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PAGE 2—THE BULLETIN, October 28, 1961 (books (make c r~* lAJriteri HOME nd t'\eaJerS EDITED BY LEO J. ZUBER 2332 North Decatur Rd. Decatur, Georgia A. M. D. G. For the greater glory of God and for the spiritual benefit of authors, publishers, reviewers and readers. OBERAMMERGAU AND ITS PASSION PLAY, by E. Corathiel, Newman, 1960, 147 pp., illus., $3.00, and OBER AMMERGAU, SCENE OF THE PASSION PLAY, photographs by Lotte Eckener, Newman, 1960, 95 pp., illus., $3.95. Reviewed by Leo J. Zuber Tucked away in the Ammer Valley of Bavaria, not distant from Munich, is Oberammer- gau, the locale of the Passion Play. The fact is that today, in the minds of people all over the world, Passion Play and Oberammergau are synony mous. The Eckener volume is an account of the village and the play in today’s best photo graphic style; out of 95 pages, only 15 are text. In contrast, the Corathiel volume, mainly, text, digs deep ly into the history of the vil lage and handles effectively the impact of the Passion Play on it. Back in 1632 and 1633 a plague, attributed to inade quate public sanitation, ravish ed this part of Bavaria; Ober ammergau was long spared. Kaspar Schisler, a resident, had found work away from home; in spite of all precautions tak en to keep travellers out, he managed to slip back into town to rejoin his family and, un knowingly, to bring the plague. He died within hours of his return and the epidemic was underway. In July 1633, the public vow was made that, if the village were spared, the Passion Play would be enacted at ten year intervals thereafter. Such plays were common place in Bavaria and elsewhere at that time, along with pro cessions and other religious ac tivities; but in Oberammergau, the play, the players, all the people now had a motivation and a purposefulness which permeated their daily lives. Thd first play after the vow was performed in 1634. The entire production has evolved substantially and no doubt will evolve still more. The first per formance was in the village church where the vow was made; the present permanent theatre dates only from 1930. It’s too small; In 1950, all seats were sold out for the 87 per formances, over 400,000; 60,000 additional applications had to be turned down. Even so, the Passion Play is not typically a financial success. Miss Corathiel gives many delightful, sharable vignettes. How tastes in drama have changed! In an early version of the play, “. . . after the Last Supper, Judas slinks off, es corted by Satan in person, to the Betrayal, while an angel snatches off his halo in pass ing, Judas looking back over his shoulder with a bewildered air, just as if he had lost his hat in the wind!” Anton Lang, Christus in 1900, 1910, and 1922, “. . . car ried the characteristics of the sacred part he played on the stage over into everyday life, but without a trace of hyp ocrisy.” He was very popular and he travelled widely; in the early 20’s, he and other players visited this country. But his rude awakening came in 1901. Invited by the Munich State Opera director to that city’s annual art festival and ball, he accepted and attended. And unwittingly called down a storm of criticism on his head —just by attending. People had grown to associate him with the role of Christ and “I must for the rest of my life try to live up to the notion they had formed of me . . . Never let people lose faith in you—it means perhaps more than you realize, for you are the instru ment of a greater purpose than you know.” CATHOLIC LAYMAN'S BOOK OF ETIQUETTE, 240 pp., $3.95; CATHOLIC CON CISE ENCYCLOPEDIA, 330 pp., illus., both by Robert C. Broderick, and published by Catechetical Guild, and A CATHOLIC DICTIONERY, Donald Attwater, editor, Mac millan, 1961, 552 pp., $2.45. Reviewed by Leo J. Zuber Even though it becomes trite, seemingly, to say so, I don’t hesitate to recommend each of these books to every Catholic home and to every parochial school library. Each volume complements the oth er two very nicely. The etiquette volume has much in the way of unclutter ed explanation of the church and its teachings and practices as well as more directly to the point of etiquette but all aim ed at a better understanding, increased reverence and re spect and ease in church-re lated matters in dealings with clergy and with laymen. The abridged dictionary inserted as an appendix is alright but is too brief to be the only such reference