Newspaper Page Text
MAY 11, 1951.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIVE
I Jottings
{By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
fc^
. _ ■
•THI S WEEK'S column instead
O f concerning mothers and
motherhood in anticipation of
Mothers’ Day on Sunday will sa
lute a father who certainly has
warranted a “father-of-the-year”
award many times. He will not
be arc nd this year to marshal
family plans in celebration of
their private mother’s day and to
see that all his childern have
purchased something for “mom
my’’. E.e died suddenly last week
at the age of forty-three leaving
his wore, his mother and four
children between the ages of four
and fourteen. He was my brother-
in-law. On Mother’s Day, he
leaves something quite rare to
his family. He has bequeathed
them nothing but the happiest
and proudest of memories. He has
left a name untarnished, one that
is synonymous with the best of
manhood. He has never caused
anyone associated with him to
blush. That, dear readers, is no
small accomplishment in this era
of parental delinquency as well
as juvenile delinquency. Thus
this Mothers’ Day, we single out
for commendation this ideal
father.
•BOB would wince at the
thought of being considered the
St. Joseph type. But he was and
what better father-model could
we possibly have? He was a man
among men. He was strong but
gentle. He had srsweetness that
was rare among men but did not
detract from his manliness. It
was complemented by firmness
and steadiness and adherence to
duty and honor. He, like St.
Joseph, was a man of few words.
When he said anything people
listened. His family was all, there
was no second place. He was a
home-man. .His wife was still his
sweetheart after eighteen years
of married life. He still looked at
her with the tenderness and reve
rence of courting days, and espec
ially when their song, “The Way
You Look Tonight” was played.
He was a strong but loving and
completely devoted father to his
four children. There was none
of this buddy-buddy stuff that
has damaged the parental sys
tem of respect and authority. He
was head of the household but
he was kind and sweet and gentle
in this role. He was clean in
thought and word and deed.
Men who work together are a
pretty good gauge of character.
His co-workers tributes were in
spiring. He was an example to
all. He like St. Paul was a dedi
cated workingman and knew the
dignity and satisfaction of a job
well done. His example as hus
band and father and worker are
so desperately needed today. As
I had no brother, he was that to
me. It was' on the tennis court
or discussing world history over
after dinner coffee, he won my
respect as well as love. This is
important in all relationships. He
filled the brother void and served
as adviser and also film director
during college days. Are there
many men who could leave such
fine and ordered memory if they
were to die with the suddeness
of Bob?
•SEVERAL TIMES, I have
written columns on sudden death
and asked how would it find you?
Bob was one of few people that
I know who could have been cal
led and left things in such har-
monius order and memory. Think
about this. Whfen such a tragedy
strikes, we are tempted to ques
tion God’s will. In this, we can
see that God has indeed taken
the soul which was best prepared,
although a wife and children
who need him desperately sur
vive. How does a mother tell her
children that Daddy has gone to
heaven. Four trusted faces look
up and “Mommy” said that Dad
dy has gone away to be with God
where he will be happy forever
and have no more headaches and
that he will always be with them
to help them be better boys and
girls. In this loss which cut so
close, I saw first hand what others
have told about God sending a
peace which would sustain and if
we are not able to stand, He car
ries us lovingly in His arms
through the difficult days. There
fore on this Mothers’ Day of 1957,
my tribute goes to this father who
will ever be near his beloved
wife and children this day and
everyday until they are all one
day reunited.
BACKDROP-
(Continued from Page Four)
communist-dominated today.
In the Far East, too, American
aid has been effective. Without it
the independent governments of
Vietnam and Laos could not
have survived. American aid en
abled Korea and Taiwan, pockets
of freedom vital to the free
world, to resist communist pres
sure.
In the Near East, where we
find the tiny kingdom of Jordan
threatened with extinction by
Communist . maneuvers engineer
ed by Egypt and Syria under
Moscow’s direction, the nations
standing with the West against
these forces have all been helped
by American aid. American arms
have contributed to the effec
tiveness of Iran’s army, and Iraq
and Lebanon have been saved
from economic disaster by
American technical assistance.
FAILURE IN EGYPT
AND THAILAND
Only aid to Egypt and Thai
land seem not to have paid off.
Although American dollars help
ed Egypt carry out vital land
reforms, they did not make an
ally of the present head of the
government who is playing Rus
sia's game. Instead of being used
to strengthen the country’s abili
ty to resist Red aggression,
American military assistance has
been used by the politicians and
generals of Thailand to advance
their personal interests.
