St. Anthony Messenger March 2019

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world V O L . 1 2 6 / N O . 1 0 • MARCH 2019

IN THIS ISSUE:

Father Pat answers your questions in “Ask a Franciscan” pages 10–11

WELCOMING YOUNG

REFUGEES 10 REASONS TO FAST THIS LENT MARCH 2019 • $4.99 StAnthonyMessenger.org

BROTHER MARINUS: WAR HERO, MONK A PATCHWORK OF COMFORT

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Works that Inspire, Inform & Illuminate

◆ SYMBOL OR SUBSTANCE? Peter Kreeft

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n this engaging fictional conversation, Kreeft gives credible voices to C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham and J.R.R Tolkien as they discuss one of the most contentious questions in the history of Christianity: Is Jesus symbolically or substantially present in the Eucharist?

These widely respected modern Christian witnesses represent three important theological traditions. Graham, a Baptist minister, represents evangelical Protestantism; Lewis, an Oxford professor, was a member of the Church of England.

And Tolkien, also an Oxford don, was author of The Lord of the Rings, and a Roman Catholic.

SSP . . . Sewn Softcover, $16.95

“In this wonderful book, Kreeft allows us to listen to an imaginary conversation between Lewis, Tolkien, and Graham on the thorny topic of the Eucharist. Their imaginary presence enlightens our minds on the Real Presence.”

—Joseph Pearce, Author, Catholic Literary Giants

“In our contentious cultural climate, reasonable, friendly dialogue on important issues is a lost art. Kreeft offers a thoughtful, fair-minded exploration of the differing views on the Eucharist among Anglicans, Catholics, and Protestants.”

◆ ETERNITY IN THE MIDST OF TIME

◆ THE WORD A Meditation on the Prologue to St. John’s Gospel

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Wilfrid Stinissen, O.C.D.

aring us to see time with new eyes, Stinissen’s insight that eternity is written in the depths of our hearts helps us to live in time in a way that leads us deeper into God’s joy. We should rejoice that everything around us is great and mysterious and that we can live in eternal wonder. He shows us how to see time from different perspectives and to discover how rich and multifaceted it is. Above all, he demonstrates how we can make use of the tremendous possibilities that time offers to us.

EMTP . . . Sewn Softcover, $16.95

“The important truths taught here are well served by the simple beauty with which he explains them.The ultimate understanding must be revealed by Christ, who entered chronology from eternity and graciously gave us clues.”

—Fr. George Rutler, Author, Calm in Chaos: Catholic Wisdom for Anxious Times

“Fr. Stinissen’s many references to Scripture, his wide-ranging use of saintly thought, and his love for St. Augustine’s engagement with the perplexity of passing time make this book a wonderful spiritual experience.”

fter writing a four volume series of meditations on St. John’s Gospel, the mystic von Speyr presents her reflections on the Prologue to St. John's Gospel. Her insights embrace the whole Christian revelation and life; the Church and the Sacraments, Faith, Love, Hope, and man's attitudes towards revelation, his acceptance and rejection of the Word. This work is spiritual meditation of the highest quality by an extraordinarily gifted woman.

WORP . . . Sewn Softcover, $16.95

“Adrienne von Speyr is a theological genius!

Her insights into the Prologue of John’s Gospel are edifying and fascinating. Her mystical insights are on par with the greatest scripture scholars.”

—Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, Author, 10 Wonders of the Rosary

“If the reader emerges without having been crushed by this work, he will find himself strengthened and exhilarated by a new experience of Christian sensibility."

—T.S. Eliot, Renowned Poet and Writer

—Fr. Donald Haggerty, Author, The Contemplative Hunger

—Holly Ordway, Author, Not God’s Type : An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms

P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522

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Adrienne von Speyr

www.ignatius.com (800) 651-1531 1/30/19 11:45 AM

VOL. 126 NO. 10

2019 MARCH

Refugee girls skip rope during a physical education class in early November outside a school sponsored by St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo. The program is supported by Catholic Relief Services.

22 Echoes of Exodus

COVER STORY

By Kathy Coffey

With help from Catholic Charities, child refugees escape harrowing conditions to begin new lives in the United States.

18 10 Reasons to Fast This Lent

By Amy Ekeh

CNS PHOTOS: ABOVE: PAUL JEFFREY; COVER/PAUL HARING

Fasting with purpose can give new meaning to Lent and increase your Easter joy.

28 The Grotto: A Respite in the

Heart of the City Story and photography by Richard Bauman

A place to rest body and soul, this shrine in Portland, Oregon, commemorates the answer to a young boy’s prayer.

34 Quieting Our Hearts during Lent

COVER: A Rohingya child from Myanmar is pictured after refugees met Pope Francis during an interreligious and ecumenical meeting for peace in the garden of the archbishop’s residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

38 Brother Marinus: War Hero

and Selfless Monk

By Katie Rutter

After saving 14,000 refugees during the Korean War, this captain turned monk is being considered for sainthood.

44 A Patchwork of Comfort

By Anne M. Windholz

When words fail to comfort people in times of despair, this chaplain has something more concrete to offer.

By Laurence Freeman, OSB

Meditation isn’t designed to be difficult. It is a simple moment of grace between us and a listening God.

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Pray through Lent with POPE FRANCIS Let the pope’s words and daily Scripture readings guide you through this season of renewal.

“The purpose of Lent, Pope Francis says, is to ‘awaken’ and ‘rouse us from torpor.’

Bring it on, please! These homilies and prayers do that beautifully and forcefully.”

—Jon M. Sweeney, editor/translator, Francis of Assisi in His Own Words: The Essential Writings

Order today! Call 888-322-6657 or visit shop.FranciscanMedia.org.

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Receive a 30% discount by using the discount code LENTHOPE2019 at checkout.

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VOL. 126 NO. 10

“The breadth of charity widens the narrow heart of the sinner.”

—St. Anthony of Padua

SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS

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10 Ask a Franciscan

12 Franciscan World & St. Anthony Stories Holy Spirit Province in Canada The Mission Trip Medallion

54

POINTS OF VIEW 5

Still an Apostolic Church?

2019 MARCH

Your Voice

Letters from Readers

9 Editorial

Compassion: A Virtue Forged in Adversity

16 At Home on Earth

13 Followers of St. Francis

Lent: A Call for Change

Father Nicholas Mormando, OFM Cap

54 Faith & Family

14 Faith Unpacked

Be Present!

Hidden Costs

50

MEDIA MATTERS 48 Reel Time

51 Audio File

50 Channel Surfing

52 Bookshelf

Bohemian Rhapsody

King Lear

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 4 Dear Reader

Chris Cornell | Chris Cornell 6 Church in the News

56

51 Pete & Repeat 56 Reflection

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dear reader

ST. ANTHONY

MESSENGER

To Give Up or Not to Give Up?

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few years ago, a friend of mine told me that she wasn’t going to give anything up for Lent that year. She felt that taking a more active approach to the season seemed more spiritually fulfilling. Her plan was to spend her 40 days actively living her faith by doing things such as donating items she no longer needed or volunteering at a local nonprofit.

Since then, I’ve heard a lot more people also taking this approach to Lent. But as Amy Ekeh points out in her article “10 Reasons to Fast This Lent,” that approach might not be the right one for everyone. After all, she reminds us, there is a purpose behind this long-standing practice.

No matter how we approach the season of Lent, though, it offers us 40 days to reflect on and renew our faith. One of those ways is through prayer. This month’s article “Quieting Our Hearts during Lent,” by Laurence Freeman, OSB, offers a wonderful invitation and guide to welcoming the practice of meditation into our Lenten practices.

Whatever your Lenten journey looks like, may it be a blessed and peaceful time that brings you closer to Christ.

PUBLISHER

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The Grotto

Echoes of Exodus

10 Reasons to Fast

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Kathy Coffey is a longtime contributor to St. Anthony Messenger and has written for a number of other publications. You can find some of her work at KathyJCoffey.com.

In addition to her writing, she has spoken at a number of national conventions as well as many diocesan gatherings.

She is the proud grandma of six grandchildren under the age of 6 and “is so smitten with them” that she moved from Colorado to California to share in their lives.

Amy Ekeh began teaching Scripture, theology, and spirituality to adults in 2008. She loves teaching and facilitating retreats. She is a columnist for Catholic Digest, and her published work can be found in a variety of Catholic publications and on her website, AmyEkeh.com. She and her husband, Ono, live in Milford, Connecticut, with their four children, who she says keep her busy and happy.

Richard Bauman enjoys writing about history and lesser-known places worth visiting. He is a history sleuth who reads a lot, travels a lot, and takes a lot of pictures.

Richard and his wife, Donna, have been married 57 years and reside in West Covina, California. His latest book is Pranks in Print—A Collection of Fake Stories, Phony Ads, and Other Media Mischief.

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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 126, Number 10, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone 513-241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE Real Meaning behind ‘Turn the Other Cheek’

.S.P.S. TION lished of St. nnati, postffices. thony 0189. bram

call n the Single notice ption-

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St. Anthony Messenger’s January 2019 article “The Death Penalty and the Myth of Closure,”

by Richard B. Patterson, PhD, interprets and applies Matthew 5:38–39 (“turn the other cheek”) wrongly, and here’s why.

Contrary to popular belief, turning the other cheek doesn’t mean to be submissive or passive. It means just the opposite. In ancient Roman culture, the left hand was relegated to unseemly tasks, and striking someone with it wasn’t one of those tasks. This means that subordinates were to be struck with the back of the right hand across the right cheek (backhanded). The openhanded slap was reserved for family disputes. Fists were only used between equals.

Violating Roman customs was social suicide, and anyone physically resisting or verbally challenging a superior could be flogged, imprisoned, or executed. Knowing this, Jesus said: “But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well” (Mt 5:38–39).

Jesus told them not to resist, cower, or be intimidated by an evil person’s aggression, but to challenge the aggressor by standing their ground and defiantly turning the left cheek toward him. To strike again, the evil person would have to use the back of his left hand and violate Roman custom. Slap them and treat them like family, strike with a fist and treat them as equals, or walk away.

Turning the other cheek put the evil person on the defensive and in a no-win position, making any further aggression foolish.

Travis L. Middleton Jr. Fort Valley, Georgia

No Such Thing as Closure Being an adherent to the late Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s admonition to respect all human life—similarly espoused by the late Father Dan Berrigan, SJ—I took a special interest in Dr. Richard B. Patterson’s article from the January issue, “The Death Penalty and the Myth of Closure.”

I was pleased to learn from the article that I am not the only one confused about what is meant by closure. When a convicted felon is executed for a capital crime, the memory

of his/her crime does not go away with the execution. Hence, there is no closure. All this reminds me of the ironic message on an antideath penalty bumper sticker: “We kill people to teach people it is wrong to kill people.”

Frankly, I think a life sentence is a greater punishment than execution, for the felon is reminded every day he/she awakens to the sight of thick steel bars and cement walls as to why he/she will be there for life.

I’m reminded of a conversation I had several years ago during a Labor Day peace event that coincided with the Cleveland National Air Show. I was wearing my decades-old US Army uniform and holding a peace flag.

When talking with a passerby, she indicated her support for capital punishment, describing execution of criminals as “justice.” I smiled and gently said, “Some people might call it revenge.” She smiled back, indicating she understood my point, but said nothing and walked away.

Louis H. Pumphrey Shaker Heights, Ohio

Praying the Rosary In your January issue, there is an article by Father Gary Caster titled “Walking with Christ.” I found the article to be a bit confusing. I realize the value in his suggestions, but I’m just a regular layperson. He tells us not to pray the rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy or be devoted to Mary. He even says that Our Lady does not care how many rosaries I say or even if I say any.

How can he say that when the whole world knows that the message of the Virgin at Fatima was to pray the rosary—and she meant always. As I said, I’m just a regular layperson struggling to get to heaven, and I don’t really know if I’m walking with Christ all the time. So until I get it right, I’ll just keep saying my rosary.

Anthony Colarelli Southampton, New Jersey

Correction: In the February issue of St. Anthony Messenger, the final sentence in Patti Normile’s book review of Defying Gravity (on p. 52 of the “Bookshelf ” column) had been erroneously included from a book review in a previous issue.

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Br ig ger

his past January 22–27, young people from around the world, along with Pope Francis, gathered in Panama to celebrate World Youth Day. The theme of the gathering— the first Marian one used in the event’s history—was “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word,” recalling Mary’s response to God, reported Catholic News Service (CNS).

On his first full day in Panama, Pope Francis met with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela as well as an ecumenical delegation from that country.

That evening, the pope was officially welcomed to World Youth Day at a ceremony held along the Panamanian coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He was greeted by five young people, representing each of the five continents present at the gathering. The ceremony celebrated the universality of the Church, with young people dressed in traditional outfits from their native countries.

The pope told participants that, while World Youth Day is usually marked by festive celebrations, its goal is not to “create a parallel Church that would be more ‘fun’ or ‘cool.’

That way of thinking,” he said, “would not respect either you or everything that the Spirit is saying through you.”

Instead, the pope said, World Youth Day is an opportunity to reawaken “the Church’s constant freshness and youth” that happens only by listening and sharing with others as well as by serving others.

The following day, Pope Francis made a visit to Las Garzas de Pacora Juvenile Detention Center in Panama, where he heard the confessions of five inmates—four young men and a young woman—in a small tent set up outside of the prison.

During a penitential liturgy, the pope pointed out that Jesus breaks the mentality “that separates, excludes, isolates, and falsely separates ‘the good and the bad,’” not

with slogans or sentimentality but by “creating relationships capable of enabling new processes, investing in and celebrating every possible step forward.

“Friends, each of us is much more than our labels. That is what Jesus teaches us and asks us to believe,” the pope said.

“His approach challenges us to ask and seek help when setting out on the path of improvement.”

Later in the day, the pope joined World Youth Day pilgrims participating in the Way of the Cross. During the event, groups of pilgrims from different countries took turns carrying the World Youth Day cross throughout the stage at every station. Each significant event of Jesus’ crucifixion was linked to a current theme or issue affecting young people, particularly in Latin America.

On the morning of January 26, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria La Antigua with priests, consecrated men and women, and members of lay movements. He spoke of the weariness that ministers in the Church can encounter when it seems as if the world doesn’t want to hear the Church’s message.

During the Mass, Pope Francis consecrated the altar of the newly renovated cathedral. According to World Youth Day officials, it is the first cathedral in the Americas to have an altar consecrated by a pope.

That afternoon, the pope had lunch with 10 young adults who asked him a number of questions. One of the participants was Brenda Noriega, a Mexican-born youth minister from San Bernardino, California. She said she told Pope Francis that the sex-abuse scandal in the United States was a “crisis right now we cannot avoid talking about.” Noriega said the pope called the abuse a “horrible crime” and assured her that the Church was committed to supporting victims.

