ST. VIATEURS LEC'l'lO
VOL. I.
CE l~TA
CoLLEGE JouRNAL
P H ODES T ,
DELEC'l' A 'l' . Seucca.
BOURBONNAISGROVE, ILL. FRlDAY, Jnne8 1883. A MO THER'S lNFLUENCK
" ~o !
V Al~lA
at t he co uch wh ere infant bea nty sleeps, ITer silent W[ltch t be moum fu l mot her keeps." l'\{other ! how the mo re mention of t hat name stirs the heart nnd ca.lls back to t he mind a fl ood of t encl or recoll ections! 1n t hat m usical word is embodied all t hat is ten der , g enero us and affectionat e. It is tho nam e o f the first being who loved ns, the fi rst who g uarr1ed and proct ected us, t he first fri end who cherished us. T ho heart of a mother is t he uni versa! standard and criter ion of earthly love. It is like a sun from wh ich e manate t he br ig htes t ancl lJLU'est rays of hu rnan affection. T hick .i ndeed must be t he shield of incliff'erence which Lhose dissolv ing ray s cannot penetrate, and t r uly dark must be t he mine! and cold tho sensih ility which its g lowing lig ht cann ot hrightcn and warm: But Gocl llas ' O for med tho lmman heart t hat t he conscio usness of being loved is e ver agreable and it is impossible not to feel grateful to those of wh oso lov e we have 11 conv incin g proof. T hus it is with the chi l d. ~· his affections are bound up in an end uring lov e for his mother uecause he ne ver do ubts her undying affection for him. t:lhe is his suppor t and g uide in infancy and y ou t h, his c011solation and 1'efuge in man hooc1. She rejoices with him in hr1ppiness, g rieves wit h hi m in sorro w, consoles hi m iu distress, and pray s for llim in acl versity. Silo will sacrifice ev ery ple~ls tu· o a nc1 comfort to grutity eadl chil dish whim ; and in mat.uror years when he may have fhllcll inLo d isgrace, :1nd t l10 ha ughty world loo~ s clown upon him, she never deserts him but on t he cont rary only clings to him all the more fo ndly . She is the consta11t comp:cnio n o Chis y outh a t rusted confident , aut1 co unselor in h is infa ntin e tro uules. To her he / fi·cely unfblcl s his d reams for t he futu re ; his desires, and pass ion . Thu s sbe early ascertains t he bent of his inclinations, t he capacity of his m ind, and t he ind ic:at io ns of fu ture character ; and she monlds and <1i rects them wit h a loving hand . ·w hat th en must be t he influ en ce of a mot her anc1 the ti: n it of:Lll her teachings ? As i.t is t he influence fi rst felt, it mu st be t he most enduri ng. T he mind of yo uth is like a moist nnd fertile garden in early spring. Its pnssions and affections hegi11 to assert th emselv es li lze the fi·uitfu l soil. But t he genero us am1 t cn cl er senti ments arc mingled wit h vi-
No. 8.
cio us an d e vil in clinat ions just as t ile weeds in the gar don thriv e in t he m idst ofthe blossoming flowers. T lw gard ener in order t o render such a spot beautiful and a tt rac t i vo beg ins at o nce to root o ut those plrmtR that are ofl'onsiv o :m el noxio us and to enco ura ge th ose tha t pr om ise nh un cb nt fruits. Likewise t ile m other , til e true gardener of the yo uthful mind rem o ves fr om its soil tho germs of v ice and enco1ll'ago wi tb fostering care tho s~ecl s of fruitfu l virt ue ; an d moreover tile m ind like wax, heatccl by t he tire of youthfu l vigor, most easily receiv es a nd retains impressions eitller for good or evil ; this t hen is tlto r eason why the remembrances of childhood are so lasting. Thnt t be influene o f a mother is gre1Eer tha n t hat of a fath er is very natural. Tho heart of ma n, aDC1 espacially of the ch ild is such that it cnn more easily b e influenced by kindness thnn by sev er ity, the yo uth m[l y b8 enticed, but he cannot be dri ven. K ow ns tile mother is tho v ery personification of love a!1(1 tend erness, as her entreaties ofte ri ave rt the p un ishmen ts which tho father would infli ct Lor puerile d isorrlors ; the ch i.ld 's heart will naturally expand with gratitll(le :m el he will respect in all things her wishes ancl co nnsels. K ot· will he disr egard them in after life. It is cliflicult to believe that a man can over become so colc1, so nbanclonecl, so utterly lost to all h lll11 <U1 sensibility as to fo rget, or to r ecall with ind ifference the teachings of n Christi.;<nm other. Indeed it mn.y well be donbtocl, even in t his ag e of filial ingmtitud e, that th ere is any one wbo, at least during certain periods o f his life, does not serio usly think, and with profit , of " T ho mother who wntchecl with devot1on s ublime O'er t he bnc1 of his life in t he g'arclon of tim e." lie may forget for a time, he may become a prodigal and sq uaocler his health and streng th in crime and diss ipat ion; b ut if at no other time, at least in t he hour of sickn ess or misfo rt une, he w,ill r emember his mother and when he rises ngain it will be with t he determination of becomi ng a bettor man. It is ~a i d that t he ex emplary life of ::;;t. Lo uis, king of Franco, was in a groat measure owing to t h e early t eachings and wholesome counsels o f hi s virtuo us motller. Partly to her inll uenco therefore we mnst nscribe the formation of tho remarkable cha mcte t' of that illu strious monarch, who, while he