Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah.
About Bulletin (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1962 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1959)
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, October 31, 1§3® JOSEPH BRE1G PAPA K's In his TV talk before depart ing from America, Khrushchev delivered what amounted to a 60-minute commercial for com munism. The soothing lilt of the trans lator’s voice came close to making it a singing com mercial. Khrushchev did not call com munism commun i s m. He called it socialism. The reason is obvious enough. The word “communism” is load ed with memories of crimes against humanity, justice and religion. One of Khrushchev’s- purpos es was to make us forget those abominations, and to beguile us with campaign promises of a childish heaven on earth. THE GENERAL EFFECT of his sales pitch was that every thing would be ducky if only we would let the Kremlin turn the earth into a kind of asylum for the simple-minded, with us as inmates and the bosses of communism as keepers. In this never-never land, ev erybody would be fed, housed, clothed, schooled, medicined, put to bed, got out. of bed, worked a little, vacationed a lot, and eventually old-age- homed — all under .the benign dictatorship of the proletariat, operated by Grampa Khru shchev & Co., with the cheery help of Papa Mao Tsetung, as demonstrated in Tibet. I wonder what the advertis ing chaps were thinking as they listened to Gramps Khrushchev. In their commercials, they pro mise a lot, but they are not free to promise everything. Khrushchev promised every thing. BUT WAIT A MINUTE—not quite everything. He offered everything except the right of a man (or woman) to call his soul his own. Khrushchev said that apart ment buildings are going up all over in Moscow. But he did not say that a family under commu nism can own its own home, or lock the front door, or sleep at night without fear of a govern ment agent’s knocking in the wee hours. It can’t. TV TALK Good old K said the Russians are better, fed every year. We hope they are. But he did not say that a farmer could have his own farm, or that a house wife could shop in a store not operated by the Kremlin. He said the Kremlin pays for schools. He did not say that anybody could choose a school. HE SAID THAT if a Russian needs an operation, the govern ment pays. He did not mention that the Russian goes to the doctor he is ordered to go to, whether or not he considers the man competent. Jolly old Khrushchev assur ed us that pretty soon there won’t be any taxes in the Soviet Union. He neglected to mention that not long ago, the Kremlin confiscated the savings of the people — after forcing them to save in the first place — and that whatever you buy, you buy from the government, at prices set by the government, with the wages the government allows you to have. Kindly old Khrushchev for got something. He forgot we are not children who have never reached the age of reason. If we were all simpletons . . . but we aren’t. KHRUSHCHEV thoughtfully avoided the word “commun ism.” After all he’s our grand- pop now. He doesn’t want to pain us with memories of Hun gary. Or of workers fighting tanks with paving stones in East Germany. He told us about devastation and death in Russia during World War II. But he didn’t mention “communism”' because we might remember that World War II started with a pact un der which Hitler -invaded Pol and from the west while Stalin invaded it from the east. The Great Red Father, with touching solicitude, wanted to spare us thoughts of the en slavement of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria. He protected us from visions of the millions who fled from commu nism in Korea and Vietnam, and of those who lost hands or feet — or their lives crawling through mined border areas, thoughtfully provided to keep them inside the socialist para dise. Oh, well —- we got the mes sage anyhow. Theology For The Layman By F. J. Sheed (COLUMN 41) Once we have come to some understanding of who and what the Redeemer is, we are in better condition to see into the meaning of Redemption. For the state from which hu manity need ed to be re de e m e d it would be well to re-read Ar ticles 32-34 of this series, es pecially the beginning of 34. Here we may summarise brief ly. Owing to the sin of the first man, the race had lost its union with God; a breach lay be tween. Where God and man had been at one, they were now at two: till at-one-ment, atone ment, was made, heaven was closed to the race’s members. God could, of course, have simply written off the race as a failure; He could, as simply, have forgiven the sin; He chose that in human nature the sin committed in human nature should be expiated. For the act by which Christ redeemed us was a wholly hu man act. The life He offered as sacrifice was His human life: an offering of the divine life would have been meaningless. The suffering was in His soul and body; the death was the separa tion of His soul and body. In Him, humanity gave its all, holding back nothing. Here was a total obedience as against the disobedience of man’s sin, a to tal acceptance and self-surren der as against the thrust and self-assertion of man’s sin. And all this was wholly in human nature. But He who performed the act was God: actions, we have seen, are always in the nature, but the person does them: and the Person whose human, nature this was, in whose human na ture all this was done, was, is, God the Son. Because He was truly man. His sacrifice was tru ly human, so that it could be set against the sin of the race. (Continued on Page 5) Question Box SHARING OUR TREASURE Business Man Helps Convert A Minister By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D. „„ (University of Noire Dame) . _ By David Q. Liptak Q. I understand fully that the obligation of hearing Mass on Sunday cannot be fulfilled by watching Mass on television. But isn't it possible for the Church to change its ruling in this matter? Isn't the Sunday Mass precept a part of Church Law, just as the Communion Fast precept is? In view of the fact that th£ Communion Fast law was changed, why couldn't the Sunday Mass law be also changed, so as to permit the hearing of Mass on TV, for ex ample? Isn't it true that by watching Mass on TV a person could observe the ceremonies far better than if he were in church? A. It is true that, according to general Church Law today, the obligation to hear Mass on Sun days and Holydays of Precept cannot be satisfied by watching Mass on television. As the law reads, bodily presence at Mass is required: i.e., one must ac tually be in or around the place where Mass is being celebrated, and morally united with the celebrant. Physical presence is required not only by virtue of Church Law, however; nor precisely for the purpose of bringing the faithful together to witness the sacred liturgy at first hand. Ra ther, the ultimate and principal reason for the Church’s require ment is the Natural Law in junction binding all men to worship God not only privately,' but publicly and corporately as well. “Attendance at Mass on cer tain days is imposed by the Church,” writes one theologian, “not principally in order that they may see and hear what the Church is doing, but that they may fulfil their primary duty of offering worship to God pub licly and socially, as well as in dividually and internally. The viewer in the privacy of his home may be intimately united in spirit with the Mass which is being offered, but only by phy sical presence at a public act of (Continued on Page 5) This is the day of the lay apostolate. Our Holy Father, Bishops and priests are appeal ing to all Catholics to help them spread the truths of Christ. This' you can do by telling your n o n-Catho lie neigh bors ah omt' your holy Faith, loaning them Catholic. liter ature, setting a good exam ple and bring ing them to a priest for instruc tions. This is the technique used by Mr. Michael J. Gibbons, proprietor of the Gibbons Sup ply Company and the Gibbons Hotel in Dayton in winning three converts. “When I fell in love with Bertha Kemp,” said Mrs. Gib bons, “I wanted desperately to share with her my holy Faith, the source of all my happiness and peace of mind. Bertha’s parents were God-fearing Chris tians with many relatives in the ministry. I explained many points about my religion and gave her Cardinal Gibbons’ The Faith of Our Fathers. “That book removed many misconceptions and enabled her to grasp the all-important his torical fact that the Catholic Church alone has been founded by Christ and alone has been authorized to preach and teach in His name. This startled her, as it does most non-Catholics who have the vague idea that all. Chris t i a n denominations stem from Christ. • - “Bertha took instructions from a Sister of Notre Dame and just prior to our marriage was received into the Church. That is the ideal time for the non-Catholic in a mixed court ship to enter, for it enables both parties to receive Holy Communion on their wedding day and thus start with God’s blessing upon their married life. “God has blessed us with four children and 17 grandchildren, and we can never thank Him enough for all the graces show ered upon us. The second per son I interested in the Faith was Clara Stark, one of our em ployees. I told her of the joy and happiness which comes from receiving the forgiveness of our sins in confession and our Eucharistic Lord in Holy Communion. “Clara had been to Mass several times with Catholic friends but they had given her little information about the Faith and no encouragement to look into it. I explained that she could take a course of in struction without, committing herself in advance. This pleased her immensely. So I got in touch with Father Friedel, S. M., at Dayton University, who instructed and received her into Church. “Like all converts, Clara is enthusiastic over the Catholic religion and all the aids it pro vides for living a virtuous, up right and happy life. She makes frequent closed retreats with the Dominican Sisters here. “The third person I interested was a Protestant minister, Robert B. Scott, who was also a college professor, radio lecturer and writer. His father and two brothers were also ministers, and he had a Ph. D. in Latin from the University of Cali fornia. We met on an ocean cruise and I saw that he was still groping. I suggested that he make a closed retreat with the Jesuits in California and sent him several excellent Ca tholic books. After the retreat he took instructions from Fa ther Burke, C. S. P., then pastor of St. Mary’s Church in San Francisco. “The Church’s unity, sanctity, universality and apostolic char acter were, he perceived, the unmistakable marks of the true Church. Those marks drew him into the Church as a magnet draws steel. Since 1937 I’ve giv- How Do You Rate' on Facts of Faith By Brian Cronin 1. By whom were the words “My Lord and my God” spoken? (a) Peter? (b) Thomas? (c) St. John the Baptist? (d) Mary Magdalen? 2. Who was called the Little Flower of Jesus? (a) St. Therese of Lisieux? (b) St. Bernadette? (c) St. Teresa of Avila? (d) St. Rose of Lima? 3. The origin of the Christmas crib devotion is attributed to: (a) St. Nicholas? (b) St. Stephen? (c) St. Francis of Assisi? (d) St. Christopher? 4. Who was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac? (a) Solomon? (b) Abraham? (c) Moses? (d) Daniel? 5. Father Louis A. Dion, the recently appointed chaplain to American Catholics in Moscow, is a member of the: (a) Jesuits? (b) Dominicans? (c) Maryknoll Missioners? (d) Assumptionists? 6. In 1789 the first U. S. diocese was established in: (a) Bos ton? (b) Washington? (c) New York? (d) Baltimore? 7. Which one of the apostles escaped unhurt from a cauldron of boiling oil? (a) John? (b) Andrew? (c) Philip? (d) Tho mas? 8. Hyperdulia is the name of the special honor given to: (a) The Pope? (b) Our Lady? (c) Martyrs? (d) The Passion? Give yourself 10 marks for each correct answer below. Rating: 80—Excelent; 70—Very Good; 60—Good; 50—Fair ANSWERS: 1 (b); 2 (a); 3 (c) 4 (b); 5 (d); 6 (d); 7 (a); 8 (b) Jottings ... (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) "The Church is the Cate- chism and it is our mother leaning over our crib teaching us our evening prayers. It is the martyrs in the Colosseum and the martyrs in Uganda . . . it is the ivrinkled old nun and the eager eyed postulant. It is the spire glimpsed from a train win dow. It is six o'clock Mass with its handful of saints at the com munion rail in the gray dark and it is pontifical high Mass with its crowds and glowing grandeur in St. Peter’s. It is the Carthu sian at prime on Monte Allegro and the lesuit teaching epistomo- logy in Tokyo." Myles Connolly. » * '* • ONCE IN a while a minia ture view of the Church with its power and glory, its ancient newness surges over me and I am breathless with wonder that I am a microscopic part of it. In one brief flash, I see and sense anew what it means to be a Catholic. And so it was with me last Sunday. It was a beau tiful fall day with the foliage turning to an almost New Eng land perfection. The sky was mantle blue. There are no skies like October skies. The bell in the big campus Church of Our Lady of Loretto tolled. It said: “Three young Sisters who have knelt, prayed, come to me in their sorrows and joys during their postulancy, novitiate and scholasticate are now leaving my protection to be members of a larger congregation.” Three Sisters of the Holy Cross with their Mother General came foreward. There was a sermon by a Dominican who had been a missionary in (he Near East who told them the only sadness was coming back from mission life, there was only joy in leav ing. I remember, I remember . . . many such missionary de parture ceremonies. I had burn ed with the desire to be a mis sionary: to be the instrument from which someone first hears the name of “Jesus and Mary.” Most of us cannot go to the far away places with the strange sounding names in person. We are like Therese, the Little Flower, who was a stay-at- home missionary. I can send my prayers, alms and writings to the missions, I cannot go there myself much as I yearn. Whenever anyone ever asks me what I think is the greatest thing in the world to be? I al ways answer “a foreign mis sionary.” • AFTER THE ceremony and Benediction, the young nuns filed out under the unfurled mantle of Mary’s skiesi followed by their Sisters in Christ, those whom they leave to become members of another family. The idealistic oostulants, the veterans en weekly each of our 200 em ployees a mimeographed sheet, explaining some teaching of our holy religion to share its pre cious treasures with them.” Father O’Brien will be grate ful to readers who know of any one who has won two or more converts if they will send the names and address of such per sons to him at Notre Dame Uni versity, Notre Dame, Indiana, and the old Sisters, some who could only shuffle along, whose years had long been spent on God. The procession was indeed the Church militant: I stood in the Church doorway for a mo ment watching the drama of dreams unfold, as old and young filed by to promise pray ers to the mission-bound Sis ters. The sun beat down hard, the organ still resounded, the bell tolled. I turned and walked alone out a side door, thinking hard about the scene just wit nessed. As I passed the old nuns’ infirmary, I heard a moaning. Perhaps a Sister in her last agony. The drama of the Church is in continual per formance, a nun lies dying, three others leave for mission lands, old nuns with arthritic hands tell the beads over and over for the young and the old, dreaming of better days. As I walked further into the heart of the campus with the bell still tolling, I passed young couples, hand in hand, oblivious to the great drama which had just taken place about 100 yards from them. They, too, had their dreams. The blue skies had other things to say to them and the bell did not toll yet for them. And so three nuns leave for the mission, an aged nun lies dying, nuns of all ages pray, a layman wonders, young lovers look into one another’s eyes and a plane flies low over the campus and a bell tolls. This is the Church in miniature portion. * * * • THE SENSE of the uni versality of the Church came upon me in Europe as it does to all Catholic travellers. The world is our parish; a Corpus Christi procession in Amster dam; the feast of St. Anthony in Rome; a priest bicycling in Dublin and two white capped St. Vincent de Paul Sisters chatting in a Paris station . . . this is the Church! Yet it is right here, too. Somedays it be comes more pronounced and shouts more loudly at us. Later on that thought-laden Sunday when the scales had fallen a moment from my eyes, I walk ed hack under the stars to my room. I was still in a meditative mood. I nodded absently to the large statue of St. Michael as I did to the students who pass ed. I stopped as is, usual at my favorite shrine of the Sacred Heart and then on to the statue of St. Therese. These statues are along my walk home and they are as much a part of my life here as the people I meet everyday. Coming to St. Ther ese, I discussed with her some of the day’s proceedings which still were nestling around my heart and mind. I said to her: “Here we are, others come and go to the missions, we remain.” Then I told her how important she was in the Church and how important those missionaries Were to the Church and the Sisters who took part in that ceremony . . . and then I real ized that the students who pass ed me by with a nod were part of the long procession, too, and 50 was I ... so was I. Survey Shows Teen-agers Lack Intellectual Curiosity THE BACKDROP Most of the talk about im proving the quality of education in the United States centers around money. The crying need, we are being told, is more classrooms, more playgrounds, more equip ment, more teachers. That we need all these things is self- evident. But what we seem to be over looking is that classrooms and teachers alone cannot give us the educated youth that we must have if we are to meet the challenge of the education-hungry youth of the Soviet Union in the years ahead. We must have a will to learn on the part of our stu dents, and that, it appears, we do not have. FEW ARE LINCOLNS We all are familiar with the story about how Abraham Lin coln walked miles to borrow books, how he pored over their pages stretched out before the fireplace in his rude cabin home. But, if we are to trust the findings of a survey of some 6,500 high school pupils in the nation’s capital, such dedica tion to learning is rare today. Although the survey covered only one city, the attitudes re vealed are probably typical of high school children throughout the country. The survey showed that a very large proportion of the high school teen-agers looked forward to going to college. By JOHN C. O’BRIEN More than one-third said they desired a college degree. Twen ty-three per cent said they wanted some college. training even though they might not be able to finish a college course and about one-fifth said they hoped to take a graduate or professional degree. On first reading, these statis tics would seem to indicate that today’s teen-agers are aware of the need for a college education in the fiercely competitive age in which they live. But the sur vey produced no evidence that today’s youth is prepared to de vote time and effort to the pre paration needed for the success ful pursuit of a higher educa tion. The students, for the most part, seemed not to realize that year by year the colleges are lifting their sights and stiffening their requirements for admis sion. They seemed not to have heard that the colleges are be coming more and more selective in choosing their students from among the hundreds of thous ands who storm their gates at the opening of each academic year. The average high school stu dent interviewed by the inves tigators seemed to think that he could loaf through high school and still pass his college en trance examinations. Of all the students covered by the survey few reported that they spent more than one hour a day on home work. Five per cent said they devoted as much as three hours a day on home study. Another five per cent said they did no home work what ever. TV TOPS LIST Among the many ways in which the students said they spent their after-school hours, watching television headed the list for 88 per cent. But among the television viewers, 53 per cent admitted they never watched an e'ducational pro gram. Reading, which, before the advent of television, was a pop ular leisure activity among teen-agers, ranked only fifth among the ways Washington’s high school students used their out-of-school hours. Only a few said they were interested in any of the arts. Most of them shun ned such intellectual activities as concerts, lectures, discussions or dramas. Only 44 per cent looked forward to visiting mu seums of natural history or art galleries. While 75 per cent said they had visited a public library one or more times during the year, few said they used public lib raries in connection with their studies. Swimming pools were three times more popular than libraries. Clearly there must he some thing wrong with an education al system which fails to stimu late intellectual curiosity on the part of students who one day hope to go to college. If a hab it of work is not formed in a student in his high school years, how can he be expected to suc ceed in the college or university where the requirements are ex acting? Father Whartwi’t FIVE FOR FORGIVENESS ‘‘Your grandma still sliding down the banisters?" ‘‘We wound barbed wire around them." ‘‘That stop her?" ‘‘Nope, but it sure slows her , >> up. This reminds me of the chal lenge thrown up to a recent convert to the Church: “Does going to confession make you stop sinning?” “Nope,” was the reply, “but it complicates it considerably.” Frequent and fervent confes sion is sure to complicate sin ning. It is hard to face God, get a good look at our sins and resolve to do better — and then swing back into the old habits. But when the Sacrament of Peace is used properly, it should do more than complicate sinning. It shold stop it. At least the big sinning. Sometimes, though, we don’t pay enough attention to the im portant things. Like little El- wood. Sister asked him one day what is the most important thing to do before going to con fession. Elwood’s reply: “Look under the curtain and see if there are feet.” We’re just big Elwoods. It’s easy to be preoccupied about the feet in the box, the length of the line, the big dance to night, or the fruit-howl hat on the lady nearby. In order to make our efforts pay dividends, we should give more attention to a sincere preparation. The old five-finger formula is the best aid, I think. School children learn on their five fin gers the five steps for a good confession. We’ll take five now . and see if we’re as exact in our preparation as the tiny tot who begins his confession: “Bless me, Fa-ther, for I have sinned. My last eon-fes-shun was sev en days a-go.” Before we look at the hand, however — what about the at tire of the body? No need for sackcloth and ashes to get in the mood. But a penitent in shorts doesn’t seem very penti- tential. A sacrament is being re ceived. Even aside from this, the beach — not God’s House ■— is the place for casual cloth ing. So much for fashions for peni tents. The five steps for a good confession, as any little shaver can tell you, are: 1) examine your conscience, 2) be sorry for your sins, 3) resolve to do bet ter, 4) confess your sins, and 5) say your penance. First thing first. How long should you spend examining your conscience? Depends on how much you have on your conscience. If you confess every week or two, a few minutes should suffice to bring faults to mind. But if you’re among View from the Kectorj SI the Easter season prodigals, digging up the sins should take 10 or 15 minutes. A little spade work on the way to church might help too. The examination of conscience should cover the ten command ments, the precepts of the Church, the duties of your state in life, and your faithfulness in reading “View From the Rec tory.” Sorrow for sins is the key to forgiveness. It’s a must. Our sorrow has to include all mortal sins, of course. But even the just man falls seven times daily; he has the problem of working up genuine contrition for venial sins. Better to pick out a few venial sins and be truly sorry for them than to spread the sor row thinly over a multitude of sins. The purpose of amendment is the gauge of sorrow. Unless the bitter tears of remorse are ac companied by the intention to stop sinning and avoid the oc casion of sin, they’re merely crocodile tears. It serves no purpose to con fess being uncharitable 72 times, cursing 84 times and lying 33 times — unless you sincerely intend to stop being uncharita ble and cursing and lying. Sure, you might fall again; but the resolution of amendment must be there at the time of con fession. Regarding the actual confes sion, there’s more to it than see ing if feet are sticking out of the box. Confession, the cate chism will tell you, should be humble and sincere and com plete. Completeness, of course, doesn’t mean recounting a lot of unnecessary details. The con fessor isn’t interested in what FIRM FOUNDATION The man who got to the top started qualifying for the task when he entered high school. 5ty* 418 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. 40 Saturday, October 31, 1959 No. 11 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 Aunt Agatha said to you only yesterday or how much pain you suffered on your last visit to the dentist. We should give the true facts, the number of times the sins were committed, and any important circum stances. Contrary to general belief, the penance given by the priest does not have to be said in church immediately after con fession. If the roast is burning in the oven, or the kids are be ginning to dismantle the church, or Fido has decided to come in and pray — by all means, save the penance for later. Still it’s an excellent custom to perform the penance immediately if possible. That’s it. Five fingers for for giveness. The device is not a game for children. We all need a tool to help us make sure we haven’t forgotten anything be fore we journey to the box. It’s too bad we’re not as lucky as Mary Magdalen who was able to kneel at Christ’s feet and shed tears of sorrow for her sins. But, on second thought, we don’t have it so tough. We can have the same sorrow and desire for improvement as Magdalen had. And we do hear the same words of consolation, even though they’re in Latin and through the lips of Christ’s representative: “I forgive you!” For the joy of hearing these words, putting heart and soul into five simple steps is little enough. John J. Kearns Decatur Services DECATUR — Funeral serv ices for Mr. John J. Kearns were held October 14th, at St. Thomas More Church, Rev. Jar- leph Burke officiating.
