The open door : how converts are made


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THE
OPEN
DOOR

HOW CONVERTS ARE MADE

OUR SUNDAY VISITOR

HUNTINGTON • INDIANA

19 5 3

U*S*A



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The leading chapter of this book

is reprinted from The Catholic Digest,

and is a report on a nation-wide sur-

vey conducted by that publication.

"The Open Door" stories are also re-

prints in large part from the Digest.

Other chapters by Father O'Brien are

re-prints from his popular column

syndicated by the NCWC news service.

Publication of the book is a co-

operative venture of Our Sunday Vis-

itor and The Catholic Digest.



WHO Makes Converts?
A Report on a National Survey

JOHN A. O BRIEN

i ‘
1 OE,” I asked, “how many
* have you started towards

conversion?”

“None,” he replied, “I thought

lay people had no business in

that field; that it was up to the

clergy and only them.”

“Does this mean then, Joe,” I
continued, “that you, an insur-

ance salesman, never once tried

to interest a non-Catholic friend

in your religion, never tried to

recruit a prospect for an inquiry

class, never invited a friend to

Mass, or any of the other de-

votions?”

“Yes,” he confessed, “I’ve nev-

er so much as lifted a finger to
win a convert to the Catholic

Faith. I didn’t think laymen

were supposed to butt into the

business of the priests.”

This conversation occurred at

a meeting in the school auditori-

um of St. Joseph’s Parish, Mish-
awaka, Indiana. At my sugges-
tion the pastor, Father Curt A.

Suelzer, had invited about 35

“live-wire” men and women to
help us in recruiting attendance

at an Inquiry Forum which we
were establishing there for the

first time.

Before giving them some
training in the technique of ap-

proaching churchless people

and interesting them in the in-

vestigation of the claims of the

Catholic Church, we thought it
would be interesting to see how
many had ever tried it on their
own. Joe Campbell’s reaction

was typical of those of most of

the others present.

Is it typical of the attitude of

the great majority of Catholic

men and women? A religious
survey recently conducted by

The Catholic Digest provides

the answer. To a cross section of
people representing 75.9 million

people in the U. S. who go to
some church, two questions

were asked: 1. “Have you ever

tried to get anyone to join your

religious group?” 2. “Did you

ever succeed in getting anyone

to join?”

The replies of the Catholics,

representing 20.6 millions,
showed that 72% had never



4 THE OPEN DOOR

PROTESTANTS ARE MORE THAN TWICE AS ACTIVE IN WINNING
CONVERTS AS CATHOLICS

TRIED TO WIN A CONVERT SUCCEEDED

CHART III

even tried to get anyone to join

the Church. Of the 28% who
tried, 17% succeeded, 9% did
not succeed, and 2% did not
know whether they had been
successful or not. In contrast

to that feeble effort, the replies

of all the Protestants, represent-

ing 53.3 millions, showed that

59% had definitely tried. Of
these, 43% succeeded, 10% did
not succeed and 6% did not
know whether their efforts had
proved successful or not.

This brings into clear relief

several points worth noting: 1.

The overwhelming majority

(72%) of Catholic lay men and
women have never so much as
lifted a finger to win a convert

for Christ. 2. Protestants are

more than twice as zealous as

Catholics in seeking to win con-

verts, 59% against 28%. 3.
Catholics need to learn effective

techniques of winning converts,

as only 17% of the 28% who
tried, were successful, as com-

Table I—Showing the Percentage of Church Members Who
Promote Their Faith

Millions of Tried to Don’t Never Tried to
People This Get Someone Did Not Know if Get Anyone
Represents to Join Succeeded Succeed Succeeded to. Join

% % % % %
Catholics 20.6 28 17 9 2 72
Protestant total .... 53.3 59 43 10 6 41

Baptists 13.9 67 50 10 7 33
Methodists 12.7 56 39 8 9 44
Lutherans 6.1 49 28 19 2 51
Presbyterians 5.7 59 52 5 2 41
Episcopalians .... 2.3 53 45 6 2 47
Congrega-

tionalists 1.0 32 19 10 3 68
Other Protestant
Denominations 11.6 61 44 11 6 39

Jewish 1.8 27 24 3 0 73



THE OPEN DOOR 5

MEMBERS OF VARIOUS FAITHS WHO TRIED TO WIN CONVERTS

pared with the 43% successful
ones among the 59 % Protest-
ants who tried. 4. The chief dif-
ference between the two groups

in convert-making effectiveness,

however, is that the percentage

of Protestants who try to win
converts is more than twice as

large as the percentage of Cath-

olics. This is brought out vividly

in Chart I.

A glance at Table I shows
that among the Protestant de-
nominations the Baptists are

most active in seeking new
members, 67% trying and 50%
succeeding. A group comprising
the smaller denominations, in-

cluding the Pentecostals, ranked

second, with 61% making the
effort and 44% succeeding. The
Presbyterians, with 59% trying
and 52% succeeding, ranked
third. The ratings are shown in
Chart II.

On the whole, the denomina-
tions with the highest percent-

ages of members trying to win

adherents experienced the larg-

est relative gains, as shown in

Chart III. IPs a good illustra-

tion of the principle stressed by

all schools of salesmanship:

other things being equal, the

salesman who knocks at the
most doors makes the most

sales. Catholics rank the lowest

in sales for the simple reason

that they knock at the fewest

doors.

Investigating the convert
making activities of men and
women of all faiths, the Digest
survey found, as was to be ex-

pected, that the women are
more zealous: 52% of the wo-
men endeavored to win Church
members and 37% succeeded,
as compared with 47% and
34% for the men.

The survey sought to ascer-
tain the relative activity of the

various age groups in winning

members for their respective



6 THE OPEN DOOR

MEMBERS OF VARIOUS FAITHS WHO SUCCEEDED IN WINNING
CONVERTS

CATHOLICS NEED TO
LEARN CONVERT-

MAKING TECHNIQUES!

Presbyterian

52%
Baptist

50%
Episcopal

45%

Other

Smaller

Protestant

Denominations

44%

Methodist

39% Lutheran
28%

1
Congregational

19% Catholic 17%

CHART III

faiths. The findings show that,

on the whole, as the ages of

Church members increase their

efforts and their success in

winning adherents likewise in-

crease. Thus the two lowest age

groups, 18 to 24 and 25 to 34,

both reported 47% trying and
31% succeeding, as compared
with 59% trying and 41% suc-
ceeding for the oldest age

group, 65 and over.

How do the convert winning
activities of whites compare

with those of Negroes? The

whites come off a poor second.

The survey found that 66% of
the Negroes tried to win con-

verts, and 55% succeeded, as
compared with 49% and 34%
for the whites.

What educational level
showed the greatest zeal? The

group which had from one to

three years of college education

reported the highest percentage

of its members seeking to win
Church members, 65% trying
and 39% succeeding as com-
pared with 48% and 34% for
the one-to-three-years high
school group. In general, effi-

ciency in winning adherents in-

creased as the cultural level ad-

vanced, the college graduate

group reporting the highest of

all: 41%.

Does occupation affect the in-

terest of people in winning

church members? The survey

investigated the activities of

members in the professional

class, proprietors or managers,

white-collar workers, service

workers, manual laborers, and

farmers. Of all these the farm-

ers have by far the best record.

Not less than 63% of them tried
to win adherents and 43% suc-
ceeded. The professional group

ranked second, with 53% try-
ing and 38% succeeding. The



THE OPEN DOOR 7

manual laborers came last, with

but 46% trying and only 31%
proving successful.

Does the amount of income

affect the missionary activities

of Church members? The sur-

vey found that those in the up-

per income bracket ranked first,

with 55% trying to win ad-
herents and 41% succeeding.
There was little difference be-

tween the middle income group

and the lower income bracket,

48% and 34% for the former
as compared with 49% and
35% for the latter.

Does the size of the com-

munity tend to affect the mis-

sionary activities of Church peo-

ple? The survey investigated

the activities of residents of six

different types of communities:

cities over a million, 100,000 to

1 million, 25,000 to 100,000, 10,-

000 to 25,000, under 10,000, and

rural districts. People living in

the country showed by far the

greatest missionary zeal. Not

less than 58% tried to win new
members for their Church and

39% succeeded.

Those living in communities

of under 10,000 ranked second,

with 53% trying and 39% suc-
ceeding. Curiously enough, res-

idents of cities 25,000 to 100,000

had the poorest record, with but

40% trying and only 26% suc-
ceeding. The survey shows that,

on the whole, religion thrives

best in the country and in the

smaller towns and villages.

Does geographical location

tend to affect the religious

mores of people? The survey in-

vestigated the activities of peo-

ple in nine different sections.

Residents of the South Atlantic

section,* the so-called Bible belt,

have by far the best record. Not

less than 64% endeavored to
win members for their Church,

and 44% succeeded.

Those in the West South Cen-

tral sectionf ranked second,

with 60% trying and 45% suc-
ceeding. The poorest showing

was made by the residents of
New England with but 23%
making any effort to recruit

Church members and but 20%

succeeding.

Thus it is seen that the survey

investigated the recruiting ac-

tivities of Church members from
nine different angles: denomi-

national membership, sex, age,

race, education, occupation, in-

come level, size of community
and geographical region. While

*Delaware, Maryland, District of Colum-
bia, Virginia, W. Virginia, North and
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

fArkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas.



8 THE OPEN DOOR

the finding in each of these

fields is of interest, the one of

paramount importance is the

discovery that, of all the reli-

gious groups in the U. S., Cath-

olics show the least interest and

make the feeblest effort in seek-

ing to recruit new members for
their Faith.

The attitude of Joseph Camp-

bell, that winning converts is

the business of the clergy and

that the laity should keep their

noses out of it, is typical of the

overwhelming majority of Cath-

olic laymen. The result is that

the Church is gaining but 120,-

000 converts a year when it
should be winning ten times

that many.

The greatest loss which the

Church in America is suffering

is that which results from the

failure to harness the loyalty,

devotion, and potential mission-

ary zeal of its lay members.

Here is a great spiritual Niagara

whose boundless energy could

be harnessed to the urgent job

of bringing the light of Christ’s

teachings to the millions of

churchless homes in America.

It is as obvious as the nose on

one’s face that a small band of

45,000 priests cannot personally

reach 80 million churchless peo-

ple. It is bad enough that we
are tapping—chiefly because we
have made no systematic effort
—but the tiniest bit of the zeal
and energy of our numerous

nuns and Brothers in the Christ-

like apostolate of winning

souls. It becomes, however,

nothing short of sheer tragedy,

somber and unrelieved, when
we make no organized effort to
enlist the millions of our laity

in the divinely appointed duty

of sharing the precious treasure

of their holy Christian faith

with those who have it not. It
is only through their consecrat-

ed zeal that we can fill the
spiritual void in the lives of

eighty millions of our country-

men.

Why do so few of our laity,
as loyal and devoted as any in

the world, bother their heads

about convert work? Because

they are largely unaware of

such a duty. Engrossed in the

pressing work of building

churches, schools, convents and

rectories to keep up with ex-

panding flocks, the clergy have

failed to make this duty clear to
them.

The words of Christ, “Go,

teach ye all nations,” were ad-

dressed not only to the Apostles

but to all His disciples and fol-



THE OPEN DOOR 9

lowers. The early Christians

took this obligation seriously,

and in a few centuries won the
pagan Greek and Roman em-
pires for Christ.

Pope Pius XI summoned the
laity to co-partnership with the

clergy. “We grieve,” he said,
“that the clergy is quite insuf-

ficient to cope with the needs

of our times. Hence it is neces-

sary that all men be apostles; it
is necessary that the Catholic

laity do not stand idle, but be

united, and take their share in

the holy warfare of winning the

world for Christ.”

At a congress in Rome, Pope

Pius XII declared, in substance,

“The time has come when the
laity must take their place by

the side of their consecrated

leaders in the urgent task of

bringing the teachings of Christ

to those who know Him not.
This is the most urgent task

facing our laity and the form of

Catholic Action closest to the

heart of Christ.”

In another pronouncement,

His Holiness again declared,

“Let priests preach from pul-

pits, in the streets and squares.

Alongside the priests let the

people, who have learned to
penetrate minds and hearts

with their words and love, also

speak.”

Stressing the duty of the laity

to take an active part in the

convert apostolate, Archbishop

Cushing declares, “The layman

can and should and must share

in the great work of gathering

in the white harvest of souls,

and often enough in the very

planting of the first seeds. In-

deed, the laity are ideally situ-

ated to recruit prospects for in-

struction. The convert move-
ment will make notable progress
only when every Catholic
throws himself with zeal and

determination into the task of

winning each year at least one

soul for Christ.”

To make this duty clear to
our laity from their childhood

it would seem advisable to in-

sert in the next edition of the

Catechism the following ques-

tion and ansfwer, “Is it a duty on

the part of every person to win

souls for Christ?” “Yes, every

Catholic is under a divine ob-

ligation to win souls for Christ

by recruiting persons for in-

struction and, when necessary,
by assisting in their instruc-

tion.”

In addition to making the ob-

ligation clear to the laity, it is



10 THE OPEN DOOR

necessary to provide them with

the knowledge of suitable tech-

niques. With this end in view,

the following books outlining

methods developed by fifty of

the most successful convert

makers have been recently pub-

lished: Winning Converts
,
(P. J.

Kenedy, New York, 248 pp.
$3.00), Sharing the Faith, (Our

Sunday Visitor, Huntington,

Ind, 246 pp. $1.00), The White

Harvest
,

(Newman, Westmin-

ster, Md.).

To show what attracts non-
Catholics to the Church and the

credentials which lead them to

embrace the Faith, the follow-

ing books of convert stories

have been recently published:

The Road to Damascus and
Where I Found Christ (both by
Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.

each $2.50) feature noted writ-

ers and scholars; Paths to Christ

(Our Sunday Visitor, Hunting-

ton, Ind. 256 pp. $1.50) features

the so-called "little fry,” the

butcher, the baker and the

candlestick maker; The Way to
Emmaus (Our Sunday Visitor,
Huntington, Ind. 368 pp. $2.50),

features chiefly noted ministers,

theologians and those who had
delved deeply into other faiths

before entering the Church.

Catholics will learn how to in-

struct non-Catholics, right in

their own homes if necessary,
by reading the following books

which have helped to lead thou-

sands into the fold: Father

Smith Instructs Jackson
,
(Cloth,

$1.75 paper-bound, $1.00)
Whafs the Truth about Cath-
olics

P

(Cloth, $2.50, Quiz Edi-

tion, paper-bound, $1.50, paper-

bound, $1.25), The Faith of Mil-

lions
,

(Cloth, $2.50, paper-

bound, $1.50) all published by

Our Sunday Visitor, Hunting-

ton, Ind. For persons with a

college education or its equival-

ent, who need to be instructed
on the philosophical truths un-

derlying the Christian religion,

Truths Men Live By
,
(Our Sun-

day Visitor, Huntington, Ind.

$3.25) will provide abundant

suitable material drawn from

both science and philosophy.

The Catholic Digest Reader will

provide any person with a good

working knowledge of the

Church and the activities of the

Church, especially in the U. S.

(500 pp. $3.95. Write to Cath-

olic Digest, 41 E. 8th St., St.

Paul 2, Minn.). Millions of

Catholics must undertake this

work if the eighty millions of

churchless people are to be won
for Christ.

The careful reading of these



THE OPEN DOOR 11

books and the loan of them to

non-Catholic inquirers will en-

able all Catholics to win one or

more converts a year. They

will be further helped by the

reading of the stories, You Can

Win Converts, syndicated week-
ly by the N.C.W.C. News Ser-

vice to more than sixty Catholic

newspapers. The stories show

how lay men and women win
from three to fifty and more

converts. By enlisting the laity
in a diocesan-wide convert cam-

paign Bishop Buddy of San Di-

ego and his priests were able to

win more than a thousand con-

verts and to reclaim nearly five

thousand fallen-aways.

The chart, embodying the
findings of the Catholic Digest

survey, showing the small per-

centage of Catholics who make
any effort to win converts,

should be placed in the class-

room of every grade school,
high school, college, and sem-

inary. It should be hung in the

vestibule of every church and

placed in every home. It should

be published in every Catholic

paper and periodical. Its mean-

ing should be proclaimed from

every pulpit.

Then our laity would realize

that the greatest weakness of

the Church in America is their

failure to participate actively in

bringing the saving truths of

Christ to the millions who know
Him not. With laymen recruit-
ing members for the Inquiry

Class held every three months

in every parish we shall win
more than a million converts a

year.

Translate into action your

present good intention by

kneeling before a crucifix and

reciting the following pledge:

“Dear Jesus, my crucified
Lord and Saviour, I shall try

earnestly and zealously to win

for You the precious souls for

whom You died by living a life
of virtue and holiness, by set-

ting an example of charity to-

ward all men, and by bringing

non-Catholics to Mass, by loan-

ing them Catholic literature, by

explaining to them points of

doctrine, and by bringing them

to a priest for further instruc-

tion. So help me, God!”



Lay Convert Makers

T° help you carry out your
pledge to win at least one

convert each year, I shall nar-

rate a number of brief stories

showing how various lay men
and women, like yourself, man-

aged to interest churchless in-

dividuals in the Catholic relig-

ion and subsequently won them
for Christ. The way is long by
precept, runs an old Latin say-

ing, but short by example.

Better than a volume of ab-

stract theory as to how to win

converts is a concrete example.

Study how these individuals

proceeded and you will learn

the technique which gets re-

sults. You will note that prayer,

kindness, tact and zeal are the

elements running through the

general pattern. The more con-

spicuous those elements are, the

more fruitful are the efforts of

the convert maker.

The Force of Example

“MOTHER, we must pray to
our Lady of Fatima for

the conversion of Russia!”

These were the words which

John Lynch, a youngster in the

fourth grade, called out from

the doorway when he came
rushing home from Christ the
King School in Milwaukee.

Then sadly, his
enthusiasm deflat-

ed, he added, “But

you can’t under-
stand. You don’t
know anything
about our Lady.”

A few days later when Mrs.
Lynch was driving to the coun-

try, where her three children

were to assist at Mass, Patricia

remarked, “Mother, you had

better remain seated during the

Mass, as you don’t understand.”

“Thus did I notice,” observed

Mrs. Lynch, “what every non-

Catholic wife and

mother in a mixed

marriage must
sooner or later

discover, that lack

of unity in relig-

ious faith inevit-



THE OPEN DOOR 13

ably reflects itself in an inability

to accompany husband and
children into that spiritual do-

main where they’re at home
with God.

“I felt that I could go with

them to the door but couldn’t

enter. I was a stranger to them

in the very domain where most

of all I wanted to be one with

them.”

Ruth Meyer was a devout Lu-

theran when she fell in love
with William Lynch, a staunch

and devoted Catholic. Realiz-

ing that they could never see

eye to eye with each other in

the important matter of relig-

ious faith, they separated. This

happened not once but several

times, until finally they could

endure the estrangement no

longer.

Ruth took the required six

instructions and, with many
misgivings on the part of her

devout Lutheran parents, they

were married by a priest. But
this was only after her father
had exacted from Bill the pro-
mise that he would never ask
Ruth to embrace the Catholic
Faith.

“Carefully and prayerfully,”

reports Ruth, “I watched unfold
before my eyes the drama of

life in a family which, except

for wife and mother, was thor-

oughly Catholic. I taught the

children their catechism, heard

them recite their prayers. I

helped prepare them for their

First Holy Communion, for

Confirmation and for taking

part in religious processions.

“In return they loved me and
told me in their beautiful child-
ish way about their beliefs.
They acted out in their day-to-

day lives the externals of the

Church which were so different

from those in which I had been

reared.”

During these years, sixteen in

all, Ruth attended the Lutheran

Church on Sundays with her

parents while her husband and

children went to Mass at the

Church of Christ the King.

There, unbeknown to their

mother, they prayed with all

their hearts that God would
give her the precious gift of the

Faith. At every Communion
they received, they breathed the

same prayer.

Finally their prayers and their

example bore fruit. God’s grace

was working within her. The

significance of the tremendous

words of Christ to Peter, “Thou

art Peter and upon this rock I



14 THE OPEN DOOR

will build My church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail

against it,” broke through the

stubborn wall of her resistance.

Here was the telltale evidence

of the divine foundation of the

Catholic Church—fifteen centur-

ies before Lutheranism had seen

the light of day. No longer
could she fight against God,

Scripture, reason, and the pray-

ers of her husband and children.

After attending the Inquiry

Class at the Gesu she was re-

ceived into the Church and with

tears of joy knelt by the side of

her husband and two children

at the Communion rail. Her
oldest son, an acolyte, held the

paten as she received her Euch-

aristic Lord.

“Could you single out, Ruth,”

I asked, “any one factor which

was of especial helpfulness in
making your decision?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Powerful

beyond all words was the won-

derful example my husband
gave over the years. His kind-

ness, thoughtfulness and help-

fulness, his deep love and de-
votion for his family, his com-

plete interest in us and in our

home constituted, under God,
the paramount influence which

helped me find my way into

Christ's true Church. Bill is a

living example of the truth,

beauty, goodness and love of

the Catholic Faith. If all Cath-

olics were like him the whole
world would soon be Catholic.”

By living his Faith William
Lynch won four converts: his
wife and his three children. For

if he had been a weak and vacil-
lating Catholic all four would

have gone the other way. “A

Catholic life, sincerely lived,”

remarked Ruth, “is the best

means of propagating the faith;

and it is a means within the

power of the least among us.”

In Paths to Christ, Our Sun-
day Visitor ($1.50), Ruth tells

the entire moving story of her

conversion, which no one can

read without finding a lump

form in his throat and a tear in

his eye. She closes her story

with this beautiful prayer:

“Dear Lord, do not let the hu-

man in me spoil anything You
give me to do. Push me back
when I would go wrong, and
make me go forward when I am
afraid to do right. Be with me
in my dealings with each soul
with whom I come in contact,
and grant that each may know,
love and serve You better for

having passed by me.”



^^INNING converts is some-
thing to which most lay

Catholics turn their hand rarely,

if at all. But for James L. Mc-

Grory, the gracious charge d’af-

fairs of the pamphlet room at

St. John’s Church, Thirteenth

and Chestnut Streets, Philadel-

phia, it is a full time job.

How well he does it, may be
judged from the fact that he has

led more than 250 converts into

the fold. Though he would dis-

claim the title, he is probably

the champion lay convert maker

of Pennsylvania. Gray haired,

kindly, eager to help, Mr. Mc-

Grory has been in charge of the

pamphlet room since it was

founded in 1936. Indeed he has

lifted it to the status of a Cath-

olic Information Center and is

now affectionately called “Mr.
St. Johns.”

“I’ve heard a great deal, Mr.

McGrory,” I said, “about your

work in leading so many people
into the Church. The lay Cath-
olics of this country would like

to know how you manage to in-

terest so many in the Faith.”

“It’s a simple method,” he re-

plied, “and it could be used ev-

erywhere and by everyone.

Hundreds of thousands of out-

siders drop into Catholic

churches. Some come to witness

the Mass and other devotions.

Others just step in out of curi-

osity to see what a Catholic

church looks like on the inside.

“Here is our opportunity. And
at St. John s we try to make the
most of it. Being located in the

downtown district, we probably
have more visitors than most

churches. So instead of the sim-

ple pamphlet rack holding a

couple dozen titles, which you

can find in the vestibule of some

churches, we have this entire
large room devoted to pamphlet

display.”

“How many pamphlets do
you have?” I ventured.

“We stock them by the tens of
thousands and have more than

2,000 catalogued. The first year



16 THE OPEN DOOR

we sold 40,000 pamphlets and
each year the sales increased.

Last year, 1952, we passed the
300,000 mark. Altogether we’ve

distributed over 3,000,000!
That’s probably a record for a

parish church.

"Since we have carefully cat-
alogued the topics treated, we
are able to answer almost any

question by handing the person

a pamphlet. Then when he
comes back with another ques-

tion we locate another suitable
pamphlet for him. The first

thing you know, his misconcep-

tions are corrected, his prejudic-

es removed and he’s ripe for in-

struction.”

"How,” I inquired, "do you

make that transition from the

pamphlet to the course of in-

structions?”

"I simply say to them: "Here,

you’ve been browsing long

enough among these pamphlets,
pecking here and pecking there.

Why not go about this in a sys-
tematic way? Why not start at
the beginning and learn about

the divine foundation of the

Church and her authority to

teach all mankind all the truths

which Christ brought into this

world? Then you’ll get some-
where.’

"Practically all agree that

such is the best and most prof-

itable way to proceed. Then I
take them to the Inquiry Class

conducted by Father Laurence

F. Kelly and Father John J.
Lynch every Tuesday and Fri-

day evening. If they’re from

out of town or can’t come, we
arrange for their instruction by

mail.”

"How many,” I asked, "are re-
ceived each year?”

"More than a hundred. I’ve

been a sponsor for Jewish con-

verts, Negro converts, Oriental

converts and converts from all

walks of life. They’re full of joy

and gratitude.

"T should have been a Cath-
olic years ago,’ many say. T’m
just beginning to live,’ remark

others. "How wonderful to re-

ceive our Blessed Lord each

day,’ exclaim others.

"We use our pamphlet room
to recruit members for the In-

quiry Class. A pamphlet will
be read by a person who wants
to get the answer in a jiffy. It’s

a wonderful means of winning

converts. Our pastor, Monsig-

nor J. Leo Boyle, asks every par-

ishioner to read and distribute

one pamphlet each week and es-

pecially during Lent.



THE OPEN DOOR 17

“In a nutshell, my method of
winning converts is to put a

pamphlet in the hands of as

many people as possible and
then follow through by bring-

ing them to an Inquiry Class.

The two go together, like a

hand fitting into a glove. Hun-

dreds of pamphlets, properly

displayed in the church vesti-

bule, will bring scores of truth

seekers to an Inquiry Class.

“The church without four or

five well stocked pamphlet

racks is missing a splendid op-

portunity of winning souls. If

every Catholic followed Mon-

signor Boyle’s suggestion and

read and distributed a pamphlet

each week, we’d win more than

a million converts a year.”

Yes, Mr. McGrory, you, Mon-

signor Boyle and the other

grand priests at St. John’s are

right. You’re setting an example

for all of us. Pray that soon we
all may be following your ex-
ample, for it’s the most eloquent

and convincing demonstration

in America of the mighty power

of the little pamphlet to win

converts for Christ.

Teacher Taught

^^HEN the town’s old high school burned down one
summer, Jane began to attend the Catholic academy

in a near-by town. She was impressed with the Church,

and in due time asked for Baptism. Next year, her sis-

ter Joan followed her to the new school with the firm
attitude that “they won’t rope me in.” She was a good
student but showed no interest in religion.

During the summer months after she had graduat-
ed, Jane formed a catechism class to assist the mission-

ary priest who came to her home town twice a month.
In the fall, she went away to nurses’ training school; and

Joan returned to the Academy alone. When Sister asked
her what had happened to Jane’s class, Joan said, “I had

to take it. There was no one else.” Teaching catechism

convinced her. Before the year was out she asked for

Baptism. Soon afterwards her entire family joined her.

—S.M.L.



<C ^AY, chaplain, what is it
that you Catholics have,

that gets the boys out to church

on Sunday, rain or shine? IVe

been noticing how they pack
that chapel at every service

while at our chapel there’s but

a handful. What’s the secret,

chaplain?”

“To answer that, Hosea,” re-

plied chaplain Altieri, “I’d have

to tell you about the heritage of

divine truth which Christ be-

queathed to His Church — the
precious treasure which the

Church shares with her chil-

dren. In other words, I’d have

to tell you the whole story.”

“That’s what I want,” said

Hosea, “the whole story.”

The scene took place in De-

cember 1948 at Fort Riley, Kan-

sas, where Hosea Alexander was

a member of the 10th Infantry
Division. Like thousands of

others, he could not fail to note

that Catholics took their relig-

ion seriously. They believed
they got something out of their

attendance at Sunday Mass

which helped them all during

the week.

Here they were hurrying off

to Mass while their non-Cath-

olic buddies were still snoring

in their bunks.

“How much education do you
have?” inquired the chaplain.

“I graduated from Sumner

High in St. Louis,” replied Hos-

ea, “and I hope to go to college

when I get out.”

“Fine! Come to my office and
I’ll take you through Father

Smith Instructs Jackson and

pass on Christ’s legacy to you.

I’ll explain God’s plan for your

salvation, but you will have to

do your own praying.
“That’s something that no one

else can do for you. One comes
to God most speedily when he’s
on his knees. So pray each day,

Hosea, that God will give you
the light to see the truth and

the courage to embrace it.”

“I’ll be glad to do that, chap-

lain, and I’ll also do some sup-



THE OPEN DOOR 19

plementary reading so 111 un-

derstand it thoroughly.”

"Splendid!” remarked chap-

lain Altieri. "That’s what every

inquirer should do. Read at

least one book while taking in-

structions and then keep up that

practice so you will not only

know every detail yourself but
you will also be able to explain

it to others.”

Like every one who with an
open mind examines the teach-

ings of the Catholic Church,

Hosea saw that these were not

the invention of man but the
truths revealed by Christ. They

enable all men to live here an
abundant life, full of peace, joy

and love, and thus prepare for

eternal life with God in Heaven.

With beating heart and radi-

ant smile Hosea entered the

chapel on the morning of Feb-

ruary 19, 1949, to make his pro-
fession of faith, to be baptized

and to receive from the hands of

his devoted chaplain, Father

Dominic Altieri, his First Holy

Communion.

"What can I do, Father,” ask-
ed Hosea, "to show my grati-
tude to God?”

"The best way is to share the
precious treasure of your holy

Faith with others. Win a con-

vert for Christ every year.

That’s the thanks offering most

pleasing to God.”

"With God’s help,” promised

Hosea, "I’ll do it.”

Hosea has more than kept his

promise. Soon he interested Le-

roy Short and then Leroy’s bud-

dy, Charles Williams, in his new
found treasure. Three months

later Father Altieri baptized

both, with Hosea as godfather

for each.

Transferred to Camp McCoy,
Wisconsin, Hosea continued his

missionary apostolate and soon

was bringing Joe Laire to chap-

lain Thomas Byrne, S.J., for in-

struction.

He served Mass, read the
Gospel aloud and distributed

pamphlets, thoughtfully sent

him by his good friend, Father

James Bresnahan of St. Ann’s

Church in St. Louis. "I made
those pamphlets,” said Hosea,

"serve as so many recruiting
agents for Christ. They told the

story better than I could.”

Hosea Alexander is now a stu-
dent in the Engineering School

at Notre Dame, and despite the

pressure of that stern course is

still winning converts. Six in

three years is his present record.



20 THE OPEN DOOR

“Do you think, Hosea, you

can keep up that pace?” I asked.

“I think I can, Father,” he re-

plied, “for Fve worked out a

technique that never fails. It

takes me off the hot spot, too.”

“What’s that, Hosea?” I asked

with eager interest.

“I get the truth seeker to learn

his prayers and start saying

them as soon as possible. Then
I bring him to a priest who con-
ducts an Inquiry Class, and the

rest is easy sailing. That’s the

double-barreled technique of

prayer and study . . . and it

works every time.”

In The Face Of Death

MY father s illness came suddenly and with drastic
severity. The morning they took him to the oper-

ating room seems now like a nightmare. All I could do
was to pray blindly, “Oh God, please don’t let him die.”
But I received no consolation.

After father was out of danger, and I could visit

frequently, I watched a woman waiting while her hus-
band underwent a serious operation. His case was

hopeless. I knew the pain that was gnawing at her
heart. Her ordeal was worse than mine had been.

To my astonishment, instead of weeping bitterly,
she sat there with a rosary in her hands. I shall never

forget her look of serene peace. It was plain that she

was completely resigned to God’s will. Occasionally she

would stop to question someone in her family, and then

her eyes would show her suffering. But returning to her

prayers, the same look of peace would settle on her

features.

As I watched, the conviction grew that I must learn

the basis of her faith. I must learn to face sorrow and

adversity as bravely and confidently. If the Rosary

meant so much to her, it might to me. The result: I
turned to the Catholic faith, and, eventually, so did my
family. —Mrs. Kenneth Wilcox.



‘ ‘-pns is a red-letter day in
my calendar — the day of

my First Holy Communion. My
heart is full of joy and gladness.

What can I do, Father, to show
my gratitude?”

“Win a convert for Christ,”

said Father Joseph, O.F.M.

“That’s the best way of repaying
God for the priceless gift of
faith. To do this you will have

to live your Faith and by word

and deed seek to share your

treasure with others.”

Diana Ayres, who had just
made her First Holy Commun-
ion at the Old Mission at Santa

Barbara, California, never for-

got that bit of advice. Since

that June day in 1946 Diana has

joined the Convert Makers of

America, has led four persons

into the Church and is still go-

ing strong.

“How did you manage, Di-
ana,” I asked, “to interest these

people in the Faith? That’s the

technique that most lay Cath-

olics want to know. They have

all the good will in the world

but they’re frequently stymied

because they don’t know just
how to break the ice.”

“I’m afraid, Father,” she re-

plied, “that there’s no uniform

procedure. It varies with each

case. You have to take advan-

tage of any opening that pre-

sents itself. And this means one
has to be on the alert all the

time. With each of my converts
the method of approach varied.”

“Tell us about them, Diana.

That will be the best way of
letting Catholics see how they
can get in the entering wedge
which will eventually pry open

the door.”

“I was writing an article,” she

said, “about Padre Junipero Ser-

ra for St. Anthony’s Messenger.

Joan Foster was working with

me at the book store. It was a
rainy day and there were no

customers. So, under the pre-

tense of needing her help, I ask-

ed her if she would read the



22 THE OPEN DOOR

rough draft to me so I could
type it more rapidly.

“I thought this would be a

means of whetting her appetite

for more information about a

religion which could inspire a

member to such sanctity. It
worked perfectly. Soon she was

asking for more literature about

those Franciscan missionaries

and about the Catholic Faith.

“When her folks learned
about her interest they began

to bombard her with pamphlets

of the ‘convent-life-unveiled’

brand. But Joan did not fall for

those phony stories.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Chiefly because she knew
one Catholic intimately and had

complete trust and faith in her.

That person was myself. And
she knew I would not be trying
to snare her into anything un-

wholesome or dishonorable.

“I then took her to Benedic-

tion at the Old Mission and she

was deeply impressed with the

beauty of the service and with

the reverence and devotion of

the worshippers. The next step
was to bring her to Father Gra-

tian, O.F.M., for instructions.

Three months later, on January

3, 1950, she was received into

the Church. She now manages

the Mission Gift Shop at the

Carmel Mission, the beautiful

Shrine of Padre Serra, whose

life was the entering wedge of
interest in the Faith.”

“How did you interest the
others, Diana?” I asked.

“Betty, another girl at the

book shop, had some personal

problems. I listened to them

and advised her. We had seri-
ous talks together. Only relig-

ion could help her solve her

problems. I took her to Father

Andrew, O.F.M., and in 1951 on

November 24th (her birthday
and Padre Serra’s too!) she was

baptized.

“Ronald Mitchell became in-

terested through his history

course in the Missions and I

took him to Brother Ambrose,

and Father Erwin, O.F.M., fin-

ished the job by baptizing him

at the Old Mission on October

4, 1951.

“I purposely put Jeannine in

charge of the religious articles.

Soon she was bombarding me
with questions about the Rosary

and other devotions. I explain-

ed these and other teachings of

the Church, and Father Gratian

continued the instructions.

“When she seemed to encoun-



THE OPEN DOOR 23

ter some roadblock I prayed es-

pecially hard, fasted for a cou-

ple days and offered the pains

of a tonsillectomy for her. I re-

membered that Christ said some
miracles require both prayer

and fasting. They must have

helped her over the roadblock,

for a month later, on August

28th, the anniversary of Padre

Serra’s death, she was baptized

‘Junipera’ here at the Old Mis-

sion.”

“Thanks,” I said to the pretty,

alert and zealous young manag-

er of the Serra Gift Shop in

Santa Barbara, “you’ve shown

us all how to 'break the ice’ for
Christ. You’re a capital sales-

lady for this shop and an even

better one for God.”

Such are the four methods cf

approach by which Diana in-

serted the entering wedge of

divine truth into the question-

ing minds of four persons out-

side the fold. That wedge open-

ed their minds to the fullness of

divine truth and eventually it

opened also the door to Christ’s

Church.

Oh, yes! I almost forgot about

the prayer and the tonsillect-

omy. Diana would never for-

give me! They too are part—and

an important part—of the pic-

ture of winning a soul for

Christ.

Worthwhile

MY Aunt, Sister Rosalita, who died quite a few years
ago as Superior of Seton Academy, was beautiful

and talented as a young girl and naturally had many ad-
mirers. The most persistent, a Protestant, she could not
discourage. When he proposed, she informed him she
was going to enter the convent. When he heard this he
said, “If you become a nun I shall become a priest.”
Many years later in her convent she was told there was
a Father Livingstone in the parlor to see her. To her
amazement, he was none other than her would-be hus-
band. He explained that when he heard her news he
decided that whatever would entice her from the pleas-
ures of the world must be worth-while embracing.

—Rosalita Johnson .



* i pATHER, that’s the first
time I ever heard a sermon

urging lay people to win con-

verts. I’m a convert myself and

if Catholics only knew what a
vacuum their holy religion can
fill in the lives of others, they’d

be more eager to share it.”

“Ralph,” I said, “that’s music

to my ears. I wish I could have
had you follow me in the pulpit
and tell that to the congrega-

tion.”

Ralph Hartmus, his family

and I were standing at the door

of St. John’s Church in Hialeah,

Florida, as the people were

leaving after the 9 o’clock Mass

on New Year’s Day. Father
Peter Reilly, the Pastor, wanted

to get an Inquiry Class started

and had me preach on the con-
vert apostolate at all the Masses.

Despite an extensive building

program he has set a goal of 100

converts a year for his parish.

I had all the congregation re-

peat after me the words of a
pledge to try to recruit one pros-

pect each year. The Class open-

ed three weeks later with 48

members.

“Tell me, Ralph,” I continued,

“what brought you into the fold.

Catholics like to know what first
attracted a person to the Church

and then what convinced him

it’s the true Church.”

“I was a Master Sergeant in

Company A, 114th Infantry Re-
placement Training Center,
Camp Robinson, Arkansas,
when I met Betty Mulrenin at
the U.S.O. in Little Rock. Betty

was a nurse at St. Elizabeth’s

Hospital and a devout Catholic.

“She was the first Catholic

girl that I dated. I admired

her fine character and sensed

the deep satisfaction and happi-

ness which she got out of her

religion. She encouraged me to
look into it and gave me a copy
of Father Smith Instructs Jack-

son.

“It got me so interested and
enthused about the Catholic re-

ligion that soon I was raving



THE OPEN DOOR 25

about it to the men at the camp.
Then there came a backfire.

Several of the soldiers began to

bombard me with all sorts of
charges against Catholics. They

said I’d regret getting roped

into such an outfit.”

“Did you believe such charg-

es?” I asked.

“Not entirely,” replied Ralph,

“but they disturbed me. I start-

ed praying day and night that

God would help me to decide
aright. After three weeks of fer-

vent praying, I got up one

morning with the definite con-

viction that I should take a com-

plete course of instruction and

have the chaplain clear up all

the charges.

“It was like the feeling that

comes to one, when he’s been
ailing, that he should see a good

physician and not monkey
around with quacks. I deter-

mined to see the chaplain,

knowing that he’s a specialist in

these matters and would have

all the answers.

“By this time I had spread my
enthusiasm to Corporal Edward
Like and took him with me to
see Chaplain Sevadas. He show-
ed the charges to be unfounded,

cleared everything up and, after

a month of daily instruction, re-

ceived both of us into the

Church.”

“What really convinced you,

Ralph,” I asked, “that the Cath-

olic Church was the true one?”

“The fact that it—and it alone

—was founded directly by
Christ centuries before any of

the non-Catholic sects saw the

light of day. That’s the fact

that will convince any inquirer

if he will look at it with open

eyes and an open mind.

“Knowing Betty helped a lot,”

he continued, “in making me
feel instinctively that the accus-

ations against the Church were

phony. She’s too wholesome

and lovely a girl to blossom

from a bad tree. But it was the

divine foundation of the Church

that showed me I need look no
further for Christ’s true Church.

“Two months later, on Febru-
ary 13, 1945, Betty and I march-

ed down the aisle of the Little
Rock Cathedral. Corporal Like

was our best man. The new
chaplain, Father Cornelius J.
Lynch, S.J., gave us a beautiful

wedding with all the trimmings.

Like Father Sevadas he too was

wonderful to us and ...”

“You can say that again,”

broke in Betty. “I wasn’t sure I

should give up my hard earned



26 THE OPEN DOOR

Registered Nurse title for mar-

riage. But Father Lynch con-

vinced me, saying, ‘Betty, MRS
is better any day than a mere

RN.’ How right he was! Those
two priests were like uncles to

us both.”

“Ralph,” I asked, “have you

won any others beside Corporal
Like?”

“I got another soldier, with

three children, interested. . . but

I don’t know whether he has fol-
lowed through yet or not. But,”

pointing to a boy at each side

of him and two little daughters

with Betty, “how about these

four children? Don’t I get some

credit for them?”

“Indeed you do, Ralph . . .

and Betty, too . . . and help

Father Reilly reach his goal of

100 converts . . . without fail.”

“It’s a deal,” said Ralph, “and

the least I can do to show my
gratitude for the greatest bless-

ing that has ever come into my
life!”

Witness

y^BOUT a year ago I considered myself a fervent
Jehovah’s Witness. I met a Catholic boy and de-

cided to convert him. It made me furious when he said
I wouldn’t convince him. A friend suggested I talk to a
priest, and then make it clear to Larry that Catholics

have no answers for our questions.

Taking the J. W. handbook with me, I summoned
enough courage to knock at a rectory door. The priest

received me more kindly than I had expected, and toler-
ated my carefully selected questions. Then he disarmed
me rather suddenly by suggesting it would be easier for
him to satisfy me completely if he explained the Catholic
position from the beginning of the catechism. There

would be no obligation on my part to complete the in-
vestigation of Catholic claims, and he promised not to

make any effort to change my mind. So I made an
appointment for the first instruction which led to my
becoming a Catholic six months later.

—Arlene Farone.



i i J^ARLING,” said Mrs.
Fausch, “the Paulist Fath-

ers have converted that drug

store at the corner of Columbus

Avenue and 59th Street into a

Catholic Information Center.

Father Vincent F. Holden, C.S.-

P., is in charge. He’s not only

an expert on religion but he’s

also a kind and friendly priest.

Wouldn’t you like to drop in on

him and get the whole picture

of our Faith?”

“Yes, Peg,” slowly replied her

husband Benjamin, “I’ll drop in

at that Center one of these

days.”

The Fausch’s had been mar-
ried twelve years and their only

child, Mary, was now eleven.
Benjamin had been born of Or-

thodox Jewish parents but had

long since drifted from the Jew-
ish Faith and now belonged to
none. An educator and school
administrator, he had many in-
tellectual interests but had nev-

er gotten down to a serious
study of the Catholic religion.

Despite the differences in re-

ligion, the marriage was a hap-

py one. Benjamin accompanied

his wife and daughter when
Mary made her First Holy Com-
munion and he was proud of

her and rejoiced in her happi-

ness. Peg had prayed for years

for her husband’s conversion

but had never previously felt

that the time was quite ripe to

suggest that he look into the

Catholic religion.

Even now she said nothing
about embracing the Faith—sim-

ply getting “the whole picture”

from an expert. Ben knew what
was really in her mind, how-

ever, and was somewhat appre-

hensive about the outcome,

even though he agreed to go.

“I’d like to look into the Cath-

olic religion,” said Ben a few

days later when he called at the
Information Center. “I’m not

sure I’ll join the Church but as

an educated man I feel I ought
to know more about it.”

“Fine!” said Father Holden.



28 THE OPEN DOOR

“We never ask a person to com-
mit himself in advance. Were
glad to tell you the whole story

and let you decide. There’ll be

no pressure of any kind. Indeed

it would be a sorry com-

mentary on the cogency of our

credentials if we had to resort
to emotional appeals instead of

letting the simple truth and the

hard cold facts of history write

their own impartial verdict up-
on your open mind.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Fath-

er, for while I love my wife and
daughter I always like to feel

that what I’m doing is in accord

with truth, reason and intelli-

gence.”

There was a complete meet-

ing of minds and Mr. Fausch

progressed rapidly under the

tutelage of the scholarly Paulist

Father.

“I was deeply impressed,” re-

marked Benjamin later, “with

the logic and reasonableness of

the claims set forth by the

Church. At no time did Fath-

er Holden urge me or high-
pressure me into taking a step
I couldn’t or wouldn’t take of

my own volition.
“I’m sure he often prayed that

God in His infinite wisdom
would shower upon me His

bountiful grace to help me see
that salvation was mine for the

asking. I, too, prayed for guid-

ance. Our prayers were answer-
ed. At last my mind was made
up. It was time for me to enter
the Promised Land.”

Peg’s birthday, October 26,

fell that year on Sunday. Ben

decided to surprise her. He in-
vited her to drop in with him
that afternoon for a little visit

with Father Holden. There she

was invited to witness Ben’s

baptism. Peg was thrilled. It

was the best birthday gift she

had ever received.

“I didn’t realize at that time,”

reports Ben in telling the whole

story in Paths to Christ, “that

what I had planned as a birth-

day gift to her, would in reality

be God’s priceless gift to me. I

was truly reborn.”

The one thing previously

lacking in their marital happi-

ness was now supplied—a com-
mon Faith. The sharing of their
spiritual experience added a

new lustre and a quiet joy to
their lovely home.

It’s not always easy to know

precisely when a Catholic
should, like Peg, invite her non-

Catholic spouse to look into the

Faith and get the whole picture.



THE OPEN DOOR 29

But some day it should, and it

must, be spoken if the gap sep-

arating them in their spiritual

life is to be bridged and the cir-

cle of their happiness is to be

complete. And usually the soon-
er it is spoken, the better.

But always it must be preced-

ed, accompanied and followed

by a great outpouring of pray-

ers and love. They never fail,

for behind them is the power of

God.

Windshield Missioner

|

WAS a Sunday School teacher in a Protestant Church,
but I was vaguely dissatisfied, ill at ease and unhappy

with my religion. I was always reading the religious
literatures of various Protestant sects. I was searching

and yearning with an unspeakable longing for a relig-

ious faith I did not have.

Then one day while I was out shopping, someone

tucked a copy of Our Sunday Visitor under the wind-

shield wiper of my car. Scornfully I started to throw it
away, but I decided it might be quite amusing and I

most likely would find plenty of false religious teach-

ings in it which I could expose to my Sunday School
class, thus warning them against the evils of the Cath-

olic Church.

So I started reading and a miracle happened. A
great wonder and a strange elation grew within me. I

read every page in that Our Sunday Visitor. I began
reading everything Catholic I could get my hands on.
The hunger within me grew by leaps and bounds.

Finally I got up enough courage to go see a priest.

I began taking instructions and I and my four children
were baptized. We became the first members of our
family to ever belong to the only Church founded by
Christ . . . The Roman Catholic Church.

—Roena Newton



£ONVERTS are generally
more zealous in sharing the

precious treasure of their new-

found faith than cradle Cath-

olics. This is probably because

they know from experience the
void it fills and hence they ap-

preciate it all the more. Then,

too, learning it as adults, they

frequently master it more thor-

oughly than those who learn it
as little children. In addition,

converts realize that the best

way they can show their grati-
tude for the gift of faith is to

share that faith with others.

Mrs. Helen C. Chapman, now
of the Annunciation parish in

St. Louis, has shown what one

woman of strong faith and apos-
tolic zeal can do both in win-

ning other converts and in re-

claiming fallen-aways.

She and her husband, Nor-

man, were regular attendants at

a non-Catholic church and

Helen sang in the choir. It was

a large adult choir of trained

voices and, wearing cassocks

and surplices, they sang diffi-

cult four-part music.

“I felt happy,” said Helen,

“and sort of dedicated to God
in being privileged to assist in

the services. Then the picture

changed when a new minister
came. He was a young man
who fancied himself rather im-
portant for his independent and

radical ideas. He proceeded to
shock his parishioners into sit-

ting up and taking notice of

what he had to say.

“His pronouncements showed

that he had discarded many of
the most fundamental articles of

the Christian faith. It wasn’t

long before my husband refused
to set foot inside the church. He
stayed home and vented his
anger on the grass with the

lawn mower. My daughter and
her husband also discontinued

their attendance.

“Through several years,” con-

tinued Helen, “I sat and fumed,

reluctant to leave because of my
joy in singing in the choir and



THE OPEN DOOR 31

because there was no other

church of that denomination in

the vicinity. The minister be-

came bolder and more radical

in his sermons.

“Christ, he remarked, was a

good man, and we should pat-
tern our lives after His, though

of course He wasn’t divine. His
miracles? They were just tricks

of magic to get the attention of

the crowd. The Virgin Birth?

How silly can you get? In his
sermons there was never more

than a single line of Scripture

which he rarely developed.

“He usually rambled on until

fortunately few knew what he
was talking about. When he
was feeling unusually ambitious,

his sermon consisted of a review

of some current best-seller, not

a religious or even an historical

work, but just fiction.

“Finally, I couldn’t take it any

longer. I phoned the only Cath-

olic friend I had and asked her

to arrange an appointment with

a priest so I could take instruc-

tions. My husband knew noth-
ing of this. And never having
been inside a rectory nor even

having talked to a priest, I was
quite nervous.

“Accordingly, I went to see
Father George Gottwald, an as-

sistant at Holy Redeemer. He
was very gracious to me, gave

me a copy of The Faith of Mil-
lions (Our Sunday Visitor $2.50),

and told me to return when I
had read it. I explained that I

would be glad to read the book

but wanted to start taking in-

structions at once. He said I
could start Monday night at
eight o’clock.

“That night I told my hus-
band. He agreed to drive me
but did not feel ready for the

instructions. On Monday night
when we arrived in front of the
rectory, I persuaded Norman to
come in and meet Father Gott-

wald. The result was we took
instructions together and were

baptized in the Church just be-

fore Thanksgiving in 1945.

What a happy Thanksgiving
Day that was for both of us!

“The next spring I got my
daughter and her husband to

start instructions and they and

their three children were receiv-

ed into the Church. I next ar-

ranged for the instruction of a

young cousin who was living
with us and she too was receiv-

ed into the fold. All eight of us

were confirmed and life took on

a new radiance and beauty for
all of us.”



32 THE OPEN DOOR

“Was that the end?” we asked.
“No,” she replied, “the climax

is still to come. The man who
brings fresh eggs to our home
had noticed the happiness

which the Catholic religion had

brought into our lives. ‘Were

fallen - aways/ he confessed

shamefacedly, ‘but youVe

taught us a lesson and our fam-

ily of five is now back in the
Church. Well hold fast to it

and practice it, for life is hollow

without it/”

How strange is the Provi-

dence of God and how myster-
ious the workings of His grace!

It all began when Helen s en-
durance of her minister’s denials

had reached the bursting point.

How wonderful that God could
turn the denial of His own di-
vinity into a fountain of grace,

leading eight converts and five

fallen-aways into His outstretch-

ed arms! Oh, yes! God needed a
human agent through whom to
work and Helen Chapman was
the lovely channel of His sav-

ing grace.

Furioso

^URING her senior year of high school, the young
lady attended a Catholic school, and later became a

Catholic. She heard the instructions given weekly by the

pastor as well as the daily instructions of the teacher,

remaining apparently indifferent.

Came graduation time, and the Sister took the pu-
pils to church to practice. During a lull, some of the boys

began talking and laughing. The Sister, usually mild to

the point of blandness, used scathing words to express

her disappointment and displeasure at “such conduct in

the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.”

“Just why this Sister, whose mildness was prover-
bial, should become so distressed and irate over a little

innocent recreation made me curious,” the convert said.
“I sought and found the answer in the catechism. As a

result, four members of my family have become Cath-
olics.” —Sister C.



A Doctor \
Telephones

i i pOR some years, Doctor
Schilling, there’s been a

void in my life which nothing
seems to fill. I’m like a rudder-

less ship going aimlessly around

and around. Life seems to have

little purpose or meaning and I

think it’s because I don’t feel

right with God.”

“Do you have any definite re-

ligious faith, Mrs. Van Winkle?”
asked the doctor.

“My parents were deeply re-
ligious and I went to church

and Sunday school. But appar-

ently it didn’t sink very deeply

because I’ve drifted away from
church and haven’t even had my
daughter baptized. I allowed

her to grow up with the idea

that when she’s mature she
could choose her own religion.”
“Have you ever looked into

the Catholic Faith? Its creed is

clear-cut and its sacraments

bring God’s grace to people to

help them in every emergency.
It shows how precious every
soul is to God and thus it gives

meaning and purpose to every

life, no matter how humble and
apparently insignificant.”

cc

Yes,” replied Mrs. Van Win-

kle, “I’ve dipped into it a little

and was impressed with the au-

thority with which it speaks.

But, like many non-Catholics,
I’m a bit shy about calling on a

priest to get the full story, es-

pecially when I’m not sure I’ll
embrace it.”

“There’s no need,” remarked

the doctor, “to sign in advance

on the dotted line. Any priest
will be delighted to explain the

Catholic Faith to you without

putting you under the slightest

obligation. They’re specialists in

religion just as I am in medi-
cine. I’ll be glad to phone Fath-

er Cunningham and make an
appointment for you, if you

wish.”

