Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, June 14, 1958.
JOSEPH BRE1G
Medal In The Sky
. A medal of St. Christopher,
patron of travellers, is circling
the earth in America’s Van
guard satellite, which is expec
ted to continue in orbit for 200
years at least.
What is the
sort of thing?
Has the medal
anything to do
with the fact
that Vanguard
III succeeded,
where Van
guards land
II had failed?
Not the
medal in itself, of course not.
But the faith to which the medal
testifies is another matter. To
spurn that is to spurn the idea
of asking the help of God in hu
man affairs.
It is to miss, also, the deepest
meanings of the United States
of America, and the motives
that moved the Founding Fa
thers and their greatest suc
cessors. Abraham Lincoln said:
“I have been driven many
times to my knees by the over
whelming conviction that I had
nowhere else to go. My own
wisdom and that of all about me
seemed insufficient for the day.”
What Lincoln felt was felt by
some of the scientists who had
labored heartbreakingly on the
first and second Vanguards,
only to see something go wrong
at the last moment.
To F. Paul Lipinski, an engi
neer for the Martin aeronautical
company, there came the
thought that human wisdom
seemed insufficient for the day.
Lipinski suggested that some
thing be done to give open ac
knowledgement to America’s
traditional reverence for, and
dependence upon, the Creator of
the universe.
ELEVEN OF HIS fellow-
scientists on Project Vanguard—
Catholics, Jews, Protestants —
agreed to join with him in sub
mitting a request for permission
to install the Christopher medal.
Their theology was as sound
as their science.
On an official form-paper,
headed “Drawing Change Re-
■ quest,” they sketched a St.
Christopher medal, with a nota
tion that the cost of attaching it
would be borne by field crew
members.
In the form’s “Reason for
Change” section, Lipinski and
his associates wrote the theolo
gically precise statement: “Ad
dition of Divine Guidance.”
THEY ATTRIBUTED NO
power to the medal itself. Add
ing it to Vanguard would be a
recognition of the Ruler of the
heavens, and a testimony of
prayer for His help.
The medal symbolized faith,
as does a church tower or bell.
In addition, it was an appeal to
St. Christopher to companion
the scientists in their petition.
The suggestion made on the
official form was approved.
With meticulous precision, the
12 scientists installed the medal
of St. Christopher at the base
of a gyroscopic guidance system
in Vanguard’s second stage.
THIS TIME, Vanguard work
ed to perfection. Its moon went
into orbit in a tremendous el
lipse which is carrying it, on
each round, 2,500 miles out into
space, but bringing it also with
in 405 miles of earth.
This facilitates both the as
sembling of information about
outer space, and its easy trans
mission to radio listening sta
tions.
Vanguard II i^ also a dramat
ic reminder to the world that
America has never ceased to be
a land of noble ideals and of
firm belief in God’s fatherhood
and man’s brotherhood.
Against godless communism’s
sputniks, Vanguard III writes in
the heavens the message that
the Declaration of Independence
was also a Declaration of Inde
pendence on God:
“And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reli
ance on the Protection of Di
vine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our Lives,
our Fortunes and our sacred
Honor.”
Henry Cabot Lodge, U. S. am
bassador to the UN, said the
other day that it is a bitter pill
to America to observe that neu
tralist nations miss the distinc
tion between communist tyran
ny and the free way of life. He
said:
“To us it is a simple issue:
between the man who cold
bloodedly calculates and the
man who is truly generous; be
tween a thirst for conquest and
a sincere desire for peace; be
tween brutality and kindness;
slavery and freedom; cynicism
and faith; atheism and religion.
To us it is as fundamental as
that.”
Such is the meaning of the
Christopher medal in Vanguard
III.
theology of this
Theology
For The
Layman
By F. J. Sheed
God, we have seen, is utterly
changeless. This might strike us
as involving Him in infinite
stagnation. For us, with our
matter-bound habits, activity
seems unthinkable without
change; but
this, as we see
looking closer,
is because we
are finite.
