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PAGE 8—THE BULLETIN, August 8, 1959 Prize Winning Essay “Consecration Of The Home To The Sacred Heart” (By Johanna Bleicher) Alies Bleicher of Albany placed fit st in the Diocesan Council of Catholic IP omen’s 1959 Essay Conti st. ( Croup 1) The Terry household was an average Catholic family living in the suburbs of a small town. Mr. Terry commuted daily to his lawyer’s office in Boston while Mrs. Terry patiently pre pared the three children for school. Everyone went to church on Sunday, received Holy Com munion regularly, and was, in all, a good Catholic. But some thing was wrong. What it was, no member of the family really could understand, not to men tion define it. Yet its vague presence could be felt as it slipped vapor-like through all the windows and cracks. Little Bobby, the most pre cocious of the three Terry urchins, skipped merrily into the front room. “Whee, Mommy! School’s out at last! See what a pretty pic ture Sister gave us. She said June was the month of the Sa cred Heart, and everybody should honor His image in the home.” "That’s nice, Bobby. You can put it on the mantle Where it W'on't be broken by your baby brother.” w i I f MiSS JOHANA BLEICHER And there the picture stood— and stood and stood. No thought was given to what the little gold frame enclosed as the dust par ticles began to settle. From be hind the glass, Jesus stared com passionately, His Sacred Heart beating with love for all man kind. Mrs. Terry was dusting the mantel one day when she noticed the picture. It looked so lonely standing there by itself that she placed a small red vase filled with tiny rosebuds beside it. This casual motion seemed to enliven the mantel and set the picture apart from all other ob jects. Everyone entering the room soon found his eyes riveted on the minature shrine, and somehow the sweet tenderness of those Eyes projected an auro of love and devotion. From then on Mrs. Terry made it a habit of putting fresh flowers before the sacred image. Gradually family problems began to be discussed in the living room with the Sacred Heart looking on, and evening prayers always ended with a consecration to the Sacred Heart. The “something wrong” drifted silently away, leaving behind a happy, contented group of peo ple. Now that it had disappear ed, the Terry’s clearly saw what was amiss in their home. Al though they loved each other deeply, the words “family unity” and “togetherness” were just a series of syllabic sounds with little meaning behind them. Then the Sacred Heart had come into their lives and shown them the way to a well-knit family group with each person de pendents playing an integral part. Such are the wondrous works of the Sacred Heart! Mrs. Terry sat reminiscing by the fire side. A red vigil lamp cast its ruddy glow on her lined, weary features, and she glanced up at the little shrine on the mantel. She noticed that the gold frame was now tar nished and the picture faded. To think it was already twenty- five years since the house was dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Some of the twelve promises to Saint Margaret Mary kept run ning through her mind. “I will give them the graces necessary for their state of life. I will give priests a peculiar facility in converting the most hardened souls.” (Bobby was so unsure of becoming a priest. He thought his poor health would spoil any chance of doing mis sionary work. I received a letter from him yesterday. The Mexi can climate seems to agree with him and his parish seems to be flourishing with more and more Indian converts.) “I will give peace in their families.” (We always have had our little spats and quarrels, but there is no doubt about the harmony reigning here for the past twenty-five years. Even though the children have grown up, we seem closer to each other than ever.) "I will comfort them in all their trials and afflictions. I will be their assured Refuge during life, and especially in death.” (There always was an abundance of troubles and wor ries in our home. If it wasn t the innumerable bills waiting to be paid, it was sickness or death. Sometimes, despairing, I felt no courage to go on, yet the Sacred Heart always supplied the necessary graces when I needed them most. All my cares seemed to melt away in the sanctuary of His Heart.) “I promise thee in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of every month, for nine con secutive months, the grace of final perseverance, and that they shall not die under my dis pleasure, or without receiving their Sacraments and My Heart shall be their secure Refuge at that last hour.” (We all made the nine First Fridays, but we never knew what a comfort that promise could be in time of death. I remember the departure from this world that my hus band took a few years ago. He could not have died a happier man, with the last rites soothing his anguished soul and the hope of eternal happiness but a few moments away.) O Sacred Heart, inexhaustible source of love for even the low liest of creatures, I thank Thee humbly on my knees for mani festing Your great mercies to our family and granting us suc cor in distress. Would that the world knew the blessings be stowed on this poor home dedi cated to Thee and join us in praise and thanksgiving! YOUTH WEEK THEME LINKS VITALITY OF NATIONS TO YOUTH SPIRITUALITY (N.C.W.C. News Service) WASHINGTON — “Spiritual ize Youth —— Vitalize Nations will be the theme of the ninth annual National Catholic Youth Week to be observed October 25 to November 1. This was announced here by Msgr. Joseph E. Schieder, direc tor of the Youth Department, National Catholic Welfare Con ference. National Catholic Youth Week was founded in 1951 to call attention to and encourage Catholic youth programs. The week is observed in all archdioceses and dioceses in the United States and in U. S. territories: and throughout the world in areas where U. S. armed forces are stationed. Tlie event is sponsored by the National Council of Catholic Youth through its constituent organizations — diocesan youth groups, the National Federation of Catholic College Students and the National Newman Club Federation. Affiliates of the youth coun cil also participating include the Columbian Squires, the Catho lic War Veterans, the Junior Catholic Daughters of America, the Daughters of Isabella, the National Federation of Sodali ties, the Catholic Kolping Soci ety and the National Crusaders Youth Federation. NEXT DEADLINE FRIDAY, AUG. 14 Deadline for the next edi tion of THE BULLETIN will be 3 p. m., Friday, August 14th. We ask that all news items be mailed to our editorial ol- fices at 416 Eighth Street, Augusta. MARY'S LEGION By A SAVANNAH LEGIONARY The Legion of Mary is an asso ciation of Catholics, who, with the sanction of the Church, and under the patronage of Mary Immaculate, have organized for self-sanctification, and perform ance of good works. The Legion of Mary is now a world, wide organization and it is modeled after the Army of Ancient Rome. The Roman Army’s no menclatures have been adopted to designate the various govern ing bodies of the Legion. The unit of the Legion of Mary is called a “Praesidium.” The . Praesidium has authority over all its members and power to control their activities. Each Praesidium is named after a title of our Blessed Lady, e. g., “Uur Lady of Perpetual Help” or “Mary the Queen,” or ‘'im maculate Pleart of Mary,” etc. A Praesidium is usually or ganized on a parish level, and consists of a spiritual director, president, vice president, secre tary, treasurer, and other active and auxiliary members. If the number of members warrant there may be more than one praesidium in a parish. Any Catholic, male or female, married or unmarried, may be an active member of a praesid ium. Those under 18 years of age are eligible lor membership in a junior praesidium. For those who are either unable or un willing to perform the duties of active members, there are auxi liary memberships available. Active membership requires attendance at the weekly meet ing and performance of a week ly “work assignment,” in addi tion to daily recitation of pre scribed prayers. The meeting and the work assignment will together require a total of from two to three hours per week. The required daily prayer may be easily said with true devo tion in not more than 90 seconds. There are no dues and no fees of any kind required of active or auxiliary members. Secret contributions, however, are ac cepted from the active members. The collection of this money is secret because it is necessary to place those who have re sources, and those who have not, on precisely the same level. The principal of secrecy in this mat ter is respected and no member discloses to another what his contribution is. No praesidium may be estab lished in any parish without consent of the Pastor or of the Ordinary. At the present time, however, there are about four teen active praesidia established in the Diocese of Savannah and performing excellent works. In our diocese many fallen away Catholics have returned to the Sacraments and many conver sions have been wrought through the works of the Legion. Subject to the direction of the Spiritual Director, the presi dent assigns the Legionaries in pairs, to their weekly work assignment. Some of the types of assignments may be. 1. Visitations of hospitals and or the sick at home. 2. Visitations of jails, work- houses, prison camps, etc. 3. Visitation of rest homes and homes for the aged. 4. Visitations in Catholic and j or non-Catholic homes. 