REVOLUTION OF TENDERNESS
PILGRIMAGE
FOR UNITY Meet the Franciscan Saints Ron Hall’s Hollywood Redemption The Reformation at 500 New Orleans Novena
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What Can We Learn from Each Other? Peter Kreeft
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“Kreeft avoids academic verbosity and cuts right to the chase. His uncanny ability to reduce the complex into readable text is like poetry in motion. A great pleasure to read.” — Stephen Ray, Author, Crossing the Tiber; Host, Footprints of God film series “No one has taught me more about healthy ecumenism than the brilliant Peter Kreeft. He is a peerless apologist for truth, and the vital connections between serious Catholic and Evangelical faith.” — Eric Metaxas, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Bonhoeffer; Host, Eric Metaxis Show
✦ THAT NOTHING MAY BE LOST
Reflections on Catholic Doctrine and Devotion — Fr. Paul Scalia
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r. Scalia reveals a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart in these inspiring reflections on a wide range of Catholic teachings and practices. Rooted in Scripture, these insights place the reader on a path to a deeper relationship with God. Among the topics explored are: growing in our knowledge of Jesus, partaking of the life of grace through the Sacraments, and cultivating the art of prayer as a continuous conversation with God. Each section is introduced with moving essays by highly regarded Catholics including Archbishop Chaput, Scott Hahn, Raymond Arroyo, Helen Alvaré, and others. NML-P . . . Sewn Softcover, $16.95
“A book that deepens our faith and leads us closer to God in a hundred different ways. His powerful witness reminds us that the bond of Christian people and their priests is the strength of the Church in a skeptical world.” — Most Reverend Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia
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Firm Foundations — Cardinal Francis Arinze
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he Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated by many followers of Jesus Christ as an important part of their practice of the faith. They strive to imitate her as the great model of Christian discipleship. Cardinal Arinze wrote this book for those devoted to the Blessed Mother, and those who do not yet know or understand her. Based on Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and the sacred liturgy, he provides a solid foundation for Marian veneration that can benefit all Christians, regardless of their church affiliation. MAV-P . . . Sewn Softcover, $14.95 “An extraordinary blend of rigorous scholarship and filial devotion, giving all the reasons why the Virgin Mary is at the heart of Christianity. This book will serve as a reference work for generations to come!” — Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, Author, Champions of the Rosary
www.ignatius.com P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522
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CONTENT S
| OCTOBER 2017 | VOLUME 125/NUMBER 5
36 Here I Walk
ON THE COVER
A Lutheran couple retraces Martin Luther’s 1,000-mile walk to Rome, promoting harmony among Protestants and Catholics. Text and photos by Andrew L. Wilson
Andrew and his wife, Sarah, stop to pose for a photo with a fellow “pilgrim” en route to Rome. Part of their journey included one of the German paths of the famed Camino de Santiago (the way of St. James). Photo from Andrew Wilson
F E AT U R E S
14
14 Meet the Franciscan Saints
D E PA R T M E N T S 2 Dear Reader
The Franciscan tradition is filled with holy men and women, starting, of course, with Francis of Assisi. By Robert Ellsberg
3 From Our Readers 4 Followers of St. Francis Father Page Polk, OFM
6 Reel Time Bending the Arc
18 Ron Hall’s Hollywood Redemption Producer Ron Hall lived a life of privilege—until a moral stumble shook his foundation. His story is the subject of a new film starring Greg Kinnear and Oscar-winner Renée Zellweger. By Rose Pacatte, FSP
8 Channel Surfing Bear Grylls: Breaking Point
26
10 Church in the News 23 At Home on Earth Gateways to Heaven
25 Editorial Rolling Up Our Sleeves against Racism
26 Revolution of Tenderness Pope Francis and St. Francis teach us how to be peacemakers. By Murray Bodo, OFM
43 Catholic Sites to Explore Carmel Mission Basilica
50 Ask a Franciscan
32 The Reformation at 500 Disputes in the 16th century that rocked the Church are on their way to resolution. By Kathleen M. Carroll
44 New Orleans Novena People from all walks of life come together for the St. Jude novena. Story by Albert Haase, OFM Photos courtesy of Sam Poche
44
What Does Detachment Mean?
