Franciscan Studies

BOOK REVIEWS245 However, the author will not take it amiss if we make some minor observations ; they are chiefly concerned with his scientific apparatus. The author uses old and antiquated editions of the writings of some of the Fathers ; he relies heavily on Migne, where he should have used more recent critical editions. It seems he did not have access to some of the works he cites, hence his frequent second-hand quotations from authors whom he knows only through intermediate writers. His method of citation is not uniform. Origen's Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans is to be found in Migne's Patrología Grœca, volume 10, and not volume 14. The Latin style of the author follows truly Gceronian tradition, but it is our impression that shorter sentences and less complicated constructions would greatly contribute to the clearness of his dissertation. Gregory Grabka, O.F.M. Conv. St. Hyacinth Seminary, Granby, Mass. The Systematic Teaching of Religion, Vol. II. The Method and Matter of Religious Teaching. By Rev. A. M. Fuerst, S.T.D. New York : Benziger Brothers. Pp. xv+646. $4.00. This new volume of the series is complete in itself, as far as the material indicated in the sub-title is concerned. The book treats in four parts on the subject matter of instruction ; the necessary conditions ; the general organization of oral catechesis ; and on special methods. This covers a large field and embraces everything except the actual explanation of religion. Hence, the reader will find chapters on the history and composition of the catechism, its development and its relations to the Bible and the liturgy. Furthermore, courses of study, qualities of catechizing , educational processes, central themes, preparation and presentation, methods of fortifying and activating the faith are presented. Finally, the catechism in the different grades and allied topics are discussed. Like its predecessor, this volume is also based on the "Katechetik" of Michael Gatterer, S.J., but it is more than a free translation and adaptation. It is an amplification and Americanization. Many quotations from and references to Anglo-Saxon authorities are found dispersed all over the book. The author himself makes independent and fine contributions. The bibliographies following each chapter are very extensive and include many American and British writers. Each Chapter is also followed by numerous questions to be answered, subjects to be discussed and problems to be solved. Since Dr. Fuerst submits a great variety of opinions including his own, there is much to select but nothing to criticize. There are a few flaws not pertaining directly to its material, e.g., the first question (p. 10) asks : "Why have dissident creeds or sects no catechism ?" The fact is that both of them had them for a long time. Many are listed in Algermissen's "Christian Denominations", pages 617-620 and 885-890. There are a few proper names misspelled in the bibliographies, and, most probably on account of unavoidable delay in printing, some fine recent works are not referred to and not listed. In general, the book is an excellent 246.BOOK REVIEWS reference and belongs in every catechetical library. Whether it could serve as text book for others than specialists, is a matter of opinion. Kilian J. Hennrich, O.F.M. Cap. Our Lady of Sorrows Priory, New York, New York. Journal de Voyage France-Italie-Palestine 1876-1877. Par le Père Frédéric de Ghyvelde, O.F.M. (Collection Bon Père Frédéric No. 1.) Three Rivers, P.Q., Canada: Editions Bon Père Frédéric, 1946. Pp. 112. $0.50. Mon Premier Voyage au Canada 1881-1882. Par le Père Frédéric de Ghyvelde, O.F.M. (Collection Bon Père Frédéric No. 2.) Three Rivers: Editions Bon Père Frédéric, 1946. Pp. 54. $0.35. Relatively few friends of St. Francis in the United States are as yet aware of the striking possibility that within perhaps five years Holy Church may raise to the honor of Beatification a humble French friar who served God in North America during the last twenty-eight years of his saintly life, and who was generally looked...