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THE BULLETIN, December 26, 1959—PAGE 1-B
We would like to add our
%, voice to the chorus of good
wishes coming
.your way for a Christmas
really worth singing
about... merry and bright
and filled with much happiness
, for you and your dear ones.
Fresh at Your Grocers!
COLONIAL BAKING COMPANY
Augusta, Georgia
PEACE TO WHOM
GOD FAVORS
By
Rev. Bruce Vawler, C. M.
(Professor of Sacred Scripture,
St. Thomas Seminary, Denver)
Father Vawter received his
Doctorate in Sacred Scripture in
Rome in 1957. He is associate
editor of the Catholic Biblical
Quarterly and the author of two
looks, A POPULAR EXPLA
NATION OF TIIE FOUR
GOSPELS (1955) and A
719 Broad St.
Augusta, Ga.
Our Thoughts Of You!
We finally found the happy words
that will our thoughts convey;
And draiv this pic of old St. Nick,
his reindeer and his sleigh.
We loaded down our Santa Claus
with words for him to say.
And told him to deliver them
to you on Christmas Day.
A mong these words are “Season’s
and oh, there’s “Happy," too,
But best of all we think is this'.
“Me rry Christmas, Friends, To You!
‘Yule,’
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ifis,
j, bank
' S . {■ x ■ >■ Cvi*"' - . .. .....
RAILROAD RANK
& Trust Company • Augusta, Ga.
MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Main Office — 701 Broad Uptown Branch — 1109 Broad
Gwinnett St. Branch — Gwinnett ai Eleventh
Daniel Village Branch Fort Gordon Facility
Walton Way Branch at Liberty Street
PATH THROUGH GENE
SIS (1956).
We who speak English, what
ever our religion, have in com
mon a literary tradition that
has been formed with and by
the Authorized (King James)
Version of the Bible. Practically
day by day we quote the lan
guage of this translation, with
out even being conscious of it,
as we use various customary
English idioms and turns of
speech, just as we so often
quote Shakespeare without
knowing it.
On the other hand, the Ca
tholic is at times made very
much aware of the difference
between the Authorized Version
and his own English Bible,
when there is question of cer
tain well-known passages which
he has heard since a child. One
of these will be brought to his
attention again quite soon.
The glorious story of our
Lord’s birth will be told once
more in our newspapers and
magazines and on Christmas
cards, and the angelic choir of
that first Christmas morning
will be quoted as singing:
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will
toward men.”
WHY THE DIFFERENCE?
The Catholic is used to a dif
ferent version of these words
from St. Luke’s Gospel, a ver
sion that is incorporated in the
Gloria of the Mass: “Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth
peace to men of good will.” He
may also wonder why this dif
ference, which appears to be
considerable, should exist be
tween the two versions.
In favor of the Authorized
Version, it must be admited that
it is supported by the majority
of the existing manuscripts of
the original Greek of the New
Testament, and it is in this way
that these words are quoted by
almost all the Greek Fathers of
the Church. All the older Eng
lish translations of the Bible
followed this version, then
thought to be correct—all but
two.
These two were the transla
tion of Wycliffe, made about
1380, and the Catholic transla
tion made at Rheims in 1582.
They were made not from the
Greek directly but from the
Latin Vulgate, itself a more an
cient translation, of course,
where appeared the words fa
miliar to us: "pax hominibus
bonae voluntatis,"—“peace to
men of good will.” The King
James translators could say,
with some justice, that in going
back to the original Greek they
were on firmer ground than
those who followed the Latin
Vulgate, which, at least in this
instance, seemed to be an er
roneous translation.
But modern scholars now
agree that the Vulgate was a
faithful translation after all.
Better Greek manuscripts than
the ones known or at least
recognized in the time of the
King James Version have since
come to light, and they support
the Vulgate text. They show
that when the Vulgate transla
tion was made, it was made
from a Greek text that had bet
ter preserved the original in
spired words of the evangelist,
without the “corrections” 0 f
later copyists. Today all modern
iraiisid nuns or cuke
whether by Catholics or Prot
estants, agree with the Vulgate
reading, though they may un
derstand it variously.
THE URGE TO SIMPLIFY
The reading followed by the
King James Version was the re
sult of something fairly common
in the manuscript transmission
of the biblical text—the urge
of a coypist to simplify. It must
have been an urge that occurr
ed very early, to account for
the appearance of this reading
in so many of the manuscripts.
“Peace to men of good will”
was what the evangelist first
wrote.
But what did it mean? Was
the “good will” (which is a
single word in the Greek) that
possessed by certain men? Or
was he referring to the good
will of God (which is the usual
biblical meaning of the word)?
If God’s good will was meant,
in what sense was it meant?
From one point of view, it was
a simpler matter to solve all
these problems by changing the
text to “good will to men,”
which anybody could under
stand.
In recent years new light has
been shed on this biblical verse
from an unexpected source,
which not only confirms that
the Vulgate, “Catholic” version
is the correct one, but also gives
us a better idea of its meaning.
“Men of good will,” as we have
just said, is ambiguous, but
“peace” is not.
In biblical language, “peace”
is virtually the same as “salva
tion”—it means harmony with
God, the union or renewal of
union between God and man.
This, in itself, has always made
it more than likely that the
“good will” in question was
God’s rather than men’s, for
the Bible is here ascribing the
coming of salvation to God’s
love freely given, not to any
worthiness on man’s part. Now
we have contemporary evidence
that that is precisely what the
expression did mean.
DEAD SEA SCROLLS
SHED LIGHT
In the writings of the Jewish
community that produced the
so-called Dead Sea Scrolls of
which so much has been writ
ten lately, “men of God’s good
will” is a phrase that turns up
rather frequently. In these texts
it means those whom God has
chosen, those to whom he has
freely extended his good will
of salvation.
There is every reason to be
lieve that in the Gospel, writ
ten in approximately the same
time and environment, these
words have the same signifi
cance. In this light, the angelic
chorus takes on a new dimen
sion and depth as we see its
full import: “Glory to God in
the highest”—that is, in heaven;
“and on earth peace”—the same
heavenly glory shared with
men—“to men of (his) good
will”—shared with those whom
God has chosen to favor with
salvation through the sending of
his Son.
Peace on earth, good will to
men” is a good Christian senti
ment in which we can all share.
We should not be too disturbed,
therefore, when we hear the
Bible quoted this way, even
though it is incorrectly quoted.
But at the same time we should
remember what the Bible really
says, something far more im
portant. It is both a glorious
and a humbling thought to
know that we are “men of good
will,” for we are such only
through the infinite mercy of
God.
THE SHEPHERDS ADORE
“The Adoration of 'the Shepherds” was painted in the 16th century by Hugo Van der Goes, an
artist of the Bruges school. It hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
CHRISTMAS
IN
IRELAND
By
R. J. Bennelt
From Malin Head to Cape
Clear the windows of rural Ire
land will be ablaze with can
dles on Christmas night. It is
an old custom, which shows no
sign of abatement despite new
methods of lighting. In some
places only the youngest Mary
of the family sets the candle
alight. As there is not always
a young Mary in a family, the
youngest boy can perform the
ceremony of lighting the wicks
when darkness falls.
These flickering beacons are
a sign that there is a welcome
for the wayfarer, particularly
for the homeless mother and
child, on these festive nights.
For the same reason the door
of each house was left unlatch
ed and unlocked on Christmas
Eve. But I am afraid that this
is one of the picturesque cus
toms which has largely fallen
into disuse—not that there is
need for it at such a time—but
simply that customs have
changed.
RUSHLIGHTS
Another custom, not now ob
served, was the lighting of 12
rushlights, common, particular
ly in Leitrim, up to the middle
of the last century. The bring
ing in of the Bloc na Nallag, or
great Christmas log, early on
Christmas Eve seems to have
been more or less confined to
the homes of Leinster and must
have been akin to the cross-
Channel ceremonial, bringing in
of the Yule log.
Another type of Christmas
candle, a great favorite in Cork
city and county at one time,
is now no longer seen. This was
a three-branched tallow candle,
the three branches rising from
one stem—one upright and two
at angles—made to commemo
rate the Trinity. All three
branches were lighted on Christ
mas Eve and allowed to burn
till midnight. The lights were
then snipped off, and the re
mains of the three-branched
candle carefully stowed away
“as a protection against the visit
of any evil spirit during the
coming year.”
Here and there, though, the
Christmas evergreens may con
tinue to hang on the walls until
Shrove Tuesday. Then, brown
and withered, on the evening of
that day they are taken down
and burned under the pancakes.
There are towns where the
local bands still head the proces
sions to Mass on Christmas
morning. But nowadays it is
not necessary for the fifes,
drums and flutes cheerily to
rouse the slumberers on Christ
mas morning. Yet so it was the
youths of the early 19th cen
tury exerted themselves. As, for
instance, in Callan, Co. Kil
kenny, in Humphrey O’Sulli
van’s time (1828 or thereabouts)
the drums “welcomed the good
Child Jesus before ring-of-day”
—when the moon was still full
in the heavens.
ROUSED BY DRUMS
Kickham’s Qnocknagow opens
with a description of a some
what similar custom still pre
valent in Tipperary at a much
later period in the 19th century.
The thumping of the drum not
only roused the people and call
ed them to early Mass but the
fifes and drum headed the pro
cession to the church gates, and
again when divine service was
over led the congregation home
wards.
Some time back I read from the
pen of a Newfoundland resident
a description of a Christmas
custom which, he said, genera
tions of hardy pioneers from
I r el a n d to Newfoundland
brought to Broad Cove, in that
country, where so many Irish
people settled. The tradition was
still almost religiously observed
towards the close of the last
century and may still be in use.
It was held to ensure plenty of
provisions, health and prosperi
ty during the coming year.
A loaf or cake of Christmas
baking was cut into four parts
by the housewife, and a fourth
share thrown to each side of
the house, indicating plenty
from north, south, east and
west.
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