The Catholic times. [volume], October 05, 1951, Image 4

About The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
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THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Weekly Newspaper of the
Diocese of Columbus
NOTICE: Send Ail Changes of Address to
F. 0. Bov 63G Columbus, Ohio
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
Executive and Editorial Offices:
246 E. Town Street, Columbus 15, Ohio.
Telephones: ADams 5195 ADams 5196
Address all communications for publication
to P. 0 Box 636, Columbus 16, Ohio
Price f» The Catholic Timo* j* per year. All
eubscription* should be presented to our office through
the pastors of the parishes.
Remittances should be made payable to The Cath
olic Times.
Anonymous rnmmunirations will be disregard’d.
SV«. do not hold ourselves responsible for any vie*a
or opinions expressed in the communications of our
cerre^ponden ti.
Entered as Second Class Matter at Post Office.
Colors do.
St Franct* dr Sale*. Patron of the Catholic Frew
and of the Diocese of Columbus, fray for Us!
The Catholic imes
The Diocese of Columbus has long been promi
rent in the history of Catholic journalism in the
United States. First beginnings were mad*1 a few
ears after the founding ol the diocese in 1868
The Cathedral parish had Waited a little weekly
bulletin This developed, later on prompting th'
thought of a diocesan newspaper. Bishop Rosccrans
was the prime mover in the enterprise.
The first weekly newspaper ol the diocese ap
peared January 9, 1875, and was called the Catholic
^lumbian. It quickly took its place among the
most respected of Americas Catholic newspapers.
Capable authors of that day became familiar to
riadci oi the paper A great many of them came
to enjoy national reputations.
Columbus was also the place where the Catholic
Press Association was organized Editors and pub
lishers from this country and Canada met here Au
gust 24 and 25, 1911, under the patronage of the
late Bishop Hartley. Due to his financial and moral
support the association was started As a tribute
nf gratitude tn Bishop Hartley, the P.A listed
him as its honorary president until the time of
his death.
For its silver anniversary convention the l’A.
came back to Columbus. Bishop Hartley was still
here to greet and welcome the delegates.
Although the Catholic Columbian originally
Started as a diocesan project, it was later turned
over to laymen. It nourished for many years but
ramr upon hard times in the late 20 s and early
’30 s. Its last issue appeared in 1939. Bishop Hart
ley then arranged for the publication of the
Columbus Register as one of the editions of the
Register system of Catholic newspapers published
in Denver. Colorado. The first issue appeared Jan
nary 5 194(1 Through the next few years the
Columbus Register came to he the weekly
looked-for visitor in the gical majority ol the Cath
olic homes of the diocese It s last visit was made
last Friday.
The Catholic Tunc.-' is merely a continuation
nf all thi- work It is undertaken in the hope
that the irregular delivery which has been o
pronounced in recent months can be avoided. Postal
service seems no longer to he normal, but our
readers can be assured that there should be no
reason for the long delays in delivery experienced
during much of the past year.
It is also the determination of the editors, un
der the direction of our beloved Bishop, to make
the publication ol the Catholic Times a pro
gressive venture. It will still be our purpose tn
bring tn our readers the life of the Church in these
historic times. In the sense that the Church is vital
ly concerned in the social and moral welfare nt
all men, these are important times for Catholics.
In the sense that our diocesan newspaper will
record the happenings in lhe Church during the
coming years, it will he a history of atholic limes.
Ultimately the purpose oi the Catholic Tunes
is to do all in its power to make Truth known
among men for in so doing is bringing men tn
know Him, Who is "the way, and the truth and the
life." (John XIV, 6).
"A Friend in Meed
The recent headlining of the lamentable in
rreasc of teen age delinquency has served as a spot
light to focus the tardy attention of communities
on a problem that has been present for a longer
time than most would like to admit The problem
is that of adequate and proper sox instruction, or
rather the lack of it, for children.
No one will deny that there is a problem. ur
rent event* readily stand as an indictment that the
problem has not been solved The modern tendency
has been to try to solve the problem by ignoring
tt or saving it docs not exist. One might as well try
to solve the problem of a cancerous body-growth
in such a manner In hoth instances such a thera
peutic measure, if it could he graced hy that
name, shows its own inadequacy hy the rapidity
of the disastrous results that follow.
Proper sex education Is the answer to the proh
lem This much no one will deny. Where that nec
essary instruction should he given, and hy whom,
docs raise a question that is hotly contested on
many sides. A little i (fleet ion will help to place
the burden, or opportunity as it really is, precisely
where it belongs.
he very nature of the demand and human na
ture prove that this education cannot be Riven in
discriminately in the classroom is the wrong
place, the wrong environment and the wrong
teacher, lhe place is in the home and the teacher
either the father or the mother of the child.
A false sense oi values, the mistaking of prudery
for pui itanical reticence for purity have lead many
parents to disregard the need and neglect the oc
casion of imparting that most necessary and vital
information to their children They have come to
rely al best on faulty and dangerous publications
purporting to fill the need of sex instructions.
Twice within the past week, the Holy ather hi-,
scoicd the evils surrounding the reliance ol pa
nts on such publications he Pope warned that
one of the most deadly things for family purity
and stability today is a worldwide effort to pas.
oft perverting liteialurc as "sex instruction One
cogent argument against this type oi literature is
the fact it ignores entirely the .supernatural, and
the part supernatural forces play in the reproduc
tion of the human race Speaking of this the Pontiff
*aid Of -e supernatural forces scarcely a word
is whi‘pcn in the lilciaturc of which we speak
They aic usually passed over in silence lhe very
principles of sexual education and allied questions,
which were so wisely brought forth by Our prede
erssot Pius XI, in the encyclical "Divim llliu*
Magislri arc '.wept aside with a wave of the hand
or a smile—a sad s.gh of the times."
Parents. reading this week the warning ol th
Pope and experiencing a feeling ol their own in
adequacy to cope with the question, have cause to
rejoice at the presence of a friend in their need
The friend, in this class is (hr organization known
as the •‘Christophers."
The Christophers have long tealued the prob
lem of hnw to present the subject oi sex to the
mind of the growing child i- a delicate one n«»’
easily fared the average parent To aid paren’-,
n this task 'he society is publishing recordings on
sex instruction which will serve as a help and guide
to parents.
These recordings emphasize the wonderful role
parents play in Almighty God's plan to reproduce
the human race. The recordings arc frank in their
approach, but bring out quite clearly the beauty
and eternal significance of the marital re
lationship, which only due emphasis on the spir
itual as well as the physical elements can portray.
The help offered echoes the need as portrayed in
the words of the Holy Father.
These excellent recordings can be obtained from
the Christophers in New York or from local record
shops.
Son of a Fisherman
A news dispatch from London reveals that the
newly appointed Archbishop of St. Andrews and
Edinburgh is the son of a fisherman. The words
have a familiar ring, for they take one back to the
Apostles themselves, some of whom wore fisher
men or sons of fishermen.
Two thoughts come out of the expression. One
emphasizes the apostolicity of the Bishops of the
Church, each one of which can be traced back to
tk-e little group chosen by Christ Himself to be
come "fishers of men." Upon this long line of suc
cession depends the validity of orders and, hence,
of the sacraments, in the Church.
Of further interest is the thought that many ol
our Bishops come from quite humble homes. Their
parents have been mostly just as ordinary as fish
ermen. There need be no argument to indicate the
democracy that prevails in the Church. The selec
tion of Bishops by the Holy See in no way depends
upon their humble origin Any young man of virtue
and ability, no matter how obscure or lowly his
parents, may rise to the highest office in the
Hierarchy of the Church.
Just Among Ourselves
Fessing Comment Considered or Inconsiderete
Old columns never die they just change their
names. A caustic person may say that certain old
columns never die because they have never heen
alive. However aptly that remark may apply in
the present instance, the facts, foibles, and flip
pancies of ‘‘As We Were Saying" will appear under
that heading no longer.
It seems right that this column of comment
(and never of controversy) should have a new
name for its appearance in our new diocesan paper.
Thoufh (he name he not improved, if will he
changed tn mark the important change in the paper
itself, now a home product in its entirety.
And therefore, after a year or so with the old
Catholic Columbian under the banner of "By the
Way," and after nearly twelve years with the Colum
bus Register as "As We Were Saying”, lhe column
comes now to lhe Cathnhc Times" as ‘‘.lust Among
Ourselves." The garrulous old inlumnist here
crashes the gale of his third party it is fitting
that he appear in a fresh suit of hand-me downs
to honor the occasion
It is fitting, even if the new hand-me-downs
are not too notably a fit For the fitting of lilies
is a most difficult thing the results are seldom
felicitous. Charles Dickons, who could give life to
an endless array of characters for an endless va
riety of tales, was put to many an hour of inde
cision and Iret when he came to the naming of his
novels. Even the prosaic title "David Copperfield"
was the fruit of long and troublesome considera
tion, and the choice of a big field of even more pro
saic possibilities
Nor may we forget the great trouble experienced
hy Doctor Samuel Johnson, a man to whom it was no
trouble al all to turn out a finished essay in a
half hour's time, tn find an apt name for the con
tinuing .scries of such essays. His thought upon
the question got him nowhere. Finally, he decided
nnc night, after an angrily impatient interval ol
fruitless consideration, that ho would not go to bed
until ho had fixed upon a title. The name ‘‘The
Rambler" occurred to him, and he adopted it at
once, despite its singular lack of appropriateness.
