The Catholic times. [volume], October 26, 1956, Image 4

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4—THE ATHOLIC TIMES Friday, Oct 26,1956
The Washington Letter
It seems that while the East
and West have been contend
ing. and it was being argued
whose side the passage of time
was favoring, the countries of
western Europe have been sink
ing to a position of decreasing
importance.
The whole problem was
thrown into hold belief by
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
of the Federal Republic of Ger
many when he urged the other
day that the Western European
Union be revitalized. He said
it is a necessity if Europe is
to remain of “some importance
in the world.”
U.S. Secretary nf State John
Roster Dulles underscored this
dnservation a few hours later,
when he said that if the nations
of western
We insist, then, that the pur
pose of recreation is to refresh,
to relax, to replenish our ener
gies so that wo can go back to
work. Recreation is not an end
in itself. Too many have just
the reversed notion. They work
so they can make money so
they can have more recreation
Hedonism is obviously still one
of our major modern errors.
Western Culture Lost?
■■niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
WASHINGTON—The possibil
ity of western Europe, and its
influence on the world culture,
sinking into relative insignifi
cance has risen as a grim and
threatening spectre.
Europe did not so
develop, their future is very
dubious indeed.
Chancellor Adenauer painted
a striking picture of European
nations trying to struggle inde
pendently in a world domin
ated by the United States, So­
Making Marriage Click
Years ago if an American
missed a stagecoach, he might
have said. “So what!” He then
relaxed and waited two weeks
for the next coach. But today
if we miss the first compart
ment or slot in a revolving
door, we may well expostulate
and blow a fuse. It is this tem
po in our lives today which re
quires a better understanding
nf what recreation really is.
Recreation is not an amuse
ment It is not just a pleasure,
and it certainly is not dissipa
tion. It is of the spirit, not of
the senses. “It is that which
delights.” St. Thnmas says,
“that which gives joy.” Recre
ation must restore our ener
gies, it must re-create. It is vi
tal, then, that we spend our
leisure time in “joyful” pre
occupation.
No Hobby Silly
If a wife enjoys playing
cards, that is recreation for her
and no husband should tell her
that card playing is “silly." If
a husband enjoys looking for
Inst golf halls, he is recreat
ing. I .eave him alone It is good
for him. Nn hohby is silly, if
you enjoy it.
n
i
It Is almost a truism in the
writings of contemporary his
torians that we are living in
the midst of a world revolution.
A social revolution which is
basically theological. A revolu
tion which is being prostituted
to evil purposes by the mas
ters of the Kremlin. But a rev
olution which wasn’t created by
the Soviet Union alone and,
therefore, wouldn’t necessarily
Ifr halted in its tracks even by
the miraculous conversion of
the present ruthless incum
bents of the Politburo, or hy
the military defeat of the mas
sive armies of Mother Russia
and her many satellites.
This revolution will be end
ed—or, more accurately, chan
neled into peaceful and con
atructive purposes, which is all
that
wp
have any right to ex­
pect only when justice, with
charity as its soul, replaces eco
nomic misery or political servi
tude wherever it may be found.
In our efforts to achieve this
good, it would be a serious mis
take to center all our attention
on purely political means. To
be sure, it is urgently neces
sary to perfect the art of di
plomacy and to strengthen the
ITnited Nations as a political
instrument for the establish
ment of peace. But something
more than this is needed.
Not Cynical By Nature
As we go about the business
rrf
trying to strengthen the UN
as a purely political orgamza
twn, an effort will have to be
viet Russia and the “rising”
powers of the Middle East and
Asia. It made things look dark
for the west of Europe.
The German Chancellor said
it is for reasons of selbpreser
vation that every European na
tion must work for European
integration as swiftly as pos
sible. He urged Great Britain
io appreciate that its stake in
he matter is as great as that
of any continental country. He
said western Europe must cease
appearing to the world as tail
to the United States kite. He
urged that the seven-nation al
liance be made a sort of con
federation.
Secretary Dulles said the
United States would not oppose
the nations of western Europe
becoming a third great world
power, between Russia and the
United States. He added, how
ever, that it was unthinkable
that Christian countries should
he neutral toward materialistic
and at heist ite Soviet commun
ism.
Harry J, Anslinger, U.S. Nar
cotics Commissioner, has re
ported that Red China is mov
ing large amounts of narcotics
into the Free World for a two­
Relax and Like It
By Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc
Some even marry primarily
for pleasure. So, just as soon
as marriage is no longer a
pleasuret they immediately di
vorce or talk about it or else
they end up in some mental in
stitution The rule is that we
play to work, not work to play.