5. Making of parish census. 6. Dissemination of Catholic literature. 7. Works for the Youth. 8. Study. The nature of the work of a praesidium will obviously vary according to the necessities of the locality. There will always be abundant work to perform. In the Diocese of Savannah where the priests and religious are so few, the need for. more active Legionnaries is acute. Any Pastor will be happy to dis cuss the legion with tnose inter-. ested, or information may be obtained by writing to Savan nah Curia, Legion of Mary, 521 E. Waldburg Street, Savannah, Ga. rtemember, male or female, married or unmarried, are eli gible. There is no discrimina tion and the Legion ranks should contain representatives from every station of life. The words or Pius XI, of happy memory, bears out the import ance oi a varied membership: “In order lo bring back to Christ these whole classes of men who nave denied Him, we must gather and train from among their very ranks auxili ary soldiers oi the Church, men who know their mentality and their aspirations, and who with kindly, iraternal cnarity will be able lo win tneir hearts. Un doubtedly tne lirst and immed iate apostle of tne workingmen must themselves be worxing- men, while the apostles of the industrial and commercial work should themselves be employ ers and merchants.” What shall a man give in ex change lor his soul and what etiort shall a man make for the soul of his neighbor? Assuredly, it must be a su preme efiort ■— even to the peril of death, were such nec essary. Martyrdom for a Le gionary in tnis country is very unlikely, but a remarxabie de gree oi success awaits those who expend the effort. It will be amazing to develop the number of souls who are actually awaiting lor the first direct appeal to them. With the help ol Our Blessed Mother no thing is impossible, and there are none who can withstand her power. Tf y it-tauM Services For J. H. Ferguson AUGUSTA, — Funeral serv ices for John Hugh Ferguson were held July 29th at the Sa cred Heart Church. Survivors are two daughters, Mrs. Claude Chance of Athens and Mrs. Gerald Elkins of Wee- hawken, N. J.; one son, L. H. Ferguson of Wadesboro, N. C.; five grandchildren, Mrs. Rich ard Mackey of Baltimore, Md., Miss Mary Chance of New York, Robert Elkins of Weehawken, John M. and Eugenia Ferguson, both of Wadesboro. A CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHY — This portrait of St. John Vianney, the Cure D'Ars, was done without his permission, but because oi the veneration accorded him. It was lithographed and put up for sale, a deed which greatly vexed him. It is one of 115 pictures and documents of the 19tn century French priest, “patron of the secular clergy,” which appear in a forthcoming official biography entitled “The Cure D’Ars—A Pictorial Biography* published by P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York 8, New York. Bish op Rene Fourrey of Belley wrote the text. The saint’s feast day will be observed on August 8. (NC Photos) £ *jjl_> x han or xr — ^ibifcr iviaf.y jMmgeAUo, LviTioiuiiary r icaiciscan oibier oi lmacuiaie ooncfcpuon Convent, Augusta, is pictured as a member of a pilgrimage to Lourdes, bister is at the extreme lelt of the front row. Pictured with tne group oi pilgrims from Ireland is the Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, Auxiliary-Bishop of New York. Sister, who is visiting her native Ireland and Lourdes, will return to Augusta this month. PEOPLE AT CASTELGANDOLFO, ST. PETER'S BASILICA JOIN POPE IN RECITING ANGELUS CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy— People in the square in front of the papal summer villa here and those in St. Peter's basilica 13 miles away joined with His Holiness Pope John XXIII (July 26) in reciting the Angelus through the facilities of Vatican Radio. It was the first time the Pope was linked by radio to St. Pet er’s for his traditional Sunday noon appearance. Several thousand people in the courtyard at Castelgandolfo knelt as the Pontiff imparted his papal blessing. Thousands of others inside St. Peter’s basilica joined him as he prayed the Angelus. They heard him say that he was sending his bless ing especially to the sick and the poor and children. At the summer villa the Pope uses the same apartment where Pope Pius XII died last October. The floor beneath is occupied by Msgr. Mario Nasalli Rocca Di Corneliano, the maestro di camera, who makes all arrange ments for papal audiences. Dur ing the pontificate of Pius XII the maestro di camera remain ed at the Vatican. The major change in the rou tine at Castelgandolfo compared to that at the Vatican is that Pope John holds general audi ences twice weekly instead of once, and the schedule of pri vate and special audiences has been reduced because