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SIXTEEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
OCTOBER 26, 1940
“AMERICA’S DESTINY”
An Address Delivered by the Rev. James A. Greeley, S.J.,
on a Columbus Day Program Broadcast Over Station
WRDW, Augusta, by Patrick Walsh Council, Knights
of Columbus
Did you ever ask yourself the ques
tion: "What are God's plane for me?
What does God want me to do and to
become? What is my vocation in
life?’’ Almost everyone, at some time
or other, gives thought to such plan
ned disposition of his life; especially
when one realizes that there is a
Divine Providence guiding all hu
man destiny.
And what is true of individual man
is true also of nations. Divine Prov
idence has set down a special work
for each nation to do, a destiny for
it to fulfill, a vocation for it to fol
low. Even the casual student of
history can see the great nations of.
the past, set within a niche carved
by God’s vast outlines of destiny and
duly realized by them.
There is ancient Greece destined
to be the great exemplifier of form;
and from her, the orator learns his
rules of rhetoric and eloquence, the
poet his figures of speech, and the
artist and architect his ideals of per
fectly balanced structure.
And there is ancient Rome, who
possessed, it is true, her thinkers,
poets, scientists and architects; yet
her salient feature was not the ab
stract mind, nor expression in perfect
form, but power—power to rule, pow
er to conquer, power to dominate
and build. The Greeks thought out
principles, the Romans applied them.
There was again, a third race con
temporaneous with Greece and Rome,
which indeed Still survives and con
tinues to work out its sublime and
vital destiny. While Greece witnesses
the evolution of the intellect under
her guiding genius; while Rome mar
shalled human forces into society,
Jerusalem testified to the one true
God and reminded man that beauty
and power are, in their last analysis,
spiritual and not material. While
Greece shaped the intelligence and
Rome trained the arm, Jerusalem pre
pared the heart for the coming of
the Truth.
e ~ that when the Greek had forged
tne Word and the Thought, and the
Roman had drawn the whole world
into a unified empire, a gentle little
daughter of the House of David
brought forth Him Who was the
"Way, the Truth and the Life”. And
the destiny of the three great peoples
of the ancient world was marvel
ously fulfilled.
And this same disposition 'of nations
applies to those which are still in
existence. Some nations, we know,
like individuals, may thwart the de-
isgns of God in their regard, but
others may offer even conscious co
operation.
If then, it is true that all nations
have a Divine Mission we may well
ask ourselves on this Columbus Day,
when we commemorate the discovery
of America, What is the Destiny of
America?
Picture to yourselves the ‘‘Divine
Weaver” at His loom in high Heaven,
bringing out of warp and woof the
future of nations. He throws His
shuttle to and fro; there is a great
deal of rattling and apparently wild
confusion; but the Divine design is
unfolded in a tapestry of living his
tory, glorious beyond all human fan
cy. Into that tapestry is woven a
name of singular significance—it is
one of many formed with threads of
gold—it is the name of Christopher
Columbus. That name itself indi
cates not only the vocation of the
person who bore it, but, also sug
gests the destiny of the nation which
he discovered.
"For the word “Columbus” is an
other form of “columba” which
means "a dove”. He, who was to
bring back the olive branch of peace
and hope, announcing the finding of
dry land in a New World to the
peoples of the crowded ark of Eu
rope. bore that name not by chance
but by design. And just as we forge
a metal band about the foot of that
carrier bird whose mission in life is
to carry messages of hope and cheer,
so, we are told “was with Columbus
for this dove of peace, after his mis
sion of discovery, had forged about
his limbs metal chains on which were
inscribed his identification, the word
Columba, the dove. And has not our
Nation itself, been unto the peoples
of the world a harbinger of peace
and hope, a dove that carried the
olive branch to all the distressed
peoples of the world?
But when we look at the name
“Christopher” we find a greater depth
of.meaning. The great explorer knew
and appreciated the meaning of_ that
name so well that he wrote his auto
biography, “Christo-ferens” the bear
er of Christ, the better tob ring out
the full import of the name. And is
is not true, that our nation has been
a bearer of Christ and Christianity
from its very beginnings? Is a day,
like the present, when nations have
fallen back not only into paganism,
but into barbarism as well, from our
nation was sent forth messengers of
peace and hope for. the world and
reminders that their rejection of
Christianity and their denial of God,
would not only destroy brotherhood
among men but destroy men him
self.
It is usually stated that America
was discovered on October 12, 1492,
when the little caravels of Colum
bus weighed anchor at Guananhani.
But this is only partly true. For
America was not discovered in a day.