The first
great activity
of the infinite
Spirit is
knowing; with
us this activity involves an im
mensity of change, learning
what we had not known, for
getting what he had; in both
cases the change comes from our
finiteness, in the one case from
ignorance, in the other from a
defect of memory; but God
knows all things, merely by be
ing God, and there is no for
getfulness for Him; so that His
activity of knowing is at once
limitless and changeless; He is
omniscient.
His other great activity is
loving; and that again for men
involves change, waxing and
waning, finding new objects,
losing hold upon things already
loved; here again the change
comes from our limitations; God
loves with infinite loving-pow
er, no loss possible, no increase
conceivable. He knows and
loves with infinite intensity, and
this is not stagnation but meas
ureless vitality.
God is all-powerful, too.
There are no limits to what He
can do, no limits to what He
can make. The most powerful
man cannot make anything of
nothing at all, he needs SOME
material to work upon and in
the absence of material, his
power must lie all locked up
within him and unusable. That
is a solid limitation and God
lacks it. He needs no material:
He creates.
“Can God make a weight so
heavy that He cannot lift it?”
asks the unbeliever. He feels he
has us cornered. If, we say
“yes,” then God cannot lift it;
if we say “no” then God cannot
make it. (The reader might do
well to pause here and think out
how he would answer it.) Our
(Continued on Page Five)
ATTENTION OF CAPITAL
IS DRAWN TO TWO OF THE
NATION’S OLDEST SCHOOLS
Question
Box
By David Q. Lipiak
Q: Isn't it a fact that anyone
who is faithful to the nine First
Fridays or the five First Satur
days will definitely be saved?
Would you please print these
promises in your column some
time, and also interpret them?
A: The particular promise as
sociated with the nine First Fri
days was the last of several
made by Our Divine Lord in a
series of apparitions to the 17th
century French Visitation nun,
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Substantially the promise reads:
“I promise thee, in the exceed
ing mercy of My Heart, that its
all-powerful love will grant to
all those who receive Commun
ion on the First Friday of nine
consecutive months, the grace of
final perseverance; they shall
not die under my sacraments.
My Divine Heart will be their
safe refuge in this last hour.”
FIRST SATURDAY DEVO
TION in honor of Our Lady of
Fatima had its origins in the
promise made by the Blessed
Virgin through Sister Lucia on
December 10, 1925. Eight years
previous, Sister Lucia had been
one of the three children to
whom Our Lady appeared on
six occasions in Fatima, Portu
gal. The promise is as follows:
“. . . I promise to assist at the
hour of death, with the graces
necessary for salvation, all those
who, with the intention of mak
ing reparation to me, on the
First Saturday of five consecu
tive months, go to confession,
receive Holy Communion, say
five decades of the beads, and
keep me company for fifteen *'
minutes while meditating on tbej
fifteen mysteries of the rosary.”®
THIS PROMISE was promul-B
gated by the bishop of Leiria, infj
whose see Fatima is located, on if
September 13, 1939. I
Since both these promises!
arise from private revelation I
(Continued on Page Five) - |
By J. J. Gilbert
WASHINGTON—Two of this
country’s oldest Catholic schools
have been prominent in the
Capital’s news in recent days.
President Eisenhower went to
Mount St. Mary’s College in
nearby Emmittsburg, Md , the
second oldest Catholic college in
this country, to accept an honor
ary degree and to sepak to the
graduating class. The President
spoke of today’s struggle be
tween religious faith and athe
istic communism, and said he
saw no limits to the possibili
ties of a college like Mount St.
Mary’s, “where faith in our God
is put at the very cornerstone
of all that we hope to achieve—-
all America, or any one of us
individually.”
At almost the same time, the
158th commencement of George
town Visitation Convent in this
city, the nation’s second oldest
Catholic girls’ school, served to
recall that at least four young
women prominently identified
with the White House are listed
a m o n g its alumnae. Two of
these young women became
Mistresses of the White House.
