Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6 — The Southern Cross, October 3, 1985
BY TICKI LLOYD
It is October.
The sky is Mary blue. White sheep
clouds make their way to pasture. On
earth, the grass remains green and tiny
ants scurry about in search of winter food.
I gaze out of my window and watch a
light breeze lift the changing leaves on a
dogwood tree. Now, my attention is at
tracted to a lovely statue of the Blessed
Virgin Mary resting in a bird bath in the
center of my flower garden. The voices of
birds give praise to Mary as they spread
their wings and dip their light bodies into
the cool water beneath Her feet. Colorful
butterfalies flutter about in hushed silence
as I turn my attention back to my
typewriter.
Touched by peacefulness, I reflect on the
lesson the season contains in bringing
about a whole month’s devotion to Mary,
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. This is the
month we draw great spiritual benefits
from Mary who makes our lives more
fruitful and gives us assurance that the
mysteries of Her rosary will store up
treasures in heaven for us.
What shall I say about my beautiful
Mother, Mary?
Mary is foremost the Mother of God. She
Multi-Billion $ Industry
Mary Of The Holy Rosary
is not merely the Mother of Our Lord’s
manhood, but She is considered the Mother
of the Word Incarnate. God took the
substance of His human flesh from Her. He
lived with Her for thirty years. She
witnessed His growth, His joys, His sor
rows.
Since Mary was given to us as our
Mother, we are in a sense, part of the Holy
Family. In the mysteries of the rosary,
Jesus and Mary are closely united and by
reciting the prayers on the beads, we are
united with Mary and Her Son Jesus.
The thought comes to me: Which of
Mary’s multitude of titles brings the
greatest happiness to Her Virgir -1 Heart?
She is the Comforter of the Affncted - the
Cause of our Joy - She is hailed in the
joyous song of Her litany.
Mary of Bethlehem - peace and tran
quility abide there. Here She is brought
before the happy days of the Baby Jesus -
the memory of Her Adorable Son cradled
in Her arms, His baby lips pressed against
Her Virgin breast. She recalls the memory
of life when Jesus called Her “Mother” for
the first time.
Mary of Nazareth - that, too, brings a
smile to Her lips when She remembers the
day Jesus went forth on His Divine Mission
and She heard reports of His wondrous
works of kindness, mercy and love.
Mary of Calvary - this brings back sor
rowful memories to Her when She pictures
Herself on that Black Day. It was Her
crucifixion too, for the “sword of sorrow
pierced Her very soul.”
Mary of the Coronation - this was Her
day of triumph and joy. It was then that
She received the reward of Her suffering
and sorrow and became a great sign ap
pearing in the heaven; “a woman clothed
with the sun.”
On almost every visit our Blessed
Mother makes to earth as the emissary of
Her Divine Son, she carries a rosary with
her. She pleads with those to whom She
ai Dears to pray the rosary and to spread
th devotion throughout the world. Even
thi ugh the universe stands on the brink of
what might well be general destruction,
we :an, if we but listen to Mary, pray the
rosary and bring peace to the world. How
powerful that little chain of beads can be!
Mary would not mislead us when She
pleads for the recitation of the rosary each
day. The world cannot understand the
power of the rosary. But the power is
there. If our minds would dwell on Mary’s
words, “Pray the rosary”, we could over
come insurmountable forces of evil and
corruption.
With an active imagination, just think of
the magnificent trip we can take sitting in
our chair praying the rosary as the beads
slide gently through our fingers. In our
meditations we can be present at Jesus’
birth, we can become closely linked to
Mary and we can meet Joseph, the Silent
foster father of Jesus. Mary’s life as told
on the beads bring us into the home of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We not only
follow Mary’s joys; we weep with Her at
the foot of the cross on Calvary. How close
we become to Mary through the rosary!
Parents should have for their models
Joseph and Mary in ther marriage. And,
certainly they should encourage their
children to learn to pray the rosary at a
tender age. When the children understand
the rosary, they come to realize the love of
Jesus for His parents and this example can
lead them to model their lives after this
precious son of Mary and Joseph.
Mary has the greatest power, next to
that of God, to help us if we make
ourselves Her children. She will be with us
all the way on our rocky road to Calvary,
just as She was with Her Divine Son.
PRAY THE ROSARY!
Pornography Struggle More Than Conservative Cause
BY MICHAEL GALLAGHER
NEW YORK (NC) — Pornography in
this country is an industry of multi-billion-
dollar proportions in which organized
crime is deeply involved. And the toll that
it exacts each year in human anguish is
something that cannot be calculated.
The struggle against it unfortunately has
been tagged a conservative cause, just as
has the struggle against abortion.
There’s no logic in so designating either
of them. Just as there is no logic in so
designating the struggle against the threat
of nuclear war as a liberal cause.
But such are the inscrutable decrees of
the lords of the media, who want
everything neatly pigeonholed, and also of
shrill ideologues on both sides of the issue,
who have a like aversion to complexity.
The entrance of feminists into the fray
has, of course, confused both. And after be
ing snickered at for so long, the struggle
against pornography has suddenly acheiv-
ed a certain respectability. Thanks to the
feminists, the media have relented and
decided that the topic is worthy of atten
tion after all and perhaps is something
more than a hobbyhorse of the right.
A group of young Catholic Adults want to
reach out to other young adults (Ages 20 -
35) in the C.S.R.A.
Those interested in meeting fun people
who share good times and strong values
are invited to come and “Rock on-the-Hill
Exchange Of Letters—
(Continued from Page 1)
Paul in Rome in 1981, 1983 and 1984,
discussed the developing Lutheran-Roman
Catholic relationship and his hopes for the
future in a letter to the pope dated May 22,
1985. The pope replied in a letter dated Ju
ly 22.
“With thankfulness to God, I recall our
several personal contacts in recent years
during your visit to the United States and
our private conversations in Rome,”
Bishop Crumley wrote. “We have shared
Last year in Cincinnati, however,
several months before the cover story in
which Newsweek took notice of the
feminist counterattack on pornography,
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago
delivered an address of great significance
to a national conference on pornography.
Most of the 400 or so delegates were Pro
testants and Protestants of a decidedly
conservative hue. For many of them, their
most vivid impression of the cardinal was
his appearance on the cover of Time as the
major Catholic spokesman on the morality
of modern war.
Nonetheless, Cardinal Bernardin left no
doubt as to where he stood on por-
norgraphy.
The approach of the Catholic Church to
all social issues, he said, was shaped by a
“consistant ethic of life,” the belief that
“human life is sacred from conception to
death.”
The church must, therefore, confront
anything that threatens or diminishes life,
and pornography definitely does. And so,
while calling for “An effective balance be
tween freedom and restraint,” Cardinal
Bernardin, the media’s favorite American
at Saint Mary’s on-the-Hill, Augusta.
The dance will be held Saturday, Oc
tober 12, from 8:30 - 1:00 at Saint Mary’s
Parish Hall. Music, food and fun for all.
$2.00 donation. For information call Margi
(404) 738-2457 or Brian (404 ) 738-3971.
our pastoral concerns for those whom God
has entrusted to our care, and our joy at
the relationship that grows more open and
stronger between our churches.”
He said Lutheran-Roman Catholic
dialogue had been “productive in surpris
ing ways.” Lutherans and Roman
Catholics, he said, now “gladly
acknowledge one another as fellow Chris
tians and believers who study together,
pray together and work together for social
good in our nation.”
Catholic liberal, unequivocally endorsed
the need for legal action.
“I wish to reaffirm,” he said, “the
urgency of the challenge confronting us,
and the need to face up to it creatively and
decisively. We need to take legal action
against these corruptive influences in our
society.”
And now, the National Council of Chur
ches, too, has at last spoken out on this
issue.
Up to the present, the NCC has seemed
to have been more concerned about the
dangers of censorship than with the threat
posed by pornography, and even now its
Communications Commission report, bas
ed upon a two-year investigation, avoids
the word.
The document, nonetheless, declares:
“The quality of life in our society is
threatened by the amount, intensity and
graphic persuasivness” of ordinary
violence and sexual violence on television.
Among its recommendations, the report
calls for mandatory ratings, descriptions
of violent content, lock-boxes for cable in
stallation, and separate channels for
general fares and, for R- and X-rated
movies.
What are they trying to accomplish,
those who are fighting against por
nography?
Here, despite the increasingly per
suasive evidence that concern about the
danger of pornograhy cuts across
ideological lines, cliches continue to
abound.
Do these people want to abolish the First
Amendment? Do they advocate censor
ship? No to both questions. What the ma
jority wants is just what Cardinal John
Krol advocated in a sermon delivered to
the Catholic Press Association in
Philadelphia three years ago: the enforce
ment of the laws already on the books.
Another hardy cliche is that the struggle
against pornography is a no-win situation.
On the contrary, wherever dedicated pro
secutors have had public support, they’ve
won victory after victory.
What is needed is a public awareness —
your awareness — that it is possible to deal
a significant blow to pornography in your
community.
If you would like a list of the names of
ecumenical organizations that stand ready
to help you on the local level, please write
to me at: Department of Communication,
The United States Catholic Conference,
1011 First Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022.
Gallagher is on the staff of the U.S.
Catholic Conference Department of Com
munication.
* Second Lieutenant Michael Edward
Blake — Columbus — September 14.
* Susanne Taylor — Macon —
September 17.
* Maurice F. Fitzgerald — Columbus
— September 21.
SANTA CRUZ MISSION — a family af
fair. Among the Missionaries who visited
the Diocese of Savannah recently for the
“Mission Co-operative Plan” appeal were
the Mansmanns, who came on behalf of the
Santa Cruz mission in the southern Philip
pines. Rev. Rex Mansmann, C.P., a Pas-
sionist Priest directing the Santa Cruz mis
sion, is assisted by Sisters of St. Paul de
Chartres and about 180 lay missioners,
who work among the tribes of Mindanao.
Visiting south Georgia to support his work
were his brother Denis Mansmann (left)
and wife Diane (center) and his sister
Joanne Mansmann.
“Rock on-the-Hill" At St. Mary's - Oct. 12