"3fte Call to ^outfi" 

Series of Radio Talks 

Arranged for Leadership Study 

In cooperation with 

The National Broadcasting Company 

National Council of Catholic Women 
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. 

Washington, D. C. 



IMPRIMATUR: 

•1« JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, D. D., 
Bishop of Fort Wayne, 

OUR SUNDAY VISITOR PRESS 
Huntington, Indiana 



PREFACE 
It is gratifying to know that the National Council of 

Catholic Women through its very efficient Youth Com-
mittee has again conducted successfully a series of nation-
wide broadcasts on topics of interest to those who are 
solicitous about the welfare of the young people of our 
country. These broadcasts have rendered an excellent 
service in directing the attention of that ever widening 
circle of Americans, who are deriving inspiration as well 
as pleasure from the radio, to our responsibility for the 
proper care and training of those precious lives which 
are America's greatest asset and investment. Indeed the 
future of America will be what these young people will 
eventually make it ; they in turn will be what we in the 
fullest recognition of our responsibility endeavor to make 
them. 

This present volumette is intended to serve as a 
permanent record of these inspiring broadcasts and as a 
convenient handbook which may prove helpful to indi-
viduals in the preparation of addresses and conferences 
for and to youth. It should also prove a welcome guide 
for discussion and study clubs, whose members plan to 
concentrate upon the fascinating topic of youth at their 
sessions during the coming winter. Finally parents and 
others who have a heart interest as well as a responsibil-
ity for the welfare of children and adolescents will find 
the topics treated herein decidedly helpful. 

Gladly does the National Council of Catholic Women 
express gratitude for the encouragement which has met 
its efforts in behalf of youth; willingly do its officers and 
members dedicate themselves anew to the glorious task of 
aiding in the important mission of character building 
along religious, moral, intellectual and cultural lines in 
conformity with the ideals and principles of our Catholic 
faith. 

'b Joseph Francis Rummel, 
Archbishop of New Orleans. 
Episcopal Chairman, 
Department of Lay Organizations N.C.W.C. 



FOREWORD 
As the Youth committee of the National Council of 

Catholic Women assembles this 1939 series of the "Call 
to Youth" radio broadcasts, it would like to extend deep 
appreciation to the National Broadcasting Company, to 
the guest speakers and organizations who have made such 
splendid contributions, and to Mr. Franklin Dunham who 
arranged the broadcast from Rome, Italy just after 
Easter. 

We hope that this scries which had for its theme 
"Religion is the Whole of Living", has been an inspira-
tion and some practical help to you, the devoted leaders 
and sponsors of youth throughout the country. Yours is 
a joyous and satisfying task because it has for a purpose 
the weaving into the lives of growing youth the wealth 
of spiritual strength. Whether they be gay or sober, at 
work or at play, they must come to know the Laetare of 
living, to know that all life is barren if it is not colored by 
a realization of membership in the Mystical Body. 

Through properly planned programs, Youth itself 
takes the initiative to march with gay spirit and gallant 
courage into the maelstrom which is society today. While 
the world is busy with war and rumors of war, with social 
and economic unrest, and moral indifference, Christian 
youth can launch its great crusade. So to live and so to 
do that they can know the sweet taste of service. May 
your leadership be such that they, too, will be thinking, 
"We should be looking for worlds to mend." 

Anne Sarachon Hooley 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Preface 3 

Foreword - 4 
I 

Thinking Through 1 7 
II 

Youth and The Church 13 
III 

The Heralds of Youth 19 
IV 

With Chart and Compass 24 
V 

Crusading For Christ jj 30 
VI 

Home Sanctuary 35 
VII 

Beauty Serves 43 
VIII 

More Joy : 52 
IX 

The Youth Conference :._..... 58 
X 

Working Apostles 66 
XI 

The Sword of Peace 72 
XII 

Toward the Goal of Christian Living 77 
XIII 

Rallying To Christ 84 
XIV 

Youth Faces the Future ....... 90 
XV 

Youth Apostolate 96 
XVI 

Members One of Another 104 
XVII 

For God and Country 110 

The N. C. C. W. Committee on Youth 115 

General Recommendations 118 

Suggested Program Activities 119 

Address of Publishers „..__.„ . 121 



THE CALL TO YOUTH 

GENERAL THEME 
"RELIGION—THE WHOLE OF LIFE" 



THINKING THROUGH 
Miss Anne Sarachon Hooley 

National Youth Chairman, National Council of Catholic 
Women 

Good-morning, radio friends everywhere, greetings 
to the many old friends who through telegrams and let-
ters during the past two years have indicated your in-
terest and to those new friends who for the first time 
have joined the audience of the Call to Youth program. 
Indeed, I can't tell you how very enjoyable it is to return 
to you each year, and as I approach the microphone today 
I have in mind each and every one of you with whom I 
have worked by correspondence, by radio, or in person on 
the thing which draws our common interest, namely—the 
securing for today's youth, happiness and an opportunity 
for fulfillment. 

My task this time is a very pleasant one because I 
have only to introduce the general topic on which many 
experienced and authoritative speakers in the field of 
youth work will talk to you in these Saturday morning 
broadcasts, during the weeks that are to follow. The 
theme which has been selected is this: "Religion-%The 
Whole of Life," and while the series is addressed pri-
marily to leaders and sponsors of youth, we know that the 
reactions of followers as well as leaders will be stimulat-
ing and helpful to the speakers as they have been in pre-
vious years. 

Not long ago at a public youth meeting, I heard five 
hundred young people reciting a choral poem, one verse 
of which ended with the line, "I am the hands of the 
state". As they finished this line with such thrilled en-
thusiasm the thought occurred to me rather suddenly that 
almost before we are well turned around these youngsters 
will be the hands of the state, and in those hands will 
rest the making of our laws, our moral attitudes, our 
civilization. There will be many of the adult world who 
give a shudder and a gasp at the thought of such respon-



8 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

sibility being entrusted to this apparently irresponsible, 
self-centered, unthinking generation. 

And likewise, there may be many youth who answer 
this shudder, rather glibly and with a certain amount of 
justice by saying, "Well, you haven't done such a keen 
job of thinking things through yourselves, have you? 
Some of you are responsible for the mad twenties and 
their profligate waste; some of you are responsible for 
the tragic thirties with their want, their suffering, and 
their insecurity. You ask us to find our place in a world 
chaotic with social and economic disorder, so confusing 
as to make it almost impossible to secure that place. You 
exclaim over youth's failure to respect authority when a 
great part of the adult world boasts acknowledgment of 
no authority. You advocate in theory the building of a 
sound body and mind and spirit when you flood our news 
stand with destructive reading and our entertainment 
field with picture and with sound so questionable that 
even youth itself sometimes rejects it. You tremble at 
trusting us with the future of civilization when you har-
bor in your institutions, public and private, those who 
would banish the culture of Christ and the philosophy of 
truth. You ask us to adjust ourselves socially when the 
nations of the world have found no other means of ad-
justment than that of armed force. Only a few months 
ago we heard in fancy the beat of boys' feet marching to 
martial music so close did the war clouds hover about us. 
We may have among us jitterbugs but perhaps with a 
little help we could do a better job of critical thinking 
than that which has brought about the present situa-
tion." 

And right here I believe lies the most salutary hope 
of the future, that this youth which is the product of a 
few unthinking decades will in its singularly independent 
way do some critical thinking about values and results. I 
am hopeful that the consequences of false thinking and 
material living may already be so apparent to young peo-
ple that they will of themselves look to see where the 
fallacy lies. You may wish that the teen age and the early 
twenties were a simpler and a more sheltered existence, 
but you cannot change the fact that they are forming 



THINKING THROUGH 9 

youthful philosophies much earlier than ever before. The 
only thing of value which can be done is to equip them 
with the guide-posts of real truth and beauty on which 
to base their thinking as to the moral and social, the eco-
nomic, the political, and the spiritual influences of living. 
Whether this can be given in a small or large part 
through leisure time activities, it should at least be the 
aim and end of every youth program. 

When youth begin to form opinions, they will doubt-
less think first of those personal questions which affect 
their emotional and social life. Here, of course, they en-
counter the "new freedom" which advocates the right to 
live one's life, a deceiving term, the right to indulgence, 
the right, in short, to have a so-called good time, without 
knowing or counting the cost. It has not been uncommon 
in the past many months to see questionnaires and dis-
cussions questioning the value for youth of observing the 
moral standard so long accepted by society. But think-
ing a bit deeply, youth will see the cheap secrecy, the in-
security, the loss of self-respect, the thwarted emotional 
and mental results of breaking the law and ask them-
selves whether this be freedom when it carries only the 
penalty of license and self-destruction. They will ques-
tion what there is in indulgence and careless living as 
against the satisfactions of serenity and fulfillment, the 
permanence of dignified gracious living. They will count 
such freedom well lost for the joy described through the 
sacrament of that occasion when the Master Builder 
raises two people to the heights and permits them to 
share with Him the miracle of creation for the building 
of a perfect home. 

Next possibly they will think observantly about their 
place in the economic scheme, the finding of a job and 
the conditions under which they will hold that job. They 
will surely think critically of the experiments that have 
been made in our industrial life, of nation-wide unem-
ployment, of the strife between capital and labor, and of 
the abuses which will permit hunger in the midst of 
plenty. But if they reason from the fundamental bases 
that the rights of man may never be subordinated to the 
rights of property, which is a soulless thing, that labor 



10 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

owes a fair return for a fair wage, that wealth is a trust 
and not a tyranny, then surely they must throw the 
weight of their influence toward building a more just, a 
safer economic regime. 

Then again they will think of their civil liberties, 
and of the political mechanism which guarantees or de-
stroys those liberties. American youth know the advan-
tages of living under a democratic government, but look-
ing about may see that other youth who once enjoyed 
these privileges, are now denied them. Is it too much to 
hope that given proper guide-posts for thinking, they 
may look beneath superficial propaganda to see how 
Christian liberty can be lost and so bestir themselves 
against the enemy who appears so innocently among us? 

But all of this thinking will be in vain unless it is 
colored by thought of the fact that every life has a keen 
need of inner spiritual strength. The tapestry of living 
must be a dull and drab affair unless there be woven into 
it the glowing thread of Divinity to give it color and 
design. This thread can be secured only through a clear 
knowledge and understanding of the revealed truth and a 
close friendship with Him who spins the thread of life. 
It seems a pity that too often youth think only of the 
Church as a stern forbidding ruler, rather than the 
tender loving Mother, whose embrace is sweet and un-
derstanding of human weakness and whose hands are 
ever outstretched with gifts of grace to build that weak-
ness into strength. But a routine, spiritless observance 
of the commandments and precepts will not open the full 
storehouse of riches. There must be a live appreciation 
and a conscious living of this. You who hold the truth 
need to know that you belong to a faith which may say to 
many an age and many a civilization, "When you were in 
your infancy, I was age-old in wisdom, all that you boast 
of culture and of learning I have sent to you, and though 
you may turn from me now, peoples and nations, I shall 
remain for you the only comfort in the hour of sorrow, 
strength in the moment of your weakness, and at the 
end I shall still hold for you the beauty of eternal love, 
and the serenity of eternal fulfillment". 

Youth today has a challenge to adventure greater 



THINKING THROUGH 11 

than that of many decades past, and surely youth pro-
grams must bring it to them in all its possibilities. Batt-
ling against the tremendous odds of a world grown indif-
ferent to the Divine Mandate, they may help that world 
to know that the King of Kings came not in an ermine 
robe, but in the tattered, blood-drenched gown of re-
demption ; not with a crown of precious jewels, but with 
the circle of piercing thorns to prove the beauty of sac-
rifice and the victory of self-discipline; not with a sceptre 
of might and greed and ruthless power, but with the 
gentle shepherd's crook to administer justice and char-
ity for His fellow-men. If they accept this challenge they 
are destined to know the surging joy of the Resurrection 
and the exquisite happiness which attaches to a generous 
discharge of the mission of living, for they shall ride as 
armored knights of the King to bring the "peace of 
Christ in the Kingdom of Christ". 



12 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

"Critical thinking—the need today." 
—Anne S. Hooley. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What would you list as "the guide-posts" for youth? 
2. Why is an informed, articulate laity necessary to-

day? How may it be developed? 
3. What are the fundamental objectives of your youth 

organization ? 
4. Why is adult sponsorship so essential in such a pro-

gram? 

5. Discuss "Prayer, Study, Action" as the requisites of 
Catholic Action. 

Bibliography 

1. The Visible Church Hon. Thomas F. Woodlock 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

2. Conferences on Catholic Action His Eminence 
Guiseppe Cardinal Pizzardo 

N. C. W. C.—25c 
3. The Call to Youth, 1937 Radio Series 

N. C. C. W.—25c 
4. The Call to Youth, 1938 Radio Series 

N. C. C. W.—25c 
5. Youth Leaders' Handbook Compilation 

N. C. C. W.—25c 



YOUTH AND THE CHURCH 
His Excellency, Most Reverend Emmet M. Walsh, D.D. 

Bishop of Charleston and Assistant to the Episcopal 
Chairman of the Department of Lay Organizations, 

N. C. W. C. 

The clear Call to Youth is repeated again and again, 
and ever again, insistent, urgent, because all mankind is 
struggling in the surging currents of social change. Man 
is profoundly dissatisfied with the world he has wrought 
in his constant striving for a better social order. Man is 
by nature a social being. He is profoundly conscious 
that all his faculties, all his powers and all his truly 
human aspirations are born and grow and are fulfilled or 
frustrated in and through society. His very personality, 
inviolable as it is, endowed as it is with inalienable rights, 
with an eternal destiny, must become rooted among his 
fellows in the domestic society of the home and in the 
civil society, the community. It must grow to its full 
stature on the nourishment it finds there. And the struct-
ure of human society is sound, its character satisfactory 
to man, only when it serves the human person, contrib-
utes to his bodily, intellectual and spiritual growth,- help-
ing him to achieve the fullness of human perfection, his 
noblest aspirations, his high destiny in this world and the 
next. It is precisely because the structure of modern so-
ciety has failed to serve man in this way, that he is 
seized with a sense of frustration, profoundly dissatis-
fied and clamoring for a new social order. 

A new social order is in the making. If it is not a 
Christian order, of which Christ is the head with all of 
us conscious of our union with Christ, animated by His 
spirit of justice and love, permeated with a sense of 
brotherhood with and in Christ, and nourished by His 
divine grace, then there will be another epoch of history 
that must be rejected as lost and another whole section of 
mankind doomed to frustration. 

For Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He asserted that 
again, and again. He solemnly approved Peter's confes-



14 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

sion, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" 
by the reply, "Blessed art Thou, Simon Bar—Jona be-
cause flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My 
Father Who is in Heaven." He worked miracles as a 
proof of divine approval of all that He claimed and 
taught. "If you do not believe Me, believe My works, for 
they are the works of My Father Who sent Me", He said. 
And finally He vindicated His assertion of divinity by 
His glorious Resurrection from the dead. He spoke "as 
one having authority" and "power over all flesh". It was 
with supreme manifestation of divine authority that He 
said, "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love 
one another." 

Upon the truth of these claims of Christ to be the 
Son of God and to have divine authority, "all power in 
Heaven and on earth", Christianity must rise or fall. 
And you and I, Christians, who believe with profound 
conviction and exalted faith must accept everything 
taught and commanded by Jesus Christ. 

At the very core of all we believe, giving substance 
and vitality to every other article of Christian faith, is 
the doctrine of our Redemption by the suffering and 
death of Christ. These are the Lord's own words, "For 
God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish." (John, 
3, 16). St. Paul says it thus, "Christ by His own blood 
entered once into the Holies, having obtained redemp-
tion." (Hebrews 9, 12). He was made a man, or as St 
Paul pursues the thought, "A little less than the angels 
. . . that through the grace of God He might taste death 
for all." Dying for all men, Jesus Christ became the Re-
deemer of the human race. 

It is evident that Jesus Christ redeemed the whole 
man, that the saving grace of the Redemption supernat-
uralizes a man's whole being, sanctifies all of his truly 
human actions and relationships. Accordingly, the mo-
ment that anything of human value begins to exist, it be-
comes the very substance of Christian value, the subject 
of grace. Thus all the social values of human life become 
sanctified for the Christian and enter into the warp and 
woof—the fabric—of Christian living. 



YOUTH AND THE CHURCH 15 

Since the Redemption, the sound structure of human 
society may be sketched as a vine with many branches. 
Christ gives the design, "I am the vine; you are the 
branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same 
beareth much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing." 
So all human beings are to be so united with Christ that 
the union is like the organic union of the branches with 
the vine, then we shall have an ideal society, truly in-
tegrated. We shall be all one with and in Christ, nour-
ished by His divine grace, animated by His divine love, 
loving Him and loving each other in Him, guided by His 
living voice in His Church, achieving sound and just and 
happy human relationships in this world growing out of 
our sound and happy relationship with God and His 
Christ. 

Is this a fanciful dream? No, it is the will of God, 
the realization of the fruits of the Redemption for all 
men. Jesus Christ lived and died to obtain it. He estab-
lished His Church and lives in His Church to achieve it. 
The only obstacle to be overcome is human ignorance of 
the divine plan. 

Christian Youth of America, you are called to enroll 
with Jesus Christ and His Church in the great struggle 
to overcome human ignorance by the spread of divine 
truth. Give your young minds and hearts to the study 
of Christ and His teaching. The better we know Him, 
the more we will love Him. It was He that said in His 
prayer the night before He died, "Now this is eternal 
life; that they may know Thee, the only true God, Jesus 
Christ Whom Thou hast sent." Knowing God and Jesus 
Christ, His Son, will be our great joy, the glory of the 
next life, and knowing Him here is the wondrous fore-
taste of the delights of Heaven. 

A sure test of whether we really know Him and 
love Him will be found in whether or not we are con-
sumed with a desire to make Him and His love known to 
others. 

We are social beings and, if Jesus Christ does not 
vitalize and permeate our every friendship and all of our 
relations with our fellow man, we shall find these rela-



16 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

tionships not only dead and meaningless, but worse, cor-
rupting and corroding to our own spiritual lives We 

S ? 7,! f°
n e f ° t h e r a n d ' w i t h t h e generosity that 

goes with true love, share our knowledge and love of 
Christ with our neighbors. We share by Christ-like 
conduct toward our fellows and by using every reasonable 
opportunity, m season and out of season, to present 
Christian truth exemplified in terms of human life. 

The youth program of the National Council of Cath-
olic Women, under whose auspices this Call to Youth is 
given is inspired by this Christian concept of society. 
The Council has a well-balanced program of wholesome 
recreation, religious instruction, social study and cultural 
development Every part of the program is vital and no 
part should be neglected by the youthful Christian who 
truly desires to grow into full Christian maturity alive 
with the wondrous vitality of the love of Christ and his 
fellows. Leaders of Youth, it is your privilege to bring 
to future generations the vital appreciation of eternal 
values, to lead youth in a modern crusade for the re-
storation of the Kingdom of Christ. In this I wish vou 
God s choicest blessings. 

Today the Christian world is sorrowing A great 
champion of the cause of Youth, profoundly conscious of 
their problems and dangers in the present-day world of 
social conflict and limited opportunities, who, as a man 
and as the chief shepherd of Christendom, loved the 
young and labored in season and out of season for them, 
has just been called by God to his eternal reward. Pope 
Pius XI, with a genius for keen analysis heightened by a 
fine sense of spiritual values, saw the need of youth to be 
first one of proper training for life. In the Encyclical on 
the "Christian Education of Youth", he wrote what has 
been rightly called the charter of Christian education in 
the modern world. In the Encyclical on "Christian Mar-
riage", he gave the clear doctrine and experience of the 
Christian ages to guide the modern builders of the home, 
the sanctuary of youth. In the vigorous promotion of re-
ligious instruction and Catholic Action, he was inde-
fatigable in the cause of Youth. In other documents, 
written in defense of Catholic Action, he fearlessly vin-



YOUTH AND THE CHURCH 17 

dicated the cause of Youth against the powers of earth 
that would exploit them. 

Beneath all his zealous labors for Youth was a tender 
love for the young and a great priestly devotion to them. 
He was never too busy, and in the difficult last years of 
infirmity, he was never too exhausted to receive daily in 
audience the young married couples, to counsel them 
kindly and to bless them from his fatherly heart. 

The Youth of the world has been blessed by the life 
of Pius XI. And the magnitude of this blessing will be 
revealed by the years ahead. Let us thank God for the 
gift of him and pray God to grant him rest and peace. 



18 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

"Give your young minds and hearts to the study 
of Christ and His teaching."—Bishop Walsh. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What developments in society would you character-
ize as sound? Unsound? 

2. How may young people aid in the "reconstruction of 
the social order"? 

3. Why has the late Pope Pius XI been called "The 
Pope of Catholic Action"? What was his definition 
of Catholic Action? 

4. Have each club member give a quotation from one of 
his writings relative to youth in Catholic Action. 

5. If Catholic Action "takes in the whole man", why is a 
well-balanced program essential? Discuss. 

Bibliography 

1. A Manual of Catholic Action .... Msgr. Luigi Civardi 
Sheed-Ward Publishers—$2.00 

2. Pope Pius the Eleventh Philip Hughes 
Sheed-Ward Publishers—$3.00 

3. Encyclicals of Pius XI Bound copy 
N. C. W. C.—$2.75 Single copies 10c 

4. Bishops' Program of Social Reconstruction 
Summary 

N. C. W. C.—10c 
5. Catholic Action Monthly Magazine 

N. C. W. C.—$2.00 a year 
6. Our Sunday Visitor Weekly Magazine 

$1.00 a year 



THE HERALDS OF YOUTH 
Miss Helen Rhode, Diocesan Youth Chairman 

Green Bay Diocesan Council of Catholic Women 

It is a real privilege for me to greet my fellow youth 
leaders today, but a responsibility too, to represent the 
Diocesan Youth Chairmen who are so efficiently guiding 
the youth programs in many of our dioceses under the 
sponsorship of the National Council of Catholic Women. 
For "Heralds of Youth" they surely are, pointing the 
way, advising, encouraging them to find their place in a 
Christian way of life. 

As a Diocesan Youth Chairman, may I confer with 
you today on the qualifications of sponsors, their duties 
and their problems? A youth sponsor, whether diocesan, 
deanery or parish, enjoys the key position of guiding the 
youth of our land. Surely the first requirement is a fine 
Christian character, for how can one lead others to high 
ideals if she has not the appreciation within herself? To 
this must be added a vital interest in youth and the prob-
lems youth must face, a willingness to learn and an innate 
seeking to know. 

A sponsor should be enthusiastic. She must have the 
spirit of adventure that will inspire youth to want to do 
things both old and new. She must suggest ideas and 
adapt herself to those ideas suggested by the group. 
Nothing can kill an idea quicker than to have cold water 
thrown on it before it has been considered. Many times an 
idea may be impractical and will prove itself so before it 
is carried out by the group, but if the sponsor is pessi-
mistic immediately, she will lose contact. Maybe it would 
be advisable to suggest that a committee consider the 
idea and at that time the objections could be raised. 

A sponsor should be friendly. She should know the 
boys and girls, take an interest in their homes, school 
activities, hobbies, etc. In this way she will gain the con-
fidence of the youth, and when any difficulty arises the 
boy or girl will have a friend to whom to go. 



20 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

A sponsor should be resourceful. If the group is 
interested in dramatics, it is not necessary that the spon-
sor herself be able to coach the play, but she should try 
to find someone who can. Maybe with a few words of 
encouragement the group could be urged to direct its 
own play. In this way they would be developing their own 
talents, would be assuming a responsibility that would 
train them for the future; also it would give them the 
joy of doing for themselves, which gives a satisfaction 
not obtained in any other way. Resourcefulness can 
show itself in so many ways: With a suggestion of a 
new game if the meeting is dull, with a peppy new song 
if a program has failed. 

A sponsor should be cooperative. She works with the 
group as an adviser, not as a director or dictator. The 
youth must not depend on the sponsor for the carrying 
out of plans. If necessary, let a party fail or a project 
fall short of expectation to make them realize their re-
sponsibility. Leadership must be developed in the youth 
group itself, and this can only be accomplished by giving 
them the opportunity to serve. Sometimes the youth 
groups become so efficient that they begin to wonder why 
they have a sponsor. Sometimes they even resent one. 
At this time a sponsor might become discouraged and 
feel not wanted. But she is needed even though the 
group is not conscious of it. It is the experience of an 
older person which will prevent mistakes, thoughtless-
ness, criticism that youth might unthinkingly cause. 

The duties then of a sponsor are numerous. She 
should be present at the regular group meetings which 
are usually held weekly or bi-monthly. She should be at 
all important committee meetings. She should assist the 
group to find coaches for athletics, teachers for the home 
arts classes, books for the study group, and costumes for 
the dramatic group. You might think it would be impos-
sible to find a cooking teacher or a coach. Maybe, however, 
one of the parents was a former basketball star who 
would be only too happy to help his boy and his son's 
pals. It may take a little urging, but I am sure he can be 
persuaded. In the cooking line, maybe Sue's mother would 
teach the girls how to make a pie. Wasn't it Mrs. Brown 



THE HERALDS OF YOUTH 21 

who took first prize at the fair last year? There is always 
a way, and the more people who are interested in the 
youth program the more likely it is to succeed. 

As to the problems, they will arise, of course; but if 
handled with thought, tact, and Christian charity, they 
will soon be solved. 

Have you thought about being a sponsor? Have you 
been asked to be a sponsor? Our late Holy Father has 
issued a challenge to the lay people, as expressed by His 
Excellency, the Most Rev. Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, 
Apostolic Delegate to the United States, at the Salt Lake 
Regional Youth Conference: 

"The Holy Father looks upon the young women and 
men who publicly do battle for what is good, as his es-
pecially beloved helpers. It is a sacred, sweet duty, that 
of serving the Church and of cooperating in the spread of 
the Faith and of the Christian life; and it. is a high 
honor to perform that good work in the fertile fields of 
Catholic Action. By so doing you arrange yourselves 
alongside your parish priests, your Bishops, and the 
Supreme Pontiff himself. You become co-workers in the 
evangelization of souls and of peoples." 

Can you refuse? You, young men and women with 
good sound training, are particularly wanted as you have 
the groundwork for a fruitful life. You realize the value 
of your spiritual training and you should be anxious to 
share your experiences with the youth of today. Remem-
ber that our youth is faced with a Leisure Time Problem 
that did not exist twenty-five years ago. If we don't 
show them the way to use this time in a profitable, whole-
some way, there will be others who will absorb them, 
with the science of God and the training of the will ex-
cluded. We are anxious to have the future citizens of 
our country worthy, worthwhile persons. With a well-
balanced physical, moral, and cultural program we will 
have accomplished much toward this goal. It is our duty 
then, as sponsor, to offer opportunities that will pro-
duce such a future people. 

The strange part of this sponsorship is the satis-
faction it offers the sponsor herself. In finding the best 
for youth to read, to study, to play, new channels of 



2 2 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

thought are opened. It stimulates one to further reading 
and increases one's own possibilities as an interest nf 

fied • £ • P e r S O n a l i t y " T o ° become self S 
hed but in sharing experience with others comes a satis-
faction not realized in a selfish life. 

Youth groups all over the world are organizing and 

the U l B R " fei Communists have Stalin, 
the Nazis, Hitler, and the Fascists, Mussolini. These 
leaders have a certain magnetism that inspires youth to 
follow them. The Christian youth group also has a 
8 ® ® a H I ^ a t is not teaching hatred, greed, 
and selfishness, but love and charity. Christ, a Leader 
ol men two thousand years ago, promised that He would 
be with us always. Now, may we, as "Heralds of Youth" 
enkindle in each youthful heart a personal, intimate de-
m m ¡ 1 this captivating human and divine Leader 
Who is Christ. We must utilize the forces of love, loyal-
ty to a Leader, sympathy, joy, romance, adventure, brav-
ery for the advancement of unity in Him. All elements 
ot our youth program must lead to love of Christ or thev 
are vain. Give the youth Christ in all phases of a well-
rounded program, whether in play, study, athletics, or 
prayer to show them the absolute necessity of oneness 
with Him So with Christ in our hearts, let us enjoy with 
the youth their work and play. 



THE HERALDS OF YOUTH 23 

"It is a sacred, sweet duty, that of serving the 
Church."—Most Rev. Amleto G. Cicognani. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. Discuss the N. C. C. W. national committee system, 
its plan and object. 

2. What are the privileges and the responsibilities of 
diocesan, deanery, and parish youth chairmen? 

3. What qualities do you deem essential in a youth 
sponsor? Do you agree with those listed? 

4. What is the relation of the sponsor to the parish 
youth groups? 

5. What training for sponsors is available in the 
Church? In the community? Have committee in-
vestigate pamphlets on leadership. 

Bibliography 

1. National Committee System 
N. C. C. W., complete—15c. Single committee sheet 
free 

2. Youth Leadership and Catholic Action 
Youth Institute 

N. C. C. W.—10c 
3. Leadership Organization Robert K. Murray 

National Recreation Association—20c 
4. Creative Group Education S. R. Slaven 

Association Press—$2.50 
5. Leadership in Group Work Dr. Henry M. Busch 

Association Press—$2.00 



WITH CHART AND COMPASS 
Reverend Howard J. Carroll, Ph.D. 

Assistant General Secretary, N.C.W.C. 

The criterion of service i<? n<wi t w »„ 

§ with pneumonia, y o u w o u l d d o h | ¡ g g g i ™ 

i i s s ' i r •ne',ical care t h a ° f g e K p i 
Youth have many needs. Not all are of eaual in. 

portance. Some are physical, some materLl, some spi™-
ual Unquestionably the most important are 
material or the physical, but the spfritual Consequent 
the highest service that can be done for y o u t t l that 
which contributes to their spiritual w e l f a r e ¿ 1 t h l 
other capacities for activity that man has are subject to 
reason and will-spiritual forces. These forces by which 
human actions are directed, are the highest o f m L v n 

m f iTrth J S ? m a t U r i t y " P h y 8 i c a l d e v e l°Pment be^ 
order and i f ' M c , 0 n s c i ° " s n e s s r e v e a l s i shor t order and i t is not long the rea f t e r until there annear 
manifestations of a vigorous and sometimes even Exces-
sively developed imaginative faculty whose E l 
fancies have been set down in the lines of the poet: 

"Not rainbow pinions colored like yon cloud, 
i h e sun s broad banner o'er his western tent 
Can match the br ight imaginings of a child 
Upon the glories of his coming 

years ." 

Yet lagging f a r behind is the development of reason 
and w i l l - w l n c h must control all of these manifold anS 
energetic forces of the human make-up. So i t is t ha t 
youth a re an astonishing combination of physical, sens«; 



WITH CHART AND COMPASS 25 

and imaginative power, together with underdeveloped in-
tellectual vision and strength of will. That is the reason 
for saying that the real needs of youth are more than 
skin deep; that they are more than physical and material. 

The sort of direction which youth need most is that 
which will enable them to bring unity and order into a 
diversity that is otherwise little short of confusion and 
chaos. That need is definitely a spiritual need. 

It is doubtful, indeed, if ever before there has been 
such widespread interest in youth, or if ever before so 
much effort has been expended by various agencies to 
give youth direction and leadership. Unfortunately, how-
ever, interest in the direction and leadership of youth 
today does not always and everywhere spring from the 
same motive. In some cases, it derives, no doubt, from a 
deeper sense of responsibility for their welfare on the 
part of adults; in other cases, however, it springs ob-
viously from a desire to "use" youth rather than to help 
them, from a wish to capitalize upon their great natural 
gifts of energy and enthusiasm, as well as to exploit their 
inexperience, their idealism and their lack of discern-
ment, rather than to discharge a high duty toward them. 
In other words, interest in youth today is not always 
characterized by that unselfish quality that one has the 
right to look for in disinterested service and attention. 
That is notably the case when the souls and bodies of 
youth are dragooned by those who would reduce them to 
the condition of mere wards of a state, cogs of a class, 
or pawns of a party. 

Even those who are interested in promoting the wel-
fare of youth from higher and more noble motives should, 
it seems to me, ask themselves from time to time whether 
they are doing their task intelligently. We cannot count 
ourselves as successful youth leaders simply because we 
have led youth. It does not follow from the fact that we 
have been active in their cause that we have therefore 
done them any good. To what extent our leadership has 
benefitted them positively, depends upon "where" we have 
led them—and what sort of good we have attempted to do 
for them. How competent or successful the captain of a 
vessel is does not depend simply upon his holding the 



26 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

X l S l K k T h ° ™ c h t i m e o r s t r e ^ t h he puts into 
holding it, but upon the intelligence he uses when he holds 

Unless our leadership has done something to put 
youth more firmly on the path to a goal that is the end 
oi all human existence,—a goal they need not, and, in-
deed, dare not put out of sight even when they have 
emerged from the age of youth to that of maturity,—in 
great measure we have been temporizing, if not wasting 
our time. 6 

S i l final a n a l y s i s ' youth's goal is ultimately no 
other than our goal. Indeed, the means, though commen-
surate with their years and their possibilities, essen-
tially are much the same as those we must employ. And 
it is the goal that determines the choice of means. 

For that reason youth is not served intelligently 
lastingly, or effectively simply by the inculcation of cour-
age and sportsmanship, by the provision of leisure time 
activities, or by other means designed to keep youth occu-
pied. That does not mean that such efforts are without 
value. It does mean that their value derives from some-
thing beyond. Those efforts are but means to an end It 
is the direction, the orientation they are given, the goal 
toward which they are but means, that determines their 
ultimate value. Of themselves they are not the criteria 
of success in youth movements. 

Failure to grasp the real nature of the goal of all 
human life, or inattention to it is responsible for the 
confusion of means and end, and often their identification 
in modern youth activities. The result is that frequent-
ly youth have been benefitted only in a negative and a 
temporary way by much that has been done for them 
They have been helped over a difficult period only to find 
themselves adrift and confused in a more difficult one, in 
which those resources with which they were equipped in 
youth are little better than useless. 

To an extent, perhaps, their elders are responsible 
It is not uncommon for youth to say as much by scrapping 
attitudes, conventions, and ways of their elders. Although 
such behaviour is characteristic of youth in general for 
by destruction they most easily express their will to 



WITH CHART AND COMPASS 27 

power, nevertheless, may it not be possible that some of 
the things they discard are not really worth preserving? 
May it not be that some of the things given to them as 
guides and as resources, are superficial, shallow, of a 
purely temporary and utilitarian character, and therefore 
unsatisfying ? May it not be, too, that they have seen how 
ineffectual those very resources were in the lives of their 
own elders—and that they realized that with no other 
resources upon which to draw, they would derive little 
substantial aid in their own living, and little hope of 
avoiding the shoals and the whirlpools to which their 
elders themselves had come. 

The real leadership of which youth stands in need 
is clear and forceful direction toward that goal which it 
is their divinely appointed task to realize, and training in 
such a way of life that cannot fail to achieve that goal. 
All of the programs devised for them must have that as 
their ultimate purpose or they are of little account. 

The captain of a vessel when he takes his ship to sea, 
has an accurate chart showing his port of destination. It 
is that destination which determines the course he sets 
for his ship. He has, moreover, a compass whereby he 
may check his position at any given time, and so measure 
his progress. Upon the limitless expanse of waters, cur-
iously enough his guides to the port beyond the horizon 
are not points on the earth, but above it, the stars and 
planets of the heavens. 

The goal of mankind—and that applies to youthpf-is 
a goal beyond the horizon of this earth. No one can claim 
to be a real guide or leader of youth unless his guidance 
and leadership lead youth directly or indirectly to that 
real, but invisible destiny; in other words, to God. No 
one who questions, denies, under-estimates, or ignores the 
reality of such a destiny can do youth any lasting good. 
Indeed without a clear concept and a deep appreciation of 
this goal as the ultimate necessity, youth may be actually 
misled, deceived, and mis-served. 

Without chart or compass, a vessel at sea is in a truly 
perilous situation. The paths it may take are as myriad 
as the waves of the sea itself. With inaccurate chart and 
inaccurate compass, it is simply a prey of fate. 



28 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

Without an accurate map of life, without a true 
direction-finder, youth are in an even more tragic plight. 
For there is no tragedy comparable to human tragedy. 
Too often do we see the wreckage of youth strewn about 
us on life's highways and byways. We know only too 
well that the cause has been lack of sound planning and 
proper formation. Too often the course they have fol-
lowed has been one of their own making or their own 
imagining, not the one made for them by their Maker, 
and for which their Maker made them. Too often some-
thing short of that has been set before them as the goal 
of life, and arriving at it, they find it a mere dream 
island,—an ethereal, unreal, trivial thing of no satisfying 
or lasting significance rather than a goal really worth 
spending a life to achieve, and which, when found, will 
satisfy completely, and terminate their journeyings. 

That goal is God, the God Who said, "Suffer youth to 
come unto Me". Any chart that we give youth has inade-
quate value unless it is plotted with that goal in mind. 



WITH CHART AND COMPASS 29 

"The more important the need, the greater the 
service."—Rev. Howard J. Carroll. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What are the important needs of modern youth? 
2. How can a well directed, well planned youth program 

aid youth to meet their needs? 
3. Review your youth council's activities. "Where have 

you lead them?" 
4. What is the goal of all Catholic youth work? 
5. "Chart" your program for the next four months. 

What "compass" points may you use to check the 
correct course ? 

Bibliography 

1. The Map of Life (With outline) Frank J. Sheed 
Sheed-Ward Publishers—$1.25 

2. The Guidance of Youth Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J. 
Queen's Work, Inc.—$1.25 

3. The Needs of Youth Rev. George Johnson, Ph.D. 
N. C. C. W.—10c 

4. Youth Tell Their Story Howard M. Bell 
American Youth Commission—$1.50 

5. Training the Adolescent Rev. A. McCarthy, S.J. 
Bruce Publishing Company—$2.00 



CRUSADING FOR CHRIST 
The Catholic Daughters of America, under the direction 
of Miss Mazie V. Scanlon, National Junior Director. 
Chorus by New York Juniors, under direction Miss 

Elizabeth O'Reilly. 

Introductory song, "The Palms". 
In the impressive ceremony of the blessing of The 

Palms we read the antiphons : 

"The Hebrew children, carrying olive branches, met 
Our Lord, crying out and saying, 'Hosanna in the high-
est. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.' 
And when the people heard that Jesus was coming to 
Jerusalem they took palm branches and went out to meet 
Him and the children cried out saying, 'This is He that 
is to come for the salvation of the people.' " 

Children carried branches—children sang the Ho-
sannas. Children in faith and with joy actively served 
Our Lord on that long ago Palm Sunday morning. Was 
this, perhaps, the first crusade of Youth for Christ? Is it 
significant that nowhere are children mentioned in the 
solemn story of the days that followed? No children en-
tered the garden of Gethsemani. No children were in the 
jeering throng on the way to Calvary. Yet it was a young 
man in a white robe who said, "He is risen. He is not 
here. Behold the place where they laid Him." 

Youth took its rightful place then as it does now 
the place of ready, generous, joyful service. Much of our 
concern for Youth today is really concern for ourselves 
and our glaring shortcomings. We are appalled at the 
reported dishonesty of men in high places. We exclaim 
over the alleged corruption of our courts and the cheap-
ness of much of our literature and our entertainment. 
We are deeply concerned about the lightness with which 
contracts are broken. In our dismay we stretch out in-
effectual hands and in presumptuous voice we cry to 
Youth—"We will save you from all the perils which have 
so subtly blinded us." 



CRUSADING FOR CHRIST 31 

That this talk might represent what Youth really 
thinks of a Christian crusade, I talked with Youth itself 
and I bring you Youth's answers. I presented this propo-
sition—"I am to talk on the 'Call to Youth' program. The 
subject is 'Crusading for Christ'. Being a youth no 
longer, I need your help. You know from discussion at 
church, at school, at home, and from what you've read in 
magazines that there is a strong pagan force sweeping 
the world—a force that would wipe out of the minds and 
hearts of children all belief in God and all following of 
His principles. What can you, an individual, do to make 
religion forceful and of influence?" 

Here are the answers, exactly as they were given. A 
sixteen-year-old boy said, "Well, I believe what I believe 
and I'll stick by it. I'd fight for it if I had to. I'll live a 
Christian life myself." 

The high school freshman, a fourteen-year-old girl 
answered, "I don't buy chocolate bars at the corner news-
stand anymore because they display such awful maga-
zines. I think we should show our Christian training by 
the respect we have for older people and by our courtesy 
to each other." 

The nine-year-old fourth grader said, "I could pray. 
I could go to Mass. I could go to church for special devo-
tions." 

The lad who will finish the eighth grade in June, 
after a little thought and a "Hmm, that's a hard one," 
said, "I have to set a good example. I have to be extra 
good around younger children; and I have to go to 
church." 

The little third grader answered, "You can pray. You 
can take all your troubles to Our Lord and you can tell 
people who don't believe how good He is. You can be 
friends with everybody even if you don't agree with 
them." 

An eighteen-year-old girl, a high school graduate, 
said, "I have an inadequate defense. I was arguing with a 
boy today. I simply can't understand how he can think 
the aggressive dictator is right. But he broke down all 
my arguments. I know I have to prepare myself by read-



32 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

ing and by prayer. I'm starting right now to build up my 
utjienses. 

The college graduate said she believes the Youth of 
America is unaware of the power and extent of the pagan 
forces. 'We need," she said, "to learn more about the 
principles and methods of propaganda in use by the ene-
mies of Christ. They know all about Christianity and 
what it stands for. That is why they fear it. We ignore 
the enemy. We take too much for granted." 

