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SEPTEMBER 27, 1952
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
<nVE
With Other Editors
HONORING OUR CHURCH’S
HEROES
Some time ago, a well-known
Prot stant clergyman of our area,
and a popular reviewer of best
sellers, was presenting an analysis
of a new book. Though the work
he was reviewing was classified as
fiction, the theme evolved about
factual apparitions of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
The minister devoted only a very
brief portion of his time to the
contents of the- volume. The re
mainder of the lecture he spent
in condemning the “superstitution”
of Catholics, repeatedly alleging
with a tone of "“infallibility” that
Catholics worship statues.
There happened to be several
Catholic women present, who had
attended the review at the invi
tation of their non-Catholic friends.
Following the lecture they ap
proached the minister and explain
ed to him that they did not wor
ship images any more than he wor
shiped the portrait of the doctor,
hanging in the outer hall, which
doctor had provided funds to build
the church. The clergyman an
swered with finality: “Oh yes you
do! 1 ’
To this minister and to the many
who think as he does, I address the
following words.
* * *
As we travel through the cities
of the world, we find numerous
statues and monuments erected
to the memory of history’s great
men. Posterity honors these men
for their priceless contributions to
humanity in the fields of warfare,
philanthropy, art. science, states
manship, and religion. To perpet
uate their deeds a grateful nation
fashions their likeness in metal or
stone so that succeeding genera
tions may look upon their images
and thereby derive inspiration in
their own lives.
Our national capital has its im-
r> " statutes of Washington and
Lincoln. The Louvre art gallery in
Paris contains- hundreds of paint
ings, representing prominent
figures in French history. Genoa
has a huge sculptured likeness of
its most famous son, Christopher
Columbus. And Westminster abbey
in London is adorned with numer
ous statues depicting the outstand
ing kings, poets, and statesmen of
the British empire
To say that the people of these'
nations worship these statues or
the men they represent, would be
contrary to all standards of fair
ness. /
Why is it, then when our Catho
lic churches are adorned with
images of Christ and the saints, we
are accused of worshiping idols
and of rendering to these material
symbols an honor that is due God
alone?
If nations can venerate their
heroes by erecting statues in their
honor, does it require any stretch
of the imagination to understand
why Catholics honor the saintly
heroes of the Church by nitans of
images found in our houses of
worship? To accept the statues of
national heroes, and in the same
breath to denounce the statues of
religious heroes, is both illogical
and inconsistent.
Catholics do not worship images
or relics of saints. The young child
in the parochial schools learns this
early in life when he reads ir. his
catechism: “We do not pray to
relics or images, for they can
neither see, nor hear, nor help us.”
The Council of Trent in the 16th
century very explicitly defined that
statues and relics of saints are to
be venerated only for what they
represent; and anyone who attri
butes any power to these images
and relics is guilty of false wor
ship.
Just as the Christians of the
first three centuries adorned the
walls of the catecombs with
frescoes and mural paintings of
Christ and the saints, so through
the centuries, when Christians
were permitted freedom of wor
ship, they embellished their
churches and Cathedrals with the
statues of saints.
And just as the faithful of the
second century preserved the
ashes of St. Polycarp, burned at
the stake for his religion, so even
today we treasure the relies of
our martyrs and saints to inspire
us to lead holy lives, and to incite
within us greater devotion in our
prayers to God through His saints.
A mother will kiss the photo
graph of her soldier son as a token
of maternal affection. A Catholic-
kisses the crucifix because it is
a symbol of Christ dying for our
salvation. The spirit that prompts
a son to treasure a lock of his
mother’s hair likewise prompts a
Catholic to respect the mortal re
mains of a saint.
If an American will stand in
prayerful silence before the Liber
ty bell, which represents our de
liverance from foreign tyranny,
can it be absurd for a Catholic
to kneel in reverence before a
crucifix, which symbolizes his de
liverance from the tyranny of
Satan?
The synagogues have a replica
of the Ten Commandments to re
mind the Hebrew people of God's
covenant with Moses. Why is it
called superstitution when the
walls of our churches are adorned
with the stations of the cross to
remind us of the covenant with
us that Christ sealed with His
own blood?
* * *
In New York harbor there stands
the imposing monument known as
the Satue of Liberty. To immi
grants sailing to our shores it has
ever been a symbol of all they
had hoped for in the land of their
adoption. To the American re
turning from abroad and to our
soldiers coming home from foreign
fields, it is a welcome sight be
cause it represents America.
There is another statue that
rises high above the harbor at Port
Said, Egypt. It is an image of
Mary, the Mother of Christ. At the
crossroads of the Eastern hemi
sphere it stands, a" beacon to all
who come within viewing dis
tance.
The desert traveler looks upon
it and rejoices that his arduous
journey is nearly completed. The
mariner finds in it a refuge after
his voyage across the Mediterran
ean. The aviator by day or by
night looks upon it as a landmark
guiding him to his destination.
As the Virgin Mary, through her
statue overlooking the Mediterran
ean sea, leads the traveler to safety
an I home, so also other images of
Christ, His Blessed Mother, and the
saints, found in Catholic churches
throughout the world, help to lead
the children of God to their true
and everlasting home.
In spite of what you say, my min
ister friend, and in spite of others
who believe as you do. we Catho
lics do not worship images. When
we kneel in prayer before the rep
resentations of Christ and His
saints, we are in reality kneeling
humbly at the feet of God. Try
it sometime and see what you
have been missing! (By Monsignor
Joseph P. Kiefer in The Steuben
ville Register).
SISTER CORNILE GOES
TO NURSE THE LEPERS
Sister Mary Cornile has left St.
Joseph’s Infirmary for duties else
where add when she departed she
took a great measure of the re
spect and affections of Atlantians
with her.
Here for several years as ad
ministrator of the hospital, the
witty and charming nun won the
hearts of all who dealt with her.
The magnificent new building now
going up at St. Joseph’s was her
The
Augusta Chamber of Commerce
welcomes
another great signpost
on Augusta's
Road of Progress
The St. Joseph's Hospital
GOD LOVE YOU
- Most Reverend
Fulton J. Sheen
T HE Communists believe that the Holy Father is the Vicar of
Christ on earth. They do not believe in him with faith in
order to love as we do; they believe as the demons in hell,
in order to destroy. For that reason they threaten, percesute end
torture a Catholic until he denies his belief in the Holy Father.
Very few of the Chinese, either laity or priests, have broken
under the diabolical brain-washings. In a Western Province of China,
the Vicar General was alarmed at reports that in one country parish
the Communists were making progress. He called in the priest and
said, “Dear Father, let us with all our heart stay with the Holy Father;
if we are with him then only me are with Christ.” The country priest
said: “I am ready to swear before the altar that I never denied the
Holy Father. If I am lying, God can take my life.” The good-natured
Vicar General was satisfied with his loyal affirmation of his faith and
he asked the priest to read the nine o’clock Mass the next morniqg
which was Sunday. Not finding the rural priest in the sacristy at
nine, the Vicar General went to his room and knocked; no answer, he
then forced open the door—-the priest was dead on his bed.
Moral: Thank God for your faith. Sustain it daily for trial
by self-denial to help spread it in the missions. The Society for
the Propagation of the Faith is the Holy Father’s own Mission
Society, and now for the added reason that he is the test of our
faith. Eliminate a luxury, cut into your capital and send it as a
sacrifice in the name of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.
The whole moral tone of America is being lifted by the growing
sacrificial spirit for the Missions as is e>Jemplfied by the following
to whom we send a God Love You. To Mrs. A. J. B. for the $10 saved
by going coach instead of First Class . . . God Love You to T. L. who
writes, “I am sending my first dollar made on my paper route and
instead of saving for my future I am sending it to be used now!” . , .
God Love You to Mrs. L. K. K. who earned $5 making baby clothes
and asks that the money help some mission baby . . . God Love You to
Mr. and Mrs. J. M. who sent a promised $10 to the missions in thanks
giving for the favor of finding an apartment . . . God Love You to Mr.
and Mrs. J. D. D. who celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary and
‘decided to forego the anniversary dinner and make a $10-saeritice to
the Holy Father’s Missions.” . . God Love You to C. F. who is five
years old and sent in 25c as her sacrifice for the missions. She gave
up a package of gum and two ice cream cones . . . God Love You to
Mrs. H. G. R. for $15 which she originally intended to use for a much
needed pocketbook and pair of shoes . . . God Love You to Mrs. C. P.
who saved and sent $16 for the Missions by giving up two cups of
coffee a day for a month and by going without a new bedroom rug . . .
God Love You to K. G. who sent $10 and the wish to share her college
allowance with someone who needs it . , . God Love You to M. K. who
held a carnival in his backyard and sent the profit of $7 to the Missions
. . . God Love You to V. R. who writes, “My friend and I gave up
going to the movies for six weeks so as to send the enclosed $6 for
the Holy Father’s Missions . . . God Love You to Mr. R. N. P. who
won $55 and sent the whole amount to the Missions . . . God Love
You to the Sunday school students of S. A. who write, “We wish (o
help boys and girls in other lands. Enclosed you will find $11 to be
used as you think best” . . . God Love You. P. F. who says, “I am 11
years old and would like to send six weeks of my allowance ($1.50) to
help sojue poor little girl.”
Remind yourself to pray for the Missions' by using a World
Mission Rosary. You will recognize each of the five continents
by the particular color on each decade. At your request and a $2
offering for the Holy Father’s Missions, we will send you a World
Mission Rosary blessed by me.
Pin your sacrifice to this column and mail to the Most Rev
erend Fulton J. Sheen, National Director, Society for the Propa
gation of the Faith, 109 East 38th Street, New York 16x, New
York, or your Diocesan Director.
idea, and her personality had a
great deal to do with the success
of the fund raising drives in
which Atlantisns of all creeds
worked side by Side.
Sister Cornile led the severe life
of the religious, but she found
time somehow during her Atlan
ta stay to serve as president of
the Georgia Hospital Association,
as a member of the state board of
nurses examiners and as a leader
in other professional groups.
She left Atlanta quietly, with
out fanfare or farewells and tes
timonials. - Her new duties as su
perior of a leprosarium on the
islan dof Trinidad will be arduous,
but no one who knows her, doubts
her ability to conquer whatever
obstacles she may encounter.
—(The Atlanta Journal)
GUARDIAN OF THE BOOK
The charge that the Church once
chained and locked the Bible is
true. She bad to chain and lock
it to keep it. They still have to
lock it up in libraries to keep
people from stealing and mutilat
ing it. The object is to keep it
for people to read and not—as ly
ing bigots like to repeat ad naus
eam—to keep people from reading
it.
Through the ages of the great
Roman persecutions, many saints
gave their lives for the preserva
tion of the sacred writings. These
included many of the books that
make up our present Testament.
And during the ages of barbarian
invasion and social anarchy that
followed the breakup of the Ro
man Empire, it was the privilege
of the Church to preserve and
transmit the Bible to the great
Middle Ages.
But there is another and even
more important way in which the
Church has been the guardian of
the Book of Books. And this has
been in preserving the true mean
ing of the teaching it contains.
Without such a guide, Scripture
lias been twisted to support almost
any kind of belief. We have
churches founded upon almost a
single text. We have churches
founded upon a single aspect of
Christ’s life or teaching, without
regard to the rest of the Scrip
tural contant. We have churches
founded upon some individual’s
impression of what a text might
mean, without any reasonable ba
sis for such an interpretation and
against the known historical mean
ing. We have great religious bod
ies bolding a faith based upon a
palpable misunderstanding of
Scripture by their dynamic but
none too qualified founders.
For the fact is that, especially
if this country, the faith of those
who appeal to Scripture as the
only source of religious truth is
not so much faith in the Bible as
it is in the self-appointed inter
preters of this Book. And, un
fortunately. even translators can
and do make mistakes.
It is the Church that guards
constantly against such errors, that
works incessantly to correct the
mistakes of human translators and
printers, that tests the accuracy of
every interpretation by the divine
ly accurate measure of the Faith
she was guaranteed by Christ to
preserve- without failure even to
the consummation of the world.
—(Catholic Review).
HIS EMINENCE Eugene Cardi
nal Tisserant, dean of the Sacred
College of Cardinals, said in an
address over the radio that “it is
essential that a United States of
Europe be formed. As a Papal ob
server, Cardinal Tisserant was at
tending sessions of the Consultive
Assembly of the Council of Europe
in Strassbourg, France. The pur
pose of the sessions was to dis
cuss a projected plan for a polit
ical federation of France, West
Germany, Italy, Belgium. the
Netherlands and Luxembourg.