Introduction

The following pages are intended as a reminder of certain ideals which the writer and many others who have come under his observation are ever, to their own great hurt, forgetting. We wish to attain higher levels; we begin the ascent bravely; but in the iron shackles of habit we make painfully slow progress; and soon, strained by temptations little and great, we tire of the struggle and fall back dispirited into commonplace ways. Repeated failures force on us the misgiving that we shall idle our whole lives away in playing at being heroes like silly Peer Gynt; and of such a misgiving bitterness is quickly begotten. We begin to question the worth of ideals never realized and aspirations never fulfilled. Remembering the picture of the Bandar-Log, we sneer at ourselves

"Dreaming of deeds that we mean to do,
All complete, in a minute or two -
Something noble and grand and good,
Won by merely wishing we could."

To be cheerful, humble, honest, brave, constant, reverent; to wage ceaseless war against the myriad forms of selfishness which obstruct the path to the higher life; to care fervently for the Blessed Christ and seek an ever closer - communion with the indwelling Divine Spirit; these are aims and endeavors which the soul indeed recognizes as its finest opportunities, but which the flesh quickly grows weary of pursuing.

Such is our common experience. But a man cannot afford to accept defeat thus easily and content himself forevermore with being sordidly practical. He must reach for more than he is yet able to grasp. He must keep on incessantly striving for the invisible and in great measure unattainable gifts of the spirit, or else he will sink lower and lower until he loses even the homely blessings which practical people enjoy. As Plato puts it: "The paths of darkness under the earth must never again be trodden by him who has once set foot upon the heavenly road."

In a world where the struggle for daily bread absorbs an ever-increasing share of our best thought and activity, the effort to retain belief in spiritual values, the ambition to grow in reverence and hope and unselfishness, becomes for many of us almost impossible. Often the resolve to keep our birthright of idealism costs tears; often it calls for the shedding of blood. Those, therefore, who are faring along hopefully should, as occasion offers, speak a helping word to others sore beset with doubt and temptation. It is no small blessing to the weak, in the darkness and din of battle, to hear an encouraging cry from some friendly voice, to receive assurance that the fight is really worth while.

This office of encouragement, the present volume would in a small way perform. It is addressed to all who, forgetting the things that are behind, reach forth unto the things that are before - namely, the prizes and trophies awaiting the triumphant spirit at the goal, but never grasped this side of the grave. Assuming that certain spiritual facts give forth "the master light of all our seeing," it argues that attention to these facts is the necessary condition of a life of true usefulness and happiness. It professes allegiance to principles which have been the root and prop of the fairest growth in human history, recalls the memory of sublime truths partly disregarded, and points to the sure turning of the tide of courage almost ebbed away. It insists that behind great ideals, sometimes dimly shining, sometimes almost revealed, is God - a Power which makes them realities, a Beauty which renders them life's one unfading joy. The book, of course, can have little significance unless, as the author believes, God's care for man is the basis of all valid idealism, and the Lord Christ its best exponent.

- text taken from The Sacrament of Duty by Father Joseph McSorley, C.S.P.