The Jeffersonian (Jefferson, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 1, 1950 Page: 2 of 8
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PAGE TWO
THE JEFFERSONIAN
JANUARY 19!>0
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THE JEFFERSONIAN
REV. JOHN G. O'ROURKE. EDITOR
"THE HISTORIC CHURCH FOR AN HI8TORIC TOWN"
Entered in the post office at Jefferson, Texas as second class ol
mail matter January 24, 1949, under the act of March 3, 1879. The
subscription rate to THE JEFFERSONIAN, which is publisher
monthly, is one dollar per year. Address all communications to THE
JEFFERSONIAN, Box 705, Jefferson, Texas. Editor's phone, Marshall
6293.
ASSISTANT EDITOR Ethel Switi
STAFF Margaret Ramsay, Mamie Haddon, Grace
Switz, Billy Watson, Katherine Perot, Mildred Meyer, Katherine Wise
THE JEFFERSONIAN liumhly Intends to carry out the mandate of
Our Divine Lord: "Going, therefore, make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you." Its only purpose is to serve the HISTORIC CHURCH of the
Christian ages to whom the DIVINE FOUNDER spoke these words
of sacred promise: "Behold I am with YOU all days even unto the
consummation of the world."
Reverently dedicating all its efforts to Mary, the Mother of Our
Lord, THE JEFFERSONIAN asks her to use her motherly power to
help us achieve our objective, namely, bringing a knowledge of Christ
and the one, true Church He founded into the pine woods, wide open
spaces and cactus land Of Texas.
"Many American homes are
thoroughly secularized today, and
the people dwelling in them do
not even have a real apprecia-
tion of Christian marriage, or,
for that matter, of natural mar-
riage."—Rev. Edgar Schmiedeler,
O.S.B., national director, Family
Life Bureau.
' We cannot withdraw from
thi evil old world; we must stay
here and make it better."—Most
Rev. Robert E. Lucey, Archbish-
op of San Antonio.
The Pope On Unions
Trade unions arose as a spon-
taneous and necessary conse-
quence of capitalism, established
as an economic system. As such
the Church gave them her appro-
bation, always on condition,
however, that, based on the laws
of Christ, as on an unshakabfle
foundation, they would work for
the promotion of a Christian or-
der among the workers.—Pope
Pius XII, speaking in French to
the Christian Workers' Move-
ment of Belgium.
The Princess and the Bishops
"Suffer the little children to come unto Me." '^Whatsoever God
has joined together let no man put asunder. "Whosoever puts away
his wife and marries another commits adultery and he that marries
her who has been put away commits adultery."
Almpst 2,000 years aj'o these .plain, simple statements fell from
the lips of the Prince of Peace. 'And not since1 then has a more stal-
wart defender of the institution of marriage and its divine purjwse
arisen in the midst of men. Not since then has decent family living
had a greater or more-eloquent champion. Indeed, never in human
history has another loved and apiproved of children quite so Intensely
as He Who said, "Suffer the little children to came unto Me." Never
has another upheld the social fabric of the family quite so earnestly
as He Who declared simply that: ''Whatsoever God hars joined to-
gether let NO MAN put asunder." Never has another OPPOSED THE
DESTROYERS OF THE FAMILY quite so bluntly as He Who told
men plainly that "whosoever puts away his wife and MARRIES AN-
OTHER commits adultery."
Alas, these views of the Divine Redeemer, this expression of
Opinion from Almighty (lod, Is not very popular today. Sadly our
modern age has seen the increase of faith in man with a correspond-
ing decrease of faith in God. Accordingly, the growth In the number
of wishy washy people 'with wishy washy standards of morality has
reached an alarming proportion. The result: even the basic unit of
'society, namely, the family, is now in danger.
In the midst of such widespread paganism how encouraging it is
to learn from our newspapers that the future head of the Protestant
Church of England has joined the Catholic Bishops of the United
States in coainigeously urging people to be humble enough to agree
with Christ.
From both sides of the Atlantic recently came statements, the
one by a British princess, the other by the American Bishops, telling
both nations that moderns cannot contiue their prldeful isubordi-
nation to the views of the Divine (Advocate of family life and yet ex-
pect the foundations of society itself to be undisturbed.
"We live in an age," declares 22 year old Princess Elizabeth of
England, "of growing self-indulgence, of hardening materialism and
of falling moral standards."
"I would go so far as to say," the daughter of the head of Eng-
land's State Church continues, "that some of the very principles on
which the family, and therefore the health of the nation is founded
are in dauger."
In Washington, D. C. the Catholic Bishops of America saw the
same danger. Said they in a pastoral letter:1
"Perhaps the most evident and devastating effect of the disre-
gard of supernatural faith in human society is to be found in what it
has done to family life."
