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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, September 11,1975
The Southern Cross
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Saint Elizabeth Seton
In Ceremonies on Sunday, Sept. 14,
Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first
native-born American to be elevated to
sainthood, will be canonized in
ceremonies in St. Peter’s Square. Special
ceremonies will also be held at the Seton
Shrine at Emmitsburg, Maryland.
September 14, 1975 is a most
significant date for American Catholics -
a day of joy and thanksgiving.
Mother Seton’s canonization is
officially characterized as the Vatican’s
special celebration of “International
Women’s Year,” paying tribute to a
woman who passed through every
possible state of life, including marriage,
motherhood, widowhood and the
Religious life.
Listed here are significant dates in the
life of Mother Seton.
1774 August 28 - BORN, New York
City.
1794 January 25 - MARRIED William
Magee Seton, New York.
1795-1802 - BIRTHS OF
CHILDREN: May 3, 1795 - Anna Maria
(Annina) November 24, 1796 - William
(Will) July 20, 1798 - Richard (Dick)
June 28, 1800 - Catherine (Kit) August
20, 1802 - Rebecca (Bee).
1803 December 27 - WIDOWED in
Pisa, Italy. Introduced to Catholic
doctrine by Filicchi family.
1805 March 14 - ENTERED
CATHOLIC CHURCH at St. Peter’s,
Barclay Street, New York City.
1808 June 16 - ARRIVED IN
BALTIMORE to open a girls’ school at
600 N. Paca Street.
1809 June 1 - assumed RELIGIOUS
HABIT at St. Mary’s Seminary, Paca
Street.
1809 July 31 - founded St. Joseph’s
and inhabited Stone House,
EMMITSBURG, Maryland, thus
ESTABLISHING the SISTERS OF
CHARITY OF AMERICA.
1810 February 22 - began ST.
JOSEPH’S FREE SCHOOL and
Academy in the White House.
1813 July 19 - PRONOLJNCED
VOWS according to approved
constitutions.
1821 January 4 - DIED in White
House, Emmitsburg.
1882 August 22 - James Cardinal
Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore,
expressed desire to INITIATE PROCESS
OF CAUSE.
1907 October 30 - Ecclesiastical Court
sessions concerning her sanctity began in
Baltimore.
1940 February 28 - DECREE OF
INTRODUCTION OF THE CAUSE
signed by Pope Pius XII at Rome. This
decree has the distinction of being the
first official document of the Vatican in
English.
1945 November 23 - New Orleans
Tribunal convened to study case of
SISTER GERTRUDE
KORZENDORFER’S CURE of pancreas
cancer.
1959 December 18 - life and virtues
proclaimed heroic by Pope John XXIII;
title VENERABLE conferred at Rome.
1961 February 14 - court in Baltimore
convened to study case of ANN
O’NEILL CURED of leukemia.
1961 December 14 - two cures
declared miraculous.
1962 October 26 - relics exhumed and
canonically recognized.
1963 March 17 - BEATIFIED by Pope
John XXIII; title of BLESSED
ELIZABETH ANN SETON conferred at
St. Peter’s, Rome.
1966 May 20 - Apostolic tribunal
convened in New York to investigate
alleged CURE OF CARL KALIN of
fulminating meningo enchephalitis
complicated by primary rubeola.
1968 Januray 4 - relics translated to
shrine in n w Provincial House,
Emmitsburg.
1974 Decer xber 12 - in a Consistory at
Rome, Pope /aul VI declared Kalin cure
miraculous ' nd issued decree authorizing
canonizatic n, having dispensed from
requirement of second miracle.
1975 September 14 - Mother Seton
canonized ST. ELIZABETH ANN
SETON at Rome, the first native-born
North American elevated to sainthood.
Life Before Birth
Joe Breig
“If we tell this story'(about human life
before birth) scientifically and yet simply to
little children, and then at the high school level
add the abortion story, graphically and
accurately told, we will then be producing a
new generation of adequately informed
Christians, who will be pro-life not only on a
faith basis, but on a totally convinced faith and
scientific basis.”
I am quoting Dr. J. C. Willke of Cincinnati.
He and his wife, a registered nurse, have
become nationally known in the past 15 years
for their dedicated and effective work in sex
and pro-life education.
Now they have produced a brief cassette,
with slides, titled “How Babies Grow,”
published by Hiltz & Hayes Publishing, Inc.,
Cincinnati 45224.
Hiltz Co. also issued, a few years ago, the
“Handbook on Abortion,” authored by the
Willkes, a splendidly effective piece of pro-life
information.
After listening to “How Babies Grow” and
seeing the illustrations, I am convinced that Dr.
Willke understated its value. As he says, it was
created for little children (pre-school through
pre-adolescence) but it can be eminently
helpful for people of all ages and levels of
education, precisely because of its brevity and
simplicity. And it is suitable not only for
Christians, but for everyone, of any religion or
none.
