11-09-1962 - E-Research

God Love YouMost ReverendFuftori J. SheenHave you ever noticed the gesture of- the priest at theHanc Igitur of the Mass, which immediately precedes the Consecration?The celebrant extends his hands over the chaliceat this moment. It recalls a similar gesture that was used inthe Old Testament, which prophetically referred to the Sacrificeof Our Lord. In the Book of Leviticus we read:"The man who would win the Lord's favor with burnt •sacrifice of cattle must bring a male beast, withoutblemish, to the door of the tabernacle, and lay hishand on the beast's head, and so it will be accepted,and will serve to make atonement for him."The laying of the hands over the animal to be sacrificed,was a gesture indicating the laying of sins uponthat animal, which became the substitute for surrenderingone's own life because of sin. The sacrifice withoutblemish in the New Testament is Our Blessed Lord. Thepriest laying his hands over the chalice is equivalentlylaying our sins upon Oar Blessed Lord, Who offers Himselfin sacrifice- that we may be released from our sins.Our true place is that of sinners: we plead guilty to thedread indictment of God's Holy Law, and Our Blessed Lord'sdeath on the Cross becomes our shield against the terriblejustice we deserve. The Lord "hath laid on Himself the iniquityof us all," for He bore our sins in His Body .on the Tree.Herein is the reason why the Gospel of the Cross mustbe brought to all the peoples of the world. There is noother Savior for sin than Our Lord; only a God Whobecame Man and took upon Himself thejr sins can openHeaven to them.• If you rejoice in the Redemption which you have, whynot make sacrifices to give it to Asia, Africa, Latin America? -The Directors of The Society for the Propagation of the Faiththroughout the United States, who are the Holy Father's ownrepresentatives, are opening their hands that you may fill themwith your sacrifices. They, in turn, will deliver them to thePontiff that the peoples of these continents may lay their handsupon the Cross of Christ and thus be-saved.GOD LOVE YOU TO G.B. for $5 "I promised God anoffering of $5 if my prayer was answered. Half of thefavor was granted, but I send the whole amount hopingthe other half will be answered later on." ... to theTowermen, N.Y.C.T.A. for $12 "In memory of a friend.""... to a Servant for $1 "That He may forgive me mylack of Faith and show me the way to regain it, I offermy sufferings.". Send us your old goal and jewelry — the valuables you no-danger use but which are too good to throw away. We will• resell the earrings, gold eyeglass frames, flatware, etc., anduse the money to relieve suffering in mission lands. Our address:The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 366 FifthAvenue, New York 1, New York. vSHEEN COLUMN: Cut out this column, pin your sacrificeto it and mail it to Most Rev. Fulton J, Sheen, NationalDirector of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 366Fifth Avenue, New York 1, N. Y., or your Diocesan Director,/Rev. Neil J. Flemming, 6301 Blscayne Blvd., Miami 38, Fla., ^_"As a result of Mother's testimony, my wife and Italked over the situation."SHARING OUR TREASURE'No Millionaire Could GiveThe Gift That We Received'By FR. JOHN A. O'BRIENWhat is the best way to showyour gratitude for the gift ofFaith? ^_Pope Pius XI gives the answer:"The most precious giftwe have receivedis the gift ofthe Faith. Butevery gift i nproportion to itsvalue demandsgratitude towardsthe donor."Now the giftof Faith is so Father O'Brienpriceless thatthe only proportionate means ofgratitudein our power is to passthe Faith we have received toothers. Then our thanks offeringis, adequate."Converts are generally moreappreciative of the Faith andmore eager to share it than"cradle" Catholics. This is illustratedin the conversion of Mr.and Mrs. Arthur D. Vogelsangand family of North Pekin, Illinois."My mother," related Arthur,"was received into theCatholic Church at St. Joseph'sparish in Pekin threeyears ago. Her religionproved such a source of inspirationand help that she toldus how much it meant andwas eager to share it withus.""Your mother," I remarked,"was putting into practice thewords addressed by Christ to allHis followers: 'You shall be witnessesfor me in Jerusalem andin all Judea and Samaria andeven to the very ends of theearth' (Acts 1:18), If everyCatholic would follow her example,we would win millions ofchurchless people for Christevery year." /"As a result of my mother's -testimony," continued Arthur,"my wife and J, talked over thesituation./I had\been reared aBaptist but, like my wife, haddrifted away from the practiceof any religion."We have five children andwe came to realize that they aswell as ourselves should worshipGod and love and serve Him. Sowe went to see Father JamesD. Shaughnessy, pastor of theSacre Coeur Church."Fortunately he was aboutto conduct an inquiry class.He invited us to attend andassured us that we need notcommit ourselves in advance.We came."The class was conducted byFather and his assistant, FatherJohn R. Fagan. It's an idealway to learn about the Faith.The presence of other truthseekers encourages you andhelps you to feel at ease."We were deeply impressedby the sacraments which channelGod's graces to you. It waswonderful to realize that ChristNhad instituted confession towash away our sins and theHoly Eucharist to nourish uswith His Body and Blood."No millionaire could giveus such a gift. We perceivedhow the Mass is the unbloodyre-enactment of Christ's deathon Calvary, and learned tofollow it with our missals."We came to realize that theCatholic Church is not 'justanother Church,' but is the onefounded by Christ when He saidto the Apostles: 'Go, therefore,and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in thename of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe allthat I commanded you; and beholdI am with you all days,even unto the consummation ofthe world,' (Matthew 28:18-20)."We were received into theChurch on Dec. 23, 1961 — ared-letter day in our lives. Fourof our children are in the Sacrc;Coeur School and some are inthe choir. All like it very much.We're glad mother spoke to usand we can't ever^ thank Godenough for the wonderful ^ift ofthe true Faith."