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IOTHE DRrNK gUtsSTroN.cause of temperance we are invited, and naturally led,to stand on a common platform with all advocates of thatcause. In doing so lve must guard ours.elves against errorand exaggeration. Many non-Catholics regardtemperance as a kind of a God, and raise the promotionand practice of it to the dignity of a natural religion.In doing this they may be acting in conformity withtheir own tenets, but for us to imitate them would be afatal error, To them temperance stands alone and byitself as a natural virtue ; but to us Catholics it is a partand parcel of our Catholic system, requiring God'sgrace, the help of the Sacraments, and other aid"s for itspractice, and ought not, moreover, be separated frorn theCatholic view of its being an exercise of penance andexpiation.Weapons of the Churoh.What weapons, then, does Holy Church place in ourhands to combat this dread monster, and how do we usethem ? Some of these weapons are as ancient as theChurch herself. Some are new, and accommodated to thealtered circumstances of the fight ; for, whilst the soulof the Church is ever the same, she varies her forrns andher discipline in accordance with the requirements oftime and place.Anelent Weapons.She puts in our hands the same weapons that ourBlessed Lord placed in those of the Apostles when hesent them " praeilicare reg'nxtrn, Dei," " to preach theKingdom of God "-sfus gives us the sword of the" Word of God, which is living and effectual."At our ordination she warns us, " Sacerd,otem oportet,praedicare "-" 11 is the duty of a priest to preach."Do we wield this sword in season and out of season ?I)o we preach from the housetops against this vice ?It is a noon-day evil staring us in the face. Are we forever raising the cry of alarm against it, or do we notfrequently pass it by unheeded, either because it is so.orimo.r,"oi because we are too faint-hearted to attack#,,|til.i,{TIIE DRTNK 9UESTION.it ? " Ve rnihi si non praedicauero," says St. Paul. " Forwoe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel."The second weapon is the Sacrament of Penance. Thepriest sows the seed in the pulpit, and reaps the harvestin the confessional. Do we use to the fullest extent theopportunities offered in this sacred tribunal to promotetotal abstinence or temperance, accordrng to the requirementsof each individual penitent ? Do we warnlicense-holders of the dangers of their trade and theobligations by which they are bound? De we ever try todissuade our people from rushing recklessly into abusiness fraught rvith such terrible temptations andconsequences ? Do we, as often as 1ve may, imposeabstinence, either total or partial, as a sacramentalpenance ? These and such questions should form thesubject of our examination of conscience from tjme tdtine.New l[eapons. The Pledge in General.Amongst the new weapons which Holy Church placesin our hands, the pledge takes the first place. In thesense in which it is now generally accepted, as the bindingby a solemn prcmise of an individual, or a number o{individuals in a society, to promote sobriety, the pledgeis new, and little knoivn to^history. Froni the diys 6fFather Mathew to the present time the temperancepledge has been the means of saving many from the evilsof intemperance. But, like most good things, it is liableto be abused, and hence it devolves on us to point out tothe people the motives for taking it-which are, eitheras an ac1 act of oI mortification. mortification, mortlflcatlon, or for Ior tne the DurDose purpose of oI edifvins edifyi eollylngand encouraging others-or through necessity, and forself-nreservation: self-preservation ; that a ple-dgg oledse of ol itself does doe.s not worka sudden moral or physical change-that it is not asacrarqent, nor, apart from the Sacrament of Penance,does it confer sacramental grace ; that it does not at onceeradicate the bad habit nor dispense from the ordinaryprecautions against temptations to relapse: that apledge, as now sanctioned by the Church, is not an oath,nor a vow, but at most a solemn resolution or a promisemadg to man ; ando t4oregyef that thsse who caunet,IT