of necessity occur in verbatim reports of lectures which the speaker intended for the ear and not for the eye, for the hearer rather than for the reader. For the notes and references I alone am responsible. These, be it said, are essentially popular lectures. Consequently, the more recondite aspects of the profound subject, set forth with such lucidity, are but slightly touched on. Moreover, the lectures, when delivered, were limited to time, and, therefore, make no claim to be exhaustive. Nor, as the speak er's object was exposition and not controversy, does he directly and formally attempt to confute the usual host of Protestant objections, though to a thoughtful mind the exposition itself will easily suggest satisfactory answers. The appearance of these lectures in book form will, I hope, prove acceptable to the public at large. Those especially who listened to them at the time of their delivery-whether in the North or in the South, for they have been often repeated-and who can remember the interest they excited, and the favor with which they were received, will doubtless be glad to have them in this permanent form, and will find the private perusal of only less utility than was the public hearing of them. Our Holy Father has insisted much of late on the obvious, but too much neglected, duty of Christians to make better acquaintance with the essential dogmas of the Faith. A little volume like the present makes it possible for the busiest and least instructed to gain clear ideas concerning this vital mystery of religion-the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Nor will the professional student find that the lecturer has failed to provide him-without, at the same time mystifying readers of the more popular type-with ample matter for reflection. Thus to crystallize into popular form Catholic doctrine-philosophy, dogma and theology-concerning the Holy Eucharist, in these days when this mystery of religion is by the erudite and by the man in the street so largely misunderstood, and so widely misrepresented, is certainly a boon. These lectures, unmarred by a single unkind word about opponents, march uncompromisingly to the fulfillment, from promise to performance, from doctrine to dogma, from dogma to devotion. For from the mists of ancient prophecy they manuduct us into the full light of Christian fulfillment; from the red altar-stone of the typical Jewish sacrifice they lead us to the foot of the bloodless altar of the Immolated God, to that Emmanuel in Whom the types of old find their verification. CONTENTS. The Old Testament Prophecies of the Mass. Christ's Promise of the Eucharist, II. Christ's Institution of the Eucharist, I. Christ's Institution of the Eucharist, II. St. Paul's Testimony: The Eucharist as an Institution in the Early Church. Transubstantiation. Lecture VIII. What Transubstantiation Is. Lecture XII. Lecture XIII. Lecture XIV. Testimonies of the Early Fathers to Transubstanti- The Early Fathers on the Eucharist. Lecture XV. The Sacrament of Love. Lecture XVI. The Four Manifestations of God in Man. LECTURES, CONTROVERSIAL AND DEVOTIONAL. By Father Malachy, C. P. First Edition. 16mo., pp. 218. M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd., Dublin; Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago. These lectures are right in line with the work of those who are engaged in giving missions to non-Catholics in this country at the present time, and they could be used in their entirety by any preacher or lecturer addressing a non-Catholic or mixed congregation. If they are somewhat more rigorous than our needs demand, it is because greater vigor was required in Protestant Belfast, where they were originally delivered. But they lose nothing by that, and we prefer rather too much heat in matters of this kind than too little. The author's statement of his purpose is interesting, and the index will serve as a guide to the engineer. "In the discharge of my priestly duties I have from time to time delivered in our Church of Holy Cross, Belfast, short courses of controversial and devotional lectures. They were, as a rule, hastily prepared, and my aim was to adapt them to the necessities of time and place, and treat the subjects in such a simple manner as to be easily intelligible to the most unskillful minds. "Any one acquainted with the social conditions under which our Catholic people live in this city will readily understand that religious controversies are forced upon them with persistence in every walk of life. Almost every subject-social, commercial, political and industrial is looked at from a sectarian standpoint; and, as a consequence, religion is dragged into all the ordinary details of life. "Every fair-minded person will be obliged to admit that Catholics are not the aggressors in this polemical arena. The discussion of religious topics, of a controversial nature, in public works and at street corners is more likely to engender bitterness than to promote the real interests of religion. And, knowing this unfortunate tendency, Catholics, as a rule, abstain from introducing these debatable questions, not from any conviction of the weakness of their cause, but from a desire of avoiding discussions which have usually no other effect than to provoke excitement and mutual recriminations. "But it is hard to remain silent under provocation, especially when a person is passionately devoted to his religious beliefs. Moreover, in such circumstances, however distasteful the task may be, it becomes a duty for priests, at least occasionally, to deal with those debatable questions and expose the calumnies and fallacies invented by the enemies of the Church in order to undermine the "It was a sense of this obligation that induced me to deliver INDEX. I. On the Necessity of Belonging to the True Church. III. Whether the Effects of Protestantism Proclaim Her to IV. Whether There Be upon Earth an Infallible Guide to V. Credentials of the Catholic Church. LECTURES ON CATHOLIC BELIEF. VI. The Supremacy of the Pope. VIII. "The Worship of the Virgin." IX. The Holy Eucharist. X. The Sacrifice of the New Law. XI. Christian Marriage. XII. The Modern Heresy. LECTURES ON THE LIFE OF OUR SAVIOUR. XIII. Jesus, Our Model. XIV. His Love. XV. His Zeal. XVI. His Gentleness. A MANUAL OF BIBLE HISTORY. I. The Old Testament. By Charles Hart, The main object aimed at in compiling