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IN A WORLD OF GIMMICKS Liturgy Is Functional BY LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The ferment at work within the Church has be come almost a household word among Catholics since the bright warmth of Pope John's all too few days among us. The one area in which his incentive has achieved definite form by a state ment of the Council concerns public worship- liturgy. Until now the discussion has centered principally on procedures: the introduction of English into the Mass and the Sacraments; whether Mass ought to be offered on an altar facing the congregation; the new forms which our rites may assume in the future. The time Ifor the first of these adjust- jments is rapidly approaching. I The use of English for the Sac- Iraments and for parts of the Mass is scheduled for Advent of this year. The one thing that could rob the liturgy re newal of its expected good effects is to treat it from a superficial viewpoint. If our discus sion or adoption of the use of English or any of the future changes is concerned only with external and procedural details, the total result may well be nil from a spiritual viewpoint. Without understanding, these new procedures may degenerate to the level of "gimmicks.” We live in a world of” gimmicks” - unimpor tant tricks designed to catch our attention, usually in the hope we will buy a product we don’t need or want. We most certainly cannot worship in a world of "gimmicks”. Nor does the Church in tend that we should. The use of English, the in creased participation by the laity, the change of ritual- all these developments are conceived on the most strictly reasoned basis. They are not tricks to keep our attention on the altar. They are deliberate measures adopted to deepen our awareness of the meaning of our Christian lives. STRICTLY speaking, the entire matter of liturgical renewal is not a matter of whether we are "liberal” or "conservative.” The decis ion that faces us at present is not whether or not to accept the measures of liturgical renewal. These steps are the declared and defined policy of the Catholic Church. The decision we are called upon to make our own is how best to ab sorb the full meaning and maximum benefit of what the Church is offering us. It is a matter of common sense that understanding must definitely precede and inform any new outward procedures. Only in this way can we fathom the connection between principle and doctrine on one hand and changed practice on the other. The Constitution on Sacred Worship of the Vatican Council speaks always of "promotion” in conjunction with "reform” of the liturgy. Its concern is first of all with the improve ment of our grasp of what we are about when we worship publicly. Clearly, in the mind of the Council, the liturgical life of the Church needs to be promoted, moved forward, invigorated. This would remain true, even if no reforms or chang es of forms were contemplated. The Constitu tion always uses the word "promotion” before "reform of the liturgy.” Now, worship will only be promoted by an improved understanding and a renewed dedication founded upon that Improved understanding. Obviously, a growth in under standing is particularly urgent in view of the re forms, the most immediate of which is the forth coming introduction of English. In all the talk of "changes” in the Church and the enthusiasm they generate in the minds of some, there is a danger of seeing the Church as involved in a real inward revoltuion and re jection of tradition. This is a misconception. Nothing is more normal in the life of the Church than the kind of development we are now witnessing. If we find no difficulty in con ceiving this as a sign of vitality in the Church’s past history, we should expect the same kind of vitality to mark our own time. The liturgical developments with which we are concerned have not suddenly appeared out of a void. What they will reject from the past will mainly be the re sult of historical accident or the Church’s re action to historical facts which have passed from the scene. In many ways, they represent the Church’s reaction to a new historical context. This is as it should be, as it always has been and as it always will be. QUESTION BOX Narrow-Minded Opinion BY MONSIGNOR J. D. CONWAY Q. What is the difference between a person who has strong character and morals, and one who Is narrow minded and opinionated? A. Sometimes it may be semantics; I have strong character; you are opinionated; he is a bigot! Probably the real difference emanates from love, which begets tolerance. Q. In a recent issue of a Catholic paper I read: Mary intercedes for it (Grace) on our