Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 36, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 1978 Page: 2 of 6
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TEXAS GULF COAST CATHOLIC
Friday, February 3, 1978
Go gently
into Lent
EDITORIALS
bv Palp Francis
Before I became a Catholic, my Lents were
rigorous and they remained so in my early
years as a Catholic. Lent was for me then a
time for the disciplining of my body, a
deprivation of all that might give me
pleasure.
It was necessary, I wrote then, because if
we are to give ourselves wholly to Christ we
must first of all possess ourselves. And we
cannot possess ourselves when we are con-
trolled in part by our love of comforts and
luxuries.
I do not now deny some value in this. We
should be in self-control and we can allow
ourselves to be controlled by our love of
comfort and by habits that slip beyond our
control. But where once I went fiercely into
Lent, I now go gently into Lent.
I suppose one of the reasons for this is that
the rigorous regime I once imposed upon
myself my body could not easily accept. Once
I fasted every day, eating only one spare meal
a day and from Good Friday until Easter
morning I’d neither take food or water. I think
my body would protest against this most
violently.
But more importantly I have come to
realize that it is the soul more than the body
that requires attention and that what Lent
must do most of all for us is to bring us into a
warmer, closer relationship with God.
So I go gently into Lent wanting only to love
God the Father more, unite myself with God
the Son more completely and bring myself
under the closer direction of God the Holy
Spirit.
I think there was a time when there was a
kind of fierceness about my prayer life. I
sought intensity in my prayers, rigorously
trying to bring myself into the presence of
God, praying almost as if what I sought could
be achieved primarily by my own efforts.
I have come now to a comfortableness in
prayer, to an ease in my spiritual life in which
I understand that what is needed from me is
an openness to the love of God and that from
Him will come the fullness of what I seek, not
from my own efforts.
Where once I thought of myself as the ac-
tivator of my own spirituality, I understand
myself now as the receiver. Where once my
own spiritual life demanded a multiplicity of
prayers, it is now found in the continuity of an
openness to God.
I think I must explain here or I may be
misunderstood. I do believe we must pray, not
only pray but to pray constantly. But easily,
easily, not to God as if He must be convinced
by the feryor of our prayers but as He who is
our loving Father, wanting nothing more than
our love. I believe we must pray, not as
though our salvation depended on it but with
the understanding that Goa is not our stern
judge, ready to pounce upon us for any
mistake we might make, but that He wants
most of all that we should spend eternity with
Him.
When I say we must pray constantly I do not
mean we must always be reciting prayers but
rather we should live always with a con-
sciousness of His presence. We m be about
our duties in life but in the natural pauses we
can find time to say, “My God, I love you,”
then return to the task before us
We unite ourselves most completely with
Jesus when we remember He told us that as
we acted towards the least of those among us
so we acted towards Him. Union with Christ is
found not just in the recollection of His life —
although this can be a way of uniting with
Him, especially in the Way of the Cross — but
in the way we recognize that we encounter
Him in all we meet. So we make a Lent that
brings us closer to Him when we increase our
charity, our kindness, our service to others.
As we go gently into Lent it must be to show
our love and concern to all we meet for in all
we may meet we meet Him.
And we come closer to God the Holy Spirit
as we seek to discern what God would have us
do. I do not suggest that the Holy Spirit will,
simply because you wish it, offer you in some
miraculous way a detailed instruction as to
exactly what you should do. But rather I
suggest that you can be alert to the work of
the Holy Spirit in your life. If you can not
know exactly what is from the Holy Spirit you
can know what is not. What is of anger, envy,
suspicion, selfishness, bellitlement of others,
cannot be from the Holy Spirit, what comes to
you when you have charity for others, respect
for others, concern for others can be from
Him for He comes only w here charity, respect
and concern opens the way.
The beginning
A few years ago, the Catholic Bishops set
the requirements that prior to Baptism the
parents of the child to be baptized and, if
possible, the godparents should receive pre-
Baptismal instructions. Although the format
and duration of these instructions may vary
from parish to parish, the purpose of the
instructions is the same: to give the parents
and godparents a solid understanding of what
Baptism means for their child and for
themselves as parents.
Baptism is the first of the seven
Sacraments and is the beginning of each
By Boy M. Grussedonio
persons spiritual journey. Without Baptism,
no other of the Sacraments may be received.
The Catholic bishops have set the
requirement for instructions because many
parents were taking Baptism too lightly,
something "necessary to do and get over”
But unfortunately, that is the wrong attitude,
for Baptism is the beginning of a wonderful
life as an adopted child of God, joined to
Christ through the cleansing waters, and
called to live out His love and com-
mandments. In Baptism, we enter the door of
God’s life for the first time, and we become a
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Capital com ments
State Department of Human Resources
by Richard Daly
Last year the Texas Legislature changed
the name of the state agency which delivers
many social services to Texans from the
Department of Public Welfare to the
Department of Human Resources. The
change in names altered no programs in the
Local Campaign for Human
Development proposals due
Parish level applications for
a 1978 small grant from
parishioners’ contributions to
the Campaign for Human
Development (C.H.D.) are
now being accepted. Each
year 25 pet of the C.H.D.
funds raised in the Diocese
remain here for allocation to
local projects. (The 75 pet.,
which is forwarded to
National C.H.D. headquar-
ters, is awarded to fund major
self-help projects “of the poor,
by the poor and for the poor”
throughout the U.S.) Many
large grants have been made
to applicants in South Texas.
