Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

The Southern Cross, April 13, 1963—PAGE 5 World Is The Saint’s Workshop By BARBARA C. JENCKS DAY OF RECOLLECTION—Fr. Neal O’Brien, O. F. M., assistant pastor of St. Augus tine’s, Thomasville, gave a women’s day of recollection on Passion Sunday at St. Clare s, Albany. A small but interested group of ladies took part. Communion Breakfast At Saint Vincent’s Stones Cry Out (Continued From Page 1) “We often think it isn’t possible today to live as a Christian. Yet we know well that the world of the saints was no less worldly and that the saints were no less un yielding. The saints traveled our way and it led to God. We often forget that saints grow out of everyday life and that God has called us to walk the same way.” Rev. William Kelly, S. J. * * * WE WERE talking about saints the other night. I asked my friend if she had known anyone that she would unhesi tatingly call “a saint.” We dis cussed a number of unusual people we had known—shut- ins, priests, nuns for the most part. We judged on the exter nals, the saint-like-hallmarks visible, knowing this was a superficial judgement. My friend mentioned a nun we both knew and then she named my mother. Certainly in a lifetime, we know many saints-^not those who will know official canoni zation but who are examples of sancity and who are known only to God. What better public? When we think about sanctity and people who we have known that might truly be saints, ours i£ but a mere mortal’s view: We do not see intentions, mo tives, the hundreds of hidden acts of virtue. We judge on the telltale external—which is a beginning, of course. We judge extraordinary manifestations of purity, patience, charity. We look for heroic acceptance of trials which would send the rest of us scurrying. We seek sanc tity in those who quietly accept great physical, mental, and spi ritual sufferings without a cry of protest. This is where we separate the men from the boys or rather the run-of-the-mill from the extraordinary. Sanc tity is a fascinating subject since every soul is involved. * * * SAINT IS PROBABLY the most overworked and most er roneously defined word in the Catholic vocabulary. We have -Unrealistic -ideas- -about sanctity. Mostly that a saint is a “goody-goody” in the sense that he is devoid of any color and charm and interest. Saints would not be the every-day choice companion to most Ca tholics who non-the-less know that it is to sanctity they are called. We have the litany of saints to prove there was hardly a dull one. In my particular litany of favorites, Augustine, Magdalene, Patrick, Brigid, Francis, John, Teresa, Anthony —not a Pllyanna there. I won der if we would have recogni zed them as saints in their hay-day. Probably no more than the people who rub shoul ders with us each day. Yet there is something that sets the saint apart. The saint tries harder, but not in an obvious way. God deliver us from the public breast-beater. Those who have become saints, in the formal sense, were known to have been impatient, intempo- rate, imprudent and other fail ings which keep us from even the starting line. Discuss the subject of sanctity sometime with your family and friends and see what their definitions and thoughts on sanctity would be. The usual thinking runs something like this. Sanctity is hardly for the now and here, the vibrant living. It is for the old, the sick but certainly not for the young, the healthy filled with life and vigor. But it is, and we have example after ex ample to prove it. We meet dozens of saints everyday. * * * MOTHER SETON’S beatifica tion is sure to introduce the topic of American saints and sanctity. Is an American saint different from a French saint or an Italian saint? No, saints are saints as people are people. The American saint might have eaten hotdogs and gone to a drive-in whereas his Italian counterpart ate fetuccini and strolled by the Colloseum but the same will power, pick- yourself - up - again - courage, love of God before all else prompts the saints of everyday and age. I do believe, however, that to be a saint; in today’s modern secular America takes heroic courage. Each one of us is a potential saint, some near er, some further away. But the score-cards have not been handed in. I sometimes am prone to think that the leasue habits or cassocks have a corn er on sanctity. Also the shut- in-the friends of mine who have been confined to beds, wheel chairs for years and years who were completely dependent and who seldom complained. But then ag^in, nurses and doctors have a|running start on sanc tity. Their very vocation like the nun or priest sets them apart. It takes great patience to tend and administer to the sick and helpless. Yet there is no saint-type. There is one sure sign of a saint. . . he has no idea that he is onel That’s the thing about sanctity. . .the real saint-in-the-makingthinks he is the world’s worst and everyone else the world’s best. This pride that comes from go ing through “the whole bag of tricks,” as the Irish call it, going through the eternal mo tions of being religious some- • times breeds pride and a ten dency to criticize others appa rent lack of mortification, cha rity, spirituality, etc. This is “phoney sanctity” often ap pears as the real thing. The saint is not the odd-ball, the wearer of the religious symbols on the sleeve. This is what the spiritual writers warn about. Real sanctity is solid and is not puffed up. The world is the saint’s workshops—and it is everyone’s business. Laymen Successful MANILA, P.I., (NC)—Credit for the success of a parish on the island of Negros is given by its Columban missionary pastor to first-rate lay organizations. The parish of Isabela has two high schools and 13 elementary schools, plus released-time re ligion classes for 5,000 public students. How do Father Sean Halloway, S.S.C., and one assistant priest care for this establishment? They have the help of 55 un its of the Legion of Mary, an organization of parish men, and the Catholic Women’s League. (By Anne Tansey) Evan was rooted to the spot at the approach of a band of men. His mistress, Claudia, had as sured him he would be safe for the night on the Mount of Olives. “No one goes there after dark,” she said. “By morning there will be such goings on in Jerusalem that no one will pay heed to a runaway slave.” There was a full moon. The tall, red-headed youth whose hair and fair skin had been darkened with dye for the get away, crouched farther back among the olive trees. There were a dozen men. They were not armed and ap peared to be intent on their own affairs. Evan gasped at the ap pearance of the Leader. He was the most handsome man he had ever seen. The pain in his face, however, was hard to witness. He had the look of a man about to die. Evan remembered that look on his father’s face when the raiding party which threatened his village had out-numbered the defenders critically. His fa ther had died nobly as befit a chief. Before he died the in vaders had paid a heavy toll and left many of their number be hind on the soil of Britain. As he had been very young Evan’s life had been spared.He was carried off, however, and sold into slavery. He had had several masters before he was sold to Pontius Pilate in Rome. When Pilate was made procura tor of Judea he took Evan with him to the East. Pilate's wife, Claudia, had been good to the slave boy from SAVANNA H—The Annual Communion Breakfast sponsor ed by St. Vincent’s Alumnae Association was held on Sunday, March 31st, in the cafeteria of the Academy. It was preced ed by a Mass at 9 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Bap tist, which members of the Association attended in a body and received Holy Communion. His Excellency, Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, Bishop of Savannah, was guest speaker at the breakfast. Bishop McDon ough spoke on the outstanding beauty of the Cathedral as a resHilt of the recent Renova tion Porgram and lauded Rt. Rev. Msgr. T. James McNama ra for his foresight in the plan ning of the Program. Bishop McDonough asked the ladies to keep in their prayers the need for vocations in the Diocese. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. Mc Donald, Chancellor of the Dio- the beginning and promised she would help him to escape as soon as he was old enough to make the perilous journey back to his homeland. Claudia had kept her word. “There will never be a more opportune time than now,” she said. “The city is aroused as never before over the Nazar- ene.” She had a map drawn which would take Evan to Spain. From there he would be on his own. He had enough silver and gold in his pouch to buy food, lodg ing and transportation. As an added precaution Clau dia had also given the slave a milk white solution which when applied to the dyed skin gave the appearance of leprosy. “Dab it on your face if you ever find yourself in a tight corner,” his mistress had advised. “Few people will lay hands on a lep er.” Getting outside the walls of the Fortress Antonia and of Jerusalem was made easy by a passport given him by Claudia. It stated he was on a mission for her. She would hold off alarm over his absence as long as possible. Claudia had done all she could for the youth. Now he was on his own. But he was the son of a chief. He was making his way to a little cave on the side of the mount where he intended to camp for the night. “The Romans are more vigil ant at night than during the day,” Claudia had warned. “Travel by day when possible, losing yourself in crowds of people.” The intruders took posses sion of the cave before Evan reached it. After a few moments the Leader and three of them came out and walked across the little road that led from the top of Olivet to Cedron. They kept walking in the direction in which Evan was hiding. The slave re treated foot by cautious foot. Finally they stopped. Three of the men sat down and rest ed against the trees. The Lead er went on a short distance to a large, flat rock. He knelt down and buried his face in his hands in utter misery. Evan thought he heard the sound of weeping. The Briton could not take his eyes from the Leader. He watched as he threw himself prostrate on the rock and cried out loud, “My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me.” Then after a long, silent intekval added, “Yet, not my will but thine be done.” Evan was puzzled. Where was this Father whom he was ad dressing? There was no one around but the three men a little distance off. They were asleep. cese, was a guest at the break fast, as well as the past presi dents of the Alumnae Associa tion. Mrs. John E. Corcoran serv ed as general chairman, assis ted by Mrs. Thomas E. White and Mrs. Geo. Lingenfilser. Mrs. Charles L. McKenzie, Jr. served as toastmistress. Following the breakfast, the regular monthly meeting was held at which the following offi cers were elected: President, Mrs. Charles L. McKenzie, Jr.; Vice-President, Mrs. Carol Kelly; Recording Secretary, Mrs. John E. Corcoran, Cor responding Secretary, Mrs. John Dillon; Treasurer, Mrs. Bart E. Shea. The Association’s project for this year will be a Fashion Show on May 2, 1963. The show will be unique in that it will be held in the Cloistered Gardens of St. Vincent’s Academy and The three were abruptly awakened when a young man whom the others called Mark, came running up crying that the Roman soldiers and temple guards'bath raided his father’s house in search of Jesus. Evan almost gasped aloud. He had heard so much of Jesus of Nazareth. Some of the soldiers of the fortress had gone to hear him preach and were much im pressed. Claudia spoke kindly to him but said he was raising a storm that would never be set tled. Evan was glad of the op portunity to see him. Mark was comforted and sent away. The three men lay down again. Those in the cave had not even come out. Jesus went back to the rock. It reminded Evan of the altar stones on which the Druid priests in his home land had performed their rit uals. Jesus awakened his compan ions once and asked them to re main awake. But they did not. Back on the rock, alone, Jesus swayed back and forth in ex treme agony of spirit. Sud denly there was a bright light. Out of it appeared a beautiful creature with white wings. He looked pitingly upon the praying man but no word was spoken. Jesus began to sweat. Evan could see the drops glisten on his neck under the moonlight. Suddenly the drops turned dark er and darker. They were as dark as blood. But no one had ever heard of a man sweating blood. Some of the drops ran down on the stone. The slave was as one trans fixed at the spectacle. He want ed to be sick. Suddenly the night was rent with the horrifying sound of Roman soldiers. Their steel sabers clicked in the still ness. Knowing they were coming for him, Jesus arose and went to meet them. A man who ac companied the soldiers kissed him. The kiss seemed to be a signal for at that moment the soldiers grabbed Jesus, bound him and led him away. Evan wished he were back in the fortress. That is how he would be led back if he was caught. The penalty was death for a slave to attempt to es cape. He was so frightened he decided to strike out for freedom immediately. Yet something held him in the gar den. The youth was overtaken by a strange feeling of awe. What would become of the man they had led away? Was that what Claudia meant, they would be so excited over Je sus in Jerusalem that no one would think of anything or any- will be the first outdoor fashion parade so far held in the city. Fine’s of Savannah will furnish the clothes to be modeled. Sister M. Jean, R. S. M. Advisor, complimented the members on the large turnout for the breakfast. Sister M. Fidelis, R. S. M. spoke briefly on the recent Vocations Pro gram held for the students at the Academy. Appreciation was expressed to Mrs. Helen Balcom and her assistants for the delicious breakfast and also to the servers, all of whom were students at the Academy. Saint Vincent's Alumnae Boatride Saturday, April 20 SAVANNAH — The annual Boat ride sponsored by St. Vin cent’s Alumnae will be held on April 20th. The group will leave on The Visitor at 10:15 a.m. and have dinner at the Savannah Gas Company Recreation Center on Wilmington Island, and return around 6 p.m. Price of the Boat trip and dinner is $4.00. Tickets may be obtained at St. Vincent’s Acad emy or by contacting Mrs. Fred Lindsay at AD 2-4356. one else?. In that ...case he was being saved by Jesus. Before he left Evan had to make certain the dark stains on the rock of prayer were blood. He took the white face cloth Claudia had given him in remembrance of her and dip ped it into a small pool. It was blood! The cloth felt holy. Suddenly it seemed like a great treas ure. He hid it carefully upon his person and stole away. Evan marveled at how right Claudia had been. All Judea- was so excited about Jesus that no one paid attention to the slave who passed through the kingdom like a shadow. He followed the map carefully and arrived safe ly in Spain. He had no occasion to use the white solution which would make him seem to be a leper. No sea captain tried to press him into service. He traveled for hundreds of miles through many lands and crossed large bodies of water and in time found himself home in Britain. Evan found his mother still alive. The tribe was in sore straits for a capable leader. Evan was chosen chief. He mar ried and had children. The cloth which had been giv en him by Claudia and which he had dipped into the blood of Jesus was put carefully away. Evan had the impression that it had had something to do with his easy escape and the ease of his journey back to his home land. He often wondered what became of Jesus. According to legend there was an Evan, Cheif of Somerset, who met Joseph of Arimathea and a little band of disciples who land ed on the West coast of England to plant the Faith of Jesus Christ; that it was he who urg ed the King of England to al low the newcomers to settle in the vale of Avalon and preach to the people. It is said that the famous Glastonburry Ab bey had its beginning in the small chapel they built. termite! SWARMING? of Our Lord’s day. Just beyond it is the present village, which bears the Arabic name of El-Azarieh, which be gan as El-Lazarie, from the name of Lazarus, whom Our Lord raised from the dead. The tomb of Lazarus would have been outside the village of his day. Bethany is on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho. The mod ern Jericho, a pleasant town set among palm trees, is a short distance from the site of the old. The road from Je rusalem still goes through some forbidding, barren territory. For His story of the Good Samaritan and the man who “fell in with robbers,” Our Lord chose the road to Jericho as the location. One can still picture that road as a grim gauntlet for any lonely travel er to run. In some places more than the locality can be identified. One can touch the very flagstones and walls that were there in Our Lord’s lifetime. Massive stone blocks that were part of the walls around the pool * ‘having five porticeos . . .by the Sheepgate” in Jeru salem, masonry that met Our Lord’s eyes, can be seen today. About 40 miles north of Je rusalem, Jacob’s well is still beside the road. There Christ sat on the low parapet, “wearied from the journey,” and “there came a Samaritan woman to draw water.” There are still some 200 Samaritans, a dwind ling sect, in the nearby town of Nablus. The woman, puzzled by Our Lord’s words about “livingwa ter,” said: "The well is deep.” It still is—about 100 feet deep. I drank some of the cool, clear water from its depths. On the way through the coun tryside to Samaria and Jacob’s well, I thought I saw corn— maize—growing in a field. I asked what it was. “White corn,” the guide answered. White corn. . .The image that Our Lord used, speaking at Ja cob’s well of the vast number of souls to be won, was: “Lift up your eyes and behold that the fields are already white for the harvest.” Wide, reddish flagstones, furrowed and dented, from the floor of a crypt chapel under the convent of Our Lady of Sion in Jerusalem. These are part of the pavement of the Antonia Fortress built by Herod and garrisoned by Roman sold iers at the time of Our Lord’s Crucifixion. Scratched on the stones are crude drawings of the soldiers’ games, including the “Game of the King,” in which a condemned criminal was mocked. The tomb in which Our Lord’s body was laid was “in the place where He was crucified.” What remains of it, now much adorned but still in the propor tions of a burial chamber, is only about 30 paces from Cal vary. Both are within the som bre Basilica of the Holy Sepul chre, which is inside the present walled city. Outside Jerusalem one can still see the great round stones that were wheeled into place to cover the entrances to such tombs. No wonder Mary Magda lene and the other two women, going to the tomb on Easter morning, asked themselves: “Who will roll the stone back for us?” Places of primary impor tance and long-standing tradi tion in the Holy Land are easily distinguishable from secondary shrines, supported by compara tively late or vague evidence. The long-standing traditions are guides for archaeologists. Jerusalem and Palestine as a whole have indeed been fought over and ravaged again and again, but they have never been forgotten by either the followers or the foes of Christ. Inside the country or outside it, there could have been no collective amnesia regarding the places most closely connected with the life and death of Our Lord. Above the ground and in it the Holy Land offers confirmation of the Gospel record of the life of Christ. The stones cry out in testimony that the Divine Re deemer lived, taught, suffered, died and rose from the dead. ALBANY EASTER GREETINGS FROM / N y>C Garg ano s ITALIAN-AMERICAN RESTAURANT Specializing In ★ PIZZAS ★ SPAGHETTI East Oglethorpe Expressway Albany %/ Estate Of Samuel Farkas Established 1872 Cole Farm Implements General Line Of Farmers Hardware 112-114 Broad Ave. Albany HAPPY EASTER Parkway Pharmacy, Inc. Accurate, Dependable Prescription Service -FAST FREE DELIVERY— Phone HE. 2-7441 »’• I 326 N. Slappey Drive Albany A HAPPY EASTER TO YOU! E ostur—that’s where our word “Easter” comes from, meaning “Season of the Rising Sun.” This Feast of New Life, cele brated in pre-Christian times, to us 1 signifies the new life of the Risen Christ. But the villagers of REMAYLE in r’twa* t * 1C Maron ^ e diocese of TRIPOLIS, I ' V> Lebanon, don’t even have a church in ' which to celebrate Easter. 460 hard working farmers a few years ago be gan to build one, but have only been . able to raise the walls of ST. Sl- Y v MON’S. $2,000 will complete this The Holy Father’s Mission Aid building, which lacks roof, floor, in- r .l n . / ru l side plastering and furniture. Won’t for the Oriental Church you £, p , A ustrian country folk used to have a lovely custom. Any stranger plight enter their home on Easter Day, receive a royal welcome, partake of the Easter Feast. You can welcome a STRANGER to your table by sending a $10 jFOOD PACK AGE to a Palestine Refugee family, enough to help them a month. S olemn Blessing of special food was always observed in East ern Europe. Sometimes the festive dishes were piled on huge tables outside the church and blessed with great solemnity by the priests after the Easter Liturgy. By educating a seminarian or train ing a sister-to-be you can bring a great blessing to those in missionary lands. SEBASTIAN THAIL and IG NATIUS THALAKOTTOOR are two students for the priesthood in Manga lore, India. They need $100 a year for six years each ... Or perhaps you would like to pay the expenses of a novice, either SISTER MARIE AMINA or SISTER MARIE SARA of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate in IRAQ. $150 a year for two years is needed for each novice. he Lamb, symbol of Christ, is always connected with Easter. The Italians bake wonderful lamb-shaped cakes, white- frosted, las a table centerpiece. Christ, the Lamb of God, is of fered up daily by our T5.000 (missionary priests. Your MASS OFFERINGS are often .their only support. E ggs for Easter go back many years. The egg, symbol of life, also represents the tomb from which Christ rose. Slavic people make beautiful designs on them with wax and colored paints, masterpieces requiring hours of painstaking work. We will send a lovely EASTER GIFT CARD to someone in whose name you wish to make a gift. STRINGLESS GIFTS enable us to help where help is most needed. tbbits were believed by our ancestors to have unusual powers. They were supposed never to close itheifr eyes or pleep, day or night. Later the Easter Bunny be came the legendary producer of colored eggs for children. In some part of the 18 countries in the Near and Far East, it is always day and our priests, brothers and sisters are awake to serve the poor, the lepers, the orphans, old folks, and to administer the sacraments. You can participate in their work and graces by joining our associ ation: Single membership: $1 a year. Family membership: $5 a year. Single life membership: $20. Family life membership: $100. T R Dear Monsignor: Enclosed find for Name . Street Zone City State ‘Rear last OlissionsjMi FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, Pratidaa* y»pr. Jewpk T. Ryoa, Motl SnV Send alt cfwmiieariMM tax CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION A Qf\ I Atn Ct KLu/ Ynrt 17 N V. The Cloth Of Claudia