St Bernards High School - Bernardian Yearbook (Fitchburg, MA)

Page 10 text:

1962 moo MHOY COO 4Zreonrgs = 2700 ae 1965 6 Our bishop, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bernard J. Flanagan, D.D., has attended all of the sessions of the Second Vatican Council, since it opened on October 11, 1962, the date set by His Holiness, Pope John. In announcing this Ecumenical Council, the first since the Vatican Council of 1869, Pope John assigned to it, among other tasks that of furthering Christian unity. For those, who though baptized, are separated from the Apos tolic See, he hoped the Council would be an in- spiration to seek out that unity which Jesus Christ prayed for so ardently from his heaven- ly Father. He also recalled the words of St. Augustine: “Whether they will it or not, they are our brethren. They will cease to be our brethren only when they cease to say ‘Our Father.’ ” Unity has become the great longing of our days, a world-wide unity which extends to the religious sphere as well, the unity of all Christians. It is the wish of our Holy Father that there may come about for the family of Christians of our time what we know existed in Jeru- salem after Christ’s ascension into heaven, when the newly-born Church, in perfect harmo- ny, gathered about Peter, the shepherd of the lambs and the sheep, and prayed with him. One great religious movement of our century has been the ecumenical movement which seeks to unite all the baptized in one flock with one shepherd. The decisive phrase in the question of unity might well be, “God wills it,” as Christ, a few hours before his passion and death, implored from his Father the everlasting unity of his Church. The spirit of our ecumenical efforts might well be expressed also in St. Paul’s words: “We are to follow the truth in a spirit of charity...” (Eph. 4:15). Truth and charity are inseparable in the task of promoting unity. Truth without charity is hateful and repelling; charity without truth is worthless and cannot endure for any length of time. Furthermore, our bishops and heads of the Church are bound by a most grave obligation to keep and to transmit intact and unchanged the basic dogmas of the Catholic Church There can be no question of seeking a compromise on dogma, on divinely revealed doctrine. When the Church once and for all declares a certain truth to be an article of faith, she does so under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit whom Jesus promised to send to the Church, “to guide you into all truth’ (John 16:13). No ecumenical council has the power to decree new articles of faith or revise old ones. Its role has always been to decide with the help of the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with scripture and the tradition of the Church, what is a divinely revealed truth. But a Council does give effective help in recognizing the whole truth more clearly and clearing up wrong notions and misunderstandings of Catholic doctrine. Few could participate at the Vatican Council, but everyone was asked to help by prayer and sacrifice, asking the Holy Spirit to assist all those taking part. Christ is the sole salvation of mankind. But that all may acknowledge Him, it is necessary that we all become one, accord- ing to the prayer of Jesus, and that we all love one another, seeking always after the truth in justice and charity. j One obstacle to unity is the kind of lives led by some Catholics who are faithless to their re- ligious and moral duties. On the other hand, a good Catholic life illustrates what Jesus means when He says that our good works are a light by which we shine before the eyes of men and by which God is glorified.

Page 9 text:

RG, iness 5 os =e co jaa S x 1S H

Page 11 text:

NN — D D FLANAGAN, sy c O rs) = 4 a0) (a me Z faa joe Q Q Zi fe joa} hy m4 al wm e) = . % ee a ee eee Ww vo 7 ”n vu U q pra ° Q o) G a Q