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By Susan Sullivan, Special To the Bulletin
ATLANTA—Clouds of incense, swirling capes, stirring voices
and a sanctuary full of bishops were just a few of the hallmarks of the
investiture ceremony and Mass for the Southeastern Lieutenancy of the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem held at Holy Spirit Church
Sept. 17.
A class of 130 candidates from six Southern states was invested as
knights and ladies of the order, each receiving the organization’s
insignia, the Jerusalem cross, and then being helped into the distinctive
floor-length cape and headgear. The ladies donned a black cape and veil and the
knights a white cape and black beret.
Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston, S.C., was the first to be
invested Sept. 17. Before the Mass began, he detailed his support of the
organization’s current mission to sustain churches, seminaries, convents,
schools, clinics and orphanages in what are now Israel and Jordan.
“I think the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre is a very
important organization of men and women who are fostering a greater sensitivity
to the needs of the Holy Land through prayer, personal efforts and
generosity,” Bishop Baker said of the church’s only chivalric order.
“Now more than ever we need as a church to be supportive of
efforts like this to bring us closer together, as Christians, Jews and Muslims,
in a harmonious relationship in the Holy Land. This is a group of people that
supports many of the church’s efforts and all that the Holy Father is
doing to bring peace, justice, charity and unity to our church and world,”
Bishop Baker continued. Bishop Anthony O’Connell of Palm Beach, Fla., was
inducted 10 years ago. He said that the lay members of the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre are “people deeply in love with the church, people who
are active in the parish and active in the larger church. It is an easy step to
invite them to be supportive of the church in the land made sacred by
Jesus.”
Atlanta Archbishop John F. Donoghue said he was very happy to
serve as host for the event a second time.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome the
Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre and my brother bishops,” he said.
“This group is very helpful in supporting the places of the Holy Land.
Especially today, there is a great need for this organization to awaken
people’s awareness of the Christians in the Holy Land and the needs that
they have.”
Archbishop Francis B. Schulte of New Orleans is Grand Prior of the
Southeastern Lieutenancy, a position he has held for 10 years. Archbishop
Schulte was the principal celebrant of the Mass and gave the homily before
investing the candidates.
The readings, from Isaiah and the Letter of James, described the
necessity of staying the course, of “setting (one’s) face like
flint” and the folly of faith without works. The Gospel, from Mark 8,
detailed the paradox of losing one’s life, taking up the cross and
following Jesus in order to enter a new life.
Archbishop Schulte spoke of the audience’s with Peter’s
rashness in the Gospel reading and Jesus’ rebuke, “... get behind me,
Satan.”
“We are so much like him, always stumbling over our faith,
not once, not twice, but over and over again.”
In rebuking Peter as the adversary, or Satan, “Jesus was
saying ‘you are thinking not as God does, but as human beings.’ Peter
wanted a quick and easy coming of the kingdom.”
As he has before, Archbishop Schulte said he felt compelled to use
the occasion to speak of the “Gospel of life.” Calling slavery the
defining moral evil of the 19th century, and the Holocaust the defining moral
evil of the first half of the 20th century, the archbishop called abortion
“the defining moral evil of the second half of the 20th century and of our
time.”
The Holy Father’s definition of the “culture of
death” now includes the farming of embryos, partial birth abortion,
assisted suicide and improperly dispensing of body parts, Archbishop Schulte
said.
He quoted Dorothy Day’s statement, “We have all known
the long loneliness. I have learned that the only solution to the long
loneliness is love and that love comes with community.”
“We in the pro-life movement know the long loneliness,”
Archbishop Schulte said. “But we are a community bound together by love
for life and for each other.”
There is a temptation to despair of pro-life efforts in the face
of legal and cultural support for abortion and its offshoots and arguments that
a good intention or a good “end” justifies the “means” that
end life. The culture of death is about human beings playing God, determining
what is right and what is wrong, he said.
“We dare not be discouraged,” he continued.