These are verbatim answers from average boys and 
girls, given out of their own experience and training and 
without special preparation. These are little ways and 
seemingly inconsequential. Yet it was through the "little 
way" that St. Theresa, The Little Flower, rose to the 
heights of sainthood. In these answers Youth of today re-
echoes the saints of long ago. The lad who is ready to 
fight for his faith reminds us of Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily 
of the Mohawks, when the Indian was about to let fall his 
tomahawk because she worshipped at the foot of the 
Cross. Facing him fearlessly she said, "My life you can 
take. My faith is my own, in life and in death. I fear vou 
not." 

The familiar teaching of the force of example so 
simply set forth by the eighth grader is a re-statement of 
St. Francis' instruction to his missionaries—"Be mind-
ful of yourself and of discharging faithfully what you 
owe to God, for by means of this you will yourself be-
come more capable of serving your neighbor. 

The high school graduate who would build her de-
fenses was unconsciously quoting St. Augustine, "Let me 
know Thee, Oh Lord, Who knowest me. Let me know 
Thee as I am known." 

The little third grader who can take her troubles to 
Our Lord was answering the Divine invitation, "Come to 
me all ye who are heavily laden and I will give thee 
rest." 

A crusade is any enterprise undertaken with zeal 
and enthusiasm. Crusading for Christ is not new for 
Youth of this day or any day. Zeal and enthusiasm be-
long to Youth. Crusaders they, the knights of silver 
armor, bearing high the white banner of true Christian 



CRUSADING FOR CHRIST 33 

principles. Junior Catholic Daughters of America carry-
on their shields the triple standard: Love God, serve 
others, live nobly. Bravely, fearlessly they go, showing 
in their daily lives that they can reach the high goal set 
for the Knights of God by Janet Erskine Stuart, Super-
ior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, when she 
wrote: 

"The knight of God never rests; he is the servant of 
the weak and the helpless and the oppressed . . . his toil 
and quest are never ending—yet, if he be a true knight 
he must seek time, by day and night, to wait upon God in 
prayer and silent communion of the heart. He must be 
docile as a child to the commandments of God; but a man 
in deeds and responsible for himself. There, young 
knight, is your life work. Take it upon yourself and be 
faithful. God is with you." 

Closing song, "Arise, 0 Youth" from Finlandia, by 
Sibelius. 

Arise, 0 Youth, thy hearts in music swelling, 
Thy spirit spread throughout this mighty land, 
For Youth shall lead in time of need, excelling 
Where Age has failed, Youth spreads out its hand. 
Spirit of Youth, our hearts shall be thy dwelling, 
Youth shall lead all and Youth shall command. 



34 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

"Arise, O Youth, thy spirit spread throughout this 
mighty land."—Sibelius. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. Why is an informed, articulate youth so essential 
today? 

2. What is the place of youth in the great crusade of 
Catholic Action ? 

3. Have you planned your crusading activities to in-
clude the essentials,—Prayer, Study, Action? 

4. List the Saints that you think might be taken as ex-
amples of youth in Catholic Action. Why have you 
selected each? 

5. What crusades can you plan for your group during 
the coming year? 

Bibliography 

1. Youth Leaders' Handbook Compilation 
N.C.C.W.—25c 

2. Call to Youth, 1938 Radio Series 
N.C.C.W.—25c 

3. What Are Saints? Rev. C. C. Martindale, S.J. 
Sheed-Ward Publishers—$1.00 

4. Sodality Publications Sodality of Our Lady 
Queen's Work, Inc. 

5. The Junior Program Junior "aids" 
Catholic Daughters of America 



HOME SANCTUARY 
The Girl Scouts of America, with Miss Anne Roos, 
National Staff; Miss Mary Keefe, troop leader; Miss 

Viola Hecht and Miss Peggy Folsom, two Girl Scouts. 

Miss Roos: Two of the most beautiful words in the Eng-
lish language are "Home" and "Sanctuary". The pic-
tures and thought conjured up by each of these 
words separately bring peace to the soul. Happy chil-
dren make a sanctuary of home.-ii-Miss Mary Keefe 
and her girls have been having an adventure in home-
making, concentrating particularly on one aspect— 
foods and cooking. When I went to a troop meeting 
recently to see Miss Keefe, there in one corner of the 
huge, bare room of the school an altar had been set 
up with snowy white cover. A crystal vase held moss 
rosebuds—gleaming ivory candles in red sconces cast 
their glow over a small alabaster figure of Our Lady. 
—The leader and the girls were on their knees say-
ing their evening prayers. I tiptoed in, and silently 
joined them. When their devotions were over, one of 
the girls showed me the altar cloth. It was a circle of 
the finest linen and had been made in Oberammergau. 
I looked closely at some of the most exquisite hand-
work I have even seen. A series of embroidered and 
finely cut-out needlework pictures portrayed the en-
tire Passion Play. The loving admiration of that 
little thirteen-year-old girl for the beauty of it gave 
me a feeling of such joy! I think I need not tell you 
the rush of thoughts that came over me at the full 
implication of those brief moments of worship 
amidst beauty.—And now—you shall hear from Miss 
Mary Keefe and her two girls, Viola Hecht and 
Peggy Folsom, about the luncheon they planned and 
carried out recently as part of their homemaking ex-
perience. The whole affair was pretty exciting and 
involved many things besides luncheon. Miss Keefe, 
will you start us off? 

Miss Keefe: When the girls decided they wanted to 



36 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

learn more of foods, we planned an objective, as we 
always do. We knew that on the way to our goal we 
should discover many fascinating things. So, a 
luncheon at a cooking demonstration in Radio City 
was to be our aim in this venture.—We must have a 
theme, we decided—so our enterprise would have 
unity.—Suppose we let Viola tell us about that. 

Viola: All of us thought that the New York World's Fair 
theme, "The World of Tomorrow", was a pretty good 
one—and—we thought no one would mind if we bor-
rowed the Fair theme and added some other things 
to it so we could tell the "world at large" what we 
were trying to do. So—we made some posters. 

Miss Keefe: I wish everyone could see them. They're so 
attractive with pictures of wholesome, healthy look-
ing girls and luscious looking fruits and vegetables 
and some really very nice hand printing. 

Viola: The first one we made combined our motto, "Be 
Prepared", and the Fair slogan, "The World of To-
morrow", and the slogan of the National Nutritional 
Society. When it was completed it read like this: 
"Be Prepared" to face "The World of Tomorrow"— 
"Build Health"—You are—tomorrow—What you eat 
—today. We decorated this with the World's Fair 
design and bright colored fruits and vegetables. 

Peggy: Then we did one called: "For Goodness Sake"— 
a picture of a girl and lots of fresh, crisp things to 
eat.—And we made a third one. It was mostly print-
ing. Did you ever hear the old rhymq, for a happy 
marriage, Miss Roos? 

Miss Roos: Yes, indeed.—"Wear something borrowed, 
something blue, something old and something new". 

Viola : Goody—you know it. Then you'll appreciate our 
jingle. It was: A simple "Design for Living"—The 
Healthful vitamin way—IS—EAT SOMETHING 
RED—SOMETHING GREEN—AND SOMETHING 
YELLOW—EACH DAY.—It was a little memory 
peg for us to sort of hang our minds on—when we 
thought about foods. 

Miss Roos: I think it's delightful. I don't want to seem 



HOME SANCTUARY 37 

too eager, but I'm keen to know what you served for 
that luncheon. 

Peggy: We called it a Special Health Luncheon and we 
began it with a Vegetable Cocktail—juice from vege-
tables with lemon. Next, carrot and cheese souffle— 
then cabbage salad with raisins—radishes—and date 
and nut surprise cookies, served with the orange and 
grapefruit cup. 

Viola: So you see we had our "Design for Living" com-
plete with red radishes cut to look like tulips, green 
cabbage salad with lemon sauce, and the special, car-
rot and cheese souffle, was definitely yellow. 

Miss Roos: It seems to me you did very well with your 
"Design for Living". 

Miss Keefe: We did, to be sure, and we also found out 
that the more you know about foods, the more inter-
esting they are, and the more capable we- become in 
selecting and using them. 

Miss Roos: Did you use your knowledge at home, too ? 
Viola: Oh, yes, I've prepared a couple of meals at home 

and my mother says pretty soon she'll let me fix all 
the meals on Saturdays if I want to. 

Peggy: And I fixed the health lunch for my Dad—and he 
ate every bit of it,—so I guess he liked it. 

Viola: Did you know that one hundred and fifty-one dif-
ferent kinds of bread are made and sold in New York 
City alone? 

Miss Roos: No, I didn't. 
Peggy: And that although bread has always been called 

the staff of life, there are many other foods on which 
people depend for strength and energy. 

Miss Roos: Hmm—You seem to have gotten down to fun-
damentals. 

Miss Keefe: We did indeed. And we discovered, if we 
hadn't actually known it before, that there isn't any 
place on this planet where they can get along with-
out food, and, of course, its main purpose is nutri-
tion. 

Viola: Remember how we laughed over the rule you gave 



38 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

us and the story you told us about the college grad-
uate and what a time she was having keeping house? 

Miss Roos: Share it with us. 
Miss Keefe: I asked the Nutritional Society for a simple 

rule—one the girls could easily understand with no 
mention of vitamins and calories. They gave me one: 

Mix your colors" every day. That reminded me of 
the college acquaintance who pared her beets and put 
them in with the spinach to boil, and then couldn't 
understand why the spinach was mush and the beets 
rocky and why everything was all red. 

Miss Roos: (LAUGHS) I'm sure none of your girls 
would ever make that mistake. 

Miss Keefe: There are other mistakes they may avoid 
too. It was very revealing to learn that individual' 
behavior problems, acne, overweight and even social 
adjustment problems were traceable to nutrition. 
Just for instance, in our group we have fifteen girls 
and seven or eight different nationalities, Spanish, 
Italian, English, Irish, Greek, German, Norwegian 
—the rest a combination. 

Miss Roos: Quite an international gathering. 
Miss Keefe: Yes, it is—and in that small group we have 

three chronic fingernail biters—showing calcium de-
ficiency—one hospitalized for observation for going 
on various diets which have about ruined her system-
a number of the children are permitted to eat every-
thing and anything at all times, and others eat too 
much candy and too many starches. This project 
gave us an opportunity to help the girls to help them-
selves along proper, balanced eating lines. 

Viola: And we did such a lot of other things besides — 
We visited a milk plant, and learned about the differ-
ent grades, and uses of milk, and the laws governing 
its distribution. We found out how milk and cheese 
are good for our teeth, for one thing. 

Peggy: We got to know our neighborhood grocers real 
well, and they talked to us about foods. 

Viola: And we watched different store windows for 
arrangements of fruits for decoration. One I liked a 



HOME SANCTUARY 39 

lot had beautiful strawberries and apples arranged 
in different designs. 

Peggy: And don't forget the display we saw of lavender-
pink turnips. 

Miss Roos: Now, there is something I have never seen. 
Miss Keefe: And a book shop had a display of a book by a 

noted beauty specialist.—Along with copies of the 
book was a wonderful arrangement of fruit. This 
beauty specialist had recognized the fact that beauty 
must be from the inside out. So she listed vegetables 
and fruits to be used freely. 

Viola: We haven't begun to tell you all the markets we 
visited and all the things we found out. 

Miss Roos: We'll have to get together another time and 
hear some more about that, because there's one more 
thing that comes to my mind right now, and that is, 
how did you tie your cooking with your other inter-
ests and hobbies? 

Miss Keefe: Maybe I'd better answer that. It tied in 
with the nature field in the matter of growing herbs 
and carrots, and becoming acquainted with edible 
greens, mustard and dandelion. With the out-of-doors 
in planning food for hikes. With the International 
Friendship field in the various nationalities contrib-
uting something of their native cooking, looking at 
vegetables which differ from ours, and eating in the 
restaurants of different nations. 

Miss Roos: I can see how the arts and crafts came in. 
The girls made the posters. 

Miss Keefe: Yes—and how and what food to serve, type 
of needlework in table cloths and the ones used for 
different and proper occasions, as well as the 
selection of dishes and table decorations, brought us 
into that realm also. 

Miss Roos: What did you do about Sports and Games ? 
Miss Keefe: We learned the food habits necessary and 

the diets of athletes.—I think it's obvious how the 
project was related to the Field of Health.—With 
Music and Dancing, with Sports and Games. We took 
as an illustrative example, the serious indigestion at-



40 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

tack the famous singer, Martinelli, had last winter. 
The curtain had to be rung down at the Opera, and a 
substitute singer continued the performance. 

Miss Roos: From what Peggy said about getting ac-
quainted with the neighborhood shop-keepers, I can 
see that you touched on Community Life. 

Miss Keefe: It did tie in very well. 
Peggy: We talked, too, of the migration of peoples, all 

due to the supply or lack of food. 

Viola: And we saw moving pictures related to our own 
Dustbowl problems, migration to Alaska, California 
and the difficulties due to migrants from the Middle 
States. 

Miss Roos: When there's so much to do, how do you 
choose? 

Miss Keefe: That is a difficulty. We talk of the many 
possibilities and then the girls decide what they 
think will interest them most and we proceed until 
curiosity has been satisfied. 

Miss Roos: It seems to me, Miss Keefe, you've done a 
splendid thing. 

Miss Keefe: It's really such fun—all of it. 
Miss Roos: Viola, you look as if you have something on 

your mind. 

Viola: I was thinking about something Miss Keefe told 
us when we first started on this whole adventure. We 
spoke of the wonderful engineering fetes which 
would be performed in the Fair in the World of To-
morrow, and Miss Keefe said, let's think about the 
wonderful heavenly engineering that it takes to make 
an orange or any frui t or vegetable. The energy and 
heat from the sun, and the rain pouring down on the 
brown earth, and the air and sun and water being 
transformed into nutrition for the seeds and the 
plants, which in their turn nourish us. It's wonder-
ful when you think of it, isn't it? 

Miss Roos: It is indeed.—Your girls' minds are very 
fertile soil, Miss Keefe. 

Miss Keefe: All children have imagination, and it's very 



HOME SANCTUARY 41 

exciting to stimulate it. Grown-ups, too, like word 
pictures. 

Miss Roos: Maybe you can give us one to carry away. 
Miss Keefe: Maybe I can.—Let's think of the sanctuary 

of the home in the World of Tomorrow, with the boy 
of today laboring with pencil and chart or graph, 
figuring out the "adiabatic expansion of gases", 
while the girl of today gently explains to Junior, as 
she gives him the thirty pats required after feeding, 
—that's just wind colic to us—and calmly sits down 
to chart her menus for the week, knowing that while 
her boy may be building skyscrapers, ships, and 
planes, she is building persons in that simple design 
for living the healthful vitamin way—eating some-
thing red—something green—and something yellow 
each day. 

Miss Roos: That is a splendid thought. With girls hav-
ing such intelligent guidance from their leaders and 
such fine, wholesome experiences in homemaking and 
citizenship, we may all look forward with hope to 
the perpetuation of the ideals of democracy in the 
World of Tomorrow. 



42 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

"The home—the fundamental unit of society." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. Why is an emphasis on the "Christian Home" neces-
sary today? 

2. How may you effect a greater appreciation of home 
making as a "career" among the young women of 
your youth units? 

3. In planning your annual program, how may you fur-
ther develop home art activities ? 

4. What unifying "theme" has each of your activities? 
5. Why is adult leadership necessary to assure such in-

telligent guidance? 

Bibliography 
1. On Christian Marriage Encyclical of Pius XI 

N. C. W. C.—10c 
2. Christian Marriage .. Rev. Edgar Schmiedeler, 0 S B 

N. C. W. C.—25c 
3. Home Economics Mary L. Callahan and Sister 

Mechtilde Schaaf, M.A. 
N. C. W. C.—25c 

4. Marriage Most Rev. Franz Yon Streng 
Benziger Brothers—$1.75 

5. Girl Scout Manual and Home Arts Pamphlets 
Girl Scouts Inc. 



BEAUTY SERVES 
St. Mary-of-the-Woods' College Students 

Honor Ronan Mary Josephine Carton 

Bernadette Monahan Marie Shelley 

Announcer: Good morning. Our scene this morning 
is the campus of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in one 
of the rooms on senior wing of Le Fer Hall. Mary Jo 
is trying to bring order out of chaos by cleaning out her 
desk drawers when Bernadette, her roommate, comes in. 
B.: Mary Jo. 
M. J. : M h m - | | r 
B.: What are you doing? What's that? 
M. J. : A snap shot. 
B.: I could tell that from here. 
M. J.: Honor sent it to me last summer when she took 

that wonderful trip. I'd like to take a cruise like that, 
to see marvelous places I'd never seen before, to go 
all alone somewhere like that— 

B.: All alone—Oh I think that would be awful. I think 
a thing is much dearer if you've shared it with 
somebody. Just to be able to turn to someone and 
say—'oh"—sort of helps get rid of that smothery 
feeling it gives you. 

M. J. : You mean like— 
When beauty grows too great to bear 
How shall I ease me of its ache, 
For beauty more than bitterness— 
makes the heart break. 

B.: Is that something I should know? 
M. J . : Oh, it's not on the required list like Shakespeare 

Teasdale. I don't remember the rest of it— 
anyway I don't agree with it. 

B.: I do. 
M. J. : I don't. Anyway I don't think we're talking about 

the same thing. 



44 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

B.: You said Beauty—or beautiful things. 
M. J . : Yes—but what do you mean by beauty? 
B.: Oh come now— 

M. J . : No, I'm serious—I mean a good, working defini-
tion of beauty. Of course, if you don't know what 
you're talking about— 

B.: Well, let's see—I guess I mean—well—a sunset is 
beautiful— 

M. J . : Not a definition of beauty! 
B.: Oh dear! Well— 

KNOCK 

B.: Saved. For gracious sakes, come in and distract this 
creature with a one-track mind. She's trying to make 
me define Beauty. Maybe you can define it. 

H.: Why don't you look it up in the dictionary! 

B.: A fine idea—an excellent thought—do we have one? 
M. J. : Thought or dictionary, Bernadette? I have one 

of each—We don't—here—let's see A—B—Be—Bea 
—Beau—Here it is—Webster says—an assemblage 
oi graces or properties which command the approba-
tion of the senses— 

B.: Exactly what I was going to say myself 
M. J. : I don't think that's very good. 
H.: No? Dear me—suppose you do better. 

M. J. : Well—aren't the senses seeing and hearing, smel-
ling and so on. . . ? 

B.: So they tell me. 
M. J . : Well, I don't think beauty appeals just to the 

senses— 

H.: Why what else could it appeal to? Something's 
beautiful to see—like a—well, like a 

B.: Like colors and lines and shapes of things. 
H.: Yes, and combinations of all those— 
B.: Or beautiful to hear like a symphony. 
H.: Or a single simple word—like—twilight—or cream 

—or purple—or—oh, lots— 

M. J. : All right—but what about the colors we saw last 



BEAUTY SERVES 45 

vacation at a modern exhibit. It had all those things, 
line form—color. I forget what they called it, and 
I certainly couldn't remember by what it looked like. 

•B.: It was one of those impressionistic things and Mary 
Jo and I stood and tried to like it—but we didn't— 

M. J. : Not until somebody explained it to us—And then 
we saw that there was such precision of line and 
such discrimination of color—that—well it was just 
perfection and because it was so exactly what it was 
supposed to be—so faultlessly done—for what he 
wanted to do—it was really beautiful. 

B.: And awfully full of meaning— 
H.: You sound like a couple of art catalogues. 
M. J. : You wouldn't understand how it is to be a con-

noisseur. 
B.: Oh, dear, no—but what were you getting at, Mary 

Jo? 
M. J. : Well—I was getting to the point that character-

istics don't appeal just to the senses; sometimes they 
are in such perfect balance that the mind sort oi 
recognizes their—their— 

B.: Rightness—It just sort of clicks after your mind 
has a chance to interpret it. 

H.: But you still got it through your senses. 
M. J. : Yes, but the sense didn't approve it—the mind 

did. H.: Oh oh—I see what you mean—well, maybe there 
are different kinds of beauty— 

M. J. : Of course there are. 
H.: I mean like—beauty that does come entirely 

through—your eyes, or ears, or fingers. 
B.: Like a statue—or the cool feel of smooth marble— 
H. : Yes—the kind you touch, but it doesn't really get 

inside you— 
M. J. : But, Honor—it has to get into you— 
B.: Oh, Mary Jo—stop being so particular—Honor and 

I are conducting this discussion. 
M. J. : I started it. 



48 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

H.: We'll finish it. Now hush-and then there's the 
kind you touch or see or hear and it sends shivers 
all through you and gets inside your brain and 
changes lots of things you think and feel— 

B.: Like a poem—or a song or the beauty in nature 
M. J. : Bernadette's a little in the violets and forget-me-

nots mood today. 

B.: But there is beauty in nature 

M ' JSure
0

t
f
0fin

Ud rSftihere ^ ^ p l a C e 

H ' : t h t g s - a U e a T t i T o - " ^ ^ t 0 " * 

i g r a s f L i S I ^ ^ S° t0 " in treeS 

M ' M W m M t h e k i n d o f b e a u t y I like best is 
the kind that you see with your eyes or hear with 
your ears and then your mind takes it in, and then 
you get hold of it somehow. 

