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The Georgia Bulletin
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7
The Best School
Of Religion
The experts say it. We have no
reason to doubt or contradict them. It
is most reasonable, most simple to
accept. The best School of Religion is a
combination of life and liturgy.
The life involved is the everyday
example of family life. To see it unfold,
to participate in its action, its ups and
downs, is ever memorable. Faith,
learned and freely accepted within the
folds of that loving school, is forever
kept and practiced.
The liturgy is, of course, the family,
and the parish family, celebration of
the Sunday Mass: the good news
joyfully proclaimed, the gathering and
participation around the table of
thanksgiving, moments of worship and
worth to forever keep.
As our parish Schools of Religion
celebrate another* beginning this week
they point to that combination as a
complete handbook for successful,
spiritual growth. Professional staffs and
their teachers place themselves at the
service of all who would learn. Time is
generously given. Classes are
conveniently arranged. Schedules are
worked out. But every plan of action
depends on home and family
dedication. Just the presence of
children in Sunday School desks will
not guarantee the presence of every day
practice of the Christian faith. That is
just an old truth that constantly needs
restatement.
Let the celebration of Catechetical
Sunday be successful. And let it be
followed by a year filled with success
because it has been filled with family
dedication.
--NCB
Roy Wilkins
The death of Roy Wilkins is a cause
of sadness to all who believe in the
dignity of the human person. His
championing of the civil rights of Black
Americans moved our society toward
greater equality. Yet his work remains
incomplete. Thus his death should
remind us that his work is, and indeed
always was, OUR work.
May God grant him the eternal rest
promised to those who work for
justice. May God grant us the strength
to work for the same justice and
equality for all.
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Most Reverend Thomas A. Donnellan
Archbishop of Atlanta
Resound ... Resound
Covering Disarmament
To the Editor:
Congratulations on covering Bishop Walter
Sullivan’s condemnation of the MX Missile
Development. His strong words and
courageous action remind us that our security
as a people of faith lies not in demonic
weapons which threaten all life on earth.
Rather our security is in a loving, caring God.
I am struck by how much more terrified we
Americans often are by the talk of
disarmament than by the march to nuclear
war. We whose nuclear arms terrify millions
around the globe are often terrified by the
thought of being without them. Nuclear arms
protect privilege and exploitation. Giving
them up would mean our having to give up
economic power over other peoples. On the
path we now follow our economic policies
toward other countries require nuclear
weapons. Giving up the weapons would mean
giving up more than our means of global
terror. It would mean giving up the reason for
such terror -- our privileged place in the world.
Granted the complexity of the issue, yet
many citizens of this country are numbed into
passivity by the very magnitude and
complexity of the issue while being horrified
by the prospect of a nuclear holocaust.
Please continue to give prominent coverage
to actions such as those taken by Bishop
Sullivan, the Leadership Conference of
Women Religious, Pax Christi, the Plowshare
Eight and other groups Who tirelessly show us
that protesting nuclear armament is a moral
imperative for those who live the Gospel.
Sister Joan Leonard, O.P.
Atlanta
Please spare us
To the Editor:
Let me begin by saying that I am not one
who believes that the Church’s actions should
be totally separate from temporal life; yet, I
feel that the matter of which weapon system
(whether MX, neutron or Cruise) our nation
chooses to defend itself with is beyond your
and even Bishop Sullivan of Richmond, Va.’s
area of expertise. Please spare the
congregation the embarrassment of your
newspaper’s further involvement in this very
complicated area of national defense.
As I would never look to Caspar
Weinberger for advice on spiritual matters,
line right now?”
neither will I look to you for advice on
weapons’ systems.
Brian Tierney
Atlanta
, A “lesson lost”
To the Editor;
No one in his right mind wants the coming
of war. Likewise, no one who wants peace
must accept such pronouncements as that of
the bishop of Amarillo, calling for Catholics
to leave the neutron bomb manufacturing
facility. His position has no moral
justification unless it is meant to promote the
Russian campaign to subvert the world.
All Catholics believe in, hope for and pray
for peace. Unfortunately, the
pronouncements of too many of the Catholic
hierarchy go more toward promoting Russian
agression and American defenselessness than
in promoting true peace.
“Render unto Ceaser the things that are
Ceaser’s,” said Our Lord. It is a lesson lost on
people like the bishop of Amarillo.
J.F. O’Mahony Jr.
Stone Mountain
Food for thought
To the Editor:
Quoting from Rural Reflections (Sept. 3):
“We as a nation produce 25% of the world’s
food”
. . . and “7% of the population, we
consume or use somewhere between 30 and
50% of the world’s resources.”
Simple conclusion: we could reduce the
consumption of energy if we ceased the
production of food for the rest of the world.
Respectfully, it seems your reflections are
far from rural.
Mrs. L. C. Buzzett
Atlanta
A thank you
To the Editor:
This is a short note to let you know a result
of your recent article on the Incest Survivor’s
Group.
I am a therapist at The Bridge Family
Center and in the past week I have received
two calls from women who have read your
article and have contacted the group who then
referred them to myself for therapy.
I want to thank you for assisting the
community at large in becoming aware of
resources available to families who have
experienced incest. Thank you also for
bringing this subject out of the closet.
John Alderson
Family Therapist
The Bridge
Atlanta
Spare the children
To the Editor:
After reading your article in the Georgia
Bulletin I decided to address myself to
“Victims of Unspeakable Abuse,” since a
recent article in Time Magazine appalled and
frightened me. (Time, Sept. 7,
“Cradle-to-Grave Intimacy”)
Such organizations as those mentioned in
this Time article are heard loud and clear by so
many more than we know. Perhaps if
publications present clear cut proof that this
behavior is NOT NORMAL and is indeed
incest, some very sweet, young babies and
children will be spared such activity, so
harmful to the health of mind, soul and body.
Thank you for your concern.
Jackie DiPino
Decatur
Well Worth The Listening
Dolores Curran
Of all the materials I’ve studied on family
in the past two years, and that’s considerable
because of my impending book, the best,
most revealing, most profound and most for
the money is the tape series from Harvard on
“The American Family: Current
Perspective.” (Audiovisual Division, Harvard
University Press, 79 Garden Street,
Cambridge, Mass. 02138.) These tapes boast
eleven top authorities on family in our
country and cover crucial but neglected areas,,
like what’s going on in the dual career family,
the executive family, the single parent family,
etc.
It’s a glimpse into the diversity and reality
of family life in America today - not as we
may fantasize it to be but as it is, warts,
beauty marks and all. Each of the
professionals is highly qualified to speak
within his or her own area. I believe it’s a sign
of how seriously, albeit belatedly, we’re
taking this primary unit of society and
church, that we recognize and demand
specialization. \
Nobody can speak on the family today as
in the past. Just five years ago, I was invited to
do so. Now I am invited to speak on
specialized subjects like the changing Catholic
family and even that is hard to work into an
hour’s talk. Some of my other talks focus on
family stress, family spirituality, traits of the
healthy family (the topic of my book), youth
and the Catholic family, today’s Catholic
women, family television, the family as social
change agent, and the ages and stages of the
family.
All of these are specific areas requiring
research. One talk on family can’t begin to
cover the broad range of needs and riches in
today’s families.
That’s why I think this series is worth
calling to readers’ attention, particularly
those in family ministry and on pastoral staffs
who are looking for good materials both for
staff and parent education. The set is
expensive, around $50 for six one-hour
audiocassettes, but well worth it. For the
money, listeners get what they would at a
$400 conference and don’t have to plunk
down air fare to do it. Besides, the material
can be shared with a wider parish or class
audience and used as effective parent
education material.
Here’s a brief rundown on the speakers and
topics. Urie Bronfenbrenner, Professor of
Human Development and Family Studies at
Cornell University, speaks of the impact on
the family of social change during the
Depression and since World War II, contrasts
the conservatism of the adult world and the
anti-socialzing influences on the youth peer
group, and details the effects of the corporate
world on the American family today. Robert
Coles, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard,
states clearly the need for morals and ethics
in today’s contemporary society. Psychiatrist
George W. Goethals, also of Harvard, talks of
the importance of reconciling continuity and
“roots” with a desire for change.
