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The Georgia Bulletin
July 19,1979
“Moral” Crisis
It is doubtful many Americans did
not know the key to the solution of
our energy crisis prior to President
Jimmy Carter’s address to the nation
last Sunday night. We must consume
less. We must bite the bullet and
suffer for our long term energy health.
The ten year, $140 billion
program, to cut our dependence on
foreign oil in half by 1990 seems the
right, the only path open to us. We
can’t go on using more than our fair
share of the world’s oil. It wasn’t right
when we could afford it. Now we
can’t afford it.
The “battlefield of energy” will be
most demanding. We must discover
and develop alternative energy
sources, while being ever conscious of
our ecology - a seemingly impossible
task. But a task we must accomplish.
Most importantly of all, we must learn
to do with less.
President Carter told us our
problems are deeper than shortages of
gasoline or inflation. He called it a
crisis of "confidence,” saying we
lacked confidence in our leaders, our
nation, our future. We totally agree
that the nation is caught in a crisis.
But it appears to be more than one of
“confidence.” It is a crisis of
"morality.” Far too many have lost
sight of the right and wrong of our
energy problems. Many continue to
exceed the speed limit. Many won’t
turn down the thermostat. Many
won’t cut off the air conditioner.
Many won't carpool. Many won’t
accept less.
We must do our individual part if
we hope to overcome this crisis - a
crisis from within, not from without.
A crisis, in large part, caused by
ourselves. Well laid plans are futile if
we lack the moral courage to carry
them out.
The Southern Cross, Savannah
"Let’s go over my sermon again. Surely I must
have said something.”
Prayerfully Yours
Rev. David E. Rosage
GIVE US THIS DAY
We Have The Courage To Say
Luke 11:3-4
One day I noticed a billboard with only
four short words on it. There was no name
of a sponsor nor any Legend, since it was
self-explanatory. It read, GIVE US THIS
DAY. What a perfect prayer begging God for
all we need. What a proper attitude for
prayer recognizing our own poverty and our
total dependence upon our caring Father.
How appropriately these thoughts fit into
the Eucharist since the Mass is a prayer of
petition and a recognition that of ourselves
we can accomplish nothing. In the Mass
Jesus takes our needs as his own and
presents them to the Father in our name.
Jesus taught us to present our petitions to
the Father in this manner in the prayer he
taught us. Rightly has the Church made the
Lord’s Prayer an integral part of the Mass.
“Give us each day our daily bread” is a
humble acknowledgement that we must
depend totally on our loving Abba’s
providential care. In the Mass we present our
needs to the Father through the powerful
mediation of Jesus, who reminds us: “Apart
from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.
“Forgive our sins” is a plea for mercy and
compassion which arises from the
recognition that we are all sinners in God’s
sight and God alone can forgive us. We need
his redemptive love every day of our lives.
Each day at Mass we beg again for his
forgiveness.
When we have experienced the peace his
forgiveness brings us, then we can more
easily forgive others. In the Eucharist we are
taken up to Calvary where we can hear all
the insults, the mockery, the blasphemies
hurled at Jesus, then we hear his voice rising
loud and clear above the din of the derision:
“Father, forgive them; they do not know
what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. After
such a prayer experience, we can more easily
say: “For we too forgive all who do us
wrong.”
“Subject us not to the trial” is a plea
recognizing the weakness of our sinful
nature and our own inability to counteract
every temptation in our lives. Jesus assures
us as he promised. St. Paul: “My grace is
enough for you, for in weakness power
reaches perfection.” II Corinthians 12:9.
As we contemplate this bounteous
goodness of God we joyously proclaim:
“For the kingdom, the power and the glory
are yours, now and forever.”
Continue to contemplate God’s
providential, healing, forgiving love:
Jeremiah 29: 11-14 “I know well the
plans I have in mind for you . . .”
Psalm 32: 1-11 “Happy is he whose fault
is taken away ...”
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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
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Working Women
Sheila Mallon
Halcyon days on the blue seas, gliding
beneath a golden tropical sun with the snap
of the sails and the call of sea birds for
music. If this sounds like an expensive sailing
cruise you would be wrong. It was a 10-day
“retreat” cruise on a 55 foot sailboat with
17 people aboard.
The trip was put together by Angela and
Richard Rudiger of St. Thomas More, who
have organized many such trips in the past.
Angela, who is co-directress of St. Thomas
More’s School of Religion, and her husband
took a group of young people from the
parish to Canada last year on a bus you may
have seen around town with the name
“Roamin’ Romans” emblazoned on the side.
This sailing trip was organized around
Father Bill O’Hara, who has been active in
the Atlanta Charismatic community and
who has his Ship’s Captain’s license. There
were two other priests on board, Father Jose
Fernandez and Monsignor Tim Gannon, who
is 75 years young and a friend of Father
O’Hara’s from Iowa.
The St. Thomas More parishioners drove
from Atlanta to Miami in the “Roamin’
Romans” and there boarded the sailboat
which was to be their home for the next 10
days. There were 11 men and six women,
who were to spend the next week and a half
crewing the ship to the Bahamas and back.
The group ranged in age from 15 to 75 and
the object of the cruise was to be “An
Exercise in Christian Community.”
The Lord blessed the trip with lovely
weather and except for one cloudburst there
were sunny skies. Even the storm was
fortuitous since the sailors had only been
able to bathe in sea water and were delighted
to stand on deck to be washed by the
pleasant tropical rain.
The ship’s hold was small and hot so the
voyagers slept on deck at night under the
tropical skies with stars so huge and bright it
was hard to believe they were so far away.
There was no refrigeration so what
perishables they had were kept on a cake of
ice that diminished day by day. Fortunately
no one was seasick, although some of the
crew resorted to dramimine on choppy days.'
They caught much of the food they ate and
in the evenings feasted on snapper and
grouper and lobster.
There was swimming and snorkeling in
the clear water off the islands and the sun
turned them as brown as the natives.
The Liturgy was celebrated every day in
meaningful ways that most of the
participants will never forget. My friend Jane
Wages, who told me about the trip,
described some of the beautiful moments
they shared.
On one of the islands during the Liturgy,
they were surrounded by islanders of the
Anglican persuasion who watched and
prayed during the celebration. During the
renewal of their Baptismal vows which
followed the Mass a small girl asked if she
could renew her vows. After receiving
permission from her father she did. As the
sailors prepared to return to their boat she
put her arms around Jane’s neck and
confided, “As long as I live and as long as I
pray, I will never forget this night.” A
sentiment echoed by the crew as they
joyfully returned in the glowing tropical
twilight.
There was also the lovely Liturgy offered
on Bimini, on a hill overlooking the ocean
with the sun setting in fiery splendor behind
the altar silhouetting Father Jose as he raised
the Host in ancient celebration.
Jane felt that the really remarkable fruit
of their voyage was the discovery that as
long as they lived together in the love of
God, in spite of the closeness of their
quarters, all these people so dissimilar in age
and life style and vocations were able to live
in peace and love.
They returned home, as Jane put it, in a
spirit of renewed dedication to the Lord and
a deep sense of joy in the beauty of His
world.
International Language Of Love
Teresa Gernazian
It reads almost like a fairy tale. Once
upon a time, there were seven Cinderellas
who lived in the Chicago area. Happily
married, they lived in secure palaces of
motherhood. Their common bond was the
firm belief that more women could
successfully nurse their babies if they had
information and support from other
successful breastfeeding mothers and the
medical community. The story’s Prince
Charmings were all the wonderful health
professionals who worked with these women
in helping mothers who so desired to achieve
their goal of breastfeeding.
The homey, loose-knit “midnight
adventure” of 23 years ago has mushroomed
beyond imagination. Two weeks ago 2,800
adults; 800 children over three and 800
children under three invaded the Atlanta
Hilton for the Seventh International La
Leche League Conference - the largest such
gathering in the northern hemisphere with
representatives of six continents and over 25
countries.
“We didn’t know it was going to turn out
like this,” said vivacious Viola Lennon,
Mistress of Ceremonies at the banquet and
one of the Cinderellas. “I didn’t think the
manual would even sell,” she humorously
told the audience referring to the world
famous “Womanly Art of Breastfeeding”,
which is published in several languages and
in Braille. La Leche now boasts of 4,200
groups in 47 countries and reaches over one
million women annually.
Following the theme “Breastfeeding: The
International Language of Love,” the
interflow of people of various ages and
nationalities was something to behold.
Daddies changing diapers; babies in
back-packs; toddlers walking up behind
panelists and even at the Banquet with
well-known Dr. Lendon H. Smith as
delightful featured speaker, hundreds of
babies voraciously vocalized their opinions,
with no one thinking a thing about it. As
Maryknoll Father Denis O’Brien described it,
“This is right to life come to life!”
Professionals in the fields of
breastfeeding, medicine, nutrition,
psychology, psychiatry and child
development addressed the delegation during
the 150 sessions. “La Leche is exerting an
inspirational influence affecting children all
over the world,” Tatsuo Matsumura, M.D.
praised the group. On the 36 member
professional advisory board, the Japanese
pediatric allergist is convinced from his work
with allergic children of the superiority of
breast milk. His book on breastfeeding
generated a campaign by the Health and
Welfare Ministry to promote “nature’s way.”
“Raise your babies to be clever with
powdered milk” is a slogan pushed by
commercial advertisers, he said, criticizing
this as one of the reasons for the decline of
nursing among Japanese mothers.
Joan Beck, syndicated columnist and
author, spoke on Contemporary
Motherhood at one of the sessions, offering
innovative ideas for mothers who work. (La
Leche has a booklet, “Breastfeeding and
Working?” which gives helpful ideas for
women who want to make the best of a
difficult situation.)
Breast milk is now recognized as the
perfect food for the optimal development of
the body and brain, particularly for the
premature baby, and it offers the ideal
maternal/infant bonding situation. When
understood completely, and by withholding
solids for the first six months, it fits in with
natural family planning.
Memories of the past flashed before my
mind at the conference. I recalled my four
year involvement in La Leche about 17 years
ago, when headed by Terry Weaver the
Atlanta group got underway. As somewhat
of a pioneer in those days, I was described in
hushed tones as “that lady who nursed for
more than two years.” My most precious
memory, however, comes in recalling my
husband’s praise for La Leche. When the
baby had been crying for several minutes
and I’d start to nurse, bringing about that
instant magical silence, he would
triumphantly exclaim: “La la Che che!”
Celeste Murphy, Chairman, Rita Schieber,
Assistant, and Terry Weaver, Liason, brought
the Conference through with shining colors,
aided by many local La Leche mothers and
their husbands. Anyone desiring information
on the group or any aspect of breastfeeding,
may write La Leche League International,
Inc. 9616 Minneapolis Avenue, Franklin
Park, Illinois 60131. The local contact
number is 636-8454.
LaLeehe’s name comes from the Blessed
Mother’s Spanish title, the Nursing
Madonna. If there had been a purer, more
spiritual way to nourish the Baby Jesus,
surely it would have taken place. Could it be
that Our Lady herself has been the Fairy
Godmother behind the La Leche fairy tale? I
like to think so.
Resound Resound...
Highly commended . . .
ATLANTA - The BULLETIN and its
most versatile editor are to be highly
commended for recent editorials, viz: June
21st editorial pertaining to the death of
Angela Scott in the abortion mills of
Atlanta. Your scathing exposure of the
cover-up by the Atlanta media has at least
stirred up some proper coverage by the
Atlanta papers of the utter profiteering and
outside ownership of these mills.
Again, on the front page of the July 5th
BULLETIN in your “Soundings” addressed
to Ellen Goodman, you have done a great
service to the majority of Christians and
Jews who believe abortion should be illegal.
Fifteen states, by whopping majorities,
have called for a Constitutional Convention
to outlaw abortion. Witness such votes as
Mississippi for a Constitutional Convention,
House 98 to 11. Nevada, Assembly 24 to 18,
Senate 12 to 8. Indiana, the home of
Senator Bayh, the violent abortionist was
one of the first states to call for a Con/Con.
Pennsylvania, Senate 27 to 18, House 135 to
35. Nebraska, 36 to 6. Tennessee, 23 to 5,
all for a Con/Con to outlaw abortion.
Witness the defeat of abortionist Senator
Clark of Iowa, Senator Brooke of
Massachusetts, the clean sweep in Minnesota
for pro-lifers.
No longer should we be like the ostrich
with our heads in the sand, weakly accepting
the rampant anti-Catholicism which Prof.
Arthur M. Schlesenger, Sr., Harvard says, “I
regard prejudice against the Catholic Church
as the deepest bias in the history of the
American people.” A recent Harris poll
concluded the feeling that Catholics are not
discriminated against or not being victims of
prejudice does not hold water. John Hopkins
History Professor John Higham considers
anti-Catholic bigotry to be a more virulent
virus in American society than either
anti-Semitism or anti-black racism.
Keep up the hard-hitting editorials.
Continue to tell it like it is.
M.J. MAGUIRE, SR.
Father Castelot . . . Jesus and is not afraid to say so. Thank you,
Father Castelot.
ROSWELL - Thank God for Father John
J. Castelot. He at least is preaching about A. CHAMPOUX
What One Person Can Do
The Christopher
A FRIEND TO THE DYING
Have you ever heard of the Cheshire
Homes? They are places of shelter for the
sick and dying and there’s quite a story
behind them.
In September, 1944, Group Captain
Leonard Cheshire received England’s
Victoria Cross for heroism, becoming the
most decorated man in the Royal Air Force.
After the war, a friend named Arthur Dykes
came to him in need. Dykes was dying of
cancer; he had no place to go, and no way to
support himslef.
The retired group captain owned a
run-down country home, so he decided to
take Dykes in and care for him there. It was
a long ordeal but before Dykes died, he
expressed a thought which lingered in
Cheshire’s mind. He said that he had the
feeling he had been sent there for a purpose
and not merely to be cared after. Those
words from a dying man proved to be
prophetic.
Why not dedicate myself to this work,
Cheshire thought? Why not take in others as
helpless as Arthur? Why should their days
end in cold and lonely hospital wards?
But where would the money come from?
Cheshire rose to the challenge. His Christian
faith gave him the courage to make a
decision he never regretted. “If patients turn
up, we’ll take them. We won’t worry about
money - we’ll leave everything up to Grj’s
Providence.”
Surprising things seem to happen to
human beings who have the faith to trust
God’s Providence, as the RAF hero soon
learned.
One after another they began to arrive:
the dying, the severely disabled, the poor.
Almost overnight the old house was filled to
overflowing. When there was no more
money to carry on, gifts seemed to appear
just when needed.
The multiplication of the loaves was a
stunning miracle, and Cheshire was chosen
for another spectacular miracle - the
multiplication of the homes.
Cheshire Home No. 2 was started in
Cornwall. By 1955, Cheshire Homes were in
India, Malaya, Nigeria, Jordan, Hong Kong,
Ethiopia and Portugal. Today, the Cheshire
Foundation is truly international with about
170 homes in 32 countries. There are four in
the U.S., the first of which was opened in
Madison, N. J. Patients in these homes pay
what they can afford but inability to pay
does not bar them.
In an age when more and more
consideration is being given to the problems
of the sick and elderly, Leonard Cheshire
showed the way. He proved once again that
one person, with faith in God’s Holy
Providence, can perform wonders. But in
every instance it takes that leap of faith
which overcomes all fear.
For a free copy of the Christopher News
Notes, “Friendship,” send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to The Christophers,
12 E. 48th St., New .York, N. Y. 10017.