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About Bulletin (Monroe, Ga.) 1958-1962 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1961)
PAGE 2—THE BULLETIN, December 9, 1961 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. THE INNER LIFE OF WORSHIP, by Charles Mag- sam, M.M., Grail, 1958, 323 pp., indexed, $4.50. LITURGY AND DOCTRINE, by Charles Davis, Sheed and Ward, 1960, 123 pp., $2.50. Reviewed by W. L. Schmidt Many Catholics break out with a case of emotional rash when they hear the word litur gy. There is actually a mental illness of being allergic to a word, as Father Magsam states in The Inner Life of Worship. But a word is a mere symbol, and if we are allergic to one, he suggests we use another that means the same thing that is more to our liking. “The dis tinctive manner of worship ing God” is a phrase that quite adequately defines litur gy, and in substituting word symbols, liturgy can be called “Catholic Manners.” Some of these manners are prescribed by the Church; others are left to one’s own individual devo tion. The manners of worship (liturgy) affect every Catholic in all aspects of his life that determine him as being a Catholic. They are both a source of, and a part of Chris tian life. Having thus presented the reader with fundamental as pects of the meaning of the word liturgy, and driven away allergies by his prescriptive suggestions, Father Magsam proceeds to the discussion of the internals of worship and their mutual relationships. There is a balance between the official worship of the Church and the private worship of in dividuals in their various as pects. Union with God is, of course, the purpose of all wor ship, and therefore the purpose of our Catholic “manners” or liturgy. And the central point of all liturgy is the Mass. It is this that is held in the fore ground throughout the book. Liturgy and Doctrine is an other, though smaller, work of the same subject and is equal ly as interesting to the layman in the treatment of the matter. It carries further the relation ships between the various “manners” of the Church, though no case is made against the allergic qualities of the word liturgy. Father Davis’ definition is: “. . . it simply means that Christians gather together and meet one another and carry out together, each according to his place in the Church, the normal and dis tinctive activities that belong to them as Christians.” He says further: “There is nothing eso teric or exclusive or optional about the liturgy; it is part and parcel of the Christian life.” It is stated that Catholicism fails to impress, as it once did, because it is impoverished. The power of ideas has been under estimated partly because Cath olics no longer think with that symbolic richness contain ed in the Bible and liturgy. It is this impoverishment that both these books attempt to erase. And the reader may re call that the subject of liturgy is receiving much treatment in the Catholic press. There is a stir within the Church re garding the liturgy and the laymen’s part in it. This re viewer hopes that the stir will produce a more acceptable and understandable symbol. Per haps “manners of a Catholic” could lead to something. HORIZON BOOK OF THE RENAISSANCE, by the Edi tors of Horizon, published by the American Heritage Pub lishing Co., distributed by Doubleday and Co., 1961, 432 pp., 480 illustrations, 160 in full color, $17.50 and $19.95. Reviewed by Leo J. Zuber The Horizon Book of the Renaissance is, in itself, an ex ample of the splendid renais sance period of American book publishing. In recent years there have been, and in future years there will be still other, examples of these superior products of authorship, editor ship, and of the printing and publishing trade, in inherently noble one. It is quite fitting that the subject of the Renais sance should receive this treat ment at this time. The Renaissance is a com monly recognized epoch in the history of Western civilization. Yet, when was it? When did it begin? When did it end, or, has it ended? No one can quite say, and that includes the ex perts. It was a period of flo wering of the arts and of flou rishing of trade, trade in goods and in ideas, a period in which man moved closer to the sum mit of human creative ability than he ever had before and, strangely perhaps, closer than he seems to have managed since. The period was a crest between troughs in human de velopment and experience. This volume’s contents strong ly emphasize the characteris tics of this great period. Centered in Italy and more specifically in Florence, the Renaissance radiated its influ ence geographically over the Western world and, to a lesser degree, over the Eastern; it radiated its influence tempor ally to the present and to the future. “. . . in countless ways, we are products of that age.” Modern art, science and com merce date from the Renais sance. Lombard Street in Lon don derives its name from the presence there in the 13 th Century of Italian moneylend ers. 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"YOU CAN'T BUY A FRESHER, FINER, BETTER-TASTING MILK THAN PET HOMOGENIZED VITAMIN "D" MILK." For Convenient Home Delivery in Atlanta PLEASE CALL 636-8677 Polynesian And American Specialties Daily Luncheon Feast Table Private Dining Rooms Open 11 a. m.-3 p. m., 5 p. m.-ll p. m, Beverages Served Until 2 a. m. DOBBS HOUSE LU AU 1999 Peachtree TR. 3-3531 content; then, after the intro duction, it gets down to some details. Fortunately the details are always in good perspective. The renaissance can be dis cussed in terms of its great names, as Petrarch, Machiavel- li, Michelangelo, Lorenzo de’ Medici, Pope Pius II for ex amples, and of their contribu tions. Petrarch is associated with the Dawn of the Renais sance, young Michelangelo with the Arts, Lorenzo with Florence, Pius II with Rome, and Leonardo da Vinci with Milan. If the Renaissance was a period of creativity without prior parallel, it was also a period of some anomolies. One was Frederick II, King of Sici ly and for much of the same period a German king. Repeat edly excommunicated by popes and seemingly ever in their disfavor, he persecuted here tics persistently and, by nego tiation rather than by crusade, he secured the liberation to the Christians of Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. His book on hawking was the first modern ornithology. A Chris tian, he maintained a harem. While not exactly a major fig ure of the period, he was not a lesser light either. Michelangelo, “from dis dain,” walked out on his job with Pope Julius II — and ev idently told him so. Commis sioned by a French cardinal, he wrought in the Pieta’ in marble “. . . a perfect fusion of Gothic and Classic art.” “Ever since the Pieta’ was put in place, people have asked how the mother of a grown man, in the depths of grief, could ap pear so young and beautiful; and Michelangelo’s reply is . . . that physical perfection is the mirror and emblem of a pure and noble spirit.” And, no question about it, Michelange lo was a major figure of the period. And so with the other indi viduals whose combined con tributions in propitious times and circumstances cumulative ly made up the total known as the. Renaissance. Clearly a many-volumed encyclopedia could be written on the period; this is more nearly the lay- man’n intelligent introduction in depth to the Renaissance. The volume can and should grace the home as well as the library. The price? It’s low. Once paid, you’ll have a life time of utility and satisfaction, not just an idle ornament. DR. JAMES H. MULLEN, author of Against the Goad (Bruce), a modern convert’s own story. AGAINST THE GOAD, by Dr. James , H. Mullen, The Bruce Publishing Company, 201 pp., $3.95. THE GLORY OF THY PEO PLE, by Father M. Raphael Si mon, Macmillan Paperbacks, 139 pp., $1.10. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONVERSION, by G. K. Chesterton, Macmillan Paper backs, 115 pp., $.95. Reviewed by E. Matthews Hilaire Belloc, in his For ward to The Catholic Church and Conversion, destroys the theory of the “typical convert.” All men are called to the Truth, and, as all men are dif ferent, they follow different paths to the Church. G. K. Chesterton discusses these va rious paths and the obstacles placed in the way. Since he wrote his classic on the phe nomenon of conversion, some of the described prejudices hav>e been healed by time, some simply replaced with others. But the men very much remain the same, and Chester ton’s highly developed human sense of humor makes enjoy able reading of a subject close to the hearts of all of us. It is readily agreed that no two converts tell the same sto ry, and the external events leading to the acceptance of the gift of Faith will also be different. But most converts will date their conversion from the one experience com mon to all — prayer. One man may find truth before he is given faith, and the other may believe in God without know ing the whole truth. But when they begin to pray, when in their hearts they turn to God, they are converts. Fr. Raphael M. Simon, On the publication of Jim, femoip of Wanj. -Ann a book party Sunday, December 10 3 P. M. Sacred Heart Auditorium 310 Courtland Avenue, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia Sponsored by the Atlanta Unit Catholic Library Association 2674 Johnson Road, N. E. Atlanta 6, Georgia Adults $1.00 Students 50c Tickets available by mail from the Association; counter sale, Notre Dame Book Shop, and at the door O.C.S.O., -tells the story of his realizing Catholicism as the fulfillment of Judiasm in The Glory of Thy People. As a child, Fr. Simon was taught and believed the Old Testa ment prophecies, but the sense of expectation permeating the history of Israel was not re flected in the lives of the Jews around him. Instead, he found emptiness. All during his education and preparation in his chosen field of psychia try, he wrestled with truth. In terwoven in the telling of his story, Fr. Simon outlines such problems as “evolution” that often shake the faith of fresh man college students. In the manner of an adventure story, he has his readers follow his solving of the question. Philos ophy led him to the truth, but the friend who advised him to pray set him on the right path. Then on his knees, self-con scious in the sight of God, he made his profession of faith. Baptism confirmed the faith, and in gratitude he gave him self completely to God embrac ing the life of a Trappist monk. Against The Goad is a con vert story. But it could be the “great American novel,” for here is one man’s solution to the materialism, indifference, too-big-to-handle-ness of the rat race so many Americans succumb to seeking security. Throughout college, time in the Navy and early years of marriage, James Mullen ran the whole gamut of “modern problems in religion.” With ap pealing frankness and tender ness, he tells how his misplac ed loyalities caused him to kick against the goad and how God drew him to Himself. Against The Goad will be read with understanding by con verts and for understanding by others. This book has interest for anyone sympathetic with the search for Truth. A GREAT AND HUMBLE SOUL, by Henry Perroy, S.J., Newman, 1960, 216 pp., $1.75. Reviewed by Jane Woodham A richly moving story told in deep reds and purples of the other worldly life of The- rese Couderc. Here is the soul of the mystic who lives on in the order of nuns which she founded in France in the early part of the last century, the Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle. To day this Congregation spreads the spirit of its Foundress throughout the world in sixty convents and and three conti nents. Beatified in 1951, Therese Couderc lived love itself—suf fering, working, weeping, giv ing, waiting love. And fortu nately, the book is wisely and well written so that these qua lities shine and the great life unfolds with the magnetism of fiction; one-sitting fiction. The Congregation, too, be comes real in Therese Cou- derc’s devotion to Our Lady’s prayer life in the Cenacle with the apostles, in the waiting between Ascension and Pente cost. Her devotion to Our La dy’s Retreat worked its way through a life of suffering that today Cenacle Nuns dedicate their lives to sponsoring Re treats of prayer and silence for women around the globe. This is an engaging book well worth the joy of reading. THE BIBLE AND THE AN CIENT NEAR EAST, editor, G. E. Wright, Doubleday, 1961, 409 pp., $7.50. THE OLD TESTAMENT AND MODERN STUDY, edi tor, H. H. Rowley, Oxford Pa perbacks, London, 1961, 370 pp., 8/6 net. Reviewed by Flannery O'Connor These two books are collec tions of essays written by An cient Near East scholars for other Ancient Near East scho lars. The Bible And The An cient Near East is a memorial volume in honor of William Foxwell Albright, one of this country’s foremost Oriental scholars, who retired as Pro fessor of Semitic Languages and Chairman of the Oriental Seminary at Johns Hopkins University in 1958. The Old Testament And Modem Study is a volume issued by the So ciety for Old Testament Stu dy. Its aim is to survey the significant work that has been done in the field in the last thirty years in order to bring out the new trends that have appeared. Although these essays are for the professional scholar, they Offer the lay public some fascinating insights into what is involved in discovering an cient civilizations and lang uages. Ironically, as more ma terial, through excavation and more accurate methods of dat ing, becomes available, inter pretation grows increasingly difficult. Nineteenth century Biblical scholarship, which wrecked the faith of so many, has been almost entirely dis credited and the historical val ue of many Biblical texts at tested to by chronologies worked out by radio-carbon dating and the comparison of cultures. There is a healthy sense in these books that as pqr knowledge of the past grows, the mystery of it grows likewise. THE WORD OF GOD, by Georges Auzou, translated from the French by Josef a Thornton, B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Mo., 255 pp., $4.75. Reviewed by W. L. Schmidt The fact is inescapable that, in general, Catholics are not avid Bible readers, despite the fact that it is not only the Word of God, but a book of great literature. To be under stood it must be read in the spirit in which it was written, with lively faith, hope, charity, and the spirit of prayer. And it must be read not once, but many times to become absorb ed by its spirit. It is a great, temptation, when faced with the requirements of technique and of work, to shake them off and to leave them to spe cialists ... to look for “digests” which will lead to the summit quickly. These and many other points which keep people from reading the Bible are covered by M l’Abbe Auzou’s twenty- three pages of “Preliminary Reflections” at the outset of the book. In this section he sets the stage for more serious stu dy and reflections. Having done with the pre liminaries, Auzou then pro ceeds, in Part One, to a study of the history of the Bible, the people that populate it and the thought and traditions be hind it. He traces the use of the word “Scriptures” from the early Israelites to the early Christian era, and the accept ance of them as The Word of God. From an historical view point alone this treatment is significant. In Part Two, the language of the Bible is examined. Auzou stresses the fact that the Bible is a book of the Near East. The cultural climate of its writings, its psychology is Semitic. Of this the reader of the Bible must be conscious in order not to make mistakes. To appreciate it fully, we must think and feel in the manner of the Semites, the Israelites, and the Palestinians. This re quirement is not out of order. We must do as much in read ing any historical, or literary work in the secular field, if we want to understand it. This book will certainly lead to a greater desire for reading the Bible, and, aided by a deeper understanding of its background, spirit and lang uage, will be more thoroughly understood by the layman. The evaluation of a man’s head is his chief character ref erence. CMLLMAN, ALA.— “Com munists cannot tolerate East ern rite Catholics because of their unifying influence. . . be tween Eastern Orthodox and Latin Catholics. . . theirs is a difficult vocation . . . (yet) we look at them as a minority in the Church and ignore them,” said Rev. Vincent Sheppard, O. S. B., keynote speaker at Sacred Heart College, Cull man, Ala., for the Mid-South Regional Conference Catholic Library Association November 25. Father Vincent is executive vice-president of St. Bernard College, Cullman, and head of the Philosophy Department. “The Orthodox have no prob lem behind the Iron Curtain because they are cut off from Rome. Latin Catholics have no problems there because they are so foreign, due to their Latin Roman ways, . . . that the Communists have in some measure tolerated them,” he said. “Eastern Catholics must be 100 per cent Eastern.” Be cause they are under the influ ence of Rome, they can great ly influence the union of Or thodox. and Rome. The Com munists cannot tolerate them, for this reason, said Father Vincent. We Latin Catholics fail to understand and appreciate the great and difficult vocation of the Eastern Rite Catholics, said Father Vincent. “We Lat in Catholics ask the Eastern Catholics why they make the Sign of the Cross backward,” he explained. “Maybe our sign of the cross is backward since Christ sits on the right hand of God and also because the Eastern rite goes backward in history farther than we. . . and the Eastern Catholics are closer to Apostolic origins.” Our need of understanding Our Eastern brethren is shown by Latin Catholics’ attitude toward ordaining married men, he said. “Some Latins think it is just something the Church tolerates. Scripture proves that St. Peter was married because t speaks of his mother-in-law,” explained Father Vincent. <; Lirbarians should pull out all books on the Crusades and get rid of them and some of these books should be put on the index as untrue, said Fath er Vincent. “Crusaders stopped by Constantinople and looted churches and murdered Bish ops,” he said in giving the true history. The Crusades have of ten been taught only as deeds of God to save the Holy Land, he said. “The Eastern rite has. al ways celebrated the liturgy (mass) in the language of the people.” Mass was put in Lat in when people were no longer able to speak