At a vigil that night, the pope encouraged the youth to be “influencers.” He said that although Mary would not be

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POPE, YOUNG ADULTS TAKE PART IN WORLD YOUTH DAY

considered an “influencer” like many social media personalities, she still became the most influential woman in history by trusting “in the love and promises of God, the only force capable of making all things new.”

The pope asked participants, “Are you willing to be an ‘influencer’ like Mary, who dared to say, ‘Let it be done’?”

On January 27, Pope Francis celebrated the closing Mass for the gathering. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, the Family, and Life, announced that the next International World Youth Day would be held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2020.

In his homily, the pope encouraged youth to become involved in the world today in order to help ensure a better tomorrow.

“You, dear young people,” he told them, “are not the future but the now of God.” He said that often young people risk looking at their mission, vocation, and even their lives as something far off in the future and “having nothing to do with the present,” while adults can fall into the trap of inventing a “hygienically sealed future without consequence where everything is safe, secure, and ‘well insured.’

“The Lord and his mission are not a ‘meantime’ in our life, something temporary. They are our life,” the pope said.

“Do you want to live out your love in a practical way? May your ‘yes’ continue to be the gateway for the Holy Spirit to give us a new Pentecost for the world and for the Church.”

After the Mass, the pope thanked all those involved in World Youth Day and asked those in attendance “not to let the fervor of these days grow cold. Go back to your parishes and communities, to your families and your friends, and share this experience, so that others can resonate with the strength and enthusiasm that is yours.”

NEW YORK BISHOPS DECRY LAW TO EXPAND ABORTION RIGHTS

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ollowing the January 22 passage of the Reproductive Health Act in New York, the New York State Catholic Conference issued a statement saying that the state “has become a more dangerous one for women and their unborn babies,” reported CNS. New York Governor Chris Cuomo, a Catholic, signed the bill into law the same day.

The law allows abortions to be performed by any licensed medical personnel throughout the duration of the pregnancy “when necessary to protect a patient’s life or health.”

Following the passage and signing of the bill, the New York State Catholic Conference released a statement saying: “Many of the state Senators and Assembly Members who voted for this abortion expansion are mothers themselves, who felt their child toss, turn, and kick in their womb, and delighted in the progress of their pregnancy. Many others, as well as our governor, are fathers, who held their partner’s hand as they viewed the ultrasound videos, watched their child squirm, and rejoiced at the first sound of a heartbeat.

Many of these same officials were themselves born into less-than-perfect conditions­—poverty, health problems, disabilities, broken families. All overcame these issues to rise to leadership in our state because their parents chose life for them.”

The conference also said it renews its “pledge to offer the resources and services of our charitable agencies and health services to any woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy to support her in bearing her infant, raising her family, or placing her child for adoption.”

JESUIT TO REMAIN AS HOUSE CHAPLAIN IN NEW CONGRESS

CNS PHOTO/RHINA GUIDOS

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n January 3, US lawmakers voted to keep Jesuit Father Patrick J. Conroy as chaplain for the US House of Representatives for the next two years, reported CNS. He has held the position since 2011.

As House chaplain, Father Conroy is responsible for offering a prayer at the beginning of each day when Congress is in session. The nondenominational prayer is archived in the Congressional Record and is part of the official rules of the House to get the day started.

Father Conroy was at the center of a controversy last April, when then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan requested the priest’s resignation.

Many people suspected that the priest’s prayer during a time when lawmakers were debating how some of the proposed tax laws would affect the rich and the poor may have played a part in the situation.

In his November 6, 2017, prayer, Father Conroy said, “May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”

Following Ryan’s request, Father Conroy submitted a resignation letter, but rescinded it two weeks later, following outrage at Ryan’s request from both Republicans and Democrats.

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

THOUSANDS MARCH FOR LIFE IN NATION’S CAPITAL ore than 100,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, on January 18 to take part in the 46th annual March for Life. The theme of this year’s walk was “Unique from Day One: Pro-Life is Pro-Science,” focusing on how scientific advancements reveal “the humanity of the unborn child from the moment of conception.”

The morning of the march, an estimated crowd of 18,000 youths gathered for the Youth Rally and Mass for Life at Capital One Arena. During the Mass, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, read a message from Pope Francis, who said he was united in prayer with the thousands of young people who had come to Washington for the march. The pope said the challenging task for each generation is “to uphold the inviolable dignity of human life” and that respect for the sacredness of every life is essential in building a just society, where every child and every person is welcomed as a brother and sister.

Later that day, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, gave the opening prayer at the March for Life on the National Mall. The archbishop, who serves as chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged participants to “go change the world.”

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, were surprise guests at the march, introducing themselves to the crowd by saying, “We’re the Pences, and we’re pro-life.”

The vice president said that, in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court turned “its back on life” but the pro-life movement was born, “motivated by love and truth,” and has been “winning hearts and minds ever since,” he added.

In a message played at the march, President Donald Trump said the pro-life movement is “founded on love and grounded in the nobility and dignity of every human life.

I will always defend the first right in our Declaration of Independence: the right to life.”

Other speakers at the event included Ben Shapiro, editorin-chief of the Daily Wire; three members of Congress— Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Reps. Dan Lipinski

(D-Illinois) and Chris Smith (R-New Jersey); a Democratic member of the Louisiana Legislature, Rep. Katrina Jackson; Alveda King, Priests for Life’s director of civil rights for the unborn; and Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus.

The evening before the march, an estimated 10,000 people gathered at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, for the March for Life vigil Mass. During his homily, Archbishop Naumann told those in attendance, “Protecting the life of the unborn children is the preeminent human rights issue of our time, not only because of the sheer magnitude of the numbers, but because abortion attacks the sanctuary of life—the family.”

He also addressed the clergy sex-abuse crisis, saying: “The abuse of children or minors upends the pro-life ethic because it is a grave injustice and an egregious offense against the dignity of the human person. Moreover, the failure to respond effectively to the abuse crisis undermines every other ministry in the Church.”

POPE ANNOUNCES MOBILE PRAYER APP

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n late January, Pope Francis launched the mobile app and online platform “Click to Pray” as a way to connect people around the world in prayer. The app is “the official platform of the pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.”

The prayer network, formerly called the Apostleship of Prayer, is a Jesuit-run outreach that has given Catholics the pope’s monthly prayer intentions since 1890. The global prayer network started offering the prayer intentions on video via social media in 2016.

“Internet and social media are a resource in our era, a chance to stay in touch with others, to share values and plans, and to express the desire to be a community,” the pope said. “The web can also help us pray as a community, to pray together.”

The website ClicktoPray.org and the mobile app—available for Android and iOS—are offered in six languages.

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

Compassion: A Virtue Forged in Adversity Great suffering can lead only to greater compassion or bitterness.

“

Courage is the form of every virtue,” wrote C.S. Lewis, an Anglican professor of literature and spiritual commentator, during World War II. “Pilate was merciful till it became risky” (The Screwtape Letters).

The path to virtue is never smooth.

We easily—yet mistakenly—think of saints (formally recognized or the ones we’ve known) as having had an easy time developing the virtues for which we admire them. Not so.

Before the Catholic Church formally designates someone as Venerable, the pope signs a decree about the “heroic virtues” of that person. In fact, every genuine virtue is heroic. No virtue develops in an ideal world. The person growing in virtue must always contend with the weeds or thorns that could easily choke off that virtue, much as Jesus explained that the good seed could be choked off (Mt 13:7).

In the face of extreme suffering, there are only two options: moving toward greater compassion or greater bitterness. We cannot remain exactly where we were before encountering that suffering. One of those emotions has to become more “normal” for us, necessarily followed by actions to reinforce it. “That’s just the way life is,” say many people who choose the path of greater bitterness— as though there were no alternative.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

BARBARA AND GEORGE H.W. BUSH

Their deaths last year reminded us that when their 3-yearold daughter Robin died from leukemia in 1953, they could easily have become very bitter people rather than eventually people of extraordinary compassion. They expressed this in conversations with suffering people and through support of individual charities and government programs to help people facing the most bitter of life’s possibilities.

“Love is a decision,” say participants in Marriage Encounter programs. Initial loves and disappointments do not automatically lead to stronger, lifelong love. The story could always have a less happy ending. Yet after great adversity, love can become stronger, wider, and deeper.

The late Evangelical theologian Dorothy Soëlle wrote in her book Suffering about people who become either “God’s martyrs” or “the devil’s martyrs.” God’s martyrs point us to a loving, compassionate God. The devil’s martyrs lead us more deeply into bitterness, constantly anxious to top someone

else’s story of suffering with a bigger one of our own.

If Barbara and George H.W. Bush had allowed the death of their daughter to turn them into bitter people, they would have become “the devil’s martyrs” Soëlle describes. Their pain over the death of Robin was very deep, sharp, and real, but they chose to become what Soëlle described as “God’s martyrs.”

In the midst of great suffering, we always choose, in effect, which kind of martyr we will be—whether compassion or bitterness will more accurately summarize our lives.

ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING ELSE

Like a stroke, a car accident, or a trip to the emergency room, opportunities to grow in compassion never occur when we have extra time and energy on our hands.

Something else important could cause us to move toward greater bitterness because we find that is much easier.

The virtue of compassion is more the by-product of many decisions than the result of a single decision. The people who were praised by Jesus for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and other works of charity (Mt 25:31–40) had a very different sense of “normal” from those condemned (vv 41–46); this second group saw their lifelong indifference to such needs as perfectly normal, even praiseworthy.

In fact, no virtue becomes more characteristic of a person simply by osmosis, by being around people who exemplify that particular virtue. At some level, every virtue is always forged in response to some messy and frustrating type of adversity.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote that someone who is not a good tennis player may occasionally make a good shot, but when we describe an individual as a good tennis player we are referring to someone whose eyes and muscles and nerves “have been so trained by making innumerable good shots that they can be relied on.” Lewis continues that someone who perseveres in doing just actions “gets in the end a certain quality of character. Now it is that quality rather than the particular actions that we mean when we talk of ‘virtue.’”

Suffering comes to all of us. What we do with it makes all the difference.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2019 • 9

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN Still an Apostolic Church?

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

In light of the agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See, signed on September 22, 2018, can Catholics still claim to be an apostolic Church?

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ONLINE: StAnthonyMessenger.org E-MAIL: Ask@FranciscanMedia.org MAIL: Ask a Franciscan 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202

All questions sent by mail need to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

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WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

WE HAVE A DIGITAL archive of “Ask” Q & As, going back to March 2013.

Just click: • the Ask link and then • the Archive link.

Material is grouped thematically under headings such as forgiveness, Jesus, moral issues, prayer, saints, redemption, sacraments, Scripture—and many more!

Tempted to Leave the Catholic Church As cradle Catholics, my wife and I are tempted to leave the Catholic Church because of its grossly inadequate response to clerical sexual abuse of minors, which is both a civil crime and a sin. The Church condemns that abuse but protects the abusers by failing to take effective action against them. We have not left the Church because of our deep-seated beliefs in the Catholic faith, but we are struggling and looking for guidance on this issue.

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any Catholics around the world share your anger and shame over the actions of these abusers of minors and vulnerable adults. By the time you read this issue, Pope Francis will have recently finished a three-day meeting with the heads of bishops’ conferences around the world.

The US bishops’ conference was asked by the Holy See to postpone its proposed actions at their meeting last November so that a more coordinated

Pope Francis walks in front of a candle in memory of victims of sexual abuse as he visits St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin August 25. Pope Francis apologized for clerical sexual abuse in Ireland, but on the final day of the trip he was accused of ignoring claims of abuse by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.

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Father Pat welcomes your questions!

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Pat McCloskey, OFM

es, they can. A bit of background is helpful here. The provisional agreement referenced above provides for the government to propose names of priests to be appointed bishop, with the final decision to be made by the pope.

This agreement has been under negotiation since 1986.

The appointment of bishops has seen varying degrees of involvement of secular governments for most of the Church’s history. At the time of Vatican I (1869–70), most European 16th-century fresco depicting the Council of Nicaea governments in predominantly Catholic countries had some input on the appointment of bishops. Before the latest agreement, most of the bishops appointed by the Chinese government had already been reconciled with the Holy See. Pope Benedict XVI’s May 27, 2007, letter to Catholics in the People’s Republic of China explains what the Catholic Church hopes to achieve regarding official recognition in that country.

Emperor Constantine convoked and presided over the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, which formulated the creed we use on Sundays and which Pope Sylvester I accepted. The Church was no less apostolic because of Constantine’s role in that council.

The Catholic Church is apostolic because the bishop of Rome and his brother bishops now carry out the role that Jesus entrusted to St. Peter and the other apostles.

worldwide plan of action could come from this February 2019 meeting.

My October 2018 editorial in these pages, an open letter to Pope Francis, chronicled how St. Anthony Messenger has responded to this abuse since February 1994 and offered three suggestions for actions he can take now to address this disgraceful abuse.

“The gates of hell” will not prevail over the Church (Mt 16:18), but Jesus certainly expects its leaders to lead as genuine shepherds, looking after all its members and not mistakenly trying to protect the Church’s reputation at all costs.

Quick Questions and Answers In the Hail Mary, we say, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Jesus was holy from the very beginning.

How can he be blessed by anyone?

Where was St. Joseph buried? It seems that we should know more about such an important person in the Church’s history.

Christian tradition has presumed that St. Joseph died sometime between when Jesus was 12 (being lost in the Temple in Jerusalem) and the start of his public ministry around the age of 30. Jesus’ followers were not immediately in a position to erect a church over his grave. Joseph, a “righteous man” (Mt 1:19), is no less real to us because we have no relics of him or a church over his grave. His holiness supplies all we need.

and get resources from the friars to enrich your Lenten journey!

StAnthony.org/Lent

How do I worship God? CURAPHOTOGRAPHY/FOTOSEARCH

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That part of the prayer quotes Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary (Lk 1:42b). Elizabeth is not giving a blessing but simply acknowledging a blessing already given by God. If you sneeze and I say, “God bless you,” I am not the source of that blessing but am simply recognizing that you have already been blessed by God.

Light a Lenten candle

The first step is to accept God’s self-revelation as it comes to us in the Bible, whose contents we know because the Church tells us that they are divinely inspired. We worship God through private and communal prayer. The latter type guards against any temptation to project onto God whatever we may find convenient, making God in our image rather than acknowledging that we have been made in God’s image.

The Franciscan Friars, Province of St. John the Baptist 1615 Vine St, Ste 1 Cincinnati, OH 45202-6492

www.stanthony.org

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS “Faith is light in the darkness, help in sickness, blessing in tribulations, paradise in the crucifixion, and life amid death.”

