2 research outputs found
Biological, clinical and population relevance of 95 loci for blood lipids
No full textPlasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides are among the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and are targets for therapeutic intervention. We screened the genome for common variants associated with plasma lipids in >100,000 individuals of European ancestry. Here we report 95 significantly associated loci (P<5 x 10(-8)), with 59 showing genome-wide significant association with lipid traits for the first time. The newly reported associations include single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near known lipid regulators (for example, CYP7A1, NPC1L1 and SCARB1) as well as in scores of loci not previously implicated in lipoprotein metabolism. The 95 loci contribute not only to normal variation in lipid traits but also to extreme lipid phenotypes and have an impact on lipid traits in three non-European populations (East Asians, South Asians and African Americans). Our results identify several novel loci associated with plasma lipids that are also associated with CAD. Finally, we validated three of the novel genes-GALNT2, PPP1R3B and TTC39B-with experiments in mouse models. Taken together, our findings provide the foundation to develop a broader biological understanding of lipoprotein metabolism and to identify new therapeutic opportunities for the prevention of CAD
Review for Religious - Issue 11.4 (July 1952)
No full textIssue 11.4 of the Review for Religious, 1952.A..M.D. G~
Review for Religious
JULY 15, 1952
Parallel Vocations ......... Nicholas H. Rieman
Bibles ................ William M. Sfritch
Unigeni÷us Dei Filius ........... Pope Plus x~
To a Master of Novices ........ Fra L. Ganganelli
....Higher Education ......... Sister M. Bonaventure
National Congress
Questions and Answers
Modesty Crusade
Book Reviews
VOLUME NUMBER
REViI::W FOR RI::LIGIOUS
VOLUME XI JULY, 1952 NUMBER
CONTENTS
PARALLEL VOCATIONS--Nicholas H. Rieman, S.J .....1..69
BIBLES--William M. Stritch, S.J .............. 177
OUR CONTRIBUTORS ................ 182
REPRINTS OF SPONSA CHRISTI ............ ¯ . 182
UNIGENITUS DEI FILIUS--Pope Plus XI .......... 183
BOOKS FOR.PRIESTS ................. 198
FOR ORGANISTS AND CHOIRMASTERS ........1..98
LETTER TO A MASTER OF NOVICES--Fra Lorenzo Ganganelll 199
TEN-YEAR INDEX STILL AVAILABLE .......... 202
HIGHER EDUCATION AND "REAL RELIGION"--
Sister M. Bonaventure, O.S.F ..... 203
NATIONAL CONGRESS ................. 210
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS--
19. Prescriptions for the Chapter of Faults ......... 211
20. Precedence in Receiving Communion . . ¯ ........212
SHALL I START TO DRINK? .............. 213
BOOK REVIEWS~
The Morning Offering; What is the Index?; The Seminarian at His
Prie-Dieu; The Carmelite Directory of the Spiritual Life .....214
BOOK NOTICES ................... 217
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS ............... 221
PROMOTE THE MODESTY CRUSADE .......... 223
REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, July, 1952. Vol. XI, No. 4. Published bi-monthly:
January, March, May, July, September, and November at the College Press,
606 Harrison Street; Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary’s College, St. Marys, Kansas,
with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942,
at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879.
Editorial Board: Jerome Breunig, S.J.; Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.:
Adam C. Ellis, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J.
Copyright, 1952, by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. Permission is hereby granted for quota-tions
of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author.
Subscription price: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A.
Before writincj to us, please consult notice on Inside back cover.
Parallel Voca!:ions
Nicholas H. Rieman, S..3.
~yJE RELIGIOUS know the worth of our vocation. We rank it
-W among~ur greatest blessin~gs. A precious gift in itself, it car-~
ries .with it numerouk other gifts, such as our. rpraye~-’and
Mass, spiritual guidhnce’, our companions," and our apostolic work’.
We are glad we took the step knto religion, andewe miss no chance to
draw others to religion too. .But perhaps we are not aware that our
r~ligious vocation can be partly.sh’ared even with lay folks. A. molag
the most effective ways we~h~ve of sha"ring our vocati6n ig encourag-.
ing and conducting third 0rd~rs. confra:ernities, so’dalities and simi’-
l’ar organizat!ons..~ The present article confines itself to. the parallel
vocation as found in the Sodality’of Our Lads,. .’
¯ There is a special reason why tile possibilities of ~uch a Sqdality
should be unfolded to religious.~ It is this: .while the director of-a
Sodality must always beLa priest, yet"in a scho01or hospital the’,
actual l~andling of aSodality .is often left"to Brother Michael or to
-Sister 3oan. Also, besides those who are moderators ofSodalities,
many other religious superiors, principals, ¯floor. supervisors in.hos-pitals,
teachers, nurses, he’ads of different ~ictivities--can help much..
