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PAGE'4—THE BULLETIN, March 7, 1959 JOSEPH BREIG ti IF ONE JUST MAN Each week this column, of mine is published in so many Catholic newspapers that sev eral million persons have the chance to read it. How many do so, I have no way of knowing. I am not unduly con cerned on that score. If there is any thing that history teaches in very large type, it is the fact that the great changes in the world usually are brought about by the comparative few. I try never to forget that God was willing to spare a wicked city from destruction if but one just man could be found living there. That story is told in the Old Testament. It was written about people thousands of years ago. Todayj you and I are living in the midst of a similar story. FORTY-TWO YEARS ago, God sent the Virgin Mary to a village in Portugal to tell man kind how peace can be obtained for our planet. Nobody realized then how in dispensable peace soon would be. But now we know. A war in our time, thanks to our new weapons, could wipe out civili zation. Possibly it could even make the earth uninhabitable. One airplane today can stand off, hundreds or thousands of miles away, and unerringly strike cities dead. A submarine, lurking invisible under the sea, can pour nuclear devastation upon population centers at great distances. BALLISTIC MISSILES can be loosed from underground launching sites to carry atomic explosives into the heart of a nation. These are some of the meth ods of death and destruction that we know about. There are others that are “top secret” — we can only speculate about them. There is no use trying to de lude ourselves that these forces cannot be let loose upon us. In evitably they will be let loose unless God restrains them. The Virgin Mary, at Fatima in Portugal, told us, through three shepherd children, how we can insure that the divine restraints will. be ''applied and will continue. She said: "People inusl pray xhc Rosary." She asked that individuals and nations consecrate them selves to her Immaculate Heart. She urged that we make the sacrifices necessary for our state in life. And she pledged . the graces we need at the hour of death if we : will receive Communion and pray the Rosary on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, to make reparation for mankind’s ! sins—and ours. Our Lady entrusted three “se crets” to the shepherd children, to be made known at the ap propriate times. The two which have been re vealed concerned the outbreak of World War II and the com munist persecution of the Church, together with the pro-* mise that Russia will be con verted and an era of peace will be granted to humanity. THE LAST of the secrets was written and sealed by Carmel ite Sister Mary Immaculate, the only one of the children, now living. According to popular be lief, it will be given to the pub lic next year. Between now and then, we will be especially diligent in ful filling the requests of Our Lady of Fatima, if we are people of good sense. Some of us have done little or nothing thus far. Some of us, in other words, have been fool ish, careless and slothful. It is silly of us to be like that. Indeed, it is uncharitable, it is terribly selfish. WE CATHOLICS have the Church, the sacraments and sac- ramentals, the Catholic devo tions, because they were given to us as free gifts from the Holy Spirit, who “breathes wherever He will.” These gifts, valuable beyond words, were not given for our good alone. We have a duty towards others — our neighbors, our countrymen, our fellowmen all around the earth. It is our business to draw forth God’s blessings and pro tection for them as well as for ourselves. Very well, then; in nine or 10 months 1960 will be open upon us. I hope that what I have writ ten will move at least a few to do their part in fulfilling the urgent requests of Our Lady of Fatima. Theology For The Layman By F. J. Sheed Having reached this point, the Catholic reader is usually anx ious to get on to the story of the Fall of Man. He feels that the Fall is the really interesting thing, Crea tion being only a necessary p r e liminary. There could be no Fall till Creation pro vided the man and the wo man; but once the man and the woman have arrived, there’s no need to lin ger: he wants to get on with the story: what, he feels, are we waiting for? But we, who are studying the ology, cannot go racing on like that. If we do, we shall simply not understand the Fall, or in deed anything else that has hap pened to man. We must linger on Creation to see two things principally. The first is what the being was who fell —■ that is we must look more closely at the nature of man. The second is what he fell from and why it matters — that is we must stu dy God’s plan for the race He had created. Only then can we go on to see what man made of God’s plan. It will be s o m e weeks yet before we come to the Fall. The souls, the life-principles, of plants and animals produce no vital activities which rise above matter: they are marvel lous enough, they animate the body; in plants they make possi ble movement and growth and reproduction, in animals some faint likeness of knowledge, some faint beginning of social life, as well. “Breath,” remember, is the name of the Third Person of the Trinity, for the root meaning of