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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1964
the Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA .BULLETIN
SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHFVM COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archidocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry
CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
Northside Station
Atlanta 5, Ga.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
Member of the Catholic Press Association
and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga.
U. S. A. $5.00
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Foriegn $6.50
Don’t Be Afraid
Of The Changes
There is no heed for any Catho
lic to be apprehensive about
the changes in our liturgical wor
ship. Nor, is there any valid
reason for any of us to be fear
ful of them or of the effects
on the Church which they will
unquestionably have. Unfortuna
tely, it does seem to us that
some Catholics are apprehensive
or fearful. If we are correct,
then these Catholics need to be
reassured.
Despite the fact that within our
own experience we are not ac
customed to change in our public
worship, it remains true that
such change is quite normal. It
has always gone on and it will
undoubtedly continue to go on
in the future. Growth and deve
lopment - which are, after all,
other names for change - are
normal for all living beings. The
Church is a living organism and
the public worship of the liturgy
is the principal expression of her
life. As the Liturgy Constitution
of Vatican Council II says, “the
liturgy is the summit toward
which the activity of the Church
is directed; at the same time it
is the fount which from all her
power flows.” It is, therefore,
normal that from time to time
major changes in the liturgy
should take place.
This has certainly been the
case historically. In the earliest
years of Christianity, the Euch
arist was celebrated in a very
simple manner, reminiscent of
the Last Supper of Our Lord and
his Apostles. With the emergence
of the Church following the
Roman persecutions, the es
sential actions of worship were
surrounded with solemn cere
mony to express their sacred
mystery. As time went on, the
language of the liturgy was chan
ged also. When the people of
Rome ceased to use Greek as
their everyday language, they be
gan to celebrate their common
worship in the tongue they spoke,
Latin. Later, the Middle Ages
introduced into the liturgy many
customs based on feudal society.
Following the Protestant Refor
mation, the Church rather. .
defensively insisted upon unifor
mity and centralized authority in
liturgical matters.
In our own time, we have seen
changes which have gradually led
up to the present reform and re
newal. Pope St. Pius X, over a
generation ago, re-introduced the
custom of frequent reception of
Holy Communion. He also lower
ed the age for the reception of
First Communion by children.
Pius XII shortened the hours of
fasting and allowed evening Mas
ses in order to encourage more
frequent reception of the Sacra
ment of the Holy Eucharist. In
a very dramatic move which
foreshadowed today's changes, he
restored the solemn liturgy of
Holy Week to hours more conven
ient for the faithful and simpli
fied the ceremonies to express
more clearly their sacred beauty.
His encyclical on The Sacred
Liturgy is a fore-runner of Vati
can Il’s Constitution.
In all these changes and those
yet to come there are two sides
to be considered. Certainly, there
is no question of changing the
doctrines of Catholic Faith. These
remain inviolably conserved un
der the guidance of the Holy
Spirit. Yet, the history of the
Church indicates clearly that
there can be a development even
here. Certain eras seem called
on providentially to deepen the
grasp of the Church on a parti
cular aspect of the faith deliv
ered by Christ to the Apostles.
Our own time is called on to
grasp more perfectly the mean
ing of the Eucharist and the other
Sacraments; the real nature of the
Church, the Mystical Body of
Christ; the true meaning of God's
inspired Word in the Scriptures
the broad dimensions of apostolic
work. This kind of inward growth
and development is the life-blood
of the liturgical renewal. From it
will come the particular changes
in the way we worship.
The Constitution on Liturgy
says: “The liturgy is made up of
immutable elements divinely in
stituted, and of elements subject
to change. These. . . ought to be
changed with the passage of
time.*' This is an application of
one of the general aims of the
Vatican Council, “to adaptmore
suitably to the needs of our own
times those institutions which are
subject to change,''
Most attention is being focused
on the changes in these elements
of human institution. This is
entirely understandable and is
even a good thing, so long as we
make the effort to relate these
changes to the basic reasons for
them.
It can hardly be denied that
many of “the changeable ele
ments of the liturgy’ badly need
to be adapted “to the needs of
our own times,” The need which
cries loudest is for personal in
volvement in the sacred action of
the liturgy on the part of all the
Christian people. For too long
Sunday morning congregations in
our churches have been a crowd
of separate and separated indiv
iduals. The abstraction of our
common membership in one Body
of Christ has remained precisely
that - an abstraction that did not
affect our consciousness or our
habits of living. Masses whis
pered toward a wall in a language
almost none of us can speak or
understand did little or nothing to
improve the situation.