Harriet Lane, niece and adopt
ed daughter of President James
Buchanan; Mrs. Russell Harri
son (nee Mary Saunders of Ne
braska), daughter-in-law of
President William Henry Har
rison, and Martha Johnson,
daughter of President Andrew
Johnson, are Visitation Convent
graduates who became First
Ladies of the Land, as White
House hostesses.
Pearl Tyler, daughter of Pres
ident John Tyler, and Mary Wil
cox, whose mother was an
adopted daughter of President
Andrew Jackson, also attended
Visitation.
Visitation had its first com
mencement in the year the Fed
eral Government was moved to
Washington — 1800. President
John Quincy Adams spoke at its
commencement exercises 130
years ago. It was he who signed
the charter of the school, after
it had been certified Dy Secre
tary of State Henry Clay.
President Jackson and John
son entertained Visitation Con
vent students at the White
House. Prominent in a portion
of the school grounds known as
the “Farm” is a pecan tree from
Monticello, Va., a gift of Presi
dent Thomas Jefferson.
When the British set torch to
the Capital City in August,
1814, the Sisters and students at
Visitation, looking from the
school windows, could see the
smoke and flames rising from
the public buildings.
It was also recounted that
Union soldiers, retreating from
the Battle of Bull Run in 1861,
passed by the convent and re
ceived food and water there.
The wife of Confederate Gen.
Pierre Beauregard was a gradu
ate of Visitation. The daughter
of Gen. Winfield Scott, chief of
staff of the U. S. Army at the
outbreak of the Civil War, be
came a Visitation nun and is
buried in the crypt of the chapel
at the school. The daughter of
Emperor Maximillian Iturbide
of Mexico is another Visitation
nun buried at the school.
Receives
Laefare Medal
NEW YORK, (NC)—The Uni
versity of Notre Dame’s 1958
Laetare Medal was presented
here to industrialist Frank M
Folsom by His Eminence Fran
cis Cardinal Spellman. The
Archbishop of New York be
stowed the medal at a ceremony
in the Chancery office. Father
Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.,
president of Notre Dame, read
the citation accompanying the
award, which the university has
presented annually since 1883
to an outstanding American
Catholic layman.
SI-
R A N G E BUT TRU
ittle-K nown Facts for Catholics
E
By M. I. MURRAY
Copyright. 1W8. N.C.W.C. New* Servk*
CHURCH.
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the house where iAe
HOLY FAMILY UVED.
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built OK Me foundations
of a, Century Chut'cti-
ST Vincent Ferrer (13so -1419)
INJARIAQLY PREACHED IN THE
OPEIvl AIR Tt> MULTITUDES OP
10,000 TO 50,000 AND ON
frequent occasions
IMITATED CHRIST By
MIRACULOUSLY
Multiplying pood
TO TEED THEM.
Around, -the
VlRGIN&CHILD
on. the
FORTA1L ROYAL
qA
CHARTRES
CATHEDRAL,
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iiHle IS*! 1 Century
figures of
ARISTOTLE AND
PYTHAGORAS,
the GREEK.
PHILOSOPHERS.
Oh /i/ay /** cAoiis’&rs Sing a Aymn cm the Top of AfXGOALE/l
’701YER, OXFORD. THE CEREMONY WAS SUBSTITUTED AT THE '’REFORMATION''
FOR THE ANNUAL REGjUIEM MASS’ TOR KING -HENRY SIC .g
SHARING OUR TREASURE
Child's Catechism Wins Adult
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
~ (University of Notre Dame) ^ ^ , r , r
It is difficult to. overestimate
the power of the printed word
in spreading the faith. It may
be a pamphlet, a book of con
version stories, a prayerbook or
only a child’s catechism that
sparked the
interest which
leads the read
er through the
portals of
G o d’s great
C h u r ch, the
rendezvous of
all divine
truth. The in
itial interest thus kindled may
start a chain reaction leading
several into the fold.
This fact is brought out by an
incident related by Sister M..
Angelica, O.S.F. of West Point,
Nebraska. “John T. Mason,” be
gan Sister, “suffered a heart
attack and was rushed to the
Good Samaritan Hospital at
Zanesville, Ohio. In taking his
record Sister Angela discovered
he had never been baptized. She
explained the seriousness of his
illness and suggested that he
prepare himself to meet God.
“ ‘Sister,’ he replied, ‘my in
terest in religion has been re
cently kindled in a most un
usual way. I have been hearing
my grandchildren John and
Edith Ritchey recite their cate
chism lessons. This obliged me
to study the catechism carefully
so I could check on their an
swers.
“ ‘Believe it or not, I found in
the truths taught in that simple
catechism the answers to ques
tions that had long perplexed
and baffled me. I had made up
my mind to embrace the Catho
lic faith, and perhaps this heart
attack is God’s way of telling
me to do it now — before the
curtain falls.’
“Sister called the chaplain,
Father Jackson, at once. But as
Mr. Mason showed such marked
improvement, it was deemed ad
visable to defer the baptism un
til he could receive a complete
course of instruction. Shortly af
terwards he returned home, and
a Dominican Father from St.
Thomas’ rectory next door, com
pleted his instructions and bap
tized him.
“After receiving Holy Com
munion he was so full of joy
and gratitude that he telephon
ed the good news to Sister An
gela. ‘Now my constant prayer,’
he said, ‘is to share the source
of my happiness with my wife,
Luella. No one can appreciate
the joy of receiving our Euchar
istic Lord unless he actually ex
periences it.’
“His fervent prayers and his
edifying example were the
channels through which God
sent the precious grace of faith
to Luella. About a year later the
same Dominican Father receiv
ed her into the Church.
“But the miracle of grace did
not stop there. Their son Wil
liam brought his wife, critically
ill, to the hospital. It was touch
and go as to whether she would
live. Mrs. William Mason had
been away from the sacraments
for years. Sister Angela suggest
ed that the chaplain be called,
and Mrs, Mason agreed.
“While Father was adminis
tering Holy Viaticum, her hus
band, a convert who had also
fallen away from the practice
of the Faith, came into the
room. Falling on his knees, he
begged God to spare her life,
tears streaming down his
cheeks.
“God hearkened to his earnest
prayers. Mrs. Mason recovered
and made up for lost time by
her fervor, piety and devotion.
William was not to be outdone
in this regard, and he too be
came a frequent communicant.”
Would you like to share your
faith? Send $1 to the University
of Notre Dame Press, Notre
Dame, Indiana, for four copies
of “Why I.Became a Catholic,”
a 156-page 1 book of fascinating
convert stories. (No order for
less accepted.) These books are
distributed on a non-profit bas
is. Circulate them among non-
Catholic friends and with God’s
grace they will start some on
their way into Christ’s Church.
Still serving as altar boy on his 80th birthday, Henry Wolfe
of St. Mary’s parish, Minneiska, Minn., has a 68-year Mass
serving record to his credit. His dad taught him how to
serve when he was 12 years old. Unusually spry for his age,
his knowledge and devotion for the Mass earned for him the
Catholic Action Medal of the Diocese of Winona, bestowed
upon him in special ceremonies at Winona’s Sacred Heart
Cathedral, May 25. (NC Photos)
Is Tito-Khrushchev Quarrel Window Dressing?
THE
Is the current estrangement
between Nikita Khrushchev and
Marshal Tito genuine? Or is it a
staged maneuver designed to
ex-
the
help the Yugoslav dictator
tract additional aid from
United States?
The sugges
tion that the
two commun- 1l
ist bosses are
indulging in a
bit of stage
play comes
from Rep.
Michael A.
Feighan, of
Ohio. Some people may consid
er his suspicions altogether fan
ciful. But he makes out a case
for his wariness that cannot be
dismissed lightly. He has cited
chapters and verses to show that
there never has been any major
strain in relations between Mos
cow and Belgrade since the
death of Joseph Stalin, and the
situations of tension seem al
ways to arise whenever Con
gress is considering the foreign
aid bill.
