Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, September 6, 1958
JOSEPH BREIG
The Uses Of Sex
When will the modern world
recover from its sickness over
sex?
The immediate occasion for
the question is a disagreement
that broke out recently in New
York between Catholics on the
one hand, and ^
many Protes
tants and
Jews on the
other.
The debate
was touched
off when the gWH,
commission e r
of hospitals re
fused to allow a physician to
prescribe and fit a contraceptive
device to a patient in a city-
owned hospital.
JEWISH AND Protestant lead
ers and organizations advocated
reversal of both the decision and
the policy. They alleged that
Catholics were trying to impose
their moral code on others.
Surely the truth is that if
Catholics are not free to defend
a moral position, then it is they
who find somebody else’s con
victions forced upon them.
City-owned hospitals are tax-
supported. Catholics pay taxes.
They object to use of public
money for a purpose condemn
ed as grossly immoral. They do
not wish to be made to con
tribute, against their consciences
and wills, to such a purpose.
That much, it seems to me,
ought to be easy for anybody
t* understand.
BUT THE MATTER goes
much deeper. I am afraid that
many of our fellow-citizens do
not realize how revolting arti
ficial birth-prevention is to
Catholics. We detest even talk
ing about it, and wish other
Americans would stop making
it necessary to do so.
Contraceptives debase the hus
band-wife relationship, which
ought to be morally and spirit
ually elevating, to a level lower
than the bestial.
We did not create ourselves.
We were made by God in His
image and likeness. He gave us
our faculties for His service, the
service of fellowmen, and our
perfection in holiness.
Speech, for instance, is given
for such uses as adoration,
thanksgiving, petition; for com
municating truth, comforting
the afflicted, instructing the un
learned, evoking soul-healing
laughter.
WILL ANYONE except a de
generate deny that a human
being degrades himself and in
sults his Creator when he uses
his tongue for blasphemy, for
obscenity, for malicious gossip
and character-assassination, for
defrauding the trusting, for se
ducing the innocent, for false
hood?
To speak so is to cheat God.
It is to pervert a gift He gave
for love of us.
The power of eating and
drinking, for another example,
is given so that we will nourish
our bodies. In our day of die
tetic science, we understand this
very well.
NO ONE NEEDS be told how
vile was the practice of the pa
gan Romans, who invented the
vomitorium for hoggish indul
gence, seizing upon the pleasure
of eating while frustrating its
God-given purpose.
Sex, too, is given to us for
noble uses. And contraceptives
are to sex what lies and malice
are to the tongue, what the
vomitorium was to nourishment.
To deny this is to blind oneself
to truth.
Marriage is given to men and
women so that in sacred love
they may joyously serve God,
uplift each other in divine grace,
and in deepest union confer the
noble offices of father and moth
er.
AS HUSBAND AND WIFE,
and as parents, a man and wom
an learn together the profound
meanings of love both human
and divine. And with God they
co-create new immortal beings
destined for eternity with God.
If Catholics did not love their
fellowmen, they could shrug off
the public promotion of filth
such as contraception. They
could, say: “Let people wallow.
Let them destroy their happi
ness and the image of God in
each other.”
But Catholics cannot be indif
ferent about the happiness and
holiness of any one—nor about
the survival of decent society,
which cannot stand save on the
foundation of good marriages.
Least of all can Catholics be
careless about God’s rights.
Theology
For The
Layman
Ci
O Li
bang e but tru
.ittfe-Kn own Fact* for
By M. J. MURRAY
Catholic*
CopyiljM. MM, W C W.C.
E
(By F. J. Sheed)
The truths God has revealed
to us of His innermost life are
not easy for us to take hold of
and make our own. They do
not yield much of their meaning
at a first glance. I can only urge
readres to go
back over the
last articles in
this series,
reading them
slowly. Re
member that
we are making
this study not
to discover
whether there are three Persons
in God (for He has revealed
that there are); still less to
verify it (for no effort of our
mind could make it any surer
than God's own word); but
simply to get more light on it
and from it.
It is hardly my place to urge
students to pray for understand
ing. I can only state the plain
fact that without prayer there
will be precious little under
standing. Our minds cannot take
God’s inner life by storm; we
shall see as much as He gives
us light to see.
But while we are talking of
prayer, it should be noted that
there is special light to be got
from the Church’s prayers, if
we try to bring our new know
ledge of the doctrines into say
ing them. The Preface of the
Blessed Trinity in the Mass, for
instance, is a blaze of meaning;
so are the Creeds and some of
the great hymns, especially the
Veni Sancte Spiritus and the
Veni Creator. No book on doc
trine will teach you as much as
the Missal — provided you bring
some knowledge with you. That
is why this series exists.
With what has gone before
re-read and meditated, we can
go on to the completion of a
first rough sketch of the doc
trine of the Blessed Trinity.
We have already glanced at
the odd idea that, if God has a
Son, the Son must be younger.
(Continued on Page Five)
Question
SHARING OUR TREASURE
Box
Navy Lieutenant Wins Sweetheart
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
(By David Q. Liptak)
- -- rr (University of Noire Dame)
Q. Maybe I haven't looked in
the right books, but I can't seem
to find any detailed reference to
the correct name, history and
significance of the long black
garment worn by priests in and
around the church and the rec
tory. I know that it's called a
"cassock." But why? Is the red
robe worn by bishops also a cas
sock? Does the pope wear a cas
sock?
A. The long, black coat-like
garment worn by priests in and
around church and the rectory
is the ordinary clerical garb
prescribed by the Church. In
this country it is called the “cas
sock,” from the French casaque,
i. e., “long coat.” Another Eng
lish term for it is “soutane,”
taken directly from the French
soutane, which itself is derived
from the Italian sottana (“be
neath”), so-called because the
cassock is worn beneath a man
tle or a surplice or the vest
ments of the liturgy. In Latin
the cassock is technically known
as the vestis talaris (“vestment
extending to the ankles”). In
ancient times -it was also called
the pellicia (from the Latin pel-
lis, i.e., “skin or hide”) because
it was frequently made of ani
mal hides and lined with fur for
protection against the cold.
REMOTELY, the origins of
the cassock can be traced to
the everyday garment worn by
almost everyone of Romano-
Grecian culture during the first
five centuries. When, toward the
close of the sixth century, the
laity (with the exception of sol
diers and government and court
officials) began to wear a short
er tunic, the cassock-like gar
ment was retained by the
Church as the distinctive garb of
clerics. The proximate origins Of
the modern cassock date from
the eleventh century.
TWO FORMS of the cassock
are commonly worn by the
priests of our country today. One
form, known generally as the
Roman cassock, can be described
as a simple black sleeved robe,
falling from the collar to the
feet, without a waistline, and
(Continued on Page Six)
Mixed courtship can be either
the occasion of losing a member
or winning one. It depends very
largely upon the depth of faith
and strength of character of the
Catholic. If he believes pro
foundly in his religion, esteems
it as his most precious treasure
and is deter
mined never
to jeopardize
either his faith
or that of his
children, he
will usually
succeed in
sharing it with
his sweet
heart.
That this is so is illustrated
by the experience of Lieutenant
Frank E. Henrich, formerly of
Lennox, S. D. and now of Our
Lady, Help of Christians parish,
Chicago.
“I was a lieutenant in the
navy,” began Frank, “when I
met Barbara Hawkins, a senior
student nurse at South Carolina
Medical College, at Charleston.
Barbara is a lovely girl and it
was not long before my admira
tion for her was blossoming into
love. She comes from Bartow 7 ,
a small town in Florida.
“But as there are few Cath
olics there, Barbara had virtual
ly no occasion to learn anything
about the Catholic Faith. I be
gan to explain some of the
teachings of our religion to her
and told her what great joy
and happiness it was to receive
our Lord in Holy Communion.
“As my love for her grew 7 , I
wanted desperately to share
with her my greatest source of
happiness. I brought her to Sun
day Mass, briefing her on its
meaning, and giving her my
prayerhook. It meant a lot for us
to pray together and to assist
at the Holy Sacrifice. That’s
where your love takes on a new
dimension, for God comes into
it.
“Then I took Barbara to Our
Lady of Mercy Church, Charles
ton, where Father John J. Mur
ray, C.S.Sp., instructed her and
answ'ered all her questions in a
kind and friendly way. While
Barbara was under instruction,
one of her classmates, Joyce
Munn, told her that she had long
admired the Catholic religion
and would like to know more
about it.
“So Barbara arranged for her
to meet Father Murray, and
soon Joyce was going with Bar
bara to the instructions. When
ever possible Barbara brought
Joyce to Sunday Mass, so she
would see the Faith in action
and sense the deep reverence of
the worshipers. That proved
most helpful.
“After Barbara finished in-,
structions, she was baptized and
received by Father Murray.
When Barbara made her first
Holy Communion, our cup of
. joy was overflowing. How rich
ly God had rewarded my hum-,
blc efforts to share my treasure.
“Joyce completed her instruc
tions about a month later, and
when she was baptized, Bar
bara served as her godmother.
When Joyce received Holy Com
munion the next morning, Bar
bara was kneeling at her side.
