The Catholic times. [volume], September 05, 1952, Image 4

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

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THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
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This Paper Printed by Union Labor
The ^Economic Lull"
Over a survey of national affairs in its issue oi
August 25 1952. the magazine. Npus-irpck" stated
in a headline that an Economic calm lulls the na
tion. so nominees hunt other issues” No doubt
news of such a calm will be welcome to millions of
Americans who arc struggling with recent rises in
the cost of living.
The constant, and sometimes despairing effort
to meet the high cost of food and other commodities
of daily life, becomes more and more severe. Hearts
of housewives and of their breadwinning husbands
are full of foreboding about the future if these
high prices continue Not everyone gets a raise in
wages when the steelworker receives one, although
thr 'he rise in wage- in the steel industry is given
as excuse lor price raising in the things to be bought
everywhere by everyone.
However, if in the face of such a situation the
nominees feel they have no real economic prob
lem to ballyhoo, we would like to suggest that
someone insert a political plank in the present
campaign requiring the victors to sidetrack some
of the billions oi dollars spent by government to the
financing of desperately needed homes for rent
by families with children. The housing problem
remains And the stand against children by land
lords remains.
Good, decent people, with excellent family
backgrounds,, are unable to live in ordinary homes
without paying rents beyond all reason, and certain
ly beyond the reach of their incomes. Someone with
the ability of the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin or of
Dickens in his David Copperfield, ought to write a
modern purpose novel about life in a trailer camp.
The children who live in the miniature homes of
such camps found usually on the outskirts ol the
big cities, deserve better of the America which
they will come to rule in the future. Crowded to
gether in some grove, with miniature streets and
lots for homes”, these families lack much in the
way of sanitation and other public health facilities.
The only redeeming feature about the trailer
camp home is that it doesn’t take much to start
up the auto motor and pull the trader to another
location.
Then there is the ever increasing number of
families being forced to hunt homes in slum areas
because of their inability to pay the high rents de
manded and their inability to find homes for rent
where children are permitted. This means that
the families who more than any other should not
go to poor districts are compelled to take their
children tn surroundings unsuded to ihrir propel
training.
An economic lull? The nominees should know
better.
Wisdom In Troubled Age
These arc troubled times without a doubt. Yet
there are times when one is tempted to wonder
whether or not this ago is any worse than some
others that have gone before. Older persons may
think that this is truly the most disturbed era. while
youthful people will surmise that it may have been
just as bad a generation or so ago
ft is doubtful, however, if many will question
the assertion that the world is in more anguish
today than it has been for many a decade And most
will agree after some thought that it is due to the
fact that men have wandered away from God. for
getting the important virtues of love and justice.
The result has been hatred and injustice in bus
mess and industry, in national and international
relations.
At such times it is of advantage Io return
tn the writings of people who have not strayed
from God, to those who lived in dose union with
Divine Wisdom with fhc result that they were
not disturbed in soul as arc so many today lake
for instance some nf the precious words nf the groat
mystic, Teresa of Avila.
'Ta»t nothing disturb thee says the saint '‘l-et
nothing dismay (her all things pass, God never
changes Patience attains all that it strives for
He who has God finds he lacks nothing God alone
suffices
Some more Our l-ord never fails us, fhc fault
and the wretchedness being all our own”
"Do not suppose that one who suffers does not
pray, he prays since he offers hrs sufferings to
God and often tai bettci than one who is racking
his brains in solitude and who fancies, if he man
ages to wring out a few fc.u- that tins is true
prayer.”
•Ncvci forget that an agreement is hotter
than a law-suit
'Do not be in a hurry for enjoyment it is for
mercenaries to claim their pay at the end of the
dav Serve without reward, as do the groat ones
of the world for their earthly kings.”
Another great mystic. St John of the Cross,
gives some good advice to the people of an ago
much concerned about liberty All liberty and
power of the world, compared with the power and
liberty nf the Spirit of God. is but supremo slavery,
wretchedness, and captivity and so he who loves
superiority and dignities and the indulgence of
his desires will never attain to the true liberty
of the spirit attainable in the Divine union, he
cause slaverv has no fellowship with 'iberty, liberty
dwelleth not in a heart subject to desires, for that
heart is in captivity, but in that which is free, the
heart of a son
Who can deny that closeness to God brings wis
dom about things of the world far above that of
those who are immersed in them'*
Reunion: A Possibility?