Harvard’s Robert S. Weiss gives us a clear
picture of life in the single parent family, one
that will strike such parents in parishes
everywhere. Beatrice B. Whiting, educator
and anthropologist, discusses the problem of
creating dependency in American children as
opposed to children elsewhere. In a compelling
delivery, Barrie S. Greiff, psychiatrist in the
Harvard Business School, analyzes changing
personal familial, and corporate priorities and
the support which a stable and loving family
can give.
Mary Jo Bane, also of Harvard, shares
observations and statistics on marriage and
divorce in contemporary America while
well-respected pediatrician, T. Berry
Brazelton discusses effects of parental
behavior upon the infant and suggests ways
for establishing a closer bond between mother
and new-born child. Excellent for young
mother/father groups. Finally, John P.
Demos, researcher, talks of the effect of social
circumstances in each period of family life
upon the relationships among the various
family members.
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
September 20,1981
THE
THIS
ORD
W EEKEND
Isaiah 55:6-9
Philippians 1: 20-24,27
Matthew 20: 1-16
Paul Karnowski
There was a lot of baseball played last
summer - although most of it was off the
field. The conference table replaced home
plate during the months of June and July, as
the two sides exchanged curve balls galore.
When the final pitch was thrown, when the
dust was settled, it was unclear who had won
the game.
However, one thing became crystal clear;
major league baseball IS a game - in the worst
sense of the word. The rules and regulations
governing contracts, free agents and trade
agreements begin to boggle the mind. The
baseball strike demythologized the game once
and for all, as the players and owners joined
the great American circus of
labor-management dispute. Baseball players,
we learned, are just like us: they want their
fair share of the profits. And the owners are
no longer the great public servants we once
pretended they were. The whole affair
offended our old-fashioned, Joe
DiMaggio-Willie Mays sense of justice.
In today’s gospel Jesus tells a story that is
guaranteed to offend. It seems that the owner
of a vineyard went out to hire some workers at
dawn. After the men agreed to the usual wage,
they went to work. At midmorning, the
owner hired some more men to work and sent
them on to his vineyard. He did the same at
noon, and again at midafternoon, and late in
the day.
When the day was drawing to a close and it
was time to be paid, the owner gave the same
amount of money to all of the men -
regardless of when they had started. The first
group to be hired was understandably upset.
After all, why should they settle for the same
amount as those who had only worked one
hour. The owner tells them, “My friends, I do
you no injustice. You agreed on the usual
wage did you not? Take your pay and go
home ... I am free to do as I please with my
money .. .Or are you envious because I am
generous?”
Of course, we know the parable is not
about labor relations. Jesus tells us that God
gives His love generously to all men and
women, whether we “earn” it or not. It is gift,
pure and simple. God, we see, plays by a
different set of rules. For Him, three strikes
do not make an out. He’s like the patient
father teaching his children to play ball - He’ll
keep pitching His love our way until we
connect. All He asks is that we step into the
batter’s box and take a swing. •
Silent Bishop Talks With God
Bishop Romeo R. Blanchette
(The author of this article, Bishop Blanchette,
resigned in January 1979 as bishop of Joliet, 111.,
after he learned that he had amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. An
immobile and voiceless patient in St. Joseph’s
Hospital in Joliet, he communicates by using a
method he devised earlier. The procedure divides the
alphabet into vowels, the first half of the consonants
and the second half of the consonants. When the
right letter is pronounced, the bishop blinks his eyes
until the correct word is formed and so on. Through
that long and tiring method he wrote the following
article, which he titled, "Silent Dialogue. ’’)
JOLIET, Ill. (NC) - Several years ago the
editor of a Paulist magazine asked me to write
about what prayer meant to me. The whole
issue was the view of some 20 or more people
of different states of life. From among many
definitions of prayer, I chose “dialogue with
God,” whereby we talked to him and listened
to what he had to say. During my present
illness a young priest came to visit me while I
was still able to talk. He asked if I ever thought
about heaven and I replied, “Every day.”
Prayer prepares us for heaven. Through
prayer we are united in spirit with God. In
heaven we shall be united face to face with
him forever. The other day Bishop (Joseph L.)
Imesch (of Joliet) came to visit me. He asked
me how I was. I spelled out “still waiting.”
“For the doctor?” he asked.
I shook my head and looked upwards to
indicate God.
The bishop then asked, “Do you talk to
him?” I nodded yes.
“Why don’t you write an article about
this,” the bishop suggested. I thought about it
for a few days and I realized that I would be
baring my soul to the public, but I decided to
try.
When I wrote about prayer being a
dialogue, I never imagined that within a few
years the dialogue would be completely silent.
A week before the baseball strike I received a
sign which read, “Unless you’re the umpire
don’t talk! God wants the bishop to enjoy the
game!”
This message is not part of our dialogue but
the vivid imagination of a witty woman
Religious who knows that I love sports.
A dialogue with God might be as follows:
Bishop Blanchette: My God, our Father, I
love you with all my heart and soul and
strength.
God: I have loved you from all eternity. In
time I created your soul from the moment
you were conceived in your mother’s womb.
Bishop Blanchette: I thank you for the gift
of life. I also thank you for the baptism in
which you gave me, in a mysterious way, a
share in your divine life. I regret any failure to
use fully this gift as well as the talents of mind
and body with which you were so generous to
me. You gave me many graces through your
Holy Spirit as a student, priest and bishop.
God: My son, just as the father of the
prodigal son forgave and embraced him so,
too, I forgive and embrace you.
Bishop Blanchette: I have offered my
sufferings in union with the sufferings of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God made man, for the
purification of my soul, for the welfare of the
church, especially for the Diocese of Joliet,
and for the intentions of those who have
asked for my prayers.
God: By accepting this you are fulfilling in
part what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ,
the head of the mystical body. Thus you can
be closer to Christ the high priest and
suffering servant.
Bishop Blanchette: You have blessed me,
though unworthy, with the ordained
priesthood and the fullness of the priesthood
by making me a bishop and successor to the
apostles. Now you have chosen me also for the
apostolate of suffering. Why are you giving me
all these blessings?
God: You will find out in eternity. Now
you are both priest and victim.
Bishop Blanchette: St. Bernadette said,
“The Lord is not ready for me. I have not
suffered enough.” Is this true also for me?
God: Yes, but remember that my burden is
never too heavy with my help.
Bishop Blanchette: I need courage and
strength to endure with joy and cheerfulness
my pain and helplessness.
God: Put all your trust in me and the Holy
Spirit will sustain you in your difficulties.
Bishop Blanchette: I renew my trust and I
renew my firm belief in all that you have
revealed and all that the vicar of Christ teaches
alone or with all Catholic bishops.
God: When your burden seems very heavy,
look at the crucifix and see how much Christ
suffered for you and all mankind.
Bishop Blanchette: Seeing and speaking
with you will make us perfectly happy. Still,
you’ve made it possible for the angels and
saints to see and know each other.
God: It is most fitting that at the eternal
wedding feast the guests should know not
only the groom, but also each other.
Bishop Blanchette: I long to dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. I desire to see our
Blessed Lady, queen of all saints, St. Joseph,
St. Peter and the other apostles; the patriarchs
and prophets of old, the martyrs, and all the
holy men and women, including my parents,
classmates, and all those who have helped me
to salvation and those whom I have helped to
salvation.
God: You will have eternity to know each
other.
Bishop Blanchette: I have fought the good
fight; I have kept the faith. Indeed I have
taught your teachings without compromise,
even at the cost of ridicule. Will I obtain the
crown of salvation?
God: You will, if you do my will and
persevere to the end.
Bishop Blanchette: Thank you my God. I
will, with the intercession of Our Lady and
the help of the Holy Spirit. I love you.
Alleluia!
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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
(USPS) 574 «»0)
Most Rev. Thomas A. Donnellan — Publisher
Rev. Monsignor Noel C. Burtenshaw — Editor
Gretchen R. Reiser - Associate Editor
Thea K. Jarvis — Contributing Editor
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