Feighan has been a strong
supporter of the foreign aid pro
gram since it was started in
1948. But at the moment he is
unhappy about a provision in
the pending bill that would per
mit the extension of additional
military and economic aid to the
Tito regime.
CONVENIENT RIFTS
He suspects that the current
exchange of hot words between
Khrushchev and Tito and the
Soviet threat to curtail trade
and withdraw economic aid is
merely window dressing cal
culated to bolster the argument
of Titos’ friends in the West
that he must have help in order
to maintain his independence.
The Congressman suggests that
BACKDROP
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
once additional aid for Yugo
slavia is authorized, Tito and
Khrushchev will quickly bury
the hatchet.
Moscow’s sudden attack on
Tito has mystified all of the
government’s experts on com
munist tactics. No one has come
forward with a plausible expla
nation. The suggestion has been
advanced that the Stalinists are
still powerful in the councils of
the Communist party and Khru
shchev has been forced to bow
to their demand for a “tough”
policy toward Tito. But for this
hypothesis there is no real evi
dence.
As Feighan points out, Tito
has been playing Khrushchev’s
game all along. Such rifts as
have occurred have been timed
to occur only when Tito needed
pressure on the United States to
continue military or economic
aid.
For example, in 1956, when
Khrushchev was trying to con
vince the free world that he
favored a new policy of inde
pendent communism in Poland
and Hungary, Tito went along
with that line. But when the ex
periment failed in Hungary, be
cause neither Gero nor Kadar
could be sold to the Hungarian
people as nationalists, Tito
made a complete about face and
attempted to justify Khru
shchev’s ruthless suppression of
the Hungarian uprising.
Early the next year, the Yu
goslav press joined the Soviet
propagandists in denunciation
of President Eisenhower’s Mid
dle East doctrine as an expres
sion of imperialist and colonial
concepts and ridiculed talk of a
danger of communist aggres
sion.
DEVIATIONISM AGAIN?
Then, when the question arose
in this country whether the
United States would continue to
supply Yugoslavia with jet air
planes, Moscow suddenly initi
ated an attack on certain as
pects of Yugoslavias’ alleged na
tional communism. After Presi
dent Eisenhower decided not to
halt the shipment of planes,
Khrushchev and Tito quickly
patched up their differences.
Moscow granted Tito a $250,-
000,000 credit for construction of
a hydroelectric plant and other
factories. And in August the
two dictators, after a meeting in
Rumania, announced they had
reached a full understanding on
concrete forms of co-operation.
From that time down to this
moment, Tito has fulfilled his
end of the bargain in every de
tail. He has defended every
twist in Soviet policy and re
peatedly denounced the United
States. He accused the United
States of violating the Korean
truce agreement. He defended
Mao Tse-Tung’s ruthless exter
mination of critics of the Chi
nese Red regime. He accused the
West of blocking Khrushchev’s
efforts to ease East-West ten
sion. He charged that the United
States was carrying out a policy
of “encirclement, war tnreats
and aggressive attempts to iso
late the Soviet Union.” He rec
ognized the satellite regime in
East Germany.
In short, as Feighan points
out, Tito has given Moscow no
real cause for the present show
of hospitality. Again the charge
against Tito is “deviationism,”
the tactic employed in 1957
when Congress was threatening'
to shut off further aid to Yugo
slavia. This “estrangement”
could turn out to be as fleeting
as those which have occurred in
the past.
Most Problems Have Answers
This We Believe
(By FATHER LEO TRESE)
Just about a year ago we be
gan a series of discussions on
the general topic of “Problems
in Christian Living.” We do not
pretend to have solved, during
the past twelve months, all of
the problems proposed. So many
problems are
uniquely in
dividual and
for their solu
tion would
need personal
guidance ra
ther than a
quick and
ready - cut
answer in prir
before putting a period to this
series, we offer a few general
comments which may or may
not be helpful to those whose
own questions remain unan
swered.
