Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2—The Georgia Bulletin, May 15, 1980
Getting Married?
BY FATHER DONALD CONROY
NC NEWS SERVICE
LAST IN A SERIES
Marriage as an
institution in our society is
in trouble. S uch a
statement has become
commonplace in our
times. In fact, the title of a
recent movie - “The Last
Married Couple in
America” - focuses on the
jeopardy of married
couples living in the
United States today.
While some around us
consider marriage and
stable family life to be the
exception instead of the
rule, a new upsurge of
interest in both has
appeared. The Catholic
bishops of the United
States have designated
1980 as the Year of the
Family, during which a
special Plan of Pastoral
Action for Family
Ministry is being launched.
Many people within the
church are seeing new
hope for their deepest
expectations for a life-long
commitment and
friendship and a warm,
joy-filled home life.
The crosscurrents, so
evident in our
contemporary society, can
bewilder the average
person. To meet the need
for encouragement and
hope, Pope John Paul II
has called the world Synod
of Bishops to meet in
Rome in the fall of 1980.
They will deal specifically
with the theme of
marriage and Christian
family life.
In all of this, what is
going on or being planned
to help the average couple
grow and their home life
to develop? First, it is
clear from the great rise of
interest in dioceses and
parishes across the country
that many people are not
just sitting back to watch
the secular values and
structures of societyjsnuff
out their deepest values.
The interest in Marriage
Encounter, the Christian
Family Movement and
Teams of our Lady (a
Catholic couples’
organization) are
witnessing a renaissance of
activity and participation.
In these movements as
well as in average parishes
new forms of marriage
ministry are coming to the
fore. These help couples to
understand themselves,
develop skills in living
together and grow in
Christian friendship and
love.
One example is the
premarriage ministry in
parishes like St. Andrew’s
in Fort Worth, Texas. This
parish of about 1,350
families has a successful
marriage preparation
program in which married
couples act as counselors
to engaged couples. The
experience is rewarding
both to those to be
married, who see a role
model, and to the sponsor
couple, who find that such
giving to others helps them
to grow too.
Another interesting
experiment is in Kansas
City, Mo., at St. John
Francis Regis Parish where
a newlywed, ministry
flourishes. Many parishes
in the past have segregated
people into men’s and
women’s groups and have
found dwindling
involvement from young
adults. Here, however, the
young marrieds’ program
makes belonging to the
parish relate to the needs
of newlyweds by
establishing a special
network of young couples.
It helps them face their
questions and feelings such
as the normal disillusion-
ments of married life after
the honeymoon phase, the
need for friends with like
ideals and the pressure of a
first pregnancy.
In Altoona, Pa., Our
Lady of Lourdes Parish
has been successful in
ministering to couples
with diverse interests and
backgrounds. This parish
first took time to listen to
its parishioners. The
listening process
uncovered the. need to
respond to couples who
had made a Marriage
Encounter weekend and to
other couples who wanted
to approach things in a
different way. Their
marriage enrichment
program or ministry
involves team couples who
plan and lead a variety of
sessions and evening
workshops.
One couple said: “This
program opened our eyes
to one another . . . actual
ly learning that we loved
each other more than we
thought.” Another couple
pointed out a common
discovery: “We also found
that our problems are not
unique.”
In these and other ways
during the 1980 Family
Year dioceses and parishes
across the country are
giving couples new hope in
their relationships.
Through these creative
forms of ministry to
couples and involving
couples as leaders, the
church community is
discovering immense talent
for dealing effectively with
the crises facing marriage
and for helping ' couples
find ways to grow in love.
TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSAR Y-
St. Paul Celebrates Silver
It was through the insight of Bishop
Francis E. Hyland, Ordinary of the
Savannah-Atlanta Diocese, in 1950, and
the Passionist Fathers of the Province of
St. Paul of the Cross of New Jersey, that
the black community of Atlanta became
the focal point of attention for Catholic
missions in the city of Atlanta. The
Passionists were invited by Bishop
Hyland to come to this city to build a
complex designed to meet the needs of
especially black families, since there was
only one other black parish in existence
at that time - Our Lady of Lourdes
Parish.
This mission was accomplished 25
years ago and St. Paul of the Cross and
its parishioners will proudly celebrate
this occasion on Sunday, May 18th.
Parishioners, former students and
graduates of the School, former pastors
and assistant pastors of the Church have
all been invited to join in this
celebration; many of whom will be on
hand for this grand occasion.
