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I
SOUNDINGS
The
Candle....
It is held high in the dark. It flickers and flames. You think it might go out. But,
NO, it pierces the dark, stubborn, determined and most certainly alive. It is the Candle
of our Pasch.
It began with the Palms last Sunday. Glory was on your mind. You saw the regal
red color up there in front of you. The waving adoring Palms were monologues of
praise. He might make it to the throne, you think, and seat Himself as King.
Hope was there even Monday and Tuesday. But Wednesday was numb. Spy
Wednesday, history calls it, as the robes of the informer swish down alleyways lusting
for the thirty pieces that would only frustrate his avarice and invalidate his crown.
You made it to Thursday. A day of diploma. You graduated from the Old to a New
Covenant. You will remember the Old with pride and a sense of thankful foundation.
But you can hardly believe your ears as the New is chanted. This is My Body. This is
My Blood. Do this forever.
Friday literally beats the band. It was like a leakage of power. He didn’t have to
take that from anyone. He didn’t have to go it along the Way alone. Their verbage was
nonsense. But on He went, up the hill, spiked to the wood, drained like a butcher’s
specimen. Then down into the dreaded grave, just like everyone else. Fearful Friday.
But Saturday, in the night time, that is something else. You are wandering around
in the dark. You have death on your mind. You have the finality of the grave to dwell
on. There are no words of rescue, no words of contrition, no words of excuse, no
words at all. None. You absolutely don’t need them. The Candle appears.
High up it is lifted. It speaks eloquently for itself. It is a litany of explanation. It is
immediate orchestration. It is full flame, defying and destroying the darkness. It is
there among us ALIVE.
All is well and you knew it would be from the start. You had a few scary moments,
a few doubtful jitters. But the Candle brings back the warm feeling of satisfaction that
you can hardly contain and is by no means excessive.
We give it a name. Not just the Candle but even the flame. “Light of Christ.” Of
course, we see. He is Risen as He said. -NCB
EASTER MESSAGE
Jesus Lives....
Arcktiskops Office
756 West Peachtree Street, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Dearly Beloved In Christ:
Christ, our hope, has risen. At the heart of the New Testament teaching lies the
conviction that Jesus lives, and that we will live with Him. As in Adam all die, so in
Christ shall all be made alive. This new and eternal life of the Risen Christ is given to
mankind so freely and so completely in Baptism that Saint Paul says that it is more
real than our own natural life, while Saint Peter tells us that all who live by it become
sharers of the God-head. Deep in the heart of the baptized lives this hidden life of
Christ, and the words “I have risen and am still with you.” express the force which
gives meaning to human life.
All of us are subject to the weariness, the tedium, the strain of daily living. It may
be a weariness of routine, of daily duties, of adjusting to the needs, or wants, or
preferences of others; of meetings and processes and problems; of poor health; of
growing older; of trouble and tragedy.
But the message of Easter is a message of fresh Life, ever beginning, ever new. “I am
still with you.” This is our faith and our hope. Except for those moments of deliberate
sin, when we turn away from Him, Christ is with us in all things. And all things,
because they are seen, or heard, or touched by Him in us, take on a new meaning and a
fresh significance.
Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. May the life of the Risen
Christ be yours. May the faith, the hope, and the love that fills our hearts on Easter
unite us in praising the Risen Lord. Alleluia!
Cf.
Most Reverend Thomas A. Donnellan
Archbishop of Atlanta
Vol.15 No. 14
i nursaay, April l, 1977
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
NATIONAL MEETING
Priests Discuss Ministries
BY FR. JOSEPH CAVALLO
Among the first there, was Father Badin and for almost 15 years he ministered
alone with occasional help from other priests. Then, Bishop Flaget arrived on June 4,
1811 with several seminarians and what would develop into the Archdiocese of
Louisville by 1841 was begun in the simple settlement of Bardstown, Kentucky, then a
two days journey, but now about an hour away from Louisville. The last two priests to
arrive in Louisville were myself and Father Henry Gracz. We arrived late Sunday
evening having driven seven hours from Atlanta, the last of almost 200 priests
representing 120 Priests’ Councils from around the country who were gathering for the
Tenth Annual Convocation of the National Federation of Priests Councils. (NFPC).
The theme of the convention this year was “PRIESTS/U.S.A.: Serving in a
Ministerial Church.” This theme emphasizes the role of the Church as ministerial
comprised of people who have, wrote St. Paul, “different gifts but the same
Spirits, .. different ministries but the same Lord . . different works but the same God
who accomplishes all of them in everyone”. (1 Cor. 12,27-28) Last year the
convention developed a working paper on ministry in general and reflected on the role
of priests as ministers. This year the convention was to listen about, discuss and
develop action steps to encourage the other ministries of the Church, both the
ordained and lay namely those of bishops, permanent deacons, men and women
religious and lay women and men. >.
a
The process of the convention was simple, we listered to addresses by *
representatives of the various ministries. A layman, David J. O’Brien, associate “■
professor at Holy Cross asked priests to “actively encourage, train, finance and support
lay people and share power and authority with them.”
Discussing team ministries which are used in more than half the parishes in his
diocese, Bishop John J. Sullivan of Grand Island, Nebraska, said priests, bishops,
religious and lay people have the responsibility for building up the Church,
non-ordained ministers have their own fuctions and do not exist merely to assist the
clergy, he said.
Joshua Alves, a permanent deacon from the Chicago archdiocese emphasized his
role as an ordained person who should not be considered inferior to priests.
Sister of St. Joseph, Kathleen Keating said women should be involved in all possible
ministries of the Church including the ordained ministry. Sisters should not be seen as
“slot-fillers, dollar savers of priest-substitutes”, but as having unique gifts of their own.
Mrs. Shirley Grant, the immediate past chairperson of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’
Advisory- Council, recommended that priests learn to share responsibility with lay
persons and that more women are needed in ministry and in the diaconate.
After listening to these people talking about their own ministries, the work of the
convention delegates begins. We were to come up with concrete proposals to support
those ministries. We broke up into small groups first by region and then by
interprovincial groupings. Father Gracz and I met with the priests of region IV, the
area from Baltimore to Florida. Then we met with the delegates from provinces of Los
Angeles, Cincinnati and Atlanta. Each time, we had a chance to contribute our own
ideas, to discuss and argue and finally help compose suggestions.
The various ideas from the different groups were collated into one paper, then sent
back to the groups for improvements and then finally voted on in a general session
that lasted well past midnight on the third day. The final results were 14 action steps
and four resolutions. The one capturing the newsmedia directed the NFPC president
and executive board to “request that the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and
Pope Paul that the issue of the ordination of women be reviewed for the purpose of
removing those canonical impediments to ordination based on the sex of the
candidates.”
But there were also other action steps that probably will be felt long before the
ordination to priesthood of women: that a Bill of Rights for Catholics be drawn up;
that a National Pastoral Council be formed; development of regional training centers
for all ministries; the lowering of the age of the Permanent Diaconate to 30 yrs.; the
elimination of all forms of sexism wherever it exists on the local level as well as sexist
language in liturgy; the ordination of women to the Permanent Diaconate; support of
rites giving general absolution as was done by Bishop Dozier in Memphis; to work
against the violation of Human Rights by repressive regimes; to work for
implementation of “Call to Action” conference recommendations, and to support the
J.P. Stephens Company boycott. Each member council is asked to begin
implementation of these action steps on the local level in their own dioceses.
TAKING SIDES FOR THE RELAY RACE, parents and children line
up in preparation for the big event.
‘Family Weekend Experience’
BY JOHN PURDY
Family Ministry is a growing concern and outreach of the People of God for one
another. Families appreciate being brought together as a unit to share and grow in
their faith together. In the Archdiocese of Atlanta a recent example of Family
Ministry was the “Family Weekend Experience” offered by the Office of Religious
Education and Family Life Committee.
Over one hundred Moms, Dads, children and teenagers from seven different parishes
met at Marist March 11-13. They represented Holy Cross, St. Thomas Aquinas, Corpus
Christi, Our Lady of Assumption, Blessed Sacrament, Immaculate Heart of Mary and
St. Jude.
The purposes of the weekend were to bring families closer together, to have fun,
and to share experiences of reconciliation and prayerful celebration.
Each family stayed together as a unit during the weekend (as opposed to being
seperated into peer groups). The sessions, which began on Friday evening and closed
on Sunday afternoon with an eucharistic liturgy, included short talks, discussions,
films, slides, and family projects. Some time was allotted on Saturday and Sunday for
sports and games.
An unique aspect of this particular model (developed by the Worldwide Marriage
Encounter Resource Community) was that each family returned to their own home at
the end of the day. On Saturday evening the families shared dinner, prayer,
discussions, and activities in one another’s homes.
Preparations for the weekend were made by the Office of Religious Education
Family Life Committee. The team consisted of Dave and Lucie Cerasso, George and
Honey Gfroerer, Dick and Ann Suever, Fr. Joe Baxer, and Sr. Kate Regan. £
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Sister Kate Regan, Elementary and Family Religious Education Consultant, says 2
that this is the first of the Family Weekend Experiences the Office of Religious
Education plans to offer as a means of developing models of family ministry and
providing leadership training for parish family life programs. For information and
assistance in planning a Family Weekend contact Sister Kate 881-6131.
SR. MARY BRIAN
New Infirmary President
Rawson Haverty, chairman of the
Board of Trustees of St. Joseph’s
Infirmary, has announced that Sister
Mary Brian, RSM, administrator since
1969, will be elevated to the position of
President, St. Joseph’s Infirmary
Corporation.
would be to the best interest of St.
Joseph’s Infirmary.
St. Joseph’s Infirmary, founded in
1880, anticipates opening its new
300-bed facility in late December 1977.
In the past the office of President
and Administrator were incorporated in
the single office of Administrator. The
increase in demands on the Hospital
Administration caused by the new
$33,000,000 hospital, now under
construction on Peachtree Dunwoody
Road, made it necessary to make these
two separate and distinct offices.
At the same time, Haverty
announced that Charles Burge, associate
administrator, will become Acting
Administrator with full responsibilities
as currently provided by the corporate
by-laws.
As Acting Administrator, Burge will
work with Sister Mary Brian in the
development of the new hospital and its
relationship with the community.
In making the announcement,
Rawson Haverty said it was felt that by
dividing and coordinating their activities
with the demands of the new hospital, it
Sr. Mary Brian, R.S.M.
NUMEROUS FAMILY PROJECTS, such
brought entire families closer together.
as the work on this poster,
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