Jrarr = December, 1964
SALVE REGINA COLLEGE, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
Guests, Hostesses Rejoice At Sodality Christmas Party By MICHOL BESTOSO Glorious, green-robed and h oll ywreathed , the kindly Ghoslt of Christmas Prese nt lifted his rorc h in Mercy Hall gym and smiled with satisfaction. "God bless us," he murmu red , " but t hese soda lists do have the t rue Christmas spirit. " Below him twe nty eager children , encircled by six protective mothers each , were awaiting th e start of the Dece mber 9 Christmas program. One li t tle bo·y, quite at e-ase, held his fo ot and wi ggled back and forth on his ch,Jir, neve r ta kin g his eyes fl·om 'the bright pile of presents before him . The li ghts dimmed and all heads turned to the back door. A funny clown stumbled in with a suiltcas·e; the children watched in awe. Now the Ghost became engrossed in the play . A flash of golden curls distracted him as a little girl, delighted by a dancing do ll, turned ecstatic-a lly to her circle of mothers .
" Is i t a real one? " an excited voice called out When a lumpy brown horse bobbled onto the stage. "The robbers took them; they went that way!" the child ren yelled, as Mr. Frumpkin s moaned over the disappearance of his dolls. And so the play moved to a close, the Ghost no ting with s•atisfaction t he happy particip-a tion of th e children. No-w, one thin g was paramount in each child 's mind: th e presents. Santa gave the word and all restraint was lif'ted. Ribbons popped , paper tore, and boxes opened. Toys, clothes, good ies piled up beside each boy and girl. The Ghost of Chri stmas Present rej-oiced in the genero-sity of the soci alists; and, as he snuffed his 'torch in the darkened gym at the end of the day , he uttered an ancient wish: " God bless the Sodality- moderator, mem bers, one an::! all. "
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Father Dtttoe 's Message
The Why of Christmas
In a few short days, t he word s "Merry Christmas" will be fallin g from our lips in gay ab undance. As th e snowy whiteness covers the velvety green, these words come naturaily and a1lm ost •a utomatica lly. Our minds and our hearts, even no·w, are ilurn·ed to the ·time of h•appy clays and pleasant memo·r ies, whe n we almost envy the simplicity of children. We look forward to a renewal of joyous days, clays of gift-givi ng and gift-receivin g, clays of expressing love and bein g loved, clays of happiness and carefree livin g away from ~he burdens of academics. Fo-r , Christmas is a holiday~a n d Christmas is a holyday. To o often we remember 'Vhe ho'liday and for get 'to remember the holyday. In our endeavor t o rejoice we neglect the on·e 'thin g that will t rul y brin-g joy. As we read St. Luke's account of the coming of the Chris't, we are fi lled with deep emoltion, fo•r there is no more beautiful story. The good doctor, Luke , tells us in detail how God came to :this world - t he homel essness, the stable, the manger, t he swaddlin g cloth es , th e ecstatic youn g Mother, the caroli ng angels, t he humble shepherdst hese are all a thi ng of be'a ulty.
Bishop Notes Important Aspects Of the Second Vatican Council "Ebb Tide" is deeply indebted to the Most Reverend Bernard M. Kelly, Auxiliary Bishop of Providence, for the gracious interview he granted to one of our staff in order that our readers may hear his views on the Second Vatican Council. Bishop, the Second Vatican Council was convoked by Pope John XXIII to bring about an "Aggiornamento." What does this mean? In one of His parables, Our Lord comp·arecl the Church to yeast, which a wo man puts in flour. The yeast permeates ali the fl our, causing i t to rise. The yeast is a symbol of 'the Church , which Christ established to permeate every area of hum an life and act ivity with th e principles of the Go-s pel. For many centuries the Church d id profound ly influence Wes1tern civilization and set the keyno-te and to ne of society as a whole. Sin ce the Protestant Reformation , however, the Church has eith er withdrawn or been forc ed lo wit hdraw from many areas of life, first from politics, later from economics, learning and the arts. Christendom has been supplanted by an immense secular culture which denies not on ly the authority but also the relevance of the Church . In view of the present
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But it is St. John who tells us why all this 'too k place, why God came into t his wo-rld , why there is a story. Out of His love, infinite and 'tend er love , love 'to extremity for t he fooHsh, feeb!e creatures called man who have erred, Who have sinned. "God so loved the world as to give us His only-begoVten Son." Here, truly, is love beggin g for love. In no blazing glo ry did th e Christ c-o-me. Ra,th er did He come as a beggar, never demanding only asking and pleadin g in helplessness. Here is incomprehensible ge nerosity •askin g for gentle reception and slight return. Oan man be so foolish and so fe eble as nolt to accept "Love" offered him ? The how •o f Christmas never &trays far from our minds; the why o.f Christmas must not be allowed to slip from our min ds and our hearts. So , in a few clays let us t'Oo go over to Bethlehem and find lthe cave .a nd the man ger , the radiant Mother and the crying Babe, crying for our return of love. And let us offer our simple and meager hearts in return. This is my wis'h for you, and this is what I really mean when I S'ay to each of yo u : Merry Christmas!
SINGERS AND THESPIANS UNITE: In the Christmas splendor of Ochre Court, the Queen's Players joined the Queen's Choristers for the presentation of the annual Yule-tide program last Sunday. Left: Normand A. Gingras, director, is seen conducting a selection from t he
Vol. 19, No. 3
MOST REVEREND BERNARD M. KELLY, D.D., J .C.D. Auxiliary Bishop of Providence dangerous spread of secularism , the Chu rc h feels impelled to call attention to herse lf and to seek to re-enter the main tide of hum an affairs. This, I think, is what Pope John mea nt by "Aggiornam ento.'' Bishop, what has the Council done so far to achieve this "Aggiornamento?" Before settin g out to speak to mod ern m1n, the Church first had to examine herself, to see wheth-
Freshmen Elect Officers; Terry Hodgens President Fo·r all intents and purposes, Mercy Hall has become Convention Hall for the dura'tion of fr eshman class electioneering. President: Terry Hod gens, an O·chre Courter. On election, she professed to be "typic•a lly happy." Asked about futur e plans for froshes, she rep-li ed, "Well, we need money. " For whalt? RalH es, alleviation of the mixer situation. She was vice-president of her freshman class at Our Lady of Victory in Platts burg, N. Y. Vice President: Kathleen Healey, a commutor fr'om Middletown . Vee p Healey acquired t he r ecord on which she stands at S1t. Catherine's Acad emy in New po·r t. Resident Student Council Representative: Paulette Rit0hey, Mercy Hall dorm presid ent. Ohio~born , she cho-se Salve Regina because
she " wanted to come Eas.t. " At Galion High, she was a consotant committee and chairwoman . Non- Resident Representative: Elizabeth Herterick of Newport. At St. Cath erin e's she was Student Council President. Secretary: Mary Lou Ross, ano•ther one•time student-council or at St. Mary's in Manhasset, Lo ng Island. She's a resident at St. J oe's. In her sp1re ti me, Officer Ross surveys milita ry balls. Treasurer: Ochre Court resident Deidre Fields , from Branford , Conn. Deidre was a s'tucl ent r ep at St. Mary's in New Have n. One Social Committee Chairman: Leslie Ca ll anclra , an at hletically-inclin ed grad ua te of Bristol Hi gh ; she commutes from Bristol. Nomi nees for Social Chairman No. 2 are: Mona Spililne, Mary Graham , an::! Mary Fran ces Lau.
club's exciting, tender, multi-languaged program. Right: The camera catches Joanne Curcio, Ginnie Ko ehler and Donna Adcock in a moment from Robert Hugh Benson's "Mystery Play," adapted and produced by the freshman apprentices.
er any reform was necessary in order 1to make her message more in,telli gible. First the Coun cil Fathe rs decided that a reform of the Liturgy, or worship of t'he Church , was needed , in o·rd er that all Catholics might become more acti ve participants in the life of the Church. This refo-rm was embodied in the Con&titution on the Li1turgy which was promu lgated in December 1963. We are no·w beginnli ng to enjoy the fruits of the lit;.;r-gical reform throug'h the gre1a1ter use of Engli sh in Holy M3ss and the administration o.f the sacra ments. Bishop, the Third Session also produced a decree on Ecumenism. Was this also in the nature of a reform? It's more a comp·lete change of att.itucle toward all those who are outsid e the Church. Ever since the Council of Trent, our attitude toward our sep .u atecl brelthren has been cautious and somewhat defensive. But no w the Church without chan ging her doctrin e, i~ ta kin g a great step toward re-establishing dia logue and cooperation with all church es and commun it ies separated from the Holy See. How will the "Aggiornamento" of the Church affect college students? To mak e her voice heard in the world the Church mus-t rely primarily on the laity. It is th eir responsibility to make known and to apply a Christian solu'tio n to Vhe prob lems of the world in whabever environm ent or field of ac!Jivity they may be engaged. Oatholic college stud ents h ave a speci·al responsibility in this regard , because their trainin g and professional competence will give them a respected and influ ential role in the various fields which 'they wi ll enter. What, specifically, does the Church expect from college students? First, that the college stud ent be convin ced of hi s responsibility. The college stude nt has a vocaltion just as surely as t he priest or re li gio us to be a witness to Chris-t in the world. This requires holiness of life, competence in th eir parti cular field and a n appreciation of their work, not simply as a live lih ood , but as a call to represent Chri&t in the world. The college stud ent ca nno t be content to live hi s private life without getting involved in th e great social pt·ob lems which cry out for a Christian solu tion . It has been sa id by some that (Continued on Page 2)