The Catholic times. [volume], July 04, 1952, Image 4

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

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
NOTICE: Send All Changes of Address to
P. 0. Box 636 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 of The Catholic Time* ie 13 per year. All
rubacripuotif abould be presented to our office through
pastor* of the parishes.
Remittance* should be made payable to The Cath
olic Times.
Anonymous communication* will be disregarded
We do not hold ourselves responsible for any esew*
or opinions expressed in the communication* of our
correspondent*.
Entered a* Second Clas* Matter at Poet Office.
CoJumbu*. Ohio.
St. brand* de Sale*, Patron of the Catholic Prea*
and of the Diocese of Columbus, Pray for U»l
This Paper Printed by Union Labor
More Vatican News Tips
Persistence is often the only way one can get
the required results. Constant and determined ef
J.irt finally brings success. So it would seem with
regard tn those public news agencies which con
'initially foretell that the Pope will soon call a
consistory to proclaim the elevation of new Car
dinals. Usually we are assured that “reliable sour
ces at the Vatican" are the authority for such a
news story.
“Newsweek" magazine last week told us‘to “look
for the Pope to call a consistory before Christmas
to name new members Io the College of Cardinals.
Only 46 men now wear the Red Hat the quota is
70Well, that is good enough reason to expect
that the Pope would name new Cardinals. Such a
surmise usually comes after the death ot another
Cardinal. The Church has lost several members
of the Sacred College in recent months, the last
being the illustrious Cardinal Faulhauber of Ger
many It is therefore, quite safe to surmise that
the Pope will name new Cardinals. The public
press has been doing this sort of forecasting so often
and so long, that its persistence may be rewarded
with success this time. It is especially enjoyable to
note the published belief that this will occur be
fore Christmas.
Also “Newsweek” announces that an “extraor
dinary Holy Year" may be proclaimed by the Pope
in 1954. commemorating the 109th anniversary of
the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception Good idea And most likely talked ol
by I he priests in Rome Someone could have
thought of this and surmised about it. That would
be sufficient to hazard a news story that might
happen Which, indeed, it might One could hope
so for the success of “Newsweek's" reported.
It must be born in mind that the Holy See does
not do things in this fashion. And readers of the
secular press should keep in mind that such an
nouncements are meiely surmise, nothing more.
One cannot help hut sinile indulgently at the cock
Bareness of these news scoops, forecast in the man
ner of a Drew Pearson Persistence pays off event
ually, and people quickly forget the many fore
casts that did not materialize.
-o---------------------
Bisliop Sheen's Service
Catholic people throughout the TV areas of the
United States constantly report glowing comments
made by their non Catholic neighbors and friends
on the weekly program of Bishop Sheen Even TV
surveys indicate that the illustrious Bishop is at
the top in popularity.
The thought cannot he avoided that the renown
erf orator of radio's Catholic Horn- is again render
ing a tremendous service to his country, this time
through the medium of television. Bishop Sheen,
like all regular scheduled telecasteis, may not di
rectly promote the Catholic Church. He must, in a
sense limit himself to generalities in this regard
Nevertheless his weekly program is doing an incal
culahle amount of good His lucid explanations of
fundamental principles of morality and their apph
cation to present day problems, will go a long way
in helping Americans to think correctly and to act
accordingly.
No one w ill deny that great confusion grips the
thinking of the ordinary American citizen of today.
Most of them wish to be nut of this fog But they
are unahlc to help themselves, and when they turn
to public officials they find mere politicians arc not
statesmen Universities and colleges turn nut many
new scientists with the latest formulas but there
are too few modern degreed people equipped to
think logically, clearly and honestly
It is little wonder, therefore that Bishop Sheen’s
telecasts are so popular People are starved for the
principles of justice and morality he gives they
feel secure in the light of day after hr clears away
the fog of indecision nd doubt.
If anyone in America deserves a Medal nf Honor
for public service, it is the learned hardworking
and hard praying Bishop Sheen.
o.............-...
For Your Protection
The Bishops of the world, the direct successors
of the Apostles, have many solemn duties imposed
nn them hy the nature of their office.
They are directly responsible to the Vicar of
Christ himself for the spiritual welfare of their
flock-, accomplishing ’his end through the exercise of
their Ordinary Powers as the spiritual leaders, the
teachers and governors of the faithful.
One of their principal duties is that of guard
Ing the ancient law of the Church to sec that
the law is carried out according to the letter
and spirit of the sanction placed upon it by the
Hnb Mother Church and to see to it that nothing
hew that could he construed as being contrary in
-pint to the tenor ol these ancient canons, be ad
mitted as a practice in their Dioceses
At their annual General Meeting held in Wash
ington at the end of last year, the Bishops of the
United States, by common action, recognized the
necessity of recalling to priest and people the an
cient law of the Church protecting the essential sane
tity of the Holy Sacrifice and governing the ac
ceptance of stipends for the intentions expressed
by the faithful Ihe individual Ordinaries were to
promulgate the condemnation ot the current abuses
a* they found them in their own Dioceses.
After careful investigation, Bishop Ready last
week issued a condemnation of the abuses he found
current in the Diocese of Columbus, hitting espec
tally at the “so called Mass Leagues, Mass Associa
tions Purgatorial Societies which propose to en
roll individual* and family groups on the payment
of a fixed monetary contribution’ with the promise
“of daily and perpetual remembrances in a large
number of Masses.”
The whole purpose of the Hierarchy’s condemn
ation of the strange and unholv Practices regarding
“Mass Associations” folio- -innt law
nf the Church it to protect the faithful and to
keep the Mass in the sacred esteem of all U« s
uw—r— ,-,,,,.0-.. ,-. ............
You Can Be Famous
I.a week was celebrated the centenary of the
death of Ixmis Braillle inventor of the Braille Sys
tern b-. which the blind air enabled to read with
their fingers Speaking at a ceremony at the Sorbonne
Helen Keller blind from birth and also deaf and
dumb. *aid We blind are as indebted to Iajuis
Braille as mankind is to Gutenberg The raised let
rr» under nur fmgerv ar* pre mi:- pod- from which
has sprouted our intellectual wealth Without a dot
system, what a ehaotic, inadequate affair our edu
cation would be!”
We all can imagine, more or less, just what it
means to be blind. Never to see the face of a loved
one never to be able to enjoy the sight of God’s
wonderful creation always to live in perpetual night
time.
Bodily blindness is a fearsome thing and every
one. even those blessed with sight, can appreciate
the wonderful contribution made by the obscure
Catholic blind boy, Louis Braille, to the happiness
of those who cannot see.
Bodily blindness is a fearsome thing—but it is
not the most terrible kind of blindness. The blind
ness of the soul is far worse. Those who cannot
“see” God as their Creator and Christ, His Son, as
their Saviour are blind to the only facts worth
knowing.
We all admire Louis Braille and his accomplish
ment. And yet, we have it in our pow’er to do some
thing a hundred times more wonderful. If, by our
word or example, one person only was led to sight
of God in true perspective—our fame would out
shine that of Louis Braille.
To live in spiritual blindness is to live in a dark
ness more dense than the deepest night. Who among
us has not an acquaintance who is groping his way
in that terrible obscurity? Reach out your hand to
him! Help him to lift up his heart! Help him to guide
his stumbling footsteps, to find the Way to the
Light that shineth in the darkness. Man. in his search
for God and for salvation is often helped by an
other man. It takes a man with the “eyes” of faith,
though. “If a blind man leads a blind man they both
fall into a pit.” None is so blind as he w'ho will not
see. Thus, it sometimes takes an act of will to see
the light.
Why not make yourself a famous person, today?
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
The Month of the Sacred Heart gives way to
the Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus.
