Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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c — Á— LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 25 Saint John Berchmans, Patron of Youth The aim of this brief sketch is as the title indicates, a desire to review the life and virtues of this holy patron of youth. born March 18th, 1599, at Diest, a small town in the diocese of Brabant, of profoundly Christian parents. His mother, Elizabeth Vanden Hove, was held in high esteem for her ideal Catholic spirit. John Berchmans, her husband, was equally faithful in the observance of the laws of Holy Mother Church. Full of energy and imbued with a natural clever- ness, he was an adept worker in the occu- pations of tanner and shoe-maker. | ШӘ CHARLES BERCHMANS was Little John Charles at an early age con- ceived great devotion to his heavenly Mother, as also to Saints Stanislaus and Aloysius. Advancing in age, his greatest joy was to make frequent pilgrimages to the nearby shrine of “Our Lady of Mon- taigu. Stricken with a grave illness which con- fined her to a bed of suffering, his de- voted mother had to rely on the care and attention of her young son. Yet our heroic saint knew how to combine the active with the contemplative, and though he found ample opportunity for sacrifice and self- denial, no retrenching in his spiritual progress ensued. А special love for as- sisting at Holy Mass drew him to the foot of the altar each morning, where, with a seraph-like devotion, he often served two or three masses. Inspired with the Divine Call, he sur- mounted every obstacle that stood in the way of his vocation. Constantly opposed by his father who desired the service of his son at his own trade, John Charles but renewed his ardent appeals to Mary, con- fiding to her maternal care the success of his cherished enterprise. Entering the home of Canon Emerick at Diest, where, in consideration for his services he received lessons in Latin, John Charles prepared for the reception of his first Holy Communion. Can we not im- agine the sacredness with which that mo- ment was clothed! Тһе respect, love, and adoration of those priceless heart-to- heart communings with his Royal Guest! Frequent communion was not prevalent in the time of our young saint, yet, each Sunday and Feast found him at the Altar Rail, eating of the “Bread of Life,” the “Food of Angels.” It was at this period of his life, and probably at the shrine of Montaigu that he took the vow of Holy Chastity. To Mary he consecrated all his actions, and the maternal protection she accorded him proved his trust had not been misplaced. When finally securing the permission of his parents to enter the Jesuit Semi- nary at Malines, his happiness knew no limits. Cheerful of manner, constant in his obedience he prepared for the Divine Call that he felt came direct from God. The sad news of his beloved mother’s death added another trial to the many he had hitherto suffered, yet, in perfect resignation he bowed to the Divine de- cree. It was that perfect submission to God in all things that found for John Charles the key to the mysteries of Di- vine Love. We may think it hardly credible that a simple human heart would dare aim at reaching those spheres in which all is mys- terious for man’s futile understanding. Yet, in Holy Communion, was engendered the strength that enabled him to ascend ever higher the heights of Spirituality. Prudence and fortitude in a remark- able degree were evident in the character of John. Fidelity to rule, even the small- est, became in him the very principle of thought, word and action. А perfect model of religious perfection he was in the eyes of all who beheld him,—an angei of innocence, modesty and constancy. In the village rectory at Diest, as later on at Malines, so also at Rome, that staunch will, which aided him to under- take the life of a religious as soon as God had revealed his calling, now shines forth once more, as clear as crystal, in the cour- age and determination to perform all things simply, yet with exactitude. A noble generosity, a readiness to sacrifice everything for love of his Creator,—this was the sole aim and ambition of Saint John Berchmans. Whatever the duties he had to accom- plish, whether at home, Father Emerick’s or at the novitiate, he was ever the same, —a pillar of duty, without weakness, without discouragement, always prompt in doing good, ready to follow whereso-

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24 LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 1 і Е Е Е FIRST COMMUNION CLASS, JUNE 1st. 1905 MGR. RACICOT Left to Right: W. Harrison, J. Hughes, C. Cassidy, J. Hearn, N. Murphy, N. Collins, D. Langlen, Mr C. Regan, L. Wilkins, E. Coughlin, A. Reed, C. Merry, M. Johnson, R. Martin, R. Dolan, J. Vanier То Mary, Star of Evening 'Mid stress of wind and blanched wave My sail has parted, and the mast Has snapped. I, groaning, see my grave Yawn—and the storm screams past. But the black, swift clouds an instant show A Star ;—the chill winds softer blow; My barque is raised by ghostly hands And lo! the sheltering lands. To serve God’s law my soul had vowed.— Straightway, like lurid lightnings, fell Satanic shocks ’mid thunders loud. I shuddered, fearing Hell. In pale dismay, I cried to Thee,— And quiet came on troubled sea And air!—my soul beheld the Star That sought me from afar. O Star! sweet harbinger of night, When battle wanes and toil is done; When weary sailors find delight In thought of victory won; When Angel bands rejoice, while crushed Lies Satan, and forever hushed Temptation.—Then, on tranquil bays Shine Thy benignant rays. As sordid misers, bent on gain, Ne’er taste sweet nature’s evening haze, With Venus hovering o’er the main And cloudlets all ablaze ;— So, heated by the nearer glow Of lust, blind wordlings never know The rays of whitest love that part, Kind Star, from Thy pure heart. O Mary! guide us to that Night Whose issuing Day so golden gleams When on us bursts eternal Light And we rest by purling streams,— Where the Lamb will come, and eager thron g Of Just, white-robed, adore;— while song Begun of Angels swells and fills The everlasting hills. FiLIUS, 722. MOS

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26 .LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW ever God's designs and the will of his Su- radiating from his person, as perfume periors led him. from choice blossoms. Such perfection of life, such unflagging Stricken with a fever in the middle of fidelity surely reveals a soul filled with the summer of 1621, he rapidly grew the energy of the saints, a soul destined worse. God wished to cull from the gar- for higher things, if not in this world den of souls, this beautiful flower, that it then in the life to come. God endowed His might bloom in His Heavenly Kingdom. faithful servant with an extraordinary John Charles had a presentiment of his tenacity of purpose, and this led to an un- approaching end. А strange coincidence alterable peace, perfect calmness of soul, permitted the maxim drawn by him for which exterior contradictions could never the month of August to read, “Watch and shake,—undisturbed by opposition, ami- pray, for you know not the day or hour. able and smiling under humiliations, kind In his condition the pious religious saw a and charitable when attacked by slander, warning from on high. calumny, or detraction. On August 11th, with the Community What did it matter to him to be poor in of the Roman College around his bedside, the fleeting goods of this world—he so this holy student received Holy Viaticum, rich in the wealth of the Kingdom of dressed in his cassock, his hands joined Heaven, whose treasures time or eternity in prayer and, by his own wish, lying on a could never rob him of. mattress on the floor. A reputation of sanctity clung to him, Yet the final summons came but two nor could he escape from it. His child- days later, on August 13th, 1621. Clasp- hood companions, his fellow students at ing his crucifix and Rosary in his hands, the seminary—all venerated him as a he delivered back to its Maker, the soul saint. Another Saint Aloysius, he had a which he had kept untarnished and uncor- power for good over all with whom he rupted by taint of sin. came in contact, his sanctity and purity The glory of Saint John Berchmans has never waned. His tender youth, his spot- less purity, and heroism of virtues have given him a place in the courts of Heaven, and proclaimed him, like Saint Aloysius and Saint Stanislaus Kostka, the Patron of Catholic Youth. ... May he watch over them, guide them, and procure from God, the grace that they, too, may follow in the path of innocence and sanctity. . . . . DOUGLAS ARCHIE MACDONALD, Fourth Year High, Arts 725 First and foremost in adventure, Rising high in every sport; Every escapade or venture Sees а Freshman in support. Holding always all together Many storms have we come through; And in future stormy weather Never sha!] we prove untrue! Yearning for the light of knowledge, Eager for the daily drive. All through life, as well as college, Raise the flag of '25. Rev. PETER HAMEL, S.J. 1832-1905 BASIL G. PLUNKETT, '25.