An Italian version of the series translated this name
as II Vagabondo," which really incans "The Tramp."
Perhaps the great 0. Henry was as clever a
framer of titles as anyone. Yet his titles are seldom
as clever as the stories they identify. Titles are,
when a1! is said, arbitrary things they are meant
to challenge attention rather than to convey a full
meaning they constitute suggestions rather than
explanations.
We have lost no sleep, we have spent no fret
ful hours, in reaching the awesome derision which
affixes a title to this column. The only point of
momentary indecision occurred when we hung
fire upon “among" or "between” as the suitable
preposition for the heading. But we quickly decided
upon "among ourselves” since the phrase "between
ourselves" might too pointedly suggest that the col
umn would have only one reader. Wc hope, ol
course, for at least half a dozen
To the ‘dear and faithful friends, lhe few who
yet remain” wc slcclarc that there shall be no
hange of policy in the conduct of this slight con
tribution to contemporary journalism. As under its
former names, the column will find all grist that
comes to its null. Anything, important or unimport
ant, that seems to call for remark shall have it.
There shall be no special effort either to instruct
or to entertain The column, as heretofore, will he
one side of a conversation which wc hold "just
among ourselves.”
And, as we have said, there shall be no argu
ments, no controversy. If the comment of this col
uinn should please the reader, wc shall be gratified.
If not. wc shall make no defense of our position
however deeply wc shall regret being unplcasmg or
perhaps misunderstood. Many times during the pa
fourteen years wc have been sharply called to tunc
on one point or another of our discussion, and urg
ed to meet argument with argument Not once have
wc succumbed to the temptation to joyous debate
For comment is comment and that is all. folks
agree, fine it not it is regrettable in either case
there is no more to be said.
We hope that the new diocesan weekly will
zoom to great heights of power and popularity,
now that it is self propelled And we hope too that,
as the paper makes progress, this column of com
men will not suddenly find itself cascading into
the Department of Utter Rejection to be filed with
the scraps in (he waste paper basket.
Yet, even in that dire contingency, you may
he sure that the long established habit of irrepress
ible chatter will endure. Settled among its crump
led companions in the scrap-basket, the column
will comfortably continue its conversation, address
ing its fellow rejects with the phrase, “Just among
ourselves."
■'W®
S'
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1951
IFASHIXGTON LETTER
The “sensational, dcath-dely
ing” tightrope act, as a circus
barker might describe it, is Ti
to’s apparent truculence toward
Marshal Stalin and the Kremlin
crowd, while at the same time
showing no other preference for
the West than to accept its gen
erous financial assistance. And
it is a well paying act, because
the “fringe benefits" are closely
lied in with the performers
great show of not taking sides.
These “fringe benefits" include
$70,000,000 worth of lood
which the United States already
has provided, shots in (he arm
(or Yugoslavia's steel industry,
$50,000,000 which he has just
started to receive from the Unit
ed States, Britain and France
and which may go to $150,000,000
before the end of the year, in
the opinion of some observers.
Meanwhile, there are those,
here who have not yet fully re
covered from the shock they re
ceived when the Slate Depart
ment filed its first report to
Congress on lhe Yugoslav Emer
gency Relief Assistance Pro
gram, last May. The State De-
PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH
Formula
By Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Formula for happiness: every
day a little work to occupy your
mind, a little suffering to sanc
tify you’r spirit, a little sacrifice
to the Missions to comfort your
heart Arc you templed?
Pray. Arc you discouraged? Make
a sacrifice for the Holy Father’s
Missions GOD LOVE YOU to
H. J., who sold all her stocks
and bonds and bought an annu
ity to the Holy Father’s Missions,
which will support her as long
as she lives
and will use
the money to
spread the
Faith after she
dies Did
you see the
movie about
Boy's Town? A
i s sionary in
South India
longs to set up
a similar center for street raga
muffins who arc nobody else's
concern. For $220 he can rent
an old stable and begin the work
before Christmas GOD LOVE
YOU to D.J.W., a soldier in Camp
Gordon who promises a dollar
tn the Missions. Ever notice
that the one group of whom the
Gospel speaks in high esteem is
the soldier? Father Charles de
Foucauld, the famous African
missionary, once said:, “Never
impose a penance nn a soldier.