We pass from the consideration of God’s amazing
love for poor sinners to the thought of the infinite
price He paid to buy us back the opportunity of win
ning our way to heaven. The thought of the Sacred
Heart makes us aware of God’s love for us the
thought of the Precious Blood shows us that, love
in its most ardent manifestation.
These are the great realities: God’s abiding love,
and our Redemption. We know them to be so. Yet
we are so dull and forgetful that we need constant
reminders to make our knowledge real, to make it
have influence upon our conduct, our thoughts, our
purposes. The Church is a wise mother she uses
days and seasons to prod our sluggish memories and
arouse appreciation. These golden months of sum
mer, filled more than others with the distractions
of selfishness, are made the occasion of needful re
membrance,
How can we be forgetful of the tremendous
truth that we are God’s beloved children for whose
sake He became Man and died upon the Cross, pour
ing out the full love of His Sacred Heart and the
utmost drop of His Precious Blood? We can forget,
and we do forget. Original sin has hurt our under
standing and, by that fact, has dulled both memory
and appreciation our own actual sms and habit of
inattentive living have added to our dullness the
completely godless atmosphere of modern lite,
which we breathe perforce, lends a constant and
blunting influence. And so we forget. Our watch
ful mother the Church stirs us to remember.
There have been cynical people who said that
if we really believe the truths of faith we could
not forget, and iall into worldliness and sin. But
cynical people never think straight. Cannot a man
be completely oblivious of the day light in which
he walks and labors? Even at mid-day, is a person
always directly conscious of the sun? The most man
ifest facts may be neglected, the most unforget
table truths may be, for the moment, forgotten.
The thing of which we are least ignorant is likely
to be the thing we most readily ignore.. The Church
is well aware of this fact, and she keeps calling
the attention of her children to the most manifest
and most important truths.
A man may forget the daylight because he is
so completely absorbed in his task or his enjoy
ment Important things are forgotten because of a
welter of crowding unimportant things, or things al
lowed mistakenly to assume Ihe character of im
portance. And a man may forget God’s love, and his
own purpose and opportunity in life, hy reason of
the clamor of alien things.
I,
We live in a world full of such clamor. End
less voices arc shouting at us constantly we cannot
open hook or paper without finding the same shouts
set out print they cry for attention in placards
and billboards and in signs set up along the very
highways. The news of the hour is a welter of wars
and politics and economic troubles, it is full of all
sorts of promises and plans. And over all is the
endless voice of the advertiser, tirelessly urging us
to smell nicer or to drink his brand of beer.
People are urged by many interests. They are
taught to long for gadgets, for cars, for vacations,
for health, for beauty, for economic security, for
entertainment. One page of a paper will tell of the
hardships endured hv our men in Korea. The next
will solicit the attention of citizens to the attraction
of sports, resorts, or other instrument of self
entertainment and easy indulgence. One column will
be ominous with the story of threats to our “way
of life the next will be bright with the attractions
of some pagan pleasure.
What has our cynical person to say to all
this? Dare he say. if Americans really believed that
their sons or fellow citizens are dying in the orient,
they could not be s» light minded and self seeking
as they are? No, hr dare not say so in defiance of
plain facts. He saves his mane remark for an un
meaning slur upon the religious beliefs of people.
The Church knows us. She shares the divine
knowledge of “what is in man.” And yet, like her
Divine Founder, she still loves us. Patiently she
tries, never for a moment giving way to discour
agement, to make her voice heard through the wild
uproar of worldly clamors. She strives constantly
to recall us to reality. She bids us remember that
we are God's children and hers that the love of the
Sacred Heart is poured out for us that the price of
the Precious Blood is paid for our souls.
The Church sounds her summer message. June
and July arc filled with voices demanding attention.
They tell of wars and pleasures of strikes and ad
vances in salary of closed shops and seaside and
mountain.. of evictions and sports cars of political
conventions and unbalanced budgets ot fatal col
listens and championship tournaments. But the
faithful heart may hear, through all the insanely
contradictory cries of the season, the steady and
devoted voice of the Church, cautioning, reminding,
encouraging. This is the one voice of reason in a
world of sheer unreason
To a worldly mind, rehgion is a sentimental and
a secondary thing Rut the worldly mind is not the
sane mind. The Church is sane And sanely she
teaches, in season and out, the truths that really
matter, the facts that are of unchanging and ever
lasting value. In a world that likes to call itself
practical, the Church alone is truly practical: she
alone indicates the practice that can bring ultimate
and complete fulfillment to the lives of men.
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, JULY 4,1952
WASHINGTON LETTER
By J. Gilbert
WASHINGTON—The political
capital of the United States is
moving temporarily to Chicago
Within a space of three weeks
the two major political parties
will have their national conven
tions in the Illinois city. They
will nominate the standard-bear
ers behind whom they hope to
capture control of the Federal
Government for the next four
years. They will adopt the plat
forms on which they will stand
forth for election. The great and
the near great of the political
world have already hegun to de
scend upon the midwest metrop
olis.
It would he well if Washington
could employ this quiet, if not
vacuum, to meditate on the
changes that have taken place,
and are taking place, in our na
tional life. It would be better if
the whole nation pondered nn
these things.
Much Complaining
There is much complaining to
day about confusion, uncertainty
and a sense nf frustration. There
is no mistaking the sense of fu
tility and indecision that one sees
many persons and in many
projects. But it would be a mis
take to assume that only a few
people are responsible for this
LOUIS F. BUDENZ
Reds Bare
Hopes for
wider mischief
in the Un 11 e
States through
misuse of the
Negro are to
be noted in
recent Com
munist discus
sions. The old
aim of “self
determinatio n
in the Black
Belt” is being resurrected. This
can only do damage to the Negro
people, since it implies armed
insurrection in order to obtain
“national liberation.”
1 have just seen a letter from
a well-known Negro composer
which condemns this Red aim as
being of the greatest disservice
to the Negroes in America. That
has been the opinion for a long
time of such representative
Negro newspapers as the Crists
and the Pittsburgh Courier.
Nevertheless, Stalin's follow
ers here are obliged to keep this
goal alive, under pressure from
Moscow. The March 1952 issue
of Political Affairs. Red theoret
ical organ, stales that “the Neg
ro people in the United States
are nationally oppressed.
“The submerged nation is lo
cated in the Black Belt.” To
make the point more definite
the word “nation” is italicized.
Since Stalin has said that a na
tion must have a land. Political
Affairs declares that this nation
exists in a territory “forming a
crescent moon shaped pattern
through at least five southeast
ern states.” It adds that the port
outlets for this land are Char
leston on the Atlantic and Mo
bile on the Gulf.
Negro Nation Urged
The separate Negro nation,
which the Communists would
thus create if they had their way.
runs through the bulk of Mis-
His Dream School
3-Fold Crisis Threatens U.S.
situation. It did not rise over
night. It does not derive from
yesterday, nor the day before.
It is the natural product of a
national drifting, over years and
years, from certain fundamental
principles which have made this
country great.
Some_ observations applicable
to this situation have been made
by Dr. Brendan F. Brown, dean
of the Ijiw School of the Catho
lic University of America here,
in an address to a 1952 graduat
ing class. He said fundamental
truths are being threatened by
crises of a three-fold nature—re
ligious, political and economic.
Come From God
Actually, Dr. Brown said, the
political crisis in the United
States has been in the making
ever since the genesis of Amer
ican democracy.” He added that
one school of political thought
“has viewed those written guar
antees of human rights (the Con
stitution with its Bill of Rights)
as expressive of an antecedent
ideal moral order existing ex
trinsically to the will of the peo
ple and of all groups economic
and otherwise.” In other words,
his inalienable rights come to
man from God. “This order
alone”, said Dr. Brown, “justifies
the existence of self-evident in­
The mass of the Negroes and
many of their leaders for years
have opposed this idea, as I
have emphasized. Why then do
the Communists raise the issue
again?