available when need arises for a Catholic diction ary. Attwater’s Catholic Diction ary is now in its third edition. It is a valuable, substantial volume which defines terms in unabridged dictionary man ner, cross-referencing, and with occasional Biblical ref erence. There are several meaty appendices. Ever won der how many kinds of soul there are? You have regularly observed bination; did you know it when you saw it? The encyclopedia is also a practical home and school lib rary item. It is necessarily abridged to be contained in a single volume. It is illustrated by line drawings by Ade de Bethune. FREEDOM, GRACE AND DESTINY, Romano Guardini, Pantheon, $4.00, 251 pp. Reviewed by Flannery O'Connor Msgr. Guardini here ex plores the Christian under standing of freedom, grace and destiny, three interrelated concepts which in modern thought have been distorted, discarded, or diluted in a fash ion that suggests Satanic in fluence. Msgr. Guardini treats each concept in a separate chapter, asking first how it is presented in immediate ex perience, what revelation has to say about it, and finally what is its significance for the whole pattern of existence. In all his work Msgr. Guardini’s directive is this attempt to view the pattern of Christian existence as a whole, as it was viewed in early and medieval Chirstian thought before phi losophy became separated from t h e ol o g y, empirical science from philosophy, and practical instruction from knowledge of reality. He is concerned that this conscious unity of existence has been lost to a large extent even by believing Christians. “The be liever no longer stands with his faith amid the concrete, actual world, and he no longer rediscovers that world by his faith. He has made a grim necessity of this dismember ment by constructing, if we may employ the term, a chem ically pure faith in which he insists upon seeing the true form of orthodoxy. This or thodoxy has a somewhat aus tere and very courageous qua lity, but we must not forget that it is an emergency posi tion.” This is an important book. Msgr. Guardini has ad mirably carried out his inten tions. FUNDAMENTAL CATHO LIC TEACHING ON THE HU MAN RACE, by John J. Consi- dine, M.M., Maryknoll Publi cations, 1961, 92 pp., paper, $1.00. Reviewed by Eileen Hall “The world is everywhere a mission because unbelief is A. J. BOHN COMPANY Brick, Building Tile, Spectra Glaze Concrete Blofcks CEdar 7-6481, 3272 Peachtree Road, Atlanta 5, Ga. dale's CELLAR RESTAURANT PEACHTREE AND IVY STREETS CHARCOAL BROILED STEAK CHICKEN — SEAFOOD Hours: 11 a. m.-ll p. m.. Luncheon through Dinner VISIT BEAUTIFUL DALE'S COFFEE HOUSE Lobby Imperial Hotel 6 a. m. - 10 p. m. ST. JOSEPH’S INFIRMARY SODA FOUNTAIN COFFEE SHOP AND RESTAURANT LOCATED NEXT TO GIFT SHOP ON MAIN FLOOR IN NEW BUILDING ATLANTA, GA. PHONE JA. 2-6500 589 FORREST RD., N.E. ATLANTA 12, GA. A MEMOIR OF MARY ANN, by the Dominican Nuns Who Took Care of Her, is scheduled for publication (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy) on December 7. Mary Ann was three when admitted to the Free Cancer Home in Atlanta; she lived to be twelve years of age. “Mary Ann, despite her illness, was a beautiful, lively, and charming child. She had character, and a wisdom beyond her years. She also had the rare gift of bringing out the best in everyone who came in contact with her. She enriched the lives of everyone who knew her . . .” Flannery O’Connor, a frequent contributor to the Bulletin’s book review page, writes the introduction to the memoir. The publishers announce that A MEMOIR OF MARY ANN has been chosen as a December selection of the Catholic Digest Book Club; in the same month, Good Housekeeping will serialize it. Notre Dame Book Shop, 115 Peachtree Street, N.E., At lanta 5, Ga., is accepting pre-publication orders ($3.50) for A Memoir of Mary Ann. everywhere . . .” Father Con- sidine, author of several pre vious books and now direc tor of the Latin American Bu reau of N.C.W.C., in this ex cellent study lists five catego ries of men in spiritual need for whom every Catholic should feel concern. Yet priests waste precious pulpit time talking of trivial ities; and Catholic laymen and women devote time and effort to inconsequential projects within their own limited ho rizons! If only they would ponder, instead^ such, a study as this and' act Upon it! It is one of a series of World Horizon Reporis, designed to broaden the outlook of all thinking Catholics to global