—St. Ludovico da Casoria

FRANCISCAN WORLD

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Holy Spirit Province in Canada

Having worked as a cabinetmaker before joining the Friars Minor in 1832, Ludovico briefly taught science and math to younger friars and then dedicated himself full time to assisting people who were poor and sick.

He established schools, infirmaries, orphanages, and institutes for people who were visually or hearing impaired or unable to speak, the elderly, and travelers—as well as religious communities to continue his work.

he first Franciscan friars arrived in Canada in 1615; they were expelled after that French territory passed to Great Britain in 1763. The friars returned in the late 19th century, thanks largely to the work of Blessed Frédéric Janssoone, OFM (d. 1916). The Province of St. Joseph was established in the east in 1927. Christ the King Province was established 28 years later in the west.

On October 22, 2018, the 87 friars of the two provinces became Holy Spirit Province Saint-Esprit, headquartered in Montreal with Pierre Charland, OFM, as provincial minister and Robert Mokry, OFM, as provincial vicar.

“I’m most looking forward to reconnecting with the core values Blessed Frédéric Janssoone, OFM of our Franciscan charism,” says Father Pierre. “The creation of a new province is an occasion to stop, to evaluate what we’re doing, and to ground ourselves anew in the fundamentals of our Franciscan identity. What bridges the old and the new is our Franciscan heritage and identity.”

The friars serve in seven houses in Canada and in Haiti, Madagascar, and Peru. The new bilingual province includes friars originally from Korea, Vietnam, Poland, India, the United States, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, the Philippines, and Nigeria.

ST. ANTHONY STORIES

The Mission Trip Medallion

“Christ’s love has wounded my heart,” Ludovico once said. He was canonized in 2014, and his feast is observed on March 29.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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WANT MORE? Learn about your saints and blesseds by going to: SaintoftheDay.org

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once lost a very special necklace that St. Anthony helped me find. When I was in high school, I went on a summer mission trip to Peru and received a silver necklace at the end, which was to serve as a reminder of the experience for us students. That same summer, I went on a vacation with my family to a lake in northern Ontario.

One day, while swimming in the lake, I had forgotten to take my necklace off before getting into the water. Somehow, the medallion detached from the chain. When I noticed it was missing, I felt panicked but remembered that St. Anthony is the go-to saint if you’ve lost something. I prayed for his intercession, put on a swimming mask, and started looking. The second time I dove down underwater, I saw a glimmer in the sand. There it was! Thank you, St. Anthony!

—Adam Clark, Chicago, Illinois

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NICHOLAS MORMANDO, OFM CAP

His compassion knew no bounds, alleviating suffering of every kind.

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ST. LUDOVICO DA CASORIA

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FOLLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS

A Rejuvenated Spirit in the Land of Francis

“Being in Spello has definitely deepened my Franciscan roots, and it has strengthened me in the core values of prayer and fraternity.”

Nick Mormando, OFM Cap

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICHOLAS MORMANDO, OFM CAP

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some staying from a few hours to a few days. “We really saw large numbers through spring and summer,” says Father Nick. “They come from all over Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. Many walk here from Rome, with Assisi being their ultimate destination.”

One of the big differences that Father Nick found between his provincial house in New Jersey and that of Spello is the amount of actual physical labor the friars must do to maintain their home. “There is a lot of physical work to be done here. We have a busy schedule of cleaning, washing, and cooking. We tend to building repairs and to caring for the gardens and farm.

I have come to greatly enjoy the afternoon risposo, or rest time, associated with Italy!”

With his sabbatical coming to a close later this spring, Father Nick has been able to reflect on his experience of the past year.

“In many ways this year has turned out to be like a second novitiate for me, which I wasn’t expecting but am very grateful for having. The extra personal prayer time in the afternoon is probably the thing I cherish the most. Plus having more opportunities to go into Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli has been a blessing.

“I feel even more connected to Francis than ever before. My mind has been opened to prayer at a level that I wasn’t able to do before. It has given me an experience and understanding of solitude that I did not have. I will be returning to my home province, renewed in my love for and dedication to Christ, Francis, and my Franciscan community.”

—Rita E. Piro

BREAD s

FRANK JASPER, OFM

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n his 35 years as a Franciscan priest, Nicholas “Nick” Mormando, OFM Cap, has ministered in parishes, friaries, schools, retreat centers, and health-care facilities across the United States, including St. Ann’s Parish in Hoboken, New Jersey; Immaculate Conception Parish in Hendersonville, North Carolina; St. Francis Friary in Wilmington, Delaware; and the St. Lawrence Retreat Center in Beacon, New York.

In October 2011, in his 26th year of religious life, Father Nick was elected Provincial Minister of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis. He lives in Edison, New Jersey. As provincial minister, Father Nick traveled throughout the United States and India, ministering to the needs of both his fellow Franciscans and their congregations and communities.

Soon after he completed his second three-year term as provincial, Father Nick started to look for a different type of ministry, one that would add a new dimension to his witness to the mission of both Jesus and St. Francis. He found it at the Capuchin Friary of San Severino in Spello, Italy, just outside of Assisi.

“This is one of several friaries located in Europe, which are a part of ‘The European Project,’” explains Father Nick. “These are specially set up houses with international communities living according to the Capuchin Constitutions, which are not attached to a specific ministry.”

In addition to celebrating daily Mass for either the nearby cloistered Augustinian or Poor Clare nuns, the Spello community welcomes many pilgrims who arrive almost daily, with

ST. ANTHONY

The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation.

The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below.

Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. viSit our webSite to:

StAnthony.org

s

mAil poStAl communicAtionS to:

St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | FAITH UNPACKED Hidden Costs

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By David Dault, PhD

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David hosts the weekly radio show Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith. He also cohosts the Francis Effect podcast with Father Dan Horan, OFM. He lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago.

Want a certain topic covered? Send us your request.

E-MAIL:

FaithUnpacked@ FranciscanMedia.org MAIL:

Faith Unpacked 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202 PODCAST:

The Francis Effect podcast can be streamed live at FrancisFXPod.com.

BROADENING OUR PERSPECTIVES

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus admonishes the Pharisees and scribes for their scrupulous attention to public righteousness while “neglect[ing] the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.” In other words, Jesus is reminding us that Rahner’s banana, Woolman’s clothing, and so many other simple everyday items and actions must be viewed in their relationship to the wider web of justice within God’s kingdom.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us of these wider connections when it says: “A good intention [for example, that of

■ an da ab

helping one’s neighbor] does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered . . . good or just. The end does not justify the means.

Thus, the condemnation of an innocent person cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation. On the other hand, an added bad intention [such as vainglory] makes an act evil that, in and of itself, can be good [such as almsgiving]” (1753).

I thought about this paragraph when I read the announcement recently that Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos of Amazon were donating $15 million to various Catholic charities. On the surface, this is a wonderful and generous gift, and as Sister Marjorie Hebert, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, put it, “This grant will be critical in helping us continue to provide a comprehensive network of social services that connects our clients to resources and acts as a springboard to self-sufficiency.”

However, over the past two years there have also been numerous credible reports that Amazon does not treat its employees with dignity, subjecting them to dangerous working conditions. They have fought to bar workers’ compensation and medical reimbursements. Is there not a social and systemic sinfulness to be found in such actions?

If a banana can be problematic, if a suit of clothing can be problematic, is it not possible that a pile of money can be problematic? No matter how much good it promises to bring into the world, we have to ask how it connects to these webs of social and systemic relations.

Even when the transaction—especially when the transaction—benefits our interests, we need to be looking with scrutiny at these weightier things of the law: judgment, mercy, and fidelity. These we must do—and not leave the others undone.

Fa is

B cum tha infl nee abs “bi me use pow cur the are nee Cu im 2s

TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: PAULB/FOTOSEARCH

David Dault, PhD

n his book The Foundations of Christian Faith, theologian Karl Rahner asks us to think about a man engaged in the simple act of buying a banana at the grocery store.

For the one making the purchase, everything you need to know is contained in that one transaction. He gives the clerk the money and leaves with the banana. End of story.

Rahner reminds us, however, that the interaction is not actually so simple. That banana did not just appear in the grocery store by magic. It has a history. The banana took a journey from its home country to the shelves of the store, and along the way, that banana got caught up in centuries-old commercial policies between the United States and South and Central America. The banana has passed through relationships that involve inequity and injustice toward the pickers and the packers of the fruits we eat.

Buying the banana is not a sinful action.

At the same time, the banana is a focal point for these social and systemic forms of sin. It is sometimes too easy for us to ignore these wider connections that attach to the things we buy and sell.

Two centuries before Karl Rahner wrote of these things, the Quaker John Woolman arrived at similar insights. As early as 1762, Woolman and others refused to purchase goods produced by slave labor. Later in his life, Woolman became known for dressing in grey clothing, for he refused to wear clothing that had been dyed with pigments that were carried over on the same ships that carried human beings intended to be sold as slaves.

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TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: PAULB/FOTOSEARCH

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1/30/19 11:01 AM

POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

Kyle Kramer

Kyle is the executive director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, which offers interfaith educational programming in meditation, ecology, and social compassion.

He serves as a Catholic climate ambassador for the US Conference of Catholic Bishopssponsored Catholic Climate Covenant and is the author of A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt (Ave Maria Press, 2010).

He speaks across the country on issues of ecology and spirituality.

He and his family spent 15 years as organic farmers and homesteaders in Spencer County, Indiana.

EarthandSpiritCenter.org

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WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

he 40 days of Lent hearken back to the time Jesus spent in the desert, facing the temptations of Satan. For us, as well, Lent is a time to wrestle with our demons, to discern the darkness tangled around our own hearts and, more broadly, the fallenness and evil embedded in the systems and structures of our society.

After Jesus’ long fast, Satan tempted him to turn stones into bread. Beyond hunger and food, I think this is the temptation we all face to avoid any kind of discomfort or inconvenience.

If I’m cold or hot, I want a thermostat I can adjust. If I’m bored, I want Netflix or my smartphone at the ready.

If there’s a gadget that strikes my fancy, I want Amazon to deliver it within two days.

On the larger scale, the underlying message we hear from our government and industry leaders is that we won’t have to suffer any sort of deprivation—as long, of course, as we have the right education, income level, zip code, skin color, immigration status, and so forth.

Industrial agriculture, for example, assures us that with sophisticated farm machinery and the miracles of modern chemistry and genetics, we’ll find ways to avoid natural ecosystem limits to food production. The same is true for our use of energy and raw materials: The implicit techno-utopian promise is that through ingenious innovation, we’ll never have to sacrifice or cut back for the sake of the planet or our fellow human beings. This is a lie—and believing it has created all kinds of social and environmental evils.

A RISK WORTH TAKING?

Satan invited Jesus to tempt fate by leaping off

the Temple parapet. Because I’m risk averse, I tend not to take stupid chances that could get me killed. But how many times have I known what is good for my long-term health and done the opposite— depriving myself of rest, indulging in the wrong foods, and so forth?

Collectively, we’re taking similar chances when it comes to the massive amounts of heattrapping gases we’re pumping into our atmosphere. We’re essentially playing Russian roulette without a backup plan or a backup planet for the time—now upon us, according to the latest science—when we run headlong into the long-term consequences of nonnegotiable physics. Again, we seem to think that the angels of innovation and technology will get us out of this mess even though they’re the same (fallen?) angels that got us into it. Innovative technology certainly has a crucial role to play in a thriving future, but so does a good dose of humility and restraint.

Finally, Satan promised Jesus that he could have dominion over the kingdoms of the world. I’ve never been tempted by that kind of ambition for broad-scale power and control, but in my own household I see how frustrated I get when my family members won’t align their thinking or behavior with my expectations.

Most of our economic and political systems operate from the assumption that human beings will eventually manage and control the entire world. But such complete and powerful dominion is an illusion. We must be good stewards, yes, but we must always account for nature’s unpredictable

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Lent: A Call for Change

wildness, which will always throw us curveballs.

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SIGNS OF HOPE

Lent may be a time to face our individual and collective darkness, but this penitential season is ultimately about springtime, about the days growing lighter and longer, about the world waking up from its winter slumber.

Lent leads us to the paschal miracle of the resurrection, in which Jesus shows us that God’s love and grace triumph over despair and death. Preparing for Easter invites us—as individuals and as an entire human species—into an entirely new, resurrected way of living.

It’s undeniably true that we human beings have done a tremendous amount of damage to our world: Maybe we won’t pull out of our death spiral in time to save ourselves and many other species from extinction.

Still, I see plenty of signs of hope as we struggle with our cultural reckoning about what makes for a good human life and human society. We are beginning to understand—however slowly and incompletely—that our only possible future is one in which we in the developed world live more simply so that others may simply live on our one habitable planet.

Just as Lenten introspection offers us clarity about the demons we wrestle with, Lenten fasting shows us that less can be more. If we’re willing to try it, we may find that a simpler way of living can also be more authentic, more joyful, and more filled with satisfactions and pleasures that are true, deep, and communal, rather than manufactured, marketed, and individualistic.

There’s no single lever to pull, leader to elect, or law to enact that will immediately change our ways of thinking and living. We’ll need topdown and bottom-up solutions, but it will all depend on the transformation of the human heart, which can start— no, which has already started—in our homes, neighborhoods, parishes, and cities. I pray that we Christians, with nearly 2,000 Lents in our history, might help lead the way.

HELPFUL

TIPS Lenten Opportunities 1

Lent is a perfect opportunity to reflect on our environmental responsibilities from the perspective of our Catholic faith.

The Lent 4.2 program helps parishes do exactly that. Full disclosure: The Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, which I run, developed the Lent 4.2 materials.

2

Lent is about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Can you give these traditional disciplines an environmental twist this year? For example, pray that God shows you how you might reduce your transportation footprint. Fast from extraneous driving. Purchase carbon offsets for the miles you do drive.

3

Repentance means turning around and taking a new direction. What environmental aspect might you repent: energy use, consumption, recycling, etc.?

Consider riding your bike to work, school, or on a quick errand to limit your carbon emissions.

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Reasons to Fast This

Fasting with purpose can give new meaning to Lent and increase your Easter joy.

ne Sunday morning during Lent, I was amused to hear a homily advising parishioners to avoid giving anything up for Lent. Instead, the homilist encouraged looking in the mirror every day and telling yourself how fabulous you are!

His point was valid: This Lent, see yourself the way God sees you. A friend says that her priest gives out candy during Lent to point out that it isn’t about giving up superficial things such as sweets.

