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DR. NOAH LANGDALE, JR.
Mention Of Mary
Dr. Bill Self is not one of our
subscribers. So, the silver-tongued
pastor of Wieuca Baptist will hardly see
this article. That makes it easier to
report.
One of the good Doctor’s
bee-hive-busy deacons, soothing a
daughter’s convalescence one Sunday,
dispensed himself from Service and
tuned into the - Television Mass instead.
There was no mad rush for Roman
association, we
hasten to say, but
my deacon friend
did have his
questions about
the presentation of
the mysterious
Mass on the tube.
His main
amazement was the
lack of Mary -
mention in the
half-hour liturgy.
Where was Mary? Did we leave her out?
How could a Catholic service last 30
minutes with hardly the sound of her
name? These were the first comments
rattled off by this disallusioned but
thoroughly enlightened Baptist.
It’s true. Mary is left out of the Mass.
Only twice does her name resound from
the ancient ritual of a Catholic Mass.
That’s because the Church has put the
revered Madonna right smack in her
place. And her place is the glowing
hidden presence most lovingly
prescribed from above.
Mary decided her own fate from the
beginning. When an awsome angelic visit
told her of the grandiose motherhood
she would regally receive, she chose her
title upon acceptance. She would be
called “ancilla,” the handmaid. The
heavens took her at her word.
She barely makes the four Gospels.
Luke, the storyteller, makes her the
star of his first two chapters before
rushing over her role in breathless
fashion, to grasp the deeper truths.
Matthew has briefer mention and the
rest give her only the death scene.
Handmaid she wanted, handmaid she
got.
But not for long. Her behind the
scenes role did not fool the early
missionary Church. To those valiant
disciples of Paul and Peter, she
represented power. They would call her
out of her chosen obscurity and dazzle
her with light. All over the beginning
Church - east and west - cathedrals were
raised, emblazened with her name. The
Fathers in Council defined her place.
And kings, in search of Camelot, chose
her as Queen, before the fairest ladies of
the land.
Mary, the Mother of God, Handmaid
of the Heavens, could hardly avoid
becoming Mother of the Church. And
this meant not just her jealous
protection, but also her decisive
visitation. Those Shrines of her
visitations, Lourdes and Fatima, are
sacred to her legendary believers and
mysterious to those who merely come
to see. But all who visit find the
powerful Virgin emerge from her hidden
status of mere handmaid.
Mary’s most widely known relic, the
Fatima statue, will be the center of
devotion at Immaculate Heart of Mary
parish on Sunday next. Her legions will
be there in a show of greeting. They can
expect her welcome along with her
challenging directive that remains her
title. The only response is imitation.
She is the Servant of the Lord.
W elcome
BY MICHAEL MOTES
In addition to the keynote address
and workshop chaired by Cardinal
Humberto Medeiros of Boston,
delegates to the National Convention of
the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, now
underway at the Sheraton-Biltmore will
be addressed by a local educator of
renown and both the National and
International Presidents of the
charitable organization.
Dr. Noah H. Langdale, Jr., President
of Georgia State University for more
than 20 years, will speak to the
delegates September 29 following
Cardinal Medeiros’ 10 a.m. address. Dr.
Langdale, the recipient of numerous
professional and civic awards and
honors, will have as his topic “Urban
Problems That Face the Poor.”
St.Vincent de Paul Delegates!
Dr. Langdale has served by
Presidential appointments of
Eisenhower and Kennedy on the U.S.
Advisory Commission Educational
Exchange; as a member of the Board of
Directors of the Atlanta Chamber of
Commerce; as Chairman of the City of
Atlanta Citizens Advisory Committee
for Urban Renewal, and was the
recipient of the first “Georgian of the
Year Award” from the Georgia
Association of Broadcasters. He holds
membership in numerous professional
organizations, as well as the Atlanta
Chapter Sons of the American
Revolution.
An active member of the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul since 1948, Howard
E. Halaska of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, is
currently serving as National President.
He will address the delegates following
the September 29 registration at 9 a.m.
In addition to his Vincentian
involvement, Halaska has been active in
Catholic charities at local and national
levels and has served as a member of the
Board of Directors of the National
Conference of Catholic Charities since
1969.
Upon his election to the national
SVDP presidency in October 1975,
Halaska declared that his resolve and
prayer would be “not to be served but
to serve.” Since taking office he has set
aside in the aggregate almost two
months of each year for his presidential
duties and has travelled close to
100,000 miles.
Keynote speaker for the September
30 banquet will be International SVDP
President Joseph Rouast from France,
whose involvement with the
organization began in 1941 when he
joined the Yves Conference at the
Faculty of Law at Paris.
From 1944 to 1945, he was an
officer of the Committee of the Student
Conferences of Law, Ecole du Louvre,
Political Sciences, Treasury Department,
and in 1967 became a member of the
Council General.
A highlight of the convention will be
a Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception on September 30 at 5:30
p.m. at which Cardinal Medeiros will be
principal celebrant. All priests of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta have been
invited to concelebrate.
Serving as conventional chairman for
the local host conference are Executive
Secretary Joe Flanagan and John
Halligan.
HOWARD E. HALASKA
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 16 No. 34
Thursday, September 28,1978
$5 Per Year
SQUATTER CAMP RAIDED --Carrying one infant
under her arm, a fleeing woman leads another
frightened child by the hand during a police raid on a
Rhodesian squatter camp.
THE CATHOLIC
....The Priest
BY FR. NOEL C. BURTENSHAW
He is back where it all began. And
for this priest of Georgia, it all began
55 years ago in Savannah. He is
Atlanta’s oldest priest, still laboring
in the Georgia missions. As Chaplain
to the Georgia Regional Hospital, he
serves the Church each day. And for
Monsignor Joseph G. Cassidy, each
working day is eight hours long.
Monsignor Cassidy is the original
kid from Brooklyn. That’s where life
began for him 80 years ago. He and
his 11 sisters and brothers grew up
on the famous sidewalks of New
York. “Today,” he says “they would
call my father a Sanitary Engineer,
but in fact he was a plumber.” The
Cassidy children were all destined for
a good education, and Joe the middle
one, was destined for the Seminary.
St. Joseph’s Seminary in
Dunwoody, New York, a stiff and
starchy place, prepared young clerics
to serve the people of New York. In
a class of 60, young Joe felt he was
headed, like the rest, to a New York
City parish. It was not to be. His
adventurous, spirited eyes looked
further. They, in fact, looked to the
Chinese Missions. The Maryknoll
Missionary Fathers were young and
persistently recruiting for the far
East. Joe Cassidy felt he should
volunteer.
But his life’s destiny was changed
by a certain Father Tim Foley, up
from the deep South, visiting his
alma mater. “Why go to China,” he
asked, “the same challenges are
waiting in Georgia. Besides Georgians
are like Chinese - they eat rice and
worship their ancestors.” Taking his
word, the young Father Cassidy in
May 1923 was ordained for service in
the Peach State. The adventure
began.
(Continued on page 3)
RHODESIA
Council Of Churches
Defends Rebels Grant
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NC) - The World Council of Churches (WCC) has
defended its grant of $85,000 to the Rhodesian Patriotic Front, which is engaged in
guerrilla warfare against the Rhodesian government, as intended to aid refugees.
The grant in August by the WCC Program to Combat Racism was criticized as an
endorsement of violent revolution and led the Salvation Army to suspend its
membership in the WCC pending an explanation of the grant.
In a statement issued in Geneva, the WCC denied approving of the guerrilla warfare
being conducted by the Patriotic Front and said the money was for food, health,
social, educational and agricultural programs for Rhodesians who are refugees in
Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
“The WCC’s own commitment to non-violent change is clear,” the statement said.
“But that does not mean it must desert those in need of humanitarian support when
their struggle turns violent. The grant by no means aligns the WCC with all the policies
and pronouncements of the Patriotic Front.”
The WCC said the decision to allocate the money was made “strictly according to
the criteria laid down for the special fund,” which state that money must not be given
for purposes “in conflict with the general purposes of the WCC and its units.”
The WCC said the money was allocated after 12 months of “careful consideration.”
The WCC said the grant was intended to criticize the “internal settlement ” between
the government of Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and black leaders in Rhodesia.
The settlement has “failed to work,” the WCC said, adding “we hope that the grant
will encourage churches everywhere to make their own protest against the inadequacy
of the internal settlement which can only prolong the killing.”
Responding to accusations that the Patriotic Front has been guilty of massacres of
missionaries and of atrocities, the WCC said “the reality of the suffering on both sides
is undenied, but it’s a little cynical to play that suffering off - one side against the
other.”
“The Western press,” the WCC said, “has delighted in attributing cruelty to the
liberation movement alone. Little has been said about the hundreds killed by Ian
Smith’s force invading Mozambique or the savagery of the propaganda war, amply-
documented by Rhodesia’s Roman Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace.”
“Exactly who killed the missionaries is at least open to question,” the WCC said. It
noted that it has reports of at least one unit of the Rhodesian Army - the Selous
Scouts -- disguising themselves as freedom fighters and committing atrocities that are
blamed on the guerrillas.
Money for the grant came from specially designated gifts from member churches,
local congregations, councils of churches and the governments of Sweden, Norway and
the Netherlands, the WCC said.
Remember de Paul Collection
The annual collection for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be held
throughout the archdiocese this weekend.
The financial support of the inner-city projects of our Vincentians rests with each
of us.
As we have shown in recent weeks, the work of the Society is vast and its resources
are limited.
Let’s eradicate the shortcomings of collections of years past and strive to make the
work that lies ahead financially secure.
Please be generous!
Services For Milton Yander
Funeral services were held at St. Margaret’s Church in Flushing, New York, on
Tuesday, September 26, for Milton Yander, father of the Reverend Steven 1.. Yander.
assistant pastor of St. John the Evengelist Church in Hapeville. In addition to f ather
Yander, survivors include the widow, a son and a daughter.
Mr. and Mrs. Yander would have celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary next
October 14.
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