Opera Omnia

INSTRUCTION VI
RATIONAL PROMOTION
A Note on the aggregated Institutes and atonement

The members of Our Lady's Annunciation, of Saint Gabriel, and of Jesus the Priest have a special spirit of atonement. Atheism is the most serious of sins; it is a denial of all that is beyond man, a denial of all worship, of every law of God, of eternity itself. There have always been atheists, if one is to believe what they say; but today atheism has spread and is now taught, organized and professed openly. At one time man adored the goddess of reason; today he adores his own power: he divinizes himself. But, quis ut Deus?,¹ and Lucifer was banished to hell with his followers which was created for them.
Atonement to God the Father with devotion to the Mass.

Atonement to the Son through observance of the commandments and the vows.
Atonement to the Holy Spirit with devotion to Our Lady.

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Art. 203. Superiors should see that young Priests do not lack time and the necessary aids for profitably continuing their studies. As far as possible they should assign them teachers to assist them in their studies or at least to supervise them.
Art. 204. Superiors should see that among those students who excel in piety and talent, some are prepared and sent to pursue especially the studies of philosophy, theology, and canon law, and obtain academic degrees. And this, however, not only for providing our schools with good teachers, but also for increasing the effectiveness of the apostolate.
Art. 208. Professed members are admitted to Major Orders by the title of the common table (mensa communis), and only after they have made their perpetual profession. The Superior General gives the dimissorial letters for both minor and major Orders, but always according to Canon Law.
Art. 211. All candidates for Subdiaconate are bound to make the profession of faith and take the oath against Modernism in the presence of the local Ordinary or his delegate.

Art. 212. Before allowing students to ascend to the Sacred Orders, Superiors should undertake an accurate investigation in order to secure for themselves a sure knowledge about the candidate's character, piety, modesty, chastity, aptitude for the Priesthood, progress in ecclesiastical studies, and religious discipline. A fair report of both the facts and the result of the aforementioned investigation is to be drawn up and kept in the archives.
Art. 213. Besides the above mentioned investigation, in due time before presenting the candidates for the Sacred Order of Subdiaconate, the Superior General must require from them a document in the form prescribed by the Holy See, clearly expounding the candidate's understanding and acceptance of the obligations of the clerical state and his declaration of approaching the Sacred Orders freely and of his own choice. This document is to be signed by the candidate under oath in the presence of his Superior.

Pastoral discernment

There has been good progress in the step-by-step promotion; collective promotion is on a solid footing; now we need to move on more to rational promotion.
We say move on more because in reality, even before the birth of the Institute, as much as possible was being done.
Rational promotion is the study of what needs to be taught for the salvation and uplift of mankind

in general; it is to examine in particular the conditions and needs of the people to whom we are sent and to prepare editorially what is useful, essential and suitable for such people. Before starting promotion have a complete picture of the country, region, diocese, parish, association and people you are sent to; choose, bring and offer in due measure what is appropriate; use the most effective and quickest means so that the word of God may reach everyone as widely as possible.

Jesus Teacher of promotion

It should come as no surprise to any Pauline, male or female, to hear that Jesus is Teacher of promotion. We promote the same message of salvation; we are moved by the same spirit of charity; we offer this message according to need and in a manner suited to men and women; we are sustained by his example and grace. Our apostolate is in Christ Jesus.
Jesus the Teacher went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Mt 9:35).
He spoke in a simple and clear way even when he was teaching lofty doctrine. He adapted his teaching to the needs of every audience. The Gospel notes that he knew what was in every person [cf. Jn 2:25]. He adapted himself to fishermen and shepherds, to those from Galilee and those from Judea, to the Pharisees, to his disciples and to his opponents. How different is his conversation with the Samaritan woman and that with Nicodemus, who came by night! How different his teaching to the crowds and that given to the close circle of

apostles! Yet it was always a question of the message of salvation.
He wanted his disciples to work in the same way.

Analyzing the situation

a) The minister of the word must have a working knowledge of dogma, morals, liturgy, philosophy and social doctrine. From this patrimony and treasure he chooses what is timely and better suited.
This concerns editorial work in a special way. He can use Scripture, or the Catechism, Tradition, Philosophy, History and so on. When the aim is eternal welfare, love itself will suggest the best choice.
b) The conditions and the needs of people are quite different. Some are gifted with a broad education, while others do not even know the elementary principles of Christian doctrine. There are those who are open and anxious to learn; others whose mind is closed and prejudiced against whoever comes along. There is the child and the mature adult. There is the mother of a family and the young girl on the brink of adulthood. There are the rich, the miserly, the pleasureloving; there are the poor, workers, pious and honest people.
The environment can be pagan, Communist, Protestant; but it can also be Christian, Catholic, militant.
c) The promoter's work follows. Insofar as possible he will

have to be equipped with all that he needs for his apostolate.
Before starting he will begin with a general and exact analysis of the zone and the people he is sent to: religious instruction or religious ignorance? Are they Christians or pagans? Catholics or non-Catholics? Educated people or, for the most part, uneducated.
What do they read? What films do they see? Is it a working class area or an agricultural one? Are there colleges, secondary schools? Can he expect help or will he find conflict?
Get a complete picture: number and status of parishes and towns; what is already there or missing in each place; what means are available or are defective.
There is a need for an accurate register of families, parish by parish, region by region. This can then be updated and passed on to whoever comes afterwards.
d) Analysis and availability of personnel, means of communication and transport.
Utilize the quickest and most effective means, making widespread use of cars, the telephone, planes, trains, and so on.
You will conserve your energy and your health and, at the same time, reach many more people much more quickly. This is wisdom pleasing to the Lord.
Get men and women helpers interested; especially in the parishes and in collective propaganda.
Rational! even if some things seem novel. Make the results long-lasting by, for example, setting up a library.

Recipients

The people to whom the apostle writer

addresses himself can be roughly classified into three types: beginners, proficient, and perfect.
Beginners. As regards the press apostolate these are children in the faith, those who are taking their first steps in the Christian life, people in general, those who Saint Augustine targeted in his De catechizandis rudibus.²
Proficient. These are adolescents in knowledge; students on the way to the ecclesiastical state or a profession; young people and adults of average education or high social standing.
Perfect are ecclesiastics or lay people who undertake a full and deep study of religion.
Of the three levels, the first and most in need of apostolate are, naturally, the beginners. In reality they make up the great mass of people, those who need the bread of truth and of the Christian life to be broken for them through catechetical instruction. At a rough guess you could say that of the three billion people alive, at least four-fifths of them, that is, over two billion, fall into this category; they make up the mass.
These must be the preference of the apostle who, like the Divine Teacher, has the mission to address himself in particular to the poor and the lowly: evangelizare pauperibus misit me.³
After the beginners come the proficient. It is not so much their number as their quality which makes the apostolate addressed to them so important. Here we are talking of a relatively

small minority of the population; however, given their moral influence, that is, their social position, wealth and connections, they will be leaders in society.
Those who guide the masses are not the great thinkers or the great writers but opinion makers. Therefore, to guide them is like guiding generals in the army.
We are dealing with a most difficult group and at a time when teachers have experienced the greatest setbacks and delusions, but also the greatest cooperation and the most stable results.
With proper instruction and guidance, the proficients - generally speaking - grasp religion better than beginners, because theirs is a better preparation. Indeed, this grounding in reasoning will lead them to a greater fidelity to God and the practice of the psallite sapienter.⁴

Lastly, there are the perfect. Here the apostle will continue the ongoing work of forming the new man in Jesus Christ, communicating truth, morals, and grace in greater depth, ut abundantius habeant [Jn 10:10]. He will do this in such a way as to consolidate the rational basis of their faith, develop the true sense of morals and help them obtain the grace necessary for the particular circumstances of their life.
The importance of the religious formation of this elect group of people grows out of the need to win over for the Church the teaching part: the hierarchy of order and jurisdiction; the need to have a competent defence of the Catholic religion against the assaults of unbelief and heresy; and, lastly,

the need to win over minds, wills, and hearts so as to form one great Catholic school.
To train the perfect is to promote the various apostolates; it is to permeate knowledge, civilization, the arts, morals, legislation, the school, and the press with Christian thinking.
Its significance is to render honor to God and to entreat him through Jesus Christ, that all will become true sons and daughters of God.

Check-up meetings

Weekly or monthly summing-up of the work carried out. In the small houses it is the Mother or Father Superior who oversees promotion. They receive orders, welcome them and follow them. In the bigger houses there is a person in charge but under the direction of the Mother or Father Superior.
There is a meeting; the reading of reports; discussion of difficulties; preparation of work for the foreseeable future; prayer. Thus there is spiritual refreshment and physical rest undertaken in joy.
Such meetings are completely necessary; there is a sharing of good ideas for discussion and then practical decisions are taken.
Looking at the pros and cons of all opinions and ideas you arrive at rational promotion.

Paying by instalment

Among our publications some books are of lesser value and cost less; and some readers are better off financially, others less well off.
A difficulty arises for distribution when the purchaser is unable to meet the cost of a book. In this case you can mention paying by instalment. The purchaser then places an equitable deposit on the purchase and pays the remainder in monthly instalments.
When there is Pauline personnel capable of doing this they are to be preferred.
This [sales system] has considerable advantages and disadvantages, on the part both of the publisher and the purchaser. This is obvious.
To minimize inconvenience and to guarantee the benefits you can follow these rules:
a) Payment by instalment is to be kept within reasonable limits: at times two or three monthly payments suffice; at other times up to eighteen, which is the maximum.
b) Bear in mind the possibilities and moral assurance that the understanding will be kept, on both sides.
c) This instalment plan is a concession, not a condition. If the purchaser pays cash you can give a proportionate discount or reduction.
d) Bear in mind the extra expenses for the organization and the extra bother for the purchaser to pay on time.

e) You cannot use the instalment plan for low cost books; don't agree to too small monthly amounts.

Distribution from the house

This is the principal and most advantageous form of promotion.
1. Publish a catalogue periodically. Bring it uptodate every year, adding new titles and deleting those out of print.
2. Be methodical. Prepare publicity pieces before the production of a book, film or periodical; or in view of particular circumstances as, for example, the month of May.
3. Get pre-publication orders for books, films, and other various initiatives.
4. Place publicity pieces in papers and magazines, in a book's blank pages, in Vita Pastorale, and so on.
5. Make use of the radio, pulpit, conferences.
6. Get communities, associations, and libraries interested.
7. Make a list of addresses of likely readers, category by category, in different card indices.
8. Opportune and reasonable agreement with the Daughters of Saint Paul. In our book centres Paulines are to be keen to promote the books of both without any distinction. On the production side there is to be an equitable division of work to be agreed upon by the

Superiors of both Congregations. Likewise as regards the conditions, discounts, and number of copies.
9. The Publications Office presides over the whole Province, in accordance with the arrangements made by the Provincial Superior.

Promotion by Cooperators

Cooperators can contribute a great deal.
Cooperators with the promotion of books and periodicals, films and religious objects for depositaries and libraries, schools and associations.
Cooperators for the distribution of the weekly and monthly periodicals; and for rallying subscribers.
They need to be trained; every house can organize a circle of friends and cooperators, subscribers to all the new titles that will come out during the year.
This is a reason why the Promotions Office needs to be well established and guided by a diligent religious.

Indirect promotion: intrinsic qualities

Such qualities are the content of the book, its author, the Publications Office, and its technical features.
Content. People are on the lookout for what interests them and will willingly spend their money

on attractive newspapers, books, films and so on if they suit their tastes. Yet, no matter what you do, some things have no appeal. There are magazines that increase circulation constantly; books that go into several reprints in a few months and are translated into other languages. For many other publications the contrary is true.
With regard to content: there are some publications which are aimed at certain categories of people; for example, a Hebrew grammar.
There are periodicals which have a wealth of material and a variety of features, news items and so on. Thus they interest and satisfy a wide range of readers: the man of religion, the politician, the artist; they are a help to the cook, the gardener, the farmer, and so on.
Another point concerning content: it may be a study book, or a work of fiction; it may be drama or romance. Distribution, however, must be on the basis of its usefulness, that is, what the reader, the spectator or the lecturer is looking for.
Of great help also are conciseness, the study of the titles, the division into sub-titles, résumés and so on.
Then there are various circumstances: something could be of interest because it is topical; and the same material can be set out in a popular way or in a more scientific way for intellectuals.

Fame of the author

The author. He can already be well-known for his knowledge, prose, style, or manner of expression. There is a great difference between one film producer and another.
A book's value can be boosted by coming from a reputable publishing house,

or from a studio that produces motion pictures and works of art. Its name guarantees good productions.
People look for newspapers and periodicals simply for their editorials, or for a special columnist, or because their news and articles are current.
People often buy a series of books on the basis of the name of one or a couple of authors.

Publications Office. It has very important tasks:

a) To know its readership: so as to meet their needs and preferences, to know what means it can dispose of; to choose from among what is on offer; to see what the market lacks and to see to its production.

b) To be acquainted with authors, books, professionals, technical aspects and distribution; to judge a book's value, its capability, doctrine, and timeliness; to foresee with reasonable certainty expenses and income, so that every apostolate can have a life of its own and be gradually enlarged; in particular the good that the apostolic activity will engender, as a contribution to society.

Presentation

Technical aspect. Many times good presentation has a decisive role in impressing potential readers.
Some people know how to choose a cover that sums up the argument or main plot of a book, a magazine, and so on.
Some people know the mind and the psychology of the

reader, even if the latter is then let down when he reads the book or watches the film.
The choice of typeface has its effect.
The page layout has its effect.
The printing and format have their effect.
The binding and type of cover have their effect.
A good production person knows how to interpret the mind of the author and the content of the book; he knows the tastes of the age; sometimes he advises the writer himself; he bears in mind the expenses in view of distribution.

A good rule and a great help is to have a good understanding among the Publications Office, the production person and the promotion team.