Both were radiantly happy, and
so was I in seeing that through
God’s grace I had started a chain
reaction, leading three into the
fold. Barbara and Joyce were
confirmed by Bishop Russell
who has done so much to spread
the Faith in South Carolina.
“Ida Myers and Marlene Par-
kenson, other classmates of Bar
bara, also became interested.
Barbara arranged with Father
Murray for their instruction.
Marlene has already become a
Catholic, and we hope before
long Ida too will enter the fold.
“Barbara and I were married
by Father Murray at Bartow at
a Nuptial Mass, attended by sev
eral hundred people, mostly
non-Catholics. We hope God will
enable Barbara and me to share
our precious treasure with many
others, for that is one of the
greatest joys a Catholic can ever
experience.” j
GRANADA, SPAIN, Ms one of
THE WRLV's LARGEST
TROGLODYTE POPULATIONS.
THE UNDERGROUND CAVES
WHERE TNiy DWELL COVER A
SQUARE MILE S* INCLUDE STORES,
mvsRNS, schools &• churches .
PANAMA CATHEDRAL
Are over-laid,
with.
Mother-of-pearl.
•o many strange
legends, Visions
<S~ miracles
are associated
I iNitii
\ST CHRISTINA
(IISO - 1224).
she is known.
ASTONISHING*
fC
Jottings...
(By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
CARDINAL NEWMAN'S
CAUSE
• THE INTRODUCTION of
the cause of Cardinal Newman
is of special interest to me. Most
of all because the late Monsig
nor Cornelius J. Holland was
such a devotee of Newman and
was impatient for such a day
when the scholarly churchman
would be fully recognized for
his magnificent contributions.
Monsignor Holland and Cardi
nal Newman were much alike
in their gentlemanliness, their
scholarship, their sensitiveness,
their method of communication.
Monsignor Holland’s extensive
Newman library is now at Our
Lady of Providence Seminary.
On one of my last visits with
Monsignor Holland before his
death, he committed to my care
his writings and observations
on his priestly and scholarly
idol. I have his manuscript with
me and hope someday to assem
ble his notes for publication.
There are other reasons, too, for
my interest in Newman. He was
a convert and in his writings on
his attitudes and feelings I meet
myself often. Too, I attended
the University College in Dub
lin which he founded. I attend
ed that college' of which he
based his “Idea of a University”
in the centennial year of its es
tablishment and I attended Mass
those privileged days in New
man chapel there. At present I
am taking a course in Newman
and studying more closely some
of his writings which as a new
convert and as one unschooled
in logic and Church history
were once too rich for me.
Would that Monsignor Holland
were living today to rejoice in
the news of the Cardinal’s cause
introduction and would that I
could talk over my classes with
him and the joys of special
Newman . messages. But then
certainly the good Monsignor is
well aware of all that transpires
froiri a far better vantage point
than we are.
• IN MY NEWMAN readings,
I am constantly amazed at his
timeliness. He would be at the
forefront today in the crusade
for more active Catholic scholar
ship. He should indeed be the
patron of the Monsignor Ellis-
Father Cavanaugh crusade. His
was the same cry. Again in a
period in which self-styled reli
gion, humanism, the no-grace
and “I am sufficient to myself”
philosophy prevails, Newman’s
writings, Newman’s life in the
pursuit of Truth, the one True
Church is stinging rebuke. One
writer says in such perfect sum
mary: “If I had to invent a cate
gory, I would say Newman was
a prophet, a prophet to his own
age and still more to our own.
He felt called to save the mod
ern age from its own wisdom
and win it to the foolishness of
the Cross.” Too often Newman
is presented as the pompous
scholar, an Anglican in Roman
. clothing. At first, his writings
scared me away. I then read
“Lead Kindly Light” instead of
the “Apologia” which I am now
enjoying. Where Newman, the
brilliant scholar, fails to appeal;
Newman, the personality, the
patient victim, will win.
• UNLIKE NEWMAN I never
met with the adversities and
misunderstandings and jealous
ies which he did when entering
the Church. Every endeavor he
undertook ended in failure. He
was attacked constantly from
within and without. Sometimes
I recoil while reading my Morn
ing Offering which says: “What
do you send today, My Lord?
Humiliations, contradictions,
physical sufferings, bad news
which I do not expect; an aching
heart, failure? Shall I see my
self misjudged, wrongly suspect
ed, despised. All that You wish,
0 my God; I accept it all in ad
vance . . .” Newman met with
all these adversities and he
met them head on. He writes
of himself: “O how forlorn and
dreary has been my course since
1 became a Catholic! Here has
been the contrast ... as a Prot
estant, I felt my religion dreary,
but not my life—but as a Cath
olic, my life dreary, not my re
ligion. Since I made the great
sacrifice to which God called
me, He has rewarded me in ten
thousand ways, O how many!
but He has marked my course
with unintermittent mortifica
tions.” Nearly every project he
attempted was a failure: the
Irish university; his writings
were met with suspicion; his
Oratory at Oxford; his editor
ship of the "Rambler.” Yet New
man said: “One thousand diffi
culties do not justify one doubt.”
