St Gabriels High School - Archangel Yearbook (Hazleton, PA)

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The TRUMPET 'Q' 'iq' 1 1 1 wg. The Religious Element in Education HE theory of development, which is now widely received and applied to all things, is at once a sign and cause of the almost unlimited confidence which we put in their remedial and transforming power of education. We no longer think of God as standing aloof from nature and the course of history but we feel that we move in the direction towards which He impels. Education, therefore, we deem nec- essary, not merely because it is so absolutely essential to any kind of life, but also because God has made development the law of both conscious and unconscious nature. Man exists that he may make himself like Godg in other words, that he may educate himself, for the end of education is to fit him for complete- ness in life, to train all his faculties. to call his endowments into play, and to make him equally whole in body and soul. This is the ideal and to take a lower view of it, is to take a partial view. Years ago, to make education universal, it was necessary to levy a school tax, and as this could be done only by the state, the state estab- lished systems of education and assumed the office of teacher. The result of all this has been that the school, which throughout christen- dom is the creation of the church, has in most countries very largely passed into the control of the civil government. This transference of control, need not, how- ever, exclude religious influence and instruc- ti'ong though once the state has gained control, the natural tendency is to limit the functions of the school to the training of the mental faculties. As a matter of fact, this tendency is most pronounced in the educational theories and systems of positivists and agnostics. Since they maintain that there is no God, or that we can- not know that there is a God, they conclude that it is absurd to teach children anything about God. To bring up the young with such views is to teach them what is false, and to give a wrong direction to the whole course of life. But apart from all theories and systems of belief and thought, public opinion in America sets strongly against the denominational school. The civilized world now recognizes the nec- essity of a popular education. In a government such as this, intelligence should be universal. In such a government, to be ignorant is not only to be weak, it is also to be dangerous to the common welfare. for the ignorant are the tools which unscrupulous men use to taint the source of public authority and to baffle the will of the people. To protect itself, the State is forced to establish schools and to see that all acquire at least the rudiments of letters. But the American State can give only a secular educa- tion, for it is separate from the church, and its citizens profess such various beliefs, that in establishing a school system, it is compelled to eliminate the question of religion. Church and State are separate institutions, and their func- tions are different and distinct. Americans are a christian people. Religious zeal iinpelled their ancestors to the New World, and when schools were first established here, they were established by the churches, and religious instruction formed an important part in education. This was only natural, and as the school was the daughter of the church, she has doubtless rendered invalu- able service to civilization. The Catholic view of the school question is as clearly defined as it is well known. It rests upon the general ground that man is created for a supernatural end, and that the church is the divinely appointed agency to help him to attain his supreme destiny. As education is a train- ing for completeness of life, its primary element is the religious, for complete life in God. A Complete man is not one whose mind alone is active and enlightened, the man who is alive in all his faculties is the complete man. Religion is the vital element in character, and to treat it as though it were but an incidental phase of I1l3.I'1,S life is to blunder in a matter of the highest and most serious import. The education which forms character is absolutely necessary, that which trains the mind is desir- able. To exclude religion is to exclude the spirit of reverence, of gentleness and obedience. 4 l I l 1 O i781

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The TRUMPET -q l l , l ' O' j Abraham Lincoln ICCIZNT years have witnessed an intensive study of all the details of Mr. Lincoln's life. No word of his has been too small, no act too trivial, no association too remote to enlist the quick attention of an interested people. The child of pioneers, he was a pioneer himself. The story of his childhood is one of the most stirring in the record of American pioneering. and one of the most pathetic inthe history of the world. The humble Kentucky cabin, without Hoor or window, in which he first saw the light, is as safe from profanation by the instinctive feel- ings of all true citizens of the Republic, as was the ark of the covenant by the written law of the jew. The house in which he lived receives the jealous care of the state to which his re- nown brings its greatest honor, and the to-mb which holds hi's ashes is a mecca to which all lovers of free government, from all nations and in all generations will turn with continually in- creasing devotion. Abraham Lincoln was the child' of the common people. The training for his great work was in the school of poverty and toil. His rough pioneer life opened to him the secret springs of human action. The people of the North had been separated by political discussion and hate. It was not money but brawn which could put down the Rebellion. They were to be united in feeling before an army could be marshalled. His sagacious words, born of his experience in Illinois, did the work. His feeling for the lowly and oppressed was intense, almost consuming. He could treat a stalwart man with indifference, but the cry of a child touched his heart and the pleadings of a woman unnerved him. Abraham Lincoln had a judicial mind. He was just by nature. VVhen the time came, he grasped great events w-ith a firm hand,-which gave confidence, with a kindly spirit, which gained support and with great legal learning, which carried weight. His great mind never departed from its simple creed. The waves of selfishness, of supercilious self importance, of political hate, of bigotry, all beat against him, but the rock stood the storm. In speaking of the character of Abraham Lin- coln it is not permissible to omit a special refer- 'Oh 7 ii? i ence to his wit. It was proverbial and a part of the man. In quick retort, in apt illustrations, in ready humor he had few peers. This accom- plishment is commonly dangerous to public men. but his wit was so pure, so spontaneous, so lacking in i-nvective, that he did not suffer in consequence of it. Indeed it was fortunate that he had, for it came to his aid at crucial junc- tures. It helped to relieve the hours of his despondency, and they were many. It enforced his views. It saved him when at the breaking point. Mr. Lincoln's religious views have been sur- rounded with mystery. An analysils of his religious feelings would doubtless uncover points with which many Christians would not agree. But he came to be an undoubted be- liever in God. in immortality, in the larger liberty. which makes men free. As early as 1860 he wrote to Newton Bateman, superin- tendent of schools in Illinois: UI know that there is a God and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is every- thing. I know that I am right, because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it and Christ is Cod. He had a constitutional tendency toward sacred things and an intense emotional nature. an intimate regard for the truth, an inborn reverence for the right, an abiding sense of his dependence upon Cod. All this limited and ex- panded and correlated his other qualities to the development and upbuilding of a great and un- the common character. which safely directed American Republic through the greatest crisis in its history, and perhaps the greatest crisis of free government in the world. An imposing monument has been erected to l,incoln's memory in the beautiful cemetery, at Springfieldg but his position is so secure in the hearts of men, that no monument, however im- posing, can add to his renown. The work of Abraham Lincoln will bear fruit forever. His career is an unceasing inspiration to us. LAURIiNcl': F. Faumfv, '26. u u6- I 77 I

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The TRUMPET QQ l The Religious Element in Education fContinuedj of purity and modesty. The atmosphere of If the chief end of education is virtue, if religion is the natural medium for the develop- ment of character. If we accept the doctrines of religion, we can distinguish between right and wrong, and therefore guard against wrong doing. The school, of course, is but one of the many agencies in education. NVe are under the in- fluences of our whole environment, physical, moral, and intellectual: political. social and re- ligious. The family is a school and the church is a school: and the present American opinion assigns to them the business of moral and re- ligious education. But this means that conduct and character are of secondary importance. It 111621115 that the child may be subject to opposite influences at home and in school, and thereby have a line sense of reverence, truth and good- ness deadened. conduct is three-fourths of life, if character is indispensable, while knowledge is only useful, then it follows that religion, which has power to create virtue, to inspire conduct, and to form character, should enter into all processes of education. The deeper tendency of the present age is not to exclude religion from any vital process. but rather to widen the idea of religion until it embraces the whole life of man. VVhether we work for knowledge or freedom, purity or strength, beauty or health, any thing that is necessary for completeness in life, we work with Cod and for God, in the school as in the home. ln whatever place a man may find himself with God. In Him he moves, and lives, and has his being. MARGARET A. McNlcR'rNrav, '26, cTOTI10'Y'Y'OlfU,S journey VVhere shall it lead?-l'pon this mystic, com- pletely veiled, and puzzling question, Brother john, a representative of St. Thomas's College, Scranton, delivered a most inspiring and inter- esting lecture. llrother John vividly portrayed the oft disastrous consequences resulting from the failure of choosing a vocation and the good we can accomplish by mapping out our life work, laying particular stress upon an early choice. The clarity aml simplicity of Brother .lohn's mode of expression was so impressive, that it held the whole attention of his'entire audience. .Xs a means to illustrate the different phases of one's life, he used a simile, depicting the disas- trous consequences which some time follows the missing of a train. He cited a personal incident which had occurred that morning. He intended to come to Hazleton at an earlier hour, but had missed his train. However, he had an opportunity to make the trip later, but pointed out that if we should choose the wrong path or miss our way, the loss would be irreparable. Brother J0hn's much needed hints concerning life's ever-troubled waters won for him the true admiration of his listeners. He may feel quite sure that we will profit by his instructions. jositvu j. Biusmn, '26. -a 1 1 E791