H.: I know what you mean-you catch a word or some-
thing and all of a sudden you've found something 
very dear you thought you'd lost—or anyway for-
gotten where you put it. 

M' JGrandelrU? ^ ^ ^ Manley H°0kins' P^m God's 

B.: Say you certainly are full of poetry today-talk 
about me and my forget-me-nots. 

M. J. : Keep still, Bernadette. Hopkins says: 
The world is charged with the grandeur of God 

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil-
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil' 

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? 
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod-

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared 
with toil 

And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell • 
the soil 

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. 
And for all this, nature is never spent-

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things. 



BEAUTY SERVES 47 

H : Mmm—I wish I could remember things like that. 
The best I can do is a few scattered lines—and I 
never know where they come from— 

B.: Or how they finish—You should have heard her the 
other day, Mary Jo. She started a line and got half 
through it and couldn't remember the rest and it's 
been driving me crazy ever since—because I can't 
think of the rest of it either. 

H.: Oh, that—I found that —it ' s — from Merry Go 
Round—'Oh Beauty that mine eyes have never seen, 
and yet my heart remembers—" 

M. J.: Nm—Nice—"Beauty that mine eyes have never 
seen—and yet my heart remembers—" 

H.: I think maybe that's the nicest part of anything— 
the part your heart remembers. 

M. J. : That's an intriguing line, Honor. I think that's 
what I've been trying to get at. Beauty is, for you, 
what you take into your heart. Nobody can give it to 
you, unless you're able to take it for yourself. 

B.: And if you're able to take it for yourself, nobody 
can ever really take it away. 

H.: But what about things that change ? Like the poetry 
I wrote when I was fifteen! It was a miracle of mis-
calculation of beauty—but at the time—well— 

B.: It served its purpose. 
H.: Yes, I guess it did. 
M. J.: Then it was beautiful. Do you know, that is what 

I think's really important about beauty—not 
what it is, not the form it takes, but what it does to 
you, Honor. Your versifying was beautiful because 
the effort to create beauty did something to you. 

B.: You mean beauty makes people good? 
M. J. : Yes, it does. Or at least it ought to. 
B.: Do you think that is right, Honor? 
H.: Sure, it is right. Didn't we learn in apologetics that 

"God is goodness" and also "God is beauty"? Doesn't 
that make goodness and beauty practically the same 
thing, both of them in some way related to God? 

B.: This is getting awfully deep. Let's try some ex-



48 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

arnples. I can always work better with examples 
than with abstract definitions. All right, Mary Jo 
you start Something that is goodness and beauty at 
the same time. - * 

H.: No, something that is beautiful because it is good. 

B.: The same idea, Honor, only put differently. 

M' beauS. 1 tWnk S°me kindS ° f Sufferin* can be 
B.: How? 

M. M l knew a young mother who died so that her 
child might live. And I know a woman who dW 
laundry work so that her son could continue his 
studies for the priesthood. And those two girls who 
entered the novitiate last month. They were giving 
up a lot of things we think important, but you know 
what the rest of us thought about their sacrifice It 
was beautiful! 

B.: I believe you're right, Mary Jo. 
H.: Courage is always beautiful, isn't it? 

M. J . : Of course it is, and so are patience, and humility 
and charity, and all the other virtues—if they are 
x6El( 

B.: Then religion ought to be beautiful. 
M. J . : Why, Bernadette, isn't it? 

B.: Yes I guess it is. I am just trying to follow this 
idea through. 

M. J. : I think that is just what St. Augustine was try-
ing to do when he wrote that line we had yesterday 
m comparative literature: "0 Beauty, ever ancient 
ever new Too late have I known Thee; too little have 
I loved Thee." 

H.: You know, girls, I believe this discussion might be 
worth pursuing another day. There are a lot of 
things I want to think out. 

B.: For example? 

H.: The connection between the material, the external 
beauty of our churches, and the liturgy, the candles 
and ceremonies, and things like that, and the doc-



BEAUTY SERVES 49 

trines and ideas they represent. I'll bet there is a 
lot we have been missing. 

M. J. : I know there is. "The beauty that my eyes have 
never seen and yet my heart remembers"—girls, 
that's it—the beauty inside a person, the beauty that 
is in one's soul. It doesn't come just through the eyes 
or the ears, but it comes from the very human per-
sonality. And so it can change, but it can also go on, 
like God, "Beauty ever ancient ever new—" 

B.: What was that line you quoted from Hopkins a while 
ago, something "deep down things"? 

M. J. : "And for all this, nature is never spent; 
There lives the dearest freshness deep down 

things." 
H.: I'm not sure I follow all this heavy talk. 

M. J. : Honor, it's like this. Here we are college seniors, 
hoping to get bachelors' degrees next June— 

B.: And we can't define a simple word! 
M. J. : But don't you think we have been getting some-

where—even though my desk is still waiting to be 
put in order? 

H.: Well, where are we now? 
B.: This has been just an academic discussion, I think 

we ought to summarize or conclude or something— 
and do it quickly. I have a lot of French literature 
to prepare for tomorrow. 

H.: Mary Jo, you started this. 
M. J. : Well, I still think beauty is something more than 

things that please our eyes and ears and— 
B.: Sure. There's beauty in nature, "the dearest fresh-

ness deep down things." 
M. J.: Good! 
H.: But what about the lovely things man has made? 
M. J. : They're lovely because they reflect the beauty of 

man's soul or mind. 
B.: Men have made a lot of ugly things, too. Isn't that 

what Hopkins was trying to say, Mary Jo? 



50 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

M. J.: Yes, and that is just where we have a chance to 
do something about beauty. 

H.: What, for instance? 
M. J . : We can help preserve the beautiful things God 

has put in the world— 
B.: In nature? 
M. J . : Yes, and in ourselves. Our elders are always tell-

ing us about our obligations to society. Don't you 
think this is one of them? 

H.: Maybe that is what education is supposed to do to 
us—help us find beauty and then pass it on to others. 

M. J.: Precisely! 
B.: Say, girls, I've got to get some studying done. Sorry 

to leave just at this point. I've had a beautiful time. 
M. J . : Thanks, so have I. Someday we'll try Keat's "a 

thing of beauty is a joy forever. That ought to— 



BEAUTY SERVES 61 

"The world is charged with the grandeur of God." 

1. Show evidences that youth craves beauty in all 
things—self, home, community. 

2. The Church has been said to be "The Protector of 
Art". How may youth develop a real appreciation of 
this sacred heritage? 

3. How may art, drama, and music be made a more 
effective part of the youth program? 

4. Do your young people understand the real beauty of 
the Mass—the "Perfection of all Art"? Why not 
plan a Missa Recitata? 

5. Discuss the Crusade, "A Madonna in every girl's 
room". How may youth come to know the lovely 
pictures of Our Blessed Mother? 

Hopkins. 

Topics for Discussion 

Bibliography 

1. Our Catholic Heritage 
N. C. C. W.—10c 

2. Youth Leaders' Handbook 
N. C. C. W.—25c 

3. Culture for Young People 
N. C. C. W.—5c 

Eleanor A. Tierney 

Compilation 

Agnes B. Harding 

4. Missa Recitata Sodality of Our Lady 
Queen's Work, Inc.—5c 

5. Madonna in Art Estelle M. Nurll 
L. C. Page and Co.—$2.50 



MORE JOY 
T t . Catholic Youth Organization, Hartford, Connecticut 
Miss Mary Elizabeth Smith and Miss Margaret Kemp 

under the direction of Miss Catherine Lynch, super-
visor Hartford CYO. 

Miss Lynch: We are most sincerely grateful today for 
this opportunity of addressing radio listeners who 
are interested in the young people of this country. 
Not the least attractive feature of youth is its joy-
ousness and when we hear "oldsters" bemoaning 
their lost youth and seeking a fountain of youth we 
suspect it is the joy of youth which they miss and 
hope to regain. There is a natural joy in young life 
which reminds us of the gay animal spirits of puppy 
dogs romping in a meadow. Youth is a time for 
capers and fun, and parents have always loved to see 
their children enjoying a good game or finding 
happiness in their friendships. While recognizing 
and fostering these things, we should not forget 
that joys are of many kinds and degrees, and that 
while youth is indeed a time for enjoyment it is also 
a time to build for the more lasting joys of a mature 
adult life and the essential eternal joys of a future 

Miss Smith: I am reminded, Miss Lynch, of an example 
of the simple joyousness of youth, which came to our 
attention not long ago. When greeted by a "how are 
you? at one of our dances, a high school boy, with a 
broad smile, answered the leader, "Oh, life comes 
easy." As indeed it does, when one is fifteen and 
not yet faced with the cares and burdens of life But 
regrettable as it seems, that kind of joy is 'often 
stifled by the problems of growing up and assum-
ing responsibilities. 

Miss Kemp: That brings us to the point of this discus-
sion, I believe. With joy such an universally beloved 
and appealing trait, and such a natural, spontaneous 



MORE JOY 53 

and contagious thing which blesses equally him who 
gives and him who receives, how can we preserve it? 

Miss Lynch: We must go back to the source of joy. 
Laughing, smiling, having a sense of humor are 
essentially human traits. We have heard of laughing 
hyenas, smiling dogs, and monkeys with a sense of 
humor, but even allowing for that, human beings 
seem to have a fairly well-founded monopoly on joy. 
The reason for this is that joy is a spiritual quality, 
even though it may be expressed largely through 
physical reaction. Sometimes joy seems to be tied 
up with physical well-being, but many an invalid or 
cripple has radiated an inner joy which amazes all 
who behold it. 

Miss Smith: Your reference to joy as spiritual at once 
brings to my mind the prayers at the beginning of 
the Mass when the Priest says on three occasions: "I 
go to the altar of God, Who giveth joy to my youth." 
God is the true source of joy and religion should be a 
channel of Christian good spirits. 

Miss Kemp: This same subject was discussed very appro-
priately in the Commonweal recently. The editors, 
commenting on a sermon by Dr. Bernard I. Bell, 
made a plea for a more joyful spirit of Christianity. 
They recounted that in the days when all the West-
ern World was Christendom, people were much more 
gladsome and gay, in spite of the greater physical 
discomforts and handicaps of life. Their songs, 
poems, feasts, plays, pageants, their stories, their 
works of art, cathedrals, all manifest a religious joy 
which is all too lacking today. 

Miss Lynch: Following that thought, we can go back 
even further than the Middle Ages. We have only to 
re-read the Bible to find how often the words "joy" 
and "rejoice" are to be found. Our religion is indeed 
a happy, joyful legacy. Joy is the natural product of 
faith, hope, and charity. Our aim then, should be to 
link the natural joy of youth strongly with its super-
natural source, so that it will endure. As a leader 
perhaps you can tell us some of the practical ways of 
doing this, Miss Smith. 



54 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

Miss Smith: It seems to me that first of all, no leader 
should offer her services to do work of this kind who 
does not herself enjoy it. Joy cannot be pretended, or 
forced or produced artificially. If it is there in the 
leader it will communicate itself to her group. But 
there are many things a leader can consciously do to 
increase the joy of those in her charge. She can 
occasionally turn a good joke on herself or deliber-
ately put herself in a situation which will greatly 
delight and amuse her group. She can perform dis-
agreeable tasks with the group without a trace of a 
martyred air or a complaint. She can use the prac-
tical helps of music, radio, jokes, amusing stories, 
stunts, games to provoke laughter. She can lead the 
members to enjoy working for things of a spiritual 
nature like corporate communions, works of social 
service, or other forms of Catholic Action. This can 
be done by tying closely times of fun with times of 
spiritual advancement. The committee on the relig-
ious aspect of the Catholic Youth Organization can 
have just as much fun at their meetings as the com-
mittee on socials, if the leader is alert to possibilities. 

Miss Lynch: All that sounds like a large order for the 
leader, but how happy are the results for such a 
group. The sponsor of such a recreational program 
as the Catholic Youth Organization offers should also 
keep in mind that the youth must be given an oppor-
tunity to taste the joys of creating things, accom-
plishing things through their own efforts; hand-
craft, dramatics, and other cultural pursuits give 
them this opportunity. The field of sports offers such 
enjoyment especially if the games are played in a 
spirit of fun just for the sake of the action and pleas-
ure involved and not for the purpose of competing 
for trophies, glory or publicity. Making new friend-
ships and having new, adventurous experiences are 
also a great impetus to joy. Finding the beauties of 
nature through hikes, outings, picnics, camping 
trips, etc. brings a kind of peaceful joy. The youth 
will be learning one of the first lessons of joy when 
they have discovered that the beauty of the sunset or 



MORE JOY 55 

the bird's song at dawn is precisely that it is for all 
to enjoy—that it is timeless, universal, there for all 
to enjoy, and has never been monopolized by any 
one. The thrill of it is that each one discovers it 
a n e w—freshly, intimately, personally for himself, 
and there is more joy in that discovery than we can 
describe. 

Miss Smith: All of this is undoubtedly true, but are we 
not forgetting some of the stern realities and harsh 
facts facing our young people today—economic 
stress, social changes, thwarted ambitions, lack of 
security and the aimlessness which seems to have 
infected a good many of them? Speak of joy to many 
of your youth and they will ask us what there is to 
be joyful about. 

Miss Kemp: It seems to me that young people need to 
see and feel in answer to their question what our late 
Pope, Pius XI, stressed in his words to the world: 
"We must grasp the true Christian philosophy of life 
and apply it to our own times." The troubled 
confusion and unhappiness of many of our 
young people goes back to a false set of values 
and standards—not only their own sense of values 
but that of the generations immediately before them. 
In their religion can be found the real answer to 
their problems, the answer to their desire for knowl-
edge and truth as well as their desire for joy and 
happiness. More practically also the answers to their 
questions as to how they can apply their philosophy 
to their own times may be found in large measure in 
the encyclicals of the Popes as well as the writings 
of the Old and New Testaments. 

Miss Lynch: We cannot expect our youth to grasp and 
apply all these truths unaided. They must have 
leaders. Just because they are living in troubled, 
difficult times, we have all the greater obligation to 
bring some joy into their lives. It cannot be done by 
a superficial interest in their pursuits. Leaders must 
know the problems of youth and be willing to speak 
and act gladly when the need arises. Soon the youth 
will be joyfully entering the fray and accepting the 



56 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

challenge, for such is the "spirit of youth." We make 
a plea, then, for all leaders to help youth to greater 
joy. Help them to increase their aptitude for joy, to 
desire and seek it, and give them an opportunity to 
find it. 



MORE JOY 57 

"The world needs more joy and needs it in abund-
ance."—Sister Josephine Rosarie. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What has your group done to bring lasting joy to its 
members? 

2. What proof have you that young people enjoy their 
study clubs and service activities ? 

3. Have you stressed the great joy of the apostolate? 
Discuss "joy" as a spiritual quality. 

4. What is the attitude of the Church toward joy? How 
expressed in liturgy? 

5. Is wise sponsorship necessary in the development of 
the fundamental "joyous spirit"? 

Bibliography 

1. Youth Today and Tomorrow Youth Institute 
N.C.C.W.—10c 

2. The Mind of the MissaL-Rev. C. C. Martindale, S.J. 
Macmillan Co.—$2.50 

3. Manual of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine 
St. Anthony's Guild—10c 

4. The Mass and Catholic Action Outline 
N.C.W.C.—10c 

5. Good Times for All Times Nina B. Lamkin 
Samuel French Co.—$2.50 



THE YOUTH CONFERENCE 
The Fort Wayne Catholic Youth Organization 

Miss Tess Marie Gorka, Executive Secretary with Mr. 
Robert Bangert, Diocesan Youth President, and Miss 

Florence Maginsky, President St. Patrick's CYO, 
East Chicago 

Miss Gorka: Well, Florence and Bob, it is a real pleasure 
to discuss today one method of directing the atten-
tion of young people to the basic principles underly-
ing their present day problems. I refer, of course, to 
Youth Conferences, and since we are partners in this 
interpretation of Conferences, I want to ask you, 
Bob, if you believe that our conference idea is nrac-
tical ? 

Bob: Very much so, provided the conference is carefully 
planned and properly executed. Just now, I think it 
would be worth while if you were to explain why you 
are so enthusiastic about our Conferences. 

Miss Gorka: Here are some of the advantages, Bob. A 
carefully planned program is a challenge to our 
young people. It brings them together, and the mu-
tual exchange of views enables our youthful leaders 
to crystallize their thinking. The conference develops 
a genuine esprit de corps, and it certainly empha-
sizes the necessity of cooperative effort. 

Florence: While listening to your explanation, it occurred 
to me that in the past few years there have been 
numerous youth conferences and congresses in all 
parts of the country. May I ask, then, wherein do our 
Conferences differ from other youth conferences? 

Miss Gorka: It is true, Florence, that in many quarters 
youth has been assembling, voicing its opinion, de-
manding. Not infrequently, however, such meetings 
result in a clash of opposing personalities. This is 
due to the fact that the participants bring to the dis-
cussions conflicting principles; the result is: they are 
unable to arrive at any definite conclusions. The 



THE YOUTH CONFERENCE 59 

problems being discussed may be common problems, 
but not having any definite principles to guide them, 
these young people readily endorse even the most 
ridiculous proposals, or they agree to disagree. It is 
my opinion that meetings of that type do represent. 
a waste of time and energy. Another point is this: 
it is particularly unfortunate that in many instances 
the conclusions arrived at and the recommendations 
endorsed, indicate a philosophy of life definitely at 
odds with sound moral principles and democratic 
procedures. I refer, of course, to youth conferences 
dominated by a left wing leadership. 

Bob: We have a lot of discussions at our Conferences, 
particularly the last one, but I don't believe that at 
any time we arrived at any ridiculous conclusions. 

Miss Gorka: Precisely. So, to answer Florence's question, 
we may say that the feature which makes our Con-
ferences outstanding, is the fact that young men and 
women bring to the discussions a definite set of prin-
ciples grounded in religion. They discuss the topics 
on the agenda in the light of these principles. They 
manifest an unusual interest in their application to 
specific life situations, and they leave the Conference 
fully conscious of the fact that you cannot solve the 
problems centering about youth on any other basis". 

Florence: Does the Church encourage such conferences 
for young people? 

Miss Gorka: Definitely. In one of his famous encyclicals, 
"Divini Redemptoris", Pius XI of happy memory 
stressed the need of training for the social apostolate 
of the Church. He pointed out, for example, that "this 
task for formation . . . will assuredly be served by 
study-circles, conferences, lecture-courses . . . under-
taken with a view to making known the Christian 
solution of the social problem." 

Florence: That statement is certainly definite. I agree 
that the Conference emphasizes the importance and 
brings youth to a better understanding of the 
Church's teachings. In addition to that, however, it 
seems to me that the social and personal contacts are 
invaluable and broadening. On that basis alone, 



60 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

young people will find a well-planned conference 
much more attractive than a series of lectures. 

Bob: This interpretation may be for public consumption, 
but it seems to me that our discussion leads one to 
believe that this Conference was all work and no 
play. Certainly the delegates took some time out to 
relax. 

Miss Gorka: Of course, they did. The Conference was 
a serious assignment and we proceeded on that basis. 
However, the delegates did find time to get to-
gether between sessions, during special lunch per-
iods, and at a general recreational gathering. A lot 
of fine contacts were made by the individual dele-
gates and I am sure that many fine friendships re-
sulted. 

Florence: That discussion is helpful, but I want to ask 
this question. Were the delegates mostly young peo-
ple out of school, or of any particular economic 
status ? 

Miss Gorka: I am glad you asked that question. The av-
erage age of the delegates was twenty-two. Some of 
them had little formal education—perhaps not much 
beyond the eighth grade. Some were graduates of 
colleges and universities. Some came from the homes 
of the poor—others from the homes of the wealthy. 

Bob: What cooperation did we get from the different 
nationalities? 

Miss Gorka: Practically every nationality was repre-
sented, which is rather significant to me, particularly 
in view of the fact that we are living in an age when 
nationalism is overemphasized. Here we had many 
young people, each delegate bringing to the meeting 
his own particular background of culture and train-
ing. Nationalism did not enter into the picture at any 
time during the Conference. The reason for that, of 
course, is that the basis of cooperation was religion 
and at no time was there any question of the super-
iority of any particular nationality. 

Bob: Our first conference, as I recall, certainly covered 
a wide range of topics. Peace, education, marriage 
and family life, labor, social work, citizenship and 



THE YOUTH CONFERENCE 61 

literature were discussed. Is it advisable to cover 
so much territory in meetings of this kind? 

Florence: An overloaded program is unwieldly, to be 
sure. But, as I understand it, young people have a 
variety of interests and the first conference must 
arouse interest and attract their attention. Later 
ones may develop special interests further. You used 
a questionnaire as a follow-up on the Conference. 
Did that have any real significance? 

