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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, June 8, 1963
Long Live The Pope!
Perhaps no Pope in the long history of
the church has been so universally loved
as John XXIII. For, his own great heart
and deep seated love for all men as chil
dren of God was manifested so often and in
so many ways that men of good will, what
ever their religious beliefs, could not help
but respond in kind.
And so it is that Catholics are not alone
in mourning the death of this great and
truly good man. For, while others of dif
fering religious beliefs did not acknowledge
the Pope to be the Vicar of Christ on earth,
the world certainly saw him as a true
shepherd of souls, seeking out the "other
sheep who are not of this fold" with the
longing of the Christ who prayed, ‘ ‘That
they all may be one, Father, as Thou in
Me and I in Thee, that they all may be
one in us."
They saw him following in the footsteps
of the Prince of Peace, exhorting all men
to make their peace with God, so that
neighbor could be at peace with neighbor
and nation with nation.
His convening of the Second Vatican Coun
cil to renew the Faith and revitalize the
life of the Church, and to rekindle the Hope
of a Christianity scandalized by its own dis
memberment—his great encyclical "Pacem
in Terris" reminding men and nations of
their duties to themselves, to God, and to
each other, that the world might not be
plunged into the unimaginable horrors of
nuclear war—these will be among the most
enduring monuments to his memory.
But the greatest will be the universal
and sincere affection in which he was held
by men everywhere, of all religions and of
none, while he lived, and the equally wide
spread and heartfelt sorrow which cast a pall
over the world at his death.
Countless prayers will ascend to the
throne of a Merciful God that Angelo Giu
seppe Roncalli who became Pope John XXIII,
"Servant of the servants of God" might en
ter "the land of refreshment, light and
peace."
But, though Christ has called His Vicar
out of this world, He remains with His Church
and the Holy Spirit still dwells in it to call
to our minds everything that He has command
ed. He will send us another shepherd.
May the beautiful soul of Angelo Giuseppe
Roncalli rest in peace.
The Pope is dead. Long live the Pope!!
Love For Enemies!
God’s World
(By Leo J. Trese)
It would be much easier to
love God if God did not demand
that we prove our love by the
love we show our neighbor.
Sometimes the obligation to love
our neighbor is the hardest
of all our
Christian du-
t i e s. The
reason is that
our neighbor
is not only
that nice per
son who is so
easy to get
along with.
Our neigh
bor includes
the nastiest, meanest persons
we may come up against.
Just listen to Jesus: "You
haye A heard. that it was said,.
‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor
and hate thy enemy.’ But I say
to you, love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, and
pray for those who persecute
and calumniate you, so that you
may be children of your Father
in heaven" (Matt. 5:43-45).
Our human nature—our
merely human nature—rebels
against this whole idea. If some
one has hurt us, everything
within us cries out for ven
geance. If we can find no way to
"get even," we nourish bitter
thoughts against the offender.
We imagine all kinds of evil
things happening to him—and
hope that some of them do. At
least, this is our first impulse.
Fortunately, God does not ask
us to love our enemies with a
natural love. Natural love is an
emotion aroused in us by peo
ple who attract us strongly. It
is almost impossible to have
this natural love for an
enemy, to feel an affection for
someone who has hurt us deep
ly.
God asks only for supernatur
al love, which does not depend
upon feeling at all. By super
natural love we rise above our
emotions and look at our ene
my through God’s eyes rather
than through our own. We see
this disagreeable person as a
soul whom God created out of
love, a soul whom God wants
with Himself in heaven, a soul
for whom Jesus died. If our
enemy is so precious to God,
we dare not set ourselves up in
opposition to God. We dare not
wish evil upon our adversary.
We dare not condemn him (or
her) to hell, not even in our
thoughts..
On the contrary, we labor
bravely to bring our resent
ment under control. The words
come hard, but we say with
sincerity, "Yes, God, I do for
give this person who has hurt
me so." Then we proceed to
pray for the person, that he
may receive the graces he needs
to change his ways and to be
come the kind of person God
wants him to be.
Prayer is the perfect anti
dote to hatred. If you can pray
for a person, you do not hate
him. You still may feel a strong
aversion to the person, but
your supernatural love is on a
higher plane than emotion, like
sunlight above the clouds.
You have forgiven your foe.
You are praying for him. Is
there anything further that Je
sus expects of you when He
says, "Love your enemies?"
Must you accept your adversary
into your circle of friends and
act as if nothing had happened?
Not necessarily. If you know
that this person will hurt you
again, given the chance, it is
the part of wisdom to avoid him
if you can. Moreover, you have
a right to seek redress for the
damage he has done. You may
sue him in court even while you
pray for him.
However, if the one who has
offended you offers an apology,
you must accept the apology.
You already have forgiven him
interiorly; you now forgive him
exteriorly also. You will treat
him civilly, be willing to speak
if you pass him on the street
or meet him at a social gather
ing. Indeed, it is the perfection
of charity to meet your enemy
more than halfway, to make the
first move towards reconcilia
tion. A simple "hello" when you
meet him will make it plain
that you harbor no grudge. If
he refuses to answer or ans
wers in unfriendly fashion, you
have done your duty. There is
no need to speak again unless
and until he takes the initia
tive.
Forgiveness, prayer, recon
ciliation. For one who has been
deeply hurt, none of this is ea
sy. That is why love for our
enemies is such infallible proof
of our love for God.
(Father Trese welcomes let
ters from his readers. The in
creasing volume of letters pro
hibits personal answers but
problems and ideas contained
in such correspondence can be
the basis for future columns.
Address all letters to Father
Leo J. Trese, care of this
newspaper).
Pope John XXIII
Promoted St. Joseph Devotion
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
Pope John XXIII throughout
his pontificate fostered devo
tion to his patron saint—St.
Joseph, the foster father of
Christ.
At papal audiences, in solemn
documents, and in radio mes
sages to the world on the Saint’s
two yearly feast days, Pope John
hailed Joseph, the carpenter,
as the model of the Catholic
father and patron of the Univer
sal Church.
The Saint's name was given
to him in baptism—Angelo Giu
seppe Roncalli, a younger bro
ther also was named Giuseppe.
Early in his pontificate, he
lauded the example of St. Jo
seph to the workers of the
world. In a radio message ob
serving the Feast of St. Joseph
the Worker on May 1, 1960,
he warned the workers to avoid
the lures of communist ideology
and urged those in power to
help promote better living and
working conditions. Recalling
that St. Joseph, a tradesman
all his life, was the working
man’s saint, he said:
"In proposing the example of
St. Joseph to all men who find
their condition of life in the
world of labor, the Church in
tends to remind them to consid
er their great dignity and invites
them to make their activity a
powerful means of personal
perfection and of eternal
merit. Oh, what greatness does
the silent and hidden figure of
St. Joseph acquire through the
spirit with which he carried out
the mission entrusted to him by
God!"
On the Feast of St. Joseph,
March 19, 1961, a year and a
half before the opening of the
Second Vatican Council, Pope
John announced that he would
proclaim St. Joseph the coun
cil’s patron. He recalled at
this time the labors of his
predecessors, from Pope Pius
IX onward, in spreading devo
tion to St. Joseph.
He noted also that St. Joseph
is always invoked to help the
Church in its projects and con
cerns. Again in an audience the
pope declared that all should
imitate the humble life of St.
Joseph.
In an apostolic letter he ur
ged a rekindling of devotion to
St. Joseph as patron of the
Universal Church and said he
intended to have the altar to
St. Joseph in St. Peter’s basi
lica renovated so that it would
"acquire a new, greater and
more solemn splendor and that
it shall become a point of attrac
tion and of religious piety for
countless crowds,"
This project was completed
by May 1, 1962.
On March 19, 1962, the Feast
of St. Joseph, the pope’s name
day, Pope John sent candles to
all the Catholic churches ir.
Rome to burn for the inter
cession of his patron saint for
success of the Vatican council.
The day is a holy day of obli
gation in Italy and most of
Europe.
In response to a petition of
many Catholics throughout the
United States and the world,
Pope John issued a motu pro-
prio in which it was decreed
that as of December 8, 1962
the name of St. Joseph shall be
inserted in the Canon of the
Mass, to be placed in the Com-
municantes, the third prayer
in the Canon of the Mass, im
mediately after the Blessed Mo
ther’s name and precede those
of the Apostles and a dozen
early martyrs. This he hoped
would give "great impetus" to
devotion to St. Joseph and the
Holy Family.
Further efforts by Pope John
to give "a new, greater and
more solemn splendor" to the
altar of St. Joseph in St.
Peter’s were indicated by an
nouncement in late January,
1963, of the near-completion of
a huge mosaic of St. Joseph to
be placed behind the altar.
The 10 by 6 1/2-foot mosaic,
the work of master artisans of
the Vatican mosaic studio, is
the first permanent image of
the Saint for the basilica.
It is said that when Pope John
received in audience a group of
130 American Jewish leaders in
October, 1960 he greeted them
with the words: "I am Joseph,
your brother." The Pope was
obviously referring to a quota
tion in the Old Testament story
of Joseph of Egypt.
The Pope Of Love
To Jews Pope John Was
4 Joseph, Your Brother 9
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
Both before and during his
pontificate, Pope John XXIII
played an inspiring role in the
Church’s efforts to curb anti-
Semitism. He was praised by
Jewish leaders on many occa
sions for his efforts in their
behalf.
During the tragic days of
World War II, for example,
Archbishop Angelo Roncalli,
while serving as Apostolic De
legate to Greece and Turkey,
acted to prevent the sacrifice
of innocent victims of war and
persecution. From his post in
Istanbul he intervened to divert
a shipload of Jewish children
from what would have been a
tragic destination.
Immediately following his
election as Pope, Cardinal Ron
calli received congratulations
from Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog
of Israel who remembered the
diplomat’s assistance to Jewish
rescue missions. To Arch
shop Roncalli, thousands of
Jews owed their opportunity to
escape persecution and to find
refuge in Palestine and else
where.
It is related that he was in
strumental in saving many Jews
who were persecuted bySlovak,
Bulgarian and Hungarian nazis.
These incidents were recall
ed in October, 1960, when Pope
John received a delegation of
130 U.S. members of the United
Jewish Appeal and the Jewish
study mission, led by Rabbi
Herbert Friedman.
"I am Joseph, your brother,"
he greeted them. The quotation,
given in the context of the Old
Testament story of Joseph of
Egypt, had a double meaning.
The Pope, baptized Angelo Giu
seppe, counts St. Joseph as his
patron.
It was no surpirse when Is
rael’s Ambassador in Rome,
Eliahu Sassoon, attended fun
eral rites for Pope Pius XII
and the coronation ceremonies
of Pope John XXIII. President
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, of Israel was
among the heads of state to
whom papal letters of accession
were dispatched by the new
pontiff. It is said to be the first
time in modern history that the
Vicar of Christ wrote to a suc
cessor of King David. Written in
Latin, the letter was answered
in Biblical Hebrew.
During his pontificate Pope
John displayed "a sympathetic
attitude towards Israel and all
that is being done there," re
ported Melkite-Rite Bishop
George Hakim of Acre spiritual
head of the 20,000 Eastern-Rite
Catholics there.
When Pope John in 1959, or
dered the words "unbelieving"
and “perfidious” in reference
to Jews and Moslems deleted
from the liturgy of Good Friday,
he received letters of praise
from such Jewish organizations
as The American Jewish Com
mittee, the Jewish War Vet
erans of the U.S., and the Anti-
Defamation League of B’nai
B’rith.
Pope John Issued
Eight Encyclicals
It Seems to Me
Pope John XXIII incarnated
love. He made people feel the
warmth of the love of God in
Christ for them. Two titles of
the successors of St. Peter
would have had to be invented
for him had
they not al
ready long
existed: Vicar
of Christ, and
Servant of the
Servants of
God. And the
servants of
God whom he
loved and served were all the
world’s men and women of good
will, whether they served God as
Catholics, or "other Chris
tians," or Jews, or Buddhists,
of whatever, according to their
consciences. He restored to the
word "Catholic" the fullness of
its meaning of universal.
In John, the papacy which had
been ‘ ‘the prisoner of the Vat
ican” went out to all humanity,
crying to Christians that they
are members of Christ, to Jews,
"I am Joseph, your brother,”
and to mankind, ' ‘We are one
family." By the power of his
love, Pope John made himself
God’s instrument in what must
be recognized as a miracle of
divine grace. In afewyears,the
climate of the world was trans
formed. Pope John’s smile, the
smile of a happy and innocent
child despite his venerable
years, was like sunlight dis
solving the dark clouds of cen
turies of misunderstanding and
of two world wars. The dread
fully hurt human race felt it
self suddenly healed.
So all-embracing was John’s
love that even communists felt
it. It created the conditions in
JOSEPH BREIG
which we may hope that at last
we are seeing the visible begin
ning of the fulfillment of the
prophecy of the Virgin at Fa
tima in 1917, that Russia will
be converted , and an era of
peace be given to mankind.
Communisits, like the rest of
us, can be changed in their
deepest beings by a love like
John XXIII’s. By his example,
he taught us how to love—and
not least, how to love our sworn
enemies; indeed how to love
them, with God’s help, into be
coming our friends and bro
thers.
The ecumenical council which
was the chief vehicle, aside
from his own beautiful person
ality, of John XXIII’s love,
almost certainly will be re
convened by the next pope, and
will continue his work of re
newing the Chruch so that the
attractiveness of the Faith will
be seen by all. When Angelo
Joseph Roncalli was elected
Servant of the Servants of God,
the Church was like a battered
warrior, hardened and on guard
after centuries of defending the
ramparts from ferocious as
saults. When he departed from
us for the good place which
he trusted that the Lord was
reserving for him, the armor
and sword had been cast aside,
and the Church came forward
beaming, arms opened to em
brace all humanity.
What John accomplished is
irreversible. Even if the
ecumenical council were not
resummoned—which God for
bid—the Church would still
wear the wonderful smile of this
wonderful pope; would still be
filled with the childlike love he
instilled in it.
We have not entered the mil-
lenium; possibly we shall never
enter the millenium. There will
be strife in future as in the
past; there will be greed and
selfishness and hatred. But the
haters will no longer be in the
ascendancy, as for so long
they were, setting men and
nations against one another.
John XXIII has left the world
a legacy of love that will en
dure long after you and I have
joined him wherever he is with
God; it is his will and testament,
and no mere man has ever be
queathed greater wealth.
The secret of John XXIII
was an unassuming, unhurried
humble, wholehearted commit
ment to God. Seeing this man,
loving him and being loved by
him, we see clearly that we can
all be saints. The terrible
sacrifices of a St. Francis or
a St. Anthony are too much for
us. But with John XXIII we can
quietly live each moment for
God, leaving it to God to lead
us where He will, as John wait
ed, never dreaming that
he would be raised to the high
est human office, there to work
marvels for God and fellow-
men.
John XXIII, in a sense, wrote
his autobiography when he an
nounced his "work indul-
gencies," by which each of us
can gain a plenary indulgence
once a day, and countless par
tial indulgences, merely by re
peatedly offering to God, in
prayerful thought or word, the
duty we are doing at the mo
ment.
It was by living each mo
ment in God that Angelo Joseph
John became one of the great
men of all time.
An Anniversary
By BARBARA C. JENCKS
When I am dead
Cry for me a little,
Think of me sometimes,
But not too much,
It is not good for you . . .
Think of me now and again
As I was in life
At some moment which it is
pleasant to recall
But not for long . . .
While you live,
Let your thoughts be with the
living.
Theodora Kroeber
* * *
TIME IS a brave asset to all
griefs, so they say. Yet I wonder
as I wander if it really is and
if it should be. The two years
since my mother’s death are
like two weeks and then again
they are sometimes like two
hundred years. Death is a fact
that is ever present, it is
awakening to sudden pain after
a dream of reunion. Or, it is
the need which crowds in after
a tiresome day when the heart
cries for that someone to share
the little and big things and for
a light in the window and a
warmth that only a mother can
bring to a home. Psychiatrists,
of course, have proverbial field
days with cases like mine, those
who admit openly they miss
their mothers and seem never to
be able to forget or replace and
always somehow to remember.
If this be folly, I am guilty with
no sense of shame. There are
always days such as this when
an anniversary requiem is of
fered; there are the holidays,
the birthdays, and theeverydays
of coming into an empty house—
songs, poems, a name in the
paper, an association will sud
denly bring me up short to the
fact anew that death is and has
been. It is not always sad. The
memories many times are hap
py as I am filled with gratitide
that God in His mercy gave me
such a mother. God makes no
mistakes and if the death seem
ed untimely to mortal eyes—"
"All that I took, I took naught
for thy harms but that you
might find them in My arms."
* * *
AND SO another year of sep
aration by death has passed and
another year toward an unend-
(Continued On Page 7)
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
One of the most significant
papal pronouncements of mod
ern times —Mater et Magistra
—dealing with Christian social
principles and their contempor
ary application, heads the list
of seven encyclicals issued by
Pope John XXIII.
Ail important documents,
they have dealt with a variety
of subjects—Christian unity and
the foundations of peace; the
centenary of the death of St.
John Vianney, the cure of Ars,
model for priests; the recitation
of the Rosary for the critical
needs of the Church; the mis
sions and their need for native
priests; the 15th centenary
of the death of Pope St. Leo
the Great; the practice of pen
ance; and on the social teach
ings of the Church.
The greatest of these, Mater
et Magistra (Mother and Teach
er) was greeted with high praise
by labor, civic and religious
leaders throughout the world.
Dated May 15, 1961, the 20,000-
word document was not releas
ed until July 14 of that year
because Pope John wanted all
the Catholic bishops and other
Christians throughout the world
to have the official text in La
tin and in various other languag
es at the same time.
In it the Pope reviewed Chris
tian principles regarding the
social-economic order as con
tained in the writings of his
predecessors, Leo XIII, Pius
XI and Pius XII. He developed
and applied their teaching to
present day problems. He
stressed especially the needs of
the underdeveloped nations, the
agricultural economy, popu
lation problems, the rights and
duties of the individual and call
ed for reconstruction of the so
cial relationships through the
application of Christian prin
ciples and apostolic action by
lay persons.
In 1959, Pope John issued
four encyclical letters within
five months.
His first, on June 29, was
entitled: Ad Petri Cathedram
(Near the Chair of Peter). This
12,000-word document was a di
rect appeal to the separated
Christians to reunite with the
Catholic Church. It also sound
ed a warning of the universal
devastation that would result
from nuclear war.
Pope John's second encycli
cal, dated August 1, 1959 and
containing 9,000 words, was
entitled — Sacerdotii Nostri
Primordia—(From the Begin
ning of Our Priesthood). It com
memorated the centenary of the
death of St. John Vianney, the
cure of Ars and patron of par
ish priests. In three parts, it
dealt with priestly aspirations,
the priest’s need of prayer and*r
pastoral zeal.
On September 26, 1959, John
XXIII, in a 1,400-word encycli
cal urged the faithful to recite
the Rosary during the month of
October for five special inten
tions. Titled Grata Recordatio
(grateful Memory), it appealed
for prayers for the guidance
of the Pontiff, for missionar
ies and apostolic works, for
peace and concord among na
tions, for the success of the
Roman Synod and for success
of the ecumenical council.
A month later, November 28,4
1959, Pope John issued his en
cyclical Princeps Pastorum
(The Prince of Shepherds) to
commemorate the 40th anniver
sary of Pope Benedict XV’s
apostolic letter on the missions,
(Maximum Illud). The 9,000-
word document stressed the
need for recruiting and training
native priests and lay persons
for the spread of the Faith in
mission lands.
Pope John issued another ap
peal for Christian unity in his
encyclical: Aeterna DeiSapien-
tia. (The Eternal Wisdom of
God), on November 11, 1961. ■
Written to commemorate the
15th centenary of the death of
Pope St. Leo the Great, it paid I
tribute to a pope who directed
one of the earlier general coun
cils of the Church (Council of
Chalcedon, 451). Though the
7,000-word letter invites all
separated Christian bodies back
to unity, it is directed chiefly
to the schismatic Christian
churches of the East.
His seventh encyclical, dated
July 1,1962, was entitled: Paen-
itentiam Agere (ToDoPenance)
and contained 3,500 words. In
it he urged the world's Catholics
to practice penance inprepara- ^
tion for the ecumenical coun
cil, which opened in Rome on
October 11, 1962. And he call
ed upon the world’s bishops to
(Continued On Page 6)
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH. GA.
Vol. 43 Saturday, June 8, 1963 No. 38
Published weekly except the last week in July and the
last week in December by The Southern Cross, Inc.
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Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D.J.C.D., President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor
John Markwalter, Managing Editor
Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick,
Associate Editors