The Catholic times. [volume], December 19, 1952, 1952 Christmas Supplement, Image 14

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

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
I
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at the threshold of another glorious Christmas.
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thousand years ago
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and always.
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The new abode of the ancient wood-carved statue, replaced in the
village church by a modern bit of painted plaster, was humble
but Our Lady must have liked it, although she frustrated all of Trina's
plans to “dress her up.'’
By Martha Thome
A plaster statue of the Virgin,
beautifully colored, looked down
majestically upon a happy congre
gation. The old wood-carved one,
which at had replaced, had been
temporarily, and without seeming
regret, relegated to an obscure cor
ner in the basement. Its days of
glory were ended. But what to do
with it?
There was a feeling of relief
when a grain farmer offered to
take it. Amid friendly raillery he
loaded the bulky burden onto his
cart.
"The Wiesenhofbauer is going to
turn his home into a chapel,”
taunted one.
"He wants an addition to his
family,” piped another, adding,
"there’s always room for one more
on a farm.”
There was no malice in these
taunts, and the farmer took them
goodnaturedly. But his honest soul
was filled with sincere regret as he
reflected, during the drive home,
how this venerable image of Our
Lady, before which for so many
centuries countless petitions had
ascended to the accompaniment of
the sighs and tears of suffering
humanity, was now being so in
gloriously rejected. From his eld
ers he had learned how the Blessed
Mother, symbolized by this image,
had helped and comforted her own
in times of special trial how the
venerated statue had been borne
through hamlet, village and fields
to the prayerful refrain, Help us
in all care and sorrow. Mary, help
us, help we pray.” He would pro
vide a refuge for the dethroned
Virgin—lowly and humble, for he
had only a place in the barn to
offer, but she would not be lonely
and, some day, she would have a
fitting abode
The farmer’s children ran out to
meet him and clapped their hands
in childish delight at the prospect
of having Our Lady with them.
Trina. his wife, solicitously wiped
dust from the face and cloak of the
image with her own apron then,
tenderly and caressingly, let her
work roughened hand rest on the
head of the Infant. When the farm
er lifted the hallowed burden onto
his staunch shoulders and carried
it up the narrow stairs to the loft,
mother and children followed rev
erently, as though moving in sol
emn procession up the aisle of a
grand cathedral
“Here it is airy and spacious,”
mused the good man as he placed
the statue amid his grain. "Here
are living things to keep her com
pany—the seed rye, bearing within
itself the promise of future har
vest the rye for bread, which
gives sustenance and daily
strength.’’
It was not his intention to leave
the statue permanently in that
humble place a rectangular plot in
the meadow would be ideal for a
shrine. He did not begrudge the
land, but building materials just
now were a little out of his reach
a good harvest would make his
plan feasible. Meanwhile, as Trina
went about her household chores,
her thoughts were centered upon
a new outfit for Our Lady, a blue,
star-bedecked mantle and gild
ed slippers! She would save the
money pinny by penny.
One day as she was counting her
savings and had just discovered
that she already had half the cost
of the mantle, her joy was inter
rupted by the appearance of Bolen
jes—“Chore Lizzie” a poor old
woman who eked out a living by
running errands and doing menial
work for her more fortunate
CHRISTMAS JOY
Compliments Of
ST. PETER'S CHURCH
661 New York Ave.
tbftse facts, the Church decide^ JS absence of religion ««we i«*ft chnrtiv Sister Jacob
THE CATHOLIC TIMES CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT December 19, 1952
Our Lady Of The Loft
neighbors.
"The old legs refuse to go much
longer,” Lies sighed, as she gladly
accepted the chair Trina drew up
for her. “It’s cold outside,” she
continued as she removed her
coarse mittens and blew on her
numb fingers. "The wind cuts to
the marrow. My old jacket isn’t
much good in weather like this.
But then, I’m glad to be alive, and
a new- coat is out of the question.”
As Trina looked at the poor crea
ture, blue with cold, something
within ner seemed to whisper,
“Buy Our Lady’s coat for Lies. The
money you have saved is enough
for half a mantle for the statue,
but it would buy a whole cloak for
Lies.” She dismissed the idea as a
temptation, and to divert such un
worthy thoughts busied herself
with pouring coffee and preparing
bread and butter for her humble
guest. But that inner refrain kept
up: “Get the cloak for Lies. That
will please Our Lady better than
a showy mantle for her statue.” As
a sop to this persistent plea, Trina
filled the old woman's pockets with
more than usual generosity but as
she watched Botenlies making her
way laboriously through the icy
blast, clutching the threadbare
jacket more closely about her frail
body, the sight was almost more
than she could bear.
Ostensibly to fetch some flour,
but really to get her mind off Lies,
Trina visited the hallowed loft.
There stood the image of Our La
dy, smiling graciously as always,
and looking off into realms beyond
and above all material things. And
as Trina gazed at the statue, the
dream of a star bedecked mantle
faded into nothingness: she now
knew what would best please Our
Lady. Lies got her warm, new coat,
but the idea of beautifying the
statue still haunted Trina gold
en slippers would not be too much
of a project.
By autumn Irina had saved
enough pennies to gild the slippers,
and again she was launched on
grandiose plans—the starry man
tle plus a golden crown! So en
grossed was she in her dreams that
she hardly noticed when her little
daughter Marta and a playmate
caine in from the garden where
they had been playing.
‘it's raining again,” complained
Marta. "I’m glad my shoes are
good. Look at Loni’s Mother. Her
feet must be soaking wet. That’s
why she coughs so much.”
Trina stopped to look. The
child's shoes were in tatters. And
in such condition the poor little
one was being allowed to run about
in all sorts of weather! Her mother­
ly heart was outraged. But she did
not have to seek the reason: she
knew the poverty of the Rueters
family the invalid father, the
mother depressed and discouraged.
“If this were my child running
around improperly shod in the cold
and the wet,” Trina asked herself,
“w’ould I still dream of golden slip
pers for an image?” And so a pair
of golden slippers for Our Lady be
came, instead, a pair of substantial
boots for little Loni.
Although Trina never completely
gave up her secret ambition, she
began, unconsciously but more and
more, to look with Our Lady’s eyes
on all need and misery. Pennies
still went into the little bag, but
they were always being extracted
Trina no longer waited for
misery to come to her door she
sought it out. Finally, the day
came when she surrendered, once
and for all, her designs for beauti
fying Our Lady's statue.
The Wiesenhofbauer, who had
long cherished the hope of erecting
a shrine in the meadow, confessed
to his wife that he had agreed to
let the widow Mang use the plot
rent-free. She had noticed, the
widow told him, that he was not
(Continued from Page 5)
Welcome
Every home in Ireland is given
a thorough cleaning for the "com
ing of the Christ Child”—-including
farmyard and driveways. Three
large candles are lighted in the
living room and three medium
sized candles placed in each win
dow, and the door of every house
is left unlocked "so that the Holy
Family can enter.”
Season’s Greetings
FROM
THE LANCASTER
NATIONAL BANK
LANCASTER, OHIO
Member of Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp.
Jas. H. Sheridan
Sons
222 S. Columbus St.
Lancaster, Ohio
May Your Christmas Time Be The Happiest Ever
Fairfield Federal Savings and Loan
Lancaster
The Season's Greetings
Lancaster, Ohio
IXAAA4_
LANCASTER COUNCIL 1016
Knights of Columbus
LANCASTER, OHIO