The outcome of the twnwoek meeting of the
Faith and Order Commission nf the World Council
of Churches which just ended in Lund. Sweden
would seem to bear at least the aura of failure The
conclusions i«.-hed bv this body of eminent
Protestant clergymen might seem disheartening at
first glance hut only when a very shallow view
is taken of them
For two weeks. 230 Protestant churchmen from
40 countries representing 15R separate religious
bodies joined together in the interest of studying
the theological issues involved in reunion The
World oiincd i a fedci, torn of Protestant churches
which includes also a small group of Orthodox
bodies
At the end nf the fourteen day sessions the
Council published the results of its labors:
We have not resolved our differences nnr
brought forth before 'hr world a simple method
of achieving unity ... We have now reached a
point at which our divergences stubbornly resist
easy solution.”
This, as we said, could be looked on as a dis
heartening conclusion, however it might be taken
as an indication that the one possible solution, which
was never considered, might, in the future, be given
some consideration: Reunion with Rome.
It is just possible that this most unthinkable of
all answers to the rends in the Christian fabric
might now not seem so utterly fantastic. If all
other means have failed, might not all men pray
that this possibility be given prayerful thought?
There were four Catholic priests present as ob
servers at the sessions. They took no active part in
the sessions, but their presence was noted by all.
Commenting on the fact of their attendance,
Swedish Lutheran Archbishop Yngve Brilioth said
“that for the first time Roman Catholic observers
have been appointed is an important sign that the
great Church of Rome is not indifferent to what
is being done in order to further a better under
standing between Christians of different traditions,
and that an amity of souls can exist in spite of
ecclesiastical barriers that appear insurmountable.”
No. the Roman church has never been indiffer
ent. She stands exactly where She did four hundred
years ago before there was a break, always ready
to cooperate, without compromise of course, in wel
coming "home” the vast body of Christians now
outside the fold.
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considorad or Inconsidorato
The old gentleman at the bus stop was not only
willing to talk he was determined upon it. Like
0. Henry's loquacious bartender, he found himself
"full of synonyms and parts of speech.” Consulting a
large old-fashioned watch (and you knew at once
that this time piece was accurate to the fraction
of a second), he addressed an Innocent Bystander.
'‘Thai bus is due here this minute. You can’t
depend on these buses as you could on the old
trolley cars. 1 rode the cars for more than fifty
years. But I suppose we have to take what we
get. Nothing but gasoline engines everywhere now,
snorting, and roaring, and smoking, and smelling
like all get out. Here comes the bus now, two
minutes behind time.”
The bus drew up to the curb, and the Innocent
Bystander was quick to find a seat. But the talk
ative old gentleman was at his side as he sat down.
The discussion continued. "Had a big argument at
the house last night. 1 said something that started
it, something that 1 believe is God’s own truth.
I may be wrong, of course, and I’m willing to be
shown that I’m wrong if anybody can do it. But I
said then, and 1 say now, that the man who in
vented the gasoline engine inflicted the greatest
curse upon mankind that the human race has sus
tained in its entire history. Do you agree with
that, eh?
"I say that the gasoline engine,—and all that
came from it, automobiles, trucks, airplanes, tanks,
and the rest,—has brought more sin and distress and
destruction on the earth than any other agency.
It has ruined children it has broken families
it has spread wars all over the world it has just
about put American home life out of existence.
And it’s day by day killing beats anything that sick
ness pestilence, fires, train wrecks, earthquakes, and
other upheavals can inflict upon humanity.
"Now, wait a minute. I know what you’re going
to say. You're thinking that I’m seeing only the
bad side and forgetting the good that 1 oughl to
weigh advantages against disadvantages. Well now,
just what are the advantages in this case? Just
what do they amount to? Bigger cities, faster
travel, more even and rapid spread of commodities
through the whole country, and all such. Why do
you call these advantages?
"There are higger cities when people would he
better off in small communities or on the land
There is faster travel for millions of people who
would be far more happy and content if they stayed
at home, and less by far of a menace to human
life. There is the spread of commodities, but this
answers no essential need of man. I can go down
to the city market and buy the fruits of the earth
at any season of the year. But I was just as happy,
and as healthy by golly, when I never saw an crangc
excepl at Christmas, and didn't know the meaning
of avocado.
"The gasoline engine means, you might say, that
in case of sickness the doctor can he quickly at
the bedside, and that in case of fire the big trucks
can be on the spot in a few minutes. Well, houses
still hum down. And as for the doctor, he came
slowly in the horse and buggy days, hut he caino.
Nowadays you’ll spend the whole time it took the
old fashioned doctor In drive to your house in
phoning hither and yon to find any doctor that is
free to come, or will consent to come at all.
"Even if you discount my arguments on these
points, look at the moral side of this question.
Consider the hanky pank that gnes on in cars fo
thr ruination of youngsters and the destruction of
marital fidelity. 1 know you’ll say that badness
comes from human wills and not from machines
That’s true in the main. Rut machines can make
badness not only convenient for people to commit
machines can and do, make such badness possible.
And of all machines, the gasoline engine is the boss
in this business
"lleivry Ford said, or was supposed to say, that
he had put humanity on wheels and it would never
consent to walk again. He might have said, too,
that he had put humanity out of its homes, and
that it would never consent to live quietly again
and cultivate the domestic virtues. Anyhow, that's
what he has done And do you count this an ad
vantage?
“We call ourselves a civilized penpie, but I’d
hate to frame a definition of civilization that would
fit our case In an older day people liked to have
a comfortable and attractive home, and worked to
attain it. They liked to have decent clothes and to
cultivate a little personal dignity But in our en
lightened day the great majority of Americans are
content to live in shacks and slacks if they can have
a car. Would you consider this state of things an
advance in culture and civilization?
“Look at the streets and grounds around to day’s
highschools. Cars everywhere, and most of them
shiny and expensive. They represent a lot of
money a lot paid and a lot more owed The young
sters who menace the streets and highways in these
cars haven't time to learn to read or write or even
spell certainly they have no time to think. They are
jittery and nervous and all tensed up, never con
tent unless they arc whizzing along a turnpike or
making the matters of life and limb a chancy bus
iness in the city streets That's one of the fruits of
the gasoline engine.
"And the sociologist and the economist can justly
consider that underpaid drivers in overloaded trucks
arc a major factor in industrial upheavals and social
unrest. Well, you think it over, and see if I’m not
right The gasoline engine is man’s greatest curse.
Here's my stop Brought home by a gasoline engine,
by golly, and in for an argument as soon as I
get there My grandson wants the car to night.”
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 5, 1952
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON Atheism is
just as much a part of the Com
munist Party doctrine in this
country as it is in Soviet Russia
or in any of the satellite coun
tries.
This was the testimony of a
former communist before the
Senate Internal Security Com
mittee, according to the text of
hearings made public by that
group.
The witness was Herbert Rom
erstein of Brooklyn, N.Y., who
was not quite 20 years of age
when he appeared before the
committee on April 12, 1951, hut
who testified that he had been
a member of the Communist
Party as a high school student.
The committee report describes
him as "formerly of the inner
circle of the Communist Party’s
apparatus among youth."
A question and answer ex
change between Mr. Romerstein
and Senator William E. Jenner
of Indiana is given in the com
mittee report as follows:
"'Senator Jenner: In your as
sociation as a Communist Party
member of the various youth or
ganizations you described in
your testimony did you get any
indoctrination along the lines of
the churches other words,
did you get into atheism?
"Mr. Rommerstein: Yes, sir.
Father
higgins~
The secre
tariat of the
I n ernational
Confeder
ation of Free
Trade Unions
ought to take
a refr e s e
course on how
o win friends
ind influence
[people espe
cially Ameri­
cans. Oldenbroek, general
secretary of the ICFTU, and his
associates at the Brussels head
quarters of the new trade union
international have a peculiar
genius for antagonizing Ameri
cans in general and American
Catholics in particular.
The story of the ICFTU’s con
troversy with the American Fed
eration of Labor one of its
most important and influential
affiliates— is well known to any
body who has been reading the
newspapers during the past sev
eral months. This controversy,
fortunately in our opinion, has
now been satisfactorily resolved.
Meanwhile, however, the secre
tariat of the ICFTU. for reasons
best known to itself, stupidly
continues to antagonize its Amer
ican affiliates.
