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APRIL, 13, 1929
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
5
Pauline, St. Therese’s
Sister, Tells of Early
Signs of Her Sanctity
The Laymen of Georgia
Editorial in the Catholic Union and Times, Official Paper of
the Diocese of Buffalo
Harvard Professor, Convert While
in France With Wilson, Ordained
%
Through Father Dolan She
Sends Message to Friends of
Little Flower in America
By Rev. Albert H. Dolan, O.Carm.
National Director, Society of the
Bittle Flower.
We were forced to stop last issue
before I had completed my story, of
my interview with Pauline Martin,
second mother and eldest sister of
the Little Flower. In order that you
might appreciate the thrill of the in
terview, I tried to explain how close
and intimate was the union between
Therese and Pauline, but now we
may add by way of preliminary a
few more facts which will serve to
illustrate their intimacy.
No one understood the Little Flow
er as well as Pauline. No one, not
even her father, I think, contributed
so much to the formation of the Lit
tle Flower’s character. To realize
this, just consider that the Little
Flower’s mother died when Therese
was four years old and from that
time on Pauline was more than a
mother to St. Therese, more than a
mother because for several years the
Little Flower was too frail to be
sent out to school and during that
time Pauline was her only teacher.
Then later in the Carmelite Con
vent, Pauline was the Little Flow
er’s Mother Superior and therefore,
the Religious Mother of the Little
Flower also, and it was to Pauline,
as her Religious Superior, that the
Little Flower first confided her prom
ises: “I will spend my heaven in
doing good up earth . . . After my
death I will let fall a shower of
roses.” Pauline knew the Little
Flower so well that when at nine
years of age the Little Flower ex
pressed a desire .eventually to enter
a convent, Pauline knew that it was
no passing childish fancy but a real
vocation, and therefore she encour
aged the Little Flower, although an
other sister, Marie, tried to discour
age Therese. It was Pauline, too,
who did not a little to remove the
obstacles in the way of the Little
Flower’s entrance to the convent at
the age of 15.
Then there is another fact that
will illustrate the tenderness of the
Little Flower’s attachment to Pau
line. After Pauline had left for the
Carmelite Convent the Little Flower
as a consequence had fallen seri
ously ill, and while she was still
confined to her bed, the day on
which Pauline would take the veil
was approaching. That day would
ordinarily be a joyous day for the
entire Martin family because on that
day, since the vows had not been
taken, relatives could not only talk
with but actually see for the last
time the sisters who were taking
the veil. The family of the Little
Flower carefully refrained from
speaking of the coming event in the
hearing of the Little Flower because
they feared to aggravate her illness
by exciting regrets that she could
not seize this last opportunity of
seeing Pauline. But the Little
Flower needed no reminder, she sur
prised the entire family one day by
declaring from her sick bed that
they would be able to attend the
ceremony and as a matter of fact
she was able to go and she tells us
in her own words, “When the glo
rious day came I was able to leave
my bed and to go to the convent
where, after the ceremony, once
again I had the happiness of em-
braci'^r Praline, my Little Mother,
of sitting on her knee and receiv
ing her caresses and hiding my lit-
Dr. Purcell Author of New
U. S. History Text Book
Ginn and Company is now adver
tising for immediate distribution The
American Nation by Richard J. Pur
cell, Ph.D., associate professor of
history at the Catholic University
of America and at the Sisters’ Col
lege, Washington, D. C., with a fore
word by Msgr. James H. Ryan, rec
tor of the Catholic University.
The American Nation is intended
as a textbook for Catholic hign
schools, preparatory seminaries and
junior colleges as well as a survey
of American history for the general
reader. It is written in a spirit of
fairness which knows no North or
South. It is conservative but mod
ern in tone. Of standard high school
size, The American Nation includes
all the material of a secular nature
which is found in the ordinary text.
In addition it stresses the growth of
the West, the South, immigration,
nativism, the contribution of immi
grant peoples, the growth of the
Catholic church, and as far as space
permits the contribution of Catholics
in the development of American life.
Dr. Purcell, a graduate of St.
Thomas College the University of
Minnesota, and of Yale university,
has just returned from the British
Isles where he spent a year as a
Guggenheim Fellow making a study
of Irish emigration to the United
States which will eventually appear
in book form. He is well known to
readers of The Bulletin, having con
tributed to its columns several arti
cles he prepared especially for it.
One fact brought out of the last
election was the extraordinary vote
given to Mr. Smith in the state of
Georgia, as recently attested by Mr.
Richard Reid of the Georgia Lay
men’s Association. Georgia belongs
to the South and was the birthplace
of the Klan. Like many of the
southern states, Georgia was over
run with intolerance, misinformation
and ignorance until the Laymen’s
Association was formed to face in
tolerance with facts, ignorance with
truth and misinformation with cor
rect teaching. The Georgia Lay
men’s Association overcame every
obstacle, surmounted every diffi
culty to make the Catholic church
and her teachings better known. The
result of that work became evident
last November when the overwhelm
ingly Protestant state of Georgia
voted for Smith the Democrat and
gave no heed to his religion. In our
opinion it was the greatest \jctory
for tolerance ever registered in
American history. And we may add,
in our opinion, the greatest moral
victory for a group of laymen ever
evidenced since the Cross of Christ
was first planted in the soil of the
Western world.
Here in the North, our Catholic
men talk about what should be done.
They talk but never do it. They
leave it to the Catholic priest or the
Catholic paper to promote that spirit
of tolerance which they by their lay
activity could accomplish in a more
effective way. They permit us to
stand with our backs to the wall
while they sit home in comfort to
discuss what could or should be
done. We have the Knights of Co
lumbus in our northern cities. What
do the local Knights of Columbus
do to actively' promote the virtue of
tie head beneath her new white
veil.”
Let us continue then, my dear
friends, the account of my conver
sation with the beloved sister of St.
Therese. We stopped last issue at
Pauline’s answer to my question.
“Did the sisters or did you recog
nize the Little Flower during her
life time as a saint?”
Next I asked her whether there
was anyone who saw in the Little
Flower as a girl such signs of sanc
tity that would lead him to guess
that she might one day be a saint.
She answered, "Well, Father, you
know that the very nature of her
little way would preclude anything
that would be very ostentatious but,
nevertheless, there were some peo
ple who guessed and declared her
sanctity,” and then she told me the
following anecdotes:
One day in the Little Flower's girl
hood a pious old lady who had ob
served the Little Flower closely in
church with Pauline and who had
seen, during the procession, the Lit
tle Flower’s great eyes in ecstacy
in the presence of the Blessed Sac
rament said to Pauline as they left
the church, “That little sister of
yours is an angel. I will be very
much surprised if she stays long on
this earth, but if she lives, mark my
words, you will see that she will be
spoken of some day as a saint.”
Another time in the Little Flow
er’s girlhood an old laborer who
came to work at the Little Flower’s
home insisted when he was leaving
that Pauline give him a lock of the
Little Flower’s hair, which he said
he would hold precious for it would
one day be the relic of a saint.
"Often,” Pauline said, ..when I
was on the streets of the town with
Little Therese, the passers-by would
turn fascinated to look long at the
Little Flower, not so much because
of her physical beauty but because
of the celestial charm that seemed
to radiate from her person.”
Pauline said, too, that the doctor
who attended the Little Flower to
wards the end of her life said one
day to Pauline, “Oh, you do not
know how much she suffers; never
in all my experience have I seen
any one suffer so much or with
such expression of supernatural
joy.” Then he added positively,
“C’est un ange”—"she is an angel."
The chaplain, Pauline said, who
came to hear the Little Flower’s
last confession was tremendously im
pressed to see her so beautiful and
even transfigured in the midst of
her excruciating pains. He looked
upon her with the greatest rever
ence and later declared that he en
tered the infirmary as if it were a
sanctuary, and he said to Pauline
as he left, "Quel ange! (What an
angel!) She is absolutely confirmed
in the grace of God.”
These then are some of the recog-
ntions of the Little Flower’s sanc
tity from those who knew her when
she was alive.
Then I asked Mother Agnes to set
tle a much disputed question, name
ly: the question of the color of the
Little Flower’s eyes.
“Her eyes,” said Pauline, “were
not exactly blue but bluish.” She
used a French word which signifies
a color between green and blue,
although she said that those who
did observe closely thought her eyes
vere blue. "She was tall,” Pauline
tolerance? We have our Holy Name
Societies, our Knights of St. John
and others. What did they do in
1928 to spread truth locally about
what the Catholic church teaches or
does not teach? Let us face facts.
Down in Georgia, a group of lay
men spent their time and their money
to quash bigotry. They succeeded.
Here in Buffalo—the enlightened
North—our Catholic man’s concept
of organization is banquets, break
fasts, entertainments and sports. If
■—and mark this statement well—one
half the money that is spent on the
Gatholic stomach at banquets was
put into’the spread of Catholic truth
by our Catholic laymen, New York
as well as Georgia could be class
ed among the states where tolerance
actually exists. We bemoan the
presence of bigotry in our cities yet
what are we doing to enlighten the
ignorant non-Catholic man or wom
an? Are we content to sit back and
permit intolerance to smoulder un
til another occasion arises for us to
get up in arms? Is it not true that
we have ourselves to blame for the
ignorance and intolerance that exist?
Is it necessary for the Catholics of
the large northern states to take
their lesson from little Georgia? They
may do that. They may do more.
Th.ey may select the leaders of the
Georgia Laymen’s Association to
come north to instruct us how they
accomplished an apparently impos
sible feat in a community largely
Protestant. And what more interest
ing and consoling work for Catho
lic laymen to engage in—the victory
over intolerance, the defeat of the
common foes of truth? Let us be up
and doing—not with a political mo
tive in view but the larger and the
more spiritual motive of spreading
truth at any cost.
said, "her hair was blond, her com
plexion lily-like. . She had a small
mouth and fine regular features and
she walked with a certain dignity
which was at once simple and ma
jestic. "But,” she said, “the most
remarkable feature of her appear
ance was a certain expression on her
countenance, an expression of charm
and serenity and heavenly peace,
which impressed all even from her
girlhood.” By the way, all the
others with whom I talked who had
known the Little Flower as a girl
spoke of this charming, peaceful
expression.
Then I asked Pauline for a mes
sage to the members of the Little
Flower Society. She thought a
while, then asked, "Would they
really be interested ina message
from me?”
I said, "Of course they would be,
Mother; they would be tremendously
interested.”
"I do not know what to say,” she
answered, "could you tell them
that I will pray especially ror
them?”
I said, “No, Mother, they already
know that you Carmelite Sisters
pray for all the world.”
"But I will pray particularly for
them, the members of the Society.”
"But could you not send them
some more personal message, some
thing that will be less general and
more concrete, some spiritual coun
sel or advice?”
Then there was a pause and then
she said and I was careful to write
each word, "Tell the ladies of the
Little Flower Society of America
that if they would please the Little
Flower and win her favor, they
must not follow the fashion when
the fashion demands immodest or
indecent dress.”
I thanked Mother Agnes and then
said to her, "That is a message,
Mother, for only part of the society
because a large proportion of the
Little Flower Society consists of
men. Would you send a message
also to men?”
That amused her. "I,” she said,
“a cloistered nun, send a message
to the men?” Then she laughed. It
was a laugh such as I imagine the
Little Flower’s must have been
soft and musical and whole-hearted,
although restrained. The Little
Flower would probably have been
similarly amused if during her life
time she had asked to send a mes
sage to the men of distant Amer
ica.
But I was quite insistent and so
after a long pause there came Pau
line’s message to the men. "Tell the
men of the Society of the Little
Flower that if they would please St.
TheAcse and win her favor, they
must hold themselves aloof from all
that is low and base and ignoble and
go to Holy Communion frequently.”
I left the Carmelite convent that
afternoon walking on air, for I had
talked nearly an hour with the be
loved sister of the Little Flower.
Later on I had a second interview
with her during which she gave me
the precious relics of which you
have all heard.
