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PAGE 4-B—THE BULLETIN, December 27, 1958
Adrian B. Sherman
Ernest L, Sherman
Albert D. Hemstreet
SALES
StfERMAt*
street
INSURANCE
LEASES
LOANS
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
cnif
dhristmaS
JIM BRESNAHAN
Dixie Distributors
(Lombard Warehouse No. 5)
Fenwick at 11th Street
Augusta, Georgia
Merry Christmas
BRIGHAM’S
SUPER MARKET
3 FINE STORES
'Augusta Owned —— Augusta Operated'
JOHN B. MURRAY CO.
REALTORS
General Insurance — Real Estate — Loans
122 EIGHTH STREET PHONE PA. 2-5466
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
nstmas
Doris Jewelry Store
913 BROAD STREET —AUGUSTA, GA.
The Forgotten Saint
By
REV. RAWLEY MYERS
Of the traditional figures that
grace the Christmas crib, St.
Joseph is certainly the least
known. He stands in the sha
dows, like part of the back
ground scenery, a forgotten
saint. Yet here is the greatest
saint in heaven next to the
Blessed Mother herself.
It is time that the great and
noble Joseph be better under
stood. It is time that fallacious
folktales concerning this man
among men to put to rest for
ever.
Joseph so often is pictured as
a tottering -old grandaddy. But
the best authorities tell us that
St. Joseph was about 30 at the
time of the birth of Christ. Com
mon sense dictates that he must
have been young and strong.
God gives no one an assignment
he is unable to carry put. Yet
God commissioned Joseph to be
the protector of Mary and the
Child.
A MAN'S MAN
Can you imagine an octogen
arian making the arduous trips
from Nazareth to the North to
Jerusalem and Bethlehem in
in the South? It would take a
virile youth to lead Mary and
the Child safely on the flight
into Egypt, through desert
wastes, amid wild animals and
marauding bandits, pursued by
Herod’s soldiers.
Then, too, we recall that St.
Joseph was a carpenter. This is
no work for an old man today,
but in Palestine 1900 years ago
where the craftsman had to cut
and hew the wood, carry the
planks, and transport his bulky
products, only the strongest
could ply the trade.
Joseph was youthful and vig
orous, no doubt handsome, tan
ned by the hot sun and raw
wind, big and strong, with rip
pling muscles and calloused
hands. He was, in short, the kind
of man our American boys ad
mire.
Bather than forgetting St.
Joseph, we should bring him
forth as a model for our youth.
For Joseph is a saint for our
times. The thing that made St.
Joseph so pleasing to God was,
not his physical strength, but his
strength of soul manifested in
his purity, obedience, and sense
of justice. These, indeed, are vir
tues for modern teenagers.
St. Joseph was a man’s man.
He was not afraid to fight. Like
a soldier he stood his ground
and did not surrender to temp
tations against purity.
Big men physically who are
weak within often try to laugh
and. brag about their sins to
cover up for their cowardice.
Strong in body, they are flabby
of soul where strength really
counts. Every little wind of
temptation that comes along
blows them over. Yet they try
to pretend that his weakness is
manly.
St. Joseph was a real man, big
within and without. He numbers
among the giants of soul because
he stood up to temptation and
fought because he knew strong
character is more important
than a strong body. As Tenny
son said: “My strength is as the
strength of ten because my heart
is pure.”
St. Joseph was obedient. Here
(By Riley Hughes)
Riley Hughes, associate pro
fessor of English at Georgetown
University, has been contribut
ing stories and articles to the
Catholic- press since 1940. His
novel “The Hills Were Liars,’’
which appeared in 1955, was a
selection of both the Catholic
Literary Foundation and the
Thomas More Book Club. He
is the editor of “All Manner of
Men,” an anthology of repre
sentative short stories from the
Catholic press. He is a staff
columnist for “The Critic” and
since 1951 has been fiction critic
of “The Catholic Weekly.”
Jeff Stuart swung easily to
the platform while the train
paused in a glare of lights be
fore heaving itself north. Every
thing looks the same, he
thought. It’s all as dingy as
when I left. Even the snow,
ranged in uneven drifts under
the train shed, looked dreary.
His sketch pad bulged out of
his coat pocket as he walked
through the tile-walled tunnel
to the street, carrying his bat
tered suitcase. Not much to
come back with, not much to
show for two years abroad.
He walked out into the bad
art of the main street, among
buildings with dark, sullen faces
lipsticked with smears of neon
lights. In. the square he saw a
huge fir strung with colored
bulbs and topped with a lighted
star. A thin-faced, stout-sto
mached Santa Claus brushed
past him, carrying a metal
lunch box. He noticed several
people carrying gaily wrapped
packages, but their faces were
tight-lipped and grim.
