden jubilee of the priesthood last year, Canon Fleming was the recipient of presentations from the priests and people of the Waterford diocese, as well as from the Waterford priests resident in Great Britain. He was the author of several books, including a Life of St. Patrick. At one time during his clerical career Canon Fleming served as prison chaplain. It fell to him to administer the last rites to one of the Irish Invincibles, whom the Canon at-

tended on the scaffold at his execution.