“Fine, doctor. Otherwise I’ll

probably continue to drift and

the emptiness in my life will in-
crease instead of diminish.”



34 THE OPEN DOOR

The conversation took place

between Mrs. Earl L. Van Win-

kle and Dr. R. S. Schilling in his

office in the Pueblo Clinic in

Pueblo, Colorado. It marked

the turning point in Mrs. Van

Winkle’s life and it started a

series of conversions which is

still continuing.

On December 10, 1949, Mrs.
Van Winkle went to keep the

appointment with Father L. F.

Cunningham, S.J., Pastor of Our

Lady of the Assumption

Church, so graciously made for
her by Dr. Schilling. She

brought along her married

daughter who was then the
mother of four children. It was

time, the mother felt, for her

daughter to make a definite

commitment instead of drifting

along much as she had done,
always postponing the most im-

portant thing in life—the effort

to find God and the Church
which He established.

“We would like to learn more
about the teachings of the Cath-

olic Faith,” explained Mrs. Van
Winkle, “but we aren’t sure we
want to join.”

“There is no greater pleasure

for a priest,” Father Cunning-

ham reassured them, “than to
explain our holy religion to non-

Catholic inquirers. Be assured
that you are under no obligation

to embrace it. Indeed, you will

not be pressured in the slight-

est way. All we ask is that you
bring to this investigation an

open mind and a willingness to

pray to God for light to see the
truth and the grace to follow it

whithersoever it may lead you.”

As the evidence of the divine

origin of the Catholic Church

was unfolded before their eyes

by this scholarly and zealous

priest, all doubts vanished from

their minds. In the light of

Christ’s teachings all the pieces

in the jigsaw puzzle of life fell

into place.

On February 23, 1950, at the
age of 54, Mrs. Van Winkle was
received into the Church and a

little later her daughter and her

four children were received.

The following year Mrs. Van
Winkle’s son-in-law followed in

the footsteps of his wife and

children. At the Christmas Mid-

night Mass in 1952 Mrs. Van
Winkle’s husband (who had

been a Mason) and her stepson,

24 years of age, made their First
Holy Communion. Two grand-
children have since been receiv-

ed into the fold.

When Dr. Schilling phoned



THE OPEN DOOR 35

Father Cunningham he little

thought he was starting a spiri-

tual chain reaction which thus

far has brought eleven souls in-

to the fold and which is still

continuing. The doctor started

it and with Father Cunning-

ham’s help Mrs. Earl Van Win-

kle “followed through,” as she

remarks, “with two carloads of

my family and relatives.”
“Do you see,” she asks, “why

I can’t say ‘Thanks be to God!’

often enough? I do say it daily

in Holy Communion. As a mem-

ber of the Legion of Mary and

of the Third Order of St. Fran-

cis, I am striving to repay in a
small way the abundant bless-

ings which our dear Lord in His

tender mercy and love has

showered upon my family and
myself. I hope that each year

I can win more souls for Him.”

Half-Opened Door

INURING the last year or two I have been saving my
magazines and giving them to an organization which

distributes them among the ships of the merchant ma-
rine. One day a young man came to our door to call for
these magazines. Looking through the pile, he seemed

disappointed and asked, “Haven’t you any Catholic

Digests this time?”

“No,” I said, “we haven’t finished with the last two

ourselves. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I was born and baptized a Catholic,” he an-

swered, “but for many years I haven’t been anything,
and I stopped going to church. When I saw your
Catholic Digest

,
I began to read them before turning

them in to the ships. It wasn’t long before I realized

how much I’d been missing by leaving the Church. Now
I’ve gone back. That little Digest has meant so much to
me, and that’s why I asked for it.”

My husband and I are Episcopalians, but a Cath-
olic friend, two years ago, sent us the magazine as a

Christmas gift. We enjoy it so much that you now have
my name on your regular subscription list, where I ex-
pect it to remain. —Claudia Miles Stevens.



|^|
RS. EDGAR OLSON was
attending the 9 o’clock Sun-

day Mass at St. Augustine’s

Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan,

when she heard us make the
following announcement: “An

Inquiry Class will be held on

Monday and Thursday evenings
at 8 o’clock in the school audi-

torium.

“St. Augustine’s Parish has re-

ceived as many as ninety con-
verts in a year but has never

reached the hundred mark. You
will enable us to reach that cov-

eted goal if each of you will do

your best to bring one church-

less friend or neighbor to this

Class and God will reward you
abundantly.”

“I immediately thought,” said

Mrs. Olson, “of my two daugh-
ters-in-law, Velma and Betty.

Here’s an excellent chance to

give them an insight into the

Catholic Faith. Perhaps through

God’s grace they may be moved
to embrace it and thus unify

their family life and bring up
their children fervent Catholics.

“That afternoon I called on

Velma and told her about it.

There’s no obligation to join.

You can find out all about the
Catholic religion from an expert

and see if it doesn’t offer you

something that will enrich your

life here and help you achieve

eternal life. There’s nothing to

lose and a lot to gain.”

“Sounds attractive,” remarked

Velma. “I’ve often felt that it

would be nice to join my hus-
band Willis in prayer and thus

set the example for our two

youngsters. They’ll be asking

questions pretty soon if they see

only one of their parents recit-

ing the Rosary. I’ll go with you.”

Leaving Velma, Mrs. Olson

drove over to Betty’s and ex-

tended the same gracious invita-

tion. Betty has five youngsters,

and she too was feeling the

need of unifying her family life

and setting an example of a

common religious faith and
practice for her children.

“This is good news, indeed,”

remarked Betty. “It’s nice to



THE OPEN DOOR 37

know that Catholics are inter-

ested in sharing their faith with

others. Most of us have thought

of Catholics as rather a smug

lot, so wrapped up in their own

religion that they aren’t con-

cerned about outsiders. If Irv-

ing will ‘baby sit’ that evening,

111 go with you and Velma.”

When Betty and Velma came
with Mrs. Olson that Monday
evening, they were surprised to

see the large crowd that turned

out. We had “talked it up” at all
the Sunday Masses and had

urged each adult to bring one

inquirer and, if he couldn’t do

that, to come himself. Rarely

have our laity been invited to

take an active part in the apos-

tolate of saving souls.

The hundreds that turned

out that night gave a convincing

demonstration of the willingness

of the laity to respond to an ap-

peal for spiritual help. It’s such

a pleasant change from the fin-

ancial appeals with which they

are usually inundated—much to
the Pastor’s regret.

Their response showed that

when we once harness the good
will and latent zeal of our laity,

as loyal and devoted as in any

country in the world, to the task

of sharing their faith with

churchless friends, we shall win
not merely 120,000 but a million

converts each year. The enlist-

ment of our 30,000,000 laity in

recruiting attendance at Inquiry

Classes is the next important

step in the convert movement
in America.

“Betty and Velma,” said Mrs.

Olson, “were delighted with

that first session. Through the

generous kindness of the pastor,

Monsignor John R. Hackett,

they were given their choice of

a copy of The Faith of Millions

or What’s the Truth about Cath-

olics? (Our Sunday Visitor, $2.-

50). The lecturer was kind and

friendly, not a single critical

word was spoken of members of

other faiths, the talk was con-

structive and the emphasis was

upon prayer and the love of

God.

“It was just the sort of "eye

opener’ both of them needed.

There was no difficulty after

that. They came to every meet-

ing and found the teachings

of the Church reasonable and

the evidence of her divine orig-

in unmistakable. They learned

their prayers and recited them

devoutly.”

On Sunday, December 6,
1952, Betty and Velma, with



38 THE OPEN DOOR

their husbands at their sides,

along with 25 other members of

the class received their First

Holy Communion. It was the

happiest day in their lives and

in the lives of their families.

Each evening they now recite
the family Rosary and God has
deepened and strengthened the

unity of their respective homes

with the pervasive influence of

a common religious faith.
That Sunday was a red-letter

day in the history of St. Augus-

tine’s parish. It was the first

time in its long history that it

had witnessed the reception of

a hundred converts in one year.

Monsignor Hackett and his zeal-

ous assistants, Fathers R, P.

Taffee and J. J. O’Meara were

jubilant. We had driven up
each evening from Notre Dame
to give the lectures and we too
were thrilled. But it was to lay

recruiters, like Mrs. Edgar Ol-

son, to whom under God we
gave the credit for the record-

breaking achievement. They

and the Inquiry Class and God’s

grace are an unbeatable com-

bination in any parish.

R.S.V.P.

"J~HE Catholic lady, introducing her husband to a

priest at a social function, said, “My husband, Fa-
ther, is not a Catholic.”

“How is it,” said the priest, jokingly, “that you, mar-
ried so long to this Catholic lady and having such charm-

ing Catholic children, have managed to stay outside the

Church?”

“Well,” said the gentleman, “no one ever invited me
to join it!”

The lady, with red face and smiling confusion, ad-

mitted that she “thought” he was correct.

“In that case,” said the priest, “I invite you to join,

here and now.”

“Thanks,” said the gentleman, with an air of appre-

ciation. “I accept.” —T./.L., St . Louis.



THE OPEN DOOR 39

Bookie

HE. had taken his non-Catholic friend to Mass on a
Sunday morning. It was the first time the friend had

been in a Catholic church. The stranger found every-

thing very interesting; he even noticed that at the end of

Mass the altar boy took the book over to the Gospel side

for the last Gospel. A week later he was at Mass again;
this time the missal was not moved over to the Gospel

side. Puzzled, he returned a week later and made a small
bet with his Catholic friend that the book would go over

this time.

The book did not go over; he paid off. A week later
both were back at Mass, again a small wager that the

book would not go over. It went over, and the non-

Catholic gentleman paid off. After Mass he asked to be

brought to the rectory. At the door he told the priest,

‘Tm losing money on your Church,” and explained what
had happened. One question led to another. Now he
uses a missal. —T. Q., California.

No Known Words

~pHE following incident was related to me by Father
Agnellus Andrew, director of religious broadcasting

for the BBC, last summer during his visit to America.

One evening he was preaching in a London church
on a carefully prepared theme. Suddenly, halfway

through, he forgot the next point of his sermon and went

off on a tangent, speaking aimlessly of anything and

everything that came into his head, while he tried des-

perately to remember his sermon. “It was the most em-

barrassing five minutes I ever spent in the pulpit,” he

relates. “You can imagine my surprise when, after the
sermon, a man came into the vestry to congratulate me
and asked to be received into the Church. He told me



40 THE OPEN DOOR

how he had wandered in out of mere curiosity, and
then added, 1 wasn’t much interested in your sermon
till you went off your subject deliberately and started

talking directly to me. In that five minutes you answered

all the questions that have been trying my soul for years.’
He became a good convert, but to this day I have not
the slightest idea of what I was talking about during

that embarrassing and distressing five minutes.”—/. B. D.

Last Words

NON-CATHOLIC housewife stood watching a
painter as he swayed casually suspended from the

eaves of a three-story building. Sud-

denly a rope gave way. The work-
man plunged to the pavement 60
feet below. The housewife rushed to
aid the victim, who gasped,

£CA priest,
a priest!”

She had a vague knowledge of

what the last sacraments mean to a
dying Catholic, and hurried to telephone the nearest

rectory. Meantime she had the injured man carried into
her house. Later, she concluded there must be some-

thing in a religion that causes a person to forget his

pain and think only of his soul. That did it.

—Agnes M. Driscoll.

Load Lightener

NON-CATHOLIC schoolteacher entered the Gesu
in Philadelphia. She wondered if Catholics really

believed that Christ was present on the altar.

Her attention was attracted to an old Jesuit Brother,

cumbersomely carrying a heavy bale of carpet across

the sanctuary. In him she saw a test of the Catholic



THE OPEN DOOR

faith. Breathlessly, she watched him. When he came be-
fore the tabernacle, he laid down his burden. He did
genuflect, prayed, genuflected again, and went his way.

The young teacher prayed for the gift of faith. She

took instructions, and was received into the Church. La-

ter she became a Franciscan Sister.

—Katherine O'Connor.

Death Row

^IX months ago, I had less than the poorest of poor
men, but now at 25 years of age, I am a millionaire.

I have been in my life a manager of a restaurant and
drive-in, a foreman, a radio operator, paint contractor,

pilot, professional wrestler, semiprofessional baseball

player, night-club manager, and dentistry student. I do

not have a dime to show for all this. But now, I am in
prison and a millionaire. It took a Sister of Mercy to

help me make my fortune.
As I write this, I am in the condemned row of a

Louisiana prison. I violated the Fifth Commandment,
“Thou shalt not kill.”

I will never forget my first week in prison. No
family, no friends, no nothing. I like to write, and I de-

cided to pass my time that way, but I needed a diction-
ary. A cellmate, a Catholic who had turned from the
faith, told me that the Sisters came three times a week.
I should ask them and they would get me one.

I said, “Me, ask the Sisters? Are you crazy?” I was
born and brought up a Mormon. I had heard plenty
about Catholics, and I wanted no part of them. On the
days the Sisters came, I would feign sleep, so there
would be no chance of their talking to me.

A week went by. Then two. The third week I was
writing an important letter, and a dictionary became
must. I made up my mind to ask the Sisters for one.



42 THE OPEN DOOR

My pride insisted on a correctly spelled letter, even if
I had to sacrifice myself to a Catholic to get one.

When they came by, I said to one, "Pardon me,
mam, but I was told that you would get me a dictionary
if I asked you.” I was all ready for a long speech.

Wasn’t I ashamed for what I had done? Did I believe

in God? How terrible I was. Didn’t I realize that I
would go to hell?

But to my surprise, the Sister, in a kind, quiet voice,
said, "Certainly. Is there anything else we can get
you?”

Well, I thought to myself, this is just their under-

handed way of doing business. When they come back
next time, surely they will try to get me to join their
Church, because I would be under obligation to them.
I always try to be a gentleman, so I made up my mind
to read any religious material they brought, but only

out of politeness, nothing else.

True to their word, they were back in two days.

Not only had they brought the dictionary, but there

were fruit, cakes, cookies, candy, stationery, pencils and

reading material. But not one religious tract nor pam-

phlet. Once, when I was little I had heard a mother
tell her son that if he wasn’t a good boy, the Catholics

would get him. These Sisters just didn’t correspond

with what I had read and heard.

A number of visits came and went. Every time,
there was the usual fruit and candy, but still no religious

material.

I decided I wanted to find out about this Catholic

faith, so I could decide for myself what it was all about.

The best way, I thought, was to join and see for myself.

So, when the Sisters came back I told them I wanted
to join the Church. I was again dumbfounded, when
they told me I was unable to join as I was. I had to
know the Commandments of God and of the Church,



THE OPEN DOOR 43

sacraments, indulgences, acts and things I had never

even heard of before. All of these were to be found in

a book called the catechism.

I was attracted by the Sister s beads. She explained

the Rosary to me, also telling me that one of her favorite
recreations was making rosaries. I asked if she thought

that I could learn to say the Rosary.

“Certainly,” she said, “if you can memorize four

prayers, the Apostles Creed, the Our Father, the Hail

Mary, and the Glory Be to the Father. I shall bring you

a rosary the next time we come.”

On Saturday, when Sister returned, I prayed my
first Rosary and began an extensive study of the Cate-

chism. It was not because I wished to be a Catholic,

but because I was not going to let any seven or eight-

year-old child know more about anything than I did. If
they could learn the catechism, so could I.

But the more I read, the more I wanted to find out.

Then came the day when I went on trial for my
life. Who stood by me? You guessed it. The Sisters,
two Catholic ladies I had never seen, a matron, who is
one of the kindest persons I have ever met, and my
newly acquired Catholic friends.

Since my trial, I have received the sacraments of
Baptism, Penance, and, yesterday, my First Communion.
The feeling I received from Communion can never be
explained by mere words, but anyone who has received
Communion will understand how I feel.

Those who have read my story this far realize that
the wealth I have accumulated is not in minted coins

or printed paper, but a spiritual wealth, that can never

be purchased by any earthly treasures.

I would not trade the peace and contentment I have

now, and the graces that God has mercifully given me
in prison, for my freedom. Though I may receive death,
I sincerely say that I will accept it heartily, before I will

give up being a millionaire.



44 THE OPEN DOOR

Earthquake

j

WAS praying for the conversion of my non-Catholic
husband. Finally, he consented to take instructions.

We live in Montana. On the night of Oct. 24, 1935,
he handed me the catechism he had been studying, say-
ing, “Ask me the questions now.” I asked, “Who made
the world?” “God made the world,” he replied.

The earth began to tremble. Furniture toppled.

Dishes fell. We stood, rooted to the swaying spot. We
had just had our first of many severe earthquakes.

“Now I know how powerful God is, and how weak
we are,” he said. He returned to his catechism with an
enthusiasm he had not shown before, and became a

Catholic on Easter. —Mrs. J. W. Fleming.

Accident

^EVERAL years ago I gave a young lady a little identi-
fication case in which was enclosed a message read-

ing, “I am a Catholic; in case of accident call a priest.”
Several months later, she in turn gave it away, to a young

non-Catholic gentleman who said he would wear it just
to please her. Months later he was involved in an auto-

mobile accident which knocked him unconscious. In

trying to identify him, by-standers found the identifica-

tion case and note. They took him to a Catholic hos-
pital, where a priest administered Extreme Unction and

gave him conditional absolution.

When, several days later, the patient regained con-
sciousness, the priest told him about it. The puzzled
patient was very much surprised and wanted to know
the meaning of the sacraments he had so inadvertently

received. When he had finished learning about these, he
wanted to know still more. He ended up by taking in-
structions and joining the Church.



THE OPEN DOOR 45

For And Against

'^HEN Fred and I became engaged he told me that
the law of his Church made it necessary to bring up

any children of our marriage as Catholics. I was highly

indignant, and began a crusade of questioning. I visited

ministers of just about every Protestant sect in New
York City to ask them their reasons for “protesting”

Catholicism. At Fred’s request, I also took Catholic pre-

marital instructions at a Paulist Information center.

The ministers’ replies generally followed a pattern:

“My dear girl, do please be careful!” “Don’t take such
a foolhardy step!” “Why, Catholics aren’t fundamental-

ists.” “They worship idols, my dear!” “You have to con-
fess to a priest.”

I also asked advice of a group headed by a well-

known “ex-priest,” the late Father Lehmann. Surely

here I would get the real inside story of what was wrong

with Catholicism! When I explained the purpose of my
visit, Father Lehmann was cautiously interested and
rather reserved. After a few minutes he looked directly

at me and said, “if you can truly accept the teachings of
the Catholic Church, I strongly advise you to enter that

Church. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep my faith.”

Father Malloy of the Paulist Information center

gave explicit, clear, logical, and truthful replies to all my
questions. Here was a certainty and authority that con-

trasted sharply with the ambiguous and confused replies

that I received from almost all the ministers.

For a year I tallied arguments in the “For” and

“Against” columns. One night I was bound to admit to
myself that there were very few reasons on the “Against”

side, and the few there were not compelling. I

realized then that I had found my future children’s re-
ligion, and my own. —Sheila Link.



46 THE OPEN DOOR

Yawler

FEW summers ago, five young college students
chartered a 40-foot yawl for a vacation. Since boy-

hood they had all sailed small boats around Cape Cod
and the Maine coast.

On this particular cruise they met a fleet of yachts
sailing in a long-distance ocean race. It was an exciting

sight. The boys kept out of the way
of the racing yachts, but could not

resist hovering near them.

After several days of magnificent

weather, with a spanking S.W.

breeze, the wind hauled around to

the N.W., and ominous black clouds

gathered. Shortly afterwards, a ter-

rific storm hit them and they took in all sail and hove to.

But their little boat was old and not very seaworthy.

Before long it was only too evident that she would not

weather the storm. One of the boys became panic-strick-
en. To his astonishment, his four shipmates got down
on their knees in the sloshing cockpit water, and prayed.

One held up the little crucifix on the end of his rosary.

While his teeth chattered, the boy tried to hear

what the others were saying. They were reciting the act

of contrition, calmly preparing for a Christian death. He
was amazed. Soon he was kneeling beside them, trying

to remember some prayer from his early childhood.

All were rescued. A Coast Guard vessel, sent out
from New London to check on the yachts in the race,
took them aboard just before their yawl foundered and

sank. The young fellow was so impressed by the calm

faith of his friends that he induced his father to let him

attend their school, a Catholic one, and during the next

year he entered the Church.



THE OPEN DOOR 47

Best To Die In

piFTY-FOUR years ago I was a student nurse in a
southern hospital. Though it was often my duty to

attend the dying, I found nothing strange nor unseem-

ly in the fact that the relatives of the dying stood beside

the bed, often weeping bitterly, but never uttering a

prayer.

The first time I saw a Catholic die, with the attend-

ing priest and the family saying prayers for the dying, I

decided that I wanted to die a Catholic.

I was instructed during Lent, baptized on Holy

Saturday, and received my first Holy Communion on
Easter, 1897. —Clara S. Catherwood.

Anesthetized

JN 1914, while teaching in the public school of a south-

ern city, I lived in a rooming house run by a Catholic

woman. Her little daughter was having trouble with

her homework, and I helped her. After we went through
her spelling and her reader and number work, she hand-

ed me her catechism. Weeks went into months of such
auditing. When I chanced to say, "I didn’t know Cath-
olics believed anything like this; I’d like to know more,”
she told her teacher and confronted me thereafter with
a larger and more advanced catechism. She came home
later with The Faith of Our Fathers, which I also read.
Years passed, and I was in many places. Sometimes I
would say a Hail Mary. The prayer had a fascination.
I had intended to take instructions but just didn’t get

around to it.

The time came when I found myself in a Catholic
hospital for a serious operation. Among the routine
questions was the one about my religion. I said, “I am
a Methodist.”



THE OPEN DOOR

When I was well on the mend, Mother Superior
came in. She had my record. "I see you have listed your
religion as Protestant,” she said. I said that was true,

and asked her why she questioned it. "Oh, I thought
there might be some mistake,” she said. "You are the

only Methodist we ever had who continually repeated
the Hail Mary while coming out of the anesthetic.”

My illness was serious, and I had much time to
think. But even so, more years passed and more Hail

Marys were said before I was led to take instructions.

I have often thought, since entering the Church, how
much that little child and the Hail Mary had helped me.

install a new set, he almost wished he hadn't. In the
first place, he was not a Catholic; and in the second

place, the two young assistants proved unusually trying.

From the time he started to work till he hooked up the
last wire, they plied him with technical questions. Many
times he put down his tools, and in tones of exasperation
described everything in ABC fashion. Father Pete, par-
ticularly, never seemed content with one answer, but

always asked a follow-up. The time passed the dinner

hour.

Finally, as the repair man was escaping through
the front door, Father Pete apologetically thanked him

for his time, adding brightly, "If you ever have any ques-

tions about my business, call me up.”
The TV engineer considered for a second. Then he

smiled grimly. "Well, I've missed my dinner, anyhow.
How about right now?”

Six months later he was received into the Church.

Mrs. J. McA.

Curious People

the television engineer came to the rectory to

—Sally Leighton.



THE OPEN DOOR

Three Kind Words

RECENTLY a friend told me that he had decided to
join the Catholic Church. “Good,” I said, “but whatjoin

made you come to that decision?”

“Well, the other day when I sold some hogs, I cele-

brated a little too much and my wife was having diffi-
culty in getting me to the car. Finally she threatened, ‘If
you don’t straighten up, I’m going to call the cops!’

“A well-dressed gentleman was walking past. He
sniffed and remarked, ‘I don’t blame you, madam; I

would, too/

“By the time we were in front
of our parking place a big fellow

with his collar on backwards came

along. He helped me into the car,
saying ‘God bless you.’ I decided I

could use some of his religion.”

—Hope Rogers.

A.A.

gARNEY, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, was
worried. He had not made the fifth step of the pro-

gram, which reads “Admit to God, to ourselves, and to

another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
At my suggestion he chose a Catholic priest as the other
human being.

The next time I saw Barney he told me, “Joe, A. A.
has a beautiful program. So has the Catholic Church. If

A. A. could restore me to mental normalcy, I believe
Catholicism can restore me to God.”

Needless to say, Barney is now a Catholic and a
good one. So also are a lot of other A. A/s.

—Joseph T. Keenan.



50 THE OPEN DOOR

Pick Up

pRESH out of high school and in a strange eastern city,
I was rather lonely on that Sunday afternoon. It was

just by chance that I met a Catholic girl who also had
some time "to waste.” She was only 15 years old, yet she

taught me more manners and morals in that one after-
noon than I had learned previously in my whole life. I
have never seen the girl since, but I shall never forget

the way she inspired me. I made up my mind then that
I wanted to become a Catholic. I did, one month later.

—Jon A. Baker.

Done Without Endeavor

husband, who is a non-Catholic, finally consented
to attend one Mass with me though he had been

reared in a world full of prejudices towards Catholics.

The pastor asked for prayers for a deceased parishioner.

Suddenly, I noticed my husband kneeling, praying de-
voutly. On the way home he said that his father had
died 12 years before and that this was the first Church

that he knew about that prayed for the dead. Now, he
is taking instructions and looking forward to the day that

he will be a member of such a Church. —Mrs. G. M.

Rabid Rabbit

0NE Sunday afternoon Father Hugh Craig, Mary-
knoller in Korea, was visited by a peasant’s wife, a

devout Catholic. Only this morning her obstinately

pagan husband had finally come to church with her.

She said, "He seemed much impressed until you
started to preach how important the rabbit was in the
world; now he says, ‘The Church is nonsense.’

”

Father Craig had spent hours the previous night



THE OPEN DOOR 51

preparing a talk on “Virtue.” Now he learned that it was
on “Rabbits.” The Korean word for virtue sounds very

much like the word for rabbit.

He immediately set out with the farmer’s wife to
correct his error. Yes, the farmer became a faithful

Catholic. —H. B. Kim.

Librarian Looks

MY job is to buy new books and discard the old ones
for a public library. About a year ago, I noticed

that our religious division was deficient in Catholic

books. I asked the help of a Catholic librarian in select-

ing some, and then began, out of curiosity, to read them.

I read a good deal. I was interested, but not convinced.

Months later, a book was brought in which had

been missing for years. On our records, it had long since
been marked off as lost. My assistant asked me whether,
since it was so faded and shabby, it should be rebound

or just thrown away. I told her I’d look it over and

decide.

It was the story of the conversion of the famous
English writer, Arnold Lunn, called Now I See. I took
it home and read it.

Now I see.

He Was Scolded In

MY sister lives in the neighborhood of a Protestant
theological seminary.

Some years ago, one of the students was assigned,
as all the students are, to visit various near-by churches,

of all denominations, to study the delivery and style of
the sermon.

My sister remembers the day he came to her parish



THE OPEN DOOR

church, not because she saw him, but because bf the

sermon. She says the pastor outdid himself. He scolded
the parishioners for coming in late, said they barged

down the aisle like ships in full sail, distracting the rest
of the congregation. They were strong enough to do any-

thing they wanted, all week long; but on Sunday they

were too feeble to get to church on time, and too deli-

cate to remain until the end of Mass.

“No congregation will stand that,” thought the stu-

dent. “This is one church that will be empty next Sun-

day.”

The following Sunday, he returned to see how few
parishioners would be there. To his astonishment the

pews were crowded, the back of the church full of

standees! He could not understand it. He came back
the next Sunday, and the Sunday after. The church was

always crowded, no matter how unpleasant the sermon.

So the young man decided to ask the priest about it.

On the day my sister came to tell me the story, she
had attended the first Mass of that same student.

—Mrs. A. R. Riker.

Bridge Game

|^AST summer a group of non-Catholic women at a
bridge party awarded a Baltimore penny catechism

as a “booby” prize. It was given as a joke, and there

was much laughing and some scoffing by all except the
young lady who received it. She took it home and started
to read it out of curiosity. The more she read, the more
interested she became. Finally, after some time, she

asked for instructions and was received into the Catholic

Church. Later, through her exemplary living, five of

her close relatives and friends entered the Church.

-S. M. A.



THE OPEN DOOR 53

Smart Little Indian Maiden

^OME years ago when the Catholic Indian missions of
the Northwest were under the supervision of the In-

dian Bureau, Washington, D. C., a government official

visited a 1st and 2nd-grade classroom of one of the mis-

sions and asked the Sister in charge to continue with the

lesson she was teaching. The subject happened to be

Christian Doctrine.

In the course of the instructions, she asked the

class, “Why did God make you?”

One little Indian tot raised her hand, and answered,
“God made me to know, love, and serve Him in this
world, and to be happy with Him in the next.” The
visitor called the little one to him and asked her to re-

peat the answer.

Some months later Sister received a letter from the
government official saying he had learned the purpose

of his existence from a little Indian maiden in her class-

room and that he was taking instructions in the Catholic

faith and hoped to be received into the Church in a

short time. —Katherine O'Connor.

Screened

~|~HE handsome bachelor, visiting his aunt in our small

town, created the usual stir of feminine interest. I

had three dates with him, and on the third he asked me
why I objected to kissing.

“It’s against my religion,” I said, safe on the other
side of a latched screen door, not bothering to explain

that I was talking of my own personal creed and not
necessarily trying to teach that of the Church.

Three years later I was surprised to learn that he
had joined the Church.



THE OPEN DOOR

"I hunted through my Bible,” he said, “to find what
was written about kissing. Then I read your Bible and

other Catholic doctrine hoping to find the answer to my
question. Well, I never really did find the exact an-

swer, I guess, but I did find answers to other things that

were bothering me. So here I am with a rosary like
yours.” —Mrs. L. B. C.

Wine, Women And Argument

K>jY friend and I were students at a Jesuit university in

1939. He fell “madly in love” with a girl at the
school. She was not a Catholic girl, and she tended to be

a bit on the wild side, to put it mildly. I told my buddy
that she was just after a good time, and if he kept going

with her it might cost him his education. (We were both
working our way.) But he would have none of it—said

he was going to marry the gal—and he a very grown-up

18. I bet him ten bucks I could take her away from him,

merely because I could spend a little more money. He
bet. Then he told her about it. They decided to teach

me a lesson. She would go with me, kid me along, then
drop me on my head.

Came the big day. We went to a
little night club near by. I guess I

didn’t cover my disapproval very
well. She began to laugh at my
ethics, morals, and faith. I fought

back. In four hours, we had two
glasses of wine, one dance, and about

60 separate arguments. Suddenly I

found that she wasn’t ridiculing; she was debating—and

well, too.

We went out together every night for the next three
weeks. I discovered that she had no set of laws to follow,

and that she considered authority something to be evad-

ed. But when I could prove a point she would concede



THE OPEN DOOR 55

it. She gradually dropped the banter and became serious.

She cried a couple of times. Finally she exhausted my
store of knowledge. I took her to my Jesuit faculty ad-
viser. She battled with him for six months, before she

conceded all and became an intelligent and brave Cath-

olic.

Well, my friend is happily married now, and to a
good Catholic girl. But no better a Catholic than the

mother of my three kids. She’s one of the best converts
I know. My friend gave us the ten bucks for a wedding
present in 1943. — H. C.

Medalist

|

WAS just preparing to go to bed when I received an
urgent call from the hospital.

“Father, come quickly. We have an emergency case.
He’s wearing a medal with the inscription, "Please send

for a Catholic priest in case of accident.’
”

I was directed to the unconscious man, and adminis-

tered Extreme Unction. He suddenly regained con-
sciousness. I reassured him.

“But, Father, I am not a Catholic. I’ve worn this
medal for a long while, and always intended to become
a Catholic. Please baptize me now.”

I baptized him as they wheeled him toward the
elevator. He died before he reached the operating room.

—Charles A. Cronin.

Actress

“]"HE nun’s play was a simple story about a Roman ves-
tal virgin who chose Christianity and death. Cast

in the lead role was a young non-Catholic lady. The
quiet heroism of the martyred vestal attracted her at



56 THE OPEN DOOR

once. Daily rehearsals found the spell growing until she

was completely enthralled. After the third curtain-call

of the final performance she was opening her heart. A
year later she was baptized. Vacation found her back

home. Her daily-Mass-and-Communion habit at first

alarmed her parents, her younger sister and brother. But

within a year all five knelt together at the Communion
rail. —Louis Schuster.

Comic Relief

0UR children traded comic books with children of a
near-by family whom I heard were anti-Catholic.

Though our son said they liked them, I was afraid their

parents might resent Catholic literature. I explained to

their mother that perhaps we should have her approval
before sending more. She surprised me with, "Oh, yes,
do send all of them, I read them myself.” Later she

asked questions. "Does the Catholic Church really teach

so-and-so?” "Is this the way you Catholics feel about
such-and-such?” When our pastor announced an in-
quirers’ class she went, and was baptized recently.

-Mrs. F. W.

Mutual Sponsors

|

HAD just finished reading an interesting pamphlet
about the Catholic Church, and tossed it across the

table to a business acquaintance who shared the hotel
room with me at a convention. As we both looked at the
pamphlet, I said: "Not a bad argument, Jim.”

About a year later I got a long-distance call. It was

Jim, and he asked me if I would act as his sponsor at
Baptism. He was becoming a Catholic on the strength of
that pamphlet, and felt that I should be called in on the

happy day. "But, Jim,” I said. "I’m not a Catholic.”



THE OPEN DOOR 57

“What! You old son-of-a-gun. I read that out of courtesy

to you.”

There wasn’t much I could do about it. To return
the courtesy to Jim, I read Catholic literature in earnest.

Soon Jim was my sponsor. —Carl Conrad.

Forced Reading

~|~HE old couple on the isolated Oklahoma farm were

now really angry. It was bad enough for their niece
to have become a Catholic but why should she thrust
all this Catholic literature upon them? However, read-

ing material was scarce and the winter evenings were

long, and it was better to have Catholic papers than

none at all. Dad knew how bitterly anti-Catholic mother
was, so he used to amuse himself by reading aloud

articles from the Catholic periodicals. He enjoyed her
reactions and comments, which were sharp and bitter.

The missionary Father who received them into the
Church is all out for the Catholic press, and why
shouldn’t he be? —Thomas Lynch

,
O.M.I.

Slip Shows

|

AM a poor writer. If I had been a better writer may-
be Bob would never have become a Catholic.

I have written many articles and sent them to vari-
ous magazines. Usually they come back accompanied
by that inevitable blue rejection slip. Bob also was a
writer, and often we would compare notes—and rejection
slips.

One day I submitted an article to the Catholic
Digest

, and I must admit I wasn’t too surprised when it
came back about two weeks later. I didn’t think my
stuff was too bad, and neither did Bob, but we just
couldn’t get the editors around to our way of thinking.



58 THE OPEN DOOR

There was something different about this rejection

slip, however. On it were the words, "Most rejection
slips are blue, which is usually the way one feels when
he receives them. This one, however, is green, the sym-

bol of hope and encouragement.”

I thought it a novel way of being turned down, and
the next time Bob came over I showed it to him. A
smile crossed his face as he read. Then he turned to

me. "You Catholics find hope in everything, don’t you?”

he said.

From that time on, his interest in our faith increased
and soon he was taking instructions. Today Bob is a
good Catholic, and it all started with a green rejection

slip.

Escort

^^HILE employed as a psychiatric aide in a veterans’
hospital, I had the task of escorting a group of

patients to Mass on Sunday. It was necessary to have

another employee to assist me, and whenever possible I

selected a Catholic. One Sunday, unable to find a fel-
low Catholic to help me, I secured the services of a man
I knew was not. He sat through the entire Mass. I was
rather surprised when the following Sunday he asked if
he could go on the Mass detail with me. I readily

assented, and for several months thereafter he assisted

every Sunday. Then I had to take an extended leave of

absence. When I returned I found that my helper had
taken over my escort duties. And I noticed that he no
longer just sat in the pew. He knelt and took part in the
Mass. When I remarked on this he said, "You know,
from that first Sunday I found beauty in the Mass. I

have since found peace of mind.” He was taking in-
structions, and was soon baptized. His might be called

a conversion in line of duty. —George C. Hannifin



THE OPEN DOOR

Sweeney’s Icicle

a Communion breakfast I attended in

Tokyo a few months ago, the principal speaker, a

Catholic brigadier-general, told of his conversion to

the faith. It had come about, he said, through the ex-

emplary courage of a young corporal with whom he had
served in France during the 1st World War. “I can’t

even recall his name now,” he added with feeling in his

conclusion of his speech, the general was congratulated

by many of his avid listeners, including a middle-aged
Catholic chaplain who clasped the speaker’s hand ner-
vously and affectionately as he said, "You’re sure, gen-

eral, you weren’t the sergeant who stuck the big icicle
down my back that cold, winter night back in 1917!
Corporal Sweeney was the name!”

0N the afternoon of Dec. 7, 1943, we WAC’s arrived
at Naples Italy. Our home was to be the spacious,

but secluded, St. Giovanni Bosco institute. This institute

was run by nuns, and had housed young women students
attending the University of Naples. We were 175 girls
of varied nationalities and faiths, and from all walks of

life.

The first few weeks were hectic—for us and the six
Sisters. Since the battle front was near by, our curfew
hour was 7 p.m. Consequently, we had to rely on our
own resources for entertainment. During long evening

voice, "but wherever he is, God bless
him.” Every night, the general went

on to explain, regardless of the

taunts, wisecracks and objects aimed

at him by his comrades, the Catholic

corporal knelt down alongside his
blankets to say his prayers. At the

Good Conduct Ribbon



60 THE OPEN DOOR

hours we tried to acquaint ourselves with the Sisters,
but they avoided us.

Our normal American way of living seemed to dis-
turb them. We shouted very unladylike from one end
of the corridor to the other; went out with GI’s, un-

chaperoned; had an occasional dance in our dining room

with completely strange men!

We tried hard to avoid conflicts. We decided that
bugle calls would not mix with ringing of the chapel

bells; that we would respect their holy days and hours.

Gradually, as weeks slipped by, we came to know
them, and they, us. They rearranged their schedule so

that the Catholic girls could attend Mass before break-

fast. Sister Rita, because she alone among the six could
speak English became our liaison. At first she was re-

luctant to ride in the army jeep, but months later it was

not unusual to see her alongside our first sergeant, jeep-

ing through the Neapolitan thoroughfares with her black

veil trailing in the wind. She even organized evening

classes for those of us who wished to study Italian. I at-
tended Sister Rita’s classes, but I became more inter-

ested in the catechism text she used. Patiently, she ex-

plained the multitude of questions I asked.

Sister Francesca managed our laundry. Our New
York girls taught her to count in Brooklynized English.

When counting our laundry change, she would say,
“Toity-tree cents.” Then she would laugh.

Little, pink-cheeked Sister Angelina did our mend-

ing. Sisters Maria, Clarina, and Josefa did our washing

and ironing to perfection.

Spring came, and so did the GIs with rest leaves

from the front lines. Some of us fell in love, and in war-

time desperation, felt that marriage could not be post-

poned until eventual reunion in the U. S. Whether it

was for our Catholic girls, who were married in the
convent’s beautiful chapel, or for the Protestant girls,



THE OPEN DOOR 61

who were married in the convent’s patio, the Sisters flut-
tered about, maternally arranging every little detail.

Within a year we had "Americanized” the Italian
nuns, and within that small period of time, they had cap-

tured our hearts. They sprinkled their conversations with

Okay's, Hi's, So longs, and other minor American slang

expressions, and they even developed an acute taste for

army peanut butter and hot dogs!

Then in November, 1944, our company received

orders to move up the Italian coast to Leghorn, to join
advanced headquarters. On that cold, gray morning,
the six Sisters were at the gate to bid us each an indi-

vidual, tear-filled farewell.

The night before, I went to the Sisters’ quarters to

bid them a personal good bye. For the very shy Sister

Angelina, who had never been to Rome, I had a medal-
lion, purchased in Rome while on leave and blessed by
His Holiness. She asked me to pin it to her habit be-
neath her white starched bib, and there alongside two

other "medals,” an American European-African-Middle

Eastern Campaign ribbon and an American Good Con-
duct ribbon, I pinned the medallion. And as I kissed
her on the cheek, she said in her very broken English,

"Take it easy!”

From Italy we went to the Philippine Islands. I
never forgot, however, those informal Italian lessons

with Sister Rita. Three years later I became a Catholic.

Sister Rita of Naples had unknowingly planted the seed.

—Dorothy Mallory.

Reverse English

T° a Jehovah Witness my two children and I owe a
debt of gratitude. How glad I am that I didn’t

close the door the day a Watchtower representative

called at my home ten years ago, before I became a



THE OPEN DOOR

Catholic. That call and each succeeding one opened the

door wider and wider to the faith she was maligning.

She brought up old as well as new calumnies against
the Catholic Church, but each aroused my curiosity. I
sought further and learned the truth.

IVe often wondered what her reaction would be if

she knew the part she had unwittingly played in my con-
version. Each time now a Jehovah Witness calls, I re-
member the first one, and give a pamphlet to him or
her. I am gratefully returning a favor.

—Helene Pate.

Poster Poser

~pHE Reds were in control of Barcelona, Spain, in 1937.
Propaganda posters, calling for volunteers, were all

over the city. One stopped me short. The background
was a battle scene with mines, tanks, exploding shells,

and communist soldiers, sprawled in blood, dead. Over

it a mighty finger pointed at me. The inscription was:

"And you

,

what have you done for communism?” The

poster hit me hard. It moved me. I became a convinced
communist.

Only later I thought, "What has communism done
for me?” I also remembered then the churches the com-

munists had burned. At the end of the war, I became a

Jesuit, and I am now at a Catholic mission in India.

A few months ago, I prepared a poster for a mission
academy. I found myself putting a mission setting in

the background, a poor chapel, an orphanage, neophytes,

and a priest with the cross of Christ. A mighty finger
pointed at the passer-by. It demanded, "And you, what

have you done for Christ?”

I knew the onlooker would stop and think, with a

compelling result, "What has Christ done for me?”

—Jose X. Gracia, S.J.



THE OPEN DOOR 63

Long Wait

I^XRONDE was an ordinary boy; one of many who
came to the missions of the Mill Hill Fathers in

Uganda. He was anxious to be a Catholic. For two
years, he had walked five miles for his catechism class-

es. Then one day he stopped Father after class. “I

shall not be coming any more” he said. He told how
the people of his village had forbidden him to become

a Christian. “But, Father, I shall return when I am
older.”

Years later, war came to Uganda, as it came to the

rest of the world. From lonely villages in the African

bush, men were trained as soldiers. One day, the chap-
lain to the East African troops visited a desert unit. He
noticed a hospital off the main road. He joked with the
troops, and sought out the Catholics.

In one ward, he saw the ominous screen around one

of the beds. A nurse told him that the patient was dan-
gerously ill. She thought he was a pagan. The chap-
lain went behind the screen. He saw a poor Negro with
ashen face. “Maybe he is from Uganda,” the priest
thought to himself, and addressed the patient.

Slowly the man opened his tired eyes. He was
happy to hear his own language. After a few minutes,
excitedly, painfully, he tried to pull himself up in the
bed, staring at the priest. “I know you,” he said at last.
“I saw you in the mission when I used to go for instruc-
tions.” It was Kironde, no longer a boy. No one could
frighten him now. He asked the priest to baptize him.
“And every day, I said my prayers. I have never for-
gotten. I always intended to return to the mission.” He
started to recite the Apostles Creed.

There was a tin mug by the bedside, full of water.
The priest took it, and there Kironde became Joseph.

-P. Begley.



64 THE OPEN DOOR

Kidder Bill

brother Bill married a lovely non-Catholic girl.

After many months, we gave up hope for her con-
version. Bill, though, had other ideas. He went to Mass
regularly and he always made it a point to mention to
his wife the number of nice-looking
girls who also went to church. See-
ing him alone, he said, they pre-
sumed he was single, and a lot of
them always smiled at him.

That got Jean. She was taking
instructions within a month. Her
husband needed a chaperon for Mas

Correspondence Course

j

MARRIED a Catholic who didn’t go to church. But
whenever we discussed religion, he would insist that

his was the true Church. The Catholic Church! I “knew”
that “Catholics have to pay to go to confession; that they

bow to idols; race through ready-made prayers.” I
heard more sordid slanders.

Then one Sunday I saw the Knights of Columbus
ad, “You Hear Strange Things About Catholics.” I sent

for the free booklet. The article about mixed marriage

took my eye. The Catholics were right about it. Other
things were enlightening, too. I began to wonder—may-

be my husband could be right. The other booklets
made sense, too. I took the K of C correspondence
course on Christian Doctrine, and my husband studied
also. He had never had such instruction.

The Congregation of Mission Fathers (Vincentians)

graded my papers and answered my many, many ques-
tions. It was amazing how prejudices flew out the win-

;, and he got one.

-M. C. B.



THE OPEN DOOR 65

dow as soon as truth touched them. Even so, two years
passed before I visited our parish priest. I half expected

a bawling out, but he was kind and understanding.

Soon my husband went to confession for the first time
in years. Our four children and I were baptized. (I,

conditionally, for I had gone through a baptismal cere-

mony in my previous church.) Our civil marriage was
validated in a Mass just for us and at that early morn-

ing Mass I made my first Communion. To others hesi-
tant about the way ahead, I can only suggest that they
do as I—simply write a note to the Religious Home
Study Course, 4422 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis 8, Mo. There

they will get all the answers. —Mrs. F. MeA.

Up The Hill

MY grandfather was practicing law in a Midwestern
town. His office was at the end of the main street,

which ended at the foot of a hill. Near the top of the

hill stood the Catholic church. Each morning, grand-

father would walk to the window and look out.

One morning he noticed an Irish woman walking
up the hill. After that he found himself watching for

her. He had an unobstructed view to the top, and each
morning his eye could follow her all the way up to the
Catholic church. He knew who she was; in a town that
size everyone knew everyone else. She was a widow
who supported her children by doing housework.

Several months passed; winter came, and one cold,

icy morning my grandfather arrived at his office after
having battled his way over the glassy streets. As he
always did, he moved to the window to look out. He
mentally bet with himself that the little Irish widow
would not be walking up the steep, frozen hillside to

church. When he looked out, his heart rose in his mouth.
As he said many times afterward, "Tears came to my



THE OPEN DOOR

eyes as I watched. There was the old dear on her hands

and knees crawling up that icy hill!”

He didn’t work that day. He closed his office and
went home. My grandmother had a helper, a young
Irish girl. When the girl heard the commotion in the
parlor she looked in. My grandfather boomed at her
in a loud voice, “Are you Catholic?” She was so frighten-

ed at the unexpected question and the disruption of the

usually smooth-running house that all she could do was

nod. “Do you have any books about it?” Again she

nodded. My grandfather continued, “Please go get them.
I want to see what it is in that Church that would make

a woman crawl up a hill on her hands and knees to get

The rest of the story is simple. From the example
of that little Irish woman, our whole family was con-

verted. And three generations later there are five Cath-

Catholic church it never crossed my mind that the
location might have drawbacks. At 7:30 on my first
morning I was awakened by shuffling feet. I peered out

the window and saw a group of children, shepherded by

nuns, on their way to Mass.

Every morning that week the same “nuisance” took

place. On Sunday the hubbub was greater, and, in ad-
dition, it started at six and lasted till noon.

Things had come to a pretty pass when a white,
native-born Protestant couldn’t enjoy an extra 40 winks

on a Sunday morning. I could lie in bed as long as I

wished but I definitely could not enjoy it. I kept think-

ing of all those people going to church—going to church

—going to church! And in the end it wore me down.

to it.”

olic homes. —Mart/ Jane Darrow.

Shuffle And New Deal

I took a furnished room a few doors from a



THE OPEN DOOR 67

I figured that in a throng that size one non-Catholic

might escape detection.

I played my hunch and it worked. I prided myself
on kneeling, sitting, and standing at just the right times.

Sometimes today, I hear converts boasting that

Bishop Sheen or Father So-and-So led them to the

faith. Few can make the boast I can. I was driven there
by 350 parochial-school pupils shuffling their way to
daily Mass. Thanks, kids!—Mrs. Lygia Erdland Meter.

Collector

were in Los Angeles, looking for a suit for my son.
I was wearing a pair of sapphire earrings. I noticed

the suit salesman looking at them. Finally he said,

“Your earrings are sapphires, are they not? Let me show
you some lovely ones.” He took from his pocket a white
tissue-paper package, opened it, and displayed a cross

of fine gold filigree set in sapphires. It was exquisite.

“Collecting crosses,” he said, “is my hobby. I have more
than 300. The antique dealers and second-hand men,

who know me, always let me know when a cross of any
interest is brought to them. On my free days I spend my
time arranging my collection. I have them all cataloged.

“I started my collection when my sister's friend died
and left a beautiful crucifix to my sister. My sister gave
it to me. That was the beginning. Every spare penny

since has been put away to buy crosses. I don't buy just
crucifixes, but any cross that is lovely and has a history.

One day I bought a cross with a picture of a saint on
one side. I can’t catalog this, I thought, until I find out

something about the saint. I went to the library and got

a book that gave the life of the saint. It interested me
greatly. Then one day I found a rosary with an unusual
crucifix. I knew that Catholics had their rosaries bless-
ed, and I wondered if this were blessed. The next morn-



68 THE OPEN DOOR

ing I passed a Catholic Church. I walked up the steps

of the rectory and asked a young priest if he would

bless my rosary. He invited me in, and I watched him
closely. We talked, became friends. One day I asked
about instructions. It was on my 63rd birthday that I
received my first Holy Communion.”

—Blanche Granger.

Robber’s Reward

WHENI was a boy, my mother used to take me with
her when she went out to do house work. I remem-

ber one trip when, as my mother was shaking out the
bedding, I spied a purple rosary. The gold cross glit-

tered. As much from curiosity as anything else, I sneak-
ed it into my pocket.

At home in bed, I examined my prize. It was then
that I noticed the tiny Figure hanging in agony on the

cross. I knew little about religion then, but I did
know that the figure represented our Lord, I hid the
rosary. But I did not sleep that night. I could not get

my mind off the crucified Christ.

I pleaded sick the next day, but my mother insisted
I go with her. Evidently, no one at the house missed the

rosary, but I watched for the chance to put it back under

the bedroom pillow. Still curious, I looked over the

room. On a table near the bed was a booklet on devo-
tions to the Blessed Virgin, including the Rosary.

From then on, I was both curious and concerned.
Without telling my mother, I went back to the house
some time later and confessed to the theft of the rosary.

I also said I would like to know more about it and Cath-
olic doctrine.

Today both my mother and I are Catholics, all be-
cause I once stole a rosary. —Leon Williams.



THE OPEN DOOR

Turnabout

WHEN the nazis and the Soviets
occupied Poland in 1939, the

pastor in a small town in the Russian

zone was arrested on fictitious

charges by order of the communist

major. The clergyman was con-

demned to hard labor, without any
trial, and was deported instantly. In 1941 he was liber-

ated by the German forces.

The Red officer responsible for the condemnation

was seized, but escaped. Not far from Hungary, his des-

tination, his pursuers forced him to stay in the woods for

weeks. Food was scarce, and, completely exhausted, he

was waiting for death when some Polish men found him.
They took him to a lone inn near by. Recognizing the

former pastor among the strangers, he expected no good.

But he was wrong. The clergyman helped him hide

from the nazis until 1944. The communist, overcome by

such Christian treatment, became a Catholic. In 1946

he fled to the western democratic world. —P. Hebei.

Sticker For A Cop

0UR little niece put it there. Since my wife and I were
leaving on a second honeymoon, we were too excit-

ed to pay any attention.

Not until we got to St. Louis did we note the sticker
on the windshield. A traffic policeman pointed at it
when we returned to the car after we ’had overparked.

“I’ve been waiting here,” he said. “I owe you folks
a ticket. But what I want to know first is what’s this
sticker you’ve got on the windshield.”

My wife glanced at it. It said, “Will you say daily,
‘Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and ask your



70 THE OPEN DOOR

friends to do likewise/ ” My wife told the officer about
our Lady of Fatima, her promises for world peace, and

the conversion of Russia.

The policeman rubbed his chin. “Well, I never
heard that one before,” he said.

“If you’re really interested, any Catholic priest in St.

Louis can tell you more,” said my wife.

The officer said nothing. He asked for our registra-
tion card, made a note. “In St. Louis,” he said, “we have
no special laws for visitors. You ought to have a ticket.

But let it go this time.”

Several months later we got a letter. “Instead of
sticking you with a ticket,” it said, “you stuck me with
that sticker. I’m taking instructions. Could you be my
sponsors for my baptism on Aug. 21, the feast of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary? And can you get me a few
hundred of those stickers?” —Henry S. Banach .

Ripping Wrapper

gACK in 1870 there were no Catholics in Newton
Grove, N.C. One day Dr. John C. Monk, the resident

physician, received a package of books wrapped in a

copy of the New York Herald in which there happened
to be a sermon on The Unity of the True Faith. Dr.

Monk read, became interested, then addressed a letter
to “Any Catholic priest or bishop in Wilmington, N.C.”

Results came by way of a letter from Bishop Gibbons,
later Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore. After that things

began to happen. Not only did Dr. Monk and his entire
family become Catholics, but by 1897 there were 300

Catholics at Newton Grove, which had not a single

Catholic 27 years before.

—Father Lahey in the Ave Maria (14 June ’52).



THE OPEN DOOR 71

Elevator

Protestants do not understand the Mass. But I

can thank a Chicago minister for my introduction
to it.

I had gone there for the Easter week end. In the

telephone directory I located the 1st Methodist church,

near my hotel. But at the address I found only a busi-
ness section. Then I noticed an unusually large crowd

passing into the arcade. I joined it, just to see where

everyone was going. I was swept into an elevator, hoist-

ed a few flights, and propelled into the balcony of a

great church, filled with people. I was impressed. I

decided that out of war had come great good—people

were returning to the things that count.

The central point of a Protestant service is the ser-

mon. On the ability of the minister to arouse his listen-
ers depends the success of the service. The minister

was a magnificent speaker, and I shall never forget his

sermon.

He began by asking why Catholics go to Mass. He
gave a few of the answers—they go out of fear; they have

to, etc. But he said none of these explains it. Catholics

go because every day they have the events of Calvary

reenacted upon their altars. Protestants hear too little

about the crucifixion. He gave a vivid word picture of
the Passion, and of the Resurrection. I was moved. I

walked the lake front all day and thought of what he

said.

I was still thinking the next day in my Indianapolis
office. I automatically picked up the phone and dialed

St. Joan of Arc church. (My name is Joan). I had never
spoken to a priest before. I am sure I did not call him
Father. I think I called him Reverend. But I was bap-

tized within six weeks. —Joan Stanley



72 THE OPEN DOOR

Big Name

WE rented a cottage at Lake Chargoggagogmanchaug-
agogchaubunagungamaug at Webster, Mass. I never

said the name right, which annoyed my Indian landlady,
whose ancestors named it.

We brought a radio with us so that we could listen
to the evening Family Rosary broadcast. The landlady

was provoked at our devotion to this program. One
evening I asked, “Why don’t you learn to say the Rosary
with us, Ma?” Hot Indian temper filled her charcoal

eyes. “Ill learn to say your Rosary when you learn to
say my lake correctly.”

The next day I borrowed a library book which gave

an account of the lake’s history. A few afternoons later,
when Ma Wilson came over to borrow ice cubes, I sur-
prised her with my knowledge of Lake Chargoggagog-
manchaugagogchaubunagungamaug, and was even able

to tell her the name meant “You fish on your side, I fish
on my side, and nobody will fish in the middle.”

“A bargain’s a bargain,” she said. “Get me one of
those Catholic rosaries.”

At the end of the season, Ma told us one evening,
“You know, children, I’m going to miss you when you
move back to the city, but next summer we’ll have a
better time. I hope to be a full-blooded Catholic by

then.” —Henry S. Banach.

All In

|

WAS about ten years old when I met Father Carlyle.
He was a wonderfully kind man, never too busy to

talk to a small Protestant brat. I knew nothing about
him beyond the fact that he seemed to be a swell guy

who somehow or other had gotten mixed up with the
wrong Church. Only once did he mention religion to



THE OPEN DOOR 73

me and that was to tell me that some day I would be a
Catholic.

His prophecy haunted me for years, and I resisted
it with increasing frenzy. With great eagerness, I looked

for excuses for not becoming a Catholic.

Finally I found the supreme excuse. It was a book

called Thirty Years In Hell, and was written to expose

the Catholic Church. The author was a former priest,

and this, to me, was the last authority. I read a chapter

and rushed to Father Carlyle. I wanted him to know

that I was wise to it all.

Father Carlyle and I reviewed the entire book.

When we were finished, I burned it, and asked to take
instructions.

Father Carlyle could understand my initial antag-
onism. He had gone through a similar experience him-
self. He, the founder and first abbot of the Benedictines

of Caldey, founded his monastery as an Anglican and

later brought his Community into the Church.

Later, the excommunicated author of Thirty Years

In Hell returned to the Catholic Church and retracted

everything in his book. —Vernon M. Cunningham.

Fish Eater

A FRIEND of mine, when he was young, worked in
a leather factory. His fellow workers were not Cath-

olics and when on Friday he brought his egg, fish and
cheese sandwiches for lunch, he had to undergo quite a

bit of razzing. They called him a fish-eater, and flaunted

their meat sandwiches before his eyes. Of course, it was

all good-natured kidding, but there was one man whose
bitter taunts were obviously serious. Despite all this, my
friend remained firm, continued bringing the same

lunch, and never got ruffled by his friends’ kidding. He



74 THE OPEN DOOR

answered their questions straightforwardly, but the bit-

ter sarcasm of that one man remained in his memory.

Years later, he saw that old acquaintance again,

leaving a Catholic church, dressed as a Catholic priest.

The two recognized each other, and fell to talking over

old times. Finally the priest said, “It was your example

that aroused my interest in Catholicism. I thought if a
man like that can take the taunts of a crowd, and still
remain proud of his faith—there must be something won-

derful about that faith. That led me to inquire about
the Church. Today I celebrated my first Mass.”

—Mary F. Cunningham

Entomologist

SCIENTIST looked at a bug
With his keen microscopical eye,

And he said, “What I see
Is a lesson to me
That I’ll never forget till I die.

“For the infinitesimal bug,

Whether taken in part or in whole,

From whisker and feeler,
To smeller and squealer,

Is under one central control.

“Such unity built in a bug!”

The scientist pondered and then,

“If God will do that
For a flea or a gnat,

Would He plan with less wisdom for men?

“Would He fashion a Church for us here,
Through which all his blessings might flow

With a unity less

Than his bug’s? I confess

That there’s no other answer but No!”



THE OPEN DOOR 75

So the scientist, led by the bug,

Started off on a diligent quest

For a unified church,

And in all of his search
Only one measured up to the test.

And today people ask him, and smile,
When he answers their questioning shrug,
And says in reply,
“
’Tis a fact, sir, that I

Was led into the Church by a bug.”

These verses, by Arnott J. White, are an account of
the conversion of Samuel Haldeman (1812—1880), a pro-

fessor of Natural Science at the University of Pennsyl-

vania. —Yolanda C. Bergamini.

Pen Pal

As a girl of 14, I joined a movie-fan club, and found
a pen pal in the same club. He mentioned that he

was a Catholic. I hadn’t thought about the Church be-

fore.

My pal sent pamphlets, at my request, but they
didn’t satisfy. On a trip to Dalton, Ga., I decided to
find out what a Catholic church looked like. I visited

St. Joseph’s.

In 1949, I was graduated from high school, and be-

came a nurse’s aid in a state hospital. I started going to

morning Mass. After a few weeks, I approached the

priest, telling him that I wanted to be a Catholic. He
said that I would have to take instructions. I did.

I saved money for tuition at a school for nursing.
When I was ready for the school, I chose a Catholic
hospital for my training, intending to continue my in-
structions. But I had been in nurses training only a

short time when I got pneumonia. A month later I was



76 THE OPEN DOOR

a patient in the state hospital. No more instructions. I
had my rosary, but that was all.

Then I learned about correspondence courses in re-

ligious instruction. I enrolled. The course took about

three months. By that time the doctor said I was im-
proving, and I hoped to receive Baptism at St. Mary’s.

But last July 29 my doctor told me I had fluid on my
chest; I had to remain in bed. But I prayed for Baptism.

A fellow patient offered to be my sponsor. I would re-
ceive the sacrament on the feast of the Assumption.

The day finally came. I had to wear my blue
pajamas and robe, and was baptized on the porch of a

tuberculosis ward. But that didn’t matter. I had too

much to be happy about, among other things joining
the pen-pal club when I was 14. —Mary Keith.

Wristlet

WE lived in a “Cat-Iicker vs. Pup-licker” neighborhood.
I belonged to the team who yelled at the Catholic

kids as they went by to school. One day I found a bright
chain of beads, just long enough to go around my wrist.
I wore it. A “Cat-licker” girl, a friend of mine, took me
to her mother, who explained that the beads were not
to be worn, but to be prayed upon. She taught me the
Hail Mary. I remembered only the second half, but I

prayed it often, fingering the beads and saying, “Holy

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at
the hour of our death.”

My public-school teacher took me to Benediction
with her during May, and I heard this prayer over and

over in the Rosary. I got permission from my father to
become a Catholic. Holy Mary, Mother of God, had

prayed for me. It was a lovely thing to abandon the

“Pup-” team and go over to the “Cat-lickers.”

-S. M. C. S.



THE OPEN DOOR 77

Deeds Over Words

J
JE was tall, handsome, persuasive—and a traitor. Dur-

ing the German occupation of Italy he had served

in the S.S. army. He boasted of being called “the hu-
man beast.” Now he was in jail.

When Msgr. M. Nasalli Rocca, prison chaplain, vis-
ited him in jail, he was received with blasphemies and

obscenities. Nevertheless, in his loneliness, and little by

little, he came to welcome the priest’s visits. But he as-

sured Monsignor Rocca that he would never be con-

verted. Rather, he would convert the monsignor.

The other prisoners made their Easter duty. But he
replied sarcastically to the monsignor’s Easter greeting,

taunting him for his failure to convert a “thorough

scoundrel.”

In June, he was tried and sentenced to be shot from

behind. The monsignor hurried to see him, found him

strangely changed.

“Father,” he said, “your talks and your books left me
unmoved. But this morning at the trial, among the
mothers and widows whose relatives I had arrested and

even killed, I recognized a lady. Her son of 17 I had

killed with my own two hands.
“When the verdict was given, that lady in black,

with tears in her eyes, passed near me and said, ‘Poor
Mr. T. I have prayed God and my son so much for you,
that they wouldn’t sentence you to death.’

“That mother’s tears, her pardon, and the religion

which inspired it were too much for me. Father ... I
believe, I believe, I believe, even I!”

Four days afterward, with the healing oil of Ex-

treme Unction, Father Rocca anointed the bullet-shat-

tered head.

—Valentine Dorbetello
from II Diario of Monsignor Rocca.



78 THE OPEN DOOR

Blitz

"1~HE Battle of Britain! London was being bombed

nightly. In February of 1941 I was working in Lon-

don as secretary to a doctor. Another girl, Mary, worked

there as a nurse. Being a staunch Scotch Presbyterian,

I just barely tolerated Mary as being one of those Irish

R. C/s.

On my return one evening from a symphony con-
cert, I found that our house had had a direct hit and was

in flames. I saw Mary being carried out on a stretcher,

and I went to the hospital with her. On her deathbed
she pressed her rosary into my hand. I asked her where
she wished the rosary sent.

“It is for you, Dorothy,” she said.

“No, Mary, you are making a mistake,” I murmured.

“You will need it,” she smiled, and died. I kept the

beads.

The bombing steadily got worse. Some weeks later I

went alone one evening to a piano recital. On arrival, I
found that the recital had been postponed because of an

air-raid warning, I ducked hastily into the nearest build-

ing.

Waves of organ music and lights, lights everywhere,
met me. I was in a Catholic church. A beautiful Bene-
diction service was taking place. I knelt, and lowered

my head whenever I saw the people around me doing
so. They were singing a hymn. A few minutes later a
bell at the altar sounded loudly three times, and again

I bowed my head with the others.
Suddenly I heard a magnificent voice from the altar,

loud and reverent: “Blessed be God.” The congregation

echoed “Blessed be God.” “Blessed be His holy Name.”

“Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.”

The beauty of it! Never had I witnessed such an af-



THE OPEN DOOR 79

firmation of faith. The Hallelujah Chorus was as noth-

ing compared to it. Tears sprang to my eyes. From that
moment I was in heart and spirit a Catholic. I arranged
for instruction the following day.

—Dorothy Blair.

Northern Light

MY husband and I invited several guests to spend the
Christmas holidays with us. We were living near the

Arctic circle in Alaska at that time and guests would

help drive away some of our cold loneliness.

These guests included a Norwe-

gian surgeon, a novelist, an ex-pugi-

list and a poet. Though the camara-

derie was delightful, we were, never-
theless, a bit homesick. In the midst

of our reminiscing we heard the
voice of a musher, probably several

miles away, shouting the familiar

“Mush on! Mush on! Mush on!” to a dog team.

The surgeon said, “That sounds like the Catholic

priest! I wonder where he is going this bitterly cold

night.”

Our dogs in the lean-to, excited by the spectacular

display of northern lights and the call of the musher, be-

gan to howl their weird wolf cry. We hushed the dogs
and, reaching for coats and parkas, hurried outside to

wait for the traveler. All was silent, now, except for the

creaking of sled runners and the urgent command of
the driver. Soon, on the top of a hill, a man muffled in
parka and furs, at the handlebars of a sled drawn by

seven dogs, was silhouetted against the aurora borealis.

The poet whispered, reverently—“God, what a sermon!”

We hailed the musher and learned that he was the
Jesuit priest, traveling 25 miles to bring Viaticum to a



THE OPEN DOOR

dying Siwash Indian. Only the poet knew the real mean-

ing of the priest’s sacred mission, and knelt in the snow.

Far into the night and early dawn, we discussed
that meaning, and learned much from our guest. When,
a few years later, my husband and I were received into
the Mystical Body, we recalled our first instruction, the
wordless sermon depicting the splendor of truth in the

Arctic sky. —Rose Roy.

The Blind See

|

AM blind, and another blind person led me to the open
door of the Church. My blind friend Richard Mich-

aels is a member of the Philadelphia Catholic Guild for
the Blind. He asked me if I would like to attend a meet-
ing.

I said, “Yes, if a non-Catholic would be welcome.”

Father Thomas J. Rilley, guild moderator, assured Rich-

ard that I would be welcome, and also invited me to
come early enough for the Rosary and sermon with

which the meetings are opened.

I found the first meeting so interesting, I came

again, and again, thanks to the guides who volunteer
their services and cars. The light of grace glowed in

my darkness, I asked for instructions, and was baptized
and received First Communion.

One of my guides, Miss Elizabeth McCalla, con-
sented to be my sponsor. Now, I cannot thank her and
the guild enough for their help and encouragement; and

I am eternally indebted to the Little Sister of the As-
sumption who instructed me, and Mrs. Brogan, my con-
vert friend, who read and taught me my prayers and
catechism. And more and more do I appreciate the at-
mosphere of peace in church, due to the reverence paid

the Holy Eucharist in the tabernacle, which also drew

me toward the Church. —Elsie Lutz.



THE OPEN DOOR 81

Prisoner

A LAWYER was accused of embezzling funds. He and
his wife were Protestants, he the director of the

choir. The lawyer was found guilty, and given 10 years.

His wife thought that if someone with a little prestige

would put in a good word for him with the judge, his

term might be shortened.

She approached the Catholic priest. The priest

knew the lawyer quite well. He consented, and when
the judge asked the priest to appear in behalf of the ac-

cused, he did so. The lawyer, upon hearing what the

Catholic priest had done for him, immediately wrote an

article for his home-town paper praising the Church and

the priest.

His term was shortened to three years; and when he
arrived home, one of his Catholic neighbors was first to

welcome him. The lawyer’s greeting to his Catholic

neighbor was, "Well, I believe the same as you do now,

Bill. I’m a Catholic, too/’ He had taken instructions
while he was serving his term, and now his wife is tak-
ing instructions from the priest who went to bat for her

husband. —Miss Marie K. Ryan

Home Run Error

AN error made in the records at Denver’s Children’s
hospital in 1941 has resulted to date in six convers-

ions to the Church.

Young Father John Regan, then an assistant in Ca-

thedral parish, visited a 15-year-old patient, Patricia Mc-

Anespie, while making his hospital rounds. "Would you
like to go to confession, Patricia?”

The young girl looked at him, puzzled. "Confession?
I don’t know what you mean.”



THE OPEN DOOR

An orderly had mistakenly listed her as a Catholic.
But that did not end it for Patricia McAnespie. She

thought it over and ended up by asking Father Regan

to tell her about the Catholic faith. Six months later she

was received into the Church.

That excited her older brothers interest. A year
later Jack McAnespie was received into the Church.

This set the parents of the two children to think-

ing. In 1946, when Father Regan returned to Denver
from a stint in the armed services as a chaplain, the par-

ents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McAnespie, took instructions

and were baptized.

Then, in 1950, Father Regan, still amazed at the

chain of events that had started with a mistaken entry on

a hospital form, baptized Patricia’s husband of two

years, John Collins, and their little month-old daughter,

Ann Elizabeth.

Six conversions in nine years! Father Regan cannot

believe, somehow, that it is all a mistake.

—
.Ed Miller.

Statuesque

WHENI was about 12 years old my mother and I were
shopping in a large variety store. Mother said, “Look

around and pick out something you’d like and I’ll buy it

for you.” I looked at jewelry and a lot of foolish things

that would appeal to a 12-year-old. Then my eyes were
drawn to a beautiful statue of what I thought was the

Blessed Virgin. (I later found out that it was “The Lit-

tle Flower.”) I didn’t hesitate for a minute. I said, “This

is what I want, Mother.” She looked at me askance.
“This is for a Catholic, and you’re a Protestant,” she said.

My mind wasn’t to be changed, though, and I left the
store with the statue held tightly in my arms. When we



THE OPEN DOOR 83

arrived home I put the statue on my dresser where I
could admire it. We moved quite often but my statue
traveled wherever we went.

About six years later, Mother had a spare room and

decided to rent it. A young man came to look at it, and
as he was going through our apartment he spied my
statue. He was a Catholic, and thinking we were a
Catholic family, he decided it would be a nice place to

live.

The young man and I fell in love. I turned Cath-
olic and we were married. We have three children, a boy
and two girls, who all go to parochial schools. Now, 22
years later, my statue of St. Theresa still stands on my
dresser. Some of the paint has worn off and her nose is

broken but I wouldn’t part with her for anything.

—Edna M. Bigham .

Order In Church

A CERTAIN non-Catholic, perhaps through curiosity,
one day seated himself in a rear pew during Mass.

Through the Mass he sat, even up to the Consecration.

Next to him knelt a Catholic man. Seeing that the non-

Catholic made no effort to kneel at the Consecration, the
Catholic was vexed into impropriety himself and growl-

ed to his seated companion, in no uncertain terms,

"Dammit, kneel down.” The non-Catholic was so taken
by surprise that without hesitation he did as the Cath-

olic commanded. The result: his curiosity was aroused.
He wondered at the importance of this having to kneel
down. Leaving the church, he made it a point to intro-
duce himself to the Catholic, and asked what the Mass

was all about. He received the answer and in due time
took instructions and was received into the Church, all

because of a few "strong words” uttered at the right

time. —Rita Bezy.



