Texas Gulf Coast Register (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, June 7, 1968 Page: 5 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Gulf Coast Register/South Texas Catholic and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
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New Sound of Religion in Panama
The Rev. Peter Declercq of Bruges, Belgium, distributes Com-
munion, top, during Mass in Church of Christ the Redeemer in San
Miguelito, Panama. A three-man combo, foreground, provides reli-
gious music with a Latin beat. The Rev. Leo Mahon, bottom, of
Chicago stands outside the circular church building which has
become a hub of community activity. (Wide World Photos)-
Coming of the Spirit
By Rev. Joseph A. Hughes
An interesting point of spirituality was
raised several weeks ago in a group hom-
ily at a "home” Mass for nun-teachers
and hospital workers as a part of their
retreat.
The Mass of the Holy Spirit was ap-
propriate because it fitted the current age
of history. The Mass was celebrated
shortly after the feast of the Ascension.
The. function of the Ascension in the re-
demptive cycle has usually been under-
rated. Together with Easter and Pente-
cost it furnishes a profound insight into
the plan of Providence for man’s redemption.
The present age of history corresponds
to the time in the life of the Apostles
when Christ, 40 days after His resurrec-
tion, was taken up to heaven before their
eyes. After Christ had departed the Apos-
tles were bereft of their Master and
Friend, in His physical, visible form.
They were alone, fearful, confused, de-
pressed.
FOR THE MOMENT it did not make
nnh difference to them that the Lord
id explained the plan: "It is better for
you that I go, for unless I go the Advo-
cate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you;
but if I go I will send Him to you ... I
have said these things to you that you
may not be shaken in your faith.”
What the Lord said, in effect, to the
Apostles after the Last Supper and at
other times, by way of prediction and
explanation, was this: As long as I re-
main with you in visible form, to teach
you and shepherd you, you are secure,
fortified, enlightened, and-enriched — by
me, your Divine Friend..
But the time is coming when you must
be on your own, when you must learn
and act in a humble, human, creative
way; when Divinity, in its palpable form,
recedes from your physical vision so that
all you will have — and it will be in the
hidden facets of your faith, prayer, and
action — will be the invisible God, your
unseen Friend, the spirit of truth and
love and fortitude.
NOW MARK this, even though it is
only a human, passing, and fallible in-
terpretation. The Lord was saying to the
Apostles and to all who would read the
Gospel: You must first enter into a period
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of confusion, fear, doubt, pain, loss, help-
lessness.
For this will be a sign that you are
ready for the coming of the Spirit, that
you have qualified yourselves, by suffer-
ing and humiliation, to receive the divine
breath, the light that is unquenchable,
the courage that fails not, the hope that
springs from truth, the love that is God
Himself.
When theologians call our time the
second Pentecost they are doing so be-
cause it is a time of confusion and fear
and human disorder. It is almost always
in such a time that the Holy Spirit ap-
pears to guide and comfort man.
The current confusion is part of a new
paradox in Christian spirituality. It is, in
a sense, a sign that the Holy Spirit is
about to take over, to move into the
human vacuum with His Gifts and fruits.
It is a sign that He will supply from the
abundance of heaven the knowledge and
wisdom that are the providential fulfill-
ment of the condition known as fear of
the Lord. "Fear of the Lord is the begin-
ning of wisdom.”
IF YOU SHOULD care to review
Christian history you would probably find
that the high points of spirituality fol-
lowed the low points, that sudden divine
enrichment came after a period of man’s
loss of spiritual opulence, that man and
the Church were never filled to overflow-
ing with supernatural creativeness and
divine vitality until there was first the
humiliation of the cross, the loss of visi-
ble comfort, the confusiqn that eventually
led to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
A few segments of people of the
Church who bridle at the present
upheavals in theology, liturgy, and social
action have somehow been led to think
that the Church came down from heaven
ready-made, permanently fashioned, fi-
nally and fully designed once and for all
time. This concept is inaccurate, unhistori-
cal, and untheological.
IT IS CLEAR from Scripture, tradi-
tion, theology, and history that God in-
tended the Church to be truly human as
well as divine. It is His plan to give the
Church a basic truth, a basic charter, a
basic covenant of grace and salvation.