di mensions, to truly Catholic di mensions. Originating as lec tures delivered last year at Notre Dame and at Fordham’s Institute of Mission Study, this booklet pleads that Catholics “demonstrate genuine concern for, respect for and regard for all men as men.” It discusses the history and development of the Church’s teaching on the human race, and its pres ent problems and positions, political, economic, social and religious. “We live in a day,” says the eloquent author, “When the apostles of Moscow have out paced the best of public rela tions experts of Madison Ave nue in presenting their ideolo gy to the world. The gravity of the situation is such that thoughtful men now recognize it as a distinctly Christian vo cation to undertake the pro clamation of the philosophy of the free world . . . Certainly our Christian social teachings should be similarly proclaim ed.” THE UPROOTED, by Oscar Handlin, Atlantic-Little Brown, 1951, 310 pp., $4.50. Reviewed by Eileen Hall Immigration figures for the years before 1820 are not avail able, but in that year 8,358 individuals from other lands entered the United States to become, most of them, perma nent citizens here. In the fol lowing century the number rose incredibly, reaching a total of 1,285,000 in 1907, the largest in any single year. From 1920 onward, for various reasons, legislation was enacted to re strict the flow of immigrants to this country. Numerous writings have de scribed the effect of the immi grants on the American society of which they became a part. Professor Handlin of Har vard, in this book which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1952, approaches the story from the opposite direc tion—the effect of the great migrations on those who took part in them. The result is a humanly appealing story, as well as a masterpiece of his torical writing. In twelve readable chapters he examines various aspects of the ordeal that these displaced persons underwent, from their peasant origins in the Old World and the miserable con ditions of their crossing of the Atlantic, to their difficult adaptations to thq new ways 1 of life and the promises they saw unfold for their sons in this new land. “No one moves,” the author points out, “without sampling something of the immigrants’ experience . . . even men fixed in space but alienated from their culture by unpopular ideas or tastes . . . Understand ing of their reactions . . . may throw light on the problems of all those whom ‘the modern world somehow uproots.” SECULAR INSTITUTES, by J. M. Perrin, O.P., translated by Lancelot C. Sheppard, Ken edy, 1961, 122 pp., $3.50. Reviewed by W. L. Schmidt The subtitle of this work is “Consecration to God and Life in the World.” To the English speaking world, this consecra tion by lay people of them selves to the practice of the counsels while yet living a life in the world is barely known. Yet it is a growing segment of Catholicism in various foreign countries, flourishing under the organizational set-up of Secu lar Institutes. These societies consist of secular priests, lay men, or lay women who, while remaining in “the world,” and engaged in their own normal occupations, are pledged to dedicate them selves completely to Christian living by means of vows or some similarly binding rules. A mental niche for them has not yet been found. Their rules and practices are so varied, even more so than the present religious orders of priests and nuns. This work is principally an elaboration on the thoughts of the Church regarding Secular Institutes as expressed in va rious Papal documents, par- Brother Claude, principal of the Boys' Division of Aquinas High School, Augusta, appear ed on the program of a recent* meeting of St. Mary’ s-on-the- IIill Parish Home and School Assn. Brother, who holds a Masters in English find Lib rary Science, chose as his sub ject: “Books, the home and your Children.” We reproduce here highlights of this talk. Brother pointed out that stu dents from the 7th grade on should read at least one book a month. “. . . It is obvious from col lege board tests that the reader gets higher marks than the non-reader. . . It also is apparent that colleges today are once again stressing the liberal arts. Of what value are scientific ad vances if they cannot be ex plained?” “. . . In vocabulary tests giv en by large companies, it has been proven that executives score higher than junior offi cers. They become executives because they read.” Minister