On balance, however, the for
eign aid program has been ef
fective. And with the communists
working day and night to take
over the Near East, we should
think twice about shortening the
arm of our government in its
effort to win over the poverty-
stricken millions of that part
of the world by bettering their
standard of living.
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YOU CAN WIN CONVERTS
Bishop Pursiey's Story
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
(University of Notre Dame)
It is difficult to overestimate
the power of a good book, par
ticularly a religious book. It pos
sesses a form of immortality—
continues to speak to its readers
long after its author has passed
away. Indeed,
some such
books have
probably been
instrumental in
bringing more
converts into
the Church than
the oral serm
ons of any mis
sionary .This is
incident related by the Most Rev.
Leo A. Pursley, Bishop of Fort
Wayne.
“The fact that I am a Catholic
today,” said the Bishop, “is trac-
able under God to the fact that a
Catholic farmer loaned a book to
my grandfather.”
“How did he come to do that?”
I asked.
“My grandfather,. George W.
Sloan,” the Bishop replied, “lived
on a farm near Osborn, Ohio. One
cold wintry day he delivered a
load of cord wood to a home in
Osborn. On his way back he stop
ped to warm himself at a farm
house. The farmer, whose name I
no longer remember, was a Cath
olic.
“He had just finished reading
‘The End of Controversy’ by
Bishop John Milner. He was so
much impressed by it that he told
my grandfather about it and of
fered to lend it to him. ‘It’s a
great book,” he said ‘and it will
make clear God’s plan for your
Salvation.’
“Grandfather took it home and
that evening by the fireside he
began to read it aloud to the
family—as was the custom in
those pre-radio-and-television
days. Its presentation of the
truth of the Catholic religion was
so convincing that my grand
parents and their ten children
were instructed and received into
the Church.
the total will be in three more
generations!
This incident opens the eyes
of all of us to the immeasurable
good we can do, and especially to
the number of converts we can
win for Christ by circulating
good Catholic books. Buy a Cath
olic book each month, read it, and
then lend it to churchless friends.
Supplement that loan with your
prayers and soon you, too, will, b@
instrumental under God in start
ing a chain reaction that will lead
many souls into the fold.
I suggest among these: “Where
Dwellest Thou?” (Julian Messner
Co., N. Y., $3), featuring the heart
warming conversion stories of 12
noted men and women; “The
American Martyrs” (Appelton-
Century-Crofts, N .Y., $3.50), the
inspiring story of the eight heroic
Jesuit Martyrs; “The Life" of
Christ” (John J. Crawley grid
Co., $8.95), a 640-page book with
scores of world-famous paintings,
presenting every word spoken by
Christ and every scene of His
life. Each of these books can start
a chain reaction leading many
souls into Christ’s fold.
FIGURE 8
Monday—Closed
Tuesday Through Saturday
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2:00 P. M. To 5:00 P. M.
8:15 P. M. To 10:45 P. M,
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Atlanta
“But that was only the begin
ning. When my mother, Mary
Sloan, began to keep company
with Alexander Pursley, she told
him how much her holy religion
meant to her, and she asked him
to look into it to see if it would
not mean much to him. Alexander
did, and he too became a Catholic
before their marriage. Two of
Mother’s sisters likewise led the
nen they married into the Church.
“My grandparents had forty-
nine grandchildren—all Catholics
—so that the total who owed their
faith under God to that book had
mounted to 61. In the third gene
ration that total has already
climbed to 175.
“Among the descendents are
sevei’al priests and religious: Fa
ther Thomas Tschoepe, chancellor
of the Dallas-Fort Worth diocese
and Father Leo A. Piguet, a priest
of the Helena diocese. My nephew,
Joseph Seheidler, is, a Benedic
tine Brother at Meinrad’s Abbey,
while Robert and James Seheidler
are studying for the priesthood,
Three have become nuns, and as
the years go by others too will
serve God as priests, Brothel's
and Sisters.”
What a marvelous chain reac
tion that unknown Catholic farm- j
er started when he lent George
Sloan a Catholic book! That ap
parently insignificant, action is
responsible under God for 175
people being Catholics today—in
cluding a bishop, two priests, a
Brother, three nuns and two sem
inarians. And the chain reaction
is far from ended. Think of what
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