April 17, 2008
Priest Says `Beloved Community' Possible
Special to The West Tennessee Catholic
"That's Dr. King's greatest legacy. Another world is possible." Father Bryan Massingale, S.T.D., Associate Professor of Theology at Marquette University, was summing up his remarks at the Vanderhaar Symposium at Christian Brothers University on Thursday, April 10.
Introduced by Carolyn Tisdale, Director of Catholic Charities of Memphis, Massingale focused on Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy and the contemporary challenges the legacy offers to society. "The gap between poverty and wealth is not just a gap," the 50 year old priest said, "it is a chasm." Massingale noted that King's legacy was intended to help bridge the chasm, and the way to do that was by raising up and better understanding what King meant by the beloved community, "where brotherhood is reality."
As he spoke about Dr. King's legacy, Massingale pointed out that a desegregated society is not an integrated society. "Desegregation is the means; integration is the goal," he noted. Massingale reminded the audience that legal desegregation cannot bring an end to people's fears, but it is clearly a first step toward integration. Looked at from one point of view, Massingale noted that King's vision ended in apparent failure. He asked the question whether or not the Beloved Community was a noble but flawed delusion, and went on to point out that it was not. "The Beloved Community was not just King's dream," he said, "it was the will of God."
Having centered on Dr. King's legacy, Massingale went on to ask what wisdom could be gathered from King's life that might be useful in the current racial struggles.
The audience was reminded that black leader Frederick Douglas once said, "If there is no struggle, there is no freedom.(...) It's like wanting rain without the lightning." Dr. King was a follower of Frederick Douglas, but as Massingale pointed out, he always believed that any action taken in the name of social justice had to be non-violent action.
Massingale said that there were three lessons that could be learned from Dr. King's legacy. The first lesson is that if people want to bring about the Beloved Community, they must first be willing to deal with social conflict.
A second lesson that could be learned, Massingale said came from Dr. King's own words, "Americans are uneasy with injustice but unwilling to pay a significant price to eliminate it." Massingale noted that most whites do not accept blacks as social equals. "We've learned to be nice to each other. Most Americans are committed to interpersonal decency but structural inequality."
The third and final lesson to be learned from Dr. King's legacy is that there is no military solution to terrorism. "We need a new approach," Massingale said. "Jim Crow was all about using terror to keep people in their place. We must accept the reality that the United States has a history of terror," he said. Massingale pointed out that Dr. King believed that war always takes resources away from the needs of the poor, and declared that any nation that was continuously at war was not far from spiritual death. As he began to make his closing remarks, the Milwaukee Diocesan priest asked whether or not there was any answer to the difficulties we faced in dealing with terror and replied to his hypothetical question that the answer lies in finding out what the adversary is feeling and addressing those feelings and issues.
Earlier in the evening, Ceylon Mooney was awarded the Gerard A. Vanderhaar Student Peace Award. Mooney has studied mathematics and religion at CBU and will receive his BA degree at the end of the current semester. He has been in Iraq as a civilian, and recently visited in Israel and Palestine to witness first hand the plight of refugees and conditions in the mid-east region.
Janice Vanderhaar, who was present at all the events named to honor her late husband, noted that she was very "excited." "Father Massingale spoke from a background of solid Catholic social teaching. He's very cutting edge and right on the mark," she said.
CBHS Alumni Band Plans a Salute to Ralph Hale
By Patrick Bolton
It has been 25 years since Dr. Ralph Hale retired as the Band Director at Christian Brothers High School in 1983. Ralph Hale served as band director from 1946 to 1983 and is remembered as one of the greatest Music Educators in the Mid-South.
On Sunday, May 4, at 4 p.m., the Christian Brothers Band will be performing a Salute to Dr. Hale. Some works being performed are: Festive Centennial by W. Francis McBeth, written for Ralph Hale and the Christian Brothers Band for the 100th anniversary of the school; works by Ralph and Jack Hale including The Greenway March, their best selling, and Reflections; and The Green Phoenix, written for Ralph Hale and the Christian Brothers Band by James Richens, resident composer of the Memphis Symphony and professor at the University of Memphis.
The Alumni Band will be performing its signature marches: 650 East and 5900 Walnut Grove, along with Festal Celebration, written by Jack and Ralph Hale. Craft Beck, conductor of the Mississippi Symphony, will be the guest conductor along with Bill McKee, retired director from Central High School.
