ALL SORTS

By Fr. Bernard Basset, S.J.
The Kings FiRsiparagraph this week must
go to the Kings. 1 hey made a much longer journey than the shepherds. suffered greater inconvenience and arrived late. Alone among the thousands who came to Our Lord they brought presents without being told. Somehow they were rewarded for their long trek in a few minutes and it would be impossible to picture them grumbling on the way home. They should be the patron saints of many modern converts and of Holy Year pilgrims preparing to set out for Rome.
Fellow-Travellers v. HEN last heard of, our
fellow travellers were making contact with each other and making plans. An offer has now come from a busy man who suggests, tentatively, a pilgrimage to Rome in his large van. It is not an ordinary van and could be made very comfortable, so don't worry about that. Conditions for the arils would be: 1. It must be made in late October or November.
2. It must be a pilgrimage rather than an excursion.
3. Costs will be kept down to the minimum.
4. Each person will pay his or her own share.
If you can take your holiday at that time of year and are interested. write to me at Loyola Hall, Rainhill, near Liverpool. There should be room for about ten people, details in due course, Father George THROUGH God's Under ground, by Father George has already been mentioned in these columns and it is a book which every cell and action group should read and recommend. At one time rumour from America threw some doubt on Fr. George's credentials but the English publishers, Hollis and Carter, have looked into all that. Father George has to write with a certain obscurity as to names and places but he is vouched for by Cardinal Tisserant. Mgr. Felton Sheen, Fr. La Farge. the former editor of America and many other eminent men. It still seems a Pity that no such statement appeared in the English edition.
Many Thanks THE competition results should appear next week. Our Lady's Catechists beg me to thank the
anonymous donors of many Annuals which were of great use. Now is the time to start saving these volumes for next year's Christmas party.
Saturday Reflection wE so often complain that the Church is sensationalised by the newspapers. If a priest blesses dogs or wins a pool, if a nun jumps over the convent wall, or roses preserve their freshness then we get headlines in the Press. Our grouse must be that Our Lord and His teaching finds no room among the sensations of the day. Yet the papers, or some of them, do make some effort as may be seen in the Saturday Reflections published weekly in the London Evening News. I have no shares in the paper and no other reason to boost it save that I have been reading these Saturday Reflections for some time. The correspondent, whoever he be, provides excellent spiritual reading for the bus. If you like it too, you might recommend it and even thank the editor, for it takes courage to give the Son of God three columns and a half on a Saturday night.
The Memorare IVleast two bishops have ordered the Memorare at Benediction for our schools. Their action has brought to light the fact that there is no agreed version of this beautiful prayer. While some say Gracious" others prefer "Loving"; one row " sighs oat its sins before thee another row stands " sinful and sorrowful." This cnnfusion could be corrected by the assistance of the Press. In the meantime it is worth noting that when a priest gives every penitent Three Hail Manes, it isn't just laziness on his part; he cannot be sure that penitents know any other prayer.
Three Hail Maries THE story was told during the
war of an R.A.F. chaplain who had to appear before the Commanding Officer for some disciplinary offence. That the C.O. was an exemplary Catholic made the chaplain's position more painful and he came before the great man with some alarm. The C.O. looking very severe was
writing at his desk. " Father," he said without raising his eyes, " it is nice to have you on the wrong side of the grill for once; go to the chapel, will you, and say Three Hail Manes."