We Sing While There's Voice Left

WE SING WHILE THERES VOICE LEFT WE SING WHILE THERES VOICE LEFT by DOM HUBERT VAN ZELLER I mil proclaim Thy renown, to my brethren where Thy people gather, I will pin in sing ing Thy praises. PSALM and, 23 Life will bring you many misfortunes, but you will be happy on account of them. You will bless life and cause others to bless it. SHEED AND WARD NEW YORK For Brian WMtlock and Christopher Hull who - will recognise bits of this book though not, I add hastily, the same bits. INTRODUCTION CRITICS tell me that the world, life, problems of relation ship between God and man are not so clear-cut as 1 seem to make them. It isnt simply a question of right and wrong, I am reminded black is never wholly black, nor white wholly white. There must always be a good deal of grey Certainly, but if you look at the space in between, you begin to see grey. The point about books like this is that you are invited to break up the all too prevalent grey into its com ponent bkck and white. Man can so easily fool himself about the grey. Where in earlier books of the present sequence it was the darker side of the world, of life, of human relationship that was mostly discussed, in this one it is chiefly the lighter and more hopeful. Presumably it is the purpose of every ideology to save the world. Unless you know both what you are saving it from and what you are saving it for, the process will not get you very far. The Christian ideology is clear on both points the world is being saved from itself and for God. It is the absurdly ambitious aim of this book to help in the operation. Few would deny that the world has moved very fast and very far in the last ten years the question is, however, whether it has movedin the right direction. Fear of missing the train and being left on the platform has blinded us yes, us Catholics to the fact that the train may be going the wrong way. It is no good having a ticket on the train, knowing all about the train, enjoying ones journey in the VH1 INTRODUCTION train, favourably comparing the time and the upholstery and the view out of the window with other trains, if one fails to reach ones destination. It is better to miss the right train than to catch the wrong one in the same way that it is better to back the wrong horse than to be the wrong horse because at least the situation can be remedied. The whole matter is what the soul is going towards. The present essays do not make up a spiritual Bradshaw, but they do attempt to show the over-confident as well as the hesitant traveller how to read the signals. If there are accidents on the line it wont be my fault. Two of the chapters in this book have appeared in The Key, to the editor of which I express my thanks for allowing me to include them here, and the sequence on Communism represents the substance of a course delivered on this subject to the Oratory School. In reading about Communism I made notes from a number of sources, but since I had then no thought of publication I am afraid I did not bother to specify names. The only authority whom I can remember is Mr. Hyde, of whose excellent writings I certainly made a study, and to him, as to any other whose work is reflected in these pages, I tender most grateful acknowledgements. CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ....... vii WHAT RELIGION DOES FOR US .... I WHAT WE DO FOR RELIGION .... 5 JOY OF A SORT 9 IS SIN SO JOLLY ...... 14 SELF-PITY 18 EXPERIENCE ....... 21HUMILITY AND RETICENCE 26 OBEDIENCE AND LIBERTY 3D HOW THIS AFFECTS OTHERS 36 THIS POWER FOR GOOD OR EVIL .... 39 THE POLICY OF TAKING 45 AFFECTION, PASSION, AND SUFFERING ... 48 THE WIDE INWARD SPACES ..... 53 SPIRITUAL WRITERS CRAMP 56 THE WEDDING WILL TAKE PLACE 6l THE SUITABLE MATCH 64 CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ..... 69 I REMAIN, INDIRECTLY YOURS .... 72 UNEVEN RESPONSE ...... 76 THE OPPOSITE SEXES 79 HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF ..... 84 RESTLESSNESS 88 X CONTENTS Page A NOTE ON PRAYER 91 A PRAYER WHICH 15 HEARD. .... 94 RESPONSIBILITY 98 DISINTERESTEDNESS ........