God and Your Child By Mary Cecilia McGrath, Ph.D. Ash Wednesday began the great season of penance. It effects the church throughout the world-. The day is hamed from the distribu tion of ashes. “Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return,” is the Church’s warning. The Church is our Mother even as she is the Spouse of Christ. In baptism she brought us forth as children of grace destined to in herit with Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, the wonderful life of God in heaven. We are on earth for only a few years. We are placed here to work out 6ur salvation. Our Mother, the Church, does not wish us to forget, or neglect, or fail to appreciate why we arf here. So she reminds us of our purpose very forcibly on Ash Wednesday, holding before our eyes the fact of death and the fate of our body. However, she does not intend that we be gloomy about death. Death is no tragedy. It is, instead, our birth into heaven, our en trance into the great inheritance which the Saviour bought for us by His passion and death. The saints have had the right outlook on death. They loved to think about it; they longed for it to come and free them of this life that they might enter into God’s life. After all, it was for the life of God in heaven that we were made. Our. destiny is so wonder ful that the Son of God left heav en, lived on earth 33 years, suf fered most cruelly and died a most ignominious death on the Cross, to win it for you and me. No won der the Church doesn’t want us to make a mistake and miss it. Theologians tell us that the greatest pain of hell is rot the torture of fire suffered there. Nor is it being with everybody you despise and hate forever. No, the greatest pain of hell is that souls there have lost God. They have lost the life for which they were made—the life of God. They have lost the treasure that Jesus Christ came Himself to win and safe guard for them—the possession of God. And they have lost it of their own free will and forever. No, death is not something to be feared. If we are in the state of grace, death is a friend. It is sin that is our enemy. It is sin that makes death a gateway to darkness. Our Lady, appearing at Fatima, warned against this ter- ' rible eneffiy of ours, sin, which is destroying Christ’s work in the souls of so many. And as Our j Lady, weeping in her sorrow, told the three children to whom she appeared, death is finding thous ands of these souls in sin and they are being plunged into hell. What a dreadful price for men to pay for a little gratification of the body! We need the Church to re mind us: Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. —Mary Cecelia McGrath, Ph D. Confiscation of Church Property by Yugoslavia Condemned by Vatican Berne. —(C)—The following well - authenticated reports of in cidents in Yugoslavia received here add further details to the picture of the relentless nd mny sided harrassment of the Church under the rule of Marshal Tito! In Zagreb the Government has confiscated the Bishop Lang home for unemployed working girls. The house, with all its furnishings and funds, was taken over and the Sisters in charge turned out into the street. So many charitable and educational institutions have been confiscated in Yugoslavia that it is impossible to accomodate thfe Sisters in the few Motherhous es which remain. Many Sisters must return to the homes of their parents. In the village of Sovski Dol, a young cniversity graduate nam ed Josephine Nevistic, who had been teaching catechism to the village children, was attacked and beaten to death by two unknown men. A well-known communist by the name of Smojver had been seen in the village for several days before the murder. The local po lice investigated all the houses in Sovski Dol, but did not appre hend the murderers; instead, they told the villagers not to talk about what had happened. Nothing has appeared in the Yugoslav press about the crime. A Dominican priest of the Za greb archdiocese was arrested re cently on the charge of participat ing in a political demonstration and fined the heavy sum of 2,000 dinars. The “demonstration” was a procession in which the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was carried. Shop by Mail With TheMORRISETT CO. Winston-Salem, N. C. “Fabrics and Fashions’’ The public prosecutor in the dis trict of Zubanja, gathering all the priests of his district to insruct them on what subjects they might discuss, in their sermons, told them that, among other things, they were forbidden to preach about Job. The Prosecfutor. said that the people might apply to their present conditions the lesson of Job, who according to the Old Testament recovered his lost pro perity and happiness through a policy of patience and resignation. The last publishing house under Catholic auspices in Yugoslavia the Sacred Heart Printing Press of Zagreb, was confiscated last month, under a “law” which pro vides that the property of a crimi nal may be confiscated by the Government. The director of the Sacred. Heart establishment was sentenced to two years in prison. At election time the police have been particularly active in their surveillance of priests. People who spoke to priests on the streets were later questioned by the po lice as to what the priest said, what was his attitude on the elec tions, etc. Priests in country dis tricts were subjected to great pressure in order to force them to vote. Among the acts of vandalism against sacred objects reported re cently was the demolition of the widely-venerated statue of the Blessed Virgin at Travnik in Bos nia, the destruction of the statue of the Madonna at Zagreb, outrag es committed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Bistrica, and the defac ing of pictures of the Blessed Vir gin in a number of confiscated re ligious houses. Furnace Cleaning Service Mann Fuel Company FUEL OIL t COAL OIL BURNERS STOKERS Telephone — — —3-1081 WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. Catholic Church Gains Chinese Approval Because of Good Works By Rev. Patrick O’Connor, S. S. C. (Special Correspondent) Shanghai.— (NC) — Never be fore has the Catholic Church been so highly regarded by the people of China as it is today. Popular prejudice against Christianity is at an all-time low here. fever since my arrival in China three monthes ago, I have been meeting evidence of this truth. I have found it in Shanghai, Nan king and Peiping; in Kalgan, gate way to the north-west, and in Manchuria. It has been confirm ed in conversation with persons from widely separated parts of the country. Independently and uniformly, Chinese and foreign Bishops and priests, Brothers and Sisters have testified to it. I have heard trib utes to the Church from such di verse non-Christians as the for eign-educated Mayor Ho of Peip ing, the communist Li Lisan and the Nationalist General Fu Tso-yi, governor of Spiyuan and Chahar The communist spokesman, one of the top Reds in Manchuria, freely acknowledged the works of mercy done by Catholic missionaries during the war and the personal risks and sacrifices they endured. In Peiping recently I attended the premiere of the first major motion picture produced in China since the war. Entitled “The Sa cred City,” it is probably the most ambitious movie ever filmed by a Chinese company. The' hero is an American Catholic priest and the plot is woven around his fearless activities in shielding and shelter ■ug nu '-iiiiiese hock, uunng me war. His church is the “Sacred City” of refuge and prayer. The scenes were shot in and around real churches in the Peiping area. It is clear that the Chinese di rector and entire company tried to be reverent and sympathetic in handling their Catholic theme. At the premiere of this highly sig nificant film the theatre was crowded with prominent Chinese. Since then the movie has been shown to capacity houses in Peip ing, Nanking, Tientsin and other cities. The Chinese press has given it enthusiastic reviews. Probably the principal reason for the comparative popularity of the Church at present is1 the uni versally recognized charitable service rendered by the mission aries during the war. All China knows how priests, Brothers and Sisters stayed with their people, threw open- their buildings to refugees and risked their lives to help the afflicted. The elevation of His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Tien, Chinese hierarchy and the completion of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Holy See have added to the friendly feeling. The personal prestige of Cardinal Tien, Archbishop Paul Yu-pin, and Dr. John C. Wu is another factor1. During the war and immediately Mason-McNeely Drug Co. * —PRECRIPTIONS— >. Phone 2-3239 6th St. at Patterson Ave WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. THANK YOU SO MUCH Compliments of BREWER’S FLORISTS Francis Hotel Winston-Salem, N. C. Compliments of LINCOLN CLEANERS 538 Patterson Phone 35774 WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. Lewis and Clark, Owners Responding to the radio appeal of the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, on Ash Wednesday, nearly 2,000,000 children in Catholic schools throughout the United States began the Lenten “Save Starving Children” drive of the Bishops’ Relief Campaign for Victims of war. At Our Lady of Lourdes School, Bethesda, Md., typical of scenes throughout Ihe country, the children and their teacher c.pen the drive with a mite box. (NC Photos) after its close, when U. S. soldiers were numerous in China,, the sight of the stalwart American Catholics in uniform going to Mass made a favorable impression! The Chinese communist perse cution of the Church is not a popular movement nor is it gen eral. It is usually engineered by out-of-town red agents, who fre quently have to resort to intimi dation to overcome local reluc tance and even opposition. No where have the attacks on the Church been a spontaneous de velopment and nowhere have they happened unless the red army was in control. Nor is the perse cution practised uniformly. In some places they permit the Church to function fairly normal ly. All the missions of the follow ing communities having American priest members are completely outside the communist-held zones: Dominicans, Franciscans cf Cinc innati, Franciscans of New York, Shorty’s Gulf Service C. E. Motsinger, Prop Washing, Lubrication, Accessories Phone 31935 411 W. Fifth St. WINSTON-SALEM. N. C. Complments of Carolina Bar-B-Que Phone 3971 700 W. Wilson St FARMVILLE, N. C. IDEAL LUNCH Sandwiches — Hamburgers DRINKS OF ALL KINDS 127 Person St. FAYETTEVILLE, N. C. McDOUGALD FUNERAL HOME AMBULANCE SERVICE LAURINBCRG, N. C. ' • BILL ADAMS —ESSO SERVICE— Expert Washing, Polishing and Lubrication Atlas Tires, Tubes & Batteries - Tire Repairs _ Recapping and Vul canizing - Auto Supplies Phone 9127 Cor. Main & Church LAURINBURG, Nv C. California Jesuits, Maryknollers in South China, Passionists, Scarboro Foreign Missions, St. Columban’s Society and Vincentians, Eastern and Western Provinces. Part of the territories staffed by the Di vine Word Fathers, the Canadian Jesuits, Franciscans of California and Franciscans of Chicago and most of the Maryknoll territory in Manchuria are in non-communist control. M. SOLOMON Sells Better Merchandise For Less Money Dealer In LADIES’ GENTS’ AND CHILD REN’S READY-TO-WEAR, DRY .GOODS, NOTIONS, SHOES, ETC. - MAXTON, N. C. JOSEPH ESSEY Dealer In DRY GOODS, CLOTHING, SHOES and HATS LADIES’ READY-TO-WEAR Maxton, N. C. FIRE & CASUALTY INSURANCE TATUM & TATUM Phone 144 LAURINBURG, N. C. QUALITY MARKET & GROCERY K. Anthony & Son, Props. EVERYTHING FOR THE TABLE LAURINBURG, N. C. McLEOD & SINCLAIR Manufacturers LONG LEAF AND SHORT LEAF PINE LUMBER FLOORING, CEILING, SIDING, DIMENSION TIMBERS A SPEC IALTY Wholesalers & Retailers LUMBER AND BUILDING MATERIALS LAURINBURG, N. C.

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