Otherwise the Church, as a people,
must grow into history, into the events of
the race, into the progress of nations.
With this design and the growth it prom-
ises, the Church shares vicissitudes and
victories, burdens and hopes, pain and
wonder.
In terms of today’s human turmoil we
have in the heavens over our century a
magnificent and hopeful sign that the
Holy Spirit has .begun His historical con-
ditioning again. God has credted for us
and our contemporaries the emptiness
which He will fill in the end with Him-
self.
I Told You So’
By Dolores Curran
I’m not in the habit of criticizing my
Maker (fate, nature, etc. . . . yes) - but,
like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, T do
have some constructive criticism for Him
now and then.
What I want to offer today is an
amendment to the Ten Commandments.
I’m not proposing we add another Com-
mandment — after teaching CCD, I real-
ize ten is quite enough to cover ir. a half-
year.
THF AMENDMENT I suggest calls
attention to a very popular source of un-
pleasantness which is buried so success-
fully under one or more of the present
Commandments that it rarely peeps up
as more than a momentary annoyance.
My amendment goes like this; "Further,
thou shalt not use needless or irritat-
ing cliches which cause frustration.*'
To prevent convening all kinds of theo-
logical symposiums to decide what I
mean, I’ll mention the cliches here.
Topping the list of needless cliches is,
"Needless to say. . .” How many speeches
have started out that way? How many
listeners have wished desperately that
the speaker or the writer really believed
it was needless to say? How much frus-
tration has that three-word phrase in-
spired, in graduation addresses, sermons,
and political harangues?
A CLOSE SECOND in this category
is, "It goes without saying.” Has it ever?
And a third? "This man needs no in-
troduction” I once sat through an intro-
duction prefaced like that whicn was so
boring that even the man being intro-
duced became restless. When he finally
had an opportunity to speak, he began
wearily, "I wonder who this mam is who
needs no introduction.”
But those are .only the needless clich-
es. The really annoying ones are the ones
which defy reason and patience alike.
They are the ones we use in pulling rank
with our children and friends alike. They
are the ones we swear we will never use,
but do. The first and roost unpleasant
has to be, "I told you so.”
"I TOLD YOU SO’* should go down
in history as one of the basic causes of
dissension among mankind. It should be
outlawed along with poison gas and bac-
teriological warfare. The potency of this
spiteful weapon lies in the fact that in
the settling of every dispute, marital or
martial, someone gets to respond, "I told
you so.” And the other party is absolutely
indefensible.
A child carries a glass of water across
the floor and his mother warns, "Be care-
ful or you’ll spill.” This rattles him long
enough to tip the glass and as the drops
reconstitute the dried jello on the fioor,
the mother reproaches, "See, I told you
__ »
50.
A couple drives around the S-shaped
streets of suburbia searching for a
friend’s new home. The wife suggests ask-
ing at a service station. An hour later,
her husband does so. She retorts, "We
should have done it when I told you to.”
Worse, she may remain silent while tLo
implied "I told you so” cuts through the
air and becomes insufferable.
THE DEMOCRATS warn the Repub-
licans to cut taxes or is it the Republi-
cans warn the Democrats to cut taxes
. . . regardless, someone gets to say, "I
told you so” in tho next election.
Government officials say, "I told you
so.” Even other nations say, "I told you
so.” (DeGaulle says it frequently, even
though we’re not too sure just what he
told us.)
Once we’ve buried "I told you so,” we
can get to work on, "If you knew what I
know. , . .” This is an utterly exasperat-
ing, irrational, and last-ditch effort to
support a dying debete. And it’s usually
successful. How does one argue with
someone who has his back to the wall
but who cuts all channels of communica-
tion with, "Well, if you knew what I
know. . .
The only way of beating this game is
playing it. When he implies unmention-
able information, you have a right to re-
ply, "Well, I know what you are referring
to, but that is obsol te, according to my
sources.” If this doesn’t stop him, you
have a real pro on your hands. . ,
TWO OTHER cliches must be ex-
posed. One is, "I could have told you
that.” It takes the joy out of announcing
anything, whether it’s a pregnancy, a
war, or a scandal. Its irritation lies in its
irrationality. How can I know if you
could have told me my news until I tell
you?
