The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1960-01-01
JOSEPH BREIC
The Door
Of Life

At the beginning of the New Year, let me give this
testimony.
i'll am a man, if | am even in a small way a good
man, 1t | can die, when the time comes, with some
confidence that | have done something worth the
doing, then to my wife and children | must be CRATE
full.
To my wife, for her patience with me and her
long quiet courage in bringing little ones into the
world; and to the youngsters for having been the hap
piest and most %ennobing burden | have borne.
BURDEN? Yes, burden. If | were to look back
with more than a fleeing glance through the years of
work, day in and day out; if / were to take time to re-
view all that effort. | might well feel an overpower-
ing WEAKNESS. But | look forward, not back, and | take
each hour as it comes.
Burden the children have been, with their count
less needs, pressing me on to more work and better
work. But they have been a gigantic joy, too; and my
hope is-if ! may put it this way-to walk some time
eternally in the glory of God, wearing a tunic or badge
inscribed in luminous letters: Father of Seven"
SUCH IS THE ultimate vision that sustains and
rejolces me. / did not close the door of life upon the
children God willed to give; | did not say to them, I'M
born, "You are not wanted, " or to Him i decline to
join with You in creating" They were wanted with
a great longing; their coming lifted to me the highest
happinesses | have known.
And as | say, if | have achieved anything, if ! have
been a doer and not a drone. it is because | received
the little ones and fought the battles Of life for their
suStenance. | could not have done so for mere money;
| am not materialist enough. Life is too short, and
eternity too long, to attract me to worldly goods for
the sake of worldly goods.
WHAT HAS BEEN my little history ought also to
be the great history of the human race; and indeed
for most of mankind it has always been so. Humanity
is a family as my family is a family and in this inn
mense home called Earth there is place for every one
If we will not surrender to defeatism.
1t is not true that there is not room for more and
more of us. 1t is not true that there cannot be food
on the table of the world for everybody. The frigh-
tened doom-sayings of the birth-preventers will be
proved l~aughably false if we will be brave and UNI
selfish. and will love every son and daughter of man.
We can be defeated only by our own abject Sur
render.
Our c%onquests of disease are making our world
family larger, and so a decision faces each of us. We
must be counted either with those who are afraid of
humanity, or with those whose love and courage en-
braces it.
n STAND we take will depend. at root, on be-
lief or unbeief, and in trust or untrust, in God as
Father OF us all. If we believe and trust, then we know
that He can, if necessary, give us bread out of stones.
But there is no need for miracles, only for His
grace, touching and opening hearts, and filling them
with courage and wisdom. A world under good law, a
world of justice and love, organized to create universal
prosperity, can be a happier and richer home for
billions of us than it ever before has been for com.
parativelE few.
The choice is ours as the family of man. even as
ii has always been the choice of each individual family.
We can work and devise and invent, and by ingenuity
and enterprise provide well for every human being;
or we can back away in fear from our splendid destiny.
To choose courage is not the easiest course; but it
is the only course that is e%nnobling.