52 Book Corner The St. Francis Holy Fool Prayer Book
54 A Catholic Mom Speaks You Will Be Found
56 Backstory
DEAR READER
Generously Resilient A statue of St. Felix of Cantalice, the first Capuchin to be canonized, was a meeting place in Warsaw for a group of Franciscan sisters and their students. In time, they were nicknamed “Felicians.” Blessed Mary Angela Truszkowska (1825–1899, baptized Sophia) founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice in 1857. By that time, Poland had been completely partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Blessed Honoratus Kozminski, a Capuchin, was her spiritual director. The sisters initially did home nursing and also worked among orphans, the disabled, the elderly, and homeless people. An unsuccessful Polish rebellion against Russia led to the 1864 suppression of the Felicians in that area. They eventually reestablished themselves in the Austrian section of Poland. In 1874, five Felician sisters came to Wisconsin, and eventually their congregation thrived in the United States, adding schools to their apostolic work. Mother Angela resigned as superior in 1869 for health reasons. Soon after she died, one of her sisters said that “Everything for others” was Mother Angela’s motto. She was beatified in 1993; her feast is celebrated on October 11.
Publisher Daniel Kroger, OFM President K e l ly M c C racke n Editor in Chief John Feister Art Director M a r y C a t h e r i n e K o z u sko Franciscan Editor P a t M c C l osk e y , O F M Managing Editor Daniel Imwalle Assistant Editors S u sa n H i n e s - B r i g g e r K at h l e e n M . C a r r o l l Digital Editor C h r i s t op h e r H e ff r o n Editorial Assistant S h a r o n L ap e Advertising Director Ray Taylor
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2 | October 2017
S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
FROM OUR READERS War Never Again I was quite impressed by the August article in St. Anthony Messenger by Father Ibrahim Alsabagh, OFM, “‘Here I Am’: A Franciscan in Syria.” It reminds me of an uncomfortable truth we easily overlook. War today is a huge industry and a major part of our economy. Weapons sales by the United States to other nations enable those nations to attack their neighbors. One current example is Saudi Arabia’s two-year war on its smaller neighbor Yemen, which has caused many civilian deaths and a cholera epidemic. In fact, those who wage modern war seem to deliberately target noncombatants, including, as Father Alsabagh writes, churches and hospitals. In his speech to the United Nations in 1965, Pope Paul VI quoted John F. Kennedy, “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.” The pope went on to proclaim, “No more war; war never again.” This may seem like a vain hope.
What’s on Your Mind? Letters that are published do not necessarily represent the views of the Franciscan friars or the editors. We do not publish libel. Please include your name and postal address. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. Mail Letters, St. Anthony Messenger 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 Fax (513) 241-0399
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But if Jesus said that peacemakers would be called children of God, peacemakers are what we all need to be. What St. John Paul II called “the noble exercise of diplomacy” is needed now more than ever. As Christians and citizens, we need to do everything we can to urge our elected leaders to do the difficult work for peace and reconciliation. Nancy P. Daly Houston, Texas
More Little Chapels in the United States I read with great interest the August article “Six Replicas of St. Francis’ Little Chapel,” by Joseph D. Kubal and the late Maria Traska. The Sisters of St. Francis in Sylvania, Ohio, have their own exquisite Portiuncula Chapel, built in 1936 on the grounds of what is now Lourdes University. It is richly decorated and houses various relics, including those of several Franciscan saints. The chapel is a wonderful place for quiet prayer in a beautiful wooded setting and graces the entire community by its presence. I am curious how many other replicas of the Portiuncula there are throughout the country. It is clear that the spirit of St. Francis lives on in our present age! Kathleen Faist Sylvania, Ohio
Pro-Life Stance a Social Justice Concern In Father Pat McCloskey’s “Ask a Franciscan” column from the August issue, a writer brought up the subject of which political party reflects Catholic teaching. I believe the answer should have recognized that abortion concerns and social justice issues are not black and white.