Greek. The new Testament and first Masses were in Greek and only put in Latin so people could un derstand them,” he said to explain the difference in the language used by the two rites. Latin is now used through out the world by the Roman rite so that the Mass will be familiar and similar no matter where a person travels throughout the world, and be cause using the same lang uage (Latin) gives unity, he explained. He emphasized the need for Latin Catholics to appreciate the great contribution of the Eastern rite in the movement toward unity of all Christians in answer to Christs prayer "that they all may be one, j as Thou Father in Me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in us . (St. JoJi7i 17 :21) !8 Sends II VATICAN CITY, (NC)— His Holiness Pope John XXII has used the device of sending a letter to his Secretary of State to voice his thanks to everyone who had joined in celebrating or expressed good wishes on his 80th birthday. In a letter to Amleto Card inal Cicognani, Pope John not ed that many had wished him a long life. To this he said: “May everyone say with hap py and serene mind, ‘the will of God, the will of God,’ and nothing more.” The Pope spoke of his “im mense gratitude to the cardi nals, to the bishops, to the diocesan and regular clergy, and to all Our collaborators.” He included thanks also to heads of states and govern ments, especially of the 70 countries which sent special delegations here to participate in the birthday celebration, and to the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. The Pope’s birth day anniversary actually fell on November 22. But’ it was celebrated November 4, the third anniversary of his coro nation, as a double annivers ary. F The Pope in his letter said: “What can be said of the fes tive echoes of the immense le gions of consecrated souls, of children, of the sick and the aged, of the humble and the poor? “There are reasons for sor row which certainly trouble Our spirit concerning the fu ture of nations and of peoples, all of whom are dear to Our heart. But the harmony of thoughts and of intentions . . . gives Us reason to think that Our convinced optimism is well founded.” The letter was written to Cardinal Cicognani “according to the custom of the Curia.” ; The Pope called the Cardinal Secretary of State “the first voice and the first interpreter of Our communications with the whole world.” OBITUARIES ATLANTA—Sister Mary Jo seph Mclver, C. S. J., 77, died on November 23 after a brief illness. She had been on ac tive duty as a music teacher at Sacred Heart Convent until ten days before, when she be came ill with pneumonia. Sis ter is survived by a sister, Mrs. Maudde Noel, and one neph ew, both of Monterey, Cali fornia. A Requiem High Mass was sung at Sacred Heart Church, with interment in Westview Cemetery. Rev. Father Thom as J. Roshetko, S. M.; pastor, was celebrant, Very Rev. Vin cent Brennan, S. M., deacon, and Father John Emmerth, S. M., sub-deacon. The Marist Fathers sang the Mass. Sister Mary Joseph spent many of her forty-four years as a religious sister of St. Jo seph. in Atlanta, her birth place, and in schools in Savan nah and Augusta, largely in the capacity of music teacher. She was especially adept at instructing converts in Christ ian Doctrine, and during her lifetime she brought many persons into the Faith. Speed lowers visual per formance at night, says the Allstate Safety Crusade. At 20 m.p.h. the eye can see 80 feet further than at 60 m.p.h. Mrs. Rinker AUGUSTA — Funeral serv ices for Mrs. Elizabeth Darren- kamp Rinker were held at St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill Church No vember 21st, Father Stephen Connolly officiating. Among her survivors are three sons, Joseph W. Rinker, Anthony Rinker and Edward Rinker; two brothers, George Darrenkamp and Harry Dar- renkamp of Lancaster, Penn.; a sister, Victoria Darrenkamp, also of Lancaster, Penn.; nine grandchildren; and 29 great grandchildren. Mrs. Webster AUGUSTA — Funeral serv ices for Mrs. Fannie May Web ster were held at St. Mary’s on-the-Hill Church, November 25th, Father Stephen Connolly officiating. Survived by one son, W. W. Webster, Augusta; a number of nieces and nephews. Miss Bridget Kelly AUGUSTA — Funeral serv ices for Miss Bridget Kelly were held at the Sacred Heart Church, Father A. Bernard Kearns, S.J., officiating. Mrs. W. J. King, Jr. DECATUR — Funeral serv ices for Mrs. William J. King, Jr., were held at the Sacred Heart Church November 28th, Father Clarence J. Biggers of St. Joseph’s Church, Marietta, officiating. IN ATLANTA n UPpip DR. 8-2583 uiiiHl BRONZE. • GRANITE • MARBLE