In Ixjndon Elizabeth saw the reason for that danger thus:
"When we see around us the havoc which has been wrought,
above all among the children, by the breakup of homes, we CAN
HAVE NO IX)UHT that divorce and separation are responsible for some
W the darkest evils in our society today."
A similar diagnosis was made by the Bishops of the Historic
Church in the U. S.:. •
Christ's Man—
Cont. from page 1.
Therefore the reply of the
Savior to the crowd was very
significant: "Unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man. . . you
shall not have life in you."
APOSTLE INVITED TO GO
When even some of his disciples
then began to leave, the Redeem-
er still did not retract. He in-
vited the Apostles to go with the
rest If they too wished to reject
the literal meaning which the
.others had obviously attached to
His words.
At the Last Supper the promise
was fulfilled and the • first Mass
celebrated, Father declared. He
then quoted St. Paul and a state-
ment made 1789 years ago by the
Christian Martyr, St. Justin, indi-
cating that the early apostles and
'leaders of the visible Church be-
lieved in the Mass.
It was this belief in the Mass
that led our forefathers to coin
the word Christmas, Father con-
cluded.
POPE'S APPEAL ECHOED
At the end of the special Christ-
mas message, which he addressed
to all the citizens of Jefferson
tnd Hughes Springs in accord-
ance with his custom, the editor
joined his own appeal with that
of Pope Pius that many would
return to the historic faith of
their fathers.
The Pope, in a Christmas Eve
message, had invited all believers
in Jesus Christ to return to the
church in the face of a militant
advance of the forces of atheism.
The Midnight Mass here, Father
declared, was offered for the
Pope's intention that "through the
intercession of thle Immaculate
Virgin Mother of God, many here
and throughout the world will in
1S.50 return to the historic Church
to which their fathers belonged
when they coined their greeting:
"Merry Christmas".
The text of the special Christ-
mas message follows:
"Let the heavens rejoice, and
let the earth be glad before the
face of the Lord, because he
cometh"—words taken from the
95th Psalm of the Old Testament,
which is read at the offertory of
this Midnight Mass.
My dear spiritual children in
Christ.
MASS OFFERED FOR ALL
These words, taken from the
inspired pen of the Psalmist of
the Old Testament, Holy Mother
Church would have us announce
to all the people in the territory
committed to our priestly care
on this happy occasion of the
Walter Winchell Says
it the average Russian Knev
the daily choice an average Am-
erican has of what he'll wear
and what he'll eat and what he'll
gee and hear, he would realize
that Ameica's worst slum is
belter than any Communist para-
dise—Waiter Winchell.
birthday of the Divine Child of
Bethlehem. These words t h e
Church places oil our lips as we
celebrate the sublim* lite of
Christmas Midnight Mars in this
church bearing the sweet name of
the Immaculate Mother of our
Divine Redeemer. In unison with
pur Infant Savior tonight we
offer this repetition of the Last
Supper FOR ALL TO WHOM WE
tADDRESS THIS CHRISTMAS
MESSAGE OF 1949, for all the
fcouls entrusted to our pastoral
care, WHITE AND BLACK, RICH
AND POOR, FOLLOWERS OF
THE CHURCH AND THOSE
WHO HAVE NOT AS YET
LEARNED OF HER EXISTENCE,
in a w°rd to all residing in the
missions of the Immaculate Con-
ception of the Blessed Virgin in
Jefferson and that of Our Lady
of Fatima in Hughes Springs.
It is to all these souls that
Mother Church bids us announce
tonight the glad news, which the
angel revealed to the shepherds
on that first Christmas night:
"Behold, I bring you good news
of great joy which shall be to all
the people; for there has been
born to you today in the town of
David a Savior, Who is Christ
the Lord."
ALL PRIESTS UNITED
At this hour tonight all over
the world priests are announcing
this glad news to all the people.
And in the unchanging rite of
Holy Mass Chinese priests in Chi-
na, African priests in Africa, Eng-
liish priests in England, Mexican
priests in Mexico and American
priests in the United States are
all joined together tonight with
the Holy Father in the 1623 year-
old Basilica of St. Peter in Rome
in celebrating the historic rite of
the repetition of Calvary In all
lands tonight Christ's priests of
all races and tongues, when they
offer the host and cup of wine to
God, will in the ancient language
of the Church repeat these words
of Psalm 95:
"Let the heavens rejoice, and
let the earth be glad before the
face of the Lord, because He
cometh."
Tonight we unite ourselves with
these ambassadors of the Lord in
China, in England, in Africa, in
"The world. . . .by countless acts and agencies,"(said the prelates,
"moves steadily to disrupt family life and to destroy the home. It
approves and facilitates divorces as a cure for domestic ills. It
accepts .multiple marriages, which usually mean a hopeless entangle-
ment of the infelicities of a plurality of broken homes. In sponsors
Vanned parenthood by use of UNNATURAL AND MORALLY DE-
GRADING MEANS. THUS INFUSING POISON INTO THE HEART
OF FAMILY LIFE tby destroying in husband and wife the self-re-
spect and mutual reverence on which alone are (built enduring love
and patient fidelity."