behalf, according to Christ’s will, and when He wills to save, Mary at once prays. He wills according to her prayer, but she prays according to His will. My question: Isn’t it a wonder we don’t have more Protestants? A. Let us merely say that the explanation is a bity clumsy. Q. Suppose a widow with grown children who don’t need her any more would want to spend the rest of her life in a convent. Is it possible? If so, is there any age limit and could she enter any convent of her choice? In return she would gladly give up her possessions. A. In theory there should be no problem. But I must admit that I do not know which con gregations might accept such a person, or what practical age limits they might impose. I hope someone reading your letter may provide specific information which I am unable to givje. You can imagine the heroic restraint I exer cise in not inquiring about the amoung of her possessions. Cyncism is a vice hard to conquer. SEMANTIC TANGLE Opportunities - Dangers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 SO, TOO, THE Fathers of the Vatican Council overwhelmingly approved liturgical reform. It wasn't a question of changing for the sake of change. They saw that reforming the liturgy was the first step in any meaningful renewal within the Church, And if people insist on using the labels' ''Liberal" and "Conservative”, then let us state emphatically here and now that it was the Liberal pioneers who were way ahead of the rest of the Church in pushing for liturgical reform. It must be remembered that these pioneers were labell ed "Liberals " by their opponents, and it wasn't meant to be complimentary— indeed, the very faith of some of these pioneers was questioned. THERE IS one final observation; our Conser vative friends keep throwing up at us a quota tion from a Bishop Sheen column of several years ago. It said, "As Liberal Catholics Increase, liberality to the poor decreases.” The so-call ed Liberal Catholics, he added, '"Are liberal only with their blame, not their money.” How Bishop Sheen or anyone else can guage with accu racy the generosity of Liberal or Conservative Catholics is beyond me. I do know this: the vast majority of the volunteers to help in the miss ions— especially in Central and South America personally claim to be, and sport the Liberal tie. The sacrifice of some of these young volun teers certainly cannot be weighed against doller values. INDEPENDENT KENYA Your World And Mine CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 hands of the missions. In return for state sub sidies, the mission schools executed the official education policy. What they saw was that without the subsidies they would not have the funds to operate on the level on which they did in fact operate. What they failed to see was that one day they would be accused of unprotesting cooperation with a system designed to maintain the great majority of Kenyans in permanent inferiority. THE CHARGE might have had less impact If the missionaries had been careful to disassociate themselves in other ways from the mentality of the administration. Unfortunately, many of them failed to do so. "From the day I landed," a priest assigned to Kenya after the second World War said: to me, "I was taught by my colleagues to identify myself with the settlers," At that time the Africans kept ^silent, but now they are talking. Even in the 1950's, to quote a recent statement of a leading politician, "most missionaries in Kenya shared the colonial and white settler mentality.They told the African he was not ready for advance, that he must be patient and believe in God, In no case can I recall a missionary-Catholic, Protestant or any other - fighting back and denouncing the colonial regime and the social set-up, or trying to create a new spirit among the Africans of a sense of pride and confidence in themselves." The emotional gulf created between the races by this historical experience has played a major part in a crash program to substitute Africans for Europeans or Aslans in all policy and high admin istrative posts in government. There are clear social and political pressures for a similar change in the Church, However, the previous policy has left the Church with few African clergy in Kenya, only some 60 priests out of a total of 500, and these quite unevenly distributed in the various dio ceses, The problem is consequently much more acute than in neighboring Tanganyika where Afri can priests number above 300, more than a quar ter of all priests. In the past few years, major effort has been devoted to training candidates f<fr the priesthood in Kenya also. But it is a race against time. Saints in Black and White ST. PETER CELESTINE 7~\F- BRITISH ARMY THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 5 r // u -3 Officer Decorated For Saving Priest ACROSS 1. Ho was elected to the throne 6. Doctor of Dental Science 10. Tonkin native 13. native 14. movement; music 15. wand 10. Exclamation 17. Forepvouhd If), taint 21. summon 23. record 25. condemn 26. revise 28. Greek dialect 30. moro mature 33. hepta 35. foe 37. cruel emperor 38. pertaining to "Garden of Eden*' 40. pine family tree 42. list 43. como back 45. trinity *7. Electrical Engineer record 50. beat ttM. cereal disease 54. grain B0. ancon 58. stago 61. 