Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 3 — January 1, 1970
Recent News In Review
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‘BRETHREN, pray that my sacrifice and yours may he acceptable to God the
Father Almighty.”
Convoking The
People Of God
The Word Of
The Lord
Making U.S. Church
history, bishops of the five
Sees in Michigan agreed on a
due process arbitration-
conciliation procedure
opened to the more than 2.3
millions priest, Religious and
laity in the state. The bishops
agreed to promulgate the
system in each See before
Dec. 30 It marked the first
time such a procedure was
made available to the
population of a diocese.
***
At Holy Cross College,
Worcester, Mass., Father
Raymond Swords, S.J.,
president, granted amnesty to
16 students suspended for
participating in
demonstrations when officials
of General Electric Co.
appeared on the campus. The
move quieted an
acknowledged crisis at the
NOORDWIJERHOUT,
The Netherlands
(NC)--Permission for Dutch
priests to serve the Church as
married men is among the
recommendations that will be
placed before the Dutch
National Pastoral Council
when it convenes here for
four days on Jan. 4.
The celibacy issue is seen
as one of the major elements
on the agenda, which has two
core issues, the future of
priests, nuns and Brothers in
this country, and ways of
updating the functions of
priests. The committees that
have been at work on these
two issues have included
Protestant theologians.
A draft resolution to be
offered to the council urges
the Dutch Bishops to adopt
“a positive policy aimed at
abolition of the celibacy
law,” under which candidates
for the priesthood are not
required to renounce the
opportunity to marry, and
men already married are
permitted to become priests.
Another draft resolution
urges that women be allowed
to exercise all Church duties
in which their presence does
not create problems, looking
forward even to the
possibility of women offering
Mass.
Still another resolution
suggests that the Eucharistic
service might be led by a
non-ordained person. These
resolutions are said to have
the support of the Dutch
National Priests’ Council.
The 1970 meetings form
the third and last session of
the Dutch National Pastoral
Council. Previous sessions
were held in 1968 and 1969,
each session consisting of two
plenary meetings. The fifth
meeting in January will be
followed by a sxth and last
meeting in April. The pastoral
council may continue in some
permanent from, but no
decision has been taken on
that issue as yet.
The council will have 108
voting members, including
eight bishops, ten
representatives from each of
seven dioceses, ten delegates
from religious orders, five
members of the central
committee of the Pastoral
Council and 15 persons
nominated by the Dutch
hierarchy. There will be 11
non-voting observers from
other churches. Only two
members are over 60; the
oldest is Bernard Cardinal
Alfrink of Utrecht, 69 the
chairman. The average age of
the delegates is 43.
In the Netherlands several
declarations have been issued
by the parish priest in the last
few weeks on the issue of
optional celibacy.
These priests declared
from the pulpit that every
priest must be free to choose
a married or an unmarried life
and that it must be possible
for a priest who marries to
continue completely in his
priestly office. Some of them
asked and obtained the
support of priests in the cities
of Amsterdam, Beverwijk,
Eindhoven, Laren, Bussum
and Baam.
college.
At the University of Notre
Dame, expulsion of five
students was lifted, along
with the suspension of five
others. The students took
part in demonstrations when
Dow Chemical Co. recruiters
visited the university in
November. University
officials announced the
students would lose the first
semester academic standings.
***
The NC News Service, in
collaboration with Catholic
newspapers, launched a
nationwide quest for good
news-type stories hearlding
the 1970s. A deadline of Jan.
15 was fixed for the entries
and a $100 prize offered for
the best story.
***
In an appeal made at a
general audience at the
Vatican, Pope Paul VI called
upon Christians to see
through the worldly
gaudiness to the true faith
meaning of “Christ made
flesh” Christmas.
Richard Cardinal Cushing
urged all pastors in the
Boston archdiocese to adopt
a new procedure by Jan. 1 of
publishing the banns in
Catholic churches of parties
about to enter into mixed
marriages. The cardinal
recommended that the
pastors use their discretion in
announcing such banns.
The Priests’ Senate of the
St. Petersburg, Fla., diocese
adopted a resolution
opposing the conferring of
the title of monsignor on
priests on the ground that it
was not in keeping with the
new spirit of reform in the
Church.
***
Debunking the myth of
MEMPHIS (NC)- Racially
embittered Memphis entered
the new year with new hopes
for peace as the result of a
plan designed by Bishop
Joseph A. Durick of Nashville
to end the three-month old
strike at St. Joseph Hospital.
During the Christmas
holidays a wide range of
Memphis leaders in both the
white and black communities
voiced strong support for the
bishop’s proposals to end the
strike, which has had bitter
racial overtones. Bishop
Durick’s emergence as the
chief architect of racial peace
in Memphis was
unprecedented in this
predominantly Protestant
community.
