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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,’ i5 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. Richmond Concrete Products Co. SUPER BLOCK Ga. R. R. Boll Line near Milledgevill© Rd. — PA. 2-6678 MEMBER: National Concrete Masonry Association, Georgia Concrete Masonry Association s GIFTS A SriLL HAS - PLENTY MORE THAN ANY OTHER STORE