The Catholic Charities
Board has been designated the
Diocesan reviewing body to
receive local small grant
proposals and to make funding
recommendations.
C.H.D. returns for 1977
indicate a total of $2,400 may
be committed to help poverty
area applicants meet some
small specific needs. In
keeping with National C.H.D.
guidelines, the small, local
grants ($300-$500 max) are to
help meet social, economic,
legal aid, health, com-
munications, housing,
education, or housing needs of
the poor.
“Obviously, three or four
hundred dollars is not suf-
ficient to produce any
significant impact on the
overall poverty rate,”
Charities Board President,
Mary Whitmire, said. “But it
will help these, who have
small project need, if the local
group or parish organization
provides volunteer manpower
to make these limited funds
help a larger number of poor,”
Mrs. Whitmire continued.
DEADLINE: MARCH 15,
l'*78 - The procedures for
making a local small grant
request is to submit a letter to
the C.H.D. Ad Hoc Committee,
C-0 Catholic Charities, 818
Antelope St., Corpus Christi,
Tx. 78401 prior to March 15,
1978.
Any parish, club, local
committee or agency may file
an application, stating who
makes the request; the
amount desired, ($300-$500
max.); the purpose for which
it will be spent; the an-
ticipated total number of
poverty level beneficiaries, if
the grant is approved; and the
name of individuals respon-
sible for the project.
All applications will be
reviewed on their merits and
recommendations made by
the committee at the next
regular Catholic Charities
Board meeting, April 18th, in
Alice, Texas. Announcements
of the successful applicants
will be made by Board action
at that time. The public is
welcome.
tGXos gulf coast
CATHOLIC
Published weekly, except the last week of December and the last week of July.
Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
President . ................... Most Rev. Thomas J. Drury, D.D.
Editor and Business Manager................Fr. Robert Freeman
Circulation Manager.................... Vivian Stephens
Advertising Manager..........................Mrs. Alice Price
Reporter.....................Mrs. Alice Price, Mrs. Anna Tiblier
Photographers..................Ray Madrigal, Mrs. Anna Tiblier
Address all commications to:
TEXAS GULF COAST CATHOLIC
P.O Box 2584, Corpus Christi, Texas 78403 ifCDOj?
Telephone 882-6191 Ext. 34
Price $5.00 per year
Entered as Second Class Matter United States Post Office
Corpus Christi, Texas
huge state agency, but probably was an at-
tempt to solve some of its public relations
problems created by the term “welfare”.
Whedier or not the name change will ma».e
the state welfare programs more acceptable
to Texans remains to be seen. A much more
important aspect of the Human Resources
Department’s PR program is the
dissemination of statistical information and
data which dispels some “welfare myths.”
For example during the last fiscal year the
Department served an average of 25,182
families per month. The average amount of
welfare per family provided was $106.16. The
average number of recipients per month was
314,543 which means that the average
recipient received $32.13 per month. Hardly
anyone would argue that welfare recipients
can get rich on those amounts.
Another fact which should dispel the “get
rich on welfare” myth is that welfare
programs pay only 75 pet of the basic living,
needs of a recipient based on cost of living'5
figures computed in 1969. Given the rate of
inflation we have experienced since 1969 it
seems highly unlikely that the aid distributed
in all welfare programs could adequately
cover the basic costs of food, shelter, and
clothing, not to mention health care arrl
educational expenses.
There are other myths that need to be
dispelled. One example is that most welfare
recipients are minorities, hs a matter of fact,
most recipients are white, not Mexican-
American or Black.
But probably more important than the
Department of Human Resources’ efforts at
dispelling welfare myths is its intention to
invite Texans from throughout the state to be
involved in the budgetary process for the next
fiscal year. A wide range of groups involved
in delivering social services including the
Catholic Charities Department of the Texas
Catholic Conference have been invited to
make budgetary recommendations. These
recommendations will be considered by the
top administrators of the Department of
Human Resources as they draw up their
budgetary requests for the 66th Session of the
Texas Legislature which will convene next
January. DHR officials hope that through this
process they will be able to determine what
sort of welfare programs most Texans want.
The newly appointed Commissioner of the
Department, Jerry Chapman, and his staff
are to be congratulated for their efforts both
to inform citizens of the true nature of welfare
and for soliciting their suggestions in the
budgetary process.
Unfortunately, there are problems with
welfare; there are those who will take ad-
vantage of the system given the opportunity.
But those people represent a very small
minority when compared to the large num-
bers of Texans who are truly in need. The
DHR needs as good an image as possible in
order to help those needy Texans.
