Quench Thou in us the flames of strife,
And bid the heat of passion cease;
From perils guard our feeble life,
And keep our souls in perfect peace.
Father of mercies! hear our cry;
Hear us, O sole-begotten Son!
Who, with the Holy Ghost most high,
Reignest while endless ages run.
— Lyra Catholica,
XIV. Poison in Tongue and Pen
1. A CERTAIN father, who was a complete unbeliever, caused his children to be educated in Catholic institutions. A friend spoke to him about this strange method of proceeding. The unbeliever, who was a man of education, replied: "I know only too well what a hell upon earth infidelity is, and I am not so unnatural a parent as to allow my dear children to share my fate."
Thus can unbelief be termed a hell! Listen to this, my youthful reader, and note it well; it is the confession of one who was himself an unbeliever. This unbelief, which is a hell in itself and leads to hell, is the fatal poison in modern society, and this poison is presented under all sorts of different forms, especially in two; namely, in speech and in writing.
2. Too often are people to be found the present day who rail against religion, and know nothing of Christianity except the fact
