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PACE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1963
^ Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN
SERVING GEORGIA S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
PUBLISHER - Archbishop Paul J, Halllnan
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry
CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan
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Pilgrim Pope
Pope Paul Vi’s visit to the Holy-
Land next week will be a momen
tous occasion in the history of the
Church. He will be going as the
first Pontiff to set foot in this
sacred area since the time of
Peter, trie first of the Chief She
pherds of Christendom.
Pope Paul has made it clear
that he goes to the Holy Land in
no royal fashion, but simply as a
humble pilgrim in prayer and re
flection. His motives are com
pletely religious in character,
and have no political significance
whatever. Some people see in the
Papal visit a desire to act as
mediator between the Arabs and
the Jews in their perennial ter
ritorial and political disputes.
This again is but a flight of fancy,
for this is not the role of a pil
grim . Furthermore, the Pope
could just as well plead such
peaceful mediation from with
in the walls of the Vatican as from
anywhere else.
This is not to say that Pope
Paul is not interested in the es
tablishment of universal peace
among all men of good will. This
was the gist of His Christmas
message, and is one of the tasks
that he has chosen as did his
predecessors -- the establish
ment of peace and order throug
hout the world. The very nature
of the Papal Office cries out for
justice and tranquility, which is
also the constant prayer of the
Church.
It is with this in mind that
we will prayerfully trace the
footsteps of Pope Paul VI as he
walks through the land where Ch
rist took on human nature, began
His ministry, and suffered the
Cross to save mankind.
Pope Paul’s pilgrimage will
also be ours, for he will repre
sent us all. We should use the
opportunity to make the days of
his pilgrimage, January 4-6, as
special days of prayer and pen
ance for his success and safety.
Indeed, we might suggest that
they be mornings when we make
a special effort to go to Mass
and Communion in spiritual union
withHim. After all, what better
way to start a pilgrimage?
GERARD E. SHERRY
School Vandalism
Catholic high schools in both
Atlanta and Savannah have this
year been touched by vandalism
growing out of football rivalry.
The only relieving note in this
unfortunate coincidence is that in
both cases steps have been taken
to correct the causes of the situ
ation. There is no need to com
ment on these specific incidents.
What is disturbing is that there
apparently exists sucha destruc
tive trend in connection with you
thful sports.
Traditionally we have viewed
school participation in competit
ive sports as a kind of training
for life. The playing fields of
Eton apparently formed empire
builders. The sandlots and grid
irons of America are supposed to
train sound and noble minds in
sturdy bodies. The tradition, a
curious mixture of classical hu
manism and Calvinism, is a
good one as far as it goes. It
is certainly not in itself either
destructive or anti-social.
Some unhealthy ingredient has
been added. We cannot blame on
l ~ I
“Did you call me. Father?”
the sport the kind of vandalism
we have mentioned or the braw
ling which too often follows
a keenly conte sted competition or
the neurotic hysteria which re
gularly orchestrates “games”at
the little league level.
These and similar excesses
are usually the result of intense
school or team “spirit”. Too
frequently they are due to the
culpable influence of adults who
have forgotten that the single im
portant consideration is the good
of the young pa rticipants, not vic
tory or defeat. The values of dis
cipline, physical fitness, co
operation, hard work for suc
cess and failure as synonyms of
victory and defeat. Adults, par
ents especially, who surren
der their proper role as examp
les of reason and moderation for
the fleeting taste of vicarious ac
complishment in their children’s
athletic victories, need to recon
sider the matter.
Some youngsters evidently
learn lessons from sports exac
tly opposed to what they are in
tended to teach. The fault can
not lie primarily with the chil
dren. It must spring from bad ex
ample or lack of direction on the
part of their elders. Schools and
parents who overesteem athletic
prowess teach a lopsided scale of
values. Adults who expend exag
gerated emotion on the out
come of a game undo the good
that the experience ought to ac
complish.
Educators have attempted in
recent years to inject a note of
caution and moderation into the
area of school sports. Their ef
forts have had only partial suc
cess. Unpleasant incidents con
tinue to make the news. It is time
to drain some of the emotiona
lism from the discussion and to
attempt a blanced and reasonable
solution.
L.F.X.M,
Build a New Year!
LITURGY Am LIFE
Ancient Custom Of Church
BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW
Christmas Midnight Mass has once again seen
churches crowded not only by the faithful but by
very many non-Catholics who are drawn
year after year by the charm and beauty of the
solemn liturgy. The tremendous impressiveness
of the Christmas night services to those who
know Catholicsm only in its externals is a con
tinuing marvel. Midnight Mass has a unique
attraction for Catholics, also, and is undoubted
ly the favorite service of the year for almost
all of us.
