By the liturgy we understand not only the official prayer of the Church expressing her spiritual life, but a prayer which expresses her doctrine. In this way the liturgy is part of the apostolic mission of the Church. Thus it is not only the way the faithful may express themselves in prayer but is their birthright by reason of their baptism. The liturgy expresses the vitality of the Church and is an implementation of her mission to go and teach all nations. It has doctrinal value not only for the faithful out also for those who may be looking on from afar. It is a matter of urgency, therefore, that this educative value should be kept vital and inspiring; that its symbolism should always teach and not become a piece of mere play-acting, still less a soulless repetition by heart of some dead formula.

The system of sex education which we have worked out during the past seven years in our school, an all-Catholic day grammar school for girls in the centre of a great city, is an attempt to ensure that each of our pupils has the right kind of enlightenment on the sacred mysteries of life.

From the school's viewpoint this is an obvious necessity. Girls have to be prepared for the naturalistic outlook of the world around home and school on sex, love, purity and marriage, which threatens the sanctity of the home. For this they must understand the full significance of and derive the full benefit from the religious and moral training given in school, especially on the sixth and ninth commandments and the sacrament of matrimony—a difficult, if not impossible, objective without proper preliminary sex enlightenment.

Strictly speaking old-age pensioners no longer exist in Great Britain, for a kindly government has replaced the words ‘old age’ with the pleasanter sounding term of ‘retirement'. That is but another example of a change that signifies little, for nothing can banish old age. It is a condition which is inevitable for all but those who die before that time is reached. No kind words or exercise of tact can eradicate it, though much can be done to ameliorate the lot of the aged.

Like all problems, the problems of old age cannot be solved unless they are met with realism, for it is impossible to overcome any difficulty that we refuse to recognize. No soothing words, no refusal to look truth in the face can alter the fact that to be in receipt of a retirement pension is to have started upon the final stage of that journey that leads from the cradle to the grave.

Christian thought is not only permeated by the crossit is dominated by it. The cross, in fact, is no mere symbol of religious belief, but a constant reality: it is the sign of triumph, the sign of redemption, and its tremendous implications are not restricted to an historic moment in time. That is to say, the redemption was not a process accomplished at Calvary, without any further relevance in the everyday existence of mankind. On the contrary, the process of redemption is continually manifested in all the activities of the mystical body, Christ's Church.

This is often overlooked by the faithful who constitute the Church. We are prone to underestimate our riches and our potentialities; we tend to seclude ourselves in spiritual catacombs, fearful of identifying ourselves with the events of the world at large.

In this respect, the true significance of the cross is lost to us.

The Church preaches our Lord through the liturgy, through the works of charity, and through the word. The vocation of deacon involves of its nature the function of preaching God's word (e.g. Stephen and Philip), and giving catechetical instruction to children and adults. To this end the deacon would need not a complete theological training, but a sound grasp of religious knowledge. The parish would not expect him to expatiate on theological problems and principles, but they would require a simple presentation of the faith and the commandments. For this purpose they might expect that by reason of the deacon's personal contact with particular spheres of life, he could be on terms of easy familiarity with them. The deacon could also perform baptisms with the full ceremonies, and burials. If the Church were willing to legislate for it, people coming to be married could confer the sacrament on each other before him.

Much of our knowledge about Katharine springs from legend, but legends are nearly always based on truths, and if the facts available are doubtful and few, the stories about her tell something of her virtues, of her character, and of the reasons for her death. St Katharine is not mentioned by contemporary writers, and different narrators are not even in agreement as to whether Maxentius or Maximinus was the tyrant who put her to death. She was not a popular saint until the eighth century in the east. Her story is contained in the so-called Menologium Basilianum, a collection of legends compiled for the use of the emperor Basil I who died in 886, and this story has been altered considerably since then.