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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, December 9,1976
Parental Failure
A recent study commissioned by the
U. S. C. C. Education Department
indicates youth are challenging religious
beliefs at a younger age.
This earlier challenge is accompanied,
according to the study, by a decline in
attendance at religious services; a decline
in-the percentage of youth who believe
in life after death, who regard the bible
as God’s word; who pray daily.
The study also notes significant
increases in the percentages of
adolescents who consider sexual
- relations before marriage to be all right
in some circumstances and increases in
the use of marijuana or other drugs, in
suicide tendency, running away from
home, fraud and theft.
The study rightly places the
responsibility for the questioning of
moral values squarely on the shoulders
of parents.
“A major factor which influences the
religiousness of youth is their parent’s
orientation to religion,” the report says.
It noted the finding that parent-child
relationships and parental images are
important in the formation of concepts
of God. “Parents influence their
children’s religion overtly by
socialization and indirectly by the way
they relate to their children.
In recent years the church has devoted
more and more of its efforts towards
Ministry to Youth. We have Folk Tune
Masses directed primarily to youth; full
time Diocesan Youth Ministers; Special
Retreat Programs such as SEARCH; an
ever increasing Campus Ministry.
These efforts by the Church
undoubtedly have provided answers for
the probing minds of many of our youth
growing up in a society becoming more
secularistic each day. But these efforts
can’t reach youth already turned away
by the actions of their parents.
The last dozen years have seen many
Catholics place increasing emphasis on
personal conscience, many forgetting the
need of that conscience being rightly
formed. The result has been an increased
questioning of Church authority. Isn’t it
only natural that their children are
questioning moral values?
Has the church failed youth. The
answer is no. But in many cases youth
have been failed by their parents.
This study is additional evidence of
the importance of Adult Religious
Education. Our youth are only reflecting
the attitudes of their parents.
Other Earths?
Joseph Breig
As was to be expected, the newspapers and
the other communications media downplayed -
or ignored - the news that the Viking 2 space
vehicle found no trace of any sort of life, even
the most elementary, on the planet Mars.
The New York Times buried the information
on page 18, in a 5-paragraph item headlined,
“Scientists’ Hopes Fading for Finding Life on
Mars.”
Admittedly, that was better than not
reporting the fact at all, as was the case with
some publications. At least, the Times did
inform readers (those who go through the paper
from front to back) that Viking’s laboratory
instruments “did not find even a trace of
organic compounds (which) are necessary for
all forms of life found on earth.”
All this was in striking contrast to earlier
media treatments of Viking’s long voyage to
Mars. For weeks, the newspapers published
articles emphasizing that Viking would be
looking for life on Mars - and neglecting, for
the most part, to mention that the most the
scientists could possibly hope for would be
some trace of elementary, microscopic
beginnings of life.
In a column some weeks ago,'I suggested
several possible reasons for the attitude of the
journalists. And now - why did they downplay
or ignore the real news - the non-speculative
news, the actual fact - that Mars shows no signs
of any form of life whatever?
Good question. I don’t know the answer.
Meanwhile, in this connection, I received a
letter from a woman reader who asked, “As
great as God is, why couldn’t he have created
different earths . . . Why should we be the only
fortunate ones to have a chance to share His
Heaven?”
The first answer is, God can create trillions
of earths if such is His will, and fill them with
intelligent beings who, like ourselves, are
destined for endless happiness with Him in
Heaven. We have no way of knowing whether
or not He has done so.
My own guess - and of course it is only a
guess although it is based on my understandings
of God’s ways as shown forth in divine
Revelation -- is that he did not create other
earths and other beings like us.
My reason for so thinking is the fact that
God made Himself a member of our human
family in His Incarnation.
We do not come within light-years of
appreciating the tremendousness of the
Incarnation. In St. Paul’s words, God “emptied
himself,” becoming a human being while
remaining God, and sacrificing everything that
goes with divinity except his divine goodness.
He did this in order that he might embrace
humiliation, suffering, sorrow and death to
rescue us from the powers of evil, and to show
forth His boundless and glorious holiness.
This is something so measurelessly great that
it totally explains the creation of the cosmos
and of the human race. There is nothing
conceivable that could in any way compare
with it. It is as great as God is great; as
wonderful as God is wonderful; as holy as God
is holy. His Incarnation is the central reason for
His worship by angels and men and women. I
cannot see any other creation of beings
combining, as humanity does, all material
things with spiritual souls and with divinity.
To Be Lonesome
Rev. James Wilmes
One of life’s little ironies is that crowds do
not make for company, nor the wide open
spaces for loneliness. The loneliest spot on
earth can be the teeming crossroads of a city.
The friendliest can be the open country with
the nearest neighbor a mile away.
The fueling of isolation actually is in the
mind. We feel closely bound to someone a
thousand miles distant, yet strangers to people
next door or down the street. Isolation is also
of the spirit: the feeling of antagonism, of not
belonging: and not wanting to. Then, too, there
are hermit souls who want to live withdrawn in
the peace of their self-sufficiency.
The lonesome people we have in mind and
are concerned about are those who crave
companionship but sit at home waiting for the
phone to ring or someone to knock. Their fault
is their failure to go half way. To have a friend,
one must be a friend, and this means putting
oneself in circulation. The places for this are
many: churches, clubs, specialized groups,
interested in the arts or crafts, civic groups,
study courses and so on. It takes courage, we
know, to barge in upon one of these and to
make oneself known. But how else is it to be
done?
People who are lonesome and heartsick for
friends should ask themselves whether they ever
seriously put themselves out for another. For a
crowd is not company, and faces are but a
picture-gallery where there is no love!
The Southern Cross
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OUR PARISH
o'co Y
“I’m not over Thanksgiving yet!”
Advent --
A Time To Expect
Rev. Noel Burtenshaw
The fate of a convicted killer has grasped our
attention these last few weeks. Will Gary
Gilmore be executed for his crimes, as is his
wish? The country is thinking about it - there
are lots of pros and cons and the case is debated
openly and in the news.
It’s a terrible way for a nation of Christians
to celebrate Advent. Whether he should die or
should not die and whether he should have a
say, is all irrelevant when you remember we are
celebrating this Season of Waiting. We are
distracted and the guns that shatter the silence,
taking his life, will distract us more and could
easily ruin this season for us.
The greatest event in the history of the world
is going to be reenacted and we are thinking
about the execution of a killer. It is bad enough
that Christmas tinsels will distract us and take
our minds off the Savior - but this gruesome
side-show is almost outrageous. However, it is a
good indication of the kind of society we have
built and now live with.
The Old Testament tells us during these
weeks of the tireless efforts of the Prophets to
forecast the beauty of the Messiah’s era. It
would be fantastic. According to Barach it
would be a time when “God would show the
earth his splendor.” And he would do it in
simple but impressive ways. He would, the
Prophets said, take away their everyday
sufferings. There would be bread on the table,
rain on the fields and crops swaying in the
wind. They would have good homes and big
flocks and time to praise and worship God.
All this would come to pass for them when
the Savior would come. No wonder they
watched for him. And what about us? How
would he show his splendor to us?
We have plenty. We have bread on the table
and security in our lives. So what do we want
when the Savior comes? What kind of newness
do we want? There are many. Wouldn’t it be
nice to have a time of peace? No more war. No
more threats of terror. No more nuclear
factories, arms races or threats of destruction.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have no more crime,
brotherhood on our streets in our
neighborhood and all over our cities? Helping
hands instead of barred doors. Food for the
hungry instead of Welfare handouts. And above
all - wouldn’t it be nice to have no more Gary
Gilmores or his like. No more execution -
decisions to be made in our time.
These are the Blessings and the Signs we
want when the Savior comes. And we bring
them about when we see in those words of
John the Baptist “when we see the Salvation of
God” before us. It is not enough to look for the
Savior in the crib. We look for him where he
points. When you fed them, clothed them,
visited them, gave to them, you gave to me. We
see the Savior and his salvation in each other.
This is the Season of waiting, wanting, and
hungering. And all our wishes are going to come
through as we each receive the Lord and give
him away. Then we make all hungers satisfied
and all mankind sees the Salvation of God.
(Reprinted From Ga. Bulletin)
Called
By
Name
Georgia Carolina Ministry
Rev. Robert Mattingly
Vocation Director
Diocese of Savannah
ADVENT - A TIME
TO GROW IN
VOCATIONAL AWARENESS
The great figures of Advent - Isaiah, Mary,
John the Baptist, can be symbols of our own
self-understanding. Isaiah examined life around
him and thus discovered his vocation. Mary was
told that a sword would pierce her own soul
(LK. 2:35). By patiently suffering with her son,
her vocation elicited a total response from her.
John the Baptist knew that he was not the
Messiah. He knew he was simply one who
would prepare the way for the Lord (LK. 3:5).
Thus his vocation was strong and unwavering.
Advent for us today can be meaningful if we,
like the great figures of Advent, examine life
around us, willingly join our sufferings to those
of Christ, and prayerfully discern who we are
called to be. Advent is a call to faith not only in
the meaning of man’s history but also a call to
faith in the importance of each individual’s life.
Isaiah was the Thomas More of the Old
Testament. He was a contemporary of Amos
and Osee. He was a prophet of holiness. He saw
that the people had been unfaithful to God, so
he spent his life in helping others to know
God’s love.
We like Isaiah are called through the
Sacrament of Baptism to be witnesses of light -
prophets of holiness. Today during Advent the
world especially needs each one of us who
claim to be followers of Jesus to reflect upon
the situation in which we live, pray, and work
so as to respond better in love.
Our Blessed Lady held nothing back in giving
herself completely to the Heavenly Father. Her
“yes” to God was total. Therefore, Mary
willingly entered into her Son’s Passion and
because of her deep love for Him, she suffered
with Him.
Advent is a time to reflect on the way we
handle suffering in our own vocation. For the
celibate, striving for complete purity of heart
will involve and intense suffering. For the
married person, giving oneself in good times
and in bad will likewise involve an intense
suffering. Yet, it is only through suffering that
we are purified.
Why Christmas?
Rev. Joseph Dean
The basic foundations of religion are the
personal property of every man. He can know
that there is good and evil, that the one is to be
done and the other avoided. He can reason to
the existence and the surpassing goodness of his
creator. Still, men through the ages have had
varying ideas about God. Even in good faith,
man can make mistakes. There is need for
direct intervention from God. He must tell him
about himself if we are to know Him correctly.
Some have questioned whether such divine
revelation is possible. The answer is that it is.
Of course, man is not able to understand all
about God. He would have to be God’s equal
for that. But God can reveal far more to him
than he ever could know by reason alone. How
much more complete and assuring such
knowledge would be.
Reason demands certain norms by which it
can judge whether a revelation is genuinely
divine or not. Such norms are: there must be no
inconsistency between one part of the
revelation and another; the truths revealed must
be truly worthy of God and not some tawdry
superstition; there must be some sign which
unmistakably shows the presence of God in the
revelation. It is our position that Christianity
meets these norms, - and real historical study
will bear this out. The choice narrows down to
Judaism, Islamism and Christianity. Islamism is
eliminated for internal teachings which are not
consonant with religious consistency. Judaism
is not eliminated but is seen as the primary
stage of true revelation which was completed in
Christianity. Clear as this position seems to us,
however, it may not be that clear to others.
Hence, freedom of conscience is guaranteed to
everyone. It is up to each to investigate the
truth and make his own commitments.
The worst enemy of religion is the religious
hypocrite . . . the Catholic, Protestant or Jew
who is trying to serve God and money. Actions
speak louder than words and the actions --
moral or immoral - of a person’s life tell the
true nature of his religion. It must be plain to
every clear-minded person that there is no such
thing as a religion without morality. It must be
equally plain that religion-oriented morality
must possess something of the immutability of
God. It must have stable, immutable principles,
norms by which a man may say, “It is right for
me to do this; it is wrong for me to do that.”
Morality is thus a strong motive to those in
search of belief. It is also the acid test of those
who already claim to believe.
By the time he was 30, Bob Dolan had seen
the inside of prison cells from New York to
Florida, with frequent stopovers at the Federal
Narcotics Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
Then, after a dozen arrests in a 13-year
nightmare of marijuana and heroin, he reached
the Turning Point.
That was the name, Mr. Dolan recalls, of the
drug rehabiliation program in Pompano Beach,
Florida, where things began to change for him.
During a two-year stay at Turning Point, he
“turned on” to something better than drugs. He
began learning the art of puppeteering.
“I wanted to work with children, that’s all I
could think about at the rehabilitation center,”
says Mr. Dolan, now 36. “I saw a puppet
program and was impressed by it. I wanted to
change my life around and get some direction,
and I knew that using puppets was the way.”
Finally, John the Baptist was tempted to be
many things that he was not called to be. His
intense personal relationship with the Father
enabled him to discern his true identity - a
proclaimer - one who prepares the way.
Advent could be used as a time to discern
our vocation within our vocation. Exactly what
is God calling each one of us to within the large
vocational areas of celibacy and marriage?
Much unhappiness stems from a failure to pray
for discernment. Happiness comes when we
know God’s will and we know we are
responding as fully as possible.
Life does not allow perfect lucidity. One
must live by faith. However, unless we take
advantage of periods like Advent, we can easily
move from year to year without taking the
proper time for prayer and reflection and thus
miss the “now” moments in which to grow.
He began learning all he could about the art.
By the time he had worked up his own show,
the One Way Puppets, the former addict had
fallen in love with one of the counsellors. The
two were married, and Sue Dolan became half
of the puppet enterprise.
Now the Dolans and their One Way Puppets
appear at church functions, shopping malls,
parties and on a children’s television show.
Some, but not all, of the shows deal specifically
with drugs.
“He’s a straight guy,” says Chuck Zink, a
Miami producer of a children’s television show.
“They’re very nice people.”
Each of us can become “turned on” to our
own individual way of reaching out to others.
God will help us to find it and follow it.
For a free copy of the Christopher News
Notes, “Drugs,” send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to The Christophers, 12
E. 48th St., New York, N.Y. 10017.
What One Person Can Do
Rev. Richard Armstrong
BOB DOLAN,
EX-ADDICT, PUPPETEER