Ralph Hale was born in Scott, Mississippi on May 28, 1923. In 1942 he enlisted in the US Navy and was a communications officer with the Pacific Fleet, attaining the rank of Lieutenant before being released from active duty in 1946. Mr. Hale came to Memphis and assumed the position of Director of the Band at Christian Brothers College in 1947. Dr. Hale's special gifts in music and teaching soon became apparent and students excelled under his tutelage. The band began to win top awards in regional competitions and performed in Chicago for the Midwest National Band Clinic in 1951.
Dr. Hale was a gifted teacher and an accomplished musician. He played trombone with the Memphis Symphony and was band director at Memphis State University. He was the president of the Tennessee Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu, and the West Tennessee School Band Association. Under his direction the CBHS Band was selected as one of the top 100 instrumental music programs in the country by the American School Band Directors Association. Ralph Hale was responsible for many innovative contributions to music education. He co-published a music scale book used by over 100 school systems, developed a slide study to teach rhythmic patterns, and published several beginner and advanced band works with his brother Jack Hale. During his 37 years as director of the Christian Brothers Band he won first division awards in state concert festivals, placed well over 150 students in Tennessee's All-State Band, and over 200 in the All-West Tennessee Band. He was elected to the Tennessee Band Masters Hall of Fame, Christian Brothers Hall of Fame, received his Honorary Doctorate from Christian Brothers University, and served as the band director at Memphis State. Dr. Ralph Hale died on Saturday, March 13, 1993, following a long illness.
All are invited to attend this free concert paying tribute to Ralph Hale with a reception to follow. If you are a Christian Brothers Band alumnus and would like to participate in the Alumni Band Weekend, please contact Patrick Bolton at Pbolton@cbhs.org or 901-261-4922.
Memphis Catholic Plans Run and Spring Festival April 27
The first annual Memphis Catholic "Education That WORKS OUT" 5K Run/Walk and Spring Festival will be held on April 27 at Memphis Catholic Middle and High School.
The race begins at 2 p.m. with the Spring Festival on campus to follow. Festivities will feature food, music, and games for all ages.
Proceeds will benefit the school which offers a work-study program that provides students the opportunity to gain valuable corporate work experience that will motivate them to pursue careers in college and return to Memphis to become valuable members of the work force.
Registration for the race can be completed online at www.racesonline.com or by contacting Dani Ray Barton at 901-276-1221 or via email at drbarton@memphiscatholic.org. Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are also available.
Lambuth University Holding Rare Copies from Vatican
The Luther L. Gobbel Library at Lambuth University in Jackson, TN hosted a press conference on March 28 to unveil the acquisition of copy #241 of Processus contra Templarios. The worldwide premiere of the document was officially held at the Vatican on October 25, 2007.
Father Thomas Kirk, pastor of St. Mary Church in Jackson attended the afternoon ceremony. "It's wonderful to see a document as close as possible to the original," he said. "The Vatican saw fit to release the transcripts, and anyone can accept this as the official history."
These documents and the critical texts acquit the Knights Templar of heresy. The Vatican has released only 799 copies of the documents to the public, an unprecedented publication of the special bilingual version. One copy was given to Pope Benedict XVI.
The first three documents contain the confessions made to Pope Clement V by 72 Templar knights between June 28 and July 2, 1308, and are reproduced through state of the art techniques onto special parchment paper. An additional document, misfiled for centuries and accidentally discovered in September 2001 by researcher Barbara Frale, includes the original absolution by the cardinals. A bound, bi-lingual volume focuses on Templar history and the trial itself. Hand-sewn and in hand-crafted script, the documents provide insight into life in the 14th century, and include papal notes in the margins.
The parchments measure 53 x 69 cm and 64 x 77 cm, in their smallest and largest sizes, respectively. Replicating 12th century leather craftsmanship, the documents are bound in a natural leather case in the same manner employed by Vatican Secret Archives over the centuries. Also included are replicas of the red wax seals of the early cardinals and three copies of paintings recalling historical events from the period.
Through the generous gift of one of Lambuth University's Trustees, the reproduction was purchased and will be housed in the Lambuth library. The timely discovery and release of this information shed new light on a secret organization which has received negative coverage through books such as The Da Vinci Code. As an ecumenical institution of higher education, Lambuth embraces all religious faiths, from its Methodist affiliation to its library-housed Center for Jewish Studies. True to Lambuth's motto, "Whatsoever things are true," the university is proud to display a document in its library that presents the truth about the Knights Templar.
These documents are on display in the library and the public is welcome to visit at any time. Library hours are 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 4:30 p.m. Friday; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday; 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday.