Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6 — The Georgia Bulletin, November 21, 1985
Father A1 Jowdy is associate pastor of All Saints parish in
Dunwoody. He was ordained in 1984.
Anne Amerson—
(Continued from Page 1)
of ecumenism taking place.
With no need to feel defen
sive, I became very open
and interested in learning
more about Catholicism.
The liturgy, so confusing
and repetitious to me at
first, gradually became
more and more mean
ingful. I watched the faces
of people coming up to
receive Eucharist and
wondered what they were
experiencing that brought
many of them back even on
weekdays. I began to enjoy
greeting and being greeted
with the Sign of Peace.
The aspect of the Catholic
Church that drew me most
and led to my confirmation
was the discovery that it is
not an institution or a
building or a theology or a
creed but a people living,
loving, worshiping togeth
er. I became Catholic
because I wanted to be a
member of a family so
diverse in background,
culture, education, etc.,
and yet so committed to one
another.
2. If I read the signs cor
rectly, brakes are being put
on the spirit of renewal that
came out of Vatican II, and
that disturbs me greatly.
When I embraced Cathol
icism, I envisioned that it
wouldn’t be too many years
before women would be
allowed to participate fully
in the life of their Church
and that members of my
family who love and serve
our Lord Jesus in other
branches of the Body of
Christ would be allowed to
receive the Body of our
Lord Jesus when they wor
ship with me. When I read
of women deaconesses and
married bishops in the ear
ly Church, I wonder at the
rationale of the continued
prohibitions in our own
time.
There is one aspect of
Teresa Gernazian
Teresa Gernazian has
been a member of Im
maculate Heart of Mary
parish, Atlanta, for over 25
years. A widow and the
mother of four, she has been
active in the Women’s Guild
and the mothers group
there.
1. I believe the Council
documents, as written,
were inspired by the Holy
Spirit. I’m especially ap
preciative of: Mass in
Catholicism that has been
de-emphasized in recent
years, not as a result of
Vatican II but of the scien
tific, rational mindset of
this century. I would like to
see a restoration of the
place of mysticism in our
Church, so that we are en
couraged to look for and ex
perience the deeper spiri
tual reality which our
sacraments symbolize and
point toward, the ex
perience of our Lord living
in us and us in him, so that
we may “grow to the full
maturity of Christ the
head.” (Ephesians 4:15)
Several months ago our
parish Stephen Ministers
asked me to make a presen
tation on a similar topic, a
comparison of priestly
training before and since
Father A1 Jowdy
The Questions
1 — Did the changes brought about by
Vatican II help make you a better
Catholic?
or
Did the changes brought about by
Vatican II help you to better fulfill your
vocation as a priest or Religious?
2 — Is there any renewal or restora
tion you would like to see?
Vatican II. I eventually
begged out of the task
because I simply never ex
perienced seminary life
before the Council.
All my adult life has been
spent in the post-conciliar
Church, in fact, all my
education for ministry took
place long after its lit
urgical and pastoral
changes has settled. So I’m
afraid I take it all very
much for granted.
That makes this an ex
citing time to be alive in the
Church. We have two
generations whose entire
religious upbringing was
before the council, one
generation that grew up
during the changes and the
newest generation that
can’t imagine the Church in
any other way. That calls
for a lot of patience and
reconciliation.
One of my hopes is that
we will continue to be open
to the promptings of the Ho
ly Spirit regarding min
istry, both ordained and
non-ordained and that of
course touches on issues
like ecumenism, celibacy
and the opening of roles to
women. I also hope we keep
in mind the unfinished
agenda of the council which
is healing the wounds of
confusion and misunder
standing, and reaching out
to those who feel alienated
from the Church of their
youth.
English, the reinstatement
of the Prayers of the
Faithful, the emphasis on
the role of the laity and the
emphasis on Scripture. The
Document on Ecumenism
has humbly reminded us
that “whatever is wrought
by the grace of the Holy
Spirit in the hearts of our
separated brethren can
contribute to our own
edification.” Yes, I think
our change in attitude
toward people of other
religions and other aspects
of renewal have helped me
in my spiritual growth.
2. Pope John Paul II has
displayed strong support
for Vatican II yet has pa
tiently upheld traditional
teachings. It is my prayer
that the Synod will promote
avenues of balance to offset
the misinterpretations of
the Council. According to
numerous Catholic news
papers, one area of par
ticular concern in this
country, is that of religious
education of our youth. I
would like to see some
“smoothing out” of the
“rough edges” of this pro
blem.
A treasured momento in
my possession is a post card
from Rome dated Dec. 16,
1965: “Greetings from
Rome...‘The experience of
attending the Vatican Coun
cil has been truly mar
vellous. I am fortunate to
have had this opportuni
ty! ’” Signed “Fr. Zeb
Beltran’’...now Bishop
Eusebius J. Beltran of the
Diocese of Tulsa.
Mike Kelly is a member
of St. Philip Benizi parish in
Jonesboro where he is
director of sponsors for the
RCIA and serves on the
adult formation committee.
1. Absolutely. The
changes brought forth from
Vatican II were not really
changes but a return to the
message of our Lord Jesus.
