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CHRISTMAS GIFTS
The 11?ecoll. No. 2904
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Perth, Thursday, Dec. 17, 1959
Jesuit Rector Warns On Danger tworevevareveitecteevivrec Wishing All A Happy Xmas Of Selfishness, Lack Of Effort How much in moral, intellectual and physical progress has been education that has produced achieved this year? Do the boys know and love Our Lord more as a so much of a problem in and can produce it result of the year's activities? Are the boys acquiring the moral and U.S.A. here -- the policy of giving mental equipment for a worthwhile life in this world and happiness them only subjects which that one could not always been made easy by inven- they like or which, in their in eternity? These questions were posed by the V. Rev. J. Hawkins, S.J., Rector of St. Louis' School, Claremont, at the recent annual speech night. All the activities of the school were geared to those aims, said Fr. Hawkins. The full answer would not be known until the day of Gen-
eral Judgment. What he was offering was an Interim Report. Most notable advance of the school had been in the progress of the Sodality of Our Lady. It was most powerful to produce genuine moral strength and stability. The development of singing under the Rev. J. Haste, S.J., had made for the boys' enjoyment and for their
pleasure in good music. Debating had flourished, practically the whole senior school having taken part. Referring to sport, Fr. Hawkins said that what pleased him most was that the boys seemed to have the right attitude.
Those who were good did not let success go to their heads, nor did they give sport preference to study; those with limited skill made manful efforts did not drop their bundle because they could not shine, and did not begrudge success to those who won.
Public sport nowadays seemed to be have too much argument and dispute about it, too much quarrelling with the umpire and that sort of thing. They had tried to eliminate such manifestations of selfishness and the begrudging of success to meritorious performers. Apart from the physical relaxation it provided, that was the chief value of school sport as a preparation for living. Used properly, sport is a great antidote to selfishness, pigheadedness, bigheadedness. All these weeds could flourish in the character of youth, and from developed many of the problems of later life. Team co-operation, acceptance of the fact
come out on top or dictate the plan of action, the selfdiscipline of abiding by the rules of the game those
tion, people were inclined to take it for granted that character training, too, should be less difficult. were valuable aids to living They had yet to discover harmoniously in the more the machine which could closely knit team which a curb the family constituted or the the devil.world, the flesh and In fact, those more loosely knit unit of a malignant agents seemed to profession or business. have assumed a proprietary What was not commonly right over much that science recognised was that selfish- had provided. ness lay behind much of Yet, they had the queer what was unhappy in life. spectacle of alleged educaSelfishness was dangerous tionalists thinking and planand had many troublesome ning and tragic manifestations, change feverishly how to education to a ranging from simple dis- changing world. putes to divorces, from Education must he for the pushing others aside in a enduring things, queue to crippling and kill- derstanding of for an unabsolute ing them on the highway. norms, abiding truths not for adjustment to a continuNo Slick Way ally changing of the "Indulge a child's selfish- circumstances current in which life ness, said Fr. Hawkins, "and was lived. you breed a teenage dicThe current changed tator, an insufferable adult. and a miserable wreck of quickly and haphazardly. old age. I cannot promise They must steer by the comthat your refusal to indulge pass of truth, not drift helpselfishness will not arouse lessly with the current. grumbling and grousing -Erroneous Views hut that is momentary and insignificant compared to A character in a modern subsequent misery and I novel suggested that nothing assure you that every child was more wicked than to knows in its heart that you teach boys to adjust to the are right and tries the fuss modern world -- and it did and bother merely as a seem indeed a curious docbluff." trine to urge that young This was the jet age, con- people ought to adjust to tinued Fr. Hawkins, the age the times rather than try to of speed-the age in which set things right when the mostly everything was be- times were out of joint. ing done at a much faster "We believe children arc rate than in the days of our weak and immature and forefathers. need help --we do not beThey could travel more lieve it is right -to trust their quickly now --do the wash- judgment. We hold no brief ing more quickly and easily for torturing them, but we -communicate more quickly insist that there is a fallacy and easily by phone and in the belief that what is radio. distasteful and difficult for a BUT they could not train child must ipso facto be character more easily or eliminated from the educamore quickly merely be- tional field. cause the appurtenances of "We disagree wholeheartmaterial life had changed. edly with the idea that Self-control still came only standards should be lowered by being able to say "No" to to come within the easy oneself, and that was just as grasp of all --that curricula had to do and teach as ever should be geared to the it was. weak. That way, you make That phase of family life the strong weak and weak and school life was a con- weaker still. stant, but because so many "Likewise, the so-called of the chores of life had 'progressive' approach to
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Beware Of This Leaflet A leaflet is circulating round the city and suburbs. It is apparently being handed round by devout persons who are misguided in their appreciation of what is classed as true and readable and what is rubbish and innuendo. The origin of this leaflet is South India, but there is a N.S.W. post office box given for correspondence. No name, no sanctioning authority. While the compilers of this doomsday collection of private revelations declare that they are prepared to submit to the final decision of the proper Church authority, they leave the question open-did these things happen or did they not; are they authentic or are they not?