the word spirit is breath. Put this together with another phrase from Genesis: “Let us make man to our image and likeness.” What God breathed into man w~as His own image and likeness — a spiritual soul. It is by our soul — partless, spaceless, immortal, capable of knowledge and love —- that we resemble God. It is an improb- (Continued on Page 5) Question Box (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) By David Q. Liptak Q. When consecrating the host at Mass, why is it that the priest says: This is "my" Body, instead of. This is "Christ's" Body? A. During the Consecration of Mass the priest says “This is My. Body,” because at that very mo ment he is mystically identified with Christ, the Principal Priest of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The celebrant, in other words, ac tually takes Christ’s place at the altar. The rite of consecration is but a repetition of the Savior’s words and actions in the Upper Room at the Last Supper. The priest puts himself in the place of Christ (a position he is em powered and authorized to as sume by virtue of his ordina tion), and rehearses the very words and gestures used by Our Lord on Holy Thursday. The cel ebrant of Mass takes a piece of bread in his hands, as Christ did; he glances heavenward, as Christ did; and he blesses the host, as Christ did. Then, still mystically united with Christ, he pronounces Christ’s very words over the host. The same procedure is follow ed in the Consecration of the wine. Q, If one goes io confession and receives Holy Communion sometime during Lent, does he thereby fulfill his Easter Duty? A. One’s Easter Duty may be fulfilled during Lent. The an nual Easter Season, during which Catholics are bound to receive the Holy Eucharist worthily, extends in this coun try from the first Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday, inclus ive. Q. Every now and then I come across the word "oblate" with reference to certain groups of priests; i.e., "the Oblate Fathers of the Blessed Virgin and St. Ambrose." What does the term (Continued on Page 5) • WE ALL HAVE a longing for something we cannot quite explain. It surges over us often. It comes to us at the end of an unsatisfactory, day, often with the winds and rain and when we are away from familiar sights and faces. We arc lonely. We ire .discouraged. -Yet we try to’ escape it. In Lent rrtost especial-' ly. with the dolorous notes of: the Psalms, a recordant note is struck in the very depth of our beings. We think that we may be sick or odd or wrong. We want to loose this strange emp-' ty longing. Each Lent somehow I return to Bede Jarrett’s “No' Abiding City” for somehow it fills a need and gives the an swers to Some of these restless feelings which beset. We find assurance that this restlessness, this dissatisfaction, this loneli ness for something or someone is quite natural. We are not mean! to be at, home in this world, We: are travelers anc j pH - grims and we have no abiding’ city here. The insatiable longing is quite natural. • ONE OF T. S. ELLIOT'S characters in “The Cocktail Par ty” Cries the eternal, need: “I want to be cured of a craving for something I cannot find and of the shame of never finding it.” There is no cure this side of heaven. There is no shame. We were meant id be lonely for we are not complete without God. We seek instead a lasting home - here among friends, comforts, sensual pleasures, food and drink. We attempt to quench the thirst and insatiable longing of the soul in creating goods. Bede Jarrett tells us that we should not build on people and places that come to us. If we were to look on life as a journey, we would not build roots and at tachments that would hurt us when they fail and spoil. • FATHER JARRETT'S words soothe but all too often in the course of one day we for get their wisdom: a friend dis appoints, a plan anticipated goes awry or most of all I disappoint myself with the uncharitable re- njark or the less noble decision. Too often we look to those around us for the standard in stead of looking above. We take on the custom and manner of the majority around us. They do this and that so we must do likewise. We are only visitors here, travelers and why do we fret? As heirs of heaven, bap tized Catholics, we m u s t be apart and different. We are lonely and we have another martini. We are restless and we must take a trip. We are dis satisfied with ourselves so we mix freely and fiercely shutting out the Vision , which alone can cure. Father Jarrett says that the tragedy of living is losing the living. With the dead, there is complete union and no mis understanding. In remembering that here, we have no abiding city, Father Jarrett says: “all the troubles, joys, they pass but that of which we were made remains forever. Your heart is restless today? It must be rest less until it finds infinite rest. To Him: we belong. To us: He belongs. We were meant to be One. In our moments of misery, it shall be warmth to us. Feeble? Tired? We were made for God.” How Do You Rate on Facts of Faith r ^W)] t By Brian Cronin 1. Exactly 100 years ago The Blessed Virgin appeared at Lourdes before a 14-year old girl whose name was: (a) Cath erine Laboure? (b) St. Bernadine? (c) Mariette Beco? (d) Bernadette Soubirous? 