CAPG's Blog 

"Henderson's Catholic pastor, Rev. Leo Gerard Doetterl, yesterday in his church uttered a prayer, calling upon God for a most unusual favor. Father Doetterl's prayer, a copy of which was furnished by him follows:

" Dear Heavenly Father, I beg of you, in your love for the souls of there people of Henderson, arouse in the hearts of these dear people an interest in the serious business of knowing and cherishing that which constitutes right believing and right living. Give them a hunger for correct faith and for correct morals. Cure them of this Eastern North Carolina curse of religious indifference. Eighty percent of Henderson's people are neither Catholic nor Protestant church-goers. They are indifferentists. They frame their own faith they make expediency their only guide in morals. They do not even ask what it the holy will of God. As I see it, Christ may as well not have come upon earth that first Christmas night, as far as these people are concerned. They do not investigate which is the true Church; they show by their actions that they are not concerned whether there is a church actually founded by the Son of God. They do not care about His Sacraments.

My dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, you once said, "I wish that thou wert hot or cold; but, because thou are neither hot not cold, I begin to vomit thee forth from my mouth." It is the only occasion, dear Jesus when you went so far, in your human discouragement, as to speak of vomiting. You were disgusted with cold and unfeeling religious indifference.

Dear Lord and God, those dear people, without Faith, and without fixed  Morals, seem not to think about right and wrong until their own sons and daughters are in disgrace before the bar of civil justice. Teach these people to make the precious inheritance of right believing and of right living an important part of the home atmosphere, a chief duty on the part of parental training, and a central factor in their philosophy of life. If this is too much to ask, that Faith and divine love be suddenly returned them after long years of indiffere3nce, please, dear God, send us a few spirited bigots, strong bigots, who will utter publicly their hoary false charges against your holy church, that we may publicly answer them, that we may vindicate your holy church, that the virtuous element among the people here may clearly discover that the sweet voice of the Savior still rings with authority throughout the ancient church, and that your holy church still can furnish complete credentials, and can still bring perfect peace to those who are humble enough to pray and earnest enough to investigate. Take away from others that bondage of spirit but which they cling to a man-made sect which they themselves know is not thy church. Give them all at least the spirit of honest search and inquiry. The soul and core of the religious spirit is the desire to do the will of our Maker. Give them all this restless desire, until they have learned the truth which will make them free, the truth which you have forever bequeathed to your one authorized agency on earth, the changeless and indestructible church of Rome. Amen."

August 1, 1938 Henderson Daily Dispatch

"One of the most illustrious members of the Order of Servites was St. Philip Benizi, who exercised the office of General after St. Benedict de Lantella, and who was elected in 1267. St. Philip sent his religious to Poland, Hungary, and even the Indies. He arranged the first constitutions of the order, or rather gathered into one the regulations of his predecessors, and decreed that they should be read in the refectory every Saturday.

About this time, the institution of the Servites was threatened with destruction. In 1215, the Council of Lateran had forbidden the establishment of new religious orders, and this had been confirmed by that of Lyons in 1274. Innocent V, who had become Pope in 1274, took it for granted that the Servites were included in this prohibition, and therefore determined to suppress them. He drew the attention of Cardinal Otthoboni, Protector of the order, to the decree, and having cited St. Philip Benizi to Rome, he forbade him to receive novices or to sell any of the goods of the order, which he confiscated in favor of the Holy See. He at the same time forbade the Servites to hear confessions.

Fortunately for these religious, the Pope lived but a short time, and his successor John XXII, did not press the affair. It was agitated under Nicholas III, Martin IV, and Honorius IV, during which time the Servites had much to suffer on the side of some of the Bishops. Finally, after much deliberation, it was settled in favor of the Servites by Honorius IV, in 1286." [Source: History of Religious Orders, by Rev. Charles Warren Currier 1896 Page 323.]

"Philip Benizi was about to die, and Julianna was but fifteen years of age. Nevertheless, enlightened from on high, the Saint hesitated not: he confided the Order to Juliana's hands, and so slept in the peace of our Lord.
(...)
Benedict XI, in 1304, gave to the Servites the definitive sanction of the Church.

So true is it, that in the counsels of divine Providence, nor rank, nor age, not sex, count for aught! The simplicity of a soul that has wounded the Heart of the Spouse is stronger in her humble submission that highest authority; and her unknown prayer prevails over powers established by God Himself." [ Source: The Liturgical Year: The time after Pentecost, by Dom Gueranger]

 “There is good reason for Christ’s weeping over Jerusalem and all our cities today. Christ sees not only the externals, He sees all His human creatures, all mankind, their sins and their souls. All mankind is His creation and all in the city of man is not beautiful or good".(...)

"Let us look up to the mystical city of man which faces Christ today and over which we weep. (...) Man behaves self-centered, independent of God, a self-seeker going to the limit. A confused man not knowing his purpose, gives up to satisfaction and so his passions prevail. He becomes not only a danger to himself but to those who live with him,” Bishop Waters declared, emphasizing that lust, anger, hatred and injustice are symptomatic of our times."

"Christ is weeping today because He has provided the means to change all this for every man, woman, and child,(...) But man must cooperate. Man must help save man. It should be His city, He labored for it, He died for it. Christ is speaking to us through His gospel, also weeping for us and our lack of love. He is living, we are living. He is the living head of our living body. We can convert the world through Him, for Him and by Him if we love Him enough." (...) “Love Him in deed and in truth. Christ has the power, through you, to change great sinners into saints through love. This is the strength of the love of God through you. The city of God is with us, the city of God is built up by consolation and help given one another. Think of the joy of all the converts discovering this living body of Christ for the first time. Think of the power of this living body in the Mass."

"We are His Church, His family, His people and we are His body. In this ordered body there is no real competition only cooperation with the emphasis on the common good and the common cause which is Christ for one and all."

Source: The Voice, July 24, 1964

Bishop's Letter March 13, 1956

My dear Brethren:

On Thursday of this week there will arrive in Asheville six professed nuns and one postulant of the cloistered Carmelite Nuns of Strict Observance, to make the first foundation of cloistered contemplatives in the Diocese of Raleigh. These good nuns will arrive from the Carmelite Monastery of St. Therese, Little Flower of Jesus, and St. Magdalene de Pazzi of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through the efforts of Fr. Fred Stanton of New York and Mother Elizabeth of the Trinity of Allentown, a cloistered convent site has been found and purchased on the outskirts of Asheville.
It is fitting that our first contemplative group of sisters should come from a Monastery under the title of St. Therese, Little Flower of Jesus, who is the Patroness of the Missions, and that the sisters should be of the Little Flower's own religious order.
It is also fitting that the first Mother Prioress of the new community should be called "Mother M. Bernadette of Our Lady of Lourdes," one of the special titles of Our Blessed Mother, so near to the heart of Father Price, our pioneer missionary, and also the Little Bernadette to whom he was especially devoted.
It is also fitting that the new monastery be dedicated to "Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus," since the Church is still in its infancy here in the missions, and Saint Joseph is the Patron of the Universal Church, and no doubt Our Blessed Mother, the Patroness of the Diocese of Raleigh, under so many titles, has been instrumental in honoring her Divine Son and her Holy Spouse by the beginning of this good work for God and souls in our midst.
The Rule of the Carmelite cloistered nuns is the Holy Rule of Saint Albert, as given to Saint Brocard, O. Carm., on Mount Carmel in Palestine. It is a penitential life, devoted to Prayer, Mortification, and Self-Denial. The choir religious are bound to the recitation or chanting of the Divine Office, of which Matins and Lauds are said at midnight. These sisters will also enjoy the privilege of Perpetual Adoration when they are sufficiently numerous for that devotion. Day and night one or two sisters will kneel, hour by hour, in Prayer and Adoration before Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
When not engaged in mental or vocal prayer, the nuns will engage in manual labor, such as making or mending vestments, making altar breads, maintaining mission correspondence, publishing books on the order, pamphlets on prayer, etc. Some nuns do artistic painting on reliquaries and vestments, and the nuns usually tend their own garden of shrubs, fruit trees, and vegetables, etc.
(...)
We are privileged beyond measure in being given a foundation of Carmel in the Missions of North Carolina. Our obligation will be to help these good nuns by our interest, our alms, our prayers, and our support, for they are ours and have been given to us in the Diocese of Raleigh by our Holy Father who is their Major Superior.
I am sure that our good priests and people will welcome these Carmelites with open arms and that this Carmel of "St. Joseph and the Child Jesus" will blossom forth in our mission territory and obtain good contemplative vocations in numbers. By their good prayers and sacrifices the Church in the Diocese will produce fruit a hundredfold.
May I commend, especially, these nuns to our good people in and around Asheville. You are privileged above the rest of the Diocese in getting this first foundation of contemplatives. Though they will pray and sacrifice for all of us, they are closer to you. Please assist them in every way possible in name of Christ and the Church.
Thanking God through His holy Mother for this special sign of His Benevolence to us of the Diocese of Raleigh, and praying His Divine Blessing on the beginning of this good work, I remain sincerely yours in Christ, Bishop Vincent Waters Bishop of Raleigh.

Source: North Carolina Catholic

Nazareth, NC, Nov 29 1946
The twins returned to Nazareth on Thanksgiving Day. It was near Thanksgiving Day in 1924 when Lawrence and Clarence Hill first arrived at Catholic Orphanage here, the little Catholic community on the hill outside of Raleigh. Looking so much alike that the Sisters could not tell them apart, they were only six years old then.

When they returned on Thanksgiving Day, 1946, it was for the celebration of Father Clarence Hill’s first High Mass. Father Lawrence Hill, who was ordained a year before his brother, was deacon.

The twins were at the orphanage for 13 years. It was while they were at Nazareth that they made their separate decisions to become priests – Father Lawrence Hill deciding first and Father Clarence Hill making the same decision shortly after.
Lawrence enrolled at Belmont Abbey, the Benedictine school in North Carolina, after his graduation in 1937. Clarence worked for a year, then followed his brother to Belmont. In 1939, Clarence enrolled at St. Gregory’s Seminary near Cincinnati. He completed his work at Mount St. Mary’s of the West. Lawrence studied at Our Lady of Angels seminary in Niagara Falls.

The mother of the twins, Mrs. Mary Hill, lives at Lansing, Michigan. Both priests are now in the Diocese of Raleigh. Father Lawrence Hill is at St. Lawrence’s in Asheville as assistant pastor. He was assigned there recently after a year a High Point, which is where he lived before entering the orphanage. Father Clarence is assigned to the Home Mission Apostolate at Whiteville, N.C.

Source: Catholic News

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen preaches at the 50th Anniversary

Mass of the Diocese of Raleigh - 1974

Transcript:

"Your eminences, Your excellencies, brother priests, vowed religious and all beloved in Christ.

We are saddened by the absence of Bishop Waters, we are gladdened by the presence of this ceremony because it was his dying wish that it be held. I find in this wish a very faithful proof of the life of our Blessed Lord. He never spoke of His Passion without speaking of His Resurrection and the bishop did not speak of his death without speaking of the joy of this occasion.

I believe that we can sometimes tell in an eminent way, the eternal destiny of some people by the day in which they are born, the day in which they die. Bishop Waters was born on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, he was ordained on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and he was buried on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I am sure that if anyone of us could ever choose the days on which we will go to the Lord it would be to duplicate the great feast of Bishop Waters.

Now we celebrate first of all the anniversary of the diocese and also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Let me tell you something first of all about the Immaculate Conception. Why the Blessed Mother was conceived without sin. Just imagine that it was a river here, a polluted river, and there is a ship sailing on it. And over here, there is a clear river. If a ship wishes to pass from the polluted waters to the clear without the merging of the two, there has to be a lock into which the ship passes and then is raised to the level of the clear waters. Now, humanity has been sailing on somewhat polluted waters for centuries, and Christ did came to give us a new humanity and a new screen of grace in order to shout out that contact with an older generation of which we will speak in a moment. We have the lock, and the break of the Immaculate Conception.

Let me speak then first of all of the Church from an historical point of view and then from it about it from a spiritual point of view. First of all, from an historical point of view, because some of you are troubled about what has happened these last 15 or 20 years to the Church. You are confused, bewildered, there are a number of neck ecclesialogists, that is to say those who are predicting the end of the Church on account of what has happened today. Now let me console you on this anniversary. Remember that every 500 years, there are great crisis in history, so we have to put this diocese of yours into this great perspective of history. Just quickly glance over the two thousands years of Christianity, think of the tremendous crisis that happened to the Church in the first cycle of 500 years. There was the fall of Rome, imagine, here is a city in a civilization that endured for eight centuries and now it collapses. Saint Jerome in the cave of Bethlehem thought that the end of the world had come. Augustine spent 18 years writing the City of God trying to explain it. But the Church survived. And then, in the second cycle of 500 years, came the eastern schism, the break away of many of the eastern churches from Peter, the head of the Church. And with that the Muslim invasion which came up a hundred and twenty miles of Paris. We had 500 dioceses in northern Africa in those days and now they are reduced to 5 as a result of that. But the Church survived. And then came the third cycle of the religious revolution, when there was a reform of doctrine when it should have been a reform of morals. And the Church survived that and we began a great missionary activity in the Church.

Now we are in the forth cycle, and it is not the fall of Rome, it is not the eastern schisms or a Muslim invasion, it is not a religious revolution. What are we witnessing today? We are at the end of Christendom! The end of Christendom, not the end of Christianity. What is Christendom? Christendom is the economic, political, social life of a nation as governed by the Gospel ethic. That is finished! And the sooner we recognize it, we can begin to rebuilt anew. Now just quickly, three evidences of it. First, a one of the sacredness of life: two millions abortions in the last few years in the United States. Secondly, the breakdown of the sanctity of marriage, and marriage is always the sign and symbol of God's covenant and relationship with humanity. And the third, is the belief that God is dead and that man must build his own world.

Now, given this fact, I am profoundly convinced of it, let me give you three observations about it. First, the Church liveth throughout all of these changes, and the Church is not a continuing thing, the Church is something that dies and rises again. The law of the Church is the law of our Blessed Lord; unless there is a Good Friday, there won't be an Easter Sunday. Unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be a halo of light. The Church is always coming out of a tomb. And the Church will come out of this, and we are not to think that the Church is wedded to any particular civilization. That was the trouble with the disciples of Emaus. When the Risen Lord appeared to them and they said we thought that You were the One who would restore Israel. Imagine! Identified with a culture... So the Church is not a continuing thing. Secondly, we Christians are being tested for our salvation. We are in a warfare. We have almost have forgotten the fact that God has to test us periodically. The Jews were tested for example in a desert, Moses was tested and one instance he fell. Our Blessed Lord was tested. Tempted on the mount by Satan. We are tested. And we are to thank God that we are not tested in a very difficult way. The German Christians were tested with Nazism, the Russian Christians were tested with Communism, and we are tested with what? With whether we are going to accept Christ or the world! That is easy, that should not really be a difficulty. So we are becoming less and less, many are going over to the world. Remember when Gideon went to do battle with Medianistes, he had an army of 30 thousands and he was to do battle with an enemy that had about 50 thousand troops and God said to him, "Your army is too great, tell the cowards to go". How many cowards were there in God's army? 20,000! He had 10,000 left, now your army was still far too great, "send them to the river and watch them drink", some threw themselves prone on their stomach, drank easily unto the fall; others ran along the river and lapped up the water with their hands in the fashion of dogs, and God said " That is your army" but I will be with you. So in the test, we are loosing some, please God they will come back, but in a crisis, the Lord wants only the true, and the faithful, and the strong. And the third reflection about this crisis is, never be discouraged. These are wonderful days to which to be alive, marvelous. Twenty years ago, was it difficult to be a Christian? For example, nobody ever locked a front door, a bicycle would be safe on a lawn for months. All that is changed. But today we are being tested, and so we have to stand up and be counted for the Lord. And when there is a certain wave and a current of secularism, such as worldliness such as there is in the present time, remember this, that dead bodies float downstream. It takes a live body to resist the current. And that is why we are to thank God that we have an opportunity to proclaim our faith in Him until the emergence of this new day when the Church will take on a new glory, and that is the historical side of the church and you featured 50 years into that you will never be discouraged."

"There is only one objective norm for truth, justice, liberty, law-namely, God's eternal Order. (...) Atheistic secularism like atheistic communism, believes in no rights. All legal procedure is a mockery of justice where civil law is cut off from the source of morality: God. When men throw away this external objective, unbiased norm of justice, justice becomes what is expedient for the State and we have a substitute for God in the deification of the State we have arrived back at pagan times of the Roman Empire.

Under such a form of modern negation where truth, where justice, where nature, where liberty, where God, is denied we find no God-given rights of man, no unchangeable code of morality, no freedom under God or man, no will directed toward universal goodness, but instead we find law a caprice, might is right, evil is called good and good, evil, and so the will to evil is employed absolutely by atheistic governments
Now is the time to call a halt to this destruction of man and the world and to set about to rebuild man, society, and the world. Instead of negation, affirmation is necessary.

Men should make a definite and vigorous affirmation of the existence of God and an equally strong affirmation of the existence of God's order visible in the universe and in man. There should also be the affirmation "that man's will, directed to universal goodness or happiness, also participates in God's order. (...)

Then and then only we shall have peace. peace which is the work of justice. Divine justice. Peace which St. Augustine defined as the tranquility of order. Not the order of man, or of nations, or of mere human society, but peace, the tranquility of God's order in the universe."

Source NCWC News Service. Washington, Jan 14, 1952 page 7

Source: The Bulletin June 1945

Source: Bulletin of Catholic Laymen, Raleigh Diocese September 1945

Raleigh, N.C. (NC) - Bishop Vincent S.Waters - who earlier required Sisters in the Raleigh, N.C., diocese to wear identifiable religious garb - has made the same demand of his priests.

In a recent letter to diocesan priests, pastors and heads of Religious orders, Bishop Waters called it "important for the good of souls of priests, as well as the people they serve," that priests wear clerical garb except for recreational activities.

The bishop's directive says pastors "should report to me Sisters working in their parishes - studying or doing secular work - who are not complying with this request."

Noting that similar clothing regulations are contained in canon law and were reaffirmed by the last Raleigh diocesan synod, held in 1948, Bishop Waters said any priest who disregards the regulation is "subject to the withdrawal of this diocesan faculties." These faculties include such clerical functions as preaching and hearing confessions.

The Raleigh diocese - comprising the whole state of North Carolina - has 66,933 Catholics out of total state population of more than five million.

Source:December 3, 1971 Small Town Papers

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The cleric should wear "suitable clerical clothing, according to the norms issued by the Episcopal Conference and according to legitimate local customs." (Canon #284) This means that such clothing, when it is not the cassock, should be distinct from the manner in which laymen dress, and in conformity with the dignity and sacredness of the ministry.

Apart from entirely exceptional circumstances, the non-use of clerical clothing on the part of the cleric can manifest a weak sense of his own identity as a pastor completely dedicated to the service of the Church (# 66).

Source: EWTN

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Outside liturgical functions, a black suit and Roman collar are the usual attire for priests. The use of the cassock is at the discretion of the cleric.

Source: USCCB