Abortion is a specific act: taking a life. Since the 1930s, each party in office expanded welfare or entitlement programs. Is not the right to life for a baby a social justice concern? At this time, the president has not asked to destroy all safety nets. The pro-life movement touches all forms of social justice. Some try to accuse pro-life advocates of focusing on a single issue, but these advocates lead the way to stop euthanasia and/or capital punishment. The pro-life movement recognizes the importance of the family and the importance of choice in education. It would help if we as a nation could decide what is included in social justice and if it is to be worked on as a government and/or as individuals. John Thallemer Elmhurst, Illinois
Support for Legal Immigration I’m writing in regard to Kyle Kramer’s “At Home on Earth” column in the July issue. He notes that the “New Hope International Farm” is operated by several “legally documented refugee families.” Later, he writes, “Too much of our national rhetoric about immigration revolves around abstract—and almost completely unfounded—fears of criminals or terrorists.” I bring up these quotes because the national rhetoric is about illegal immigrants. Patriotic Americans do not object to legal immigrants. Our country prospers from legal immigration. And to assert that illegal immigrants do not include a significant number of criminals (crossing from our southern border) and terrorists is naive or in denial. We, as patriotic Americans, do support legal immigrants! Charles J. Lemont Shelby Township, Michigan OCTOBER 2017 | 3
F O L LO W E R S O F S T. F R A N C I S
A Safe Place to Talk
F Father Page Polk, OFM
or Father Page Polk, OFM, the first real interest in religion came on very suddenly, like a burst appendix. Exactly like a burst appendix, in fact. “I was in school one day, fifth grade, and just keeled over. They sent me to Dallas for surgery. That evening, a Daughter of Charity, in full habit and headgear (an amazing sight for a young boy!), came to visit me. “I was transfixed by her outfit, but also by her kind manner. I asked, ‘Why are you here? What are you doing?’ and I’ll never forget what she said: ‘I’m here to see how you are doing and to let you know that you are not alone.’” Father Page was raised in a Presbyterian family and discovered the Catholic faith while working on his master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation. “A lot of my friends were active in the Newman Center, and they invited me to go with them. They were very welcoming but never pressured me. It was, ‘Just come and be with us.’ I did, and I realized they had something I didn’t have in the Church I was raised in—the Eucharist.
Learn more about Catholic saints and their feast days by going to
STORIES FROM OUR READERS
SaintoftheDay.org.
A Precious Keepsake
KVKIRILLOV/FOTOSEARCH
4 | October 2017
“I began teaching school after graduation. I taught for 10 years and was active in the parish. Then one day, in the diocesan newspaper, there was an ad for St. John the Baptist Province (of the Franciscan friars). It asked, ‘Would you like to know more about the man named Francis who followed in the footsteps of Jesus?’ And I thought, Well, yes, I would! “I contacted the vocation office and they told me to take some time to consider. I did. In fact, I waited two or three years, always thinking about it. Finally I called back and the vocations director said maybe it was time. But as I got ready to go, I suddenly thought, I have lost my mind! And I waited for eight more years. “During that time, though, one of my brothers returned home injured. I was there for my sister as she had her children, and I was there for my mother’s death. Had I come the first time, I don’t think I would have stayed. Sometimes a call has to ripen. It has to be the right time.” Now, decades later, Father Polk is vocation director for St. John the Baptist
St. Anthony has helped me find numerous things, such as my ID, keys, and even a personal locket necklace that contains a small lock of my deceased grandparents’ hair. The necklace had been lost for about three years until I remembered it again. I prayed for St. Anthony to help me find it, and what do you know! My mom found it a few days later in a jewelry box in her room! St. Anthony has helped me so much in my life and inspired me that I vow to name my son, if I ever have one, after him. Thank you, St. Anthony! —Kathryn S.
S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
S T. F R A N C I S O F A S S I S I
Full of Mercy
In Admonition XXVII, Francis explains how various virtues combat vices (for example, patience and humility drive out anger or disturbance). In the final line, Francis says, “Where there is a heart full of mercy and discernment, there is neither excess nor hardness of heart.” Unfortunately, hardness of heart comes easily to many people. May we keep reflecting on God’s infinite mercy and showing that mercy through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. —P.M.
PHOTO FROM OFM GENERAL CURIA
Province. “I think every friar is really a vocation director, though,” he says. “The friars are happy, healthy people, and others see that and want to know more. People are good and they want to live their faith. We give them the privilege, the time, and the safety to explore what’s in their heart.” Father Polk never tries to lure someone into a life of ministry. “That personal invitation is very important,” he says. “Each of us needs to know how to best live out our baptismal call. I try to help them discover their own call, to listen to them, to pray with them, even to challenge them a little bit. “Sometimes, they discover they do have a vocation; sometimes, they just need a safe place to talk. If that’s what someone wants, it’s my responsibility to listen, but it’s also my privilege. If anything I do helps someone decide where they can best live out their life, that’s a success. I just try to help them think that through. “In my mind, I go back to that nun who visited me when I was just little. I tell those who come with questions: ‘I want you to know that you are not alone.’” —Kathleen M. Carroll
Learn more about Catholic saints and their feast days by going to SaintoftheDay.org.
