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The Southern Cross, Page 4
Comm Sillily
Open Wide the Doors to Christ
Thursday, November 30, 2000
By Father Michael H. Smith
E ach Beatitude is a key to open wide the
doors of our personal life, and the life of our
world, to Christ the Savior. The first to use
them, and use them well, was the first person to
know and welcome him, his virgin mother Mary.
So fully did she open the doors of her life to
Jesus, that she herself became the door through
which He entered the world. Let’s watch how
she did this.
Before God’s invitation to become the Mother
of his Son, Mary felt poor and powerless. “How
can this be,” she said, “since I am a virgin?” But
then freely and fully she opens herself to the
Spirit’s power saying, “Let it be with me accord
ing to your word.” Always she presents herself
as the meek and lowly handmaid for whom the
Mighty God has done great things. But along
with God’s gift came tears of mourning when
Jesus was lost for three days as a youth, and
when she felt his anguish at the foot of the
Cross.
We sense her inner strength as she proclaims
the power of God to make justice reign in her
Magnificat: “God has shown might with his arm,
and dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He
has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled
with good things; the rich he has sent empty
away.” All of Mary’s visitations have been to
very humble people to encourage them in the
struggle against the forces of evil which threaten
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to overwhelm them and the world.
Mary not only proclaimed that “God’s mercy
is from generation to generation,” but she herself
showed forth a heart of mercy as she journeyed
to visit her elderly cousin Elizabeth and sought
the help of her Son for the newlyweds at Cana.
The sword of sorrow that pierced her heart, as
Simeon had foretold, made her love for her son
pure as purest gold.
As Jesus was persecuted by Herod at the
beginning of his life and by Pilate and their own
religious leaders at the end, Mary was there, at
his side. She was there also, waiting in prayer,
with the first disciples, helping them to open
their hearts to the Spirit who would empower
them to continue the work of her Son, bringing
grace and peace first to the Jews, then even to
the ends of the earth.
As Mary embraced each of these blessed atti
tudes, she opened herself more and more fully to
deeper union with her Son. Full of grace on her
earthly journey, she became “the Woman clothed
with the Son, with the moon under her feet, and
on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation
12:1) and entered that special place prepared for
her by God.
As we begin Advent 2000, “Mary stands
before us as a living proof that the Beatitudes
are the keys to open our lives more and more
fully to Christ. As Vatican Council II wrote,
“The mother of Jesus shines forth on earth, until
the day of the Lord shall come, as a sign of sure
hope and solace for the pilgrim People of God.”
With her we can radiate the glory of Jesus in the
world of today.
Father Michael H. Smith is pastor of
Holy Redeemer, McRae, and Saint Mark,
Eastman. This is the fourth in a series of
four articles.
601 E. Liberty St.
Savannah, GA 31401-5196
On Sister John
Dear Editor:
Congratulations to the Georgia Association of
Nurse Anesthetists for recognizing Sister John
with this award. And finally, congratulations to
Sister John, who will not understand why all
this fuss is being made over her when she was
“just doing what she was always taught to do”
May we all someday be able to look back on
our own careers with the same satisfaction of
knowing that we had put patient safety first and
foremost.
Thank you Sister John, may you long contin
ue to teach all of us by your example.
Jason P. Cuttino, M.D.
Savannah
More on behavior in Church
Dear Editor:
I regret that Andrea Morin (The Southern
Cross, November 16) considered my remarks
regarding behavior in church as being hostile to
some. I merely used examples readily seen at
weekend Masses in any of the churches with
which I am familiar. That part of my letter
amounted to about 15% of the total. The bal
ance was—I had hoped—an explanation of
why we have this situation today and was pref
aced by “Let’s not put all the blame on the indi
vidual.”
I then went on to suggest that the reason for
what we see is that many of today’s Catholics
apparently are not aware of the Church’s teach
ing concerning the “Real Presence”—that the
Letters
bread and wine we receive at Communion is
actually the Body and Blood of Christ! This is
the major problem, but there are a host of others.
Ms. Morin believes that no one should be
admonished for “not following a set of written
rules.” May I suggest that that is precisely what
is wrong with our Church (and the nation)
today? Again, our current crop of Catholics has
been short-changed in the teaching department!
For example, artificial contraception is still a
no-no. If one practices it, he or she should not
go to Communion without having first been to
Confession.
Missing Mass without a cogent reason is also
in that category. There are more subjects for
Confession but space is at a premium. Let me
pursue but these two. Go to any Mass and you
will see 99% of the worshipers going to
Communion.
Are none of these “on the pill” or practicing
other forms of contraception? Have none of
these missed a Sunday Mass lately? The statis
tics show that some 70% of Catholics do not go
to Mass regularly.
How many, today, know that receiving Com
munion unworthily, i.e., with unconfessed mor
tal sin on one’s soul, is yet another sin?
Yes, there are written rules. They are there for
the good of the Church and of its children. The
fact that so many do not know those rules—or
choose to ignore them—is a sad commentary
on the post-Vatican II Church.
There were many rules in an earlier day.
Abstaining from meat on almost every Friday
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of the year, fasting from midnight before going
to Communion and the need for frequent
Confession, were but a few. Following those
rules, and others as well, resulted in over 70%
of Catholics going to Mass every Sunday—just
the opposite of today’s sorry showing.
There is more to knowing and loving God
than “praising him in a communal setting”—
and it takes guts.
Bill Scholly
Evans
Dear Editor:
The letters from LaVeme South (October 26)
and William C. Scholly (November 12) pub
lished in our Southern Cross were pertinent,
long overdue and should be considered by all
of us in regard to our dress code and deport
ment in church. I thank both of these fine letter
writers for their assessment and suggestions.
The church edifice is not a social hall. It is
the exclusive dwelling place of the real pres
ence of Jesus Christ, to which we are invited.
Many parishioners wish to pray silently in
preparation for Holy Mass. Unnecessary and
sometimes loud conversations and socializing
in the vestibule and body of the chuch, besides
distracting, show disrespect not only to his
presence but to those parishioners who wish to
quietly prepare for Mass. Thank you.
James R. Hayes
Statesboro
(Continued on page 5)