The homily and the candy—and the growing trend away from fasting during Lent—encourage us to reprioritize our Lenten experiences, to realize that Lenten sacrifices aren’t simply something to check off a list or something to make ourselves miserable. No one wants to be around people who

are making themselves unhappy in the name of Jesus.

But does an old-fashioned Lenten fast still have value? Are the small sacrifices we traditionally make (giving up sweets, alcohol, snacks, meat, television, or social media) stifling and distracting, or are they life-giving and transformative?

Fasting is an ancient practice of the Church; at its best, it is an authentic exercise in trust and a quiet form of deep devotion. It joins us to Christ and to one another. Fasting— in whatever form it takes—is nothing less than a participation in the transforming cross of Jesus Christ, which is the goal of every worthwhile Lenten journey.

So, in defense of an ancient practice with perennial benefits, here is my list of 10 good reasons to fast this Lent.

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By Amy Ekeh

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JESUS DID IT.

Fasting was a Jewish tradition that Jesus clearly expected would continue. His own 40-day fast endorsed the practice. Before beginning his ministry, he went into the wilderness, where he fasted from food and was tempted by Satan (Mt 4:1–11). Jesus emerged from the wilderness, having been tested, strengthened, and prepared for what lay ahead.

Jesus even told us how to do it. Always concerned about hypocrisy, he clearly taught that when we fast, we shouldn’t make a show of it to others. Instead, “your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Mt 6:18).

TINNAKORN/FOTOSEARCH

ENTERLINEDESIGN/FOTOSEARCH

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FASTING IS A TRADITIONAL SIGN OF SORROW.

Lent is a season of repentance, and fasting helps us express that. Instead of a self-inflicted punishment, it is a willing offering, a purposeful act of humility. Rather than merely acknowledging our sin in thoughts or words, fasting lets us put our whole selves into the experience of repentance.

The Old Testament is full of references to the people of God fasting as a sign of their sorrow for sin. Often this was accompanied by other physical signs—wailing, wearing sackcloth, sprinkling ashes or dirt on the head, even the tearing of clothing or lying flat on the ground (Neh 9:1; Est 4:3; 1 Mc 3:47). Though we no longer express our sorrow in such outward signs, the symbolism of fasting remains. We not only tell God we are sorry; we show him.

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FASTING HELPS US EMPTY OURSELVES AND FOCUS ON GOD AND OTHERS.

When we fast, we rid ourselves of things that distract or burden us. Whether we’re giving up entertainment, our favorite snack, or unnecessary shopping, the stripping away of distractions allows us to turn our focus away from ourselves and toward God and others.

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Mt 6:24). We should enjoy the good things in our lives, but it is sometimes wise to give them up for a time, to regain our focus on what is most valuable.

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FASTING GIVES US THAT FAMILIAR ‘YEARNING’ FEELING.

Fasting helps us get in touch with our inner voice that says, “I want.” As humans, we want good food, good drink, and other good things.

But deep down we know these things can bring us only limited happiness. If we reflect on our inner voice, we may hear a deeper voice, a yearning for something greater—something perfect and eternal. Jesus called it the “living water” and the “food that endures” (Jn 4:10; 6:27).

Lent is a time to experience this deep yearning, identify it, and reorient our lives because of it. The living water and the food that lasts are there for the taking.

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FASTING HELPS US DEVELOP SELF-DISCIPLINE.

When I was in high school, I decided to give up the snooze button for Lent. I just loved hitting “snooze” (I still do). Could I really get out of bed when the alarm went off?

That was a tough Lent. But it was also liberating. Every morning, the alarm sounded and—wonder of wonders—I got out of bed. And by the end of Lent, getting up at the sound of the alarm was much easier. Knowing I could do this boosted my confidence about what else I could control.

This is a small example, but as Jesus said, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones” (Lk 16:10). Once we master something small, we can conquer bigger, more important things like fasting from gossip or envy.

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FASTING REMINDS US THAT OUR BODIES ARE PART OF OUR PRAYER.

Fasting is not an inward-turning exercise. A fast, when freely offered, turns us outward—toward God and others. Our own time of “going without” can make us more mindful of those who “go without” on a regular basis, those experiencing the poverty of hunger, oppression, loneliness, or pain.

A true fast turns us away from a focus on ourselves and creates a space for serving others. We can fast from free time and use that time to serve those in need. We can fast from unnecessary shopping and give that money to charity. We can fast from cynicism and work against the injustices that plague our world.

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FASTING BUILDS OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITY AS CHURCH.

Fasting during Lent is something we do together. Like wearing ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, fasting is a beautiful bond we share as Catholic Christians.

Just as the leaders and prophets of Israel used to “proclaim a fast” among the people to unify them in prayer (2 Chr 20:3; Jl 1:14), so we “proclaim a fast” during this season of repentance and transformation. Fasting binds us together in one spirit, one mission. It gives us an identity and a communal purpose. And it can change us not only as individuals, but also as a community.

A fast, when freely offered, turns us outward—toward God and others.

LEFT: VENERATIO/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: LATENIGHTPHOTO/FOTOSEARCH

We may think that what really matters in the spiritual life is our souls, and that our bodies are separate and secondary. But the Jewish understanding—which we Christians have inherited—is that we don’t only have bodies; rather, we are our bodies. Our bodies and souls belong together.

Everything we do rightfully involves our bodies, including prayer and worship. Sitting, standing, kneeling, eating, drinking, singing, crossing ourselves, genuflecting, touching holy water—all are part of our worship. Using our bodies in these ways changes us inside.

Fasting is like this too. It is a way to get our bodies involved in prayer and worship. When King David wanted to pray for the healing of his deathly ill son, he fasted as he prayed (2 Sm 12:16). It was his way of showing God with his body what he was feeling inside—emptiness, desire, loss, and uncertainty. He gave it all over to God.

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FASTING HELPS US BE MORE MINDFUL OF OTHERS.

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FASTING MAKES EASTER MORE JOYFUL.

Just as the warmth of spring feels so good after a long winter, a celebration feels even more joyful after a time of “holding back.” I remember giving up sweets for Lent one year and then attending a potluck brunch on Easter. Every dessert on the table looked amazing! I remember how good mine tasted.

Jesus told a story about a young man who squandered his inheritance and ended up so hungry he wanted to eat slop from a pigs’ trough (Lk 15:16). When he finally returned home, his father prepared a great feast. Ample food would have been a regular part of this young man’s life had he stayed at home and lived obediently. But it was his time of wandering and loss that led to such joy. The loss we experience—some small deprivation as we approach the cross— can prepare us for the joy of Easter.

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FASTING HELPS US IMITATE JESUS.

Years ago when I was working in a parish, I gathered a group of children to talk about Lent. I asked them why they thought we give something up for Lent, and an earnest little boy responded. He didn’t say that we give something up because our parents tell us to, but “because Jesus gave up everything for us.”

I don’t think anyone had ever told that little boy this deep, simple truth. My hunch is that he knew it from looking at a crucifix—the cross that we cling to—an image of someone giving their all, giving it all up.

This is why we fast. We give something up because he gave it all up for us. This is why St. Paul considered every pain, every loss, and every failure to be a great blessing—because it gave him some share in the cross of Jesus: “to know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming conformed to his death” (Phil 3:10).

We, too, want to know the power of the Resurrection. In fasting, we can have some small share in the cross of Jesus.

LEFT: VENERATIO/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: LATENIGHTPHOTO/FOTOSEARCH

A HEARTFELT OFFERING

Keep in mind that God does not judge us on the “success” of our Lenten fast. We don’t fast to make God happy; our fast is an authentic sign of our love for God. It cannot merely be an external act; it must go deep—to stretch us spiritually, to open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters, to prepare us for what lies ahead. It must be an offering from the heart, like that of Jesus on the cross.

Then our fast becomes not an obligation but a gift, not a dead custom but a fruitful offering, not a cause for selfcongratulation but an occasion of self-giving. May our Lenten fast strengthen us for what lies ahead, which is nothing less than death and resurrection.

Amy Ekeh is the author of Lent, Season of Transformation and several other books. She is an instructor at the Hartford Catholic Biblical School and associate editor at Little Rock Scripture Study. Visit her website at AmyEkeh.com.

Creative Ideas for Fasting This Lent • Fast from a favorite food or drink one day a week. If giving up your favorite morning coffee drink or nightly glass of wine seems too difficult, try giving it up one day a week (Friday is a traditional day of fast).

• Fast from a bit of sleep by waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual. Spend that time praying with the Psalms, reading through the Gospels, or just talking to God. • Fast from listening to the radio on the way to work. Use your time to pray, let your mind wander, enjoy the world around you, and adjust to the gift of silence.

• Fast from some of your free time by volunteering at a soup kitchen or visiting sick or elderly people. “Fasting for others” ensures that your Lenten fast extends beyond yourself.

• Fast from one form of entertainment: cable TV, streaming services, movies, or the like. Give the money you would have spent to a worthwhile charity like Catholic Relief Services.

• Fast from something in your lifestyle that is bad for your health. Taking care of our bodies is an important part of living a fully human life in the Lord. Use the 40 days of Lent to fast from a habit like smoking or inactivity.

• Fast from your to-do list by making those around you your top priority. If your child wants your attention or a friend needs someone to talk to, intentionally drop everything and give them the attention they need. This fast directly benefits others, and it will benefit you too.

You may decide to continue one or more of these fasts after Lent is over. Prayer, silence, time with others, and healthy living are not so much sacrifices as they are true worship—fullness of life in God and among our brothers and sisters.

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Echoes of

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

CNS PHOTOS: LEFT: RAHAT DAR, EPA; MIDDLE: DANISH SIDDIQUI, REUTERS; RIGHT: RUNGROJ YONGRIT, EPA

EXODUS

NEEHA REMEMBERS the way the cement stuck to her hands.

As a young girl, she was pressed into labor to make bricks to build roads in Myanmar. Desperate when Neeha’s father disappeared and was presumed dead, her mother made the heartwrenching decision to allow her daughter to do as she herself once had and become a child laborer at age 5: cleaning homes of wealthy families, collecting trash to sell, picking cotton, carrying heavy firewood, planting sugarcane. Describing years of heavy labor, Neeha recalls pain, oppressive heat, and hunger.

Children work at a brick kiln near Lahore, Pakistan. Pope Francis has called on the world community to come together to eliminate the root causes that force millions of children like Neeha into slave labor.

A Rohingya refugee girl rests after arriving at a makeshift refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Nearly 700,000 refugees have fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar since 2017.

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W A t s t t r t

EDITOR’S NOTE: The names of the refugees and their families have been changed to protect their privacy.

With help from Catholic Charities, child refugees escape harrowing conditions to begin new lives in the United States.

By Kathy Coffey

WHEN GANGS OVERTOOK her Central American village, Esperanza’s family paid to get her out of the country. But she was sex-trafficked twice. Finally, escaping over the US border, she was placed in a detention center, allowed asylum, and, finally, refugee status—a vetting process that can take between two and four years.

IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, Lan’s family accepted an offer for him to work for another family at age 13. Any family who could afford a servant could feed their child, right? Wrong. The offer was a false pretense for labor trafficking. Lan’s captors sent him to beg for money. If he didn’t get enough, he was tied up and beaten. After escaping, he told authorities, who by mistake called the traffickers, who then re-trafficked him. He would escape again, eventually gaining safe passage to the United States as a refugee with the help of a family who found him living on the streets.

Under the scorching sun, children in Yangon, Myanmar, carry baskets loaded with gravel used for construction.

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TOP: A girl holds her sister near a makeshift shelter at a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen. TOP RIGHT: A child laborer collects drinking water at the Dala River outside Yangon, Myanmar. She is forced to carry drinking water or she may not get to drink some herself.

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heirs are modern-day Exodus stories. Long honored in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the account of Moses leading his people from violent, brutal oppression into freedom has played out in many ways across the centuries.

We hear it again in the stories of Neeha, Lan, and Esperanza, child refugees who have made the treacherous journey from their homelands and are starting new lives in the United States. While many children languish in refugee camps, losing an entire childhood, these young people are among the fortunate who gained entry to the United States as part of the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program (see sidebar on page 27).

After being placed on a waiting list with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, they have been paired with foster families through Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County in San Jose, California. The agency matches unaccompanied minors with families who have undergone intensive home study, training in native cultures, and certification.

The staff has found that being selective and spending much time educating families pays off in the long run. It means that children arriving with trauma in their backgrounds and subsequent mental health issues might be spared another painful rejection if an inadequately prepared family discovers they simply can’t cope.

LOWER LEFT: Children play soccer at a camp for displaced people in Minkamman, South Sudan.

For many child refugees, soccer becomes their primary form of recreation. LOWER RIGHT: A crew member of the Spanish nongovernmental organization Proactiva Open Arms holds the hand of a woman who was rescued in the central Mediterranean Sea. The NGO’s main mission is to rescue from the sea people who are trying to reach Europe after fleeing wars, persecution, and poverty.

Neeha is among those who have been placed with a foster family through Catholic Charities after gaining refugee status. Her foster parents, Simon and Marciella, rent a small house that they share with their children Sam, 11, and Charlotte, 9.

“We had a good life before,” they say, smiling. “But now there’s more joy than ever!” They refer to enlarging their family with Neeha, now 14, and Samir, 16, a refugee from Somalia. As Charlotte says, “We have food, each other, warm beds. I’m really happy we can give others opportunities they might not have had.”

At first, Simon and Marciella’s children were nervous about sharing their rooms with “strangers.” But Marciella relaxed when she overheard, through paper-thin walls, the first conversation between the two boys. Samir had just arrived and hadn’t understood how to get hot water in the shower. Even after a cold shower, he confided to Sam, “The toothpaste is so nice. The bed is so nice. Do you think there’s a soccer team here I could play on?” After years of living vulnerably, his new home must have seemed like paradise.

Samir, like many refugees, is an expert at soccer because often that was the only entertainment in the camps. So the second annual One World Cup game will take place this spring at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, where teams of refugees and US-born students are mixed. The youths with refugee status shine, proudly wearing their team jerseys and hearing their names pronounced correctly on loudspeakers—legitimate and important. US-born students learn directly, “Refugees are just like other kids.”

CNS PHOTOS: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: YAHYA ARHAB, EPA; SOE ZEYA TUN, REUTERS; JUAN MEDINA, REUTERS; JIM LOPEZ, EPA

FAMILY OPENS HOME, HEARTS TO NEWCOMERS

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TOP: Pope Francis kisses a child (also pictured on the cover) as he meets Rohingya refugees from Myanmar during an interreligious and ecumenical meeting for peace in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since 2017, nearly 700,000 members of the Muslim ethnic minority have fled Myanmar amid what the United Nations has described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

MIDDLE: Rohingya refugee children gather in a playground at the Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.

Centers in the camps provide child refugees with basic education, recreation, and counseling services.

BOTTOM: A family of refugees who escaped the violence and persecution in Myanmar begin anew after being resettled in West Virginia.

Of course, there are challenges as well.

Simon, a youth minister, and Marciella, who works in nonprofit fund-raising, spend hours commuting to get the four children to school and activities.

Sometimes there are quarrels in the car.

But when they get home, they shine the headlights on a hill, blast music from the radio, and “shadow dance” to shift the energy before entering their home.

After all Samir and Neeha have endured, they sometimes question the need for house rules, but they understand these must be consistent for the younger children. They have frequent family meetings; during one, Sam called his dad out of the room to coach: “You’re closing doors. Here’s how to rephrase that message.” They enjoy monthly dinners with other foster families, where they compare notes on a different way to parent. The kids find it easier to connect with those who’ve had similar, difficult backgrounds.

At a deeper level, Neeha struggles with dramatic contrast and grief. “My life is so beautiful, but my family’s life is so hard,” she says. After working in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Indonesia, she lived in a UN shelter for girls who were trafficked.

She heard she was going to the United States a year ago, with only one night to tell her friends goodbye.

Neeha had been separated from her mom for five years, but after she reached the United States, they were reunited in one phone call. Afterward, her mom cooked for neighbors to celebrate that her daughter was still alive. Shortly after that joyous call, however, Neeha’s mother died. “There are no words to describe it,” says Neeha.

“My faith as a Rohingya Muslim helps, because God loves my mom and me.

God always helps me.”

The teen had never been to school, so her hand trembled the first time she held a pencil. Although she knew seven languages, English was not one of them. So she’s struggled mightily to keep up. It took two weeks to learn to pronounce “spectacular,” but now she savors the syllables and dreams of

CNS PHOTOS: TOP TO BOTTOM: PAUL HARING; MARKO DJURICA, REUTERS; JOHN SHERWOOD, THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NEEHA: ‘GOD ALWAYS HELPS ME’

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becoming a doctor some day. “I felt spectacular graduating from eighth grade! My mom would’ve been so proud; she would’ve cried with happiness.” One of her favorite activities is dancing: “When I dance I feel like all hard things go away. . . . When people clap for me, I think it is my mom clapping for me.” She’s also aware that most friends her age who remained in Myanmar are married and have several children by now.

Neeha’s younger brother and grandmother, also Rohingya Muslims, remain trapped in a camp for internally displaced people, surrounded by land mines. They sometimes don’t eat for a week, but delight in a daily phone call with Neeha, who sings to try to cheer them. She no longer wears her hijab to school because, sadly, she feels safer without it. When the principal heard that Muslim girls in her school didn’t feel safe covering, she cried. Other students mobilized to blanket the school with messages of welcome and affirmation. Catholic Charities staff members call frequently, help with the logistics of getting to appointments, and send counselors weekly with whom Neeha can speak and cry.

Foster mom Marciella eloquently expresses the struggle between the harsh realities these young people have endured and her faith that God is present, just as he was for Moses and the Israelites centuries ago.

“At one level, I’m angry at the situations that necessitate foster care. I wish Samir’s grandmother could see him.

She took a big risk to help him escape Somalia to safety, but doesn’t know if he made it alive. There’s so much happening in the world it’s easy to turn away, but we can’t deny the evil.

“At the same time, I’ve never felt God so much at work in my life since I’ve done this.”

Kathy Coffey is the author of 13 award-winning books and many articles in this magazine. She has also had work published in America, U.S. Catholic, and National Catholic Reporter. Her website is KathyJCoffey.com.

Helping Young Refugees Begin Anew Samir and Neeha are two of 106 young refugees in Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Refugee Foster Care program, second largest in the nation. They are part of the federal Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) for youths under 18. The program originated in the 1980s to address the needs of children arriving in the United States from Southeast Asia, fleeing Vietnam after the war because they had neither parents nor guardians to care for them.

• Since 1980, almost 13,000 youths have entered the URM program nationally.

• At its peak in 1985, it provided protection to 3,828 youths.

• As of March 2013, 1,300 youths were in URM care.

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) administers the URM program and determines eligibility. ORR places young people in specific programs in coordination with two agencies: the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

Although youths from countries restricted under the current travel ban cannot enter the country, Catholic Charities continues to certify foster families for the children who are waiting. “We won’t live in fear, so we continue seeking homes,” explains Angela Albright, division director of refugee foster care. “For the youth, we sponsor workshops on rights, empower students to write Congress, give them the message, ‘It’s not like some countries: The police are here to support you, and you have a voice.’”

Refugee foster children can’t be adopted; they are registered with Red Cross Family Finding. If a family member is discovered, they can sponsor them, but adoption would break the legal tie. “So our training focuses on their being a ‘forever family,’” says Albright, though in California they can be independent at 21.

Age or status didn’t seem to matter, though, when one refugee got his first job at Facebook. He rode his bike to the first day of work, then sent his foster mother a photo of him there, saying, “You taught me to ride a bike!”

Albright speaks glowingly of the children’s resilience: “They want to make the most of this second chance they’ve been given—and give back.”

Refugee children who come to the United States as part of the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program are remarkably resilient and adapt to a new culture with help from foster families.

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THE GROTTO A Respite in the Heart of the City Story and photography by Richard Bauman

A place to rest body and soul, this shrine in Portland, Oregon, commemorates the answer to a young boy’s prayer.

Water features, such as this reflective pool in the Peace Garden, abound on the grounds of the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, more commonly known as The Grotto.

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Oy

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sk someone in Portland, Oregon, where you can find the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, and chances are he or she will answer with a blank stare. Ask that same person where The Grotto is located, and more than likely you’ll get precise directions to it. Yet they are one and the same place.

What was an abandoned rock quarry in 1923 has been transformed into a majestic place of beauty with a religious flavor. It’s a respite from the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan Portland for residents and visitors alike.

No fewer than 200,000 people visit The Grotto every year. Some come to meditate and pray, some to enjoy nature, and others to ponder life’s challenges. All can find a bit of serenity at The Grotto.

TOP: The Via Matris, or the Way of Our Sorrowful Mother, consists of seven glass-enclosed shrines depicting the seven sorrows of Mary. Each shrine contains three to five near-life-size figures carved from wood. BOTTOM: A marble statue of St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus is the focal point of St. Joseph’s Grove, located on the upper level.

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

St. Peregrine, a Servite brother who died in 1345, is depicted in a mosaic on the lower level of The Grotto. His miraculous healing from cancer of the leg led to his being canonized in 1726 as the patron saint for those suffering from cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illnesses.

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A PROMISE FULFILLED

The genesis of the shrine, however, was far from serene.

When Ambrose Mayer was 9 years old, his mother was near death after childbirth. Ambrose rushed to his parish church in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and prayed before a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. If his mother and baby sister survived, he promised, he would one day do something magnificent for the Church. They lived, and he never forgot his promise.

He entered the Servants of Mary, also known as the Servites, in 1901 and was ordained a priest at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Chicago in 1910. In 1918, he was transferred to Oregon, where he became pastor of St. Clement Parish.

For five years, he explored the Portland area for a suitable place to fulfill his promise to the Blessed Mother. In the summer of 1923, he learned the Union Pacific Railroad was selling its rock quarry at Rocky Butte. Father Mayer described it as “a mess of almost impenetrable undergrowth, fallen rocks, thickets, and debris.” Where others saw only trash and overgrowth, he envisioned a peaceful sanctuary and a suitable tribute to Mary.

Father Mayer had no doubt God would provide the necessary money. A national fund-raising campaign was started, and it was given a huge boost when Pope Pius XI declared a special apostolic blessing to those who “show their goodwill and assist in erecting the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland.”

On May 29, 1924, little more than eight months after work began, 3,000 people attended the first Mass celebrated at the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. At the dedication, Archbishop Alexander Christie of Portland prayed: “Let this be a sanctuary of peace for all peoples of the earth. . . . Torn with differences, strife, and grief, the world needs sanctuary where the human spirit can seek peace and consolation.”

INSIDE THE GROTTO

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

The focal point of the shrine is Our Lady’s Grotto. The altar was built using stones from the alcove’s excavation. Rocks from the dig also were used in creating the floor, stairs, and altar rail for the grotto. Several years after the dedication, a white marble replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà was placed above and behind the altar.

Daily and Sunday Masses are celebrated in the Chapel of Mary, Mother of the Human Race. Built in 1955, it has a seating capacity of about 500. The mixture of marble, sandstone, and various woods used in its construction probably accounts for its outstanding acoustics.

TOP: Walking a labyrinth is an ancient spiritual exercise, one that symbolizes a journey such as a pilgrimage or our path through life. A popular draw for visitors, the labyrinth at The Grotto opened in 2010 and is a scaled-down replica of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. BOTTOM: The focal point of The Grotto is Our Lady’s Grotto. Excavated in 1923, it measures 50 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. At The Grotto’s dedication in 1924, Archbishop Alexander Christie said, “Let this be a sanctuary of peace for all peoples of the earth.”

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Also on the plaza level are 14 bronze plaques depicting the Stations of the Cross along a circular path. Father Mayer bought the Stations in 1930.

An elevator built against the cliff ’s craggy rock face carries visitors more than 100 feet to The Grotto’s upper level and its botanical gardens with more than 100 statues, reflection ponds, and miles of serene paths.

Practically the first thing visitors see is the Marilyn Moyer Meditation Chapel, situated on the edge of a 130-foot-high cliff. Its outwardcurving north wall is made entirely of glass panels, providing an unobstructed panorama of the Columbia River Valley, the Cascade Mountain range, and, in the distance, the remains of Mount St. Helens.

Many of those who visit The Grotto each year come just to walk through its gardens, to think, and to pray. Fir trees, ponds, colorful flowers, and other native plants, not to mention the religious artwork— statues, plaques, and other items—often bring a sense of connection to Scripture and closeness to the divine.

Along the main path that flows through the gardens is St. Joseph’s Grove. This includes carved Carrara marble tablets depicting scriptural events involving Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus that juxtapose joy and sorrow. At other places throughout the upper level are shrines to various saints, as well as plaques illustrating the 20 mysteries of the rosary. The Via Matris (The Way of Our Sorrowful Mother) depicts the Seven Sorrows of Mary in 34 near-life-size woodcarvings in seven glassenclosed shrines.

In August 2010, The Grotto opened a labyrinth patterned after the famous one in Chartres, France. A recent visitor called walking the labyrinth a soothing exercise. “All the storm-tossed seas of my life are calmed,” she said.

The Grotto hosts numerous special events each year; the most popular by far is the Christmas Festival of Lights. The plaza level is decorated with over 500,000 lights. There are dozens of choral performances, carolers, and puppet shows at this family-friendly event.

A RESPITE FOR THE SOUL

Father Mayer died in 1971 at age 88 with the satisfaction of having his dream—of a place where people could come to refresh body, mind, and spirit—become a reality. He had fulfilled his promise to God to do something great for his Church.

The Grotto has become one of the world’s best-known and most beautiful Marian sanctuaries. It remains a serene respite, a place of calm and liberation from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Richard Bauman is a writer and photographer who resides in West Covina, California. A self-described “history sleuth,” Richard enjoys visiting, photographing, and writing about lesser-known historical sites across the United States.

Visitor Information The Grotto is located at 8840 NE Skidmore St., Portland, OR 97220. It is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is an admission fee to visit The Grotto’s upper level. For more information, call 503-2547371 or visit The Grotto’s website at www.TheGrotto.org.

TOP: This life-size bronze casting of Michelangelo’s Pietà stands out against the tall windows in the curved wall of the Meditation Chapel. The sweeping vista behind encompasses Portland and Mount St. Helens in the distance. BOTTOM LEFT: The Meditation Chapel on the upper level, built in 1991, provides a peaceful place to relax, pray, or meditate. BOTTOM RIGHT: St. Anne’s Chapel, also on the upper level, is dedicated to St. Anne—the mother of Mary—and contains numerous pieces of Marian art. One of the largest pieces, Mother of Sorrows, was painted by Father Stephen M. McMahon, OSM, when he served at The Grotto.

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Quieting Our Hearts during Lent Meditation isn’t designed to be difficult. It is a simple moment of grace between us and a listening God.

40 “He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.”

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—Matthew 4:2

By Laurence Freeman, OSB

F

orty is one of those numbers that turns up everywhere.

It has many symbolic meanings, but in biblical terms, it points to a time of trial or preparation. The Hebrews spent 40 years in the wilderness before entering their promised land. Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before beginning to teach publicly. Muhammad spent 40 days fasting in a cave. The Buddha sat for the same length of time meditating under the bodhi tree. According to Kabbalah, it takes 40 years to complete a cycle of transformation from intention to integration.

Like the number 40, meditation is found in all the major religious traditions. What is meditation? First, it is truly simple, and that is why it is universal. The truly universal is always simple, but that does not mean it is also easy.

There are measurable benefits to meditation, namely lowered blood pressure and stress levels, improved sleep patterns, and so on. These are important to the human and humane quality of life—things such as love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control.

DIVINE DISCIPLINE

In recent years, mindfulness training has attracted much attention for the benefits it is claimed to bestow. Some skepticism is often raised at the scientific quality of these claims, but clearly people practice it because it makes them feel better.

Meditation is another step, however, even simpler and yet more challenging because of this more radical simplicity. In mindfulness techniques, the attention remains on yourself (thoughts, feelings, sensations). In meditation, the work is to take the attention off yourself. This is the simplest and StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2019 • 35

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information. A new meditator once told me that he knew the daily practice was working because his wife told him that he was easier to live with. Also, on his walk to work every morning, he discovered that he was noticing the world around him rather than, as before, being compulsively trapped in his own anxieties. Like many people learning to meditate, he found it helpful to meditate with others on a regular basis, in person or online.

Meditation is solitary—I can’t meditate for you, and you can’t meditate for me. We have to take personal responsibility for learning it. But at the same time, meditation is communal—it gives us a real, more deeply felt sense of relationship and interdependence.

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that meditation will make you a more loving person. To put it simply: Don’t meditate if you don’t want to change.

The 40 days and nights of Lent are about simplification, purification, getting priorities reestablished, and remembering that God is the center of reality. Whatever discipline you take up for Lent (giving up sweets or alcohol,

doing spiritual reading, spending more time with your loved ones, helping someone in need), it is about this— simplification and purification.

The ancient word for this discipline was ascesis, and it was used as a metaphor from the training exercises of athletes. Lent is a time for spiritual ascesis, or exercise, shedding some unnecessary mental fat, toning the muscles of attention and patience. If you meditate during this holy season, you might find that what you learn will not end on Easter Sunday but will stay with you and enrich your daily experience for the rest of your life’s journey.

