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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. • 1 is bwlt over the house where iAe HOLY FAMILY UVED. Completed in /?14. it is 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, TRANCE. Are two lovelq 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,