Just as the Pharisees got
lost in the law we had got
ten lost in the Baltimore
Catechism. It’s one thing to
memorize a way of life,
quite another to live it.
Vatican II called me to the
Church and created an at
mosphere in which I could
be Church. Rather than just
leading me down the road to
Emmaus it called me to get
up on my own two feet and
walk the journey for
myself. Along the way the
richness and tradition of the
Catholic faith has sup
ported my journey. Vatican
II helped me to appreciate
my Catholic upbringing and
to realize that I am part of a
universal community of
believers helping each
other to answer the call to
Jesus to “Follow me.”
2. We must continue our
renewal process. Conver
sion is not a one-time occur
rence, so the Church must
continue to turn and grow.
I’m involved as a team
member of the Rite of
Christian Initiation for
Adults and see it as a very
basic form of continual
renewal within the Church.
Not only does it reach out to
new members but through
its support of the process
the entire community is
able to grow. I would hope
the RCIA continues to be
supported by Church hier
archy. I would also like to
see the process further
developed to reach out to
fallen away and back pew
Catholics.
As the laity becomes
more involved and the
fallen away return we must
provide for their hunger to
grow in faith. I think the
Catholic Church has been
remiss in adult faith forma
tion and I see this as an im
portant area which needs to
be addressed.
Msgr. McDonough—
(Continued from Page 1)
the responsibility for our actions. If this is true, why
speak of the last things — punishment, hell,
purgatory, etc. There isn’t going to be any punish
ment.
Pope John Paul II seems to have this in mind when
he speaks frequently of the need to confess our sins.
Chip Henry
Chip Henry, 38, is presi
dent of the parish council at
the Church of St. Ann,
Marietta. He came back to
the Church in 1981 after
many years away. He and
his wife, Toni, are the
parents of four children.
1. I did not come back to
the Church through RCIA.
It was largely due to the ac
ceptance of people, in the
parish who encouraged
me and showed me they cared about me. I was invited to
make a Cursillo and after that I realized that other people
were more important than yourself. I began to realize other
people’s needs.
I got involved in the night shelter, in different groups in
parish, the prayer group, the Knights of Columbus, inner ci
ty building through Saint Vincent de Paul. I was elected
president of the parish council in January, 1985 and am a
Eucharistic minister. I don’t think all of this would have hap
pened to me without Vatican II. The laity would not have
been involved as much. The laity is a tremendous part of the
Church today. This involvement is two-fold, it gives you the
opportunity to know yourself through the needs of others and
it’s the grace of God working through you.
2. In answer to the second question I’d like to see the
diaconate program upgraded. We need a lot more deacons to
assist priests in the massive job they have to do. Priests
can’t be sociologists and everything else they are called on to
be. The Church needs so much help now. Highly qualified
men and women can do a lot to help meet these needs. I real
ly believe the diaconate program is the biggest factor in
aiding the priests, monsignors, bishops.
The second thing the Church needs is Catholic cable
television. The Church is losing out to the Protestants. Peo
ple are sitting in their living rooms being educated by all the
Protestant programs. They don’t even know their own faith.
We need a fulltime Catholic cable network and we need it
now.
Mother Mary Jozefa
Kowalewskt, V.H.M., is
superior of the cloistered
Monastery of the Sisters of
the Visitation in Snellville
and president of the first
federation of the Visitation
order in the United States.
1. The answer would have
to be a definite “Yes.” I
took my first vows during
the second session (of the
Second Vatican Council) in
1963 and my final vows in
1966. Thus my ongoing for
mation was definitely af
fected by the council. The
Divine Office became part
of my liturgical life as well
as Scripture study and an
emphasis on theological
studies, not neglecting
human development. Also,
the council asked us to go
back to our roots. St. Fran=
cis de Sales, a great in
novator, wanted retreats
within our cloister avail
able to women back in
1610. Today it is again part
of our apostolate and has
acquired an ecumenical
dimension. Many non-
Catholics making retreats
within a strictly cloistered
community would have
been unthinkable before
Vatican II.
The statements in several
of the conciliar documents
clearly define our role in the
Church and the value of our
life. The church’s mind, the
council’s mind is quite
clear, and as a daughter of
the Church, so is my mind
on the value of withdrawal
from the world in order to
serve the world. This has
confirmed and strengthen
ed my desire to live our
form of life to the hilt and
help others do the same.
2. I really hesitate to
answer this question for I
Mother Mary Jozefa
Kowalewski, V.H.M.
lack words to state what I
believe in such a way that
would not be offensive or
misunderstood. I believe,
along with all the various
programs, that the docu
ments themselves should
be studied carefully. So
very many sweeping
statements have been
made on what Vatican II
wants by so-called experts
that it appears to me a
mere manipulation of the
documents for one’s own
view or a very selective in
terpretation.
I would also like to see a
greater understanding for
our way of life which we
love and one where focus is
put on us as women who are
cloistered rather than on
the cloister itself. So-called
experts who seem to a-
bound in counseling us how
to live our life would do
well o read the conciliar
documents before quoting
them. Most of these counsel
us to live the cloister. I
know personally that it is
possible to live a strictly
contemplative life and be
very happy about it. And I
happen to know many other
women who do just this.