40 DAYS, 40 NIGHTS

Prayer is like a wheel with many spokes.

The different spokes represent different forms of prayer. These can be explicitly religious, such as those we practice in church, or less obviously so, such as walking or making music. Whatever concentrates our attention in a selfless way can be said to be a form of prayer.

The fruit of all prayer is a calmer mind and a more open, compassionate heart.

In this way of meditation—praying

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hardest thing in the world to do—and yet also the most transformative and liberating.

Meditation is a discipline, and you will appreciate this for yourself as soon as you try it. The word discipline comes from the Latin discere, meaning “to learn.” We need discipline in learning to speak a language, play a musical instrument, or drive a car. Discipline is not helpful if it is imposed by an external force against our will. If it is to work, discipline needs to be freely accepted and followed. This is especially true of a spiritual discipline. And yet without discipline, we remain locked under the control of the ego and its repertoire of fears, anxieties, and fantasies. We are free only when we can choose to say yes or no from a place of enlightened self-knowledge.

Meditation is a learning process, and it is natural and useful to join up with others who are learning the same thing. Learning together makes the acquisition of new knowledge easier and quicker. In meditation, the new knowledge is actually more of a new way of knowing rather than additional

PHOTO CREDIT HERE FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: LEFT: JACKLYRIC; MIDDLE: VLADI59; RIGHT: DOLGACHOV

Whatever concentrates our attention in a selfless way can be said to be a form of prayer.

The fruit of all prayer is a calmer mind and a more open, compassionate heart.

4774344SEAN/FOTOSEARCH PHOTO CREDIT HERE

PHOTO CREDIT HERE FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: LEFT: JACKLYRIC; MIDDLE: VLADI59; RIGHT: DOLGACHOV

in the heart, or what Jesus calls the “inner room”—we are not speaking to God or thinking about God or asking God for things. Meditation is not what you think. We are being with God. The early Christian monks, the desert fathers and mothers, said that meditation was the “laying aside of thoughts.” This means good and bad thoughts, silly as well as serious ones. In meditation, we are not trying to have good or better thoughts. If you get an inspired solution to a problem you are troubled by, let it go; it should be there when you finish your meditation.

Here is a quick lesson: Sit down with your back straight.

You can use a straight-backed chair or a cushion or meditation bench. Sit alertly and comfortably, so that you can sit still throughout the meditation. Close your eyes. Begin to repeat a single word or mantra and try to repeat it continuously and faithfully throughout the period of the meditation.

When thoughts, problems, plans, memories, fantasies, anxieties, or the like rise in the mind, let them go and return your attention to the mantra. I recommend the word maranatha. This is an ancient Christian prayer-word, but also one that can be used by all. It means “Come, Lord,” but we are not consciously thinking of its meaning while we repeat it. If you choose this word, say it as four syllables: mara-na-tha. Articulate it clearly in the mind and listen to it as you repeat it.

The simplicity and stillness of the mantra will lead you into the silence that is pure prayer. There is nothing so much like God as silence, according to theologian Meister Eckhart.

The simple discipline is to say the mantra from the beginning to the end of the meditation—as best you can. Don’t evaluate yourself. The thought of failure is simply another thought to lay aside. Saying the mantra is the interior form of the discipline of meditation.

Actually, sitting down to it every day is the outer form.

Early morning and early evening are the ideal times, but we have to adapt to circumstances. In the morning, try to meditate before you check your e-mails or listen to the news.

In the evening, try not to leave the second meditation too late as you may find that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. In this way, your meditation practice will help you to find a balance and stability in your daily life, whatever kind of day it has been.

A lot can happen in 40 days and 40 nights. More useful things will happen if we enter into this period of discipline with open hearts and minds, and with conscious attention.

It’s not about succeeding, but about being faithful. That’s when the most interesting, enlivening things happen. It is then that our sense of God is opened, transforming everything.

Adapted from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate during Lent (Franciscan Media).

Prioritizing Our Prayer Lives

Like everything new, meditation can seem strange at first.

Allow time in your day to meditate, and allow time to feel familiar with the experience. One day you will see how important meditation is to the quality of the meaning of your life.

For now, and the next six weeks, just do it. Do the best you can (not less than your best) to meditate twice a day for 20 minutes. If you can only do it for five or 10 minutes, start there. If you can only do it once a day, be at peace with that schedule.

And remember you are in solitude when you meditate—only you can do it—but you are never less alone. Try the best place to do it—bedroom, living room, basement. Try the best times of the morning and evening. Begin.

Visit our online store to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org

For 20% off, use code: Sensing20

Laurence Freeman, OSB, is a Catholic priest and a Benedictine monk. He is the director of the World Community for Christian Meditation and of its Benedictine Oblate community.

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BROTHER MARINUS WA R H E R O A N D S E L F L E S S M O N K After saving 14,000 refugees during the Korean War, this captain turned monk is being considered for sainthood.

Standing on the deck of his Merchant Marine ship, the Meredith Victory, Captain Leonard LaRue saved countless lives with his heroic leadership.

After serving his country for 20 years, Captain LaRue became Brother Marinus and devoted his life to prayer and serving others as a Benedictine monk.

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LEFT AND TOP RIGHT: PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES; MIDDLE: COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

By Katie Rutter

S

C

aptain Leonard LaRue never wanted to be called a hero, though he saved 14,000 lives by one incredible act during the Korean War. It is very unlikely, then, that the idea of being called a saint ever crossed his mind. Yet the same action deemed heroic by two different countries has also been deemed saintly by a core group of Catholics, and these devotees are working to have that title bestowed on this man by the universal Church.

LEFT AND TOP RIGHT: PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES; MIDDLE: COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

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The Meredith Victory is credited with the largest refugee evacuation in history by one ship.

THE WAR STORY

It was the bitterly cold winter of 1950. LaRue, captain of the Meredith Victory, an unarmed cargo ship, was summoned to the harbor of Hungnam, North Korea, to support a desperate evacuation. UN forces, pursuing a battered North Korean Army, had been surprised by the sudden entrance of Chinese troops into the Korean War and were surrounded at the infamous onslaught now known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

About 105,000 US Marines and soldiers and 90,000 Korean refugees were pinned to the sea as the Chinese forces drew nearer. Evacuating the troops was a priority, but American colonels believed that if the refugees were left behind, Communist troops would view them as American sympathizers and slaughter them.

“I trained my binoculars and saw a pitiable scene,” LaRue would later recall. “Refugees thronged the docks. With them was everything they could wheel, carry, or drag. Beside them, like frightened chicks, were their children.”

“When the Army representatives asked Captain LaRue if he would volunteer—they could not order him—to go in to the beachhead, take off as many refugees as [he] could,” says 90-year-old retired Rear Admiral Robert Lunney, who was the staff officer of the crew of 35 men, “Captain LaRue, without hesitation, said, ‘I will take my ship in, and we’ll take as many as we can.’”

With a cargo of 300 tons of highly flammable jet fuel, the Meredith Victory navigated through the 30-mile minefield surrounding Hungnam. The freighter was the last of about 200 American ships to finish loading. As the crew urged the desperate refugees into the cargo holds using one of the few Korean words they knew, bali (faster), Chinese forces advanced to about 4,000 yards from the beachhead, naval and air bombardments fired overhead, and demolition teams laced the harbor with explosives.

By the morning of December 23 after only 13 hours, the Meredith Victory had packed 14,000 refugees on board and, still carrying jet fuel, steered into waters infested with enemy submarines. The ship had no escort or any way to defend itself against potential attacks.

The cargo holds, as well as the entire deck, were swarming with masses of humanity. There were no food rations, no bathroom facilities, and not enough warm clothing sufficient for so many people. Yet despite three days at sea in freezing temperatures, not one person perished. In fact, by the time the ship safely delivered the refugees to the small island of Geoje on the southern coast of South Korea on Christmas Day, five babies had been born on board.

Many years later, Lunney still vividly recalls the scene and wonders at his captain’s decision to attempt such a dangerous rescue.

“I asked him how [he was] able to make that decision when they described all of the danger in taking a ship in, how close the enemy was to the beachhead, and [he] stood to lose [his] ship or [his] men?” Lunney relates. “He just reached over and he touched the holy Bible and said, ‘The answer is here—no greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friends.’”

LaRue would later recall: “I think often of that voyage. I think of how such a small vessel was able to hold so many persons and surmount endless perils without harm to a soul.

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The clear, unmistakable message comes to me that on that Christmastide, in the bleak and bitter waters off the shores of Korea, God’s own hand was at the helm of my ship.”

FROM CAPTAIN TO MONK

The hand of God would continue to guide LaRue, just as Christmastime would continue to bring about miracles for the old captain. In 1954, LaRue left the sea to join the Benedictine congregation of St. Ottilien at St. Paul’s Abbey in Newton, New Jersey. He made his first profession on Christmas Day, 1956, and took his final vows at the Christmas midnight Mass three years later. The name he chose, Marinus, was both a tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary and an appropriate appellation for a man of the sea.

“He always had a soft spot for the downtrodden,” recalls his last abbot, Father Joel Macul, OSB. “If a poor person would come to the door, he always would want to help.

Sometimes [he] would go to the kitchen after hours and maybe put a food bag or something together.”

Brother Marinus spent his days serving others at the monastery. Rarely did he speak of his heroic rescue of 14,000 people and preferred that others not ask about it.

“He once said to me, ‘You know, people come down and they forever want to talk to me about this rescue,’” says Lunney, who visited his former captain at St. Paul’s Abbey several times. “He said, ‘All I did [was] what was right.’”

REACHING OUT TO KOREA

—Captain Leonard P. LaRue’s answer when asked why he risked saving the lives of 14,000 refugees Built to accommodate 12 passengers, the Meredith Victory was crammed with 14,000 evacuees, occupying five cargo holds and the main deck.

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BOTTOM: PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

“The answer is here—no greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his friends.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES (3)

Staff Officer Robert Lunney (far left) poses with fellow crewmates aboard the Meredith Victory. He was inspired by his captain’s selfless decision during the Korean War.

As Brother Marinus approached the age of 87 with failing health, the hand of God would intervene again through the lives of those he saved. St. Paul’s Abbey, with a dwindling community no longer able to support itself, was on the verge of closing its doors. Leadership of the congregation asked a community in Waegwan, South Korea, if they would send young members to Newton to save the monastery.

Despite freezing temperatures and no food or water during the three-day trip, not a single refugee perished.

BOTTOM: PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES (3)

The monks in Waegwan were aware that Brother Marinus lived at St. Paul’s and, even more, knew what he had done for the Korean people. One of their members had been rescued as a young boy aboard the Meredith Victory.

“There was this human connection because of the story of Brother Marinus; it affected the lives of many people they knew,” says Father Macul. “That is one of the motivating factors for them to say, ‘Yes, this man did something for us; now we can be missionaries on the other side.’”

On October 12, 2001, the monks of Waegwan informed

St. Paul’s Abbey that they would accept this new mission.

Two days after his monastery was assured to be safe, Brother Marinus passed away. In yet another yuletide miracle, the first group of Korean monks arrived in New Jersey 10 days before Christmas.

CONTINUING INFLUENCE

The ripples caused by LaRue’s heroic rescue at Hungnam continue to spread. In June 2017, the new leader of South Korea, President Moon Jae-in, publicly acknowledged that he

In contrast to wartime, Brother Marinus led a peaceful life at St. Paul’s Abbey.

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owes his life to this incredible captain. Moon’s parents were among the thousands saved aboard the Meredith Victory. In fact, the president was born just two years later on the same island where the freighter had disembarked.

“Had it not been for the valiant warriors of the Jangjin [Chosin] Reservoir Battle and the success of the Hungnam evacuation, my life would not have started. I would not even exist today,” said Moon, speaking at a new monument to the battle at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. He had made this memorial his first stop on his first trip as head of state. “So, how can I fully express my gratitude for your sacrifice and devotion with any words in any language in this world? Words like respect and gratitude just seem to be far from enough,” Moon said.

Captain LaRue/Brother Marinus (standing, middle) is congratulated by a senator upon receiving the Gallant Ship Citation in 1960. The award is given by the Department of Transportation, which stated that the Meredith Victory’s voyage was “the greatest rescue in the history of mankind.”

A SEED IS PLANTED

not his relatives, who were not of the same ethnic group, [he clearly placed] himself and his ship and his crew in a dangerous situation and yet [recognized] that dignity that lay within them,” explains Father Oubre. “The fact that he lived a humble life of prayer, all those things sort of came to me and spoke to me that there [are] examples here from which the Church can draw upon.”

As the diocesan director of the Apostleship of the Sea, the official Catholic ministry to mariners, Father Oubre recognized the impact that a merchant sailor-saint could have on the lives of those he serves. He approached the apostleship in late October of 2017 to see if they would spearhead a sainthood cause for this exceptional captain. The apostleship agreed. “Merchant mariners are often marginalized and are often looked upon as drunks and fighters and brawlers. It [Brother Marinus’ sainthood cause] can certainly give us a tremendous amount of dignity in our own lives,” says Father Oubre.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

Staff Officer Robert Lunney (far left) said of Captain LaRue/Brother Marinus (seated, center) that he rarely wanted to speak of the heroic rescue he led during the Korean War, always commenting that he only did what was right.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES

Rear Admiral Lunney was among the small, handpicked group in attendance as Moon paid his respects and acknowledged Captain LaRue. In addition to Moon, Lunney recalls meeting yet another person rescued aboard the Meredith Victory several decades prior. Sister Bernadetta-Maria, who is now a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Busan (formerly Pusan), was the first to suggest to Lunney an incredible notion.

“She told me that she prayed every day that Captain LaRue be named a saint,” says Lunney. “The thought process never really occurred to me. No matter who you know, you never think of them as being a saint.”

The hand of God seemed to have also planted that same idea in the depths of another heart a thousand miles from Lunney’s New York state home. Father Sinclair Oubre, a pastor in the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas, and certified Merchant Marine, came across the story of Brother Marinus and immediately felt he had found a spiritual mentor. “[Due to] his unhesitating response to take care of the refugees who were

“He [Brother Marinus] once said to me, ‘You know, people come down and they forever want to talk about this rescue. All I did [was] what was right.’”

— Rear Admiral Robert Lunney

Brother Marinus’ life exemplified humility and concern for others.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. PAUL’S ABBEY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT LUNNEY FAMILY ARCHIVES

THE JOURNEY TO SAINTHOOD

The process of recommending a person for canonization, full of research and investigations, is long and easily stalled, but Father Oubre says that, thus far, it has been “smooth sailing” for Brother Marinus. Vatican guidelines instruct that a sainthood cause must be officially initiated by the bishop of the diocese in which the person passed away. In this case, that responsibility falls to Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey. In a meeting with Father Oubre and Lunney on October 13, 2017, the bishop gave his blessing.

“He told us he wants to do anything he can to help move this thing forward,” says Father Oubre.

Going beyond verbal support, Bishop Serratelli secured a Rome-based postulator, whose job is to act as a guide through the process. The next step is to send an outline of Brother Marinus’ life to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints and officially request to begin a sainthood cause. If the congregation does not object to this request, it issues a nihil obstat, which translates to “no objections.” This means that the cause is open and Brother Marinus may be referred to as Servant of God. “Then the tough grinding gets started,” laughs Father Oubre.

Extensive research into the life and writings of Brother Marinus must be done to progress the title from Servant of God to Venerable. The next two steps along the road to canonization—Blessed and Saint—both require that miracles occur as a result of Brother Marinus’ intercession. For this reason, Father Oubre and Lunney are eager to share the story of this devout seafarer and encourage the faithful to seek his intercession in daily life.

“This is truly an example of Christian faith in action,” Lunney asserts. “When it came to making a decision to do something as dramatic and within the realm of heroic virtue, he did it without hesitation. And that must be told.”

Katie Rutter, an award-winning video producer, editor, writer, and journalist based in Bloomington, Indiana, specializes in Catholic/Christian media. Along with her work as a freelance writer, she creates short documentaries, promotional videos, and news reports.

A Prayer to the ‘Creator of the Seas’ NEARLY HALF A DOZEN groups have already endorsed the sainthood cause for Brother Marinus.

Seeking even greater support from Catholics, Father Oubre set up the address brothermarinuscause@ gmail.com for the faithful to request e-mail updates and report any potential miracles. He urges all to pray the following prayer to the “creator of the seas” that his hand will continue to guide the tides of history and, once again, work miracles through this devout captain.

God, our Father, creator of the seas, protector of refugees and all those in need, you called Captain Leonard LaRue to recognize your son, Jesus Christ, in the faces of the Korean refugees and led Brother Marinus to a life of prayer and service in the tradition of St. Benedict.

Let his life be an inspiration to us and lead us to greater confidence in your love so that we may continue his work of caring for the people of the sea, welcoming those who are refugees from war, and deepening all the faithful in their prayer and work of service.

We humbly ask that you glorify your servant Captain Leonard LaRue/Brother Marinus on earth according to the design of your holy will. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

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Anne M. Windholz

When words fail to comfort people in times of despair, this chaplain has something more concrete to offer.

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p high, where sap flows slowly, the hickory and oak leaves are finally being liberated, their green splashing eagerly against blue sky.

Lilacs bloom, honeysuckle blossoms, and irises develop elegant buds that suggest the velvet color to come. Our lawn grows so fast that, in a mere week, it is ankle high. Dandelions seed the yard, snubbing the weed killer that made their stems writhe just a few days ago. Spring comes over and over again, in spite of everything. Walking through a parking lot today, I almost felt young at the touch of a soft breeze.

By Anne M. Windholz

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I wonder how many young people carry within themselves the raw woundedness that I, a second-career chaplain, have only experienced in middle age. Certainly, this was the case for a pregnant woman I met at the hospital months ago.

She regretted telling hospital personnel the truth about her addiction to painkillers and her brief stint with hard drugs.

A casualty of our country’s opioid crisis, she felt that none of the staff would take her pain seriously, that no one would listen. She was more grim than angry, her migraine-wracked head resting in her hands. “It’s just been one problem after another,” she said, “since I’ve been an adult.”

The pathos of her comment was underscored by her youthful face. She didn’t appear to have been an adult for very long, yet she revealed that she is separated from her husband and that she already has a physically disabled teen son and a preschooler. She suffers from a blood-clotting problem that her doctors cannot trace to its source. Despite endless doses of blood thinner, she has developed a pulmonary embolism, which brought her to the hospital. Along with it came the realization that she could suddenly die today, tomorrow—or in 60 years. Problem after problem after problem.

“What helps lift your spirits when you are down?” I asked.

“Prayer, or meditation, or music?”

“Nothing,” she replied in a dull, flat voice. “Nothing helps.”

Left unsaid was the obvious: Except maybe something to take away the pain. Some drug to dull this harsh reality.

I could provide neither drugs nor the reassurance that everything would be all right in the end. So, after listening to both her words and her silence, I gave her what I could: a soft, peach-colored comfort quilt made by hospital volunteers.

“When your baby comes,” I said, “he can lay his head on it.”

She put it up against her cheek, and—for the briefest and only time during our visit—she smiled.

Did she feel the need for a blanket? I certainly felt the need to help her feel better. Maybe that urge was a manifestation of my “desire-to-fix demon,” the one pastoral training is supposed to burn out of us. We chaplains are not meant to be bringers of Band-Aids for wounds too deep to plumb. We are present to listen, to empathize, to accompany. What else, after all, could I do to help someone caught in the endless nightmare of addiction? In the cruel grasp of chronic pain? Yet I definitely felt nudged—by the Spirit?—to give this patient something concrete, something she could see and touch to remind her that people care, and to help her remember.

“Every stitch,” I said as I unfolded the blanket for her, “is a prayer that our volunteer said for you.”

I’m glad I gave her a quilt. Quilts are rich symbols, culturally potent, and practical providers of beauty, warmth, and security. Designs like “Log Cabin,” “Pinwheel,” “God’s Eye,” “Crazy,” or “Sunbonnet Sue” (the pattern my grandma made for me when I was little) become chronicles of family histories and values. In our hospitals and hospices, such quilts—

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WHEN WORDS FAIL

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along with knitted prayer blankets and crocheted prayer shawls—speak eloquently of caring when words fail. They are the gifts from hidden givers who spend hours in their homes and churches, offering their talent to succor a world in pain.

Their generosity tempts me to be prodigal. I’d give a comfort quilt to everybody if I could: to the elderly mother who, having lost both her husband and daughter to a cruel disease, waits now in a coronary care unit as her only remaining child is admitted; to the parents of 2-year-old Gabriella, who died from a mysterious infection. I’d like to give a quilt to my friend who fears losing his job; another to a friend who is fretting about a brother in prison; two more to my parents who are faltering in their old age. I’d choose a cozy quilt for each migrant child separated from parents while crossing borders to a better life. I’d fold a blanket of patchwork stars around the shoulders of every person mourning a senseless death in a school shooting, on violent urban streets, or beneath the cruel arm of abuse.

A PHYSICAL COMFORT

OZMEDIA/FOTOSEARCH

Veronica, legends say, wiped the bleeding, sweating face of Jesus as he stumbled toward the cross. Perhaps she, like a chaplain or minister, was only really called to be present, to be with the suffering one. Yet who can say what that little extra bit— that damp, cool cloth touching his bruises—meant to Jesus, how it might have kept him from falling a fourth or fifth time? Perhaps Joseph of Arimathea was only called to be present to Jesus’ mother, Mary, in her grief. Yet what must it have meant to her that he did a little bit more, that he offered an actual tomb in which to shelter the humiliated and broken body of her child?

The concrete offering: We who speak of real presence in the bread and the wine cannot afford to dismiss it out of hand. The would-be “fixes”—the greeting cards, the flowers, the casseroles, the care packages, the rice bowls, medicines, and sometimes even a simple drink of water—that people give each other in times of trouble are surely at their core gifts that remind us we are loved. We are loved, and then loved some more. After breaking bread at the Last Supper, Jesus offered it to his disciples and said, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19).

Wouldn’t you give that God-man a soft blanket now if you could, to relieve the garden agony that tore his heart apart in the hours before he was given over to torture? He would not, I think, reject it. Even my patient, in a deadly battle with ill health and a gnawing hunger for forbidden drugs, accepted the most unlikely of shields for herself and her unborn child: a pile of fabric sewn together by people with the time and vocation to love.

Perhaps the very power of resurrection is fueled by such small tokens of kindness. The coming of the kingdom of God is less about angels, harps, and clouds than it is about a love-stitched quilt or a glass of water. These are humble but profound signs that, no matter what you suffer, you are not alone.

Take and eat. Take and drink. Watch as the bright scraps that make up our disparate lives join each other, piecing us into one great quilt of light. And wrapped in that light, may we together bear the haunting loss—and the tremendous hope—that is and always will be spring.

Anne M. Windholz is a board-certified staff chaplain in northwest suburban Chicago.

She is the mother of three and grandmother of one, and her work has been published in this magazine, as well as U.S. Catholic and Vision, the journal of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.

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By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

OSCAR TRIBUTES

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

OVERLOOKED BY

OSCAR Leave No Trace The Rider On the Basis of Sex The Hate U Give Christopher Robin

?

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I

n 1970, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) works as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport in London. His family, of Indian-Parsi heritage, emigrated to the United Kingdom from Zanzibar. Farrokh goes to college, and though his father strongly disapproves, his real interest is popular music. One night, after a performance of the band Smile, the lead singer quits. When Farrokh approaches Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), suggesting that he could be the new lead singer, the bandmates tell him his protruding teeth will be an issue. Farrokh tells them his teeth have shaped his mouth to make him a better singer with a huge vocal range. They add a bassist, John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), Farrokh legally changes his name to Freddie Mercury, and Queen is born.

They sell their van to produce their first recording, eventually signing with EMI Records. When they release their fourth album, 1975’s A Night at the Opera, they leave EMI because the head of the company, Ray Foster (an unrecognizable Mike Myers), refuses to release the record with Freddie’s six-minute “Bohemian Rhapsody” as a single. To Foster’s dismay, the song becomes a tremendous hit, and the band undertakes a world tour.

Freddie has been keeping company with his girlfriend, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton).

They are close, but it becomes obvious that Freddie is gay when he has an affair with Paul Prenter (Allen Leech), who becomes his manager. Though Freddie and Mary part ways, they remain friends. Queen’s success grows, but Freddie’s relationship with Paul creates strain among the band’s members.

Mary shows up in 1985 to beg Freddie to take part in Bob Geldof ’s Live Aid benefit concert at Wembley Stadium near London.

They agree to participate in the concert, giving the performance of a lifetime.

Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the best rock dramas I have ever seen. Although writer Anthony McCarten and director Bryan Singer take some liberties with the story and compress the time line of events, Malek’s stunning, Oscar-nominated performance transcends any faults the audience might find in the film. Malek becomes Freddie Mercury with every bit of energy and heart he can give to the role of the famed singer. The performance at Wembley is recreated with sharp attention to detail and becomes fresh, vibrant, and relevant again.

O, PG-13 • Drugs, sexually suggestive material.

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ROMA: PARTICIPANT MEDIA/CARLOS SOMONTE; THE FAVOURITE: EPK.TV/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION/YORGOS LANTHIMOS

Sister Rose’s BEST FILMS

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION; GOLD BANNER: CIDEPIX/FOTOSEARCH

Sister Rose is a Daughter of St. Paul and the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She has been the award-winning film columnist for St. Anthony Messenger since 2003 and is the author of several books on Scripture and film, as well as media literacy education.

ROMA

THE FAVOURITE

ROMA: PARTICIPANT MEDIA/CARLOS SOMONTE; THE FAVOURITE: EPK.TV/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION/YORGOS LANTHIMOS

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION; GOLD BANNER: CIDEPIX/FOTOSEARCH

I

n a section of Mexico City called Colonia Roma, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) works as a maid for an upper-middle-class family. Cleo does laundry, helps the other maid, Adela (Nancy García García), and cleans up after the family dog. Although she goes placidly about her lowly work, the family genuinely cares for her.

Dr. Antonio, the father, prepares to leave for Quebec for a medical conference. His wife, Sofía (Marina de Tavira), is clingy, but their four children get ready for school and say goodbye to their father.

Cleo and Adela, who both have boyfriends, like to go to the movies on their days off. One day, Cleo and Fermin (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) decide to skip the movie and rent a hotel room. A few weeks later, Cleo tells Fermin that she is pregnant. He excuses himself to go to the bathroom and never comes back. Cleo tracks him down, but he refuses to acknowledge that the baby is his.

Over New Year’s, Sofía takes the family to the hacienda of a family

friend to celebrate. There they learn that conflicts over the land are brewing in the area. Teresa (Verónica García), Sofía’s mother, takes Cleo shopping for a crib as her due date draws near.

Students gather in the street to protest the government. A paramilitary group shoots at the protesters. Two injured students hide in the store. A gunman points his weapon at Cleo, who goes into labor.

When the family, without Antonio, visits the beach, two of the children are in danger of drowning. Cleo, who cannot swim, rushes into the sea to save the children.

Roma, from writer/director Alfonso Cuarón, is a warm and loving memoir to Mexico City, where he grew up and was cared for by women who loved him and his siblings. Oscar nominee Aparicio gives her performance, as well as the entire film, an even deeper feeling of benevolence and authenticity in dark, changing times. This is Aparicio’s first film, and she is wonderful.

Not yet rated, R • Peril, some mature themes.

Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings.

A-1 General patronage

A-2 Adults and adolescents

A-3 Adults

L Limited adult audience

O Morally offensive

Q

ueen Anne (Olivia Colman) is on the throne of Britain in 1708, and the country is at war with France.

She whiles away her time tending to 17 rabbits that represent all her children who have died. Her friend and advisor, Sarah (Rachel Weisz), takes care of governance in the queen’s place. When Sarah’s cousin, Abigail (Emma Stone), arrives at court, looking for any kind of work, she slowly ingratiates herself with Sarah and then the queen. She usurps Sarah’s role as nurse, companion, and eventual lover to the queen.

Sarah mistreats Abigail, who plots to have Sarah harmed and her reputation ruined while members of parliament fight over taxes to fund the war.

The Favourite was not my favorite film of the year, though the costumes are magnificent. Rather than a humorous film, I thought it a sad, tragic story of royalty and aristocrats fighting over status and playing at governing. That a woman could lose 17 babies should have elicited pity, but instead people used the queen until she finally, in demeaning ways, put them in their place. The three female leads form a brilliant, unlikable ensemble just the same.

O, R • Strong sexual content, nudity, language.

Source: USCCB.org/movies

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reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Christopher Heffron

Amazon Prime

“

I am a man more sinned against than sinning,” King Lear growls in Act 3 of William Shakespeare’s masterwork about family and the duplicity that erodes it. Lear’s declaration is as dubious as it is funny—the man is no saint—and that dichotomy is one of the play’s most delectable ingredients. With a cast that boasts Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and Emma Watson, Amazon Prime’s two-hour treatment of the play is worth your time.