As a matter of fact, even be
fore the AFL had officially an
nounced its decision to resume
an active role in the councils of
the new anti-communist trade
union international, the official
ICFTU magazine (Free Labour
World. June-July 1952) blossom*
ed forth with a very vulgar and
very offensive anti-Cathohc edi
torial which will be deeply and
bitterly resented by a large per
centage of the members and of
ficers of both the AFL and the
CIO—Catholics and non-Catho
he alike.
Stronger Than He Thought
f.
s
ft
A Fact To Be Remembered
Atheism is one of the basic par
ty doctrines.
"Senator Jenner: How about
the morals of the youth? Has
any of that crept into these
youth organizations?
"Mr. Romerstein: The party
concept of morality is this: If
it is for the benefit of the party,
then it is moral. If it is opposed
to the needs of the party, then it
is immoral.
"Senator Jenner: In your par
ticular case where your father
and mother objected to your tak
ing part in the Communist Party
and these front organizations
and youth organizations, did the
Communist organizations try to
keep you separated from your
home, tell you that your parents
were wrong and that you were
right? Did you get any of that?
"Mr. Romerstein: Certainly,
definitely, and my feeling and
the feeling of the Communists I
knew was that I was correct and
my parents were wrong. As I
said, we had quite a few fights
in the house about the question.
I always came away feeling that
I was right and my parents did
not know what they were talk
ing about.”
Before the same committee, a
witness not as cooperative as Mr
Romerstein testified for some
thing less than an hour and in
Anti-Clerical Sounding Board
Pathological Wrath
The editorial is entitled "The
Eucharistic Congress at Barce
lona Tedeschini Raises the
Swastika.” The accusation is
made—as the title of the editori
al almost savagely suggests—
that Cardinal Tedeschini, Papal
Legate to the Barcelona Con
gress, "delivered himself to a
passionate eulogy of the Falan
gist system and a glorification
of the victims of the Spanish
Civil War—hut only of those
who had fought on the Franco
side.”
Cardinal Spellman also comes
in for honorable mention. “Last
year,” the insulting editorial con
tinues, “Monsignor Spellman
made a gesture towards the free
labour movement by attending
the annual Convention of the
Congress of Industrial Organiza
tions. This year, this dignitary
of the Roman Catholic Church
appeared before the working
classes of Spain—victims of the
most terrible oppression West
ern Europe during this eventful
century— to all intents and pur
poses arm in arm with the only
surviving quisling, representa
tive still of Hitler’s ‘New Order’
in flesh and blood!”
Flagrantly Caricatured
This is a new twist to an old
formula which, has long since
become the standard dodge of
professional anti-Catholics. Paul
Blanshard, for example, usually
condemns the Pope and the hier
archy but manages to put in a
good word for the laity and the
so-called ‘“lower” clergy. (Some
of his best friends are Catholic
laymen!) The editor of Free La
bour World has adopted a
somewhat different approach.
He praises the Pope and con
demns the hierarchy but, very
that period refused more than
80 times to answer questions on
the ground that “it might tend
to incriminate” the witness. In
the course of the same hour, the
witness did answer some ques
tions, replied “I don’t know” to
others, and professed not to re
member response to still oth
ers.
The monotony of this testi
mony was broken briefly by an
exchange on the subject of re
ligion between the witness and
a member of the committee
staff who was putting the ques
tions: It ran as follows:
"What is your religious af
filiation?
"Well, I am not affiliated with
the church at this time.
"What did you say?
"I am not affiliated with the
church at this time.
‘When were you last affiliat
ed with a church’
“I think when I was tn high
school, I think junior high
school or high school.
"What church were you affili
ated with then?
“A.M.E. Zion.
"Are you an atheist?
"No.
"Do you helieve in God?
"1 would say I don’t know.
"Well, then, you are an ag
nostic, are you not?
“That is more like it yes.”
significantly, fails to mention
that the laity were represented
at Barcelona hy the tens of thou
sands from almost every coun
try outside the Russian orbit.
(Presumably, some of the edi
tor's best friends are Popes’)
This sort of fanaticism may go
over big with the doctrainaire
anticlerical socialists of Conti
nental Europe, hut one of these
days Mr. Oldenbroek and his as
sociates at the Brussels head
quarters of the ICFTU had bet
ler wake up to the fact that the
American labor movement is not
composed of anti-clerical social
ists. The AFL and the CIO are
composed of responsible. God
fearing men and women who will
not permit their well-known op
position to the Franco regime to
be used as a camouflage for an
emotional diatribe against the
million Catholics including
thousands of trade unionists
from all parts of the world—
who exercised the right to par
ticipate in a purely religious
ceremony Barcelona, Spain.