Ignorance ceases to be bliss to
those seeking information. j
Key members of the staff at St. Paul’s Hospital, Dallas,
whose duties prevent them from remaining in one place dur
ing most of their duty hours have been issued a Motorola
Handie Talkie a transistorized low-powered radio receiver
with built-in speaker and antennas. This innovation in page
systems replaces the noise of the old public address system.
In the photo, SisJLer Blanche (at mike) pages Sister Alphon-
sine over her Handie Talkie as Sister Alberta (center)
listens in. (NC Photos J
Pensions For Former Presidents
THE BACKDROP
Conferees of the Senate and
the House have agreed upon a
bill to provide former Presi
dents of the United States with
a pension for life and it now
seems likely the bill will be
passed.
Former Presidents will be
entitled to receive a pen
sion of $25,000
a year, free
mailing privi
leges, free of
fice space and
$50,000 a year
for clerical
help.
At present
the only former Presidents who
could claim such retirement
privileges are Herbert Hoover,
a millionaire, and Harry S. Tru
man. Two widows of former
Presidents are still living—Mrs.
Woodrow Wilson and Mrs.
Franklin D. Roosevelt. For
them, as for the widow of any
present or future past president,
the bill provides a pension of
$10,000 a year.
On first consideration, many
taxpayers may wonder why
Congress felt that a President,
who may serve as short a period
as four years, should receive re
tirement pay for the rest of his
life. The general expression
seems to be that American
Presidents, in recent years at
least, have left the Presidency
with ample private means to
keep the wolf from the door.
FEW WEALTHY
It is true, of course, that
Presidents who have served
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
since the turn of the century
have not experienced financial
difficulties in their retirement,
although few have been men of
great wealth. But it must be
remembered that, while the rate
of the individual income was
low, a President was able to
save and invest a large part of
his salary. Now, although the
salary of the President is the
highest it has ever been, most
of what he receives goes back
to Uncle Sam in the form of
taxes.
Woodrow Wilson was a man
of modest means, but his second
wife was a woman of wealth.
Warren G. Harding, who died
in office, was a moderately
wealthy newspaper publisher.
Calvin Coolidge practiced New
England thrift throughout his
life and saved a large percent
age of his White House pay.
After he retired he was paid
handsomely for writing a syn
dicated column for newspapers.
Herbert Hoover had amassed a
fortune before he ran for Presi
dent.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, while
not in Hoover’s income bracket,
left a large estate. But Presi
dent Harry S. Truman has said
that he would not have been
able to live in retirement in the
manner a former President is
expected to live had he not in
herited property in his home
state of Missouri. President Eis
enhower, who lived for most of
his life on the meager pay of an
Army officer, had the good luck
to write a best seller and re
ceive special tax treatment on
the proceeds. Otherwise, he
probably would have had only
a modest nestegg on which to
live after leaving olfice.
RETIREMENT EXPENSIVE
Some of our Presidents in the
early years of the Republic left
the White House virtually des
titute of means. Jefferson neg
lected his private affairs and
only the generosity of a. wealthy
widow enabled him to pay his
bills after he retired to Monti-
cello. To buy the books he loved
so much he sold off much of his
land. Finally to satisfy his cred
itors he sold his library to Con
gress and this collection became
the foundation of the present
Library of Congress.
General Grant was hounded
by creditors when he left the
White House. Despite the pain
ful ravages of cancer he strug
gled to dictate two volumes of
memoirs. Proceeds from the sale
of this work, which was popu
lar, enabled him to die free of
debt and assured that his fam
ily would have enough to live
on.
Particularly in these days, for
mer Presidents find it impossi
ble to spend their declining
years in a vine-covered cottage.
They continue to be public fig
ures, subject to demands that
entail heavy expenditures. For
mer President Truman has said
that it takes three clerks mere
ly to handle the mail that pours
into Independence day after day.
If only for the reason that as
surance of a life pension would
make it possible for a poor man
to serve in the Presidency, the
proposed retirement pay bill
would seem to be justified.
