I Give Him A Thought BY REVEREND JOSEPH MANTON, C. 55. R. of the Mission Church, Roxbury, Massachusetts A series of Sunday evening addresses given in December, 1948, on the "Catholic Hour", a coast-to-coast religious broadcast produced by the National Council of Catholi c Men in cooperation with the National Broadcasting Company. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC MEN 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington 5, D. C. Printed and distributed by Our Sunday Visitor Huntington, Indiana .." Nihil Obstat: REV. T. E. DILLON CeQsor librorum , Imprimatur: + JOHN FRf:.NCIS NOLL, D.D. Bishop of Fort Wayne actdIfieo. TABLE OF CONTENTS A NEW CHANCE ___ _________ ___ __ ______________ ___ ______ __ __ _____ ___________________ ____________ __ _____ _ 5 A NEW WELCOME ___________________________ ___ __________ _______ ___ __ _____ __ ___________ ___ ___ _______ ___ 10 \ A NEW CHILD _____ ________ __ ___ ________________ ____ ______ ____ ______ __ _____ _______ ___ _______ _____ ______ _____ 15 A NEW RESOLVE _______ ___ __ __ ____ __ __ ____ _____ __ _____ _______ ___ __ ___ ________ ___ _____ ___ ________________ 20 A NEW CHANCE Address delivered on December 5, 1948 In this modern age when un- dertakers have become mortic- ians, and barbers tonsorial art- ists, and street cleaners sanitary engineers, it is reassuring to re- member that a pawn-shop is still . . . a pawn-shop. The painted wooden Indian no longer stands sentinel before the cigar stores. The huge shoe that used to swing in the wind outside the cobbler's door is now likely to be a pink neon sign proclaiming "Ye Boot- ie Shoppe." But, at least it is nice to recall that, almost alone in a changing world, the three balls still gleam above the pawn shop-the gi l~ed shamrock glit- tering over the city streets. - I bring up this matter of pawn-shops because December 6 happens to be the Feast of the Saint who is the patron of pawn- shops, at least in an indirect way. His name is St. Nicholas. Now everybody knows that through the friction of use and the eros- ion of time, St. Nicholas has be- come Saint Niklaus, and finally Santa Claus; though the original St. Nicholas, a kindly old Bish- op of southern Italy, would have blinked gentle astonishment at the notion of chauffering chim- ney-minded reindeer on a gusty Christmas Eve. However, he did have the habit of leaving pres- ents with something of a flour- ish. Once he -tossed three purses of gold i.nto a poor man's window so that the three daughters would have a dowry and could enter in- to honorable marriage. Well, the story got around, and naturally it grew, and by the time it reach- ed Lombardy in the North, the Bishop had heaved into the win- dow three bulging bags of gold. Who should then adopt St. Nich- olas as their patron-he was dead by now-but the money lenders of Lombardy! And over their banking houses blossomed the three golden balls which the cynical interpret as "two to one you won't get it back." But there is a very sober side to a pawn-shop. Every pawn-shop window is a pathetic little his- tory of humanity - of human vanities and hobbies and treas- eures and failures. BehiI.d the black-grilled gates folded across the front, somebody's happiness is there in jail, waiting to be hailed out. Look at the windows: 6 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT watches and fishing rods and cameras and diamond rings; pearl-handled revolvers and blue-barrelled rifles; binocu- lars that however powerful still could see no hope in the fu- ture; the inevitable mandolin that once knew merry tinkling nights; in filet musical instru- ments enough to equip a little orchestra. You wonder what the window would look like if all the owners took their places behind them. And inside this shop where there is no merriment, perhaps a man with a black coat and a cold appraising eye, and a faint, carved smile like the smile of the king in a pack of cards. Every now and then they pick up a dead vagrant, in the Bowery of New York or the South End of Boston, and in his pocket per- haps nothing but a couple of pawn tickets. You can read the story there. He gave up some- thing valuable, maybe ~ hand- some ring; and now all that is left is a soiled bit of paper. Oh, there was something else, there were the few dollars he got, but they ~lipped through his fingers like water-water or something stronger. But isn't this the very process of sin? In a way, the Devil is a Pawn-broker. He takes your soul, your ·innocence, your clean conscience, sparkling and clear as a white diamond, and he gives you some sensual pleas- ure that is gone like the flare of a match, and you have nothing . but a soiled memory, a little stub of remorse that never lets you forget that you have given up something precious, and you will never be really happy till you get it back-because it belongs to you! Some patrons of the pawn- shop redeem their little diamond regularly - say once a month. They have it for a few days and then, after a wild time, they go on the rocks and their diamond goes in hock. So it goes with their little treasure month after month; in and out, in and out. But most of the time it is in the pawn-broker's safe, and they carry nothing with them but a nagging reminder. There are people like that, too, on the street of life, with souls in pawn They don't really own their own sou l. If possession is nine-tenths of the law, nine-tenths of the time it is in possession of the Devil. I mean people· who come not to grated doors of the pawIl shop, but to the grilled screen of the confessional, perhaps every couple of months, and redeem their shining innocence, their peace of conscience, their I?oul. But a few days later, they have A NEW CHANCE 7 pawned it for pleasure, and the rest of the month they do not have it - have nothing but a guilty conscience to remind them that their soul is in the Devil's keeping. However, underline this differ- ence heavily. If you leave any- thing in a pawn-shop, say even an overcoat, your Uncle there will take better ca re of it than you would. It will be hung very neatly, securely locked up against thieves, carefully stored away so that it will never become a Blueplate Special for moths. You'll get your pawned over- . coat back in a superb condition. But it isn't like that in the Dev- il's Pawn-shop. The more often your soul goes over the counter of sin, the longer it stays in that musty and mouldering vault of bad habits, the more it deter- iorates; the thinner, the weak- er, the more flimsy and sleazy it becomes. And when you really need it, it just won't stand up . If you were to ask me what is the best season for the pawn- shop, I would tell you that in times of depression, pawn-br.ok- ers are never depressed. It is the same with the soul. In periods of personal depression, or discour- agement, people will slink into the little shop of sin, who in a happier hour would briskly pass it by. Self-pity is the side door of sin. It isn't all lit up in the front like Glamorous Temptation, but it gets us in just the same. When we are down in spirits, our only hope is to go up in spirit to God! If something has got us down, the best thing . is to go down further-on our knees. It may not settle our problem, but it will settle our soul. and when we stand up, we shall be better a ble to stand up to our trouble. If depression is the pawn~shop's best season, Monday is its bus- iest day. Ask the pay enveloPe- the pay envelope that was so fat on Friday night, but over the week-end went through some strenuous reducing exercises. Too much dice or cards, dogs or horses, Scotch or Rye-this was the dumb-bell reducing routine that took the bulge off the little bank-roll. And by the same token, isn't the soul weakest over the week-end? Aren't more souls sold out, mOre sin committed, -innocence barter- ed, self-r e s p e c t sl!rrendered, ideals given up, resolutions broken, promises forgotten, and commandments shattered over the w eek-end? Wouldn't it be better if we all took a tip from experience and were doubly careful on doubly dail- 8 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT gerous days? This is not a sour indictment of wholesome rec-reation. Real religion flour- ishes under the bright ban- ner of Joy. But like mushrooms and toadstools, there is often a deadly difference between pleas- ure and happiness. It simply means we have to pick our re- creations carefully especially ov- er the week-end. Theoretically, every article in a pawn-shop is waiting to be r.e- deemed. Did you ever wonder what happens to the unredeemed articles? After a certain time they are disposed of at public auction, almost like a little Gen- eral Judgment. But first the own- er has to be warned. He is given a chance to salvage what he has given over. God acts in pretty much the same way with people who have given over their souls to sin, people whose souls are in pawn. He gives His own warn- ing. Sometimes it is death tap- ping on the shoulder and beck- oning away someone who only yesterday strode briskly at 'our sid_e. Sometimes it is a spell of sickness flinging us on our back and letting us see how different the world looks when viewed from the horizontal. But always' it whispers, "This life is only a bridge between a brief here and an eternal hereafter. How foolish to concentrate on the bridge and forget the goa!!" But what good would be the warning-that souls in sin, souls in pawn must be redeemed be- fore that Final Auction, if we do not have the means to redeem them? Truly enough, of course we have not. But across the scar- let horizon of the world of sin, out of the merciful bosom of God there walks toward us His only Son, whose very name is "The Redeemer." The prophets of old stood in their high towers and with straining eye'S looked' for and longed for His coming. That is what the very word "Ad- vent" means; and during this sacred season we rehearse their vigil, our own eyes fixed on the golden speck of the oncoming Christmas Star. He is coming- our Redeemer-who counts not the cost of the Redemption. Jud- as Iscariot was to ask cynically, "How much for a God?" And they counted out thirty clinking pieces of si lver. If Jesus Christ had been asked by his Heaven- ly Father, "How much f6r man? How much will You pay to redeem him?" Our Savi- our would have answered, "I will give every drop of MY i Blood." And He did-poured outjl His Blood like rubies from the Cross. And now through Christ's A NEW CHANCE 9 redemptive Blood the Sinner re- ceives the price, the grace of true sorrow and purpose of amend- ment, to buy back his soul from Satan. Do we stilI go on treating Christ as though He were worth only thirty pieces of silver-seII- ing Him and our soul over the counter of sin? We can best an- swer that by treasuring our soul as it deserves. There is no jew- el in any pawn-shop in the world one tenth so precious. A pure soul is the pearl of great price that one day will · buy heaven . . f A NEW WELCOME Address delivered on December 12, 1948 Ever since the Holy Fam- ily was gathered in the Stable on that bleakest and brightest of all Christmas Days, Christmas has been essentially a family feast. New Year's may be for visiting; but behind the soft curtains and around the cheery fireside, America loves to spend Christmas at home. By this time almost all the world has con- tributed to making this family celebration the warm and pic- turesque event that it is. W e took jolly old Santa Claus on lend-lease from Holland. We transplanted the gay and glitter- ing _ Christmas Tree from Ger- many. We borrowed the stock- ings hung over the fireplace from France. Ireland lit the Christmas Candles in our windows. Eng- land piled the Christmas cards in the postman's bag. The angels over Judea gave us the Christ- mas carols; and the, tiny crib with its colorful statuettes we owe to Italy and St. Francis. In some parts of the world, like the Virgin Islands and Braz- il, Christmas is a bang-bang af- fair with the accent on fireworks. They welcome Christ at Christ~ mas the way we welcome the Fourth of July. I still think that a flaming poinsettia h as it all over a fiery pinwheel. In fact I think that the very best welcome we could give the Newborn King might be to abolish altogether fireworks in the family. And we could begin that welcome right now . and without any fear of rushing the season, because this welcome, this preparation for Christmas is fundamentally an interior preparation of the soul. \ By family fireworks I mean episodes like this. Somebody mis- lays Dad's battered slippers or his odorous pipe or his evening paper, tnd zoom! he goes up in the air like a skyrocket, explod- ing in a bursn of wrath that fairly drips fire. Christmas may be coming but it' is no longer Silent Night. Or, a couple of sis- ters along the sidelines, who feel that "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men" does not include women, begin to bicker and quarrel, and this word leads to that, and tit for tat, till the whole thing sounds like the spit-spat of a couple of fire-crackers. By way of background obligato, some \ A NEW WELCOME 11 families have among them a voice that never would be mistaken for one of the Herald Angels. It is a dusty, discontented voice, and in the way of fireworks resem- bles most one of those firecrack- ers that has been broken in the middle liIee a cigarette, and therefore doesn't go off with an honest little bang but just hisses out. Just so, this big brother doesn't explode. He merely sits there hissing through his teeth, and grumbling "Have we got that for supper again?" Similarly, in these pre-Christ- mas days you would think that anything like the bark of small fire-arms is . hardly the proper welcome for the Prince of Peace. Yet you will find in some homes individuals whose temper works on a hair-trigger mechanism. These . are the touchy people. A mere touch-the least fancied of- fence-and they go off, and the air all around them is blue-and not just smoke either. Of course they will tell you that you must understand them; they really don't mean anything bg it. Well, maybe it is only a blank cart- ridge, but just the same the sud- den sharp blast makes everybody nervdus if not actually scared. The trouble with these touchy unpredictable ~eople is they have to be labelled like medicine bot- tIes-with directions just how they are to be taken. They are like landing fields: you have to - have a weather report before you go in. No wonder Santa Claus sne.aks down the chimney and first takes a look around. Other homes are not content with Christmas candles; the~­ so have Roman Candles. These are the naggers; and a nagger is a person . who gives a new meaning to the old adage "There's no place like home!" because when she is on the job there certainly isn't. In the ar- senal of family fireworks, the nagger is the R~man Candle be- cause complaints and abuse pour out of her in spurt after spurt of ·hot flame. And when at last you think it is all over-your mis- take! It isn't. Somehow there always seems to be one or more shot left in the Roman Candle, and there is one more last word in the nagger. Then there are families which, left to themselves, might give the N ew.,J3or_n Christ the perfect welcome of a happy and harmoni- ous fire-side. If left to themselves -but that is leaving out the in- laws (maybe we should call them outlaws). Sometimes a husband or a wife will have a set of little hidden grievances lined up like a string of firecrack~rs. But noth- I 12 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT ing much happens until some meddling in-law comes along and plays the punk. Please do not think I am descending to slan g. I am staying very technical, even pyrotechnical if _ you will. But this rash intruding in-law is very like a piece of punk in that she is all burned up about some- body else's business, proceeds to ignite husband against wife or wife against husband, and then when the snap and crackle of the battle is on, she withdraws, glow- ing with delight at the fireworks she has started. Other families, if the Christ- Child chose to come to them at Christmas time, would welcome Him with a Silent Night that was not at all a Holy Night. This situation is very much like a big jumbo firecracker that doesn't go off. You know it has been lit; you fear th~ fuse is smouldering; but nothing hap- . pens. Yet the very silence is dangerous; you are afraid to go too near because it may explode in your very face. In a family, this is the ominous silence of hate. It could be two brothers or two sisters who refuse to speak. But over the whole house hangs that strained silence, that given vacuum, that secretly burning bitterness. This is the worst of all, and who doubts that to thi s the Little Christ, were He to hand out His gifts according to deserts, would prefer His Stable, and the company of the gentle beasts and the warm-hearted shepherds? Well, what is the answer to these un-Christmaslike b a c k- grounds for the Christmas Feast? Are you just thinking, "Gee, I wish so-and-so were home listening tonight. Does this fit her!" I am afraid that like an umbrella it may fit any of us. The best I:j,nswer might be a question. Am I one of these sky- rockets that go up in the air in flaming anger, or one 0:& these touchy little cap-pistols, or an - endless Roman Candle nagger who would fight ,an echo for the last word? Am I? There is no- thing like a little humil~ty to make a big change in a home. If the S.table of Bethlehem was a cave, I suppose the Shepherds had to stoop in order to get in. Anyone who wants to come close to Christ has to stoop a little. The proud, whose noses are ele- vated like an anti-aircraft gun, cannot see their own faults. They cannot see the entrance to the cave either. They stay outside. Besides, the Holy· Family in Bethlehem's bleak Stable was a Family, not just ttJ.ree individu- als under the same roof. And a \ \ A NEW WELCOME 13 family-any family-is no place for independence, but rather for interdependen~e. Its feast is not the Fourth of July, but Christ- mas. A family is no place for these people who are always as- serting their rights. "I want my rights! That's all I ask-Jus- tice!" You do-well, just h~w far do you want Justice? All the way up? Up to the Throne of God? I think most of us would settle for a little mercy there. The family is no place for a dictator who is all temper, nor