Means To An End
Further, one needs only
enough play to he sent back to
work refreshed. If one over
emphasizes recreation, he be
comes guilty of a typo of pros
titution ho is using recreation
fnr recreation’s sake and recre
ation is not serving a higher
purpose as it should. Recrea
tion is the spice of life, not the
main dish. As sex is not an end
in itself but a means to an end,
so also is recreation a means to
an end.
Recreation is unusually im
portant as an educational medi
um The early years in every
child’s life are all play and
are considered the most basical
ly influential period in their
lives. Play will often motivate
whore other means have failed.
Play continues to have that in
fluence throughout our lives.
Youngsters will discipline soul
and body, will go to daily Mass
and Communion, or stop smok
ing to be better athletes.
One father goes with his chil
dren to confession every two
weeks and then visits an ice
cream parlor or participates
with them in some amusement.
Not that confession is to hr re
garded with horror, or that it
requires bribery, hut neither.
LIN Works of Mercy
made simultaneously to drama
tize the unspectacular but tre
mendously important accom
plishments and potentialities of
the specialized agencies of the
UN the agencies more di
rectly concerned with prob
lems of social justice and eco
nomic betterment. Otherwise
many people arc likely to get
cynical about the possibility of
ever establishing a lasting
peace.
The American people even
those who arc currently cynical
about the United Nations con
sidered as a purely political in
strumentality—are traditional
ly the very opposite of cynical
when they are made aware of
problems of human suffering
and human misery, whether at
home or abroad. The cynic has
been described facetiously as a
man who believes that if you
cast your bread upon the wa
ters, it will get soggy. The
American people, by and large,
have traditionally acted upon
the opposite belief as pro
pounded in the Scriptures. If
anything, they have erred on
the side of Utopianism rather
than cynicism in the field of
human welfare.
They are capable, however,
of becoming cynical about the
International labor Organiza
tion, the Food and Agricultural
Organization, and the other
specialized agencies of the UN
because they are not sufficient
ly aware of the humanitarian
work which these organizations
fold purpose: to make mon
ey and to cause debauchery,
particularly among U.S. troops
and civilians in the Far East.
Speaking in a symposium
published by the House Com
mittee on Un-American Activi
ties, Mr. Anslinger said that
while the Peiping communist
leaders hope to make a huge
profit from the sale of dope,
their “far more important” ob
jective is its use “as a vehicle
of physical deterioration and
moral debauchery.” He said
Red China’s narcotics have
been found on both coasts of
the United States and in our
mid-western area.
In the same symposium, Maj.
Gen William F. Dean said the
exchange of prisoners at Pan-,
munjom “was not a period in
the communist declaration of
war against us” but “only a
comma.” He asserted that the
Reds will continue unabated the
“psychological and military
warfare” against us “until they
achieve their goal of world
domination or have been de
feated.”
General Dean, it will be re
called, is the U*S. Army com
mander who was held a prison
er by the Reds for three years
during the Korean war.
should confession be associated
only with penitence and sever
ity.
Pleasure Connotation
The power of recreation is
never so profoundly felt as
when a family takes a vaca
tion together. Not only do hus
band and wife often rediscover
themselves as partners and lov
ers, hut the whole family un
derstands each other in a new
and closer tie. This vacation as
a family, and with the whole
family, should be one of our
great emphases in the coming
years. Summer camps for youth
have their advantages, but only
if the family is not forced to
sacrifice a vacation together.
There is a principle of psy
chology involved. It is that, one
fends to associate the pleasure
ahleness of a situation with the
people involved. A suitor is ex
pert in this regard and wisely
takes his prospective lover to
the most pleasant spots possi
ble. If she enjoys the spots, she
will associate the pleasure with
him.
A wife follows the same prin
ciple when she cooks wonderful
meals for her husband. He as
sociates his pleasure with her
personality, it is just these
things which put wood on the
fire of his love.
Vehicle to Religion
This principle of association
must have been one reason why
the so-called miracle plays of
earlier centuries were associat
ed with the Holy Days of Obli
gation.
By Msgr. George G. Higgins
are attempting to do. If they
knew the facts of the case,
there is reason to believe that
their native generosity and
their religious heritage would
incline them to say, “Amen," to
the encouraging message which
Pope Pius XII addressed to the
delegates attending the Sev
enth Session of the FAO.
“The civilized world,” the
Holy Father said, “always looks
with great sadness at the piti
ful picture of hunger victims at
a time when the earth is capa
ble of feeding all men. To abol
ish such an evil once and for
all is certainly worth sacrific
es and justifies great devotion.
Was not Christ careful to satis
fy the hunger of the crowds
which followed Him? Did He
not teach His disciples a prayer
that asks for daily bread?
“The tools with which you
work are being improved and
your prestige is increasing
among governments who appre
ciate more and more the useful
ness and the fruits of your ac
tivities.
What the Holy Father was
saying, in effect, is that the
FAO and other specialized agen
cies of the UN working in re
lated fields of human welfare
are very important, if not an
indispensable means of carry
ing out the corporal works of
mercy in the spirit of the Gos
pel under twentieth-cen u y
conditions.
Trust In Youth
Trust in youth pays. Implicit in that declar
ation of confidence in the coming generation is
reciprocity—security in exchange for faith. And
it is toward that relation that we must direct
our hopes for the future. For without it we run
the risk of encouraging immaturity and irre
sponsibility among youth on the one hand, and
anxiety and frustration in their elders on the
other.
This year seven million Catholic young men
and women are participating in the sixth annual
National Catholic Youth Week, from October
28 to November 4. The theme of the Week is
“Trust in Youth.” These young people represent,
the future of America, a future whose chal
lenge is waiting to he met by the strong, the
prepared, the self-determined youth of today.
Confidence inspires such preparedness among
young people.
It is obvious that there is nothing under
God we can trust unless we can trust those
whom He has appointed to build on those founda
tions we may have laid or to rebuild where
have erred. Ultimately, nf course, there is no one
and nothing worthy of total trust save only
Ecstacy and prophecy and sublime revelation
go to make up the liturgy of Sunday’s Mass,
the Feast of Christ the King, opening to man a
glimpse info the reaches of eternity bringing
him some reflection of the majesty and om
nipotence of God. David and Daniel declare that
“He shall rule from sea to sea” and that “His
power shall be an everlasting power which shall
not. be taken away John testifies that he heard
he angels around the heavenly throne chanting
“Worthy is the Iamb, Who was slain, to receive
power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength
and honor Paul sets forth the profound truth
that God “has rescued us from the power of
darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of
His beloved Son, in Whom we have our redemp
tion through His hlood, the remission of sins,”
and that “all things have heen created through
and unto Him, and He is before all creatures,
and in Him all things hold together.”
King of all, King over all is Christ He camp
among men, the Church explains in the beautiful
words of the Preface, to establish “a kingdom
eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and
life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom
of justice, love and peace.”
“My kingdom is not of this world,” Christ
said to Pilaf? on that awesomp day when Hp,
Father Healey’s
Q. What is the original rea
son for the presence of holy
water at the entrance to our
churches?
A. It comes from the custom
of cleaning the hands as prep
aration for the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass in ancient times
when the faithful received the
Blessed Sacrament in their
hands when they went to Holy
Communion. Just ax the priest
purifies his hands at the Of
fertory as he comes near to the
time of Consecration so did the
people prepare for handling the
consecrated host. Now it has
the symbolic meaning of spirit
ual cleansing, a purification of
minds and hearts as we enter
the church for Mass—or for any
other reason. Since it is now
blessed as holy water it has
the value of a great sacrament
al and is used on leaving the
church and in out1 homes as
well.
Q. What is th? Sabbatine
Privilege or Indulgence?
A. The Saturday privilege is
‘Proclaim God’s Glory!9
w'p
This Is His Kingdom
connected with the Carmelite
(brown) scapular. It is connect
ed with the promise that the
person wearing the scapular
who fulfills certain conditions
will be released promptly from
Purgatory on the first Satur
day after his death. The condi
tions include observation of
chastity according to their state
of life, recitation of the Office
of the Blessed Virgin, abstin
ence on Wednesday and Satur
day or equivalent approved de
votions and practices. While
the promise has some strong
tradition behind it there is
room for doubt as to the literal
certainty of the promise, but in
any case it applies only to those
who die in the state of grace
and simply promises an earlier
freedom from Purgatory be
cause of devotion to Our Lady.
Q. Is it possible that Jonas
was actually swallowed by a
whale?
A. The Bible does not say
that it was a whale, but a great
fish. There are fish in the
God yet our youth should be given a large part
of that trust in which our human hopes reside.