this work has been to so much of the Sacred Text into your narrative. I think it such an advantage that we should become as familiar as possible, even from our youngest years, with every word of inspired writings; and as we cannot put Bibles into the hands of young people, such a book as the one you have written will prove of the greatest advantage. "From long experience gained in teaching Bible History, the author has always found that it has been well-nigh a hopeless task for the student to secure from the text-books in general use a clear grasp of the historical facts connected with the separate kingdoms of Juda and Israel, as they overlap to such a degree as to render the difficulty perplexing. To make this part of the work more simple and clear, the affairs of the rival kingdoms have been arranged, as far as possible, in alternate chapters, so that contemporary events will be found to run parallel; and thus the student while engaged in one particular kingdom, will have knowledge of what was at the same time being enacted in the other. As it is intended that the work may serve as a useful aid to the study of the Bible, specially printed maps have been added, with the names according to the Vulgate spelling, and a classification of all books of the Old Testament, together with a summary of the non-historical books, has been given in an appendix. Moreover, that the reader may understand the significance of our Lord's word 'All things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me' (Luke xxiv, 44), the chief Messianic prophecies appearing in the Psalms and in the Prophets will be found added to the outline of the respective Books. "In another appendix is given a short account of the language of the Old Testament, and of the connection of the dialects spoken in Palestine at the time of our Lord with those of the surrounding peoples. In this appendix, too, it has been thought well to insert a brief history of some of the principal versions of the Sacred Scriptures. "On account of the frequent mention in the Bible of the Jews falling into idolatry previous to the time of the Babylonian captivity -but never after their return-a fourth appendix will be found telling of the nature of the false gods they worshiped, and with what deities in Greek and Roman mythology these strange gods are said to have been identified. "The great body of the work itself has been compiled chiefly from the text and notes of Haydock's Douai Bible; but for the part between the two Testaments-that is, from the end of the Books of the Maccabees-the Jewish historian Josephus is the one authority." The book is splendidly made as to paper, type and arrangement. The marginal index adds much to its value, and the maps are clear and accurate. Religious of Translated 12mo., pp. SISTER MARY OF THE DIVINE HEART. Droste zu Vischering. the Good Shepherd, 1863-1899. By the Abbé Louis Chasle. from the second French edition by a member of the order. 433. London: Burns & Oates, Ltd. Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati and Chicago. It is remarkable that the life of a religious who died at the early age of thirty-six years, in 1899, should have been published three times already. And yet this is what has happened in the case of Sister Mary of the Divine Heart. If the lives of canonized saints edify us and spur us on to better things, the lives of uncanonized servants of God should help us still more, because they seem to be nearer to us and more easy of imitation. The present record of early sanctity is very edifying, and those who are seeking God will find the way clearer if they follow the light of the lamp of this wise virgin, which was always trimmed, filled and burning. She hath entered in the Bridegroom-who can doubt it who follows the record. To religious it presents a special attraction. The following sketch is interesting: "On Tuesday, June 8, 1899, at three o'clock in the afternoon, in a very poor cell of a convent in Oporto, Portugal, a woman, still young in age-for she counted but thirty-six years-lay on her deathbed. This religious, who belonged to the noble Westphalian family of the Counts Droste zu Vischering, had, when she joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers, changed her illustrious family name for that of Sister Mary of the Divine Heart. At the same hour, and simultaneously with the first Vespers of the Feast of the Heart of Jesus, were inaugurated the opening solemnities prescribed by Leo XIII. for the Consecration of the whole human race to the Sacred Heart. "Both within and without the convent the most touching marks of appreciation were called forth by the death of her who was named, 'the holy Superior.' As a poor religious she should have been carried to the grave, as are the poor whom she loved so well; but as soon as the enclosure-door was thrown open six representatives of noble families took possession of her coffin and bore it to the grave on their shoulders. Such a sight had never been witnessed before in the streets of Oporto. Contrary to the usual custom and notwithstanding the extreme heat, ladies followed the coffin until it reached the cemetery, a distance of half a league. The reputation for sanctity which was thus so strongly manifested has outlived those first impressions and has spread throughout the whole world, founded as it is on the virtues which shone forth in the life of this religious; on her joyful patience in the sufferings of a prolonged illness, on her ardent and indefatigable zeal for the salvation of souls, and, in fine, on her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "This holy sister, who died on the very Eve of the Consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart, had been entrusted by our Lord Himself with His wishes relating to this great act, in the accomplishment of which she had so large a share, and to which we may attribute as a fitting preparation the marvels He worked in her soul during the many preceding years. "Her whole life was but one long ascent towards her Divine Master, who drew her to Himself, at first by ordinary inspirations of grace, but from the time she attained her twenty-first year, by most intimate communications which tended to form in her soul a strong spirit of self-sacrifice and to constitute her a victim of love, reparation and propitiation; in fact, a victim ever ready to suffer |