S T. A N T H O N Y B R E A D
FranciscanMedia.org
PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM
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. To post your petition online, please visit stanthony.org, where you can also request to have a candle lit or a Mass offered; or you may make a donation to the Franciscans or sign up to receive a novena booklet.
Send all postal communication to: St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498
October 2017 | 5
REEL TIME
| W I T H S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P
Bending the Arc
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The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Where Do We Go Now? (2011) The Shack (2017) Fill the Void (2012) Dead Man Walking (1995)
6 | October 2017
Bending the Arc is a powerful look at how a group of individuals came together to help the poorest of the poor in Africa, Peru, and Haiti. This documentary, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, is a stirring look at the work of two doctors, a college friend, a philanthropist, and a media mogul, who formed the organization Partners In Health (PIN) in 1987. Paul Farmer was on his way to Harvard Medical School. He and Ophelia Dahl (daughter of author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal), who had just graduated high school, met while volunteering in Haiti. As Dahl attended Wellesley College, Paul met Jim Yong Kim at Harvard. They decided to do something for the poor through health and social justice. With the help of philanthropists Thomas J. White and Todd McCormack, they formed PIN. For 30 years, they have worked to make dramatic changes in the lives of people in Haiti, Peru, and Africa by treating tuberculosis, cervical cancer, and HIV/AIDS. This work led to building a health-care infrastructure in countries such as Rwanda and Haiti. Two fine Catholic priests inspired
and encouraged them. The key to the success of PIN is their community-based protocol, where local medical personnel or trainees visit sick people six days a week in their homes to offer comfort, encouragement, and education. The skepticism of the medical community at PIN’s success is discouraging, as is that of the World Bank, which pressures developing countries to make cutbacks to essential services and education to pay back loans. But there is light at the end of the tunnel— and PIN will not give up. This is a film for anyone who cares about the poorest of the poor. Not yet rated • Scenes of poverty, illness, and racism.
Logan Lucky
Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), a West Virginia dad who loses his construction job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, becomes desperate when his exwife, Bobbie Jo (Katie Holmes), says she is S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
CNS PHOTO/FINGERPRINT RELEASING, BLEECKER STREET
Seth MacFarlane, Adam Driver, and Tom Archdeacon star in Logan Lucky, director Steven Soderbergh’s latest heist caper.
A Question of Faith
Assistant pastor David Newman (Richard T. Jones) is about to take his father’s place as senior pastor at their church in Atlanta. They are ready to start construction on a family center, and David is excited about the future of his ministry. But he is late to pick up his son, Eric (Caleb T. Thomas), for a soccer game. As they are trying to call each other on their cell phones, teenager Maria Hernandez (Karen Valero), who is texting while driving, hits Eric. FranciscanMedia.org
PHOTO © 2017 SILVER LINING ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
moving from West Virginia to Virginia with their daughter, Sadie (Farrah Mackenzie), and her new husband. Logan needs to hire a lawyer, but has no money. He goes to see his brother, Clyde (Adam Driver), who lost a hand in Iraq and now runs a bar. Jimmy convinces him that they need Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), currently incarcerated, to help them rob the cash from the racetrack so he can get a lawyer. I am not going to extol the virtues of director Steven Soderbergh’s latest heist film, but I will tell you that it is very funny. It is the cleanest heist film I have ever seen, even if the intricacy of the brothers’ crime is hard to follow. And though the lack of morality of their actions is lost on the brothers, the film is still a lot of fun. Oscarwinner Hilary Swank plays an investigator who will not quit in her pursuit of justice. Themes of race, stereotypes, and social status transcend the story and are worth talking about, too. A-3, PG-13 • Some alcohol.
Meanwhile, across town, John Danielson (C. Thomas Howell) is about to lose his construction company and home. He pushes his daughter, Michelle (Amber Thompson), to sing at a performance for record executives though she is not well. She collapses, is hospitalized, and needs a new heart. A Question of Faith is the first faith-based film to be produced by an African American woman (Angela White). The acting, especially by Jones and Kim Fields as his wife, Theresa, is excellent. It’s easy to see where this story of interconnected lives is going, but issues of grief, forgiveness, guilt, race, and caring for one’s neighbor are resolved with the courage of the characters’ Christian convictions—and a touch of humor. I wish the Catholicism of Maria and her mother could have been more clearly expressed. But the film’s Christian heart is front and center, and the ending will blow you away. Not yet rated, PG • Mature themes.