160 sq. rods 63. ono who practises yogi 65. diurnal is. 66. encounters 20. 68. Welsh nobleman 22. 70. enve 24. 71. pout 27. 73. disunite 29. 75. ship to land 31. soldiers 32. 76. He had — — as a 34. child 36. 79. torn apart 39. 81. namely; (abbr.) 41. 82. f-oon 44. 83. decant 4C. 85. paste 78. Mass. Senator 48. 88. .lug 49. 89. type size 51. DOWN 53. 1. an Island possession 55. of U.S. (abbr.) 57. 2. World War 1 gT0up59. 3. small opening 60. 4. solitary 62. 5. slowness 64. 0. Deutsehemark 67. (abbr.) 69. 7. diamond holder 72. 8. Dan: speech sound 74. ». hit* 10. horn . 76. 11. roasted 77. 12. epic poem 78. 13. As a child he was 80. by the Blessed 84. Mother 86. 16. stout purposeful cut of meat plunger metal bolt dogma staff officers A Great Lake cord hollow Scottish landowner wavy agitated automaton pertaining to Italian Magistrate rich soli velocity counterfeit experiment curled roomier extract eagle's nest sheath (Hr.) beginner pitch disport perceive clearly ancient people of Gaul dog healer anger plead capture railroad (abbr.) group of States (abbr.) ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7 V BERLIN (NC) — The Brit ish Army officer who in 1962 faced unarmed 800 mutionus Congolese soldiers to rescue a Belgian missionary priest .has been named a Knight Com mander of the Order of St. Syl vester by the Holy See. Maj, Richard Lawson, now commander of tank units of the British forces in Berlin, was honored earlier by Queen Eliz abeth with the Distinguished Service Order for his heroism in the Congo. IN JANUARY, 1962, Maj. Lawson was serving with Nige rian units of the United Nat ions forces in the Congo. Af ter hearing that some Belgian missionaries had been mas sacred by mutionous troops in Kongolo and that mutineers were rampaging through the town, Maj. Lawson was flown there at his own request by a Swedish pilot in a light plane. As he left the plane the major, unarmed apart from his “swag ger stick," was immediately surrounded by armed and angry irregualr troops. The major- only five feet, five inches tall— was attacked by a tribesman ar med with an arrow. But he pro mptly punched him on the nose and knocked him over. STILL surrounded by the mob, he walked calmly away de manding to see the local com manding officer. He worked his way through the town seeking out the facts of the massa cre in which 22 Belgians had ARNOLD VIEWING From Russia With Love BY JAMES W. ARNOLD In "From Russia With Love," James Bond, called in Italy Mr. Bangbang Kisskiss, the new master of the blood and lipstick spy thriller, continues his successful foray into movies (first attempt: "Dr. No"). The film, unfortunately, Is slick, highly cinematic, and dripping with trash as well as dash., Bond is the fictional British secret agent concocted by novelist Ian Fleming and played on screen by the genial Scots heman, Sean Connery. He is the latest, and most depressing, incarnation of the tough, lady killing detective bom in Dashlell Hammett's Sam Spade and evolved through Philip Mar lowe and Mike Hammer. FOR ALL their hard sur face and unerring effect on women, Spade and Marlowe were decent, likeable human beings with a proclivity for making moral Judgments. In Spillane's Hammer, we had for the first time as hero the free-wheeling sexual sadist. But the Hammer books were never considered re spectable, and the films, unlike the Bogart- Powell impersonations of Spade and Marlowe, were both cheap and dull. Bond is a different sort of phenomenon, the detective-hero drawn to Playboy specifications. He is an elegant, amoral robot, unplagued by human flaws or doubts, a muscular Cary Grant without a conscience. He has a license to do whatever he must and an Inclination to do what ever pleases him. His impulses are not only sexual; In one scene, he assists in a cold blooded murder, with sexual overtones, that is designed, successfully, to produce audience laugh ter. The Bond books have been read and apparently enjoyed by otherwise intelligent people, although Fleming concedes he writes for above-average adolescents. The films, for all their garish im probability, are