“Discouragement and frustration are what the enemy wants ... This group
still carries medieval trappings, that is both good and bad ... Today we need
swords about the cross, different kinds of swords. When I tap you (with the
sword) today, see it as a call to a new crusade.”
“They want us to give up, shut up. There’s a risk. There
has to be a risk. That is what the Lord is all about, the paschal
mystery.”
The investiture ceremony followed the homily. Bishop Baker’s
investiture was followed by that of the clergy candidates, then the knights and
ladies.
New Knights and Ladies from Atlanta included Mr. and Mrs. George
L. Box, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McCullough and Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Morell. Mr.
and Mrs. Eugene H. Stewart of Marietta were also inducted.
Ladies Juanita Baranco and Jean Brannon remarked on the uniqueness
of the musical selections. “There has never been this kind of diversity
before,” Baranco said.
The music, performed with heart-lifting intensity, was described
by the director, Dr. Kevin Johnson, as eclectic. Johnson is music director at
Spelman College and also the music minister at Our Lady of Lourdes. “We
have Gospel, classical, chant and traditional Catholic music,” said
Johnson, who with his wife, Celeste, was also a cantor.
Those who packed the choir loft at Holy Spirit represented eight
parishes including: All Saints, Dunwoody; St. Andrew, Roswell; St. Anthony,
Atlanta; Christ the King, Atlanta; Holy Spirit; Our Lady of Lourdes, Atlanta;
St. Paul of the Cross, Atlanta; and Sts. Peter and Paul, Decatur. Rehearsals
for the 20 instrumentalists and 60 voices, who performed at the two Equestrian
Order weekend Masses, began in June.
Instrumental interludes, conducted by orchestra manager Chester
Griffin, made full use of string and brass, which alternated with such choral
pieces as “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” “Let Us Break Bread
Together” and “Panis Angelicus.” Organist Dr. Albert Ahlstrom of
Holy Spirit was one talent showcased.
The work of hundreds of people was necessary to plan and carry out
the weekend events. According to Msgr. Edward Dillon, pastor of Holy Spirit,
preparations began a year ago. One of many groups whose efforts made the annual
event a success was the Knights of St. Peter Claver of Sts. Peter and Paul
Parish. Faithful Navigator Tom Grant said that extensive planning had gone into
the transportation of the hundreds of out-of-town guests to the various
locations in the weekend’s schedule.
Sir Paul Dunbar, a member of Holy Spirit and an archdiocesan
representative to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre’s
Southeastern Lieutenancy Council, said that there are 119 members in the
archdiocese, 1,400 members in the Southeastern Lieutenancy, 6,000 members in
the United States and 18,000 worldwide. Ceremonial ranks begin with Knight and
Lady and go on to Knight Commander and Lady Commander, Knight Commander with
Star and Lady Commander with Star, to Knight Grand Cross and Lady Grand Cross,
as well as various special honors.
“It’s probably the most wonderful honor that’s ever
been bestowed on me,” Dunbar said. “I’ve been to the Holy Land
to see what our prayers and money have accomplished. It is wonderful to see the
holy places.”
Members, like Dunbar, who have made an official pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, wear a special shell on the left sleeve with a tiny Jerusalem cross
inside it.
Other bishops attending Sunday’s investiture included Bishop
Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, Retired Bishop Thomas Larkin of St. Petersburg,
Fla., Bishop William Houck of Jackson, Miss., Bishop John Ricard of
Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala., and
Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami.
In other ceremonies during the weekend, 146 members received
promotions and special recognition. Local promotions included John M. McGuire
of Athens to Knight Commander with Star and Harriet D. McGuire of Athens to
Lady Commander with Star. Promotions to Knight Commander included Gregory
Baranco of Decatur, Sandford J. Matthews of Athens, Brendan J. O’Connell
of Tucker, Mario J.R. Ravry Jr. of Atlanta and Lloyd Sutter of Roswell.
Promotions to Lady Commander included Juanita P. Baranco of Decatur, Helen B.
Matthews of Atlanta, Margaret H. O’Connell of Tucker, Yvette Ravry of
Atlanta and Jill Sutter of Roswell. |
