The young man's guide/preface
Preface
The success of "The Catholic Girl's Guide" augurs well, we trust, for the reception which awaits its present companion. Zealous directors of souls have urged us to undertakes this work, and we entertain the hope that pastors will introduce "The Young Man's Guide " to the boys of their respective parishes and especially to the boys of "the plain people," as Abraham Lincoln was wont to designate the great body of working classes,
There is more than a grain of truth in the adage, "Take care of the boys, and the girls will take care of themselves." Do we give as much attention and care to the preservation of our boys as we devote to the safeguarding of our girls? Are not our boys and young men exposed to greater dangers in the battle of life? Are not they more constantly and more fiercely assailed by the enemies of man's salvation, and tempted to the gratification of disorderly passions, to every kind of sinful enjoyment - - the end of which is temporal misery and eternal ruin?
Hence, any attempt to draw our Catholic youth away from the evil influences that surround them in the world is worthy of approbation; any book that imparts to young men a word of warning and counsels them in regard to the things that make for their spiritual progress and sanctification, for their temporal welfare as well as for their eternal happiness, certainly deserves the hearty endorsement of a Shepherd of souls.
Such a book is the German work entitled " HinausinsLeben " by Father Coelestin Muff, O.S.B., a Benedictine of the famous Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
We have based " The Young Man's Guide " on this work — inasmuch as it is an English version of the same — revised, amplified, and adapted by us to suit the conditions, circumstances, and requirements of the young men of our own country.
In his preface to" Hinaus ins Leben," Father Muff says: "Out into life! So it is decreed for the young man, who is advancing to maturity; and with Schiller we must add, 'Out into a hostile life!' — out into a struggle, not only for his material existence and welfare, but much more in behalf of his spiritual and eternal interests.
"To make his young friends in some measure acquainted with this hostile side of life, to point out to them the ways and means to parry the attacks of the enemies of their salvation — this is for a priest, for a pastor of souls, a welcome task.
"It is the aim of our little 'Guide,' in the first place, to furnish a Catholic young man with a correct view of the social and religious conditions of modern life, and to call his particular attention to the forces and influences that are inimical to the preservation of his faith and innocence; it admonishes the young man, on his entrance into the busy world, to put on the 'armatura Dei' (Eph. vi. 11), the 'armor of God'; namely, to acquire, to cultivate, and practise various virtues, such as faith, hope, charity, the fear of God, sobriety, humility, obedience, fidelity, and perseverance; it instructs him, especially, how to fight, how to conquer, in the hardest of battles — that which must be fought in behalf of the virtue of chastity.
"In the second place, our 'Guide' is intended to be a support and encouragement to the young man in all the circumstances of his life, and, in particular, to stand by his side at the parting of the ways, when he has to choose a definite state of life — to give him needful suggestions and counsels at this important period of his career in regard to his vocation. By the grace of God, may this little volume be to our young men truly a lighthouse amid the darkness of unbelief and heresy, a bulwark against the ever increasing flood of immorality, an anchor of salvation when the soul is threatened with shipwreck, and a star of hope in the gloom of life."
To enhance the practical value of this work, we have added to the Counsels and Reflections a compilation of Prayers and Devotions, which, though short, will be found satisfactory for all the ordinary occasions for which a "Prayerbook" is wanted by young men in the world. We certainly desired and planned to add a larger collection of prayers. But this would have made a volume of great bulk, and our young men do not like to carry a bulky book.
To Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Mother of Good Counsel we humbly and respectfully dedicate our little " Guide." May she bless our youthful friends, and pray for them, that they may love and honor Jesus more and more in the Sacrament of His love, that they may learn to know Him better, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and, above all, that they may follow Him and walk in justice, holiness, and truth toward that complete beatitude which is the crown of the saints.
F. X. Lasance.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Feast of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1909.