No Simpletons
Unless I am badly mistaken,
Mr. Oldenbroek will be apprised
of this (act, in no uncertain
terms, at the next quarterly
meeting of the ICFTU executive
council. If the lesson fails to
sink in. it is entirely possible
that the 1953 convention of the
ICFTU—the first to be held in
the United States—will be pre
sided over by a new General
Secretary.
Americans are a reasonably
patient people, but they are not
a bunch of simpletons. I serious
ly doubt that they will permit
Mr. Oldenbroek to continue to
use the ICFTU as a sounding
board for the anti-clerical preju
dices of the 19th century.
INQUIRY CORNER
Is Doctrine Of Real
Presence Impossible?
Q. Is not the doctrine of the
Real Presence impossible? How
can God be contained tn the
small host received in Commun
ion?
A. Catholics accept the Real
Prescence because Christ and
Church teach it. There are many
Mysteries of Christianity, accep
ted by all Christians, which are
accepted on the authority of
God, even though they are hard
to understand. God, who crea
ted the universe (out of nothing)
certainly can change the sub
stance of bread. Christ, whose
humanity confused many of His
day into missing the evidence of
His divinity, finds no more diffi
culty in this later concealment.
The change of the substance of
the bread into the substance
(not requiring size or extension)
of Christ’s Body is invisible, but
is no more wondrous than the
truth of the divinity of the
Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The
grea* scholars of Christian times
have written much about how
this is possible, just as scient
ists explore mysteries of the
universe e.g. atoms, electricity,
life. We accept the fact of
Christ’s Real Presence on His
word, and investigate these mys
teries humbly, not doubting but
seeking explanation.
Q. Does the Church teach that
a husband and doctor should
choose the death of the mother
rather than that of the child
where one must die?
A. This is an old and persist
ent misrepresentation of the
Christian moral code. A state
ment of Pope Pius XII on Christ
ian Marriage, October 29, 1951,
was so misconstrued in many
publications. He repeated what
he had said and emphasized that
Christian morality does not per
mit the "direct attack on the
life of an innocent person.”
Sometimes these cases need not
mean the death of either, and
the medical profession is dedica
ted to searching for means to
save both. The Holy Father ex
plained the traditional teaching
of the Church (as in “Christian
Marriage” by Pope Pius XI) that
there can be no “direct killing”
of the child to save the mother.
He further pointed out that
Christian morality did not ex
clude treatment or operations
to save the mother, even though
they might indirectly result in
the death of the unhorn child.
He states clearly: “Never and
in no case has the Church taught
that the life of the child must
be preferred to that of the moth
er.”
Q. What is good of all Catho
lic external practices such ax
lighting votive candles, attend
ing novenas if they are surround
ed by superstition?
GRETTA PALMER
Devil’s Work
If the Devil
had sat down
to think out a
form ula for
making men
unhappy, neu
rotic and self
centered, i s
thoughts
might well
have traveled
along these
lines:
“Let’s see:
wp
will first de­
prive millions of men and wo
men of the healing beauty of na
ture. We will entomb them
cities of concrete and steel,
among canyon-like walls that
blot out their vision of the moon
and the stars. We will ensure
that they see neither dawn nor
sunset. We will then set, up a
system of ‘good manners’ which
prevents anyone from speaking
to a stranger. Added to this, we
will arrange that a great many
of them live alone. That will ef
fectively cut them off from easy,
habitual human companionship.
“Next, we will contrive a
system of work that has no cre
ative quality and no apparent
use. Factory workers will devote
their energies to operations
whose part tn the completed ar
ticle is a mystery to them
throughout their days. The week
will become a lethargic round,
brightened only by the pay
check at its end.
“We will also arrange an edu
cational system which hides the
very existence of a loving God
from its children and murmurs
no syllable of the moral law, or
of ethics, or of any more elevat
ed system of human behavior
than a school of psychology that
calls sins sicknesses and offers a
remedy for them to only the
rich few.
“Our object in all this will
be clear and simple: it will be
to spread the sin of despair to
the whole human race.”