very good cinema, full of wit and spectacular action, and made by director Terence Young with flashy virtuosity in the artful devices of the medium. ("Dr. No" made back its cost in Britain alone). Bond is a cad, but in con trast to Hammer, unhappily acceptable in polite company. "RUSSIA," based on the 1957 novel, describes Bond's continuing war with the satanic forces of S.P,E.C.T,R,E., an international crime syndicate which for its own, somewhat obscure ends, pits British and Russian agents against each other In Istanbul and the Balkans, The chief gimmick is that Bond "must" make love to a blonde Russian defector (languorous Daniela,Bianchi) and escape with her through a gauntlet of murderous Soviet and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. hirelings. The situations keep reminding one of the corny adventure serials of the 1940’s, with an evil mastermind who Is seen only as a pair of hands gently stroking a kitten, secret weapons hidden in suitcases or signet rings, harrowing escapes from horrible death. (The hero escapes; the villains die, frightfully). One of the comic book weapons is a poisoned dagger which snaps out of the toe of a shoe, and a fight in which aging Lotte Lenya tries to do Connery in with this device has to be seen to be believed. As far as the sex (bedroom scenes, belly dancers, to-the-death fights between beauteous Gypsy girls) goes, it is not so much that Bond is always either thinking about it or engaging in it. Like the rest, this is all at least half-spoof, and what is actually shown is probably less than in 'Tom Jones" is neverdlrected at the audience, "Russia" aims, constantly and cherrfully, to arouse venereal pleasure in the spectators. It Is phoney satire, victimized by its own material, a kind of tearoom pornography. IT IS, OF course, not the subject matter of films that movie moralists have to fret about. It is not even, within obvious limits, what is explicitly shown. It Is rather the material with which the film-maker clearly hopes to enter tain. In ‘Tom Jones," it was comedy, not sex. It ’The Silence,” it was moral allegory, not sex. In "Russia,” it is, largely, sex itself. The most interesting of director Young’s filmic devices is his use of asynchronized sound, that is, sound that does not originate from the image on the screen. For example, one whole scene, in a huee, echoing Istanbul museum, is played silent except for the droning background voice of a tour guide, now distant, now close to the actors, who are attending to their own intrigues. This is considered filmic because it is an effect that only a movie can produce. For lovers of violence, there are some beauti fully cut and lighted fight scenes, some in close quarters, some spread all over the landscape. This is also, regrettably, the last film for the late Pedro Armendariz, who created one of his most memorable roles as the lieutenant in John Ford’s film version of 'The Power and the Glory." NOTES FROM THE TRADE JOURNALS: Remember the bigoted contractor in "Lilies of the Field"? As an economy measure, the part was played by producer - director Ralph Nelso himself. Says Nelson: "I was the worst thing in the picture.” Nelson is currently direct ing Cary Grant in "Father Goose,” about a South Pacific recluse who rescues a teacher and seven children from the war. The release of George Stevens' long-awaited "Greatest Story Ever Told," which could well be the first great film about Christ, has now been put back from November to December, Stevens ("Shane,” "Diary of Anne Frank")hand picked one of Ingmar Bergman's company, Sweden's Max von Sydow, for the key role. Sydow was the vengeful father in 'The Virgin Spring.” CURRENT RECOMMENDED FILMS: For everyone: IT's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Lilies of the Field. For connoisseurs: Tom Jones, 8 1/2, Better than most: America America, Dr, Strangelove, Love With the Proper Stranger, Billy Liar, Charade, Paris When It Sizzles, The Pink Panther, 'been shot and their dismember ed bodies thrown into the river. Hearing that one Belgian pr iest had survived, Maj. Lawson walked to the Holy Ghost mis sion, found Father Jules D’Ar- mont, led him back through the town-past the men who had mur dered his fellow priests onNew Year's Day—to the waiting plane and took off immediately. ON JAN, 27, Maj, Lawson again volunteered to rescue some Catholic missionaries in danger and again returned to the area, this time with another officer, a Maj. Nwawo, Here they were suddenly at tacked by an armed mob shout ing "Kill these spies,” They were beaten and robbed and their clothes were torn. Maj. Nwawo was dragged away to be executed but after being treat ed with