Newspaper Page Text
GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1963 PAGE 5
GEORGIA PINES
Christmas- From A To Z
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Writing Christmas cards is a real chore. I
doubt if there is anyone who really enjoys writ
ing cards but nearly everybody enjoys receiving
them. So it seems that the annual ritqal is a
"must" in all our lives, that is if we want to re
ceive them ourselves.
About five or six years ago I walked into a five
and ten cent store and purchased a composition
book. When I arrived home I marked the pages
A through Z and then put down all the names that
I could think of. The following Christmas I check
ed off the names of those who
;ent me cards and with that
>ractice I began to build up a
Christmas card list.
THERE IS ANOTHER feature
o this practice which I found
onvenient. Whenever I go on a
rip 1 put this little book in my
suitcase and if I'm in a new city
I can finger through it and readi
ly find out if I know anyone in that town.
I guess I have made an otherwise laborious
task at least a little interesting. It is real rasci-
nating each year to read through he pages and
find out the different addresses and status of per
sons every year.
OF COURSE what is most sad is to start ad
dressing a card and then recall that this person
has been called to his eternal reward since last
season. At least it affords an opportunity to say
a quick prayer for someone who was a good
friend.
Then there is the boy or girl to whom you simply
addressed a card with the title Mr. or Miss and
then realize that this year it has been changed to
Mr. and Mrs.
ITS ALWAYS A joy to change the address from
Mr. and Mrs. to the—-Family and rea
lize that Almighty God has blessed their marriage
with children.
Then too, there is always the man who has
changed his status or title. The aspiring politi
cian who now is addressed as The Honorable; or
the army man who is now receiving his mail as
Captain instead of Lieutenant; and the student of
medicine who now is called Doctor.
GREAT SATISFACTION comes to me when I no
longer address a card to a young man at the semi
nary but send it instead to the Reverend so and so
in care of such and such a church.
Mixed emotions come when I realize that a
family now has been able to move from an apart
ment to a home, or have changed their address
from one section to another section of the city
with a more formidable address, or havenotbeen
so fortunate and have moved to a less impres
sive locale.
THEN THERE ARE the different types of Christ
mas cards. Some like their name printed on the
card while others feel that it is more personal to
sign their name. (Incidentally, its impossible to
read some unless you are a handwriting expert.)
Some cards are real inspirational while others
contain little or no resemblance to the Holy Sea
son. The size of some are real indicative of sta
tus symbols, while others seem more sensible.
At any rate the whole idea of cards definitely
does bring joy to those who receive them. The
aged, sick and infirm look forward to receiving
cards and it is a good way to say “thanks” to a
person who has been kind and thoughtful to you
the other 364 days of the year.
Here it is the 14th of December and I haven't
sent mine out yet. I must close and go back to that
little book I bought five or six years ago. I hope
your name is in it.
QUESTION BOX
Murder-Conscience?
BY MONSIGNOR J. O. CONWAY
Q. IF YOU MURDER SOMEONE ARE HIS SINS
ON YOUR CONSCIENCE?
A. No, the murderer’s own sins will be too
much for one conscience to bear.
Q. WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME IF A
PRIEST CAN EXCOMMUNICATE A PERSON BE
CAUSE HE HAS TRANSFERRED HIS CHILD FROM
A CATHOLIC TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL? PLEASE
GIVE ME A YES OR NO ANSWER.
A. No. A priest cannot excommunicate anyone,
for any reason. A bishop may make a law provid
ing a penalty of excommunication for those who
maliciously violate the law.
Q. HOW CAN CATHOLICS GO TO HOLY COM
MUNION EVERY SUNDAY AND AT THE SAME
TIME REFUSE TO PAY THEIR DEBTS?
in faith and love to offer the Mass in union with
Jesus Christ?
I know that you do not fulfill your obligation
of attending Sunday Mass by assisting at a tele
vised Mass. However, I am sure that you do par
ticipate in some unmeasured measure in offer
ing the Sacrifice and in receiving its benefits.
Evidence that you do not fully participate is your
in-ability to receive Holy Communion. However,
your presence by attention, devotion, intention
and electronics is far from negligible. You are
joined in substantial Way to the priest, the wor
shippers in the church, and millions of othes who
share the priesthood of Christ in making this of
fering.
The Pope often grants an effective blessing by
TV or radio. Why cannot Jesus join us to Him
self in Sacrifice by similar means? We share in
the Mass in the measure we take part in it, and
join with all those who offer it.
A. I can think of three possible reasons; (1)
they are convinced that the debts
are not just; (2) they fully intend
to pay, but do not have the money
now; or (3) they have juggled
their conscience, as many Ca
tholics are able to do on other
subjects.
My suggestion: Unless they
owe the money to you, don’t
worry your pretty head about
them. The Lord will judge them.
Q. IN WHICH RESPECTS IS SCIENTOLOGY
UNACCEPTABLE TO A CATHOLIC?
A. It is unacceptable to this Catholic because he
hasn’t the slightest idea what it is.
Q. WE WATCHED TH E PRESIDENT’S FUN
ERAL mass on tv, following our missal
AND KNEELING, ETC., AT THE PROPER TIME.
WOULD THIS BE CONSIDERED “ATTENDING
MASS?” IF NOT, WHY NOT? THERE CER
TAINLY ARE NO DISTRACTIONS AS THERE ARE
IN CHURCH.
A. What are the distraction of church? Your
brethren of the Mystical Body who join with you
Q. CAN MARTIN LUTHER BE CALLED AN
APOSTATE? WHAT IS THE REASON HE CAN OR
CANNOT? IF POSSIBLE PLEASE PRINT THIS
VERY SOON BECAUSE WE ARE ALMOST PAST
THIS UNIT IN OUR RELIGION BOOK.
A. In the modern ecumenical spirit we do not
call people offensive names. But even in the old
dog-eat-dog spirit apostate was not an appro
priate name for the Augustinian monk of Wit
tenberg who inspired and led the Evangelical re
form which we now call Protestantism. Certain
ly, in terms of Canon Law, he was an apostate
from his vows as a monk. In a broad, popular
sense of the word a Catholic of his age might
have called him an apostate from the faith - ex
cept that few men of that age, of either persuasion,
were accustomed to such restraint. In a technical
sense, however, an apostate is one who totally
rejects the faith which he has held.
Luther never did that: he rejected the Pope,
with all his popish pomps and practices; he re
jected monastic vows, some of the sacraments,
and good works with all their Pelagian presump
tions. But he held fast to Jesus Christ as Divine
Redeemer, to sanctification by faith and grace,
and to the inspired word of God as found in the
Scriptures.
LITURGICAL WEEK
‘The Lord Draws Near’
(Continued from page 4) '
What a beautiful economy of expression in the
Gospel’s simple statement, "she will bear a son,
whom thou shalt call Jesus, for he is to save his
people from their sins”!
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25, CHRISTMAS DAY.
Everything worldly is today invaded by divinity
and orientated toward a spiritual goal. The mid
night, dawn and daytime Masses all sing the joy
of creatures who have labored long under the no
tion of some kind of opposition between matter
and spirit but whose integrity and wholeness and
harmony is now restored. “You are my son”
(Midnight Entrance Hymn) is addressed not only to
Jesus but to all of us whom He has joined to
Himself, who break the Bread of His Body at the
holy table.
THURSDAY, DEC. 26, ST. STEPHEN, FIRST
MARTYR. Lest we find it surprising that so
welcome a message should encounter resistance,
the first post-Christmas saint we honor is a
martyr. This blood that has been so dignified
must yet flow.
Man is not eager to accept his glorification.
We prefer that God should respect our bounda
ries, should stay on His side of the fence. But
Christians must make Stephen's vision their
own: ”1 see the heavens opened, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of almighty God”
(First Reading, Alleluia, Communion Hymn).
FRIDAY, DEC. 27, ST. JOHN, EVANGELIST.
The importance of the Gospel book, the Bible, in
our public worship is uppermost in the Church’s
consciousness today, as we honor “the same dis
ciple that bears witness of all this and has writ
ten the story of it’’ (Gospel), John the beloved.
The Collect prayer is for the enlightenment
and understanding which should result from our
hearing the Scriptures proclaimed.
SATURDAY, DEC. 28, THE HOLY INNOCENTS,
MARTYRS. It IS not only the mature adult with his
deliberate response of faith that benefits from
Jesus’ coming. Even children, even the unrea
soning, have been touched by the glory of the Son
of God. Their blood, their lives, are fashioned by
the Christ into a hymn-of praise, just as the Eu
charist we celebrate around our altarfashions the
lives of the human community- we represent into
such a hymn.