It’s hardly revolutionary to pit the Bard’s prose against a modern backdrop, but it doesn’t always work (Baz Luhrmann’s migraine-inducing Romeo + Juliet in 1996 comes to mind). But somehow writer/director Richard Eyre’s retelling, set in 21stcentury London, seems a perfect fit. The play is condensed for time, but the spirit of the film is faithful to the source material. King Lear (Hopkins), nearing the end of his reign, seeks to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, Goneril (Thompson), Regan (Watson), and the youngest, Cordelia (Florence Pugh). After he asks his children to articulate their love for him, Goneril and Regan bootlick appropriately. Cordelia, however, refuses to dovetail into superficiality, withholding her declaration of love for the king. This subtle act of rebellion costs the young woman her inheritance. True to Shakespearean form, drama and tragedy ensue.

What has always made King Lear such a gripping story is its fierce look at the tattered threads that hold this family together—not an uncommon theme in many of Shakespeare’s works. Lear, capable of childlike rages and deep tenderness in equal measure, is brought to vivid life by Hopkins. The actor’s face, weathered as old leather, registers virtually every emotion. And Hopkins is matched by the incomparable Emma Thompson as his eldest daughter, treacherous and manipulative to her core. And Pugh deserves notice for her restrained yet commanding depiction of Cordelia.

Perhaps the highest praise, though, should be reserved for Eyre, who manages the herculean task of adapting an old classic for a modern audience. Somewhere, William Shakespeare is smiling.

Dynasties BBC America

“

The family is one of the most powerful forces in nature,” David Attenborough says in the opening moments of this nature documentary series. “Family life is full of wonder, beauty, and drama.” What unfolds in this series supports those claims. BBC America spent over a year filming five sets of endangered animals—lions, wild dogs, emperor penguins, and chimpanzees, among others.

What makes the series such galvanizing, even essential, viewing is how these animals mirror our own struggles. Charm, the dominant queen of a once-mighty pride, struggles to keep her family afloat (and who can’t relate to that?). David, an alpha chimpanzee to reckon with, attempts to hold on to the throne as his minions seek to steal it. A family of wild dogs battle the blistering elements—and angry crocs—in their quest for survival.

Ever-present throughout the documentary series is the importance of family and how the members therein can challenge, comfort, or even betray their own. Channel surfers with a love for the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it would be wise to tune in.

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RADIOHEAD: CAPITOL RECORDS; CHRIS CORNELL: UME; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

King Lear

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

KING LEAR: AMAZON STUDIOS (2); DYNASTIES: JOHANSWANEPOEL/FOTOSEARCH

media MATTERS

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Editor’s Pick Retro-spective RADIOHEAD | THE BENDS

F

ollowing the success of the song “Creep” from their first album, British rockers Radiohead found themselves at an artistic crossroads in the mid ’90s. Frustrated by expectations to write another hit song in the same vein as “Creep,” the band nearly dissolved.

Instead, the group reinvented themselves while recording The Bends.

Released in the spring of 1995, The Bends was a surprise to many. Hints of the experimentation found on later albums are present, but the music is more accessible, the lyrics more personal than many of their later releases.

A perfect example of this balancing act is the title track, where lead singer Thom Yorke expresses a yearning many have dealt with in this lonely, postmodern world: “I wanna live, breathe/I wanna be part of the human race.”

There’s plenty of angst on The Bends, but the driving and inventive instrumentation helps balance it out.

Plus, as we are called to spread the light that is the Gospel, meditating on the dark helps us do so with a deeper understanding of what’s at stake.

By Daniel Imwalle

CHRIS CORNELL | CHRIS CORNELL

A

t a star-studded tribute concert this past January, thousands came together at Los Angeles’ Forum to celebrate the life and music of Chris Cornell, who committed suicide in May 2017. Perhaps the quote of the night came from actor Jack Black, who said: “Sometimes Chris Cornell would sing a note that didn’t exist.

Sometimes he would sing a note that was between two real notes, and it would open a portal between two dimensions.” For evidence of his staggering musical talent, look no further than the simply titled Chris Cornell, a late-2018 compilation that covers his work with Soundgarden and Audioslave and his solo career.

The album starts off with the brashness and youthful energy of the early Soundgarden song “Loud Love.” Over the next 16 tracks, listeners are treated to the incredible sonic evolution of Cornell and the top-notch musicians he worked with over the years. During the early ’90s Seattle grunge scene, Soundgarden changed rapidly from one album to the next, which was almost imperative to stay relevant while bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains were making waves of their own.

There were doubters when the guitarist, bassist, and drummer from Rage Against the Machine joined up with Chris Cornell to form Audioslave. “Like a Stone” put many of those doubts to rest. Guitarist Tom Morello’s solo part and Cornell’s passionate and soulful vocal delivery help make it a masterpiece. Now that he’s gone, the lyrics in the chorus are all the more bittersweet and poignant: “In your house, I long to be/Room by room, patiently/I’ll wait for you there, like a stone/I’ll wait for you there, alone.” His pondering on the afterlife is an invitation to meditate on our faith’s teaching on death as a doorway to heaven, to meeting loved ones gone before us, and to unification with God. On Chris Cornell, the late singer’s solo work is also on display, including his excellent theme song for the James Bond movie Casino Royale, titled “You Know My Name.” Also, be ready for some surprise gems, such as his covers of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

RADIOHEAD: CAPITOL RECORDS; CHRIS CORNELL: UME; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two.

So look and see if you can name Eight ways in which they’re not the same.

(Answers below)

GET THE Great fun for BOOK puzzlers of all ages!

Go online to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For ONLY $3.99 Use Code: SAMPETE ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1) There are flowers on the table. 2) Pete’s shirt now has buttons. 3) Pete’s friend is wearing a belt. 4) The top windowpanes are taller. 5) A second mirror is hanging on the wall. 6) Another table leg is showing. 7) There is a center to the girl’s flower. 8) The tablecloth is hanging down lower.

KING LEAR: AMAZON STUDIOS (2); DYNASTIES: JOHANSWANEPOEL/FOTOSEARCH

PETE&REPEAT

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media MATTERS

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By Julie Traubert

The Man behind the Music “I pray that you will enjoy these paradoxical teachings of holy and ordinary matters.”

LESSONS FROM A TROUBADOUR

BY JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT Ave Maria Press

I

f you have ever been stirred by the songs “Be Not Afraid,” “One Bread, One Body,” and “Holy Is His Name,” your life has been touched by one of the most prolific songwriters of Catholic liturgical music over the last 40 years, John Michael Talbot. In this engaging collection of stories, personal reflections, and modern-day parables, you will find the soul that has found its melodic voice in these songs.

Like a contemporary Jesus, Talbot provides a special kind of wisdom that will ask you to ponder the ordinary and the extraordinary—essentially the same thing Jesus did over 2,000 years ago.

The only difference is that these tales take those ancient parables delivered by Christ and put on them a 21st-century face, proving that the words of Christ are indeed timeless.

To both his music and his prose, Talbot brings a unique perspective derived from his own spiritual journey, which has included Buddhism and Native American religious traditions, before comfortably settling on becoming a Catholic. He challenges us to find the eternal not only within ourselves and in each other but also in the space that occupies the place between people, what we call relationships. Many of

the stories end with a challenging and inspirational question. Talbot calls us to search our souls to find the Jesus who rests there and not only gives us compassion and mercy but also helps us discover how we can pass that compassion and mercy on to others.

Read this book and find wisdom, humor, and direction from a modernday contemplative. Talbot has an uncanny and soul-stirring way to make the divine greatly divine in what humanity often dismisses and shrugs off as being so ordinary that we hardly take a second glance. Savor Talbot’s prose just as much as you savor his music.

Reviewed by James A. Percoco, a nationally recognized history educator with over 35 years of teaching experience.

A Trappist’s Wisdom

“Meditation is a discipline of its own and requires a distance from words.”

I

f you are looking for a step-by-step guide to prayer and contemplation, this is not that book. This is not a “prayer” book—it is a “prayed” book.

Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO, is a Trappist monk living at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He is a living link to the person and the spirit of Father Thomas Merton, who was Brother Paul’s novice master in the late 1950s. A published poet and photographer in his own right, Brother Paul shares insights into Merton, cloistered life, solitude, contemplation, and daily life in this short book.

Brother Paul’s encounters with the

Presence (as he refers to God) happen as frequently when he is walking the knobs and valleys of the 2,500-acre monastery as they do in choir, chanting the Divine Office. His 13 chapters reveal a somewhat quirky character.

For example, he refers to himself as a “nighttime hermit” because he sleeps outside. Other chapters on music, poetry, trees, photography, building eccentric hermitages, and a battle with a mockingbird that interrupts his sleep develop a picture of this monk’s life.

Taken together, these stories try to lead the reader to realize that developing an abiding awareness of God’s

IN PRAISE OF THE USELESS LIFE

BY PAUL QUENON, OCSO Ave Maria Press

presence takes both patience and the willingness to pay attention. First come the words, and then comes silence.

Reviewed by Mark M. Wilkins, a part-time volunteer and retired teacher.

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BOUNDLESS COMPASSION

WE NEED EACH OTHER

THE SOUL’S SLOW RIPENING

BY JOYCE RUPP

BY JEAN VANIER

BY CHRISTINE VALTERS PAINTNER

“Depending on how we respond, we can increase or decrease the amount of anguish in our world.”

“It is always the same message— people being transformed by people who are fragile.”

“Learn to trust what kindles your heart and follow that to see where it leads.”

H

T

Sorin Books

P

opular author Joyce Rupp, OSM, made a decision 13 years ago to make compassion a central focus in her life. This book flows from that goal and is based on her experiences and years of research gained through her work codirecting the Boundless Compassion program.

Rupp structured the book as a reflective daily study spanning six weeks, which can be done individually or in a group. Along with the benefits, she points out some of the challenges of living a compassionate life, including acknowledging the worth of every person no matter their race, gender, or behavior; and self-compassion, which she beautifully terms “welcoming ourselves.”

Paraclete Press

umanitarian and theologian Jean Vanier has long embraced those with intellectual disabilities. In this book, which was released in celebration of his 90th birthday, Vanier reaches into your heart through his personal stories of living and working with those who are usually marginalized and ignored in our society and asks us to answer Jesus’ invitation to befriend those we reject. He first welcomed “the meek” into his life in 1964 when he started the first L’Arche (The Ark) community by inviting two adults with intellectual disabilities to live with him.

He calls us to follow his example by becoming messengers of peace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Reader Recommendations

Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching, by Anthony M. Esolen The Fisherman’s Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search, by John O’Neill Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah, by Brant Pitre Irish Meadows, by Susan Anne Mason Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War against Hitler, by Mark Riebling

Sorin Books

KIDS’

SPOT T

ucked up in the northwestern edge of Europe is Ireland, a country of ancient culture, which called out to author Christine Valters Paintner with its deep monastic traditions. A Benedictine Oblate, Paintner moved to Ireland and immersed herself in the study of Celtic spirituality.

Her book focuses on “12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred,” including the interpretation of dreams and blessing each moment. Each chapter begins with the story of an Irish saint whose life experience will provide a focus for reflection. She encourages readers to explore their spirituality in creative ways, through contemplative walks, writing, and photography.

THE CHURCH ROCKS!

BY MARY LEA HILL, FSP

his engaging and entertaining book explores the history of the Catholic Church coupled with key figures and world events. Each of the 21 chapters presents one century, beginning with a time line, and suggests activities to enrich understanding. For ages 10 and up, this is an outstanding resource for home or school.

Books featured in this section can be ordered from:

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply

1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 • 800-233-3604

web: www.stmarysbookstore.com e-mail: stmarysbookstore@gmail.com

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2019 • 53

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 24 years and is an executive editor. She and her husband, Mark, are the proud parents of four kids—Maddie, Alex, Riley, and Kacey. Aside from her family, her loves are Disney, traveling, and sports.

Susan welcomes your comments and suggestions!

E-MAIL: CatholicFamily@ FranciscanMedia.org MAIL: Faith & Family 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202

A

t the beginning of each year, I try to find a phrase that will challenge me to grow for the next 12 months—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The phrase has to be broad enough to allow for various interpretations but also specific enough that it prompts me to take concrete actions.

This year, I chose the following two words: Be present. I wrote them down in my daily planner and my journal and posted them in my bedroom and office. I posted them, well, anywhere I could so that I would have a constant reminder of my promise.

But why are you writing about this now?

We’re already three months into the year, you might be thinking. Well, I didn’t want to write about this until I had time to live with the words, reflect on them, and see if they challenged me in the way I hoped they would. You know, kind of like when you announce a New Year’s resolution to everyone, break it within a few weeks, and then when they ask about it, you have to admit that you have bailed on the resolution.

Also, in the past I have changed my phrase because I felt it wasn’t what I needed at that time. But these words feel right. In case I had any doubts, as I was writing this column I received an e-mail that contained the following words: “Maybe the best way to live is to be right smack in the middle of the present moment, even if the moment is just a few minutes long.”

RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT TIME

?

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But why these words? When I was thinking about the things I wanted to be more aware of during this year, I kept coming back to certain ideas. Those were ideas such as showing up places where I needed to be, being atten-

tive when I was with people I cared about, displaying to others through my actions the best person I can be, and more. I searched for a phrase that encompassed those desires. And then I came across the word present.

Perhaps it came to mind because it was just after Christmas, but I think it was more because it was such a flexible word that it could wrap itself around all the things I was trying to focus on with all its different meanings. I am, after all, a lover of words and what they can convey.

So I thought of all the different ways that the word present could address the things I wanted to work on in my life this year.

For instance, I want to be more present to others—as in showing up when they need me.

I want to get better at showing up for things such as Mass, my kids’ games and events, or to visit my dad.

I want to reflect on what kind of person I’m presenting to others. Am I being a good wife, mother, sister, or friend? Are those around me seeing the best I have to offer and getting my full attention?

Possibly the hardest for me, though, is to try to focus more on the present. I am a notorious worrier. I worry about everything, even though I shouldn’t, knowing that it’s all in God’s hands. Yet I still do. I need to think about what I’m missing by allowing worry and what’s going to happen down the road prevent me from enjoying today and all its blessings.

As for the be at the beginning of the phrase, I didn’t just throw that there to make a sentence. No, that was strategic too. It reminds me that “I am wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14). All I have to do is simply be present and enjoy the blessings.

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Susan Hines-Brigger

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minute meditations

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reflection “The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.”

ANNA OM/FOTOSEARCH

—Juliette Gordon Low

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The Butterfly New Life Rosary will be sent to you in gratitude for your gift of $12 or more. Your donation will support the ministries of the Missionary Oblates as we serve poor and needy people in our missions around the world.

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