Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2—The Georgia Bulletin, March 31,1977
FOCAL POINT
The Second Monastery
BY FATHER
TERRY MCGRATH
The early morning sun
passes through the tall stained
glass windows throwing
patterns of bright color across
the altar and chapel wall. The
sound of church bells for a
time drowns the singing of
the birds and the distant
noises of cattle in the fields.
It’s almost eight o’clock,
almost time for the
community Mass at the
Monastery of the Visitation.
Sister Elizabeth prepares the
vestments and lights the
candles, making sure that
everything is ready. Sister
Clair opens the grille that
divides the chapel and marks,
symbolically, the Sisters’
cloister. Smiles are exchanged
with those “regulars” who
come to Mass each morning
from the neighborhood. They
nod their “good mornings” as
Sisters come quietly into
their chapel and take their
places. The bells stop their
pealing and, for a brief
moment, the birds are heard
once again. Then, under the
direction of Sister
Immaculata, the community
sings and Mass begins.
You may well have heard
of one monastery in the
Archdiocese, but two? So
easily we think of the
Monastery as being in
Conyers, but did you know
that just outside Snellville,
only 28 miles from Atlanta,
there is in fact another
monastery - the new home of
the Sisters of the Visitation.
In 1954, a small community
of eight Sisters moved from
Toledo, Ohio, and began their
new foundation in Georgia.
For almost 20 years the
Sisters lived on Ponce de
Leon Road in what had been
the Candler Home. There
they lived their quiet,
contemplative life, looking
forward to the day when they
would be able to move from
busy Atlanta and have their
own monastery. Gradually,
with the prayers and support
of their friends and
benefactors, the Sisters were
able to see their hopes
become a reality. In
September 1973, work began
on their monastery building
on Ridgedale Drive just
outside Snellville. The
building progressed swiftly
and today the Monastery sits
proudly on its 25 acre site
where the nuns, in the peace
of the countryside, work,
pray and give praise to God.
There are many stories and
i ncidents and many
experiences, gathered over
the years, kept dear in the
Sisters’ memories. Sister Mary
Helena, archivist and
one-time Superior, very
carefully documents all of
these, both through her daily
“logbook” and by carefully
preserving articles and
photos, and she puts together
the small history of the
Georgia foundation of the
Sisters of the Visitation.
Although the history of
the Sisters’ Community in
Georgia is a fairly short one,
the Visitation Order itself has
a long and impressive history
and a revered place in the life
of the Church. It was in 1610
that St. Francis de Sales and
St. Jane Frances de Chantel
first began the Order of the
Visitation of Mary. Francis de
Sales’ initial plan had been to
give the Church an entirely
new community of women.
At a time when those who
wished to dedicate their lives
to God could only do so
through a rigorous life in a
monastery, Francis de Sales
saw the importance of a
community of women
dedicated to God,
consecrated by the Church
and who would be both open
and available - a group of
Sisters who would visit the
sick, care for others and
support one another in their
service of God and His
Church by their community
life. Francis’ vision was
before its time, however. The
authorities were scandalized
at the very idea of nuns who
would walk in “public
streets.” The Church and
society were not yet ready
for a community of more
“active” Sisters. (It was only
later that Francis de Sales’
friend, St. Vincent de Paul,
was able to achieve this
dream.) After a great deal of
discussion, St. Francis and St.
Jane accepted the reaction of
Church authority and of
society. Through these events
they recognized that the Lord
had other designs, other
plans, for the Sisters of the
Visitation. It was in this way
that an order of
contemplative Sisters was
founded in order to reach out
to those who were perhaps
too old or too frail to
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withstand the rigors of other
sorts of monastic life. The
Visitation Sisters embrace a
life of kindness and gentle
hospitality, of cordiality with
one another and all those
with whom they come into
contact. Their mortifications
are neither extraordinary nor
bizarre, but they seek to
imitate Christ through a
joyful acceptance of all that
each day brings. In what
concerns food, for instance,
their mortification consists in
taking indifferently and
without comment whatever is
served, thanking God for
what they have and not
grumbling for what they have
not.
This spirit of joyful
thankfulness and gentle
acceptance of each day is at
the very basis of the Sisters’
life together. Although the
Sisters rarely leave the
confines of the Monastery,
unless it is to visit the doctor
or the dentist, they lead very
busy and very full lives. The
Sisters begin their day at five
thirty. They meet in their
chapel at six in order to pray
silently. As the sun rises and
the sky brightens, they are
aware that each day is a new
beginning and a new birth.
What better way to live this
rebirth, this recreation, than
quietly through prayer
together. The days go by
quickly for the Sisters and
provide a healthy balance of
prayer, silence, work together
and peaceful recreation. After
their time of mental prayer,
the Sisters join together in
the morning prayer of the
Church as they sing and pray
the psalms and scriptures,
uniting themselves with the
whole Church and with Christ
and preparing for their
community Mass.
