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PAGE 5 — The Georgia Bulletin, November 7,1985
Father John Dietzen
Sunday Obligation
The Question Corner
And The Television Mass
Q. If the pope’s blessing can be obtained by all who follow
the ceremony on television or radio, why can’t the obligation
of Sunday Mass be fulfilled by watching the Mass on televi
sion at home on Sunday morning?
For that matter, why can’t we go to confession over the
telephone? (Ohio)
A. The answer is basically simple. The Mass is not a private
prayer. A blessing is different, even though there are always
public and communal aspects to any blessing given in the
name of the church, as would be true, for example, of a bless
ing given to the world by the Holy Father.
Most Catholics still do not realize that the obligation con
cerning Sunday Mass, which continues tradition going back
to the earliest days of the church, is not to hear or watch
someone else do something but to be there to do it oneself and
share it with our fellow Catholics.
The expression “go to Mass” is unfortunate but, sad to
say, it probably reflects the understanding of a great many
Catholics. Except for the fact that it involves something holy,
it’s sort of like going to the movies or a symphony.
But the Eucharist is an action, a celebration of the Catholic
community, shared in by all who are present. It cannot be
substituted for by seeing a television program.
If one cannot be present for Sunday Mass with one’s parish
or other community, a television or radio Mass may assist in
uniting one with it in spirit or in realizing our desire for union
with Christ in the Eucharist.
Such listening or viewing, however, is never a substitute
for being there.
The sacrament of penance is much the same. It is a per
sonal dialogue and presence with the Catholic community on
earth as represented by the priest. This personal encounter of
the penitent with the people of God, with the priest as their or
dained representative, is essential to the sacrament.
With this understanding, televised or telephoned confes
sion could not fulfill the requirements for the sacrament of
forgiveness of sins.
Q. I have heard many people say the unicorn is a satanic
symbol yet I have seen it on church ceilings. Could you ex
plain the churcn s position on this? (New York)
A. As most readers probably know, the unicorn is a legen
dary animal, generally represented as a white horse with a
horn growing from its forehead. For some reason that seems
lost in antiquity, Christian tradition frequently sees the
unicorn as a symbol of chastity and virginity. This tradition
continues in use of the unicorn in Catholic and other Chris
tian works of art.
As most other common ancient symbols, including the
cross, the unicorn has in some instances been a symbol for
things more sinister. That, however, would not prevent its use
in the past or at present in Christian art.
The Catholic Church has no official position on the matter.
(A free brochure outlining Catholic marriage regulations
and explaining the promises before an interfaith marriage is
available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to
Father Dietzen, Holy Trinity Parish, 704 N. Main St., Bloom
ington, III. 61701.)
(Questions for this column should be sent to Father
Dietzen at the same address.)
Father Eugene Hemrick
On The Human Side
Ministry Of Women Religious
If the extraordinary session of the world Synod of Bishops
Nov. 24-Dec. 8 in Rome is really concerned about the changes
in the church since Vatican II, one area to check as an in
dicator of changes should be women in religious life.
Traditionally, women Religious have been the backbone of
religious education, our hospitals, the contemplative life and
innumerable charitable institutions.
In a study just completed on one women’s religious order,
it was found that the order still fulfills its traditional roles.
Those fulfilling them, however, have changed their percep
tion of how best to do so.
Asked how sisters perceive their roles, the responses
clearly indicated that they no longer see themselves as hum
ble servants under a superior, concerned primarily with ac
counting to that superior for every action. Nor do they want
to return to the "good old days.”
The new emphasis is away from a line-staff relationship, a
superior-to-subject relationship. Instead of blindly following
orders, there is more emphasis on collaboration and dialogue
based on a Trinitarian model in which God the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit are in dialogue.
Where once a sister was seen in a servant role working for
someone else in a community or a parish, the focus now is
more on working together as equals. In place of letting the
superior set the tone, there is movement toward working with
the superior jointly and sharing more deeply in her respon
sibility.
As I analyzed the responses of these sisters, the model of
prospering Japanese businesses flashed into my mind. From
studies of these organizations, the old principle for bringing
out the best in people is confirmed: “When people feel
ownership in an organization they perform better.”
When I showed the study to my secretary her immediate
response was: “What else would you expect? Women are
more educated today and this has raised their expectations
about their value. There is also an atmosphere which is en
couraging women to be more assertive and to stand side by
side rather than bow to a submissive role.”
As I listened it became clear that one of the biggest
changes for many religious women is in their desire to
witness through individual talents. The strength of this ap
proach is its emphasis on the gifts and unique contribution
an individual can make.
The strength of the other approach, by contrast, was its
witness, through humbling oneself, to dependency on God.
It no longer can be presumed that a religious order will
have a large number of members. In the past there was com
fort in numbers and there was much more mutual as well as
outside support. Sisters could be seen everywhere in their
identifiable habits.
Tough policemen and the “kids on the block” melted
before them out of respect or fear. The church encouraged
them to stay away from the “world.”
That atmosphere or context has changed. A new strain of
sisters is needed, sisters who can utilize their own resources
in a context where the resources and status they once en
joyed are lacking.
How well the idea of community holds up with this new em
phasis on a more worldly involved, yet caring, individual is yet
to be seen.
Extraordinary synod or not, these shifts should be studied
more intensely by any who feel that women in religious life
are still a necessary and precious gift to the church.
(Copyright (c) 1985 by NC News Service)
Dave McGill
Halley's Comet Cometh
Halley’s comet has been visiting us at approximately
76-year intervals for millions of years, and we earthlings have
been recording those visits since 240 B.C. Mark Twain had
many claims to fame, one of which was that Halley’s comet
was in the sky when he was born, and then again when he
died. I was reminded of this as I drove through south Georgia
on my way home from a reunion a few weeks ago...
My dad is from a family of four girls and three boys. They
were raised on a little farm in the village of Parrott, in
southwestern Georgia. When they grew up, they settled all
over the south — in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee,
and North Carolina — coincidentally, just about everywhere
but their native Georgia.
Two of the girls, my aunts Jewyl and Becky, have died in re
cent years. When a third aunt, Alma, lost her husband last
month, the five remaining brothers and sisters decided to
gather at a reunion while they could still breathe, let alone
travel. They are between 69 and 83 years of age.
The brothers and sisters were born in the years 1900,1902,
1904,1906,1908,1910, and then, the pattern broken, 1916. My
Uncle Ray and my dad can remember the hullabaloo about
Halley’s Comet back in 1910, and are looking forward to see
ing its return next year. As they pointed out, a lot of people
aren’t lucky enough to be alive during the right span of time
to see it at all.
Uncle Ray is the funniest man I ever knew. He survived a
head-on collision on a country road in a blinding rainstorm in
1980, but had to undergo two brain surgeries to do so. He
sustained some memory loss, but I was happy to find him still
able to recall and tell funny stories. Here is one he told at the
reunion:
“When we were kids, the telephones were installed for the
very first time in all the houses in our little community. Now
there was this cranky old man named Treadmuie who hated
kids, and he was real mean to us all the time. I called him up
right after he got his new phone, and disguised my voice and
said, ‘Mr. Treadmuie, this is the phone company calling, sir.
We’re doing some testing, and would you please face to the
right and say hello?’
“There was a shuffle, and he said, ‘Hello.’
“‘Thank you. Now would you face back around to the left
and say hello?’
“Another shuffle, and this time a grumble with it, and:
‘Hello.’
"‘Thank you, Mr. Treadmuie. Now, sir, would you turn all
the way around in a circle and say hello?’
“This time a loud shuffle, a loud grumble, and an irritated
‘HELLO!’
“‘Thank you. Now, Mr. Treadmuie, one more test — Would
The Bottom Line
you please stand on your head and say hello?’
“Well, old Treadmuie finally saw the light. This time no
shuffle, no grumble, no hello, just an angry pause followed by
‘YOU GO TO #$&*@?*!!!’”
Not just the stories, but everything Uncle Ray said came
out funny. One morning at the reunion, his wife sent me to
the store to get some eggs. He rode along with me, and
halfway there realized he didn!t have any money. “No pro
blem, Uncle Ray,” I said, “I’ve got some money.”
He grumbled and said, "That ain’t right. Man comes to see
you and he has to buy his own eggs.”
The last night of the reunion, there wasn’t room at the table
for us all, so some of us ate in the kitchen. The five surviving
older McGill’s sat at the dining room table, and after those of
us in the kitchen finished eating, we went in to see how they
were doing. I was the first one to reach the door, and there
was an unusual glow around and about the table; the way the
candles were arranged, I suppose. But to me it had a deeper
meaning. It reminded me of twilight. The twilight in the lives
of some wonderful people from a wonderful family in a
wonderful part of the country.
In the first few years of this century, they had sat around a
table like that as children while Halley’s comet flew overhead,
watching them in their youth. Soon it will return, taking a se
cond and last look at them before they’re called home.