Until the restoration of the Easter Vigil a few
years ago to its proper time during the night
preceding Easter, Christmas Midnight Mass was
the only relic of a very ancient custom of the
Church. In antiquity, all of the great feasts were
celebrated at night, with a vigil leading up to the
solemn offering of the Eucha
ristic Sacrifice. The early
Christmas imitated the exam
ple of Our Lord who spent so
many nights in prayer. They dr
amatized their separation from
the secular world and their ar
dent longing for the dawning of
Christ’s triumphant second
coming. The liturgy of Christ
mas portrays the lovely solem
nity of this sacred night: “While silence envelop-
ped the earth and the night was in the midst
of its course, thy almighty Word, O Lord, came
down from heaven, from thy royal throne.”
THE SYMBOLISM of light tha t vanquishes dark
ness runs all through the liturgy of Christmas.
The actual date of Christ’s birth is not known.
December 25, the day when the sun begins its
renewed ascent after the winter solstice, was cho
sen to replace a pagan feast of the sun. Christ,
the true and unconquered Sun! dawns: on the world
to destroy the murky vapors of sin and ignor
ance. The Christmas light, which finds such a
touching expression in the Christmas trees in our
homes, is a recurrent theme in all the three
Masses of Christmas.
In the beautiful midnight Mass, the light of
Christ’s coming bursts upon a world steeped in
a moral darkness which parallels the night dur
ing which we have gathered to worship. The se
cond Mass of Christmas is to be offered at day
break. The rising sun presents a lively and clear
symbol and is joyfully greeted in the Introit:
“A light shall shine upon us this day, for the
Lord is born to us.” In the third Mass, cele
brated during the daytime, the figure of light is
found in the Gospel: "In him was life, and the
life was the light of mankind; a light that shines
in darkness.”
IN THE CHRISTMAS liturgy the Church envis
ages three nights and three births. She leads us
first into the mystery of God’s inner life, into
the night “before the day star” when the eternal
Son is begotten in the absolute image of the
Father. On Christmas and, above all, in the Eucha
rist, this unsoundable mystery is closer to us than
ever. The second night of birth took place in time
and is the day that we celebrate. The Church leads
us to Bethlehem, to the stable, to the joy of Mary
and the proof of divine love “lying in a manger.”
The third night of birth is present and personal.
It is our own re-birth. It is the mystery of Chris
tmas as it affects us personally, as it renews
our own sense of our brotherhood with Christ,
of our adoption as sons by His Father. The Ch
urch thinks of us as one with and in Christ when
she sings at the Midnight Mass: “In the bright
ness of the saints, from the womb before the day
star I have begotten you.”
LITURGICAL WEEK
‘King And Child’
BY REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA
DEC. 29, SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF
CHRISTMAS. The alternating notes of “king"
and “Child” in today’s Mass increase our aw
areness of the mystery of the Incarnation. From
a natural point of view, it is incredible that
the Gospels and letters of the New Testament
and the preaching of the Church in those first
years of its life affirm so faithfully both the div
ine and the human in the unique existence whose
Birthday we are celebrating.
Psalm 92 (Entrance, Alleluia, Offertory Hymns)
refrains His kingship. But even the stress on His
full humanity in the First Reading and Gospel
takes into account the myster
ious, the sacramental quality of
that humanity, “He took birth.,
so as to ransom" (First Rea
ding). "This child is destined
to be a sign” (Gospel). Jesus
Christ is Himself the great Sa
crament, visible sign of God's
love, favor, grace.
1 MONDAY, DEC. 30, MASS AS
ON CHRISTMAS (3rd Mass,
with readings from the 2nd). 'The whole world
from pole to pole has seen die salvation that
our God has wrought” (Gradual, Communion Hy
mns). As the Eucharist and die six sacraments
which surround it make the Savior’s saving, life-
giving, healing, forgiving work apparent to us, so
the great Sacrament, Christ, has made God’s
love and salvation apparent to the human race.
Christianity is a deeply sacramental religion,
not simply a religion that happens to use cer
tain holy signs that we call sacraments.
TUESDAY, DEC. 31, MASS AS OF YESTER
DAY. The First Reading teaches that the kind
ness of God has dawned on us, and the Gospel
makes much of seeing and hearing. Again we hail
the Incarnate Word as sign, as sacrament, whose
advent touches the senses and speaks to the hearts
of all men everywhere. II Vatican Council’s lit
urgical reform is concerned precisely with this:
that Christ’s advent, His action, in all of the sa
craments should communicate to, reach, and enn
oble those who respond to Him with fiath.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 1. OCATVE DAY OF CH
RISTMAS. The Old Testament and Jewish roots
of Christianity receive attention today as we
continue the celebration of Christmas. The Gos
pel’s account of Jesus* circumcision affirms
the king whose advent we hail as in the line of
the Old Testament covenant and prefigures the
New Testament initiation of Baptism.
Reference to Mary’s virginal motherhood in the
Collect and Postcommunion prayers affirms
Him as the offspring of the chosen people. The
uniqueness of the Christ event in no way dim
inishes the importance for all of us of Abraham
and Moses, the kings and the prophets.
THURSDAY, JAN. 2 MASS AS ON JAN. 1. It
is this unbreakable bond with Abraham, Moses and
(Continued on page 5)
NCCM PROJECT
A Release
From Racism
BY GERARD E. SHERRS
The most crucial problen facing hese
United States in 1963 was the growing rest
lessness of our Negro citizens at th; small
gains made in their struggle for equa rights
and opportunities. Their inguished <ry for
freedom is always accompanied by tht word
“Nowl”
Taking the overall \iew, we have not aivanc-
ed much this year in this area. Small vonder
the leaders of the non-viclent movement anong
Negroes are being pressured toward more belli
gerency. The Negro impatience is more han
justified. One has only go to look at the situ
ation in Birmingham as a prime example. Ne
gotiation, what little
there is of it, has
not improved the
civil rights of these
Alabama Negroes b\
very much — despite
a change to a more
moderate city ad
ministration.
ANOTHER EXAM
PLE is here in the city of Atlanta. Whie the
Georgia capital is painted as the mos pro
gressive southern city in relation to civil ‘ights,
in reality it is behind some other state: in the
area--especially in regard to public acconmoda-
tions and restaurants. No, the Negro’s lot has
not improved that much in 1963.
As I see ii, the basic problem is rquestion
of education and good will. Here ve accept
without question the need for better eiucatioral
opportunities for our colored citizen*. But we
should also be thinking of the need for the edu
cation of whites; education in the area of neigh
bor and community responsibilities. Unless we
whites are convinced of the justice of the Negro
cause and act to speed complete acceptance of
the Negro as an equal citizen, there will be no
peace in this country. For Catholics this has
become an urgent problem. In all areas of the
country, most of the laity are far behind our
bishops in both the thinking and the acting in
the field of responsible race relationships.
We are, therefore, proud of the National
Council of Catholic Men for their recent is
suing of a program of study and action to help
the laity speed their contribution toward the
easing of community tensions, and the establish
ment of right relationships between the races.
The NCCM program is entitled “Release from
Racism”. I have just had a chance to sit
down and study the whole package. It is a
monumental effort of planning and im
plementation. Fulling no punches, the intro
duction to the program says:
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
"CATHOLIC LAY ORGANIZATIONS have irr
portant contributions to make in our Country
struggle to find a Release from Racism Its
an honest fact that although there are notje
exceptions, most lay organizations have notet
accepted the challenge.
“Many things have contributed to this stat
ion: a tradition of concentrating on stctly
a lack of understating
of the Church’s teaching on race; a inability
to relate the Church’s teaching to sp’ltual anti
social problems, like racism, that b^ront the
Church; a shortage of facts about the ace issue;
an erroneous sense that Catholics ^re not re
sponsible for creating nor are they^erpetuating
the problem; a shortage of materi.s describing
wha: could and should be done.
“ 'RELEASE FROM RACISM’ 5 a program of
study and action to aid leaders J f Caholic or
ganizations who see the need aid the opportuni
ty of involving their organizaton in tie inter
racial apostolate. It is design'd to help nform,
motivate and guide Catholic Uy organizaions to
take an active part in eliminiting prejuice and
discrimination from our sociey.”
One can only agree with tie NCCM oint that
"courage must take the form of aeon if the
debt of social misery under which he great
majority of our colored citizens labc is to be
paid off.”
WHILE THE "RELEASE from Pcism” kit
is intended for NCCM affiliates where the
National group is not establishe parochial
groups can make use of it with^reat profit
to themselves and their communes. Indeed,
the kit includes a parish prog m which, if
carried out, would make a maj‘ contribution
in the fight for racial justice.
1963 has almost gone. Theffeat lesson to
be learned in this year is it takes more
than talk to accomplish racf justice. Some
* °f us have talked too muc without acting.
We have paid only lip serv e to the cause.
The Church is full of sori actionists who
Can quote the pertinent f.agraph of every
major social encyclical ci statement of the
American Hierarchy on me relations. Yet,
all over the country these same knowledge
able people refuse to tale t_> necessary steps
of putting potent theory into >otent action. We
talk too much. We act tjo littu
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL of Catholic Men
now gives us the opportunit of putting words
into deeds through us progrn “Release from
Racism”. It would be a goc idea for inclus
ion in New Year resolutions - that is, among
the ones we want to keep, s long as we are
denying the Negro our conon and love, we
are also denying a basic uholic doctrine.
The NCCM gives us anothe opportunity to
make amends.