Into that event went years of patient
waiting, days of weary wanderings,
nights of studious application, dis
appointments, rebuffs, heartaches, all
nobly enduced. And so also, jus as
a Faith in God and in His Divine
Son, Jesus Christ, marked the first
dedication of our land, so also has
the spirit of Christ, shown in self-
sacrifice, in tribulations, in afflic
tions and trials, in bloodshed and the
supreme sacrifice of life, marked in
delibly the Consecration of our Na
tion. These are the real ramparts
we have watched.
The destiny of America, then, may
well be signified by the name of
Christopher Columbus, its discoverer.
Yet so also may the work which
Heaven intends her to do in the ful
filment of that destiny be signified
by the name ultimately given to our
land—America.
That word is another form of the
name ‘Emeric" and “Emeric” means,
mark it well, “Self-government, or
LIBERTY”. The man who first sug
gested the name, soon afterwards
changed his mind and wanted to sub
stitute another name; kings fought
against giving that name to our coun
try, yet no opposition was able to
undo a work So mysteriously well
done as that of naming the new
world with a title that means sen-
government and liberty. And how
well has our country lived up to
that destiny, which would make her
of all the nations of the world the
defender and the guardian of LIB
ERTY. . . . L „ ..
While we rejoice in the Dedication
of our land by Columbus to Christ,
Who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life; while we recall with reverent
and grateful hearts that it has been
Consecrated by the blood of those
who lived and fought and died in
the sacred name of self-government
and liberty for all men; we must
realize that it is our grave responsi
bility to preserve that nation not
only as the guardian and Defender
of Liberty, but as the champion,
against Atheistic nations, of the great
God who has fashioned America s
destiny, and the eternal Son of God,
Jesus Christ, who has inspired our
courage, sustained us in our adversi
ties, and purchased for us a rational
ground and a spiritual foundation for
that doctrine which teaches the
brotherhood of man and the father
hood of God. And as we watch our
spiritual ramparts, may we repeat tne
prayerful motto from the shield 01
a great city of our nation: # , t
“Sicut patribus. sit Deus nobis.
May God be with us, as He was
with our Fathers.
NATIVE OF SYRIA
DIES IN SAVANNAH
SAVANNAH, Ga.— Charles Slava,
a native of Syria, whose death took
place September 28, was buried in
Bonaventure Cemetery following
funeral services at the Cathedral of
St. John th Baptist.
Mr. Slava is survived by his wife
Mrs. Jennie Rahal Slava.
Real Estate Insurance Loans
Store Leasing
ADAMS-CATES CO.
Hurt Building Atlanta. Georgia
J. P. O’HARA FIFTY YEARS
WITH AUGUSTA HERALD
Compliments
THOMAS H. DANIEL
ATLANTA
J. P. O’HARA
AUGUSTA, Ga.—When The Augusta
Herald, which last month celebrated
its “Golden Jubilee” began publica
tion in 1890, Jeremiah P. O’Hara,
as a "galley boy” worked to prepare
the first issue of that newspaper for
publication.
After half a century, Mr. O’Hara
is still connected with The Herald,
the only member of the original staff
that can claim a record of service
that extends through fifty years.
“Uncle Jerry”, as Mr. O’Hara is
affectionately hailed by his associates,
was complimented some time ago
with a dinner at which the entire
staff of The Herald, editorial, busi
ness office, circulation and mechanical
departments, gathered to pay him a
tribute of esteem-
For a number of years Mr. O’Hara
was foreman of the composing room
at The Herald, and for the last fifteen
years has been setting headlines.
Mr. O’Hara is treasurer of The
Herald employes saving fund, and the
adviser and friend of his fellow
workers with whom his popularity is
boundless.
Since The Bulletin is printed at
The Herald plant, Mr. O’Hara has
also contributed toward preparing
this paper for publication for many
years-
London ‘Times’ Pays
Tribute to Jesuits
BY GEORGE BARNARD
(London Correspondent, N. C. W. C.
News Service)
LONDON.—Tribute to the Society
of Jesus is paid in a Times leading
article on the occasion of the So
ciety’s 400th Anniversary. The Times
remarks that the Society keeps its
fourth century, as it kept its first and
second, in the midst of European war.
“Medieval Christendom made re
peated attempts to reconcile the di
verse ideals of the soldier and the
monk,” it said. “One method was
that of the armed monasticism of
the Templar and Hospitaller Knights.
Ignatius inverted that example by
seeking to endow with the military
virtues a body of men who should
fight only with the sword of thv
spirit.”
The Times editorial goes on: “The
Jesuits undergo a training of the se
verest character, solely designed to
make them proficient in wielding the
arms required for their warfare—phV
losophy, theology, and the special
dialectic of the Society.
“Absolute obedience to the orders
of their Superior officers is the very
essense of their discipline; and their
readiness to shed their blood for their
cause is attested by a long list of
martyrs, which the tragedies of the
present generation have shown to be
by no means closed.
“By the practice of these virtues
they have made themselves the main
army of the Church, and to them be
longs the chief human credit for the
survival of the Roman Church into
the modern world.”
“STREET PREACHING”
SESSION TO FEATURE
EVIDENCE CONFERENCE
NEW YORK—The convention of
the National Catholic Evidence Con
ference, which is to be held here No
vember 15-17, is expected to be the
largest in the history of the confer
ence.
Delegates from Evidence Guilds in
Oklahoma City, Washington, D. C.,
Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Philadel
phia and Baltimore have signified
their intention of participating in the
three-day conference.
One of the features will be a ses
sion of “Street Preaching in Action’
at which representatives of the organ-
tration from Cincinnati, Buffalo, Bal
timore and Philadelphia will give
demonstrations of technique used in
their respective cities.
The Catholic Evidence Guild of
New York will be host to the confer
ence, which is meeting in this city
for the first time since the con
ference was organized in 1832.
THE MOST REV. Thomas Potha-
camury. Bishop of the newly-erect
ed Diocese of Guntur, is the six
teenth native - bom head of a Dio
cese in India, Burma and Ceylon.
THE SOCIETY FOR THE
-FOR HOME AND
'i
DIOCESAN DIRS
Rev Jambs J. Grady
FOREIGN MISSIONS
’EAST HARRIS ST.
Savaa/mam.Ga.
Mission Intention for November
“For the Sacred Congregation of the Propa
gation of the Faith”
immensity and variation of the inter
ests of the Catholic Church that he is
able to discern the absolute need for
different departments devoted ex
clusively to the studying and admin
istration of the various phases of ac
tivities. Upon investigation we find
the close similarity between national
and ecclesiastical government, the
former deriving its administrative
form from the true and tried methods
of the latter which functioned de
spite the rise and fall of temporal
kings and rulers through the cen
turies. Like the growth of a mighty
Holy Mother the Church has added
therefore, from time to time, new
branches to the structure of Her fedi-
fice for administration, and realiz
ing the importance of Her expansion
program. She begs the prayers of
the Faithful during the month of No
vember for the Sacred Congregation
of the Propagation of the Faith.
An Early but Undefined Need
The work of this Sacred Congrega
tion was begun actually in the first
years of the Church since the propa
gation of the Faith—the dissemination
of Christ’s teachings—was the prim
ary reason for Her existence. It mo
tivated and financed, through the
help of the laity, the travels and
foundations of the Apostles them
selves. It was this undesignated
phase of Church administration
which made possible the work of
Boniface, of Augustine, of Patrick of
Ansgar, of Cyril and Methodius.
However, it was not until the on
slaughts of the reformation and the
expansions consequent upon the great
era of exploration that the continen
tal character of the Church’s activi
ties became changed and enlarged.
Vast and hitherto unknown peoples
and nations loomed upon the horizon
of the hardy explorers of that period.
As a watchful Mother, ever eager for
the spiritual and temporal care of
Her children, the Church realized
that with this expansion program, a
new and specialized department must
be erected to care for the needs of
these districts. On June 22, 1622, af
ter years of careful study and pre
paration, the Sacred Congregation of
the Propagation of the Faith began
its functioning as it operates today.
Mission Needs
Special administrative plans and
rules were naturally consequent upon
the peculiar needs of the widened
territory under the care of Christ’s
Vicar. What applied to decisions
concerning European Christianity
differed widely from the plans and
needs of peoples ignorant not only
of the teachings, but of the very
Name of Christ. After 16 centuries
of existence the great tree of Catho
lic administration bore new branches
which, young and tender, required
special sustenance and care.
It is interesting to remember that
it was not only far Cathy, the King
dom of Nippon and the distant Indies
which experienced the solicitious care
of the Sacred Congregation of Propa
ganda from the time of its creation
until the present time. Newly dis
covered America was the object of
its untiring interest and concern. For
almost 300 years our own United
States was beset with the problem of
territorial expansion and develop
ment, prospered under the devoted
and understanding care of this Con
gregation. Even today while re
moved from the status of mission ter
ritory, large sections of the Americus
continue under the jurisdiction of
this most important department of
the Catholic Church. As a matter of
fact, the present Prefect of Propa
ganda, His Eminence Pietro Cardinal
Fumasoni-Biondi was Apostolic Dele
gate to the United States from 1922 to
1933.
Present Day Conditions
As at the time of its foundation, the
Sacred Congregation of the Propaga
tion of the Faith embraces in its care
all that concerns the spiritual and
material well-being of the missions.
It decrees the territorial limits of ec
clesiastical divisions in countries
where the Church is not yet on a self-
sustaining basis. It appoints, sub
ject to Papal approval, the bishops
and prefects for these divisions. It
grants permissions and exemptions,
examines conditions in the missions,
studies and approves the constitutions
of religious congregations dedicated
to the apostolate, considers the vari
ous acts in the processes of those
saintly individuals whose names are
proposed for the lists of martyrology.
By a providential coincidence The
Society for the Propagation of the
Faith, which functions under the
Sacred Congregation, was founded
exactly two centuries after the latter
was established. Now it is this Society
which begs the prayers of the faithful
in behalf of the Sacred Congregation
of the Propagation of the Faith.
Rt. REV. MONSIGNOR THOMAS
j. McDonnell,
National Director, The Society for
the Propagation of the Faith.
A HEARTENING THOUGHT
With scarcely any promise of fu
ture alleviation the Church faced
persecution for the first three cen
turies of Her existence. She was
forced to burrow into the ground to
bury Her dead in the catacombs and
even to worship there among Her
slain. Her first saints, like Her lat
est heroes, were her martyrs.
Yet it requires the same deep convic
tion and devoted spirit to live for
Christ as it does to die for Him.
Courage is the virtue needed today.
We know that the Church has always
possessed it, for Her sons and daugh
ters have proved it in every age by
what is called the best tests. But
are the rest of us proving the same
thing by the similar test of loyal,
zealous lives? We shall be strange
companions to the' martyrs of heaven,
if we are ashamed to live the cause
for which they were not ashamed to
die. The Field Afar—October.
A MARTYR’S CENTENARY
It is interesting to learn that, de
spite the troubled conditions in
China, a solemn High Mass was cele
brated on September 11, last, in the
Cathedral of Peking, China, to mark
the JOOth anniversary of the death of
the Vincentian Martyr, Gabriel Per-
boyre. This was the missionary who,
daring to defy the law or proscription
against all Christians, entered the
Flowery Kingdom and taught the doc
trines of Christ. He was captured
by the Chinese authorities, and the
words “Sie kiao ho tchoun,” meaning
“propagator of a false religion”,
branded on his face with red hot
irons. After four long months of im-
mprisonment and terrific torture he
was finally strangled to death on
September 11, 1940.
The twilight of the gods has come
to many parts of China today but the
followers of the religion which
Blessed Perboyre taught have in
creased to approximately 3,000,000
during the past century. Let us hope
that his benign influence will con
tinue in that vast country until all
are united in the great dictrine of
charity he taught.
AMERICANS IN FINLAND
During a recent visit made by the
Rev. Adrian Deelan to the office of
The Society for the Propagation of
the Faithful it was learned that there
are four American Sisters of the
Precious Blood from O’Fallon. Mo.,
in Helsinki, Finland, and that they
stayed right in the capital despite the
air raids and invasions. Their resi
dence was bombed and they have lost
everything, except their mighty de
termination to remain with the peo
ple they came to instruct and win
once more to Catholicism.
Father Deelan, who has worked for
many years among the Finns, hails
from Holland as do all the misisona-
ries in Finland, except the four Am
ericans. “All the eastern portion of
the country, which has been taken
over by Russia is now closed to mis
sionary endeavor,” he stated, “and,
therefore, we must try to open new
centers in the western sections. As
may be imagined this is no easy task,
particularly under present circum
stances. The help which Holland was
always so willing to extend is com
pletely stopped, but our Bishop,
Msgr. Cobben, says there must be
no lessening of our zeal for souls. Let
us hope America, who has already
given four of her daughters to Fin
land, will come to our aid at this
time.”
COUUON—THE
LEPER COLONY
A letter just reoeived from Rev.
F. X. Rello, S. J„ chaplain of the
Culion Leper colony, contains some
interesting facts concerning this lit
tle known leper colony in the Philip
pines. “This is the largest and poor
est of leper colonies,” he writes. "Our
people are now living on something
like fifteen cents a day per person
and this sum includes food, clothing,
medicine and housing—everything.
This is a land where a score of dia
lects are spoken. There are some 7,-
000 inmates now housed on Culion
Island, some of whom are Americans,
stricken with the most dreaded dis
ease—leprosy.”
DID YOU KNOW THAT. . .
Three hundred years ago the Em
press Dowager and Crown Prince of
China were Roman Catholics? Unfor
tunately, Prince Constantine, son of
the Emperor Yung-Li, last of the
Ming dynasty, was murdered: and the
Church lost one of its most ardent
defenders.
IF YOU WERE UNPREPARED
LAST SUNDAY TO MAKE YOUR
CONTRIBUTION FOR MISSION
SUNDAY, THE OFFERING MAY BE
SENT THIS WEEK TO YOUR DIO
CESAN DIRECTOR OF THE SO
CIETY FOR THE PROROGATION
OF THE FAITH WHOSE NAM*
AND ADDRFSS IS LISTED AT THE
TOP OF THIS COLUMN,