for a prima-don- na who is all temperament. Af- ter all, the only fireworks over the Stable was a Star. A star that helped bring others nearer to Our Lord. On greeting cards they usually paint the Christmas Star as a tiny golden burst of flashing rays, so that at first glance you might mistake it for a Fourth of July sparkler. And that should be the pattern for family fire- , works. There will of course al- ways be some domestic misun- derstandings, some minor clash- es. Where people's lives run so closely side by side, there is bound to be occa~ional jostling, bumping, stepping on sensitive toes, and occasionally a head-on collision. But if these family tiffs must be, let them be like the Fourth of July sparkler; a little heat, a tiny flare-up, a few sparks, and it is soon over and no harm done. The point I am trying to make in all this is, that as Christ stands on the threshold of your home ready to come in for Christmas, it is much more im- portant to do your part in the preparation of the family rath- er than in the mere decoration of the home. Hang your heart with holly, not merely the house. Kind words in the family are better than Christmas candles in the window, which after all give most of their cheer to pass- ers-by. Emptying a narrow soul of petty spites and jealousies is much more in the true Christ- mas spirit than filling a conven- tional stocking. The family tree comes . before the Christmas Tree; and if some of the branch- es are a bit snarled and tangled, this is the season to straighten them out. Family feuds have spoiled more Christmas dinners than the choicest of foods ever made. Some people may think that in these pre-Christmas musings I have read you the Gospel of Christmas according to Charles Dickens rather than according to Jesus Christ. But this is the Gospel of Christ. I grant it is not the lofty-and vague-spiritual- 14 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT ( ity of the stratosphere. ' It is II,!ore the homespun spirituality of the sidewalk and the stairs and the living-room. It empha- sizes the little things that hurt Our Little Lord-like the prick- ing of the straws, not the pierc- ing of the nails. !t concentrates on the home because Charity be- gins at h9me. And Charity in that sense never meant a dime clanked into a beggar's cup nor a philanthropic check flourish- ed off for some fund. That word Charity originally meant in English-as it still does in Latin - love. It can of course, and should, exp,ress itself in gifts, particularly in the approaching joyous season. But some Christ- mas gifts are only an external formality, very much like the popcorn and , the peppermint canes hung on the Christmas Tree. Real Christmas gifts are like the flowers and fruit of a cherry tree: they spring from deep within. And ,the best gifts are those of the heart. Therefore these days when/ we are ' smug- 'gling our mysterious bundles in- to secret hiding places, we should remember that while a year's supply of scented soap may be a very welcome gift, a year's sup- ply of consideration, thoughful- ness, tenderness, charity will be more welcome still. A year's sub- scription to this magazine or that may be ideal, but a year's sub- scrintion to life as lived by a r kindly, considerate loving mem- ber of the family would be ap- preciated even more! It is all for the sake of the Lit- tle Stranger in the Manger. It is a new kind of Christmas wel- CQme-a true one. Because be- tween the inner , peace of your conscience washed swe'et and clean, and the outer peace of love for those around you, the true spirit of Christmas swings and rings like a merry be)!. A NEW CHILD ~ddress delivered on Dece.rnber 19, 1948 This Child was not only new. He was news! Only, instead of news-boys shouting it on the street corners, angels sang it in the skies. It was the front page of the Gospel-and that word "Gospel," if you break it in half, "Good-Spel"-is the sturdy old Saxon way of saying "Good News." His Birthday was the best news, the greatest headline of history. But when the story broke, like most "Extra's" it took the town completely by sur- prise. Early that evening there was plenty of stir and bustle in sleepy little Bethlehe~. This was the eve of the big census, so the narrow streets never throbbed with so much excitement. It was like a family rEl,union. In the cot- tages, housewives were . hum- ming · happily as they fiung the best spread over the best bed, because that rich relative from Jerusalem was due any minute now. In the inn, the smug pro- prietor was rubbing his oily hands and bowing distinguished guests to their special quarters. In the census booths, the clerks smoothed out the longest parch- ments, ready for the largest reg- istration ever. Oh, there was plenty of eager preparation all around! Too bad they were pre- paring for everything but the one thing that mattered, the one thing that was to outlive that night and put Bethlehem with a star on the map of the world. Everybody was expecting some- body. Nobody was expecting Christ. Little wonder a gulp comes into your throat when you hear that Gospel line: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." "But why must this same blunder happen every Christ- mas? This Christmas? Why must some of us go on making Bethlehem's mistake all over a- gain? There they were all busi- ness at the census booths, and all pleasure at the inn, so the Great Event went over their heads like a Star. But nowadays too, don't we have a Christmas which in some quarters is too commercial, in other quarters too convivial, and in both the Little Christ left shivering out in the cold? For some people "Silent Night, Holy Night," still rings (. 