The Record Newspaper 13 December 1944

Pupils are admitted from Grade Three to Seventh for the Preparatory Classes, and from First Certificate Standard.

Afterthesummer holidays Classes resume onTUESDAY, JANUARY 30th., 1945. Applications shouldbemade to the Principal beforethatdate to ensureaplace.

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How Can We Decide the Identity of the True Church Among Many Conflicting Claims?

*Catholics Recognise aValid Natural Contract in Marriages of Non-Baptised Persons

e e e

Our Lady's Virginity

Vindicated By the Scriptures

Private Interpretation of the Bible Must End in Error

Itmustbe averydisturbingthingto those many people searching for the truth and finding it very difficult to find that so many Christian bodies, differingconsiderablyfromoneanother in teaching and practice, should each of them claim to be the true Church which Christ founded. Iam quite sure that many non-Catholic listeners tothis session say tothemselves—nay, they often write to us about it—that weareallsoverysureofourselves; we aresoverydogmaticonthesubjectof the other fellow being quite wrong, andwe ourselvesalwaysright; the exponentsof the beliefsofother denominations--our listeners will say—are equally sure that the Catholic Answer isneverorhardlyeverright. Certainly, Iadmit, our attitude would be quite insufferable if we had not very strong arguments. You have heard manyofthem in many different forms during our broadcasts; here is one which has always appealed to me for its conclusiveness:

Now all non-Catholic Christians who do really believe in Christ—the argument will have no appeal to anyone else—will admit eitherthat thechurch to which they belong came into existenceafew centuriesago(since the Reformation anyhow), or else they will claim that theirs is areturn to the primitivetypeofChristianityasfoundedby Christ, in otherwords,aradical reform. For the first group (those whoadmitthattheirChurchwasstartedby,say,LutherorCalvinorthe protector Somerset, and Archbishop Cranmerduring the reign ofEdwardVI)— forthisgroupthenatthetimeoftheir particular Protestant church being founded, the true Church either existed or it didn't; if it did they broke awayfromit,andareconsequentlyoutside theChurch which Christfounded; if it didn't exist, neither Luther nor Calvin norSomersetnorCranmerwere JesusChrist, andsocouldn'tfound the Christian Church. As for those who claim that theirs is aradical reform andareturn to primitiveChristianity: theChristianChurchwhichexistedjust before they startedtheirreform, namely,theCatholicChurch,waseitherthoroughly corrupt—that is, so corrupt that it had ceased to be Christ's Church—orelse it wasnot. If it was not, if it had not ceased to be His Church,they excluded themselvesfrom thetrueChurchbyseparatingthemselvesfrom it. Ifthrough thoroughcorruption it had ceased to be the true Again Pre-War Quality Roof Paint, 28/.gat. XMWhite,4/-tin.Hassell's. 559Wellington Street,

Christian Church, then Our Lord had failedin Hispromise to speakthrough HisChurch, had failed in His promise to be with hereven to theend of the world, had failed His unfortunate followers in His promise to give them a living voice to instruct and strengthen themin all their difficulties and temptations—He whohears you hears Me.

If Christ claimed to be God,

as He mostcertainly did, and failed to keep His promises, He must have been a complete imposter, and who would want to belong to His Church, much less re-found it.

You will say that where there is smoke there is fire, and that where therewas somuch talk of reformation there musthave been need forreform. Oh,yes,Iwilladmitthat. Therewas need for reform, there were abuses which needed correcting, and the Ca tholic Church corrected them herself attheCouncilofTrent,andin thevig• our of her rejuvenation reconquered half of the provinces which had been lost or almostlost by her to the Pro. testants—Austria, South Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, France, and even those regions in which she was unable to re-establish herself, such as EnglandandScotland, shesoakedwith the blood of scores of thousands of martyrs,whichindue time under Providence will become the means of strengthening and cementing the faith whichwasthe faithof generations and generations of our forefathers.

Interested,,Perth:

Apropos of Dr. Rumble, of Sydney, andof ratherLalorsaying that the Church definitely recognises as valid the marriages of non-Catholics whethertheybebaptised or not. Interested continues: I un4arstand that bothofyouexpoundtheteachings cf the Church, although Irliss that at tinierit may resol ed

ve itself into amatter of personal opinionas towhat theteaching reallyis cn some particular point. In the above instance(that oftwo nonCa-

tracted by aChristian is also aSacrament. Marriage contracted by nonbaptised persons, who are NOT Christions is merely anatural contract and notaSacrament. TheChurchhasno authority whatsoever in the matter, and consequently if that natural contract of marriage is validly entered intoaccordingtocivillaw,intheeyes oftheChurch it is certainlyvalid too: She cannot change hermind about it, itisoutside her province. Whatprobably occasioned your asking this question was that you knew that the Catholic Church had altered her regulations regarding the marriages of Catholics from time to time. That is quite another matter. For Christians marriage is aSacrament, and both Sacramentsand Christians ARE under the jurisdiction of the Church which ChristMounded. Just as the civil authorities may change the conditions under which avalid will canbe made and occasionally do, when the danger of abuses arises; so the Church for parallel reasons may, can, and sometimesdoesaddtotherequirementsfor avalid marriage for those subject to her laws.

T. H. Argus, York; and Lover of Truth, Shenton Park: These twocorrespondentshave been bracketed togetherbecause their ques• tions are almost identical. There is, however, one great difference between the two letters. T. H. Argus gives every indication of being agentleman orwoman, while"LoverofTruth"has not allowed his love to extend to his neigbhour and prefers to be insulting. However, Iimagine the greater hurt istohimself.

tholics being validly married), does it poeaess theforceoflaw, and how longhasitdoneso?Ihavein mind the case of theImmaculate Conception, which, before it became an article' of faith, was highlycontroverdal, Ishould like to know and thank youin advance for enlightenment. A.: To deal with your question I should like, first of all, to deny the parity between the definition of a point ofdoctrinesuchas is the Immaculate Conception, which was, Igrant you, not admitted by afew Catholics before its definition in 1854, and the matter of theChurch's laws regarding marriage. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was accepted by the Church as awhole from the earli. est times, aswitnessthecelebrationof the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on either the 7th. or the 8th. of December by both the Latin and the Greek Church for many centuries before 1854. It was taken for granted. It was only when those disliking the doctrine began to make their opinion heard and there was danger of doubt on this importantmattercreeping into the minds of the ordinary Catholic. thatthe Churchhadtheauthorityand the duty to decide the point: which she did, definitely and forever. Now, on the otherhand,marriage is anatural contract raised to the dignityofaSacramentbyOurLord: itis not adoctrine. Marriage validly con-

Icannotgivethelettersinfull,since they are toolong, butthey both wish toclaimthatOurLadyhadotherchildren after the birth of Christ. In support of this belief are alleged the not infrequentreferences to the brethren of Our Lord: "Thy mother and thy brethren are without and seek thee." ThenMatthew I,25(referring to Joseph and Mary): "And he knew her nottill shebroughtforthherfirstborn son." This implies, write our correspondents, that Mary had other sons and then it is more likely that Our Lady would travel about the countryside with her sons than with her nephews.

A.: IfOurLady had had othersons she would have been more likely to travel with themthanwithOurLord's cousins,Iadmit: butifJesuswereher only son, it is not abit strange that she should be with her nephews, especially when we remember that it was the custom for the Jews to travel according to their clans for all -

the greatfeasts inJerusalem. In Hebrew andAramaic thewordforbrotherand cousin is the same,but Mr. Angus admitsthat. Thewhole objection,then, reducesitself toasatisfactoryexplanationoftheabovequotedtext,"Andbe knewhernottillshebroughtforthher first-born son." St.Jeromedealtwith this same text fifteen hundred years ago,andmyanswerismerely asynopsis of his. (Vide: Concerning the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary, Chapter(1, et seqq.) First he says the text emphasises that Joseph

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Zhere AreZhreebiPPerentSortsofSouls

Philosophical Proof That Is Everything in the Bible Literally True?

Did the Patriarchs Really Live to Between 500and 900Years?...

wasnotthefather ofJesus, and so we are told that he knew her not before Christ's birth; then, says Jerome, "first-born" means he who is born with no one preceding not he who is born before some one else. Finally, toexplain the use of the word"until;" he quotes several other very wellknown cases in which it is used in a similarsense. "BeholdIamwithyou alldays UNTIL the consummation of the world;' said Christ to His Apos. tles. Were they tobe abandoned by Our Lord, says St. Jerome, after the end of the world, when they were sittingontwelveseatsjudgingthetwelve tribes of Israel? Then again in the well known Psalm; "The Lord said to mp Lord: sit thou at my right hand; until Imake thy enemies thy footstool." Whether, said Saint Jerome, assoonas Hisenemieshadbeenmade His foot-stool, Christ would no longer sit at the right hand of God? Many other examples could be quoted. .He knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son;' means that Marydid not have achild by Joseph, andnothing more. Ican almosthear some of you saying: But this is quib. bling with texts; the interpretation of yourcorrespondentsisjustasprobable as your own. What follows? What hasbeen repeatedtime andtimeagain in this session: that the Holy Scrip. tures can become the sourceof quar. relling and confusion instead of unity andfaith if there isnotsome compet. ent authority to decide definitely as tothe meaning of certain texts. Catholics have no doubt as to the cor. rectmeaning of the various references to thevirginity of Our Lady in the New Testament, because the Church, inwhose judgment theyhavethe con. fidence rising from faith in her supreme authority, has so declared.

Twomen are anxious to know whether they have enough water in their dams to carry their stock through the summer; neither of them can manage the practical mathematical problem required to solve their case. One never findsoutbecause he cannever manage to do the sum: the othergoes toaschool-master in whom hehasconfidence: hisproblem is solved in afew minutes with great ease. Whichofthese twomenwasthe wiser and which is now the better off? I don't know whether the£:ihas been earned which you promised to give to anynamed charity ifIanswered your question satisfactorily, Mr. Argus? If byanychanceyoushouldthink ithas, what about sending the fiver to the orphans for Christmas?

A.F., Victoria Park:

Aniceletter, mostly about the writ. er's belief that one Christian church isasgood as anotherforachild tobe broughtup in,since theyareallfoundedon the teachings of Christ.

A.: This, of course, we cannot agree with, as must have been made plain enough overandoveragainin this session. The teachings of Christ can be considered either whole and entire or separately and piecemeal. In the latter sense undoubtedly all the Chris. tian sectscontain and emphasise quite anumber of the teachings of Christ, but we hold that only the Catholic Church teaches the complete doctrine r,?Christ, and weconsider nothing else

to be good enough. Our Lord did say:"Teachall nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

You conclude your letter with a question: What is your definitionofa soul? Ihave never yet really been able to fathom this properly and satisfactorily.

Man's Soul

wer an apparently simple question with anything but arather complicated answer.

PtsiUed, Perth:

This is avery long letter, but it thoroughly deserves acareful answer. Towards theendoftheletterthereare nine question which Ishall endeavour todeal withasclearlyaspossible.

Q.: is everything in the Bible to be taken as literally true?

A,: The Catholic doctrine regarding the inspiration of the Holy Sciptures is summed up by the late Pope Leo \III. of holy memory in his encyclical letter named after its opening words,"Providentissimus Deus." The Holy Father writes thus:"God by Hfs divine power so moved and impelled the holy writers and so assisted them during the writing, that all that and only that which He Himself ordered

Venite fjdoremus

A.:Asoulisthevitalprincipleofan organic body. In other words, it is that which makes aliving body aliving body, distinguishing it essentially from abody which is notliving.Souls arenotall of the samekind. Justas it is obvious to anyone that aliving creature is extremely different from any form of non-living thing and immeasurably higher than even the most complicated of dead machines, (Compare, for instance, asnail with a printing press.), so there are degrees of perfection amongst souls themselves, The degree of athing's perfection is made manifest by the operations which it exercises. Consequently as there are three types of living things, so there are three different sortsof souls. Aplant growsandreproduces itself only—it has, what is calledavegetativesoul. Abeastgrows, reproduces itself, moves from place to place, and has agreater or lesser degree of consciousness of the things around it—ithas asensitive soul.Man hasall the facultiesof aleastplusan extraordinary powerofreasoning with. in himselfconcerning thingswhich are quite immaterial—he can consider,for example, beauty or truth or goodness without any connection with abeautiful thing or atrue thing or agood person. Man is also able to choose freely between two alternatives. Ile can choose that which seems disad. vantageous to himself, if he sowishes.

Li other words, he has an intellect and awill. Man has asoul which is spiritual and therefore immortal. How does it follow, You may ask, that a man's SOULis immortal? If aman can think about things which are not material,God, for instance, or beauty, hty, soul cannot be material either, because you cannot put a gallon of water into apint bottle, and amaterial thing cannot contain a spiritual thing. If the soul is not material it isnotmade upof parts. Ifithas no partsitcannotcorrupt,becausetocor. rupt is to dissolve into the parts which made the whole. The soul of man is therefore, to answer yourquestion in afew words, the incorruptible life-giving principle which makes man what he isand distinguishes him from all other sorts of creatures.

Ihope that Ihave not bored you, but it issometimes impossible to an-

would be

rightly understood by them, would be faithfully written and would be appropriately expressed by them with infallible truth." In the light of your question this may need some further explanation. Iseverythingas printed in theBible true? Theauthority of atranslation and transcription is only the authority of him who translated, and, naturally, acopyist is capable of making mistakes while copying. The better the translator and the more careful the copyist the fewer the mistakes. These qualities can,of course,becheckedwiththeoriginal language(Greek or Hebrew) for exactness of translation and with hun. dreds of other copies for accuracy of transcription.(No two copyists will make the same slips while copying.) Consequently the various translations and the various editions of the Bible willhavevarying value according to the degree ofexcellenceof theedition. The Catholic Church vouches for only one translation, and that is the Latin Vulgate, which is the official Bible of theCatholic Church. However, apart from omissionsandforafew passages doubtfully translated—for practical purposes—the Anglican Authorised Version and Revised Version can be taken as reliable works. :

However, Isuspect that when you asked, is everything printed in the Bible literally true, you may have meant: was everything written by the inspired writers literally true. The answer is, yes. Not, however, al. ways in the same sense. IftheScriptures say that God will reward the good and punish the wicked, that is literallytrue. Ifweare told thatthe clog of Tobias waged his tail that is true. The dogdid wag his tail. If we read that the foolish man has said in his heart"there is no God," it is not true that there is no God, but it istruethatfoolishmensayit. Ihope Ihave made myself comparatively clear, but really an adequate treat. ment of the subject of the inspiration of Holy Scripture would need several hours not several minutes.

Q.:GodcreatedmaninHis own image and likeness. Nowismanand woman theimageof(rod?

A.: While God was creating the world and before He hadcreatedman. His works had been merely material,

Is Immortal

when God created man He raised hint above all the animal and vegetable things, and breathed into him asoul which-was aspirit and immortal pos. sensing the truly spiritual faculties of intelligence and will. God is aspirit who is not intelligent but intelligence itself, who does not begin tolove and cease to love, but is love itself. So man with his intelligence, however, limited, with his capability of freely and deliberately loving his Maker, is truly animageofhisCreator,however dim and imperfect that image rnav sometimes become.

Q.:Weretheyear&ofAdam'stime of thesamelengthasyearsto-day? We readthatMethuselahlived989years and did not beget his first child Samech until he was 187.

A.: It isnot improbable thatMethu. salah had adaughter or two before Samech was born; he being his first son. Women were not considered of very much importance in Old Testament times—an opinion which force of circumstances has caused us v«:'y definitely to change of recent years. (Just in parentheses womankind'ssub., jection before the coming of Christ and her continued lowly positten amongst non-Christian nations to-day, wa's apart ofGod's penalty upon her for her share in man'sdownfallin the garden of Eden; onlyundertheChristian dispensation has the dignity of woman been vindicated and her state of servitude been alleviated. In the vanguard of feminine emancipation stands the Blessed VirginMary---chosen before all men.) But to get b@ck to your question: it would seem with. out doubt that men, when the world was young, lived to avery great age. We read in Genesis that before the flood the patriarchs lived between 500 and 900 years; immediatelyafter the floodin thegenerationsofthe sons of Noah the average isabout three hundred. Abraham, somecenturies later, calls himself an old man of 100 years, whilehiswife Sarahlaughsattheidea' that she should have ason in her old age(she was over 90). By King David'stimetheallottedspanforman is seventy year's. The conclusion wouldseem tobe thatwhentherewas urgent need to populate the earth, that is, for some time after the creation of man and again after the flood had destroyed nearly the whole hu• man race, the average expectancy of lifeforavigorousman wasverymuch higher than it was later on than it is to-day. Whether our term year is a good translation of the word used to express the age of the patriarchs is not so clear; possiblyashorter period was meant by year: this would seem to be borne out by the statements that the majority of the Patriarchs were over eighty when they begot theirfirstsons,

Q.: In Genesis 6, 2, we read: "That the sons of God saw the daughters ofmenthat theywerefair andthey took them wives of all which they chose," Why are the men called "sons of God" and the women only "daughters of men"? Why the d1w tinction?

A.: You will remember that Cain, after his murdering Abel, was exiled from the restofhisfamilyandbecame awanderer,anomad, upon the face of the earth. He took,ofcourse, his wives and children with him. They apparentlyquickly abandonedthe worship of the true God, while Seth and theother sons and daughtersofAdam were broughtupintheknowledge and fearofthetrueGod. Apparentlyalso the female descendants of Cain were not by any means devoid of feminine charms. Theunfortunate but notunnatural results were,thenasnow,that manymixed marriages took place and the result,as is so often to be feared today,too, wasthatbeliefinthe true religion was progressively weakened in their offspring. God's decision to destroy the faithless human race by the flood was the final outcome.

Asthefestivaiseasonagaindrawsnear, weareallvery thankful that the news is much brighter on all the BattleFronts;and as thenewscomes front every part of the conflict we are cheered by the brilliant deeds performed by all the Allied Services,

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With the old, old wish, "AMerry Christmas and a Happy New Year," in ourhearts and on our lips... we extend to all readers of"The Record" .. • andall listeners to "The Catholic Answer" the very best wishes for goodhealth

... good cheer and happiness, both for the festive season and throughout 1945.

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jlowers ancY Wdr

Flowers have always been identified with the great andtender momentsoflifeand—"in wartime weneed them more than ever."

This is large!• because flowers speak thoughts and sentiments hard to put into words. Certainly, the should not lose sight ofthe fact that, whilethe nation goes all-out fo- the production of war armaments and implements, there is still room for flowers.

Good cheer, sympathy, courage, hope—all the things that flowers so silently but so eloquently express—are vital armament on the home front. Use flowers frequently and generously in your home, at the office, on the banquet table, or on your person.

Flowers are nsymbol of the kind of world you know—the kind of world %-on are fighting for—the kind of world you will want to-morrow and forever after. A world without flowers is. indeed, aworld without kindne:;s and hope.

"theKind fPeace... WhoseFace the Whole World Desireth"

AGarland of Rhyming Words for the Christ Child

EBPI=ANCY.

EUGHARIS= CRIB (1944).

Allearthisshakenbytherollofguns , Great hearts are mourning, while the little ones Grasp misers' gold from the froth of war.

Christ is the same; all that St. Joseph saw

Remains for good will as ahome of peace, With Mary there to bring forth our hew Feast, To take our gold of love, our frankin. cense of prayer, And myrrh of every cross embraced with her.

Soopen widemyhearttoletGod in And, Mary, help me clean my soul of sin, Andmould me nearer to your Heart's Desire. Please don't pass by this stable and dull, Though ox and ass may thank you more than I, Bring in sweet Peace—for all the inns are full.

poor —Clem Cecil. St. Charles' Seminary.

YOU HAD NOLITTLEMAID-

Youhadnolittlemaid,soIremember, To help you sweep and tidy up the room, To sit and watch with you that first December Through shiningtwilights deep with golden gloom.

Throughallthosewistfuldaysyouhad no mother, To know your wonder and to share your joy, O( fashioning—you could not let anotherI The darling swaddling garments for yourBoy.

There was not any housewife to be. friend you, The daywordcame to goto Bethlehem town; Nokinswomanbethoughthertoattend you Ofall the folk ofDavidgoingdown.

Andwhen youheldHimtoyourheart in wonder, Emmanuel,God'sSon, yourBoy, the Word Made flesh Who shook the skies with holy thunder, InBethlehemnotanymotherstirred. ---SisterM.Madeleva, HIGHWAYS.

It was aroad that rambled— Icannot tell its name, Orpastwhatcurious corners It curved itself and came, Ionly know that walking it The cowardly fell lame.

Foritrwassharpwithbriars

Andstonesthatcuttheclay, And loneliness was on it

By night aswell as day. Indeed, it was apiteous path

For any foot to stray.

Yet down its wrathful windings

AMaiden chose togo

And bear aChild at midnight

Since Heaven willed it so. And for her love astar came out Thatalltheworldmightknow.

And soon the sweetest music

Turned sorrow into mirth, As Mary lay and rested

With Him shebroughttobirth.

And then? Why, roads toBethlehem, They ran around the earthl —MaryFabyan Windeatt.

It may be on Christmas Eve

When silver bells are ringing, There may not be astarry sky With hosts of angels singing.

It may be very dark the night

When she and God together, Come seeking out my little heart

To shield them from the weather.

His Mother may notbe in blue— Imay not even know them—

PerhapsI'd bestgive all the world

The courtesy I'd show them.

Andlest they take me by surprise, Ithink itample reason

To leave my heart's expectantdoor Flung wide in everyseason.

---SisterMaryAda.

CHRISTMASWISHES.

Icould wish for youvastriches, AndashareinCroesiangold; Butthe wealthofalltheages Is atransient thingand cold— May theHandofJesustouchyou, Forit warmedthelambsofold.

Icould wish for you successes, Fame that daily might increase; But renown bringsstormandconflict, And its yearnings never cease— Maythe HandofJesustouch you, For it stilled the waves in peace. Icouldravishforyougreatwisdom, Andaknowledge,deepandgrand; Butmere learning'svainandworthless In the coinage of His Land— Maythe HandofJesustouch you, Every art is in His Hand!

—Kathleen Murray.

BALLAD OF DECEMBER.

"God ... last of all in these dayshath spoken to is by His Son, Whom He hath appointedheirofallthings... AIRMAN IN THE PACM0. (Christmas: 1944.)

Bethlehem hasmade me brave, 1can grin above my grave, Never caring if it be

On the land or in the sea.

For aMaiden's holy woe

Magnified me long ago, Laughed at death and bade me greet Father, Son and Paraclete.

So it is that Iam strong

On this night of holy song. SoitisIlaughatloss

Underneath the Southern Cross.

Knowing well the course is right— Out of darkness into light—

Knowing well Icannot die

On the earth or in the sky.

—Mary Fabyan Windeatt.

Fitful was the inn-host's rest.

Drear the dark December!

Banished wasthe NewbornGuest.

Mary, you rememberl

The stable damp made cold around. So mother-armsmustfoldaround, Where lantern gleams make gold around Your Babe in old December, One brooding-bold December.

The humble shepherds thronged the floor.

-GaythegreyDecemberl

Mighty kings came to adore.

Mary, you rememberl

Soldier tread made (rightaround, But angel wings made flight around YourBabe inbrightDecember

One starry-light December.

—Louie J

Sanker.

BETHLEHEM.

Over thestarlit

Glittering snow

Thefir-trees bend Their branches low: 'there an agedman AndaMaiden go.

Butthevillageinn

Where the tapsters sit With the surly host Of little wit Knows not the honour Refused by it.

Only the stable's

Straw is spread

When the Virgin Mother Goes to bed: In the crookof her arm Is her Baby's bead.

And thecattle gaze With their humble eyes, The dim wick showing TheChildwholids Asleep. AndtheMagians Searchtheskies.

The shepherds watching The wattled fold See night turned radiant Thathadbeencold. Oh, the world is young Which once wasold

So all poor men, Whereveryebe, Come warmyourhearts Atthismystery: For even as you are So was He.

THEPRINCEOFPEAOE.

LTheFirstOhriatmas.

Although she knew it not, Rome saw atlast Herseven centuries of conquest ended. An age of blood and civil strife had passed.

And peace through all the Roman realms extended.

FromalleternitytheLordhadplanned Andshaped the world'swildhistory for this hour.

When peace would reign secure in every land

Asnowitreigned,securedbyRoman power. It was the hour He waited for. He came, All unannounced, save to thechosen few; YetpeacewouldbeengenderedbyHis Name Through wider reahns than Caesar everknew.

Soonthroughtime,tilltimeitselfshall cease, Menofgoodwill,yourheritageispeace.

IL?Christmas,1914.

How fartheworldhaswandered since the night That angelssang of peaceinBethlehemI Theheartsofmenare filled with bate and spite;

The powers ofdarkness lord it over them. Whendeathandhavochurtlefromthe skies.

Men wonder: "When shall all this carnage cease?"'

Yet few there are will deign to raise their eyes

To seek assistance from the Prince of Peace.

This Christmasnight,sodifferent from the first, WillhringthesamegoodJesusdown to earth:

But can we dare to carol unrehearsed The song the angelsgave usat His birth?

Yet peace still reigns in hearts where Love endures.

Menofgoodwill,theheritageisYours

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his Tiny Hands Hold Men's hearts in aGrip that War Cannot. loosen ChristmasAnswers SomeVery Deep&"UniversalNeedofMankind

...

TragedyofAngelicAspirations

Dragged Down bythe Beast in Us

Persistence of the Ideals of Peace and Goodwill

In the midstof theworld'smostter. rible war, millions of men and women unboth sides will take their mindsfor awhilefrom thegrim business of war. making or war production to honour the Child who was born "when the wholeworld wasat peace."Athought• fulman must wonder at the power of thisChild, the memory of whosebirth persists so vividly that, even when all that He stood for seems to be going down to destruction, men stop to recall it, and celebrate it in every part oftheworld.

Many writers have described the variedandbeautiful waysin which, in every land, the Feast of Christmas is celebrated.Thecontrastisstrikingand poignant, betweenthepeace,the trustfulness, the friendliness and the simplicity that suffuse all these age-old customs and the brutality, violence and cruelty of the world at-war. Yet ifonecastshismind backthrough the years of history, he cannotbut realise that mighty empires builton wealth and power and the sword have fallen and been forgotten; thatlearned men havemore than once prophesied that Christ's spell over men's minds and hearts was broken—and they are forgotten; but that in every land, and under every sun, the memory of the Child born in the stable lives in hon. our,andthatHistinyhandsholdmen's hearts in agrasp that not even the bitterestshocks of war canloosen.

We shall, perhaps, be reminded at this point thatChristmas has become very commercial. We shall be told that the respect and honour paid to the Christ-Child is degenerating into a sweetsentimentality; thatit isbecoming less the Feast of Christ's coming than the Feast of theChildren, of the Home, with no hint of the true supernaturalsignificance. Allthatwemust admit; yettheveryfactthattheworld holdson to the Feast,thatnolapseof time or shock of war has served to makemen forget or abandon it, must indicate that Christmas answers to somevery deep and universal need in men'shearts. GrantedthatourChrist. masseemstoowemoretoDickensthan to the Evangelists; yet isnotDickens echoingalbeitin averyminorkey, the angelic message: "Peace on earth to men of good will"?

Does not the world-wide celebration ofChristmasinthemidstoftheworld. wide warshow us all themore cleatly why men turn to ChristmaF, show us what men seek from Christmas? The idealofpeaceandgoodwillisonevery dear to men's hearts. It is the only explanation of their willingness to en• dure the sufferings of a world war; they fight that their childrenmay live inaworldwhencewarandhatredhave been banfahed. Their worst fear is, lest having suffered and endured so much for the sake ofpeace and good will among men,theirsacrifices should 4

prove to have been invain.

For men's minds and hearts are hauntedbytheage-oldhumantragedy; thetragedyof angelic aspirationsdragged down by the beast in us. We feelin ourbestmoments,andwe show in our finest achievements, the vast scope of our human possibilities. In every age, our greatest writers and singers, our greatest teachersand leaders,have shown us the ideal, the perfect, thepossibilitiesofhuman life and humandevelopmentthatwehavewith. inus. Even beyond thelimitsofthis world and this life our best thoughts carry us: we feel within us the seeds of immortality, ahunger and thirst

for ashort time, if only from an ob• scurely-understood custom, as if they hadcastofftheshacklesoftheirhuman imperfeticias and all men were at last brothersinfactandindeed. Itisthe flagof Christ still waving on the ramparts of the world; though the battle ire going against Him, yet uen have not hauled itdown.

Yet, the pityof it, that men should not realise whatgiftsthe hands ofthe Christ-Child hold for them! They gatheraroundthe Manger tocommemorate Christ'sbirth; but their eyes do

BALLADOFORRISTMA11.

TheAngelsaid to Mary:

"0, will you be His bride?

The Lord of allCreation Would in your womb abide."

"0, Gabriel," said Mary, "Could such fulfilmentbe?

Unto the Lord Creator Ivowed virginity."

"0, Mary," said the Angel, "God waitsuponyourwill— Anddoyouchooseacradle, ACrossupon ahill.

Grief past all understanding, joy deeper than the sea— Yetkeep for your Creato r Your dear virginity?"

0, thatwasin the spring-time, Three seasons' length away, And nowthelittleJesus Lies swaddled on the hay.

Amerry,merryChristmas!

Sing Heaven and sing earth, Because the spotless Maiden Consented and gave birth; And when the little Jesus Climbs Calvary to die, O, allEve'slittle children Willbowtheirheadsandcry, And theywillruntoMary Tocomfort her, and gay: "We could not go to Heaven Except for Christman Day."

Ring Christmas bells for Mary, SweetMotherofallmen, Who gave us little Jesus To open Heaven again.

—,SaraMaynard,

AGOLDURPR►Y&

The kings of the earth are men of might, Andthecitiesare burned for theirde. light;

Andthe skies rain death in the silent night, And thehillsbelch dealth allday.

But the King of Heaven, Who made them all, Is fair and gentle and very small. He lies in the straw by the oxen's stall—

Letthem thinkofHim to-dayl —Joyce Kilmer.

AUSTRALIANORPM MA3OAROL

Olittle Babe of Bethleheml

TheSouthernCrossshinesdown As once aStar shone glorious Above an eastern town.

"The Orient from on high hath vlalted US. " not to be satisfied by anything less thanPerfectionand Infinity. Andyetwe areenmeshedin the web of flesh, and our aspirations must sustainaconstant struggle,often alosing struggle, against the gravitational pull ofourearthly clay. All history testifies to the"tragic flaw" in our nature that. time and again, makes mockery ourideals. Unhappymenthatweare, who shall deliver us from this body ofdeath?

Christmas, in spite of human failure, in thefactofwaritself,isawitnessto the persistence of the ideal of peace and good will. It is the yearly reminder that all men arebrothers, that wearemeant to live togetherinpeace uponthisworld. The allureofwealth andtheparade of powercannot sobedazzleusthatwe forget toturntothe little cave where aChild isborn: and at leapt once ayear men pay tribute to poverty, meekness and kindness. At Christmas,even if men do not think muchofChrist,thevthinkofHisneedy brethren; theymay have forgotten the Christian creed• but thev practise Christiancharity. Aseachyeardraw's to its close, men feel and act, if only

not see that He isoffering them what their hearts most desire—peace and good will. TheydonotknowthatHe understandsthe"tragic"flaw" and the antimony of infinite longings in finite flesh: that it is precisely to heal that flawand toresolvethatantinomythat Ile cameintotheworld. Only in thelightofthe Incarnation can we really understand even oursel• ves. For Christmas is the birth of God in human flesh; and the reason for His coming is that our race had fallenfromitshighestateandthatonly God could restore it. We have infin• ite longings, because God made usfor Himself; but our wounded nature makesitimpossibleforustoreachthat estate again except through God: through Christate our wounds healed, through Him shall our deepest desires be satisfied.

Thewhole historyof man testifies to the need for aSaviour; in every age men have seen and approved the bet, ter things and stooped to the worse. This wartime Christmas makes us feel that need all the more keenly. May God open men'seyes and direct their steps toHimwhowasborntosateus.

The hearths of Bethlehem are cold,' Thestreetsarehushed with snow, Thedoorsarebarred,thereisnoroom, Dear Lord, where wilt Thou go?

0come, sweetJesus,come to us, Australia'ssun is warn, ' And here are loving hearts enough To shield Thee from the storm.

Come! We will give Thee all orehave Each bird and flowerand tree, The breeze that stirs the silver gums, The mu4cof the sea.

And sweet wild clematis, starry-eyed With delicate ferns well bring; Ourwattletreesshallshowertheirgold In tribute to our King.

Bell-birds shall ring their silver peal Fromgullies green anddeep, Andminglewiththemagpies'note To call Thee from Thy sleep.

OLittle Babe of Bethlebern Australia lovexThee well, Come toourhearts thisChristmastide And there forever dwell. (Takenfrom"TheAustralianHymnal," compiledbyRev,P.Jones,D.Ph.,!has. Doc. Sae.)

,ioreto'Convent'Osborne"

Claremont WESTERN AUSTRALIA Boarding and Day College

The School provides a Sound Education on Modern Lines in all Branches ofStudy.

Catholic

Girls' Movement

HEADQUARTERS AND CLUB ROOMS:

Bank of N.S.W. Chambers, 66 St. George's Terrace(near Sherwood Court)—Rooms: 7.10 lint Floor. •

MONDAY:

CALENDAR.

Shorthand,5.15p.m.

Liturgy, 8p.m.

TUESDAY:

Physical Culture, 7--8 p.m.

ArtsandCrafts,8p.m. Orchestra, 8p.m. Dramatics. 8p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Red Cross—ES.C., 8p.m. Dressmaking, 7p.m, Shorthand, 5.15 p.m.

THURSDAY: MASS. 8a.m. EXPOSITION. BENEDICTION, 5.15 p.m. Choir, 8p.m.

SATURDAY:

Gremlins' Club. 3p.m.

ATTENTION,41REMT.IN8I

Amonster Christmas Party will be held at the Rooms on Saturday afternoon, December 16, and the Beach Picnic at Leighton,announced for the 16th.,willbeheldonDecember23.

PROPAGATION OF THE FAOITH.

Remember Drvsdale River! These words should be to Catholics what Remember Pearl Harbour is to Americans. Contribute generously to the Missions, and assist in repairing the damage causedby bombs at Drysdale River and also inNew Guinea.

SALAf@IUNDABUSY BEE.

Everybody is welcome to come to Marian Lodge on aSaturday afternoon and help put the grounds in order. Bus leaves outside GovernmentGardensat 1.30.

CANTEENDATE8.

Y.A.L.—L.B.A.: December 14; JanuaryS.

Y.A.L.--C.G.M.: December 5; December30; January24.

Town Hall:December 31.

CHOIR.

Rehearsals have started for our next production, to be held in March, 1945. Laktpracticeseveral recordings were played to the girls of the pieces thathavebeenchosen. The girlswere thrilledtobitsatthenumbers,socome along and be in theRun.

TENNIS,

Thisactivityseemsto be very popular, and is held at Robertson Park every Saturday afternoon, on courts 7 and 8. All girls wishing to play will be very welcome and should either make arrangements at the office ordirect at Robertson Park on Saturday afternoons. Acompetent instructress will be on hand to help any 'new comers to thegame.

PHYSMCALCULTURECLASSES.

The Pupils are Prepared for All Examinations.

Apply to MOTHER SUPERIOR.

Telephone: F2135•

These classes are still going strong despitethewarmweather,andareheld at the National Fitness Rooms, William-street(between Murray and Wellington-streets), Perth, every Tuesday evening from7to8p.m,

SOFT BALL.

We now have several team'sfor this sport, and we will soon be starting in earnest. Softball is an American game which is becoming very popular in Australia. Itisamixture ofbaseball and rounders,and agreat sport. All girlsinterestedareasked tohand their names in to theoffice.

HOLY NAME RALLY

would onGood Friday be blotted out for ever. The crowd hissed, they scoffed and jeered. They hailed themselvesas thevictors; but the darkness of Calvary was followed by resurrec. tion and victory. Do not look for a reward here below. Live as agood Ifoly Name man, true to the rules of theSociety. Beprouddf your Cathlicity, your vocation as aChn-

stian. Say always with Joseph Dutton, "Iwould do itforJesusChrist."

May Our Blessed Lady make you loyal followers of her Divine Son. Amen.

GENF,RAL VIEW FROM STIRLING HIGH\VAY.

Inspiring Hold Name Rally in St. Mary's, Catholic Men Throng Cathedral Archbishop Pontificates at Iwouldn't

do it for 10,000 pounds, but 1would do it for Jesus Christ"

To take theplace,duringthewar, od the Eucharistic Procession previouslyheld at Aquinas College on theFeastofChristtheKingeachyear,and organized by the Holy Name Society, an Annual Rally of members of the Societyis nowheldin St.Mary's Cathedral. This public profession of faith byourCatholic menhassomethingsingularly btu and inspiring about it. True,many members of the Holy Name are absent in the Forces, but the attendance cif those able to bepresent hasbeenveryconsoling. Thegrowth oftheHoly NameSocietyhasbeen maintainedevenover thepast fiveyears of via.r. Only last month three new branches were opened, and member. thip of old established branches has been steadily increasing. The num. her of members in theServices is now approachingthe 1,000 outofatotal membership of5,600, including juniors, and this great men's confraternity haseveryreason tobeproudofitsextension and influence for good since itsfoundation by His Grace the Archbishop in1956.

The Rally this year followed the orderofritualaslaiddowninthenew Manual of theSociety, andwas conductedby theDiocesan Director, Father Later. After astirringadressbyFather Michael Timbs, CHS.R., Pontifical Benedictionwas given byArchbishop Prendiville, assisted by' Rev. Fatbers McGillicuddy and Lalor, Deacon andSub-Deacon, respectively, with Rev. Father Rafferty as Master of Ceremonies. Specialmention must be trade ofthemagnificent singingof themen,conductedbyRev.FatherLynch, the Director of SacredMusic.

Preachingtheocasionalsermon,FatherThribssaid:

'This man Is to me avenal of election to carry my name to theGentilesandkingsandchildrenofIsrael.

—Acts IX., 15.

Towards the end of the lastcentury ayoung American officer made aRetreat at amonastery. His life had hitherto been avery dissipated one, lie was disappointed in married life and gave himself up to the worst excesses. There followedon his conversion adesire to do something great for God, and here in retreat he found his vocation. He went to the Island of Molokai to assist Father Damien withthelepers. Forfourty-fouryears Joseph Dutton toiled and laboured among the afflicted of Christ. One day an American traveller chanced to visit the island and saw the humble man washing the lepers' sores. "I would not do that for 110,000."

"Neitherwould I,"saidJosephDutton, "butIwould do it forJesus Christ."

Let us dwell on these few words,"I woulddoitforJesusChrist." Suchhas been the batle cry of countless heroes of God throughout 19 centuries. It burstforth from the lips of the Apostles as they poured out their blood for their Master; it resounds throughout 300 years of Roman persecution; brave men and women were torn to pieces by wild beasts, burned with pitch, or done to death with the utmost cruelty, but the name and faith of Jesus Christ lived on. Noble Missionaries took up the faith these mar. tyrs implanted: Augustine went to England, Patrick to Ireland, Boniface to Germany, Xavier to the burning sands of India and Japan. "Iwould doit,"theycriedwithcountlessothers, "for Jesus Christ"

The sixteenth and seventeenth cen. turiescamewith therevolt against the Faith. Look at those forefathers proudly going to the rack, to prison or the gallows, rather thanbetray the cause of their Master. They preservedthe Faith. To-dayitisourprivilege to uphold this priceless heritage and .prove loyal to Jesus Christ.

OurAgeCalls IlorLoyaltytoChrist.

Did ever atime in our history call for more loyalty than the present? Men youknow itonlytoowell.There is adeadly war being fought to drive Christianity from the world. Christian standards of morality and the Commandments ofGod are trampled upon and ridiculed. The enemies of God fightunderthecloakofhypocrisy with all crafty deceit. Under the garb of Comunism and brotherhood of men, theywould seek to destroy respect for authority and make slaves of men worse than the slavery and tyrannyof ancient Rome. Under the pretence

of freedom for womankind, theyfoster adulteryanddivorce tosmash the stabilityof home life. They would drag womankind from the high pedestal where Christ has placed her as Christian wife, companion and mother to become the slaves of men's passions.

By maudlin and sex-appealing literature, by degraded uses of cinema and stage, they seek to rob youth of all innocence and love of purity. By secularising the schools they seek to make free thinkers of the growing generation.

Holy NameMen Should be the Vanguard of Loyalty to Christ.

Alen of the Holy Name, this war is againstyou andall that youlive; itis against your Leader, Jesus Christ, and everything Christian. To-day you wear aHoly Name badge; you are about topledge your loyalty to Christ our King. Are you really in earnest about it? Do you realise your responsibility as aHoly Name member? That you are to sacrifice yourself in the interests of your Master? Your vocation as aChristian is as important to the Church to-day as that of the religious brother and nun in their sphere of action. The Church de pends on you to carry the battle for Christ into the workshop, the factory and society, and to Christianise it. To each one of you can be applied the words of Our Lord about St. Paul: "Thismanistomeavessel ofelection to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and children of Israel." St. Paul lived in the days of the Roman Empire. As the Roman troops went into battle their standard was carried before them by apicked soldier, the name of the leader was inscribed on the standard to inspire them. Paul then was the privileged standard bearer of Jesus Christ. He was to carry Christianity into the very heart of paganism, into Athens, Rome, Ephesus andCorinth. In otherwords, St. Paul had to make Christ known, to show by good example Christ's hatred of sin; to ennoble purity, and speak out against vice; to fearlessly condemn injustice: to raisesociety out of the mire of sin and wickedness, and enrich it with the beauty of Christ's doctrine. That, men, is your vocation to-day. That is the responsibility of every Holy Name man. You must be fearless soldiers of your Leader, and by word and example spread Christianity.

JesusChristDemands Absolute Loyalty.

Our Divine Master refuses to count the faint-hearted or the compromising Christian among His followers."Tie

Benediction

"BlessedbetheHolyNameof Jesus forever and ever."

that it notwithMe isagainst Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth." "Nomancanserve twomasters." Therefore, if you are not thorough Catholics, you are disloyal ones. Youhavenorighttowearthat badge. You are atraitor to the cause. Remember, men, our religion stands or falls with us. People out, side the Church judge the Catholic Faith by the conduct of Catholics— they don't distinguish. Our religion, Irepeat,standsorfallswith us. Some time ago aspecialconference washetu in Sydney. There were four non-Catholic delegates and three Catholics. It beganonaSaturdayafternoon. Previous to the appearance of the three Catholic men, the non-Catholics ruled that the discussion be continued throughout theSundaymorning.When the threeCatholic delegates put in an appearance they were wearing Holy Name badges. "Gentlemen," said the non-Catholic president,"there can be nodiscussionto-morrowmorning.Don't you see that the badges these men wear show they are good Catholics? They intend to put everything aside for the worship of God to-morrow morning." And,turningto theCatholics, heappealed:"Isn'tthatright,gentlemen?" The three answered,"Certainly. We will not allow any meeting to interfere withour religiousworship to-morrow morning." And so the meeting was deferred. Our religion stands or falls with us. During the course of this war Imet some Catholic girls who corresponded with non-Catholic soldiers in New Guinea with the intention of marriage:"Have you," Iasked,"discussed the question ofreligion withthem?" "Yes, Father, we have spoken often and written to the effect that there would not be a mixed marriage, and we asked them to take instruction from the Chaplain, ifthey wereinterestedfurther. What was the reply? "When we see some of your Catholic soldiers in our company trying to outdo others in drunkenness, immorality and impure talk, we feel no urge to embrace Catholicism," Thatistheworkofthe traitor, the one who is crippling the work of Jesus Christ, the enemy within the gates. AndGodknowstherearethousands of such traitorous Catholics about to-day. Afraid of their convictions and obligations, victims of human respect, they are Catholics, if it will help them, and anything if it inconveniences them. How many move about the pagan atmosphere of the workshiptoday-, andinstead of influencing it they help to paganise it themore. Theywillallowthewildest opinions about Christian morality: Christian modesty and Christian motherhood are held up to scorn and derision in their presence: child mur-

der and birth-prevention are advocated; adultery and fornication are called pardonable weaknesses, and these moral.cowards, these traitors to the cause, keep a guilty silence. And why? Because they have not the backbone tospeak out for Christ. Catholic men, Iappeal to you: Is that loyalty? These enemies within the gates will try to outdo their neighhour with the impure talkagainst the sanctity of marriage which God has consecrated and ennobled by aSacra• ment. They willfall inwith thefalse principles about law wages and ruthless competitidh. They allow the Comunist and"his"dupes" to give out lying doctrine aboii£ -

the Church in her attitude to-the worker; they refuse to attend -

their -

union meetings, ortheyfail there tostandupfortruth againstdeceit and error. Isthat loyalty to Jesus Christ?

We Have No Reason to be Ashamed of Our Religion.

Why should ourmen be silentwhen Christianprinciples areattacked? Why should they be ashamed to speak the truth? A Catholic must show by word and example what his Catholicismmeans,thatitstandsforsocialjustice, theequality ofmanandman,the rightoftheworker to.ajustwage, the obligation of the employer to rule his conduct by charity in the matter of pay and hours, the obligation of the employee to rule his by honesty and uprightness. CPerbaps-thereisaman herethisafterd66ilwhowouldsay:"It is alrightfor,your,..Father, togiveout that doctrine, but in my department all are antagonistic tothe Church and to Christian principles. Ihave had little education,.and I_can't answer those men." {,might reply in the words of Our Lord:"O ye of little faith." You have Jesus Christ the God of truth as your Leader, and-it Christiswithyou,whoisagainstyou? Any saying against aChristian prin, ciple is afalsehood. You have truth on your side, and trust must prevail. Thanks be toGod for those loyal Catholics who never allow an opportur.. ity to pass in order to defend thy truth. They may never have passed an examination at school, but by en quiring, by faith and by persistent effort theycall down the respect of the mostbigotedandantagonisticonthemselves and on the Church. The men of faith that they are, they realise the wordsofChrist,"BeholdIamwithynu all days. Have confidence, I have overcome the world."

Let UsFightOn, With Confidence, in Spite of Opposition.

Whatasorry day for us if St. Paul had despaired and given up the fight for Jesus Christ. But, no,he stood alone againstpaganism fit Greece, and' he conquered in the name of Christ.

What if the martyrs of the first three centuries had cried "Enough"? Perhaps today you would have noCatholic home, no high ideal of purity, no Catholic principles to guide you. They wereloyal inthefaceofridicule,persecution and death. "Go ye and do likewise." Take courage, you cannot fail, forChrist is with you.

On November 25, 1581,the Jesuit Father,Blessed EdmundCampion, was hanged on Tyburn 'Hill. The few loyal Catholics thoughtthat with his death the sun of Christianity would setforeverinEngland. Buthisdeath was the greatest sermon he preacheJ. Asagreat Englishman has said,"'Ten thousandsermons wouldnothavepub. lished our holy Catholic faith more than this loyal victim. As the mar• tyr's body was being backed topieces to be boiled his blood fell on acare less Catholic of twenty-three. Henry Walepole's faith was aroused by the courage and fortitude of the martyr He was fully converted,became a priest,took Campion'splace in England. He strengthened the faith of that country and died amartyr for Christ in 1595.

Remember,men of the Holy Name, that when the struggle to uphold re1F, gion is most difficult,Christ your Leader is with you. Remember Ca1varyl In the eyes of the onlookers itseemedwthough thenameofChrist

(Continued on opposite page.)

No, 1Midget Bob Bet, I/

Toys and Games Galore this Year at...

BOANS

Combination Colouring gets.

illustrated No. 2, 2/11, No. 3, 1/-. No. 4, BUNNY BAGATELLE, 2/6. No. 6, SLABS and PILLAR BET, 6/6. No. 6,DUCE: WAGGON, 6/11, No. 7, FELT RABBITS,4/3; Felt Lambs,4/11; Felt Dogs andElephants, 3/11.

Colour-in Blackboards, 2/11.

BOANS WOULD SUGGEST THAT CUSTOMERS STATEASECOND CHOICE IN CASEOF GOODS ORDERED BEING SOLD OUT.

BOANS GROUND FLOOR -- WELLINGTON ST. END.

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a WISHTOEXPRESS "THANKS

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PELLEGRINI ANDCO..PTY.,LTD., 776 HAY STREET, PERTH (Opp.Foy's).

Mosaic Pattern, 3/6. Dress Dolly, 3/11.

Ealideecopes, 2/TrapbaeToy, 2/6, 4/2. Pyramid Blocks, 2/6.

ClockFace, 1/6, 1/9, 3/-. Hammer and Peg Set, 6/3. Children'sHandbags,10}d., 1/-, 2/6, 3/6, 6/11.

Eopi,Sbate,1/6; Pencils, lid, each.

Trac:ng Slate,1/6, 1/9. kicture Books,6d.,1/-, 1/3,1/9. FELT DOLLS,No. 8, 21/-; No. 9, 27/3. RATTLES,No. 11, 1/9; No. 12, 4/9; No. 13, 3/3.

Wacko Game, 36. Large Felt Elephants, 10!3.

"ARTISIL4IAND MODELS."

One of the major disabilitiessuffered by the theatre-going public in Perth is the absence of agood variety show, andfor this reason it hadbeen my intention sooner or later to get around tothe LuxorTheatreandseewhatsuccess Mr. Bruce Carroll was having in his attempt to revive performances at theLuxor. ImustadmitIwent with somemisgivingsastowhatwould have tobe saidby wayof review, because I had heard that the two performances preceding "Artists and Models" were of asomewhat questionable character.

Iam pleased, then, to be able to state thatIwaspleasantlysurprisedbothby the type and quality of the entertainment offered.

It must be recorded at the outset, however, that the show was not unex. pectedly marred by afew blue jokes and passages. It cannot be said that the evening was dominated by this sort of thing,andforthis theproducer is to be congratulated. The instances were few and occurred almost entirely in the first half of the performance. It is, therefore,all the more to be regret. ted that they were included at all. They added little tothe entertainment value,andwere notupto thestandard of the rest of the performance. Such entertainment is definitely unsuitable for amixed audience,which included many children and adolescents.

Mr. Carroll has ahard job ahead to keep this show going on apermanent basis in Perth. If he hopes to continue with nightly performances, he mustappeal to afairly wide section of the city'stheatre-going public, and he will also be doggedby thehoodoothat seems to hang over theLuxor Theatre, despite its frequent changes of name.

Nevertheless, the theatre is a large one, and it should be possible for him, with good shows, to attract sufficient patronage to make afinancial success oftheeffort, and sotobeable with im. ported Eastern States stars to provide Perth with the revue for which it has been

looking. But, let it be added, there is alarge potential public who will be put off by anything savouring oflewdness, and if thecurrent productionscome to be dubbed "just another Luxor show," his efforts will probably fail. It may be granted that there is sufficient

support in some of the Eastern States capitalsforacertain type of show, but past history should prove that Perth is adifferent proposition. It is to be hoped, therefore, that Mr. Carroll will see fit to make his appeal to awide audience.

Iwant it to be quite clear that vulgarityisnot objected to, but only anything of an indecent character, and here the border line is clear. It is equally clear that on the whole amixed audience endures rather than approves indecent comedy, while it laughs uproariously at

The first scenes in the current production,"Artists and Models," intro. duce the Luxor Ballet and the Luxor Lovelies, comedypatterfrom IkeDelavale ably supported by others, and some clever novelty acts by Billy Andros, A vaudeville turn by Hal Turner and Pearl Oates was followed by Myrtella, the lady magician, and then Maggie Buckley, billed es the "queen of syncopation," and Freddie Goldman,the"boy soprano." The final scene in the first half, "Red, White and Blue," was particularly noticeable for an amusing impersonation elf a girl guide by Ike Delavale.

The second half included several Chinese scenes by singers and dancer's, some more comic sketches,and, after aturn by theTwo Hotshots, girl acrobats, the performance concluded with aburlesque of aventriloquist and his doll by Ike Delavale and Hal Turner. Theantic'softhese twokeptthe crowd amused until the curtain fell.

The presentation,the lighting, the settings,and the costuming were well handled. Whether the acoustic propertiesofthetheatrearenaturallybad, or the mikes are at fault is uncertain, but the voices tended to be a bit raucousanditwouldbeahelpifsomething could be done about this.

Mr. Carroll is again to be congratu. lated on his endeavour to build up a permanent vaudeville and revue show in Perth, and he is wished every success in his endeavour to maintain and irrprove the standard he has set himself.

It is to he regretted, therefore, that icannotrecommend readers tosee the currentproduction. This is adecision which Thops to he able to reverse in the future, and it is consequently with interest that "Discriminations" awaits the performance of"Cinderella" opening on December 22, and which it iq int-nded to review on this page in a fortnight's time.

—THE \100CHER.

"WATCHONTHE RHINE;"

playing the role for anumber of years '. ath. In this play he appears as Kurt Muller,amember of the underground movement against Nazism in Germany (for the purpose of simplicity no distinction is made between Fascism and Nazism). Throughout the action (?) of theplay we see Kurt not as acolourful champion of liberty in the land of the oppressed,but as a somewhat frightened refugee—"aman of many fears"—in the home of his mother-in-law in England. He has broughtwith him to thispeaceful resting-place his wife (played well by Lorna Copinger)and three children. DidI say peaceful? Hardly. The mother-in-law, played at short notice, we understand,by Jean Rule, makes day and nighthideousbyprefacing all her remarks with a cockatoo-like scream which is reminiscent of Edna May Oliveratherworst.Far more upsettingforKurt, though,is the sinister plotting of aguest in the house, one Count de Brancovis who, as might be expected, isaNaziagent. BrianCurlewis takesthe actinghonourswith his vivid portrayal of the traditional European Count of fiction. Penurious, polished, his conscience well blunted by close contact with vice,Count de Brancovis isreadyinstantly to sell out to the highest bidder. The injustices that cause Kurt'sblood to boil leave the Count cold; he is concerned only withmakinganeasy living. Naturally he has to be eliminated.

outthesameexcuseweareexpectedto approve ofit. To reinforce the argue ment,we are shown the Farrelly fart, ilycondoning the murder. Kurt then bids farewell to his wife and childrei4 and set'sout for Germany to carry oil the struggle against-Fascism.

Weholdno brieffor Fascism. Itits atact too little borne in mind by o3• ponentsoftheChurchthatthe Popei¢ one of his encyclicals has castigated Fascism with the same vigour as III) has elsewhere attacked Communisrq andCapitalismandSocialismandothq false philosophies. But because cer; tain manifestations of Fascism ar¢ hateful,itdoesnot follow thatall Fascists and their sympathisers should be murdered;still less is it permissible forindividuals such as Kurt Muller to exercise and carryintoeffectaprivato judgment concerning another man's righttolive. TheChurchregardsheresyasahateful thing,too,butnoman is given acarte blanche to go about burningheretics.

legitimate vain deville. It is true that even an old gag is more popular than ablue gag. and comedians are quite capable of keeping the crowd amused without resorting to the latter. if, in addition, itis thought fitting toadd the spice of vulgarity-

We Catholics who stand at the end of4(10yearsof Protestantismandworse must oftenlookback with asighu`regret towards the ages of faith, when an undivided Christianculture was the Lotnmon heritageofallmen, giving the world an undenying unity which is today sadly missing. This instinct of ours for the tradition of the past is branded as reactionary by the noisy spokesmenof Progress,amoderngod— itsif therehadneverbeen anyprogress in the past, as if progress were quite independent of tradition; but in truth we can afford to be amused when we are called reactionary, because obviously- action and reaction are complementary and only the mte'play of both produces progress. It isan aximn to say thatevery action isfollowed by areaction. Asoldier in the frontline makes asupreme physical effort and tights the enemy unceasingly for three day'., and three nights—that's action.

It was at thispoint that some ofus began to shift uneasily in our seats. Uptill now KurtMullerhadn'tseemed abad sort of fellow. He claimed to have had apretty rough spin at the handsoftheGestapo,andwewere prepared to give him the sympathy vote forwhich hewasasking. But we had just seen him use the methods of the Gestapo to rid himself of an acquaintance of short standing who was proving an embarrassment. Certainly the Count had demanded money tinder threat of denouncing Muller to the Nazis, but is that or anything else a justification.for murder? Here we ere the decay of morals which is such amarked feature ofmodernlife.Glibly the quiet-spoken anti-Fascist explains away his violent and deliberate murderofCountdeBrancovis to the startled English household. It was necessary, he says, in the interest's of all those poor people back there in Germany who await the return of Kurt, the saviour. This is abit thick, we think. It's the sort of excuse Hitler mightmake.fordespatchingVonRohm —thismanmust die that othersmight live. In the case of Hitler we could roundly condemn the proposition, but when arespectable anti-Fascist trots

"Watch on the Rhine" is, therefore; an immoral play in the sense that it attempts to justify assassination. The takingoflife may under somecircumstances be lawful, but murder never. Anotherfeatureof.Kurt'sconductthat is open to criticism is his purely vol, untary abandonment of his wife and childrenforthesakeofansweringwhat he chooses to regard as ahighercall; butineffect itmeans that he isgoing back to Germany,with money to help on his political friends. It is not explicitly stated in the play,but from the tone of Kurt'sconversation, and taking his frequent references to"the people"asaguide,one couldhazarda guess thathisown colourispinkifnot red,andthat ifhe and his friendshad theopportunity they wouldestablisha despotism no less absolute than that againstwhich theyare revolting.View ad from this angle the play is danger, ouspropagandaandmeritsfurther corii demnation. The fact that it hashad, successful runs in other capital cfttTs does not lessen the charge of dishoW. esty. ,

Whatisthedramaticvalueof"Watch on the Rhine?" As handled by the Patch cast the play does not reach great heights. It is certainly well bet low the standard of presentation wd have been accustomed to look for at thePatch—for instance,it cannothold acandle to"Jupiter Laughs" or"Lift With Father." It is no secret that Patch performance0

sare usually well. polished, and even in this playwe can find plenty to admire in the way the stage has been arranged (it is avery good set), in the skilful -

useofinternal as well as external'lighting, in the

(Concluded on Page 20.)

Metropolitan Business College

-well, there is noharm done.

This appeal to the management is made at the outset because, as it stands, the shore cannot he recom. mendedsimply because of afew unfortunate passages. If the management sees fit to watch this type of thing in future productions, and the general tenor of the programme seemed to indicate that they have such precautions in mind, this page will support Mr. Carroll in his efforts. It will from time to time review the shows in the same way, for example,as it handles performancesat theRepertoryTheatre. If the sort of thing objected to con. tinues, however, the producers cannot expect that, to say the least, the reviews will be favourable, nor will they bewithoutsomeeffect.

Turning to the showitself, the space taken up already precludes our usual review. Still, as manyreaders will be unaware of the type of programme offered, afew comments on it will be made.

When he drops exhausted and sleeps like a log, that's reaction—without which he wouldcertainly make noprogr-ss. We often hear of people bearing up marvellously under a great shock, and next we hear that"are. action hassetin." justas it isalaw oPNature,so it is alesson ofhistory— that great movements in religion, in art, in politics, are inevitably followed by counter-movements; thus the socalled"Reformation" in the days of Luther and Henry VIII, was followed by the Counter-Reformation led by Ignatius Loyola. The Classicists of the 18th. century were followed by the Romanticists of the 19th. century, and in our own time the scourge of Communism has given rise to the violence of Fascism.

"Watchon the Rhine," which recently concluded aseason at the Patch Theatre, and which will be on offer to the public againin Februarynext,isa play about Fascism,or, more correctly,aboutanti-Fascists. Thechiefanti. FascistisEdward Beeby,whohasbeen

This little group of ex-students enquired,noted thateachwouldreceive Perronal Individual Instruction, that she would not be lust one of a crowd; placed themselves in our hands,andtheyhave beenholdingcongenial and well-paid office positions since the day theyleft. Well Trained Confident, and Se=upperting, their parents' responsibility is over—our Emplayment Servic: takes care of any future changes.

P1tllBusiness Course (12 months):124,payableICs.weekly.

Six Months'Coarse: 114; Three Months'Coteste,S7 16s.

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IWhitefriarsCollege

Doncaster East, Victoria

THE 1MARdANATE, NOVITIATE, ANDB5OUSEOFSTUDIESOFTHE CARMELITEORDERIN AUSTRALIA.