They.can lend interest and co0pfration to ’insure that the Sodality in
their institutions be a true Sodality, and lay people bent on some-thing
more than me.dioctity be drawn to its rankS. Many Feligious
are, then, in a tposition to forward good Sodalities. By doing so;.
they can share many of the benefits of a religious vocation with
those who follow the la~; Sodal.ity vocation. -
For m’embersbip in the Sodality is also a vocation. Our present
Holy Fatber’has clearly in his Apostolic Constitution Bis Saecular~
placed the Sodality in the troop--sof Catboh"c ~-A "ctton. And Catholic
Acti0n~-the words are thdse of Plus X’I is "a vocation strictly and
properly so .called." ¯ It is not, of course? a religious vocation. Y,et
if is ~ vocation, a way of life, a call to perfection.’ The. S6d;ility is
open only to those who are ready,.by Go’d’s grace, to-adopt the’de2
.mandihg spiritual.and apostolic progr~am it involves. ’
Btit’why is the Sodality such an ap’t means for sh~iring With lay
people something of our religious v6cation? ’F6r.the simple reason
that the vocation, of a religious and that of a Sodalist are much alike.
¯ 1.69
NICHOLAS H. RIEMAN Review [or’Religiqus
It is nottoo’mu~h t~ call them paraliel vocations, Only a~det~iled
comparison will display how far-reaching this parallelism is. Of.
course, only true Sodalitiei--those that follow the papal directives
and the Sodality rules-~can prodiace this parallelism’and the result-’
ant rich spiritual harvest. So, in pointing oot the resemblances.be-l~
ween t’he two vocations, I shall ~lso suggest how ~a Sodality must
be co’nducted in order to secure these benefits. ..
What then. are some of the parallels between religious and So-dality
life? First, becoming a Sodalist, like becoming a Franciscan
or a.Sister of’Merry, is a lifetime,undertaking. Joining the So, dality
is not like joining the staff of the school paper or the dramatic club.
These latter are hobbies; the Sodality is a vocation, A Sodalist agrees
to follow the Sodality way of life not just at school, but when on
vacation, when working in a facto.ry or office, when married--in..
short, for life. Pius XII. knows that very well: be never, says, "I wa~
a Sodalist, but always, ’"I am a. Sodahst, although he took his act
.of consecration and’ entered the Sodality 56 years ago.
More will b~ said later of the Sodality act of consecration. Here
it isi’enough to.stress one thing. This consecration, and so the ac-ceptance
of Sod, ality obligations that goes with it, is for life. True,
a temporary act of consecration for ’a year can" be and sometimes is
made in Junior Sodalities (those in grammar schools), since at that
age level most of the candidates are sddom mature enough for a life-time
dedication. But the ordinary act ofconsecration taken by teen-~
agers and adults is, as clearly, indicated in both its forms in the
Sodality Rules, perpetual. The Sodality vocatioia, like a religious
vocation, is perpetual.
Besides being a. lifetime dedication, becoming a S6dalist is also,
l’ike becoming a religious, a full-time occupation. One must be a
Sodalist 24 hours a day. Just as being a Christian Brother .affects
not only a. man’s Mass and his meal-times, but his work and recrea-tion
too, s6 being., a Sodalist doesn’t mean only .attending meet.ings,
saying one’s rosary, ’and taking p~art in a cl0thes-for-I~or~a drive,
’Being a Sodalist must--and in a Sodality that follows the rules, does.
--affect a boy’s lock~r-room langu;ige, the kind of formal a girl
wears to a prom, and every other action that fills the dajr of either of
them. Tru.e, a Sodalist does not, as is generally true of religious,
have his wgrk assigned by ~uperi0rs. ’Yet a Sodalist, just like any
of us, has to show a good example and. beactively ap0s~olic every
minute of his waking day. Nor is this an impossible ideal, a pipe.
170
dui~,1952 ~ARALLEL VOCATIONS
dream. In Sodalities that follow Plus XII’s stipulations and actually
..require,observance of the. Sgdality rules, this is a normal result, re-alized,
if not perfectly,. at least in large measure.