(Next issue Father Dolan wil tell
of his second visit with Sister Pau
line and of how he persuaded her to
let him talk with the other two
sisters of St. Therese, Marie and
SeTTne.)
(Continued from Page One.)
the Catholic church many dis
tinguished members of the church of
England, among whom the most not
ed was John Henry Newman, the
writer, who finally became a Cardi
nal.
Another Civil war veteran to enter
the Catholic faith was James Kent
Stone, whose father was the Episco
palian rector of St. Paul’s church in
Brookline. After serving in the war
as lieutenant, and returning to be
graduated from Harvard, Mr. Stone
became an assistant professor of
Latin at Kenyon college, Gambier,
Ohio, and later, at Hobart college.
When he joined the Catholic church
he became one of the Passionist fath
ers under the name of Fidelis of the
Cross.
Orestes A. Brownson, long a prom-
intent theologian, was, another dis
tinguished convert. He was born
in Stockbridge in 1803, and was for
a time a Universalist, and later a
Unitarian minister. In 1844 he be
came a Catholic and edited Brown-
son’s quarterly, a tneological publica
tion, for many years. Before he
joined the Catholic faith he was in
terested in the ideas of Robert Owen,
the British manufacturer who found
ed experimental colonies in various
Western states.
Probably the most distinguished
convert of all was, like Prof. Lord,
not a native of New England.
Thomas I. Hecker, founder of the
Paulist order, was born in New
York. Yet before his conversion he
was interested in the Brook Farm
colony in West Roxbury, where the
great New Englanders of the day
were attempting an experiment
much like those of Robert Owen
in the West. The Paulist order,
founded by Fr Hecker after his con
version and ordination, was made up
chiefly of converts to the faith.
The career which Professor Lord
gave up to enter the priesthood was
as distinguished as any to which a
teacher could attain. A native of
Plano, 111., he studied for two years
at Northwestern University, and
then at Harvard. In 1906 he was
graduated magna cum laude. During
the following years he was a stu
dent in Berlin, Vienna and Moscow.
At Harvard he became an instruc
tor in 1910, assistant professor in
1916, and full professor in 1924.
There is probably no American
teacher who has more knowledge of
Russian and Polish history than
Professor Lord.
When President Wilson went to
Paris after the armistice, Professor
Lord went with him as a technical
adviser to the American commission
to negotiate peace, and became chief
of the department of Polish af
fairs. It was in this position that
he gained the reputation of having
"determined the boundaries of mod
ern Poland.” The problem was ex
ceedingly difficult, for Poland, Which
had not been a nation for more than
a century, and had been divided be
tween Russia, Prussia and Austria,
had once held huge territories.
There was a wild confusion of
claims and counter claims, and it
was very difficult to draw the lines
on a population basis.
As Dr. Lord later told his Har
vard classes, it was difficult to tell,
on the Eastern border, where the
population left off being Poles and
began being white Russians. To
the east the people were more Rus
sian, and to the west more Polish,
but it was almost impossible to
know where to draw the line. Later
Dr. Lord was a member of the in
terallied commission to Poland, and,
in the Russo-Polish we* in 1920, he
was caught for a while behind the
Bolshevik lines.
Many say that things would have
gone hard wit.* him had he been
captured, as the Russians were not
in agreement with the allies on
what the Polish boundaries should
be, and naturally would not have
looked with favor on the man who
drew them.
Few among Dr. Lord’s students at
Harvard had any sense of the role
he played in world affairs. As a
lecturer, and in private conversation,
his two chief characteristics are per
sonal modesty and friendship of
manner. He never mentioned his
own achievements. His lectures were
remarkable for their clarity, and for
the obvious desire on the part of
the lecturer to be fair and to pre
sent accurately sides of public ques
tions with which he did not agree.
In dealing personally with students
he often went to great lengths to
help them with scholastic and other
problems. His modesty and infor
mality of manner did not prevent
him from demanding and obtaining a
high standard of work.
When he announced in February,
1927, that he intended to study for
the priesthood, he said he made the
decision “as a result of seven years
of thought and study.
“The more I studied secular his
tory the more I realized that religion
is the most important cause a man
can work for, and that the highest
calling for a man free to devote
himself to it is the priesthood.