TheCarmelite Orderisrecognisedby theChurchasOurLady'sspecialOrder, enjoying, as it does, her inestimable favourof the Brown Scapular.

The Order undertakes MISSIONS, both abroad and at home, as well as staffing parishes and colleges and con• ductingretreatsfortheclergy,religious andlaity.

Candidates for the Priesthood may enter the Nfarianate(or Juniorate) on Completing their Primary Education oabouttheirthirteenth year).

Aspirants to the Priesthood or laybrotherhood in the Order of Carmel may write for particulars to: VERY REV. FATHER PRIOR, BOX2, MITCHAM P.O., VICTORIA.

Hibernian-Aus'zalasian Catholic Benefit Society

DEATH BENE.'IT.—i150, age 11and under 20, 4/10 quarterly; 1100,7/2quarterly. 20years andunder 11, 5/3 qr.;£100, 8/- qr, 23 years andunder 25, 5/5 qr.; 1100, 8/4 qr. 25 years and under 30, 5/10 qr.; 9/2 qr. Members up to 51 accepted. Also Sickness,Medicaland Hospital Benefits.

J. EDWARDS;Greid 3-cretary,West Australian Chambers, St. George'sTerrace, Perth. Tel.: 87804.

Christian Brothers' High School

Corner of Stirling and Harold Sts.,HIGHGATE

CATHOLIC WOMEN'SLEAGUE

oanum

PhyllisDean:Monday,December 18.

Buffet: Wednesday, January 3.

Dunleavy Hostel: Friday, December 15.

Helpers are urgently needed for the Canteens.

Northam Branch.

This branch has just closed a very successful year. They have amembership of forty-four, and avery edthusiastic band of office-bearers.

It is to be regretted that the retie- 1 ing President(Mrs. Fleay) is leaving the district, but we hope she will con• tinuehergoodworkwhenshesettlesin hersuburbanhome. Awordofthanks isduetoMrs.H.Rodda,withoutwhose untiring work as Secretary the branch wouldperhapsnotflourishquiteaswell.

The annual elections resulted as follows: President, Mrs.G. E. McKenzie; vice-president,Mrs.E.Grant; secretary, Mrs.H.Rodda; treasurer,Mrs.E.Chidlow,

Duringthe yeartheNortham branch have conductedaweeklydance in the ParishHall,andwiththeproceedshave given generous donations to both patriotic and parochial funds.

Members have visited the 118th. A.G.H. and GovernmentHospitalregularly, and assisted at the canteen and streetcollections. Allparish functions have had their assistance, and at the break-up aparty was-given to the school children.

Thegeneralmeetingwasattendedby six members from Perth. who had a mostpleasantday. Afterthebusiness was concluded members enjoyed a mostlavishafternoontea,duringwhich abirthday cake was cut by Miss A. Foley. We must congratulate Northam on its achievement in two years and hope that this coming year will again be successful.

HIGHGATE HILL

ACHRIPTMASPARTY.

On Friday, December 15, a Xmas Party willbe held in the Parish Hall, Harold-street, at 8p.m, Afine musical programme has been arranged, and avery enjoyable even-' ingispromised. Anumber ofseason• able gifts will be on sale at aprice that will be appreciated by all. During the evening the drawing of the "china sleeping doll" will take place. Be withusonDecember 15andsing "Auld Lang Syne" with your old friends. Light refreshments will be served,and admissionis Is.,payableat the door.

Itissituated withintwominutes' walk of trams 17, 18, 19. 34, and of the Bayswater-Bassendean and Morley Park buses; whilelit.Lawleyrailwaystation,andtram22are only five minutes' walk from the School.

All classes are taught by the Brothers personally.

Besides receiving asound Religious Training, pupils are carefully taught in all grades the various subjects required for later life.

The Curriculum follows the usual Primary SchoolCourse fromThird toSixthStandards,inclusive.Then theSecondaryCoursemaybetaken to Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate and Matriculation.

Geography, Drawing, Mathematics, Business Principles, Physics and Chemistry. Afully-equipped Science Laboratory offers every facilitp for the study of the Physics and Chemistry Courses.

CULTURALTRAINING.

Elocution,Debating, Singing and Dancing are taught at the School by highly qualified teachers.

GAMES AND PHYSICAL CULTURE.

As its importance in the building of bothbody andcharacterrequires, Physical training receives every attention at C:B.H.S. Boxing,Gymnastics,andSwimming,as well asotherphysicalexercises,are regularly taught at the School.

The Organised Games are under the personal supervision of the

Brothers, and every boy is afford. edtheopportunityofbecomingproficient in Football, Cricket, Athletics, Baseball, or Tennis.

ATHLETICS.

C.B.H.S. held the Aggregate Shield and the Senior Cup, 1940, 1941; and holds the Archbishop's Cup and Senior and Junior Cups for 1942, 1943, 1944.

FOOTBALL, First XVIII.Premiers,1938, 1939, 1943, 1944; Runners-up, 1941. 1942. JuniorXVIII.,Premiers, 1941,1942, TENNIS.

C.B.II.S.ChampionsofC.13S.S.A. Tournament, 1942, 1943, 1944. There are three magnificentTennis Courts in the School Grounds: the neighbouring Forrest Park is used as the school sports field.

Thesuhjects taughtinthiscourse include English. Latin, History, SCHOOL RE-OPENS ONTUESDAY,JANUARY30th., 1945.

New Pupils may be enrolled from 1

3rtl• January, 19.15. 'Phone: B5844. FURTHrR PARTICULARS ON APPLICATION TOTHE PRINCIPAL,

This modernandcomparativelynewHighSchool, opened in 1936, has already established itself as the centre of Catholic education for boys of thesurroundingdistrictsofMount Lawley,North Perth, Inglewoodand Maylands, etc.

ACollection of Nativity Paintings Gives ahistory of Art of

13

Centuries

Unique Influence or Christ's Birth in the Ages of Faith

And she brought forth her first-

if a betra am and wrapped him up is 1 swaddling elothes,andlaid him In • manger."—St. Luke, II., 7,

In these simple,unassuming words the Evangelist records what to the eyesofthe worldwouldappead amere incident in amother'slife. However, the birth of Christ ofaVirgin Mother is more than asimple incident. It is alongexpectedevent,marking thefulness of time,thecomingof the desired of the nations. God has spoken and sents its His own Word; "Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the world (Hebrews I,.), to be our Emmanuel—the God with us.

For centuries this arresting, endearing subject—in its two fold aspect, as the opening of the life of Christ, and as the manifestation of the great mystery of the Incarnation—so simply told by St. Luke, has been the source of inspiration to all the arts. Poetry and Music havevied with one another to repeat the story in their choicest strainsand melodies,orconjointly they have produced that variety and gaity of Christmas carols which for many centuries resounded the world over, giving creation anew brightness. Children soon entered into their spirit, making Christmas their own festivity and the whole of Christmastide their particular season. They sang and danced to them in the public streets and in the fields, they not only dressed as kings and shepherds, but also revelled in representing the sheep, the ox and theass,irresistibly drawing the crowds with them around the crib, thusbringingnewlife andhappinessto aworld grownoldandweary. In our own days we still admire in the home. ly crib, so popular in Catholic countries, the most delicate figures produced by the master-carvers of old for its adornment.

Painting specially and the graphic arts give us the mostvaried collection of Nativity representations. Miniaturists used their mostpatient labour in portraying with exquisite colours the scene of thebirth ofChrist. This is thetheme wefindrepeatedonce and again in the pages of prayer books or Office-books, belonging to the kings and potentates of the diddle Ages. As for painters of all ages, they never found amore grateful motive for their compositions than the tale of the Nativity, to the extent that acollection of Nativity representationson wall and canvas would give us acomprehensive history of painting, well-nigh uninter. rupted from the sixth down to the nineteenth centuries.

We have first the mosaics and fres• roes of Byzantine tradition with a touch of monastic influence in the South of Italy. Then the early Italian painters with their mystic interpreta. tion of religious subjects, Giotto, Fra Angelico, L. dei Credi, Lippi, to name only afew, with Botticelli, whose in. teresting Nativity is one of the treasures of the National Gallery (Lnn don). Mantegna"sversion of the same subject has already amore human appeal. IlisVirginis the perfecttype of maternalloveforhernew-bornbabe. In the Renaissance period the old de. votional feeling is beginning to die out, and each master gives its amore personal conception of the birth of fhrist. Raphael paints his Nativity groups as he would apastoral or any other classical motive. Titian floods his scene with glow and glory. It suffers new and greater modifications in the hands of other Venetians. The stable is no more recognisable. For aVeronese and aTiepolo it becames the stately porch of the worldly rulers of the Republic, of the City of the Lakes, with greatprofusion of jewelled draperies in gorgeous colouring. If Correggio's well known "Notte" is a masterpiece in chiaroscuro, Luini, on the other hand, sets the same subject gracefullybefore us.

Outside Italy, too, master painters abound in various interpretations of the charming story of the birth of the

Cradleless Community There is No Room for the Crowded Crib Artists and Youth of aMechanical Era Turn to the Child of Hope

subjects in which they have no belief, belonging to other epochs. It is bitter to paint railway stations and the places one sees when he travels . engine-houses,mines, and factories, for thesearethesaintsandmiracles of the nineteenth century."

A candid confession we ought to'repeat and amplify in our days. For the age of railway stations is fastly going. Oursisratherthe age ofcomplete mechanisation,-'and—in spite of ourmuch vaunted liberty—that of dehumanisation and mental servedom. We alreadyarecollectingits wages,brganised destructionand flying death. In

birth of Christ, giving us interesting pictures, touched with the spirit of their country and age. Thus if we have admired the simplicity and in. genuity of Angelico, we cannot but be moved by the religiosity and naturalness of Zurbaran, atypically Spanish painter. Well known are also the powerful drawings of Durer andof the Dutch engravers, as well asthemaster• works of Rembrandt and other ar. tists. We need only mention Ruben's with hisdramatic character, somewhat restrained in his Nativity. The Madonna and cherubs, however, certain. ly lack refinement, And Poussin, the iast of the great French Masters. His conception of the subject isnot devoid ofinterest and character. Ifanything itis toodramatic forthe coming of the "Prince of Peace."

First we find the Divine Infant lying in atrough representing the manger. Its shape and ornamentation resemble that of the antique sarcophagus. Later on the sarcophagus-like trough gives way to abundle of hay or other fodder. It may remind us of the stable, but in amore spiritual sense, when a sheaf of wheat is used, it issymbolical of the Bread of life. We also meet with the child laid down on acushion, or simply couched upon a bank of pleasantgrass. Thedivine"dianthus" and other flowers come then very appropriately to adorn the scene. The infant is sometimes smiling, or touching his lip with hisfinger,as if to tell usthat He is theWord ofthe rather, others Ile lovingly caresses his Virgin Mother, the shepherds, or the worship• per, or plays with alittle lamb, the symbol of His own infinite meekness. Ilemaybe attendedonlybyHissweet, most pure mother with one or two adoring angels, or on the contrary the scene may have been invaded by the shepherds and part of their flock, by thewise men and theirlongretinue, or by legions of playful cherubs, but the centre of interestisalwaysfocussed on to the holy tender Babe. Very seldom isthehumble Josephmissing,and from the very beginning the ox and the ass

enjoy here their respective places undisturbed,because the God-made-man feel's quite at home with them. The fathers of the Church see in them the emblemsof theJewish and of theGen. tile world, and there is no reason to think theirpresence incongruous, or to overshadow them with other specimens of the animal kingdom.

Such is the place the birth of Christ hadintheindividualand sociallivesin the agesof Faith. But, alas! faith has grown cold in the hearts of many. In these our days when there is scarcely aplace left for children in our community, we canhardly expect them to have aseason of the year especially set apart for their., in which to influence society and bring it to its knees before the crib of the King of Glory. We prefer to amuse our youngsters with stories of fat and hoary Father Christmas, well laden with parcels and other presents—in reality only adver• tising thelatest productsofamechani. cal age, but leaving our and their hearts as cold as the frozen snow he is trampling on. In acradleless community thereisnoroom forthecrowd• ed crib. Our selfindulgence looksde. spitefully at the presence in it of the Virgin Motheradoring her infant child, thesightofSt.Joseph,the"justman, humbly bowing in perfect submission to thewordsof the angel, isaconstant reproach to our selfishness and self. sufficiency. More blind than the ox and the ass we ignore the manger, where Our Lord and Master is reclin. ing. There was no room dor Him in the inn, and there is no room for Him in ourcrowdedmaterialisticlives. Artists, it has been said, are the torchbearers of humanity, yet our ar. tists do notfind inspirationanylonger in the simple story of the Nativity. It isthe verdictof one of aFrenchinnovatoroftheXIX century: "Painting in the grand manner is out ofkeeping with our social conditions,and religiouspaintingisoutofkeeping withthe spirit of the century. It is nonsense for the talented painters to dish up

these days of despair, then, let us lookagain for the"Starof David,"let us turn our eyes to the manger once. more. After so much suffering and anguish,the very pain and sorrows of the Redeemer and of His afflicted Mother,nay, the Cross itself, seem to have lost their moving power over us. Butthereisathemethatneverlosesitb charm,it ever appeals to a human heart. It is the sight of ahelpless babe, asightthemodern world dreads to face. It is, then, true devotion to thecrib with-itsVirgin,its St.Joseph, and its infant Christ, as the typical mother and father and child,that will eventuallyworkouttherenewalofour corrupted society. In it, too, will our artists and our youth find inspiration and joy. The theme should not be considered any longer too insignificant asubject to cover the big and barren walls ofourmodernchurches—perhaps in arecognised utilitarian outlook }we have forgotten that the temple is, a monument to the honour and glory'of the Divinity,as well asaplace for the service of the krowing crowds. Then, again,the little'incident of Bethlehem would be big enough to fill up ev ry inch of the huge posters that in the gaudy colours give our cities such•an ugly aspect,and at their best betray apoormaterialistic concept oflife. Ages comeand go, and generation succeeds generation. Lest we forget the little story from the Gospel of St. Luke, holy Mother Church never fails every year to remind us of the time and place, the where and when the long expected event took place. Dressed in purple cope the chanter after incensing thebook in front of him clear• lysingsfromitinthe simpleliturgy, of the morn ofChristmas Eve:

"In the 5199th, year of the creation of the world,from the time when God in the beginning created the heaven and earth;the 1957th.year of the flood; the 2015th.year from the birth of Abraham;the 1510th.year from '.looses, and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt; the 1032th. year from the anointing of David King; in the 65th. week according-to the prophecy of Daniel; in the 194th. Olympiad: the 172nd. year from the foundation of the city of Rome:,the 42nd. year of the rule of Octavian Augustus, all the earthbeing in peace, Jesus Christ, the Eternal God, and the Son of the Eternal Father,willing to consecrate the world by Hismostmerciful coming,being conceived by the Holy Ghost, and nine months having pase-ed since His conception, was born in Bethlehem of Juda of the Virgin Mary,madeMan. (Andthenthegreat announcement.) The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christaccordingto;the Flesh."

After these words from the Rom. Martyrology it only remains to pay full attention to the invitation with which aloving Mother introduces her children to the joyous festivity of Christmas."Come, let usAdore." I —P.0,

THE R300HEST114011TH. 1

December will be the richest mo*b in your life if you winfirst prize it*a Charities Consultation. The No. qb Consultation is nowopen. Buy aTicket to-day. The first prize is£2,00.

Established1874.

QfficialOrganofthe Archdiocese of Perth

Addressall communicationstothe Editor, BoxA35,G.P.O., Perth.

450 HAY STREET, PERTH.

TELEPHONE: B6950

PERTH, WEDNESDAY, DECEMER 13, 1944.

This Dayis Born toYou aSaviour

Yearly w•e rejoice airesh in the Birth of Christ, Our lord. because it;

the agelessuess of God incarnate we seethe pronlise of our own innnortality, and more nearly, the hope and the occasion ofourown re-birth tl ,

-ougli Him to the lifeof grace. Christmas also is the feast of friends, for in the coatingof the Divine Child, "'ve poor mortals, who by

nature are but creatures and servants of •ZGod, were raised to fh sublime dignity of brothers with Christ in ;the common Paternity of God the Father. :also His Mother lie-canie the Mother of usall, so that to tit(- endof tittle we call upon -herpossessively as Our Lady, even as Christ Our Brother hale It,,

; 'ask in I[is Name for everything,g we needed of Our Father.

Yet here is amajor paradox of the Faith. We rejoice in the birth of :the Christ Child for athousand good and salutary reasons, yet for Our Lord, His Mother,and St. Joseph it wasatimeof unutterable ;hardship,of poverty, lnmger, fear and desolation. For its it is the ;feast of friends, yet that Hol• Family could find no room in the innsofBethlehem and no hospitality wasopen tothem but that of ;thepoor shepherds of the plain. Knowing all this, however, tit(Church still Bids its rejoice, because the Nativity is glad tidings ofgreatjoy. This day ishorn to its aSaviour.

;i.

-At all times in th^ human cavalcade of history men have felt the primal need of worship, of religion, even where human degen%

cration had gone so far as to throw men prostrate before idols of .wood and stone. It is something fundamental to our nature But sometimes nien, is complacency of heart, require some intense motivation to drive them back to fundamentals. We are at just such an historical moment. The supreme tragedyof,var is upon _Its all and with it the possibility that the way of life we have so longenjoyed,and rvgardedas perhaps the inevitable and best wav -

of life, may perish and he replaced by something we regard vyith horrorand loathing. In such apass we haveall felt the insufficiency oftemporal power,andnicn have turned willy-nilly and Low-ever momentarily to Cod as to some vaguely friendly Power to rescue theta front impending peril. The materialists of yesterday now assure its that we are actually fighting for God, and however sceptical tyc may he of such aclaim, it dues at any rate indicate Foote radical change of outlook, if not of heart, lint quite briefly, the people a,

;av,-hole are casting about foraSaviour to Save them notonl• from thestressofthe moment,but front the anarchy which many feel the futureholds. The answer to all this human yearning is to he sotirht frnn aChild in acave They wvant a savinur. Well,this dayishorn to us atiaviour.Whois Christ tlic 1.ord.

The solution of the world's riddle is so plain that it is difficult ,,bcyoud words to say'•.whyit is not generally seen, appreciated and seized upon. It ma} he that tyc, who arc blessed with tilt• pecrless gilt of faith, have proved, to some extent at least. unworthy cf our trust. Perhaps our light has not shone before nicn with sufficient intcnsit}• and heat. God forbid, but it ntav be that the salt has lust somethini.;ofit, savour or that the leaven has grown stale. \\•hatever it he, Christianity has not foaled. but merely sonic oftheChristia'u;. ifthishe so, let uscollieto the Crib with contrition, because Bach afailure drives very much deeper to-day than inits personal effects. The whole Mystical Body ofChri<t is weaketed by the Tailings of individuals. and hence also the enurmoos potency it should exert over those now in the ,out of the +

Church. And, ofcourse, if contrition is sincere, it is best proved qn• amendment of life. The world has never so needed Christ as -

it does to-day. But it will never be able to find Him except in -those"other Christ;," who are ourselves. The Faith to-dav makes great and heroic demands on those privileged to share its resonsibiIities, and consequently indifference, sloth or carelessness ',,.bearintheirtrain a-ternerjudgment against failure. Let its beg t,f the Christ Childthatour Faith fail not, and that we,being conrcerted.may confirmourbrethren.

His Grace the Archbishop consecrated37childrenofMaryattheCathedral un Sunday afternoon.

HisGrace attended the inauguration ceremony of the Catholic Girls' Movement at Fremantle on Monday evening,at8o'clock.

HisGrace attended theannualsocial oftheLegionofMary at theCathedral Hall on Wednesday evening at 8 o'clock.

ARCHBISHOP'S ENGAGEMENTS.

December 15:

10a.m.: Preside at QuarterlyConference of Priests of the metropolitan area, at the Chapter Hall, Victoria Square.

December 22:

7p.m.: Administer theSacrament of Confirmation to adults in St. Mary's Cathedral.

December24-2"t.Mary'sCathedral: Christmas Eve: Midnight,Pontificate Christmas Day: 11 a.m., Preside at Solemn High Mass.

December28(Feastofthe HolyInnocents): Celebrate Mass at St. Vincent's Foundling Home,Subiaco.

December81---St.Mary'sCathedral: 7.30p.m.: SolemnTeDeum and Pon. tifical Benediction.

Catholic Broadcasts

The Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve will be broadcast as usual by the Australian Broadcast Commission, Station6WF.

New Year's Eve: Solemn Benediction and Te Deum will be broadcast from the Cathedral M•Station6PR.

The Catholic Answer: Every Sundav night at 9p.m., Sta. tions6PR and 6TZ.

OUARANT' ORE

DECEMBER.

3rd.—YORK: One Day of Exposi• tion.

4th.—Vacant.

6th.—BRIDGETOWN: One Day of Exposition.

JANUARY.

11t.—ALBANY: One Day of Exposition..

2nd.—BEVERLEY: One Dav of Exposition.

ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL ARRANGZMZNTB FOR C'HROrMAS AND NEW YEAR.

Christmas Day:

Confessions,in preparationforChristmas Day will be heard on Saturday, Decomilcr 23, from 12 noon to 1p.m., from 4p.m, to 6p.m., and from 7.45 onwards: and again on Sunday, De• ceber 24 (Christmas Eve), from 7.30 until midnight..

Masses:

Midnight(Pontifical), 7a.m., 8a.m., 9a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.(Solemn High Mass).

The Papal Bleasing willbegiven at theconclusionofMidnightMass, Now Year's Day:

Confessions in preparation for New Year'sDay willbe heard onSaturday, December30, from 12 noon to Ip.m.; from 4p.m. to 6p.m., and from 7.45 onwards.

On New Year's Eve (Sunday, Deceber 31), aSolemn Te Deum will be sung at 7.30 p.m. The ceremony, which will conclude with Pontifical Benediction,

will be broadcast over Stations6PR•TZ.

Masses on New Year's Day will be celebrated at 6, 7, 8.15, 9, 10 a.m.,,and 12,10 p.m.

HOLYCOMMUNION ATMIDNIGHTMASS.

RECOMMENDiATION iRE(I&RDING EUCHARISTIIOFAST.

The Hierarchy of Australia recommendthatthose who intend toreceive Holy Communion at Midnight Mass abstain from solid food and alcoholic drink for four hours, and from nonalcoholic drink for one hourbefore receiving Holy Communion.

PRIESTS'OONFERENCE.

The Quarterly Conference of the priestsof the metropolitanareawillbe held at the Chapter Hall, Victoria Square, at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 15.

CONFIRMATIONOFADULTS.

will be required to furnish aletterfrom theirownparish priest. SUPPER.

*r

Solemn Consecrationof Archdioceseto Immaculate Heart of Mary. a

His Grace-Performs Ceremony

What the Immaculate on Titular Feast— Conception Really Means

How God Confirmed the Papal Definition with the Miracle of Lourdes

Sunday, December 10, was solemnly observed as the Titular Feast of the Cathedral, Solemn High Mass, at which Ibis Grace the Archbishop presided, was celebrated at I1 a.m. The celebrant was Rev.J. P. McGillicuddy, assisted by Rev. A. Kelly as Deacon, and Rev. II. Brennan as Sub-Deacon. IIis Grace was assisted at the Throne by Very Rev. E. Kennedy, Adm., and Rev. Father Ferguson, C.SS.R, Rev. j.P.O'FarrellwasAssistantPriest,and the ceremonies were under the direotionof Rev.J.J.Rafferty. The occasional sermon was preachedby Father O'Farrell. St.\lary'sCathedralChoir, conducted by Rev.A.Lynch, rendered the music of the Mass. Miss Frances Moran presided attheorgan.

SOLEMNOONSECRATION OF ARCHDIOCESE.

At evening devotions HisGrace the Archbishop solemnly consecrated the .archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Rev, Father Hollis, ST,

preached the occasional sermon. The ceremony, which was broadcast over the National Station 6WN, concluded with Pontifical Benediction, at which His Grace was assisted by Rev. J. P. McGillicuddy and Rev. R. Kelly, as Deacon and Sub-Deacon, respectively. The Sermon. ­Iwillput etmitiesbetween thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crushthy head, and thoushaltlieinwaitforherheel."— ..Gen.,III.,15.

The words of the book of Genesis were addressedby God to Satan after thefallofourfirstparents. Thedevil had succeeded in tempting Eve, mid Eve led Adam intodisobedience. But then, God promised aRedeemer, and Mary, is Mother, His the woman mentionedin the prophecy.

Originalbin.

When God created our first parents, lie gave them gifts to which in their humannature theyhadnoclaim.Inso doing, He raised or elevated them to acondition above their nature, or a supernatural state. They were made sharers or partakers in God's very nature, and adopted children of God. Thesupernatural giftswhichGod gave them were chiefly these, immortality; integrity, and sanctifying grace.

Bynature manmustdieliketheanitrals. But our first parents received the gift of immortality. If they did notlose itbytheirsin,man would not die, but after aperiod of probation spent on thisearth,wouldpass to eternal life.

The wonderfulgift ofintegrity made our first parents free from the constraint of passion or concupiscence. The passionswereunder thecontrol of reason. The lower appetites which they shared with theanimals were not allowed to disturb their Foul. They ,.It it by theirsin, and we are conFeir­ of our loss. Our passions and lower appetitesare not suhiect to the control of reason. They rehel against reason, wage war against the spirit, anti lead itsintosin.

Sanctifying Grace is the third and most important gift. It makes man capable ofafarcloser union with God than is possible in the state of nature. In his natural state, he couldaspire to be the servant of God. Sanctifying Grace makeshimanadoptedchild and friend. it qualifies him also for the supernatural happiness of heaven, it will enable him toseeGodface to face inthe BeatificVision. Theexerciseof purely natural virtues could lead to no higher destiny than the service of GM, and distant possession by know-

tedge and love. This alone is in the naturalcapacityof acreature.

fhegifts of immortality ,integrity, andsanctifying grace, our first parents received not only for themselves, but also in trust for their children. If they had remained faithful, we should receive thesegifts as awonderful sup ernatural inheritance. But, as we learn from the book of Genesis,' they were unfaithful to God's commands, and fellfrom the supernatural state. They lost for themselves and us thZr giftsabovenatureandall righttoileayen. This deprivation is what is known as Original Sin. In the caseofourfirstparents,it wasasinful act. Withus,itisastateofloss. We are conceived and born without the three greatgifts, towhich in ournatural state we have no right or title. But we were redeemed. God so loved the world, and Our Divine Lord so loved us. "Greater love than this nomanhath, that aman laydown his lifeforhis friends. Youare myfriends ifyou do the things that Icommand you, 1will not nowcallyouservants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But Ihave called you friends, because whatever things I have heard of 'Xty

Father ihave made known to you." This is the redemption which was promised byGodafter thefallofourfirst parents:"Iwillput enmities between thee and the woman,and thyseedandherseed; she shall crush thv_ head, and thou shaft lie in wait for her heel."

Immaculate Conception.

shereceivedfromGodiscalledherImmaculate Conception. From the first moment of her existence her soul was tree fromOriginalSinandfullofSanc• tifyingGrace. Like our first parents, she was createdinthe state of grace, but with amuch greater fullness. It is not thatshemas notredeemed,and didnotneedtoberedeemed. Shewas

The Blessed Virgin Mary, and she alone, was conceived and born free from Original Sin. This favourwhich

amemberof the otherwise erring human race. But she wasredeemedby anticipation,notbypurificationaswith ua. Through the foreseen merits of her Son's redemption, she'was filled withabundantgrace fromthefirstmoment of herlife,and so most worthily prepared to be the [otherofGod.

"Hail, fullofgrace, the Lord

is with thee," were the words d[

the angel. 1lary was tollof grace with afullness which Gad couldBice His Mother,and which was fitting for her. Now God couldgiveherafullnessofgraceatthe first moment of her existence, and it was fitting for her. Therefore God gave it toher,and shewascontented andbornfreefromthestainofOriginal Sin. But our reasoning is of little weight, when compared with the certaintyoffaith. The immaculateConception isnow adoctrine expresslydefined bytheChurch. it is adoctrine that rests on Christian tradition. It is taught in the writingsofthe Fathers and Doctorsof theChurch. Inthefourthcentury,we have the testimony of St. Ephraem in theFast,andthegreatSt.Augustinein the Western Church. In the seventh colon, the Eastern Churches were celebrating the feast. It wasthecon• slantfaithofallthepeople. Atlength, just ninety}•ears ago, Pope Pius I\ put anend toalldoubtand discussion. In the presence of the largest and most distntvished gathering of Carfinals and Bishops ever seenat Rome, he solemnly declared "Through the foreseen meritsofChrist the mostholy Virgin Mary, Mother of God. was pre• served entirely from Original Sin. and sowacredeemedinahigherw•a}•"

Four years later, in 1656, as if in gratitude to the Vicarof Christ, Our Blessed Lady appeared at Lourdes In France, and declared hername: "Iam theImmaculateConception." Sheap. peared in ahollow of the—rock.—where herstatue isnowtobeseen,andshowed herself on eighteen separate occasions, to alittle village girl, whose name wasBernadetteSoubirous.

From the turmoil of the war, his come forth abeautiful story. It is the living story of Bernadette. The author, aGerman Jew, found at Lourdes aplace'ofsafety,andingratitudefor hisescape,he resolved toput aside all other work, and sing as best he could the Song of Bernadette.

The story of the apparitionsis beautifully and delicately told. Poor little Bernadette, averyordinary child, saw her beautiful lady. "Bernadette's glance stopped at the cavern. In spite of acompletelywindless calm, a wild-rose bush beneath ahollowin the rock seemed to writhe as inastorm." When the lady appeared, she was vonng and beautiful. Bernadettewas able to describe herdress. "Afairly I-roadbluegirdlefelldowntotheknee. Butwhatablue! Lovelytothepoint ofpain. Noonecoulddecidethekind of fabric from which the white gown wasmade. Sometimesitgleamedlike silk or satin; sometimes it was duller like some unknown very delicate-aria snow-white velvet." -

The apparitions continued and attracted more and more public attention. Atoneofthem,Bernadetteventured toaskthelady'sname. Witha wonderfully gracious air, she gave it: "Que soy l'Immaculada Conceptiou." Wonderful eventto confirm the definition offouryearsbefore,andfactmore wonderfulstill—ofthedefinitionBernadette hadheardnothing! TheDean of theparishofLourdes,whowasnoteasily wonover tothe sideofBernadette, askedherwheresheheardthosewords, iftheycametoherfromsomewherein theworld. Butno,forthemomentit wasamystery, Our BlessedLady.

TheImmaculateConceptionwas the greatest favour God could give His \[other. He blessed her with every grace and favour, and she is always called the Blessed Virgin; When she first became the Motherof God, she made avisit to her cousin, St. Elizabeth. Then she was received with honour and reverence, and greeted withwords thatarefamiliar, and often in use:"Blessed art thou among women, and blessed isthe fruitof shy womb." On the same occasion, she gave utterance to amagnificent canticle, and madeaprophecy about herself:"My soul loth magnify the Lord, and myspiritbathrejoiced inGod my Saviour. Because He bath regarded the humility oK His handmaid, for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because He that is mighty bath done great things to me, and holy is His name." Our Blessed Lady realises that she owes everything to God, because Ile has chosenhertoheHisMother. Butshe makesaprophecythathasbeenamply fulfilled:"Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." 7t is her awn title. When she was chosen tohetheMotherofGod,shereceived adignity we cannot estimate. It was an honour given to no other woman. It raised her above all the angels and saints. She became their Queen, and the highest and purest of creatures. Becauseofthebeautyofher virtue, \far• became the favourite subject of Christian art, The greatest picture of the Spanish artist\htrillo?shis Pur• isima, the immaculate Conception. When the Italian artist Raphael was at work on the famous_Sistine Madonna,afriendentered thestudio. He expressed surprise that the great artist wayengaged onanother pictureof Our i,ad}•,but he answered gravely:"1f all

.

"Such aQuiet Christmas!"

We Have Forgotten How to be Still

IdonotrememberaChristmaswhen Idid not hear someone say,"Such a quietChristmas! You'dhardlyknow it was Christmas at all." What is it that we expectofChristmasand never attain? Is it merely that with ad. vancing years the senses are blunted andnolongerabletoperceivethesub tle atmosphere peculiar to this lovely time, and that no amount of culinary stimulation can arouse them sufficient. ly?

"Such a quiet Christma'sl" Well, thatin itself shouldbe alovely thing, longed for and welcomed, quiet with the snow of the Bethlehemhills, quiet with the peace the Infant brought. It mustbe that we don't wantquiet, we don't want peace. We have forgotten how to be still. We feel, at this

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season, that we should rollick in loud mirth and make good cheer, but we have forgotten even how to do that! Poor things that we have become, we began to forget how to be jolly when we forgot how to be "true Christian men."

It is obviously we who have failed Christmas, not Christmas which has failed us. Andyet,lookingback, one is aware of the wealth stored Christ. masbyChristmasin thememory. If we didnotgetall therewas tobegot out of Christmas, we did get alittle, and itmounts with theyears. Childhood, naturally, has left the largest store, fragrant with the strong, hot scent of Christmas lilies, bright with the glare of sun-bleached paddocks seen through the open doorofacoun. try church, ringing with the unsub. duable notes of the harmonium, upon which my small, frail mother led a heartychoirofcountryvoices,singing, "See, amid the winter's snow." Myinfantmindlearnedtosoaronthe-wings of thatold hymn—

"See, within the manger lies He Whobuiltthestarryskies."

Thestarsmeantso muchmoreafter one had knelt by the crib. How big, how strange the world those tiny Hands had made!

Thingscomebackto me now at the scent ofChristmaslilies,orof summer grass,orthesoundofthe"Adeste." I can evenremember when wedroveto the Christmas Day Mass in acoach, anditwasarealcoach,brightredand dratwn bysix shining, bay horses in gleaming harness. Not one of your shabby, over-grown cabsI The solid farming gentry, wanting a change from driving their own turn-outs, had the places of honour on the driver's seat. Young bloods scaled to the dizzy seats on the roof. Matrons gathered their young ones into the safety of the inside, where, in spite of rolled-upcurtains, these goodladies in starched muslins sat fanning themselves after their exertions of the morning, and freely wiping complexions that had never known make. up.

What were we waiting for? Buggies rattled by with loud "Hallos!" and. wavingofwhips. (Ireallythinkthis memorybelongs to thepre-rubber-type era. Yes; it must have been several years later that the C----'s bowled into the churchyard on silent wheels and left us gaping.) What avere we waiting for, drawn up there in front ofthehotel? Our muslinfrockswere pricklywithstarch. Ourmuslinhats, freshly"done-up," tickled the backsof our necks. White gloves, left by Santa, were afascinating addition to thetoilet,butthe littlepaws theycovered were sticky already. Then comes aflurry of white to the verandah, and out rushes Mrs. B—, the publican's rife. "Lateasusual!"shecries,way. ing along steel button-hook. "And my boots undone!" Amid the hearty laughter of the passengers and the loud"Giddaps!" of the driver, Mrs. B— settles her flounce's in acorner andbuttonsupherlongkidboots.We watch the gums and harvested paddocks slip by. The miles seem long, evenwithsixhorses,butatlastcomes the white fence of the churchbeneath its belt of pines, and behind it, the grey and white of the pioneer tomb. stones, and theblue-stone and slateof the solid little church itself. We are in the church, and it is all the same, yet vastly different, with those tall white lilies on the altar, and the crib in the corner, and that music coming from the choir gallery where our mother reigns at what seems to it ,

a dizzy height of glory.

Quiet Christmases--it seems th°re are books to be written about them and cantos of rustic poetry! Then there are our childrensChristmases— how they are mounting up, and what astore they will provide for our old age! We are looking forward to our oldage. Weshallnot mindhowquiet the Christmases are, then.—L.M.Q. (from "S.H.C.," Ballarat.)

*Making Advent aReal Preparation for the Nativity

DeepSpiritual InjurytoChildrenCausedbytheSantaClausTraditiori

By AULEENB. EBERHARDT,

For years we Catholics have been talking about the way Christmas has been commercialised and how the Central Figure of the day, the Christ Child, has been driven into the background. This year,when adesire for peace is in the hearts of people the world over, let us Catholics not only talk about giving Christmas back to thePrince ofPeacebut—let'sdosomething.

The first step is for each one of us to see what we can personally do to make Christmas Christ's day—not a day characterised only by lavish and meaningless gift-giving, by overeating and by pleasurable excitement. To celebrate Christmas in the Christian manner, spiritual preparation is nece%. sary. Let us then make use of these days of Advent tosanctify our lives early—not by waiting until Christmas for our Confession. Why not approach the Sacraments weeklyand,if possible, daily, for some time in advance of Christmas?

These extra Communions could be offered for the greatestof all causes— it

speedy victoryoverourenemiesand ajust peace, and the wellare of our boys in service. The lads who are fighting on the battlefront's of the world, enduring hardships and privations and facing death in dreadful forms, need our prayers as never before. Let us give them prayers and more prayers, sacrifices and more sacrifices.

These days of prayer and sacrifice before Christmas could be filled with good works. Among these should be aid tothe poor. In spite of the fact that war industries and manpower shortages have made work more plentiful than in many years, there are stillmanypoorpeople. Theseare the sick, the helpless, the very old, the very young, who cannot benefit from the war boom and whose needs have increased as the cost of living soars. These people need our help. Let us lookaroundandhuntthem out. There .re some to be found in every community.

Next, letus make our homes fitting places for the Infant King to celebrate His birthday in. In the rush ofthese hecticdays ofwar, people are apt to become impatient, to be less kind, to act ungratefully, to be thoughtless. Here isachance foreach ofustocheckourconscience and,hay. ing done so, to put our spiritual life in order.Our homesshould be havens of peace and happiness; and we can make them so only insofar as we rid our hearts of uncharity, bitterness, selfishness.

Lastly, let us do everything in our power to put the Christ Child into the foreground, in the hearts of our children,as thegreat Figureof Christ. map—and toease SantaClausinto the background. Adeep spiritual injury has been done to countless little chile dren, through the years, by stressing Santa Claus as the dominant Chritsmas character, and by neglecting the Infant Jesus. It is our duty as Ca. tholic adults, as Christian parents, to firing back into the lives of our children the beautiful and appealing fig• ure of the Babe df Bethlehem, whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas. This can be done by the telling and the re-telling of the Christmas story, by the erecting of aChristmas Crib in the home and by fostering in the heartsoflittlefolkanaffectionforthe poor whom the Babe of Bethlehem lovedsodearlythatlie becameoneof them.

If we do these things, our personal Christmas will be one of rare happi. ness and lasting joy. It will be an unforgettable occasion; aday of days —for weshall have been to the Sacraments often, we shall have helped the WANTED TO BUT: atovee, Wood Gas-,PlainandOldSootIron, CoppIT+ Heaters.BestPrices. RingBG107.

Practical Ways in Which ChristmasMayBeGivenBack to Christ

poor, weshallhave glorified the Urist Childin the mindsofour little ones.

Now,thesecondstepingivingChristmast back to Christis tomakeour in. fluence felt in our community. Far too many of us have, year after year, resolved to send Christian Christmas cards; but that wasas faras it went. Yearafteryearthesameoldhollyand mistletoe, dogs, catsand birds appear. ed on our cards—sometimes because they were sold to us by aclerk who described them as"cute" and sometimes because we were abit ashamed to send religious greetings to our nonCatholic friends. Let us have the courage of our convictions this year. There is still time to secure religious Christmas cards; and to send them as our greetings to relatives, friends and associates. Incidentally, the religious cards thisyeararemoreplentiful than in the past decade; and they are surprisingly artistic.

What aboutacommunity Christmas Crib in our own neighbourhood? Impossible? Notatall. Inlarger cities all that is necessary is for certain neighbourstoagreeon the place where acribmaybeerected, and then to go ahead with theplans. Why not take part of ourChristmas money and buy figures of the Holy Family, a few shepherds, animals and the Three Kings? These could be enclosed in a weather-proof box, and simple lighting arrangements worked out. The cost, spread among the membership of an entire neighbourhood, would be small for each individual.

bmatt townsare ideal places for the' erc,tw., of

a community Christmas' Crib. Here the steps to take are as follows: secure permission from the :Mayor or City Council; invite people of all denominations to share the cost of erecting thecrib; arrangefor aprogramme of

Christmascarolsto besung un different evenings by the choirs of different churches, schools and'choral groups.