To England's Elizalbeth, whose famous uncle resigned his throne
to marry a divorcee, the only answer is the Christian doctrine that
divorce is morally wrong.
"I do not think," she told British mothers, "you can perform
any finer service than to help maintain THE CHRISTIAN DOC-
TRINE that the relationship of husband and wife IS A PERMA-
NENT ONE, not to be lightly broken because of difficulties and
quarrels."
Also championing the 'Christian doctrine, the U. S. Bishops de-
clared that attacks on family life constitute a danger to the nation
"more fearsome than the atom bomb."
Noting that the family is a divine institution, the Bishops as-
serted that it is not within man's control to abrogate or alter it.
The solution?
'With confidence in the help of God," conclude the Bishops,
"through Jesus Christ, His Son, and with constant faith in the
intercession of His Mother, the Immaculate Mary, we urge all fam-
ilies to strive by their prayers for the restoration of pure familv
life."
"Suffer the little children to come unto Me." 'Whatsoever
God hath joined together let no man put asunder.".
Yes, it is refreshing to have the daughter of the head of the
Protestant State Church of England and the Bishops of the Catholic
Church in America join together to .remind the world that after all
is said 'and done, it can hardly go wrong following the views of
the Divine Redeemer, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Mexico, in Rome and everywhere
as we too repeat these joyous
words from the inspired pages of
the Holy Bible and ajjdress them
to all the souls committed to our
care, on this, the birthday of their
Holy Redeemer.
Let the heavens rejoice. Yes,
let the earth be glad because
there has been born to us today
in the town of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord
WORLD KNOWS STORY WELL
How well the world knows the
story of the Babe of Bethlehem!
The principal details are given
by our reporter, St. Luke. '
A decree went forth from
Caesar Augustus, the Roman
emperor, that a census ,of all the
people should 'be taken up.
From the little town of Nazareth
in the province of Galillee in
Palestine a humble Jewish
couple, Joseph and Mary, went
forth to the family home of the
tribe of David, Bethlehem.
While she was there Mary's time
was fulfilled and she brought
forth her Son and laid Him in
a manger because there was no
room for them in the Inn.
Yes, the world knows the
story of Bethlehem. In the past
2000 years it has heard it many
times.
APOSTACY FROM TRUTHS
But does the world under-
stand the real meaning of Beth-
I eh aim? Does it teaptui« the
lesson of the crib? The answer
to that question is found in the
apostacy from and indifference
to the truths which the Babe of
Bethlehem came on earth to
teach. The answer is found in
the moral looseness even in the
lives of those who accept these
truths.
My dear people, millions today
will observe Christmas by giv-
ing lip service to the Divine In-
fant, Whose teachings they will
then proceed to forget the rest
of the year. On their lips as
they greet each other today Is
the very word which itself signi-
fies the most beautiful teaching
of Christ, and in it they have no
faith.
WORD CHRISTMAS COINED
BY BELIEVERS IN MASS '
The word is Christmas, which
centuries ago was coined in
Catholic England by Christians
who celebrated Our Lord's birth-
day as we are doing tonight by
going to Mass. As they went
along their way to the church
'they greeted each other with
the salutation, "iMerry Christ's
Mass," which, slided together in
the English manner of speaking,
•became "Merry Christmas."
My dear friends, the Divine
Babe of Bethlehem Whom we
honor tonight was not born just
to give the world an annual
Christmas tree celebration or to
give us cause to decorate our
homes. He was born to lead
people to Heaven. He was horn
to redeem mankind from the
original sin of our first parents,
to reopen the gates of Heaven
which had been closed by their
sin so that when we got there
of our own efforts we would find
the gates open. In a word, this
Child Whom we honor tonight
came as God, an authoritarian
God, yea. If you will, a totalitar-
ian God. As God H>j came to
teach men truths which if they
would be humble enough to be-
lieve them, would lead them to
eternal happiness.
SPOKE WITH AUTHORITY
This Infant Whom we honor
tonight Is the same Savior Who
told men bluntly: "He that be-
flieveth and is baptized shall be
saved. He that believeth not
shall be condemned." This is
the same Redeemer Who pro-
voked the ire of His enemies be-
cause they said He spoke as one
having authority. ' This 'is the
same Lord IWho chastised the
Cont. on page 3.
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O'Rourke, John G. The Jeffersonian (Jefferson, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 1, 1950, newspaper, January 1, 1950; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth293176/m1/2/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.