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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, May 10, 1973
CELEBRATIONS AT CATHEDRAL-BLESSED SACRAMENT
Bp.McDonald, Fr. Ware Celebrate Silver Jubilees
(PHOTOS by James Brown)
LEAVING ATLANTA MASS -- Pictured are Father Eusebus Beltran, Father Ware, Bishop McDonald and
Archbishop Donnellan.
Bishop Andrew J. McDonald, bishop
of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Reverend
Joseph F. Ware, a priest of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta, both natives of
Savannah and both ordained in the
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on
May 8, 1948 by the late Bishop Emmet
Michael Walsh, celebrated their
twenty-fifth anniversar' on May 8.
Bishop McDonald was the principal
concelebrant at a 12 o’clock noon Mass
at the Cathedral. The homily was given
by Monsignor Daniel J. Bourke,
Cathedral Rector.
Following the Mass there was a
luncheon for priests and the families of
both jubilarians, co-hosted by the
Cathedral and Blessed Sacrament
parishes.
At 5:30 o’clock in the evening
another anniversary Mass was held
at Blessed Sacrament church with
Father Ware as principle concelebrant.
Father J. Kevin Boland, pastor, gave the
homily.
A public reception was held
following the Mass for the jubilarians,
their families and friends.
On Sunday, May 6, the two
jubilarians concelebrated a Mass of
Thanksgiving with Atlanta’s Archbishop
Thomas A. Donnellan at Holy Spirit
Church, Atlanta.
ATLANTA MASS - Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan (center) was
principle celebrant at a Mass of Thanksgiving for Jubilanians held at Holy
Spirit Church, May 6th. Bishop McDonald is at left and Father Ware at the
right.
Homily at Cathedral Jubilee Mass
Homily by Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke at Silver
Jubilee Man of Bishop Andrew J. McDonald
and Father Joseph Ware on Tuesday, May 8 at
the Cathedral.
From their earliest youth, they had
been exposed to Catholic teaching . . .
the Marist Brothers, the Sisters of St.
Joseph, the Benedictine Fathers.
“Thou hast crowned him with glory
and honor and hast set him over the
works of Thy hands.” Psalm 8, verse 6.
“Good Master, what good shall I do
that I may have life everlasting?” This
was the eager question of one who was
blessed with the wealth of the world but
who knew that life eternal was a
treasure greater by far. And so he has
come to our Blessed Lord asking what
he had to do to gain the great prize he
so desired. He was a young man, a
wealthy man whose life was without
stain or blemish. The commandments he
had kept from his youth. What else, he
wondered and asked, was wanting. v
Jesus looked on that young man with
love and said: “If thou wilt be perfect,
go sell what thou hast, give to the poor
and come, follow Me.”
There was a painful silence. The
invitation had been given and the road
to perfection pointed out. Nature and
grace struggled for the mastery. There
was only one sacrifice needed to make
that young man a true disciple. But it
was a big one, too great for him who
had just appeared so generous. He
hesitates, wavers, and then turns sadly
away with the words. “Come, follow
Me” ringing in his ears, for his love of
‘great possessions had wrapped itself
around his heart’ - a vocation had been
offered and refused. “What a cloud of
misgivings,” says Father Faber, “must
hang over the memory of him whom
Jesus invited to follow Him. Is he
looking now in heaven upon that Face
from whose mild beauty he so sadly
turned away on earth?”
Nearly two thousand years have
passed away since then, but unceasingly
that same voice has been whispering in
the ears of many a lad and maiden.
“One thing is yet wanting to you.
Come, follow Me.” Some have heard
that voice with gladness of heart and
have risen up at the Master’s call; others
have stopped their ears or turned away
in fear from the side of Him who
beckoned to them, while not a few have
stood and listened, wondering what it
meant, asking themselves could such an
invitation be really for them, til Jesus of
Nazareth passed by and they were left
behind forever.
There were two young men in
Savannah thirty-five years ago or so who
thought they received the call from God
and who wondered if it could be true.
They had served as altar boys in the
parish churches and were undoubtedly
influenced by the example of the priests
they came in contact with. But more
important than all, they came from
good families where the law of God was
held in high esteem and where the
Church was looked upon as the voice of
God in the world.
They came from prayerful families,
and, therefore, when they felt within
their inmost beings the stirrings of the
Holy Spirit, they did not stop their ears
or close their eyes or turn away in fear.
They were undoubtedly filled with awe,
but they also knew that if God gave the
call, God would give the grace to answer
the call.
They learned in their own way what
the priesthood was. I use the words of
Pius XII in his encyclical “Menti
Nostrae”: “The priesthood is a great gift
of the Divine Redeemer, Who, in order
to perpetuate the work of redemption
of the human race which He completed
on the Cross, confided His powers to
the Church which He wished to be a
participator in His unique and
everlasting Priesthood. The priest is like
‘another Christ’ because he is marked
with an indelible character making him,
as it were, a living image of our Savior.
The priest represents Christ Who said
‘As the Father has sent me, I also send
you’; ‘he who hears you, hears me.’
Admitted to this most sublime ministry
by a call from heaven, ‘he is appointed
for men in the things pertaining to God,
that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for
sins.’ To him must come anyone who
wishes to live the life of the Divine
Redeemer and who desires to receive
strength, comfort and nourishment for
his soul; from him the salutary medicine
must be sought by anyone who wishes
to rise from sin and lead a good life.
He nee all priests may apply to
themselves with full right the words of
the Apostle of the Gentiles: ‘We are
God’s helpers.’ ”
“This lofty dignity demands from
priests that they react to their exalted
office with the strictest fidelity. Since
they are destined to promote the glory
of God on earth and to cherish and
increase the Mystical Body of Christ,
they must be outstanding by the
sanctity of their lives in order that
through them the “fragrance of Christ”
may be spread everywhere.”
The two young men were Andrew J.
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McDonald of the Cathedral Parish
and Joseph F. Ware of Sacred Heart
Parish. They undoubtedly consulted
their priests and from them received
encouragement to enter the seminary,
which they did with their parents’
blessing.
Andrew J. McDonald was born in
Savannah on October 24, 1923. He was
the son of James B. McDonald and
Theresa A. McGreal McDonald. He was
one of twelve children. His parents were
respected members of the Savannah
Catholic community. They were both
prominent in Catholic organizations and
parish projects Of the twelve children,
eight were girls. Four became sisters,
and, of course, Andrew J. became a
priest and a bishop. He attended the
Marist School for Boys in Savannah, St.
Charles College, Catonsville, Maryland,
St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, and St.
Mary’s Seminary, Roland Park,
Maryland.
Father Joseph F. Ware was born
August 3, 1922, the son of John DeWitt
Ware and Mary Whelan Ware. There
were six children in the family, five
boys and a girl. Joseph F., as you know,
became a priest of God.
He attended Sacred Heart School for
eight years and Benedictine for three
years before entering St. Charles
Seminary, Catonsville, Maryland. From
there, he went on to St. Mary’s
Seminary, Baltimore, and St. Mary’s
Seminary, Roland Park, Maryland.
Bihsop McDonald and Father Ware
were students together at St. Charles, at
St. Mary’s, Baltimore, and at Roland
Park. They worked, played and prayed
together. Together they reached the
goal of their ambitions and were
ordained in this Cathedral Church by
The Most Reverend Emmet Walsh,
Bishop of Charleston, on May 8, 1948.
After his ordination, Bishop
McDonald undertook postgraduate
studies in Canon Law at the Catholic
University of America. He continued
studying Canon Law at the Lateran
University in Rome where he received
his doctorate in 1951. He was appointed
a Papal Chamberlain in 1956 and was
made a Domestic Prelate in 1959. He
has served in the Diocesan Marriage
Tribunal as Officialis of the diocese.
He was Chancellor of the diocese
from 1952 until 1967. He has held
every position of importance in the
Diocese of Savannah except that of
Bishop. For nine years he served as
pastor of Blessed Sacrament and from
1967 until his episcopal ordination he
was Vicar General of the diocese. From
the beginning, he seemed to be a man
marked out for distinction and high
honor.
The honor of the episcopacy came to
him in September of 1972. He now
directs the people of God in the Diocese
of Little Rock with the same effective
and loving leadership that he manifested
as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish
here in Savannah.
Father Joseph Ware’s first assignment
was at this Cathedral in Savannah as
Assistant to Msgr. McNamara. Most of
the years of his priesthood have been
spent, however, in the northern section
of the state which in 1956 became the
Diocese of Atlanta. He served in the
Atlanta Diocese as Assistant at St.
Thomas More and St. John the
Evangelist. He has been pastor at Sacred
Heart Church, Milledgeville, and Saints
Peter and Paul, Hapeville, Georgia. He is
at the present time pastor of Holy Spirit
Church in Atlanta.
I have known Father Joe Ware, and
known him well, since he was a
seminarian. He used to visit me
frequently when I was pastor of Blessed
Sacrament Church in Savannah. I
noticed then something different about
him. Even at that early date, he had a
remarkable love not only for the Church
but for the land of his forebears. He was
manifesting even then an interest in
Ireland and her history and her language
which put many of us native-born Irish
priests to shame. That interest he has
continued to the present day so that his
visits to Ireland are frequent, his
knowledge of the Gaelic language and
history extensive. I noticed that he rode
in the last St. Patrick’s Day Parade as
Chaplain to the Grand Marshall.