One such comment might be
put in the form of a question: If
I find myself unhappy, dis
satisfied, frustrated — have I
ever sat down and made an
honest effort to think my prob
lem through? Many persons will
live in a stage of interior dis
quiet for years without ever
coming to real grips with their
difficulty. The first question is,
WHY do 1 feel this way? Cut
ting through all non-essential
details, what is the basic cause
of my dissatisfaction?
Having established that much,
the next question is, what can I
do to change conditions? May
be I need to change my job, to
change my place of residence,
to drop some activity (however
an important cog I may think
myself) which is overloading me
and building up tension in me.
Perhaps I need to push myself
to seek new and more challeng
ing friendships, or to engage in
some new activity which will
provide an outlet for talent?
which at present are going to
waste. Aside from the indis
soluble bond of marriage and
parental duties to minor chil
dren, there are few situations
in life, which cannot be changed
if we have the courage to make
the break.
If, after prayer and serious
analysis, my problem still seems
to resist solution, then the next
step would be to take counsel
with someone in whose judg
ment I have confidence. Many
of our larger dioceses now have
marriage-and-family counseling
services available, usually in
connection with the diocesan
Catholic Charities office. A
trained counselor can be of great
help to us in our efforts to ex
plore the causes of and the rem
edies for the burden that op
presses us. Where such services
are not available under Cath
olic auspices, we may find that
our city or county or state of
fers a counseling service in con
nection with its . social service
program.
If specialized guidance re
sources are not available to us,
there surely will be in our cir
cle of friends or acquaintances
someone in whose mature and
sober judgment we have con
fidence. There will be someone
who will canvass our problem
with us, with sympathy and
with discernment. This someone
may be our pastor or another
priest. It may be our family doc
tor or a former teacher. It may
be a friend or relative who pos
sesses those qualities of wis
dom and understanding which
we seek in an adviser.
It is easier of course to have
someone hand us a solution on
a platter; but often we can find
our own answer to our problem
if we are willing to do a little
digging. It is surprising how of
ten we wrestle vainly with a
problem whose answer can be
found on the shelves of a Cath
olic bookstore, or in the card-
index of the local public library.
This is especially true of prob
lems pertaining to child be
havior and child training,, and
problems of personal or marital
adjustment. With the wealth of
books that are available on such
topics, there seems little ex
cuse for wringing our hands and
saying, “I don’t know what to
do.” Our pastor, our Catholic
bookseller, our librarian, one of
the Sisters or other teachers —
all are persons who can help to
steer us to the book or books we
need.
Whether it be by a spell of
honest “thinking through,” or
by discussion with a competent
adviser, or by insight acquired
through reading: the important
point is that for most problems
there is a solution if we really
want to look for it. In a small
minority of instances there may
be a problem for which, human
ly speaking, there is no solution.
Having explored in vain every
avenue of relief without finding
an acceptable answer to our
needs, we then know that Christ
for some mysterious reason has
chosen us to share in His Pas
sion. With every vocation there
go the special graces which en
able the chosen one to fulfill his
task. If we are called to the
apostolate of suffering, we know
that we shall be given the grac
es needed to fulfill our role of
victim-soul.
In that role we must live just
one day at a time, and not try to
carry tomorrow’s burden today.
Each day will bring its needed
strength and courage, and Christ
will be walking close to us al
ways. He never will allow our
cross, however heavy, to crush
us. And as we plod' doggedly
along, souls unknown to us will
be speeding heavenward on the
wings of our pain.
Styt Hullftin
416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Arch
bishop-Bishop of Savannah, the Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta,
and the Right Reverend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont.
Entered as second class matter at the Post Office, Monroe, Georgia,
and accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided by
paragraph (e) of section 34.40, Postal Laws and Regulations.
REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 39 Saturday, June 14, 1958 No. 1
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1957-J958
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
E. M. HEAGARTY, Waycross Honorary Vice-President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta Vice-President
NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
r’s type. Now,