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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
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ticular duties that the Catholic layman faces at the
very outset: namely, to be well-grounded in his fun
damentals, to be free of selfish aims, and to be sure
the end of his striving is in keeping with the dignity
of the human person, for by this token is it permanent
and lasting, and altogether pleasing to God, in whose
image we are made.
The Catholic layman has a distinct advantage in
regard to his fundamentals. He has the advantage
of being taught by the oldest institution now existing
in the world; an institution, too, which extends to
every part of the world, which embraces all races
and tongues and men in every condition and walk
of life, which has witnessed the rise and fall of em
pires and the ebb and flow of civilization, for nearly
two thousand years; which has lived through history,
through war and pestilence and famine, with men
struggling in poverty and men overburdened with
wealth, among savage tribes and cultured classes,
everywhere! for nearly two thousand years; which
enters intimately into the most vital relations with
the more than two hundred million persons dispersed
over the world who form its loyal and devoted mem
bership, taking account of their birth, keeping watch
over their unfolding lives, blessing their union in
marriage, comforting them when sick, giving them
strength in that hour when the soul breaks through
“the solid framework of created things. Such an in
stitution must know history. It must be an expert in
human nature. A more complete embodiment of
knowledge concerning men and things does not exist
on earth. It is, therefore, of incalculable advantage
to have the benefit of the guidance of the Catholic
Church in respect to the fundamentals of social jus
tice and Christian civilization.
Man has a dual nature; he lives in a dual order; his
destiny is two-fold, and his everyday conduct plays
back and forth between these two terms of his being
like the shuttlecock in a loom, weaving the beautiful
figure of a life well spent, or the caricature of a life
wasted. Material and spiritual, natural and super
natural, temporal and eternal these signify ever
present co-ordinate realities. There is no escaping
them, no denying them; they are real. God and
humanity are the two great terms of the world’s
equation. Any plan of life, any detail of human con
duct, any thought, that deliberately omits one or the
other of these terms, is an effort to throw the world
out of balance, to disturb the universal harmony of
creation, in which all earthly things were made for
humanity, and humanity was made for God.
The sunlight has its uses, and the darkness, too;
and the summer’s heat, and the winters cold, and
every little flower, and every blade of grass. The
whole creation “proclaimeth the glory of God, but
serves the needs of man. Shall man s handiwork,
then, serve himself, without thought of his Maker?
This, of course, would not be square, and, therefore,
we owe it to our own personal dignity to put into our
inventions and our work, into the things we make
and do, into our business, our profession, our politics,
our social relations, and into what we say and think,
something of that dual service to God and man which
we know is in every sunbeam that chases the shadows
cf the night away.
This is not an qppeal for unctious piety; it is a
plea for poise in our lives. Balance is a perfect thing.
Watch the balance between the material and the
spiritual, the natural and the supernatural, the tem
poral and eternal—between God and humanity and
the more nearly perfect it is kept the more contented
and peaceful and happy will be our lives and the
lives of those around us, our neighbors, whom the
Divine Master took special pains to couple with God
in the one commandment that “fulfilleth all the law.
The Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia has
its very fountain spring in this spirit and purpose. It
is a studiously planned and organized effort to restore
the balance of things so violently disturbed by pro
fessional bigots, who took advantage of the isolation
and apathy of our Catholic people to exploit on a
considerable scale the scheme by which prejudices are
capitalized. Its first work was to check the raging
flood-tide of calumny that threatened to engulf us;
next, to soften the spirit of hostility that was rapidly
crystalizing into set, permanent form. It has done
these things. It remains to draw Catholic laymen
out of their isolation and quicken their activity and
their zeal.
Without such an organization it must be difficult
for the individual Catholic to find a means actively to
champion the principles of justice and Christian civi
lization, as so earnestly enjoined by Pope Leo XIII.
V^ith it, the means are at hand, and no Catholic need
be without his part in the work. It may at first appear
to be but a small part, but nothing is small that is
necessary; and it is necessary, before its highest use
fulness can be reached, that every Catholic man and
woman in Georgia become affiliated with the Lay
men’s Association, contributing to its support now,
taking part in its activities as they develop and un
fold, helping in their daily lives to disseminate love
among men by kindness, patience and disinterested
service, for His sake whose image is stamped upon all
our souls.
It is a great thing to be a Catholic; it is a great
thing to be an American citizen; it is a very great
thing to be a Catholic American citizen. But it is
not a great privilege only, it is a great responsibility;
for both the principles of our country and the prin
ciples of our Church, forbid us to be inactive when
the glory of God or the welfare of humanity can by
any means within our power be promoted. There
fore, we can say with good Bishop Keiley, God bless
the Laymen’s Association.