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Diocese of
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Vol. 80, No. 9
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Diocese of Savannah
$.50 PER ISSUE
Thursday, March 2, 2000
Contents
Headline Hopscotch 2
News ‘ 3
Commentary 4-5
Catholic Schools 6-7
Faith Alive! 8-9
Notices 10-11
Last But Not Least 12
Karen Martinez is signed with ashes as a symbol of Lenten peni
tence at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah. Ash
Wednesday falls on March 8 this year.
Diocese forgives $76,562 in parish debt
Savannah
ishop J. Kevin Boland has announced the forgiveness of certain parish
debts owed to the Diocese of Savannah, as part of the celebration of the
Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The criteria included the status of the parish (as
a mission or as subsidized), the ratio of debt service to income and annual rev
enue (less than $100,000). Parishes meeting one or more of these criteria were
considered. A total indebtedness of $76,562 was forgiven the following parish
es or missions:
Albany Deanery: Saint Ann, Alapaha; Immaculate Conception, Moultrie;
Saint Michael, Montezuma; Holy Family, Blakely; Saint John Vianney,
Camilla;
Valdosta-Brunswick Deanery: Saint William, Fitzgerald; Saint Francis of
Assisi, Folkston; Saint Joseph, Jesup.
This forgiveness was granted, in the words of Bishop Boland, “to help
them to proclaim the Gospel more meaningfully, without the burden of
debts that absorb the majority of their resources.”
A Letter from Bishop Boland
Our Lenten Journey
Lent, 2000
My Dear Friends in Christ,
ope John Paul II has
noted that the celebra
tion of Lent during the
Great Jubilee of the Year
2000, “takes on a particu
lar character,” for the sea
son of Lent is “the culmi
nating point of the journey of con
version and reconciliation which
the jubilee, the year of the Lord’s
favor, offers to all the faithful, so
that they can renew their fidelity to
Christ and proclaim his mystery of
salvation with renewed ardor in the
new millennium.”
The jubilee is “the time of grace
in which we are invited to open
ourselves in a particular way to the
mercy of the Father, who in the
Son has stooped down to man, and
to reconciliation, the great gift of
Christ.”
Lent is officially described as the
season of “purification” and
“enlightenment.” While Lent is a
40-day spiritual retreat intended in
the first place for those elected for
baptism at the Easter Vigil, the
whole Christian community is
invited to accompany them on their
spiritual journey. No matter how
long ago the members of the com
munity were baptized, all are invit
ed to be purified again and enlight
ened anew in preparation for the
great feast of Easter.
How might we enter most fruit
fully into the Lenten journey dur
ing this Jubilee year? Perhaps we
should break this formidable jour
ney down into the individual jour
neys that make it up.
A Liturgical Journey
We can enter into the Lenten
liturgy at the deepest level by par
ticipating in the liturgies of Lent,
from Ash Wednesday to Palm
Sunday, and in those of the Easter
Triduum: the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper, the Liturgy of the Passion
and the Easter Vigil itself. I invite
all members of our dioce
san family to consider
being present for the Rite
of Election to be cele
brated at Saint Teresa
Church, Albany, at 11:00
a.m. on Saturday, March
11, and at Saint James,
Savannah, on Sunday,
March 12, at 3:30 p.m., as a sign of
their solidarity with the elect who
are preparing for baptism this
Easter.
The Holy Father has expressed
his desire that this jubilee year
should be “intensely Eucharistic.”
While the Easter Season is the
great time of “mystagogy” or
reflection on the sacramental life,
and therefore the most appropriate
time for Eucharistic devotions,
such as Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament, Lent can be a very fit
ting time to prepare for such devo
tions.
In this spirit, the Diocese of Sa
vannah is also offering a selection
of materials, called “The Fullness
of the Eucharist,” for group reflec
tions during Lent or at another
appropriate time, in order to
heighten the awareness of Christ’s
great gift of the Eucharist, in which
“the memory of his Passion is cele
brated, the mind is filled with grace
and the pledge of future glory
given.”
The program Muchos Rostros
(“Many Faces”) is also commend
ed to the parishes for possible use
during Lent. It aims at fostering a
deeper appreciation of the diversity
of our Catholic family of faith,
united in the one Body of Christ,
which is the Church. We have long
appreciated the Irish, French and
African American contributions to
our diocese and in recent years, we
have welcomed Hispanic, Vietna
mese, Filipino and Korean
Catholics as well. For more infor
mation, contact Father Mike Smith,
(Continued on page 4)