(Father O'Brien will beglad to have converts sendtheir names and addressesto him at Notre Dame University,Notre Dame, Indiana,so he may urritetheir conversion stories.)The Question BoxShould Penitent MentionScruples In Confession?Q. I want you to know thatI enjoy your column and especiallythe information onscruples. Too many of us werenot wisely directed from ouryouth, and the disease of thesoul progressed until it becameincurably chronic. Ihave been reading Scruples,Words of Consolation, by Rev.Patrick J. Gearon, O.C.C.,D.D., B.A., a genuine tranquilizer,if one could follow it.He says that the penitentshould not mention his scruplesin confession, because heis viewing his soul throughclouded glasses.However, my equilibriumwas greatly upset by this answerin a Catholic paper,which is at variance With FatherGearon. (The answer is:Sins that in themselves arevenial can become mortal forthe sinner either because ofan erroneous conscience or becauseof some circumstancethat changes the nature of thesin.) According to this a scrupulousperson is spiritually ingrave danger, and especiallywhen one cannot differentiatewhen thoughts are sinful.A. This "answer in a Catholicpaper" should be completely ignoredby anyone who is botheredwith scruples. The statementis true, in a theological vacuum,but it is only confusing to ascrupulous person. You alwayshave trouble trying to decidewhether a sin is venial or mortal.You do not have an erroneousconscience, but an anxiousconscience^There is a lotof difference. For a person whois scrupulous the rule should bethat he does not commit a mortalsin unless he.is certain it isa mortal sin at the time hedoes it.* * *Q. Would you please explainwhat benefit the people canderive from the Mass by actuallyreading much of theMass aloud in Latin, alongwith the priest, rather thanquietly following the Mass inEnglish; or if we must havethe dialogue Mass why not inEnglish so that the peoplemay understand what theyare saying?A. I seem to get a questionlike this nearly every week. Iwill answer your final questionfirst: We may not have the dialogueMass in English becausethe Pope has not given permissionfor us to do so. We hope hewill in the near future.Meanwhile I think you mayderive the following benefitsfrom the dialogue Mass inLatin:It keeps you awake, anddrives out those comfortable distractionswhich often creep intosilent missal-reading. I believethis is one reason some peopleobject to the dialogue.It keeps you aware of the variousparts of the Mass.It unites you almost physicallywith the priest in offering theSacrifice.It unites the congregation; sothat they more actively offerthe Sacrifice together.Because priest and people arethus united they are all boundup more closely with JesusChrist, the chief priest and theeternal victim of the Sacrifice.You may, in time, without toomuch effort learn what eachLatin phrase means. Begin withAmen, Deo Gratias, and Et cumspiritu tuo. Now honestl in'tyou know what those me, 'justas well in Latin as in English?Then continue~with Habemus adDominum and the words of thePater noster.You are exercising the virtuesof patience, humility and reverence,in doing what the Churchadvises you to do.You are hastening the daywhen -the English will be permitted.We must first convincethe Church authorities that wereally want to participate. .* * •Q. Since we began receivingthe Voice, my wife and I havebeen steady readers of yourcolumn. Your wit, compassionand realism have been for usthe most encouraging thingsin the contemporary church.A. Pop! There goes my humility,along with a few buttons offmy cassock, at the chest.Really, folks, I did receivethat letter! It cancels out dozensof others which flay mefrom head to toe, questioningmy orthodoxy, my patriotismand my sanity. It makes mefeel so good I can't bring myselfto concentrate on the questionpresented by this wonderfulman: something about themorality of war, which I promiseto study when Fget back tonormal.Missal GuideNov. 11—Twenty-second Sundayafter Pentecost. Mass of theSunday, Gloria, Credo, prefaceof the Trinity.Nov. 12—St. Martin I, Pope andMartyr. Mass of the feast,Gloria, second prayer againststorms, common preface.Nov. 13—St. Didacus, Confessor.Mass of the feast, Gloria,common preface.Nov. 14—St. Josaphat, Bishop, and Martyr. Mass of thefeast, Gloria, second prayeragainst storms,- comn? preface.^^J-Nov. 15—St. Albert the Great,Bishop, Confessor and Doctor.Mass of the feast, Gloria,common preface.Nov. l«-^St. Gertrude, Virgin.Mass of the feast, Gloria, secondprayer against storms,common preface.Nov. 17—St. Gregory the Won.derworker, Bishop and Confessor.Mass of the feast,Gloria, common preface.Nov. 18—Twenty-Third Sundayafter Pentecost. Mass of theSunday, Gloria, Credo, prefaceof the Trinity.Page 26 November 9, 1962 THE VOICE Miami/ Florida•*•-*..#( •»*•-#-.* c