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Bishop s Office Diocese of Savannah P. O. Box 8789 Savannah, Geobgia 01402 Fourth Of July 1976 July 1,1976 My dear friends in Christ, Our celebrations this Sunday, the Fourth of July, take on a special meaning in this year of our country’s Bicentennial Anniversary. As we commemorate that day two hundred years ago when the Declaration of Independence was first adopted and proclaimed, we recall not only that a new nation was born, but one that recognized that all human beings are created equal by God. During that span of two centuries, men and women have come in the hundreds of thousands because they had heard the whisper of a land beyond the sea where rich and poor stood equal in the light of freedom’s sky. When they came, not all things were as bright as they might have expected. Yet, in spite of human frailty and sinfulness on the part of some, these newcomers knew they were in a land where before the law all human beings were equal and all would have a better opportunity to develop their capacities and realize their dreams of life, liberty and happiness. As we rejoice with gratitude on this historic occasion, we also recognize the grave responsibilities that are ours, if we are to preserve the traditions and institutions that guarantee our freedoms, if we are to perfect them so that these same freedoms can be enjoyed by all. As Catholics, we might be tempted to boast of our record as good citizens; we cannot, however, allow ourselves to become self-satisfied. The very perfection we seek as followers of Christ also calls us to become concerned and involved in promoting and realizing the well-being of all the citizens of our local and national community. The message of love and peace which Christ proclaims to us not only reminds us that service is our greatest privilege but that in our free society responsible participation is our greatest right. The Holy Father, Pope Paul VI, in his recent message to the Bishops of the United States, exhorts us in these words: “At every turn, your Bicentennial speaks to you of moral principles, religious convictions, inalienable rights given by the Creator. If all Catholics and people of good will were united in those sound moral principles formulated by your Founding Fathers and enshrined forever in your history, what a beacon of light America would be for the world.” That our nation may be such a beacon should be the object of our prayers and hopes on this Fourth of July, 1976. Devotedly yours in Christ, The Southern Cross DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER Vol. 57 No. 25 Thursday, July 1,1976 Single Copy Price — 15 Cents “Hunger For God” One Focus Of Macon Eucharistic Event BY JERRY CANTWELL The Pilgrimage for Renewal in the Eucharist declared by Bishop Raymond Lessard as one of the Savannah Diocese’s observances of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress will in part emphasize man’s hunger for God. “Hunger for God” has been identified as one of the eight basic hungers of man and is incorporated into the Eucharistic Congress’ overall theme of THE EUCHARIST AND THE HUNGERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. It is also one of the three themes upon which the diocesan celebration at Holy Spirit parish in Macon on July 31st will focus. The other two to be emphasized at the Macon event are “Hunger for Bread” and “Hunger for the Spirit.” The theme of man’s hunger for God, of God’s revelation of himself to his Clark To Be Ordained Rev. Mr. Douglas Clark On Saturday, July 3rd. Bishop Raymond Lessard will ordain Douglas Clark to the priesthood. The ceremony will take place in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah at 10:00 A.M. He will celebrate his first Mass in Blessed Sacrament Church, Savannah on July 4th. at 12:30 P.M. Rev. Mr. Clark, a native of Ohio, graduated from William and Mary College in Virginia. He has studied theology at the North American College in Rome for the past four years. He also worked in the diocese as a seminarian in Savannah and the Albany deanery. Last summer he worked as a deacon in Cambridge, England. The people of the Savannah deanery are invited to attend this ceremony of ordination. This marks the first time that an ordination ceremony will be performed in the Cathedral since Father LuCree and Father Fitzpatrick were ordained. Clergy Assignments Bishop Raymond W. Lessard announced the following assignments last week. EFFECTIVE JULY 1,1976 FR. TADG (TIMOTHY) O’MAHONY, from pastor of St. Anne’s, Columbus, to pastor of St. John the Evangelist, Valdosta. FR. JOHN O’BRIEN, from associate pastor of St. Teresa’s, Albany, to associate pastor of St. John the Evangelist, Valdosta. FR. RICHARD MINCH, from associate pastor of Sacred Heart, Warner Robins, to associate pastor of St. Teresa’s, Albany. EFFECTIVE JULY 14,1976 FR. LAWRENCE LUCREE, from rector of Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, to pastor of St. Matthew’s, Statesboro. MSGR. FELIX DONNELLY, from pastor of St. Teresa’s Augusta, to rector of Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah. FR. WALTER DIFRANCESCO, from pastor of Sacred Heart, Warner Robins, to pastor of St. Teresa’s, Augusta. % MSGR. MARVIN LEFROIS, from pastor of St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill, Augusta, to pastor of Sacred Heart, Warner Robins. FR. STEPHEN MCINTOSH, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans assigned as associate pastor of Sacred Heart, Warner Robins. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY REV. MR. WAYLAND BROWN, assigned to diaconate ministry at St. James, Savannah. MSGR. MARVIN LEFROIS, Diocesan Director of the Permanent Diaconate. people, and of their response to him will be evident throughout the six-hour celebration. The opening ceremonies and procession of the Blessed Sacrament to its repose in a sylvan grotto will be immediately followed by a holy hour in which God and his people will dialogue through an exchange of scriptures, psalms, and songs. At the end of each hour thereafter, his people as individuals will be invited to seek him out in silent meditation in the grotto. Moreover, one of the intervening hours will feature a formal program structured around the very theme “Hunger for God.” Presented by Fr. Robert Teoli, this program will emphasize man’s search for God as manifested in his search for genuine community both within and beyond the immediate family. This seeking of God in community has been reflected in the poetry of both the secular and the sacred prophet. Donne, for example, wrote that “to be no part of anybody is to be nothing,” and Teilhard envisioned man’s ultimate salvation being reached in a final coalescence of all men with themselves and with God. Therefore, an activity focusing on man’s search for God can do no less than emphasize the same medium. THE BREAD OF LIFE -- Msgr. John Foley in his article on the themes of next month’s International Eucharistic Congress tells us “As Christians receive the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life, their relationship with Jesus is intensified, their identity with Him is confirmed.” Youth is pictured receiving Eucharist from Savannah’s Bishop Raymond W. Lessard at June 17 Augusta Deanery Eucharistic Celebration. The liturgy was one in a series of deanery celebrations in preparation for the 41st International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Philadelphia, August 1-8. (Photo by George Champion) The Hungers Of The Human Family (The following is part of a series on the themes of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Philadelphia next month.) BY MSGR. JOHN FOLEY THE EUCHARIST AND THE HUNGER FOR BREAD “I was hungry and you gave me to eat.” This was the way Jesus assured His followers that personal care for the starving is the same as a personal service done for Him. Further, He warned that those who did not care for the hungry would be invited to depart into “everlasting fire”; but He reassured His listeners that the compassionate would be invited to enter “the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.” Why is feeding the hungry the same as feeding Christ Himself? First, of course, every human being is the brother or sister of every other human being -- because all have the same Father, God. All are members of the same human family. To give food to a hungry person is to share a meal with a member of the family; to refuse to give food to a hungry person is to turn one’s back on a brother or sister. Because Christ is true man as well as true God, He is the brother of all -- and to turn one’s back on a starving brother or sister is equivalent to turning one’s back on Jesus Himself, just a* it is Christ our brother who is fed in the person of every starving brother or sister in the human family. Second, all followers of Christ have the same life - a created share in the very inner life of God Himself, a special life called grace, because it is a gratuitous gift from God over and above the marvelous gifts of nature. Because all who believe in Jesus and live in His love truly live by the divine life of Jesus Himself, then it is Jesus who is fed in the person of His follower who is hungry and poor. As Christians receive the Holy Christ just as surely as we do when we receive Him in Holy Communion. To refuse to feed the hungry would be not only an injustice to members of the family; it would be not only a refusal to serve Jesus in the person of others; it would be, in fact, to starve ourselves spiritually, just as surely as if we never accepted Jesus’ invitation to receive His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The “everlasting fire” promised by i j v <©> ► 41st International Eucharistic Congress Eucharist, the Bread of Life, their relationship with Jesus is intensified, their identity with Him is confirmed. As Christians become truly one with Jesus in the Eucharist, they also intensify their unity with all their brothers and sisters in Christ to such an extent that denial of charity to a brother or sister in need is equivalent to denying nourishment to a part of one’s own body. Thus, in feeding the hungry, we are not only ministering to the needs of brothers and sisters; we are not only serving the person of Christ in others; we are, in fact, nourishing ourselves in Jesus to those who refuse food to the hungry burns not only in eternity but also in time, as selfish aspirations turn to frustrations, as possessions turn to ashes and as glutted bodies are scourged with the pain of starving souls. To receive Jesus in the Eucharist and to live Jesus in the Eucharist is to be united with Him and with all humanity in justice, peace and love; to refuse food to the hungry, however, is fo experience the opposite of unity -- alienation: alienation from other members of the human family Whose needs we ignore; alienation fr< Jesus whom we refuse to serve in others; and alienation from ourselves, who suffer the paradox of spiritual starvation in refusing to share the bounty with which God has blessed us. THE EUCHARIST AND THE HUNGER FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE “If any man eat this bread, he will live forever.” The words of Jesus in promising the Eucharist are both provocative and paradoxical, for how can bread nourish for a life that will never end and how can such a life bring a happiness that is complete? First, we know from experience that starving people are not truly free. Their bodies are not free, because they are too weak to do anything. Their minds are not free, not only because they are preoccupied with the one thought of physical survival, but also because their brains suffer the effects of malnutrition. We also know from experience that oppressed people are not truly free. They are inhibited -- or prohibited - from traveling, from speaking even from praying. They are hindered from developing. Thus, there exists throughout the human family a hunger not only for daily bread to fend off starvation, but also for the realization of fundamental dignity which provides psychic security. If human beings are deprived of food, they are destroyed physically; if human (Continued on page 3)