2. Who did the other Apostles choose by lot to replace Judas? (a) Lot? (b) Matthias? (c) Matthew? (d) Philip? 3. The Decalogue is another name for: (a) The Ten Command ments? (b) The Rosary? (c) The Holy Ghost? (d) The Bible? 4. The Cappa Magna of a cardinal is his: (a) Head-piece? (b) Ring? (c) Seal? (d) Long flowing robe? 5. St. Joachim was the father of: (a) St. Joseph? (b) Our Lady? (c) St. Peter? (d) Judas? 6. What is a Concordat? (a) A Church-state treaty? (b) A Hymn? (c) A prayer for peace? (d) A choir? 7. A Novena consists of how many days’ prayer? (a) 1? (b) 3? (c) 7? (d) 9? 8. The oration by the priest immediately before the Epistle is called the: (a) Introit? (b) Collect? (c) Credo? (d) Confi- ter? Give yourself 10 marks for each correct answer below. Rating: 80-Excellent; 70-Very Good; 60-Good; 50-Fair. Answers: 1 (d); 2 (b); 3 (a); 4 (d); 5 (b); 6 (a); 7 (d); 8 (b) Better TV Up To Viewer THE BACKDROP SHARING OUR TREASURE 'Bird Dog' Helps Win Family Of Five By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D. (University of Notra Dame)' SELF-APPRAISAL It’s impossible to push your self forward by patting yourself on the back. ONE-WAY You may overtake a lot of people on the road to ruin, but you never meet anyone return ing. Never judge an argument by its sound — it may be all sound, or it may not be sound at all. Hunters of fowl rely heavily upon bird dogs to locate their quarry and flush them out in the open. Without such help they would be severely handi capped. Priests are hunters of souls and they too need “bird dog s.** The help such apostolic bird dogs can give i s illustrated by the experi ence of Mrs. Patrick J. Boner, 1933 East 34th S t., Tucson, Arizona, for such was the role she played. “I am a convert,” related Mrs. Boner, “and I am so grateful to God for the grace that led me into His Church five years ago, that I have often prayed that I might be able to show my grati tude by helping to share the Faith with others. The oppor tunity came when the Robin son family moved from Shippen- burg, Pennsylvania, and settled next to me. “Right from the start I liked the Robinsons—Ned and Sara, and their three children, Debbie, Cathy and Sally Jane. Our baby girls were but one week apart, and that gave us an additional common interest. At Thanks giving her parents came for a visit. “Her father said that when he was a small boy he had been baptized a Catholic. But as there was no Catholic church in that small town in Pennsyl vania he had drifted away. Sara and her sister had gone to their mother’s church and had been baptized but not reared in that faith. Two years ago the father had returned to the practice of the Faith and had been con firmed. “He was now eager to have Sara instructed in the Catholic Faith and his grandchildren baptized in it. We took him, Debbie and Cathy to Mass with us. “Two week later Legionnaires of Mary called at our home. I invited Sara over, and we in quired if she would like to send the giris to religious classes on Sunday. She talked it over with Ned and he decided it would be well for both of them to take instructions so they could an swer questions which the chil dren, would soon be asking. “Thrilled by this good news, 1 phoned Father Thomas Boyle at Al l Saints, our parish church. I even suggested that he pay them an informal visit as they had never talked to a priest. “Father was hesitant at first for fear, as he said, that they might feel obligated. But after Christmas he called on them and arranged for their instruc tion. Sara and Ned would go to the rectory one night a week, while I baby sat, and Father would come to their home one night a week. “The Robinsons had received only two instructions when a Southern Baptist minister, who had just heard that Ned had not been baptized, called on them. Like other Protestant ministers he did not let any grass grow under his feet, but made a beeline to their door. He wanted to baptize Ned at once, but Ned had already be come interested in the Catholic Faith and courtebusly declined the minister’s invitation. “After four months of in struction the entire Robinson family was baptized, and I was the godmother of the three chil dren. We were all radiantly happy: I scarcely less than they. With all my heart I thanked God for letting me be His “bird dog.” “I handed a book, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, over a backyard fence. I asked a priest to visit a family, and helped out at babysitting. They were only little things, but God paid me great happiness and three godchildren.” The American people—a very large number of them, at least—- are doing a lot of grumbling these days about the type and quality of the programs they watch on their television screens. Yet, they are doing very little t o im prove them. Despite their profession dis- taste for a high percent age of the shows offered by the networks, the average American family, according to a study by the Fund for the Re public, spends 42 hours a week before its television set. It has been estimated that the typical American spends more time looking at television in a given week than he does working. MAJOR COMPLAINT The gripes of the average television addict are varied. One of the major complaints is that there is too much stress on vio lence. A sampling of New York stations in 1952 found violence the most frequent