Financial Support for the Cliurcle in Texas
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teaching Sisters' salaries or to meet any other mission school expense. The Texas bishops had received by 1947 from this fund almost $75,000.00. T lee Order of ill artha. Not to include the Order of Martha in the account of Extension's activities would render the treatment incomplete. This useful organization was brought into being by the Reverend Edward L. Roe and was originally called the Women's Auxiliary of the Catholic Church Extension Society. Upon the death of Father Roe in July, 1914, the energetic Reverend William D. O'Brien took over the direction of the auxiliary, and soon reorganized it and retitled it to the Order of Martha, in memory of her who had always busied herself in putting the house in order and in preparing the meals for Our Lord when He visited her and her sister Mary. The rule of the new order, founded in 1915, was made to conform to that of the Extension Society, to help the poor missions, the poorest always first. The units were to be called "households." The members, in addition to contributing one dollar annually, were to hold as many meet- ings during the year as they saw fit for the purpose of working together to :nake altar linens, vestments, and household furnishing which would add to the meager comforts of missionary priests-sofa pillows, blankets, curtains, hook-rugs, woolen socks, sweaters, and gloves. That there were many who wished to help was proved by the thousands who joined the organization. They came from the large and prosperous parishes as well as from the smaller, poorer, struggling communities. Within seven years more than 300 households scattered throughout the country boasted a membership in the thousands. They helped to gather thousands of articles of all kinds for the Extension stockroom called the Church Goods Room. As early as 1922 Bishop Kelley was able to report that over half a million articles had been sent out from this room to poor missions throughout the country. Missi-on Congresses. Archbishop Quigley, in sponsoring the Catholic Church Extension Society, had envisioned a much vaster field than the American home missions. Pope Pius X had just decreed at the time that the Church in America should no longer be governed through the Propa- gation of the Faith, but was henceforth to take her place in the ranks of the great active churches of the world. To the Archbishop this meant that the Church in America itself had to become activated by the mis- sionary spirit to spread the Faith in other lands. To pray more, fast more, and receive Holy Communion more often are commendable virtues. he agreed, but only half-effective in spreading the Faith. unless the
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