of the heat. Life at Castelgandolfo is somewhat less formal than at the Vatican, but the demands of the Church keep the tempo of the papal household brisk, despite August temperatures in the 90s and the vacation atmo sphere of the small, town over looking Lake Albano. Pope John’s work habits are similar generally to those of his predecessor, except that un like Pius XII, who chose to work outside under the trees, Pope John remains in his study ,or library during the working SAVAHHAH day. In the evening he goes out for walks in the Castelgandolfo gardens. During the second audience (July 25) held in the new pavil ion near the papal summer home, Pope John urged the peo ple to read the Bible. He said that il people read the Psalms and other parts of the Bible their participation in the Mass and liturgy will be improved greatly. Referring to the Bible as a source of Christian doctrine, the Pope urged the people to bring Bibles into their homes. Fie en couraged them to spread love and reverence for the most beautiful and sacred of all lit erature and to become familiar with those pages from which are derived the doctrine of the Redeemer. Among those present for the audience were groups of pil grims from the San Diego dio cese, from Kent (Ohio), and Seek To Further Reunion With Eastern Church LONDON (NC) — A new move to interest British Cath olics in reunion with Christians oi tne Eastern enurenes has been launched here. His Eminence William Card inal Godfrey, Archbishop of Westminster, has been invited to become president of tne So ciety of St. John Chrysostom, wmch was established for this purpose here in 1926, but which has been- inactive for some years. At its first committee meet ing the society decided to pre pare informative literature for tne benefit of tne growing num ber of Catholics interested in tne problem of reunion with Eastern churches. Pastors throughout the country are be ing asked to agree to the eeie- members of the National Fede ration of Catholic College Stu dents. bration of Eastern Liturgies in their churches, and a public conference is being planned in London iater this year. Branch es of the society are to be set up wherever possible. The society has named a By zantine Rite priest, Father C. Sipovich, as its secretary. Fa ther P. IViaiuga, C.SS.R., Vicar General of Byzantine Rite Catholics here, has been elected to the society's committee. W. J. Bettagh Services Held SAVANNAH, — Funeral serv ices for William J. Beltagh were held July 23rd at the Blessed Sacrament Church. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Eva P. Bettagh; two daughters, Mrs. Benjamin T. Schladenhauf- fen, Atlanta, and Mrs. Charles E. Davis, Savannah; two sons, William Bettagh, Jr., Rio Pie- dras, Puerto Rico, and Thomas J. Bettagh, Savannah; a brother, Frank X. Bettagh, Savannah; a sister, Mrs. Alice V. Amroek, Savannah; 16 grandchildren, a nephew and a niece. FOR CANCER HOME — Ladies of the Altar Society of the Church of Our Divine Saviuor, Tifton, are shown sewing dressings for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta. This was an all-day sewing session with the ladies taking time out for a covered dish dinner. From left to right are: Mrs. B. H. Taylor, Mrs. George Bowen, Mrs. Elzie Ross and Mrs. W. H. Whitham. «vtin CHIRKS SAVANNAH—Another phase of St. Vincent’s Building Fund Campaign is now underway. Parents of students at the Aca demy are being contacted under Section 5 of the General Division whose other four sections were launched on July 9. Captains and workers in this section met at the convent on July 28 to receive instructions and started Making their contacts early in August. Mrs. Mary L. McAfee is chair man of this section and is being assisted by the following cap tains, one for each class: Mrs. R. L. Linton, Mrs. Richard E. Lee, Mrs. Joseph M. McDonough, and Mrs. Laura Blessington. Their workers include: Mrs. C. F. Klug, Mrs. G. W. Parker, Mrs. Leslie “Hubbard, Mrs. Paul Flem ing, Mrs. Grant Coldenstar, Mrs. Sandor Chan, Mrs. Charles Aliffi, Mrs. C. W. Sieber, Mrs. Louis C. Mathews, Mrs. T. M. Kenny, Mrs. C. L. Cochran, Mrs. Dennis Downing, Mrs. James Flynn, Mrs. Robert McBride, Mrs. John Monsees, Mrs. Horace ' Price, Mrs. D. V. O’Driscoll, Mrs. Edward J. Brown, Mrs. M. D; Pruitt, Mrs. Richard Powers, 1 Mrs. Henry McAlccr. SWIMMING PARTY — Pictured at a recent swimming party are members of the Pius XII Circle Columbian Squires. The Squires sponsored by the Patrick Walsti Council, Augusta, are pictured with Grand Knight Barney Dunstan. 1st row (kneeling) left to right: John Wood, Karl Kirsch, Wayne Griffin, Grand Knight Dunstan, Pat Mahon, Larry Jarrett, George Stowe. 2nd row: Lonnie Wetherington, Dick Roper, Neal Vaughan, Rickie Wood, George Dawson. (Morgan Fitz Photo)