he- CcitUnn h. \3.J a j . i, v> £^ T\v>00 i’st^Sci Apt 5~b b30S^' DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS ’ ST VINCENT dte PAUL Rev.lohrtMJVVcCarthy TheHour of Faith DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS A series of Sunday morning talks given in 1945 on “The Hour of Faith,” a coast-to-coast religious broadcast produced by the National Council of Catholic Men in cooperation with the American Broadcasting Company. BY rev. john m. McCarthy Mission Band of the Archdiocese of Chio.p'r* X NATIONAL COUNCIL OF! CATHOLIC MEN 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N. W. Washington 5, D. C. Printed in U. S. A. By OUR SUNDAY VISITOR PRESS HUNTINGTON, INDIANA Imprimatur: HE- JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, Bishop of Fort Wayne Nihil Obstat: REV. T. E. DILLON Censor Librorum Deadest'' \ 0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Success Story 7 Most Honored Servant 11 Undefined Legion of Honor 16 The Birthday of Sanctity 20 Heroes in the Making 24 > SUCCESS STORY Talk Given On December 2, 1945 Suppose you suddenly found yourself seated on a stage as one of the contestants in a quiz program. This is your question : “Since the decoration was be- gun in 1862, how many heroes have been awarded the Congres- sional Medal of honor ?” What would you answer? Actually there have been only 2966. It is quite astonishing that the number is so small, relatively only a handful, compared with the many millions in the service. These decorations, of course, in no way detract from the honor and the debt of national grati- tude due to every member of the armed forces, who stayed on the job and helped to purchase vic- tory in any American crisis. The smallness of the number of heroes does, however, emphasize their honor; it makes them and their deeds very exclusive. In the Catholic Church we have had for a long time a somewhat similar system of citation and decoration. Our counterpart of the awarding of the Congres- sional Medal of Honor is .the process of canonization, and the awarding of the title “Saint.” This Catholic citation of distin- guished service is never made till after death. In fact the under- lying purpose is to give us a guarantee that a certain person, a noble or a beggar, a doctor or a gardener, a blacksmith or a scholar, whatever the case may be, having lived an exceptionally good life, is now unquestionably in heaven. After we have this assurance we are prompted to imitate the saint’s earthly life and to seek the intercession of this friend of God. We do not permit veneration of a saint to interfere with ad- oration of God ; our reverence for any saint is far different from our worship of God. It is not merely a lesser degree of rever- ence; it is of a different type. A saint’s holiness is only a reflec- tion of God’s holiness. Augus- tine, in the 4th century (who, by the way, was later declared a saint) explained our practice very clearly by saying that Cath- olics, while giving to God alone adoration strictly so called, hon- or the saints because of the di- vine graces which have earned them eternal life and through which they reign with God in heaven as His chosen friends. 8 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS I emphasize this difference be- tween worship of God and ven- eration of the saints because sometimes those who are not en- tirely acquainted with our insis- tence on this distinction are taken aback by our devotion to the saints. Let it be clear that 4 our appeal is always to God. When we pray for example, to Saint Anthony, it is to beg his intercession with God on our behalf. He is one of God’s spe- cial friends and shall be for all eternity. We believe that when saints present our requests to God, He frequently honors them by bestowing special favors on men. The canonization of a man or woman does not make the saint; the saint is already made. The Church’s action is a solemn dec- laration of fact. Many saints are never canonized, but they are saints just the same. So we naturally ask : And when does the saint become a saint? What is there about, let us say, Saint Philip Neri which makes his life different from anybody else’s life? The answer is simple though comprehensive: a saint relates his life to God more thor- oughly than others. Before he can relate his life to God, he must know God. A saint then is a normal being like you or me, walking the earth, who comes to a superior knowledge and aware- ness of God and makes this knowledge function in all his actions. His finding God is not like the eureka of a man with a flashlight who discovers a jewel in the grass at night; rather it is like the discovery of a man who awakens on a brilliant morn- ing to find all creation bathed in sunlight. A saint finds God per- meating everything in the world ; he becomes conscious of the “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and throughout all, and in us all” (Ephesians 4:6). A striking example of this is found in Saint Francis of Assisi. We all know of his love of nature, his preaching to the birds, his delight to walk on flower-swept hills. While not all saints ex- pressed themselves so vividly as did Saint Francis yet every saint views the world as the beautiful product of Divine Power. Even a holy hermit like Simeon or a cenobite like Maur, in renounc- ing the world for solitude, though fleeing the sensualities of man which often make for ugli- ness, is also dispossessing him- self of the legitimate good things in the world. It is his very con- sciousness of their goodness which makes his renunciation a real sacrifice. SUCCESS STORY 9 The saint like Jerome, Au- gustine, or Thomas Aquinas may be a scholar and as such can prove the existence of God, but as a saint his knowledge of God is more than a conclusion of logic; it is a reality as vivid as his own life. Or he may be unlet- tered, perhaps unable to read or write, but his belief in God is none the less sturdy and con- stant. Without disturbing in any way his expansive view of all creation as the handiwork of God, the second mark of a saint is that he enjoys the sublime concentration of his belief and his love in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. God