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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, March 9,1972
EUGENE G. BUTLER CLASS. Shown here are 56 members of the Knights of Columbus who were elevated to the Fourth Degree
of the fraternal order at rites in Savannah. The class was named in honor of Knight Eugene G. Butler, who died January 9,1972.
The candidates came from Albany, Augusta, Brunswick, Columbus, Macon, Warner Robins and Savannah. Kneeling at the far left of
the front row is Daniel J. Keane, Master of Georgia. Standing at far right in second row is Wm. K. Johnson of Charleston, S.C., Vice
Supreme Master of the fourth degree. Immediately behind him is Bernard J. Mulherin, State Deputy of Georgia.
ON MARCH 17
Interfaith Group Asks
Prayers For Ireland
WASHINGTON (NC) - Interfaith
leaders have asked America’s Christians
and Jews to pray for peace and justice in
Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day.
They warned that the situation there -
Catholic-Protestant conflict in strife-torn
Northern Ireland has taken more than
250 lives - “seems dangerously close to
civil war.”
“Many factors have brought the people
to this brink,” they said, “and we do not
pretend to know the answers, even the
essential questions. But we do know that
our religious motives compel us to speak
out in sorrow, and to offer to do what
little we can, as outsiders, to help
' alleviate the sufferings of all the people of
that land.”
The call for prayers was made March 3
by the Interreligious Committee of
General Secretaries, which comprises the
executive officers of three religious
agencies who meet regularly to discuss
matters of mutual concern. They are Dr.
R.H. Edwin Espy, general secretary of the
National Council of Churches; Bishop
Joseph L. Bernardin, general secretary of
the United States Catholic Conference,
and Rabbi Henry Siegman, executive vice
president, Synagogus Council of America.
The committee released the following
statement:
As the Interreligious Committee
composed of the general secretaries of the
United States Catholic Conference, the
Synagogue Council of America and the
National Council of Churches, we issue
this call:
In our concern for areas of crisis all
over the world, we may forget one island
where misunderstanding and prejudice
seem ingrained into much of the social
structure: Ireland. The situation there, in
south and north, seems dangerously close
to civil war.
Many factors have brought the people
to this brink, and we do not pretend to
know the answers, even the essential
questions. But we do know that our
religious motives compel us to speak out
in sorrow, and to offer to do what little
we can, as outsiders, to help alleviate the
sufferings of all the people of that land.
As one step in family-concern, we ask
Jews and Christians in the United States
to become more sensitive to the present
danger inherent in the Irish situation. All
“sides” need to be heard; no one account
or attitude can possibly be adequate in
representing the difficulty of the
political, social and cultural segregation
involved.
We ask that March 17, St. Patrick’s
Day, be “celebrated” by Catholics this
year in a new way as well as in the usual
style. We ask that it be a day of prayer
and penance for justice and peace in all
Ireland - justice and peace for
EVERYONE. We ask Catholics, then, to
add this note of seriousness to the
exuberance of the day. We ask Catholics
to include in their plans women and men
of all religious traditions. The parades
could be an effective way of conveying
this interreligious concern.
We also ask Christians and Jews to join
in prayers for justice and peace in all
Ireland.
We pledge ourselves to do what we can
to encourage and implement this new
style of celebration. The need for
prayerful support is evident;
opportunities for other forms of
assistance may develop in the future, and
we urge the interreligious community to
be alert for these. Meanwhile, let us pray
and work for peace and justice for all.
Catholic
Women—
(Continued from page 1)
a.m. mass in St. Joseph Church with a
brunch at 11 a.m. in the Hilton. Speaker
will be Murphy Faust, national director
of the Atlanta region, NCCW.
New officers are to be installed in a
business meeting following the brunch.
Convention visitors will receive an
extra bit of hospitality during their stay
in Macon. It will come from the Hilton,
where for the first time, the big
hospitality suite will be opened the entire
day April 15, “with coffee and Cokes and
snacks for the ladies,” Mrs. Young said.
INVOLVES PARENTS, CHILDREN
Macon Parishes Conduct
Joint Study Of Penance
BY GIL BROWN
Look under “Penance” in one of the
older editions of the Baltimore
Catechism, and you may find a diagram
showing the fate that awaits the person
who makes “a Bad Confession.” Kneeling
in the Confessional is a little boy. Not
only has he commited a Mortal Sin, but
he has doubled the offense by failing to
confess it. The Devil (with wings) sits
behind him, offering congratulations.
Beneath him burn the flames of Hell Fire.
What would we choose today to
illustrate Penance? It might be a brightly
colored poster showing a child in the
arms of his forgiving father. The picture
has changed. Instead of a warning, we
have an invitation. Instead of images of
guilt and fear, we have images of trust
and love.
How to turn the old picture into the
new? Older Catholics find it hard to alter
attitudes learned at that impressionable
age when the pains of everlasting
punishment seemed to threaten the child
who missed Mass or ate candy before
receiving the Sacrament. On the other
hand today’s children, raised in a more
permissive age, are less inclined to be
ruled by fear.
In Macon, Ga., the people of three
parishes are taking part in a “pilot”
Penance Program, which has been
designed to help children and adults gain
a better understadning of the Sacrement.
Aimed primarily at fourth-graders, the
Program also involves parents and
families, bringing the generations together
in a cooperative venture.
Over a six-week period, fourth-grade
children discuss some very basic ideas
about God, his belief in us, his trust that
we can be “wonderful people”. After
class, they go home with special
worksheets to be completed with the help
of parents and family members. The
parents themselves attend three meetings
during the six-week period. The Program
culminates with First Confession for the
children.
