Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
Commentary
Thursday, October 14, 1999
■QmirT 1 i
“Spiritual Superiority Syndrome
55
By Donna Hunt
y now everyone knows it is
Respect Life month. Our priests
are preaching heart-wrenching and
loving homilies about the sanctity of
life and our culture of death. Many
churches and organizations are hold
ing pro-life rallies, marches, and pro
grams. For me, personally, this is the
time that I get a serious case of
Spiritual Superiority Syndrome or
SSS. I sit a bit taller in the pew
because I know that I have never had
an abortion, I am against the death
penalty and would never participate
in an assisted suicide. But SSS is
causing me to participate in another
form of killing, and in some ways is
it worse than any other form of
death, and that is the death of a spirit.
While I am sitting in the pew, full
of SSS, my sister in faith next to me
may be suffering the pains of having
an abortion. She may feel as if she is
not welcome in our church and is not
lovable to God. This is in direct con
tradiction to the teaching of Christ.
Jesus used the parable of the lost
sheep to illustrate His love for each
and every one of us. The post
abortive woman is a lost sheep.
Through God’s grace there can be
reconciliation. We, as part of her
church community, must rejoice at
this sheep being found.
Unfortunately, SSS can cause even
the most pro-life person to believe
that the post-abortive woman is
unsalvageable. SSS can cause us to
call for spiritually stoning, excommu
nicating and shunning those who
have had or caused someone to have
an abortion. But we have to always
remember that our God wants to love
us through any crisis, and that
includes abortion.
As Christians we must help our sis
ters and brothers to let go of guilt and
find God’s love and forgiveness.
Never forget, that we too, are that lost
sheep needing Christ’s forgiveness.
If you or someone you know is
hurting from a past abortion, please
contact Project Rachel, a Catholic
Outreach to women and men at 1-
800-706-8586
DONNA Hunt is a member of Sacred
Heart Parish, Warner Robins.
Comforting the grieving
By Rose Cisik
t is a comfort to reach out and say, “I care.”
Those who are grieving need to feel warmth
and love. It will ease their pain, lessen anxiety
and give them strength.
In life, there is a lot of grief. There is the grief
of losing a job, losing one's health, losing one's
home in a fire, old age, and many other experi
ences throughout life that call for mourning or
tears. It is very painful, sometimes it seems like
there will never be an end. We need to be kind
and patient and help one another.
All through the Scriptures, we are called to
provide support for one another. Sometimes we
do not know what to do or say. It is written in 2
Corinthians 1:3-4. “Blessed be the God and
father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of
compassion and God of all encouragement, who
encourages us in our every affliction, so that we
may be able to encourage those who are in any
affliction with the encouragement with which
we ourselves are encouraged by God.” With
God, all things are possible!
There are so many ways we can comfort the
grieving, a kind word, an “I'm sorry, is there
anything I can do?”, being present so they will
not feel alone. Send a note, phone calls, support
groups, staying in contact, etc. to show you care
We need to listen with our heart to the griev
ing, allowing them to tell their stories over and
over again. We must be understanding, accept
ing whatever feelings that are expressed. Every
person is different and grieves differently. We
need to have respect and consideration for them.
Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together
for good for those who love God.” During my
grieving over the loss of my son, I thought of
that scripture. God is all caring, and a loving
God and he will not forsake or leave us. I
thought about all the good things that happen in
my life, and it gave me comfort and peace.
Through prayers and support form sisters and
brothers in Christ, I was able to handle my grief
better.
Those in mourning often think they can not
smile or enjoy life again. In Matthew 5:4, Jesus
says, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will
be comforted.” Jesus will hearken to the broken
hearted and bring them healing. We need to
comfort the grieving: it will give them peace
and strength to go on with life.
Rose Cisik is a member of Saint Mary on the
Hill Parish, Augusta.
Letters
601 E. Liberty St.
Savannah, GA
31401-5196
A great celebration
Dear Editor,
I had the great pleasure of being
at the Macon Deanery Millennium
Mass with over 3000 of my fellow
Catholics from middle Georgia. It
was a very moving Christian expe
rience. I am sorry that all the peo
ple of our diocese could not be
there. I wish to congratulate and
thank the planning committee for a
superb job. They did an outstand
ing job on all the preparations,
both the ones we saw and got to
hear and the ones behind the
scenes. I hope I don’t have to wait
100 years to see a Mass like this
again in Macon.
Holst C. Beall, Jr.
Macon
A plea
Dear Editor,
I am writing to make a request to
all the clergy, especially priests. In
the Savannah area I know how busy
and overtaxed you all are. However,
there is one place where a priest or
religious is desperately needed. A
small group of moms, kids and
[other] concerned Catholics meet on
Thursday mornings from 9:30 a.m.
to 10:30 a.m. to pray the Rosary and
be a witness to life. Where do we
meet? At the Savannah Medical
Center on the comer of Abercom
and 34th Streets.
At this “clinic,” they perform
abortions all day on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Many of the girls come
in around 9:00 a.m. or just after, so
we see many of them go in. So
many are very young girls, age 10
and up, forced by their parents or
“boyfriends” to kill their child. It
is so tragic to see it, and difficult
to be there, but oh what a differ
ence we can make. Monsignor
[Daniel J.] Bourke, when he was
alive, was often a vibrant presence
at the clinic. His influence and the
number of babies he personally
saved are well known in pro-life
circles. The girls themselves say
“Seeing the priest there made me
change my mind.” Even just one
member of the clergy can have
such a profound impact on so
many people’s lives.
We are asking, is there any priest
or religious who can come join us
in this struggle against evil? Is one
hour every week, or even just once
a month, too much to ask? Those
of us who meet to pray would feel
so strengthened by your presence.
Would you please join us? Some
one’s life is counting on it. To got
more information please call me at
912-898-0677.
Betsy A. DeBry
Savannah
Thanks for Peter’s Pence
Bishop J. Kevin Boland has
received this letter from the
Apostolic Nuncio.
Dear Bishop Boland,
With sincere gratitude I wish to
acknowledge receipt of the check
in the amount of $36,763.65, rep-
FAX: (912) 238-2339
E-mail:
DClark5735@aol.com
resenting the Peter’s Pence contri
bution from the Church in
Savannah for 1999, which you had
forwarded this past week to the
Apostolic Nunciature.
As I assure you that this sum will
be duly transmitted to the
Secretariat of State on your behalf,
permit me to offer an initial word of
appreciation in the name of the
Holy Father for this valuable assis
tance. In addition to sharing in the
material responsibilities facing
Pope John Paul II, this expression
of generosity by your people
reveals their deep awareness of the
bonds of faith, worship and love
which they share with the Universal
Church and God’s people, especial
ly the poor, throughout the world.
May God, who is infinitely gen
erous, reward you and continue to
bless you and the faithful under
your pastoral care.
+ Gabriel Montalvo
Apostolic Nuncio
Washington