The presentation gets right to the point, right
at the start. It tells how our life begins at the
time of our conception, and how it develops
within the mother, under direction of the
marvellous DNA genetic code which is present
from the beginning. Right from conception,
you are the same person; the genetic code
determines your height, color of eyes and hair,
and so on.
Taking turns as narrators, Dr. and Mrs. Willke
tell the wonderful facts. One of the most
touching moments comes when we listen to the
rapid heartbeats of an infant only a few weeks
old. The little one’s brain waves can be
scientifically measured. The child swims in the
fluid within the womb, exercises, reacts to
sounds and to pain, sleeps when the mother
sleeps and awakes when she rises, and
sometimes sucks thumb.
There are photos of two infants -- one black,
one white -- prematurely delivered four and a
half months after conception; and photos of
them later as robust small children. As medical
science progresses, the Willkes tell us, it will be
possible to save the lives of babies bom even
more prematurely.
As I said in a previous column, education is
the solution of the terrible abortion problem
with which we have been afflicted since an
uninformed U.S. Supreme Court majority
arbitrarily overthrew all the laws ever enacted
by the states to protect the lives of children
before birth. This cassette and these slides are a
highly important addition to the educational
tools we need.
Dr. Willke says he and his wife have come,
through experience, to feel that “the time to
reach people with a pro-life message is not after
they have crystallized their opinions,
established life-styles and soaked up a lot of
pro-abortion propaganda.” Ture - but I think
even such persons might be reached by this
presentation. Maybe even the Supreme Court.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton
What Have We Learned?
John Reedy, C.S.C.
“Liturgy
Of
The Hours”
Rev. Joseph Champlin
I like to begin my normal days in the parish
with a half hour of personal prayer. A priest
hardly needs to justify spending those 30
minutes of “prime time” for this purpose.
Jesus’ words and example do that for him.
We read in Scripture how Christ on several
occasions went off into the desert to pray,
stepped aside from the crowds for a night of
prayer, withdrew in the Garden of Gethseman;
a stone’s throw from his three closest followers
to ponder prayerfully the painful prospects of
Good Friday.
What the Lord Himself did, He commands us
to do. “Pray,” “ask,” “seek,” speak to the
Father in my name, use those words when you
pray -- those are familiar instructions given to
His listeners and to us.
My faithful associates during these morning
sessions for the past several years have been two
texts produced by the Federation of Diocesan
Liturgical Commissions and Catholic Book
Publishing Company in New York: “Prayer of
Christians,” and “American Interim Breviary,”
and its multi-volume paperback companion,
“Christian Readings.”
Catholic Book has now published the first of
a four-volume “Liturgy of the Hours,” the
more permanent divine office according to the
Roman Rite as revised by Vatican - experts. I
have found the 2,016 page, $19.95 book
equivalent to and an improvement over the
interim “Prayer of Christians.”
Those familiar with that earlier, temporary
text can swiftly and easily adjust to the
“Liturgy of the Hours.” It is similar, but richer
in content and much more convenient because
of the location of all items in one book.
One portion, the Office of Readings, has
become a regular part of my morning prayer
session. Its function is well described by
paragraph 55 in the “General Instruction of the
Liturgy of Hours.”
One of the questions I frequently use in
interviews is, “Looking back, with benefit of
second-guessing, what would you have done
differently?”
The recent outburst of resentment against
Chicago’s Cardinal Cody brought that question
to mind. Eight years ago such confrontations
were the stuff of weekly headlines in American
Catholicism. The mood was ugly. The protests
were bitter. The response of authority was
often heavy-handed and insensitive.
Enough time has passed to provide a bit of
perspective on the results of that kind of
confrontation in the Church. From my
viewpoint, it seems to have been fairly
ineffective, frequently damaging to persons and
to the community of the Church.
Some things were achieved. In previous
decades we had slipped into an informal system
of Church affairs in which officials were
accountable only to higher officials and to their
consciences.
Particular bishops and superiors manifested
openness and humanity to the communities
they served; many, less gifted in these human
qualities, were able to reconcile harsh and
sometimes cruel authoritarianism with personal
dedication and devoted service to the Church.
That pattern has changed. Very few Church
officials today think that they can make
decisions for a diocese or religious community
without some kind of consultation, without
some effort to explain the bases for their public
actions.
Perhaps this change would not have come
about without the ugly confrontations; I’m not
sure. It seems arguable, at least, that the broad
changes in American life, the emergence of new
officials of a different age and experience, the
influence of the values proclaimed by Vatican
II would have pushed us in this direction with
or without the battles in places like Los
Angeles, Washington, Philadelphia.
On the other hand, the harmful effect of
such clashes is undeniable. A large, gifted group
of my contemporaries - priests, religious and
laity -- were badly scarred and lost to the
community of the Church. It’s hard for me to
judge how happy and effective their personal
lives are now, but the loss to the Church and
the record of their personal anguish is beyond
question.
Moreover, the Church itself, the community
of believers, was scarred with wounds that are
still with us. They are fading a bit, but we still
have pockets of infection in the corporate
body, an infection of suspicion, rash judgment,
divisiveness, apathy. American Catholics today
are really not a community; we are more a
federation of many communities which
proclaim a common commitment.
Whenever I look at these confrontations, one
person inevitably comes to mind. Dorothy
Day’s record of undeviating commitment to
radical Christianity stands without challenge
from any of the more recent activists. She was
confronting systems, accepting imprisonment,
sharing the ugliness of urban poverty while
most of us were memorizing catechism lessons
in parochial schools.
She lived and worked in the Archdiocese of
New York, which had the reputation for being
the most authoritarian Church administration
in the country.
Yet, even with this obvious tension in the
perception of what the Church should be and
do, there was never, to my knowledge, any
open confrontation between Dorothy Day and
Church authorities.
Moreover, during the time when Cardinal
McIntyre became the symbol of resistance for
every progressive Catholic in the country, it was
Dorothy Day who wrote one of the most
compassionate, sensitive evaluations of the man
I ever saw.
She did not compromise any of her own
values or judgments; instead, she simply made
the effort to understand the convictions which
shaped the Cardinal’s thought. She had the
honesty to report actions and attitudes of his
which did not fit the caricature which had
emerged as his public identity.
Looking back over our experience of these
years, I conclude that confrontation tactics are
rarely, if ever, appropriate in the Church.
Honesty, courage, perseverance, a willingness to
suffer for the sake of one’s convictions - all
these qualities are needed.
But the angry outbursts, the “we against
him” mood of the recent conflict in Chicago,
cost the Church too much. There has to be
another way in a community which is to be
recognized by its love, one for another.
One man was speaking to another about a
third. “He is a really wonderful person, once
you get to know him.” The same can be said
about many women. It is the “getting to know
them” that is difficult. The misfortune of these
reserved and silent men and women is to pass
through the world outwardly cold and
unresponsive, while within they have all the
normal feelings of friendliness towards others.
They just cannot act the way they feel.
This lack of response is a lack of confidence
in self. They feel inferior, inadequate,
mistrustful of their ability to communicate.
They regard this as weakness, whereas it could
indicate unsuspected strength of character. The
truly great of this world are modest. Or to put
it another way, the boaster is never as
self-assured as he pretends. Of the two, you
would prefer the one who mistrusts himself, at
least a little.
Sydney Smith once summed up the cause
and cure of self-conscious reserve in these
words: “I was once very shy, but I made two
important discoveries that cured me. First, that
all mankind was not employed in observing me.
Second, that pretending was no use: the world
The purpose of the Office of Readings is to
present a wider selection of Scripture and of
the best works of spiritual writers. It seeks to
present this wider selection to all God’s people,
but especially to those who have publicly
committed themselves to God in a special way.
Although the Scripture readings at Mass are
nowadays more varied than before, the Office
of Readings can offer still more of the treasures
of revelation and Church tradition, and thus it
can help greatly in the spiritual life. Priests
especially should plumb the depths of these
riches, for in this way they will be better able
to teach everyone the Word of God which they
have received and to make their doctrine “the
food of the people of God.”
Recent biblical excerpts in the Office of
Readings, for example, included passages from
Exodus and Deuteronomy while such stories as
the call of Abraham, the deliverance from
Egyptian bondage and the kingship of David
occur during the year.
The spiritual writers appearing in this new
breviary range from early Christian fathers like
St. Augustine and St. Cyprian to more
contemporary writers like Pope Pius XII and St.
Thomas More.
I have heard a few grumblings about the
expense involved with this book. However, at
less than a penny a page, the publication seems,
for these days, extremely reasonable. Moreover,
the volume has been designed for daily use over
many years - a factor to be considered when
evaluating the cost.
was very clear-sighted and soon estimated a
man at his true value.”
Actually, people who clam up in the
presence of new acquaintances are generally
held in high regard. They do not know this.
Actually, Sydney Smith’s discoveries could help
them get over their unnatural reserve.
RESOLUTION: Cure self-centered shyness
by starting conversations, with sincere interest
in the other’s family, job, hobby. Live for God
alone by accepting every reasonable challenge
to serve others, since only thus are hidden
talents recognized and used as God expects.
SCRIPTURE: The Pharisees said, “Master,
we know You court no one’s favor and do not
act out of human respect.” Mt. 22, 16. “You
are the light of the world. Men do not light a
lamp and then put it under a bushel basket, but
let it give light to all. Your light must shine
before men so that they may see goodness in
your acts and give praise to your heavenly
Father.” Mt. 5,16.
PRAYER: Lord, Jesus, grant that I may
know You, that I may know myself and
become more like You. Amen.
Getting To Know You
Rev. James Wilmes