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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1964
CHRISTMAS
the
'Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN
SfRVINO GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHMu COUNTIES
Wiyl 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
*W> S
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
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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
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Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga.
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(Efymtmas 1964
“O wondrous exchange; the
creator of the human race,
taking unto Himself a living
body, deigns to be born of a
Virgin: and becoming man
from no human generation,
hath bestowed upon us His
divinity/ *
(Vesper Antiphon-Feast of the
Circumcision)
“O God, by whom the dig
nity of human nature was won-
drously established and yet
more wonderfully restored,
grant that through the sacra
mental rite of this water and
wine we may have fellowship
in the Godhead of Him, Who
deigned to share our manhood,
Jesus Christ, thy Son, our
Lord, who is God...”
Y ou continue to know and to
love and worship and redeem
on earth.
And so it is that the Church
reappears over and over again
in her prayer on the feast
of Christ’s birth:
“Accept, Lord, this day’s
festal offering, and in Thy
gracious bounty grant that
through this interchange of
sacred gifts, we may grow
to be like Him in Whom our
human nature is made one
with Thine.”
(Prayer over the Offer-
ings--Midnight Mass)
(Offertory Prayer from the
Mass)
With the Church and with
all men of good will in this
Christmas time of 1964 we
adore You, Lord Jesus Christ,
born for us and for our sal
vation, We surrender to You
absolutely and without reserve
the one gift we have to give
You, the one gift You want,
our humanity, our bodies and
souls to be Yours,
Just as some two thousand
years ago You begged from a
Virgin Maid the body in which
You would worship God on
earth and redeem the world,
so today You reach toward us
from a manger bed and seek
from us another body to use
in this world in this our time
for the worshipping of God and
for the redeeming of the world.
And we answer with a new
echo of Your mother's fiat.
We surrender like her in love.
This is our gift and we give
it willingly, lovingly--our hu
man nature, our humanity, to
form together with You and
with one another a body
through which You can worship
God and redeem the world
today.
And in return we receive
from You, humbly and grate
fully, Your gift -- for our
possession, for our use, for
our joy -- the very Godhead,
divinity itself!
The Christmas feast is a
warm and shining sign of the
“marvellous exchange” that
is constantly taking place deep
in the life of the Church. For
it is through Y°ur ever-pre
sent actions of Baptism and
the Confirmation and Eucha
rist that You give us divine
life, O Lord, so that we can
know and love and do divinely.
It is through these sacramen
tal acts of Yours that we are
able to yield to You our sel
ves, our human life, formed
into one body through which
“He restores our nature
through the Holy Spirit, shed
on us in abundant measure
through the Savior, Jesus
Christ. So justified by His
grace, we were to become
heirs with the hope of eternal
life set before us, in Christ
Jesus, our Lord.”
(Epistle -- the Second Mass
of Christmas)
“As this day’s newborn hu
man child shone with the
brightness of the Godhead, so
may the earthly substance of
this offering bring the divine
within our reach,’
(Prayer over the Offer
ings -- the Second Mass
of Christmas)
Through the grace of Jesus
Christ which is poured out
upon us in the blessed feast
of Christmas we are made
aware as never before of what
we are, of what we have been
made, of what has been done
in us by the action of Christ
through His Church. As we
are, so we must think; as we
are, so we must act. In terms
of what we are, so we must
put values on the world, on
people, on things, on pleasure.
Through You, Lord Jesus, we
have been united to the God
head. Godhead is ours, power
and divinity is ours, to live
with, to love with, to be happy
with, to give to a poor world,
O wondrous exchange!
“Therefore,” says St. Leo
in his Christmas sermon, “let
us put off the old man with his
works, and having become
sharers in the Sonship of
Christ, renounce the deeds
of the flesh. AWAKEN,
CHRISTIAN, TO YOUR DIG
NITY! You have been made
a partaker in the divine na
ture. Scorn to return to your
former vileness through an
evil way of life. Remember
that you have been snatched
from the power of darkness,
and transported into light and
the kingdom of God.”
THANKS BE TO GOD!
GEORGIA PINES
Moving Heartbreaks
are always odious, but were I to use the ele
ment of suprise in judging the merits of a de
parture I think that my exit from Gainesville
would get the first prize.
Last Monday evening in Gainesville, some
sixty-five men suprised me with a “going-
away" party and presented me with my first
color-television set! (St. Anthony’s is such a
big parish that I don’t know when I ever will
get a chance to look at it! )
This farewell was all the more touching be
cause of this number only four of the men
were my own parishioners. The Hall County-
Sheriff, the Gainesville and Athens Police
Chiefs, the two Legislators from Hall County,
the Mayor pro-tem of Gainesville, five mem
bers of the Medical profession, six members
of the local Bar Association, local business
men etc. made up the assembled group. The
Governor, unable to attend because of his
father’s illness, honored the group with a tele
gram. It was a wonderful display of fellow
ship and a good example of the ecumenical
spirit which has captivated the hearts and
minds of men of good will.
THE FIRST few days in a new parish are
always confusing. Getting used to new names
and faces, finding streets, listening to the
phone constantly ringing, and answering the
door are quite a change from the quiet life
of a “country parish”. I shall never forget
the warm welcome I received here at St. An
thony's from the first moment I arrived.
This is truly a parish with a warm heart.
Opening Christmas cards, answering impor
tant letters etc. really make the day shrink.
Here it is the 20th and I have not yet sent out
any cards myself!
I’ll close this column wishing my readers
and all the loyal supporters of our newspap
er the most Merry of all Christmases and the
fondest wish for a Blessed New Year.
PUBLIC OPINION
Your World And Mine
inally federal political systems. But in prac
tice they are highly centralists. When the
“strong man” voices his position, the response
all the way down is automatic. It is natural
for people raised in such traditions to suspect
connivance when the local level ignores the com
mand given by the c.ntral executive.
That is, of course, the same question we
hear with increasing shrillness from individ
uals and groups within the country dissatisfied
with the rate of progress. I have, nevertheless,
found that our visitors become quickly con
vinced of the positive values of our present
system, once they get to understand the motives
which dissuade the federal authorities from us
ing forCi. except as a last resort.
A newsman from Venezuela summed up his
observations for me. “We hear a lot about
race discrimination in the United States, and
we cannot reconcile-your practices and atti
tudes with the rest of our image of your coun
try as the lc-ader of world democracy. What
I have seen, however, is a society' in action.
The Negro is a victim of discrimination in
many ways, especially in access to housing and
in job opportunity. But the improvem ,-nt is more
rapid than I was led to expect,”
ASKED TO what extent his own views reflect
ed those of the general Venezuelan public, my
friend said that he thought that both Venezue-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
BY GARY MacEOIN
I wrote last week about the reactions of a group
of Latin American opinion leaders to our election
campaign and voting procedures. This was
just one element in a program which offered
them the opportunity to discuss United States
policies and practices with a nember of his
torians, social scientists, newsmen, politicians
and public officials.
They were understandably interested in our
programs of foreign aid and our defense and
Cold War policies. But both formal and infor
mal discussions convinced me that they regard
equal rights as the touchstone
of United States sincerity. They
were remarkably well informed
about the developments of the
past few years. Indeed, it seems
to me that our enemies may have
done us a favor by stressing
in their propaganda how far our
practice in race relations fell
behind our principles. The bleak
picture they painted serves to
highlight the rate of progress.
“HOW CAN a local administration sucked
for years in frustrating the national will as
clearly expressed by Congress and the fed
eral executive?” This is the question that seems
to be asked most insistently by foreign observ
ers. Many Latin American countries have nom-
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Well documented statistics about the moving
habits of Americans reveal the fact that almost
one-fourth of this nation move every year. Now
some of these people move merely from the
first floor to the second floor, others move to
homes on the same street, and still others have
so little to move that it does not require the ser
vices of a moving company.
In sixteen years I have received seven different
appointments to various churches and missions
in this state. I guess that in
my own small way that I have
contributed to these statistics.
However, I must confess that
every time I move that it be
comes more and more diffi
cult. I recall my first move
from Savannah to Atlanta.
All of my possessions were
able to be piled in the trunk
of my little Plymouth. This
last move from Gainesville to Atlanta requir
ed the services of Adams Transport Company.
Not that my worldly possessions are really
worth that much but I’m afraid that over the
years 1 have acquired another American ha
bit of not being able to decide what to save
and what to dispose of.
IT ALL adds up that everything is piled in
boxes, suitcases, foot lockers etc. with the
resolution that they will be sorted out before
being brought into the new rectory. I must
confess that I had these same dispositions
when I was transferred from Cedartown to
Gainesville. It was only when I was packing
to move to Atlanta that I suddenly realized
that in six years I had not quite “got-around”
to sorting my belongings.
The farewells are the most difficult part
of leaving. In all six parishes in which I have
been stationed the people have been most
thoughtful and generous to me. Comparisons
Make Believe
To Reality
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
Among the Love Letters of Phyllis McGinley
there is the Ballade of Lost Objects, an impish
lament on the swift growth of kids in anyone’s
family. The final stanza sums up the feelings
of many parents at this time of the year:
“Prince, 1 warn you, under the rose,
Time is the thief you cannot banish.
These are my daughters, I suppose.
But where in the world did the children Vanish?
It is all brought to mind by the sudden realiza
tion that for the first time since the advent of
our children no doll will grace the foot of the
Christmas Tree. Last year there was a terrible
period of anguish at being unable to find the right
type for the youn
gest girl. Chatty
Kathy or some such
title, which did al
most all the things
that humans do. I
should have known,
though, that this
was the last of the
parade of the dolls,
for there was soon
dis-enchantment with the almost human doll.
(Perhaps that was the trouble — it was too clever
for the world of make believe. A child likes to
think it has the gift of making its inanimate
friends communicate.) But now the child is
becoming a girl—and soon a woman.
IT IS appropriate to meditate on all this at
Christmastide, for we are apt to think of it only
in so far as it reflects newness—whereas it is
also supposed to remind us of growth in Christ.
There is something about Christmas which brings
into the open the fulfillment of creation and puts
us human persons on that elevated plane which we
hardly ever acknowledge. I read the other day a
book on homilies on Christmas given by Pope Paul
VI when he was Giovanni Battista Cardinal Mon-
tini. Archbishop of Milan. In telling of the intimate
stirrings of this holy day, he says;
“In Christmas, nature and life find their own
gentle and innocent language which makes us savor
something of the original harmony of creation, and
restores us to the joy of true things, simple
things, and good things like an incantation that
reanimates us. But right after this lyrical and
romantic aspect, another appears which alters
the clarity and force of the great over-riding
motive for the birth — which is all true — with
elements of fantasy, legend and spectacle. Thus
we have the Christmas Tree and Santa Claus,
that replace the creche .or nativity scene .with
attempts to transform the exquisite historical
nature of the mystery-into myth and amusement.
The mind is amused but also confused. One easily
reverts to childhood. But, alas, one remains a
child. One never ascends to the sublime encounter
with the heavenly Child.”
ONE REMAINS a child! Certainly this is'the
fate of any of us who, in growing up physically,
has failed to grasp the significance of the matu
rity of the Spirit. In attaining manhood; in reach
ing for the material elements of growth and pro
gress, we may have lost sight of “the joy of true
things, simple things and good things..."
The Gospel story as told by St. Luke and St.
Matthew is clear: a child is born who is God —
the Word made Flesh. The bridge between Heaven
and Earth is opened and our liberation is as
sured. The freedom of the sons of God is es
tablished. AH that is in the Church has Christ
as its center. The unity of Christ is also explain
ed. Existing in two natures, He is still one, yet
both divine and human. It is this truth which lies
at the root of a joyous and happy Christmas. It
is this truth which is obscured by the tinsels and
the symbols of gross commercialization on this
holy day.
WHERE IN’ the world did the children vanish?
They have become girls-and soon they will be
come women. They no longer want dolls or other
baby toys. They are grown up. But art they? Is
Christmas a tim. of taking or giving? The an
swer to this question will give us a clue to their
growth. Have they grown up sufficiently to see
the Christ-Child in every child? Have they grown
up in love? That which enables them to over
come pride and prejudice; that which enables them
to see the image of the God-Man in all men, ir
respective of raCv color or creed. Do they know
the difference between the child and the do
cility of the Child-like?
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
Christmas therefore is the invitation to ag-
giornamento—to the updating. are invited
to become what we are—Christians, truly and
willingly emancipated by the mystery of the In
carnation. That is why we can say with Pope Paul:
“A Christmas without Christ and the term
Christian without faith in Christ, are a mockery
of divine truth and of human Intelligence. Let
those of us who believe set to it that Christmas
is given the true significance and splendour;
the celebration of the mystery of the incarna
tion; and that the term Christian be given the
power and glory 0 f a genuine Christian life.”
THE INANIMATE have become too clever for
the- world of make believe; most of U s, alas,
are not clever enough to master the world of
reality. But where in the- world did the children
vanish? There’s still time to discover that they
didn t. Christmas reminds us the) have merely
grown up. But have they in Christ?