1 Sense of Mission: Commitment By Rev. Joseph A. Hughes There is no Way to become a saint except or so devoted that he does not need to prom­ h e m a tu re Christian has a deep sense to put on Christ. To put on Christ it is neces- ise God and reassure himself over and over T of mission. He feels that he must be­ sai7 to give Christ to others, to ^ je ty , to again that he will follow Christ and do the come actively and hopefully involved as a redeemed and unredeemed souls. To do this will of Him-who sent him. Christian in the temporal order. He must takes commitment, the unselfish, persistent, convince himself that he can and must help dedicated dffort to brighten in one’s soul the THE MASS is the supreme occasion for to communicate his share of Christ to his pattern of intelligent and active Christianity. commitment on the part of all who know share of the world. There is no other way sorpething of the purpose of the Incarnation out for one who understands his vocation as THE CHRISTIAN’S commitment to live and Redemption. The Mass is not intended a son and heir of God and a co-heir with the life of Christ and to communicate the as a setting for sentimental musings on the Christ. ’ And it' is necessary to remember fruits of the Redemption to others is en-., meaning of the Cross. The Mass, to be fruit­ that Christ was a revolutionary. larged and vitalized in the sacraihent of Con­ ful, must be related to the full realities of The lack of this conviction" is precisely firmation. To be a soldier of Jesus Christ life. ^To the Mass we bring from our own the reason for the mediocre spirituality of is more than to take part in a defensive life our weaknesses and our hopes, our sac­ the, typical Christian and his anemic influ­ alignment. It means growing in will and rifices and love, our sincerity and determin­ ence on a world in the high stages of social training and love and ambition to spread the ation to be united with Christ in spreading revolution. Poor social and apostolic posture kingdom of grace. This is not child’s play. His influence into our home and neighbor­ on the part of many good people who faith­ It does not leave much room for the full and hood and nation. fully fill a pew daily and Sunday in the par­ demoralizing comforts of a secularized so­ «There is some phase of God’s work that ish Church has brought discredit on the ciety. He will do only through us. In the Mass Church and defeat to the mission of Christ Each day in the period of mental prayer we commit ourselves to do this work, what­ through Christian history. the responsible Christian makes or renews ever the cost, whatever the pain. Our pain his commitment to some specific phase of we unite with Christ’s pain in the daily re­ A DESCRIPTION of “a sense of mis­ the Christian life and work. This commit­ newal of Calvary. For,our support we rely sion” can be boiled down to one word: Com­ ment is to do the right thing and to do it on the Food of militants and martyrs which mitment.- No grown Christian is worth the for the right reason, that is, out of super­ comes to us as part of the eternal Christian salt used on him in the baptismal riteJf natural love. There is no person so_strong Sacrifice. he does not have an active, adult sense of responsibility toward his own growth in holir COMMITMENT , moves the thorough ness, toward all the other near and distant Christian to cut through the superficialities cells in the Mystical Body, toward the press­ and sentimentalities of traditional piety and ing mission of the Church. jU ife to enter into the center of the Christian rev­ Commitment, as a fruit of faith, runs olution. Active Christianity demands p i us like a golden cord through all the prayer service and sacrifice. Those who respond life and the sacramental activity of the to these demands in a selfless and lasting Christian. In Baptism we make a pact with way will transform a wayward society and Christ to live His life, to grpw in His grace, O f i L S p ir it make progress toward personal spiritual to enlarge His kingdom, to become a saint. oerfection. r BLESSED .JQAII Church Guarantees DELAUOUB Liberty of Christ f h i c and Learn %/ P. 0 . Box 1620| Denver, Colorado THE RECENT DEATH of Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara, Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, recalls Kissing Pope’s________________ Ring > an exchange of letters he had with a Baptist minister Q. When President Kennedy visited the Pope, all the at the time he was Archbishop of Savannah. These papers stated that he did not kneel to kiss the Papal ring, letters, which extended from 1955 to 1957, manifest the reason being that he was afraid “some Americans might the late prelate’s clarity of mind and charity of misunderstand.” To me this runs against the words of Our spirit. He had just that knowledge of ^the Protestant Lord: “He who acknowledges Me before men, I will ack- mind which enabled him to see its difficulties and knowledgejiefore My Father.” thefr answer. A. No. The President’s action was legitimate. The Assumption One of these difficulties — in fact, what the Bap­ Kissing the Papal ring is not a necessary sign of a tist minister who debated with him called the pivotal ■ Catholic’s respect for the Holy Father, and it is Although Scripture docs not speak explic­ of Mary, reunited with her soul, was as-, freely foregone when it might be misconstrued that itly of this great privilege of Mary, It has Protestant position — is the false opposition between sumed into heaven and there she now reigns the freedom of the individual soul and the Church a statesman thereby acknowledges temporal sub­ always been the common belief of Christ’s as Queen of Heaven. The Feast of the As­ jection to a Pope or prelate. Church and was solemnly defined as a sumption is celebrated on Aug. 15 and is a authority. dogma of faith by Pope Pius XII on Nov. holy day of obligation. 1, 1950. After her death the Incorrupt body LET, US BY ALL MEANS, wrote Archbishop Feast Aug. 17 Clergy and Inierrasial Jusfise O’Hara, uphold the rights of the individual soul, and Q. Many people say that, of all the clergymen (of various let us stick to the Scriptures, to see what they say faiths) who now maintain that racial segregation is un­ about the relation of the two. Love Cures christian, immoral, and sinful, not one of them had (prior to First of all, Jesus said that “the Truth shall the 1954 Supreme Court decision) the intelligence to recognise Mon Can Understand God its immorality and sinfulness nor the courage to protest against make you free” (John viii, 32). Hence freedom is it. Will vou please give the correct answer to this charge? freedom only in the Truth. There is no real freedom Poverty of Easier'Than Anything Else to oppose the Truth, known as such. And how do we A. Nothing is to be gained for the cause of inter­ know the Truth? racial justice by such sweeping and impassioned Man's Heart accusations. Long before the Supreme Court decision Whenever you begin to talk about manner, everything that we know in In Tim. iii, 15, the Apostle salutes the Church as God you will always find some people the world. We are absolutely sure of By E. T. Smith of 1954, many Catholic leaders had spoken and “the Pillar and Ground of truth;” and he speaks worked against segregation and discrimination. The who, though not denying Him, try to that. (II Cor., X, 5) of “bringing into captivity every THE SHOPKEEPERS in assume that you are talking the 17th century French vil­ desegregation of the parochial schools of St. Louis about We know that this Necessary Being thought to the obedience of Christ,” Therefore Chris­ lage of Saumur were a thrifty, something that is not knowable, there- in 1947 may have set an example for the Supreme must be infinite mind, for mind is the tian liberty means only the right to think in con­ almost a parsimonious, lot. Court’s action. fore not “talkable.” A noted philos- highest power we know on earth, and formity with Christ. « „ But for sheer miserliness not opher, Herbert Spencer, in fact called One of the most notable voices was that of if mind exists here it must have existed one of them could match Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul, who, in Jan­ God “The Unknowable.” in the beginning and eternally. In fact “A COMMUNITY THEN,” continued the Arch­ Joan Delanoue. Joan made her living by uary, 1891, on the 28th anniversary of the eman­ On the contrary, God can be under­ we could not be certain of the validity bishop, “which makes a collective demand on its cipation of the Negro, demanded the blotting out of stood easier than anything else we of our own reasoning powers unless members of utter submission to Christ’s revelation selling a strange assortment is no challenge to the soul’s liberty or the action of of cloth, crockery, dried fish, all barriers and color lines. He made this prophetic know — not the Essence of God, which our intellect comes from an Intellect and cheap religious trinkets statement: we shall never adequately compre­ that is nece^arily perfect, has created the Holy Spirit of truth within it.