Miss Gorka: Yes, it did. After the Conference, an un-
usual number of questionnaires was returned. An 
analysis of the returns demonstrated that not only 
were the delegates pleased with their experience, but 
they urged a similar Conference annually. More-
over, they offered some splendid suggestions for its 
improvement. You remember that, don't you, Bob? 

Bob: Yes, that questionnaire was illuminating. The sug-
gestions were decidedly worth while, and as a result 
the conference period was extended to two days, 
with fewer topics listed on the agenda. 

Florence: That, to me, is an important angle. Our second 
Conference concentrated on three major subjects: 
the necessity of religion in education; marriage and 
family life; and labor problems. That policy was in 
keeping with the wishes of youth itself and that 
leads me to another question—to what extent was 
this a real Youth Conference? 

Miss Gorka: Our last Conference was planned and exe-
cuted with a minimum of direction and guidance on 
the part of adult moderators. Young people outlined 
the program. They presented the topics and they led 
the discussions. What do you think of this idea, 
Bob? 

Bob: I like the idea for the simple reason that it does 
develop initiative. Certainly the policy should ulti-
mately produce a high type of leadership. I believe, 
however, that capable adult advisers are indispen-
sable in meetings of this kind. By reason of their 
training, knowledge and experience, they are in a 
position to clarify situations which invariably arise, 



62 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

and which ultimately require the interpretation of 
adults. 

Florence: I feel that young people should be taught to 
assume responsibility. When discussion leaders them-
selves are young and aggressive, other young people 
will not be afraid to express their own opinions. Like 
Bob, I believe this policy will tend to produce an ex-
cellent type of leadership. 

Miss Gorka: What particular effect, Florence, did the 
Conference have on your youthful delegates? 

Florence: In my opinion it focused their attention on 
problems affecting youth and it emphasized the 
Catholic viewpoint. It not only brought out the fact 
that we have the tools with which to work, but it em-
phasized the point that the Church has a solution for 
the problems confronting us. 

Bob: What about the religious angle? 
Florence: Other benefits associated with the practice of 

our religion. The Benediction service at the Grotto; 
that army of young people assisting at Mass; receiv-
ing the Bread of Life from the Bishop of the diocese 
—it could not help but produce an effect. That blend-
ing of our religion and our intellectual life was per-
fect. 

Miss Gorka: That's a fine point, Florence, and our ex-
perience was stimulating. Now, at this point I want 
to shift the emphasis a bit, to ask Bob a question. 
Would you say, Bob, that the Conference itself is 
entirely adequate—that is, will the Conference alone 
suffice as a means of propagating the Church's social 
teaching ? 

Bob: Emphatically, no. The Conference is primarily a 
means to an end. It is in reality a training school for 
a selected group of young men and young women, 
determined to apply the Church's teaching in what-
ever environment they may happen to be. If they 
spread that knowledge, if they create interest among 
the members of their local chapters, then we can 
truly say that the Conference has accomplished its 
objectives. In other words, the Conference is a prac-



THE YOUTH CONFERENCE 63 

tieal medium for the inauguration of a year-round 
program of activity along intellectual lines, with 
diocesan coverage. The Conference itself furnishes 
the inspiration. The delegates on their return to the 
parish units should furnish the perspiration. 

Miss Gorka: We agree with your viewpoint, Bob, and 
that is precisely the reason why each delegate was 
given a small handbook filled with suggestions, to be 
used as a basis for study on the part of local units. 
Just what has been accomplished in a practical way, 
it is rather difficult to determine. Perhaps your in-
dividual experiences may shed some light on this 
matter. 

Bob: Our local group attempted several forums on the 
Social Encyclicals and Consideration of Youth's Op-
portunities. Personally, I see the need to arouse fur-
ther interest. I would like to know what Florence's 
experience has been. 

Florence: Regarding the activities of the individual 
parish groups, I cannot say, but I do know that 
some of our district units have sponsored quarterly 
forums, with five or six parishes in the district par-
ticipating. At these forums one problem was dis-
cussed from many angles. Proportionately the at-
tendance was good and the interest most encourag-
ing. Naturally we felt that our Conference follow-up 
produced results. 

Bob: Personally, I believe that the average youth is in-
terested in serious discussion of current social prob-
lems, if these discussion periods are not too fre-
quent, and if a well-informed leader is always 
present. 

Miss Gorka: What you say is true, Bob, and unfortun-
ately, too frequently our young people do take it 
for granted that they are sufficiently familiar with 
the Church's teaching. We have reason to believe, 
however, that some of the delegates are promoting 
study along these lines. 

Bob: Will the final result justify the expenditure of time 
and energy? 



64 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

Miss Gorka: Yes, it will. In a sense we are pioneers—we 
cannot hope to reach the average youth immediately 
—but we can train leaders through the medium of 
the Conference. These youths, limited in number 
though they are, will make a real contribution in 
the task of restoring all things in Christ. 

Florence: I agree with you. These Youth Conferences 
are not only useful, but necessary. Young people 
want to know the answers to current vital questions. 
In these days of muddled thinking and hasty deci-
sions—opinions, viewpoints, ideas—yes, even ideals 
in a certain sense—are ready-made for us. We allow 
newspaper reporters, radio commentators, and self-
appointed custodians of the nation's morals and in-
terests, to do our thinking for us. Personally, I think 
it is high time that youth conferences and forums 
properly directed and controlled be utilized on a wide 
scale and that they are vitally important in this day 
and age, when Christian Charity seems to have lost 
some of its real significance. 



THE YOUTH CONFERENCE 65 

"This task of formation. . . will assuredly be 
served by conference."—Pope Pius XI. 

Topics for Discussion 

1. Why is the youth conference idea practical? 
2. Why is advanced preparation so wise? Should youth 

have a part in the planning? Why? 
3. How may pre-conference meetings aid youth "to 

bring a definite set of principles" to the discus-
sions ? 

4. Why does careful follow-up bring more permanent 
results ? 

5. Plan a youth conference for your own parish, dean-
ery, diocese. 

Bibliography 

1. Classified List of Conference Topics 
N.C.C.W.—Free 

2. Our Common Catholic Work Symposium 
N.C.W.C.—10c 

3. Forum Planning Handbook 
Studebaker and Williams 

American Association for Adult Education—15c 
4. Training of Foreman Conference Leaders 

U. S. Department of Interior—15c 
5. Atheistic Communism Encyclical 

N.C.W.C.—10c 



WORKING APOSTLES 
Catholic Business Girls' Club, Toledo 

Leboria Re 
Mary Majeski 
Helen Hillebrand 

Helen Rigsby 
Mary Fink 
Helen Parker 

Announcer: We have with us today six young women who 
were in attendance at the Institute on Industry con-
ducted the past two summers by the National Coun-
cil of Catholic Women in Washington. For the 
benefit of our radio audience, these young women 
will discuss the Institute on Industry, what it is and 
the advantages it offers. Miss Leboria Re will act as 
the leader. 

Miss Re: My associates and I of the Catholic Business 
Girls' Club are happy to discuss the Institute on In-
dustry, which it was our privilege to attend last 
summer. The term may be misleading, so I am going 
to ask Miss Rigsby to tell you what it is. 

Miss Rigsby: The Institute on Industry is a summer 
school for women workers. It was sponsored by the 
National Council of Catholic Women and the Social 
Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare 
Conference, as a project of the National Council of 
Catholic Women's National Committee on Indus-
trial Relations. 

Miss Re: Miss Fink, will you tell us what is the purpose 
of the Institute? 

Miss Fink: The purpose of the Institute is to provide 
opportunity for women workers to study and to be-
come leaders in the field of industrial relations— 
leaders equipped with Christian ideals and imbued 
with the spirit of service. 

Miss Re: Miss Parker, can you add anything to that? 
Miss Parker: Yes. It is clearly stated by 'the sponsors 

that the Institute aims to give opportunity to women 
workers to study the problems of industry—the 



WORKING APOSTLES 67 

problems confronting the workers and employers; 
to consider opposing points of view and to evaluate 
them in the light of Christian teaching. 

Miss Re: Have you anything to say about the program, 
Miss Majeski? 

Miss Majeski: The program was more or less informal. 
It consisted of lecture and discussion periods con-
ducted by full-time teachers and guest speakers. 
Recreation played an important part—a sight-seeing 
tour around beautiful Washington—a picnic in Rock 
Creek Park—Sunday afternoon teas added pleasure 
to work and gave opportunity for exchange of views 
with other students and time to form new friend-
ships. 

Miss Re: What subjects were taught, Miss Hillebrand? 
I assume you attended all the sessions. 

Miss Hillebrand: Yes, indeed I did, and enjoyed every 
one. Among subjects taught were the history of the 
Labor Movement, the Wage Question, Trade Unions, 
Social Legislation. Throughout the course, special 
stress was placed upon the fact that workers today 
have a share in making decisions affecting their own 
welfare and hence should be intelligent, constructive 
participants. 

Miss Re: Who are the instructors, Miss Rigsby? 
Miss Rigsby: Among the instructors are leading ex-

ponents of Catholic social thought-—men and women 
who by their service and long years of study have 
become recognized authorities in the economic field; 
Rt. Rev. Msgr. John A. Ryan, Director of the Social 
Action Dept., N.C.W.C.; Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. 
Haas, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Catholic 
University of America; Rev. John P. Boland, Mem-
ber of the New York State Labor Relations Board; 
Rev. R. A. McGowan, Assistant Director of the 
Social Action Dept., N.C.W.C.; Dr. Lucien Lauer-
man, Director, National Catholic School of Social 
Service; Sister Vincent Ferrer of Rosary College; 
Dr. George Brown of the Catholic University of 
America; Dr. Elizabeth Morrissy of the College of 



68 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

Notre Dame of Maryland; Miss Mary Anderson, 
Director of the Women's Bureau of the United 
States Department of Labor; Miss Elizabeth Christ-
man, Secretary-Treasurer of the National Women's 
Trade Union League of America, and Miss Linna E. 
Bresette of the Social Action Department, N.C.W.C., 
who acts as the Director of the Institute. Contact 
was made also with leading trade unionists and 
directors of governmental agencies who addressed 
the students and discussed with them work to be 
done. 

Miss Re: What benefits did the girls derive from the 
Institute, Miss Fink? 

Miss Fink: We came home with a keener knowledge of 
the part that we could play in the industries in 
which we were employed, labor unions of which we 
were members, study club groups in which we were 
leaders, Church organizations, such as the Young 
Ladies' Sodalities that have discussion groups, and 
our own Catholic Business Girls' Club of the Catho-
lic Community Center. 

Miss Re: What did the Institute mean to you, Mary? 
Miss Majeski: It gave me a new interest in things hap-

pening all around me. Previously I had been satis-
fied in reading only head-lines in newspapers and 
magazines. Now I read carefully articles on indus-
trial subjects so that my knowledge is more com-
plete. 

Miss Re: What particular topic did you consider most 
interesting, Miss Parker? 

Miss Parker: I considered the discussion on collective bar-
gaining most interesting because it brought out so 
forcibly the necessity of a certain common under-
standing between employee and employer. It empha-
sizes how the employee, in order to secure the rights 
to which he feels he is entitled, should be thorough-
ly familiar with his own problems; that is, whether 
he has a grievance and what, according to all fair-
ness and justice, he has a right to demand from his 
employer. The employer, on the other hand, has cer-



WORKING APOSTLES 69 

tain obligations to his employee which he cannot 
overlook without shirking a certain amount of re-
sponsibility. I found this topic particularly interest-
ing because I feel that it puts both employer and 
employee on an equal basis; that is, it gives both 
parties the right to discuss the pros and cons of a 
situation, and, by mutual agreement, to reach a de-
cision that is satisfactory to both parties. 

Miss Re: Helen, how do you feel about the Institute? 
Did you think your time well spent? 

Miss Hillebrand: I certainly did. I came away from the 
Institute with a better knowledge of the existing 
conditions in the industrial field. I feel that any 
narrow conception that I might have had on these 
subjects has given way to a broader understanding. 
I feel now the necessity of exploring situations, of 
giving fair consideration to opposing viewpoints, 
and of facing facts and evaluating them in the light 
of Catholic teaching. 

Miss Re: What about you, Miss Rigsby, what did you 
enjoy most? 

Miss Rigsby: I enjoyed the history of the Industrial 
Revolution from its early beginning in England to 
our present day, because it explains certain phases 
of the problems of industry that had their concep-
tion in that era and are still major obstacles today. 

Miss Re: Why do you think an Industrial Institute is so 
important to young women, Miss Majeski? 

Miss Majeski: Because as has been said before, it gives 
opportunity to develop leadership among them—not 
only for the young women workers, but for the 
thousands and thousands of women workers in in-
dustry. The Institute inspired us to think. It made 
us consider some of the serious problems confront-
ing women workers—the young who enter in large 
numbers, many times untrained and unfitted physi-
cally for the tasks undertaken—the increasing num-
ber of married women and mothers in industry. 

Miss Re: Miss Fink, what have you to say about this? 
Miss Fink; That we have a responsibility to help improve 



70 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

conditions of other women who work under condi-
tions not so favorable, perhaps, as our own. I think 
we should be particularly concerned about the moth-
ers in industry. In his famous encyclical Quadra-
gesimo Anno, Pope Pius XI of sainted memory said, 
"To be deplored with all our strength is that condi-
tion which makes necessary the Mother entering in-
dustry because of the inadequacy of the Father's 
Wage. Perhaps what should most concern us is the 
wage of the Father." 

Miss Re: Why do you feel that the Industrial Institute 
is to be commended, Miss Parker? 

Miss Parker: I think the Institute should be commended 
for the effort it is making to develop leadership, 
leadership among Catholic Youth. We, who attended 
the Institute, can really feel that we are Working 
Apostles, that we can strive in our own little way to 
spread the knowledge and the doctrines that we 
acquired at the Institute, and that with the ex-
change of these ideas and our own personal experi-
ences, we may arrive at a concrete solution of our 
problems. 

Miss Re: From your reactions to the Institute it would 
seem that you will be happy to know that it is to be 
repeated each year. As one leader summarized the In-
stitute : "After a few years of such a program— 
there would indeed be Apostles of Catholic social 
action and defenders of the Christian social order 
against the subversive forces now at work among the 
working classes." 



WORKING APOSTLES 71 

"Union and doctrinal formation—the groundwork 
of Catholic Action."—Pope Pius XII. 

1. Why is it important that young Catholic- workers 
know the teaching of the Church on social problems? 

2. In what ways may young women learn of the Catho-
lic program of reconstruction? 

3. Discuss the annual "Institute on Industry"—plan, 
method, etc. 

4. How may the national institute be an incentive to 
parish, deanery, and diocesan conferences ? 

5. Discuss the work of the Social Action Department of 
the National Catholic Welfare Conference. 

1. Aids to Catholic Action 
N. C. C. W.—25c 

2. The National Catholic Welfare Conference 
Plan of Organization 

N. C. W. C.—10c 
3. The Institute on Industry Programs, Reports 

Topics for Discussion 

Bibliography 

N. C. C. W.—free 
4. Women in Industry Social Action Department 

N. C. W. C.—10c 
5. Encyclicals on Labor Pope Pius XI 

N. C. W. C—10c each 



THE SWORD OF PEACE 
Miss M. Pauline Casey 

National Chairman International Relations Committee 
NCCW 

President Scranton Diocesan Council of Catholic Women 

My dear radio friends, who are kind enough to share 
with me the moments of today which bring to you the 
CALL TO YOUTH program of the National Council of 
Catholic Women, may I ask you to come closer still and 
share with me in mind and heart and soul, the spiritual 
intention of this particular broadcast? It is my humble 
and prayerful purpose to dedicate my poor words, and the 
message which I am about to give to you, to the Blessed 
and Immaculate Mother of God, the glorious patroness of 
our beloved country, the United States of America, that 
she may use her powerful intercession before the Divine 
Majesty of the Most Blessed and Triune God, the Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, in the cause of world-wide peace, 
that in the Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of 
man, all peoples may be ONE in Christ our Lord. 

My subject is, "The Sword of Peace", and the sword 
which I would discuss with you today is not a weapon 
consisting of a long blade fixed in a hilt; my Sword of 
Peace is not made of heavy metal, or of sterner stuff. But 
it is made up of immortal souls; of stern, vibrant, clean, 
young bodies; of laughing eyes, and of warm, brave 
hearts; of generous understanding and good sportsman-
ship; of tenderness and truth; of gallantry and steadfast-
ness of purpose. My SWORD OF PEACE is the Youth 
of America. And, today, I salute you, young people of a 
great democracy, and I ask the Christ Child to bless you 
and help you to fulfill your responsibility, because I feel 
you will one day be the most powerful factor in this world 
for universal peace. And, perhaps even now, you can 
exert a tremendous influence for peace in the strange and 
troubled civilization in which you find yourselves, by your 
prayers and by becoming zealous propagandists of the 
glorious fact that all men are children of God and, as 



THE SWORD OF PEACE 73 

such, should live in peace and harmony, one with an-
other, for the general and common good of all human-
kind. 

Our great and beloved country holds in her protect-
ing arms and close to her maternal heart, the children of 
all nations of the entire world. All flags, those proud sym-
bols of national purity, courage, and integrity, are en-
twined and embraced in the folds of a flag of red and 
white and blue. Therefore, the Youth of America are ac-
tually the children of the universe. Our nation is not a 
melting-pot, but it is the binding and truly sublime force 
which brings together in one common bond of interest 
and loyalty, the national and racial groups of all the 
world. It is for the Youth of America, therefore, to see 
and to appreciate the possibilities, potentialities, and 
value of such an international set-up as we have right 
here in our own country. Representing, as she does, the 
children of the nations of the world, who constitute her 
very soul and being, America is a power which is close 
to the hearts of the world, since, because of her cosmo-
politan population, and her human "league of nations" 
family, she is international in a very fine sense of the 
word. 

The voice of the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on 
earth, is international in scope and character, because his 
paternal benevolence and apostolic benediction include the 
children of the whole world. Likewise, America's voice is 
international in character and should be respectfully and 
willingly heard, because, in a sense, she speaks as the 
ambassadress of all nations since, as has been remarked 
before, she holds in her protecting arms and close to her 
maternal heart the children of all the nations of the 
world. Such a privilege carries with it a very great and 
serious responsibility. Our young people of the present 
day, who will be the men and women of the America of 
tomorrow, would do well to ponder on the following prin-
ciple of international ethics: 

"Justice requires a state to promote peace for the 
sake of its own members, while charity obliges it to pur-
sue the same end for the welfare of both itself and other 
nations. These duties rest not only upon governments, 



74 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

but upon peoples, particularly upon those persons and or-
ganizations which can exert influence upon public opinion 
and upon political rulers." 

Young people have the kindest and most understand-
ing hearts in all the world. It should not be too difficult 
for our nation's Youth to promote charity and good will. 
Here in America, people of all national and racial groups 
play together, work together, and pray together. What 
could be a better foundation for international peace and 
unity in our own beloved land, than this element of "to-
getherness" which is such a dominant factor in our 
national life? 

I would suggest that our young people study care-
fully the historical backgrounds, and the spiritual beauty 
and cultural traditions of the peoples of other nations. 
Only by knowledge and understanding can we fully ap-
preciate the value of the contribution which each nation 
has given towards the perfecting of the whole of inter-
national life. Then, too, there is the practical suggestion 
that friendly relations be encouraged and established 
among the young people of different national and racial 
groups. In my own diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, 
the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women sponsors an an-
nual Youth luncheon which brings together the youthful 
representatives of all the parishes in the diocese. The 
luncheon-meeting is inspirational and educational. And 
there are not many dry eyes among the adults present, as 
we look at that happy, eager, sociable, and appreciative 
group, and realize that in one unit we have assembled the 
children of practically every nation in the world. 

Over nineteen hundred years ago, the Prince of 
Peace was born in the stable of Bethlehem. He came to 
save ALL men. How dare we, then, permit national lines 
to separate us, one from the other, and create sullen 
hatreds and suspicions, when the Almighty God, Him-
self, has made us all interdependent on one another, as 
members of one great human family. 

When Christ, Our Lord, hung upon the Cross of Cal-
vary, dying for our sins and paying the supreme price 
for our redemption, His suffering, pierced, and sacred 
Heart was throbbing out Its Divine Life for ALL souls; 



THE SWORD OF PEACE 75 

and the Cross which held Him in its outstretched arms 
took its wood from a tree, which had its roots in the 
hearts of ALL the nations of the world. Oh, Christ, hang-
ing upon the Cross, we place in Thy sacred and divine 
Heart, our Sword of Peace, the Youth of our beloved 
America. Let that sword pierce deep,—not as the cruel 
spear of Calvary,—but as a powerful and prayerful force, 
which will bring forth a flow of precious Blood and Water 
to bless and save the world. 



76 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

"Mary, Queen of Peace, Pray for us." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What "national and racial groups of the world" are 
represented through the youth of your parish? What 
has each contributed to American life ? 

2. Are they working together as a "human League of 
Nations" family, as a real part of the Mystical 
Body? 

3. From this unity of varying backgrounds, what hope 
do we find for universal peace ? 

4. What is the Catholic ideal of peace? How expressed 
through the Catholic Association for International 
Peace? 

5. What may young people do to foster this ideal in 
themselves, their homes, their community, their 
work? 

Bibliography 

1. Primer of Peace .... Charles G. Fenwick, Ph.D., LL D 
N. C. W. C.—25c 

2. The Christian Way to Peace Peace Committee 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

3. The Church and the Jews 
The Cath. Ass'n. for Internat'l Peace 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

4. Patriotism, Nationalism and the Brotherhood of Man. 
Carlton J. H. Hayes 

N. C. W. C.—10c 
5. A Catholic Program for World Peace 

The Cath. Ass'n. for Internat'l Peace N. C. W. C.—10c 



TOWARD THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN 
LIVING 

Rev. Vincent Mooney, C.S.C. 
Director, N. C. W. C. Youth Bureau 

When God created man He endowed him with many 
gifts. For example, He made it possible for us to think 
and to choose, to remember, and to use our imagination. 
God also raised man to a supernatural state—the choicest 
gift He could possibly bestow on any creature. In doing 
that, He gave us a capacity to unite ourselves with Him 
in the life to come. Youth itself is aware of that capacity 
and its consequent responsibility. After all, youth is in-
stinctively religious. Young people know that some place 
along the trail, God will demand an accounting. For that 
reason, they are ready and willing to seek the accomplish-
ment of cherished hopes and aspirations, in keeping with 
the Divine Plan. 

Consider for a moment the means recommended by 
the Church. I refer specifically to ideals, to fundamen-
tal religious truths, to the Commandments, the Sacra-
ments, good works, and prayer. Youth has, and youth 
will continue to use, these means. They are of vital im-
portance, particularly today when loose thinking and 
man-made plans are offered as substitutes for straight 
thinking and God-made laws. 

It is necessary for youth to hold fast to ideals—ideals 
centering about Christ; ideals grounded in principles 
which make for Christian character and prompt youth to 
spend itself for others. Do not labor under the delusion 
that those ideals cannot be taught. When youth clings to 
ideals, evil tendencies are overcome; virtue flourishes; 
saints are in the making. 

Youth must also hold fast to fundamental religious 
truths. Youth is impressionable and it is only natural 
that youth should be influenced by those disposed to 
ignore basic truths. Because of that fact, it is plainly 
evident that their acceptance or rejection will be the yard-
stick by which youth's happiness is measured. 



78 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

The Commandments, the Sacraments, prayer and 
good works, are likewise of utmost importance. The 
Commandments regulate our conduct. They determine 
relationships with God, neighbor, and self. The Sacra-
ments are a positive means of nourishing and sustaining 
the life of the soul. They are the means which God has 
provided for those who seek peace, pardon, strength and 
comfort. By prayer, we lift the mind and the heart to 
U>d. In that way, youth uses an effective means of pay-
ing tribute, asking favors, returning thanks. The Spirit-
ual and Corporal Works of Mercy are also within youth's 
reach. They are the core of Christian charity. They can 
be accomplished during our leisure moments, and if we 
are animated by a genuine zeal for souls, we can use them 
as a basis for a Christ-like program of leisure-time activi-
ties. 

I have referred to the means proposed by the Church 
Let us now consider the JOC—another means which 
youth is using to solve its problems in order to unite itself 
with God. 

The Young Christian Workers' movement is a strik-
ing example of cooperative effort on the part of young 
people. The movement, as the name implies, centers about 
a particular occupational group—namely, the young 
Christian workers. The founder of the movement is 
Canon Cardijn, a Belgian priest. He first conceived the 
plan during his seminary days, and the idea took root 
when he was assigned to a working-class parish in Brus-
sels. There, he gathered about him a group of young 
working men and women. 

The group activities ceased for two reasons. The 
World War called youth to the colors; and Canon Cardijn 
was confined to prison. In the quiet of his cell, the zealous 
curate improved his plans. Later, as Director of Social 
Work, in Brussels, the young priest renewed his efforts 
to service the young workers, and in 1924 the JOC receiv-
ed the official recognition of the Church authorities. 

In April of 1935 a Jocist World Congress convened, 
to commemorate the tenth anniversary of its founding.' 
On that occasion, Pius XI of happy memory said that in 
the JOC he recognized the Hand of God. He rejoiced be-



TOWARD THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 79 

cause its influence had gone beyond Belgian frontiers. "It 
could not be otherwise," he said, "because it is an authen-
tic form of Catholic Action." 

The JOC concentrates on the working class, seeking 
to re-Christianize the workers' world. From the very be-
ginning it recognized the pitiful economic plight of work-
ing youth, arid it took definite steps to remedy the situa-
tion. More than that, it sensed the tragic results which 
would inevitably follow in the wake of un-Christian and 
anti-social theories and programs. 

Moreover, the young Belgians were determined to 
hold fast to an idealism which focused attention on civil 
and religious liberties. Taking up the torch, they struck 
out boldly, determined to demonstrate in their individual 
lives the highest type of Christian citizenship. The JOC 
served their purpose. 

Religion became a vital, throbbing force in the 
Jocist plan. The members devised various methods of 
projecting the life of the Church into the workers' daily 
life and environment. In order to become thoroughly 
familiar with every phase of their religious heritage, they 
formed study circles and discussion groups. A solid 
Faith became the foundation stone of an invincible char-
ity and their unbounded optimism carried them a long 
way in the face of innumerable obstacles. Combining gen-
uine humility with remarkable generosity, the Jocists 
consecrated themselves to the task of penetrating the in-
dividual worker with the principles of the Gospel. They 
gloried in the fact that they, like Christ, were workers. 
They determined to help each other. They would not 
ask strangers to do their planning and thinking for them, 
but on the contrary, they—the workers—would them-
selves become the apostles to their fellow workers. 

Do not labor under the impression that the JOC 
always functioned smoothly and effectively. Undoubtedly 
they experienced heartaches and disappointments, but at 
no time did they reflect a defeatist or negative attitude. 
In a spirit of sacrifice and on the basis of an apostolate, 
they strove courageously to apply the positive social 
teaching of the Church to their own particular problems. 
Imbued with a high ideal of justice and rights, they 



80 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

worked in unity and with singleness of purpose, to brine 
order and peace out of strife and confusion. Under the 
wise guidance of Canon Cardijn and his collaborators, the 
Jocists fearlessly faced the realities of life. 

Quietly but effectively, small groups of young work-
ers banded together in order to study the workers' prob-
lems It is significant to note that they paid particular 
attention to everything that might militate against bodily 
health and Christian morals. They discussed each work-
er s environment. They reviewed the subject of wages 
and hours. They evaluated the character of their fellow 
workers, paying special attention to their attitudes and 
their conversations. They went beyond the sphere of 
their place of employment, even to the extent of working 
out complete inquiries covering their recreational and re-
ligious life. In other words, they went to the root of the 
workers' difficulties, and only when they understood the 
situation in all its ramifications did they make any 
attempt to correct abuses and improve their status. 

Consider for a moment the idealism of the Jocists. 
In no uncertain terms they declared that the young work-
ers were not machines but sons of God and heirs of 
Heaven. They were willing to work, and they refused to 
be slaves. They insisted on their rights as workers, but 
they recognized the rights of their employers. "Rights 
and duties have their source and inspiration in God," say 
the Jocists, and as collaborators with God, they would 
respect both. This sort of idealism is Christ-like. It is an 
idealism worthy of emulation, to say the least, emphasiz-
ing as it does, the dignity of the human personality. 

The JOC reaches youth on the fourteen to twenty-five 
year age level. Monthly meetings hold the interest of 
parochial groups, and weekly study circles are used as 
training schools for the Militants or selected leaders. In 
the JOC, the clergy cooperate, but in no sense is the 
Jocist movement an adult-controlled program. It is the 
clergy's particular responsibility to choose the leaders, 
called Militants, and to form the character of the mem-
bers. 

The Jocist Militants are particularly active, provid-
ing the necessary lay leadership for parish, region, and 



TOWARD THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 81 

nation. This same body of Militants are given special 
training in order to function in particular situations as, 
for example, in the case of factories, and in community 
affairs. The Militants are called once a month for special 
conferences, and for a Day of Recollection. Each year 
these Militants unite with their adult leaders in a highly 
organized Study Week program, and in an Annual Re-
treat. Various publications are issued to special-interest 
groups at regular intervals, and special congresses are or-
ganized when the occasion requires it. 

For all practical purposes, the JOC functions as a 
school for workers. Through the JOC the young worker 
is convinced that he is not forgotten once his formal 
school days are ended. On the contrary, at a time when 
youth's problems are particularly acute, the Jocist is 
formed along religious and moral lines, and he is taught 
to conform to the accepted norms of Christian family life 
and society. He does become familiar with the Church's 
social teaching. As a member of a band of alert Chris-
tian workers, he develops a sense of security. Subjected 
to a rather rigid system of discipline, the Jocist develops 
a resourcefulness which enables him to devise and or-
ganize practical and complete services in keeping with 
youth's needs. 

Underlying the whole Jocist movement we find the 
idea of conquest—the conquest of self; the conquest of 
personal life of the individual worker; the conquest of 
the workers' environment. Spurred on by the example 
and the cooperation given by his associates, the Jocist 
never loses sight of the aims of the JOC—the Christian-
izing of the workers' world. 

The JOC represents vision, hard work, and genuine 
sacrifice. It means that youth is willing to strive for per-
sonal holiness, to accept discipline, to undergo a rigid 
system of training, to follow an unselfish adult leadership. 
Certainly it indicates a desire on the part of young peo-
ple to find the solution of their problems in accordance 
with the Christian philosophy of life. In reflecting that 
attitude, these young people give a definite answer to 
those who say that youth is indifferent, selfish, and irre-
ligious. 



82 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

The JOC continues to grow. It began in Belgium 
with a membership of less than five hundred. Today it 
touches the lives of thousands of young workers in many 
countries. Its youthful membership has lost none of its 
enthusiasm, and its leaders are optimistic for the future. 

In this connection, and in conclusion, listen to these 
words of Abbe Kothen, the Assistant General of the Bel-
gian JOC: 

"Faced with the danger of catastrophe which 
threatens society we pray that this organization of 
young workers, and in time of the whole working 
class, may increase in strength, may become irresis-
tible, so that in the midst of a pagan society there 
may be built a Christian society with lives and fami-
lies and institutions that are Christian. Then shall 
be established the social reign of Our Lord Who 
alone can ensure peace to the world and prosperity in 
time and eternity." 



TOWARD THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 83 

"To know Him, to love Him., and to serve Him." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. How may the young people of your parish better 
"unite themselves to Him"? 

2. Why has Confirmation been called the Sacrament of 
Catholic Action? 

3. As a goal of Christian living, discuss again Prayer, 
Study, and Action as the essentials of all service. 

4. What is the "idea of conquest" ? Have you applied it 
in your group? How? 

5. How may youth reach the ideal, "the Chrisitanizing 
of the workers' world"? 

Bibliography 

1. Means of Grace McNeill-Aaron 
St. Anthony's Guild—50c 

2. Religion, the Catholic Ideal of Life 
Rev. John M. Cooper, Ph.D. 

Catholic Education Press—$1.50 
3. Seven Sacraments (Pamphlets) 

Rev. Francis Connell, C.S.S.R. 
International Truth Society—10c each 

4. Catholic Action Official Organ 
N. C. W. C.—$2.00 a year 

5. Monthly Message NCCW Work Sheet 
N. C. C. W.—$1.00 a year 



RALLYING TO CHRIST 
Miss Anne Sarachon Hooley, National Youth Chairman, 

National Council of Catholic Women 
and 

Mile. Christine de Hemptinne, President of the Youth 
Section of the International Union of Catholic Women's 

Leagues. 

ROME, ITALY 

Miss Hooley: It is always a joy to meet you by means of 
this radio hour, but is is a particular happy occasion 
today for we are talking with you from far away 
Rome. Before describing our impressions of the 
great Youth Congress, it is my privilege to present to 
you Mile. Christine de Hemptinne, President of the 
Youth Section of the International Union of Catho-
lic Women's Leagues, who has graciously agreed to 
give us a bit of first-hand information on the fas-
cinating story of its purposes and the vastness of its 
membership. Mile, de Hemptinne, that was an im-
pressive sight last Tuesday when you opened the 
Conference, as you stood there looking over the vast 
gathering of young women, each bearing the banner 
of her organization, the streaming ribbons of her 
national colors. How many countries do you think 
were represented? 

Mile, de Hemptinne: There were 621 delegates represent-
ing 31 countries with their leaders, but our mem-
bership really includes 61 countries with active and 
corresponding affiliations. 

Miss Hooley: That is amazing! And what nations do 
they represent? 

Mile, de Hemptinne: There is the delegation of your own 
United States. We are happy to have so many, and I 
am glad to extend to all who remain at home the fra-
ternal greetings from the meeting. Canada is here, 
and Mexico is excellently represented. South Amer-
ica has sent its best leaders. There are delegates 
from the Argentine, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guate-



RALLYING TO CHRIST 85 

mala, Peru, and Venezuela. We have some from far-
off Australia and New Zealand. We have the East 
with India, Japan, and China. From Europe nat-
urally a large Italian delegation is present, a splen-
did English one, and a few Irish and Scotch. Rep-
resented, too, are Belgium, France, Spain, Rou-
mania, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Lithuania, Jugo-
slavia, Holland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. 

Miss Hooley: Will you tell us something of the aims of 
the Youth organization? 

Mile, de Hemptinne: The Youth Section of the Inter-
national Union of Catholic Women's Leagues is the 
only international movement for Catholic young 
women approved by the Holy Father. It is truly a 
federation, for we do not lead in any country. We 
come together to examine the different programs to 
the common end of unity and strength, to study and 
to stimulate and to promote ideas and methods, and 
above all, to promote fraternal understanding. We 
are the federation of unifying organizations ap-
proved by the hierarchy of each nation. 

Miss Hooley: Leadership is a common problem for all 
group work, Mile. What, in your experience, are 
some of the important angles in preparing leaders? 

Mile, de Hemptinne: The important factor in the de-
velopment of leadership is the training of the mind 
and spirit simultaneously. You must give leaders a 
little action and a little theory from the beginning, 
for if you only throw them into action, you have the 
heresy of action, giving rise to such faults as jeal-
ousy and pride. If you give them only theory, with-
out action, you discourage them. So it is ideal to 
keep a balance. Then, this little action will be a 
training, and at the same time help them to see the 
need of further training. 

Miss Hooley: You have travelled to India, South Amer-
ica, Australia, and known various types of Youth 
groups. What qualities do you consider most essen-
tial for leadership? 

Mile, de Hemptinne: I think it is essential for a leader to 



86 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

have enthusiasm, both spiritual and intellectual, an 
enthusiasm, not based on a fire built of straw which 
can be put out with a pail of water, but based on a 
fire built of anthracite which small discouragements 
will not extinguish. The leader of Youth must have 
simplicity and charity and common sense, that is, a 
sense of values with tact in applying them. She must 
have the strength which gives humility in success 
and peace in failure. She needs the will to do, and 
she must have order in her head even if she cannot 
have it in her papers. A leader who approaches the 
job must first make plans. She must organize her 
data, and she must delegate authority intelligently 
and not believe she is the only one who can do things. 
And all this must be coordinated into a harmonious 
whole. She must keep a guiding hand, loose enough 
to allow for initiative but tight enough to avoid 
grave error. 

MissHooley: Thank you, Mile, de Hemptinne. We extend 
to you our sincerest appreciation. 
To America I would say that it is evening here in the 
Eternal City, and it seems somewhat darker than 
usual. Perhaps it is because we are here in the 
shadows of St. Peter's. Perhaps, rather, it is be-
cause there is a little mist in the eyes, for the 
Americans here are remembering that the sun in the 
United States is high. There creeps about the heart 
that nostalgia that comes always to the traveler when 
she remembers the beloved spot that she calls home. 
Yet, crowding that feeling is another one of deepest 
gratitude for the opportunity of being here in the 
exquisite beauty of these momentous days. We have 
seen daily the pomp and the glory that is ceremony, 
but we have seen it always with the simplicity that 
is truth and the humility that is service. Last Sun-
day when we emerged from the great Basilica to see 
the hundreds of thousands of people standing in the 
Piazza awaiting the appearance of Pius XII on the 
balcony above, it seemed as though they typified the 
world at large and that the blessing of the Great 
White Shepherd a few moments later was a prayer 
for strength and comfort to all humanity. 



RALLYING TO CHRIST 87 

During the past week we have attended the gathering 
of Youth leaders from many countries. It is partic-
ularly interesting that in these days, when the world 
is busy about material considerations, that these 
young people can serenly settle themselves to delib-
erate on fundamental issues of society. For example, 
one day was devoted to the study of human relation-
ships which they divided into three parts: the rela-
tion of parents and children, the relation of husband 
and wife, and the relation of employer and employee. 
These make up the great human family, the precious 
cell of society, the first circle in which is developed 
the social nucleus of true citizenship. But to both 
sides of these relationships we must bring a spirit of 
proper authority, discipline, solidarity, and, above all, 
of love and sacrifice. A break-down in these relation-
ships means a break-down in the relationship in the 
large human family with the result of great social 
catastrophes. 

Another interesting aspect of the discussions is the 
generally accepted theory that Youth must prepare 
for service by training courses and study weeks, so 
that they may equip themselves for a social, intellect-
ual, and spiritual service—social, to the afflicted and 
the infirm; intellectual, to the mistaken and the 
ignorant; spiritual, to the indifferent and the poor of 
spirit. In short, they recognize that through joyous 
service they can find an opportunity for discharging 
the mission of living. 

An editorial in the London Times last week remarked 
that the time has come when the world must definite-
ly decide whether it shall accept the philosophy of 
Pilate, the philosophy of selfish interests at any cost, 
or the philosophy of Calvary, the spirit of sacrifice 
and generous understanding, if society is to survive. 
Surely, these Youth are proceeding with the spirit of 
Calvary. 
And I say to you across the airways of the 
world, to you of every faith, and to you who profess 
no formal faith, to you of every age, whether the 
course of life is almost run, or whether you stand at 



90 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

the crest of the morning, to you of every race and 
tongue, that there is here in this meeting a note of 
courage and optimism for these chaotic times. In the 
words of Andrea Vanni, "Nobleness comes only to 
the city where the young dream dreams of great 
things". 

These Youth are dreaming great things and as they 
grow, they can rebuild and revivify if we permit 
them. But they are not dreaming blindly. They know 
that the world will come to them with many propa-
ganda, insidious, selfish, and false. But they have 
agreed that they shall be able to meet that propa-
ganda with direct questions. "Where is your road-
map and who is your leader?" 
Clear-eyed and gallant, flaming with the courage of 
youth, radiant with the blossoming of springtime, 
they answer, "Ours is the highway of truth which 
has stood the test of the centuries. Mistaken men 
and material interests have beat upon it to no avail, 
for it continues in unswerving directness to eternal 
life. Ours is the leader of Whom it was said, 
"Greater love than this hath no man, than that He 
lay down His life for His friends." We meet here to 
demonstrate that we rally to Christ in Whom there 
lies surcease and fulfillment. 



RALLYING TO CHRIST 89 

"United in Christ." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What is the International Union of Catholic Wom-
en's Leagues, of which the National Council of 
Catholic Women is a part? 

2. What are the purposes of the Youth Section? Why 
is it a true international? 

3. What qualities does Mile, de Hemptinne think essen-
tial for youth leaders? 

4. Discuss "Youth must prepare for service". 
5. How does the International Catholic Youth Congress 

demonstrate the doctrine of the Mystical Body? 

Bibliography 

1. Monthly Message (May 1939) Work Sheet 
N. C. C. W.—10c 

2. Catholic Action (June) Official Organ 
N. C. W. C.—20c 

3. Youth Today and Tomorrow Youth Institute 
N. C. C. W.—25c 

4. The Call to Youth, 1937 . Radio Series 
N. C. C. W.—25c 

5. Youth—A World Problem Study 
National Youth Administration—25c 



YOUTH FACES THE FUTURE 
Miss Jean Hewitt 

Group Work Major, National Catholic School of Social 
Service 

A few years ago, I had the opportunity of working in 
a Catholic Action project. The membership comprised 
high school and college students. It dealt specifically with 
social problems under a three-point program of study, 
propaganda and action. The encyclicals on social justice 
and current problems formed the main basis of our study. 
The stimulation of other groups and the sale of a Catho-
lic labor paper furnished us with a means of propaganda. 
For action, we interested ourselves in recreational work 
for several groups of foreign children in our city. This 
experience made me aware of some of the problems faced 
by youth today and convinced me of the need we have to 
come to a real understanding of social and economic con-
ditions and our own solution of them. 

If the World War and the following years of boom 
and depression gave young people a new importance and a 
new freedom, it also brought a host of new problems— 
problems in the industrial, economic and social fields. It 
placed youth on a rather precarious seesaw between in-
security and depression, and unfounded optimism. Young 
people by the thousands left school each year, only to find 
that there simply was no place for them. There just 
weren't any jobs. 

We are presented with several solutions to our prob-
lems. Russia, Italy and Germany give youth a cause for 
which to fight, an ideal for which to spend themselves. 
They make every effort to keep youth healthy and em-
ployed. They foster marriages and attempt to raise the 
standards of living of their peoples. And the price of 
these undeniable material gains is dictatorship and a 
regimentation which cheats youth of the satisfaction of 
individual accomplishment and very often does away en-
tirely with religion. As a consequence, we can realize 
that these material advantages are overwhelmingly out-



YOUTH FACES THE FUTURE 91 

weighed by the disadvantages. We want the right to 
choose for ourselves—to be individuals and not be molded 
one after the other like so many identical bricks to fit the 
building of state. 

In America we are given a totally different idea and 
ideal. Young people are far from being ignored. The 
experts of the nation in the fields of health, education and 
social services are vitally interested in youth. They offer 
us the wealth of their valuable experience, but it is for us 
to choose whether we shall cooperate or not. We are not 
regimented into an army. We are presented with the 
challenge of participating in the growth of the nation. 
Our future depends on us. It depends on whether we 
value our freedom sufficiently to learn what privileges it 
gives us and how we can preserve it in the future. 

What has all this to do with Catholic young people? 
It has this very important link. Catholic youth in this 
country have the advantage of living in a democracy. 
This means that their government recognizes the inherent 
rights of the individual to "life, liberty and the pursuit of 
happiness" and all that these three simple phrases imply. 
It means freedom of religion and this freedom brings 
with it the obligation to use every means within our 
power to preserve this liberty which we value so much. 
If we look to Russia, to Germany, to Mexico, we get a 
rather clear picture of what deprivation of this privilege 
means. 

Just what are the problems of Catholic young people 
today? Together with all young people the questions of 
education, employment, marriage and future security are 
our basic needs. We differ from other groups in the 
philosophy through which we attempt to solve them. 

We believe that our religion is more than a creed 
limited to the sphere of spiritual things. We hold a 
philosophy which embraces all classes of people and all 
areas of living. We must maintain the predominance of 
spiritual values in a world where money and position are 
considered the highest goals. We live at a time when 
right and wrong are judged mainly by what is useful or 
convenient and we must be careful that we do not absorb 
such ideas. 



92 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

In the face of world conditions today we have a par-
ticular need to become familiar with Catholic thought 
and principle in the social and economic fields. It is so 
easy to stamp everyone and everything as radical that 
works against the prevailing order. It is more difficult, 
but more intelligent to study and to understand the prin-
ciples and application of social justice. How many of us 
really know what the social program of the Church is? 
How many of us are familiar with what is specifically 
contained in the encyclicals of Leo XIII and Pius XI ? 

For the past seventy years the Church has issued 
more encyclicals on social and economic questions than 
ever before in its whole history. What does that indi-
cate? It means that the social and economic question is 
becoming more and more important. It means that it is 
becoming increasingly necessary for us to have a code of 
principles which extends into all areas of our daily life. 
It means that we young people are living at a time when 
the business of living is becoming more and more com-
plex. 

From childhood we have been taught the doctrines 
and principles of our faith. We know what we believe and 
what is essential for our spiritual existence. But how 
and where are we going to learn about current social and 
economic problems? Aside from our schools, we have 
study clubs, workers' institutes and Catholic Action 
groups of all kinds to give us opportunities to put our 
principles into use. Since these are available to all age 
levels and groups, it gives the high school student, the 
college graduate, the young person entering professional, 
business or married life—it gives to youth a cause to 
which they can devote themselves and a practical means 
of living a fuller and happier life. 

Is this Catholic Action the solution of real practical 
value, or is it just an ideal theory? Does it really work? 
As an example we may mark the success of the JOC or 
Young Catholic Workers' movement. The JOC proce-
dure consists in observing conditions, judging them ac-
cording to right principles and then acting in accordance 
with what they have studied. The observation includes 
a study of facts. A judgment is never made without care-



YOUTH FACES THE FUTURE 93 

ful consideration. And most important of all, the action 
must be practical and based on what can be done by 
young people. Pius XI, who interested himself so much 
in young people, wrote that each group should have its 
corresponding apostles. The worker group should have 
apostles from the worker group, the students, apostles 
from the student group, and so on. 

An important point for us to note is the fact that 
Catholic Action is developed to embrace the whole daily 
life of the worker. It points out to him the necessity of 
rechristianizing all parts of his life. It gives him a real 
understanding of his religion and a solid foundation. It 
shows him how to apply the principles of Christian ideas 
in his family life. It helps him at his work by encour-
aging him to join unions and better working conditions. 
It enlarges his recreational opportunities by making leis-
ure-time activities available to him. And most important 
of all, it makes him a useful citizen, and provides him 
with an ideal which he can understand and which makes 
for his happiness. 

But all this requires an effort and a response on the 
part of youth. It is very easy to drift with the tide and 
say, "What's the use? Young people can't do anything 
about such an enormous problem." The fact remains 
that we have a great need to find a solution to our prob-
lems and no practical solution can be found unless we in-
clude the social and economic fields. If we recognize that 
we must include them, do we know what social justice 
means? What a living wage is? What the rights of labor 
are to organize? What relationship should exist between 
employer and employee? What is Christian education? 
What is a Christian family life? 

We have the problems on one side and the possibili-
ties of solution on the other. What are we going to do to 
bridge the gap? No program, however good, can solve 
our difficulties for us. The challenge is ours. Are we 
going to put our religion and our principles in a neat 
little compartment labelled "for Sundays only", or are 
we going to cooperate and help ourselves to live a happier 
and more Christian life? If we are to face this chaotic 
world as convinced Catholics, we must know our position 



94 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

in the social field. We must link our spiritual realities 
with every part of our living and be thinking people 
armed with a strong faith and unshakable convictions. 
The solution is ours to make. We have the choice. What 
are we going to do about it? 



YOUTH FACES THE FUTURE 95 

"We are presented with the challenge of partici-
pating in the growth of a nation." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What advantages do American young people have 
today? 

2. What can all youth do to preserve the Democracy? 
Catholic youth? 

3. Show that the Church is interested (and has the 
right to be interested) in social problems. 

4. Explain "the worker group should have apostles 
from the worker group". 

5. Discuss the need for professional and volunteer 
leaders in this great apostolate. 

Bibliography 

1. Catholic Action Encyclical of Pope Pius XI 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

2. Making Democracy Work Jerome Kerwin 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

3. Citizen, Church and State Rt. Rev. John A. Ryan 
N. C. W. C.—10c 

4. The Call to Youth, 1938 Radio Series 
N. C. C. W.—25c 

5. The National Catholic School of Social Service 
N. C. C. W.—free 



YOUTH APOSTOLATE 
San Francisco Junior Council of Catholic Women 
under the direction of Rev. Eugene Shea, Diocesan 

Youth Director 

Miss Genevieve Sullivan Miss Eileen O'Toole 
Barbara Wilder Rosemary Byrne 
Lucille Aston Barbara M. O'Ferrall 

Miss Sullivan: Ten years ago, with the far-sightedness 
that comes when the eye is toward the eternal, the 
power and scope of an apostolate for youth was en-
visioned. That vision, because it was seen by prac-
tical people, took shape in the form of a plan, a plan 
simple in its design, complete in its purpose. 

Fr. Shea: Our plan is to unite the girls in our Catholic 
high schools through the Junior Council of Catholic 
Women by sponsoring extra-curricular spiritual, cul-
tural, vocational and recreational activity. 
Similarly the Catholic Girls' Council is to sponsor 
these activities in parish groups for girls of high 
school and out-of-school age, and the coordination of 
the work of all girls' organizations completes our 
plan. 
To prepare our youth to take their place as leaders 
in spreading the teachings and doctrines of Christ to 
all about them, that is the apostolate of youth. 

Miss Sullivan: A decade has gone by and the vision has 
materialized into the reality of practice and action, 
—not hard reality but tempered with an inspira-
tional glow (ORGAN)—as on Catholic Girls' Sunday 
at the Cathedral. . . (Fade into music of the Choir). 

Barbara: (Whisper) Well, you win; I'm impressed. 
Lucille: Quiet. Come outside. (Choir fades to back-

ground, but continues throughout this scene.) 
Voices: (Fading in quickly.) Come on with us . . . must 

be over a thousand. 
Marie: No, I'll see you later. Hello, there, I've seen you 



YOUTH APOSTOLATE 97 

over at school but I didn't know you were a Catho-
lic. 

Barbara: Well, I'm just beginning to find out myself. 
Marie: Good! Madam Secretary, have you signed her 

up? 
Lucille: Yes, I think this morning finally settled the 

issue. By the way, your schoolmate here is President 
of our Catholic Girl's Council. 

Barbara: Well, any organization that can gather over a 
thousand girls at eight o'clock in the morning to 
attend Mass . . . 

Voices: (Fading in and out) What I liked about it . . . 
the music 

Barbara : . . . and do you know something, that seemed 
like the shortest Mass I ever attended. Why, I was so 
busy flipping the pages of this missal you lent me— 
How do you keep up? 

Lucille: The book is so new the pages stick together; a 
little usage will limber up the binding. 

Barbara: Oh, I don't want to wear out your book— 
Lucille: Well, you see, the idea is you keep it until you 

get so in the habit of following the Mass liturgically, 
that you wouldn't be without it. Then you replace it 
with a new one, and in that way we initiate someone 
else in the practice of using a missal. 

Barbara: More and more you amaze me. What else do 
you people do? 

Marie: Meet me at the parish hall on Tuesday night and 
you'll find out. (Fade out. Music swells to finale.) 

Miss Sullivan: The principal function of the cultural 
activities of the youth program is the study club and 
discussion group, for youth, as apostles, must be pre-
pared to impress others by their knowledge as well 
as by their virtue. A typical study discussion group 
is meeting now at the parish hall. It is just finishing 
the opening prayer: 

All: (Fading in.) " . . Oh, God, Who by the light of the 
Holy Ghost, dost instruct the hearts of the faithful, 
grant that in the same Holy Spirit we may be truly 



98 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

wise and ever rejoice in His holy consolation, through 
Christ our Lord, Amen. (Chair shuffling, slight 
hub-bub. Gavel tap.) 

Barbara: There's something I have to get straightened 
out before we do anything else tonight. 

Lucille: That's out of order. We have a schedule to 
follow. 

Barbara: Yes, but this is really something—Father, how 
about it? 

Father: Whatever it is, it seems to have you in circles so 
if you'll be as brief as you could possibly be . . . . 

Barbara: Well, as you know, where I go to school . . . . 

Lucille: Skip the preamble; we know you. What's the 
question ? 

Barbara: Well, in History today someone said that, in 
3400 years there have been only 268 years when the 
whole civilized world was at peace. So the way he 
figured there will be war. He said a lot more but 
his theme song was that war was natural and you 
couldn't do anything about it. And then the bell 
rang and he had to hurry to class on the other side 
of school. 

Lucille: Saved by the bell. 
Barbara: Yes, but now I've got to know all about this 

for our next meeting, so please, Father, what's the 
answer ? 

Father: With the Chair's permission, I'll answer that 
. . . As a matter of fact, the Church has been giving 
the answer for centuries. Only recently our Holy 
Father, Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of his corona-
tion spoke of the justice and charity that should be 
the keynote of international relationships. You can 
read this for yourself, but since there seems to be an 
emergency at hand, here are your facts. . . (Fade.) 

Miss Sullivan: Vocational guidance—the guiding of 
youth into the walk of life best suited to her prefer-
ences and abilities—is a vital part of the youth pro-
gram. Vocation talks by leaders in various profes-
sions give the young people a chance to survey the 



YOUTH APOSTOLATE 99 

field. The discussion period after each talk clears up 
many unlooked-for reactions: 

Barbara: Now that's something like it. That's what I'm 
going to do—become a missionary—to China, I think, 
—just to start with. 

Lucille: Just to start with you can begin learning Chi-
nese. After last month's vocation talk you were 
going to be a crusading journalist, until you realized 
English was your worst subject. 

Barbara: Well, at least I'm finding out what not to do 
with my particular life. 

Father: You don't sound very positive in your negative 
reasoning. But I'd like to hear your reaction after 
next month's vocation talk. 

Marie: Father, I have posted the notice announcing next 
month's speaker. I happen to know her, but what is 
she going to talk about? Did she have some profes-
sion before she got married? 

Barbara: Yes, Father, what's her line? 
Father: Her "line" happens to be the living of a real 

Catholic life and the raising of a real Catholic 
family. 

Barbara: Oh, is that all there is? 
Father: You come and you'll find out that's plenty. (Fade 

out.) 
Miss Sullivan: Through group action the members of 

youth groups initiate their co-operation with the dif-
ferent phases of Catholic Action. Here is experience 
in the practice of the formation of conscience, the 
power to think rightly, and not accordingly: 

Marie: (Fade in.) All those in favor signify by raising 
their right hand. (Short pause.) Those opposed. 
(Shorter pause.) Motion carried. Then it's agreed. 
We refuse to patronize that corner store either as 
a group or as indivduals so long as they continue to 
handle those magazines which the National Organi-
zation for Decent Literature has listed as harmful 
literature. Jane, you announce this at your school 
when you call the student body meeting. Marion, you 
tell the drama club. And Pat, at the next meeting of 



100 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

the dance committee tell them to order the food from 
some other store. Now, is there any further 
business? 

Voice: Madam Chairman (Fade out.) 
Miss Sullivan: The combination of handcraft arts and 

the art of doing for others results in a social service 
program that has far-reaching effects: 

Lucille: You don't suppose some youngster's going to 
mind terribly if his mechanical train isn't so mech-
anical. 

Marie: Well, at least the wheels go round if you push it. 
I don't see how you can do things like that. Now, me 
—I'll stick with my needle—hm—I'm stuck with it. 
Why, look at the red wagon Rosemary painted. Now 
that's as good as new. 

Lucille: It's about time you put in an appearance, Rose-
mary. Our repaint jobs on the toy trucks look like 
something off the old block—the way they chip. 

Barbara: (Coming in.) Come and get it—your nourish-
ment, children. You'll need it, Rosemary, after this 
undue activity. 

Rosemary: Listen to who's talking. I don't see much evi-
dence of your handiwork. 

Barbara: Now that's something you really shouldn't re-
mind me of. You know how sensitive I am about my 
utter inartistic inability. But we all play our part. 
And I'm the handy girl—run errands. And if you 
people ever get finished, I'm the delivery clerk. Here, 
sustenance for the weary workers. 

Rosemary: Say, those look like products of that certain 
store. 

Barbara: The best is none too good. 
Rosemary: But I thought you were boycotting the place. 
Barbara: If you'd come around . . . Somebody tell her. 
Marie: Yes, Rosemary, that's all cleared up now. When 

Mr. What's-his-name, the storekeeper, saw we meant 
business and his business was falling off, he stopped 
carrying those magazines. So we're all friends again 
and his business is booming. 



YOUTH APOSTOLATE 101 

Barbara: That's it. Action with results . . . Speaking 
of action, don't forget next Saturday. 

Rosemary: What's next Saturday. 
Barbara: Woman's Day. (Fade.) 
Miss Sullivan: And now we greet you from the scene 

of the 10th Annual Woman's Day. Sponsored by the 
combined committees of the Junior Council of Catho-
lic Women, this year's Woman's Day is the climax of 
the decade spent in the foundation and formation of 
Catholic girls' groups. Ten years ago when the pro-
gram was being formulated it was with the idea of 
training leaders for tomorrow. Tomorrow has come. 
The next voice you will hear will be that of one of 
the first of the junior leaders who now helps direct 
the present youth groups. You are listed as Woman's 
Day Director, Miss O'Toole, so tell us what you 
planned for the day. 

Miss O'Toole: Oh, the girls did the planning. 
Miss Sullivan: Well, then, what did they do all day? 
Miss O'Toole: The morning's program was filled with 

tennis finals, swimming meets, and just general get-
togethers. At noon they took to the shade of the oak 
trees with their picnic lunches. They emerged from 
there for the afternoon assembly, for the awarding of 
prizes and the drama presentation. 

Miss Sullivan: How many girls would you say were 
there? 

Miss O'Toole: Registration shows over three thousand. 
Miss Sullivan: Three thousand girls . . . How often does 

this large gathering get together? 
Miss O'Toole: Once a year, ordinarily. But this Septem-

ber the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women of 
San Francisco are to be hostesses to the annual con-
vention of the National Council of Catholic Women. 
As the National Council has affiliated organizations 
in all sections of the country, we expect to have many 
Catholic leaders with diversified interests and 
methods of carrying out the call of Catholic Action, 
and we expect to share in their experiences and 
learn many things from their observations. Our 



102 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

girls are to have a part in the convention not only as 
hostesses but are going to have discussions of their 
own with youth leaders and young people from the 
other sections of the country. Consequently we ex-
pect to have a large gathering, if not larger, on that 
occasion. 

Miss Sullivan: I'm sorry to interrupt, but those 
three thousand girls seem to be heading for the same 
spot at the same moment. 

Miss O'Toole: Oh, it's time. Our Archbishop is to give 
Benediction. It's to be outdoors so we can stay right 
here. (Music.) 



YOUTH APOSTOLATE 103 

"To Prepare Youth To Take Their Place As 
Leaders." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What is the plan of youth organization sponsored by 
the N.C.C.W.? Why is federation so important? 

2. Prove that youth today can be interested in an apos-
tolate? 

3. What are the values of a well-balanced program? 
4. What are the objectives of the spiritual, cultural, 

vocational, and recreational activities ? How may all 
be expressed in service? 

5. How many young people are in your parish? How 
many attend meetings? Why the difference? 

, Bibliography 

1. The Call to Youth, 1938 Radio Series 
N.C.C.W.—25c 

2. Youth Leaders' Handbook — Compilation 
N.C.C.W.—25c 

3. Recreation for Girls and Women Ethel M. Powers 
National Recreation Association—$3.00 

4. Parish Activities Publication Rev. George M. Nell 
Effingham, 111. 

5. Catholic Action Official Magazine 
N.C.W.C.—$2.00 a year 



MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER 
Mrs. Earl R. Reynolds 

President, National Council of Catholic Women 

It is my privilege as president of the National Coun-
cil of Catholic Women to bring to you the closing broad-
cast in that section of the CALL TO YOUTH series spon-
sored by the National Council of Catholic Women in co-
operation with the National Broadcasting Company. For 
the third year we have conducted our leaders' training 
via the air, reaching every part of the United States with 
inspiring and practical helps for youth guidance. 

During the past four months you have heard from 
His Excellency, the Most Reverend Emmet M. Walsh, D. 
D., Bishop of Charleston, and Vice Episcopal Chairman 
of the Department of Lay Organizations; Reverend How-
ard J. Carroll, Assistant General Secretary, National 
Catholic Welfare Conference; Reverend Vincent Mooney, 
Director of the Youth Bureau of the National Catholic 
Welfare Conference; Miss Anne Sarachon Hooley, Na-
tional Chairman of Youth; Miss M. Pauline Casey, a 
member of the National Council of Catholic Women 
Board; and representatives of the Green Bay Catholic 
Youth Council, the Girl Scouts, St. Mary-of-the-Woods 
College, the Hartford Catholic Youth Organization, the 
Catholic Daughters of America, the Fort Wayne Catho-
lic Youth Organization, the Catholic Business Girls' 
Club, Toledo; the National Catholic School of Social 
Service, and the San Francisco Junior Council of Catholic 
Women. 

For this gift of the air we thank the National Broad-
casting Company for the extensive use of their nation-
wide hook-up and for the endless encouragement they 
have given us; we thank the local stations for their con-
tinued cooperation, and we extend our appreciation to 
EIRA of Rome, Italy from which our first international 
youth broadcast was given. 

Varied as these talks have been, each has brought a 
flood of mail, expressing interest and encouragement. 



MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER 105 

Your generous response has been a continual inspiration 
and challenge to us. This year youth itself has had a 
large share in the program, proving to us that youth will 
accept the challenge of real service, if given the oppor-
tunity. Through their youth councils, they have been 
given this opportunity and have responded in large num-
bers everywhere. Their realization of the part youth 
must play in social reconstruction is one of our great 
hopes for tomorrow. We are "Members one of an-
other", we have joint problems and must seek a solution 
together if our civilization is to be saved. 

"We should not think of ourselves as individuals, not 
as particular groups, not even as one large human group 
—but as members of that one Body of which Christ is 
the Head. We live in Him, Who lifted us out of our-
selves and incorporated us in Himself; bound us to-
gether one with another, not in ourselves, but in Him. We 
have no life of our own. What life we have, we have in 
and through and with Christ and through all our body, is 
the same grace, the same Christian exaltation, the same 
Christian charity." Interpreting these words of the late 
Rt. Rev. Msgr. John J. Burke, C.S.P., first General Secre-
tary of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, to the 
National Council of Catholic Women, we can hear him 
say: "In this light you, as leaders of youth, have a work 
to do. Unless the work is done with the great truth that 
is stated as its motive, it will be attempted in vain. That 
motive must rule all your deliberations; you must hold it 
supreme and all-pervading. That motive must control 
your thoughts, your plans; it must enlarge and guide the 
vision; it must beget both boldness and fidelity. That 
motive must lift you above individualism, above organiza-
tion, perhaps above preconceived ideas. Take these with 
you in so far as they are worthy; defend, fight for them 
if you will, but in the fighting for them hold the Chris-
tian charity to do what your hands have been blessed to 
do—to create an informed, articulate youth. The high, 
divine motive that is the wellspring of our action will lead 
us to be satisfied with nothing short of the perfect or-
ganization so far as human hands can attain it " 

But you rightfully ask, will youth accept this high 



106 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

motive? Our answer is emphatically "yes", for youth has 
always been an age of sacrifice, in spite of the frequent 
charge that youth is selfish and self-interested. Given the 
Great Leader, a cause for which to work, youth will give 
endlessly of itself. We can well remember that Christ 
was only thirty-three when He gave His life for the 
world; that through the centuries our priests and nuns 
have in their youth, given of their all for Him; that in 
times of national crisis our young men, as soldiers, have 
given their lives for the ideals of their country. Youth 
today has this same vision and this same courage. The 
work accomplished by many variously directed youth 
groups existing today proves this. Young people grasp 
the doctrine, "Members one of another" more quickly 
than adults, for they are less bound by prejudice and tra-
dition. 

Children have a glorious good time together, un-
hampered by barriers of race, color, or social position. Un-
hampered, they see no difference between the white child 
and the colored; between the pampered darling of the 
rich and the poor little girl from across the tracks. They 
play together, helping each other, truly "Members one of 
another". Alas, that sometimes through their elders the 
poison of snobbishness and class consciousness should 
enter into their thinking! But youth rightly guided can 
be lead to see that, if one part of humanity, one part of 
the Mystical Body suffers, the whole world suffers. 

Youth will recognize this fundamental truth ih 
material as well as in spiritual things. When a part of the 
world is at war, all countries suffer economic reactions; 
when one group is unemployed, the employed are affected; 
when an epidemic attacks one section, all are in danger. 
Youth, with its innate desire to help and to fight for a 
cause will be a true apostolate in restoring the "peace 
of Christ in the reign of Christ". 

If we really understood the fundamental meaning of 
"Members one of another", problems of capital and labor 
would easily be solved, for each would see the other's 
need and through this same appreciation, nations could 
peacefully work together. It is conceded by people gen-
erally that the body politic in every nation is sick of soul 



MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER 107 

and can be restored to spiritual health only by spiritual 
medicine. The average politician knows too little about 
things religious and spiritual even to discuss the same; 
the average statesman, and even ruler of nations, is as 
helpless as the politician, simply because he lacks what 
most other people in the world lack. He ignores Christ, 
the Divine Physician, he ignores the Heavenly Father 
Who knows of the miseries of man, but is waiting for the 
four hundred millions of His children on earth to preach 
His religious and social doctrine to "every creature." The 
state of the world tomorrow will be precisely what the 
youth of our generation will make it; the state of so-
ciety will be worse than that of this age if Christian 
youths will not make up their minds that they will do 
something about it. 

They will do much about it if they will resolve to be 
devoted children of God, soldiers of Christ, and cooper-
ate mutually as they should as "Members one of another". 
They will do much about it if they will let the "light of 
their faith shine among men;" if they will walk as chil-
dren of light and assist Christ in the "drawing of all 
things to Himself." 

Too many have believed that they do their full duty 
to God if they aim at personal sanctification. But mem-
bership in the Mystical Body of Christ suggests coopera-
tion. The cause of Christ is the most lofty and noble of 
all causes, and every youth should regard himself as par-
ticularly privileged in having an opportunity to promote 
that cause. Those of you who need to be better informed 
in the things of your faith should begin now to seek such 
information as will enable you to inform others and to 
answer their questions. 

Our delegates to the Youth Sectional Conference of 
the International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues 
have just returned from Rome, and they have brought us 
a vision of 621 youth crusaders with their leaders from 31 
countries, gathered together under the banner of Christ, 
the only banner that today can bridge the nations, with 
the varying ideologies. While the world without stood 
tense, while leaders of war and peace battled near, these 
youth searched together for efficient ways of bringing so-



108 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

ciety back to Christ and to an understanding of His 
teaching. Regardless of nationality or race, these young 
women lived together, worked together, played together. 
Surely they were "Members one of another", as they dis-
cussed youth's part in the great apostolate. This ,same 
happy, harmonious cooperation is possible in every com-
munity, every state, every nation, if leaders will but point 
the way of eternal truth and generous understanding. 

Youth, as always, stands ready to serve. It is for our 
leaders to make possible that service, that working to-
gether as "Members one of another", that youth may aid 
in restoring Christ to the world and the world to Christ. 



MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER 109 

"Christ in us." 

Topics for Discussion 

1. What do you mean by "Members one of another"? 
2. Why can we not "live alone" as individuals, commun-

ities, nations? Discuss in a material sense; a spirit-
ual sense. 

3. What channels does the Catholic Youth Council pro-
vide for practical demonstration of this philosophy? 
In organization plan? In program? 

4. Does membership in the Mystical Body of Christ 
entail any responsibility in the solution of inter-
racial problems? 

5. Why is personal sanctification alone not sufficient? 

Bibliography 

1. Union in Christ Rt. Rev. John J. Burke, C.S.P. 
N.C.C.W.—10c 

2. The Mystical Body of Christ | 
Rt. Rev. Fulton J. Sheen 

Sheed-Ward Publishers—$2.50 
3. Social Message of the New Testament 

Dr. H. Schumacher 
Bruce Publishing Co.—$2.00 

4. Christ and the Christian Life, Rev. J. Dupurray, S.J. 
Translated by Rt. Rev. John J. Burke, C.S.P. 

Longman's Green Co.—$2.50 
5. This Is My Body Rev. John M. Riach, C.S.P. 

Our Sunday Visitor Press—10c 



FOR GOD AND COUNTRY 
Miss Aileen O'Brien 

Recent War Worker An Spain 

From time immemorial generations have died with 
the cry, "For God and Country," on their lips, and lain 
silent under the stars on the blood-soaked strip of land 
that, stretching from Lithuania down through Poland, 
Hungary, Jugoslavia, and up through Spain, hems in 
what once was Christendom. 

As the centuries rolled on, the cry became fainter, 
drowned in the clamor of men fighting and dying for 
power, expansion, or greed, for political systems and 
ideologies till finally, when the value of life on this earth 
had permeated the world to the point of making death 
seem the worst calamity that man could suffer, the whole 
world was thrown into the monstrous holocaust of blood 
and destruction that is called the World War. 

Our generation did not see that war. And yet every 
generation that follows a war must suffer either the 
good or the bad consequences of it. Materialism, the nar-
row ambitions of class and race sprang up like ugly 
weeds from the battlefield where all the civilized nations 
had been at one another's throats. Expiation had to be 
suffered by someone,—unselfish expiation. Men had to 
offer everything to make up for the past and demand 
mercy for the future. 

There was a small part of Europe which had never 
interfered in the domestic wars and ambitions of 
Christendom. A small part of Europe that once had been 
a kingdom and for hundreds of years had lost that iden-
tity, politically, and had become a province,—Navarre, in 
Spain. In no country had the perils of apathy, and the 
dimming of the ultimate destiny of man brought about 
such a terrible punishment as in Spain. Navarre alone 
had remained faithful to the living traditions of justice, 
good will, freedom coupled with the high sense of duty 
which alone can keep a people happy. There was no 



FOR GOD AND COUNTRY 111 

unrest in Navarre. While other nations and the rest of 
Spain were milling with dissatisfied human beings, un-
certain of what they wanted and filled with distrust for 
their fellow men, the people of Navarre worked calmly, 
laughed, sang, and prayed. 

Navarre was considered the most reactionary part of 
Europe, because they insisted on keeping the guilds of the 
Middle Ages. But they also had air-conditioned old peo-
ple's homes. They had free education for everyone. And 
if all of the Navarrese did not choose to take advantage 
of their excellent schools, it was because, as one sturdy 
farmer told me, he was not interested in learning to read 
or write because he preferred to think. But their eyes 
were on the rest of the world and especially on the rest 
of Spain. 

Events in Spain were rolling on and no one seemed 
to be able to stop the avalanche. When Calvo Sotelo, 
leader of the Opposition to the popular front govern-
ment, was murdered and his body found by the cemetery 
wall with a bullet through an eye and one through his 
heart, the climax had been reached. Spain was at war. 
And then, when the world least expected it, the old cry, 
"For God and Country," was raised in Navarre. Those 
peaceful farmers of the most beautiful and secluded spot 
in Europe rose to the last man,—we might even say to 
the last child,—and fought without leave, asking for 
nothing, and offering everything for God and Country. 
Only those who were privileged to live with them, fight 
with them, and hear their last words will be able to realize 
what utter selflessness means. In the rest of Spain one 
often heard violent political discussions on the past in 
Spain and on what her future must be. Only in Navarre 
and with the Navarrese brigades was there utter silence 
on these topics. The Navarrese were not interested. 
They were dying to expiate the past of Spain which had 
been in the hands of men, and to assure the future, which 
was in the hands of God. 

To see them marching through the mountains, in 
their long, brown capes with the scarlet cross of the 
Crusader on their shoulder, their long, dark hair flying 
in the wind from under a scarlet beret, the lean tanned 



112 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

faces of men who had lived and slept under the stars for 
many months, was a delight one cannot forget. They 
were like living illustrations out of a book on the Cru-
sades. And then, to see them in action! Scaling those in-
credible mountains of the north where the only sound to 
be heard was the rattling of the machine guns and the 
cry: "Viva Cristo Key!" (Hail Christ the King!). To 
watch those tense, wiry figures suddenly falter and drop, 
the cry arrested in their throats. To see all that was also 
to feel the desperate loneliness that one can only feel in 
the presence of those who have reached heights that the 
rest of us can never attain. 

Asked what they were going to do after the war, 
there was invariably the same answer, "I am going back 
to the farm, si Dios quiere." (If God wishes.) They 
would solemnly read the newspapers brought up to the 
front and solemnly comment on all the social reforms be-
ing carried out behind the lines, but they spoke as if all 
that were something foreign to them, and when asked 
whether they were not vitally interested in it all, they 
would laugh. "We have all we want in Navarre, and we 
won't change anything. We'll just go on as we always 
have." 

And why were they dying? The answer, although to 
be expected, came as a shock. They were dying in ex-
piation. They were a sacrifice to God. Only the best can 
be sacrificed, and they were the best of Spain. With in-
scrutable calm they would look you straight in the eyes 
and tell you so. And yet, there was no pride in them as 
they spoke; it was merely a statement of fact. Neither 
was there a challenge in their words. They did not care 
whether you agreed that they were the best or not, be-
cause, after all, they were not interested in your or world 
opinion. When we saw the great Brigades, fresh from 
their incredible campaigns, kneeling, thousands of them, 
with their crosses glinting in the sun and their dark 
faces upturned, watching the small white Host that they 
were dying for, the rest of us had to lower our eyes. 
There were foreigners there that day. Men who had been 
through the World War and knew what fighting meant. 
And reflected in all their faces was the same silent, intent 



FOR GOD AND COUNTRY 113 

admiration as they gazed on the Brigades of Navarre, 
the finest of soldiers, on their knees before the Prince of 
Peace. 

One evening we were resting on the slopes of the 
Pyrenees. The enemy had retreated and the Navarrese 
were waiting till the next morning before continuing the 
advance. It was a magnificent evening, with the sky light 
green after the setting sun. The great mountains were 
deep blue and snow-capped, and long, gentle valleys drop-
ped down into the plain filled with purple shadows. The 
troops were sitting in little circles and their scarlet berets 
were like poppies scattered over the mountainside. They 
were singing, as usual. One small group was singing the 
Triumphal March of the Navarrese. It ends in a shout: 
"We are defenders of Christ the King and obey only His 
holy law!" One of them jumped to his feet and shouted, 
"Christ the King!" The others rose swiftly. "Christ the 
King!" Their cry echoed through the valley. They 
threw back their heads and drank their toast to Christ 
the King. 

In the magic of the silence after that breath-taking 
toast we heard the whine of a shell and then the ugly 
crash of its bursting. Before we could seek shelter, bul-
lets were falling and a red-hot splinter from one of the 
shells tore by and caught one of the boys who had been 
standing. It threw him, and when we reached him he was 
dying, with his right side torn to pieces. The chaplain 
was bending over him and the boy raised his eyes. 

"Father, I lied; I wasn't sixteen. I'm only fourteen." 
The chaplain, a Navarrese himself, laughed and pat-

ted his head. "Is that all that's worrying you?" he 
asked. 

"Yes, but I might not have seen Him so soon, be-
cause I lied." 

Then he was dead. It was as if something had torn 
me apart also, and there was a fierce ache inside me. 

"The world has got to know these things!" I said. 
The doctor looked up at me, and almost as if I had 

insulted the boy who had died, he answered just as 
fiercely, "Why?" 



114 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

The doctor was right. The boy who had dropped his 
schoolbooks and lied as to his age was not interested in 
the world. He had not died for anything except for the 
One Whom he had just toasted. And, before my eyes I 
seemed to see the poster that is up in all the hospitals of 
Navarre. "Before God there is no unknown soldier." 

In our generation there has been something un-
canny. There have been men and boys, ranging from 
seventy-five years of age to thirteen, who have died till 
many villages of Navarre have not one man left in them. 
They have fought independently of all political theories 
and aspirations, as they had lived independent and blame-
less lives for hundreds of years in their mountains and on 
their plains. They have died gloriously, for the love of 
God, to make up for the rest of us who could neither live 
nor die for Him, and have left the future up to God. They 
have shown us how to live for God, they have shown 
us how to die for Him, knowing that politics, systems, 
the best will of men are of no avail unless absolute love 
and generous sacrifice of the best in the country or the 
individual, accompanies all that. May their souls rest in 
peace. 



"The Ultimate Wisdom of Living is Service" 
—Jorgensen. 

THE N. C. C . W . COMMITTEE ON 
YOUTH 

The Purpose of the Youth Committee Is: 

1. To sponsor Youth Councils throughout the country 
—"To give to our Youth, particularly to the girls 
and young women of our day, a knowledge, a love, 
of Catholic truth and a determination to carry it 
out both in personal life and as members of Catho-
lic Organizations." 

2. To bring Catholic standards to the leisure time pro-
grams of the country and to interpret the Catholic 
philosophy of recreation to all. 

The National Committee: 

Each parish has a parish chairman of Youth. 
The Parish chairmen compose the deanery com-

mittee. 
The deanery chairmen compose the diocesan com-

mittee. 
The diocesan chairmen compose the national com-

mittee. 
The National Chairman of Youth is appointed by 

the National Board of Directors, as is the Field 
Secretary of Youth. 

The Function of the Diocesan Chairman Is: 

1. To aid in the organization of the Diocesan Youth 
Councils of Organizations. 

2. To interpret the program as approved by the 
Ordinary. 

3. To assist in carrying out a well-rounded program 
of activities throughout the Diocese. 



116 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

4. To direct Diocesan Youth Conferences and Dio-
cesan-wide Crusades. 

5. To relay to district or deanery chairmen and others 
all source material sent out by National Head-
quarters. 

6. To report on the Youth work of the Diocese to Na-
tional and Diocesan Councils at conventions and 
through letters. 

The Function of the District or Deanery Chairman Is: 

1. To aid in the organization of the District or Dean-
ery Youth Council or Organization. 

2. To assist the diocesan chairman in extending the 
Youth program. 

3. To encourage local efforts in organizing and pro-
gramming. 

4. To direct Deanery Youth meetings and interparo-
chial activities. 

5. To relay materials received from national and dio-
cesan to parish chairmen or parish groups. 

6. To report on District or Deanery Councils to dio-

cesan chairman and to local district or deanery. 

The Function of the Parish Chairman Is: 

1. To be named after consultation with the pastor. 
2. To aid in the organization of the Parish Youth 

Council or Organization. 
3. To sponsor Youth groups within the parish—to 

"walk with Youth and show the way." 
All chairmen, diocesan, district or deanery, and par-

ish should make a real study of the Youth set-up, pro-
grams and helps. All should know the Youth Leaders' 
Handbook and have it at hand for ready reference; 

All should take part in the Call to Youth radio listen-
ing-in groups and use the pamphlets, "Call to Youth," for 
local leaders' training; 

All should be informed on the general background 
and policies of the National Council of Catholic Women 
by attending National, Diocesan, and Deanery meetings. 



THE N. C. C. W. COMMITTEE ON YOUTH 117 

reading CATHOLIC ACTION and the Monthly Message 
regularly, and in giving strict attention to all letters re-
ceived from the National Chairman. 

All chairmen in Dioceses, with Youth organized or 
unorganized, need to work toward a completely set-up 
Youth Council or Organization, to make the need for such 
programs apparent and to interpret Catholic thought to 
the community. 



"Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus 
Imperat." 

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF 

CATHOLIC WOMEN 
H The Catholic Youth Program should be 

National in scope 
Diocesan in authority-
Deanery in participation 
Parish in function 

A National program definite enough to aid 
Flexible enough to serve local communities 

A program varied enough for all interests 
Allowing selection to suit need 

A program adaptable to all organizations 
Giving aid and direction to all youth groups 

A program fitted for three age levels 
Juniors 
High School groups 
Out-of-School groups 

A program with a standard framework of organiza-
tion 
That of the National Council of Catholic Women 

A program of oneness so that the girls will develop 
from the Junior groups, through the high school 
and post high school groups into the adult program 
of Catholic Action 

A program of balanced activities to provide wise in-
terests and to assure well rounded development. 

2. A program of youth by youth 
Youth should plan and execute all activities, under 
the guidance of sponsors. 

3. A complete program of Catholic Action, based on 
Prayer, Study, Service. 



"Catholic Action takes in the whole of human life." 

SUGGESTED PROGRAM ACTIVITIES 

I. Religious 

Confraternity of 
Christian Doctrine 

Catechetics | 
Apologetics 
Liturgy 

Field 

II. Cultural 

Study Clubs 
Discussion Groups 
Reading Groups 
Trips—Tours 

III. Vocational 

Vocational Guidance Handicrafts 
Parent Education Home Economics 
Homemaking Apprentice Training 

Commercial Training 

IV. Recreational 

Hobby Clubs Picnics 
Sports—Games Parties 
Hiking—Camping Dancing 
Swimming Community Nights 

Play Days 

V. Service 

Catholic Action Youth Leadership 
Crusading for Christ Social Service 

Civic Cooperation 

Social Action 
Group Prayers 
Corporate Communions 
Days of Recollection 
Missions—Retreats 
Mass 

Libraries 
Music 
Dramatics 
Art 



120 "THE CALL TO YOUTH" 

N. C. C. W. "HELPS" 
Youth Leaders' Handbook .„...$ .25 

Youth Today and Tomorrow - .10 

Youth Leadership and Catholic Action 10 

The Call to Youth—1937 25 

The Call to Youth—1938 25 

The Call to Youth—1939 25 

General Plan for Leisure Time Activities 05 

Culture for Young People 05 

The Needs of Youth 10 

Proceedings N.C.C.W. Conventions 1.00 

Youth Leaflet—free 



ADDRESSES OF PUBLISHERS 
American Association for Adult Education, U.S. Depart-

ment of Interior, Wash., D.C. 
American Youth Commission, 744 Jackson Place, Wash., 

D.C. 
Associated Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York City 
Benziger Bros., 26 Park Place, New York City 
Bruce Publishing Co., 524 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee, 

Wisconsin 
Catholic Daughters of America, 15 S. Rumson St., Mar-

gate, N.J. 
Catholic Education Press, 1326 Quincy St., N.E., Wash., 

D.C. 
Girl Scouts, Inc., 14 W. Forty-Ninth St., New York City 
International Truth Society, 407 Bergen St., Brooklyn, 

N.Y. 
Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn. 
Longman's Green Co., 114 Fif th Ave., New York City 
L.C. Page and Co., Boston, Mass. 
Macmillan Co., 60 Fifth Ave., New York City 
National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1312 Massachu-

setts Ave., N.W., Wash., D.C. 
National Council of Catholic Women, 1312 Massachu-

setts Ave., N.W., Wash., D.C. 
National Recreation Association, 315 Fourth Ave., New 

York City 
National Youth Administration, Superintendent of Docu-

ments, Wash., D.C. 
Our Sunday Visitor Press, Huntington, Ind. 
Parish Activities Publications, Effingham, 111. 
Queen's Work, Inc., 3742 Pine Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 
St. Anthony's Guild Press, Paterson, N.J. 
Samuel French, Inc., 25 W. Forty-Fifth St., New York 

City 
Sheed-Ward Publishers, 63 Fifth Ave., New York City