The act of consecration to Our Lady which admits one tb the
Sodality parallels very close.ly the vows of reli~ious orders. Even
the .wgrding of the act of consecration in the St. Francis,de Sales
fbrmula, ~clbsely resembles the vow formula of some religious. "It is
not a vow, of. course, and so does not bind ur~der sin, but it is a
solemn dedication. ~ And What doek the Sodalist promise? Pius XII
gives us the’answer. "To apply oneself seriously to sanctity, each in
his proper state: to dedicate .oneself, not in any manner whatsoever
but ’with ardor, in ~the measure and manner compatible with each
one,s social condition to the s’alvation and perfection of others: in a
word[ to emplby oneself strenoously in the defense of the Church of
Christ: such is the assignment of the Sodalist, freely, resolutely ac-cepted
in theact of his con’secration..." In short, he says, "conse-cration
to the Mother of God in the Sodality is an entire gift of one-self
throughout life and for all eternity." It is the solemn, acceptance
of a way of life forall one’s future vears. The act’ of consecration is
the cornerstone of the Sodality vocation, even though not absolutely
required for valid reception. It should be for the incoming Sodalist
a thing only a little less tremendous than. the taking of vows i’s to
.religious This act of consecration is often renewed by earnest So-dalistS,
.just as rdligious often renew their vows, even though they are
perpetual.
The Sodality~onsecration is not specific~illy directed to vows’ of
r~overtv, cha’stity, and obedience, as are the.vows of religious. Still
it implies that Sodalists practice these three virtues to a higher degree
than ordinary Christi~ins. A special obedience to the hierarchy of the
Church is requi.red by the Sodality’s character as Catholic Action,
and. was referred to by PiusXII as a prominent feature of Sodalities.
A relative indifferdnce to material goods, is obviously necessary for
the practice of a constant apostolate. Lastly, chastity--according to
one’s state, which doesn’t necessarily mean celibacy--is naturally the
ideal of one speci.all’y dedicated to.Mary.
¯ The Sodality, too, has its ~novitiate," call~d the probati6n. It is
required of all candidates before admission. A religiolis,novitiate
mus~ be a year lbng, and man~, orders and congregations require two
years. How long is the Sodality probation? "Not less than two
months" is required by.Sodality rules, but most effective Sodalitles
,171
NICHOLA~ H, RIEMAN " ~ x Revieu2 for’Reli~Tious
rriake it.six months and quite a few of tlqem, especially thoke for
hi~h" school students a.full ,year. The purpose of the Sodality p~b-bation
is the same as that of a religious novitiate: tb acquaint, to test.
t6 train. " "
"It acquaints_ tl-i~’aspiraht with what the Sodality is.~ind how. it
functions.’so that he can bi~tter "decide whether .hE wants to make-the"
sacrifices inv~lved..It tests the candidate, and tries to find out whether~
he~ha~iwhat it takes.,to livEforevek the Sodality v~ay of life.. It. trains
him in" devotion to. Mary, in spiritual exercises ahd apostolic activi-ti~;:
so that if- he ,is accepted, he ,will already-h’ave largely~, acquired
the attitudes .and habits nee-ded to li,¢e and’act as/a Sodalist ghould.
dust like.a, religlous novitiate. the Sodality ’probation is’ heavily.
weighted’on’the spiritual side. It stresses ingtructi’on, direction. ’and
above, allT-prayer. ’ " " ’.
¯ -Like a religious.’order, or congregation. the S0dalit~ has its, rules.
They.’are not-as demanding’ as the rules of religious, btit tt~ey do
clearly aim at a,high degree’of spirituality. They are all-in the pam-ph!
et. Sodalit~l"Rule~. ’In his A1fostolic. Constitution of 1948 Pius
XII.refers to them 25. times. It is clear that in. his mind an easy test
of the calibre of"a Sodality..is whether it really keeps the rules. In a
Sod~dity as."in religious orders the ~pirjt of the rules is always more
important tha~~ the letter, and’so Sodality rules w,hich refer only ,to
procedure at, meetings and such topics should n’ot bd applied wood-enly
.... Yet the:rules embbdy the. spiril~ .of an organization, and if"
th~yfallinto disregard and disuse, the rd’sult will be as disastrbus toa
SQdality as: it would be to, a religigus’order.~
¯ :-.. In .its spiritual practices, and .to a. smaller exteni i~ its apostolic
a.ctivity a °Sddality, clgsely parallels religious.c.ongreg~tions.- First,
let.’us ’ma’ke a thorough survey of"it.s spiritual.exercises, for they are
the dynamo on’wh.ich Sodality activities depend. Most .of these dai.ly
duties are containe_d’in R.u:le 34 of the Sodality. This rule deserves
to be quo,ted in full: ":Sodalist~ must be very careful, to p~actice’~hose
exercises of piel~y which are most necess.a.ry for fervbl of life. Every
morning.on ~i~jng,,let"them make ’the. acts of faith, hope, and’ch~r-ity;
thank God our Lord for His..benefits:: offer Him their labors~
with the" intention of-gaining all",.the mdu.lgences~ they.can~.through-out
that day;, and invoke ’t~’e Blessed. Virgin’. by reciting thd Hail
Mary three times. Le~t. tbem.’:devote at least a quarter of an hour td
mental prayer: be presenL if they can: a’~the adoiable Sacri}ice of,the
Mass; and recite the most HolyoRosary, or some Office of Our’I2ady.
172
"dul~], 1952- PARALLEL VOCATIONS
In the evening before retiring, let them carefully examine their con-science
and make a fervent act of contrition, for the sins of-their
whole life and especially for those committed on that day."
The t~rst item mentioned on the day’s spiritual schedule of a So-dalist
is the prayers on rising:, faith, hope, love, thanksgiving,
offering’of works, three Hail Marys. The aim of these brief vocal
prayers is of.course to start the d~iy r.igbt, with and for God..They
remind us at once of the "morning prayers~ .... morning visit," or
"first visit," of religious..They are a dedication of.the day to God.
Next is mentioned daily mental prayer "at least a quarter of
an hour:’" All religious institutes have, I believe, a half-hour of
mental prayer, and some have more. The Sodality rule demanding
daily mental prayer is as clear and unconditional as the rule of reli-gious
c6n’gregations on. this point. The’only difference is in the
length of time. The conclusion ought to be obvious. If a’ religious-would
not admit to vows a novice who did not regularly perform
his meditation, why should we expect h S6dality to admit candi-dates
who are not reasonably faithful in fulfilling this clear Sodality
demand? Again, if novices need instruction in the bow-when-where-
why of mental prayer to enable them to perform it profitably,
won’t Sodalists need the same? A Sodality in which the members
are’ faithful to their rule on mental prayer will be a Sodality that
can move spiritual mountains, even if i~ has’only fifty members or
even only ten.
Further, says the rule, Sodalists must attend daily Ma~s "if they
can." This practice, too. is modelled on that of religious.. How--
ever,, for religious the "if they can" is gefierally an unneeded addi-tion:
since their ~ommon life and work assignments are arranged so
that it is a!ways possible for them to do so. Though daily Mass
may sometimes be impossible for this or that Sodalist, such cases are
rare. The trouble is that too often the ’.’if they can" of the rule is
taken to mean,"if th.ey choose’: or’"if they do not find it incon-venient."
But the John Carroll Univeisity Sodality, and marly
another too, has sfiown that practically all Sodalists can atterld Mass
seven days.a week if they want to.
Daily Holy Cohamunion, of course, cannot be required of.Sodal-ists
any more than it can of religious.. But Sodalists in iheir Rule39,
as all religious somewhere in their rules, are strongly urged to fre-
¯ quent and even daily Communion. Most Sodalities that observe the
rules and require daily Mass find that all their members receive Corn-
NICHOLAS H. RIEMAN . °. Reoie~o for ReligiO~s"
.muni6n freq~uently, and the great majority of l~he.m~daily.
Next the)..Sodality rule requires daily, recitation of the rosary, or
an Office of. Our La~y----~.g.; theOffice 6f the Ihamac~late .Concep-.,
tion. On day, s w.hen~the Sodality meets, such an Office, or part of
it, is sometimes said or sung in common. ]3ut in their daily prac-tice,
most Sodalists piefer the rosarY, and this .dail~ du.ty is o~ten
perforrfied in"an ideal Way, with one’s family. In religious orders
and’congregation~, the daily rosary also forms, either by rule or by
¯ custom, part of th~ spiri(ual exercises, at least where the Office of Our
Lady.is not required.
Like most religious orders, the Sodality rules requir~.a daily ex-~¯
. amination of conscience at night. The reason is the same., We all
know how a daily check on.our faults or virtues helps us to fiaake
,our following 0f Christ .a, practical thing, a love of deeds,and not.
merely of imagination. The particular examen too, which focuses
our attenti6n’or~ a "single virtue or fault, and in° which we religious
find so much value, ought to be offerdd by us to Sodalists as well.