special brutality he was freed. Swiss Seminar VAUMARCUS, Switzerland (NC)— For the first time, Cath olic theology students were in vited to an annual seminar here organized by the various Swiss reformed Protestant theolo gical faculties. IN STAINLESS STEEL— This six-foot-four-inch high stainless steel statue of the Jesuit missionary and ex plorer. Father Jacques Mar quette has been presented to John Carroll University, con ducted by the Jesuit Fathers in Cleveland, Ohio By Any Name The new “Encyclopedic Dic tionary of the Bible” brings out the fact that no Hebrew word has been preserved in the Bible which can be Identified with the true rose. Thus where the Bible speaks of the rose, it is prob ably referring to the pink- flowered fragrant shrub known as the oleander. And when Christ spoke of “the lilies of the field,” He probably meant merely "the wild flowers.” Seminary Fund Remember the SEMINARY FUND of the Archidocese of Atlanta in your Will. Bequests should be made to the “Most Reverend Paul J, Hallinan, Archbishop of the Catho lic Archdiocese of Atlanta and his successors in office**. Participate in the daily prayers of our semi narians and in the Masses offer ed annually for the benefactors of our SEMINARY FUND. God Love You BY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN The altar is not a stage; those who sit in the pews are not an audience; the Communion rail is not the elevated footlights divid ing the priest from the laity. The bishops and priests are above the laity in dignity (through no merit of their own), but below them in service. Our Lord said to His Apostles: 'You call Me Lord, I am.” Yet, He washed their feet. The laity are not militia who come to priests once a week for spiritual inspection, as if the clergy we re the only |fighters in the arena of conflict between Christ and the prince of this world. The laity are not "sheep to be sheared, "because Our Lord said that the clergy were to "feed them," not "clipthem." [Neither are the laity to be grumblers who com- Iplain against the alleged failings of the hierarchy and the priesthood, as if they themselves were not members of that same wounded Body of Christ. ,Nor are they to identify Catholic Action with sit ting in a sanctuary in a red coat, or administering • diocese ss if it were an advertising agency. The "prominent” Catholic laity are not necessarily those who give "big money" in answertoa "drive,” A prominent Catholic is one who acts like a crippled nurse to a patient who has lost his leg in an accident — that is, one who is ministering sympathetically to the Church because, like Christ, he wears scars of love. A gift of money never acquits a husband of his obligation to his wife, nor a Catholic of his obligation to his Spouse, which is the Church, The Catholic lay person is one who is "involved" with the Church as a whole. If he is a doctor, a dentist or an engineer, he will spend his vacation serving the Missions; he will solicit others in his office to help the poor and the lepers, thus giving them a chance to save their souls by serving Christ; he will write a will in which the Holy Father is remembered, for the Vicar of Christ says that he is to be "first and principally aided” through his own Society for the Propagation of the Faith: he will take out an annuity with the Holy Father’s own Society, in order that all missionary activities, and not Just one, will be aided equally. In a word, you laity will be bearers of Christ's Cross in the world in the thousand ways open toyournon-priestliness. For you laity, the Church is not the parish; the Church is the Sacrament of Humanity. As you save the city, you save the parish; as you save the world, you save the diocese. What do you have to offer or sac rifice? GOD LOVE YOU to M.M, for $5 "Here is a $5 bet that I was glad to lose to you." ....to J.D.H, for 550 'This is hardly more than a week’s pay from my summer Job. I wish I could send you more for God's poor and especially for the education of priests. However, if I am able to enter the Carmelites in a year, as I hope, I will send you my life savings for the Missions.” ...,to Sister M.C, for 55 'This is in thanksgiving for the sale or prop erty." ....to J.O. for 55 "For your poor,” 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 re quests 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, Cut out this column* pin youn sacrifice to if and mall it to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of the Society for the Pro pagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth Avfenue, New York lx, N. Y. or your Archdiocei'an Director, Very Rev. Harold-J v Rainey P. O. Box 12047 Northaide Statiorf£ Atlanta 5, Ca,