After the 8, 10 and 12 Noon Masses
on May 18th, mini-receptions will be
held in the school hall giving every one
present an opportunity to renew
friendships, exchange greetings, and
reminisce of years past. At the 12:00
Noon Mass, the Very Rev. Fr. Brendan
Keevey, Provincial of the Passionist
Order will be the principal celebrant of
the Eucharist, assisted by priests who
have served the Mission. At 5:00 p.m., a
formal reception will be held at
Dunfey’s Motor Court on 1-75, followed
by a formal sitdown dinner at 6:00 p.m.
which will climax the day’s activities.
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Vocations: Prayerful Awareness
BY JAMES TARBOX
“Anyone considering
the possibility of a
vocation to the
priesthood, or any other
vocation for that matter,
can not overlook the
need to pray, to pray on
a regular basis.”
The words belong to
Monsignor Jerry Hardy.
Delivered to a small
group of high school
students who were
spending the day at the
Trappist monastery in
Conyers, Monsignor
Hardy’s comments on
prayer and religious
vocations came shortly
after these same young
men had seen a member
of the monastic
community ordained to
the priesthood by
Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan.
T he ordination that
these young men saw,
perfectly illustrated
Monsignor Hardy’s
o b servation on prayer.
The monk that was
ordained Saturday
morning had spent years
in the monastery prior to
his ordination; most of
those years spent in
prayer. His ordination
was graphic evidence that
a vocation to the
priesthood is something
that strikes different men
in different ways and is
best understood through
prayerful consideration.
“I had to learn how to
pray when I went to the
seminary,” said Father
Pat Bishop, a counselor
at Saint Pius X High
School. “I found that I
had to learn that praying
means more than just
knowing how to say the
Rosary.”
It’s fine and healthy
for the seminary to teach
young men how to pray,
but that does not really
help young men who are
debating within
themselves the question
of the priesthood, the
question of a religious
vocation.
‘‘Prayer is not
something that we do for
God, it’s something that
God does for usf’
Monsignor Hardy said.
“All too often we pray
for God to do some
specific thing for us,”
Monsignor Hardy
continued. “We don’t
pray that His will be
done is us, we tell him
what we would like His
will to be and then
expect that He will
follow up on our
petitions.”
Any desire to serve
God in a religious
vocation is, for most
young men, a very
personal and, at times,
frightening decision. “I
find so many fellows
come to me at Pius and,
after elaborate secrecy
oathes are taken, they
tell me that they think
that they might want to
be priests,” Father
Bishop smiled.
The reasons for such
secrecy, Father Bishop
believes, are many.
“Society has a tendency
to shun people that
publicly take on any
form of commitment and
I have seen guys that
have told people that
they might go to the
seminary take a lot of
flack from their peers. It
is really sad,” said the
Pius counselor.
With young men
expecting such public
ridicule the need to pray
is even greater. “If you
decide to go to the
seminary you will learn
that the appreciation
factor will quickly
diminish,” Archbishop
Donnellan told the group
of high schoolers.
‘‘People will quickly
forget about the
sacrifices that you are
making, and the efforts
that you are putting
forth. The thing that
keeps you going is
prayer.”
All of these remarks
were directed to these
young men while they
were sitting in a
conference room in the
guest house of the
Monastery of Our Lady
of the Holy Spirit; a
community of prayer.
Less than three hours
earlier Archbishop
Donnellan had ordained
a monk to the
priesthood. This monk’s
life had been, since his
arrival at the monastery
dominated by the prayer
that had been discussed.
Even with his prayer
environment his decision
to study for the
priesthood did not come
until much later in life.
“You can not force a
vocation any more than
you can force any other
major life decision,”
Father Richard Lopez,
Vocations Director of
the Archdiocese said.
“You just pray that you
can empty yourself of all
things contrary to the
Lord’s spirit.”
In the same manner
Monsignor Hardy
addressed the question of
resignation to what he
termed “The Spirit of
His will.”
“The important thing
to remember is that
prayer must be a
constant thing, and that
we must be open, to
receive a return
message,” said Monsignor
Hardy. “Realizing that
we can’t make these kind
of decisions on our own
and that we are
dependent on Him for
the grace to fulfill any
vocation in life, we need
to pray out of our
dependence,” said
Monsignor Hardy.
Perhaps as a final
reflection the words of
Archbishop Donnellan
should be reflected on
again: “The appreciation
factor will quickly
diminish, people will
forget the sacrifices that
you make.”
Realizing that, the
need for prayer becomes
obvious. With little
support from his friends
and - quite often from
his family - a man
considering a religious
vocation must turn to
God more and more
frequently for strength
and support. Could this
not be the way that the
Lord has intended it; is it
not possible that this
dependence, developed
only as a measure against
total alienation, is the
purpose of the alienation
itself?
REPRESENTATIVES of the
International Cursillo movement met
Pope Honors Cursillo
V> fA .fs,- c>- C y
Five international
leaders of the Cursillo
Movement met recently
with the Holy Father,
Pope John Paul II,' in
Rome to report on the
movement’s work for
evangelization throughout
the world.
The delegation included
the United States
movement’s Executive
Director, Gerry Hughes of
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Dallas, who represented
the international
English-speaking
movements.
Hughes said that the
Holy Father expressed
great interest in the work
of the Cursillo and has
extended his blessing to all
those involved in it.
The Cursillo Movement
has been active in the
Atlanta Archdiocese for
fifteen years. Father
Richard Kieran is Spiritual
local
Mrs.
Director of the
movement, and
Marianne -Schlinkert is Lay
Director.
Some 2,000 families
have participated in
Cursillos over the last
fifteen years. Cursillos are
offered in English and in
Spanish.
The Catholic Movement
in Atlanta has assisted the
L utherans and the
Episcopalians in
developing their own
movements.
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MATTHEW LAMMERS, a member of Saint
Mark’s parish in Clarkesville, will make his first
oath to the Glenmary Home Missioners on May
26. Lammers is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Lammers, Jr. He is a graduate of Belmont Abbey
College and joined Glenmary in 1978 after
working in the summer volunteer program.
Cubans Settled
with Pope John Paul II recently in
Rome.
(NC) -- Some 300
Cuban refugees are now
being resettled daily by
the U.S. Catholic
Conference’s Migration
and Refugee Services
(MRS), which expects to
process 70 percent of the
exiles continuing to arrive
in south Florida by boat.
According to John
McCarthy, a 30-year
veteran of resettlement
work and MRS director,
more than half the exiles
will be resettled outside
Florida. “We have had
offers of jobs and housing
from all over the nation,”
McCarthy said. “In the
Miami area, we are not
resettling any refugee who
has no relatives here.”
Eugene Edenberg,
administrative assistant to
President Carter, said that
‘‘humane and prompt
processing of the refugees
is a principal concern of
the federal government
now. “Our first priority is
to reunite families, not
only in Florida but
throughout the country,”
he said.
Expense of resettling
the latest wave of exiles
from communist Cuba is
being borne primarily by
the federal government,
McCarthy said.
More than 70 percent
of the refugees are men.
Many of those are single
and were employed in
Cuba as laborers and
construction workers. The
36,000 Cubans who have
come to south Florida in
small boats since late April
represent about half the
Cubans who sought refuge
in the Peruvian Embassy in
Havana, a source said.
The USCC office in
Coral Gables has a list of
150 cities and dioceses
across the nation who will
welcome the refugees,
officials said. Some
refugees have been sent
already to Newark and
Paterson, N.J.; San
Antonio, Dallas, and
Houston, Texas; and
Alaska.
The agency also has
resettlement teams at
Eglin Air Force Base at
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.,
in the Diocese of
Pensacola-Tallahassee,
where thousands of
refugees are being housed
in a tent city. And, the
USCC was expected to be
working with refugees at
Fort Chaffee, Ark.
Former refugees
traveling to Cuba by boat
to bring out relatives
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frequently are being
forced by the Castro
regime to substitute for
their family members
persons of the
government’s choosing,
reports say. Among these
are convicts, identified by
other refugees as criminals.
They are being
interrogated and sent to a
federal prison in Alabama.
Reports coming out of
Cuba say food costs have
skyrocketed. One
Cuban-born resident of
Miami said a can of 10
frankfurters was $10; a
16-ounce bottle of water
$8; a small box of crackers
$10; one dozen eggs $25;
and a can of processed
meat $5. In order to
bathe, those who can
afford it must travel to a
local hotel and pay $15
for a shower, he said.
Meanwhile, Miami
Archbishop Edward A.
McCarthy traveled to Key
West May 7 to welcome
refugees and to celebrate a
Mass for them in a hangar
utilized as a reception
center.
Archbishop McCarthy,
who already had
welcomed exiles in Miami,
told the thousands of
refugees awaiting
resettlement: “I realize
that these first days will be
quite difficult for you.
You are now in a new
country, you must make
new friends, find new
homes and new jobs.
“While many people
will be anxious to assist
you, we all know that
u nder the circumstances
everything will not be
perfect. There will be
times when you will feel
discouraged and
frustrated, but look about
you. You will meet many
Cuban people and others
who at one time were in
the same circumstances.
They are now happy,” he
said.
The Miami
archdiocesan chancery also
has received numerous
offers of assistance,
including employment
offers from various areas
of the country. Clergy
have offered to serve
among the refugees this
summer. Archdiocesan
Spanish-speaking priests
and nuns are ministering
to the refugees in Key
West and at reception
centers in Broward and
Dade counties.
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