Cites Public Schools Religion Need WILMINGTON, Del. (NC)— A Protestant minister here has stressed the need for more re ligion in the public schools. The Rev. Percy Rex, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, said in a parish bulletin: “As long as we officially keep God out of our public schools at all levels because of a false notion of the meaning of our cherished doctrine of the separation of Church and State, we will make succeeding generations increasingly un able to stand against militant atheism from abroad.” The Rev. Mr. Rex’s comment came after the Rev. James A. Mays, pastor of the Lewes, Del., Presbyterian church, told a Rotary Club luncheon here that reading the Bible in the public schools is unjustified be cause the practice does not represent all religious groups in the community. The Bible is read in Dela ware public schools at the start of each day. CAIP Head Is Missile Defense Program Chief WASHINGTON (NC) — The top man in a program to de fend this country from atomic missiles is also a firm advocate of more liberal immigration laws—and for good reason. Charles M. Herzfeld, 36, scientist and president of the Catholic Association for Inter national Peace, has been nam ed by the Defense Department to direct and coordinate the staff of the entire Defender Program. Herzfeld was 13 when he came to this country from his native Austria as a World War II refugee. He is ever mindful of the opportunities which were given him in this coun try and is anxious the same treatment be accorded to other immigrants. Before committees of Con gress and in public addresses he has emphasized that this country traditionally encou rages people from all over the world to enjoy the freedom and opportunity which the United States affords. To car ry on this mission, especially in these critical times, Herz feld contends the immigration laws should be more liberal to keep open the haven for the oppressed. Herzfeld received his bache lor’s degree in chemical engi neering from the Catholic Uni versity of America here in 1951 and obtained his doc torate in physical chemistry from the University of Chica go. In 1957 he was appointed as chief of the heat and power division at the U. S. Bureau of Standards here. He took a year’s leave of absence from this post when the Defense Department selected him to serve as assistant director of the Advanced Research Pro jects Agency and placed him in charge of the Defender Program. ticularly the Provida Maler Ecclesia, and the Mottu Proprio Primo Feliciler of the late Pope Pius XII issued in 1947-48. It was under his reign that a mode of living in the world, yet dedicated to God in a spe cial way, received blessing and guidance for the first time. With today’s speed highway safety is a life and death mat ter. “. . . Pareents should be con cerned about what they do about reading in the home. It is not a question so much of “Why Johnny can’t read” as “why Johnny can read and doesn’t?” “. . . It has been noted that 25% of college graduates in America have not read a book in the last year — that only 12% of the new homes being constructed have built in book shelves.” “. . . One must give children good surroundings and good training in order to get the maximum development of po tentialities within the indivi dual. Literature has been de fined as a “verbal portrait of life.” Brother Claude praised the excellent facilities of the pub lic library, and urged parents and their children to visit and familiarize themselevs with its contents. He pointed out the importance of being familiar, too, with some of the old clas sics and to follow the best sell er lists in fiction and non fiction. These lists may be found in the local Sunday pa per or in various periodicals. “BOOKS, THE HOME, AND YOUR CHILDREN” Enjoy that REFRESHING NEW FEELING BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY BY COCA-COLA BOTTLERS OF GEORGIA Prepare And Serve WONDERFUL MEALS IN MINUTES. 1 BROOKWOOD SERVICE STATION Pure Oil Products - Tires - Lubrication - Tail Pipe - Mufflers - Brake Work MR. CLAY, Prop. Road Service - Pick-Up & Delivery 1820 Peachtree Rd., N.W. TR. 6-2171 Atlanta, Ga. JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL JUNIOR COLLEGE 105 Forrest Ave. t N. E. BARRETT & LEACH JA. 3-8580 Fancy Groceries - Fresh Vegetables l 3771 Roswell Road CE. 7-0355 “Around the Corner from Famous Prime Western Beef Atlanta, Ga. 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