PtAHYKNOLL
MARYKNOLL.NY 10545
m*
DYING IS NOT DEATH
Dr. George Buesing is the slatY physician
at Patrick House, a drug and alcohol re-
habilitation center based in Jersey City, New
Jersey. The good-looking 27-year-old six-
footer was an oarsman and football player
for Dartmouth College. He went on to the
University of Rochester School of Medicine
and did his residency at Cleveland Univer-
sity in Ohio. A few months prior to complet-
ing his residency. Dr. Buesing was getting
unusually fatigued and would literally col-
lapse at home. It became tougher for him to
work and he showed signs of irritability with
nurses and colleagues. When he began to
feel his spleen and run a fever, he knew the
number of possible things that could be
wrong with him. What he feared most was
confirmed—Leukemia.
In rrtany ways Dr. Buesing’s life has
changed for the better since his diagnosis.
After the initial bad feelings, grief, remorse
for things undone, self-anger and anger to-
wards God and family lessened, people
member of His Church, the Mystical Body of
Christ. Washed clean from Original Sin, we
become Living Temples of the Holy Spirit.
However, the bishops worry about what
happens to a child when the parents depart
from the church and the ritual of Baptism is
over. What should be the beginning of a
spiritual journey, in many cases is the end.
What happens to the spiritual life of the child
from Baptism on .is the responsibility of the
parents.
They must either nurture and help the
growth of this new, Divine Life within their
child, or it will wither and die. The spiritual
attitudes which the child will reflect in adult
life, will depend largely upon those learned
from the parents in those formative years of
growth and learning.
There is a very old, but true saying:
“Religion is caught before it is taught.” In the
home, the child will either learn more about
God or learn little to nothing. The child must
learn of God’s love, compassion, and mercy
from his parents, or he will never learn it at
all. And what the child has never learned as a
child, he will not be able to give to others as an
adult, and yet that is what we are called to be
as Christians — Givers. God gave us His Son
to be our “Light”, and through Baptism, He
gives us to the world to be its Light, other
Christs. But just as a child cannot walk who
has never learned to walk; in the same way,
and adult Christian cannot reflect the image
of Christ to others, unless one has learned the
love of Christ through the love of parents. The
fruit of a tree will generally be no better than
the tree itself.
God has given parents a beautiful
privilege. Like Mary and Joseph, they are to
raise an adopted child of God to become a
living reflection of his goodness and love.
Such a life will not only make for a holy
person, but also touch the lives of many other
persons in word and deed.
The home must provide an atmosphere for
spiritual growth. The child must know the
warmth and love of caring parents who allow
God to “live” in their home seven days a
week, and not just for an hour on Sunday. The
child must learn that thanksgiving is given to
God for daily life, the importance of the
Sacraments and Sunday and daily mass,
the value of Jiving every day in order to please
God. If all these lessons are taught in the
home by the love and example of the parents,
then the child will grow to adulthood with God
as a very important and inseparable part of
his daily life.
We all raise our children in the hopes that
each will be a good citizen; have a happy,
fruitful, and lasting marriage; get a good job,
and 1 ,'W right from wrong. These are all
very important, but there is much more, and
that is the presence of God in our daily lives.
Our Blessed Lord said that joy and peace
come from doing the Father’s will, not our
own. Give your child the chance to receive
this precious gift by teaching your child to
know, love, and serve God in daily life. Even
though this is a solemn obligation; it is a
beautiful privilege. As parents we are called
to raise our children to be the living image of
Jesus, the reflection of the Father. So when
you leave the doors of the church after
Baptism, don’t think it is over.....it is just
beginning! And whether or not this spiritual
journey reaches its end is up to you.
WORLD
gradually began to talk to him more openly
about things and shared their emotions with
him. “My disease,” he says, "has enriched
many relationships with both my friends and
my family and has brought me closer to my
patients.” One patient, an ex-addict, turned
his life around and dedicated himself Vo the
service of others. Tragically the man was
struck down by malignant lung cancer.
Shortly before the man died. Dr. Buesing
was able to speak to him on a common level
because both had terminal illnesses. "The
moments that we were together were special
for him and for me.”
If his illness had not been diagnosed, he
would have continued studying which would
have kept him away from those he loves.
Instead his disease has brought him back to
family, friends and Patrick House, a pro-
gram he's been dedicated to for a number of
years. In a strong sense the diagnosis has
enabled Dr. Buesing to reexamine his own
life. He says, “It cuts through a bunch of
fuzzy ideas about what's important like
academic training or a pleasure cruise and
lets you see vanity a little easier. It means
seeing my patients as people and not just as
addicts with problems.”
Dr. Buesing clearly recognizes that we all
share some kind of suffering and an eventual
death, but believes we can maximize this
living experience if we share our lives too,
with'as many people as we can.
He says, “The uncertainty of time is also a
source of hope for me. After all, dying is not
death and death is a lousy companion.”
1277-1 I’m Fr. Ron Saucci.
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Freeman, Robert E. Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 36, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 1978, newspaper, February 3, 1978; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840400/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .