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The Georgia Bulletin
September 21,1978
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The Carter Courage
Jimmy Carter promised support of
tax credit legislation for our schools as
he entered the highest office in the
nation. We believed him and he failed us.
His failure will be on our minds as he
courts support for reelection in 1980.
Other disappointed groups have been
just as vocal and promise the same
stingyness when future balloting begins
for the White House. The polls do not lie
and right now, Jimmy from Georgia is
running last.
But we must put aside our awesome
disappointments this week and stand in
admiration of the Carter courage.
Expecting nothing more than complete
failure resulting in further political
setbacks, he called old rivals Sadat and
Begin together. The predictions were the
most pessimistic possible. As the Camp
David talks proceeded, the
prognostications for success were termed
slim and none. Without regard for his
own political survival, the President
pressed on.
Who can doubt that the effort has
been blessed? The gates to peace have at
least, become unjammed. At most, the
beginning agreements will stick, deepen
and nutritiously grow. The Carter
courage, abandoning political
preservation, can take the credit.
Peace among the arch rivals of the
Middle East has not been assured. The
Jewish uncompromising possession of
Jerusalem and dangerous satellite
ventures into neighboring states will not
help. Nor will the violent divisions and
jealousies of splintered Arab Messiahs,
hell bent on self-service rather than the
service of peaceful co-existance.
Still, the Carter courage has been
productive. When the policy of other
powers has been hands off, the President
persisted with abandon, -- reckless but
fruitful abandon. His hands unselfishly
dabbled with dynamite. And,
explosively, he came away a winner.
The Peacemakers are among the
Blessed.
-NCB
Working Women
By Sheila Mallon
An old friend of mine, Sister Jean Marie
Stro6s, was in Atlanta this past week. Sister had
been the Religious Education Co-ordinator at
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church a few years
ago and she had also been a member of a prayer
group I belonged to. We were fortunate indeed
to have her as a participant because she brought
so much to us. Seeing Sister again brought back
many happy memories of that group and the
experiences we all have shared over the years.
I believe that if I were asked I would have to
say that the most valuable lesson I learned from
that team was that it is possible to disagree in
love. It is difficult to find in any assemblage
complete agreement and we were certainly no
different in that way. Yet even though we
might strongly hold an opinion different from
the majority we were always listened to with
love, patience and understanding.
We discovered that where there is love there
is always room for dialogue and while we still
might end up disagreeing, it would be gently
with the recognition that there was usually
room for more than one opinion. We
recognized that each one of us was unique, not
just in the way we looked but in how our minds
work and in how we have arrived at this
particular time and place. God has given to each
of us different gifts and our lives and intellects
have developed in many diverse ways. For some
of us the shaping influences were the Church,
and home and schools of our youth for others
the Teachings of Vatican II. Yet here we were a
micronism of a parish, agreeing and disagreeing
but learning from each others viewpoint in an
atmosphere of love.
All of us have at one time or another been in
situations beset with petty disagreement and
childish bickering. Times when we have
responded by being small and narrow in mind
and heart. How much better if we had answered
in the spirit of Camp David and sought better
understanding and perhaps compromise and
accomodation if possible.
/
Surely the Gentle Carpenter whose teachings
we profess to follow wanted us to respond
differently. To discuss problems with patience
and dignity and to seek a healing, loving peace;
to accept the possibility that someone could
have an idea different from yours and that
maybe neither of you are wrong. Can it be
Christlike to harden our hearts and turn our
backs and say that there is no other way but
mine?
There are certainly many times in our own
lives and in the life of our parishes when loving
understanding would go a long way toward
healing a breach.
Since we are all to some extent “captives” of
what life has made of us thus far, the words of
this lovely hymn express both the need and the
means to be free. “His Love is flowing like a
river, flowing out of you and me, flowing out
into the desert, setting all the captives free.”
Publication No. 574 880
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Most Rev. Thomas A. Donnellan — Publisher
(USPS 574 880)
Rev. Noel C. Burtenshaw - Editor
Michael Motes - Associate Editor
Member of the Catholic Press Association
Telephone 881-97 32
Business Office U.S.A. $5.00
756 West Peachtree, N.W. Canada $5.00
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Foreign $6.50
I
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Learning To Crawl—Again
Dave McGill
7
Ginny Staib just didn’t understand what all
the commotion in the neighborhood was about
as she arrived home from shopping. Suddenly,
and to her horror, she was told that her
beautiful only child, Erica, had drowned and
then been revived, was now at the hospital
fighting for her life.
That was two and one-half years ago, and at
that time Erica was 21 months old, pretty, and
bright. She loved to talk, and to watch “Sesame
Street” on TV. Today Erica is still pretty, but
she no longer talks or watches TV. Her brain
was injured that day, from no oxygen for too
many minutes.
For half a year, Erica did nothing but just lie
there and (once in a while) moan. She was fed
through a tube in her stomach, and time spent
at a rehabilitation center in New Jersey proved
fruitless. A number of neurologists and other
doctors gave Fred and Ginny no hope
whatsoever, and urged them to put Erica away
somewhere and get on with their lives. The idea
was repugnant to the young couple, however,
and they brought Erica home to stay, after her
condition had stabilized.
A year ago this month, the Staibs came into
contact with a special educator named Gene
Lewis, who taught them how to “pattern”
Erica, and they have faithfully kept it up since
then. Patterning means physically putting Erica
through certain motions in an effort to
stimulate the area of the brain which is
responsible for a baby learning to crawl. Talk
about starting from scratch ... but that is what
it takes for little Erica. Obviously, to simulate
crawling, it takes four people: for instance,
when I was there, a lady friend handled Erica’s
head, her grandma had her right arm, a teenager
her left arm, and Ginny manipulated her legs -
all together in the way a baby really crawls.
After 15 minutes of this, plus other exercises,
Erica was then placed on a gently-sloping slide,
on which any motion she makes will result in
some forward (and downward!) movement and
progress.
I saw her move an arm once and a leg once;
Ginny told me that at first, Erica would just lie
there at the top of the slide in a helpless heap. I
was struck by the great joy that comes from
just the tiniest of responses from this little
child. Those of us blessed with ALL our
faculties often get frustrated when we can’t
achieve BIG progress. I think I will always be
thankful for the smallest steps I take from here
on in.
Since the patterning began, there has been
some progress. Where once Erica made no
sound, now she cries. I am reminded of some
words from a Carole King song: “My my she
cries ... Look at those eyes ... She waits, but
can’t get an answer.” Erica’s eyes will melt your
heart. And, after 2‘/2 years, she has begun to
smile at her momma in the mornings. Only
scars on her tummy remain from the tubes, and
ERICA
she now eats like a newborn. Violent seizures
which once racked her little body have stopped
completely.
Erica’s patterning takes place for two hours
in the morning, two more in the afternoon, and
one hour at night. A number of people help the
Staibs to accomplish the exercises, one day at a
time. They come from their neighborhood, the
parish (Ginny attends Holy Cross), from Fred’s
job, and elsewhere. One “pattemer” is Officer
Cecil Goodroe, a policeman who, with others,
saved Erica’s life. Another is Paul Halpern, a big
man with paralyzed legs, who helps pattern
Erica from a wheelchair.
“The love that comes out of the efforts of
our volunteers is indescribable,” says Ginny.
“We just couldn’t do it without them.”
There are two reasons why the Staibs now
need additional help from any adult or teenager
who can spare it. The first is that they are in
Philadelphia, as you read this, for a week of
intensified training at an Institute specializing
in brain-damaged children. They expect, upon
their return, to step up Erica’s patterning from
five to as much as eight hours a day. Clearly,
there is a need for more volunteers. If you can
spare two of your 168 hours per week, call
Ginny at 934-7281 after they return Monday,
Sept. 25th. The Staibs live near 1-85 and 285, at
3504 Eaglerock Drive. They are nice, friendly,
appreciative folks.
Oh, the second reason: their second child is
due in January. And they think they’re busy
NOW!
More words from the song: “See how she.
flies, under the skies ... Did anybody really
know her?” Like all of us, Erica won’t ever
fly. If we will all help and at least pray, though,
perhaps she’ll learn to crawl again, as she once
did. And then go on from there.
f —
Reflections On The Mass
— 1
—-
Teresa Gernazian
J
At the hour of death the Masses we have
heard devoutly will be our greatest
consolation ... Every Mass can diminish the
temporal punishment due to our sins, more or
less according to our fervor ... Through the
Mass, Our Lord supplies for many of our
negligences and ommissions ... Through the
Mass, the power of Satan over us is
diminished ... By piously participating at Mass,
we render the greatest homage possible to the
Sacred Humanity of Our Lord.
While we know these facts, sometimes we
need to refresh ourselves mentally and verbally
regarding the importance of the Mass in our
lives. Whatever we do for ourselves, our families
and friends to sharpen our appreciation of the
Sacred Liturgy, it is certainly an effort worth
extending.
Recently a friend enthusiastically suggested I
try a Vatican II Missal. I agreed with the friend
that all too often our intentions of paying
“scrupulously close attention to every word”
are often knocked down by that human
weakness called mental distraction. The use of a
Sunday Missal can be a great help toward closer
participation, though it does take a little effort.
I still haven’t mastered the art of going back
and forth for the various parts in a smooth
manner, and I do wish the priest would
announce which Eucharistic Prayer he is
reading, but I do think I can find the right
pages easier as time goes by.
“Every Mass we join in ideally means going
through a familiar beloved journey which,
though familiar, is different and novel every
time.” This quote is from the Foreward of the
Missal I have and brings home the fact that we
should not let our attitudes at Mass become
routine.
We’re missing an enormous amount of grace
if we. don’t pay close attention to the spiritual
richness in the Opening Prayers, the Prefaces,
the Eucharistic Prayers, etc. The Missal ensures
that we have the opportunity to go over them
ahead of time so we’ll be familiar with them
when the priest reads them. We can use these
writings at home as part of family prayer or
individual private prayer. While spontaneous
and shared prayer are wonderful, structured
prayer is also essential in the spiritual life of a
Christian.
The Missal is a great aid in understanding the
Bible. There are remarks just before each of the
readings which give insights we may not have
heard before. These remarks are helpful in
explaining the Scriptures to young children.
The Missal can be a focal point in drawing the
family closer together by preparing for the Mass
ahead of time.
\ ’ ...
The Liturgy was the most dramatic and
profound change in the renewal decreed by
Vatican II. Here rests the heart of renewal but
we need more than a superficial understanding
of the change. We need to continually study
(reading the Document on the Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy is a good start) and discuss
ways to make our public worship of God more
awesome, reverential and fervent. For as the
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy describes
the celebration of the Eucharist: ‘... (it)... is
the summit toward which the activity of the
Church is directed; at the same time it is the
fountain from which all her power flows. For
the goal of apostolic works is that all who are
made Sons of the Body by Faith and Baptism
should come together to praise God in the
midst of His Church, to take part in her
sacrifice and to eat the Lord’s supper.” The
adoration we give to God through our musical
renditions is beautiful, but it is not the core. It
cannot substitute for our making a
concentrated effort to remind ourselves that
the Mass is a renewal of Calvary.
The celebrant who allows for a few precious
minutes of silence after Holy Communion so
that the faithful can make a proper
thanksgiving to their Saviour deserves our
praise. For many people, a beautiful rapport
with Our Lord is chopped up by a quick, crude
One of the most difficult of virtues to
acquire and maintain is patience. We do not like
the school of experience where it is taught, nor
the teacher who imparts it: hard facts. Yet,
what fools we mortals would be to resist the
process. For behold the failures, follies and
crimes we sorrowfully chalk up year after year
to impatience.
Of course, there is no special merit in
waiting for the sake of waiting. Procrastination
can be a vice in itself. The virtue of waiting lies
in the intelligent moves we make as we wait.
And in the possibilities of a change in
circumstances while we wait.
It is patience alone that sets the stage
whereon matters so often work themselves out.
That is to say, patience gives the perspective
“It’s a great feeling to see a child running
down a corridor, after doctors have said she’d
die in the first two years of her life,” says Bill
Ball. “She’s eight now and although she can’t
talk, she’s alive and full of vigor. The sight of a
child like that makes you want to work a little
harder for something you believe in and help
someone other than yourself.”
Five days a week Bill Ball is a transportation
stock and tool attendant whose job helps
maintain the light and power supplies of
Syracuse, New York. But Bill’s efforts after
working hours have brought light into the lives
of hundreds of disabled youngsters.
Several years ago he became interested in
announcement such as “There’ll be a car wash
next Saturday,” almost before the last person
receiving Communion has returned to his or her
place. Perhaps someday the liturgists will place
the announcements after the final blessing and
allow our continuous flow of love and praise
for Our Saviour to remain uninterrupted.
The Missal is not a step back, but a step in
tune with Vatican II and either a Sunday or a
daily Missal would make an ideal Christmas gift.
St. Joseph’s Missals as well as Daughters of St.
Paul’s Missals are available both at Notre Dame
Book Shop, which is now located at 5269-16
Buford Highway, NE (Pinetree Plaza) 458-1779
and at Trinity Book Shop, located in Ignatius
House, 6740 Riverside Drive, NW, 255-0530.
that can come in no other way. This is
particularly true in drinking of life’s bitter cup
of woe. How often we are hard pressed to
throw some kindly light on the mysterious
workings of Providence which bring tragedy
upon human kind. And how often we must
speak the word that seems so empty and futile -
Wait! But let the stricken one do just that. Let
the days go by, the months, the years, and the
answer comes. Comes with a gradualness almost
imperceptible.
Here as elsewhere, time is the wise and
kindly teacher. For we can never know the
meaning of the things which try us, the doubts
that assail us, until this great healer has done its
work. And then, only if we have had the
patience to wait.
fighting the effects of cerebral palsy in children
bom with that crippling birth defect. Assuming
the job of program chairman of his local Elks
Lodge, he built the lodge’s fundraising
campaigns around pancake breakfasts,
bowl-a-thons, walk-a-thons, raffles and circuses.
The lodge’s fundraising climbed steadily until it
led the state’s 143 Elks Clubs with $12,000 in
1977.
“I told my wife Shirley when I first joined
the lodge, if I couldn’t make a contribution or
help someone less fortunate than myself, I’d
resign,” Bill Ball remembers.
Anyone who truly loves God and those
around him will find ways, both during and
after regular working hours, to express that
love. No talent need be left unused. There is
someone, whever you are, who needs it.
Patience
Rev. James Wilmes
' — —v
What One Person Can Do
The Christophers
s. - >
BILL BALL, FUNDRAISER
FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN