Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

( BOOKS (MAKE 4| 1 , A (HOME | ^ uUriteri nd l^eaclt erd 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. ESCAPE TO UTOPIA, by Everett Webber, Hastings House, 1959, 444 pp., illus., $5.50. Reviewed by Frank D. Lovette This book is a splendid com pendium of the various com munal organizations which ap peared in the United States when the country was young and growing. The reader will be able to find in one cover a fascinating collection of some unusual characters and their wild dreams of the Pro mised Land, and can draw in teresting observations from the data as presented. First; the magnet that seem ed to be the basic attraction in this country was free land. It seemed that many originators of these communes (and this also applies to many present day ones) felt that with free land all their problems were solved. How erroneous this proposition can be is brilliant ly set forth. Second; the characters of the principals display one of the factors which originally made America great: that is, their fertile imaginations. America was a magnet which drew from the Old Country the intellectuals who were dis satisfied with their world and their lives and who had the ability to pull up stakes and start out anev^. Their imagi nation, which is a faculty de veloped in humans through their efforts to find mates, led to some unusual marriage cus toms. Mr. Weber has chronicl ed these in detail and with tact. Third; the reader will be amazed at the gullibility of the adherents of these leaders. No thing seems too bizarre for their followers to believe; al though it is pointed out that a goodly number of them were free-loaders and panhandlers eager for a handout, and they probably acquiesced to the pronouncements of their lead ers with tongue in cheek. Fourth; an interesting obser vation may be drawn from the above chronicle: the Germanic peoples appeared to be the best suited for communal liv ing as their villages seemed to prosper and survive. Lastly; that these communes were a real part of the Ameri can scene and assisted in the development of the country may be found in the names of some familiar ones which are still with us or have' become part of the folklore, such as, Adventists, Shakers, Mormons, Amana (freezers), Oneida (sil verware), and the House of David (baseball team). WOMAN TO WOMAN, by Katherine Burton, Kenedy, 1961, 217 pp., $3.95. Reviewed by E. Maithews From a depth of womanly insight, Katherine Burton writes to other women on such subjects as ' Christmas and commercialism, What about the single woman? Modern art and music, dieting and fasting, St. Paul and women. Wife, mother and convert, Mrs. Burton’s literary achieve ments included thirty full- length books, chiefly biogra phy of American Catholics, and numerous articles and sto ries for such magazines as Cosmopolitan and America. Her wealth of experience is reflected in her treatment of her choice of material for these Woman to Woman col umns written for The Sign. Readers who have come to know her through this month ly publication will enjoy re newing their friendship. Oth ers who have known her through her books will be in terested in her comments on these various subjects. Women will find some of her opinions expressions of their own and others stimulatingly contrary to their thought. Grouped by topics such as “The Lively Arts” and “Lis ten, Father,” there is sure to be discussed here some sub jects of interest to everyone. For anyone who has ever long ed for a woman’s opinion or just some good “second cup of coffee” conversation, Woman to Woman will be a pleasure. - CHRISTIAN FAITH AND MAN'S RELIGION, Marc C. Ebersole, Crowell, 1961, 183 pp., $5. CHRISTIANITY DIVIDED, ed. Callahan, Oberman and O’- Hanlon, Sheed & Ward, 1961, 333 pp., $6. Reviewed by Flannery O'Connor Christian Faith and Man's Religion, a study of five non- Catholic religious thinkers, is based on the distinction be tween religion of simply as man’s deep involvement with his own existence, not neces sarily from a theistic point of view, and the specific belief in Christmas the God who has redeemed us. Much of the thought of these men, with the exception of Barth and Fromm, is an effort to fit Christianity into a frame of the 18th cen tury enlightenment. Fromm WHAT THINK YOU OF CHRIST? by William R. Bon- niwell, O.P., B. Herder Book Company, 1958, ix, 199 pp., $3.75. Reviewed by Theodora Koob Father Bonniwell does well to probe Christian thinking in this clear, readable volume. With an easy and yet forceful style he sermonizes briefly on the important teachings, events, and meetings in the life of Jesus. Chapters Three and Four, for example, are based on messages from the parables while the last three chapters are dramatic portray als of the crucifixion, death and resurrection. Personages, too, are used in terms of how their contact with Christ changed them in relationship to the material world. Chief emphasis seems to be on translating our very ma terialistic modern thinking into spiritual understanding and appreciation. In brief, What Do You Think of Christ in relationship to what you expect as a Christian. If the author over-emphasizes our reason for creation: namely, to know, love and serve God in this world so that we can be happy with Him in the next, it is intentional reiteration for Father Bonniwell’s message is primarily a trumpeting of what has been casually forgot ten by so many today. He has written a crossroads warning of “Stop, Look, Listen” that you may know again the Christ you have disregarded. Stop and consider why the Lord was born of a Virgin; look again at the testimony of His words; listen to what His contemporaries thought of Him. A good book for Sun day afternoon reading and cheerful meditation, What Think You of Christ can be picked up and put down which is one good criterion of any didactic work. CATHOLIC RELIGION COURSE IN YOUR OWN HOM5 FOR NON-CATHOLICS Thousands like you. gain a richer, happier life as they get to know Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If you’d care to know Christ better—to learn His Divine teachings and the Christian way of life—Re quest this course today. NO CHARGES NO OBLIGATIONS Name I— ! Street City Slate * Send to HOME STUDY SERVICE, St. Mary's Seminary, Roland Park, Baltimore 10, Md. rejects Christianity entirely in favor of natural religion; Barth rejects religion entirely and sees the Christian faith as a judgment against it. Bon- hoeffer rejects religion on the grounds that man has out grown it but accepts the Chris tian faith; Schleiermacher sees the Christian faith as the fulfillment of religion but makes this faith dependent on feeling. Niebuhr emerges as the most balanced and most nearly orthodox of the five. He sees the Christian faith as both the judgment against and the fulfillment of religion. Aside from several refer ences to St. Augustine and one to St. Thomas, it is nowhere suggested that any thought took place before the time of Luther. This is a fascinating book for any Catholic who wants to understand better the problems and achievements of Protestant theology . An equally fascinating and more profound book is Chris- lianiiy Divided, a collection of theological essays by Protes tant and Catholic scholars on the fundamental issues which divide them — scripture and tradition, hermeneutics, the Church, the sacraments, and justification. The aim of the book is to make available to a wider audience some of the significant works of important theologians in critical areas of ecumenical discussion. The se lections will reveal new direc tions in Protestant and Catho lic thought that are not as well known as they deserve to be. THE WOUNDED HEART by Raphael Brown, Franciscan Herald Press, 1960, 180 pp., $3.50. Reviewed by E. Matthews The Wounded Heart is the first full length English bio graphy of St. Charles Sezze, Franciscan lay brother canon ized by Pope John XXIII in 1959. The title of the book is taken from one of the greatest of Brother Charles’ many mys tical experiences, the wound ing of his heart with the love of God. God’s timing for the giving of His gift is perhaps of especial significance to all who feel caught up in a vari ety of districting duties for at the time Brother Charles’ questing duties had taken him from the retirement of the monastery and into the market place of the town. In fact, the story of this 17th century lay brother holds many lessons for us today, proving the timeless ness of the saint’s love of God. Raphael Brown, convert and Franciscan Tertiary, writes with the sincere simplicity we have come to think of as cha racteristic of the Franciscan. From his personal experience, St. Charles wrote with under standing and depth on many spiritual subjects, among them his “Treatise on the Three Ways of Meditation and States of Holy Contemplation.” Mr. Brown’s The Wounded Heart should be the herad of deeper works on this saint including translations of his works. Photographs of places con nected with the life of the saint have been used on the end sheets. The jacket design for the book is by Publication Associates. THE LAYMAN AND HIS CONSCIENCE, by Msgr. Ron ald Knox, Sheed and Ward, 1961, 218 pp., $3.50. Reviewed by E. Matthews The Layman and His Con science, a retreat given by Msgr. Knox shortly before his death in 1959, is the second one published for lay people. He sets the tone and purpose of this retreat with a medita tion on the words “He’s asking for you”, and places the em phasis on the need for a per sonal religion, a personal re lationship with God, a person al realization of His. reality. In these nineteen meditations, Msgr. Knox, with the clarity of insight given saints, opens our hearts and minds to give us a clear look at ourselves. For instance, he begins his medi tation on the Rosary with the idea that most of us don’t want to say the Rosary — we want to get it said. For all those readers who have learned the value of a real retreat from the world, these meditations will be the means of carrying on the value received during their own per sonal retreats. For those souls who have yet to experience the aloneness with God a re treat affords, this book will give much material for daily meditation and will probably arouse a desire for a real re treat. Everyone is sure to en- ojy Msgr. Knox’s presentation of his material and in particu lar the English-flavored anec dotes he used to illustrate his points. Tve located the technical failure that caused everyone to over sleep. There's a wad of gum on the bell clapper ” From Sem Beams, Seminary Life in Carioons, by Ed Sullivan, St. Paul Publications, 1961, 61 pp., 50c. THE DIARY OF JAMES J. STRANG, by Mark A. Strang, Michigan State University Press, 1961, 78 pp., $3.75. Reviewed by Sister M. Harriet, O.P. To what purpose, beyond satisfying idle curiosity about the erstwhile King of Michi gan’s Mormons, will Catholics read The Diary of James JJ. Strang, deciphered, transcrib ed, introduced and annotated by his grandson, Mark A. atrang? There is an Ecumeni cal stir and dialog in the im pending movement will even tually seep to grassroots level. To the Catholic' operating there, an historical perspective on the American Protestant re vival movemehts is going to be invaluable. This small vol ume may well stimulate him to peer into those environ mental factors which contrib uted to the formation of American religious leaders of the last century. The diary’s publication is, then, a timely alert to the role of revivalists in nineteenth century Ameri can developments. Professor Russel B. Nye’s Foreword and Mark A. Strang’s Introduction compen sate for the five-year, age eighteen-to-twenty-three time limitations of the diary’s en tries. Assuming a reader bent on gaining historical insights, one wishes that the Foreword had been expanded. Likewise, one questions Mark Strang’s evaluation: “Much of the lit erature developed around tSrang since 1930 has been in fluenced by this mistranscrip tion (i.e., “I am ignorant (not eager) and mankind are frail.”) and many of the books and theories and articles have quoted or commented on it while ignoring his many veri fiable statements that indicate an unselfish, altruistic, benev olent personality.” (11. 17-21 p. XXIX) The diary’s entries, in the judgment of this re viewer, cannot be construed as verification. The editor, having stated his thesis and built his case, might have left judgment to the reader. James JJ. Strang appear to have been obsessed with the concept of Person, in its full est liturgical definition. More is the pity that for him a Cath- oli cexponent of this never crossed his path. While the diary reads quickly, jt evokes long thoughts in this vein. WHEN F. D. R. DIED, by Bernard Asbell, Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1961, 211 pp., in dexed, $4.00. Reviewed by W. L. Schmidt Reading each chapter of this work reminds one of the occu pation of the wheelwright of early days assembling the spokes of a wheel into a hub. After the last one is properly placed, all are then firmly se- i K K i> K o f r. B JUBILEE, ed. Edward Rice, A.M.D.G. Publishing Com pany, 377 Park Avenue South, New York 16, $4 per year. Reviewed by Flannery O'Connor Jubilee is a partly pictorial monthly magazine which should be of interest to those who would like to see more taste and imagination in popular Catholic journalism than is usually found there. After some years of planning and search for the necessary funds, Edward Rice published the first issue of Jubilee in 1953. Since Mr. Rice’s plan included insistance on good taste in advertising, funds were hard to come by, but Jubilee has continued to appear despite diffi culties of this kind and now has a circulation of 50,000. A magazine “of the Church and her people,” as Jubilee calls itself, could easily become a grab-bag of pictures and stories of merely topical interest, but Jubilee is guided by a controlling intelligence with a strong historical sense and the intention of making manifest the universality of the Church. The emphasis is on ecumenism, particularly with the Eastern churches, the liturgy, social issues, and Catholic culture around the world. These stories are always well written and illustrated with excellent photographs. The art work in Jubilee makes subject for vigorous debate in its letters column. The editors have a predilection for printing their stories on colored paper of various bilious or har rowing shades of green, blue and yellow. One can expect to find a double page devoted wholly to a two-line liturgi cal fish or a red ball. The reader can tolerate this since it is a healthy reaction to so much bad religious art of a dif ferent and worse kind. A subscription to Jubilee extends one’s knowledge of the Church and one’s pleasure in it. It is a magazine to be recommended highly. THE BULLETIN, February 17, 1962—PAGE 7 IGT Vt TWf F»VHITY Jit OVKr TAW AMP HOLY RUTH. RRMeiffM LrrvRffy “One can expect to find a double page devoted wholly to a two-line liturgical fish or a red ball.” cured by the rim. Here the hub is the death of F. D. R. on April 12, 1945. Each spoke, or chapter, is shaped by the narration of apparently unrelated events, whether it be Eleanor’s day far away, or a day in the life of the station agent in Warm Springs, Geor gia. All become related in their ending . . . the news of F. D. R.’s death. To complete the analogy, the rim is the burial and aftermath. Except for personal interest political and White House per sonalities may have for the reader, nothing of real depth will be found here. The author is said to have traveled thou sands of miles and interview ed hundreds of people in ga thering material for his writ ing. Certainly he draws on his imagination when describing the actions of all the charac ters which supply the sub stance of these pages. And in the course of them, major events in F. D. R.’s life as President are curiously retold. Those who would like to re view them will find this book easy reading. Three Priests Die In Red China Jails HONG KONG (NC) — Word has reached here of the deaths of three Chinese priests im prisoned by China’s communist masters. They were Fathers Silves ter T’sa Si-eul, born in 1901 and ordained in 1932; Andrew Tsang Tsong-ming, born in 1905 and ordained in 1935; and Berchmans Tsang Wei-bing, born in 1901 and ordained in 1933. It is believed they died early in 1961. All had worked in Shanghai. They were probably put in jail during or after the Red campaign of 1957-58 to push the Shanghai c-lergy into a communist invention known as the “Patriotic Church.” Most of the priests of Shanghai have been imprisoned or sent to la bor camps. Jews Ask Stop To Bible Reading NEW YORK (NC) — The American Jewish Congress has asked the New York City Board of Education to end the practice of reading Bible vers es in public schools. The congress said minority group children are treated un fairly by the practice. A board spokesman said ev ery school here carries on the reading of the Bible, usually at least once a week. Pupils whose parents request it are excused. MARRIAGES O- -O | McDONALD-MURPHY | O —O HAPEVILLE — Miss Anne Elizabeth Murphy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Mur phy and David Bruce McDon ald, son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. McDonald of Charleston, S. C., were married in St. John the Evangelist Church January 20th, Father Edward O’Connor officiating. Your Merchant's Ad in THIS Newspaper Gives him II "PLUS readership for Greater Profits CATHOLICS ARE LOYAL READERS OF THEIR CATHOLIC NEWSPAPERS If your favorite stores are advertising in this newspaper tell them you saw their advertisement. If they are not, suggest that advertising in this newspaper will produce more sales and profits. Clip the coupon below and leave one in the store the next time you go shopping or, you can return one the next time you pay a bill by mail. A strong Catholic newspaper needs more advertising. YOUR ADVERTISING in this newspaper will increase your sales and profits. Catholics are loyal to their newspapers. ^Jhe &u((etin YOUR ADVERTISING in this newspaper will increase your sales and profits. Catholics are loyal to their newspapers. ^Jfie i^u He tin 1 HOK3 sssmj E=3J I adtlebemj A SELLING THE BEST IN APPLIANCES AND FURNITURE 3614 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road Chamblee, Georgia CASTLEBERRY’S HOME STORE, INC. Chamblee, Georgia GE Appliances - TV - Stereo Zenith TV - Stereo Brand Name Furniture Floor Coverings Lamps and Accessories C & S Charge Account Service Personalized Payment Plans Free Store Side Parking Money Orders Collection Agency for All Utilities Office: GEendale 7-021C, DO YOU WANT TO INCREASE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE Writ, for 3r ee (J3ooli cjCist, ^}(n l to y 0 u WontMif NOTRE DAME BOOK SHOP 15 PEACHTREE ST., N. E. Phone JA. 5-1388 ATLANTA 3 # GEORGIA Non Profst Operated by Volunteers