Newspaper Page Text
APRIL 28, 1956.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIVE,
Jottings ..
(By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
YOU CAN WIN CONVERTS
Mary Wins A Dozen
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
tiTni^crgity of Noire Dame)
Among my most favorite peo
ple are mothers, cab drivers,
priests, little boys, fishermen,
doctors, newspapermen, and
shut-ins. Topping the list, how
ever, are nuns. .Nuns are the
nicest people I know.
There are all kinds of nuns.
They come in a grand assort
ment of sizes and shapes and
orders and habits. There are
nuns who stay home and nuns
who go off on the missions.
It is hard to think what the
world would be like without
them. Most people eye the nuns
with an element of mystery.
They wonder what in the world
would possess an attractive
woman to shut herself in a con
vent, take a long involved name
and put on the ancient garb.
There’s an answer to that. A
woman becomes a nun because
she loves God better than any
thing else or anyone else. She
gives herself to God to serve
Him in you and me and all the
other people of the world, who
need their services in a hundred
different ways. It is nothing
short of amazing today to find
anyone who will cut herself from
the world—its goods, affections
and desires. The nuns do this
when they vow poverty, chasti
ty and obedience.
What do nuns do once they
have taken these vows ? There
are nuns who teach babies their
first lisping—“My Jesus I love
You,” while others explain the
intricasies of the hylomorph^c
theory to sophisticated college
seniors. There are nuns who
nurse those with common ills
like appendicitis in our city hos
pitals while others nurse lepers
in mission hospitals in the trop
ics. There are nuns who conduct
retreats and do social work and
translate books and paint vest
ments. There are nuns who care
for those little saints who will
never progress mentally yet
who happily will never digress
spiritually. There are those who
care for the old and the young,
those who are preparing to leave
the world and those who are
just entering, who otherwise
would be left alone arid unwant
ed. There are nuns who sew,
cook, scrub, paint, sing, answer
door bells, keep budgets and
supervise builidngs and shop for
groceries. There are old nuns
and young nuns and middle-aged
nuns. Some nuns pray for us
around the clock while we eat,
sleep, work and play. What
would we ever do without nuns?
No matter to what order the
nun belongs be it Sacred Heart,
Holy Cross, Franciscan or Mer
cy—no matter what color the
habit be it black or brown—no
matter whether she teaches or
writes or sews, the. nun looks
upon her specific task as prayer
even as if she were singing her
office or reciting the rosary.
Nothing seems to phase these
women of the wimple and coif.
We have seen a nun prepare a
pizza that would rival a maga
zine ad in appearance and anoth
er calmly looking under the
hood of a- truck and solving the
motor difficulty. They work
hours that would stagger a union
official and have . a discipline
that wpuld be the envy of a
Marine sergeant and have the
powers of organization of a Na
poleon. Yet underneath the
starch and serge there beats the
eternal feminine heart.
Their laughter is indeed as
pure as the angels and their
voices in chapel have a heaven
ly tone. They find joys in the
simple, innocent things of our
forgotten childhood—old movies,
gift boxes of candy, outings and
conventions and sightseeing
trips. As long as there are nuns
in the world, the world will be
good. Certainly it is their pray
ers which keep most of us going
on the straight and narrow.
Our Lady couldn’t be every
where so she arranged that cer
tain people were called to double
for hex'. These ai'e the nuns who
are called God’s masterpieces,
His Handmaids . . . and my
favorite people.
BACKDROP-
(Continued from Page Four)
have reduced their influence
still further.
In the 1952 election, 39 states
having less than half the na- .
tion’s population controlled 294
electoral votes, while nine large
states containing more than
half the population controlled
only 237 electoral votes. New
York, with a population more
than 81 times as great as that
of Nevada, had only 15 times as
many electoral votes as Nevada
did.
ONE-PARTY STATES
If either of the optional meth
ods proposed in the amendment
had been in operation in 1952,
the net effect would have been
to rpduce the electoral votes
credited to President Eisenhow
er and to increase those allocat
ed to Stevenson, but without af
fecting the outcome of the election.
Neither plan would have rec
tified the disparity between the
influence of the small as against
the large states. The sole gainers
would have been the Southern
states and a few states in New
England and the Midwest which
are dominated by one party.
With only token opposition
from the other party, these one-
party states would have been
able still to deliver all, or nearly
all, of their electoral votes to
one candidate. But the influence
of the large states would have
been diminished, since they
would have had to di
vide their electoral votes among
two candidates.
Fortunately, a sufficient num
ber of Senators sized up the
scheme for what it was to block
its adoption.
2500 loin Bishop
In Crusade—
(Continued from Page One)
must emphasise that everyone
must assume their “Fair Share”
obligation in this great drive.
The $1,250,000 goal is truly the
minimum amount necessary to
begin the many improvements
so vitally needed throughout the
diocese.”
Lynch said the Bishop and his
advisors, had made and exaus-
tive analysis of the many pa
rochial and diocesan problems
and have px-oposed an economical
and workable solution that
should be applauded by all
Catholics throughout Georgia.
SERVICES FOR
MRS. FENTON
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Funeral
services for Mrs. Lillie Reynolds
Fenton were held April 15th at
the Sacred Heart Church, Rev.
Peter O’Donnell S.J., officiating.
Survivors are a daughter, Mrs.
N. 'W. Dunn of Fenxandina, Fla.;
two brothers, A. L. Reynolds of
Augusta, R. E. Reynolds of Ash-
ville, N. C.; three sisters, Mrs.
Hattie Oliver of Sarasota, Fla.;
Mrs. Kate Brawner of Virginia
Beach, Va.; Mrs. Mabel Collins
of Winter Haven, Fla.; a grand
son and a number o^. nieces and
nephews.
^ Thomas Redmond
Dies In Atlanta
ATLANTA, Ga. — Funeral
services for Mr. Thomas J. Red
mond were held April 6th at the
Sacred Heart Church, Rev.
Father J. J. Martell, officiating.
Survivors are two daughters,
Mrs. D.S. Jamison, Mrs. H. T.
Griffith; two sons Mr. Thomas
B. Redmond, U.S. Navy; Mr. Wil
liam J. Redmond, Atlanta, sis
ter, Miss Agnes Redmond;
brother, M. Leonard C.
Redmond, both of Baltimore;
six grandchildren, sevei'al nieces
and nephews.
Mrs. Mary Madigan of Latch-
ford Bridge, Ontario, while she
was a public school teacher won
two converts. One of them sub
sequently led her parents into
the Church and is herself the
mother of eight children. Thus
Mrs. Madigan was responsible,
at least indirectly, for winning
a dozen souls for Christ.
“In reading
the Canadian
R e g i s t e r,”
related Mary,
“I ran across
the Weekly
feature, ‘You
Can Win Con-
verts.’ It
brought to my
mind a little
experience I had in this matter.”
“We’re always interested, Ma
ry,” I said, “in learning how peo
ple in different parts of this
country and Canada are able to
share the precious treasure of
their holy Catholic faith with
others. Catholics in Ontario face
conditions similar to those in the
United States, and we can learn
from your experience.”
“I attended Ottawa Nonna!
School,” continued Mary, “and
was one of the forty Catholics
who followed courses in religion
taught by Father John C. Cody,
now Bishop of London, Ontario.
He stressed the importance of
teaching religion outside school
hours to pupils of public schools
wherever possible.
“After graduating, I got my
first school in a tiny village in
southern Ontario. Many of the
children came from mixed mar
riages, but I found that religion
had never been taught in this
school. Being a shy girl of eigh
teen, I decided not to try to
teach religion.
“I was at Mass one Sunday in
late September and when it was
finished an acolyte told me that
the pastor, Father Harrington,
wanted to see me in the sacristy.
After a friendly greeting he said,
‘Mary, you’re teaching catechism
to your Catholic pupils, aren’t
you?’ ‘No,’ I replied, blushing
with embari'assment.
“ ‘So Mary thinks more of her
job,’ he said, ‘than of her re
ligion.’ Then his hearty laugh
took the sting out of his words.
‘Oh, yes,’ he continued, ‘teach
religion. Teach catechism after
school hours; no one can object
to that.’ Then he gave me an
armful of catechisms to pass on
to the children.
“1 followed his advice and
found that the Catholic children
took a great interest in the stu
dy of their religion. The second
year a little girl entered my
catechism class. Her mother was
a fallen-away and mai'ried out
of the Church. After the girl
made her First Communion the
mother was married by a priest,
returned to the sacraments and
had her childi’en baptized.
“The third year a little girl
whose parents had no religion
asked if she could attend our
‘‘catechism class. I told her to get
the permission of her parents.
She did and the following spring
she made her First Communion.
She was an only child and her
pai'enfs, upon perceiving how
much the Catholic faith had
come to mean to their little
Mary, took instructions and were
received into the Church.
“Today, Mary O’Brien is the
wife of a fine Catholic and the
mother of eight of the prettiest
children anyone would care to
see. They are all devout Cath
olics.
“My experience shows that
Catholic teachers are in a posi
tion to do a lot of good for God
if they have the courage to ar
range in a tactful and prudent
way to teach religion after school
hours to their Catholic pupils.
It’s a pity that all of them don’t
try harder to do this, for they
could strengthen the faith of the
children and, indirectly, of their
parents and help lead churchleso
youngsters into the Church.”
"That’s true, Mary,” I said,
“and I wish I could cany your
fine words to all such teacher.;
both in Canada and in the Unit
ed States. Tact, prudence and
courage could accomplish won
ders along these lines. How
proud your old teacher, Bishop
Cody, must be of you! God bless
you and your family, and may
yur example spread far ’ and
wide!”
Readers who know of any per
son who has helped to win two
or more converts are kindly re
quested to send the name and
address of such a person to
Father John A. O’Brien, Notre
Dame, Ind.
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