I do not believe that in all of Georgia
there is a more orthodox or saintly
priest than Father Joseph Ware. He
knew that, when he decided to put his
hand to the plow, there would be no
turning back. He expounds the word of
God in his parish church with zeal, with
clarity, and he does so effectively. He
knows that, in the words of St. Paul, a
priest is taken from among men by God
as Aaron was, and that his first duty as a
priest of Jesus Christ is to act as a
mediator between God and His People
and offer up sacrifices to God for
himself and his people, to acknowledge
God’s supreme dominion over man, to
thank God for the many blessings he has
given man, to make reparation for his
Pope John And Fr. Paul
MIAMI (NC) - Early in 1959, Paul
Vuturo, a sixth grader here, attracted
national attention when he received a
letter from Pope John XXIII telling him
that the Pope would “pray very hard”
that the boy’s wish to become a priest
would be granted.
On May 12, Vuturo, now a
seminarian, will be ordained by
Archbishop Coleman Carroll, the prelate
who delivered Pope John’s letter 14
years ago.
While a student at St. Rose of Lima
School, Miami Shores, in 1958, Vuturo
sent a Christman greeting to Pope John,
enclosing a brief note asking the Pope to
pray for his intentions during his
Masses.
In the words of the then Substitute
Vatican Secretary of State, Archbishop
Angelo Dell ’Acqua, “ the youngster
opened his heart like a son to the Holy
Father.”
The following month, Archbishop
Carroll presented the youth with the
letter from the Pope, a white rosary, an
autographed picture of the Pope and a
packet of special issue Vatican City
stamps issued for the period that the
Holy See was vacant between the death
of Pius XII and the election of Pope
John.
own sins and the sins of the people, and
to petition God for future blessings.
The love of God overflowing in his
soul makes him a compassionate priest,
taking care of the needy and the
disconsolate.
We who are gathered in this
Cathedral Church this morning, where
Bishop McDonald and Father Ware were
ordained exactly twenty-five years ago,
rejoice that God has blessed us with two
such priests. We hope that the youth of
our city who know of this occasion and
know these men of God and who feel
within themselves the stirrings of the
Holy Spirit to leave all things and follow
Christ will be generous enough to
answer the call and spend their lives in
God’s service in Georgia. We need many
more such priests if the Church is to
grow strong and if the people of God
are to be brought to a fullness of the
knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
I turn to you, Bishop McDonald and
Father Ware, and I quote again from the
encyclical of Pope Pius XII, “Menti
Nostrae”: “Beloved sons, on the very
day that you were raised to the
sacredotal dignity, the Bishop, in the
name of God, solenly pointed out to
you your fundamental duty in the
following words: ‘Understand what you
do, imitate the things you deal with;
and celebrating the mystery of the
death of the Lord, strive to mortify in
your members all vice and
concupiscence. May your doctrine be
the spiritual medicine for the people of
God; let the fragrance of your life of
virtue be an ornament of the Church of
Christ; and by your preaching and
example may you build the house, that
is the family of God.’ Your life, which
should be completely immune from sin,
should be even more hidden with Christ
in God than the lives of Christian
layfolk. Advance then, thus adorned
with that high virtue which your dignity
demands, to the work of completing the
redemption of man for which your
priestly ordination has destined you.
This is the undertaking which you have
freely and spontaneously assumed; be
holy because, as you know, your
ministry is holy.”
You, in your lives as priests, have
manifested that you understand the
fundamental duty of the priesthood
referred to by Pius XII. You freely and
spontaneously assumed the undertaking,
and you have been holy because your
ministry was holy. You have spent the
last twenty-five years of your lives in
bringing people into the family of God
as ministers of the Sacrament of
Baptism. You have reconciled those
bowed down by the weight of sin in the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, Penance.
You have nourished the people of God
with the Body and Blood of Christ in
Holy Communion. You have
strengthened them in the grace of the
Lord through the Sacrament of
Confirmation. You have blessed the
marriage union of men and women in
Holy Matrimony. You have prepared
God’s children to be reconciled to His
will and to accept whatever he had in
store for them, even death, with
equanimity of mind through the
Anointing of the Sick. You have
experienced the full riches of the
priesthood as recorded by Lacordaire:
“To live in the midst of the world
without wishing its pleasures; To be a
member of each family, yet belonging
to none; To share all suffering; To
penetrate all secrets; To heal all wounds;
To go from men to God and offer
Him their prayers; To return from God
to men to bring pardon and hope; To
have a heart of fire for charity and a
heart of bronze for chastity; To teach
and to pardon; To console and to bless
always; My God, what a life . . . and it is
yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ.”
This life has indeed been yours,
Bishop McDonald and Father Ware. As a
result, may you be crowned with glory
and honor. May the Lord grant you
fullness of years. May you be blessed in
the House of the Lord, and praise him
forever and ever.
MOTHER TERESA AND PRINCE - Mother Teresa of Calcutta shakes
hands with Britain’s Prince Philip in London after she received the
$85,000 Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion. It was the
first time since the Reformation that a Catholic nun was honored by a
member of the royal family. The foundress of the Missionaries of Charity
was honored for her work among the poor of India and other countries.
(NC Photo)
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