became man so that men might draw near to Him; the saint values this friendship with our Lord as more important than earthly life or health or world- ly honor. And so have martyrs —hundreds and thousands of martyrs. They loved life at least as much as you or I. But they loved Christ more than life or anything that life could offer. Christ was number one to them, all else had to take second place. In this love for Christ, no saint has ever been quite satisfied that he had reached his goal. In all humility his dissatisfaction with himself is far greater than that of the astronomer who counts a million stars but knows there are countless more. The saint is imitating Christ the Son of God. He knows he shall never match the Master ; his ever restless am- bition is to approach the Pattern more perfectly. The third mark of a saint is the one most obvious to the world: he loves and serves his fellowman. Sometimes, in fact, this characteristic is the only one observed by unthinking men ; and when it alone is noted, it becomes pitifully misunderstood. For example, Saint Vincent de Paul's love for humanity is gen- uine but his horizon must not be narrowed to mere philanthro- py. His benefactions to mankind are but an overflow of his love for God. He who would over- look this motive, no matter how complimentary he may try to be, is certainly guilty of the prover- bial error of judging a book by its cover. To describe a saint merely as a great humanitarian is to overlook that which makes him a saint, namely, his motive. * The saint loves God. He tries to imitate the Son of God, Jesus. He takes literally the words of Our Lord : “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40). It was the consuming 10 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS personal love for Jesus that sent a homesick Francis Xavier plod- ding across continents carrying the knowledge of his Master. The same love ordered the hands of Don Bosco, juggling and doing acrobatics for his delight- ed youthful audience; he was not a Pied Piper merely leading chil- dren from danger; he led them from danger all right, but he led them to Christ. It is very difficult for us to grasp the depth of love the Saints had for our Lord, the union of their spirit with His Spirit. Admirable as is a soldier- hero risking death, crawling over bullet-riddled paths to save a wounded pal, this heroic sacrifice can scarcely hold a candle to a % saint’s devoting his life to the rescue of his fellow men. The soldier’s act is grand ; the saint’s whole life is grand. Like the one who would call a saint an altruist or a humanitar- ian, I too would be guilty of grave omission if I failed to men- tion the badge of a saint which, though invisible, is the very root of his prowess. The saint is the possessor of a divine gift which we call supernatural grace. The saints all accomplished a super- human amount of work, whether it was teaching or evangelizing, or nursing or doing penance or praying for mankind. But never call him a human dynamo, as though he generated tremendous energy by sheer strength of his own will. To pursue the com- parison, rather he is a motor that stays constantly connected with the power supply of God’s grace. His drive is not for his own suc- cess, or his own fame, much less his own comfort. In fact he seeks personal humiliation and self- abnegation, to make sure he is seeking only the success of his Master. The ultimate to be reached, the very acme of his ambition, the be-all and end-all of a saint’s breathless yearning is to be able with Saint Paul to say, “It is now no longer I that live but Christ lives in me” (Ga- latians 2:20). MOST HONORED SERVANT Talk Given On December 9, 1945 What is the most beautiful picture you ever saw? The most beautiful picture in my recollection, I saw shortly before the war. I was in Paris and I visited the famed art gal- lery of the Louvre. In those days Europe was filled with American tourists, and of course a certain percentage of these were constantly filing in and out of this world-renowned museum. I moved along, in fact I was almost swept along with the hasty concourse, impatient to see everything at once. Some carried their guide books and would pause a scant few seconds before a masterpiece to consult and check it off the list as “hav- ing been seen.” As I ascended a staircase to the second floor, I became aware that above was an area of greater reverence and quiet. There in a large salon were perhaps 100 people. Some were seated on little rented chairs; others stood erect with folded arms. There was no mill- ing about, no restlessness. Some looked to be artists; others, the curious tourists. All attention was centered upon one painting; a picture of a lovely girl. She was standing on a cloud, her hands were folded on her breast. Her full-flowing robes seemed scarcely to be fashioned but rather hovered about her as though undrawn by gravity. The faintest blush was in her cheek; a slightest undefined nimbus about her hair. Murillo’s “Im- maculate Conception.” I tarried for a long time as did the others, and only with reluctance did we leave. And the thought that lingered in my mind is undoubt- edly the same thought that poses as a question to anyone who takes even a passing interest in art : Why are there so many Ma- donnas? Why were the great masters at their greatest when they turned to Mary? Michelan- gelo, Raphael, Murillo, Fra An- » gelico, Van Dyck, seemed never so inspired as when they at- tempted artistic justice to our Blessed Lady. The same pattern unfolds in the other arts. I am told that many authorities consider Mich- elangelo’s “Pieta” the most beautiful statue ever liberated from a block of marble. Certain- ly in music some of the world’s most enchanting melodies have 12 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS been composed to accompany the Angel's salutation to the humble handmaid of the Lord: Ave Maria. And in literature, hers is a position of charm; unending poetry and prose laud this lovely girl whose simple name is Mary. Why is she so favored? Why is poor fallen man inspired and capable of ecstatic heights when he contemplates the humble maid? The answer is so obvious and neat we pass it over