Saints in Black and White
ST. LAURENCE 66
ACROSS 74. Admit
28. Middle
1. Lettuce
4. Remove
8. Gun
11. Lump
11. Strike
15. Uncovered
16. Central American tree
17 pro nobis
18. French island
19. Psyche
20. Month; abhr.
21. Hebrew teacher
22. Dutch portrait painter
24. Agent
26. Story
2"\ Vague
30. Marble
33. Manage
36. Gainers
4 0. Malay coin
43. Farm department
4 5. Footwear
46. Electrical unit*
48. Debauchees
50. Devotion
51. Hawaiian salutation
5 3. Numbers
55. Duck
56. His home was in
58. Fact
60. Arranger
61. He was granted a
vision of the
wisdom at age 19
63. Cited
65. Belief
67. Set above
71. U.S.S.R. News Agency
77. Clean
29. Period of time
78.
Mother of ancient
Irish Gods
31.
79.
Passing fancy
32.
81.
In arrears
8t.
Government Agency
3 i.
85.
Soak
35.
86.
Wrath
8".
Persia
3".
88.
Summit
38.
86.
Consumed
36.
90.
Saul's grandfather
iO.
91.
Disputes
" Pinafore"
.1.
92.
i2.
DOWN
i7.
i l ).
1.
He longed to become
52.
a Samt while one
5 4.
2.
Lubricator
5‘».
3.
Stone slab or pillar
56.
4.
Benedictine form of
62.
address
6 i.
5.
Far of grain (Fr.)
66.
6.
” me* your cars *
Comb, form meaning
within
68.
8.
He joined the Canon* 69.
Regular of St
"0.
9.
Rudiments
*1.
10.
Child
- >
11.
Girl’s name
"3.
12.
Pertaining to the
*s.
mnuih
76
13.
Infant
”6.
23.
Head ofi course
SO.
25.
B.ib\ Ionian deity
S2.
26.
Sport
Fellow of the
American Acadeniv;
nbbr.
Light carriage
King of beasts
Priest of the
ancient celts
Dropsy
Fsti mater
Craftier
Crossbeam
Rent again
Only
Chinese town
Garments
Bristle
Skin disease
Well
Lamb
Sea in Fr.in k e
Chief
Small drops of
moisture
Popular entertainer
His feast das is
Sept
English town
Gathers
Home of Irish kings
Dill herb
Fulls satisfy
Medley
Part of a hosyi'nl
Wingiike projection
Fsist
l rchin
Existence
ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7
VATICAN DAILY
Christian And Socialist
Coalition Gets Support
ROME (NC) —Vatican City’s
dally newspaper has thrown its
weight behind Italian Premier
Aldo Moro’s coalition with the
Socialists in the £ace of mount
ing opposition with Moro’s own
Christian Democratic party.
In two editorials L’Osserva-
tore Romano urged Catholics
to rally round Mor’s Catholic-
inspired party. Powerful party
members led by former Pre
miers Mario Scelba and
Giuseppe Pella had threaten
ed to withhold their support
from Moro's center - left
government in the parliamen
tary vote of confidence requir
ed for every new government.
Scelba and company object to
any collaboration with Pietro
Nenni’s Socialists because of
their Marxism and neutralism.
THE FIRST editorial (Dec.
13) spoke in veiled terms of
unity among Catholics without
referring to the political crisis.
It only said that “any breach
in the unity of Catholics in any
field means joy for the enemies
of the Faith.” But the very day
that edition appeared (Dec.12),
the breach within the Christian
Democratic party became pub
lic knowledge.
Two days later L’Osserva-
tore spoke forthrightly about the
threat to split the Christian De-
moncratic party and the uncon
cealed satisfaction fo some Ital
ian newspapers at this revolt
in the party’s leadership.
IT SAID, ". . .certain news
papers are expressing satis
faction at the split within the
Christian Democratic party,
saying that the party ’has had
a jolt at last’ and that this may
have beneficial results for the
political situation and the
struggle against communism
The fact remains that if
there is independence, security
and democratic progress in an
Italy restored to democracy
after a catastrophic war, this
is mainly due to the fact that
the Christian Democratic party
has remained disciplined and
united, and that it became that
great political force which en
sured stability and security to
successive governments and to
the nation.”
L’OSSERVATORE declared
that the Christian Democratic
party “continues to face the
largest communist party in
Europe, which works insidious
ly and relentlessly for the con
quest of power.”
The paper also declared, "In
Italy there is but one alternat
ive for the party of Catholics
and for democracy itself; either
to be united or to be defeated.”
' THE EDITORIAL finally re
called the appeal for unity
among Catholics which was is
sued by the Italian Hierarchy
on the eve of last spring’s
national elections.
Scelba took this point up in
replying to L’Osservatore. The
high-ranking politician asked,
“Is communism such a grave
threat for our country as to
justify the grieving appeal of
the Italian Episcopate which now
is echoed by L’Osservatore Ro
mano? If so, and the results
of the April elections proved
it, then the policy of the Christ
ian Democrats must shape it
self to this reality.” (Italy’s
communists gained about a
million votes in that election.)
Seminary Fund
Remember the SEMINARY FUND of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta in your Will. Be
quests should be made to the “Most Rev
erend Paul J. Hallinan, Archbishop of the
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta and his suc
cessors in office". Participate in the daily
prayers of our seminarians and in the
Masses offered annually for the benefactors
of our SEMINARY FUND.
ARNOLD VIEWING
Plays Bad-Movies Worse
BY JAMES W. ARNOLD
Dissatisfied with making bad movies out of good
plays, some Hollywood producers now have decid
ed to make even worse movies out of bad plays.
One current example (too appalling even to con
sider) is “Under the Yum-Yum Tree.” Another is
"Take Her, She’s Mine,” in which such gallant
actors as J immy Stewart and Robert Morley strug
gle to keep afloat in an apocalyptic flood of
cliches.
It is impossible to believe what passes for
humor in this film, adapted from Phoebe and Henry
Iphron’s stage potboiler by old pro Nunally Joyn-
son (“Three Faces of Eve”), who ought to recon
sider the advantages of retirement. The comedy
climax (the very peak) occurs when actor Ste
wart’s clothes fall off at a cos-
e ball in Paris.
■he show’s Main Joke, and
rly its only one, is the
rnal War between genera
ls. Stewart and movie wife
irey Meadow s are parents of
blossoming blonde (Sandra
;) whose virtue, to their
o.uggish minds, seems constan
tly in danger. There is also sub-joke one (the
effect Miss Dee has on passing males, a result
less of her charms than of her unwillingness to
clothe them), and sub-joke two (what happes to old
fogey Stewart when he rashly invades his daugh
ter’s world).
At college Miss Dee meets boys and girls not
seen on campus since producer-director Henry
Koster ("The Robe”) and F. Scott Fitzgerald
went to school (“Oohl Here come the boys I”).
At this point in human history, even one more
joke about Beatniks is unbearable. “Take Her”
has a full 10-minute coffee house sequence, in
which Stewart and the bearded proprietor have a
tedious misunderstanding about whether Miss Dee
removes her clothing or merely plays guitar
during the floor show. Stewart finally becomes
enraged when one character says he wouldn’t
look under either circumstance.
SINCE NO old fogey «comedy/ would be com
plete without a trip to Paris (tourist version),
the script somehow gets Sandra flunked out of
college and abroad as an art protegee. This gives
her a chance to perch on a table in a bistro and
sing for hundreds of delirious extras, all appa
rently tone-deaf, while Stewart blunders into a
high-comedy brothel and gets picked up in an
“Irma La Douce” raid.
Actor Morley, the soft round Britisher with the
polite diction and the wide innocent eyes, watches
Stewart trying to persuade a French cabby to go
“tres slow, sill voo play,” then gets the movie’s
first real laugh with the line: “I always tell them
I’m pregnant.” Morley later is also obliged to
lose his clothes in public, but this is one fellow w ho
is really funny in shorts.
Aside from the fact that the movie has no right
to the laughs it strangles from the audience, it is
the sort that is, in its own incompetent way, as
dangerous to the spirit as, say, “Dragstrip
Sweetheart” or "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." In
the first place, more people are likely to see it
and assume it is harmless. (The film does try to
be naughty' with pseudo-shocking dialog on such
topics as virginity and female anatomy). The
facts:
1. - WITH ONLY momentary exceptions, "Take
Her” and films like it are clumsy, unimagina
tive entertainment that blunt the soul and, through
repetition over time, tend to blur the perception of
the Beautiful and, ultimately, the Source of All
Beauty.
2. - The main target of its satire is the blun
dering father-figure who is capable of loving his
daughter but of being no help to her. Somehow a
successful law yer and even president of the school
board, he has got through life without hearing of
Henry Miller; he is baffled by nearly everything
in the world, including folk-singing, modern paint
ing, cab drivers and foreigners.
Mother, on the other hand, is cool and balanced,
permissive and wise. The only time she is funny
is a tribute to her wisdom - sneaking extra lug
gage on a jet without charge. Yet both parents are
so incompetent they can’t tell when a phonograph
record is playing at the wrong speed.
3 - The daughter's wildness has a definite gla
mor. All the boys desire her. Her art teacher
fondles her during class; the French consul’s
eyes keep wandering from her art to her decol-
letage. A failure in school, she is a success in
life: she becomes the Idol of Paris and marries
a young Frenchman (Philippe Forquet)who is rich
and arty and looks like a dimpled Monty Clift.
AGAIN there is the odd situation so peculiar to
American movies: being "bad” is attractive and no
more risky than attending a tea dance at Miss
Bullfinch’s academy. Vice is not only fun, but
it pays off. TheDefenderof Old-Fashioned Virtue,
however, is ludicrous, incompetent and Out of
Touch. In the end, all he can do is sputter hope
lessly as his younger daughter wiggles off in her
bikini.
4 - The image of the American family is awe
some. Daughter is sexy and brainless. Mother is
glamorous and omniscient. Father is loud, ami
able, anti-intellectual and stupid - but above all
rich. He never works, takes air flights around the
world at will, owns a $75,000 home with swim
ming pool.
At one point he decides to send his younger
daughter to Wellesley. “We can just about make it
if there isn’t another tax jump...and if you and 1
don't eat next year.” Here the moved spectator
may, like Steve Allen, put his thumb in his mouth
and groan, sympathetically.
CURRENT RECOMMENDED FILMS:
For everyone: Lawrence of Arabia, Lilies of the
Field, The Great Escape.
For connoisseurs: Winter Light, 8 1/2, This
Sporting Life, The Leopard.
Better than most: The Haunting, The V.I.P.’s,
The Reluctant Saint.
God Love You
BY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN
Do you sleep well? Or do you worry about other people—
their diseases, their hunger, their poverty? Does your consc
ience ever disturb you about not sharing with the poor of the
world? Put together the following contrasting facts and you will
be bothered.
The average American family throws away 750 tin cans a
year, while many houses in Latin American slums are made of
tin cansl Within 40 years (up to 1914), the United States used
40 per cent of the natural resources of the earth , which is more
than the rest of the world used dur
ing 4,000 years. Each day the aver
age American uses ten times more
of the earth's natural resources (not
including food) than the rest of the
world. . .The average American eats
4.66 pounds of food a day; the aver
age Indian eats 1.2 pounds a day
(and this is mostly starch). Ameri
cans throw enough food into their
garbage pails each year to feed 600
million Chinese for three days a
week. . .The average funeral of an adult in the United States
costs $1,450. Ten thousand people in the world die daily of
starvation.
Many consciences are becoming stirred in the United States.
One woman was sent a prospectus of a new dormitory building
on a college campus and was asked to contribute $50,000.
The marble floors, the elaborately decorated bathrooms, the
kitchenettes on each floor made her consider whether she was
contributing to the excessive display of wealth of those who sh
ould be signed with Christ’s Cross. She wrote to us quoting
Nietzsche. It was he who said: "God is dead." But maybe he said
it because we act as if God is dead. For Nietzsche reflected:
“How can you convince me of a Redeemer, if you do not act
like one redeemed?"
This is the challenge thrown upon the Church in the United
States: Christ does not want you to fulfill your desires before-
satisfying the necessities of others. Make your soul consider
these facts, and then give to the Holy Father who aids all—
all societies, all places, all areas. He does not invest your
money so that missionaries may live on interest. He, who knows
best where it is needed, gives it away immediately to the poor.
This kind of sensible, unhoarded charity is yours through The
Society for the Propagation of the Faith. May the Lord bless
you for sharing with the poor.
GOD LOVE YOU to Mrs. T. V. B. for $20 "My sister-in-
law and I decided not to exchange Christmas gifts among the
family this year, so I’m sending the money for Our Lord’s Poor.”
. .to A. M. P. for $10 ”1 received an increase insalary rec
ently. Now I would like to contribute a raise in a salary to the
Missions.” . . .to Mr. and Mrs. D. C. F. for $5 “We promised
this for the successful Canadian moose-hunting tripwe hadl"
Find out how an annuity' with The Society for the Propagation
of the Faith helps both you and the poor of the world. Send your
requests for our pamphlet on annuities, including the date of your
birth, to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York
New York 10001.
<
Cir. out this column, pin your sacrifice to it and mail it to Most
Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The Society for the Pro
pagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. I000I, or
3 our Diocesan Director. Rev. Harold j. Rainey, P. O. Box 12047,
Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Ga.