Peter was entirely justified when he said to
the Lord: “Lord, to whom else can we go?” Yet
♦here is a sense in which even modern society
can and should say to our young people: “To
whom else, if not to you, can we turn our minds,
hearts and hands to do the work of the Lord?
We do place our trust in you—our youth!”
National Catholic Youth Week emphasizes
the positive aspect of youth. Youth wants, and
indeed needs, responsibility. It is up to us to
answer that need—to assist' them in taking the
reins hitherto untried. For today perhaps they
have a sharper realization of their future role in
society than youngsters of any other time. This
is evidenced on every side by the earnestness,
devotion and sense of vocation which, generally
speaking, characterize our young men and
women.
God Whn gives joy to youth, gives other gifts
as well. These gifts, generously bestowed on
young men and women in our day, constitute
a firm ground for our TRUST IN YOUTH
fhp Rulpr of all, stood in abject humility as
Victim for the sins of His people and let a mere
man pass sentence upon Him. Not of this world,
but including this world in its universal em
brace, is His kingdom not defined by earthly
boundaries, not depending upon statesmen
and armies for its maintenance, His kingdom
encompasses the hearts of men, all their pos
sessions, all their cares. The bond of His King
dom is love to His loyal subjects He promises
security such as no temporal ruler can provide,
for His kingdom is eternal.
Only in the kingdom of Christ can the human
family find the unity and solidarity now so
sadly lacking only in the unity and solidarity
that His kingdom offers can there ever be the
peace for which men yearn. Acknowledgment of
His sovereignty over all the affairs rtf' man
kind must be the first step toward ending the
errors and confusion and evils that bring forth
a constant crop of discord acceptance of His
merciful rule will show the way out of the
darkness that, torments civilization. For each
individual who aligns himself under the banner
of the Almighty King thereby acquires strength
and greatness and holiness, and helps to bring
closer the day when the world will be filled
with a people strong and great and holy.
Mediterranean which ar? cap
able of swallowing a body larg
er than a man’s. St. Augustine,
speaking of scepticism about
Jonas in his time, said: “I find
it very astonishing that he sets
down the incident about Jones
as incredible, unless perchance
he thinks it is easier for a dead
man to be raised from the tomb
than for a living man to be
preserved in the great belly
of a beast.” Christ refers to it
when He says, “For even as
Jonas was in the belly of the
fish three days and three
nights .” (Matthew 12:40)
and those who doubt the inci
dent can scarcely disprove the
possibility.
Q. I received a "good luck"
prayer'* in the mail the other
day. The note said that any
one who does not send it on
will have, bad luck and anyone
who does will “have good luck
four days after receiving it.”
The prayer seems harmless
enough but 1 seem to remem
ber that chain prayers are
wrong.
A. It is not easy to under
stand the reason for the cir
culation of such chain prayers
but whether the originators are
sincere or not the practice is
based on sinful superstition.
No Catholic should encourage
such foolish business. Anytime
a threat or a definite promise
(as the good luck in four days
is associated with prayer it is
clearly not of God. There have
been times when God promised
AMONg
ii igT
qurselves
PMS.no Coniment
Co -.dered
Inconsiderate
Man is made for a supernatural end. He is made to com
plete fulfillment and beatitude in the Vision of God. Now, it is
self-evident that nature cannot of itself attain to supernature,
Man’s natural powers are not capable of carrying him to his
true and supernatural end.
Not only does the soul in heaven require aid of the super
natural Light of Glory to behold God. Man on earth requires
supernatural aid to make his way to heaven. Man’s intellect and
will, even at their best, are but natural powers which cannot
of themselves bring man to what is supernatural and they are
not at their best in fallen man.
The human intellect is readily distracted, thrown off ths
track, led into error. The human will is easily subject to ths
strong sway of the passions. The body, too, by its requirements
and its frequent infirmities, is a demanding and hampering in
fluence upon intellect and will.
Man then, without divine assistance, is powerless to attain his
supernatural last end and goal. Yet when the necessary divins
assistance is given, it is not necessitating it is not a compelling
force it does not sweep a man before it like a leaf before ths
wind. Even in accepting and using the divine assistance man
exercises his natural faculty of free-will.
For a man’s acts must be really his own if they are to
him on to his true destiny. The divine assistance is assistance
it is a help, and an indispensable help but it is not a com
pelling force to save man without man’s cooperation. The di
vine assistance stirs, elevates and supports a man in the use
of his natural powers, adding what is supernatural to what is
natural, and making man’s acts effective for attaining his last
end.
Before receiving the divine assistance, man has no way of
deserving it, earning it, meriting it. It is a completely free gift
of God to man. Now, what is given freely, without being merited
or earned, is said to be given gratis or by grace. Thus the name
grace is suitably employed for the supernatural assistance which
God, in His infinite mercy, freely gives to man.
After receiving the first grace, a man may merit or earn
further grace, not of himself, but in and by and through the
merits of Christ. Yet it still remains true that all grace is God’s
free gift, for it is God’s gift that makes available to man the sav
ing merits of Christ,
Grace is needed not only to start man on his way to heaven
it must activate and support man on every step of the jour
ney. Man needs grace as a thing enduringly abiding in him, and
he needs grace as intermittent aid. Inasmuch as grace abides in
a man, it remains with him habitually it stays in a man, and ren
ders him pleasing to .God. This type of grace is called habitual
grace or santifying grace, and it sets a person in the state of
grace.
The graces given to a man to help him to achieve sanctifying
grace, to aid him in overcoming difficulties and temptations,
to enable him to take advantage of opportunities for acting
virtuously, are called actual graces. No man loses the state of
graces except by rejecting the actual graces needed to keep
him in that state. God does not neglect His children. He “makes
issue” of grace in every humn situation that requires it.
Sanctifying grace causes good to exist in the cooperative
receiver. It stirs his will to the love of God, and tends ever to
make him a more perfect likeness of God. Sanctifying grace also
helps the receiver to know God more and more. It does not
illumine the soul with truths hitherto unknown, but helps the
soul to receive and appreciate the truths which God has revealed
and teaches through His Church. Thus sanctifying grace tends
to foster in the soul a more vital faith.
As faith assures man of the possibility of attaining his super
natural end, and as love draws the believer towards God, the
virtue of hope is mad? active in the faithful and loving soul.
Hop? is a most necessary virtue. The way of good life is not easy
to follow. Unless a person has unwavering and firm assurance
that it can be followed, he will surely falter and fail. Living hope
is developed and fostered in the sooul by the state of grace.
Man is set effectiveely in the way to heaven by grace,
by grace alone. Therefore, if a person has committed serious
sin, and has thus turned himself completely away from his true
goal, he can be restored to the right way only by grace.
way to recover grace is by repentance and penance. This
is opened readily to the children of the Church by the divinely
instituted Sacrament of Penance.
It is a man’s own fault if he lack the grace of God. For GoJ
makes grace available to all. If a person closes his eyes to the
light and then stumbles and falls, he has no one to blame but
himself. Man’s free will cannot of itself achieve grace, but it can
reject grace the man who does not achieve it anew, after losing
it, is a man whose free-will does not accept the actual graces
that would move him to recover the state of grace.
(especially to His saints) some
definite blessing but it did not
depend upon some “magic”
formula. Without a special rev
elation from God no one can
make definite predictions or
promises regarding the future.
Q. Was not the “possessed
boy’* of Mark 9:13-28 simply
an epileptic?
A. It would be difficult to
prove the existence of the devil
by reason alone, although some
of the “extra-sensory percep
tions” of spiritualists have not
been proved to be merely
natural. For one who believes
in God and in the revelations
made by God, especially in the
Bible, there can be no doubt
about the existence of the dev
il. Christ clearly indicates such
a presence: “Thou deaf and
dumb spirit, I command thee,
go out of him and enter him no
more.” (Mark 9:24) The physic
al symptoms of epilepsy could
have been present but Christ
would not have spoken as He
did if He were merely curing
get
and
The
way
a disease. He makes a clear dis
tinction between physical dis
eases and afflictions and pos
session by the devil in ths
many miracles recorded in ths
New Testament.
Q. Can bacon fat be used to
season beans cooked on Frir
day?
A. Yes. Friday abstinence
forbids the use of meat juices
(including broth, bouillon,
gravy, juice from frying, etc.).
It does not include seasoning,
even though it comes from an
imals e.g. dripping from meat
or bacon used to season vege
tables, canned beans etc. Ths
rule especially emphasizes the
distiction between seasoning
and meat juices and moralists
usually mention the possibility
of using the fat as seasoning
—of course it cannot be eaten.
Send questions to Father Ed
ward F. Healey, Inquiry
Corner,
The Catholic Times, Box 636,
Columbus (16) Ohio.
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