NO PLACE ELSE
He remembered then that it
was the Christmas season. He
had'not planned to arrive home
Se
eadon 5
Cjreelin
Augusta’s Finest
then, but when you go by
freighter you don’t arrive by
schedule. And the 24th, he
thought, Christmas Eve. Of all
the days to come back to that
house, the very day he had
been blotting out of his mind,
that day he never wanted to
remember. Well, there was no
place else for him to go.
On his way up the hill to the
house he stopped off at the cor
ner grocery. He’d make himself
a few sandwiches and kill a
couple of cans of beer. The elec
tricity would still be shut off,
and there would be no heat,
but he remembered he had a
few logs left for the fireplace.
He’d probably shove off again
in a few days.
“You don’t come around any
more, Mr. Stuart,” the grocer
said, peering at him gloomily.
“The supermarket maybe?”
“No, not that. I’ve been away.
Spain. Places like that.”
The grocer’s glance said plain
ly that there was no Spain or
places like that. He returned to
his position at the counter, lean
ing on an elbow against the
frozen-food locker. “Merry
Christmas, Mr. Stuart,” he said
to Jeff’s departing back. “Merry
Christmas.” The bell at the top
of the door jingled wearily as
Jeff went out.
He turned the key in his own
door almost with panic. “I
shouldn’t have come back,” he
muttered. “What made me do
it?” Or perhaps, the thought hit
him, I shouldn’t have gone
away.
It was all he could do to keep
from calling Kathy’s name as he
entered the enormous studio
they had made together out of
a ramshackled old coach house.
He struck a match to light the
candles on the mantlepiece over
the huge stone fireplace.
MEMORIES
Then he pulled aside the cur
tains to let in the pale light from
the street lamp. Out of the
shadows rose the room they had
known together. Stacked against
the walls, just as he had left
them two years ago, were his
paintings. He took up a candle
and went over to examine them.
Yes, he remembered that pile.
His Mexican period. Like a pain
the memory of Acapulco —
Kathy and Alcapulco — smote
him. The Mexican shapes mock
ed him in the candlelight.
That was three, almost four
years ago. Kathy was well that
year in Mexico, glowing with
what seemed an exuberant
health. Then they had come
home, for he had an important
commission in sculpture. And in
no time at all she was gone from
him. She had left him with
memories — and stacks of un
sold paintings he no longer re
cognized as his, and sculptures
half finished.
And that was all, all he had
possessed for the past two years
— two years to this day. In
fairness, that was not quite all.
(Continued on Page 5B)
is a virtue for our day, especial
for young people. Joseph was
told to do something and he
obeyed. He did not back talk or
make excuses or try to wiggle
out of an assignment. He ac
cepted; he obeyed.
Finally, in the Bible it tells
us that Joseph was a just man.
It is hard to think of a virtue
needed more now, from the
highest political figure to the
lowliest shoeshine boy. Let this
forgotten saint teach us justice
above all. Let him tell us that
nothing is more important than
to be honest with God and with
self and with one’s fellowman.
To^give God His due is the pa
ramount purpose of life. One
who is honest with himself will
be honest to all. As the father
tells his son in Hamlet; “this
above all, to thine own self be
true and it will follow as the
night the day, thou canst not,
then, be false to any man.”
The star-and-snow scene of
the cave at Bethlehem is viewed
on every side during the festive
Christmas season: the Child, His
Mother, and Joseph. It is right
and proper, of course, that the
Christ Child should be the cen
tral figure in this dramatic set
ting. And Mary surely should
have her rightful place beside
the Babe, for what is a child
without his mother and Jesus
was her little Boy.
But, this Christmas, let us not
forget St. Joseph, the protector;
young, strong, virtuous, a saint
for every youth and for us all
the greatest saint in heaven be
sides the Virgin Mary.
Merry Christmas
MULHERIN
LUMBER COMPANY
INCORPORATED
625 THIRTEENTH STREET AUGUSTA. GA.
Institutional Wholesalers
Fresh - Canned - Dried - Frozen
BIRDSEYE
A
Merry Christmas
dhridtmaS
F. E. FERRIS &
CO.
Clothiers and Haberdashers
752 BROAD STREET
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
~Semitone
STARK - EMPIRE
Laundry Cleaning Dyeing
Rug Cleaning Safety Savings
AUGUSTA. GEORGIA
Established 1837
Platt’s
Funeral Home
721 Crawford Avenue
Augusta, Georgia
CHOCOLATES
(Lspecla ll, for those who love ^ine things
>■
Our Best Wishes To You . . .
Friendly Service At All Times
PERSONAL CHECKS:
No minimum balance is required for you to enjoy
the convenience of our personal joint or individ
ual checking account—
.... ; s V,
10 CHECKS FOR $1.00
North Augusta
Banking Company
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
NORTH AUGUSTA, S. C.
'e’d like to fill your
Stockings with our best
wishes for a Christmas
holiday as bright as the
light in a child’s eyes
... as warm and cheery
as a glowing hearth!
AUGUSTA
/