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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, August 21,1975
The Southern Cross
Business Office 225 Abercorn St., Savannah, Ga. 3 1401
Most Rev. Raymond W. Lessard, D.D., President
John f. Markwalter, Managing Editor
Second Class Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
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Bible Series
Starting September 4th, the “KNOW
YOUR FAITH” section of the
“SOUTHERN CROSS” will feature
articles giving an overview of the Bible
and encouraging readers to study the
Scriptures.
All articles in this series will be
reviewed by an advisory board of the
U.S. Catholic Conference theologians
headed by Archbishop John R. Quinn of
Oklahoma, and checked for theological
soundness and pastoral sensitivity.
From September 1975, to March
1976, the articles will discuss the Old
Testament, including the patriarchs,
Moses, the convenant and forging of a
nation, the kingship of Israel from Saul
to Solomon, the prophets and Yahwistic
and Eliostic history, in addition to a
special Christmas issue.
From March 1976 through August
1976, the New Testament will be
studied, from the infancy of Jesus to the
Epistles. Articles will be based on the
theme of the week, history or
catechetics and Christian Life, and
theological insights.
The “KNOW YOUR FAITH” writers
will use the New American Bible.
To Keep Peace
Rev. James Wilmes
s»v.
There is a grain of sand at the core of every
costly pearl. How that gritty substance got
under the oyster’s shell, how it was interned by
the creature and wrapped around with a
secretion that ended the discomfort, is one of
the most fascinating chapters in nature’s book
of marvels.
It is enough for us to know that at the center
of every pearl there is an annoyance. Therein
lies a lesson for all frustrated people. A lesson
from a creature which learned to endure what it
could not cure. Look into the life story of
many a radiant, useful person and you will find
most likely, an irremovable irritation
somewhere, covered by the mantle of patient
persistance in well-doing. The unwelcome
intruder has been accepted, interned,
recognized as something to live with, not to
fight endlessly. There is the pearl of great price:
character and integrity of purpose has been
created.
Indeed, it is rare to find great character, great
purpose without this concomitant of much
suffering. Some people strain and fret over
every alien invader of their shell of happiness.
They consider it an impertinence of fate, not to
be accepted. They struggle to eject the intruder
but fail. And failing there, they settle down to
make a career of self-pity, until there is no
living with them. They should rather take a
page from the life-history of the lowly oyster
and make a pearl. Anyone can do it with a little
patience and a lot of resolution not to be a
cry-baby. Just let them resolve to endure what
cannot be cured; and go on from there.
Today’s College Student;
One Observer’s View
John Reedy, C.S.C.
During the past year or so, we’ve been seeing
occasional reports on the dramatic change in
mood and values among young people in
college.
The angry, unpredictable mood of the
campuses during the 60’s is contrasted with a
grade-conscious conformity of today.
Recently I discussed the validity of such
judgments with one psychological counsellor
who has been working for a number of years
with the anxieties of college students. His
observations are the result of his own
experience on his own campus; neither he nor I
would offer them as valid generalizations, but
they are interesting as the judgments of one
strategically-placed observer.
He characterized the trends among the
students he has seen in this way:
Highly competitive, concerned about
academic status and its relationship to their
future opportunities in business and
professional life.
Very, aware of the economic squeeze as it
narrows the options in their personal career
choices.
Generally apathetic about social reform
movements. There seems to be little interest or
passion about political or social reform, except
for particular issues which illustrate a dramatic
human need. He mentioned that the response
on this particular campus to the world hunger
problem was widespread and impressive.
acceptance of Church teaching. Their moral
judgments, particularly in evaluating the
conduct of their contemporaries, still seems to
be based on the simple norm, “Does it hurt
anybody?” The counsellor doesn’t see much
acceptance of absolute norms of right and
wrong. In his work, however, he does find some
emotional disturbances based on conflicts
between present behaviour and the norms of
conscience they accepted as children. Such
conflicts iisually manifest themselves in matters
of sexual activity.
He reported great concern about their
personal identity and relationships, much
interest in any programs or literature which
help answer the questions: “Who am I, as a
person?” “Of what significance is my life?”
“Why do I have problems establishing good
relationships with others?”
He sees many of these young people as
planning, cautiously, to have marriages and
families pretty much like those of their parents,
but trying to avoid many of the mistakes which
they recognize in the marriages they have
known.
In this regard, he speaks enthusiastically of
the informal, easy-going relationships between
young men and women. “They associate with
each other as friends, as persons, not just in
boy-girl roles. When they do make a decision
about marriage, chances are that they are going
to know each other much better, more
realistically than their parents did.”
In contrast to this apathy toward social
movements, he sees a good deal of generosity in
personal service to the needs of individuals. An
impressive number of students volunteer time
and effort to serve elderly people in nursing
homes, tutor children in underprivileged
neighborhoods, to work with retarded
youngsters.
If his description is accurate, this is a
remarkable transition from the angry campuses
of the 60’s.
For me, this is a description of mixed
attractiveness: seriousness and hard work,
generosity and compassion in personal service,
maturity in personal relationships.
While the college students of the 60’s loudly
denounced the materialistic values and life
styles of their parents, students today express
anxiety about their ability to achieve
acceptance in that system.
But there also seems to be a concentration
on conformity, material security and
prosperity, disinterest in the procedures which
determine much of our pattern of life, religion
which seems tentative, short on full
commitment.
He sees a growing interest in religion, not so
much in those esoteric studies of eastern
religion which became popular a few years ago
(“that seemed mostly a fad which didn’t last
long”) but more in the mainline churches.
At the same time, this seems to be a selective
I’m sure many university teachers and
administrators are breathing more easily with
these students. It seems sad, though, to see a
generation of bright, hard-working young
people who are not excited about changing the
world they are about to enter.
OUR PARISH
“We interrupt this game to bring you a special
announcement—you’re wanted at church, Deacon Kelly!”
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Mom Stoutheart
Loves Summer Camp
Mary Carson
I have never seen my friend, Mom
Stoutheart, get upset. She stays calm under
situations that would send the rest of us off to
an asylum.
I think her two boys, Patrick and Michael,
might deserve the credit for it. If you had to
spend more than twenty minutes with those
two, you’d either learn imperturbability ... or
you’d kill them.
So I was delighted the other morning when
she invited me over for coffee, and mentioned
that Patrick and Michael were at Boy Scout
camp. It was a chance for me to visit with her
without instant insanity.
She was just explaining how, in spite of being
such terrors, the two of them had earned
enough money to pay for camp themselves. The
Scout troop had had a candy sale, the “troop’s
share” going into a camp fund for each boy. As
she was explaining, she offered me a piece of
candy. There were seventeen more boxes on the
shelf.
They earned the rest of their funds mowing
lawns and doing odd jobs around the
neighborhood. “I haven’t had a complaint in
two days,” she continued. “I guess I’ve heard
the last of it. I do hope that Mrs. Pickey’s hedge
grows again. She really shouldn’t have told
them she wanted it pruned close.
“I hope they’re okay. It’s ten days, and I
haven’t heard. I even gave them post cards all
filled out. All they had to do was check off
how they were, and how they liked camp.”
With that, the phone rang.
“Hello. Patrick?
“We must have a bad connection. I can
hardly hear you.
“It’s hard to talk through the bandages on
your mouth? Are you doing the requirements
for the First-aid badge?
“Oh, Michael was doing that, and four guys
can’t get the adhesive tape off their mouths.
“You were doing Edible Wildlife? And
poison ivy isn’t edible.
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“You got a perfect score? That’s nice. For
what?
“You found poison oak and poison sumac, as
well as the poison ivy.
“Why haven’t you sent home the postcards?
“What do you mean you haven’t found your
footlocker?
“The SCOUTMASTER wants to talk to me
about that?
“Yes, Mr. Stoughton, how are you?
“Mr. Stoughton, stop gritting your teeth.
“You want to invite Patrick and Michael to
stay another two weeks? How nice of you.
“Oh? You’re not inviting. You’re insisting.
To dig out a ravine?
“The ravine was fine till they came to camp?
“They started digging at the base and caused
a landslide.
“And their footlocker is buried under the
landslide. . . . and their tent. . . . and three
other boys’ tents. . . . and YOUR tent, Mr.
Stoughton?
“Yes, I can see that would cause some
inconvenience.
“But Mr. Stoughton, why were they digging
there in the first place?
“They were looking for Indian artifacts . . .
for the Archeology badge.
“Why didn’t you warn them of the danger?
“You were one of the ‘four guys’ that
Michael taped up for the First-aid badge.
“The Archeology badge doesn’t consider
digging out those footlockers as finding a lost
civilization.
“All civilization has been lost since Patrick
and Michael came to camp.
“Yes, I can understand that.
“Yes, Mr. Stoughton. I’ll tell them. Yes, I’ll
make it very clear. Put Patrick back on the
phone.
“Patrick .. . now listen very carefully. I want
you two boys to dig fast . . . Find Mr.
Stoughton’s footlocker first. Do you hear me?
FIRST!
“Why is it so important? Because if he
doesn’t have it before the day is over, he’s going
to bum you two at the stake tonight. . . during
the Indian campfire!”
“As she hung up the phone, she was
beaming. . . “Two . . . more . . . whole . . .
weeks!”
What One Person Can Do
Rev. Richard Armstrong
DR. EUGENE BALTHAZAR
PHYSICIAN TO THE POOR
Many of us are concerned for the poor. A
good many give money to ease their burdens. A
few give themselves. Dr. Eugene Balthazar of
Aurora, Illinois, has touched all these bases.
When he retired in 1973, he dipped into his
savings to start a free clinic, and he put himself
in charge.
The 72-year-old surgeon is the son of a
French-Canadian metal polisher who had to
make his way in a new country. He is sensitive
to the needs of the numerous
Hispanic-Americans in his town, many of whom
settled in Aurora after coming North to pick
tomatoes or work in canneries. Their meager
budgets can ill afford the local hospitals’ $10
minimum charge per visit.
