Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
About The bulletin of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia. (Augusta, Ga.) 1920-1957 | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1938)
JULY 30, 1938 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA SEVEN f Bishop O'Hara Writes on Budapest Congress ★ ★★★★★★★* ★★★★★★ St. Mary's Hospital, Athens, Is Dedicated * Address of Bishop O’Hara at Athens Hospital Dedication For many years, two distinguished members of the medical profession honored this State and particularly this part of it by the integrity ot their lives and by their unselfish devotion to the highest ideals of their chosen calling. I speak of the late Drs. Henry Fullilove and J. Peeples Proctor. It is not necessary for me to speak to an Athens audience of the high esteem and affection that they enjoy ed. Their names are held in benedic tion. This St. Mary’s Hospital, whose name was of their choosing, stands as a monument to their public spirited ness and to the noblity of the ideals by which they consecrated themselves to healing sick and broken bodies. Death took them from the scene of their devoted labors and the hospital was closed. It remained closed for about two years. Yielding to the oft-express ed desires of a number of the medical merr of Athens, the Catholic Diocese of Savanah-Atlanta, conscious of the fact that the care of the sick and dis abled has always been a sacred tradi tion in the Christian Church, decided to acquire the property, recondition it, and rededicate it to its original pur pose. Nothing was spared to make it a perfect hospital. It will be conducted in accordance with the standards set up by the American Hospital Associa tion, the American College of Sur geons. and the Catholic Hospital As sociation. Today we are witnessing the ceremony by which the formal dedica tion takes place. the number of patients, for whom Fabiola provided solace and care. The poor who were well envied those who were sick.” Fabiola, my dear friends, was but a type of thousands of those gentle women who before and after her in every land have devoted themselves to the care of suffering humanity. They have been like ministering an gels. The battlefield has known their gentle presence, lonely leper colonies, houses of suffering of every kind have been the theatre of their min istrations. And what is there, my dear friends, that prompts such wo men to turn their backs on the com forts of home and fireside and to consecrate themselves to the care of the sick and disabled? What is the motive behind such unselfishness? What is the mam spring of such de votion? Nothing other surelv than a great and tender love for God first and foremost. We cannot really serve man unless we first love God. It is because thev love God with all their hearts that those gentle women whom I have described have learned to love their neighbor as themselves. The maintenance of institutions for the care and comfort of the unfor tunate has been from the beginning, as I have said, a sacred tradition of the Church established by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ The charity of the Church has ben all-embracing. In the incomparable parable of the Good Samaritan, our Lord made clear who our neigtmors are, namely all who need us, all whom we can help, with out distinction of religion, or race, or color. In answer to the question put to him by a Scribe our Savior pro claimed the great law of chanty: “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and. with all thy strength, this is the first and the greatest com mandment; and the second is like un to it- thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Charity, limitless, all-em bracing, must be therefore the pro gram of life for anyone who would be a follower of Christ. And it is precisely this universal charity ex tending out and embracing every form of human need that the Church has endeavored to make her own from the very beginning. From the earliest part of the Christian Era the care of the sick was a feature of the Christian life in Rome according to Dr. James Walsh, the tradition is that Phebe started her visiting nurse work as a deaconness when she came to Rome bearing the letter of recommendation of St. Paul. But with the dread of persecution hanging constantly over their heads the most of Christians could open were small hospitals in private houses. Gibbon, who is not likely to exaggerate any influence for good exerted by Christianity, speaks of the senators, members of old Roman families of distinction, who had be come Christian converts and par ticularly of their wives, some of whom were descended from old patrician families, transforming their places and villas into hospitals and homes of various kinds for the bene fit of those in need. Such great love for God springs necessarily from faith. It is true that charitv or love is the essence of Christianity. Faith without love is a dead faith. “If I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charitv I am nothing,” said St. Paul. But is it.not strange that the same men. like St. Paul and St. John, who sooke and wrote in praise of charity, insist also so strongly on the necessity of faith. The same Sacred Lips that anoimred to us the new commandment of His love utter ed also those threatening words: ‘He that believeth not shall be condemn ed.” The same St. John who said that charity was born of God said also, “Whosoever believes that Jesus is Christ is bom of God.” THREE BISHOPS AND ABBOT AT HISTORIC GEORGIA CEREMONY Largest Gathering of Bis hops, Priests, Religions and Laity in History of University City N (Special to The Bulletin) ATHENS, Ga.—Three Bishops, an Abbot-Ordinary and priests and laity from every section of Georgia came to Athens July 10 for the dedication of St. Mary’s Hospital. It was the largest gathering of Bishops, priests and laity in the history of the Athens parish and of this section of Georgia. The Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, D. D., Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, of ficiated at the dedication and deliver ed the address at the exercises which Barry, D. D, Bishop of St. Augustine, was celebrant of Solemn Benediction. The Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, D. D., Bis'hop of Charleston, and the Most Rev. Vincent Taylor, O. S. B., D. D„ Abbot-Ordinary of Belmont, N. C„ also honored the occasion by their presence- His Excellency Describes Voyage to Eucharistic City on Beautiful Blue Danube Capuchin Fathers From Spain Met on Board Ship Give First-Hand Information About Communistic Activities. Historic Cities of Milan and Venice Visited En Route There is therefore a very necessary connection between faith and lave. We love our neighbor and serve him not for his own sake and not because we see anything particularly attrac tive in him. Indeed, from our own knowledge of ourselves we know only too keenly how much is sordid and selfish in’ men. Christ, our Lord, found the determining motive of His love for man not in man but in God His Father. How petty, how sen seeking, how lacking in understand- ing were the men of the world who surrounded our Lord. He had to deal also with the cynical, the dissolute, the hypocritical. Surely these are not qualities calculated to awaken and to retain love. Christ loved men because God His Father loved them,—God the Father who makes the rain fall upon the just and upon the unjust. Man is worth loving not by reason of what he is himself but because of what he is for God. It is a characteristic trait of true Christian charity that it be detach ed from all personal, social and na tional considerations and be selfless and ready at all times for sacrifice. REV. HAROLD J. BARR, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Athens, presided at the exercises and presented the speakers; the exercises and ceremonies were broadcast over the Athens Radio Station through the courtesy of tire management. The Rev. Joseph W. Kavanagh of Savannah was master of ceremonies. Other clergy present in cluded the Rev. Peter McDonnell, S. J., Macon; the Rev. Jos. R. Smith, the Rev. Thomas L- Finn, and the Rev. F. P. Weiss, S. M. A., of Atlanta; the Rev. J. E. O’Donohoe, S. J., Augusta; the Rev. John Crean, Washington; the Rev. T. James McNamara, Mill- edgeville; the Rev- Stanley Bona, Athens, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Washington and Augusta, the Sis ters of Mercy of Atlanta and the Mis sionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart, who conduct the hospital. It is to Fabiola, however, that we owe the first important hospital in Rome. She established the first gen eral hospital. Fabiola had spent her early youth as a pagan. After two unhappy marriages she embraced the Christian religion and devoted her self and her possessions entirely to the care of the ailing poor. St. Jerome seems unable to find words ample enough to express appreciation of her work. In his eulogy there is this passage which describes her self- abnegation:: “Here she gathered to gether all the ailing from the high ways and byways, and devoted her self to nursing the unhappy, emaciat ed victims of hunger and disease. Can I describe here, he continues, the many varied scourges which afflict- human beings?—the mutilated, blind ed countenances, the partially des troyed limbs, the livid hands, swollen 1 bodies and wasted extremities? How often have I not seen her carrying in her arms these pitiable dirty and re volting victims of a frightful malady! How often have I seen her wasn wounds, whose fetid odor prevented everyone else from even looking at them. She fed the sick with her own hands and revived the dying with k small and frequent portions of nour ishment. I know that many of the hu>rc delicate cannot overcome the ^Kugnance caused by such works of ^feity, I do not judge them, but, WK had a hundred tongues and a r-'-r- The Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus come to Athens to inaugurate their work of mercy prompted by a charity such as I have briefly described. They are members of a religious order of wo men which though established in- comparatively recent times already numbers some three thousand mem bers with institutions in every con tinent. We welcome them to Geor gia and to the Diocese of Savannah- Atlanta and we thank them from our hearts for undertaking the operation of this hospital. A new and bright chapter thus opens in the history of the Church in North Georgia, and I bespeak for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart the wholehearted cooperation of the people in this sec tion of the county. These Sisters are Nuns, that is religious wcmen whose hves are consumed in prayer and work. They leave their prayers to take up their work and leave their work to take up their prayers. It is a combination of the active and con templative life. The exercises were held on the grounds in front of the hospital, a large platform being erected, on which there was a temporary altar. The en tire front of the three-story hospital was decorated with American flags, with the Papal colors on the platform. Seats were provided on the tree-shad ed lawn, but long before the ceremony BY BISHOP O’HARA Richard Reid, editor Inexorable, has so often expressed the wish that I put in writing for the possible entertain ment of the readers of The Bulletin a description of the recent Euchar istic Congress in Budapest that even if it were for no other reason than to please him I “take pen in hand” despite the risk of telling a twice-told tale. The Congress has been so ably de scribed by the Catholic Press of the country that it might seem strange, particularly at this date, to cover the ground again. Be that as it may, these present lines are written for our little Bulletin family in the hope that, although it is almost two months now since the Congress closed, some at least may find these articles of interest. On the 14th of May, a few minutes past noon, taking advantage of the tide, the giant “Rex” of the Italian Line, one time blue ribbon holder of the Atlantic, moved slowly from her berth in New York, turned her prow in midstream towards the open sea and whilst hundreds of handkerchiefs fluttered from the pier statrted on her long journey to Europe. The departure was preceded by the usual scenes that attend the sailing of an ocean liner. Surging throngs of peo ple, passengers and those who envied them crowded the pier and swarmed over the boat until the warning note of imminent departure was sounded— voluble and olten tearful farewells, baggage of all kinds and shapes be- in rumbled on board— flower venders shouting their wares, telegraph boys inviting departing passengers to send last minute messages to the people at home—hundreds of men, women and children pressing against the rail of the pier and carrying on last minute conversations with relatives and friends already on board. age there was not a time throughout the day and even far into the night that there could not be found adorers before the Blessed Sacrament. What a difference the Blessed Sacra ment makes! Its presence in the heart of the ship imparted an indescribable atmosphere of holiness to everything. That vessel carried the Lord of Hosts Who made the very sea over which we sailed, who gave to man the genius to create such a wonder as is the mod ern ocean liner. The Blessed Sacra ment in the Tabernacle diffused in everyone a sense of peace and security that could not be put into words but it is deeply felt by the Catholic heart. The next day after sailing was Sun day and we were in the Gulf Stream all day long. The sea was rough and the weather damp and foggy- The ocean was never quite calm at any time during the crossing. On Tues day, May 17, late in the afternoon, we had our first glimpse of land since leaving New York, when we Sighted the Azore§.rising out of the sea. About supper time we passed close to them but did not stop. Two days later we sighted Europe when Cape St. Vincent came to view, and at six o’clock that evening we passed through the Pillars of Hercules at at 7:30 anchored within the shadow of the gigantic British fortress which is the Rock of Gibral tar, guarding the entrance to the Med iterranean. The “Rex” stopped but briefly at Gibraltar just long enough to allow some tew passengers to dis embark and a few others to come on board. These and other scenes marked the departure o the “Rex)) for Europe as they have no doubt accompanied the departure of every boat .since man ed lawn, but long oeiore xne ceremony first learned to sail the sea. It is smgu- every seat was taken and standing ia r that there should be so much ex . - —4. — - L, —-...linn n rroccol CPalttPC TnP room was at a premium. After the singing of “Come, Holy Ghost”, Bishop O’Hara blessed the hospital, and the exercises followed. Father Barr introducing the speak ers. Mayor A. G. Dudley, both of ficially and personally, expressed his great pleasure at the coming of the hospital to the city, and thanked Bishop O’Hara, Father Barr and the Sisters for making its facilities avail able to Athens. The motives prompting tl:em in serving stricken humanity spring from, as 1 have s-.ld, faith and a great and tender love for God. Theirs is not mere»y a work of philanthrophy, or of humanitarianism—it is richer than that, it is more fruitful than that —it is a work of Christian charity. I wish to thank on this occasion the- Most Rev. Bishop Patrick Barry, of St. Augustine, who has come such a long distance in this "hot weather to honor the ceremony of dedication. We ask him to accept this expression of our appreciation for the sacri fices that he has made. I thank our good neighbor to the north, the Most Rev. Emmet Walsh, Bishop of Char leston, who has, I know, had to read- Sam Hale, representing the civic clubs of the city, welcomed St. Mary’s and the Sisters, and assured them, Father Barr and Bishop O’Hara of their desire to cooperate. In the unavoidable absence from the city of Dr. Harmon Caldwell, pres ident of the University of Georgia, Dr. W- D. Hooper, head of the De partment of Latin, expressed the in terest and appreciation of the Uni versity for the splendid addition to the medical facilities of the univer sity city the hospital affords. Dr. Hooper also added his personal com mendation of the provision being made for the colored people of the city in the hospital, asserting that in this way also the Catholic Church was follow ing in the footsteps of Him Who went about doing good for the poor and the lowly while preaching His Gospel. The address of Bishop O’Hara, recorded elsewhere in this issue, followed. The program closed with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the sing ing of “Holy God, We -Praise Thy Name.” Following the exercises and cere monies, there was open house, dur ing which several hundred persons in spected the hospital which was de scribed in the previous issue of The Bulletin. Particularly interesting were the new unit, with most modern equip ment. for the colored patients, and the devotional chapel in the Sisters’ Residence. The hospital opened its doors for patients the day following. citement when a vessel sealves. There is no such clamor attending the de parture of other methods of transpor tation. Despite the perfection of the modern liner, a trip to sea seems still to be regarded as something of a ven ture—a relic no doubt of olden days when to venture out to sea meant the possibility of never returning again. Strong little tugs, puffing along side the “Rex” gradually placed her in position in the middle of the river and then left her to her own devices with a farewell blast from their sirens. We passed New York’s numbered streets one by one enjoying that mag nificent spectacle which never loses its appeal, the skyline of New York. Soon we slipped past the Statue of Lib erty and when the bow of the “Rex” began to gently rise and fall in tribute to the long ocean swells we knew we were at sea. During lunch we passed Ambrose light and by mid-afternoon nothing could be seen from the decks but sky and sea. Among these latter were two Capu chin Fathers from Seville, Spain, on their way to Rome to attend Hie Gen eral Chapter of their Order. Natu rally we were anxious to ask them questions about Spain and they told us that in Seville and in general throughout all the territory occupied by General Francisco Franco condi tions are far better than they ever were before. The people are doing their best to repair the ravages of war, new schools are being opened and in the field of economics the social program outlined by His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical “For ty Years After” is being carried out in commercial and industrial fields to the extent that the humblest work ers are made sharers in the profits of the firms or industries for which they labor. Above all, they said, there is peace and contentment, and the Span ish people have already learned how frightfully close they came to utter slavery through the machinations of the Communists. They know now that the Communists whilest posing as friends of Spain were in reality de stroying the country. The Capuchin (Continued on Page Eleven) One of the most interesting features of the “Rex” is its beautiful chapel. The idea of having chapels on ocean liners is of very recent date and there are but few boats that have them. The usual rule is to conduct religious ser vices in some one of the public halls of an ocean liner. The chapel of the “Kex” has the height of two decks and contains also a spacious gallery. There are three altars and beginning at an early horn on the day after our departure all three of them were oc cupied by Bishops and Priests saying Mass. In the chapel the Blessed Sac rament is preserved—a rare privi lege indeed, and during the entire voy- St. Leo College Prep. School Accredited High School Conducted by the Benedlciine Fathers Ideal Location St. Leo Pasco County, Florida , (Continued on Page Eleven) SISTER M. COLUMBA, R. N„ of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is superintendent of the hospital; she is a member of the American College of Hospital Admin istrators. Other members of the Sis ters’ staff are Sister M. Virgilia, M. S. C., R. K. L., librarian; Sister M. Leanndra, M.- S. C., R. N. A., Sister M. Syra, M- S. C., dietician; Sister M. Godoleva, M. S. C., registered dietician, and Sister M. Calasanza, M. S. C., R. N. The Board of Directors of the hos pital includes Bishop O’Hara, presi dent; Father Barr, vice president; Frank Postero, secretary; the Very Rev. D. J. McCarthy, Vicar General; tlie Rt. Rev. Msgr. Jos. F. Croke, chan cellor; T. J. Camarata, Dr. T. H. Mc- Hatton, Prof. John H. Mote, Mike Frank Costa, Robert Waterson and Jake Bernstein. The Medical Staff of St. Mary’s Hos pital is composed of Dr. C. O. Middle- brooks, president; Dr. Buy Welchel, vice president; Dr- Lewis Patton, sec retary; Dr. H. B. Harris, Jr., Dr. W. H. Caban iss. Dr. J. Weyman Davis, Dr. Linton Gerdine, Dr. Ralph Goss, Dr. A. C. Holliday, Dr- J. C. Holliday, Dr. M. A. Hubert, Dr. J. Hunnicutt, Dr. H. W. Birdsong, Dr. S. S. Smith, Dr. H. I. Reynolds, Dr. Harry E. Talmadge, Dr. Loree Florence, Dr. John A. Simp son, Dr. G. T. Canning, Dr. H. B. Hey- wood and Dr. Pope Holliday. Delegations from Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, Savannah and other cities came to Athens for the dedication. An augmented choir of St. Joseph’s Church provided music. SARASOTA. FLORIDA on the DESOTO GULF OF MEXICO Offering mneb In quiet, home like comfort. ,. ~ r • moderate ere ri U 1 t L. and c o n v e ni- ence. Open all year. . . Equable year-round tem perature Splendid beaches fa mous fishing grounds. Rates JI.00-J1.50 single. $1.50-52.00 dou ble. JOHN D. MURRAY, Prop. Goodyear Tire* Willard* Batteries Genuine Alemiting General Tire & Supply Co. Broad at Twelfth Street Phone 2600 Augusta, Ga.
