The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1952-07-04
Just Among Ourselves

The Month Of the Sacred Heart gives way to
the Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus.
We pass from the consideration of Gods amazing
love for poor sinners to the thought of the infinite
price He paid TO buy us back the opportunity of win
ming our way TO heaven. The thought of the Sacred
Heart makes us aware of Gods love for us; the
thought of the Precious Blood shows US that love
In its most ardent manifestation
These are the great realities Gods abiding love
and Redemption We know them to be so Yet
dull and forgetful that we need constant
reminders to make knowledge real TO make it
have influence upon our conduct our thoughts, our
purposes. The Church is a wise mother; she uses
days and seasons to prod our sluggish memories and
arouse appreciation. These golden months of sum
mer, filled more than others with the distractions
OF selfishness, made the occasion of needful
membrance.
How can we be forgetu of the tremendous
truth that we are Gods beloved children for whose
sake He became Man and died upon the Cross pour
ing out the full love of His Sacred Heart and the
utmost drop of His Precious Blood? We forget,
and we do forget Original sin has hurt under
standing and by that fact, has dued both memory
and appreciation our own actual sins and habit of
inattentive living have added to our dullness the
completely goddess atmosphere OF modern life,
which breathe perforce, lends constant and
bunting influence. And so we forget Our watch
Iul HOlHeI the OnuICn SUITS US 10 remember.
There have been cynical people who said that
II we really believe the truths of faith we could
not forget and fall into worldliness and sin. But
cynical people never think straight. Cannot
be completely oblivous of the day light in which
he walks and labors? Even at midday, is a person
always directly conscious OF the sun? The most
ifest facts may be neglected, the most unforget
table truths may be- for the moment, forgotten
The thing of which we are least ignorant is likely
TO be the thing most readily ignore. The Church
is well aware of this fact and she keeps calling
the attention Of her children to the most manifest
and most important truths.
A man may forget the daylight because he is
so completely absorbed in his task or his enjoy
ment. Important things are forgotten because of a
weiter OF crowding unimportant things things al
lowed mistakenly to assume the character of inn
portance And a man may forget Gods love and his
own purpose and opportunity in life, by reason of
the eamor Of alien things
We live in world full of such clamor. End
less voices shouting at us constantly, we cannot
open book or paper without finding the shouts
set out in print they cry for attention in placards
and bliboards and in signs set up along the very
highways. The news of The hour is welter OF wars
and politics and economic troubles, ii is full of all
sorts OF promises and plans And over all is the
endless voice of the advertiser, relessly urging us
to smell nicer or to drink his brand of beer
People are urged by many interests. They arc
taught to long for gadgets, for cars for vacations
for health for beauty for economic security for
entertainment One page OF paper will tell of the
hardshps endured by men in Korea The next
will solicit the attention of citizens to the attraction
OF sports, resorts, or other instrument of self
entertainment and easy indulgence. One column will
be ominous with the story of threats to our way
of life" the next will be bright with the attractions
of some pagan pleasure.
What has our cynical person to say to all
this? Dare he say, il Americans really believed that
their sons fellow citizens dying in the orient
they could not be SO lght-mnded and sef-seeking
as they are? No, he dare not say so in defiance OF
plain facts He saves his inane remark for an un-
meaning slur upon the religious beliefs of people.
The Church knows us She shares the divine
knowledge of what is in man" And yet, like her
Divine Founder she still loves us. Patiently she
tries never for moment giving way TO discour-
agement to make her voice heard through the wild
uproar of worldly clamors. She strives constantly
to recall us TO reality. She bids us remember that
we are Gods children and hers that the love of the
Sacred Heart is poured out for u.s. that the price of
the Precious Blood is paid for our souls.
The Church sounds her summer message. June
and July are filled with voices demanding attention
They tell of wars and pleasures; OF strikes and ad-
vances in salary; of closed shops and seaside and
mountains OF evctions and sports cars; of political
conventions and unbalanced budgets of fatal col
lisons and championship tournaments, But the
faithful heart may hear, through all the insaney
contradictory cries of the season, the steady and
devoted voice of the Church. cautionng, reminding,
encouraging This is the voice of reason in q
world of sheer unreason.
To worldly mind religion is sentimental and
a secondary thing. But the worldly mind is not the
sane mind The Church is sane. And sanely she
teaches In season and out the truths that really
matter the facts that are of unchanging and ever
lasting value In world that likes to call itself
practical the Church alone is truly practical: she
alone indicates the practice that bring ultimate
and complete fulfillment to the lives of men.