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PHOTO BY THOMAS M. CARR
Large red, white and blue tent was center of activities.
PHOTO BY THOMAS M. CARR
Pilgrims spend a few moments with Blessed Sacrament between sessions.
not satisfied. We hunger and thirst for
something over and beyond what we
have, and our goal is the fulfillment of
the dreams of our vision.”
He told the gathering, “We are not
making that journey alone, for we are a
Eucharistic people, and if we are a
Eucharistic people, we are accompanied
by our Eucharistic Lord and Savior.” He
further said, “The Eucharist is always,
and at every moment, our viaticum --
that which accompanies us along the
way -- for, without that bread, we have
no life, without that life, we have no
bread, without that bread, we have no
Spirit.”
Bishop Lessard said the Diocesan
Eucharistic Pilgrimage of Renewal
sought a renewal which “consists, first
of all, in having our eyes open to that
vision, having our sight focused upon it,
having all of our aspirations, all of our
efforts, all of our being directed toward
that goal.”
The pilgrimage opened with
procession in which the Blessed
Sacrament was carried to the big tent,
where a Holy Hour followed. After the
Holy Hour, the Blessed Sacrament was
taken to a smaller tent grotto, where
pilgrims visited during the day. The
afternoon session featured programs on
“Hunger for Bread”; “Hunger for the
Spirit”; Hunger for God.”
“Hunger for Bread”
The first presentation dealt with the
need to be open and concerned for the
needs of people in the community. Ms.
Barbara Clowers and Mrs. Ann Shaheen
were the speakers at this session, which
dealt with the “Hunger for Bread.”
Ms. Clowers, of St. Peter’s Parish,
Macon, opened the hour by sharing with
the pilgrims the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus from the Gospel of St.
Luke.
Mrs. Shaheen, of Macon’s St. Joseph
Parish, spoke on what she classified as
“the evil hunger, the sinful hunger, the
hunger that causes starvation.”
She told those assembled:
- 500 to 800 million people are
starving to death. These brothers and
sisters are in the sub-Sahara, in India, in
Bangladesh, in Latin America, in Macon,
Ga.
- Two out of three babies in West
Africa die before the age of three.
- Nine out of ten children in some
countries of the third world do not
reach the teen-age years.
-- Today, Saturday, July 31, 1976,
10,000 people will die of starvation.”
She said that all the goods of the
world are entrusted to us in stewardship
and that every human being has a right
to those things necessary for survival
and for human dignity. “It’s not a
desirable, nice thing,” she said, “it’s a
right.”
Ms. Clowers explored the needs of
the poor and asked, “Who is responsible
for feeding the hungry of the world? Is
it the government? Is it the Church? Or
is it a combination of government and
Church?”
She closed the session by telling of
the work of the church, the work of
SEARCH, the Diocesan Social
Apostolate organization in Macon and
of its battle against hunger.
“Hunger of the Spirit”
Father Liam Collins, of the Church of
the Most Holy Trinity, Augusta, led the
session on “Hunger for the Spirit.”
The Augusta priest said that within us
all “there is a ‘Hunger for the Spirit’
which we relish, for there is a mystery
of a God who loves us, who keeps
coming, who keeps sharing with us His
Spirit.”
He related that the Church’s prayer,
down through the ages, has been
“Come, Holy Spirit, come and fill the
hearts of your hungry faithful.” He said
that in the fidelity that God is, the
Spirit comes to us.
Father Collins felt the most
meaningful way to respond to the day’s
theme would be for “each of us,
individually, to make in a renewed way,
that invitation for the Spirit of God to
renew us, to really come and immerse us
in the presence of God’s love, so that
our hearts will be open to the needs of
our brothers and sisters.”
He said, “God did not leave us
orphans when Jesus ascended to be with
the Father. He came back to be with us
in a more intense presence, in a more
intimate way.”
“God does not want loneliness,” he
continued, “God does not want us to be
lonely. He wants to abide with us. God
does not want us, in our society, to
leave our brothers and sisters in the
loneliness of high-rise apartments. God
wants us to reach out with the power of
love, and to re-create the bonds of love
that make us a human family, so we
might be a credible sign to a world
that’s not just hungry for the Spirit, but
one that is on the point of starvation for
the Spirit.”
Father Collins then introduced two
people who shared their experiences of
receiving the Spirit. Mary Frances Trees,
of the Legion of Mary and Savannah’s
Blessed Sacrament Parish was one of the
speakers. Donald King, of Sacred Heart
Parish, Vidalia, recounted the changes
brought about in his life as a result of
the Cursillo Movement.