usually and look for a reason more in- volved. But return to the obvious, for there is the truth: Mary shines out like the moon at a midnight crest because God wanted it to be so. Back in the uncalendared aeons of eternity the Divine Mind who is God, in fixity upon the Incarnation, could have chosen for His Mother anyone of the noble and lovely women who have graced this world. He could have chosen the courageous Flavia Domitilla; or the inno- cent, firm-willed Little Flower; or an Elizabeth of Hungary, she of the abounding charity. Not confined by our horizons of time , and place, He could have chosen for His mother the lovely prin- cess who inspired the Taj Mahal. He could have selected any one of the millions of self-sacrificing, wholesome mothers who have made their estate the universal shrine of all ages. But none of these was quite good enough to be the Mother of Christ. So He made Mary according to a unique divine plan; and she is the fair- est of the fair. It is because of the endowments of loveliness be- stowed upon her by God, that Mary holds such a sublime po- sition in man's vault into ethe- real artistry. But God was not content that she should have surpassing charm only of a physical nature ; He conferred on her a spiritual privilege in virtue of which the Angel Gabriel hailed her: “Full of Grace." One of the most famous tributes in English lit- erature to this brilliant jewel in Mary's crown of honor is in Wordsworth's Sonnet to the Virgin: “Woman ! above all women glorified, Our tainted nature's solitary boast." The Catholic Church teaches us that we come into this world bearing on our souls the guilt of original sin. But the Blessed Virgin, in view of the fact that she was to be the Mother of Jesus, Son of God, was from the first instant of her conception preserved from original sin. We do not say there was anything MOST HONORED SERVANT 13 miraculous about her conception in the natural order ; rather this honor is supernatural. We say that God, for whom all things • are present, reached across the years to the merits of Christ on Calvary, carried them back in time and applied them to Mary at the very moment of the union of her soul to her body. Thus by Divine Power Mary was pre- served from sin at the very in- stant her life began. We would think perhaps that because of these special gifts, Mary was swept beyond the realm of voluntary choice. The whole system of God’s grace is such a manifestation of divine power that it often wraps itself in mystery. But let this be clear: No matter the abun- dance of His helping grace, God does not destroy free will. In matters of personal life Mary was free to choose between right and wrong. She chose the right —but it was a free choice. Even regarding her motherhood bf Jesus, she was free, undeniably free. When the Angel announced to her that she was to be the Mother of the Most High, Mary could not understand how this great honor was in accord with the vow of perpetual virginity she had already made. Whereup- on the Angel assured her that: “The Holy Spirit shall come up- on thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Being thus assured of God’s will, yet of her own free choice, Mary said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). That was her choice, and in it was magnificent surrender to God. There were no strings attached, no conditions to be met, no prom- ises to be guaranteed. Be it done ! How familiar, how closely akin to Christ in Gethsemani : Thy will be done ! Mary was agreeing to everything involved. By her own free will she agreed to Beth- lehem; she did not foresee it; but her surrender was complete : Be it done. By her own free will, came the flight into Egypt. By her will, the thirty happy years of Nazareth. “Be it done” in- cluded His public life and her following from afar. Let Calvary come too, and her death vigil at His bleeding feet. And the cold body of her lifeless child hid behind a great stone door; be it done! There you have a summary of a few of the thoughts that flood the mind when we view a picture of Mary. Only a picture! How 14 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS lovely she herself must be! But in spite of the dignity possessed by this most honored maid ser- vant, preeminence that would tend to hollow a gulf between her and us, let it not be. She is ours; she is one of us. She is not divine; she is human. And she still comes a-begging for a gift and an honor which only we can give. It is the gift that every little child bestows upon his mother; and which a mother treasures beyond gold. It is the tribute of our helplessness. Never is the secret of a mother’s heart so nearly told as when her child seeks safety in her arms. Mary became mother to all man- kind, on Calvary. Christ’s last bouquet to us from the Cross was this treasured Mother. We would do well as executors of His estate to pay her the childlike affection that is her due. How? Talk to her ; call it prayer if you will. Yesterday was the feast of Mary’s preservation from orig- inal sin. It was celebrated throughout the Catholic world. But for us in America yesterday had a special meaning. More than 100 years ago the Catholic bishops of the United States chose Mary as our national pa- tron saint under the title of her Immaculate Conception. As an American Catholic I quote the tribute, beautiful in its simplic- ity, of Father Charles O’Donnell, late President of Notre Dame University: Mary, the Mother of Jesus, A lady of high degree Sat by her cottage spinning In Nazareth of Galilee. A light fell over her shoulders As she sat in the plane-tree’s shade While a delicate lace of shadows The sun and the green leaves made. Busy her foot on the treadle And her wheel busily whirled As a child looked out from the doorway, A child who had made the world. Deftly she handled the distaff And happily whirred her wheel As the child came down from the doorway And ran to her side to kneel. “Mother,” He said, as He watch- ed her There while she sat and spun, “Some things are more fair than I dreamed them The night that I made the sun. And you are my heart of all beauty, MOST HONORED SERVANT 15 My star of all seas, of all lands, — ” Hush, Child !” whispered Mary His Mother, Her tears falling down on His hands.