84 THE OPEN DOOR

Nick Of Time

|

REMEMBER my mother teaching her family about
God and His wonderful gifts. We were non-Catholics,

and for 41 years I went from one church to another.

Then the time came at last for God to work His
wonders. I was sitting in a Catholic hospital with my
son for three long days. Midnight, All Saints day, I went

to the chapel to try to pray, and I seemed to hear a voice

calling me. It asked, “Has your child been baptized?”

I got to my feet and ran to find Sister Superior. She
was already sleeping, but got up and prayed with me.

I begged her to call the priest. He came to me and
talked the rest of the night, and we also prayed.

When it was daylight the priest
said, “Your son is with God. He was
baptized just before he died.” Then

it seemed to me there was no one else
but the priest and God there with me.
I walked out of the hospital a be-

lieving Catholic.

That was 20 years ago. My other four children are
now Catholics, too. And' when I think of my 41 years
in darkness, I pray God to help me keep my faith.

—Mary Olson.

Rhodesiana

|

HAD known Elias Chigomo back in the savannah
veldt of the native reservations of the MaShona tribes

in Rhodesia, where I ran an Anglican mission. There I

had baptized Elias. There Elias had learned simple

arithmetic at the mission school and sufficient English

to get him a simple job anywhere in Southern Africa.

Now Elias stood before me on the sidewalk of a



THE OPEN DOOR 85

busy street in Johannesburg. This chance meeting, three

days by train from the native backveldt, was sheer coin-

cidence.

“And what are you doing here?” I asked him.

“I work as office messenger boy, sir,” he replied.

“And how do you like it here?”

“Ah!” he smiled, “Very big life here. Very small life

home in Muriwa’s country.”

Money was the bait that brought thousands like
Elias from the veldt into “Jo’burg,” where so many set-
tled and lost themselves in its life, and their souls too, in

some cases. “What about church?” I inquired.

Elias glanced at me, then at the sidewalk, and as he

answered this and other questions he fitfully kicked and

toed at the near-by curb. “Church very hard,” he said,

“for poor MaShona boy. Here in Jo’burg, no services at
church in my language like at home and at mission.”

“But there is a fine native church over in Sophia-

town,” I said to him.

“Yes” said Elias. “Fine church for Anglican native

folk. But they sing SiXhosa one Sunday and SeSuto the

next. Not enough native MaShona for my language to
sing. Besides AmaXhosa people and BaSuto people not
want MaShona people sing their language in Jo’burg.”

“What about white man’s Anglican church?” I said.

It was Elias’s turn to protest. “Sir, you know church-
warden gentlemen in white men’s church doesn’t want

black boy around. When white men finish coming out
from church, I go in and I see white man’s clergyman.

I tell him I want to confess. (Our mission, in the Anglo-

Catholic tradition, taught confession.) White men’s

clergyman say no need I confess. God forgive me sins if
I confess without coming to clergyman. I tell him I con-
fess clergyman and God too. He say best thing I go to



86 THE OPEN DOOR

native church if I must confess. Church very hard for

MaShona boy in Jo’burg!”
There was Elias’s problem. As a missionary it was

mine too. Was it really fair, I asked myself, to continue
missions among native folk in Africa which taught a way
of life which was so hard to fulfill as soon as they left

their native backveldt for the big cities of the white

men?

Suppose Elias’s first contact with Christianity had

been through the Catholic missions. Would this prob-
lem ever have confronted him? Would he ever have
been puzzled by services in a vernacular which was

strange when he moved from one tribal area to another?
Would he ever have been confronted with a clergyman
who advised him that confession was not really neces-
sary when, probably, the one thing he wanted most in

the new life of a strange city was just that?

A Catholic native convert, whether he came into
the cities of the Union of South Africa from north of the

Zambesi or from the semi-desert of Southwest Africa,

knew what he could find and expect in these cities of

the white people: the same pastoral care, the same

Mother Church, the same Mass for Suto or Nyasa boy,

for white man or colored.

I found myself wishing that, for his own sake, poor
Elias had never met any other than a Catholic mission.

I found myself regretting that for these native folk who
leave their heathen ways for what they understand

Christianity to be, there should be any other missions

than those of the Catholic Church. My own problem
had concerned apostolicity, episcopacy, and papacy.

Poor Elias’s had been of practical concern. Here was

one more argument in favor of Catholic Christianity.

I made my decision. I am now, four years later, a
Catholic school-master in England.

—Frank Roberts.



THE OPEN DOOR

Made Faces at Priest

Nj/ES, today would be the day—right after her nap. Well,

yes, she would take her milk and graham crackers

first—maybe even an ice-cream cone if the “Good Hu-

mour” man came around. Then she would go directly to
the front yard. He always passed their house about that
time of the day. Then she would show him—she would
let him know—she would . But her mother’s call put
an end to planning, for now she had to go upstairs for
her nap, though she fully knew she was too excited to
sleep.

Two hours later, nap finished, lunch consumed, she
sailed triumphantly to the front yard and sat down near
the elm tree—from there she could see him as he rounded

the corner. Then immediately she would start walking to

the sidewalk and stop just a few feet away. Oh, she

could hardly wait, but it would be worth the waiting,

she told her doll, as she grabbed it to straighten out its

dress.

There he was! All dressed in black with just a white

band around his neck. Now was the time! She rose boldly
and strode toward the walk, hardly able to control her-

self until she would arrive just a few feet from him.

There—he was looking at her—now was the time! And
confident as Napoleon she took her stand and did it!

She screwed up her tiny eyes and nose until she had
made the most awful face at him (she had been practic-
ing before a mirror—she knew just how to do it!) But
every line in her face disappeared when he made a face
at her exactly as she had done. Surprised at her own
game, she ran back into the house so rapidly that she
did not hear the priest’s chuckles.

By the next afternoon her original fright had disap-
peared somewhat, leaving her as bold as the previous

day. The same scene occurred; the same faces were made



88 THE OPEN DOOR

by each. But this time as she backed away from him, she

found herself walking right into her mother s arms. “Oh,

Mummy!” And then she realized that Mummy was laugh-
ing and so was the man all dressed in black. Why, he
seemed almost as nice as her father—and he wasn’t mak-

ing that ugly face any longer!

Thus was the first contact made, and within a few

months both mother and father had asked to take in-

structions to become Catholics. —S.M.J.

Sixteen

^IXTEEN years ago I snapped out of a five-day coma
to my first acquaintance with the Catholic Church.

The nun standing by my bedside was stern faced, sharp
spoken. “Say your prayers,” she said, “and thank God.

It is only by His special favor that you are alive today.”

In the following days, before I left the hospital with my
tiny premature girl, I learned what she had done. “I

baptized you when we thought you were dying,” she
said. “Your husband said you would want to be. Then I

prayed through the night that you might be spared for

your children.” She told me it was almost impossible
that my child would live more than a few weeks, but
she made me promise that, if she did, we would visit
her. That summer we made the visit.

The years passed, and I was busy with a growing

family. I had no further contact with the Church. Some-

times I would think of that old nun, but I did not think

to pray. When our little girl was 12, she asked to at-
tend the catechism class in the parish church. A few
weeks later my husband and I knelt in the chapel while
she was baptized. The following winter we were in-
structed.

I have an ageless picture of the face framed in a

bedcap as my old friend lay on her deathbed in my visit



THE OPEN DOOR 89

afterwards. I went to thank her for her prayers, to tell

her of the peace and joy I had found. She forgot her

pain and weakness, and her eyes were soft and glad as

she asked about my children and their children. She
had reason for her interest, for her prayers had led three

of us home. —(Mrs.) Maude McKinney

.

Salesman Sold

QN the feast day of the Holy Rosary, our high-school
senior class acted out the Living Rosary on the

campus. Right in the middle of our prayers, a salesman

walked into the school yard. He didn’t seem to know
what was going on, until an unseen
choir chanting the Magnificat halted

him in his tracks. Then he turned,
fascinated by something that was
happening outside our grounds.

Staring in from the iron fence that

surrounds our school stood a little old

lady, bent and poorly dressed.
Clutched in her wrinkled hand was a rosary, and
with her lips she was following our prayers. The sales-
man stood as if in a trance and waited until the end.

This year, on the feast of the Holy Rosary, he re-
turned again. This time he wasn’t selling anything. He
came to tell the Sisters that his previous year’s experi-
ence had made him a Catholic. —M. T.

Long Argument

JN a biology class in an eastern university we were dis-
cussing the philosophical and religious significance of

evolution. The generalizations finally whittled down to
a debate between another student, a professed atheist,
and myself. Although not an evolutionist myself, it was



90 THE OPEN DOOR

easy to point out that, even if the theory were proved

a fact, it would be to God's greater honor and glory.

After all is it not a greater feat to clear a pool table with

one shot than to do it ball by ball?

The bell ended our argument, but my friend accept-
ed a challenge, and frequent meetings followed. Evolu-

tion still did not explain first causes—the arguments of

St. Thomas appealed to his intellect. Finally, after
months of discussion, reading, and prayer he had to ad-

mit the Catholic claim and joined the Church. He en-
tered the service, after which nothing but a Catholic

education would satisfy him. He had arrived at the
faith through reason. Now he wished to arrive at reason
through the faith. My friend now studies at a Catholic
university and is preparing to enter the field of psy-

chiatry. —Vincent A. Corsall.

Door to Door

“|~HIS story might well be called The Open Door to the

Open Door, for it was this very column that helped
my husband into the Church. We had been married only
a short time when his long interest in our faith matured
sufficiently for him to enroll in an instruction class. How-
ever, as an air-force pilot he was beset by chronic set-

backs: absences on flights, change of instructors, and

change of station.

When, on arrival at our new station, we found that
we would be there only six months before leaving for
overseas duty, he said that he was too discouraged to

start all over again with such a time limit. My prayers
were redoubled, but nothing seemed to help.

A few weeks later I was hospitalized with the birth
of our first child, and passed much of the time reading.
It was then I read in The Open Door of a woman who
was converted by the Knights of Columbus correspond-



THE OPEN DOOR 91

ence course in religion. This seemed the perfect answer,

and I wrote to the director before I left the hospital. His

immediate and personal answer was appreciated by my
husband, who requested the course almost by return

mail.

Three months and six lessons later, after a few brief

conversations with our parish priest, my husband was
baptized, as happy a man (and wife) as could be found.
Prior to reading The Open Door, neither of us had
known that such a thing as correspondence courses in
religion existed. Before we left that station, at least one
other person was enrolled in the correspondence course.

—Mary Jane Regan.

Curiosity Kills Three Cats

0LD Doctor Timothy Papin was a man of extraordin-
ary piety. You might see him at all the early Masses

at St. Francis Xavier s in St. Louis. After the 7 o’clock

Mass, he would make the Way of the Cross. In the
chancel just beyond the last station, there was a huge
crucifix. He would conclude his morning devotions by
kneeling, and embracing this cross for fully a quarter

of an hour every morning.

Despite all his piety, when it
came to choosing a wife he selected
a non-Catholic. He was twice a wid-
ower and both his second and third

marriages were also to non-Catholics.

But all three wives became Cath-

olics. Asked how his wives were won
to the faith, he would explain: "All

women are richly endowed with a blessed curiosity. I
had a first volume of the works of Alphonsus Rodriguez

on Christian Perfection. Its first chapter emphasized

"The great value that we should place on spiritual



92 THE OPEN DOOR

things.” I used to read this book rather furtively and

then carefully hide it away as if I were afraid my wife
should know what I was reading. All three wives found
the book no matter how carefully I concealed it, read it,
and found how great an esteem they should have for
spiritual things. There is no controversy in that book

but there is the breath of the Holy Spirit that moves

honest hearts into the true fold.”

—Laurence Kenny
, SJ.

Tenacity in Faith

FEW weeks ago, a daily communicant from my par-
ish told me this:

"During our lunch hour at the local steel mill, the

idle chatter of our group invariably turned to religion

and particularly the Catholic Church. The only Catholic
in the group, five in all, was a college student on the co-

op educational plan. We made a fool out of the poor
fellow, taunting him because he wasn’t too sharp on his

catechism and Church History. He was likeable though,
and had lots of determination.

"One afternoon after an especially hilarious lunch

hour at his expense, the boy invited me to dinner at his
home on the following week. I was embarrassed at his
frankness and tenacity—there was nothing to do but ac-

cept the invitation.

"The following week, I went to dinner at the boy’s

home. Later the same evening, against all my resolu-
tions, the boy took me to see his pastor. Down deep in-
side, I felt I could out-talk the priest just as I had all

other Catholics. To humor my host I went along with
bored resignation.

"I was suprisingly interested in what the priest had

to say because he had the answers to all my problems



THE OPEN DOOR 93

and he set the Church in a light I had never considered

before. Two and a half hours later, I signed up for the
Inquiry Classes then beginning with the understanding

that I was not obliged to become a Catholic at their

completion.

"Several weeks and many classes later, I told my
cronies at the mill about my change of heart and future
plans. Some of them are considering the possibilities for

the next session of Inquiry Classes.”

All of this happened because a young college stu-

dent had the convictions of his Faith and the tenacity to

follow those convictions! — P. Ashton

The Mass

4 i

|

BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ, His only Son,

our Lord . . .”

Keith had recited the Apostles Creed in church

every Sunday morning for as long as he could remember.

But this Sunday for the first time he was listening to the

words. What did they really mean?

Keith was a Methodist—as were his parents, his par-

ents’ parents and their parents. He had attended Sunday
School and church each Sunday since he was four years
old. He was active in all church affairs and when he was
afraid or in trouble he prayed. That was the extent of his
religion, and it satisfied him.

That is, until a few weeks ago. Now, at the age of

21, alone in a big city on his first job, he had begun to

feel the need for something more tangible, something

stronger. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something
was missing from his life. He had talked with his minis-
ter about the beliefs and doctrines of his church, but had



94 THE OPEN DOOR

found nothing new—nothing that he had not always
known.

“.
. . the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of

sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlast-

ing”

Did his church really believe in the communion of
Saints when it did not recognize the existence of Saints?
Is the forgiveness of sins only for the next life? Why not
now—today?

Here was a starting point. He would find a church
that truly believed in the words of the Apostles Creed.

But where to turn? He had visited other churches—Bap-
tist, Presbyterian, Lutheran—and had found little that

differed from Methodist beliefs.

His answer was in the Creed itself.

“I believe in the Holy Ghost
,

the holy catholic

church . .

Oh, he had heard the explanation many times that
this catholic was spelled with a small “c” but maybe it
shouldn’t be. It was worth a try, and anyway, he would

not have to wait until next Sunday to begin his search

for he knew that Mass was held every day.

Early the next morning Keith went to Mass. He
bought a small missal at the door and went in and knelt

with the other early risers. What followed was the most
wonderful experience of his life. There, on his knees, he

met God. And he was not at a loss for words, for in his
hand he held the most beautiful words of praise, thanks-

giving and petition that he had ever read.

In the weeks that followed, he rushed through each

day toward the next morning when he could again read
the words and see Christ with his own eyes as the priest
elevated the Host.

Keith came to my husband and me for advice on
books to read, how to begin instructions, etc., but we



THE OPEN DOOR 95

cannot claim him as “our convert” for in his heart Keith

became a Catholic that first morning as he knelt and

opened his missal.

—Mrs. John V. Whittenburg.

In Front Of The 8-Ball

|N 1944 a Protestant young man prepared to go over-
seas with his outfit. When he reached Honolulu he

was dropped off as a replacement. I met him there and

took him to Mass with me several times.
«

When I was packing to go home
in 1946, he called, seeming very up-

set over the loss of a small gold

cross. His name had been inscribed
on the back, and he said he had

wanted me to have it, but he had lost
it out on the sands while on guard

duty the night before. I told him in

a light, offhand manner that a prayer to St. Anthony

usually takes care of things like that for me.

Two days later a camp dog called 8-Ball came into
the canteen. In his mouth was the very cross my friend
had lost.

The young man is now an ardent Catholic and my
husband. I am wearing the cross I feel is responsible
for both his conversion and marriage.

—Mrs. Lloyd E. Elliott

The Open Door

|

HAVE lived in New York City all my life, but because
I was born of Jewish parents, who were, and are, as

devout in their religion as I am in my newly found be-
lief, I knew nothing about the Catholic Church. My first
contact with Catholicity came quite by accident. I was



96 THE OPEN DOOR

caught in a sudden storm and sought shelter in a church

which was nearby. Upon entering the building I knew
only that it was a church, and not that it was a Catholic

church.

I stood in the vestibule for several minutes and then,

because I noticed others entering, went inside. It was

early evening. I was going home from work as were
thousands of others. Hundreds of worshippers, it seem-

ed to me, entered that church, not merely to get out of

the rain, but to pray. They came, stayed a few minutes,

then departed. But while there they evidenced real de-

votion. Many lighted candles, others simply knelt down
and prayed. Some entered a little box which I learned
later was a confessional.

From my brief visit in that Catholic Church and
the impression made upon me by the devotion of the
Catholics who entered while I was there, grew a longing
to know more about Catholicity. I returned several
times, and on one occasion noticed a Catholic paper in

the rear of the church. I picked it up and took it home
with me. It was Our Sunday Visitor. The next Sunday

and for weeks after, I returned to the church to get the

current issue of this paper. Later I subscribed for it.

For five years I read it attentively, and also the Catholic

pamphlets and books which I saw advertised therein.

Then I approached the parish priest at the church near-

est my home, took instructions and was baptized.

My visit to that church to get out of the rain was
an accident. It might well have been a Protestant church

in which I sought shelter. If it had been I would still

be a Jew in religion as well as in nationality and would

have missed a happiness of which I had previously never

dreamed. But I do not believe I would be a Catholic

today if I had not seen a copy of Our Sunday Visitor,
from which I learned most of what I know about God
and His Church. —D. A. B.