The first official change, which
is now very near, is the intro
duction of the vernacular into
the Mass. This has already been
accomplished for the Sacraments
and sacramentals. This inno
vation will do much to establish
that immediacy between the ac
tion of Christ our Priest in the
liturgy and ourselves. The other
changes which we are now see
ing - Mass facing the congrega
tion, participation through dialo
gue and singing, use of readers
and commentators- are all aimed
at making our Sunday Mass truly
a celebration, truly an exper
ience of Christ at work in his
members glorifying the Father
and strengthening us in love.
The future will bring deeper un
derstanding and more effective
means for growing in our Christ
ian vocation.
Christian Royalty
GEORGIA PINES
Jesse Jewell Day
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
The only exception I know to the Scriptural
proverb, "A prophet is not without honor. . ."
is a man from Gainesville, Georgia, whose name
has become synonymous with the chicken indus
try and who, only last week, became the first
man to have his name enrolled in the poultry
industry’s Hall of Fame.
Last Thursday, in Gainesville, it was Jesse
Jewell Day. The day itself might not have had
any bearing outside Hall County were it not for
the fact that Mr. Jewell influenced the world
poultry industry to such a degree that it brought
prosperity to North Georgia.
BORN IN humble circumstances, the native
Georgian appreciated the plight
of the farmer and he devised
a credit system which enabled
impovished farmers to realize
a gain from their investments.
This system made the area first
in the industry and today Gain
esville’s proud boast displayed
on their number plates is: The
Broiler Capitol of the World.
An inspiration to the youth
of the community, Jesse Jewell became a
modem day Horatio Alger. But his influence
was not isolated to the poultry industry. Any
successful project in the community was insured
success by his participation. Boy Scouts, Com
munity Chest, church drives etc. all benefited
from his wisdom, initiativeand foresight.
ALTHOUGH success had given him a special
status in the community it was not uncommon to
see him dining with his "young executives" in
a local restaurant and sharing his experience
with their youthful ideas. As Gainesville editor,
Sylvan Meyer put it," He has never been jea
lous of the vision of others, having an ample
supply himself, and thus has been able to re
cognize the worth of imagination from any source,
add his organizational drive to it and bring it
to success".
The local Country Club, the championship gllf
course, the outstanding Elks Lodge and the Ameri
can Legion post all bear thecharacteristic stamp
of Jesse Jewell’s influence. But while these things
add to the recreational activity of the area, his
real influence was felt in the local college. Bre-
nau College today has many scholarships set
up by his company and his assistance to the girl's
school was more than generous.
NOT A controversial figure, by any means,
his political and religious beliefs were never
used to pressure others to one side or the other.
They remained strictly personal. His organiza
tion is dotted with executives of various relig
ious persuasions and political leanings. It is truly
an amalgamation which is reflected in a loyal
spirit to the J. D. Jewell Company.
On a trip out west last year Mr. Jewell was
felled with a stroke. His indominatable spirit
fought back and today he is "back in his feet".
The tribute to Jesse Jewell was truly an appre
ciation day brought about spontaniously by the
honor and respect which Gainesvillians have for
their leading citizen.
AT THE close of the banquet, responding to a
toast given by the Chairman of the Board (and
Marist graduate), Carl Chandler, Mr. Jewell
in characteristic humility acknowledged his plau
dits by saying, "I was just hungry and needed
to earn a living".
His constant plug of North Georgia as being
a garden spot of the world is never so evident
as it is at this time of the year. The beautiful
array of colors on the treesmakes the scenery
indescribable and is a must for tourists. North
Georgia is never so pretty as it is during Oct
ober. Truly it is the garden spot of the world.
U.S. VIETNAM FUTURE
Your World And Mine
BY GARY MacEOIN
Asia What is going to happen in
Vietnam? It is a question I am constantly ask
ed sinct my recent reports on our deteriorat
ing position in that country, reports which sub
sequent events have unhappily confirmed.
My first answer is that nothing significant
will happen until after the American elections.
And that is one of our weak
nesses not only in Vietnam but
in our worldwide confrontation
of Communism. One year in
four, our domestic politics take
precedence over our foreign
policies. What is done or omit
ted is evaluated in relation to
its likely impact on the up
coming presidential contest.
MOST AMERICANS shrug
their shoulders, say this is inevitable. I am not
convinced. Other democratic countries are far
more successful in presenting a truly united
front on foreign policy. And I am satisfied from
my observations and discussions in Vietnam that
our inability to do the same has been a signi
ficant factor in the current deterioration. The
Communists cleverly exploit the theme that
American military decisions are dictated by con
cern for the effect on American public opin
ion. They are fighting their election with your
property and lives, they tell the South Vietna
mese.
And after the elections, what? The continuing
governmental convulsions in Saigon, the outcome
decided each time by the favor of the U. S. State
Department, show that no statesman has emerg
ed to capture the imagination and win the support
of the people. They have not become convinced
Communists, nor do they prefer the regimented
life of the North. But they are weary of war. In
addition, they no longer believe that the victory
of this or any American-supported regime would
improve their material condition to the extent
to which the Communists are improving that of
their fellow-Vietnamese.
ALL OF which points to the inevitability of
an American military withdrawal from an area
in which arms and money, without adequate poli
tical objectives, have failed to achieve our aims.
It does not necessarily follow, however, that we
must simply hand Vietnam over to China. I be
lieve there remains the possibility of building up
a viable buffer area consisting of Burma, Thai
land and the successor states to former Indo-
China (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia). It would
form an eastward projection to the South China
Sea of the Indian frontier with China. To India
it would be most welcome as a protection aga
inst outflanking of its defences.
The people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
realize that they live within the economic and
cultural sphere of influence of China. But they
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
LITURGICAL CHANGE
A Feeling
Of Urgency
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
There suddenly seems a sense of urgency in
getting the people ready to understand and
cope with liturgical change. All over the country
liturgical meets are being held with the express
purpose of helping both the priests and the people
to an orderly transition from Latin to the ver
nacular in parts of the Mass.
In my own archdiocese, a Conference on Wor
ship takes place this week with national speak
ers in attendance. Last week I was able to
be in Rockford, Illinois, for the "Laity Day"
in their preparations for Liturgical Reform. It
was was quite an experience to see so many
lay people facing what many of them consider
a challenge. Surprising, too, were the number
of older people who considered it necessary to
keep up with the
times.
FROM MY travels
around, it has be
come increasingly
clear that liturgical
change will not come
easy for many peo
ple. Many don’t un
derstand it and are
fearful that breaking with the past will make the
Church less Catholic. They hardly accept the fact
that "Reformation" is now a respectable word
in the Catholic dictionary. But I am reminded
of Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan’s admonition at the
National Liturgical Week held in St. Louis at the
end of August that all members of the Church must
join in the Restoration of the Liturgy if the cur
rent "Aggiomamento" is to succeed. The Arch
bishop added "If the Liturgy is to be restored;
if man is to be sanctified and God praised; if we
are to become truly ’one in holiness,’ then it
must be done by the whole Church, not only by
the Bishops, Priests and leaders among the
faithful."
Archbishop Hallinan, the only American mem
ber of the original Vatican Council Liturgy
Commission, is also a member of the current
Vatican post-Conciliar Commission along with
Joseph Cardinal Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis.
His experience is this field is of special value
to those who keep asking why the need for change.
The Archbishop warns that the liturgy restora
tion "Will either be accomplished by the gra
dual jjoirilng of all God’s people, the eager
and the apathetic, the anxious and the confident,
the favorable and the hostile, or it will not be
done rightly at all." Significantly, he has a spe
cial word for the religious, Priests, Brothers
and Sisters when he tells them to see their parish
churches rather than their chapels as the focal
point of their prayer life. He says;
"A special responsibility for Sisters and Broth
ers is to realize that after the diocese, the parish
is the true liturgical entity. The ‘sense of com
munity’ which is so vital is nourished primarily
not in the faculty house, nor the school, nor
the convent chapel, but in the parish church.
There need be no revolution here, nor a break
ing up of traditional images or chapel altars.
All that is needed is a due sense of propor
tion. The liturgy in the parish church is more than
just in a central location. It is the ordinary source
of the Church’s power. It is the ordinary cli
max of the Church's efforts."
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
AND ARCHBISHOP Hallinan is fully in sym
pathy with those who find it difficult to make the
change, and he calls for others to understand
it, and says: "We also need tact and courtesy
and kindness and persuasion,, and all these are
the ways of charity... Those who love the liturgy
must be a real elite, and its foremost mark
should be deep humility."
At the Rockford meet I was amused at some
of the questions asked by the laity of the priests
involved in the Conference. One fellow brought
up the old saw about the Universal Church. He
said that it was difficult to understand how one
could not any longer hear Mass in various parts
of the world and feel that it was the same Mass.
After all, he said, with the Latin it was the
same Mass in Indonesia as it was in Freeport,
Illinois. Now with the vernacular, he Mass will
^ difficult t0 follow in countries outside
America. The speaker quite rightly asked him
whether he was fluent in La-in. The answer was
in the negative. This is where instruction is so
necessary in just what the changes mean. It
is to be hoped that there will be no last minute
rushes on this. After all, the preparation is now,
not November 29th when the selected portions
of the vernacular in the Mass are officially in
stituted.
THERE IS one final thought; the Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy approved by the Council
Fathers and promulgated by Pope Paul VI has
the full force of law for the whole Church. Fur
thermore, inasmuch as the American bishops
gave their overwhelming approval to it in April
of this year, it is binding on us all; we all
must take the lead from our bishops and priests
in giving full participation to the reform and re
newal of worship.