Altar and Home - Liturgical Review for the Laity - Volume XXIII - No. 9 - November 1956

Sep 21, 2026

November 1956 issue of a liturgical review for the laity focusing on themes of spiritual winter, the Church calendar, and doctrines associated with death and preparation. Editorial reflections contrast the bleakness of November in nature with the Church’s sober tone, emphasizing purgatory, prayer for the dead, and the meaning of extreme unction. The opening editorial narrative is supported by scripture from St. James and is followed by featured content including articles on a saint and the Catholic wake, plus staff and publication information.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Editorial

Birthday

Death of a Saint

The Catholic Wake

Contributors

西8 AON MAPYGROVE CLLc: LiRANDETROIT,MICHICAPLEASE DO NOT RENVFALTAR &HOMELúuroicalReVlew fog the laúcyNovember 1956∈XTR∈M∈UNCTI ON Coming.... In the next issue.... "Father"has always been the forgotten person. Dad is a forgotten father. Our pastor is a forgotten father.St.Joseph is a forgotten father.God is a forgotten father. The December issue of ALTAR AND HOME plans to helpremedy this fundamental carelessness. To restore a father-consciousness means to restore orderand peace. | Altar and Home
Liturgical Review for the Laity | | --- | | Volume XXIII,Number 9
November,1956 | | Altar and Home is published monthly except during June,
July,and August by the monks of Conception Abbey.With
ecclesiastical approbation.Contents copyrighted.
STAFF
Rev.Maur Burbach,0.S.B… … ………………Editor
Rev.Norbert Schappler,0.S.B……… …………Art Director
Rev.Fr.Hugh Tasch,0.S.B……………………Book Reviews
Rev.Gilbert Stack,0.S.B…… ……………Business Manager
SUBSCRIPTION PRICES
Single:$1.00 annually.
Bulk:twenty-five or more,six cents per copy.
Foreign:$1.50 annually;or seven cents a copy for twenty-five or more.
CORRESPONDENCE
Two weeks should be allowed for all change of address notices.The
notice should include both the NEW and the OLD address—both clear-
ly marked.
Address all business communications to
Conception Abbey Press,
Conception,Missouri.
Address manuscripts and editorial communications to:Rev.Maur
Burbach,0.S.B.,Conception,Missouri.
Entered as second ciass matter,August 27,1935,at the Post Office
at Conception,Missouri,under act of March 3,1897.Printed in U.S.A. | ANOINTNG TO GLORY NOVEMBER 1956, VOL.23,NO.9 CONTENTS 2 ● Editorial e BirthdayRev. Fr.Hugh Tasch, O.S.B. 3 ● Death of a SaintSt. Gregory Nazianzen 14 ● The Catholic WakeMr. Theodore C. P. Vermilye 16 .32 ● Contributors Is anyone of you troubled? He should pray. Is anyonecheerful? He should sing a psalm. Is anyone of you sick?He should call in the priests of the Church, and have thempray over him, while they anoint him with oil in the nameof the Lord.That prayer, said with faith, will save the sickperson, and the Lord will restore him to health. And if hehas committed sins, they will be forgiven him. — The Epistle of St. James 5:13-15 A glance out our windowsconvinces us that once againnature has come to a halt.November is a bleak month.The thermometer and the treestell us that things are at anend.Perhaps the best we cansay for winter is that it doesnot stay any longer than ithas to.It is only a transition period.Spring will follow. In the calendar of the Church,also,November is ableak month.It is the wintertime of the spirit.The lastfew weeks of the Pentecostal season tell a strange anduncomfortable story.The Missal is filled with thoughtsof the final judgment of the world and the eternal jus-tice of God.This is sober material. Beyond this,there is still another element of strangeand almost fearful proportions that we meet at this timein the Catholic liturgy.This is the doctrine of Purgatoryand the idea of praying for the dead.All this,too,seemsoften to repel us. Why is this?One reason surely must lie in the factthat we fail to see the beauty and happiness of the Chris-tian soul after death.Seen in this perspective,the fact ofhuman mortality and final judgment gains much in mean-ing.In fact,there is no meaning whatsoever to the humanbody,the end of time,the suffering of the poor souls and—-most of all --the Sacrament of Extreme Unction,nomeaning at all except that it lead men providentiallyto the vision of God. Death,like winter,is only a transition period. # BIRTHDAY By Hugh Tasch,O.S.B. Mrs.Grundy was a heavy woman.Every time she camedown the stairs Joe thought of a cloudburst breaking inon a Sunday picnic.Mrs.Grundy lived on the third floor,and every afternoon at three she made a point of goingout to

FAQs

What theme does the editorial connect to the month of November?

It connects November’s bleakness in nature with a wintertime of the spirit in the Church calendar, leading into reflections on final judgment and God’s justice.

How does the document explain purgatory and prayer for the dead?

It presents the doctrine of purgatory and the practice of praying for the dead as a part of the liturgy that can feel repelling, and it argues that seeing the Christian soul’s beauty after death gives meaning to mortality and judgment.

What does the excerpt from St. James say about the sick?

It states that the faithful should pray, sing psalms if cheerful, and call the priests to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil in the Lord’s name for healing and forgiveness.

Sep 21, 2026

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