That is what the Devil might
have planned. That is what, in
fact, industrial civilization has
brought about. And the ironical
fact of the matter is this: that
the countries in which this
malaise is most advanced are the
envy of the others. Backward
areas” clamor for the “benefits”
of a system which has the high
est percentage of nervous break
downs of any system yet devised
by man Countries such as Bur
ma and Morocco and Rhodesia
look longingly at the achieve
ments of our own. They have
A. None whatever. The diffi
culty which has always existed
in religion also in patriotic
and other external observances
is one that flows from man’s
nature. A being composed of
body and soul, he must use both
in all his relationships e g. shak
ing hands, saluting the flag etc.
Unfortunately the outward ac
tion often becomes mechanical,
and the noble intention and
true devotion that should vitalize
the action often fade away.
Catholic external practices, how
ever are centered in the Mass
and the Sacraments, which your
question seems to overlook.
There may be superstition in
the use of some devotional ar
ticles or actions, but it does
not destroy the value of these
means to increased love of God.
A votive candle is offered with
a prayer and remains near the
altar as a silent prayer, repre
senting the person who reluct
antly leaves the presence of God.
Novenas, following the nine days
of prayer by the Apostles before
Pentecost, fills a legitimate
need for turning our hearts to
God in ways that appeal to us.
No doubt there are some who
place too much emphasis on re
sults or favors, but the devo
tions themselves are hardly sup
erstitious for they are directed
to God.
Q. Why are priests called
"‘Father” when the Bible forbids
it (Matt. 23:9)?
A. When Christ said "Call no
man your father upon the earth
for one is your Father who is in
heaven” (Mathew 23:9) he did
not exclude the proper use of
the title for men. No one thinks
that it excludes its use in the
family or such expressions as
"Father of his country.” At
the time Christ was condemning
the proud independence and
legalism of the Pharisees who
made themselves "fathers’* in
conflict with God’s authority.
The custom of calling priests
"Father” is justified by the
Scriptures and by early usage in
the Church. It is based on the
fatherhood of the priest in the
Sacrament of Baptism (John
3:5). St. Paul often referred to
himself as the spiritual fath-"
er of those whom he had con-»
verted (Philippians 2:22 I Tim
othy 1.2). In his first letter to
the Corinthions there is clear
use of this idea: "For if you have
ten thousand instructors in
Christ, yet not many fathers.
For in Christ Jesus, by the Gos
pel, I have begotten you* (T
Cor. 4:15).
Send questions to Inquiry Cor
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
636. Columbus (Iff) Ohio.
heard that physical hunger is
rare New York and Chicago:
they have not yet heard that
there is a hunger of the soul
which can be quite as terrible.
Lika An Evil Fog
One of the frequent reproach
es cast against the Church by
her enemies is the fact that
some Latin and Catholic coun
tries lag in such things as uni
versal literacy and tiled bath
rooms. Critics imply that it is
an attribute of Protestantism to
make men brisk and business
like—that the post-Reformation
mood is the one which has
brought forth the efficiency en
gineer. In this, they are largely
right and there is, Heaven
knows, no virtue in dirt nor an
inability to read. But these are
not the worst mishaps that can
befall a man.
Yet this emphasis upon the
virtues of the "modern” has
crept, like an evil fog, into al
most everything we hear and
read today. We are asked to
scorn the beauties of the 13th
century (which produced Char
tres and St. Thomas, among oth
er excellent fruits) because it
had not yet found out the prin
ciple of the gear shift nor the
dimensions of Betelgeuse. We
are implored to admire our
selves for modern things: each
of us is to be Hamlet in modern
dress. And Hamlet was the sad
dest of all princes.
Stairs To Hope
If the Devil had planned it, he
could not have planned it more
shrewdly or more cannily. Yet,
he has lost—as he must always
lose. For even in the midst of
the ferro-concrete prisons that
we call apartment-houses, even
in the canyons where men dare
not speak to each other out of
fear of being considered uncon
ventional, man has dared to rear
a few small stairs to hope.
Natural virtue has been made
immensely difficult in our day
by the machinations of a Prince
of Darkness who has utilized
the good and wise inventions of
clever men to make life diffi
cult for other men to live. But
the Son of God cannot be kept
out by devices that may make
natural virtue impossible. Wher
ever there is an altar with the
Blessed Sacrament wherever
there is a group of the devout
receiving their Lord upon their
lips—there, there is a weapon
which all the skyscrapers and
assembly-lines and misleading
books cannot confound.