16 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT out loudest on the tinkling xylo- phone of the cash-register while the Birth of the Savior rings up an unresponsive "No sale!" There are other people who will spend Christmas with the innkeeper. Like Uncle Egg-Nog who is already dreaming of a "tight" Christmas; whose "many happy returns" will be hiccups; and who, filled with Christmas spirits, may well wind up under the tree. True, Christmas is a Feast, and therefore calls for celebration, but not for dissipa- tion, not for sodden drunkenness, and not-incidentally-for the indecent excesses of some pre- Christmas parties in otherwise staid offices. What a weird way to welcome the coming of the Son of God! Isn't this about like crucifying Christ on a Christ- mas tree, and crowning Him with a sharp-edged holly wreath? No wonder then that the firSt Christmas went walking with saddened heart past the inn, and went on to the shepherds. A ,little group of God-fearing men, humble and wholesome, they stood on that midnight hill, lean- ing drowsily on their staffs, drawing their cloaks closer about them against the tingling night-air. A dull, routine job. Every night a carbon .copy of the night before. You looked down and saw the purple slope of the hill; you looked arpund and saw the white blotches of dozing sheep; you looked up and saw the far-off silver pattern of the stars. This was the last outpost of obscurity. Nothing ever hap- pened here. Nothing could hap- pen-when suddenly all around them a thousand stars seem to melt into one glittering bright- ness! The frosty air quivers with glorious music. The voice of an Archangel trumpets for t h : "Fear not! I bring you good tid- ings of great joy! For this day is born to you a Saviour!" The next moment, when the angels have wheeled away, and when all that beauty has passed like the . turning of a page, the stun- ned shepherds stare into pne an- other's eyes, grip one another by the arm, and whisper, "Let us '\ go over to Bethlehem and see this wonder that the Lord hath made!" So they go over to Bethlehem, and come clumping into the shadowy stable. That lantern swinging from a rafter is a dim, misty affair after the dazzling glory of the miraculous skies. But they grope their way through the half-gloom, and the next moment they see-they see what a hundred gaudy holy pic- tures and a thousand artificial A NEW CHILl) 17 cribs have made us take for granted, have robbed of its fresh- ness and w(mder, have dulled and deadened the impact of a scene that should make us draw a quick breath of astonishment and awe! They see, in the last place in the world you would expect to find it, stirring feebly in the straw of a cattle-crib, bundled in soft swaddling clothes, a Baby! On one side a radiant young Mother bends over the manger, in her eyes a light like diamonds, but on her cheek a tear, as though love and adora- tion and joy had filled up her very spirit and now are over- flowing from her eyes. On the other side St. J o,seph stands as though he felt a little in the way, and somewhat bewildered. When an impulse comes to take the Infant up in his arms, anoth- er impulse tells him he should rather get down on his knees. Because this Child is God! Now Mary notices her visit- ors, herdsmen who had left their flocks and' come running to the Lamb of God. W ith a graceful gesture, the Maiden Mother lifts the infant up and turns towa rd them. It is the fir st Benediction. Sticks of golden straw still cling to the white swaddling clothes like the golden rays of a mon- strance, and the frosty breath of I the huge ox floats up like clouds of incense. And in the straw, seraphs and shepherds, the holi est and the lowliest, kneel together. Of all the impressive places ' where the Little Christ could have been cradled, He chose this! This place and these people! Not Rome with its imperial pomp and its helmeted legions, not Athens with its fine-spun philosophies and its marble art, not Alexan- dria with its noisy harbor and its haggling bazaars, but this! A little manger in an abandoned stable on the outskirts of an ob- scure town, in the remote pro- vince of a pocket-handkerchief kingdom! The poorest shepherd there did not have a humbler birth. And the next morning He was just another Name on the census list . .. just another Boy. You ha~ often heard how Abra- ham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin, s~id"God must love the common people . He made so many of them." On Christmas morning we gaze at our Blessed Lord born in a stable, and we murmer, "Yes, He must have loved them. Because He became one of them Himself." That is why Christmas will always be the Feast of the com- mon man, the festival of God's esteem for the obscure, ordinary 18 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT little people. So if nobody pays much attention to you, if there is no room for you in the inn with the important ones, if you are just another name on the census list, just another undistinguish- ed nobody-then Christmas is especially your day. It is still the day when Christ with the neat irony of God goes past the proud Herods, and the overlearned Pharisees, and the carousing rev- ellers, and is born again among the modern shepherds-the or- dinary simple people, the humble of heart, the wholesome of life, the quietly and sincerely devout. When the Almighty took that star and streaked it like a piece of golden chalk down the black- board of the midnight sky, and pointed to the Child in the Crib, He was teaching such people the lesson of every Christmas to come. Thing~ would change of course. Things have changed. This Christmas the heavens do not echo the carols of shining spirits; instead, thanks to the radio, the heavens will rin~ with the carols o,f men. The wings of a rchangels do not beat rhythm- ically over Judean Hills as they call out the first Christmas greet- in gs ; instead the outspread wings of the air-mail will coast across the sky, carrying sacks of Christmas cards. Shepherds will not stand ankle-deep in the straw of a stabler but chauf- feurs and engineers and nurses and housewives will kneel in ord- erly pews. You see, everything has changed-the only thing left of the original Christmas is Christ. And Christ is not a thing. He is a Person! So the bright beam of the Christmas Star must focus on that one person, not on many things. Don't spend too much time wondering whether those slippers you are sending Aunt Harriet are quite big enough- or are they too big, and will she fee I insulted? Or worrying whether Grandma will really care for that pink bed-jacket, or will she perhaps promptly exchange it for a n album of boogie-woo- gie? Or pondering just what toys you can give to Jllnior which will delight him and at the same time not disturb you. Trouble with this sort of thing is that they are only things, and the Little Christ Child somehow gets lost in the red ribbons and the crink- ly holiday wrappings. After a~l it is His BirthdaY, isn't it? Give Him a thought! Give Him your chief thought! Wouldn't the Shepherds have been amazed if someone had suggested that they turn their backs on the Crib, bow courteously to one another, A NEW CHILD 19 and give each other gifts-say, a pair of ~Ftndals or a scarf? Wouldn't they have said, "But what about Him? This is His day!" It is still His Day. At least when we give our presents, we give them in His name, in His spirit. Then we shall not be ty- ing up perfume or gloves or neck- ties or fountain pens, but tender- ness, thoughtfulness, love. And gratitude-gratitude to . the God Who became one of us. Gratitude for humanity's most thrilling ho ur , the highest compliment mankind ever received . The cynic talks about resigning from 'the ' human race, and the Almighty elects to join it! This is Christ- mas! (The rest is mostly crepe paper.) He lies t here in the Lit- tle Crib, and . there I lay my heart. ( A NEW RESOLVE Address delivered on December 26, 1948 Christmas is just over, but somehow it s,eems a long time ago. Looking back now, doesn't it strike you that like most things human, the joy was mostly in the anticipation? Once the day itself dawns, once the flower is pluck- ed, it begins to fade and die. And now everything is over but the cleaning up. Mother is murmur- ing to herself, "This house looks a perfect fright!" But really, Mother, it is a picturesque lit- tle earthquake, and presents a state of charming disarray with the floor littered with open gift boxes and bright red ribbon and greeting cards an d toys. Toys ... Watch your step, Dad, because one careless stride and your foot will be on a tiny fire-engine, and the next moment your two feet may be in mid-air, and you'll have a touch of black and blue added to the usual Christmas colors of red and green. But you can smile a little grimly yourself that the youngsters have not gotten off entirely unscarred \ either. The situation is revers- ed from this time Christmas Eve. Now the candy boxes are empty and the youngsters full; only the boxes still iook fairly comfortable. But perhaps you yourself are just a bit drowsy. Ana the thought comes to you with a shudder that tomorrow morning the icy jingle of that alarm clock will splinter your dreams and wake you to the hor- rible reality that work is begin- nig a ll over again . You will not like it; but you will go. Because you realize what would happen if you quit. So there's no need to talk about that. But, if we can do it without much grinding of gears, I would like to shift to the subject of people who quit in a more im- portant and even tragic sphere. I mean people who quit on the one job the Almighty had in ' mind when He sent us here on earth; the job where no one must shirk and from which no one must transfer; the job where there are no executives and no minor emloyees. The job of sav- ing one's soul. The job net of earning a good living, but of liv- ing a good life. And today-even today-some- body, somewhere is going to quit. Today after weeks and months • A NEW RESOLVE 21 and maybe years of trying, somebody is going to give up. Today somebody is going to scream, at least mentally, "I can't hold on any longer!"- lose his grip and fall- maybe in- to sin, maybe into despair, may- be into hell. You are thinking to yourself, "These are strange thoughts, and we still gathered round the Christmas Crib." I know, but look past the Crib a little, just toward the horizon of next week. I see tall blue shadows showing across the desert. I hear the silvery tinkle of shaking bells as the camels come loping on. I realize the Crib is not yet com- plete. But in a few days, on the Feast of Little Christmas, our feast of the Epiphany, three _ new figures, come from afar, will kneel in the straw. This is the feast that shouts down the val- leys of time like / a thousand trumpets, "Never quit!" Because it is the F~ast of three strangers who kept following the Star till they came to Christ 1 They say a word to the wise is sufficient. This is a word from the wise, from Three Wise Men to any of us who may be tempt- ed to be foolish and quit. They tell you their journey · wasn't easy, but it was worth it. Over mountains they came, and through deserts, and across riv- ers, and past . cities, always fol- lowing the Star. Some people smiled al.them, and some sneer- ed. Some shook their heads in amazement. Some held their sides in laughter. Some winked, and some asked sarcastic"-ques- tions. What did it matter to the Wise Men? Because beyond this mockery and those mountains, beyond the sneers and the sands, they saw the Star! And they nev- er stopped till the Star stopped and hung like a lamp over the Cradle of God. Tradition has baptized them with musical Ori- ental names, but never mind the names. Call them what they prov- ed themselves to be: the Patron Saints of Perseverance! Perseverance itself is likely to be a vague, fuzzy Fifth Avenue " sort of word for a commonplace, kitchen kind of idea: "Don't quit!" I know that it is very easy to say. And I certainly am not trying to tell you it is easy to do. As a matter of fact that very word "perseverence" im- plies just the opposite. Original- ly it was a wedding of two Latin words: per, meaning through; and . severa, meaning hard. So perseverance literally means "through hard things"-because that is when . you need persever- ance-when the weakling whim- 22 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT pers and the quitter quits~when the going gets rough. You don't persevere through a delicious Christmas dinner or a Florida vacation . The only time you can really talk about persevering is when the urge to quit is over- whelming-and you don't. This rugged old world is so full of hard things that no worth- while goal is ever reached with- out perseverance, without throt- tling that temptation to give it all up, without an iron resolu- tion that must go on and on like an endless iron chain. It is that way even in the material world. In any honest success story the first dozen chapters are up-hill, and without benefit of ski-tow or escalator. When Benjamin Disraeli ro.se to make his first speech in the House of Commons, his voice squeaked like a tin whistle, and his ridiculously big words flapped round his s.entenc- es like overlong sleeves. Every- body started to laugh. There were rude cries, "Sit down!" Disraeli stood there for one mo- ment, silent. There may not have been any thunder in his voice, but lightning flashed from his eyes. He raised , his arms and in the strange quiet he all but whis- . pered. "I will sit down-now. But I promise you that the day will come when you will rush to hear me. You will rush!" And they did. Not only that. Disraeli, the young dude in the canary- colored jacket, had determined that one day he would become Prime Minister. And he did. Grant that he had talent, grant he· had industry, but behind both lay the driving dynamo of per- severance! Perhaps there were other fac- tors, like luck and influence. Perhaps in the present jangling commercial world in which you live a great many doors to suc- cess are marked "Pull" -and the · right "pull" will get you in. But I am not talking about that. I am assuring you that the Gate of Heayen is marked only "Push," and only push, dete'rmi- nation, resolution will get you in. Nobody is the brother-in-law of God. Hell, on the other hand, they say is paved with good inten- tions. No! It is paved with in- tentions that were not quite good enough; intentions that never developed the muscles of reso- lutions. Some people think they make a resolution. They only make a wish. When they close the door against sin, it is like a swinging door that flies open at the first touch of the next temp- tation. Other people compromise with sin: "I'll do it just this one ( • A NEW RESOLVE 23 latlt time, and then no more." The" door they close is a revolv- ing door, and the first thing they know the same old sin is around again. A real resolution is like the door that is slammed and bolted and barred. Weare approaching the season when cartoonists go to their dusty files for the musty jokes on resolutions. "Let me see - Newlywed's Biscuits - ah, here -New Year's Resolutions." And . - 'the less talented comedians will hurl the old custard-pie sentenc- es at the equally ancient target. Never mind. "I firmly resolve" still has the power to take a sin- ner and make him a saint. Of course the resolution may have to be renewed. It is like that f a n- tasy in the Sunday Supplements about cruising to the moon in a rocket-ship. The idea seems to be that when one rocket-motor is just on the point of dying out, it automatically starts another, and so on. I don't know whether that will ever get us to the moon. But I do know that the power and drive of renewed and repeat- ed resolutions will get us to heav- en. And . in a very literal sense God wi,ll give the quitter hell. It isn't that God expects us to reach great heights of virtue. But we won't reach anywhere unless we keep trying. I always liked that story about the trav- eller whom the monks of St. Bernard found on a snowy Al- pine slope-frozen in qeath, his f ace toward the summit, and his knee bent as though about to take one more step. And as they carried him to his grave, one of the monks unconsciously rreach- ed his eulogy. "He never got to the top . But he never quit. He died climbing!" So, don't quit! You . worq lit- tle mother, with your worn little beads, keep praying for that boy who has turned his back on God. Some day he will turn and stretch out his hands for help, and the loop of your beads will catch him like a lifeline-per- haps even after you are gone! And you, whose marriage has proved a sad disillusionment, and who are nervously thinking of a di vorce-don't quit!' Your weddin g ring has not been all sweetness like a coffee-ring, nor all fun like a circus ring ; but it is not a loose-leaf ring either, to be snapped open and one part- ner rejected and another insert- ed. The littl e two-paged book, the contract, is bound by the bonds of matrimony . Your con- solation and encouragement is that your page is clean, and God understands . and He will reward! And you, young man, who 24 GIVE HIM A THOUGHT sometimes kneel in the shadowy church uneasy and - ashamed, half-afraid to raise your eyes to the white altar, feeling that vile sin has tramped its muddy boots over the altar of your soul-do you think there is any stain so black or so deep that the Blood of God cannot wash it away? Don't quit! Yesterday a fellow just like you quit. He doesn't know it yet, but as of yesterday and into eternity, he is the sad- dest kind of fool, a damned fool. world it really pays to be good; in this cheap new edition of the old paganism, where petting is considered petty, where the chaste are seldom chased after, and where purity is a quality looked for in soap or oleomar- gerine-no matter-you still are right, and they are wrong, and in their hearts they know it! Stay up there, a shining un- smirched star and one day you will brighten the life of the man that deserves you! You, be wise! Follow the Star, So f~r us all, each in his own and it will lead you out of the rugged spot, a new resolve, and stable! then what we can only wish to And you, young girl, who · one another, God in ·His Good- sometimes wonder whether in thi s smart, shallow, wisecracking ness will really give: A Happy New Year! THE PURPOSE OF THE CATHOLIC HOUR (Extract from the add'ress of the late Patrick Cardinal Hayes at the in- augural program of the Catholic Hour in the studio of the National Broadcasting Company, New York City, March 2, 1930.) Our congratulations and our gratitude a r e extend ed to the National Council of Catholic Men and its offici a ls, and to all who, by their financial support~ have m ade it possible to us e this offer of the National Broad- casting Company. The heavy expense of managing a nd financing a weekly prog ram , its musical numbers, its speakers , the sub seq uent an- swering of inquiries, must be met, ... This radio hou r is for all the people of the United Sta tes. To our fellow-citizens, in this word of dedication, we wish to express a cordial greeting and, indeed, congratulations. For this radio hour is one of service to America, which certainly will listen in interestedly , and even sympathetically,! am sure, to the voice of the ancient Church with its historic background of all the centuries of" the Christian era, and with its own notable contribution to the discovery, exploration , foundation and growth of our glorious country . ... Thus to voice before a vast public the Catholic Church is no light task. Our prayers will be with those who h ave that task in hand. We feel certain that it will have both the g ood will and the good wishes of the great majority of our countrymen. Surely, there is no true lover of our Country who does not eagerly hope for a less worldly, a less material, and a more spiritual s tandard among our people. With good will, with kindness and with Christ-like sympathy for all, thi s work is inaugurated. So may it continue. So may it be ful- filled . This word of dedication voices, therefore, the hope that this radio hour may serve to make known, to explain with the charity of Chrht, our faith , which we love even as we love Christ Himself. May it serve to make better understood that faith as it really is-a light revealing the pathway to heaven : a strength, and a power divine through Christ; pardoning our sins, elevating, consec1'liting our common every-day duties and JOYs, bringing not only justice but ·gladness and peace to our search- ing and auestioni= hearts. 120 CATHOLIC HOUR STATIONS In 42 States, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii II.labama ___ _ -:----~~b1il~~~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~5.* Montgomery _________ ___ ________ __ _ ____ ______ . _ WSFA * Arizona ____ __________ Douglas. ___ . __ _____ ______ ___ ..... ... _ ................... KAWT Globe __ . __ ... _____ . ___ ________ _______________ ........ _KW J R Phoenix ................................................ KTAR Prescott ......... __ .... _. _ ....... ___ ................... _KYCA Safford . __ . __ _____ ... _________________ . _________ ..... KGLU Tucson .............. .................................. .. KVOA Yuma _______ . ____ ____ . _______ ._. ______ ._._ .. ___ _ ...... .. KYUM Cal i fo rn ia _ ... _. _. _______ 80kersfield ______ .. _ .. __ __ . __ . ________ _______ . ___ __ .. KERO Fresno .............. .................................. . .. KMJ Los Angeles __________________ ___ .. __________ _ .. KF I Sacramento ............. _ ............................. KC~A* Sa n Fran cisco . __ ___ _____ __________ . ________ . ____ .. _KPO Santa 8arbara ... _. ____ ... _. _ ... _ ..... .. _ ...... _ ... KIST Colorado __ ______ . _______ . __ . ___ Denver ..... ___ . ___ . ___ _ . __ .. _______ ________ _______ _ .. KOA Connecticut ____ . ______ ... _. ____ . Hart ford ___ ..... . _ ...................................... WTIC. District of Columbia .. _. ____ Washington .... __ .. ____ . ______ ____ . ______ . __ . ___ ... WRC Florida __________ . __________ Jacksonvil le .......................................... WJAX ~: ~~~o.-.-~~~.-~.-.-.-.-.-~.-.-.-~.-.-~.-~.-_·.-.-.-.-~~~~.-.-.-~~_-_-.-.-.'~~.'~:: ~~°rfz Pensacola_. _____ . _________ . ______ . __ . ____ . ___ . ___ ... WCOA Tampa ................................................ .. WFLA Georgia_ ...•.........•.............. Atlanta ___ ._ .. ____ ........ _ •........... __ .. ___ ..... . ' WS8 Augusta .... .......................................... .. WTNT Savannah .................. _ ........................... WSAV Idaho ___________ _ .. __ ._ 80ise __ . ____ .. __ . __ :_. _______ .. _. _______ . ____ .......... KI 00* III inois ................•.•••••••• __ .~~~~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~: ~~E~Q Indiana __ ...........•.. __ .. EI khart ____ .. _._ .•. __ ._ ... __ ._ .... __ .... _._ ... _ ..... .. WTRC Fort Wayne ........ .......................... ........ WGL I ndianapol is _ ... _ ........... __ ... _. _ .. _. ___ ._. ____ ... WI RE* Terre Haute .W80W Iowa ................................• Davenport .. _____ . __________________ . ____ _______ __ .. WOC* . Kansas_. ______ _________________ Hutchinson ........... .................. _ .............. KW8W Wichita __________________ _ _ ____ . __________ __ .... KANS Kentucky .... .. ............ · ... _ .... Louisville .......................... .................... ' WAVE* L~uisiana-.----.~----·~~~~~nt~~ge::::.::::::::::::.:::::::::::::::::::::::~~~'o Lafayette ............................... _ ............ . KVOL Lake Charles ________ . __________ ...•.. _ .. __ .. _ .... KPLC Monroe __ ....... _ ..... ................................... KNOE New Orleans ____________ ._. ________ __ _____ . __ ... ~ WSM 8 Shreveport .............. _._ .......................... KT8S* Main!' ......... _ ............... _ .. _ ... Augusta ...... _ ............... .... _ ................... .. WRDO Maryland _______ ._. ______ Cumberland .................. _ ...... _ .. ___ .......... W8AL 8alti more _________________ ... ___ ____ . _____ . _____ _ . . WT80 Massach uS!'tts .................. ~~~t~;i;;id_-.-~_-~.~~~.-~~.-.-~~.-.-.-.-~.-~~~~.-~~.-~~~.-... ~~~~~:: ~~h Michlgan .... ____ .. __ . __ . __ ._. __ . __ Detroit _. __ ._. _____ ____________ . ______ . __________ .... . WW J FI int . ________________________ ..... _._. _______ ........... WTC8 Saginaw_ ........... _ .. _ ....... ....................... .. WSAM* Minnesota.... .... ...... ..... .... Du I uth-Superior ________ ____ _________ . ____ ~ ______ .. WE8C Hibbing ......................................... ....... WMFG Mankato ____ .. __ ._ .. __ . ____________ ________ _______ ... KYSM Minneapolis-St. Paul ........... _ ................ KSTP Rochester .... _ .................... _ .. _ ... __ .. _ .. __ .. . 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