Once more we celebrate with joy and thanksgiving the birthday of our Saviour; that awesome day when human eyes first beheld the Word made flesh and saw His glory, the glory, as it were, of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
While the world which Jesus Christ had come to save was ignorant of His birth, Christians will p~nder f?r all time the sublimity of the mystery of His commg.
PERTH, WA: DECEMBER 24-30. 1981
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Archbishop's message for the suffering in Poland
The following statement by Archbishop Goody was read at at special Mass for Poland on December 20. and endurance: Surrounded by powerful neighbours over which she was sometimes dominant and by which often dominated.
Poland, a country on the frontier between East and West has had a long and glorious history of fidelity, valour
The Poland of St Casimir over which still reigns Mary, Queen of Heaven and Queen of Poland, is at the present time being racked by political tensions between a universal desire for freedom and the dictatorial demands of communist
materialism.
Christ the Incarnate expression of God's great love for us, demands our unswerving allegiance. Our only hope of salvation is in our belief in the Gospel and the implementation of its message in our daily lives
each one of us more closely to the Eternal Father and the Prince of Peace.
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In a world of transitory values and in a societ y which barely clings to a moral order, fidelity to Christ is not easy.
May each one of us find renewed strength in the grace that flows from the Christmas observance.
The Kingdom of Heaven transcends the anxieties and miseries of a weary man-centred world and raises human hearts to the love of God who has pitched His tent among men.
Never has there been a greater need for the endurance, valour and fidelity of which Poland has given such evidence in the past. Her friends all will seek to help her and we pray Almighty God that by the intercession of Mary of Czestochowa that the powers of oppression may not prevail over them and that the Gospel of Christ may inspire the dawn and full light of freedom.
Our cover picture by courtesy of Benefax Ptv Ltd is a reproduction of The Nativity by Carlo Maratta which is part of the New Norcia Benedictine collection.
As Poland entered its second week of martial law with most of the leadership of the independent Solidarity Labour Union under arrest, the Catholic Church emerged as the major counterforce against the military crackdown.
In a statement issued l 1AIS/DE 141 JI 'S OLDEST - oecember 16th the general IV VffM council of the Polish rJ WEEKI.y'NEWSPAPE8 ·i
!l:1~r~as:h~ 0 i~~::;ci~ ! Bishops' Christmas messages2& 3 ! being "terrorised" by mil-
• -. itary force."
• Abo rig in al aid centre stays 4 ! Clearly challenging the ! N Ch · t f 5 • suppression of solidarity, -.i O rlS mas or some il the statements said that ! Call to wipe out Mafia 6 ! Poland "cannot give up the
! Today's People - weekly feature7 ! democratic renewal that -.. has been announced in the ! Masses timetables 8&25 t country" and declared that ! Word was made Flesh .................. 9 ! a ret~rn t_o n~rmal labour
• ._ activity "implies that one ! Pope defmes work 11 ._ permit the free activity of ! Tiwi Christmas 12& 13 !. the president and presi-
• y h f 14& 1 5 • dium of the labour uni or.."
• OUt Orum.......................
• In a message read in all ! Family and modern world. 16& 17 ! Polish churches last Sun-
• E d · S t 18 ! day, Archbishop Jozef ! aves roppmg on an a............
• Glemp of Warsaw and ! Women's page 19 ! Gniezno, J?rimate of t~e
• School heads on problems 22&23 • that has been smouldering
! Week on television 24 ! for a long time in our coun-
• • try and that has now grown
• Chnst-Ch1ld - poem 26 • stronger."
! Kisses in Bethlehem ................... 27 t He urged the people to ! N t· ·t t t · 28 t "keep calm, do not cause -tc a IVI Y con es wmners ·" "" it our country to fall into a
! Record Sport Round-up 29 : greater misfortune ." ............................................•••••••....! (See also Page 2)
•
West Perth
I pray for all of you, my people"Love came down at Christmas." May the love of the Lord Jesus Christ be a great light for those who walk in darkness and may it bind
The Polish nation is the victim of the ''ma levolent Russian domination of eastern Eu rope ," Dean P.G J.O ' Reill y told the 1 0a m co ngrega tion in St Mary's Cat hedral last Sunday.
"Despite this their deep religious convictions not only survive but strengthen and the names of Czestochowa and Nova Huta are reminders of the indomitable spirit of the people," he said.
A big contingent of Polish people attended the Mass, preceded by banners of the various Polish associations.
Dear O'Reilly said that the scene in St Mary's Cathedral was a witness of the same restraint, dignity and faith that has characterised the Polish struggle in Poland.
"Public demonstrations and marches were proposed but the leadership of the Polish organisations decided that their best way of helping their relatives and friends and the people of Poland was to gather here to pray - to pray that the sufferings being endured now by their fellow countrymen would be best helped by the weapon that has proved so effective before in the history of their country.
"Poland's history is one of great suffering," Dean O'Reilly said "Sandwiched between Russia and Germany her people have been caught in the middle of every major upheaval - they have been taken over, carved up, invaded, bled by more powerful neighbours, persecuted and denied reli-
gious freedom, sent to prison and to concentration camps.
"For the people of Poland Christianity has been synonymous with the dignity and freedom of individual man and at any cost, even that of persecution, they were going to keep that spirit alive.
"Their patience was not in vain, for the election to the Holy See of a Polish Pope awoke all the loyalties which had gone underground and they burst forth spontaneously and with a convincing unanimity for all to see.
"When Pope John Paul returned and kissed the soil of Poland it was the sign for which the Polish people had been_waiting-thespirit of individual man might be persecuted and execrated and reviled but it could not be subdued.
"Resurrection was once again shown to be at one core of the Christian religion.
"We have seen the progress that has been made. We realise that no one can or should try to tell the Polish people what to do. They have the capacity and the inner strength to shape
POPE ON POL AND PLIGHT
Vatican City- Poland has the right to live its own life and to resolve its own internal problems in the spirit of its own convictions in conformity with its own culture and national traditions," Pope John Paul said last week.
Poland should return to the road of renewal, built through dialogue, in respect for the rights of every man and every citizen," the pope told 5000 people at a general audience
"This road is not easy - for understandable reasons - but it is not impossible," he added.
Pope John Paul II called on Poland to resolve its - difficulties without violence and defended his homeland's "just right to be itself."
"Poland's problems. undoubtedlv difficult. cannot be resolved with the use of violence," the pope said.
"The strength and authority of power are expressed in such dialogue and not in the use of violence."
He entrusted Poland to Christ and to our Lady of Czestochowa, Poland's patronness, in its "fight for the just right to be itself."
Pope John Paul, who has been cut off from direct communication with Polish church authorities sinc e the imposition of martial law, quoted from a speech delivered in Warsaw by Archbishop Jozef Glemp, of Warsaw.
The imposition of martial law "cannot happen without the violation of fundamental human rights ," ArchPolishcommunityflagspicturedbeingcarriedintoStMary'sCathedralforthe bishop Glemp said. specialMasslastSunday.
their own destiny. message of hope.
"As fellow Catholics we "We pray that the hard salute the Polish people won freedoms that have with pride and gratitude been achieved may not be for their public witness to lost and that the suffering their faith and for their and privation being
endured may inspire them to continue the struggles assured of the consolation and support of all who value the principles for which they strive.
Ignored by worl
1 He was_ in the world l!nd the -FROM BISHOP FOLEY 1 world did not know him. ~- :,. :,,. But to all who did accept U: him he gave the power to become children of God. 1 John 1,10.12
The coming of the Infant Jesus, • though it had been foretold by aII the prophets and eagerly awaited by the
• whole Jewish nation, hardly caused a ripple in the routine life of Bethlehem
Too often the lights and :,. decorations that adorn a. our shops and streets at ft Christmas disappear and :~ leave little or no change lJ in our hearts or in the ways of our society.
It need not be so this year!
Like the people ofisrael
• years ago our society is ?J~ looking for a prophet. It is confused and anxious.
It knows that life is sacred and yet in its midst violence abounds and the
•, unborn child is unsafe.
•
• • It knows that home-life for a child is precious and yet tolerates the disintegration of the family.
• Its taxes are high to provide the welfare state and
• yet many, young and old, feel disenchanted, unrespected and unloved.
The Child in the crib, his tender loving parents, the shepherds on the hillside and the adoring kingseach year Christmas
again offers the unchurched and hesitant believers a reminder that perhaps, just perhaps, Jesus is the answer to their deepest desires.
Perhaps that special love and goodwill that penetrates into their homes, their offices and their towns at Christmas could become part of their lives and help recreate a society where respect for life and the dignity of each human person can be protected
If God did love us enough to become one of us, perhaps we could and work in our towns so learn to truly love one As we rejoice in the that e.ach may be another. depths of our own hearts, respected as a person des-
As we believers gather let us remember that his tined by God's own initiaround our cribs at home peace was given 'for all ative to become his and in our churches and who enjoy his favour'. adopted child for all with the angels sing our Our religion is not eternity. 'Glory to God', let each of something to be kept in May these Christmas ;, us look to the new-born our churches, or even in blessings come down Christ to nourish our our homes. upon you all in abunfaith and to strengthen It is good news for all. dance and remain with our love in a God who Let us be resolved to plan you for ever.
The Record , December 24 - 30 , 198 1
"It brings with it, in many cases, contempt of human
digni~, the arrest of innocents, the humiliation of men of culture and science, the uncertainty of so many families."
Pope John Paul, former Archbishop of Cracow, Poland, did not refer to any of Archbishop Glemp's remarks which had been critical of the communist regime
The crib of St Francis
The Christmas crib 1s a universal feature of the celebration of Christ's nativity.
What many people do not know is that this widely observed custom of Christmas cribs was started by St Francis of Assisi.
Francis was only three years away from his death in the year 1223. He was ill, nearly blind.and burdened with the affairs of his growing order. He decided to spend Christmas in the little Italian town of Greccio.
True to his love for the poverty of Christ, he thought it appropriate to have mid night Mass that year in a cave outside the town, surrounded by the animals mentioned in the gospel account of Christ's nativity.
He desired, in short. to create a living nativity scene.
o words I could write could capture the simplicity of t~at scen_e, so p~rhaps it would be better to simply quote his earliest b10grapher, Thomas of Celano. This Franciscan knew the friars who attended that midnight Mass with the saint. In describing the first nativity scene, Thomas writes:
"The joyful day came with great happiness. The friars came from their different places. Neighbourhood people prepared with joy, according to their capacity, bringing candles and torches to illumine the night that has been the light for the world through its star.
"Finally, the saint of God arrived and saw it and was glad. The manger was ready, hay was spread and the ox and ass led in. Thus simplicity was honoured, poverty exalted, humility praised.
"Greccio was made a new Bethlehem. The night became as day to the joy of men and animals. The people were happy at this great mystery. The forest echoed with the voices of the congregation; the rocks cried out in jubilation. The friars sang their debt of praise to God and the night echoed with their hymns.
"The saint of God stood near t1he manger, overwhelmed with love and swelling with happiness
The gifts of the Almighty were distributed there as a holy man in the congregation saw a vision.
"He spied a child lying in the manger and he saw the saint go to the manger and rouse it from sleep.
"This vision was a fitting one, for the infant Jesus has been forgotten by a number of people, but through the merits of St Francis he was brought back from sleep and the scene was etched in the memory of many. Finally the solemnities of the night were over and everyone joyfully returned home."
It was from this humble beginning that our tradition of the Christmas crib grew.
A Christmas message from Bishop In a recent appeal addressed to the K f B b world, Pope John Paul addressed to ,...,.,.,,HM~yl~e~sHM~c~e~o~nH#<o~,..u~n~u~rHy~HH all mankind those touching words:
"Open wide the door to Christ. Open the borders of nations to Christ. Open the economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, society and development to His saving power.
At Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour let us stop to feel the nearness of Jesus who loves us so much.
Let us, in the words of the Holy Father, "open wide the door to Christ".
He stands at the door and knocks; let us open wide the door of our homes, our "In a confused, uncertain hearts and souls to Jesus' world, He is our Peace." presence.
As the Father has spoken He is waiting for us to to all of us, so the Son open up to Him. speaks to us the words of May He come to all of us encouragement and hope: bringing with Him His "Do not be afraid, I am Christmas gifts of love and with you; I have called you peace and of joy by your name: you are May those gifts remain mine". with us throughout 1982.
OFFICIAL Vacant parishes
The parishes of Claremont, Manning and Mosman Park either are, or will become, vacant almost immediately due to the death or retirement of their parish priests.
Priests of the archdiocese interested in being appointed to any one of these parishes are asked to make their inclinations known to the Archbishop in writing before January 15.
Father D. Sproxton Archbishop's secretary.
684 ALBANY HIGHWAY, EAST VICTORIA PARk TELEPHONE 361 3164
Record
Because human nature yearns to look back over its shoulder, Christmas endures in spite of the secular punishment it must undergo. Each annual celebration is an attempt to re-capture some magic moment as it was once experienced before.
The Church too looks back over its shoulder to the real source, the Incarnation of God Himself
As two centuries of European settlement ir Australia fall into place it becomes increasingly more appreciated how our ancestors were looking back over their shoulders too.
Separated by vast stretches of ocean, and years of parting, it made no difference whether it was a convict, free settler or later migrant who was wondering if it was all the same back home in Europe.
In the midst of heat, flies, and summer lethargy Christmas for them still meant snow, black enveloping darkness, the stark trees and the warmth of hearth and friends.
No golden banksia nuts, flowering gums, nor even dubbing the golden flowered mistletoe nuytsia floribunda as the Christmas tree would swerve the transplanted heart from its northward dream.
Like the North-South standoff between rich nations and poor so the European Christmas of the north permeated the southern hemisphere with its winter symbolism and above all with its faith.
But the centuries grind on and the Incarnation must gradually take on the face of a universal truth. It is not the -exclusive possession of the frilly postcard or the imitation-snow-draped ornaments.
Instead of looking north-westwards to an ancestral Europe the Church in Australia can look seriously northwards at the great Asian mass that awaits news of Christ's coming.
In the shimmering heat of December, the Australian Christian can squint eastwards and westwards at southern hemisphere countries celebrating Christmas as we are.
While Australia clings to the upper rungs of world prosperity, the star o·f Bethlehem and the Incarnation wait poised to beconie a reality on the vast continent of Africa where so much awaits to be done by the churches if only they had the means.
To the east the centuries of superficial Christianity point accusingly at the South American cauldron where apathy and greed have reduced masses to poverty oppression and dependence. Yet Christmas endures and the voice of Christ is at long last becoming the voice of the poor and suffering.
In Australia the bored, the boozers, the gift-swappers are all longing for God and His peace in their hearts but they do not know where to look because behind them the shadows of Europe have vanished
The new heralds of Christ's Birth must be the members of His Body, the spiritual Bethlehem, the House of Bread, from which God must go out and become the reality of the Word made Flesh.
Along the roads of Western Australia we must proclaim that we have seen the glory of the Lord.
Priests leaving
Father Ernest Rayson,SSS, of the All Saints Chapel Blessed Sacament chapel community, is to be transferred to the St Francis Melbourne community and leaves Perth on December 29.
Also departing in February is Father Dekker who is transferring to Chatswood, NSW. Both priests have been at the chapel since J975.
Father Rayson also celebrated recently the 25th anniversary of his ordination at Christ the King seminary, Templestowe, on December 22, 1956.
The Guildford Education Centre for Aboriginal children is likely to become a full-time operation in 1982.
The centre was opened in September, 1981, and has been operating in the mornings only to assist children who found difficulty in coping with programmes in normal high schools.
The centre is conducted in the Aquin House building of St Charles' Seminary, Guildford, and was initiated at the request of Aboriginal parents in the Midland-Guildford area.
Four teachers are appointed by the Catholic Education Commission: Sister Carmelin Money, of the Servite Sisters, is principal co-ordinator of the programme; assisted by Mrs Lois Alexander (art and craft, fabric textiles etc); Sister Francis, Infant Jesus Sister, (religion, English), and Mrs Gail Scott (English, maths).
Students learn dressmaking, painting, Aboriginal studies, guitar
NOT A MORAL ISSUE
fromJ.M.Lenoir, Gosnells
Sir, D. Arbuckle (The Record December 10) views homo-
sexuality simply as a moral
playing, screen-printing, tie-dyeing, bark painting, and cooking as well as normal subjects.
The building is also used by the Kora Aboriginal Community for
Aboriginal adult education classes in craft and furniture making. Many of the adults at the classes have their children at the education centre during the day.
Students come from Koondoola, Lockridge and Koongamia in the Kora community bus driven by Mr Alec Yarren. The bus has been on loan also to Moora school this year. ~
An investment in the A.D.F. is an investment for you. Your savings are put to work entirely within the Church: FOR YOUR CHILDREN FOR YOUR PARISH FOR YOUR ARCHDIOCESE
I/We hereby invest a sum of money as a loan to the Archbishop of Perth for use in the Archdiocesan Development Fund in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Fund.
NAMES Mr/Mrs/Miss (Full Christian Names) (Surname / s) (Telephone No .)
ADDRESS PERIOD AND INTEREST AMOUNT OF LOAN (indicate period) (indicate amount)
Also, she overlooks the reason for the very existence of the mission of Christ and of His community: That mankind needs redemption and healing.
During his time in Perth Father Rayson founded and directed the Julian Singers. issue, hence labelling homosexuals as immoral or amoral people who consciously reject God by behaving in a way they know they must not. Research has shown that homosexuality has its raison d'etre rather in emotional, psychological and environmental factors and that immorality as a motivating basis is not really the issue.
The Church wot1ld fail in her mission if She were not --------------------, striving to reach all men
and women irrespective of who and what they are.
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THE ARCHDIOCESAN DEVELOPMENT FUND. Sixth Floor, 12 Victoria Avenue Perth 6000 or make your telephone enquiry direct to the Fund Manager, John F. Walsh, on 325 5950 (after hours 385 9448).
All Christians......... • ' ' '· ' • everywhere to celebrate
As Christianity has spread across the globe, one half of the Church celebrates its Christmas in the cold snow and ice of the European midwinter while the continents of Africa, Australia and South America bask in the mid-summer heat and sunshine.
The first Christmas celebrations of the Church at Rome grew up when people faced a similar difference of outlook. The problem was sun worship, but of a different kind.
Great r eligious energy in the anc ient Mediterranean world was directed to sun cults. The Roman festival of the Unconquered Sun fell on December 25, the day the calendar identified as t he darkest day of the year. Thi s was also the day the weakened sun began to ga in strength, to overcome the darkness. The days beca me longer again. The Ro ma ns celebrated it as t he birthday of the sun.
Festivals popular
rebirth of the cosmic sun, but as the nativity of the Lord Jesus
Like most great traditions, it was already established in popular practice before public notice of it was taken.
The earliest public record of a feast of the nativity on December 25 appears on an official Roman calendar in the year 354. Does that mean the Church didn't celebrate the birthday of Jesus from the very beginning? Probably not.
The original and central annual festival in remembrance of the Lord Jesus, dating from the apostles, was the three days of Easter marking his death and resurrection.
An ancient document titled Of Solstices and Equinoxes has survived to give us insight into the Ev erybody likes a festi- origins of the Christmas va l, and t he Christians who feast. live d in Rome at the end of It is the work of a Christhe th ird century and the tian building a case from b eginning of the fourth the date of the death of were no exception. Jesus at the spring equiLike others, they could be nox suggesting that the found at the civic-religious life and death of Jesus were gatherings honouring the tied up with the seasons of b irthday of the sun. By the sun being there, they were inev- According to the itably caught up in reli- unknown writer, when gious ceremonies that Paul wrote to the Epheprofessed belief in the sians , he already knew Roman gods. Christ as the genuine Sun ,
Nobody knows who for he had encouraged began the Christian coun- them with a hymn: Awake, terfestival at Rome, cele- sleepers Rise and Christ brating the day not for the will shine upon you
The work holds that Christians should celebrate the nativity of the Lord Jesus December 25 because of the words of Malachi
On that day when God acts decisively for the salvation of the world, promised Malachi, "the Sun of justice shall rise up."
This is the one that the evangelist John called the light which enlightens everyone who comes into the world.
These themes of Christ as Sun and light and victory over darkness resound in the liturgy of Christmas, the day of "Christmasses."
In the opening prayer at the midnight Mass the Church asks: "Make this holy night radiant with the splendor of Jesus our light."
In the Mass at dawn the Church sings as the responsorial psalm, "A light will shine on us this day ."
light in darkness
In the Mass of Christmas Day, the alleluia verse rings out, "Today, a great light has come upon the earth," as all stand to hear the Gospel of John, "The light shines in darkness , a darkness that did not over-
come it ."
For the thousands of refugees in today's world there are no Christmas festivities, no turkey, ham or plum pudding. They are grateful for a loaf of bread or a bowl of rice.
The very young and the very old figure prominently among refugees the world over.
ABOVE: A Vietnamese grandmother comforts her grandson in a refugee camp.
RIGHT: Refugees from Somalia.
Pope John Paul called the refugee problem "perhaps the greatest human tragedy of our day the Church is ever mindful that Jesus Christ himself was a refugee therefore the Church feels herself called to help refugees."
Please send your donations to Australian Catholic Relief, PO Box J 124, Brickfield Hill, NSW, 2000. ~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIII§ Ad ~lation of other lights
i wE NEE D 1= kei~~~ e;~~ldth~~ft~p!!~
5 centuries ago.
5 Cl h k. h bl d h • a But the message of the 5 ot es, 1tc en ta es an c airs, ii "Christmasses," first
§ single and double beds and mat- I sounded in Rome on i tresses, kitchen untensils, cutlery, § December 25 during the wardrobes, dressing tables, cots, § th_ird _ and fourth centurr , § prams, pushers ~• r~~rmgonthesamedaym
bombings not solving problem
§ Anything useless to you 5 It remains simple and § may be useful to us 5 direct: The light which LONDON (NC) - R t b b- i - s overcomes the world's dar- ecen Om
1Gf V£ us A CALL~ ·kness is ours in Christ ings in Great Britain were coni W II t = JTes-hust. · hf demned as an outrage by members of ii e co ec = a IS reason enoug or h I . h Ch I . s h 5i § sunbathers and winter t e rlS ap amcy C eme, a ii St Vincent de Paul sle~p~;s to " awake and Dublin-based organisation of priests,
444 5- 041 §!; ame th~oughout the brothers and nuns. j = world to give God thanks
§!l together at Christmas. In a statement issued at its ,recent annual Jff11111111U1UIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIQIIUUIIDUIIUWIUUUllllli; .__________ conference in London, the Irish chaplains 7, organisationhca 1 11ed rfecGendt bodmbings 'd'totatl_ly STRALIA opposed tot e aws o o an man an no in [ JOY FOR CAPUCHINS OF AU ] the interest of achieving a just solution to the problems that exist in Northern Ireland."
Constitutions , 22: , -~--.... The Irish Chaplaincy Scheme works among Irish [ ·' Every brother whom God sends to the ] people in England at the request of the English bishops and in conjunction with the local churches. fraternity brings joy and offers us an _ Its members are based in parishes and centres, mostly incentive to be renewed in the spirit of ] in the London area and Birmingham.
our vocation.'' Maybe God wishes to They work in hostels for the homeless and for young people and as chaplains in hospitals and hotels. send you to us • • • 'f.he chaplains called on fellow Irishmen "to do every' thing in their power to ensure that those who carry out such deeds were brought to justice."
Please write to Fr Peter Julian
The chaplains also stated that detention under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act someimescaused unneces-
sary
(Established W.A.
.)
Buildersof: New Pipe Organs. Restoration & Extensions.
Call to • wipe Schools heart of the churchout Mafia
PALERMO, Sicily (NC) - Calling the Mafia "'a punishment from God," Sicily's top Roman Catholic churchman has urged citizens to fight back against the crime wave that has plagued the Italian island's major city.
Cardinal Salvatore Pappalardo, of Palermo, spoke in his cathedral at Mass to ask God's blessing on the city and to mobilise residents and city officials in the fight against crime. Victimised by an intraMafia war over control of drug traffic, the city has witnessed 91 ganglandtype murders during the past year.
Cardinal Pappalardo said a "complex network" links perpetrators of the most violent crimes with those who deal in contraband, dru_gs and prostitution.
"A conspiracy of silence and protectionism allows crime to perdure," he said.
The churchman in his homily warned citizens against adopting an attitude of indifference against any crime, saying that such a surrender "would signify an even greater evil."
Addressing office-holders and police officials who were among the hundreds attending the Mass, Cardinal Pappalardo told them that "many adults and young people of this city are very tired of being held under the oppressive control of criminals."
Urging residents of Palermo to take common action in speaking out against crime and corruption, the cardinal said, "The Mafia is a punishment from God. Certainly prayers are not enough."
BID TO CHANGE SUBMARINE NAME
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S. bishops at their annual meeting voted support for an effort to change the name of the U .S.S. Corpus Christi, an American nuclear attack submarine launched in April.
The submarine was named in honour of the citr of Corpus Christi, Taxas. But the name is Latin for "the Body of Christ," and opponents have protested that it is blasphemous to put the name on a ship that is an instrument of war.
ROME (NC) - The Catholic school is "'at the very heart of the Church," Pope John Paul II said as he spoke to more than 7,000 De La Salle Brothers, students and parents in Rome.
The pope urged the and sacrifice, total dedicabrothers to "be faithful to tion to the educative misyour original vocation of sion and inexhaustible being 'apostles of the faith in young people and a school'," a vocation which great love for the Lord." the pontiff said "is arduous and demands renunciation Pope John Paul praised the I 7th-century founder of the brothers for his perceptiveness in reading the needs of his times.
PRIESTS TOLD TO LEAVE
ROME - Pope John Paul II mourned the expulsion of 11 Xaverian priests from Burundi and led prayers for ''the entire
church in Burundi, which
Among these, said the pope, were "the formatio n of good teachers, the coinvolvement of students and their parents in educational activity, a fraterna l atmosphere of rappor t between teachers and students founded on respect, trust and love, a valid religious formation nourishe d by catechesis and by the liturgical life, (and) the establishment of schools diversified according to the particular needs of the youth of his day "
a~'Pea
for Albanians
Paper off to Poland
Enough paper has been sent into Poland to enable 87,500 Bibles and 120,000 New Testaments to be printed there between October, 198 I and January, 1982.
The Australian Bible Society general secretary, the Rev James R. Payne, who is also United Bible Societies World Executive Committee Chairman, said that money for the paper came from Christians in a number of western countries, including Australia.
Mr Payne said that more than 155,000 kilos of paper costing $165,000 had been sent to Poland.
The general secretary said that there was a continuing strong demand for the Scriptures in Poland.
remains deprived of the aid of those priests. "
Th~ pope said he wa_nted Burundi, one of the poor-
The pope urged the students present "to know how to appreciate the gift and the privilege of attending a Catholic school" and "to know how to make this 'talent' which is given you develop."
He suggested that the students should "listen atte ntively and welcome the Gospel message which the school proposes to you.
ATHENS - The bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church have appealed for religious freedom in the communistruled country of Albania. "A better future for society and for civi lisation depends on the quality of the preparation of young people in sch ool," the pope said.
"Four hundred thousand Greek Orthodox believers of ancient Christian tradition have been brutally forced to live without God and without religion," the appeal said. "Today, there is not even a bishop, all priests have been forced to leave their ministry, and churches have been converted into museums or amusement centres." Communist since 1944, Albania has conducted the most systematic campaign against religion in Eastern Europe. The Mediterranean nation of some 2. 7 million people abolished all religious institutions in 1967 and declared itself the "first atheist state in the world."
The Orthodox bishops lamented the fact that their coreligionists in Albania have been deprived of baptism and Christian burial and have had to go without any liturgical services even on Christmas and Easter.
"Thousands of faithful have been thrown in gaol
Law is necessary
VA TI CAN CITY (NC) - The Church's proposed new Canon Law Code is necessary, so that the Church can live according to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, according to Pope John Paul.
Speaking to 70 Canon lawyers and judges of marriage courts, the pope called the prooosed code "a pastoral and juridical instrument by which the fruits of the council can acquire greater certainty and solidarity."
The pope told the church's legal experts that the proposed code "is necessary for the Church so that it can live each day in its actions and in its institutions according to the spirit and discipline of the council.
"Justice ought to be observed," added the pope "but in a Christian spirit, for the honour of God and the true earthly and eternal good of mankind."
6 The Record, December 24-30, 1981
for the simple fact of being Christians," said the bishops' appeal. "Such oppression of religious sentiment is not found in any other country with a totalitarian atheistic government."
Orthodox bishops after a general triennial meeting held recently, exhorted church members in Albania to remain strong in their faith. If pledged the hierarchy not only to pray for them but to work for liberation for the Church in Albania.
to give the expelled pnests est and most densely popuword of comfort for the lated countries in Africa s~crifice of_ having left the has about 4 million people'. field of their apostolate. About half the population "But above all I cannot is Catholic. help but think with anxiety In 1972 an unsuccessful of those peoples and the rebellion by the Hutu tribe entire church in Burundi, left about 100 000 Hutu which remains deprived of and 10 000 Tutsi tribesmen the aid of those priests," he dead. 'Another 100,000 added, askin_g prayers for people fled to nearby cenboth the pnests and the tral African nations
people. _ because of the fighting. The 11 pnests received About 100 missionaries orders from th~ govern- were 'expelled f.ro_m ment of Burundi to leave Burundi two years ago. the country within 48 The latest government hours. The government expulsion leaves four missaid the reason for the siosn and two Burundi dioexpulsions was "subversive ceses without clerical
The document, issued in the name of all Greek activity." personnel.
I'here are more than
10,000 De La Salle in 80 countries. They staff nearly 900 educatio nal institutions, enrolling 900,000 students.
I :J ~1: t•l t.11: Ii i-~•I•i l;.J ill =l•ll,
AMARILLO, Texas - Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen opposes nuclear bombs. Up until this year, he says, he had never spoken out on the issue. Then his conscience was touched by a worker who helped manufacture the bombs. The worker and his wife were troubled over the morality of the job the husband was performing.
Now Bishop Matthiesen has become one of the most prominent anti-nuclear spokesmen among the U.S. bishops.
Earlier this year he testified against placing the MX missile anywhere in the United States. He called on Catholics working at the Pantex plant in his diocese, final assembly point for the whole U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons, to ask themselves whether in conscience the~ could justify the work they were doing.
In a speech in New York he gave a profile of himself. "My grandfather had left Germany in 1870 to seek a farm and a wife and to escape from the interminable wars of his day. In the words of my Aunt Hattie, he 'did not like war'.
"My father turned out to be something of a pacifist, too, though he seems to have readily acceded when, at the age of 12, I suggested that it would be nice if Santa Claus gave me a rifle for Christmas. It was Steven 22 caliber single shot rifle and it wa precious to me
"I had chance encounters with guns through the years. Once, in a pickup , a nfle
in my hands went off accidentally. The bullet sped within inches of a friend's head. I said, limply, "I didn't know the gun was loaded."
"After I released a statement about the assembling of the neutron born b at Pantex (final assembly point for all U.S. nuclear warheads, 15 miles from Amarillo) our church paper polled 50 students at West Texas State University, 35 miles from Pantex.
"The majority of the students either had never heard of Pantex, or, if they had, did not know what it was for. They literally did not know that thermonuclear warheads capable of incredible destruction are being loaded out there.
"A former employee at Pantex wondered out loud why I had issued a statement against the neutron bomb. After all, she observed, the neutron bomb destroys buildings and tanks and things like that and does not hurt people.
"When someone said, 'Honey, it's the other way around: The bomb destroys people, cremates and vaporises them, but does not harm buildings and tanks with its radiation,' her mouth fell open. She didn't know with what it is they are loading the guns at Pantex. She just didn't know.
"That, I submit, is our major problem. We don't know, and, sadly, some of us would rather not know.
"We still are thinking in traditional terms of self-defense, of armies meeting on battle fields free of civilians, of honour and glory.
"I know that this is the situation, because until very recently that is where I was.
"I really paid little attention to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, grateful only that the war was over soon thereafter and that my brother could come home. I did not realise then what
I =I
it was with which the guns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were loaded.
"For 33 years I lived and continue to live at the very portals of Pantex, and for those 33 years I said nothing either as a priest or a bishop until a Catholic employee an d his wife came to me with troubled consciences. They had begun to think that what he was doing was wrong.
"Other events had preceded them I finally was moved to speak. I had come to the realisation, with Martin Luther King, Jr., that the choice really is between nonviolence and non-existence. I finally could no longer say, 'I didn't know the gun was loaded.'
"What followed the release of my statement was a revelation to me. The peace movement is very strong in the United States. The mail is running over 95 per cent in favour of nuclear disarmament
"In my town the community leaders shook their heads and said, 'The bishop is an idealist. We wish we could do what he urges, but we live in a real world and in this real world we must arm ourselves with nuclear weap ons in order to defend our free way of life, our economy, and, yes, even our churches.
"I suggest that this is the greatest unreality, the greatest illusion of all. Pile the stocks of nuclear arms as high as you will, refine them as expertly as you wish, you cann ot deter others thereby from doing the sam e. Indeed, you force them, in their delusion, to do so.
"And speak not of stockpiles in the U.S. and in the U.S.S.R. only, but speak of stockpiles in country after country and thus insure the final reality:
."The world at the point of no return a~d this last civilisation vaporising in the white heat of the final noonday sun."
By BOB BOYLE
EN TRY INTO RADIO WAS NOT EASY
A life-long interest in music and high school activity in the enter~ tainment field gradually dissipated Greg Pearce's early ambition to become a teacher.
In a brass band he played the euphonium, tenor horn and drums and he was a member of a schoolboy pop band that performed at youth clubs and church functions in Sunbury.
His increasing taste for the entertainment world pushed thoughts of becoming a dominie to the back of his mind. They disappeared entirely when he first spoke into a 6TZ microphone as part of a Leaving English publicspeaking option. He was going to be a radio announcer, and that was that. But it was easier said than done. Openings were few, and his application was knocked back every time a vacancy occurred.
Practised
He knew a fellow who worked at 6TZ Early every morning Greg rode his bike to the studio and practisedvery unofficially - on the broadcasting equipment. Finally persistence paid off and one of his applications for a staff berth at the station was accepted.
That was in 1969 and basically the 18-year-old's first job was to handle musical programmes , but really he had to be a jack-of-all trades.
Writing advertising copy, recording commercials , outside broadcasts from stores - you name it , he had to do it.
" It was great all-round training that later stood me in very good stead ," Greg reflects·.
It was in this 18 months that his preference for compereing musical programmes started to shift to news reading , which is now his No. I love although he enjoys all facets of broadcasting.
On a holiday visit to Perth , he popped into 6IX to see how a big station was run. Fate was kind During his inspection , quite unexpectedly he
would not have been happy. TV news readers have their trials an c And at all times, no matter what tribulations, Greg avers. chaos was going on behind the scenes, you had to sound as though you were Every now and again in the middle o! thoroughly in command of the situa- a bulletin one of the big studio lighH tion. will explode with a noise like the crad
"This sometimes still happens on the of doom, frightening the wits out of ABC," he observes ruefully. t~e- read~r who has to pr~ss on with nc
Towards the end of his period of v1S1ble disturbance to his aplomb. nearly five years with 6IX, the station There are the mental blocks when yo t. m?ved out to the c;hannel ~even pre- just can't handle a word you have promises at Tuart HIil. In ~is_ last l2 nounced correctly a thousand times months there Greg's assoc1at10n with television - mainly as a weekend news reader - gradually strenghened. Since his transfer to the ABC, he has Bulletin , become well known for his TV news Hearing people mis-pronounc e reading and for the musical pro- words is a job hazard. If you don't cas : grammes he runs on 6WF. the gaffe completely out of you r mind In 1978 he was voted by deaf people you are likely to butcher the word simto be the best news reader on television milarly the next time it crops up in a because of his clear enunciation and bulletin. the ease with which the hard-of- Greg welcomed the chance to go tc hearing could lip-read him. Melbourne in 1979 and his 18 month ~ But life with Aunty wasn't meant to there broadened his experienc e conbe easy , either. siderably. He was what he describes as
was asked to do an audition and shortly afterwards gladly accepted the There was the time, for mstance , a _"spare~parts man" filling in on many offer of a job as an IX announcer. when 30 se~onds before Greg was to different programmes, including He handled musical programmes for st~rt the mam Channel T~o news_bul- broadcasting on Radio Australia. a while , then transferred to sporting letm at 7pm ~n electncal failure He also worked in Sydney twice sessions blacked the studio out. while he was away
After a frantic rush by Greg and crew Now he reads the news once or twice
Interested
"We were the official TAB station at the time and very interested in all forms of sport," he recollects. "If anything moved , we broadcast it."
Being the studio link man for all sorts of sporting broadcasts certainly had its moments.
For example, races sometimes started late and two events indifferent states would be on at the same time Which one to put to air? You picked what you thought was the more important one, but the aficianados didn't always agree with your choice.
In this welter from the great outd ors and sometimes indoors , you had to fit commercials in somehow otherwise the advertisers - your meal tickets -
down the corridor to a second studio , a week, runs radio sporting sessions the bulletin went to air on time. every now and again , operates musical programmes on 6WF and occasionHowever, _this second studio was not ally ventures into the classical music as well e_qu1p~ed as the one they had field on 6WN which he enjoys as a left and m which the fault that caused change the exodus had by now been allegedly • fixed.
For the most part Greg feels that he
So they all rushed back to where they has done thin_gs right on both radio had come from while an overseas news a nd TV , but h k~ all oth~r humans he clip was being shown. blunders from time to time.
But horrors! The breakdown had "This is where I have always found been only partially remedied and there most helpful the feed-back l get from was no power to operate some of the the public, my peers and my bosses ," cameras. Dash No . 2 to the second he says. studio was on.
They toughed it out because they had no option
Pearce fans now know why he appeared a bit fuzzy towards the end of the bulletin and why occasionall y he seemed to be looking in the wrong direct ion
He is again reporting tennis for The Record after a break while he was away "I've always enjoyed the game, but I'm no champion," he declares One imagines that well-muscled 6ft 4in fr a me would pa ck a terrifi c first service The Record, December 24-30, 1981 7
In Archdiocesan Country Parishes
SUNDAY
BADGINGARRA
BAKER'S HILL
BALLIDU
BEACON
BENCUBBIN
BEVERLEY
BINDI BINDI
BINDOON
BOLGART
BOULDER
BROOKTON
BRUCE ROCK
BULLFINCH
BULLSBROOK
COOLGARDIE
CORRIGIN
CUNDERDIN
DALWALLINU
DANDARAGAN
DOWERIN
GINGIN
GOO MALLING
GUILDER TON
HERNE HILL
HYDEN
JENNACUBBINE
JURIEN
KALANNIE (Ang. ch.)
KALGOORLIE
KAMBALDA
KARLGARIN
KELLERBERRIN
KONDININ
KOORDA
KULIN
LANCELIN
LEONORA / LAVERTON
MARVEL LOCH
MECKERING
MERREDIN
MILING
MOORA
,MOORINE ROCK
MT HAMPTON
MT WALKER
MUKINBUDIN
MUNTADGIN
NA REM BEEN
NORTHAM
NUNGARIN
PINGELLY
WONGAN HILLS
WUNDOWIE
WY ALKATCHEM
YEALERING
YORK
Saturdays: 6.30 p.m.
8.00 a.m.
7 p.m.
p.m.
8 a.m. 8 a.m. IO a.m. IO a.m. 8 a.m.
noon long weekends and school holidays
8 a.m. (every Sunday).
IO a.m. 8 a.m. Sat 7.15 p.m. Every Sunday 8.30 a.m. 1st, Sunday 11 a.m. Cervantes: 4th. 11 a.m.
LITHUANIAN Mass: St Francis Xavier, EaSl Perth: I I a.m.
FRENCH Mass: St Thomas More Chapel: 9 a.m. 1st Sunday.
MALTESE Mass: Bassendean : 6 p.m. 4th • Sun
'The Word was made Flesh
The Word was made flesh. Not spirit, nor mind, nor thought, but Flesh. And so we have a new reason for reverencing every flesh-encased soul, that is, every person. Especially every infant person. Every person, on the face of the earth.
For Pope John Paul, Christmas is the feast of all the children of the world, without distinction of race, nationality, language, or origin. Christ's first day on this earth speaks to us of them all. They are our love and our tomorrow.
Every child can remind us of the Christ-child, every child can remind us that the Word took on the flesh of a child. A child is always vulnerable. A child cannot defend itself, a child can easily be the victim of men's cold and resentful hearts.
There was no room for them in the inn. The Child was unwanted in the inn. And after his birth, the Child was not wanted by the men of power and might. He had to be taken into exile in Egypt, lest his fate be the same as that of the other babes in the vicinity who fell victims to Herod's soldiers.
There are many inns today in which the sign "Not Wanted" is hung for the Child. There are. many places today where the flesh of children is torn apart, is treated with total violence and brutality. Even 2,000 years after the Birth in Bethlehem, 2,000 years after the Word's taking to itself a child's flesh, society still tolerates those who slay children. Today the slayers, the abortionists, are even given a measure of honor and respect, and their evil deeds are paid for by governments.
Abortion and the death camps have taught us of the twenthieth century what man can do to man, what evil the heart of man is capable of.
The worst death camp of all was Auschwitz. A death camp which was situated within the boundaries of the Diocese of Cracow. Later there would come to that diocese as bishop, Karol Woytyla. And later still that same Woytyla would become the Bishop of Rome.
In his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, the new Pope spoke of Christ and man, Christ and every man, the Word made flesh for every man at Bethlehem, "made sin" for every man on Calvary. This encyclical, as the Pope himself explained in his speech at Auschwitz when he visited there in 1979, was dedicated "to the cause of man, to the dignity of man, to the threats to him, and finally to his inalienable rights that can so easily be trampled on and annihilated by his fello\Y man". At Auschwitz too he pointed out that that very People who had received from the Lord the command: "Thou shalt not kill" itseH at Auschwitz and in the other camps e>Eperienced in a special manner what is meant by killing.
by
Father Dennis O'Brien, assistant priest, parish of Glenroy, Victoria, as published in The Catholic Weekly, Sydney.
It seems that the Pope wants to place the Church of the closing decades of this century firmly and eloquently and imaginatively on the side of man.
Christmas 1981 , the feast of the Word made flesh of a man, flesh of a child, calls us to labor for every man, for every child. Christmas calls us to begin the construction of a counter-culture in which the flesh of every man and every child is reverenced and honored. A culture which accepts each person not for their achievements actual or potential but simply for what they are, images of the Incarnate Word. A culture which sees in every child the Word who became a Child.
Mother Teresa at the Melbourne Town Hill called on us to go in search of the iost Child and bring him home. Today's culture has in so many ways driven the child from his home. We are now called to the great task of restoring to the Child his place of honor. We are summoned to go to all those inns of the world where the child is unwanted and there to plead for him, there to try to care for him, there to argue for him, there to pray for him.
Now is the time for the Church to hold up a sign saying: "Yes to new life". Now is the time for the Church to honor and bless and glorify children and childbirth and pregnancy and motherhood and fatherhood as never before.
That "Yes" of the Church needs to be visibly and tangibly incarnated in a multitude of ways. The people of our parishes need to be able to feel and see and hear in a variety of signs and symbols the great "Yes" in favor of life. In contrast with and opposition to a society that speaks out against and prevents and controls and destroys new life our Church and our parishes must labor to provide a welcome to new life, a blessing for new life, an encouragement to those who courageously undertake the task of bringing new life into the world.
Now is the time for the Church to bless every expectant mother, to celebrate births with blessings and home Masses, to give every newborn babe a Miraculous Medal. Now is the time to bless Mothers on Mothers' Day and Fathers on Fathers' Day, to bless families and children on St Gerard's Day, to have services of reparation and blessing on Holy Innocents' Day.
Children and babies and mothers and fathers need to be surrounded by the Church with every love and attention, with a multitude of sacramentals and blessings.
The perennial call of Christmas is somehow more needed today than ever before; the call to be on the side of man and on the side of life; the call to praise and celebrate life; the call to pay attention to the life of every man; the call to be with every man in the great joys and sorrows of his life. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
Choose your lasting gifts from our wide selection of books, statues, rosaries, crosses and chains, jewellery missals, bibles, wallplaques, pictures, gift vouchers, cassettes, records, calendars, monastique cosmetics and toiletries and many other fine items.
IMAGIC IN CHRISTMAS I IHAS LONG ENCHANTED~
If.
-ft
There is a magic in the name of
~i!t Ch · h · h h h 11 d
fl: r1stmas w IC as ent ra e b F h
Chnstmas legend, it is the account of how the eternal :i!t
LEON L MITCHEL WordofGodtookflesh.
• men and women through the cen- y at er . I_t is a beautiful story, because God i~ the Supr~me
;·
:,?I • A 11 · d artist, and whatever he does, he does with perfection,:,. M-= tunes. mong a nations an peo- ..,___________________. but most important, it is a true story. -/1-
Ip Ies Ch r is t ma s has been a The English word itself bears a unique witness to the This doe s not mean t_hat all ~f the details are necessar-, particularly holy time meaning of the feast, Christmas: the celebration of the ~ly accurate, but _that It ~escnbes the truest and most • f • Eucharist in honour of Christ. important event m the history of the world. ~·
In our own culture we have Christmas trees, Christ- But Christmas is not simply a birthday party for the When God saw that man did not respond completely j mas presents, Christmas cards, and Santa Claus-all to Baby Jesus, although that would fit in quite well with the to His love, and had allowed himself to become so~
.f.k mark this season. sentimental picture which our secular society paints for completely estranged from his Creator that the gulf
:i?t Mo,~t p~op~e know Charles Dickens's "Christmas us every year.
Ibetween us was impassable, He did not cease to love us. :,.
/(~ Car?l , with ~ts story of the man who did not keep We do not, in fact, know when Jesus' birthday He called us again and again through His prophets,
-A Chnstmas. His very name, Scrooge, has become a occurred. The Church was never particularly concerned but we did not listen to their words of life and love. So
:~ household word for those who are mean and narrow. about the date. God acted again, and the Word was made flesh. :,.
M! Jne secular Christmas songs and trad~tional Christ- December 25 was apparently chosen because it was The Word was incarnate in a human Baby whom his IJ: ,. mas c~rols blared from a th ousand_ pubhc address sys- already a festival. It was, before calendar reform mother named Jesus, which means the Lord is Victory
: terns m the most crassly commercial way to promote straightened things out, the date of the winter solstice
rJ Christmas sales, remind us _of how deeply Christmas has when the days begin to increase in length. THE WORD
-ft penetrated our secular society. Thi d • t d t t th 1 R
:,"!f When Oliver Cromwell in the 17th Century forbade s seeme an appropna e
O e ear Y oman :,. ,
If. the celebration of Christmas the people of London ChriS tians to celebrate the birth of the Sun of The Word whic~ we did not ~ear bt:ga~ to act-to 1 .
rioted against him. Righteousness. love, to suffer, to die, and then to nse agam, and we saw ,, In their celebration they read, not St. Luke's beautiful his glory".
,, ,· IIP'ART OF LIFE" story of the birth in Bethlehem which has come so This is what happens at Christmas. 11
Q __,.._______ appropriately to be the Gospel of the midnight Mass but
the powerful words of St. John, which for many centur- On this day we celebrate the action of God which :,,
fl: Christmas is not only a part of our faith, but of ?Ur ies were read not only at Christmas, but as a 'last Gospel' made it possible for us to have a share in that "glory" , to A~
life, and the world would be a very different place with- - throughout the year: be immersed in the Paschal mystery of the death rising Q
• out it.
In the beginning was the Word: again of Him whose taking flesh Christmas celebrates. =;•~
: Of course the secular world frequently tries to bli nd the Word was with God · · • us to the re~l meaning of Christmas, and to obscure in and the Word was God
One of the ancient prayers of the Chnst~as Mass ' bright coloured lights and sentimental music, the eternal The Word was made flesh, prays that as He took _a share of our humanity' so we ,.
~f The story of the birth in Bethlehem becomes simply and we saw his glory,
IJ· truth to which Christmas bears witness. he lived among us, may have a share of his Godhead. IJ.
The Word was made flesh, so that flesh, that is men
If. another beautiful Christmas story, a part of the "myth" the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, and women. might be raised up to have a part in God's {J,~
that makes the wonder of the season, with its message of full of grace and truth. eternal life. ft : peace and love.
: Perhaps what we Christians need to do is look behind , TRUE STORY
No wonder the angels sang! :,rt
It is worth ajl the fuss and commotion, and even the IJ~ a the glitter of the tinsel ~nd the se~t!men~ality_ of most c_ommercialisation, for "The Word was made flesh and .a :J Christmas cards to consider what it is which gives sub- It is this, _and this alone, which gives meaning to the lived among us, o come, let us adore Him" _ NC
M"~ stance to the celebration of Christmas. other Chnstmas story. Feature Service.
Bowra & O'Dea, the longest established Catholic Funeral Directors in Western Australia are proud to have served the Catholic Community of this State since 1888.
For Tiwi children there is no visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve but they do not miss out on the gift giving started by the three Oriental kings on the first Christmas Day.
Presents arrive in the island store on the two pay days before Christmas and the place comes alive with push bikes, toy guns and the usual stockings and baubles which brighten the eyes of children
Like those of us down south, the Tiwi people, of Bathurst Island, have been preparing for Christmas in their own individual manner. Their story is told here by Father Tim Brennan, M. S. C., of St Therese's Mission on the island and David Marchbanks, of the Territory· Digest. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Tiwi people have a great and obvious love for children and the feast of Christmas speaks to them in a way that resonates with their own values and love of children," said Father Brennan. "It is a special feast of families and children.
"Plans are made for a big feast of turtle of dugong but whether that happens depends on the skills of the hunter, the weather and the turtle and dugong themselves ," he concluded. David Marchbanks now takes up the story as he told it in the Territory Digest.
Tropical downpours have been the order of the day as it is the wet season, the time of cyclone Tracey and its ilk. A mood of prayerful preparation has descended on the community. Children have been learning Christmas carols in English and Tiwi. Dancers are preparing for the Mass and wayward souls consider approaching the sacrament of reconciliation As midnight Mass gets under way beneath the stars, the celebrant prays the rain will hold off and the congregation watches for signs of a dog fight disrupting the spirit of the occasion.
THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
To the Tiwi people, they were the ones chosen to inherit the earth. Or so they believed until comparatively recent times. When the British estabTh is is what Tiwi lished their fort, the warmeans - we, the riors crossed the strait to chosen people. attack.
It was not that they The soldiers--, showed no thought they were better territorial ambition for than everyone else, simply Tiwi land and a watchful • that they did not know peace prevailed until the there were other people. fort was abandoned for It was in 1824 that they lack of water and the learned of other men, when plague of disease. the British first attempted Today, the Tiwis stilljealto settle Northern Australia. ously guard their island, Soldiers set up For Dun- but they do so with das on Melville Island, friendly, laughing smiles separated by a kilometre- and a wave for anyone wide strait from their within sight. island of Bathur~t. For Bathurst belongs to Bathurst - 80 km north the Tiwis, as an Aboriginal of Darwin - was divided reserve. among more than 20 And the chosen people tribes, each with fearsome, choose who they want as painted warriors defending visitors. No-one may land their boundaries and on the 2000 sq km island guarding their women. without the permission of the island council.
The Tiwis accept Western ways while retaining much of their own culture.
Their most recent enterprise is tourism , and it complements the other established industries of pottery, wood-carving, design and screen-printing and garment manufacture
Friendly relations with the world outside began with the establishment of a Catholic mission in 191 l.
The Tiwi people have come a long way since then. without losing the love and enjoyment of their land. They live in houses, work for wages, shop at the local store and buy take-away food - all in a neat township of 1200 people.
But for weekends and holidays they go back to the bush, live in traditional shelters of leaves and bran ches and hunt for their food.
Tiwi enterprise is supported by missionaries and white artisans
accepted
retained
A major island industry is manufacturing fencing posts, from felling the timber to milling and chemically treating the posts for the finished export product. But the attraction for tourists is the products that depend on the ancient arts of the Tiwis and their flare for design.
Berna Wear employs 20 seamstresses making shirts and blouses, skirts and dresses and a range of wallhangings, tablecloths and mats and anything in sewing that has a ready market. They supply the uniforms for all the Catholic schools in the Northern Territory and most of their commercial products find their way to the markets of the southern states of Australia. The expert cutting is supported by the design and screen-printing that draws on the traditional patterns and paintings of the island. Between them, the town of Nguiu can boast a fashion house in its own right The workers are paid award wages , the seamstresses earning about $160 a week
Great meani-ng for the young in this message of love
"Fear not, for I bring you glad tidings of great joy".
This message of the angels to the shepherds on the first Christmas night, has I believe great meaning for the young people of our world today.
A look at the happen-
ings in the world can give one many reasons to be afraid.
As nations build up their defence arm, with sophisticated weaponry the imminence of nuclear holocaust becomes a frightening reality.
As we hear of riots and civil wars in many places riddled with racial and economic unrest we count our blessings, but wonder _ how long we will be so lucky.
As we stand in awe of the rapid technological changes in our modern cities we wonder how long we shall be able to cope.
These and many other dangers bring
Christmas not what it used to be?
BY FR JOHN DWYER YCS CHAPLAIN
darkness and fear into our lives.
We do not have to point at the situation out there to realise the patches of darkness in our world.
Real fear exists in the hearts of many young people as they stand on
the brink of the adult world:
* The fear of not finding the job of one's choice after comp/et,ing studies.
*. The loneliness of ' seeing one's parents living separate lives, even under the same roof
* The misery of having no-one to talk to and feeling misunderstood by friends, brothers, sisters and 'parents.
•• The sadness of those who think or feel, that no-one loves them, but sadder still the unwillingness to give love and to love others. Into this darkness light has shone On Christmas day we cele-
Around this time of Christmas, it is fairly common to hear people say; "Christmas has lost its real meaning," or "Christmas is not what it used to be."
In one sense this could be true and pro liabfy often is. Christmas may well have lost its real meaning for this person, for tha t group of people or for a certain society as a whole.
The danger with remarks of this kind fa that they can create a negative and pessimistic atmosphere and people hearing them often enough may see them as the complete picture.
Their fears are reinforced as they look around and see the commercialisation of Christing attitudes.
If one recalls any great masterpiece or achievement in art or music or in any other field of mas. Christians may feel that the tide of popular thinking is too strong to proce ed against or on which to make any impression even if they do.
Overcome
To counter and overcome a negative and pessimistic atmosphere I think christians need to hear and believe more strongly that Christmas can never and will never lose its full and real meaning.
It is and always will be what it always has been, namely the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of all People. Christmas stands by itself, independent of my views or others' views. It is unaffected by people's various and changhuman endeavour , its beauty , its meaning, its ingenuity is always there whether people appreciate it or not.
I for one, don't know very much about classical music and at present it doesn't really appeal to me. However, classical music doesn't stand or fall because of my attitude toward it.
The lack is in myself, not in classical music.
Masterpieces
So too with Christmas , one of God 's grea t maste rpi ece s. It stands by itself, independent of our appreciation of it. However it is all the better for us if we do tr y more and more to appreciate its full meaning as we go through life.
Let us be thankful for our present understanding of and faith in this gr~t feast of Christmas. With God's help and our own efforts may we continue to grow in those qualities and experience a deeper and richer coming of Our Lord into our lives on this and every Christmas. May that be so for all ofus, our families and for each person in the world.
brate the faci that God pitched His tent among His people. We rejoice that Jesus, the Word, was made flesh. This truth is the source of hope which can give us the courage to dispel the darkness of our lives I hope and pray that this truth will not be submerged in the hearts of young people by over-sumptuous feasting or their vision blinded by the glitter of tinsel. And above all that this wonderful gift of God is not hidden from our minds by the debris of colourful wrapping paper
At midnight Mass I shall pray for all young people of our diocese and world and ask God that each will come to an ever more mature and fuller understanding of the my stery of Christmas
That this t ruth will gi ve hope and jo y to
the li ves of yo ung people And abo ve a ll t hat young people will p ass this message on, in all its richness to th eir friends and later to the ir own children.
A three line greet-
in a christmas card can
joy,
can
Right: Mrs Rose Stains, East Perth.
'Gilts should be a to k en ol God's reat gil to mand· k. '
"
GrahamDouglas -.~-g;
"A true celebration of Christmas should be centred around the birth of Jesus Christ, who did come as a gift from God, but not splendidly wrapped, yet as God made man."
"Giving gifts should be a rememberance of God's great gift to mankind, and perhaps recalling that the three wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Our gift to God, represented by giftgiving, should be the love we have for Him and the love we have for one another.
"Saint Nicholas has been distorted by the comme rcial world and people have forgotten who this great saint of Germany really was. I would take my children to meet 'Santa Claus' but I would also tel1 them about the real St Nicholas and why he did his work for children, in
rememberance of Christ.
"Understanding the real St Nicholas can help us understand Christmas more fully."
GRAHAM DOUGLAS (YCS)
'A magica nigh to eel t e oy, love and the wa mth
"The thousands of people who make their oncea-year pilgrimage to the local church on Christmas eve have always amazed me.
"Some years ago while working in the casualty department of a city hospital on Christmas eve I noticed that many of the nurses and sisters were making plans to go to midnight Mass. For many of them this would be their once-a-year effort.
"Yet on this magical night they were all wanting to go to c!Jurch seemingly to experience the joy, the love and the warmth of Christmas.
"M idnight Mass for them meant a crowded church, carol singing and worship. It also meant being close to many other people who also treasured the occasion.
"It is a shame that the weekly Sunday Mass does not have the same attraction for those once yearly church-goersperhaps we can change this situation.
KEVIN YUEN (YCW)
KevinYuen
'A ense o har onyan peace is re· stored to our troubled world'
"Christmas reminds me that another year has flown by."
"ft seems most fitting that Christmas should denote the passing of the years beeause the christian cycle of life relies upon the sacrifice which was made almost 2000 yea rs ago - a sacrifice which saw the first step taken humbly in a Bethlehem stable.
"If Christ was never born I wonder what my life and the world would be like and whether or not I would have grown up as a Jewish believer.
"Christmas is one time of the year when God's love flows most strongly into the hearts of men
and women because even unbelievers strive to settle their differences, care for the stranger, the aged or underprivileged.
"In a very real way a sense of harmony and peace is restored to our troubled world by people of all walks of life and creeds putting aside their grudges and making it a time of love with family, friends and strangers alike.
ROSEMARYBARKER (CPYJ
TomO'Regan negative things about our lives and let God start leading us , rather than being led by empty promises.
"John the Baptist who prepared away for Christ should be our model.
"Mary is our model of total trust in God. For even though she did - not understand God's plan for her she accepted it.
{;,, RosemaryBarker
'Give up the negative things about our lives and let God lead'
"I think we should be saying to ourselves and to our friends - give up the
"Like Mary we can bring Jesus into our world; in our families, in our workplaces and social lives.
"Gift giving and feasting should not be our only activity.
"We must remember that God has feasted us and given us the best gift ever -· His Son and our Saviour and friend.
TOM O'REGAN YCW Full Timer
'I celebrate being part ol three lamilie
"Christmas is a beautiful and special time for me. "I consider Christmas as a special family time."
"I celebrate being part of three families. My human family which proudly bears the name "Malkovic". The Christian family of which Jesus Christ, Son and Saviour is the head. And thirdly the Catholic Parish Youth Movement 'family' of which I am proud and rejoice that I am part of.
"My Christmas prayer is that all CPY members will be especially blessed
by God, not just at Christmas but for the whole year through. May all our praise and thanks to God be one at Midnight Mass.
JO-ANNE MALKOVIC CPY Co-ordinator
'Without Christ the least has no meaning'
A comment I overheard on the bus the other day was, 'Oh, I wish Christmas was over and done with so everything can get back to normal. Its just a matter of getting presents and getting drunk." How wrong you are l thought to myself. When telling my children about Christmas I will not go overboard in giving huge presents. I think they should just be tokens, the real present is in the heart. Sometimes !get thefeeling people are celebrating their own birthdays and not that of Jesus Christ. To celebrate Christmas I will attend Midnight Mass with my family. At this celebration the true meaning of Christmas is brought to life. People have even shortened the word from Christmas to Xmas. I think that is sad. Without Christ the feast has no meaning. JENNYCASEY(YCW)
Jo-An[1eMatkovic
houghts of ...--------hristm s • •
• Donna Woodman (3rd year Tertiary student) and Jane Hille (awaiting TAE results) both of Dianella, went out into the streets of Perth and asked people questions about the meaning of Christmas.
They walked through the Mall and St. George's Terrace; they met young and old people in fast food outlets, the space invader parlours, in busy city stores and windy arcades.
It was three hours work for them, but they claim it felt like three days.
Two fifteen year old boys playing electronic games said that they would be giving and receiving presents, would go to church and have lunch with their parents.
When a~ked who had told them about Christmas they answered, 11 Mum".
JaneHille
DonnaWoodman
T~e f~mily in the modern world , as much as and perhaps more than any other mst1tut1on, has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have affected society and culture .
•••••••••••••
Edited exc erpts from the December, 1981, Ap ostoli c Exhortation,
The Family and the Modern World
With the creation of man and woman in his own image and likeness, God crowns and brings to perfection the work of his hands:
Thus the fundamental task of the family is to serve life, to actualize in history the original blessing of the Creator - that of transmitting by procreation the divine image from person to person.
The Synod Fathers in 1980 made the following declaration:
"This Sacred Synod, gathered together with the Successor of Peter in the unity of faith, firmly holds what has been set forth in the Second Vatican Council (cf. Gaudium et Spes) and afterwards in the Encyclical Humanae Vitae, particularly that Jove between husband and wife must be fully human, exclusive and open to new life.
The fruitfulness of conjugal Jove is not restricted solely to the procreation of children: it is enlarged and enriched by all those fruits of moral, spiritual and supernatural life which the father and mother are called to hand on to their children, and through the children to the Church and to the Scientific and technical progress not only offers the hope of creating a new and better humanity, but also causes ever greater anxiety regarding the future. •
• world. An anti-life mentality is born, as for example a certaii; panic of ecologists and futurologists w~o
Facing the problems
¥-••¥ ¥'
: The Christian family shares in communion with the! '.t Church. in the earthly pilgrimage towards the full trevetation and manifestation of the Kingdom of God. t ;: The pastoral intervention of the Church in support t ! of the family is a mattet of urgency. t
• Pastoral care for the family should be treated as a : :reaf matter of priority, in the certainty that future• ! evangelization depends largely on the domestic! :church. t
Civil marriage
• • sometimes exaggerate the danger of demographic ,.,-,
! increase to the quality of life.
: A T f :; The Church firmly believes that human life, ,. • even if weak and suffering, is always
Fundamental task of the family - transmitting by procreation the divine image from person to person,
• The Church condemns all those governments or ! ~illmakeitpo~~ibletohelpthe_mandtoovercomethis! public authorities which attempt to limit in any ! mhumancond1tJOnofdegredat1on. • way the freedom of couples in deciding about ! Forthosewhohavenonaturalfamilythedoorsofthe! children.
! greatfamilywhichistheChurch - theChurchwhich ! Any violence applied by such in favour of con! findsconcreteexpressioninthediocesanandparish! traception or, still worse, of sterilization and pro- ! family,inecclesialbasiccommunitiesandinmovements: cured abortion, _must be altogether condemned ! oftheapostolate - mustbeopenedevenwider. .., and forcefully reJected.
! Nooneiswith_outafamilyinthisworl<i;·theChurchisa: Gravely unjust are cases where international ! homeandfam,!yforeveryone,especiallythosewho• economic help is made conditional on pro- ! "labourandareheavyladen". ! grammes of contraception, sterilization and procured abonton.
Preparation
More than every necessary in our times is preparation of young people for marriage and family life.
ot only the family but also society and the Church should be involved in the effort of properly preparing young people for their future responsibilities.
Young people not only lose sight of the correct hierarchy of values but, since they no longer have certain criteria of behaviour, they do not know how to face and deal with the new difficulties
Experience teaches that young people who have been well prepared for family life generally succeed better than others.
The Church must promote better and more intensive programmes of marriage preparation, in order to eliminate as far as possible the difficulties that many married couples find themselves in.
It is to be hoped that the Episcopal Conferences, will take steps to issue a Directory for the Pastoral Care of the Family, and lay down, the minimum content, duration and method of the "Preparation Courses".
Although one must not underestimate the necessity and obligation of the immediate preparation for marriage - which would happen if dispensations from it were easily given - nevertheless such preparation must always be set forth and put into practice in such a way that omitting it is not an impediment to the celebration of marriage.
Couples living in a mixed marriage have special needs:
• The obligations faith imposes on the Catholic party with regard to the free exercise of the faith and the consequent obligation to ensure, as far as is possible, the baptism and upbringing of the children in the Catholic faith.
• The difficulties in the relationships between husband and wife with regard to respect for religious freedom.
An effort should be made to establish cordial cooperation between the Catholic and the non-Catholic ministers from the time that preparations begin for the marriage and for the wedding ceremony even though this is not easy.
With regard to the sharing of the non-Catholic party in Eucharistic Communion, the norms issued by the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity should be followed. This freedom could be violated either by undue pressure to make the partner change his or her beliefs, for by placing obstacles in the way of the In marriages where the nonfree manifestation of these beliefs by baptized person professes no religion religious practice. at all there is a need for Episcopal Marriages between Catholics and Conferences and for individual other baptized persons contain Bishops to ensure that there are numerous elements that could well be proper pastoral safeguards for the made good use of and developed, faith of the ~atholi~ pa~tner and for both for their intrinsic value and for the free exercise of his faith, above all the contribution that they can make in regard to his duty to do all in his to the ecumenical movement. power to ensure the Catholic baptism This is particularly true when both and education of the children of the par~ies are faithful t.o their religious marriage duties. Their common Baptism and the Likewise the Catholic must be dynamism. of grace_ provide the as_sis~ed !n eve':)' possible way to offer spouses with the basis a_nd m?tlv~- within his family a genuine witness to tion for expressmg their umty m the Catholic faith and to Catholic moral and spiritual values. life.
Only a so ci I occasion
The faith of the person asking t e Church for marriage can exist in different degrees, and it is th e pri mary duty of pastors to bring about a rediscovery of this faith and to nourish it and bring it to maturity.
But pastors must also understand the reasons that sacraments by wo_rds and ritural_ elements n~urish and lead the Church also to admit to the celebration of strengthen t~at fa1t~ towards which the mar~ied couple marriage those who are imperfectly disposed. • are_ al_ready_Journe~mg by _re~son of the upnghtness of The decision of a man and a woman to marry IS in th~1r intention, which Chnst s grace certainly does not accordance with a divine plan. fail to favour and suppo~.
The decision to commit their whole lives in indissolu- To lay down further cntena_ that would conc~rn the ble love and unconditional fidelity, involves, even if not level of_fa1th of those to be marned would above mvolve in a fully conscious way, an attitude of profound o~e- grave n_sks : dience to the will of God, an attitude which cannot exist the nsk of makmg unfounded and d1scnmmatory without God's grace Judgm~nts;
In some places engaged couples ask" to be marned in •. the nsk of causmg doubt~ about the validity of _ m~rchurch for motives which are social rather than nages already celebrated, with grave harm to Chnstian genuinely religious This is not surprising com~unities, and n~w and unjustified anxieties to the M · · 1 the per- consciences of marned couples; arnage, is an_event th~t c~n~erns not on_ y atter, • the danger of calling into question the sacramental sons ~ct~ally getting mam~d; it is a~so social rnes of nature of many marriages of brethren separated from con:imittmg the couple bemg mamed m the ey fun communion with the Catholic Church, thus contrasoc1ety. fre'oic· diet ng ecclesial tradition. Its celeb~at10n has always ~~en an oc~as10n o l However, when in sp ite of all efforts engaged couples mg that bnngs together fam11Ies and fnends. show that they reject expl icitly and formally what the Social as well as personal motives enter into the' Church intends to do when the marriage of baptised request to be married in church. Bap· persons is celebrated , the pastor_ of souls cannot admit Nevertheless, engaged coupl~s, by yirtue oft_heir ov· them to the celebration of marnage. tism, ar~ already really sharers m Christ's marnageC In spite of his reluctance to do so, he has the duty to enent with the Church make it clear that in these circumstances, it is not the By their' right intention, they have a ccept_ed q~d;, Church that is pl~cing an o_bstacle in the way of the plan regarding marriage and therefore at least unphcit celebration that they are a~kmg _for, but themselves. consent to what the Church intends to do when sh Once more there appears rn all its urgency the need for celebrates marriage evangelisation and catechesis before and after marriage, Thus the fact that motives of a social nature alsc effected by the whole Christian community, so that enter in'to the request is not enough to justify refusal on every man and woman that gets married celebrates the the part of pastors. h sacrament of Matrimony nut only validly but also fruitMoreover, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, t e fully.
ii The Church's pastoral concern will not be limited: t only to the Christian families closest at hand. ! • fn harmony with the Heart of Christ, it will show: : itself even more lively for families in general and for • ! those families in particular which are in difficult or t ! irregular situations. t
There
For alt of them the Church will have a word of truth, • ! goodness. understanding, hope and deep sympathy: ., with their sometimes tragic difficulties. : ! To all of them she will offer her disinterested help so• t that they can come closer to that model of a family! t which the Creator intended from "the beginning" and ; ,!which Christ has renewed with his redeeming gtace,t
Trial, de facto
"Human reason leads one to see that "trial'' marriages are unacceptable, by showing the unconvincing nature of carrying out an "experiment" with human beings, whose dignity demands that they should be always and solely the term of a self-giving love without limitations of time or of any other circumstance.
The Church , for her part cannot admit such a kind of union, for the gift of the body in the sexua I relationship is a real symbol of the giving of the whole person such a giv ng cannot take place with full truth without the concourse of the love of charity, given by Christ.
It will be very useful to investigate the causes of this phenomenon, including its psychological and sociologica l aspect, in order to find the proper remedy.
(The increasing number of de facto unions) presents the Church with arduous pastoral problems, by reason of the loss of the religious sense of marriag_!;} seen in the light of the Covenent of God with his people , deprivation of the grace of the sacrament, grave scandal, the destruction of t~e ?oncept _of the family, the weakening of the sense of fidelity, possible psychological damage to the children and the strengthening of selfishness)
TACTFUL APPROACHES
I he pastors and the ecclesial community should take care to become acquainted with such situations and their actual causes case by case They should make tactful and respectful contact with the couples conserned , enlighten them patiently, correct them charitably and show them the witness of Christ ian fami ly life , in such a way as to smooth the path for them to regularize their situation.
Above all there must be a campaign of prevention, fostering the sense of fide li ty in the young, instruct ing them concerning the conditions and structures that favour such fidelity without which there is no true freedom they must be helped to reach spiritual maturity and enab led to understand the rich human and supernatural real ity of marriage as a sacrament.
The People of God should approach publ ic authorities , to resist tendencies which div de society and are harmful to the dignity, security and welfare of the citizens as indiv duals.
They must ensure that pub lic opinion is not led to undervalue the institut iona l impo rtance of marriage and the family
And since in many regions young people are unable to get married properly because of extreme poverty deriving from unjust or inadequate soc ial and econom ic structures , society and the public author ties should favour legit mate marriage by soc ial and pol itical act ions which will guarantee a family wage ensure housing fitt ing for family life and create o ortunities
Help divorced
upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to he lp the divorced, and with solic itous care to make sure that they do not con~ider them selves as separated from the Church , for as bapt ized persons they can and indeed must share in her life.
They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God , to atten~ the Sacr fice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer , to contribute to works of char ity and to commun ity efforts in favour of just ice , to bring up their children in the Christian faith to cult ivtethe spir it and practice of pena n ce and thus implore day by day, God 's grace.
Let the Church pray for them , encourage them and show herse lf a merciful mother , and thus susta in them in fa ith and hope.
However the Church reaff irms her practice , whic h is based UJ?On Sacred Scripture of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried from the fact that the ir state and condit ion of life objectively contrad ict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist.
Besides if these people were admitted to the Euchar ist the faithful would be led into error and confusion rega rding the Church 's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
Reconciliat ion in the sacrament of Penance , whic h would open the way to the Euchar ist can on ly be granted to those , who repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincere ly ready to unde rtake a way of life that is no longer in contrad ict on to the indissolub ility of marriage
The respect due to the sacrament of Matr imony to the coup es themselves and their families and also to the commun ity of the faith f ul forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral na ure , to perform ceremon ies of any kind for divorced people who remarr y.
Such ceremon es would give the impression of the celebration of a new sacramentally va li d marriage , and ~o~ld th~~ lead people into error concerning the 1nd1ssolub1'1ty of a validly contracted marriage.
, aves J
Christmas each year
Q sees thousands of :' hopeful youngsters
•,,· confide their ultimate :1. d re a ms i n S a n ta
((-: Claus. As they sit i\ carefully on his well";}. worn knee the child- .I ren snuggle close to 'Nt tell him what they e want for Christmas.
:,,"!t They ask him for things they wouldn't dream of telling their parents.
Any Santa will tell you that it is a delight to listen to the ., variety of requests they q. hear each year. Every Santa has a funny story to tell, a :,. sad story to tell about the " IChristmas wishes of child-
!ren the world over.
: Santa's are a privileged group. No one else has the opportunity to hear the if: dreams an~ aspirations of so many children
1\ However, Channel Nine
"jJ-: Perth recently gave viewers ,o an insight into a day in the :~ life of a Santa with a candid
Icamera-type segment in its 11.30 News Report.
: Producer/director Guy fl: Baskin took a break from his Q serious film assignments to :}1. jump into a Santa suit and i take the chair at Karrinyup shopping centre.
ll~ With a camera crew hida den behind the scenery and
:§ a microphone hidden --~----··
ropp1ngon
i
.beneath his beard, Guy SantaClaus(ChannelNinePerth'sGuyBaskin)listenstoayounggirl'sChristmaswish,whilebehind spoke with the young childss.• ren who sat on his knee. thescenerywascamermanGregRyanandhiscandid<;amera.
LorettaO'Reilly
Christmas seen in simple way ( r
Loretta O'Reilly wrote the Christmas story of The Angel which is printed here. She lives with her husband and family on a farm outside of Esperance and has sent in these notes on herself:
"I was born in Melbourne on September 8, 1944, to Gladys and Roy Inglis. I attended Primary School at St. Bernard's, East Coburg and went on to The Academy of Mary Immaculate, a Catholic Girls' College run by the Mercy Order.
"I come from a family of six, my older sister, Jeanette, older brother John, myself then sister Cheryl (now Cheryl Collie) brother Robert (teaches at St. Brendon's college in Melbourne) and another brother, Bernard.
"We came to live in Esperance 12 years ago, myself and husband Sean (from Ireland) moved here from Melbourne. I had lived in Melbourne all my life up till then and Sean came out from Ireland in 1961.
"After leaving school I worked for the PostM aster General's department as an accounting machinist for six years until my marriage. •
"I met Sean at an Irish dance held in a parish hall of St. George's. It was a Sunday night dance in 1963. His name is Sean O'Reilly and we were married in November 1965.
"We have five children, Bernard 15 going to Mazenod next year for his last two years of
schooling (currently at home working at the harvest!) Katrina 14 at the Esperance Senior High School, Patrick 12, Tracey 10 and Stephen 9 are at Esperance Primary School.
"I am Secretary of the Coomalbidgup Church Group (we are a small parish 40 miles from our parent church in Esperance). We also belong to the Dalyup Tennis Club and I am letter co-ordinator of the Esperance Marriage Encounter Group. We have been members of the church group since we moved out of town six years ago and before that were members of the Condingup congregation.
"I love to write stories when time permits (I am the original frustrated writer!) I have
written a few stories cated with its big bus1and have had three ness, commercialised poems published. I did connotations. People a course (correspon- lose contact with the dence) in Creative writ- reality and meaning of ing and am currently Christmas. I wrote it doing Freelance Jour- out roughly in a couple nalism (by correspon- of hours and revised it dence again through the the next day and typed Technical Extension it out. Service).
"The reason I wrote The Angel was to put down on paper a simple, uncluttered view of Christmas. To me Christmas time now has become very compli-
"We live on a farm 37 miles from town and the children catch the school bus at 7.30 for their long trek into town. Sean manages three farms for owners in England."
• The little statue felt itself being lifted from its manger. The bright little angel face gtowed; she loved this time of year when the church was filled with children and their parents, the soft glow of candles, the Christmas ceremonies and especially Midnight Mass and the rising, throbbing voices from the choir swelling right to the very eaves and spilling out on the cold, night air.
Most of all she loved the children who would crowd around the crib and look in awe at the figures in their straw setting and the fragile shape of the baby lying in its manger. Soon the little figures were cosily in place and the angel settled down to enjoy herself. The soft pitter patter of footsteps sounded in the now deserted church and the little angel felt a quiver of excitement. Two pairs of bright eyes appeared and were now solemnly regarding the crib.
'Aren't they beautiful'
Silence then, in a subdued whisper; "Aren't they beautiful? Look at the little baby Jesus lying in his manger! There is Joseph and Mary! Those three must be the three wise men coming with their gifts. See the shepherds and the little
lambs all looking at the little baby lying in the straw. Isn't it the most beautiful thing you have ever seen Jane?"
The second pair of eyes looked intently at the figures in turn and nodded her head reflectively; "It looks like an uncomfortable bed for a baby though".
'Somewhere to go'
"Yes, but Jesus didn't mind. Mary and Joseph would have been so pleased to have had somewhere to go for shelter and warmth for their baby to be born. They would have been tired after their long journey and then finding that there was no room for them at the inn and nowhere else to go. The table would have been most welcome. Just to
The Angel
think that Christmas Day is the birthday of that little baby Jesus!"
This comment was food for thought as the second little girl regarded the scene with interest.
"If the baby Jesus wasn't born, does that mean we wouldn't have a Father Christmas?''
• During Advent, the time for contemplating the happening of Jesus' birth, as a woman I have felt transposed to that time preceding the birth - 2,000 years ago.
Painfully, fearfully, uncomfortably, Mary stoically and obediently set out on the journey on a donkey, as ordained by God. Her mission was to present to an uneasy world the Christ Child - the Prince of Heaven, the man child. What were her thoughts as her time drew near?
All mothers to-be are anxious and apprehensive as their time to deliver approaches their thoughts and their fears are sealed close within them. It is a time of extreme aloneness Praying, dreaming, fearing, nine months preparing for
mother -a simple donkey had this great privilege but can you not share in the discomfort of such a journey at such a time?
o flowered room, no private suite or humid crib awaited this mother and babe, only a stable. No telephone to tell the good
Poor Joseph, like all men at such a time, so helpless and unknowing what to do - the breathing cattle were more useful than he and so Jesus came to the world!
The glorious and continu-
Then and now-
this momentous event, carrying the infant Jesus beneath her heart.
Faith was Mary's support-confident that the word would be made flesh, that God would play his part, no siren blaring ambulance or late model car bore this expectant
news to the waiting world one lone bright star to show the way - to throw a chink of light in that darkness. No trained and masked nurse to attend at this birth - how Mary must have alternated between fear and prayer and praise to her God.
ing celebration of this birth has survived 2,000 years, moving all peopleChristians and those who claim no belief at all - to celebrate in some way that birth if only in the decoration of a tree, a present or in a raised glass of friendship.
their hair neatly combed, gazed in silence at the nativity scene, their eyes
wide as they took in the different figures. Just as suddenly as they had appeared they were gone.
'We
will be happy and gay'
The last of the group, a freckle-faced boy with a mop of blonde curls, darted back and swooped on the crib giving a quick glance
around to ensure he was undetected. The little angel felt itself lifted through the "Well, I'm not sure", the because we show our love air and the impact ofa wet, first little girl said looking for God and each other. warm kiss on its face important, "but my That is why we give gifts before being gently put mother says Father Christ- and receive gifts on Christ- back into its place! mas helps us to remember mas morning!" She felt reverently blessed that it is a real celebration The second little girl by the impulsive action and we will be happy and smiled with relief as they and was still glowing when gay but we shouldn't forget both rose and went on their she glanced up to see a that he is not the mo t way. Soon the crib was family group peering down important part of Christ- once again surrounded. at her. Their subdued mas. Three boys, their faces whispers of admiration floChristmas is a happy tim~ scrubbed and shining and ated around the alcove and
they dropped to their knees to say prayer. The mother started to explain the figures to her children and the children listened quietly. As they were about to leave one little boy leaned over and said to his sister; "Which one is your favourite Kate?"
Kate standing on one leg, put her head to the side considering and then answered without hesitation; 'She even seems to be
smiling'
"That little angel over the manger. She looks so happy she even seems to be smiling!"
Ah, she loved this time of the year, the ti me for giving and loving and the time for renewal of the hope of mankind! She loved the simplicity and faith of the little children; how could she help but smile!
Putting her thoughts on paper
Cecily Laurence has been writing longer than she cares to remember.
Her house, she says, is littered with old business envelopes decorated with thoughts jotted down during the day or night.
She wrote Then And Now, the Christmas story printed here, about three years ago and popped it in a drawer. "Usually I take them out after a few years and tear them up," she said. But luckily for us, her thought-provoking piece has found its way into our pages.
Born in 1905 on the goldfields of Daveyburst (a town that lives on only in memories) to Cecil and Elizabeth Faulkner, Cecily Laurence has lived most of her life in Perth.
She and her husband John have been in their Mt Lawley home for over 40 years and their pride and joy is the library, jam-packed with around 4,000 books. The Laurences have four children - Gerald, Susan, Bernard and Kimberley - and 12 grandchildren. Cecily Laurence describes herself as an 'obsessive writer'. She'll write about anything and everything and has dabbled in a number of writer's courses over the years.
She wrote Then And Now after pondering the birth of Jesus and reflecting on the contrast of the times. "We all sit around the tree and think of the babe, but how often do e relate to Mary and what it must have been like for her?'' she said.
Refreshing idea for pudding
CHILLED PUDDING
I cup water
120 g sultanas
120 g raisins
30 g currants
60 g prunes - pitted and chopped
120 g glace cherries - chopped
60g mixed peel-chopped
150 ml sherry
I tablespoon brandy
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice piece of lemon rind
1 tablespoon gelatine) soaked in ¼ cup of water
30 g almonds - chopped
2 cups whipped cream flavoured in brandy
* Soak sultanas, raisins, currants and prunes in l cup of hot water for 15 minutes to soften and swell the fruit. Strain, retaining the water.
* Combine cherries, peel and soak fruit in a bowl with the sherry and brandy.
* Place sugar, lemon juice, rind and water used for soaking the fruit into a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Strain liquid into a bowl and stir in the soaked gelatine until dissolved. Add enough water to make up 280 mls.
* Pour liquid over the fruit, add the almonds. Mix well.
* Place mixture in a mould and chill until set~ Turn out onto a serving dish and serve with brandyflavoured whipped cream.
The ham is a centrepiece
A prawn dish unequalled
PRAWN TOMATOES
Tomatoes
75 g cooked prawns per tomato mayonnaise fresh chives
* Cut tops of tomatoes and scoop out the pulp.
* Peel half the prawns remove thread along back and chop finely
* Mix with mayonnaise, season to taste and fill the tomato cases. Garnish with chopped chives.
* Shell remaining prawns leaving tails intact and arrange on top of the tomato cases
(Retain the tomato pulp and add it to theforcemeat for the chicken/turkey ere.)
rings glace cherries
* Make parallel slashes in the ham - just cutting the top of the leg ham or cutting half way through the meat if using canned ham. Lie the ham to retain its shape.
*. Place on shallow, well greased tray and preheat a hot oven.
* Warm half the honey and add to
Stud
* Cook for 10 minutes.
* Warm remaining honey and the pineapple juice and use
* Wash the sago thoroughly and add to the dry ingre-
,.
• • dients with the melted butter, milk and vanilla
t ! essence. Mix together thoroughly.
! By Dom Francis Byrne, OSB ! * Pour into
Astrangerknockeduponmydoor
• Atnoonofdayonaforeignshore; !
! WearilyIstruggledtomyfeet
! Annoyedatthedisturbanceofmysleep. ! sauce
! Anotherbeggarpretendingtoweep, ! ,_,-,r7~
Tellingmehisonlysolacewasthestreet;: ..1
!Ataleofwoebeyondcompare ! HARD SAUCE
! NoChristiancouldstandandstare. •
! Iunlatchedthedoor
If you have been too busy to cook the traditional Christmas pudding you might like to try the hot sago plum pudding or the cold Christmas pudding instead which is delicious on a hot Christmas Day.
•Atall,majesticfigureclaimingtobeaKing! * ~~at butter until soft and gradually beat in the sifted
! Oftheuniversalpoor. 1cmg sugar.
! ABeggarKing? ! * Beat until light and fluffy.
t Inthislandofwealthandease? ! * Stir in brandy to taste Spoon into a
"?' i' chill.
-tt Irubbedmyeyesindisbelief
!Butlethiminwhenhesaid"Please". : Cream, brandy
! Thedroningofahostofflies : t Andthedistantechoofadogbarking •
it Enteredbeforehim
! CREAMY BRANDY SAUCE
! Mydeafenedearslowlyharkening. ! 2 eggs
t Hespokeofhissonsanddaughtersthisday! JOO mis whipping cream
! Onthepooresthighwaysoftheworld • ½ cup caS t0 r sugar
! Andgentlysmiledmyway: ! 4 tablespoons brand_y
• "Theirgloryshallbeunfurled.,, ! * Beat the cream until soft peaks form and mix in the
• brandy.
-ti ThisBeggarKingsatatmytable ! * Separate the eggs. Beat the two whites until stiff but
! Androusedmyheartlikeaflamingtorch; t not dry gradually adding the castor sugar Beat until
! WasHetheKingborninastable? • sugar is dissolved.
! OnBethlehem'sporch? ! * Beat egg yolks into this mixture and then fold in the
"?'
! Mydarkenedroomwassuddenlyfilledwith •
brandy cream mixture.
! Isawbeforemyeyes ! J I
i11Jheavisioninthemght
• TheVirginandChild - Mankind'sjoys. ! -tc _.. FROSTED FRUIT
• Ihurriedthroughthesleepystreet, ,. Selection of choice fruit - grapes, cherries,
! Foundno-onewithwhomIcouldweep; ! plums (preferably with stalks)
! AtlastInoticedtheChurchdoorand
enteredin
! TopayhomagetotheKingofkings.
Egg white
Liahter- f ar-e wanted
After the heavy, rich foods of the festive season and faced with the·appetite-reducjng heat of summer, we (our rebellious stomachs) yearn for lighter fare. In answer to our plea, Betty Dunleavy, home economist, Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, supplied the following recipes.
after- f ea§t SEA SALAD
A host of interesting salads can be prepared by changing the type of seafood and/or the vegetables in this popular summertime dish.
1 cup long grain rice Water 2 cloves garlic 1
1 red or green capsicum
1 stalk celery
1½ cups cooked flaked or chopped seafood - prawns, crabmeat, lobster, scallops, fish fillets, canned tuna or salmon, etc.
Place the rice into plenty of boiling water with the garlic, salt, pepper and salad oil; bring to boil, stirring briskly, and allow the boil for 8-9 minutes.
Rinse in cold water, drain well and fluff up with a fork; set aside for 5 minutes, fluffing occasionally.
Drizzle 4-5 tablespoons wine salad dressing over while still warm, toss through and set aside until cold, tossing occasionally.
Add the chopped vegetables and seafood, fold through and chill in the refrigerator, tightly covered. Turn into a salad bowl or container and garnish as desired just before serving.
*Wine salad dressing
Combine ½ cup salad oil with¼ cup Australian white wine, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, dill, basil, etc.) in ajar. Seal tightly and shake vigorously to blend; chill. Just before use add 1 tablespoon thick mayonnaise and shake again. For use with seafoods add a little anchovy sauce, chopped gherkin or capers, etc. as desired. Serves 5-6.
Australian wine suggestion:
A chilled dry white wine of the chablis or hock style would be ideal with this salad.
2 cups cooked diced chicken ½ cup diced celery ½ cup sliced bananas ¼ cup salted peanuts
¼ cup dry white wine ½ cup egg mayonnaise - well seasoned Salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 -2 oranges - cut in segments
Leave the green top on and
Mix the chicken, pineapple, celery, bananas and peanuts together. Australian wine suggestion: Blend the white wine and mayonnaise with salt to taste; carefully mix the pineapple mixture with the mayonnaise avoidi~g breaking up the pieces.
A medium sweet Australian white wine such as a Moselle or a late picked (e.g. spatlese style) Riesling will complement this dish.
1 tablespoon gelatine
¼ cup cold water
¼ cup Australian cherry brandy
1 cup hot water
1 cup chopped cherries
2 egg whites
Extra cherries
2 tablespoons flour Soften the gelatine in the
¼ cup sugar cold water; dissolve over
¼ cup orange juice hot water and mix with the
1 tablespoon lemon cherry brandy juice
Combine the flour, sugar,
Turn into a bowl and whisk until very thick and frothy; fold in the chopped cherries and stiffly beaten egg whites.
Spoon into serving bowl or dessert dishes and chill until set; decorate with extra cherries. Serves 5-6
Plump,juicycherriesfoldedintoa brandycreammake alightdessert that'sthepertect orange, lemon juice and water in a saucepan; heat Australian wine slowly until boiling, stir- suggestion: ring constantly. endtoanymeal.
Add the gelatine - brand) Serve a sweet or semimixture and stir through; sweet white wine made allow to cool until begin- from Spatlese - late ning to thicken to egg picked - Riesling grapes white consistency with this light dessert.
The Record, December 24-30, 1981 21
Principals addressed
BROTHER T.X. HANN, headmaster, Aquinas College.
boys. So I ask, what do we actually do to keep alive our central purpose so that it is enshrined in lives as well as in the stated goals of the school?
this school. To the boys who will remain , and for whom 1982 will be another year, there are challenges aplenty You are all parts of a good , some would say, great school.
At a three-day meeting funding from the Govof Australian lndepend- ernment for our schools. ent School Principals, the key message that came out was to call to heads and governing bodies of schools to examine just why they put so much time, effort and money into maintaining an Independent School system and why we argue our right in the public forum to receive
Through the detailed planning and execution of our Religious Education curriculum, the work of our chaplain and many visiting priests and speakers we seek to expose the boys to the whole richness of our Christian tradition
Keynote speakers challenged independent schools to be places, first and foremost, where religious faith is nurtured, where Christian values are transmitted and where selfsacrifice is taught as a necessary precondition for a successful human life.
Speakers pointed out that in an Australian society which is professedly less Christian, in which materialism and consumerism are held up as positive values and in which spiritual values are often seen as optional extras, the Christian influence of the school begins to wane.
We a-c Aquinas are no strangers to these pressures and destructive influences and we will need the full understanding and co-operation of parents if we are to continue to have a positive influence for good on our
It is in these activities that a tangible hold is kept on what we are about at core, and I hope that parents will always challenge us to ensure that we are unequivocal in our call to students to live out Christian values in their world with their peer group.
If we do not do this, we have no lasting message to give!
I congratulate Head prefect Tom Mitchell and his deputies, Sean Henderson and Richard Farrell and the prefect body, on their leadership within the College, and I say 'thanks' to the whole Year Twelve group for the way in which you have cooperated with staff and answered the necessary demands made upon you by the school.
We are the poorer in some ways for your going. I hope you will one day know you are a little richer for having shared in and given to the life of
BROTHER J. KELLY, headmaster, Trinity College.
I can only assure parents that Trinity College emphasises the things of the spirit: our relationship with God, respect and consideration for our fellow-man, personal development, self-respect, and selfdiscipline.
Regular class prayers, Masses, chapel assemblies, and contact with the college chaplain are a normal part of our school life. Religious education programmes are carefully prepared and conscientiously taught. Boys are urged to participate in religious ceremonies and to volunteer their services for such things as street appeals, door-knocks, and other charitable activities. However, the school can do only so much in the Chri tian formation of your sons. It is only when the boy see the Christian life actually being
lived at home that the message of the Catholic school has any"chance of a receptive hearing.
Without the full support of the home, our best endeavours at school will be frustrated.
In an effort to assess just how effectively we at school are providing an all-round Catholic education, this year our staff worked through a s·elfevaluation exercise.
Our school's aims and objectives are well known. They are clearly stated in our prospectu .and often mentioned on occasions such as this.
It is necessary in these busy and constantly changing times to stop at regular intervals and examine and evaluate our total school life, the curriculum, activities, precedures and services, in terms of our stated aims.
It seems there is a sound Catholic tone in the school, that relationships between students and staff and between the students themselves are generally harmonious and pleasant , that our course of religious instruc-
You, by your own actions will make Aquinas a happier place for yourself and others , or cause pain. Your experience should tell you that together in class in Chapel, on the playing field s and in friendship groups around the grounds you have a lot to share and be glad about. Work hard to keep to worthwhile standards of behaviour a nd the rewards will be yours.
We still have appearing the running sores of school life - stealing, vandalism , littering and at a more serious level, instances of bullying and persistent non co-operation by the few.
Students who choose these destructive ways of behaviour cannot expect to keep a place in the school, for they quickly destroy the harmony and the Christian spirit that we try to keep alive.
I am sure that the majority of the boys are willing to work for the good of all and it is the majority who deserve my full support and encouragement.
l
In my last three reports, I have emphasised the importance of Aquinas being, and being seen to be, a Catholic school.
l have stressed the role of the Catholic school and parents working together for the benefit of the students . I have urged fathers to become involved in their sons' schooling.
I believe that as a caring and sharing community here at Aquinas, we should help one another with our respon ibilities towards our children.
tiQn i.~ reasonably well received and that our programme of secular studies and our ordinary school activities do meet, in the main, the expectations of our boys and parents.
I would hope that this exercise of our school staff will prove of great benefit to the whole school community. I would hope too that parents at time do a similar exercise of selfevaluation and seriousl y re flect on your sacred obligation s towards their sons.
BROTHER D. McMAHON Aquinas Junior School
Sure, we are involved in the sport• ing programmes, etc., but do we really care about someone else's child?
We could, in fact, be of much greater support to one another. I base this opinion on what is the sound theological teaching of the Mystical Body of C.hrist. By our Baptism, we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ, members of Christ's family here on earth, and as such, are brothers and sisters in Baptism. Therefore, we do have a responsibility as members of the family, to each other.
Parents are placed under enormous pressure by their children who are subjected to great peer pressure, because to the young, there is nothing worse than being different or thinking they are different.
Parents should make use of the wider family to which we belong. The school, as part of the body, can be of invaluable assistance to parents.
The majority of families at Aquinas do not know one another and this is a great shame, because we are missing out on much that could be achieved by families getting to know one another.
We all share a common interest, our sons. We all share in their success Equally, we should all share in their failures, and in this way we are living the teaching of the Mystical Body.
It should therefore, be possible in the family here at Aquinas, to open the lines of communication between families, particularly when your sons are friends. If you get together and discuss what you will or will not allow, it would break down many barriers and save many misunderstandings. Y~u know only too well how children will play one family against the other, just as they try on occasion to play Mum against Dad.
This cannot happen to the same extent if you know one another,lt should be possible for Aquinas parents to get together and support each other , as your children enter their teenage years. Many of the pitfalls associated with our society would then be avoided. I would give my full support to gatherings of this nature and offer the facilities of Aquinas. This would be an example of the theology of the Mystical Body of Christ at work in our family at Aquinas
today's problems
Excerpts fro,n a number of addresses delivered at recent speech nights are published on these two pages.
BROTHER PAUL O'BRIEN headmaster, Nevvman Junior School
Over the past few years, instead of schools supporting parents in their role as the first educators, it seems that more and more parents, de facto, are expecting the school to replace their efforts.
It is the spiritual dimension of the child's education that makes a Catholic school different from other schools.
The Catholic ethos spreads through all subjects and activities. Specific truths and practices of the Catholic faith are taught, and frequent opportunities are provided for the school community to express its belief through prayer and worship.
There are times when you are asked to be specifically involved in the religious education programme, first communion, confirmation and sex education being the most obvious topics. We call for your involvement, since after all, it is your responsibility in the first place which you have delegated to us.
Many parents do respond to our parent nights and welcome the opportunity to become involved in the religion programme. There are other parents who seem to believe the children ought to be left to their own resources to develop their faith.
It is not just a matter of cooperation in the school based programme. When inviting cooperation we are really talking about what goes on in the home as well.
Phrases such as: "No, you cannot watch that TV show - Have you done your homework? - Be careful riding your bike - Don't forget to bring the change home - Look after your little sister please" - are spoken by parents like yourselves who are concerned about the welfare of their children.
Parents who are concerned about every aspect of their childrens' personality - spiritual, as well as physical. emotional and intellectual would be asking additional questions on the spiritual level: "Have you said your night prayers?Which Sunday Mass shall we attend? - What did you learn in your religion lesson today? - When is vour class Mass at school? - Let us - say part of the family rosary together."
These are the kind of parents who
also encourage their children to consider a vocation to the religious life or the priesthood. They also show concern over the company their children keep, particularly as they grow into teens.
The Church calls for parents to give example to their children and also to explain clearly the teachings of the Church. We respond to life's challenges with the faith that says this life is but a preparation for the next.
"We implore those parents who do exercise their role as "first educators" not to lose sight of your vocation and to continually pray for guidance. We ask those who have left the responsibility to the school to assume the responsibility before it is too late.
Lack of time
One of the most significant factors that results in parents failing to fulfill their responsibilities to their children is lack of time.
If children are to learn from their parents, they need to be frequently interacting and communicating with them so as to develop a common language.
Younger children learn to appreciate the support and advice of parents.
This lays the foundation for discussing more challenging issues the children will face when they reach their teens.
The demands of time make it hard for parents to develop their own faith. Many parents know little more about their faith than when they were at school; thus they sometimes • feel inadequate when dealing with contemporary moral issues.
Commitment of time makes it difficult to practise the faith together, whether it be attending family Mass , saying part of the family rosary or receiving the sacraments.
Some parents feel locked out of the Church by situations such as marital break-up.
Brother Paul O'Brien
They feel torn between conflicting loyalties, on the one hand clearly wanting their children to receive the faith as evidenced by their sending the children to a Catholic school, while on the other hand feeling locked out by the Church.
To these parents I say: We welcome your desire to support your son in his religious belief and practices.
We suggest that you try to help your son to understand your problem; this is far more supportive of your son's faith development than simply pretending the problem is not there.
There are many opportunities for people to find answers to questions raised about the faith. The Catholic Social Apostolate runs faith discussion groups and the highly successful renewal of faith groups are effective means for gaining a greater insight into the faith.
The facilities of this school will always be available to any parent group that wishes to start up such discussion groups among our parents.
If you have problems with the Church, such as divorce, marital separation, emotionally disturbed children, then your parish priest and Centrecare will always be ready to help.
If you have stopped practising the faith, then for the sake of your children please try to start again.
Priests often comment that many parents through lack of time and through pressure of caring for young children, simply get out of the habit of practising the faith and that if they start again, they usually never look back.
The responsibility, the task and the ,sacrifice of providing your children with a Catholic education is demanding but in terms of eternal life it is the greatest opportunity you can give to your children. Don't lose heart , for faith development is a slow process.
It is a gift from God that must be nurtured, directed and supported by you the parents, we the school, and by many others.
Mr K.D. O'SULLIVAN. Principal, St Norbert's College
The document The Catholic School issued by the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome presents an interesting persp~,ctiye on the school.
"A school is a privileged place in which through a living encounter with a cultural inheritance, integral formation occurs. This vital approach takes place in the school in the form of personal contacts and commitments which consider absolute values in a life context and seek to insert them into a life framework
The school must stimulate the pupil to exercise his intelligence through the dynamics of understanding to attain clarity and inventiveness It must help him to spell out the mean-
FATHER GERARD HOLOHAN Director of Religious Education
A conference of the National Catholic Education Commission in Canberra last year addressed the need for all who are involved in Catholic education to ensure that the education in schools is authentically Catholic.
Religious education is the most obviously distinctive characteristic of a Catholic school although there are others less distinctive. Religious education is the subject that aims to assist the faith development of the student.
Where parents are conscientious in helping their children to develop their faith, the school programme can provide a powerful support. If. however, parents are not working to help their children to develop their faith the school programme will have little impact.
The religious education programme is the corporate responsibility of every church member by virtue of being baptised. It is not the exclusive responsibility of teachers or principals, neither is it the sole domain of parents or clergy.
The ultimate authority to decide the appropriate content for school religious education programmes is Father GerardHo'ohan the archbishop, by virtue of his 1 1 office as principal teacher of the One key stage, however, should faith - an office handed down from involve all Catholics within the archthe Apostles. diocese: the stage concerned with the However, although he is the ulti- content that should be taught in the mate authority to decide what schools. should be taught, others share his Early next year a draft discussion responsibility to ensure that the document will be available for comchildren are well taught. ment and constructive critical Parents, of course, should be the debate about the doctrinal area of first to teach the faith to their child- religious education. The document ren and many are outstanding in will suggest the doctrinal content their efforts to fulfill this that a student should understand by responsibility. the time he or she leaves school.
Many, unfortunately, undermine I sincerely hope that the debate their childrens' faith development by about the doctrinal content of the speaking and acting in ways which proposed guidelines will be conconflict with the values of Christ. ducted in a manner that befits fol-
This archdiocese is in the process of lowers of Christ. developing religious education Rather than enduring the negative guidelines for secondary schools and and carping criticisms that have chawill begin a similar process for prim- racterised guidelines discussions in ary schools in 1982. other places.
Eventually every Catholic school Much of the heated guidelines will have to base its programme on debated in other places seems to be these guidelines and will be held due to the ignorance of many well accountable if it does not do so meaning people about the Church's successfully. teaching.
Many of the stages in the develop- I hope that our own discussions will ment of these guidelines involve provide a religious education for the expertise that only religious educa- many people who have learned tion staff from our schools can pro- nothing new since they left their vide in such matters. catechisms and schools.
Appeal to parents
I appeal to parents ~o w~r.mly sup- Too often the religious education po~t the efforts of their rehg1ous edu- teacher is the "whipping-boy" of cation t~a~hers. How many _pare_nts parental anxiety about their child's say that 1t 1s ~ard to teach t~e_1r_ch1ld- faith. Religious education teachers ren about faith and then cnt1c1se the do not necessarily make less mistea~her who. has to face not only takes than other teachers but I am their own children but the children suggesting that they are unfairly of so many other troubled parents as criticised. well.
development of understanding.
ing of his experiences and their truth.
"The school is an institution where young people gradually learn to open themselves up to life as it is and to be.
"The school must be a community whose values are communicated through the interpersonal and sincere relationships of its members and through individual and corporative adherence to the outlook on life that permeates the school."
It has been part of our emphasis at St Norbert College to encourage this community sense at all levels.
It has been pleasing to see our students support each other in their striving for varied excellence, taking pleasure in the successes of others and willing to lend a helping hand wherever it may be needed. This supportive climate is essential for intellectual stimulation and the
"Christ is the foundation of the whole educationa1 enterprise in a Catholic school. His revelation gives new meaning to life and helps man to direct his thought, action and will according to the gospel, making the beatitudes his norm of life.
"The fact that on their own individual way au members of the school community share this Christian vision, makes the school 'Catholic'.
"The Catholic school is committed thus to the development of the whole man since in Christ the perfect man, all human values find their fulfilment and unity. Herein lies the specifically Catholic character of the school.
Coupled with the difficulties that go hand in hand with facing the objections of youths and adolescents this means that the religious education teacher is attacked from behind as well as from the front.
It is symptomatic of a difficult scene that the average term of a religious education co-ordinator in this archdiocese is 1. 7 years.
I say ~ithout hesitation, that my 1mpress10n of those who teach religious education in Catholic secondary schools, are conscientious zealous, courageous, self sacrificing and at all times committed to their faith and students.
The Catholic community of the Perth archdiocese is indebted to these people and they should be shown the appropriate degree of respect and support.
"Its duty to cultivate human values in their own_ le~itimate right, i~ accordance w1 th its particular mission ~o serve all m~n, has its origin in the figure of Chnst. He is the one Where suggestions should be made, who enn?bles ma_n, gives meaning to let them be made in a way that shows human life. and 1s the model which the Christian love and support of the the Catholic school offers its pupils." person making the suggestions. The Record, December 24-30, 1981 23
Song of Norway
Looking back at the news
Ch ann el Seven's News Review 1981 on Thursday, D ecembe r 31 at 7.35pm will highlight the events of the year.
Ame rica, R ussia, Ireland, Poland, the Middle Eas t and the riots in England all added to the tu rmoil during 1981.
There were two attempted assassinations one of the wor ld's most power/ul political leader and th e ot he r a leade r ju st as powerful in the realms of religion; President Ronald Reagan and the Pope. There was joy also when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married and more joy when the announcement came that there was another expected heir to the crown of England. There were many turning points in the news which happened during 1981 and much which eventuated affected us much closer to home.
Tr agedy of
con ductor
Fo ll owi ng his unique presentation of mus ician Tchaikovsky's biography, Ken Russ ell stam ps his mark on the life of Gustav Ma hl er, co mposer/conductor.
(Toralv Maurstad) , a young Norwegian composer has finished his studies at Leipzig Conservatory and is trying to obtain a grant to continue his studies in Rome.
Grieg with his career. Therese hopes that her father (Robert Morley), will help the young musician, but he is very much against her friend.
ever put on film.
Norway, 1860: Edvard
Racing thrills galore
James Garner, Yves Montand and Academy Award winner Eva Marie Saint star in Grand Prix, a drama about automobile racing, to be telecast on Channe l 7 on Saturday , January 2 at 8.40pm.
JamesGarner stiff competitions with th ree other leading drivers for the Gra nd Prix wo rld championship on a co u rse that stretches from Monte Carlo to M exico City.
At nig ht the social life of the conte tant is filled wi th after-race frenetic gaiety and Pete oon becomes involved with the wife (Mrs Walter) of the leading Briti h driver (Bedford), who is badly injured in a crash for which Pete is held responsi hie.
The Italian competitor (Antonio Sabato), youngest of the four, repre ·cnts the upcoming generation of contestant
arranged if she will promise to visit the home of Captain Hansen (Carl Rigg) , whom Berg is anxious she marry , and not to correspond with Grieg.
Channel seven's New Year's Eve movie, at 10.05pm, is the star studded Song Of Norway - the story of Edvard Grieg and his beautiful music, his loves and his life shot in Norway with some of the most breathtaking scenery Therese Berg (Christina Schol- In order to help Grieg, Therese The concert is a success but lin), a beautiful and talented makes a bargain with her father; Grieg is disturbed by Therese 's Grieg Swedish girl is anxious to help a recital for Grieg will be disappearance.
Russell directs British star R obert Powell in the re -cr ea tion of the tragic life of Mahler in Channel ni ne's We dn esday movie si mp ly titled 'Ma h le r' at 8.35pm T he story begins on board tr ain where, settling do wn for t he lo ng journ ey ahea d, Mahler reca lls the events of his storm y life.
Brought up in a la rge, bicker ing J ewish fa m ily, the young Mahle r d re a ms of be coming a
Ano ther Russe ll
co mpose r while obliged to take pian o lessons with an inadequate teacher. Breaking into the music worls at last and marrying Alma, the girl of his dreams, Mahler's genius is hampered by his increasing jealousy of Alma's many admirers. Influencing his composing too, are the tragic deaths of his brother Otto and his small child in addition to his conversion from Judaism, undertaken to curry favour with the mfluential Cosima Wagner, who has the power to aid Mahler's career.
A wealth of local talent to be seen
Local performers, both professional and amateur, have th e opport un_ity to display their talents before Perth audiences each Sunday on Channel nine.
A problem with 'kin'
Mrs Kinsolving "solves " her problems of "kin" in the most chilling manner in Channel nine's Sunday movie, 'You'll Like My Mother' at 8.35pm.
F ranc es ca Kins ol ving has never me t her mother -in- law but decides to visit her relatives after her young hu sband d ies while she is pregnant with' their first child. Arriving m Duluth, Minnesota, Francesca receives a cool reception from Mrs Kinsolving and her daughter, Kathleen, a retarded teenager. Amazingly, Mrs Kinsolving denies any knowledge of her son's marriage and Francesca
fee ls ill at ease in th e company of th is unfriendly woman.
Wh en a heavy snowtorm b reaks, Mrs Kinso lving u rges Fr ancesca to stay the nig ht. Francesca agrees to stay in the eerie house, little realising the evil awaiting her. Patty Duke stars a Francesca Kinsolving, Rosemary Murphy is Mrs Kinsolving and S1an Barbara Allen co-stars as Kathleen.
The En t ertainers is a locally produced talent show which offers viewers a chance to see some of the incredible talent currently developing m WA.
Some of the contestants have had previous experience in the field of entertainment, others are appearing in front of an au dience for the first ti me.
The eight acts appearing in heat three of 'The Entertainers' on Sunday, December 27, at 6.30pm, once more display the enthusiasm and ability to entertain which makes the show enjoyable viewing for the audience both in the studio and at home.
The variety of acts this week include the fourpiece band Flashback, vocalist / dancer Edwina
Cox, operatic singer Wayne Furnell and vocalist / guitarist Kathleen Zuvela who will present one of her own compositions.
The performers will this week be competing for a National three-in-one stereo system from Vox ., Adeon valued at $329, • with a $100 cash prize for second place and a watch valued at $200 from Mazzuchelli's presented by host John Burgess as an encouragement award.
Winner and runner-up conte tants this week will also be a ware of their chance to compete for the final prize of a P & 0 crui e for two offered toi the ultimate winner of 'The Entertainers' series.
Guest judge for heat three of the show will be Perth actor / director Edgar Metcalfe
Tormented by his fears that Alma may leave him, his many conducting commitments and the desire to compose, Mahler suffers from a strained heart; and as the train journey nears it end, it seems Mahler is nearing his own end. Although a doctor on board diagnoses only a minor heart complaint and Gustav and Alma leave the train confident and reconciled, fate strikes a final blow to the dogger composer. Robert Powell takes the lead role in the film as Gustav Mahler, Georgina Hale is his wife Alma and Antonia Ellis co-stars as Cosima Wagner.
'D ummy' will
Channel nine came to the rescue of the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) recently when Barrie Barkla presented a life-size resuscitation dummy to the Pr e sident of the Society, Judge D.R. Ander so n. The station has made a presentation to the RLSS for the past couple of years - last year it was a children's unit for resuscitation training. Re u citation dummies are essential for training people in life saving. They are th\! most effective way of instructing people how to save a life particularly after a drowning, or an industrial or electrical accident.
save lives
The Society's previous dummy had just about come to the end of its life span. The dummies are used to instruct more than 300,000 people each year and are used in all areas of the state.
The new re uscitation dummy is slightly more sophisticated than the previous, with the 'skin' and 'bone structure' resembling more closely the consi tency of a human face, thus allowing trainees to become familiar with the reality of resuscitation.
CARN ARVON: (099) 41 1768 PT. HEDLAND: (091) 73 1687
MERV IS SEEKING SHELLS DOWN BY THE SEASIDE
PROVIDENCE, A.I. (NC)
A judge's decision to bar a Nativity scene from the city of Pawtucket's annual downtown holiday display is a decision that atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair has sought unsuccessfully in Texas for four years.
"Pawtucket's life-sized nativity scene fulfills a religious purpose, endorses Christianity and causes political disputes along religious lines. Therefore, including the scene in a display mounted by the city is a violation of the constitutional requirement of separation of Church and state," the judge said.
Renowned atheist litigant Mrs O'Hair said she was "thrilled" by the decision. She brought a similar suit against the city of Austin, Texas, in 1977 but lost.
This year the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Austin case and thereby allowed the nativity scene to remain in the state capitol.
In Pawtucket , the nativity scene is part of the city's annual Christmas display erected on privately owned land in the centre of the downtown business section. City workers assemble, remove and store the creche.
The city of Pawtucket purchased the current nativity scene in 1973 for $1,363. The opposing writ charged that taxpayers' money was being used to promote a particular religion.
In the Texas case it was ruled that the display of the nativity scene in the rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin had a "clearly secular purpose."
But the federal judge in Rhode Island rejected the city of Pawtucket's argument that the nativity scene had become a secular, rather than a religious, symbol.
Former Pawtucket
Mayor Dennis M. Lynch testified in the trial that the figures depicting Christ's birth had cultural, aesthetic and commercial purposes.
Calling the nativity scene a secular symbol amounts to relegating Christ to the position of a character "like Paul Bunyan," Mrs O'Hair said. But the religious community is so anxious to have Christianity endorsed by the state that "they will endure any
insult," she said. The city of Pawtucket plans to appeal against the decision. • As an alternative to erection of the nativity scene by the city, the Pawtucket chapters of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and B'nai B'rith offered to buy and set up the display with volunteers and former Mayor Lynch also offered to head a citizen's committee to buy the display from the city and erect it with volunteers.
PILGRIMS TOLD SCRIPTURE AIDS
VATICAN CITY (NC)- Pope John Paul II told about 6,000 pilgrims in Rome recently that reading the Scriptures helps assure people of the
The Aborigines at Catholic missions in the north of the state have a particular interest for MervCooperonthe Kimberleycoastline withsomeofthe equipmentheuses power of God. leading WA shell authority Merv Cooper. the pope, "to overcome Wh • I • h Speaking at his weekly death by giving eternal life 1te peop e In t e general audience in the and the god whom the north, too, can join in Vatican Audience Hall, the Pharisees 'deprive' of this his enthusiasm which pope said that the resurrec- power is not the true God is also his business, tion of Jesus bears witness of their forefathers, but the but he feels that Abor"to the God of life in all the god of their own theories." igines are possibly in truth of his power" and that this divine power "is The pontiff also said that the best situation to reflected in man's life and "a literal acquaintance co-operate with him in in the resurrection of the with Scripture is insuffi- mutual benefit to both human body after death." cicnt. Scripture is above all parties.
The pope reflected on the a means of knowing th e Since 1966 he has been response of Christ to the power of th e living God." diving and collecting shells Sadducees, who doubted The pope gave a special and in those 15 years he has the concept of life after greeting to several honey- spent a good deal of time death. mooning couples present. around Beagle Bay, Lorn-
The pontiff said that "For you new spouses, bardina and One-Arm Jesus' reply, that he was ~ho are beginning _now a Point missions. the "God of the Jiving not Journey together, umted by Shells, as one would of the dead" and "the 'God the sacrament of marriage expect him to say, make of Abraham Isaac and and by your love for each great Christmas presents Jacob" indicated the other, I wish and pray that and the profits from their poweriessness of physical Chr~st will be y~ur com- sale to him could provide death. pamon on your tnp: some- Aborigines with year-
MISSIONARIES
PAPAL BID FOR NEW RELATIONS
the One-Arm Point region , 150 kilometres from Broome, and also in Arnhem Land.
He feels that the collection of shells could give the Aborigines an interest in addition to providing them with a good living from the result:;i.nt sales.
He says that shells must be found alive because those picked off rocks have lost their real colour and are of no value.
Collecting should be done at lowest tide in areas where sand bars and reefs are joined together.
The best collecting time is when the tide turns and starts to come in.
That is when the shells on the sand bars break through the sand surface to meet the incoming water. Murex shells, or butterflies as the Aborigines call
Geraldine,MariaGorettiHome,Broome
Australia's youngest diocese needs young men to train for the diocesan priesthood. We need young men who love Christ and people enough to face loneliness, hardship and frustration in the world's hardest mission field.
For1nformation,writeto Bishop John Jobst, PO Box 76, Broome, W.A. 6725
WeaskallAustralianCatholicsto supportuswiththeirprayers. The Record, December 24-30, 1981
Paul II expressed hopes for=
improved relations between Italy:
To clean the shells, he suggests_, it is bes.t to place them in dry clean beach sand for three to four days.
After that they can be washed out by u ing a hose with a fine jet of water. They should then be cleaned of any bits of coral and weed growth and
Cowries and volu tes, which are the natural hinv· shells, just need the creature inhabiting them to be removed and thev will stav shiny.
•
them, are found at low tide tocollectshells. under rock ledges and next _________ to rocky outcrops placed in ordinary houseGood shells can be found hold bleach for up to 12 hours. by turning over flat pieces When they come out they of rock which exposes the will be cleaned back to cowries th at hang to th e their natural state and will under .,.side of th e rocks. need only to be oiled with C'onpc;; can he found in the and from which the rock has been dislodged "Make sure you tum the rock back to its original position," Merv says, "otherwise the natural breeding habitat for creatures such as shells and starfish and others will be destroyed." parafrn oil or haby oil.
•
Merv, who has dived for shells in many part of the world and has established widespread overseas markets. can be contacted at Merv Cooper's Sea Shell Shop, corner of Beaufo rt and Newcastle stre ets, Perth, or through P.O. Box 186, Mt Hawthorn, W.A. 6016.
VATICAN CITY (NC)- Pope John: by C. Sharkey
and the Holy See and for a mutually: When you are broken, Look at each face Groping towards ! satisfactory conclusion to negotia-: limpid eyed, nothi ng as My shadow triumph ! tions on a revised Italian-Vatican• The herald g_oes f,~st struggling Babe-King's new + d t =And the Christ-Child Swallow the darkness Light, ! concor a • • can come. until My face rests. Blinding yet unseen, • The Polish-born pope, who described Italy as "my! L . fl r h's Father's mirrored ! country of election, my second country" , receivedtc dying at in ea t Give Me water and form.
• Ambassador Claudio Chelli, Italy's new representa-: ust, shade Me ! tive to the Holy See, Nov. 28 at the Vatican. • wou nd ~d,_ left noth mg Till innocence bathes Born where the • The amb~ssador and the pope described Vatican-! Yet believing_ My ~ord Me dra on's devoured ! Italian relations as "happy" and spoke of the ongo-tc Then the Child will And in love can go A d T t I th h + ing negotiations to revise the 1929 concordat! come. forth f~ hs rugg e roug ! regulating church-state relations.
tc O h Id es • • "I hope that these happy relations may continuetr ut in t e co , Unafraid of dark fury. Your flesh dear ! and even improve, always with mutual advantage,"! d~mb-breath warmed, children -ti Pope John Paul said. "In this spirit I express the: JUSt lo~ly. I, Chri st -Child eat My Word in your flesh.! sincere wish that the negotiations for the consensualtc Rest quietly there dragons, • revision of the Lateran Concordat may continue and: And the Christ-Child conquered Hell Is it really Me mirrored! may lead to wise solutions, adequate to the require-• will come. plunged in Chaos in your melting faces?! ~e~ts of the civil society and of the church commun-t O 't b afraid Forth days in the Go now. - Rest and ,. 1ty m Italy." tr on e desert rejoice +
Chelli, however, seemed to offer little hope for: of th e bCave, or th e green-gold Serpent's for the Christ-Child ! approval of a revised concordat in the near future.ti worn skin shed. is m !
Expressing regret that the negotiations have takent or the Tomb. My birth- CO e. + longe~ "than ~hat was foresee!1 and hoped," C~ellitc place Transformation of Peace, back to the real! said tha_t wisdom and quahty of the soluu~nst My death-place. Spirit world • aremore1mportantthanthetimenecessarytoarnvetc Th _ t Conquer",ng Ant ,- R nfast ·th reatJ oy ! at them." : corner s one u w, g , :;
Representatives of the Vatican and the ltalian 91 reJected. Christ For the dragon has -ti government have been working on revisions to theti No room in the Inn Freeing fresh forms, gone ! concordat for more than 12 years. One proposed: Born on the hillside ~uick~ilver, The Christ-Child is revision would end the status of Catholicism as the• Arose from the Tomb. Lightning truth. born. ! state religion of Italy
.Kisses in Bethlehem
At this time of the year Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem turn their thoughts to another town in the Holy Land, well known from their early childhood as Bethlehem, the privileged place where Jesus Christ was born.
Every 20 minutes a bus (No. 22) runs from the bus station (something like the one at Bondi Junction though not as big).
You slip out of the Old City , cross the busy road running past the Damascus Gate, and you are soon in your bus and on the way to Bethlehem. Soon the journey is almost directly south and the travellers are favoured with glimpses to the east of the Judaean desert. But your mind is on only one thing: the "little town" of Bethlehem. (It is not so little now with its more than 30,000 inhabitants).
the words of Ruth "Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God"-
and he feels that, in spite of the efforts of some scholars to cast doubt on the historicity of Bethlehem as the place of the birth of Jesus, it is altogether appropriate that Bethlehem has been generally accepted as His birthplace on the testimony of both Matthew and Luke.
"The fact that Christ was born here is well substantiated by constant and reliable tradition from the early days of Christianity. Critical
analysis of the Gospel
'Joy of praying the great
priestly prayer of Christ '
Like Mary and Joseph on the ir journey you see the traditional site of the tomb of Rachel and revere this great Old Testament saint. Later on you see the field where (again, according to tradition) Ruth, the greatgrandmother of David, the ancestor of Christ, gleaned the grain (Ruth, 2,8). You are reminded that as Christians we owe so much to the Jews. In faith Abraham is our father, too; Rachel and Ruth are our holy ones; and their God is the God we adore. With such thoughts a pilgrim prays in texts has brought out a number of conclusions As has been said before, which confirm rather the journey to Bethlehem is than disprove the tradi- not a tour. It is a pilgrimtional site." age. Suddenly the bus
born of the Virgin Mary." •• The other altar com memorates the spot where Mary is said to have laid her Child in a manger. On the occasion of my first visit (Once is not • enough!) Mass was offered
by
Father John Farrugia, O.F.M. of Adelaide. (He has since been called to his eternal reward. R.I.P.). The joy of praying the great priestly prayer of Christ in the cave where He was born is intensified when one recalls that here, too, were uttered those first infant cries that were
no less His saving prayer to the Father of mankind. It ' is a contagious joy, and after Holy Communion I found myself (with others) surreptitiously drawing ·, aside the carpet curtains and kissing the limestone walls of the cave.
"Allelu ! Allelu ! once said so truly, "the kiss of Jesus."
Everybody sing Al/elu. This humble cave was the Christ was born in scene of Mary's first Bethlehem caresses of her adorable So that man would live baby who had a name ascends a hilly street
presents some beauty though cluttered up, according to Orthodox practice, with candlestands, lamps and, of course, the gilded iconostasis.
'Sanctuary'
(Francis Weiser, SJ) flanked by the stone-built again. already. He was called Alleluia." Jesus before He was conAnd one m~ght add that homes so characteristic of each ev~ngehst (the word modern Israel, and within means simply repo_r~er of minutes it stops in the good news) was v.:ntmg t_o square in front of the not express clearly m theu very attractive basilica of Infancy narratives the St Mary of the Nativity. transition from the Old to the New Testament -"the _Not attra~tlve on the outside, and, mdeed, not very Chnstological preachi~g beautiful inside in spite of the _Church presented m graceful columns and remthe imagery of Israel" (t,o nants of ancient mosaics. ~se Raymond E. Browns However, the Christian fme phrase). pilgrim is drawn towards'
.---------------------- the sanctuary which still
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We kissed the marble floor where Mary gave birth to Jesus. "We kissed
Soon you are down the the traditional manger, not stairs and into the cave sys- made of wood but a trough tern under the sanctuary smoothed hollow from the where the Lord was born limestone. Yes, emotion and cared for. There are takes over. And then one's two altars. Under one is a thought comes back to the silver star set in the yellow Real Presence of Christ in tinted marble floor with the cave through the Mass the inscription (in Latin) : and our Holy Communion "Here Jesus Christ was which is, as Saint Therese
God's promise was fulfilled
by FATHER JOHN L 'ESTRANGE
ceived (Math, 2, 21). Her love made this cavern dwelling that animals used for shelter a palace, a temple, where the very absence of human amenities focused her attention on the living Word she nursed at her breast. It was true and perfect love. "This love is not afraid of humiliation," write Vieujean, in Your Other Self, "It doesn't cry out: My dignity! ,My personality! My value! My prestige! Its care is only for the good of others for there one touches God."
Pondering on the event of this first Christmas one feels sure that Mary's prayerful activity was a repetition of her Magnificat. And faithful, considerate and practical Joseph would have sensed the depth of her emotion, and joined with her in loving Jesus , accepting gratefully the role of foster-parent to need of our solicitude.
"LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU"
From the beginning of their history the Jews had lived with the promise of the many blessings that God would pour out on his chosen people Israel. , the Son of God. In the ecstasy of divine love, how-
Each event of their history was interpreted by them as a giving or a withholding of God's blessing.
The final and ultimate blessing was that God himself would come among his people to save them and make them holy.
From the time of Moses, of course, Israel believed that God was always in their midst.
His glory filled the Ark of the Covenant, and, later, the temple was seen as the special place of God's presence.
The Jews believed in God's presence among them and at the same time looked forward to his coming.
The temple was seen as a symbol both of the presence of God at the time, and of his complete and fuller presence in the future.
One of the last prophecies of the Old Testament promised that the "Lord whom you seek will come to his temple," and that before his coming he woulcl ,M~«I "his messenger to clear a path before him" (Mal. 3:1).
But how was God to come?
So Luke begins his account of the good news with the annunciation of the birth of two men - men who, at least in the eyes of Luke and of Christians everywhere, were very important for the history of mankind.
Luke's concern is with the angel's message - the meaning of the birth of Jesus. He presents Jesus' conception as a free act of God
This conception by Mary was not an answer to a prayer on Mary's part.
This is evident in the way Mary's reactions ar~ described in the story.
God takes the initiative. He sets the process in movement.
The only parallel to this is the creation of the universe.
In a sense, the coming of Jesus is a new Creation, a new beginning. God starts again from scratch, as it were.
Up till now, the universe (which at its creation God saw as good) had moved away from its initial goodness, and had become corrupt.
In Jesus the possibility is given for goodness to be restored
The direction towards evil that mankind had taken can now be reversed. Man can turn back to God.
ever, mundane practical things were not forgotten.
For example, the infant was wrapped "in swaddling clothes", and wrappings of this sort implied great parental care. And Joseph would have found the warmest part of cave, system which provided natural air-conditioning.
Second visit
On a second visit to Bethlehem in the company of my friend Brother Anthony, a De la Salle Brother who is a member of the De la Salle community at Jerusalem where he teaches enthusiastically the boys of the Brothers' school (Ecole des Freres), and two Sisters from U.S.A. who lecture at the University of Bethlehem (also conducted by the De la Salle Brothers) I sang
with them the ·Gloria In Excelsis Deo and some Christmas carols in the chapel cave of the "Shepherds' Fields", about 20 minutes' walk from Bethlehem. It was joy, joy, joy. And the local inhabitants did not seem to mind.
From this field one looks back to one of the best views of Bethlehem. The field is fertile though there are some rocky outcrops, and the town lies on the gently sloping hill as a pretty backdrop. And then the famous bells ring out, and prayer springs again to one's lips. But this time one listens (Listening is prayer, too) and one hears, as Mary heard, the divine voice:
"You wait expectantly for the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Himself. He will keep you firm to the end, without reproach, on the day of our Lord Jesus" (I Cor I,7-9)
It is a reminder of what Advent and Christmas is all about - the coming of our Lord to each of us indivudally on our last day
"Homage to Christ our King we pay, Born of a Virgin's womb this day. Save us, Creator, from on high Accept our love and hear our cry"
It is a reminder that in the Eucharistic celebrations for Christmas day our churches are another Bethlehem, and Christ Himself becomes at the words of the priest really present. He prays with us, He is our leader and representative, in the great sacrificial prayer of the Mass. Our prayers are joined with His, and with the saints and angels (of whom Mary is Queen) Our Holy Communions are the holy intimacies of divine love. The kisses of Bethlehem are forever new.
left - Thewinning entryinthe12and undersectionfrom AnthonyField,11,of Craigie
Bottomleft - The winningentryinthe9 andundersection fromHeidiArbuckle, ofNed/ands.
BottomRight - The winningentryinthe 7 andundersection fromMartinMcinnes, ofMukinbudin.
World of fantasy_ is between the n_ages
ABookOfChristmas,byTashaTudor,published by WilliamCollins Pty. Ltd.,$5.95. ReviewedbyRoslynRoss.
This beautifully presented hard-cover volume is a child's delight as soon as the cover is turned back.
It's three-dimenstonal (a pop-up book in kid's language) and as the pages lift scenes of Christmas and the nativity rise up.
The pop-ups are delightfully detailed with 'windows' and 'doors' in buildings to be opened for a look inside.
Written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, A Book Of Christmas, tells of a time for gathering together of families; for the reuniting of old friends; for the giving of gifts to those we love; and, above all, for celebrating the birthday of the Holy Child.
It is a time for recalling old traditions, and for the creating of new ones - making joyful memories to shine down the ensuing years like lighted candles in the heart.
There are two Christmases, of coursethe secular one, with all the happy activities of the Yuletide season; and the religious one, a time of rejoicing anew each year in the timeless and eternal miracle of the birth of Christ.
Tasha Tudor keeps both Christmases, and her beautiful three - dimensional illustrations in this unique book are a gift of joy to an.
28 The Record, December 24-30,
Winning young artists
Right: Anthony Field, (11 ), of Year Six Whitfords Catholic Primary chool gets good marks for drawing and has already had one of his drawings published in The Record.
Left: Heidi Arbuckle, (7). of Year Two at • Loreto Nedlands last year won the junior .4 section for her paint- {j ing of Father Jegorow saying Mass.
Horse show · action a first for Nine
Channel nine brings another major international sport to the screens of Perth television viewers on Monday, December 28, at 11.30pm with the telecast of the first day's action in the Olympia International Horse Show.
Direct from the famous Olympia stadium, the BBC cameras will record horse and rider competing against a set course and timeclock.
The Olympia event was first held in 1907 and was the first truly international equestrian event in the world, however it was interrupted by hostilities during the Second World War and when re-introduced in 1945 it was held outdoors at White City.
The event today is now back at Olympia and is heralded as the first major international event of the Winter season with riders and horses moving on to Hanover and Berlin in the New Year for the European circuit.
Channel nine will provide coverage of the famous event over four nights from December 28, with highlights on Monday at 11.30pm, Wednesday at 11.30pm, Thursday at 11.30om, and Friday at 11pm.
TURKISH PRINCE gave his supporters cause for concern before clearly scoring in the Holiday Handicap (ID) on Saturday. Having his first race start, TURKISH PRINCE lacked experience and although running a little wide on straightening drew away over the concluding stages to win by one and three quarter lengths TONIC enhanced his prospects of a Railway Stakes start when he finished powerfully to overhaul the speedy Kahlua Gold over 1,400 metres at Ascot. This galloper has now won at his only three starts this preparation and although he may find the Railway Stakes field a little too good he should have little trouble in winning in Welter Company.
IRISH EARL is another galloper after a start in the Railway Stakes on Saturday he blitzed the opposition to score most impressively by six lengths over Pyrrhic Victory.
IRISH EARL has been heavily supported over the last few weeks to win the big sprint and has firmed from 50 / l into 12/ I. VORTILLA equal favourite for the Australian Derby, should give Western Australia its first win in the prestigious event. He has had a good solid preparation for the 2,400 metres race and although up against horses the calibre of Lost World - should prove too good and continue the great run of success owner-trainer Stan Quinlivan has enjoyed this season.
The Daughters of Charity NEED YOUR HELP for their work for the development of the underprivileged
Deliver to 534 William Street, Highgate F-or Truck to call
First test telecast continues through the week
The First Test between Australia and the West Indies which started at the MCG on Boxing Day, continues this week with a direct telecast on Channel nine.
Cricket series
On Sunday, December 27, the telecast starts following the 7am presentation of 'Sunday'Channel Nine's new two hour public affairs program - and will continue through to stumps, with highlights of the day's play Cricket highlights for at I ]pm. those days will be at
A preview of
The 1982 Winfield Perth th Cup will be run over 3,200 e metres on New Year's Day at Ascot.
Cup
For the following three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,._ the telecast will start at 7. 50am and continue through until stumps each day.
The cup race worth lander, Lovelace Watkins, 10.30pm each evening.
Channel 7 at 9.35pm, last year's race by some 10
$175,000 will be the subject eastern states horses, veteOn Friday, January I, Channel Nine will telecast the McDonald's Cup match between South Australia and Victoria from the Adelaide oval, while on Saturday, January 2, the New Year will open with the second Test match starting between Australia and the West Indies. of a special preview on ran Magistrate, who won
December 31. lengths, Allez Bijou and Hosts Gary Carvolth, former WA galloper BreJimmy Chadwick, Russell chin Castle. Roberts and Barry Farmer The best candidates from will discuss the
Castle.
This match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and the telecast will start for Perth viewers at 7.50am.
Cricket highlights will be shown at 11.45pm.
CraigPalmer - teamorganiser.
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VILNA: Lithuania - Authorities in Lithuania broke up a summer farm outing of young people, interrogated them, harrassed the young men, threatened the young women with rape and imprisoned their priestcompanion for several days.
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About 20 young people, ,-.-------------------. adult chaperons and Live In Father Ricardas Cemiauskas visited a farm near where they helped harvest the hay, slept in a barn overnight, swam, played soccer, listened to remarks by Father Cerniauskas and attended Mass. Militiamen and civilian members of the local Internal Affairs Department arrived at the farm and demanded an accounting of the group's activities.
Father Cerniauskas refused to deal with the man who identified himself as the Internal Affairs Department director or to accompany him from the farm because the man was drunk, according to the Chronicle.
Militia squads arrived later, attempted to seize one of the adults, scuffled with the young men and brutally forced the young men into one vehicle and the young women into another.
At the Moletai militia department the young women were interrogated first, one by one, by drunken authorities, who asked the women whether they had prayed on the farm and who had organised the outing.
Throughout the interrogation, the officials were very vicious, hitting the table with their fists, intimidating the girls, shouting: "All of us will take turns raping you; you won't take any more vacations."
Father Cerniauskas, who has been repeatedly quc tioned, was taken to another town and gaoled for five days in a basement cell with no light and bedding. He was released, ordered to report for further inter-
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The last saw a remarkable increase in the number of religious congregations especially of women.
This year the Sisters of Mercy are celebrating their 150th year since their foundation in Dublin, 1831.
Their first school in Western Australia was the small ProCathedral of St John in 1846. This building still stands in the grounds of Mercedes College, Victoria Square.
The following verses give some idea of what Christmas was like for the first Catholics in W.A.
Dutchmen gazed first upon our shore Hundreds of years aQo, Dirk Hartog came and, later, more Whose names we do not know.
Bill Dampier, ex-buccaneer, The first Porn to our State, Struck land up north about the year Of 1688.
More frequently the French ships came Up to 1818, Their coming marked by each French name That on our coast is seen.
The English feared such ships would claim The West in name of France And so they made it their quick aim To settle in advance.
From Sydney , Governor Darling sent The Amity brig bound (In 1826 they went) For settling King George Sound
This soldier-convict company In cramped style sailed away And, marvelling at Albany, Arrived on Christmas Day
The Captain Fremantle claimed land For England, on the Swan, And Captain Stirling with his band Made settlement thereon No convicts were there, by design, Among Swan settlers who By Christmas 1829 Into a thousand grew.
miss Cath McAuley, full of zest, an Irish group's begun, to make God's mercy manifest, in 1831.
miss Emilie de Vialar does then the Church enhance with Apparition Sisters, far away in Gaillac, France
abroad, Jeanne Jugan with French verve has opened wide love's door: the Little Sisters with her serve the aged and the poor
Directed by the Catholics then Who wanted something done, Appeal for priests did D'Arcy pen in 1 841
So Dr. Polding O.S.B ., " First bishop of this land
From Sydney sent a group of three As missionary band
Two Fathers (Brady, Joostens) and Patrick O'Reilly A catechist, stepped off on land At first at Albany.
They baptized those who'd been deprived So long of Liturgy; Had Mass; sailed off; in Perth arrived For Christmas '43.
the 'Pallottines' are on their way, a recent group in Rome, to form apostles of the Jay at work and in the home and Christian Brothers now begin in Sydney; teachers who by Edmund Rice were founded in 1802
About three thousand four hundred Swan Colony could boast, The Catholics being twenty head, Or thirty at the most.
Yet Governor Hutt received the pair Of priests and gave them land: St. John's church near Victoria Square To this day still does stand
Next, Father Brady journey made; Abroad, more priests to gain, And teachers also to persuade, And money to obtain.
In Rome they listened; thought it best For keeping Faith alive To make him Bishop of the West In 1845.
Two Benedictines heard his callSalvado, Serra who With other priests came, five in all, Pl us students one or two.
For Irish Mercy nuns, indeed, He pleaded, nor in vain: Six sailed with him accompanied By Rev'rend Mother Frayne.
Strange must have seemed the Carolling When came the Christmas Fest In snowless summer stifling, A fortnight from Rottnest.
On January seventh they, in 1846, Hove to; rowed up the Swan next day To meet the Catholics.
The Pro-Cathedral of St. John On Sunday filled to brim; The nuns sang; Dom Salvado on Piano played each hymn.
The bishop had, while overseas, Giv'n all to understand
Two million Aborigines Were living in this land
"And Catholics," the bishop said, "Four thousand numbered all :"
The Sisters now found out instead His estimates were tall.
They opened school, one child appeared : "Which makes it rather plain , To visiting we must be geared," Said the Rev'rend Mother Frayne.
They visited all families
Especially the poor
And, making friends of enemies, Their schools grew more and more.
Until, in 1 981, The Mercy mistresses Will celebrate, since first begun, 150 Christrnasses.
Christmas is a time of wonderful scents and pleasant images: the warm, hearty meals; the graceful Madonnas and chubby cherubs who adorn our cards and trees; the brightly • coloured light that illuminates the December night.
But the sights and scents of the season are only the surface of the festivity, pointing as they do to a celebration of the soul. Mankind's spirit rejoices because God walks among his creatures.
What an odd time of the year, then, to celebrate a death. Yet the church does exactly that on December 26. The aroma of roasted turkey dissipates in the winds of conflict; and the image of a graceful madonna is exchanged for a brutal picture of a man's execution.
The day after Christmas is the feast of St Stephen, the first martyr. Little is known about Stephen except what can be gleaned from the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
At first, his appearance in Scripture seems only incidental. Stephen is listed as one of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles to help with the daily distribution of food.
The appointment of the deacons was made in response to a complaint bv one faction of the early church in Jerusalem. This group protested that their widows were being neglected. The apostles turned to seven men "of good reputation · full of the Spirit and of wisdom" to help alleviate the problem.
The text does not say how old Stephen was at the time of the appointment, where he was born, or what he did for a living.
But one thing is certain. Stephen did not confine himself to the assigned task of food distribution for long.
Several short verses later in Scripture, he is found preaching the Gospel, working "great miracles and signs among the people." Apparently Stephen was a gifted orator - gifted enough to unsettle some people.
Called before the elders in Jerusalem, he is questioned about his teaching. False witnesses had testified that Stephen was preaching the destruction of the temple by Jesus, that he was making blasphemous statements against Moses and God. The high priest asks, "Is this so?''
Stephen responds eloquently. He proceeds to a long speech recounting the entire history of Israel. Along the way he emphasizes the rejection of Moses and the persecution of the prophets by stubborn people.
Finally, turning to his accusers, Stephen calls them "stiff-necked people."
Just as prophets of old were persecuted, he declared, in their own times Jesus, the Righteous One, had been betrayed.
In a mad rush of indignation, Stephen is seized, taken out of the city and stoned to death.
It's an ugly scene in the midst of a festive season. But lest it be thought that December 26 was chosen as the day for the feast of Stephen by some dourfaced, medieval Scrooge it should be noted that no one knows for certain why the day was selected.
More than likely December 26 was chosen because of a close association between Stephen and Jesus. Not only is Stephen the first to die for his faith, but his story resembles that of Jesus.
Both Jesus and Stephen are accused of blasphemy, both condemned, and both forgive their persecutors as they die. Consequently, Stephen was given a place of honour in the calendar.
Regardless of the speculation, the feast of St Stephen serves as a reminder of the death and suffering that await the infant king of Bethlehem. But the joy of Christmas is not diminished by a sober reminder of death.
The joy of Christmas knows that death will be overcome.
ativity into
One of Italy's most famous saints, St Francis of Assisi, is credited with starting the Nath, ity scene tradition nearly eight centuries ago. Italians have built it into a high art form.
Homes and churches hundreds of wood, porcevie for the most elabo- lain and terracotta figures rate Nativity scene, that is 50 feet long, 30 feet with real waterfalls, high and more than 20 feet d deep. soun -and-light shows, Constructed in the 1600s star-studded skies and by a team of noted artists, moving figures. sculptors and architects for On Rome's fashionable the Bourbon King Charles Via Giulia, all the mer- III , the scene faithfully rechants get together every creates the customs and year to plan a common costumes of 17th-century theme for their window Neapolitans. displays. The theme is The Forum Hotel has a some national or regional full museum displaying tradition of the Nativity nativity scenes from scene. around the world.
Last year in honour of the In it one finds figures of pope from Poland, a mag- the Holy Family, shenificent Polish tradition pherds, kings, angels and was the theme: The street animals in glass, porcelain, was lined with replicas of wood, seeds, stone, marzifamous Polish cathedrals pan, terracotta, tin, paper , housing the manger scene, ceramic with trumpet blowers and From Peru come tall, angels coming out of the brightly coloured terrachurch spires to proclaim cotta figures in the hats the arrival of the newborn and shawls of the Alto king. Plano From Mexico and The most famous Nativ- Bolivia, figures of cut tin. 1ty scene in Rome is in the From Africa , a Negroancient Basilica of Sts Cos- featured Jesus , Mary and mas and Damien - an Joseph delicately carved in intricate montage of ebony. Bamboo figures
32 The Record, December 24-30, 1981
from Japan, seashell figures from the South Pacific, creations of glued seeds from Thailand.
But it is in the churches that Italy's love of Nativity scenes becomes most evident. Many churches have sponsoring groups or associations which spend all year planning and building the Nativity scene.
One of the best-known examples is that of the street-cleaners in a sector