A Sodalist, like a relig!ous,needs direction in this business;’ of
striving for p.erfection.. Both need a ~piritual directo? to answer
p.r~b~lems,.instruct, enc~ourgge. This i~ particul.arly trfie for the reli-gious
nowce or the Sodality probationer, but it is true also for those
who have already made their’lifetime consecration. S6dalists ought,
to..~o to confession often; and to’get real spiritual direction from
regular confessor. Rule 36 of the ~ddality is very clea~,on tl’Jis mat~
ter. .How, ever, although one’s spiritual director is always a priest,~
still just as a novice-mistress can help her charges.greatly in their ori-entationto.~
eligious life, so fdr example in a girls’ school, if’the So-dality
moderator is a nun, she c~in on a more limited scale greatly
"help her incoming Sodalists, ¯or those who are.already ’rnemb~rs, in
their spiritual life.¯
Sodalis~s must make an annual retreat. Rule 9, which imposes"
this i3b.ligat~on, does not set a specific l~ngtl~ of ti.me, b~t only says,¯
"There shall be a retreat every year for some days.-.. " This rule
does, however, str, ongly advise a clo~ed [etreat,° not fia~rely an ope,n
retreat’in wl~ich the retreatants go home in the afterfioons. Also,-it
cl,e.arly expects .tha~ the Sodali~(s’ not only listen to t.alks, but perform
meditations during the retreat~. For best rest.Its, too, the retreat
h~uld, be fdr Sodalists only, just as theretreat a nun
to be for nuns of her institute¯ only, not for a mixed gathering of
nuns, priests, ’ and .lay people. If such oa Sodality *r~treat is really im-
174- ¯
July, 19~2 -,~ PARALLEL VOCATIONS’
possible, then even during the regular school or coll~ge retreat,
Sodalists could make some speci~il m~ditations on their Sodality way
of life,’ and assign a special time for examen and for some spiritual
readingdirected to" their own spiritual level. For~among Sodalists as
¯ -among re!igious the retre~it should be a powerhouse that makes its
fotce’felt all through (he yea.r. It can do this best if it is adapted.
to their’Sc~dality way of life.,
Closely" parallel in their spiritualduties a~d practices, the Sodal-
.ity and.religious communities are para.llel, too,-though much less so,.
.’in.their work, their apostolate. This is r;ot true of strict °contem-i~
lative orders engaging irf no outside activity, for while the prayer
and penance and union with God of such contempla, tives’have an
apostolic as well as a personal motive and .are in fact a tremenddus .
apostolic weapon, yet they cannot, be called.external activity. ’But
with religious communities engaging in external works, the Sodal, ity
in its apostolate has certain likenesses. If’well understood, these, simi~ "
larities will help us to cohceive,the Sodality more correctly; and mo~e.~
¯ easily share with Sodalists our Own apostoli.c outlook, ’energy, and
techniques.
Apostolic work is, first of ,all, just as essential to the Sodality as
to acfive:~eligious c~mmunities, and it is as deeply .rootedin pe"r-sonal
sanctity.. A teaching Brother who¯ recites~fill his pra~;e.rs me-ticulously
but who is careless about preparing fo~ his classes is not’
living.his rel~igious life f.ully.~ .Nor do~s a nursing ~ister have a-true
view of he.r life..if she thifiks of holiness only as something personal,¯
and. does not see that.her.work demands sanctity, and depends 9n it.
So .to_6 a Sodalist must see Sodality meetings and projects and his
own day-to-d~iy contacts With his friends as part of his Sodality vo-.
cation. He must clearly grasp, too, that ~11 Sodality action, since its
aim is. to develop in men the grace-life, depends less on clever tech-niques.
~ban .on souls charged, with the grace of God. In the S0-
dalit~ as in an active, religiohs ~c0mmunity, the spiritual and .the
apostolic do not existside by side unrelated to each Other. The So~"
dality does,riot have two goals; buta single goal; a spirit.ual-
.apostolic goal. The.two facets, of that g0al are mutually dependent.
One cannot exist without the other.
Also, in the Sodality .as in religion, the apostolate is organized.
’Since the work of most S6dalists study and class, nursing,, office
work, factory, work,, homemaking is riot, like the work ofia reli- ~
gious, °.directly. assigned by religious superiors, the activity-of the ,
175
NICHOLAS .H. RIEMAN Reoiew ?or Religious
S0dalists is both organized and individual. It .may be strictl~i or-ganized,
that is, not only pl~nned in a meeting but carried out by a
group. Such would be a weekly trip by S0dalists to theLittle Sis-ters
of the Poor to help them care for their’ charges. Sodality action
may be planned together but cariied out individually, as in the con-tacting
of busines~ firms to have them halt sexy advertisingor dis,
play Christmas cribs. Or it may be completely indiv, idual, though
inspired by Sodality ideals, as when a Sodalist persuades his or her
non-Catholic roommate to go to Mass sometimes. Since we reli-
-gious. even thdugh our work be hssigned, to some extent use these
various apost’olic approaches ourselves, we can and should help So-d~
lli~ts with whom we deal to do the same.
’"Among the primary ends of So