His life is penitential enough.”
We will accept alms from sol
diers in the Pentagon who do not
think it is.
“Quick Grab This"
-••A
fe:
World Watches Tito’s
Fight-Rope
WASHINGTON Newspaper
editorials and special articles
are depicting Marshal Tito of
Yugoslavia as a light rope walk
er who is playing the "fringe
bcneiits" game to the hilt. It
gives rise to speculation as to
how long he can keep up this
daring and highly remunerative
act. and which side he will land
nn if and when he falls off the
wire.
Walking Act
partment’s report contained
such startling observations con
cerning the existence of "relig
ious liberty” in Yugoslavia that
some authorities here feel it
could have been as wrong in its
estimate of how the whole aid
program went off.
When the last food shipment,
a cargo of lard, arrived at Rieka
(Fiume), George V. Allen. U.S.
Ambassador, to Yugoslavia, was
on hand to say in part: “I wish to
add for the record and for all
here that Yugoslavia lived up
to lhe letter and spirit of our
basic agreement in that Ameri
can representatives have been
unhindered in their observance
of the arrival, deliveries and dis
tribution of this food.”
This is a very pointed state
ment, delivered al a deliberate
ly chosen tunc. It may well be
that the Ambassador was en
tirely right about Yugoslavia liv
ing up to the letter of the agree
ment (few people arc familiar
U'ith its details), but there is
grave reason to doubt that
Yugoslavia lived up to what lhe
American people believed to be
the "spirit'' of the agreement. As
Ambassador Allen's w rds have
it, representatives of this coun
try observed the food arriving
and saw it distributed. But there
are reports from Yugoslavia that
the food relief provided by the
United States was actually dis
tributed according to the com
munist rationing system. Now it
could be argued that this system
wa? used because it represented
lor Happiness
China Father Tung arrested
by the Reds and asked by them
Io denounce the Holy Father an
xwcred. ‘‘Today you ask me to
denounce the Vicar of Christ.
Tomorrow you w ill ask me to de
nounce Jesus Christ. How could
I he trusted to love my country
if 1 denied my God? 1 offer my
body to China my soul to God
that one day there may be
peace.” They were the last
words ever spoken by the great
priest GOD LOVE YOU to
M.J.W. who sends $5 and says,
"St. Anthony is on your side: 1
asked him to recover something
lost and promised to help the
missions if he did.” Thank you,
M.J.W. And thank you, St. An
thony ... Do you want to buy
a parish? A whole village of
“lost" Catholics in Peru have on
ly a faint memory of the Faith,
passed down from the fathers,
lor no priest, has been able to
visit them for Mass for twenty
years. $200 will permit a mis
sionary Io stay with them long
enough to instruct them all and
to arrange for future visits
The missionaries in China arc
giving up their lives for the
Faith. Will you give the price
of a case of imported scotch to
keep the Holy Father’s Missions?
Japan A Japanese widow re
ceived the belongings of her
artist husband killed during the
war. Among them she found a
picture of the Madonna which
inspired her to seek instruction
and to be baptized with others
£7
I
a plan already in operation But
it is equally true that it would
mean that some 5.000,000 party
members, bureaucrats and the
like would benefit, but that
more than twice that number of
Yugoslavs would find the relief
goods more than they could
afford.
The “religious liberty" section
of the first State Department
report on Yugoslav aid was so
breath-taking that it led Bishop
Michael J, Ready of Columbus
to tell the convention of the
Catholic Press Association in
New York, last May: "We refuse
to he misled by propaganda sta
tistics and window dressing of
the Yugoslav communists, even
if put down in a report to Con
gress by the Secretary of State.”
Bishop Ready said Secretary of
State Dean Acheson “shows a
peculiar insensibility to the hor
rible religious persecution in
Yugoslavia.”
The Tito regime seemed to
take a great deal of encourage
ment from the favorable report
hy the State Department on "re
ligious liberty” within the bound
aries of Yugoslavia, because soon
afterwards it began another ol
its infamous "trials" of a large
number of priests and Brothers.
It is a little strange that we
get so many details about the
dissatisfaction of the Yugoslav
people over the agrarian pro
gram, and so little about their
grief over the loss of real relig
ious freedom.