form of be havior on 56 per cent of the television programs. Firearms were involved in almost half the plays. While some sociologists main tain that there is no scientific evidence to support the belief that such programs have a harmful effect upon children, most parents believe otherwise. They contend that the violence seen on television screens teaches children the techniques of crime and inculcates dis- By JOHN C. O’BRIEN respect for law. Although the networks shy away from sexually suggestive or obscene material to a greater extent than many other media, many viewers complain that too many suggestive themes are creeping into television pro grams—too many, at least, for children. Lewdness and obsenity on the television screen presents a greater problem for parents than in motion pictures. For, while it is possible to keep a child away from a motion picture theater exhibiting a sexually suggestive picture, it is next to impossible to police the viewing of television programs. Another complaint is that a high percentage of the offer ings on television are banal, “insulting to the intelligence,” or downright boring. Too often, viewers object, wholesome shows are thrown off the air and replaced by “sure-fire” fast- gun and crime detection plays. Yet, the odd fact is that only a few dissatisfied viewers ever take the trouble to communicate their complaints to the net works or the sponsor. Viewers are so unaccustomed to writing letters about television pro grams that one of the country’s top-rate programs, “Gunsmoke,” with an average audience of 47,000,000 draws letters from an average of less than one-tenth of one per cent of the viewers. A news program with an es timated 6,200,000 viewers re ceives an average of only five letters a program. The dropping of program of the highest qual ity with an audience of 3,000,000 evoked only a trickle of letters of protest. NETWORKS SENSITIVE Flagrant violations of the moral code often go unprotested by viewers. Not a single com plaint was received when a pro gram dealt with a woman who planned to open a house of ill repute with the proceeds from the insurance collected after her husband had been’ murdered. Yet, the networks are ex tremely sensitive to letters from viewers. They maintain staffs who give such letters close study. Even criticism that is felt to be unjustified often is heeded. But the trouble is that the viewers leave the networks and the sponsors pretty much in the dark as to what they think of the programs they watch. The audience-rating, of course, give the networks and the spon sors a pretty accurate idea of how many people are watching their programs. But they don’t tell them anything' about the viewers’ reaction. If the networks were informed that a high percentage of the viewers were critical, they would do something to change the programs. A recent survey showed that one change audi ences wanted most was more “high level” shows, but they weren’t doing a thing to get them. The conclusion of the Fund for the Republic study was that if people want better television programming, the way to get it is write to the stations and the networks. Any industry as aware of public opinion as tele vision will respond to specific complaints from the customers. Latin Lingo View From The Rectory • FATHER WHARTON We’re all used to translating from other languages. If not from Latin, French or Sanskrit -—at least from American pro- THE STORY LADY Maureen Wenk Hanigan MR. LONGFELLOW'S LESSON Once, not so very many years ago, there lived a man whose name was Mr. Longfellow. Mr. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. If you have ever taken a trip to the city of Boston, you were very near the place where Mr. Longfellow lived. Mr. Longfellow was a poet, and he was also a Daddy. He was very much like your Dad dy. He liked to read, and he lik ed to take trips, and most of all he liked little girls and boys who were good. He had three little girls of his very own and he wrote many lovely poems for them. Once, he even wrote a poem all about his little girls. He told about the time each day that they played with him, just as your Daddy plays with you. Mr. Longfellow gave his poem a lovely sounding name. He called it, “The Children’s Hour.” Don’t you think that sounds very nice? His little girls had pretty names, too. One little girl was named Alice. Once he called her “Grave Alice.” That meant that she was very serious and quiet, and that she thought very hard about the game they were play ing. She was Miss Alice Long fellow. One little girl he called “Laughing Allegra,” because she was so happy, and perhaps she giggled just a little bit, too. She was Miss Allegra Longfellow. EDITH His last little girl was named Edith, and she had beautiful golden hair. Miss Edith Long fellow. For many years Mr. Longfel low went to work every day, just as your Daddy does. His job was to be a teacher. Of course, being a teacher he always tried especially hard to see that his girls did things exactly right, and that they spoke carefully and correctly. That means that they didn’t make any mistakes. Now you know it is very hard for little people always to speak so carefully that they never make a mistake, and one day Mr. Longfellow was talking to his daughters and listening very hard to all the things that they had to tell him when suddenly he heard one of his girls make a mistake. I don’t know which one it was, for on one ever told me, but perhaps it was Edith, who had the beautiful golden hair. She was telling him about the tiny place on her face, right between the tops of her eye brows and her pretty hair. Do you know what this place is called? Of course you do? it’s your forehead. But his little girl called it her “4-head,” and then Mr. Longfellow laughed. “No, no sweetheart,” he said. “You must say that word more carefully. Some of the letters in that woi’d are peeping and they are very quiet, so when we say it outloud it sounds just as if we were saying “4-rid.” TO BE SURE Then to be extra sure that they understood he sat right down and wrote his three little girls a poem. Perhaps you have heard it. Maybe your Mother says it to you sometimes. This is how it goes. There was a little girl, and she had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead— And when she was good, she was very very good, But when she was bad, she was HORRID! After he wrote the poem he taught it to his little girls. Then Alice said it, and Allegra said it and Edith said it. Then Mr. Longfellow told them, “Now you know a little secret. You can always remember that the words forehead and horrid sound the very same. If you think you are. going to forget just say the little poem about the little girl who had a little curl — and then you will hear the two words and how very much alike they sound, and you will always say them correctly.” Now you know the secret, too, and if you learn the little poem you can say the word forehead just as nicely as Alice and Edith and Allergra can! fessional dialects. It takes quite a bit of skill, for instance, to interpret a letter from the Gov- ’ ernment. To show what I mean in another case, here are com ments teacher may write on your little Quincy’s report card —and a translation of her lang uage: Quincy does not socialize well. This means Quincy is always beating some other kid’s brains out. Quincy is progressing very well for him. Quincy is a dope. He’s 12 years old and has learn ed two and two make four, which, as the teacher points out, is progress—for him. Quincy's personality evidenc es a lack of social integration. This is a nice way of saying Quincy is a stinker. Quincy is well - adjusted, wholesomely integrated child. Jackpot! Quincy is teacher’s pet. So, you see, another language is no obstacle to understanding if you put forth a little effort. That’s why the Church has stuck to her Latin down through the centuries — despite the ang uished moans of budding altar boys and criticism from those outside the Church. It’s as if Protestants figure there’s something sinister about the Church’s use of Latin. We can carry out our plans for world domination better, they think, if we use a lingo nobody understands. That’s not true, though. We could baffle ’em in English. Besides, what’s so mysterious about Latin? Schools teach the subject. And most schoolboys know that all Gaul is divided into five parts (or maybe four, or six—well, several parts any way). And Latin is still earning its own way in the world about us. Lawyers use terms like “res clamat domino”—which means, roughly, “put it back, you thief." Doctors’ prescriptions, too, are written in Latin. At least I think it’s Latin. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. I heard of one man who received a prescription from his ; physician and decided not to' have it filled. Instead, he used it : as a complimentary ticket to the ball park for a season, then as a railroad pass, and finally turned it over to his daughter to play on the piano. You can’t pin the blame for this on Latin, how ever—it’s Doc’s penmanship. Latin still retains Its popu larity (with teachers) for a num ber’ of reasons. Many of our English words come from the old tongue, for one thing. A knowledge of it can give one a better command of English. But we won’t go into a complete de fense of Latin in school. I’m supposed to explain doctrine— not make enemies among stu dents. The big objection to Latin in the Church’s liturgy is that the people do not understand it. The complaint really arises from a misunderstanding of t h e pur pose of the prayers. The Latin we use is addressed to God, and He understands the language very well. A sermon directed to the people is another thing: this is always in the vernacular. And translations of the pray ers of the liturgy are as abun dant as humidity in Washing ton. A Catholic may say his prayers in English straight from the book. Another consideration is that most Catholics are very familiar with many Latin pray- (Continued on Page 5) 0% lullftin 416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA. LET'S FACE IT Remember, you can’t expect to win the game of life today with hits you made yesterday. MAN OF THE HOUR Taking things as they come and selling them at a profit is another form of success. COMMON SENSE The secret of happiness seems to depend half on what we do and half on what we don’t. 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, March 7, 1959 No. 20 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1958-1959 GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus 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