Put It In Mary’s Hands
This We Believe
(By FATHER LEO TRESE)
It is seven years and four
months since I began writing
my weekly column. That means
a total of 381 columns, or about
381,000 words. Even a very talk
ative woman would have diffi
culty speaking
that many
words without
repeating her
self. You will
not be sur
prised then
when I con
fess that I am
beginning t o
feel “talked out,” beginning to
feel that I have said everything
I have to say. Consequently I
am going to declare a morator
ium on writing for others, and
devote my spare moments to
the task of replenishing my own
mind with some serious reading'
and reflecting. It is time that I
shut up and let others talk for
a while.
This will be my last column,
at least for the present and for
the foreseeable future. It any
thing that I have written seems
to you to be worth reading, I
might mention that most of
what I have said during this
past year is now available in
book form. The book is pulv
lished by Fides Publishers of
Chicago, and its title is MORE
THAN MANY SPARROWS.
(“Are not five sparrows sold
for two farthings? And yet not
one of them is forgotten before
God. . . Therefore do not be
afraid, you are of more value
than many sparrows” — Luke
12:6-7).
As I sign off, I do want to
thank all of you, my unseen
friends. Each week has brought
its quota of encouraging letters.
In addition to those who have
written, I feel sure that I have
had a share in the prayers of
many generous readers whose
names I shall not know until
eternity. I hope that you may
continue to give me that men
tion in your prayers, as I most
certainly shall continue to re
member, in my own prayers and
Masses, all who have read my
printed words.
In saying farewell, I have
been trying to decide what final
message of advice, support or
admonition I might offer. 1
hardly could do better than to
confide my reader-friends to
Mary’s care — to her who is the
beloved distributor of her Son’s
treasury of grace.
In our perplexities, our wor
ries, our needs we cannot do
anything smarter than to con
fide ourselves and our cause to
God’s mother and ours. We hear
this often said in sermons and
we read it often in pious books.
Yet in spite of the repetition (or
possibly because of it) many of
us do not have the lively reali
zation that we ought, of Mary’s
power to help us, of Mary’s
eagerness to help us. Her Son
has placed His own infinite
power at Mary’s disposal. Her
eagerness to use that power on
behalf stems Mary’s conscious
ness of the value of each of us
to Jesus. She stood at the foot
of the cross and saw the price
that He paid for us. She counted
that price being paid, drop by
drop, as it soaked into the
ground at her feet.
There are many good Cath
olics who practice a kind of
conventional devotion to Mary.
They say their daily rosary from
a sense of duty. With equal
dutifulness they join with the
Church in the celebration of
Mary’s feasts. But they do not
feel the sense of personal close
ness to Mary that Jesus would
have us all to feel. They do not
have a sense of the reality of
Mary’s personal interest in each
of us. They do not advert to
Mary’s yearning, as all mothers
do yearn, to be needed by her
children and to be called upon
for the help that she can give.
There are many good Cath
olics who never have challenged
Mary’s power and love. There
are many Catholics who never
have said, “Mother, here is a
petition that means a lot to me.
I place my cause in your hands.
I know without the shadow of a
doubt that you will hear me and
help me. You take over new.
I’ll not worry a moment more.”
In our day and age we are so
sophisticated, so wise with the
wisdom of the world. It is hard
for us to capture the childlike
attitude of dependence-with-con-
fidence that Jesus wants us to
exhabit towards His mother. He
has tried so persistently to get
His point across: at Lourdes, at
Fatima and in a hundred other
places and times. Unremittingly
Jesus tries to get us to share
His own enthusiasm for His
mother. Yet many of us con
tinue to pay lip service to Mary
without a really vivid conviction
of her nearness to us, of her
hungry love for us. It is a near
ness and hunger that never was
matched even by our own
mother during our tenderest
childhood days.
As I say goodby to you my
readers, I cannot do more for
you than to wish and pray for
3 7 ou this lively trust in Mary,
this personal warmth towards
Mary. I like her best under her
title of “Mother of Sorrows,”
but really it matters little by
what title we address her. What
ever mantle-of-the-moment she
may wear, it is the fact that she
is our God-given mother that
matters — our loving, powerful,
eager, listening and arms-open
mother.
All the verbose "counsel that I
have offered in this column
during the past seven years
counts as nothing, compared
with this: PUT IT IN MARY’S
HANDS!
LIFE'S LIKE THAT
The average man spends nine-
tenths of his time trying to eran
enough money to enable him to
enjoy the other tenth.
Too many people are influ
enced by everything but facts.
The world takes you at your
worth it’s up to you to estab
lish it.
lulktut
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. Subscription
price $3.00 per year.
Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Georgia. Send
notice of change of address to P. O. Box 320, Monroe, Georgia.
REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 39 Saturday, September 6, 1958 No. 7
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1957-1958
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