Is Work
whom her zeal converted
The Mission Sunday collection
nn October 21 is for the Holy
Father’s Missions throughout the
world. Sacrifice one day’s wages
for those who sacrifice their
lives GOD LOVE YOU tn
V.S.C., who sells flowers out of
her garden to the local flo|ist
to raise funds for us. And these
flowers will never fade “Wc
have no monstrance for Benedic
tion in our poor parish.” writes
a priest in Oceania. “Not one
Catholic on this island has ever
known the joy of seeing the Host
held in its proper setting while
he sings the Tantum Ergo.” $75
will provide a monstrance
GOD LOVE YOU to A.C. who
promised the Blessed Mother a
priest if her son recovered from
a desperate illness: he is safe
now, and she sends $750 for a
full seminary course fnr a needy
hoy in Africa ... St. Francis
Xavier once said whenever he
failed to win a convert it was
because he did not stress the
person of Mary. (This is one mis
take we will never make.)
ATTENTION, READERS TOO
YOUNG TO VOTE THIS YEAR:
you used to belong to the Holy
Childhood when you were really
young. Now that you are over
twelve, you can join the grown
up Society for the Holy Father's
Missions. Send whatever offer
ing of a dollar or more you find
possible to your Diocesan Di
rector. Reverend James Kulp,
246 E Town Street, Columbus.
Ohio.
RICHARD P4TTEE
Will France Help?
A consider­
able amount of
ink has been
spilled in dis
cussions nf the
-spirit of de
featism and
ne u a 1 i s
which is said
to prevail
among certain
tof the west
ern European
states, particu
larly Great
Britain and
Trance. The in­
terpretation of this spirit is that,
in a showdown, a country like
France prefers to think of itself
as neutral at least in the mili
tary sense in the gigantic
struggle between the USSR and
the USA. Reports tell us fre
quently that the Franch are
apathetic, passive and quite con
vinced that when the conflict
comes, if it does, their role at
the most will be spectators in
the slugging match between
giants or at the worst, as a bat
tlefield over which the two ti
tans will fight it out.
There is unquestionably a cer
tain current of thought in
France, represented both in
Catholic and non-Catholic cir
cles, that preaches neutralism.
This has merited an exchange
of letters between Etienne Gil
son. distinguished French Cath
olic philosopher, and Waldemar
Gurian of the University of
Notre Dame in which the whole
question is broached and a cer
tain number of amenities ex
changed. But the main point of
these lines is to call attention
to the fact that, side by side
with the undoubted moral de
pression existing in some Euro
pean circles, in others there is
an extraordinarily clear and
lucid recognition of the interna
tional facts of life.
I am a diligent readir of that
excellent Paris, daily. L.e Monde.
It is supposed to be thf unoffic
ial organ of the Quai d'Orsy, re
flecting in a subtle fashion the
views of the French government.
Whatever may be said about it,
it is a first-class newsnaoer and
excellently representative of the
best in French thinking. 1 have
run across recently a series of
articles devoted to the problem
of “coexistence"—that is, can
communism and our Occidental
way of life exist side by side?
The writer is Andre Fontaine
and it seems to me useful to
call readers’ attention to this
very forthright and honest ex
pression of views regaiding the
major question of our lime. We
have been assured wer and
oveh again by Stalin and his
spokesman that co-exiktence is
feasible and that if the West
would only recognize jit, there
would be no question ef getting
on merrily together.
Fontaine has the French­
man’s virtue of seeing things
with clarity and expressing them
in the plainest terms. He asserts
what seems Io me to be one of
GRETTA PALMER
Visible Signs Help
Even a fleet
ing contact
with the perse
cuted Church
in China, and
with the ex
pelled priests
and nuns on
borders,
convinces the
e o er ol
the tremend
out importance
that sacra
mentals take on
tunc of trial Again and again
the confession is made by some
missionary. “As soon as I obtain
ed a Rosary, my jail cell was
transformed, and I found peace."
In cases where Rosaries could
not be smuggled past the guards,
many Catholic prisoners made
their own, kneading the beads
from hardened bits of bread
and string them on a piece of
wire or twine.
for a Catholic in
But it is not only Rosaries
that take on a more-than sym
bolic value in these times. The
story of the ikons bidden in
their vails for decades by the
Russian devout is being repeat
ed in another form in all coun
tries where the Faith is under
attack.
Prayer books and prayer cards
are doubly treasured by those
who can no longer attend Mass,
can no longer enter the barri
caded church even to pray. As
tiny statues of the Infant Jesus
were concealed 200 years inside
household Buddas during the
persecution of the Catholic Jap
anese. so the same secret cling
ing to religious articles goes on,
at vast risk, in every Christian
underground today.
It would be hard to explain to
any materialist the reastn for
this stubborn holding on,to re
ligious articles. He could point
out, with some logic, that it is
possible to say lhe Rosary on
our ten finger tips, if beads are
not accessible that Catholics
in some ages lived very saintly
lives without the use of Holy
Water that holy pictures do
not belong to the substance of
the Faith. But in saying that he
would be overlooking one of the
loveliest and least proclaimed
the most obvious verities in our
world today: “No definite solu
tion is conceivable with the So
viet world except one of two
courses: the annihilation of the
Soviet Union or its conversion.”
The first implies general war
and the second presupposes a
change of heart on the part of
the Soviet leadership or, at least,
a permanent renunciation of lhe
methods by which the Soviets
have operated for the last 30
years. Only the naive believe
that a five-power conference or
a conference of any sort will
contribute any real solution to
the tension.
Moreover, M. Fontaine draws
attention to another fact that is
often overlooked because of our
refusal to profit from historical
examples. The Soviet Union has
expanded and become strong
solely through war. Never in its
history has it shown the slight
est tendency to depend on what
might be called friendly compe
tition for its advancement. The
idea that the two systems can
exist side by side in all normal
ity. each striving to show that it
is superior in the works of arts
of peace, is not borne out in the
lease by experience. Karl Marx
wrote that to achieve the dicta
torship of the proletariat it
would be necessary to exper
ience 10, 20 or 50 years of civil
war and even general war, be*
cause, said the father of com
munism, “it is not only a prob
lem of changing other systems
hut of modifying and adapting
yourselves, to the challenge of
o w e r.” In a word, Marx
recommends partial or
complete warfare as a form of
tempering those who aspire to
power—the communist parties
of the world.
The First World War made it
possible for the Soviets to seize
power. The civil war within Rus
sia allowed them to consolidate
it. The Second World War
brought about their expansion.
How can it be held that the So
viet Union loathes war or hesi
tates at provoking it when every
historical advance made by the
regime has been the result of
war? The victory of Mao Tse
Tung in China is the work of
years of civil struggle, plus the
war against Japan and the world
struggle that accompanied it.
The progress of communism as
an international force is linked
in every instance with war. civil
or general.
To go back for a moment to
the question originally posed.
The Fontaine articles seem to
me to reflect some of the most
lucid thinking I have seen for
a long time. It is well to real
ize that Frenchmen and British
do not sit about in a sort of daze
totally unaware of the forces
moving about them. The realiza
tion of what these forces mean
is one thing the ability to cope
with them is another, especially
when leadership in this domain
has passed into the hands of the
USA.
aspects of Catholicism: the
homeliness of the Faith.
Materialists do not have sacra
mentals they do not bless
nor exercise nor take pleasure
in seeing the ideals they love
attached to small, visible things
which their fingers can touch,
their eyes can see. Even modern
misers do not, normally, enjoy
their vice in a physical form in
stead of running their greedy
hands through piles of gold, they
cluck their tongues at mount
ing bank statements or at bits of
ticker tape, soon thrown away.
Communists do not even cling to
a red flag, proudly showing it
over their doorways when their
cause is popular, devotedly hid
ing it in some secret crevice
when the Party is forced under
ground.
Men who worship science can
not love to finger rare bits of
geological strata, nor do they
enshrine in their homes replicas
of the Mt. Wilson observatory.
Those who pul all their hopes
for mankind in such terrestrial
things as politics or economics
or psychiatry have no familiar
articles associated warmly with
their faith. Let every major re
ligion of history has used out
ward and visible signs of the
worshipper's devotion to his
God.
Now, this surely is a strange
and curious thing—that the
faiths which do not extend be
yond this world should show
a
scorn of symbols, while the be
lievers. who see this world as
a
mere anteroom to real living,
pay it the compliment of treas
uring small articles of metal or
of china, strung on a chain and
blessed by any priest. No Cath
olic worships his Rosary, but ev
ery Catholic treasures his Ros
ary. No Catholic bows down in
idolatry before the statues in his
church yet every Catholic would
feel bereft, indeed, if the church
were emptied of their well-loved
presence.
--o--------------------
Forty Hours' Devotion
Week of Oct. 8-14
St. Loo’s Church, Columbus
St. Bernard's Church, Corning
St. Patrick's ChurCTi, London