The Sisters’ work is simple
yet demanding. Not only
under the expert eye of Sister
Mary Josefa do they make
altar breads for many of the
parishes of the Archdiocese,
but they grow much of their
own food and must take care
of several ‘‘little
communities” of chickens,
ducks and rabbits. Recently,
the Sisters have begun to use
their talents in the combined
work and pleasure of making
ceramics and pottery. Under
Mother Eulalia’s direction
they produce fine nativity
scenes, little angels and a
great variety of fine pottery.
The Sisters also have time to
themselves and moments of
recreation. Many of them
spend time sewing or
painting, reading or praying.
Arid, in all that they do, the
Creating Community
BY DR. ELLEN L. BURNS
SISTERS AT THE VISITATION MONASTERY
help a young visitor prepare for a rainy day.
keynote of the Sisters’ life
together is simplicity.
There is no television or
radio in the Monastery of the
Visitation, but this does not
mean that the Sisters are cut
off from the world or close
their eyes to what is
happening around them. In
fact, they often seem
exceptionally well-informed
as to all that is happening in
the Church and in the world.
The Visitation Monastery -
“Maryfield,” as it is called -
has many friends, particuarly
at the week-ends when
visitors come from the
Atlanta area and surrounding
district to talk to the nuns,
visit the Monastery and ask
for prayers. There are also
many faithful friends and
benefactors who came to
know the Sisters well when
they lived in Atlanta. These
keep their faithful contact.
with the community and
often meet once a month to
share in prayers and
devotions to the Sacred Heart
in the community chapel.
The same openness and
gentleness which the Sisters
strive to cultivate among
themselves is also extended to
all those with whom they
come into contact. Many,
who wish to make short
retreats or enjoy the peace
and quiet of the Monastery
simply to think and fime
themselves, are always made
welcome. For those who wish
to spend a day of peace and
quiet, whether alone or in a
small group, there is always a
place; and for those who
might want to spend a longer
time, sharing in the life of the
nuns, there are a couple of
rooms available. During the
last couple of years, many
retreatants have come to the
Monastery not simply for
peace and quiet but to feel
the strong support of a
contemplative community
which prays with them and
for them and gives them
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encouragement and new
determination to many.
There are, perhaps, some
who misunderstand the aim
and purpose of a monastery
of contemplative men or
women. It is so easy to see
simply the externals, the
peace and quiet, the natural
rhythm of work, rest and
prayer, and not look beyond.
For the Sisters do not come
together simply to live as a
commune or enjoy the
benefits of country living,
their whole life cries out to
society that God is alive and
well and lives within the
Church and within each one
of us. Today, we readily
recognize that many within
the Church have a prophetic
role or charism, not, of
course, to tell the future but
to bear witness to Christ and
the reality of the Gospel. The
very life style of the Sisters
presents so many perplexing
questions, which society
cannot fail to ignore or
explain away; by their very
life the Sisters remind each
one of us that our ultimate
goal is the Kingdom itself,
that our greatest ambition is
happiness with Our Heavenly
Father. So often we get
caught up in the turmoil of
making a living and becoming
successful. It is so easy to get
things orit of perspective and
have a blurred vision of
ourselves, the Church and our
final destiny. We are grateful
to the Sisters, and indeed to
all contemplatives, because
their example to us is one of
faith and courage and
happiness in God’s service. As
they joyfully accept the
challenge of Christian life, as
they pray hard and work
hard, we think of the
challenge placed before each
one of us whatever walk of
life we might be in, of
balancing our own lives and
through a day-by-day fidelity
to Christ and His Church,
seeking an ever greater
gentleness, kindness and
simplicity.
The third workshop on state-imposed
executions was sponsored by the Georgia
Christians against the Death Penalty on
Saturday, March 26 in Augusta at the
Tabernacle Baptist Church.
After a prayerful reflection and hymns
sung by the C.W. Berrian Chorus of the
Central Baptist Church, Carl Brown, attorney,
reviewed the political and legal status of the
death penalty. It is significant that both
decisive cases involving Supreme Court actions
regarding this issue have originated in Georgia.
Furman vs. Georgia in 1972 eliminated capital
punishment as “cruel and unusual
punishment” and Gregg vs. Georgia reinstated
the death penalty in the several states where it
was legal.
Georgia has executed 366 persons since
1930, almost one-tenth of the total number of
persons subjected to capital punishment in the
continental U.S. Of the 366 persons, 298 have
been black and 68 white; of the 61 put to
death for rape, 58 men have been black and 3
white. Overall in the U.S., 2066 of these 3859
executed by the States have been black, 1751
white, and 42 other minorities. Minorities in
this country make up only 13 per cent of the
total population.
Justice Douglas has noted: “One searches
our chronicles in vain for the execution of any
member of the affluent strata of our
society” . . . put to death by the state.
Ramsey Clarke says that it is “the poor, the
sick, the ignorant, and the hated that are
persecuted” in the land. It seems to hold true
as far as the death penalty is concerned.
If the death penalty were a deterrent
against crime, it might serve some purpose.
Three-fourths of all murders occur
spontaneously and without planning within
the family or between acquaintances. There is
no way that the threat of the electric chair
can prevent these “crimes of passion.” On the
other hand, premediated murders are
committed by individuals who do not expect
to get caught, so the threat of the death
penalty will not prevent this kind of murder
either.
If the death penalty were a deterrent,
death penalty states would have lower murder
rates than non-death penalty states. But just
the opposite is true. The state with the six
lowest rates of murder are the abolition states.
States that have reinstated the death penalty
after abolishing it have not shown a decreased
murder rate. There are as few or fewer killings
of police officers and prison guards in states
that have abolished the death penalty as in
those which have not.
Usually the poor get court-appointed
lawyers. Eleven out of 20 of these persons get
the death penalty for murder/rape and have
little or no chance of their case being reviewed
and the sentence commuted. On the other
hand, statistics show that 31 out of 79 of
those who can afford their own lawyers
receive a sentence of capital punishment; they
have much greater opportunity to have their
cases reviewed and to have reversals of the
lower courts decisions, besides.
Persons .who oppose the death penalty as a
matter of principle may not serve on juries in
murders/rape cases. The case of Davis vs.
Georgia now in the courts may turn this
discrimination around.
Chathem Hodges of the Georgia State
Catholic Conference explained the official
position of the Church on capital punishment.
He reminded the groups that Archbishop
Thomas Donnellan of Atlanta had the support
of Bishop Lessard of Savannah in his
opposition to the death penalty. The National
Conference of Catholic Bishops has spoke out
against it; and the Vatican has issued a strong
statement regarding the injustice of
state-imposed executions. Pope Paul’s New
Year message “If you want peace, defend life”
supports his former position. Mr. Hodges also
recalled the Church’s tradition of respecting
life and its endeavor to reform, rather than to
be vindictive, for wrong-doing.
One elderly lady asked the churches to
“stop house-keeping” and to deal with crime
constructively through programs for
disadvantaged youth, doing something about
prisons where criminals are made, and acting
on the death penalty issue with a conviction
that all human life is sacred.
Joe Hendricks of Mercer University in
Macon pointed out that a return to the death
penalty is an outgrowth of a desperate
society. Insecure and desperate in the face of
nuclear war, world-wide inflation and hunger,
and tyrannical governments we dust off our
electric chairs in an attempt to “make things
right.” The Christian tradition has not been to
respond to evil with more evil; the
reinstitution of the death penalty is
reminiscent of Pilate’s action - the vindictive
and desperate Jewish society had to be
assuaged, somehow. Quoting Saul Alinsky,he
said, “We are never free until we have come to
terms with our own death.” Our job is to
come to terms with desperation, Mr.
Hendricks stated.
It would be heartening to have a strong
Catholic representation in the Witness against
Executions next week-end. The highlight is
the march on Holy Saturday.
‘Witness Against Executions’ Here
Nationwide opposition to
the death penalty will be
voiced during an action event
in Atlanta on April 8, 9 and
10, Easter week-end. Georgia
has been chosen as the site
for the event as it is the state
that has the highest number
of legal executions since
1930, 366 in all.
Busloads of persons from
all sections of the country are
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scheduled to arrive on Good
Friday afternoon. They will
be hosted by churches,
religious groups, and other
individuals. Georgia
Christians against the Death
Penalty are arranging the
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Registration for the event
will take place at the Martin
Luther King Community
Center on Auburn Avenue.
Friday evening participants
will join in several workshop
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the State Capitol, beginning
at noon. There a peaceful
rally will be held. Speakers
will include religious and
political leaders: Dorothy
Day, Julian Bond, Tom
Wicker, editor of the NY
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Clark, and families of men
and women on death row.
More workshops will be
held that evening at Georgia
State University Urban Life
Center from 6:30 until 9:30.
On Sunday, at 6 a.m., an
Easter service of worship and
celebrations of the
Resurrection as a call to
witness against state-imposed
death will conclude the
week-end’s activities.
Father Terry Kane, pastor
of Our Lady of Lourdes
Church, has offered his parish
facilities as a gathering spot
for those who participate in
the march on Saturday.
Parishioners will serve
refreshments and offer
hospitality for the week-end.
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