* *-Quoted with permission of Ave Maria in which the poem originally appeared. ft UNDEFINED LEGION OF HONOR Talk Given On December 16, 1945 Theatrical celebrities and mili- tary heroes and athletic stars — and saints—all have one thing in common. Each usually needs a good supporting cast. There are some exceptions to be sure. We find occasionally a dra- matic player so clever at mono- logue as to be able to present an entire performance alone. Now and again we read during the war of a soldier who received the title “one man army.” In athletic contests where teams are in- volved, an individual may show such exceptional ability that the spectators will forget other mem- bers of the team. And sometimes you will find a saint who seemed to fix his aim, and lead his life, and make his eternal mark, with no help from anyone except God. But usually there is a supporting cast not in the range of the spot- light—or a ground crew, or a team, or a company of earnest co-workers. Of course you know that I am not going to talk about actors or soldiers or athletes. I am going to talk about saints. But I make that point about teams and ground crews because today we turn the spotlight on the co- workers and helpers of famous saints, and upon those countless good people who are quickly for- gotten when they die. Let us start with a saint whose supporting cast would have made a “supercolossal” motion picture look like a “one-night-stand” stock company: St. Vincent de Paul. He enlisted the aid of thousands of men and women in his far-flung works of charity. These followers and helpers caught his spirit, which was simply the spirit of Christ his model, and seem never to have refused any opportunity of charity : leper hospitals and foundling asylums, teaching posts in seminaries or univer- sities, chaplaincies for the mili- tary, for prisoners, for galley slaves. They followed his lead and never held back. One by one they died, known only to God, and others filled their ranks and still fill the ranks even in our present day. Then there was St. Joseph Cot- tolengo. When I was in Italy I went out of my way to visit Turin and the famous House of Providence he established in UNDEFINED LEGION OF HONOR 17 1832. In 1938 the House of Providence was living up to its name more than ever. There were about 10,000 patients: the sick, the blind, the deaf mutes; the incurable, the retarded, the imbeciles ; orphans, aged, un- wanted. It was not a house—it was a city, supported entirely by charity, with no endowments and no bank-books; just the day to day charity of the followers of Christ. 10,000 patients! And who took care of them? Hun- dreds of men and women, des- tined to die unknown except to God, who devoted their lives to these poor as a tribute to their Master. A great “supporting cast !” Shall I go on telling about the helpers of the saints? I fear the pattern would become monoto- nous, for so many saints, who carried on great works of charity, were aided by countless unsung heroes. I do not wish to restrict the term “helpers” only to those self-sacrificing men and women who gave themselves com- pletely to the saints’ programs of charity ; not only to those who became priests or brothers or nuns, taking vows which bound them for a lifetime to the cause. Rather I would keep also in view generosity gave much more than those cooperators who by their the lauded cup of cold water in Christ’s name. Some time ago I was invited to conduct a day of recollection at a certain convent. It was not for the nuns but for a group of women. It was to be the Mother Superior’s gesture of thanks to these good ladies for the help they had given in the work of the nuns. Now I have long since admired beyond words the chari- table deeds of these nuns; but at the same time, from a very practical viewpoint, I wondered how they were able to carry on. It looked like all “outgo” and no income. But that day of recollec- tion solved the problem very clearly, for here were the chari- table people behind the scenes who made the sisters’ work possible. Some were women obvi- ously of means, and the good sisters in going to the sick and the destitute became dispensers of charity placed in their hands. Some were women of very moder- ate circumstances who gave of their time and ability to organ- ize, to sew, and to interest others. I know that the Church does not canonize anyone before death; but we, in the face of virtue, sometimes hallow living people, and in a wide sense of the term, we call them saints. In this wide sense, these nuns are 18 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS saints and I am sure our Lord will not overlook their “support- ing cast.” Lest perchance I am placing too much emphasis on works of external charity let us retrace our steps to the solid ground of balanced Catholic truth. Here are a few facts. The Catholic Church now and again grants the weight of her authority to a guarantee that a certain person, having lived a life of extraordi- nary holiness, is now in heaven. This process called canonization includes a very careful exami- nation of the person’s life. After the fact of holiness is deter- mined, the Church makes her solemn pronouncement. The whole procedure is but a particu- lar application of one of Chris- tianity’s first principles, namely : when a person dies in a state of true friendship with God, he shall be God’s friend forever. Because heaven is a supernatural reward, it is beyond our natural power to earn it. We need a super-natural power, a gift from God which is called sanctifying grace. We shall resort to a compari- son for a better understanding of this profound truth. Suppose I wish to break down an atom. I may wish to accomplish this with all my heart. I can think about it, plan it, hope for it, and strive absurdly to do it by pres- sing my fingers together or grit- ting my teeth with all my strength. But I need something more than my natural physical power; I need a cyclotron—an atom-smashing machine. In a. somewhat similar way, I may be moved by God to wish for heaven with all my heart, to think about it, hope for it. But I would be very foolish to strive to get there by purely natural powers. Heaven is be- yond my natural earning power. I must first receive from God supernatural grace. When I pos- sess this supernatural “tool”, then all the good actions of my life help to purchase my super- natural reward which is heaven. We receive this supernatural power in baptism. We increase it by the other sacraments. If we lose it by committing serious sin, it can be restored through God’s mercy in the sacrament of pen- ance. A person who dies posses- sing this badge of true friend- ship for God will remain God’s friend forever in heaven. If all of this seems complicated or not in accord with the vague, easy hope of salvation of many in our day, we should keep in mind that this straightforward UNDEFINED LEGION OF HONOR 19 plan was instituted by Christ for us. If we desire the reward we should be willing to accept the means to achieve it. Jesus Him- self said: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it re- main on the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine ; you are the branch- es. He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing” (John 15 :b-5). Now there are undoubtedly countless souls who depart this life in a state of real friendship for God; possessors of His sanc- tifying grace who appreciated this supernatural gift and lived according to God^s commands. The Church does not attempt to study all their lives in order to declare them saints. She chooses a very few, of extraordinary virtue, in order that we may have their practical example and their effective intercession with our heavenly Father. But the Church goes farther in remind- ing us of the vast legion of others who have reached the goal and enjoy eternal happiness. The Church pays her homage to this great army on the feast of All Saints. In this magnificent cavalcade are the millions of good, plain people, who filled their span of earthly years faithful to our Lord. They were not heroic saints; sometimes perhaps they failed, maybe did serious wrong. But they went back before too late and made amends to the Master’s merciful Heart. They died His friends. Within the happy ranks are the numbered little ones who died in baptismal innocence, His special friends, for of such is His Kingdom. And I think there must be a very honored regiment—the helpers of the saints—under His banner of charity. And there will . be the lads whose names are beginning already to fade? on the little white crosses all over the world—but what matter, be their names in- scribed in His unchanging Heart ? Life is strange, is it not? So filled with aims short of the goal. So filled with the hopeful strife that attempts to turn this vale of tears into Paradise—always fail- ing but ever scornful of those who would be defeatist. We are only on the stairs, between two doors—and both doors are death. But if we climb, if we climb , our hands, like children’s hidden within Christ’s guiding, helping clasp, IF WE BUT CLIMB— beyond that upper door is the undefined legion of honor. THE BIRTHDAY OF SANCTITY Talk Given On December 23, 1945 Last Thursday afternoon I was downtown, here in Chicago. What a crowd! You would think that everybody in the middle- west decided to go shopping at one time: children by the thou- sand, excited and wide-eyed, pulling their mothers to one dis- play window, then another; per- plexed men wondering what to buy; tired clerks doing their best to be pleasant and patient; street cars clanging, autos and trucks mooing through the traffic; little tots timidly whispering to street corner Santas; women carrying packages and happily searching for more; holly wreaths on the lamp posts, and colored lights everywhere; and from the loud speakers along the street, Bing * crooning Silent Night . It sounds a bit frightening, does it not? But on the contrary, it was delightful. Perhaps you are amazed at my saying that. I know there are some good people who are quite provoked at all the commercialism connected with Christmas. And of course I ad- mit, it is a real tragedy if Christ- mas be for some no more than a bit of tinsel and the exchange of a few gifts. But for the sake of the many to whom the jingling bells and tissue paper and red ribbons are but a preparation for a birthday party in honor of our Blessed Lord, for their sake all the store and street decora- tions are both commended and justified. Most assuredly if you would have Christmas at all it must be more than a few span- gles and festoons ; but Christmas without these externals would scarcely express the joy which this feast so uniquely kindles in human hearts. The joy of Christmas is in a class by itself, akin to, yet quite distinct from, all other gladness. It is a joy begotten of faith, born of hope, and forever es- poused to charity. Without char- ity it is nothing; without faith and hope it is like a holiday gift box all done up in gay wrappings but containing a useless trinket. Some, who greatly anticipate Christmas, go disappointed with the meager joy it brings to them, for in their plans they attempt to make it a time of mere joviality and merry-making. The joy of Christmas is unique in that it THE BIRTHDAY OF SANCTITY 21 is inseparably bound up with pathos, and small wonder, for there is something very pathetic about the helplessness of the Infant Savior and the homeless- % ness of the little Holy Family. There is no Christmas without Christ. If we would grasp its real spirit we must become as little children, kneeling before the crib. Beautiful words of de- scription are out of place here. For there is no pretty word that means “stable there is no warm, cheery expression that means “chill night air;” there is no handsome way to say “we have no room.” In the simple language of children, Tuesday is the birthday of Jesus. Bethlehem, Christ’s birthday, midnight and the stars ! Mid- night, and the unweary angels deck the sky asinging Glorias to their new-born King. Midnight, and what was, an hour before, a lowly cave, has now been changed into a sanctuary of eternal love. A village maid, virgin all the while, has even now brought forth her first-born Son, Priest of kingdom come, covered His tender body with swaddling bands, and laid Him in a manger on the tufted straw. Lord God of heaven and earth, Redeemer to be of all mankind, He; and she, Mystical Rose in the garden of salvation. And yet, a village maid and her little newborn Son ! Those tiny lips will someday reveal things hidden from the foundation of the world; those little hands and feet will some- day be spiked to a cross. That Child who was born a scant few moments ago, will live His span of life and die as a criminal on Calvary before two score years have passed. But He will change the complexion of the world for all time to come. He will be loved more completely and hated more violently than anyone else in all history. He is Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God . There beside the manger, more fair than the miraculous star beckoning the wise men, more fair than seraphic choirs arrayed against the sable sky, more fair than the sun rolling out into space in the springtime of crea- tion—the village maid, His little mother. There too, a strong, silent, just man! A man whose heart has been crushed by rela- tives and friends; driven by re- jection to offer his foster-Son a birthplace in a stable. That was the first Christmas; nineteen centuries ago, when the whole world was at peace, and Jesus Christ was born in Bethle- hem of Juda of the Virgin Mary. Now we are approaching 22 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS Christmas 1945. When the day is over, Tuesday next, and the muted songs of carolers linger in the mind, and tired children are tottering to bed, and love’s long lost voices call the lonesome memory back to our own child- hood Christmases ; Tuesday night we shall sigh and ask accounting of the day’s worth. Only will our reckoning prove that this Christ- mas has been worthwhile, if we have carried off the Infant Jesus from His crib, to cradle Him in our hearts. Let there be no mistake. For anyone who is endowed with Catholic faith, lodging Christ in the heart means, first of all, re- ceiving Him in Holy Communion. Our Lord arranged to be born in a distressful stable so that you and I, in pity, would take Him out of it. If we have held aloof from Him because of pride, re- flect: There was no pride about the manger. He is a winsome little Beggar who first seeks en- trance into our hearts, and then boldly gives us away to every- body we meet. It seems a strange procedure, but it is an unfailing formula of joy. This is why Christmastide is a special time for distributing gifts. If our giving presents is a mere social formality and is scaled to our anticipated returns, then either we have failed to harbor Christ or we have curbed His spirit by our own dull calculations. The real spirit of Christmas is the spirit of Christ. It i» a spirit of charity and of mercy; of generosity and forgiveness. When that ingenious Infant Master has His way, the doors of our hearts do not inclose Him in secluded safety; our hearts are thrown wide open and His baby laugh echoes everywhere. The postman smiles at your door; the newsboy is beaming and whistling; the ruddy police- man chuckles and waves a cheer- ing hand; the little nun’s shoes do a tap as she scampers to the community room ; everyone in the family is laughing and gay. When the real spirit of Christ- mas is in the air we have the indefinable feeling that, for a while at least, our generous little Lord, in us, has had His fling. So see Him in the market place. See Him in your home. See His capering in children. Hear Him in the Christmas carols. See His dancing eyes be- hind the festooned tree. See Him in every stranger’s face. And then, much to your surprise, though He seems to be every- where else, you will find Him in your heart. That is Christmas. 23THE BIRTHDAY OF SANCTITY My dear friends, we shall all be busy tomorrow in our final preparations. I, with my fellow priests, throughout the world, shall be occupied hearing con- fessions all day long and through the evening. I hope that any Catholic who is not yet ready to receive our Lord in Holy Com- munion, will be ready before to- morrow is over. Do not attempt a Christmas without Christ. As a parting “Merry Christ- mas” I am going to quote some lines composed by Father Charles O'Donnell, late President of Notre Dame University: Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, And fairer than the stars are after rain, The young girl, in her anguish, far from home, Knocks at their midnight doors, and knocks in vain. I think she would put out her eyes with weeping — Men die, they are not born upon the street — Well, here a shed, with cattle dully sleeping, Angels of God have pity on her, sweet. He was so helpless, that good man beside her, Heaven and earth were powerless in her power. And who would ask for Him a cradle golden, That in her arms and on her breast was folden? The legioned angels come at length and sing, Come wondering shepherds with their tardy sheep, And later, star-led, king shall ride with king To lay their grandeur where He lies asleep. She would be patient in that hour of splendor, As she was silent in her lonely grief — The Mother is so wise, the maid so tender, And her good man believed be- yond belief, They two shall keep Him safe, the world's Desire, And one, upon the breast that is the Lord's Shall die—not she ; the dread years shall conspire Against her, and the edge of seven swords. Ah, by the tears that blur my human eyes, I shall not quit her feet in Para- dise.* *Quoted with permission of Ave Maria in which the poem originally appeared. HEROES IN THE MAKING Talk Given On December 30, 1945 Not long ago I was conducting a mission at St. Columbanus' parish in Chicago. One day about noon I had a visitor who was seeking my advice. He was a fine young man, six and a half years of age. He had his first- grade reader under his arm. “I want to be a priest when I grow up,” said he; “could you let me take the first book I’ll have to study?” We had a long chat about the making of a priest and he went on his happy way with as much knowledge on the subject as his busy little mind could carry. There are thousands of boys and girls still in tender years who are considering some day becoming priests or brothers or nuns. What are they like, you ask. Are they prodigies or oddi- ties? No. They are normal boys and girls, of good character and reasonably good talent. Some, of course, will be far above the average ; but they all have this in common, that they desire to serve God in a special way. The mys- tery of God's grace working in His creatures must remain ob- scure but the stages from that first desire to its realization are neither mysterious nor vague. I would like to tell you about this process. Regardless of your re- ligious persuasion you will find it interesting. Let's start with a boy who lives down the street from you. He is like any of the other school boys in the neigh- borhood. You see him passing your house day by day. You see him playing ball or raking the leaves in his yard; cutting the grass, or shovelling the snow from the walk. You see him skating or flying a kite. He is going to be a priest! Watch him, and see how it happens. When or how he gets the idea of becoming a priest is the mys- tery of God's grace. It comes in about as many different ways as there are individuals. But watch the boy because he has that idea now. He is thrilled by it, and he is worried. So he talks it over with the priest of the parish. Father tells him to con- sider the desire seriously but not fretfully. He learns of the many specialized works which priests do: the care of souls in a parish like his own; teaching in high schools and colleges; mis- sionary work in our own country HEROES IN THE MAKING 26 or in foreign lands. He is in eighth grade now and as the days pass he is thinking it over seriously, and praying for God to help him decide. He has his mind made up about wanting to be a priest but he must choose the special priestly work for which he thinks he is best suited and in which he believes he will be happy. He decides in favor of the work as parish priest. Do you think him too young to make a decision? Well, he still has at least twelve years in which to change his mind. In his high school work he will specialize in Latin and Greek; but his course will be of general academics. His college course will empha- size philosophy; but it will in- clude a generous cultural train- ing in general history, church history, chemistry and biology, mathematics, modern languages, etc. The little boy we started with is now a young man. You have not seen him very often except for brief vacation visits back to his home. Perhaps you meet him on one of these occasions and you ask “Will you soon be a priest ?” “Only four more years,” he re- plies. And you wonder: What in the world are they teaching him! But he's gone away again and only now does he begin his specialized education : four years on Catholic doctrinal teachings; the moral law, its principles and applications ; church law and dis- cipline ; public speaking and preaching; ceremonial conduct and sacred chant; a minute and reverential study of the Bible. During all these years he lives according to strict rule. Besides study and lectures, his day in- cludes time for prayer and medi- tation, Mass and spiritual read- ing. He has daily recreation too. When the hourly schedule is plan- ned, much can be fitted into a day. Presuming that during those years he has not changed his mind about wanting to be a priest or about the type of work he wishes to do, he is ordained at about the age of twenty-five % and begins his life work as a parish priest. Perhaps you wonder at all the training, its necessity and its value. He needs every bit of it because he must render religious service *to a cross-section of hu- manity. He must be competent to teach, to advise spiritually, to serve anyone and everyone. The Catholic Church wants him to be another Christ in his community. Remember that we started with the little boy who lived down the street. The years of moral and mental training are none too 26 DISTINGUISHED SERVANTS many to prepare him for a life task of such importance. He was a good, plain boy with ordinary talent. The Church relies upon God's grace to make him and keep him a good, capable priest. But she uses reasonable care that the seeds of grace planted by the Divine Sower will grow in fertile, cultivated ground. If the lad at the outset or along the way decided in favor of the life in the priesthood as a high school or college teacher, or in favor of the life of a missionary priest either here in America or in a foreign land, his course of training would follow much the same pattern as I have already stated. But now he will be giv- en additional training to equip him for the special tasks in which he will be engaged. Or perhaps he prefers a priestly life in a monastery or religious com- munity. Having joined a relig- ious order his training will then include a study of the rule of the order, and a course of indoc- trination and discipline which will fit him to pursue the ideals and aspirations of his spiritual family. So you see what happens when little boys get big ideas. If your boy gets an idea such as this, be happy about it, for God is show- ing special favor to your home. Don't push the lad and don't dis- courage him. Give him the same help and benevolence that loving parents lend to the hopes and ambitions of their children in choosing any path of life. Within the Catholic Church there are also brotherhoods of men devoted to special works of religion. These men are not priests; they are men who live a community life and bind them- selves to a special rule which en- ables them to devote their com- mon efforts to various exemplary works. In almost any religious work which does not require the power received in ordination, you will find brothers quietly walking a path of service to God and fellowmen. For a girl to become a nun, the Catholic Church again sets down reasonable requirements. She must be a normal girl of good character and at least aver- age talent. The desire. to serve God in a special way is once more the secret of God's grace. But when we speak of God's grace we are not describing an appari- tion or a vision or a miracle. There would be very few women serving God and humanity in re- ligious sisterhoods if they had waited for some prodigious mani- festation to invite them. The girl who, by God's grace HEROES IN THE MAKING 27 and the use of her own mind and will, has decided upon the life of a nun, can choose from as many special types of work as the charity of Christ has pro- duced. I shall always cherish in my memory the good sisters who took care of the domestic de- partment at the seminary. You will find sisters doing the work of our Divine Master in schools at all educational levels, homes for infants and for the aged, hos- pitals and asylums and orphan- ages, spiritual retreat houses, the cloistered walls echoing inter- cession for humanity ; from these she makes her choice. And hav- ing chosen the religious commu- nity whose pattern of life and work appeals to her, she takes up residence at the motherhouse to try out the life. She continues her education from the point where she left off. As a rule she has already completed high school and will now go on with college studies. Meanwhile she is living the life to decide if she likes it. For the next six to nine years she makes no permanent decision. If she is fitted for the life she will at long last make her final de- cision, and she will be happy in it. If during those trial years she decides against pursuing this manner of life she will return home under no shadow or cloud. She will be happy in the knowl- edge that she gave a fair trial to convent life. The boy or girl who has a vo- cation to God’s special service, will be happier in that pursuit than in any other. The life has its sacrifices but it has its conso- lations too. Not the least of its rewards is the joy of serving hu- manity in the Master’s Name. I would like to climax these thoughts on vocation with some lines which I treasure very much. They were written by my own father as a gift to me on the occasion of my ordination as a sub-deacon. No earthly goods may I sell, 0 Lord, For nothing of earth is mine, I offer my life, ’tis all I have, This heart which Thou gavest is Thine. Naught of the earth doth my soul desire, Nor honor, nor power, nor fame; I seek but to comfort “the least of these” And serve in the Master’s Name. Grant but the strength to en- dure the day, The burden, the toil, the heat, And grace at its close to bring their fruits To lay at Thy Sacred Feet. (C. A. McCarthy). STATIONS CARRYING THE HOUR OF FAITH Alabama ..Mobile . Arizona Phoenix California ...Los An< San Fra Colorado Denver Pueblo Connecticut Hartford Illinois -.Springfield Indiana Fort Wayni Iowa ........Burlington Davenport Dubuque Sioux City Kansas Coffeyville Kentucky ..-.Lexington Louisville Louisiana New Orlea Massachusetts ....Boston .... Michigan Detroit Minnesota Minneapolis-St. Mississippi Gulfport Missouri Columbia St. Louis Nevada Las Vegas New York Massena New York Plattsburg Poughkeeps Troy Ohio Cincinnati ' Cleveland Oklahoma Ardmore .. .(5th Sun. Pennsylvania Texas Brownsville San Antoni West Virginia Huntington ....(twice every other mon I * Delayed Broadcast (Revised as of January, 1946) WMOB 1230 kc KPHO 1230 kc KECA 790 kc KGO 810 kc KVOD 630 kc KGHF 1350 kc WHTD 1410 kc WMAL 630 kc WCBS 1450 kc WOWO 1190 kc KBUR 1490 kc woe 1420 kc WKBB 1490 kc KSCJ 1360 kc KGGF 1450 kc WLAP 1450 kc WINN 1240 kc WDSU* 1280 kc vVCOP 1150 kc WOCB 1240 kc WORC 1310 kc WXYZ 1270 kc WTCN 1280 kc WGCM 1240 kc WQBC 1390 kc KFRU 1400 kc KXOK 630 kc KWTO 560 kc KENO 1400 kc WNSA 1340 kc WJZ 770 kc WMFF 1340 kc WKIP 1450 kc WTRY 980 kc WSAI 1360 kc WJW 850 kc KVSO 1240 kc KGFF 1450 kc KOME 1340 kc WHGB 1400 kc WCEA 1250 kc WARM 1400 kc KEEW 1490 kc KABC 1450 kc KGA 1510 kc )—.WSAZ 930 kc rr pp ’** IT HOUR OF FAITH RADIO ADDRESSES IN PAMPHLET FORM OUR SUNDAY VISITOR is the authorized publisher of all Hour of Faith addresses in pamphlet form. The addresses published to date, all of which are available, are listed below. Others will be published as they are delivered. Quantity Prices Do Not Include Carriage Charge. “The Faith is Simple,** by the Rev. J. J. McLarney, O. P. 56 pages and cover. Single copy, 20c postpaid ; 6 or more, 15c each. In quantities, $8.75 per 100. “Starting From Scratch,” by the Rev. Richard Ginder. 80 pages and cover. Single copy, 20c postpaid ; 5 or more, 15c each. In quantities, $9.50 per 100. “Living the Full Life,** by the Rev. Richard Ginder. 40 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $8.00 per 100. “Self-Evident Truths,** by the Rev. Urban Nagle, O.P. 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “The Emotions—Helps to Happiness,** by the Rev. Thomas F. Carey, O.P. 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “The Four Freedoms,** by the Rev. Brendan Larnen, O. P. 24 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.00 per 100. “My Uncles, Right and Wrong,** by the Rev. Urban Nagle, O.P. 112 pages and cover. Single copy, 30c postpaid ; 5 or more, 25c each. In quantities, $15.00 per 100. “Sharing Life With Christ,** by the Rev. Louis A. Gales. 32 pages and cover. Single copy 15c postpaid ; 6 or more 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “Just Plain Numbers,** by the Rev. Timothy J. Mulvey, O.M.I., 48 pages and cover. Single copy, 20c postpaid ; 5 or more, 15c each. In quantities, $8.50 per 100. “My Uncles Talk It Over,” by the Rev. Urban Nagle, O.P. 64 pages and cover. Single copy, 20c postpaid ; 5 or more, 15c each. In quantities, $7.50 per 100. “The Road Back,** by the Rev. Urban Nagle, O.P. 36 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $7.50 per 100. “Honestly, Now!** by the Rev. John M. McCarthy, 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “On Going A Journey,** by the Rev. Thomas E. O’Connell. 48 pages and cover. Single copy, 20c postpaid ; 5 or more, 15c each. In quantities, $8.50 per 100. a “Building Christian Personality,** by the Rev. James A. Magner. 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “The Truth Shall Make You Free,** by the Rev. James G. Keller. M.flJ. 32 pages and cover. Single Copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. ‘‘Distinguished Servants,** by the Rev. John M. McCarthy. 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. “Man and the Mystery of Life,** by the Rev. Vincent Holden, C.S.P. 32 pages and cover. Single copy, 15c postpaid ; 5 or more, 10c each. In quantities, $6.50 per 100. ' gp '• • & ;>'7< P- Li r >< I ’ kv j m- S||S »r El f-'- H a'- m ':0'-„ >ir-