Chicago Roman Catholic priest. He says that a recent survey made among young Indianans show that they were most in terested in the physical appearance of their prospective mates. They wanted them to be handsome or pretty. In the survey the girls put the man’s ability to support a family 47th on the list of most desirable qualities. The boys put the girl’s ability to cook 17th. The ques tion proposed by the compiler was this: “What are you going to do in marriage —just look at one another?” New High A total membership of 87,548,021 in all religious bodies of this country is re ported in the 1951 yearbook of Amer ican churches. These figures show that church reports now embrace 58% of our nation’s population. The total enroll ment including officers and teachers in American Sunday schools is given at nearly 30,000,000, an increase of 800,000 over the previous year’s figure. On the financial picture the total contributed for 125 denominations was $1,138,737,506 for all purposes. BEHOLD HE COMETH! When the western sun is setting And the twilight shadows fall; When our hearts are tuned to heaven And we hearken for the call Of the voice of the archangel, Then we’ll know our Lord is nigh, And although earth’s shadows deepen, ’Twill be morning by and by. O, the joy of the assurance That our Lord is coming soonl For, behold there shines above us Through the dark, the harvest moon; And the reaping time is coming When the angels from on High Shall appear to reap the harvest In the morning by and by. When the golden grain is gathered In that great prophetic day; When the Master of the harvest Gives the laborers their pay; When the sheaves in all their beauty Are resplendent in the sky, We’ll forget earth’s tribulation Which is breaking o’er the hills! ’Tis the promise of His coming, And each soul with rapture thrills; For we soon shall hear the echo Of that glad triumphant cry, “Rise, behold the Bridegroom cometh” In the morning by and by! In the morning, in the morning, Soon we’ll see our Saviour’s face, And we’ll lay our sheaves before Him Who hath saved us by His grace, For across the fields of Glory Signs appear in earth and sky, And WE KNOW that Christ is coming In the morning by and by! — Henry B. Knox Page Nine In the morning by and by. O, the glory of the morning
Queen Elizabeth Praises A tribute to the influence of the Bible on the lives of the British nation was paid by Queen Elizabeth in the Festival j of Britain message. She stated that she ' and King George “ long to see the Bible back where it ought to be as a guide and comfort in the homes and lives of our people . . . From our own experience, we know what the Bible can mean for the personal life. That cherished inherit ance which we call the British way of life, has its source and inspiration in the great ideals of Christianity.” Drum Majorettes Recently High School Drum Majorettes were criticized by the National Catholic Women’s Union for their indecent con tortions and undress. In a resolution adopted it was asked: “ Why be modest at home, in school and in church, while outrageously immodest and most allur ing and enticing to the opposite sex in public?” The convention went on to de plore parental negligence in regard to modesty among young people. Rare Bible A copy of the famous Biblia Regia Polyglotta, printed in 1571 for King Philip II of Spain by Christopher Plantin of Antwerp, has been discovered in Bel gium. The book, a thick, leather-bound volume with gold filigree work along page borders, was edited by the famous philosopher-monk, Benedict Arias Mon- tanus. The present owner of the book is a business man, Emil Devis, who bought it along with hundreds of other volumes at a public auction in Antwerp, never suspecting what a treasure he had acquired. Successful Marriages The first place for successful mar riages is held by couples who are active church members, according to a report of the American Institute of Family Re lations. In the report, Joseph B. Henry stated that couples who have no church affiliations and are married by a Justice of the Peace are in the greatest danger of seeing their marriage go on the rocks. Furthermore, the study showed that a mixed marriage is two or three times as likely to end in divorce as when persons of the same faith are united. Queen of Heaven In a Catholic Church bulletin from Santa Monica, the following titles were given Mary, the mother of Christ, and published with ecclesiastic approbation: “ As soon as death touched her, she was lifted, body and soul, by the loving hands of God Himself to be crowned Queen of Angels, Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Confessors, Queen of Virgins, Queen of All Saints. Although we do not have a special feast in honor of Mary’s Coronation, in heaven, Catho lics for centuries have regarded her as
By William W. Orr, D.D.
a powerful Queen, capable of interced ing at the throne of heaven in their be half. In fact, we should meditate on this each time we recite the fifth decade of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.” Radio Rather Than TV Leaders in Protestant broadcasting work recently announced that the churches in the next twelve months will continue to direct their larger effort to ward radio rather than television pro grams. According to Albert Crews, radio is still the most useful medium to serve the cause of Protestanism, for 95% of American homes have radio and only 26% have television. This does not mean, however, that the church will ignore television, for approximately 25% of the expenditures will go into television pro grams, both live and filmed. Secret Shepherds In the Fountain Square Christian Church of Indianapolis, a new idea is being promulgated to watch over the new members as they are received into the congregation. For every new mem ber an experienced lay guardian is ap pointed whose identity is never revealed. This “ secret shepherd” checks on his charge’s weekly church attendance and by anonymous mailings keeps him in formed of church events. 5% for Corporations In a recent report by the National Planning Association, America’s large corporations are urged to contribute a full 5% of their income to religious, charitable and educational purposes. The report points out that business corpora tions are allowed to deduct up to 5% of their annual income from the federal corporation income tax if it is contrib uted for charitable purposes. This is profitable because the actual cost to the corporation will only be 25c on the dollar since 75% of its highest bracket income will be taken by taxes anyway. Wrong Emphasis Physical appearance and good looks are playing too prominent a role in courtship and marriage, according to a
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