“I was led to Catholicism during a
trip to France as American represen
tative to the Versailles peace con
ference. I was impressed with the
wonderful administration of the
church in France, and through study
of its institutions was led to believe
in its teachings.
“For a long time before my con
versation in 1920 I had been studying
Catholicism and thinking deeply over
religious matters. Finally, after
much thought and study, I made up
my mind to enter the church.
“I received preliminary instruction
from Rev. William B. Finigan, ad
ministrator of the Cathedral of the
Holy Cross at that time and now
pastor of the Blessed Sacrament
church, Cambridge.
“My conversation was due to my
own study and tb-ught, and not to
outside influence. I began to realize
in 1920 that my interests were shift
ing to religious matters. The more
I studied religion the more I be
came convinced of the truth of
Catholicism.
“While I was very happy in my
work at Harvard, and have only the
pleasantest memories and associa
tions to look back upon during my
16 years of teaching at the univer
sity, I have found ever since 1920
that my mind was turning to the
idea of Catholicism.”
Cardinal Gasquet of
England Dies in Rome
(Continued from Page One.)
bination of the erudite scholar and
the capable administrator. In 1900,
when 54 years old, he was named
Abbot-President of the English
Benedictine Congregation and Abbot-
Titular of St. Alban’s, Reading, of
fices which he filled for the whole
of the fourteen years preceding his
call to Rome.
In 1896 Pope Leo XIII had ap
pointed him a member of the Com
mission on Anglican Orders and in
the following year had addressed a
special Brief to him. Pius X made
him a consultor of the Pontifical
commission for the Zleunion of Dis
sident Churches and in 1907 he was
named president of the Commission
to examine the text of the Latin
Vulgate Bible and collect material
for amending it.
Cardinal Gasquet was a most pro
lific writer, mainly on historical
subjects, and his supremacy as an
authority on pre-Reformation mon-
asticism in England was generally
conceded. Some of his principal
works are; "Monastic Life in Eng
land,” "Henry. VIII and the English
Monasteries,” "The Eve of the Re
formation, "The Old English Bible,”
"A Sketch of Monastic Constitu
tional History,"Edward VI and
the Book of Common Prayer,” "The
Last Abbot of Glastonbury,” "The
Greater Abbeys of England,” "A
History of the Venerable English
College at Rome" and "The Re
ligious Life of King Henry XI.” He
also edited "Lord Acton’s Letters,”
and a fine edition of Montalambert’s
“Monks of the West.”
Active Until Death.
London—Evidence .that Cardinal
Gasquet, woh died in Rome on April
5, retained his physical energy and
mental clarity to the end is re
vealed by receipt here, this week,
of manuscripe written entirely in the
Cardinal’s hand of a 9,000-word
article which he wrote for a spe
cial issue of The Universe. The
edition is to be published April 12,
commemorating the centenary of
Catholic Emancipation in England.
It is believed that Cardinal Gas
quet will be buried at Downside
Abbey, where the site for his tomb
was marked out several years ago.
Revolution Fails to Enlist
Catholic Aid Saenz Says
(Continued from page one)
Jose Gonzalo Escobar, rebel comman
der.
Dispatches from Naco, Sonora, said
two federal aviators were killed when
their bombing plane was blown to
bits under fire of besieging rebel ma
chine gunerrs. Destruction of the
plane left the garrison without de
fense against rebel bombers and
the besiegers were quick to take ad
vantage of the situation. Rebel
planes soared over Naco, dropping
bombs, but the damage was said to
be slight.
U. S. Aviators Aid Rebels.
From reports received here frolQ
the border, from Chihuahua and from
the West Coast it appears that the
rebels have been far superior in the
air. This is attributed to the fact
that many American aviators are
serving with the rebel armies. Fif
teen Americans were reported to be
in the air service of Escobar at Jim
enez and many others on the West
Coast, where their operations have
ben particularly effective.
Very Rev. Benedict J. Rodman,
S. J., president of John Carroll Uni
versity, Cleveland, has announced
plans for new university buildings
to cost in the neighborhood of $2,.
500,000.