St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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'lllllllllllllf' :llllllllllll ' Ellli JIIIIIIUIIIIJ X X 5 5 H 5 5 augur ', ! ' H . ! 2 ! What am I? 7 . . Y . . I . ' . I . 1 0 I C 7 1 3 I ! , . . . ,, 'MJ I fl? J L ff? Q2 Here are but a few glimpses of the charming beauty which is hidden under each cassocked breast-little miniatures of God's beauty There seems to be goodness everywhere one looks. The human soul scarcely knows the depth of its own beauty, Re cognition of this will spur man on to greater efforts. Where lies its cause? That question has been often pondered. The only answerseems to be that each soul contains, hidden from the eyes of man the image of its Creator, of its God. If it be not this then we must Join our voices with Saint Bonaventure and Saint Alphonsus who cried O Good jesus, what hast Thou seen in me which hath made Thee love me so much--why, Lord, why? But this must suffice The Church is moving: she is a living organism constantly manifesting this by assimilating truth and rejecting error throughout the ages' Today, she cries for leaders, and perhaps the call was never more urgent. She must continue her work of saving souls, and she- must do this in a swiftly changing society Methods are being altered in educational, scientific and medical lines The Church must meet these ad vances step by step not by modifying her doctrines or her liturgy but by br1ng1ng the beauties of her religion before the eyes of the public in order to win the hearts and minds of men Hence she' calls for men who are developing their potential- ity for good who see souls ln their beauty, and love them for God who measure all good in the light and spirit of faith Courageous in their duties, missionaries to the souls of all-she calls you She calls for men of sterling character, she calls you She begs for men of God-she points to you-for the power of the Church rests in her priesthood. Only a priesthood that has the spirit of zeal intelligence, and sacrifice, and neg lects no opportunities and shrinks from no effort to equip itself fully will enable the Church to speak to the world as her mission demands. O' 'si 1.2 ll39lI 'IllIll- UI llllllllllli -Zlllg gllllllg -,-I- :n mmmm

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'illlllllillllf . Y, Some Practical Moral Aspects o Spiritism JOHN F, EICHBAUER, A. B ATERIALISM and unrest, results of the recent war, have effected a revival of the almost defunct cult of Spiritism. A materialistic age is always partial to Occult- ism and the present age is no exception. This cult has spread far and wide over the world. We, as Christians, living as we do among many whose religion is gross materialism, must, of neces- sity, meet with people who believe in Spiritism and practice it. If we are to maintain an intelligent attitude on the subject, which is at the same time compatible with our Christian religion, we must learn something of the nature, the claims, and practices of this cult, so that we can converse intelligently about it, and maintain correct views on the matter. This treatise aims at a concise presentation of such knowledge. Spiritism is by no means new. It is a very ancient practice which has appeared under many forms during the history of the world. It has been cloaked under the guise of necromancy divination, black magic, and clairvoyance. The Jews knew of it since it is expressly forbidden by the Sacred Scriptures in the Book Leviticus. Spiritism was a widespread practice in pagan times. The Chinese, and even savage races, knew and practiced it. Often it neglected to clothe itself in the more specious form of necromancy, and manifested itself as the diablerie which it truly is. The modern form of Spiritism began with the Fox family of Hydesville N Y in 1848 They introduced the circle or seance. This practice spread rapidly throughout our own country and Europe but due to numerous exposures of fraudulent seances its popularity waned with the century With great vitality, the cults began to revive during the late conflict. Many people suddenly bereaved by the war fell easy prey to the blandish- ments of Spirltxsm and sought to lessen their grief by communi- cating with the souls of thelr lost loved ones. Other causes of this revival were its exploitation by the press, and the conver- sions of several prominent men to the cult. Notable among the latter are Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These men gave Splritism its lmpetus 1n England, and later in the KT .i!. ll41ll 'I llli Sl ls ulmmnm- fi - mm mm: g ' lx su, zu ll , xr 2 L ' . sin 5 mnmm' I 1 .mum uiiu -I I: ' ?lllg Wllllllllllllf' 1 , . . . P 0 . - ' v , . . . , . . . . . . y 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - Q Qllllllllllllk X5 - . I N . glllg. ., -,, I 3 K-'wif -li Q I f- '77 a -ai lv .-I-11 - T- Biillllllqqg X