Our advice to those who distribute the leaflets is to stop. To those receive them, look for the authority of quotations, the imprimatur of who the Church and signs of authentication. If any leaflet is without these signs, which can be checked, BURN IT. Tell the distributor that he or she ought to have more sense than to go about pushing unauthenticated quotations which have the effect of causing bewilderment rather than true devotion. The address in India has been painstakingly checked in a very good and late edition Atlas and cannot be found.
juvenile wisdom, 'will earn a living for them afterwards' -that is a betrayal of the purpose of education. "I hope very earnestly that such ideas will not infiltrate into the committee at present considering the revision of the curriculum, and that they will not accept the principle that because a thing is being difficult to provide, it rcust -therefore be jettisoned. "The mental effort of a child still determines to a large extent the mental intake of a child, each according to his capacity, and the self-discipline necessary for the mental effort is the character builder. "Relax the requirement of that mental effort and you deprive the child not only of valuable knowledge but also of more valuable moral grip and strength, and you let loose on the world a flabby, wobbly, selfish character who finds everything hard because he has never been put to the strain. "Youth is no novelty on the earth its face and its nature do not change though its expression or its style of haircut may change. It still has the basic needs of human nature, which are unchanging. "To give it skills with modern machines and techniques, to lavish on it lessons for participating in the pastimes of life, is not to educate. "Social occasions, driving instructions, hobbies, and many other things which are being pushed into school life, are not the work of schools. "A school has a full-time job awakening the mind to truth, developing an appetite for the good and stimulating an appreciation for the beautiful. "So when our courses here arduous or more mercenary are at variance with less ones elsewhere, you will realise what we are aiming at. We will not always succeed, but we will not stop trying."
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Collection For Slaves, Dec. 27 The annual collection for the redemption of slaves in Africa will be taken up in all parishes on Sunday, December 27.
Nun Wins Top
Nursing Award Sister M a r y Christina (Matthews), of St. Anne's Nursing Home, Mt. Lawley, has been awarded the John Beadle Gold Medal for 1959. The medal will be presented to Sister M. Christina today (Thursday) at a private ceremony at the King Edward Memorial Hospital by His Excellency the Governor, Sir Charles Gairdner. The award is made for the nurse showing the best practical arid general attention in hospital to patient and babies.
The Management and Staff of "The Record" extend to its Readers and Advertisers Christmas Greetings and a wish for Prosperity in the Coming Year.
WICCOMENVOMMOVViitetetVC
Sister Veronica Feeds Destitute 'It's
no good talking religion to people with empty stomachs." That is the practical philosophy of Sister Veronica, a Daughter of Charity, who conducts a soup kitchen in Fitzgerald-st., W. Perth.
Sister Vefohica, youthful and dynamic, was quoting the founder of her Order, St. Vincent de Paul, and talking about the spiritual value of her
work. The soup kitchen is situated at the north end of Fitzgerald -street, not far from the railway, in an area which is squalid and oppressing. As we entered Sister Veronica, assisted by two of her 50 women auxiliaries (who work on roster and are "really wonderful") was drying her hands in the tiny kitchen. She showed us the little dining room which has eight brightly coloured tables and can seat 32 persons at a sitting. A few good prints hang on the walls and external awnings protect the premises from the savagery of the sun. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day seven days a week Sister Veronica and her helpers serve meals to the really destitute. It is more than a soup kitchen, for dinner is provided as well, and when she can manage it, sweets. Sister Veronica told us that she started the work in July with 29 clients. By the end of the month the patrons numbered 120 and that is about the daily average. Charity knows no boundaries of creed and the work is promoted by an interdenominationalso committee. Asked how the work is financed Sister Veronica said that benefactors donate vegetables, bread and soup bones. But she has to buy meat. "Who comprises your clientele," I enquired. "What people call the 'dead -beats,' " said Sister Veronica, "the unemployed and the unemployable." "I call them the most unfortunate people in the city. Help is provided for the old, the orphans, the spastics, etc., but there is nothing done for them," she said. "People say it is their own fault, but that is not so. It is the fault of circumstances and perhaps inheritance. I don't know." At the outset Sister Veronica had said that she worked for spiritual motives. I asked her how she proposed to exercise an apostolate after she had filled empty stomachs. "By talking to individuals," she said simply. "Good can be done, even if we have to wait till they are dying. Kindness is the only way." Sister Veronica was generous in praise of her helpers. "They come from all over," she said, "and they are really wonderful." Even the patrons of the Centre are most willing to help in washing-up and sweeping, but there is not much room in the tiny kitchen. In addition to the men and women who come daily to the Centre for one good, square meal, external help is given. Some send for a "billy" of soup and about a dozen families secure bread there. Sister Veronica has larger ambitions, however. She wants a "place of her own" with greater facilities. She also wants to set up a night shelter for girls who have been in an institution. Often they lose their jobs and have nowhere to go. At the shelter they could stay a week or a fortnight until they found somehing. Sister Veronica also plans a refuge for aboriginal women, many of whom now roam the streets. She paid tribute to the kindness of the Lotteries Commission who had provided all the kitchen equipment for the Centre. But she needs much more help of a financial sort and she is looking to the Cathalic community to make a grand gesture for the less fortunate, particularly at Christmas time.
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