Father Bridgett has given in his appendix “a summary of the principal Catholic organizations which have lately been set on foot in these countries” (England, Ireland, and Scotland). Some of these organizations include partial abstinence in their rules. Another society is mentioned as existing in some parts of Germany, and approved by His Holiness Pius IX. and enriched with indulgences. The members of this last promise total abstinence from distilled liquors, and sobriety in the use of fermented drinks.
We hope this labor of love from the pen of Father Bridgett will have the circulation it deserves.
Spirit Invocations; or, Prayers and Praises publicly offered at the Banner of Light circle-room free meetings by more than one hundred different spirits, of various nationalities and religions, through the vocal organs of the late Mrs. J. H. Conant. Compiled by Allen Putnam, A.M., author of Bible Marvel-Workers, Natty: a Spirit, etc. Boston: Colby & Rich. 1876.
Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat would be an appropriate motto for this hodge-podge of nonsense and lunacy. Imagine a sane man being called on to believe that he is listening to prayers offered by the spirits of Tom Paine and Cardinal Cheverus through the same set of “vocal organs”! It is evident that the “prayers” were all ground from one mill, as there is the utmost sameness pervading them. Tom Paine condescending to come down from the pedestal of his celestial greatness, and praying with unctuous fervor to the God he blasphemed on earth, is a spectacle highly refreshing; but more astonishing still is it to find him surpass Father de Smet and Cardinal Cheverus in the ecstatic intensity of a mystical devotion. “We pray not for more blessings,” exclaims the pious Thomas; “we only pray that we may appreciate those already received; and when we lift up our souls in prayer, asking that thy kingdom may come on the earth, we do but ask that thy children in mortal may know themselves and their relations to thee.”
It is evident that the author of the Age of Reason has materially changed his “spirit” since he exuviated his mortal coil, or perhaps he has deftly substituted that of Mr. Putnam, A.M., for his own. This, we rather suspect, is the case. Theodore Parker, too, has been to camp-meeting up above; for a great change has come over the “spirit” of the frigid founder of New England transcendentalism. He prays with a vim that no leader of a revival at Sea Cliff or Sing Sing could ever hope to emulate, and appears shamefully unlike the Rev. O. B. Frothingham’s ideal of a hero. Some of the prayers are quite touching, and sound as if they had been pilfered from Catholic books of devotion.
Known too Late. By the author of Tyborne, Irish Homes and Irish Hearts, etc., etc. Baltimore: Kelly, Piet & Co. 1877.
This little volume bears the impress of patient and painstaking care. The author is the happy possessor of a pure and pleasant style, and yet throws off nothing carelessly, as too many with facile pens are disposed to do. The narrative is done in subdued colors, and nowhere is good taste shocked by the utterance of extravagant or whimsical sentiments.
The plot of the story unfolds itself quite naturally, and, though the dénoûment is a hard one to bring about, it is done so ingeniously as not to appear at all violent. We can conscientiously say of this little book that it is a shade in advance of Catholic stories generally and is well deserving a perusal.
The Paradise of the Christian Soul. By James Merlo Herstius, of the Church of the B. Virgin Mary in Pasculo Pastoris, at Cologne. A new and complete translation. By lawful authority. London: Burns & Oates. (For sale by The Catholic Publication Society.)
A most complete manual of prayer for ordinary use. One cannot tire of it. The present edition is illustrated; but the illustrations might easily have been improved.