“Hunger for God”
Tom and Sandy Union introduced
the speakers at the final presentation
which considered the “Hunger for
God.” They outlined the session as one
which would explore man’s search for
God as manifested in the search for
genuine community, both within and
(Continued on page 3)
“LITTLEST PILGRIM” Rosie Kohanna displays a hunger not included
in themes for day, a “Hunger for Dirt.” Here she gets a clean-up from her
father, Tony Kohanna. The Kohannas are members of Sacred Heart
parish, Warner Robins. (Photo by Thomas M. Carr)
Fiscal 1975 was a record year for
both mission aid disbursements and
fund-raising activities of the Catholic
Church Extension Society, according to
the Papal Society’s annual report and
Statement of Accountability presented
to its Board of Governors at the
organization’s recent annual meeting in
Chicago.
The Reverend Joseph A. Cusack,
President of the Society, reported
Extension disbursed a record
$3,531,000 during the period March 1,
1975 to February 29, 1976 in the form
of grants to home missions.
Father Cusack noted that
disbursements during the fiscal year
ended 2/28/76 reflected a 36 per cent
increase over the fiscal year ended
2/28/75 mission grants, or $937,000.
“Our increased aid to the home
missions was made possible through the
benevolence of our members,” said
Father Cusack who noted total dollars
available for distribution were up 61 per
cent, or $1,845,063.
“It is only through the continued
Christian charity of our members that
we are able to carry on the work of the
Society,” he said.
The Board of Governors approved a
mission aid budget of $3,500,000 for
fiscal 1976. The majority of the budget,
$900,000, has been allocated for
multi-purpose construction with the
remaining funds allocated as follows:
Salaries for priests and religious -
$5550,000; Mission catechetical and
religious - $5000,000; Campus Ministry
- $400,000; Student education -
$300,000; Special diocesan aid -
$300,000; Masses - $275,000;
Miscellaneous aid - $250,000; Church
goods - $25,000.
The Society’s Statement of
Accountability, which was also
presented to the Board of Governors,
listed an increase of eight per cent for
operational expenses. Father Cusack
noted, however, the Society spent only
14c for every dollar raised, compared to
fiscal 1974’s per dollar expense of 16c.
The board also re-elected three
members to additional three-year terms.
Re-elected board members are:
Archbishop William E. Cousins of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Society’s
Vice Chancellor; Archbishop Joseph T.
Ryan, Military Ordinate, New York; Mr.
John Lewis and Judge Raymond J.
Broderick, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Other members of the Society’s
Board of Governors are: Archbishop
Cornelius Power of Portland, Oregon;
Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan of
Atlanta; Bishop John L. May of Mobile,
Alabama, George W. Strake, Jr. of
Houston; Judge J. Steven Williams of
San Bernadino, California; and Arthur
L. Conrad of Hinsdale, Illinois. Father
Cusack serves as an ex-officio member
of the board as does John Cardinal
Cody of Chicago, the Society’s
chancellor.
Organized in 1905, the Extension
Society is dedicated to serving the
neediest home missions in the United
States and its protectorates. Since its
founding, Extension has distributed
grants totaling more than $61 million.
BY JOHN E. MARKWALTER
An estimated 350 to 400 persons
came on pilgrimage, July 31, to the
grounds of Holy Spirit Church in
Macon.
Those making the Diocesan
Eucharistic Pilgrimage of Renewal, held
on the eve of the Eucharistic Congress
in Philadelphia, came from all corners of
the diocese. They ranged in age from
toddler to senior citizens. The pilgrims
came to honor Christ in the Eucharist,
to discuss and reflect on the “Hungers
of the Human Family.”
A large red, white and blue tent was
the scene of the programs on the
“Hungers” and of the Liturgy which
climaxed the day’s activities. The tent
was raised in a clearing surrounded by
pine trees, under which the pilgrims ate
their mid-day meal and relaxed between
sessions.
In his homily at the Pilgrimage Mass,
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard described
the gathering as a group of people who
had come together on a pilgrimage. He
said, “We’re on a journey and we’re
taking that journey together, a journey
that is a pursuit of a vision, and that
vision is at once very simple, yet very
complete. It is a vision that is suggested
by the “Hungers” that have become the
themes of this year’s Eucharistic
Congress.”
According to the bishop, “We are a
pilgrim people. We are travelers. We are
Interior view of tent during one of day’s programs. photo by thomas m. carr
hern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 57 No. 28
Thursday, August 5, 1976
Single Copy Price —15 Cents