According to the Pattern by Katherine Burton, and: Mission for Samaritans by Anna Dengel (review)

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS101 the knightly wooing of the bride, Lady Poverty. The second part of the book demonstrates the probation of this Paladin of Christ. He is shown in his feudal service, as the harold of the Great King, in the service of the liege-lord, in his knightly love of Lady Poverty, and as the troubadour and minstrel of God. "He began as a disciple of the 'cheerful science'; he ended as a troubadour and minstrel of God. 'Mortem cantando suscepit' In the life of this Paladin of Christ there is nothing more knightly than his death." Baumhauer has illustrated the book with a beautiful colored frontispiece of St. Francis. Almost immediately after its appearance, the Swiss Capuchin Father Paul-Marie translated this little volume into French under the title Chevalier du Christ au Pays d'Assiste. It would be a real labor of love for some friar to do it into English, so that this Paladin of Christ might be even better known in our country. Theodore Roemer, O.F.M. Cap. St. Lawrence College, Mount Calvary, Wis. According to the Pattern. The story of Dr. Agnes McLaren and the Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries. By Katherine Burton. New YorkToronto : Longmans, Green and Co., Inc. 1946. Pp. 242. Bibliography and Index. Mission for Samaritans. A Survey of Achievements and Opportunities in the Field of Catholic Medical Missions. By Anna Dengel, M.D., Superior of the Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries. With a forword by the Rt. Rev. John M. Cooper, Ph.D., S.T.D. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1945. Pp. VII plus 121. 111. Bibliography and Index. These two books published in short succession supplement each other. The first, written by the skilled hand of Katherine Burton, is the story of the origins of Catholic Medical Missions, a contemporary movement in Catholic mission life which is at once modern and urgently needed. The book begins with the life of Agnes McLaren, a Scottish Presbyterian girl, who wanted to be a woman-doctor in a time when only men were admitted to that profession. In France she earned her degree and eventually became a Catholic. After many years of service to the sick, especially the poor, she became enthused over the ideal of erecting a mission hospital for the suffering women of India. Realizing that only a religious community of trained doctors and nurses could ensure the success of her project, she worked with astounding zeal and perseverance in persuading the Holy See to permit religious to engage in surgery and obstetrics. But unfortunately she died before her ideals materialized. However, her dream came true "according to the pattern". Anna Dengel, a Tirolese girl who had studied medicine in Ireland, became the foundress and the soul of a religious society of women intent on devoting their lives and medical skill to the extension of Christ's kingdom in foreign lands. Inspiring and vivid, the story does not lack its sense of humor. It is primarily intended for the average reader. Nevertheless, as a source- 102BOOK REVIEWS book on the origins of modern Catholic medical missions it has permanent value. Mission for Samaritans, written by Dr. Anna Dengel herself, aspires to be something more than a mission story. Perhaps it is correct to say that it is the first Catholic world survey on medical missions. As such it is a definite contribution to Catholic missiology. In the beginning the book explains the nature of Medical Missions. Then follows a brief outline of Catholic medical mission work in past centuries, and a discussion of Catholic and Protestant Medical Missions in the twentieth century. What Dr. Dengel has to say on the development of Catholic medical missions corresponds closely to the description given by Mrs. Burton, except that Dr. Dengel gives credit also to Dr. Margaret Lamont, another Scottish convert, who in her writings vigorously pleaded for the cause of Catholic medical missions. Protestant efforts are duly recognized by the author, and rightly so, for, they inspired Catholics along similar lines. The latter part of the book is a survey of Catholic medical work in mission fields all over the world, covering both the past and the present. As this survey...