PARISH VISITOR - Vol.XXXVII - No.6 - The Gospel is a Missionary Story

Sep 29, 2026

June 1961 issue of Parish Visitor presents reflective editorial writing and featured articles within a Catholic missionary context. The central editorial narrative recounts an evening in a city where a neglected man dies in the street, prompting questions about communal prayer, charity, and parish responsibility. Additional sections address parish life in a changing world, Church rites, Ukrainian Catholic imagery, and practical guidance drawn from the perspectives of named clergy and sisters, with credits and publication details.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Editorial

Parish In A Changing World

Risky Business

Tlis Heart

Our Catholic Rites

Ikonostas—St.Peter and St.Paul

I Go To Jail

EI Salvador and Coffee Breaks

Reminders—Like A Pelican

Inside A Convent

Councils and Christian Unity

Our Lady of Atonement

It Is Christ

The Gospel Is a Missionary Story

PARISH VISITOR June,1961 Vol.XXXVII,No.6 JUN12 # THE PARISH VISITOR June1961 Published by the Parish Visitorsof Mary Immaculate,a religiousVol.XXXVIIcongregation of missionary sisters.No.6 Page # 2 Gospel A Missionary Story Editorial4 Parish In A Changing World Father Robert A.Reicher8 Risky Business Sister Mary Aurelia,P.V.M.I.11 Tlis Heart Sister Mary Edith,P.V.M.I.15 Our Catholic Rites Sister Mary Basil,P.V.M.I.16 Ikonostas—St.Peter and St.PaulUkrainian Catholic Church18 I Go To Jail Sister Mary Pauline,P.V.M.I.21 EI Salvador and Coffee Breaks Sister Mary Veronica,P.V.M.I.22 Reminders—Like A Pelican Text:Sister Mary Gregory,P.V.M.I.Art:Sister Mary Teresita,P.V.M.I.24 Inside A Convent Sister Mary Agnella,P.V.M.I.26 Councils and Christian Unity Sister Mary DeSales,P.V.M.I.28 Our Lady of Atonement Sister Mary Cepha,P.V.M.I.30 It Is Christ Credits:Thcodore Rozumalski,Milwaukee,inside front cover;Alberta Har-butt,White Plainus,N.Y.,page 4;Irish Tourist Office,New York City,forCobl,Corke,Ireland,page 7;Eileen Darby,New York City,pages 12 aud19;Carl Merscliel,Chicago,page 14;St.Procopius Abbey,Lisle,IⅢ.,page15;Father Titus,S.A.,Higl Point,N.C.,page 28;Irish Consulate,Chicago,for Mt.Mellery,Waterford,Irelaud,page 31. Annual subscription $2.00.Published with ecclesiastical approbation by the ParishVisitors of Mary Immaculate,monthly,except July and August.Publication Office,Craftsmen,Inc.,307-11 Main Street,Kutztown,Pennsylvania.Printed in U.S.A.Copyright 1961 by the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate.Entered as Second-Class matter at the Post Office at Kutztown,Pennsylvania under the act of March 3,1879.Address all communications to business and editorial offices,Box 535,Monroe,New York. Sister Mary Edith not ouly visits uother,seveu cliildrenand two puppies,she also writes for us on page 11. # The Gospelis aMissionary Story "...as he was not loved when he lived." Editorial I was not yet a Parish Visitor of Mary Immaculate. It was a soft evening.Gentle rain had cleansed the day,andnoze hardly a breeze disturbed the spring air,szweet even nearthe doentown of a meat-packing city.Despite the distant siren,tragedy was the furthest thing from my mind.Yet.I knee thatsound meant the pulmotor squad was getting closer. I could see a scant doxen persons standing near the curb onthe dark street;they zwere silhouetted against the display windoe of a Catholic bookshop about ten feet behind them.Iprayed as I hurried toward the group.My arrival coincidedwith the puimotor attendant stooping to close the eyes of theragged,skin-and-bones derelict.Already a few persons zeereedging azeay. “What can I do?”That thought persisted. “Kneel beside that man,ask others to kneel with you.Pray.Love him noze in death as he zwas not loved when he lived.”I made many excuses as I pushed the thought from my mind.Istepped back,and as I did noticed a shadoe falling on thedead man's body.A large crucifix,floodlighted from behind,stood in the bookshop zwindoze.The shadoze of the cross fellupon the derelict.I moved toward the shop window.Aroundthe crucifix zwere biographies:Benedict Joseph Labre,Martin de Porres,The Cure of Ars.As I prayed,my glancestrayed from the crucifix to the door of the darkened shop. An uncorked,half-empty bottle of cheap wine stood tiltedagainst the door.Sister Mary Gilbert's lines in“Skid-Row,”“And the coin that summons the night zwith zeine,buys amorning of sick despair”stung my mind.His bought himeternity. I moved on up to the Cathedral where the crowds would be.As I walked I wondered,why had no one knelt to pray?Why hadn't I?Of the dozen persons present probablyall believed in God.Yet zwe felt no compulsion to praytogether to our Father for this man,our brother. A man dies in a street,unattended except for an emergencysquad zwhich arrives too late.Had I knelt and prayed theaction may have at least reminded those aroundme that the death of our brother had meaning. It seems

FAQs

What prompts the editorial narrator to reflect on communal prayer?

A neglected derelict dies in the street while an emergency squad arrives too late. The narrator questions why no one knelt to pray together for the man who “was not loved when he lived.”

How does the editorial connect the incident to parish worship and community?

It argues the death highlights the meaning of parish community and worship. It suggests Catholics are taught to view the neighborhood as a family united by charity, and that parish life should respond with fraternal love.

What central idea is emphasized about the Gospel in the editorial?

The editorial states, citing Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard, that “the whole Gospel story is a missionary story.” Missionaries in spirit are described as those who respect and love people near them geographically, not only by converting distant souls.

Sep 29, 2026

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