“God’s people must pause
from time to time in their
redemptive labors for rest.”
Bishop Durick said in his
appeal to the city.
He proposes that all
striking workers return to
work; that the hospital accept
all of them without reprisal;
that black leaders call off all
boycotts, demonstrations and
marches being conducted in
support of the strike, and
that both sides acdept
mediation to settle the
unresolved issues in the
dispute.
After making the appeal,
Bishop Durick made a
personal pilgramage to the
several warring leaders in the
dispute. He said he did this to
symbolize the kind of effort
that is needed for
reconciliation in Memphis.
First the bishop went to
St. Joseph Hospital, which is
operated by the Franciscan
Sisters. There he exchanged
Christmas greetings with
hospital administrator Sister
M. Rita, the spearhead in the
fight against the union (the
American Federation of
State, County and Municipal
Employes, AFL-CIO).
Then the bishop carried
similar greetings to Jessie
Epps, the black leader of the
AFSCME in Memphis.
At the Shelby County jail
Bishop Durick paid his
religious institutions tax
exemption status, the Los
Angeles archdiocese issued a
report which disclosed that in
the past year it had paid out
$1,657,697 in taxes and
assessments on its properties
in its four-county area.
***
Terence Cardinal Cooke of
New York, military vicar of
the U.S. armed forces,
reached Saigon for a six-day
stay in Vietnam during his
round-the world Christmas
visiting to U.S. military bases
overseas.
***
Pope Paul, delivering his
Christmas message before
100,000 persons in St. Peter’s
square, responding to those
who would make Christmas a
celebration of man’s
independence from God,
warned that a Christless
humanism cannot be a true
humanism. He advocated an
indefinite extension of the
Christmas truce in Vietnam
so that peace could be
brought about, but as he
spoke there were reports of
renewed fighting in the area.
***
Bishop Joseph B. Brunini
of Natchez-Jackson called for
a statewide effort of
Christians and Jews under
their religious leaders to
abolish the racial injustices
which have persisted in
Mississippi since the days of
slavery.
***
Baltimore’s Lawrence
Cardianl Shehan in a
Christmas pastoral suggested
to Catholics a two-fold
program for curbing the
turbulence in the world and
the Church-a reaffirmation
of faith and confidence in
Christ, and a renewal of
loyalty to the Pope.
second visit in a week to five
clergymen who had refused
to post $1 bonds and had
been conducting an Advent
fast inside the jail. The
clergymen were indicted,
along with 14 other persons,
for urging black children to
boycott school in support of
demands being made by the
black community.
The clergymen included
the Rev. Ralph David
Abernathy, head of the
Southern Christian
Leadership Conference;
Father Milton Guthrie, one of
Bishop Durick’s own diocesan
priests; the Rev. James M.
Lawson Jr.; the Rev. Malcolm
Blackburn and the Rev.
Ezekiel Bell.
The day after Christmas
the clergymen posted bond,
emerged from their cells and
announced they supported
Bishop Durick’s proposals for
ending the strike. The striking
workers subsequently voted
to return to their jobs.
Hospital officials had
issued a statement earlier
saying they would accept all
workers back without
reprisals with the possible
exception of those whose
jobs had already been filled.
Those workers, the hospital
said, would have to wait until
jobs opened up.
The Memphis Commercial
Appeal, morning newspaper,
had given strong editorial
backing to the bishop’s
proposal saying: “Tbe appeal
by the head of the Roman
Catholic Nashville diocese is
indeed in keeping with the
spirit of the season.”
The influential paper said
Bishop Durick and other
church leaders “have been
trying to bring about a new
awareness of the need for
social justice in Memphis.”
The strike at St. Joseph
Hospital began Oct. 5 when
over 200 workers walked off
their jobs to support demands
that the hospital recognize
the union as bargaining agent
for employes in nursing
service, dietary and laundry
departments. Most of the
union members are black and
«
(This is the fourth in a
series of articles on the new
Order of the Mass.)
By Rev. Vincent J. Giese
(NC News Service)
“Let us Pray.” With three
simple words, the priest at
Mass calls the People of God
to worship.
The call comes early in the
Mass, at the end of the
Entrance rite and
immediately after a silent
pause for recollection, but
not until the assembly has
been disposed for prayer.
Everything that has gone
before-the entrance song,
accompanied by a procession,
the sign of the Cross, the
announcement of the theme
of the Mass, the communal
act of penance, and the Glory
to God--has been in
preparation for the moment
when the priest convokes the
Christian community for
prayer.
“Let us Pray” tells us that
we are about to experience
what it means to be Church,
which is another way of
defining the Mass.
The people are now ready
to celebrate the liturgy of the
Word and the liturgy of the
Eucharist. They are ready to
enter relationships with
Christ with the world, and
with one another.
Culminating in the call to
prayer, the entire Entrance
rite has served to create an
atmosphere for worship,
announce a theme, give a
coloration and set a tone for
the Mass, which always must
be the expression and
formation of the spirituality
of the assembled community.
Every liturgy has its
preparatory rituals-from a
family reunion, to a New
Year’s Day football game, to
the liturgy of the Christian
Church.
The ritual may be a family
project of decorating the
Christmas tree or a parade of
roses through Pasadena
before the game. For
Christians preparing to
celebrate Mass, it is the
Entrance rite that sets the
scene.
Mass begins the very
moment that the priest walks
in. He is THE representative
of the community, the
spokesman who articulates
the sentiments, hopes, desires
and dispositions of the
assembly. He calls the people
of God to order.
The opening song selected
to unify the people around a
common action and common
idea, can either be the Introit
the strike received stong
backing from the black
community at large.
Bishop Durick, who has no
direct control over the
hospital, called on five
different occasions for
mediation of the dispute. The
bishop continued to remind
all concerned that since the
time of Pope Leo XIII the
right of union representation
has been part of Catholic
social teaching.
antiphon and psalm, a
seasonal alternate from the
simple Gradual, or an
approved hymn, appropriate
to the day. The Introit may
be recited by all or
alternately with the lector.
Music, however, has a special
power to create unity.
After kissing the altar, the
priest goes to the presidential
chair, where he makes a sign
of the Cross with the people
as the sign that all are
gathered in the name of the
Trinity.
Then he greets his people.
He welcomes them to the
celebration with the usual,
“The Lord be with you,” or,
with one of two longer
salutations, taken from the
Epistles: “May the grace of
Our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with all of you,” or, “The
grace and peace of God Our
Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ be with you.”
Either the priest or the
commentator introduces the
theme of the Mass of the day.
A communal penitential act
follows, as the people prepare
themselves for the Eucharist
by acknowledging their
WORCESTER, Mass. (NC)
— The Orthodox-Catholic
Consultation, co-sponsored
by the ecum enical
commission of the Standing
Conference of Canonical
Orthodox Bishops in America
and the U. S. Bishops’
Committee for Ecumenical
and Interreligious Affairs, has
announced here a consensus
on the Eucharist.
The Consultation, in a
joint statement issued (Dec.
13) affirmed “fundamental
agreement” on the following
six points:
--1. “The Holy Eucharist is
the memorial of the history
of salvation, especially the
life, death, resurrection and
glorification of Jesus Christ.
--2. “In this eucharistic
meal, according to the
promise of Christ, the Father
sends the Spirit to consecrate
the elements to be the Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ and
to sanctify the faithful.
-3. “The eucharistic
sacrifice involves the active
presence of Christ, the High
Priest, acting through the
Christian community,
drawing it into His saving
worship. Through celebration
of the Eucharist, the
redemptive blessings are
bestowed on the living and
the dead for whom
intercession is made.
-4. “Through he eating of
the eucharistic Body and the
drinking of the eucharistic
shortcomings with sorrow
and an appeal for forgiveness.
The priest invites the
people to repent their sins:
“Brothers, let us acknowledge
our sins, so that we may be
fit to celebrate the sacred
mysteries.” One of three
alternative forms of the act of
penance follows.
“The Lord have mercy,”
now said three times (not
nine) with response, closes
the penitential rite. It is not
repeated if already included
in the penitential act itself.
The Glory hymn, when
prescribed, occupies its
customary place but now
becomes a resume of all that
has gone before. It further
emphasizes that the people
are gathered in the presence
of Jesus Christ, the Lord,
who is exalted “with the
Holy Spirit in the glory of
God the Father.”
Finally, the Entrance rite
comes to a close with a
prayer offered in the name of
all by the celebrant who has
been designated to preside
over the assembly. His
congregation is sufficiently
unified now that he can speak
in their name with one voice.
Blood, the faithful who,
through Baptism, become
adopted sons of the Father,
are nourished as the One
Body of Christ and built up
as Temples of the Holy Spirit.
--5. “Through the
Eucharist the believer is
transformed into the glory of
the Lord and in this the
transfiguration of the whole
cosmos is anticipated.
Therefore, the faithful have
the mission to witness to this
transforming activity of the
Spirit.
-6. “In the eucharistic
celebration we not only
commend ourselves and each
other and all our lives unto
Christ, but at the same time
accept the mandate of service
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to mediate salvation to the
world.”
The consensus, which is
the first formal joint
statement fully approved by
the Orthodox-Catholic
Consultation, follows four
years of dialogue on the
Eucharist, church
membership and other issues
separating the two churches,
whose historical split goes
back to the 11th century.
Bishop Bernard J.
Flanagan of Worcester and
Archbishop Iakovos, primate
of the Greek Orthodox
archdiocese of North and
South America are
c o - c hairmen of the
Orthodox-Catholic
Consultation.
(Fifth in a series on the
New Order of the Mass)
By Father Vincent J. Giese
(NC News Service)
“This is the Word of the
Lord.”
In every Eucharistic
Liturgy, the people of God
are to be formed by the Word
of God and nourished by the
Body of the Lord. Before
approaching the table of the
Eucharist, they are fed at the
table of the Word.
The principal parts of the
Liturgy of the Word are the
lessons taken from Sacred
Scripture and the chants
which occur between them.
The homily, the Creed and
the Universal Prayer complete
the Liturgy of the Word.
In the scripture lessons,
which are explained and
made relevant by the
homilist, God speaks to His
people, opens up the
mysteries of their redemption
and salvation, and offers
spiritual nourishment.
Christ becomes present to
the Christian assembly in the
words of scripture, not
through the power of the
language, but through the
Word of God itself, which has
its own power as God’s Word.
In the proclamation of His
Word at Mass, God takes the
initiative. He invites a
response. His assembly does,
in the responsorial psalm
after the first reading, again
in the formalized assent of
the Creed and finally in a
free-style response in the
Prayer of the Faithful.
A more sustained response
to the Word of the Lord, of
course, is the entire Liturgy
of the Eucharist.
All the scriptural readings
and the chants which occur
between them are indicated
in the new Ordo Lectionum
Missae, which was
promulgated for the whole
Church on May 25, 1969.
After a lengthy
introduction, the Ordo lists
the readings and chants under
six headings:
--Proper of the season (for
Sundays and major feasts);
-Proper of the Saints,
arranged according to the
new calendar;
--Common of the
dedication of the church and
for the saints;
-Ritual Masses (such as
masses for the catechumen-
ate, baptism, confirmation,
orders, weddings, for the
dead, etc.;
--Masses for various
intentions, for example,
peace and justice,
thanksgiving, in time of need.
-Votive Masses (Trinity,
Holy Cross, Eucharist, etc.)
In all, the Ordo Lectionum
Missae contains a listing of
some 1,800 scriptural
readings, under book and
verse indications, but without
full texts.
Since many have not
“searched the scriptures”
beyond what they have heard
at Sunday Mass, the new
Ordo offers a richer diet of
scriptural readings. Each
passage will not come up
once a year but once every
third year.
A three-year cycle of
readings, for Sunday, which
in general reflects the
established themes of the
liturgical year, and a two-year
cycle for weekdays, have
been introduced, but with a
clearer coordination between
the Old and New Testaments.
While little if any
deviation from the Sunday
cycle is allowed, the weekday
cycle permits many options
for Masses for special
occasions, so long as the
readings are taken from
approved lectionaries. The
new liturgical calendar makes
possible more options and
more Votive Masses. Freedom
is extended to home Masses
to choose appropriate
readings from approved
lectionaries.
The most noticeable
change in the Liturgy of the
Word is the addition of a
third reading on Sundays and
major feasts, going back to a
most venerable tradition in
the Church. Although the
readings from the New
Testament are continuous,
those from the Old
Testament are matched in
theme with the New
Testament selections.
The first (Old Testament)
reading is followed by a
responsorial psalm (or
Gradual), and various options
in choice of text and style are
given. It can be chanted or
sung by the leader of song.
The second (New
Testament) Epistle, from the
Apocalypse (or the Acts of
the Apostoles,) is followed by
a brief period of silent
reflection. Then, a sung
Alleluia of praise to the Word
(Christ) coming into the
midst of the assembly in a
special way in the Gospel
usually precedes the third of
Gospel reading. If not sung,
the Alleluia may be omitted.
In addition to the new
formulas for concluding the
readings, said by the lector or
the priest, the “Thanks be to
God” or “Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ” is now said by
the people-no longer just by
the server.
(Next week, The Liturgy
of the Eucharist, with special
emphasis on the new
Offertory rite, the eucharistic
prayers, and the Communion
rite).
THE HOMILY is a brief and simple exposition of the Word of
God, relating the liturgy to the everday problems and situations
of the People of God. (NC Photo)
Dutch
Meet
Again
MEMPHIS STRIKE
Bishop Durick
Is Peacemaker
CA THOLIC- OR THODOX
Statement
On Eucharist
V
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