“Here everything is free,” says Dr. Balthazar,
a dapper man with an Adolphe Menjou
mustache. “No patient can pay me even if he
wants to.” Some do bring him casseroles for his
lunch at the store-front clinic where he spends
three and a half days a week. He and a staff of
three, assisted by a few volunteers, have
handled over 30,000 patient visits.
Though the doctor pays the city only $1 in
yearly rent and receives donated supplies, he
has until recently declined contributions. The
clinic, he says, is his “baby.” And Medicare and
insurance payments cause too much paperwork.
But after a total personal expenditure of
$30,000, he can’t afford to give more. So he
has permitted creation of a fund to which, in
one month, his fellow townsfolk contributed
$22,000 so that Dr. Balthazar can serve
Aurora’s poor for another year.
“These are wonderful people,” says the
physician of his patients. “God’s children is
what they are and we enjoy taking care of
them.”
We’re all God’s children. If we choose to, we
can care for one another.
For a free copy of “Build Up, Don’t Tear
Down,” send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to The Christophers, 12 E. 48th St.,
New York, NY 10017.
Called
By Name
By John E. Conick
5S*SS*:*SSS^^
Permanent Diaconate Program
With nearly 800 ordained Permanent
Deacons in the United States and
approximately 1,600 candidates in training
formation programs, questions are being asked:
“Just what is a deacon? What’s he suppose to
do?”
The key to the answers is found in the
Guidelines on formation and ministry of the
U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Permanent
Diaconate. “The deacon,” it states, “is more
properly defined in terms of who he is rather
than of what he does . . . the essential elements
of diaconal identity (are) the invitation of the
Spirit, the manifestation and realization of this
call through sacramental ordination for the
benefit of the universal Church, the special
fraternal sharing of accountability for the
kingdom, the acceptance by the community he
is called to serve, and the complete personal
commitment of self to serve in the name of
Christ and His Church.”
Historically, the functions of the early
church deacon was that of service to his fellow
man. Today, we find deacons in service to
others not only through the administration of
certain sacraments and liturgical rites, but also
in factories, offices and sales routes.
Because of the varied ministries in which the
deacon serves, his training varies too - not only
from diocese to diocese but within his home
diocese. Recently, a study program has been
formulated for candidates in rural dioceses.
While some studies are the same as for those
attending classes in urban dioceses, the manner
of instruction and activity will be different.
Different too is the life style of the deacon.
Usually married with a family, the deacon
brings to ministry another outlook in the
service to others. Also, because of his married
state, which is first and foremost in his
Christian duties, the deacon will appear to be
“part time.” However, just as a Christian
cannot shed his or her baptismal vows, neither
can the deacon shed his ordination vows in his
daily activities.
Formulating programs then for the
Permanent Diaconate is difficult not only in
terms of dioceses, but for individual candidates
as well. However, with the help and guidance of
the Holy Spirit, this “old” but “new” service
will continue to grow in ministering to the
needs of the People of God.
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She Did
Her Work
Joe Breig
Something that strikes me about the coming
canonization (Sept. 14) of Mother Elizabeth
Ann Seton is the fact that at no time in her life
did she do anything that we would consider
especially extraordinary.
Elizabeth became a saint by simply “doing
her job” for love of God and fellowmen.
I do not mean that Mother Seton did not
undergo hardships. Of course she did. But the
same hardships were undergone, at the same
time, by countless other women (and men).
Although burdensome, they were for the most
part the ordinary hardships of the age.
As far as I am aware, Mother Seton did not
go in for unusual fastings or anything of the
sort. She did not wear a hair shirt, or kneel all
night in prayer, or subsist on almost no food, or
put pebbles in her shoes. By and large, she just
did her duty for the glory of God and the
service of her fellow human beings.
Not even in her final illness and death did she
suffer extraordinarily.
True, Elizabeth Seton endured the loss of her
position in society; of her well-to-do home life;
of the love and support of a beloved husband
who died early in life. She was left penniless,
with five children to rear. But a great many
other widows have coped bravely and
uncomplainingly with similar tragedies.
Why, then, is Mother Seton a saint?
Let’s turn that question around. Our inquiry
should be, rather, “Why, then, are not all those
other brave women saints?”
The answer is that saints they are; not as
exalted in holiness as Mother Seton (for she was
given unusual graces, and lived up to those
graces) but nevertheless saints. In honoring
Mother Seton, the Universal Church also is
honoring numberless courageous and
self-sacrificing wives and mothers - even those
whose husbands have not died, whose home life
has not been snatched from them.
It seems to me that one of the meanings in
the coming canonization of Mother Seton is
that we too will attain sanctity, we too will be
welcomed with approval into the heavenly
kingdom, if only we will “do our job;” if we
will perform, as well as we are able, for love of
God and in the grace of God, the works that
God has given us to do.