Richard T. Jones and Kim Fields shine in A Question of Faith.
C AT H O L I C C L A S S I F I C AT I O N S A-1 A-2 A-3 L O
General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive
■ The Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings. See usccb.org/movies. ■ For additional film reviews, go to FranciscanMedia.org/movie-review.
October 2017 | 7
13 10 ⁄8 103⁄4 10 ⁄16 7
101⁄2
CHANNEL SURFING
| WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
Bear Grylls: Breaking Point
PHOTO FROM VIMEO@BEARGRYLLS
PHOTO FROM ©2017 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
Discovery UK, check local listings One of the more endearing scenes in A Charlie Brown Christmas occurs when our titular hero seeks psychiatric help from Lucy—for a paltry nickel. After going down a laundry list of phobias, she pinpoints that he suffers from pantophobia, the fear of everything. While few of us can identify with the fear of everything, each of us has a phobia. Enter, of all people, Bear Grylls. This British television host and acclaimed adventurer has carved a niche for himself with shows such as Man vs. Wild and Worst Case Scenario. In them, he takes on almost otherworldly geographical and gastrointestinal hurdles. Always with good humor, scaling mountains in subzero temperatures or drinking the contents of a camel’s bladder are all in a day’s work for this survivalist—and that’s what makes him so innately watchable. But in Breaking Point, he takes a different approach. In each episode, Grylls takes two highly phobic participants into nature to face their anxieties. In one recent episode, he helps a young woman overcome her fear of trees. Heights, enclosed spaces, and insects are among the phobias addressed in this series—a surprisingly probing look at fear and how to overcome it. And Grylls, always Christ-centered, is a gifted guide to healing.
UP CLOSE
Savage Kingdom Nat Geo Wild, check local listings Henry David Thoreau went into the woods because he “wished to live deliberately.” Rembrandt chose only one master: nature. St. Francis of Assisi praised God for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and all the creatures that lived beneath them. Nature is a miracle to behold. It can also be a killing zone of savagery. National Geographic—first the magazine and then its subsequent networks—has been our conduit to the world around us for decades. And its series Savage Kingdom should not be missed. Hauntingly narrated by Charles Dance, this thrilling series covers 2,000 square miles of African savanna. Therein, drama unfolds. A pride of lions wages war with hyenas for territory and hunting rights. Wild dogs tend to their young while trying to keep the pack fed and out of the war zone of bigger predators. The docile herbivores simply try to stay off the menu. Dozens of other creatures—in the highest tree or deep underground—face daily challenges in this beautiful but brutal wonderland. Not suitable for impressionable channel surfers, Savage Kingdom has earned its acclaim: the photography, pacing, and editing are a notch above other nature shows of its kind. Armchair travelers with a safari on their bucket lists would be wise to tune in to this series—a peerless look at the natural world in all its bruised glory.
Bear Grylls hosts Breaking Point on Discovery UK. 8 | October 2017
S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r 101⁄2 103⁄4 1013⁄16 107⁄8
I’ve traveled paths you’ve yet to walk Learned lessons old and new And now this wisdom of my life I’m blessed to share with you Let kindness spread like sunshine Embrace those who are sad Respect their dignity, give them joy And leave them feeling glad Forgive those who might hurt you And though you have your pride Listen closely to their viewpoint Try to see the other side Walk softly when you’re angry Try not to take offense Invoke your sense of humor Laughter’s power is immense! Express what you are feeling Your beliefs you should uphold Don’t shy away from what is right Be courageous and be bold Keep hope right in your pocket It will guide you day by day Take it out when it is needed When it’s near, you’ll find a way Remember friends and family Of which you are a precious part Love deeply and love truly Give freely from your heart The world is far from perfect There’s conflict and there’s strife But you still can make a difference By how you live your life And so I’m very blessed to know The wonders you will do Because you are my granddaughter And I believe in you
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CHURCH IN THE NEWS
| BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER
Bishops Form Group to Address Racism
CNS PHOTO/LISA JOHNSTON, ST. LOUIS REVIEW
Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, was appointed to head the US bishops’ new Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. During a press conference, he said, “We’re here today because of our confidence that Christ wishes to break down these walls created by the evils of racism, be they on display for the world to see or buried deep within the recesses of our hearts. For too long the sin of racism has lived and thrived in our communities and even in some of our churches.” common ground where racism will no longer find a place in our hearts or in our society.” The new ad hoc committee was formed upon the unanimous recommendation of the bishops’ Executive Committee and in consultation with members of the USCCB’s Committee on Priorities and Plans. The bishops
CNS PHOTO/COURTESY ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT
Citing an “urgent need” to take on the “sin of racism,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has established a new Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and named one of the country’s African American Catholic bishops to chair it. When he announced the new committee on August 23, USCCB president Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said, “It is time for us to recommit ourselves to eradicating racism.” The committee, he said, was established “to focus on addressing the sin of racism in our society, and even in our Church, and the urgent need to come together as a society to find solutions.” Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, of Youngstown, Ohio, will head the committee. At a press conference on August 23, he said, “Through Jesus’ example of love and mercy, we are called to be a better people than what we have witnessed over the past weeks and months as a nation. Through listening, prayer, and meaningful collaboration, I’m hopeful we can find lasting solutions and
Capuchins gather with Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, in a black cassock, near the tomb of Father Solanus Casey during the May 4 beatification announcement. 10 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
said the establishment of the committee will also welcome and support the implementation of the pastoral letter on racism anticipated for release in 2018.
Remains of Father Solanus Casey Exhumed In anticipation of his upcoming beatification, the remains of Father Solanus Casey were exhumed on August 1 in order to both officially identify the body and collect relics that will be used to venerate him after he is beatified on November 18, according to Catholic News Service (CNS). The private exhumation service was presided over by Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron. A small group was also present, including Capuchin Franciscan Father Michael Sullivan, provincial minister for the Capuchin Province of St. Joseph, S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
N E W S B R I E F S N AT I O N A L A N D I N T E R N AT I O N A L
CNS PHOTO/JACLYN LIPPELMANN, CATHOLIC STANDARD
Ford Motor Company presented Catholic Charities USA with a new Mobile Response Center on August 22. The vehicle is wheelchair-accessible and has air conditioning, lighting, and a phone-charging station, which will help people in a disaster who need to reconnect with their families. When not responding to a disaster, the Mobile Response Center will be used by the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, as well as the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to serve those in need in the region.
Former priest Paul R. Shanley was released from prison on July 28 after serving 12 years for raping and assaulting a boy in the 1980s, reported CNS. Shanley, now 86, was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison in 2005 after a jury found him guilty on two counts of raping a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. He was released from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, for good behavior. He will have 10 years of supervised probation. Ordained as a priest of the Boston Archdiocese, Shanley was laicized in 2004. Sister Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau, dubbed the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan,” received a state funeral in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Karachi on August 19. Sister Ruth, a Germanborn member of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Sister Ruth would be remembered “for her courage, her loyalty, her service to the eradication of leprosy, and most of all, her patriotism,” although she “may have been born in Germany, her heart was always in Pakistan.”
Ford Motor Company recently donated a new Mobile Response Center to Catholic Charities USA that will be used to respond to disasters across the country.
The Knights of Columbus announced during the international fraternal organization’s 135th annual Supreme Convention in St. Louis that it will be replacing the traditional regalia worn by fourth-degree knights. Members will now wear a blue blazer, an official Knights of Columbus tie, and a beret, all with the fourth-degree emblem on them, along with a white shirt and dark gray slacks. There was no mention, however, if the swords would remain part of the uniform.
CNS PHOTO/MARIE ADELAIDE LEPROSY CENTER VIA EPA
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History unveiled a new exhibit, “Religion in Early America,” this past June that celebrates the free exercise of religion and the religious diversity that define American faith life. The exhibit, which runs until June 2018, displays artifacts and stories of American religious life from the 1630s to the 1840s.
