Newspaper Page Text
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The Georgia Bulletin
February 19,1981
A
For The Children -
Fast And Pray
At an ecumenical meeting at the
First Baptist Church in Atlanta last
week, prayer and fasting were
encouraged for the investigation of
the missing and murdered children of
the city.
Ministers, priests, and rabbis were
invited to actively engage their
congregations in a prayerful fast,
possibly on Wednesday of each week.
The suggestion is commendable.
The tradition of fasting is an old
one in the Church, dating back to Old
Testament times. King David of Israel
went without food and rest while his
son, the child born to him and
Bathsheba, was dying.
When the Moabites and Ammonites
invaded Judah, King Jehoshophat
ordered that a fast be observed
throughout the country, praying with
his people for deliverance.
In the New Testament, we find
Barnabas and Saul, prophets and
teachers in the fledgling Christian
Church, fasting and praying before
setting out on their journeys to preach
the Good News.
Fasting is indeed in order for us in
this community haunted by the
spectre of death.
Coupled with prayer and proper
motivation, it is an authentic way to
enter into the brokenness of the
human condition. It is also a discipline
which enables us to more clearly
discern the mind of God in our lives.
Metropolitan Atlanta is torn with
grief over the slayings of its children.
Most recently, we in the Catholic
community have experienced the loss
of one of our own.
Prayerful fasting would be an
outward sign of the inner suffering
felt by all Atlantans over the past year
and a half.
It would also serve as a reminder
that when we place our faith in the
power of God, all things are possible.
--TKJ
Herb Farnsworth -
1919-1981
Unaffected simplicity, gentleness,
avid helpful kindness. They are
qualities not often found in one
human being. They were all present in
the life of Herb Farnsworth. And we,
who crossed the path of his many
outreaches for others, knew it.
Almost every day found Herb
assisting in some way at the
Cathedral’s noon Mass. It was a key to
the ongoing relationship he had
achieved, over the years, with a Father
he trusted. If he could not read the
lessons, then he would serve as
acolyte, or lead the singing or simply
light the candles. Anything - to be a
living, interacting part of a Liturgy he
understood with a childlike
completeness.
From the depths of his unique
devotion to the Mass, all else
followed. Herb was available for any
service, anytime the call came. Every
movement in the Church got his
attention and the ongoing needs of his
parish were always considered
personal responsibilities to be fulfilled
without request. Like a silent apostle,
Herb moved with the Church through
the years, showing always an
immediate willingness to be of service.
We will miss the humor, uniquely
his and often needing his touch of
explanation. (He won't mind us saying
it.) We will miss the sacrificial
example of his devotion to family. We
will' miss his opinions given obviously
after careful, prayerful moments of
consideration. And we will miss that
well known dependability that we
may have taken for granted.
His final hours among us were, like
the Master’s, filled with pain. It was
the final generous service as Herb
Farnsworth played his part in filling
up what was wanting in the sufferings
of Mount Calvary.
He has left us - but we are all
richer.
--NCB
Dangerous Legislation
House Bill No. 180, this year’s
version of last year’s defeated ‘‘Living
Will” legislation, has been voted out
of the Health and Ecology Committee
and could come up for a vote by the
full legislature at any time.
Introduced by Dr. Roy Rowland of
Dublin, this bill is being described as
permissive legislation that would use
the definition of death in the Georgia
Code as the cornerstone for “living
wills” permitting the disconnecting of
extraordinary means of life support. It
is not that simple.
The bill, in fact, would limit and
restrict existing rights concerning the
use of extraordinary means to support
life. It fails to recognize the
limitations inherent in the Code’s
definition of death, which has been
surpassed by developments in medical
technology. At the least, this is
"threshold” legislation, which could
open the door to liberal legislative and
judicial interpretations, leading us
further down the road to euthanasia.
Copies of the bill can be obtained
by calling 656-5015. Please contact
your representatives, and let them
know of your opposition to this bill.
- GRK
I REAP A PSVCHOLOGV BOOK THAT MAPE ME
SEE MV HUSBAMt? IN AN EMTIRELV DIFFERENT
LIGHT. IT WAS SHORTLV AFTER THAT THAT I
GAVE HIM THE KARATE CHOP.'"’
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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Most Rev. Thomas A. Donnellan — Publisher
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February 23, 1981
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
THE W/ ORD
THIS TT EEKEND
Paul Karnowski
Lv. 19: 1-2, 17-18
1 Cor. 3: 16-23
Mt. 5: 38-48
If God was an American, certain changes
in Scripture would be necessary. To begin
with, the oft-quoted verse from the Gospel
of John, “God is love,” would certainly be
changed to read: “God is practicality.”
.From the time we are born we are taught
over and over again that ‘.‘useful” behavior is
the supreme virtue in this land. Woe to the
day-dreaming fourth-grader, the “spacy”
sophomore, or the “klutzy” collegiate. On
the job, the businessman who “knows how
to get things done” is the one who gets the
promotion. We no longer buy a house
because we want a home; rather, our
pragmatic nature urges us to make the
purchase because it’s a “wise investment.”
It’s tough to be an artist, a poet, or a
dreamer in the land of the handy man and
the home of the efficient.
Keeping our national consciousness in
mind, we’ll have an easy go with the first
reading. In the book of Leviticus (an orderly
set of rules and regulations) we are
commanded to love our neighbors as
ourselves, to cherish no grudge against our
fellow countrymen. This is the stuff of
which we are made: it’s a practical precept.
The benefits of getting along with one’s
neighbors far outshine the disadvantages.
Our neighborhood associations, business
partnerships, and family get-togethers are all
based on this common sense principle; it’s
clear, simple, and direct: “If you scratch my
back, I’ll scratch yours.”
If we’re delighted with the common sense
we discover in the first reading, we’ll
probably be appalled by its absence in
today’s Gospel. We can’t quite believe our
ears as we hear Jesus say that we should love
our enemies. If you’re taken to court over
your shirt, He says, give your adversary your
coat as well. Lend money to anyone, bad
risks along with the good. If someone
attacks you, forget about self-defense ;do not
counter violence with violence.
We tell ourselves that Jesus exaggerated
to make a point. Surely He couldn’t be
asking us to live this way. Through a process
we call rationalization, we attempt to
discover what Jesus is REALLY saying. We
talk about the “spirit” of the law; we
distinguish between a “just” war and an
“unjust” war. But the simple command, “love
your enemy,” comes back to haunt us.
In order to abide by it, we would have to
depend completely on the strength of God
Himself.
Want To Be A Parish Life Director?
i
Dolores Curran
A friend of mine who is moving into a
new parish as pastor wants to include a
family life director on his staff and he asked
me three questions: What are their job duties
in the parish? What should be their
qualifications? Where do you find them?
Because so many of you are asking the same
questions and because I am going to have to
write all this out for him anyway, I felt a
column on this new and exciting field of
ministry might be in order.
I see as the job description some or all of
the following: developing ongoing listening
structures to hear the family needs of all
parishioners; developing like-to-like ministry
supports to meet the most crying needs;
acting as conduit for diocesan and national
family life offices; pinpointing the giftedness
of parishioners to minister to others a
like-to-like ministry; training leadership and
supporting it spiritually, educationally and
socially; conducting parenting, grief, adult
sexuality and family communication
education; developing parish programs (or
cooperating with other parishes in
developing support programs) for the
lifelong single, the widowed, interfaith
marrieds, single parents, etc.; articulating
changing family patterns and needs to the
church leadership; and constantly evaluating,
initiating, and abolishing programs when
needed.
In addition, the family life director must
work closely with the director of religious
education in developing family spirituality
so that the living faith at home is nurtured
to its fullest.
Qualifications for all. of the above could
be intimidating but presently there aren’t
any, and that’s what makes it so exciting.
Some of our best parish family life directors
are couples who perhaps were
marriage-encountered and wanted to be part
of a family, not religious education, ministry
in the parish. While not originally trained
they, or others — often DRE’s who wanted
to change into family ministry — are picking
up skill courses at workshops, local
colleges, or during summers. Gradually, they
are becoming qualified in the skills needed in
their own parish work.
Some of the more obvious courses needed
are in listening and communication skills,
family sociology, new ecclesial ministries,
sexuality, group dynamics, family
counseling, parenting, and spiritual
development. Some teachers, nuns, brothers,
and priests already in other ministries have a
variety of the above and need only to fill in
the loopholes.
However, our hope is that laity will be
attracted to this new ministry. It may be an
ideal second profession, a couple ministry,
or vocation for a parent who wants to go
beyond volunteer work. In the pews we have
many parents who are former teachers,
nurses, social workers, or just professional
parents who have done a good job with their
own families. I strongly recommend the
pastoral team look in the pews first and
support a candidate in on-the-job training
financially.
A few Catholic colleges are beginning to
offer a master’s degree in family ministry
but so far the effective parish work is being
done by non-degree people who attend
seminars and workshops wherever they can.
I, myself, am teaching a three week summer
session on family ministry at St. Norbert’s
College in Wisconsin in July (They made me
an offer I couldn’t refuse when they
included a little house on campus for my
family near beautiful Door County. My
fishing sons wouldn’t allow me to say no).
For more information, write Rev. Joel P.
Garner, O.Praem., Director; Family
Theological Institute, St. Norbert College,
DePere, WI 54115.
A parish family life director is one whose
work and qualifications will encompass a
much wider field than religious education so
such people are in short supply today. Yet,
viable parishes of the future will certainly
have one or more. Many already do and the
results are gratifying.
Choose Life
Sheila Mallon
How to cope with triplets was just one of
the lessons we learned from Dr. Jean Staker
Garton, who was the keynote speaker at
Family Night in Support of Life on
February 1.
Accepting and coping with tragedy was
another, even more valuable, lesson. Dr.
Garton has had more than her share. Her
only son was cruelly murdered at 25 with his
whole life still before him. Most of us would
reel at the thought of losing a child, but to
lose one in such a way more than doubles
the pain.
Jean said that after her initial grief
subsided her faith in God’s ultimate plan
kept her going. She knew that somehow
even this seeming waste would be used in
God’s plan and to His glory.
It was about this time that Jean’s
daughter, who was 29 and had been married
for seven years, became pregnant. That may
not seem so unusual, but doctors had said
that her daughter would never be able to
conceive. So, it was a time for rejoicing. The
pregnancy was difficult and Jean brought
her daughter home to live so that she could
care for her.
Some time during the fifth month, the
doctors told them that they heard two
heartbeats. Later, after taking a sonar
picture of the babies, it was discovered that
there were actually three. And so, in
September of 1980, her daughter safely
delivered three healthy young sons: Joshua,
Jeremiah and Jonathan. Jean sees God’s
hand in this and freely gives Him praise.
But now came the nitty gritty of caring
for three babies who needed to be fed every
three hours. Three sets of diapers, three sets
of clothes, three babies crying at the same
time, all the trials of a new mother, only
tripled.
The way they solved the problem is
unique and a lesson in community spirit and
ecumenism. It began with a committee from
Jean’s own Lutheran Church and then came
to involve other neighborhood churches
including the nearby Catholic Church.
A huge committee network was formed
with people coming in around the clock for
four-hour stints. They help with the feeding,
bathing, dressing, cleaning and cooking.
Most especially, they help with the loving.
They help by holding and cuddling the
babies themselves, of course, but, most
important, by giving the triplet’s mother the
opportunity just to hold and love each of
her babies in turn.
That’s not as simple as it seems, for the
babies were very much alike in the beginning
and everything had to be color-coded
including cribs, clothing and bottles. In fact,
earlier on, the family had discovered that if
everything was not coordinated just so, it
was possible that the mother might not get
to hold each of her babies in any given day.
This wonderful community effort has
been a blessing to all connected with it and
Jean loudly sings the praises of those who
have given so freely of their time and their
love.
When she spoke to the overflow crowd at
Family Night, she seemed filled with the
loving concern and fierce, burning
determination which should epitomize the
fight to save the unborn. As I listened, my
mind drifted back to the interview she had
had earlier in the evening with a local TV
reporter. He had listened carefully as she
decimated with devastating precision the
pro-abortion slogans and catch phrases.
After she had laid low such common terms
To the Editor:
We are a family of seven, members of St.
Francis of Assisi Parish in Blairsville. My
wife and I are weekly readers of your fine
Catholic newspaper and have been for some
time now. We have seen the high standard
that you have set for yourself and have
almost come to expect it of you.
Maybe that’s why I was surprised to see
an article of the caliber of “The Church
Says: Read Your Bible” by Msgr. Joseph
Bailey in the Feb. 5 issue. I was appalled at
the author’s quite apparent anti-Protestant
bias, his defensive posture regarding the
Catholic fund of Biblical knowledge, and his
condescension toward Bible-reading laity.
Besides attitudinal weakness, there appeared
to be a number of inaccuracies. On the one
hand the article struck me as offensive to
large blocks of Catholics and Protestants and
on the other hand I felt concerned about
bias and misinformation being passed on
as “termination of pregnancy,” “pro-choice”
and “every child a wanted child,” the young
man looked at her somewhat in awe.
“You are a very persuasive woman,” he
said. “But can you tell me if the pro-life
forces ever use similarly misleading phrases
in their presentations?”
Jean paused briefly and then replied, “I
can truthfully say that I know of only one
instance where this might be the case: when
they refer to the aborted child as
‘murdered.’ Since Webster’s definition of
murdered means the ‘illegal’ taking of life,
we should not use the word ‘murdered,’
rather we should say ‘killed.’”
The young man thanked her warmly, and
told her that she had given him much to
think about.
Many times since, I have thought of Jean
and that beautiful evening with all those
wonderful people. The words to a hymn
keep running through my mind: “You give
marvelous comrades to me: the faithful who
dwell in your land.”
throughout the Archdiocese.
I can’t remember the last time I
responded to the media in this fashion. I
don’t expect my response to accomplish
anything of a practical nature. This may be
an exercise in futility. But I did want to
register with you my disappointment at your
re-printing such an awful article; all the more
awful because there will be five more coming
in the series.
My wife and I will continue to read your
paper faithfully; we are members of the
Catholic family, more specifically, of the
Archdiocesan Catholic family. Your paper is
the only means we have up here in the
mountains of hearing the family news.
Thanks for your reporting. We hope that this
series is merely a lone exception to your
usual high standard.
Thank you.
Philip McCarty, Ph.D.
Blairsville
Resound ... Resound ...