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TWO THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA AUGUST 20, 1955. Why lost Concurrently? (Continued from Page One) life on the part of our people. And a glance at the figures which tell us that only one per cent of the population of Geor gia is Catholic, shows us that “the Church has only just begun to grow. The work of the Cath olic Laymen’s Association is no less necessary today than it was thirty years ago. But the work can only be done if there are members to do it, if there are men and women, today, with zeal, tact and courage who are willing to use their talents to help bring about “A friendlier feeling among Georgians, irres pective of Creed." In the early days of the Lay men’s Association, in order to spread true knowledge of- the Church, prudent advertisements were inserted in the newspapers throughout the State, inviting in quiries on the Church, her teach ings and her institutions. Cath olic literature was widely dis tributed, and in a way calculated to do the greatest amount of good. Letters were written to the editors of newspapers which had misrepresented the Church or had made unfair comment about it. Every means, including radio was employed to bring a fuller knowledge of the teach ings of Christ to Catholics and a new and true knowledge of the Church to non-Catholics. These means are still effective and are still in use. In fact, so universally, effec tive are these means, that they are also used by wbrkers in the Apostolate of Godd Will of the CCD in various parts of the country. From this quick look at the history of the Catholic Lay men’s Association of Georgia and DL C, own Of tz odcineS C^niSaele Note “To Form A Spiritual Crown of Rosaries fVhich Will Encircle the Globe with Peaceful Good Will.’’ (By Stephen B. Novak, Director) While the diplomats walk the corridors of peace halls, while they sit around tables" and dis cuss the probabilities of peace,- while the armies of the nations march in preparation for a war what has been said about the aims of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, it can be seen that the two organizations share a harmony of interests. And that is why the 40th annual Conven tion of the Laymen’s Association will not be held in Columbus, this year. Instead, it will be held in conjunction with the 9th Regional Congress of the Con fraternity of Christian Doctrine, at the General Oglethorpe Hotel, in Savannah on the weekend of October 21, 22, and 23. His Excellency, the Bishop, is confident that the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine will bene fit from the long and fruitful ex perience of the Catholic Lay men’s Association, which will in turn profit by learning yet more ways of bringing Christ into the lives of all. It is likewise his fervent hope that since our most zealous, lay apostles are in the forefront of the batle waged by the Laymen’s Association, that association will take an active and leading part in the CCD Program to make Christ better known and loved by all. And when this program has become a living reality, then it must in evitably result in a “Friendlier feeling among Georgians irres pective of Creed.’’ SOMETHING SUPERIOR FOR YOUR INTERIOR oCeifa oCindicij INTERIORS 2277 Peachtree Road • Atlanta, Georgia Telephone ATwood 3229 Phone MAin 2747 715 Edgewood Ave., N. E. ATLANTA MATTRESS CO, OLD MATTRESSES, BOX SPRINGS, INNERSPRINGS AND GLIDERS MADE LIKE NEW Oldest Mattress Co. In Atlanta — Established 1900 Atlanta, Georgia SKSRLEY CLOAK & DRESS CO. 209 PRYOR ST., S. W. ATLANTA. GA. H. MENDEL & MUMMY WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS 185 Pryor St., S. W. Atlanta, Georgia "GOODS WITH A NATIONAL REPUTATION" DRY GOODS — NOTIONS — READY-TO-WEAR 8AY0O AUTO SEAT COVERS 1897 PEACHTREE RD„ N. W, VErnon 4289 Atlanta, Ga. At Brookwood Station no one wants and everyone ex pects, a different type of army is being formed. This new army does not march; it kneels. This army has no weapon, but the Rosary. This army is sure of victory, because it is expanding under the banner of the Blessed Mother. Like the Crusades of old, men, women, and children of good faith everywhere are turning to Heaven for leadership in the struggle against an almost overpowering enemy. Our Lord has told us that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, He is there in their midst. In 1917, Our Blessed Mother came to Fatima to tell us exactly how we were to bring peace to the world. Leaving her throne in Heaven, Mary came with her message of love. She told us that we must amend our lives. She warned us tliat Our Dear Lord was already too of fended by the sins of the world, that He would allow man to lead himself into great catastrophies. And she promised that peace would come to the world if the Rosary were faithfully recited. The trouble with most of us is that we place a curtain between ourselves and Heaven. If we would smile at Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother, if we would talk to them as we would to our dearest friends, if we would place ourselves entirely in their care, and if we would listen for their words of advice and comfort, we would all lead holier and better lives. We would learn to love as God loves. People in one nation are no different from people in another nation. We were all created by the same God with the same love If we could but share with our fellow man some of the love that God has shown for us, we would truly change the world. Love has no international boun daries. By praying together, we show the love that we have for one another. Heeding the words of Our Blessed Mother and inspired by the Pope’s plea for the laity to take an active part in honoring Mary • during the Marian Year, on November 6, 1953, Father Lawrence D. McGinley, assistant pastor at Holy Trinity Church, Passaic, N. J., and myself, a lay man,. discussed the possibilities of a Marian Year Rosary Cru sade. If enough people play the Rosary daily with each person choosing some particular time during the day or night, with only 96 people each saying the Rosary at a different time, the entire 24-hour period of each day would be covered. There would be a perpetual Rosary being said throughout the entire Marian Year, In One year, 35,- 040 Rosaries would be said by the group. Each additional group would add to this basic crown of Rosaries being said. Members would also be sought to promise the daily recitation of the Rosa ry without'any time designation. Each person would know that at every moment of every day. someone, somewhere, would be saying the Rosary. Each person would see that he was saying his Rosary in unity with every other person. Each person would be adding his own garland to the crown being formed. Through the constant re-living of the Mysteries of the Rosary, the true peace of Christ would be brought into each and every life and ultimately into the world. Proceeding with this plan for the Marian Year, we wrote to every member of the Holy Name Society of our own parish of Holy Trinity. The results were most encouraging. I mentioned the Crusade in my correspondence with Fatlfer Joseph, Director of the Mercy of God Devotion, Marian Fath ers, Stockbridge, Mass. Father Joseph immediately sent his list of persons who were on his mail ing list and called the Crusade: “A new and inspiring apos tolate.” The response to pleas for Crusaders was overwhelm ing with better than 50 per cent joining and enlisting other mem bers. The Crown of Rosaries Crusade had begun. With this initial growth out side the parish, we wrote to in dividuals, religious communities, hospitals, Holy Name Societies and the Catholic and secular press throughout this country and abroad. Many religious communities offered their cooperation and services in distributing and printing Crusade folders as did individuals throughout the world. The Trappists of Our Lady of the Holy Ghost Abbey- in Conyers, Georgia, under Ab bot Robert McGann, were es pecially instrumental in the spread of the Crusade. The Catholic newspapers and magazines as well as some secu lar newspapers generously aided the Crusade through their pub licizing of the Crusade’s growth. Two letters seemed to prove the tremendous appeal of this Crusade in honor of Our Blessed Mother. One came from the Rec tor of the shrine of Our Lady of Banneaux, Belgium, both promising their cooperation in the spread of the Crusade. The progress of the Crusade was beyond all expectation. At the end of the first week, 40,000 Rosaries were promised. At the end of six weeks, 580,000. And for the entire Marian Year, a phenomenal total of over 3,000,- 000 Rosaries were said. Near the end of the Marian Year, a report of the Crusade was sent to the Bishop of Pater son, His Excellency, The Most Reverend James A. McNulty. This report was then submitted to Rome. Encouraged to con tinue the Crusade by His Ex cellency, we prepared a pamph let explaining the Crusade, its History and its purpose, and His Excellency granted the Imprima tur. Forming a special staff for the Crusade from the Junior and Senior Sodalities of Our Lady in our parish, we printed thousands of folders for free distribution to all parts of the world. A painting was made especially for the Crusade by Leonard Weg- man, age 22, a parishioner, and reproduced for the front cover of the folder. Original members were asked to continue their membership in the Crusade and were encour aged to enlist other members. . Since the end of the Marian Year, when 3,000,000 Rosaries were said in the Crusade, the Crusade membership, in only 6 months, has already increased fourfold, so that during the forthcoming year, more than 12,000,000 Rosaries will be said in every State of the United States and In 40 Countries throughout the world. Retreat houses have made it a \yeekly practice to enroll their retreatants. Religious communi ties have joined the Crusade by uniting their Rosaries with ours. The Salesian Fathers, Headquar ters in Turin, Italy, enrolled their entife group of priests, brothers and students through out the whole world in the num ber of 18,000 members. 7.'he Brothers of Christian Instruc tion, Jersey, England, enlisted their whole Congregation of 2,- 000 members. St. Stephen’s Con vent, Nova Scotia, enrolled 1,500 members. The Mallinckrodt Sis ters of Christian Charity enlist ed every member of their Con gregation throughout the entife United States. In all, more than 100 religious communities haw- already enrolled in the Crusade and have undertaken to distri bute membership blanks. The Fatima Shrine in Portugal has again written, requesting both English and French trans lations of the folders. The Na tional Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is also distribut ing our folders. The Youth Department of the N.C.W.C. in Washington, D. C., recently included the Crusade pamphlet in its monthly folio. French, Spanish, Italian, Ger man, Polish, Hungarian and oth er language translations have been requested. If some readers* would volunteer to translate our folder into any foreign langu-. age, great impetus could be given the Crusade. Many noted people have written complimentary letters about the Crusade. Among them; Father James Keller, founder and director of 1 The Chris tophers; Rev. John T. Corr, as sistant to Father Patrick Peyton, Director ox the Family Rosary Crusade; M. Rev. Sebastian M, Weber, OFM Conv., Assistant Minister, General OFM Conven tuals, Rome; Col. Charles W. Marteney, Chief • of Air Force Chaplains, USAF: and Dr. John C. H. Mu, noted Chinese phi losopher and former ambassador to the Vatican, who made the Crusade the theme of a recent talk at a Holy Communion Breakfast. The letters which strike one’s heart most impressively are those which come from non- Catholics and new converts. Of ten, in words that are most soul-searching, they tell us of the great power of prayer and the wonders of their newly found faith. Many letters are letters of pe tition asking for the prayers for loved ones, for help in time of great crisis, for the return to better health. We are sure that Mary will in some way help these good and faithful children.* This is a Crusade of the laity. We are forming a gigantic spiri tual army in which many Cap tains are needed. .More than a (Continued on Page Three) Christ The Kin; 5 B S — 3 Baths One block from Peachiree Road, trolley, School and Church. Lovely while frame on beautiful wooded lot in Triple A location. 1 bed room and bath on 1st floor, 4 Bedrooms and 2 baths; second floor. Modern kitch en, Russell Reene Realty Company 2387 Peachtree Road CH 4455 -— Atlanta, Ga.