As formeninbusiness—the devoting of abitof afront^window to theerection of aChristmas Crib would bring magnificentresults—notonly intheincreased interest in religion but in new friends for the store. Iknow of a non-Catholic man who atconsideraofe expense and inconvenience placed a Christmas Crib in his window one year. It created so much good feeling that the next year he devoted his entire front window to the Christmas story. The first day he pictured the Magi setting off on their journey to Bethlehem. The next day he showed them in the desert following the Star. Then came' their arrival at their destination. Thenthe Holy Night. And so on. Crowds gathered before the windoweveryday fromdawn todusk., People camefromoutoftowntoview the spectacle. Shoppers who had never before set foot in the store patronisedhim toshow theirappreciation. If anon-Catholic man could pay tribute to the Christ Child in this mantier, whycould notsome ofourCatho-i lie business men do the same—if only byerectingaChristmas Cribinone of', their windows?

Community singing of Christmas hymns is another way to give homage to the Christ Child and to make people of all denominations conscious of the fact thatDecember25isHisbirthday. This is likewise an excellent way tobringgood-fellowship toacommunity,for singingdrawsoutthebest in thehearts ofmen. The singing of Christmas carols by the Rotary, Kiwanisand Lions service clubs, by the KnightsofColumbus,theCatholicForesters, the Holy Name Men, at their Decembermeetings, would be asplendid way of calling the attention of people to the Infant Saviour as the dominant Person in the holiday scene.

So let's not just talk about giving Christmas back to Christ; let's do something about it. We shall find that our efforts in this regard will bringusinward peace and joy and,in addition, countless blessings to our home,ourcommunityandourcountry.

gratulations were also extended to

COTTESLOE.

THE HOLY NAME SOCIETY.

The Cottesloe Branch of the Holy Name Society, like all other branches, has inevitably lost members thorugh thewar. During thisyear the Spiritual Director, Rev. Father J. Bourke, has been striving to improve the position, and muchhas been achieved, although there are still many men outside the Society whocouldandshouldbemem. bers. Father Bourke hasbeen fortune ate in his enthusiastic executive officers, headed by the President, Frank Cawley, and the Secretary, Bernie Horan.

On Sunday, November 20, the Rosary was recited at 5p.m.; aspiritual exhortationby FatherBourke was followed by the reception of new members and the giving of Benediction. The men were then made welcome at thehomeofthePresident. Mrs.Cawley received her guests most cordially, andsheandseveralwillinghelpersprovided an excellent tea. Visitors included Rev. Father Lalor, members of the Central Executive, fn Captain Henderson and Messrs. Farmer, O'Mahoney and Hannah; also re. presentatives from neighbouring parishes.. The President proposed the loyal toast, and the Spiritual Director welcomed the visitors. In reply, Captain Henderson and Mr. Farmer urged the branch to observe the Society's ritual,and'fr.O'Mahoneyspokeofthe iportance of youthfor the future.Con-

Father Bourke on his appointment to the Adelaide Seminary.

Mr. K. Somers, in proposing the health of the Archbishop and Clergy, emphasised that the vitality of Catholic societies is largely dependent upon the interestand support of the clergy. Appreciative references were made to the work of Dr. Prendiville and his priests in general, and to that of Fathers Lalor and Bourke in particular.

In his acknowledgement, Father Lalor drew attention to the necessity for close co-operation and mutual respect between the clergy and laity, and expressed his gratification at the manifestations of this happy relation. ship.

After tea and toasts had ended. the party moved to the music room, and community singing was.greatly enjoyed. Listeningto the robust volume attained one wondered why the men's singingof hymnsat monthly meetings should compare so unfavourably. Mr. CyrilDudleythendelighted thegatheringwith askilfuland entertainingperformance of"magic" of various kinds. Housey-housey and other games hrought avery happy function to an end. It enabled members, particularly thosenewly admitted, tomeeteach other in particularly pleasant circumstances. It is to be hoped that the meeting will bring present members closer togetherand othermen intothe Society.

DZSORZ=ATM0.

(Continued from Page 13.)

careful frocking and in other general evidence of intelligent production. The producer, Mrs. Ida Beeby, has been verythorough, Itiswiththequality oftheacting we mustchiefly quarrel, draggingalifelessness over the play which allows us to brood too long on its basic defectls. There are flaws in the make-up, too, which are rather irritating—lfor example, Joseph, the negro butler, looks like ahalf-caste. The players, apart from those mentioned,are: DavidMack,JessieJacobs, Bob Fairbairn, Della Hale, and the three children(who acquit themselves creditably), Don Smith, Robin Prenticeand Leonie Martin-Smith. —DE GUSTIBUS.

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+ IN MEMORIAM +

BOURKE.—In affectionate memory of my darling wife, Bridget Ann, who died December 10, 1934. Immaculate Heart of Jesus, have mercyonhersoul.

—Inserted by her loving husband andsons.

HEALY.—In loving memory of our dear wife and mother, Margaret Healy, who died on December 15, 1940. May her soul rest inpeace. —Inserted by her husband and family. (Charlotte).—Atribute of love and gratitude to the sweetest mother who ever lived, and passed very peacefully away on December 6. Also Linda Mary, died(October 31, 1939, loved mother and sister of Doll, O, Holy Virgin MotherofGod, take careof them.

LYNCH.—Of your charity, pray for the happy repose ofthe soulsof our dear mother, Mary Catherine, and our dear father, Denis, whose anniversaries occur on'December 19 and 30, respectively.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, your prayers for them extol.

O,SacredHeartofJesus,havemercy on theirsouls.

—Insertedbytheirlovingfamily. NEWBY.Of yourcharity, pray for the happy repose ofthe soulsofmy dearmother,whopassedawayonDecember13,1940,andmydearbrother, whopassedawayonMay3,1944;and father,whopassedawayin 1922.

O,SacredHeartofJesus,havemercy ontheirsouls.

CONSECRATION OF ABAMDIOCESE.

(Concluded from Page 17.)

theartistsofthe world spent all their time in trying to depict Our Blessed Lady, theycouldneverexhaustallher beauty;' Michelangelo was great as apainter,sculptorandarchitect. His frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are the wonderof theworld. He was thedesigner ofSt. Peter's,thegreatestBasilicaoftheworld.'fnSt.Peter'sistobe seen his Pieta, amarble group representing Our Lady, with her dead Son on herknees. The criticsof the time raised objections to the youthful appearance of Our Lady, but the great artist defended it. "You forget," he said, th t:Our Blessed Lady was an Immacul0eVirgin. Sinneverhaddominionoverher,andthebeautyofher youth could never fade."

Underthe invocationofherImmaculateConception,mydearbrethren,Our LadyisPatrondssofthisCathedraland ourArchdioceseofPerth. Letushonour her and pray to her.

Thebestway tohonour her,th- way topleaseher,istoimitatehersplendid virtues. Above all, letus imitate her purity. She was the purest of creatures,andamodel forallofus Purity is for all, nomatterwhat theirage orstate oflife. It is the mostcharming and beautiful of the Christian virtues. It is the perfection of human nature. We feel it instinctively. What is more beautiful and charming thanthepurityofayoungboyorgirl' What is more beautiful and charming than the purity of aman and woman who live pure lives, and live them as God intended? Theremaybedifficulties and temptations, but Mary kill helpus.

We are"poor banished childrer of Eve." We are born in Original Sin. By God's mercy and Mary's co-op^ration,we areredeemed,andwehavo received the glorious gift of Sanctifying Grace. Butwe have not received the wonderful gift ofintegrity, which gave our first parents the control of their passions. Instead, we have the help of the grace ofGod, which God will giveusin answer toprayer.

In recent times, the Holy Fatherhas consecrated the world to the ImmaculateIleartofMary. Thisevening,His Grace the Archbishopwill recodsecrate ourArchdioceseofPerth. Letuspray fervently to Mary Immaculate. The heart is'the fountofactionanddesires. With the guidance and help of Mary. by herexample, we may livepure and holylives, and at lastreach the supernaturalhappinessofHeaven,wherewe shallseeGod face to face, for"Blessed are the pureofheart,fortheyshallsee God:'

Schools' Inspector Secures Dip. Ed.

REV. FATHER J. MURPHY,

Rev. FatherJ. Murphy, ofNedlands, wassuccessfulin therecently announced University results in securing the Diploma of Education. Educated for the PriesthoodatSt. Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he was ordained in 1938, Rev. Father Murphy holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the National University of Ireland. He came toAustralia six years ago, andin1941 was appointed Inspector of Religious Knowledge. Last year he was appointed by the Archbishop as Secretary of the Diocesan Council of Education.

KALGOORLIE

Legion of Mary.

The annualgeneral reunionof active and auxiliary members attracted several hundred Legionaries to St. Mary's Church on December S. The occasional sermon was eloquently preached by Rev. Father Slowey, spiritual director of Coolgardie Legionaries.

An excellentevening's entertainment was laterenjoyedin the hall. Itemsof musicandsongand ahumoroussketch were contributed by first-class artists of Boulder and Kalgoorlie. Ten praesidia were represented.

Catholic Women's League.

The December meeting and social brought asuccessful yearto a close. Throughout the year many worthy causes were helped by the efforts of the League members.

HolyNameSociety,

The annual social ofthe Holy Name Society followed the monthly meeting on Sunday evening last. Boulder IIN.S. and thejunior branchesattended,

THANKS.

J. Green wishes toTHANK all those kind people who cared for him in his illness last January, especially the Sisters of St. John of God, the Middletons and MacLernons, and his own family. To these and all others, he renders his heartfelt thanks, and wishes them all ahappy Christmas.

Kalgoorlie,

DEATHS

J. GREEN.

GOERKE (Charlotte),—On December 6, 1944, at 51 Cargill-street, Victoria Park, the beloved wife of Frank W. Goerke, anddearly loved mother o

f Albert, Leslie, Maude (Mrs. M. Travers), Paul, Dorothy, Leonard, Marie(Mr's. M. Bennett), and Linda (deceased), loving grandma of 23 grandchildren; aged 74years. RequiescatinPace.

STOVES—Woos Gas; newaad ased. Goodetoetspualts,eaameb,epeteU^ andtaps. No"%,6NWdhgtaoIL

A Story of St. Francis Xavier's "Go Set All On

Fire"

By MARGARET YEO, in the"Universe."

Bro. Juan Fernandez finished the last Chinese letter, with its topcurled like theeavesof the temple and laid clown hisbrush.

He had done the translation of Christian doctrine which Francis Xavier had dictated to him, but he knew it was hopelessly inadequate, It was only alittle over three months once FatherFrancis, Father Cosme de Torres and himself had landed in Japan,ontheFeastoftheAssumption, 1549, and, quick as he had proved in pickinguptherudimentsof thelangu• age, it was another matter to explain things like the truth of a personal God and personal immortality to a people whose religion consisted largely in such queries as:"Is not annihila• tion the end most to be desired be. cause, by it alone, we are freed from the desire which alone binds fleeting atomsintoasemblanceoflife?"

The little house that that the Shimatzu daimio, Takahisa, had granted to the three Jesuits was very quiet. FatherCosme was down in thevillage of Kagoshima, in the house of Angero, the Japanese baptised in Goa as Paul of the Holy Faith, whose family and household were the nucleusof the little band of Christians—hosts, too, of the endless streams of visitors curious to see the"Nambanjin" (bar. barians from the south).

And Father Francis,where and how washe? Whenwouldbebeback? It was an unbearable possibility that he might not be home to celebrate the first ChristmasMass.

Father Cosme, with his usual frankness, had made no secret of his opinion that thisjourney to Hirado—nearly 200 miles as the crow flies—had been madness, the more so that Francis had been suffering from one of his frequentstacksoffever. He had gone, though, with aPortuguese and four Japanese who were to sail to India. Saint as he was, it was open to discussion whether the irrevocability of his decisions was always infallible.

Juan smiled as he remembered the one occasion on which he himself had bested his Superior, "Tonsure him, give him abreviary, and prepare him for the priesthood," Francis had said last spring when getting ready for Japan. Juan had flung himself at Francis'sfeet and with tears and passionate prayers had evaded the honourofwhichhefelthimselfwhollyunworthy. Brother-coadjutor he remained and was to remain till that day, IS years ahead, when he was to die. with his last invocation of Jesus and Mary in the Japanese which had become his native tongue.

Ile went out and turned along the rough path behind the house, up and tin. till he reached the summit of the hills between the gulf and the open Pacific.

Below him huddled the little houses of Kagoshima, with their wooden and nap" walls, the wide eaves of their roofs thatched with rice straw. The islandofSakuraand the black feather of smoke from its volcano were reflected in the peacock-green water of thegulf. Heturned,and wasdazzled by the goldenflood of thesettingsun, through which he could hardly distin guish the castle of Ichiku, home of another daimio of the Satsuma clan, where already several had embraced Christianity. Between him and the coast-fortress the slopes were aflame with the scarlet glory of the maple, which theJapanese plant onawestern hill that it may be the first to welcome autumnas it steals from beyond the sunset.

On the far horizon of the golden sea fay the Koshiki Islands, irridescent as the Happy Islands of the Greeks.

Juan's thoughts sped westward, to his childhood's home in Cordoba. He say the long stretch of the Rornar, bridge-which overarches the tats„y Guadalquivir, the black and marble splendour of the famous mosque, the long vista of its columns broken by the choir of the new cathedral. Sitting in the sunshine under apine tree

Faithful Lay-Brother

boo rod over his shoulder—one of the frugal,hardy raceofthissouthernmost point of the Empire, whose Spartan virtues were untouched by the artistic, decadent luxury of the Shogun's court.

There was aclatter of hoofs, and a young Samurai came into sight, his servants trotting behind him. His finely boned face was smooth as old ivory. Hisslantingeyesdid notturn to look at the slight, fragile figure in the shabby black gown. The sunset gleamed on the trappings of his small shaggyhorse,on the lacqueredhilts of

said by FatherCosme, sothat,for the firsttimeontheFeastofHisBirthday, Christ would del+cend on the altar to Japan,"Bodyand Blood. Soul and Divinity," as He had lain in the hay at.Bethlehem.

ItwasnotpossibletocelebrateMass too frequently. There was only that one precious cask of sacramental wine which they had put on the"Pirate's" junkatMalacca.

Evening after evening, sometimes till far into the night, the house was crowded by visitors who squatted round the brazier, drank endless tiny cups of tea and asked still more endless questions.-Juan was kept-busy at the impossible task of trartslating Father Cosme's answers into alanguagewhichhadnocorrespondingwords, alanguage the most intricate, subtle, and ceremonious in the•world.

If only Father Francis were there! His burningcharity- and tender understanding holiness had no, need of speech to capture men's hearts.

On some wet night, when the rain streamedfrom the thatchedeaves and. from the funny straw mantles ofmen and women, there would bepeaceand+ he two Jesuits were alone. Father. ^osme talked of his life, his childhood' inValencia,where betweenorangeandi lemon trees the Mediterranean gleamed jade and ovine coloured."-Always there had stirred in him the restless spirit

of theexplorerwhich had driven him from his parish in sunny Seville, west to theCanaries,to San Domingo, to Mexico, further still,-till west became east in the Philippines. and on with theSpanishfleettothe'Moluccas. There, at Amboina, he had met Francis and had known at once that here wasthegoalofallhiswanderings, the reason he had left home and security. Goa, the months of parish work there and the spiritual exercises had only confirmed whathe had already sensed at first sight of the saint,.Francis Xavier, who was the living embodiment of his spiritual father's words: "Go, and set allon fire.".

Juan, shivering under his cotton quiltas the wind whistledthrough the pjaperwalls,thoughthowFatherFrancis had dictated those letters of November5, which he had taken to Hir. ado with him--striding up and down while words and sentence's poured out so Test that no pen could keep pace with them. And, at the end of the letter toGomez,hehad seizedthepen and himself written those last lines— the Alpha and Omega of all his missionary directions—"love,-love,..love."

Juan, as he shivered, remembered, -oo, thaturgentandpatheticappealfor "woollen clothes and strong shoes, for we are dying of cold" Then he fell asleep.

"TheSmall ChildJesusSmileonYcu."

Ile indulged in the rare luxury of remembrance. Ile saw himself as the smart and elegant young worldling, silks and velvetsof the late'et hue and cut. Then, half injest, he had gone with afriend to aconcert given by thepupils of theneworder nicknamed "the apostles." lie had heard asermon by the famous Estrada, seen 200 penitents bleed from blows of their own disciples, had gone out and flung himself before Simon Rodriguez, the Jesuit Provincialand friend of Francis Xavier.

He laughed now as he saw himself. inhisrichestsilkensuit,riding through the fashionable quarterof Lisbon with his face to the ass's tail—atest of his obedience after he had been admitted to the novitiate. How long ago itall seemed, yet he had only been at Goa ten monthsbefore they had sailed for Japan, Ile was barely 21 now.

He jumped eagerly to his feet as steps came up the path front the north, but it was only acountnman in blue cotton tunic, vellow arms and legsbare, aloadofriceslum cnaham-

the two swords thrust into his silken belt. lie disappeared on his way to i,hiku.

Juanhadseenmanyofhissort there and in the castle of Takahisa—youths bound,like mediaeval squires, to learn and practise the code of "Bushido," or knighthood. An iron military displine, unqu2stioning obedience, hard living and training, passionate and selflessdevotion—there was so much here of the spirit of his own Order, that of St. Ignatius, who had bidden his sons prefer poverty to riches, sickness to health, slanders and abuse to worldly'fame and praise.

Thedays crept by,colder and shorter. The month of the Holy Souls ended. The Sundays of Advent crone, sounding their note of stern yet joyous preparation for the Birth of Christ. Still the little house seemed dark and desolate to Joan, as he worked at his Japanese, because the light and warmth of Father Francis's presence were withdrawn.

What if he were nothack for Christ. ntar' The three Masses would be

Juan set the gold and bronze chry. santhemums ,that he had managed to keepupspoiltby rain and frost, under the picture of the Madonna and Child which the wife of Takahisa had so much admired when the missionaries had visited the castle on Michaelmas day. Ile had made aspecial novena, endingonOurLady'sbirthday,but no news of Father Francis had come.

Sadlyhelaidoutthe.whiteandgold chasuble, the vestments in which, a fewmonthslater,thedaimioofYamaguchi was to declare that Francis "looked like agod.", On the linen cover the sacred vessels gleamed in the mid-winter sunshine and the chrysanthemums glowed against the parchment-coloured wall. Abave the altar was the saint's favourite Crucifix, "about afinger's length" which, lost in the waves of Seram, had been miraculously restored by acrab.

All was now ready, and Juan,over. whelmed by desolation, sank to his knees and hid his fare in his hands. How often had he pictured the first Christmas Mass inJapan, himself serve er, Father Francis celebrant. Outside would he the silence of the midnight world, insidethe murmurof that beau. tiful Spanish voice in those glorious ftbntinuedon Page 21.)

•laUuus •'•risbnns MnD

Auppliurso cat,his (EOuting gear.

llere is another picture of our presentation NIIS,AL—water silk lined and soft leather binding. Prices 19/and 27/6. A very good line at 14s. also. Then go down in price to 2s.

By "LAURI."

"The time draws near the birth of Christ, The moon is hid; the night is still; The Christmas bells from hill to hill Answer each other in the midst." —Tennyson.

Out best wishes to all subscribers and patrons. We take the opportunity of thanking the many who, by their support, have helped us in the work of maintaining the Library during thesedifficult war years so that, in defiance of obstacles on every hand, we have been able to extend our ac. tivities still further in establishing a BOOK DEPARTMENT,which is a necessary supplement to any Library.

We sincerely hope we can reciprocate the many favours which our friendshave shown usby helpingthem in an easy choice of YULETIDE GIFTS FOR ALL AGES.

Under this heading may be placed literature which is most suitable for gift purposes, The universal book shortage still persists,yet it has been possible to procure some most attractive volumes and, if the set-upofadult reading matter has deterioriated alittle, the defect has certainly been remediedasfar as the children'sbooks are concerned,for we have rarely seen a more delightful array of bright covered, artistically illustrated, and fine quality paper books as those which we have purchased for you:

"FAIRY TALES;"

THE EVER POPULARAND WELL KNOWN GAMES, Etc., Etc,, all for the "Little People," and— along the shelves,for the more advancr,

Ichildren,as well as adults,we find: "Kim;" "Song of Bernadette" the year's best seller (only a 'few available), 13/6; "TheSky Has ItsClouds," by aPerth writer, Elizabeth Backhouse, and selling well (9/6); "Faith theRoot," abeautiful story of apriest —just the thing for young and old readers (8/.);"Cullen Btn Bong;" by Bernard O'Reilly, who wrote "Green Mountains."and selling just as well. Onlv 4/9. The always sought-after H, V. Morton's "In the Steps of the Master,""In the Steps of St. Paul" (161.1. and "Middle East." Still afair nom her of our third stock of "A Little Harvest," Dr McMahon's great suc VEq,which has proved areal seller;

price 5/-. "The Toff and the Curate" and "This is Murder,Mr. Jones" (Fuller,8/3). "Dynamite Cargo," the adventures of aconvoy en route to Russia. "The Young Lincoln," by Esther Meynell (8/6r. Also "Mr. Lincoln's Wife," Anne Colver (12/.).

"Happiness in Marriage," by aPriest and aDoctor (5/J.TheLondon "Daily Telegraph' s "Story of the War" (9/6), a real man's book. "The Wind and the Rain" (J. Horner), 10/3, "The Secret of the Little Flower" (Gheon), 8/3."King in Prussia" (Raphael Sabatini), 11/6. "Sea Flyers" (C. G. Grey), 12/6. Some good :Nelson Nye Thrillers at 8/3. 'My Henry Lawson," by his wife; afine book of afine Australian, only :i/-. "Collie Knox Again;" 6/9. "The Saint Steps In" (Charteris )

,9/6. "Japan Through Barbed Wire." If you must have something current, this is good. By awoman writer, Gwen Priesthood,6/6. "Scarlet and Grey." Queen Mary wrote apreface to these letterof anurse. Fine war-time read-

night" and "Indian Paint," the story of an Indian horse, etc., etc.

Also "The Way of the Whirlwind," agorgeous book by the Durack girls (-5/.); and 'Peg'sFairyBook" (18/6).

Big prices but BIG BOOKS,and they are thingsof beauty and your children will keep them for many, many years.

FROM THE POETS' PAGES:

G. K. Chesterton' s "Wine, Water and Song," 7/9.

Freda Vine'sbest seller,"The Maker ofMusic," 3/6.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" 1/6. 'Xksat Thoughts," "Rust Daisy's IS=V Boot," "Falling IAaves," and other such "little"classics.

These are admirable for the older friends who love poetry or who cannot read too much. For alittle gift to asick friend or one overseas, they are the very thing.

We have abook of wholesome jokes on the medical profession,prices 2s. Your male friends will appreciate this. Send one to the soldier boy abroad.

Of course,we cannot print acata• logue within this Christmas Number space,but we hope that these random mentions will give you some idea of what we are handling and we will welcome applications from the coun. try.

City folk will have the interest of our venture at heart, we feel sure, and they may come at any time. Arrangements are being made to have extra assistance at Library and Shop during the Christmas rush.

We realise the prices of books are expensive this year,and in all cases the bindings do not measure up. How-

ever, parents who do notJeel like spending agreat amount on story books can resort to the cheaper MIS. SAL GIFT,and their boys and girls will be thrilled at the long life material that is there. They will learn to love the Blass, because they will understand it. Trul,,we are becoming more and more Mtssal minded, and that is about the best sign we could look for in the coming generation.

REMEMBER THE WHITE MSSAfI. (7/6),

We feel that this marks 'another. milestone in the history of the Church in Western Australia. The stimulating influence of the successful Library is seen everywhere around us. Books have boomed during the war as never before,and it is atribute to Catholic Action in our country that through the Legion of Mary our Library has stepped forward and taken apromin. ent place in our City's life, Agreat Catholic, and agreat writer was the inspiration behind the found• ing of this Libmry--G.K. Chesterton.

How far reaching is'the power of the mind. This realisation drives us on towards spreading the good influence of great men and their works, and at the same time providing entertaining readingfor thehome andleisurehours, so we cannotlet this season pass without making reference to the name of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.- He - had such agreat appreciation of Christmas and the joys of children at that time. He lives on in his works and in keeping his fine example before all men. We believe that we are spreading the Christ-like spirit what was his: GOODWILL TOWARDS MEN.

—Washdays are Easier ,-

Relax Soap will takethehard work out of wash days for YOU. Relar.isgentleonthe fabricand yourhands;washes clothes asnowy white; and NO hard-rubbing is name. EASY_ _ sarv. Alwaysuse RELAXin YOUR washtub. (Obtain. able in.three sizes.). MADE IN W1 BY WE3TRALIAN SOAPSLTD.

We have copies of the Official Bography of G. X Chesterton, by Maisie Ward,for ask,at31/6 acopy.

ing, "Upon That Mountain," by Eric Shipton,16/.. And here'sasplendid one by Cecil Roberts, "So Immortal a Flower," 11/6. Lord Frederick Ham• ilton's famous "Yesterday"books, 4/6 each. G. K. Chesterton' s "St. Francis 0 Asrisi"and "St.Thomas Aquinas," 4/6. "The Golden Rose," by Pamela Hinkson (10/6). First Whispers of "The Wind in the Willows," by Ken. neth Graham (10/-).

AIRCRAFT BOOKS FOR THE BOYS And THE AUSTRAIZAN BIRD BOOK (every boy and girl should own this charming and popular book). Excellent Value for 8/6.

For the young mother there is Truby King's "Mothercraft," 4/6. And for ALL mothers, Whitcomb and Tomb'sFamous Cookery Book, 3/6, The "Pudding"and "Salad" books, which every woman needs for handy hints. OnIv 3/6 Arecipe for every day in the year!

Children will get very excited when they see the array of stories about animals, "Rennie," for instance, by the author of "Babim" (11/6) Tcshiffiey's "A Tale of Two Horses" (13/-): "Mid

FIRST CHRISTMAS MASS IN JAPAN

(Continued from Page 21).

words -

."'This most sacred night to shine with the beauty of the true light. In the splendour of the saints, before the morning star, Ibe. got thee And suddenly there was with the angel amultitude of the heavenly host "

It was dark when ahand on his shoulder roused him. He recognised the touch,though he could not see the thin,dark face of his beloved master bent tenderly over him. He clasped the tattered gown, stiff with mud and dust,kissed the worn, bleeding feet and washed them with his tears, as Mary Magdalen had done to her Master. After all, it was to be Francis Xavier--the first Christian priest to set foot in Japan—who would say the first Christm" Mass there—the three Masses of midnight,dawn and morning.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

WANTED

Young men who wish to dedicate their lives to the work of THE FOREIGN MISSIONS!

A new Mission Seminary is being opened by the Divine Nord Fathers at Marburg, Queensland,in March, 1943. This \lission Seminary has for its express and sole purpose the education of young men who wish to dedicate their lives to the Propagation of the Faith in foreign lands, particularly in the South Seas.

Students will be accepted after successful completion of the Junior (Intermediate)Examination. _

Candidates will present testimonial letters from their Parish Priests, as well as from their School Superiors.

Young men interested in the'.Missionary Brotherhood are also urged to make inquiries.

For further particulars,write to--REV. DANIEL DRISCOLL, MISSION SEMINARY, MARBURG, QUEENSLAND.

J. NEILSON, Optician

zi.

30TEtTS

S4L,;o

•-s

,

Zhe Sacraments ... Outward Signs Which Confer Grace

Given the Right Conditions, they Act Christ Made Provision for Those Spiritually Dead

Happy Effects of Co-operating with God

Long since we learnt atour mother's knee the definition of aCatholic Sacrament contained in our Cathechism: It states that aSacrament is an outward sign of inward grace . by which grace is given to our souls. This implies something more than adevout prayer on the minister'spart—such as even aparent might fitly make for his children while blessing them at night—that God would bestow His grace.

An outward sign suggests to the mind something that is not actually seen in itself. ASacramentalrite consists of an outward ceremony perceptible to our senses,and expressing or "signifying" the particular character of the spiritual grace conveyed under its cover to the soul of the receiver . Thus, the pouring of water upon the body in Baptism suggests acleansing, and the words,"In' (really'into') the name of the Father, and of the ns which accompany the act ,

sugg est dedication or initiation. All this Sig• nifies the invisible cleansing of the soul from sin,and its consecration to the faithful service of God.

But sacramental signs do more than express grace: they effectively give it; and this of their own inherent virtue as instruments,which are principally in the hands of Christ,and secondarily in the hands of His lawful ministers, whomay themselvesbe viewed as part of the whole instrument serving the purposes of Christ. One of the definitions of Trent speaks forcibly of Sacraments as containing grace.

The sacramental effect of giving grace follows infallibly and inevitably from this correct administration unless the soul itself place in the way some insuperable hinderance to its working. Always supposing awill to receive the grace,the only possible hindrance is the neglect on the person'spart of certain indispensable conditions or spiritual dispositions. But here me mustmake no mistake.•The spiritual industries required on the part of the recipient for putting his soul into the necessary dispositions are mere conditions. In nosense do they contribute to the power belonging to the Sacra• ment itself; in no way are they partcauses of the effect produced any more than the completion of an electric circuit by pressing a button adds anything to the inherent force of the voltage stored up. This inward efficacy —which distinguishes Christian Sacra• ments from remedial rite'sin use be. fore Our Lord'acoming—is technically styled efficacy ex opere operato, on which vital term we shall often need to insist.

The truth,however, that personal spiritualeffort on our partin needed— at all events,for securing the right conditions--entirely refutes the charge of formalism occasionally made against Sacraments,as though these were re , garded by us in the light of infallible charms, acting automatically without any intelligent co-operation on our partI

The Catholic who, after long habits of sin, seeks reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance will be under no delusion as to the amount of spiritual effort required of him. Neither will the convert to Catholicism—long used to private judgment in all things— question the arduouscharacterof faith required of him for Baptism.

On the other hand, the intrinsic effi. cacy with which Christ has endowed His Sacraments prevents their being at all indebted for their virtue to our own industries. The reality of this

sacramental independence becomes clearer to us when we reflectthat those industries may be things of the past by the time the Sacrament is formed.

For it is to be noticed that,with the exception of the Eucharist, aSacra-

of their Own Inward Power

venly mark,or "character," consecrat ing the soul once and for ever, accord , ing to the particular scope of the Saclament used. Hence these three can never be really received more than once during life, though, in case of doubt as to their having originally been validly received or administtred, the rites may be lawfully repeated in conditional form as a precaution. Otherwise such attempted repetition would be sacrilege,

The Seven Sacraments, then, are deigned by Christ to produce grace in the soul, and they do this infallibly and of their own inward power alone, provided man of hisown free will puts

tively, to capital and interest. Of His free mercy God bestows upon us spiritual paupers the capital of Sanctifying Grace,which entitles us to receive periodical instalments of interest in the form odf Actual Graces for our current needs. If we use these well, notonly are these needs supplied, but fresh treasure is accumulated the while, and is laid by to increase our originalcapitalofSanctifyingGrace.

Actual Grace may be given toasoul that is not in the state of grace, else how could any one repent of his sins?

For repentance,being anecessary step towards salvation,requires grace. A hardened sinner, for instance,long absent from his religious duties, chances tohear apowerful sermon on the Passion of Our Saviour,which causes him to conceive deep shame and sorrow for having trampled underfoot the Pre. cious Blood,and is sincerely converted. Here actual grace isgivento one who had forfeited his state of sonship, and hencehadnorightatall toDivine graces. In his case it..

bestowal is an act of mercy on the part ofGod. On the otherhand,those who are in grace already have areal claim to actual graces in their trials and difficulties simplybecause they are sons ofGod.

SALE OF BOOKS,TOYS,OAlfEB, USETULOEM, etc., AT.THE MAIGA7.INE SHOP, 500 HAY STREET, (Near Irwin Street).

LENDINOLIBRARY, LOTTERY TDOIZ75 THAT WDT iPRIZES,

Through theSeven Sacraments,the infinite merits of Christs death may beappliedtoeachindividualsoul.

merit has no real existence until the time of its administration. Yet cer. tain dispositionsofsoul may havebeen procured longbefore.

The Sacraments may be classified in two way' s. Thus (0 Baptism and Penance (and, accidentally, Extreme Unction,also) are Sacraments "of the dead"-4.e.,for the spiritually dead. They supposethe soul tobe previously in astate of spiritual death through grievous sin, and are chiefly designed to raise the soul again to the life of grace.

The other Sacraments, according to their primary purpose, are called "of the living"—i.e., for the spiritually living—their object being to increase, for definite needs, the degree of spiritual vitality already existing.

(2) Again,the three Sacraments, Baptism,Confirmation,and Holy Ortiers, are unique in this: that they im press upon the soul an invisible, hea

no hindrance to their working. First of all, they either confer sanctifying grace for the first time, as in the case of Baptism;or restore it when lost by grievous sin,like the Sacrament (If Penance (or Confession): or else in. crease grace already existing in the soul, as in the case of the other five Sacraments. Moreover,, sanctifying grace thus conferred gives to the receiver aright to further actual graces when the need arises.

Notice,too, the after-fruit of making good use of graces, for we possess the dread power of resisting them. Whenever asoul cooperates with these Div ine aids, and by means of them acts virtuously,it receives,as aresult, an increase of Sanctifying Grace. Thus Actual Grace becomes like the seed of fresh habitual grace,and merit is increased in the sightofGod. To illustrate this, we might roughly compare Sanctifying and Actual Grace,respec-

CONDUCTED BY THE MARIST BROTHERS.

Itisregrettedthatnonewboyscanbeaccepted at any time during the next year, 1945.

Application for commencement in 1946 should bemade atonce. Acharacter referencefrom theParishPriestisrequired. For

Dear Cornerites,—IIere is Christmas upon us at lastl Now's the time to be looking for something on which to spendthosepenniesyouvebeenhoarding, and Ihope you don't have as much difficulty in choosing Xmas pre• sents as Aunt Bessy is having with hers.

Iam sure you all know all about Christmas(Ihopeyoudo,anyway),so I'lljust ask you to remember alittle prayer for the'Bushies'Scheme as you kneel before the Crib on Christmas Eve.

Ihaven't yetaddedup the total for thedund, and thereis still afortnight left before Iwill attempt it, but I'm sure alot can happen before then. (Oh, dear, Iwish the Wet Blanket wouldn't snigger like that! She is a trialI) ButiftheCorneritescontinue to rally roundasthey have this week Ihave no doubt that everything will turn out alright in the end. Anyway, here's hopingl And before Igo Imustwishyouallavery,veryhappy Christmas.

AUNT BESSY. Armadale.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Enclosed please find f3, in honourofthe SacredMeart. Wishing your Corner agreat success, THANKFUL.

Dear Thankful,—You can't be half as thankful as Iam that everyone is rallying to the Cause so generously. Thank you everso much for your donation. That's 13 nearer to the'Ob• jective we are. and I think maybe we'll get there after all if everyone is as good to the Bushies as yourself.

AUNT BESSY.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—For the Busbies. N. WALSH.

Dear N.,—It never rains but it pours, they say. Here are two "fivers" in one day,and then this on top of them. How grateful we are can only be guessed.

AUNT BESSYY.

r • •

29 York-road, Northam.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—I am returning thiscardandthe2/6. Iwouldliketo get in touch with Yvonne Ferris, of Bunbury. Isee by "The Record" that she isinthe Legion ofMary and wantsapenfriend. Iam also in the LegionofMaryhere,andwouldliketo correspond with her. We have only two weeks to go to school. We will be gettingsix weeks' holiday's, part of which timeIhope to beat the beach. We are all sorry to lose Father Brennan, who is going away on Friday. Well, Aunt Bessy,Ithink Iwill close now, because it is time to go to bed. Hoping it is nice and cool in Perth, asit getsveryhotup here sometimes. —Your loving niece, ELLEN ROWLES.

Dear Ellen,—Thank you for filling the card. You deserve apat on the back forthat, Ellen. Iexpect Yvonne will see your letter, and as your address is on the top she can write directly to you. By the time you read this your school will have broken up, Iexpect, and holidays begun. You are alucky little girl, Ellen, to be abletospendsomeofyourtime atthe beach. There are many little chil. dren who wouldlove to be able to do •that, but cannot. You won't mind the hot weather then, will you? I canassureyou,though, that Perth has itsfairshareofhotdays.

AUNTBESSY.

s

•

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Enclosed please find 2/6 for the Bushies, in honour of St. Anthony, I'm praying to him foraveryspecialfavour.Willyou say

Lemonade Bottle

WIMOWLIMID WrZff TR&W >S i s.

Thankful....••

.,.THERUSHIESCORXER

aprayerthatitwillbegranted,please?

It's along time since Ilast wrote to you, but I've not forgotten you and wish you and the Bushies' Scheme every success.—Yours sincerely, BILL.

Dear hill,—Iknew you wouldn't let 1944 go by without dropping me a note. I'm very glad St. Anthony

Tarin Rock.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Enclosed please find postal note for 10s. Please pay the Editor for the undermentioned In Memoriam notice, and the balance for the Bushies.—Yours faithfully, WELLWISHER.

Dear Wellwisher,—I fixed up with the Editor, and he allowed me6s. for

...... 3 0

No Name 10

Two Friends............ 10

Marie Blanche's Grandma 10

Parishioner of Queen's Park 10

The OldGreyCat........ 10

Wellwisher .... ...... .. .. 6

Joan Hannan ...... .. .. .. 2

Bill..........••

...... 2

Optimist...... 2

Ellen Rowles............ 2

Joan Allen ........ .. 2

"YoushallfindHimwrappedinswaddlingclothesandWillisaManger." pushed you into doing it, and I shouldn't wonder that you'll get your specialfavourverysoon. It won't be ourfaultifyoudon'tanyway. AUNT BESSY.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Please find en. closed 10s, in honour of the Sacred Heart,Our Blessed Lady, and St. Jos. eph. Iam still praying hard for my intention, and might Iheg another prayer from you?

A PARISHIONER OF QUEEN'S

PARK.

DearParishioner,--Ifearing from you is like another ray- of sunshine added to my day. (I've had alot of sunshine showered on me this week.) I thinkthe Bushnes havecome toknow you well now, for your continued generosity, and Ishall ask them to add their prayers to mine that your re• quesst may be granted.

AUNTBESSY.

Dear Aunt Bessy.—Please find en closed 216. From OPTIMIST.

Dear Optimist,—Thanks, and I'm so glad you're an optimist—they're so scarce these days. AUNTBESSY.

Dear B. E. D.,—Iwill certainly find time to say aprayer for you, and I must thank you, too, for your done' tion. Iexpect you are finding Northam ahotplacethesedays,butthat's oneof the firstingredientsforan Australian Christmas, isn't it?

AUNT BESSY.

• •

Perth.,

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Please find donation for the Bushie s

. Wishing you every success, A. H.

Dear A. H.,—Phew1Your donation makes me thinkofthe daysofplenty beforethenear,when "fiver;"werejust alittle more abundant than they are now. Idon'tknowhow Icanthank You enough, but perhaps the Bushies' gratitude will do that.

AUNT BESSY.

IClydesdale-street, Victoria Park.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Enclosed herewith 10s. for the Bushies. With love andbest wishe's to themall. From "MARIE BLANCHE'S" GRANDMA, Dear Afarie Blanche's Grandma;--I can only say that Marie Blanche is a very lucky little girl indeed to have such alovelyGrandma,for,ifyou are so kind to the little Busby children, you must be even better to Marie Blanche. AUNT BESSY.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—A little birthday giftfortheChristChild,bywayofthe Bushies. Ihope you will reach this year'sObjective.—Yourssincerely, NO NAME.

Dear No Name,—Iam really very much in yourdebt,and Icansay that ifwedon'treachtheObjectiveitwon't be from lack of assistance from yourself. Many thanks for your help during the whole year.

AUNT BESSY.

Dear Aunt Bessy,The enclosed donation is for the Bushies, and Ihope that your year'sappealwillbesuccessful. It seems such atrial to me to get aletterwritten that I will take this opportunity of wishing you a happy Xmas and bright and prosperousnewyear.—Yourssincerely,

H. E. W.

Dear H. E. W.,—Are you popular with the Bushies? I'll say you are! You have capped yourgenerosity duringtheyearwith thisgestureoffriendship, and you will not be forgotten

in the Bushies' prayers. May yourChristmas be as happy as you deserve.

AUNTBESSY.

29 York-street, Northam.

the Bushies, for which Ithank you very much, A merry Christmas to you all atTarin Rock. AUNTBESSY.

80 Tate-street, Leederville.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—This is the sec• ond time Ihave written to you. I will be five in February. There are seven inourfamily, twotoys andfive girls. My aunty is giving me some stamps to send to you.—Your loving niece, PAULINE CHEGWIDDEN.

D-

ar Pauline,—Your big bag of stampsarrived with yourletter,andit was very nice of Aunty to give them to you. For alittle girl who is not yetfive,Youwrite and spellvery well, Pauline. Imust mention that to FatherChristmas when he's going round your way.

AUNT BESSY, Northam.

Dear Aunt Bessy,—Please find enclosed P.N. for ICs., w; asmall donationtoyourfund. Wishingyouevery success. If you can find time, say a wee prayer for my intention—Yours faithfully, B.E.D.

This is my first letter to you. I am Ellen's brother Tony, and am ten years old. Iam in the third stand• and at school, and am also an altar boy. When Iwas atiny baby you wrote me avery nice verse about me in "The Record," Do you remerrf• her it? Mum does. Ifyousend mea card Iwill fill it in for you much quicker thanEllendid. Wewillsoon have holidays, and Ihope we go to Fremantle,asIliketheseatoswimin. My full name is GeorgeAnthony, but Iam called"Tony:"—Your would-be nephew,

TONY ROWLES.

Dear Tony,—

Ten years ago ayoung baby, Awee little chapwithagrin, Thought the Cornerwithouthim in it Was nothing shortof asin.

So he notified Aunt Bessy, And no sooner said than done, She had another nephew, Who hadn't yet reached one. But now he's grown so much, And he'sastrappinglad, AndwhenhewritestoAunty, It makes her very glad.

Of course, Tony, my "poetry" has gone off considerablysinceyouwere a baby, m your mother will doubtless remember. Iwill postyouacard just to see if you are any quicker than Ellen. Ihopeyouhaveaniceholiday at the sea this year.

AUNT

you.

Feltisanotherexcitingmedium that offers unlimited scope for your ingenuity. It is on sale in Foy's HomecraftSection in many lovely colours. Here is agrand opportunity for you to save money by making your own Christmas giftsthis year.

It had rained heavily all day, and the camp was completely flooded. Goinghisround;justbefore"Lights Oc'," the sergeant caught two of the men washing in the floodwater.

"What do you think you fellows are doing?" he bawledtothem. Hisvoice broughtanofficeronthe scene.

"What's the trouble, sergeant?" he asked,

"Why, these dirty beggars are washing themselvesin the water they're going to sleep in!" was the disgusted reply.

# 4 R

Two sailorswentintoaboxingbooth where f5 was being offered to anyone standingup tothe professional pugfor three rounds. One of the sailors vol. unteered to enter, with his companion as his second. At the end of two roundsthesailorwasbadlybruisedand bleeding and very disinclined to continue thebout.

"Don't be silly," said his pal. "Ile hasn't laid afinger on you, yet."

"Well, watch the referee, then," the s^ilorsaidgloomily,"because I'mcatching it from somewhere"

The young wifegreeted her hushand affectionately when he returned from the office.

"Poor darling!" she said."You mnsl he tired and hungry. Would you like some nice soup, followed by nice tender chops with golden-brown potatoes and green peas, and then mushrooms on toast?"

"No, darling," her husband answered firmly;"let's save the money and eat at home."

Bobby and Billy Jones were being interviewed by their new headmaster, who, finding that they were born on thesamedayand in the same year,remarked smilingly:

"Oh, so you are twins?"

"Oh,no,sir,we're not twins!" Bobby said firmly.

"But people horn on the same day and in thesameyear are alwayscalled twins," the headmaster explained.

"But we're not twins," persisted filly,"we're what's left of triplets"

A well-known film star, having just ompleted the ceremony of opening a bazaar, was talking vivaciously to an engrossed circle of reporters when a Cockney kid pushedhis way through them with an autograph book in his hand.

"Sign yer name, please, miss," he said persuasively.

"Sorry," snapped the star. "Ican't signmy namejustyet,"

"Oh, never mind!" said the M. "If your can't write, put across."

* * *

After the christening the vicar complimented the parentson the fact that their babydid notcryduring the ceremony.

"Well, you see," explained the proud mother, "we've been getting him used to it with awatering-c;,n."

*

The medical officer felt that he was getting evasive answers from the new recruit, who seemed uncertain what illnesses he had suffered from in the past.

At least you can tell me the heavi. est you have ever weighed?" the M.O. said testily.

"Twelve and ahalf stone," the recruit answered.

"And the lightest?" snapped hark the M.O.

Without blinking an eye-lid the re cruit replied:

"Seven pounds, sir:"

Thewifelooked furiously at her palefaced husband.

"If sitting with your back to the engine made you feel sick, why didn't yrnr ask someone tochange placeswith you?"

"Because there wasn't anybody else in the carriage to ask," he said helplessly,

* *

A stout lady, walking through the park on avery hot afternoon, became aware that she was being followed by asmall boy.

"Whatdo youmean by following me about in this manner?" she said crossly, "If you don't go away at once I shall call apoliceman."

"Oh, please, don't do that, missl" the little boy said appealingly."You're theonlyshadyspotin the wholepark."

Smile a'While

Teacher: "Now, Tommy, suppose your mother gave you five shillings and told you to go and fetchgroceries worth three and twopence. How much change would you take home?"

Tommy: "None at all."

"Nonsense.

"But, teacher, mother owes the gro. ,er so much that he would keep the thange to pay off the bill."

Because the school was situated beside abusy road atraffic policeman was posted at certain hours to take the children across the road safety One day the policeman on duty was engrossed in conversation with apal whilst two small boys waited impali• entlyfor the•word to go. At last one ofthemcouldbear thedelaynolonger, "Hi! What about it, mister?" he said, polling the policemaq's sleeve. Weve got work to do!"

The business man sank wearily into his armchair.

"You look very tired,dear," said his wife. "Have you had a very hard day at the office?"

"Not exactly,' he answered; "but when my offi;e boy came in with the old story ofgoing to his grandmother's funeral, Idecided to teach him ales•on and accompany him."

"And, of course, you found it was a football match?"

"No such luck—it WAS his grandn,

other's funeral."

The National Fire Service men were rleaning out astatic water tank and removing the various old tin cans and rubbish.

'Well I'm blessed!' one of the men said suddenly."It's bad enough throwing abathchairin here,but they might have takenout the old man first!"

All through theafternoon the stationmaster could hear the woman porter laughing as she moved about the platform, and at last he decided he really must go and find out the cause of her merriment.

"Well, I'm laughingatJoe loadingup all those enormous packing cases in that truck over there," she explained.

"There's nothing to laugh at in that," reproved thestationmaster,"It's avery hard and tiring lob."

"I know,"saidthewoman,stilllaughing,"and he's put them all in the wrong truck."

*

The woman in the toy-floor flat signalled for asack of coal,and the coal. mantoiledlabouriouslyupmanyflights ofstairs with hisburden.

"Since you are going down empty," shesaid,perhapsyou wouldtakedown mydustbin," asuggestion towhichthe coalman gave an unwillingassent.

"And there's abig box here full of rubbish, too. Perhaps you wouldn't mind--"

"Not at all, missus," intervened the coalman. "Iwas wonderin,too, if you had abrush with along handle which Icould tie to my waistand I'd brushyourstairs for youaswellonmy way down." * * *

The vicar asked one of his parish. ioners to help him in his visiting work.

"Oh, vest" said she,"fshould be de. lighted."

"!Fell," said the vicar,"call and see poor old Macdonald; he's just lost his wife. Try to cheer him up abit."

So thegood woman calledand found the old man sitting in his armchair with half abottle of whisky on the table and aglassbeside it.

"Is that the only consolation you've got?" she asked, pointing to the whisky.

"No, ma'am—I've got three more bottles on the shelf."

*

* R

It is the custom of a shipbuilding firm to allow acertain number of apprentices to leave the yard at 4.30 insteadof five o'clock for the purpose of attending evening classes. One night aburly riveter, not having apass out and wanting to be away earlier, over. heard the boys calling to the gateman, as they passed out, "Night school."

"You—you what?" asked the astonished gatekeeper.

"Night school," answered the riveter.

"Aye, Iknow it is," said the gateman, "but ifitwas half ascool as you it would be darned cold."

"Come. come, my man, you've been looking round here for along time withoutbuying anything. What is it you want?"

"Guess Iwant another shopwalker. I'm the new ownerofthis place."

# R *

'Erb's mother and father went down into the country the other Sunday to see how he was getting on after his evacuation. He met them at thestation.

"Wotcher, 'Erb! You do look a toff!"saidhismother. "'Ow arethey looking arter you where yer living?"

"Great, mom," said'Erb gleefully. "The lady's ever so good to me. She boughtmethissuitand don'tarfmake afusso' me. Treatsme like agentleman. Won't letme do nothing. Why. mom, Idon't even 'ave to tell the landlord she ain't in!"

# # R

:bike got the task of carrying some kegs of gunpowder from the beachhead to an inland depot. The corporal found him idling along, keg over his shoulder and calmly smokingacigarette.

"Hey, you so-and-so," shouted the corporal. "Do you know what happened to the last man who smoked while at this task? Well, there was an explosion that blew up a dozen men."

Mike (coolly):"Well, that's all right, it couldn't happen now."'

Corporal:"And whynot?"

Mike: "Well, theresonly you and me 'ere."

Acity girlspent a farming holiday, during which time the young farmer fell very much in love with her. Taking her for awalk one evening he pointed out to her acow and her calf rubbing noses in affectionate fashion.

"Ah!" sighed the farmer. "That makes me want to do the same."

"Well. why don't you?" said the girl calmly. "It's your cow,isn'tit?"

* #

The after-dinner speaker droned on andon,gettingdullerandduller. One of theguestsbegantonod, untilfinally hishead rested onthe table.

The chairman leantover and tapped theman onthe headwithhismallet.

The delinquent raised his head, with asigh. "Hit me harder," he begged. "I can still hear him."

* # R

"Have you," asked the judge, "anything to say before Ipass sentence on you?"

"Most asuredly Ihave, me lud," replied the prisoner. "Idesire to take' this opportunity of stating without reserve or circumlo:ution that in my opinion the penalty imposed upon me by this courtshouldheinkeeping with or as it were commensurate with my station in life, which hitherto hasbeen oneofno inconsiderableimportance."

"Well," repliedthejudge dryly,"you certainly seemtohavealikingforlong sentences. Ten years."

t # M

"Yes," said the mountain climber, "I always keep arope tied round my waist. It hassavedmylifemore than once."

"But," broke inalistener,"itmustbe awful tobelefthangingfromthatrope. Didn't you feel nervous?"

"Well, not exactly nervous," came the reply,"just highly strung, that's # # #

After avery thorough examination the Army doctor eyed the tall and very thin recruit in silence.

"Well, doctor," said the recruit at last,"how do Istand?"

"Goodness knows," replied the doctor,"it's amiracle."

* # R

A young girl, member of the American Forces and newly arrived in England, was determined not to show fright during her first air raid. Going down to the hall porter in her hotel,she asked him for aglass of water. When, however,she had been down tohim threetimeswiththesame request,he felt impelled to ask her what she wanted the water for.

"Say, Iknow you'll scream when I tell you," she said, laughing,"but I'm trying to put out an incendiary in my bedroom."

After watching the cross-eyed but. cher cutting up the carcasses, the new boy assistant edged towards the door, "I say," he asked the butcher, "do you strike where you're looking?"

"Certainly,Ido,"replied thebutcher.

"In that case you can hold the beef yourself"answered the boy. "I'm offl"

* R R

"Johnny, if Igave you two rabbits to-day, and in six months Igave you another one," the teacher asked, "how many rabbits would you have then?"

"About ten," Johnny answered.

"Wrong--quite wrong, Johnny. You don't know yourarithmetic."

"And Idon't think you know rabbits," Johnny answered.

4. R #

As the porter randown the steps of the club toopen the doorof acar, he tripped and rolled down the last three or four steps.

The manager, watching from the entrance, called out angrily: "For heaven's sake, be more careful, man— they'll think that you're one of the members."

• # R

A parson had occasion to reprove a small boy for swearing.

"Say 'bother,"' he said. "If your father was working in the garden and suddenly stepped hack on to a rake whichflew upandhithimfrom behind --what would he say?"

"He'd say:'You're back early, my dear.'"

"People Are the OnlySubstantial Assets in Any Country"

Lord Mayor Urges Natural Increase to Save Australia

Attracting the Immigrant By Decent

Living Conditions

Welcoming the War Orphans aDuty to the Dead

The following is abroadcast deliveredonDecember4bytheLordMayor, Dr.T.W.Meagher, inhis capacity as President df the Migration Advisory Council:— Australia possesses ahuge area of fertileland capable of producing ehormous quantitnes of foodand raw materials. Her mineralwealth is as yet practically untouched. Forests ofdesirable wood are yet tobe cut, and afforestation goes on apace.

This country with such natural wealthisendowedwithaclimatemost suitable for the development of man, and so it Nlogical toassume thatbefore the end of the century our island continent will have apopulation to he counted in tens of millions.

With our present population of seven millions, which by natural in• crease we are told will reach amaximum Ofnine millions,we cannot hope

to hold this country. Inevitably more people must eventually come here, and itisforus now todecide andde. termine of whom the future population of Australia shall be composed.

Australia'sPrime Ministerofthelast worldwar,Mr. William MorrisHughes, in hisforthrightmanner,recently stated:"Liberty is the heritage of thevaliant and the strong. People are the only substantial assets in any country —notits natural resources,or itsgreat industrial enterprises. As long as there are sufficient people inhabiting thi's country, and their character does not degenerate, we shall emerge from any struggle triumphant, otherwise we shall be speedily and surely pushed out by amore virile race."

Allare agreedthat the mostefficacious and desirable manner of increas ingthenumberofourpeoplesisbyincreasing our birth-rate, and so by

"qoodwilCand Trosper(tv°.. •

Ahern's "Goodwill' Message to their many. Customer-Friends is: "Prosperity."

Let us all, then, make our New Year Resolutionone that will ensure every assistance to aid the Nation's War Effort—and so hurry the ever closer Victory which will bringits"Prosperity."

AHERN'S NAY AND MURRAY STREETS

treatourownsoldiersandthemothers of our own children, will influence greatly thosewewish toattract toour country. It is not going to be easy toget migrants Irom Europe, asmost European nations, including, unfor. tunately;Great Britain, have adeclim ingbirth-rateandhavelostmanyvaluablelivesduring the presentwar.

All Government appreciate now as never before the value of manpower, and we can accept as afact that in post-war Europe living conditions are gong to be such that people will not readily leave their own native land, with its friends and known custom's, tojourney thousands ofmiles tostart life anew in Australia.

DR. T. W.MEAGHER.

naturaland worthymeans bring many more young Australians into Australia. However, we must face the sad fact that before the war our birthrate was steadily declining, and with theproportion ofyoungpeople becoming progressively less, the time was surely approaching when the number of births would not be large enough tokeep ourpopulationstationery.

\lanyadvancesofasocialandeconomic nature havebeen suggested to increase our birth-rate. Amongst them are improved ante-natal and postnatal clinics, better and cheaper maternity hospitals, accessible infant health clinics, more kindergartens and help in the home for mothers with many children, assurances that the mother shall have the opportunity of regular holidaysand security from financial worry, marriage loans, taxation rebates, child endowment, and incur* ance against sickness and unemplovment. With all these,andmany other sug• gested reforms, Iagree, and believe that if every married couple were to possess ahome of their own, as they havearightto,andasdo the birds of theair, and were toinculcate into our people arespect'for Motherhood, our birth-rate would increase, because the Britisher loves his home and his children. He cherishes with pride the British way oflife. Our Nation's glorious history it dear to him, and he wishes to see perpetuated all that successive generationsofour race haveso unselfishly workedforinpeace or valiantly died for in war.

We are assured that it is the Gov ernment's intention to frame avigorous policy of migration as soon as practicable. Itisimperativethatthis policy should come into operation as soon as possible, and be on as large a scale as practicable because many parts of our Empire, and alien Mulltries, too,willbevery interested in securingmigrantsinthe post-war period

The Acting Prime Minister recently stated intheHouseofRepresentatives, "History will some day reveal how close Australia was to being over-run. DivineProvidencewasonourside.We might not be given another chance. The cost of this war and the cost of future defence schemes for this coun. try must be borne by agreatly increased population. While everything possible shouldbedoneto increase the birthrate, we must also be realists in regard to the necessity for ascientific migration policy. Whatever our preconceived ideas were, we must guard against arepetition of the mistakes made on migrationafter the last war, bearing in mind that our primary re sponsibility is the rehabilitation of ex. service menandwomen and warwork. ers. Butwe can do this in addition to carrying out amigration policy. Migration isofprime importance to Australia,butthemanner in which we

In this God-blessed land of plenty we mustmakeliving conditions such that peoples from other countries will beanxioustocomeandshareourgood fortune. Let us be able to demon. stratetothe worldourexcellentliving conditions, so that our mode of life andthe natural wealth of our country maybe themagnetwhichattractsour future migrants. But in no manner letusenterintoapolicythatmaybeg, bribe, or coerce foreigner's to settle in Australia.

Those who come to our country mustbesound inmindandbody. A rigidsystemofsupervisioninthecoun• tryoforigin byahighlyqualifiedAustralian must exclude the derelict or possible misfit. Our newcomers must of an age so that they can reproduce, and come preferably from a country whose birth-rate is high. Those from the rural areas arepreferable,for urbanlifeisnotconducive to large families. Whenever possible, and on as large ascale as possible, let us encourage child migration.

ThisIconsiderthebethesurestway of increasing our population with youngcitizens whowill themselves develop into good loyal Australians, and by inter-marriage produce virile inhabitantsfor our nation.

TheyoungBritisherorforeigner will learnearly the customsof thecountry andgrow tomanhood like our own glorious Australian youth, with big broad minds full of initiative and imbuedwiththeproperspiritof thevast possibilities of this country.

Young migrants to the country becomeacclimatisedand acquire the proper Australian outlook muh more quickly thanadults, who tend tokeep to their own nationals, and ifpossible form colonies, whereat the child meets Australian children of his own age at school and quickly talks of the same interests and plays the same games. Thus they become Australians.

[before the war agroup of 150 British boys were brought into Western Australia. As the Honorary Medical Officerofthe Institutionwhichsheltered them, Inoticed how quickly they imbued the spirit of Young Australia, and withpride heard them state what agreat country Australia was, and how fortunate they were to be here. I recently spoke to the Christian gentleman whohadchargeoftheseboys.He is aman known and respected right throughout our vast State, and with justifiable pride. and the happy light ofachievement inhiseyes, hetold me thattherehadnotbeenafailureinthe lot.He told me how some had passed their junior and Leaving Examinations, some had gone to the Univer. sity, some to trades,some tobusiness, andsometoSarms,andrightlyclaimed thatAustraliawasmuchthe richer for their coming. May we have tens of thousands of such youths. What greater love could weshowtothewarorphansofEurope, and whatgreaterrespect totheirdead parent's, than to share our country with these youths whose lives hav% beenupset by thehorrorsofwar.

With them let us develop this land thatwemaysoadvanceAustraliathat shemaytakeherrightfulplaceamongstthe great nations of ourEmpire,be abulwark of Democracy,and perpetuate for ever the British way of life.

"Meet

FREEMASONSHOTEL,

Reconditioned and Refurnished New Lounge, Dining Rooms, and Commercial Rooms. ARTHUR BOYLAN,Proprietor. (Late George Hotel, Perth).

GOLDTIELDS.

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KEOUGH'Sfor CATERING AnyNumber,Place,orTime. ThreeReceptionRoomsforHIM On Hire:Crockery,Cutlery and Glassware,etc.'Phone:B0454. GLAD KEOUGH. NEWCASTLE ST., PERTH.

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