A study of the whole Red at
titude toward the Negro will re
veal that this aim of “self-deter
mination” is brought forward
only when Soviet Russia desires
specifically to create chaos with
in the United States. Through
this device Moscow hopes to
create tension and conflict with
in this country. In his "Founda
tions of Leninism.” Stalin has
made clear that “national liber
ation” of oppressed peoples
must be linked and made subserv
ient to the dictatorship of the
proletariat. And today that
means only one thing: colonial
and colored peoples are to be
the foils for Moscow's ambitions.
Seek Super Segregation
To create conflict over this
matter within America now
would not only harm the United
States, but would feed Soviet
propaganda among the colonial
peoples throughout the world,
it is Soviet Russia that the Com
munists are concerned about,
not the Negro.
This fact has been so Uell
brought out by Father William
A. Nolan in his book, "Commun
ism versus the Negro,” that 1
recommend it to every alert
American. We could learn from
its pages what leading anti-Com
munist Negroes have said—that
“self-determination” will create
alienable rights.”
The other school of thought,
the law dean continued, “made
the justice of democratic process
wholly determinable by majority
vote, considered the will of the
people, as expressed through
their duly-elected representa
tives, morally supreme, and view
ed the Constitution as a self
sufficient instrument which is to
be detached from the moral or
der.”
Over-simplification
Some may argue that this is
an oversimplification of the
problem. Certainly, though no
one can deny that the struggle
between the two conceptions ex
ists today, and has long existed.
Who has not heard, many times
over, arguments that fit neatly
into the pattern of the second
school of thought mentioned by
Mr. Brown—arguments that fit
into that pattern, and no other9
What other school of thought
could be the parent of the secul
arism and the doctrine of exped
iency that we know today?
And. as Dr. Brown also point
ed out, “a survey of the law of
divorce in the United States dur
ing the past 40 years discloses
that the legal order of this coun
try has already yielded to the
pleasure of secularism.”
Plans For Negroes
sissippi, “and a good section of
South Carolina, Georgia, and
Alabama.” This is what the
Comunists call the “heartland
base of the Negro nation. It is
that area which must be “liber
ated” by breaking it off from
the United States.”
a vast “Negro ghetto.” It is in
deed a proposal for super-segre
gation, and that is something
which might well he .‘mphasized
in every community. The hopes
of the Negroes are to be a part,
of America and this scheme
would cut them off front such a
hope.
Challenge To Catholics
But that is not the end of the
matter. In order to reach their
revolutionary aim of disorder
in the Black Belt, the Commun
ists also rush forward to cham
pion equal rights and to fight
against discrimination. We who
are familiar with Communist
tactics can understand at once
that this is for the purpose of
building a base from which real
Communist objectives can be ad
vanced. Nevertheless, it con
stitutes a challenge to Ameri
can democracy and to Catholics
particular.
Clearly it is not enough to
turn the searchlight on Red in
tentions of actually aiding Mos
cow through alleged devotion to
the race problem here. Wider
and more positive moves are re
quired, both by the dictates of
democracy and Christianity. Mrs.
Edith Sampson's statement. ‘1
would rather be a Negro in Amer
ica than a citizen of any other
land.” deeply disturbed the edit
ors of The Daily Worker
and they have expressed that
disturbance from September
1950 on.
Such a declaration by a lead
ing Negro representative does
require a response among the
the white citizens of this nation.
This is a plea for more attention
by white community leaders to
the matter of discrimination, of
housing for the Negro people,
and of a better understanding
of the Negro community.
INQUIRY CORNER
Are Democracy And
Church At Odds?
Q. Is it a sin to attend a night
club?
A. It is a sin tc attend any
place of amusement where the
entertainment offered is serious
ly dangerous to faith or morals.
Some night clubs are respect
able places for evening dinners,
providing reasonably clean en
tertainment, and therefore not
occasions of sin at all. Many of
them, however, cultivate an at
mosphere of laxity in the matter
of association and drinking in
addition to questionable floor
shows. It is possible that there
could be a proportionate rea
son for a Catholic attending such
a night club e.g. for business
reasons. As with any occasion of
sin he would have tc avoid it, no
matter what reason he has for
going, if it becomes a proxi
mate occasion of sin. Finally,
there are some night clubs which
are frankly immoral. It would be
sinful to visit such a place, not
only because of the immoral
show, etc., but also because of
the danger of scandal.
Q. Is there a real conflict be
tween democracy and the Ca
tholic Church?
A. There is none. Between demo
cratic (or any other kind) govern
ments and the Church there can
be misunderstandings because
men are not perfect. Christ es
tablished the principle clearly
when He said, “Render to Cae
sar the things that are Caesar’s
and to God the things that are
God’s” (Matthew 22:21). The ap
plication of this principle has
never been easy. An example
from the life of St. Thomas
More illustrates the difficulty.
He was in prison, awaiting the
mock trial and bloody execution
which is now history. One of
Henry’s men, Rich, asked More
if he would accept him, Rich, as
King if Parliament should so de
cree. “Yes, Sir,” replied Sir
Thomas. Then Rich asked, ‘‘If
Parliament should elect me Pope
would you accept me?” More an
swered with another question:
“Suppose the Parliament would
make a law that God should not
be God: would you then, Master
Rich, say that God were not
God?”
Q. Does not the Church’s tol
eration of war drive many from
religion?
A. Religion is a virtue which
obliges us to offer God due re
spect and obedience in the man
ner determined by Him. Know
ing, loving and serving Him is
necessary for man’s happiness
apart from attitudes toward the
Church Catholics know that the
Church speaks for God ar.d in
moral matters such as the mor
ality of war is the only safe
guide. Although the Church has
always opposed war and worked
toward other solutions for man’s
disagreements, it has always fac
ed the fact that defensive war
is sometimes unavoidable. Pope
Pius (Blessed Pius) pleaded
with the leaders of all nations
GRETTA PALMER
For science is only one of sev
eral methods of apprehending
truth, as the Scholastics pointed
out in their sections on the mo
tives of credibility. It is the job
of science to measure and you
can only measure the measurable
—the thing that stands still
long enough to be weighed or
tabulated. “Science knows” a
great deal about our bodies
which are measurable. But spirit
does not stand still: what "sci
ence knows” about the soul of
man is, therefore, nothing what
soever.
Science Mara Boy
You, if you have had a Ca
tholic education, know these
things so well that an apology is
due you for their repitition here.
But “the world’s leading anthro
pologists” do not know them
judging from a recent report in
the New York Times of the Wen
ner-Gren Foundation Interna
tional Symposium on Anthropol
ogy. Listen to the conclusions of
these men. gathered in New York
from the great secular universi
ties of the world:
“Five hundred years of ef
fort by scholars of the humani­
before World War I to avoid the
conflict, and Pope Pius XI and
XII have urged peace. In his
Christmas message in 1939 Pope
Pius XII wrote: “The unspeak
able calamity of war, which Pius
XI foresaw with deep misgiving,
and which with all the energy of
his noble spirit he strove to
avert from the comity of nations,
is now upon us as a tragic real
ity.” In his Christmas letter of
1944 he gave the necessary con
ditions for an effective peace
organization: unity of the hu
man family, democracy in inters
national relations, ban upon war
of aggression and formation of a
joint organization for peace. If
leaders of some nations seek war
and attack others Christian tra
dition has always sanctioned de
fense by the nations attacked.
The cruelty of war is not a re
sult of religion, nor approved
by the Church, but the Christian
man and nation is permitted to
defend himself and his loved
ones.
Q. What is Ifce Mystical
Body?
A. In the Encyclical on the
Mystical Body fMystici Corporis)
by Pope Pius XU he states: “If
we would define and describe
this true Church of Jesus Christ
—which is the One, Holy, Ca
tholic, Apostolic Roman Church
—we shall find nothing more no
ble, more sublime, or more di
vine than the expression ‘the
Mystical Body of Jesus Christ—
an expression which springs from
and is, as it were, the fair flow
ering of the repeated teaching of
the Sacred Scriptures and the
holy Fathers.” As St. Paul had
described it (Romans, 12:4): “At
in one body we have many mem
bers, but all the members have
not the same office: so we being
many are one body in Christ, end
every one members one of an
other.”
Q. Is one committing a sin
when impure thoughts run
through his mind?
A. If impure imagings are wil
fully evoked or kept then im
pure thoughts are sinful. Even
great saints, however, have been
subject to such thoughts without
any guilt. St. Catherine of Siena
describes a siege of such
thoughts which tormented her
for some time. She kept praying
and at the end of the tempta
tion Christ appeared and she
asked: “Oh good and sweet Jesus,
where wert Thou while my soul
was being so sorely tormented?”
Christ replied: “I was in thy
heart, Catherine, for I will rot
leave anyone who does not first
leave Me.” It is possible that we
are sometimes indirectly re
sponsible for sueh thoughts by
carelessness in oar reading,
glances or conversation. Impure
thoughts of themselves must be
consented to before they become
sins.
Send questions io Inquiry Cor
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
636, Colombas (16), Ohio.
'Science Says......... 9
This is an
age of supersti
tion a time
when ten-mil
lion dollar
skysc a e s
have their
floors number
e twelve
then fourteen
to protect the
sensibilities of
their tenants,
when Fifth Avenue jewelers fill
their windows with “good luck
charms” as if their customers
were pursuing voodoo in the
jungle. But the greatest and
most absurd example of this
modern weakness is the super
stition that science can solve ev
ery problem.
“Science says” is the great sil
encer in all debates. “Science”
is regarded as the oracle in ev
ery field. Science, which is in
truth a very nimble office-boy
among the mental disciples, has
been elevated by the modern
mind to the position of chair
man of the board in every area
of life, thus forcing philosophy
to join the unemployed.
ties have failed to reveal a real
set of values for the conduct of
life.” But “a second Renais
sance is starting” and “science
is invading the humane studies
to find out what is the 'right*
and what is the ‘wrong’ way
to live.” Moreover, “Science
must invade the humanities to
spark a new understanding of
man and his needs and desire!
The second Renaissance may
free man from ignorance about
what his neighbors feel and fear,
and pave the way for the estab
lishment of one world.”
Continuous Amity
Consider, for an example, two
marriages. The first involves a
husband and wife whose pur
poses are all earth-bound. They
have, on their wedding day, de
termined that they will “make
a go of it.” They worship no
God except Hymen, pagan god of
marriage. Each is determined to
be kind and loving and consider,
ate each assumes that, as a re
sult of this admirable conduct,
perfect understanding of the
other will result. “Building a
good relationship” is their final
goal. But as soon as any human
being makes a “good relation
ship” with anyone less than God
his final purpose, he is doomed
to fail.
Not An Acceptable Substitute
But in the case of a marriage
between believing Christians,
such an impasse cannot occur:
how could it? For each of them
is intent on his day by-day task
of pleasing God, a far too en
grossing occupation for one to
be much troubled if the other
for a week or so is out of step.
The wife who does her best from
a Catholic motive is not overly
disturbed if her reward for
kindness to her husband is not
forthcoming within the hour: it
is probably being stored up in
Eternity. The husband who dis
covers that his wife’s moods do
not always click with his own
need not groan. "The relation
ship has failed.” It has not fail
ed at all: it has simply failed to
be an acceptable substitute for a
religion. For unless God rules
the household, its members will
forever seek the Infinite each
other’s eyes and be forever dis
appointed.