Priests, sisters and lay leaders of the
Macon area worked for many months to
lay the groundwork for the Program. A
set of theological principles was drawn
up, covering sin, forgiveness and Penance.
All the teachers of the city studied these
principles together, and it was only after
a consensus was reached on the approach
to be taken that the six topics, lesson
guides and plans for parent meetings were
developed.
Lesson One begins with a simple
theme, readily understood by the
children:
“We have often said that God LOVES
us very much. He also believes in us. He
also TRUSTS us. This means He is sure
we can become wonderful people. Our
lives can be like the life of Jesus, full of
kindness, understanding and
compassion.”
The children read together the story of
the Prodigal Son and the story of Peter,
“the Rock”. They discuss the stories
together, looking for the person in the
story who acted with love and the effect
that this loving action had. In the prayer
response that follows, teacher and
students thank God together for trusting
them to be good, and for loving them.
workbook to complete together with his
parents and other members of the family.
They are asked to write down the names
of those people who have believed in
them and trusted them most. Adults
make one list, children another. In
“creative response” to the lesson they are
learning, the family draws a picture or
cuts out magazine illustrations, to show
their happiness in being loved. They pray
together, thanking God for his belief and
trust in his people.
From this simple but effective
beginning, the children go on to Lesson
Two, in which it is emphasized that Jesus
always helped those in need and never
harmed anyone. The children realize that
their own behaviour falls short of this
ideal - that they sometimes fail to help
others, and sometimes even hurt others.
Discussion leads to the thought that when
this happens they often feel sad, and
want to say they are sorry.
In succeeding lessons, the children
discuss the fact that Jesus praised others
for good deeds, and praised his Father.
They reflect upon the times when they
have not done these things themselves.
Not until lesson four does the word “sin”
appear in the Program. It is explained in
the lesson topic like this:
“Each time we fail to help others in
need, harm them, or do not let others
help us, or fail to praise their good deeds,
we are not acting like Jesus. This is called
sin. When we are sorry, we want to tell
God about it. This is sorrow for sin.”
In lesson five, we have the first
mention of the word “Penance”. It is
explained that when God sees our sorrow
for our sin, he says to us: “I still love
you. I still believe in you. I still trust you.
I will help you to become more like
Jesus”. He speaks through a special
sacrament called Penance.
Lesson six brings the children to the ‘n Ssii _
idea of Absolution. They learn that
people may go to hear these words of
God as a group, or individually.
“The priest speaks God’s words to us.
He says ‘I absolve you from your sins in
the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit’ ”.
Both communal and individual
reception of the Sacrament is dramatized
by the class.
The program ends with a communal
Penance Service in which the whole
family participates. For the children of s ’ s ‘i S< ^|L
Macon, First Confession will not be a
dreaded ordeal. They look forward to it
with confidence. It will be a “Happy
Day.”
Sullivan Didn’t Forget!!
Savannah, 6a., ft
^
^ “SOUTHERx cross;
187 &
'-4
A
On December 11, 1875, J.A. Doyle,
Treasurer for the Southern Cross, sent
this receipt for his subscription to Mr.
Joseph Sullivan.
gone up $2 since then.)
That was a long time ago - 97 years.
(And the cost of a subscription has only
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with $5.00, your name could appear in a
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WOULDN’T THAT BE NICE?
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Please send me THE SOUTHERN CROSS for
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NAMF.
ADDRESS -
(Street Address)
(City) (State) (Zip Code)
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Date.
New
Renewal
A
After class, each child takes home a
A
Savannah Planing Mill Co
- ^T 1
Lumber Millwork
DORIS
Builders Supply
704 Wheaton St.
JEWELERS
Liberty at Wheaton
AUGUS7A.GA
Savannah, Ga.
In Savannah OGLETHORPE
MARBLE & GRANITE CO.
MILTON J. LITTLE
EAST BROAD at WALDBURG ST.
Shop Easily at Stores and
Service Establishments
Displaying this Emblem.
The
Citizens And Southern
Banks
In Savannah
Maxwell Hotel &
House Restaurant
COFFEE Blend
Good To T ne L«5t-©rop
BELFORD CO.
St6 W. Coogren AD 3-1171
LASETER’S
PHARMACY
Canea for & Delivered
“Service to The Sick”
A. P. Laseter-Owner
MEDICAL ARTS BLDG.
1467 HARPER 724-7784
AUGUSTA
Steak Ranch
CHARCOAL BROILED STEAKS
PRIME STEAKS
DINNERS - LUNCHEON
COCKTAILS
DINNER MUSIC
Gaston and Habersham
AD 3-3032
Columbus Glass Co.
“Modernize with Glass”
Phone 323-7397
Columbus, Ga.
1388 Webster Avenue
CY 8-8767
Beytagh
Construction Co.
residential
REMODELING
LIGHT COMMERCIAL
1537 Montgomery Crossroads
EL 4-3556 — Savannah, Ga.
For Wedding
Invitations
The Acme Press
1201 LINCOLN STRLLT
PHONE 232-6397
Photo Computerized
Lenses
233-0049
704 Abercorn St.. Savannah. Ga
Hrnderson Hnm.
^Funeral Home
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"Georgia's Oldest G*
Funeral Home’' ?T
Phone 232-8139 E
WHITAKER AT HUNTINGDON
Robert T Henderson • Lindsey P. Henderson
on, Jr. f
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TWENTY-FIVE YOUNG PEOPLE of St. Michael’s parish, Savannah Beach, »^ceived the Sacrament of Confirmation during a Mass
of the Holy Spirit celebrated by Bishop Gerard L. Frey^ast Thursday (March 2).