. The final and most annoying, save "I
told you so,” is "I shouldn’t tell you this
but . It is usually followed by such
horrendous statements as: ". . .Your
daughter pulled ail of Mrs. Wilson’s tu-
lips last spring
". . .You look ten pounds heavier.”
". . .You’ve been nominated for PTA
president”
”. . .1 saw your husband today-
". . .1 liked your long hair better.”
". . .It won’t do you any good to vote,”
etc. etc.
I do have a response for this kind of
comment Whenever someone begins, ”1
shouldn w tell you this but,” I slip in a
fast, "You don’t know how I appreciate
your thoughtfulness ir not telling me.” It
stops them short every time. Just try it
and if it works, remember, I told you so.
S' kli
busy day
ir ★
To think about how good
God has been to you?
To think of others less fortunate?
To think of the sick overseas?
To think of how you might
help them, like tire little
boy you see here?
HELP US TO HELP HIM...
AND COUNTLESS OTHERS
LIKE HIM...WITH BADLY
NEEDED MEDICINES.
Please make the
time now to help us
help God’s poor and
sickly. Help us give
the gift of health to
those less fortunate.
CATHOUC MEDICAL MISSION BOARDu.
lOWest 17 Street • New York. N.Y. iCOli
Here is my yUt af S .. . I understand it will be
multiplied 2S hld to help the suffering poor oversea.
Q f would like to be one of your Men'll/ Donor*.
Kindly send ire a reminder each month—’* ithout any
obligation on my part.
NAME.
address.......................................
CITY....... .........STATE..........ZIP NC
RIGHT REVEREND EDWARD T. O'MEARA
NATIONAL DIRECTOR
"Out Of The
Whal are you doing in the Church, for the Church? What are you doing for
her mission, for the kingdom of God, for your smvation, and the salvation of
your brothers in the society in which you live, in the world? Are you active? Are
you aoostoiic? Or are you still hiding in the shadows of a passive, comfortable
faith?
“In the body of Christ, which is the Church, the whole body, according to the
functioning in due measure of each single part, derives its increase" (Decree on
Laity). This is a very beautiful but tremendous truth. In it you clearly see that
no one is useless, no one can be completely passive, no one can rema ;nert
and insensitive in the life of the Church. F ich and every one of us must do
something for the Church in regard to the salvation of souls and the welfare,
even temporal, of society.
What is that something? Where do you fit in? Primarily, you must start
with yourself and your basic needs as a Christian to fulfill the mission of the
Church in the world. Deepen your faith! Bring to the fore the truths of your
faith, think about them, study them, so that they no longer remain dormant but
are brought into harmony with your daily life. Expand your love! Not merely
the momentary emotional response to someone in need, but a generous effort to
see Christ present within each person you encounter. Increase your awareness!
Know your individual role and duties, whether family, social or professional and
strive daily to carry them out according to Christian principles.
Secondly, you must reach out beyond the circle of your home and parish to
encompass the whole world. By the nature of yuUr Baptism, you are a vital part |
of that world, with all its needs, its desires, its sufferings, its hopes. Through
the Mystical Body, you are linked to each and every man in it. You must, there-
fore, go to the aid of your brothers through your prayers, through your contin-
ued generous sacrifices. Few of you are called to direct missionary serv^e, but
all of you can embrace its spirit and foster its growth within yourselves
With the constant strengthening of such foundations, new insights will dis-
perse the shadows, new avenues of Christian encounter will open up and your
prayer- and sacrifices will have a penetrating impact on individual souls, on
parish communities, on society, on the world.
SALVATION AND SERVICE are the work of The Sociciy for the Propagation
of the Faith. Please cut out this column and send yotti offering to Right Rev-
erend Edwhrd T. O’Meara, National Director, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.
10001 or directly to your local diocessrs director. .
The Reverend Janm Feint
Diocesan Director
620 Lipan
Corpus Christt\ Texas 78401
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Gough, William. Texas Gulf Coast Register (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, June 7, 1968, newspaper, June 7, 1968; Denver, Colorado. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth835739/m1/5/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .