Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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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.

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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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LOYOLA COLLEGE REVIEW 27 Objectivity of Ideas HE nature of this essay, from its | title, may appear to some at first sight to be necessarily clothed in a shroud of fine philosophical distinctions and abstract mental intricacies. But those who will patiently suffer with us to its conclusion will, we hope, have these sinister misgivings dispelled; and wil agree with us that the sec- ret of exposing а philosophical question lies, not in the use of formidable - look - ing words, but rather in the sim- plicity of one’s language. With this in mind, kind readers, let us proceed to the unravelling of the question at hand; after a thorough under- standing of ex- actly what we mean by it, we will go on to the proofs which sub- stantiate our stand; and then our task, we hope, is done. The question we have proposed to ourselves to solve is: Are our ideas merely fa- brications of the mind without any correspondence to objects in the world of reality? Or, on the other hand, do they possess this correspondence, that is, are they replicas of objects which exist in the physical world which surrounds us? According to Kant, the great exponent of idealism, our ideas originate in the ob- jects, but when received in the mind they suffer modifications; so, to our question he answers, “Our ideas are neither perfect replicas nor complete fabrications, but rather a composition of the two. If our question be proposed to the Sceptics, they make answer, that being unable to have certainty with regard to anything, our question is beyond the sphere of possible solution. Finally, if it be from the schol- astic philosophers that we seek a solution to our query, they answer us in this man- ner: “Our ideas really and truly express or correspond to objects which exist in the world:of reality, but they do not cor- respond to them or express them as they exist. Now this, the scholastic answer, is the doctrine or theory of the objectivity of ideas. When speaking of ideas, if we are not careful, we are apt to confuse ideas with phantasms—so, let us, at the outset, clear- ly state the distinction between them. A phantasm is material and particular; it is material, for it is the result or product of a material or organic faculty, which facul- ty is the imagination; and it is particular, for when we conjure up anything in our imagination, it is always the picture of some determinate and particular individ- ual—thus, if we imagine a triangle, it is always some determinate and particular triangle with such and such dimensions,