Sister Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau, a member of the Daughers of the Heart of Mary, was laid to rest in a state funeral on August 19. She was often referred to as the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan,” where she spent her life working with those affected by leprosy. For more Catholic news, visit FranciscanMedia.org/ catholic-news.
and three medical professionals to examine the remains and report on the condition of the body. Father Sullivan said, “It was an honor and a joy for me to be prayerfully present. For me it was an occasion to pray for all the friars, especially the sick and those who minister here in Detroit, as well as for vocations to our way of life. I FranciscanMedia.org
am deeply grateful for all the ways God continues to work through the presence and ministry of the Capuchins.” Exhumation of the body of a sainthood candidate is part of the formalities of the beatification process and includes very strict guidelines, said Capuchin Franciscan Father Larry Webber. Along
with Brother Richard Merling, also a Capuchin Franciscan, Father Webber has served as vice postulator of Father Casey’s sainthood cause since 2012. The beatification Mass will take place at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. The stadium will be configured to accommodate 60,000 people for the ceremony. O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 | 11
MIKE LEWIS/FRANCISCAN MEDIA
CNS PHOTO/DENNIS SADOWSKI
Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory, traveled to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to view the August 21 eclipse. Consolmagno was invited by Father Richard Meredith, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, which was in the path of totality for the eclipse. Consolmagno said such events are a wonder of God’s creation and meant to be enjoyed.
The August 21 total eclipse of the sun captured the imagination of people throughout the country, especially those in the direct path of the event.
Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory, traveled to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on August 21 to witness the first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in 99 years. He came to the town at the invitation of Father Richard Meredith, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Hopkinsville, reported CNS. During a program at the church prior to the eclipse, Consolmagno told those in attendance to take the time to reflect on what the two minutes and 40 seconds of totality means to them. “Pray for good weather,” he said to laughs. “But also pray for what God wants you to learn from the experience.”
Retired Bishop Denies Abuse Claim The Diocese of Phoenix issued a statement August 3 saying retired Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien “categorically denies” an allegation that he sexually abused a young boy while the youngster was in grade school in the late 1970s and early 1980s, 12 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
reported CNS. Bishop O’Brien headed the diocese from 1982 to 2003. Tim Hale, the lawyer for the unnamed plaintiff, told the Associated Press that his client remembered the alleged abuse while making plans for his son’s Baptism. He began having flashbacks about it. His client is now 47 and lives in the Tucson area. The diocese says that, according to its records, the retired bishop “was never assigned to any of the parishes or schools identified in the lawsuit, and no specific information has been presented which connects Bishop O’Brien to the plaintiff.” The diocese also said it immediately contacted the Maricopa
County Attorney’s Office upon learning of the allegations in September 2016 “and has offered its assistance and cooperation with any law enforcement investigation into the matter.”
Film Highlights Military Chaplain The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) released the 90minute film Called and Chosen on August 30, reported CNS. The film tells the story of Maryknoll Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a military chaplain who was killed while ministering to soldiers during the Vietnam War. Father Capodanno was serving
CNS PHOTO/COURTESY MARYKNOLL FATHERS AND BROTHERS
Vatican Astronomer Views Eclipse in Kentucky
In this undated photo, Maryknoll Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a Navy chaplain, ministers to Marines in Vietnam. The priest was killed while aiding soldiers during combat. S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
a second tour of duty in Vietnam as a Navy chaplain ministering to Marines when he was wounded during a North Vietnamese ambush in the Que Son Valley September 4, 1967. Despite his injuries, he went to the aid of a Marine who was pinned down by an enemy machine gunner. While he administered medical and spiritual attention, the unarmed chaplain was struck by 27 bullets and died. He was 38. George J. Phillips, a retired Marine Corps captain, is the chairman of the Father Vincent Capodanno Guild, an association established in 2013 to promote the chaplain’s cause for canonization. Phillips said he was with the chaplain’s Marine unit and “on the knoll when Father Capodanno was killed.” Father Capodanno was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1969, in addition to the Purple Heart, Navy Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. In 2002, Father Capodanno’s sainthood cause was officially opened, giving him the title of Servant of God. In 2004, initial documentation was submitted to Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The archdiocesan phase of the cause was closed this past May at an annual memorial Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The findings of the local tribunal were sent to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes for review.
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ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT 1. The pumpkin’s nose is now a triangle. 2. Sis is wearing red lipstick. 3. The top of the pumpkin is burned. 4. The stem of the pumpkin is split. 5. There is a bow on Sis’ shirt. 6. An extra stripe has appeared on the pumpkin. 7. The collar of Pete’s shirt is orange. 8. The pumpkin now has five teeth on the bottom.
FranciscanMedia.org
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St. Margaret of Cortona experienced ecstasy.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary was devoted to the sick.
meet the
St. Agnes of Bohemia was a friend of St. Clare.
FRANCISCAN SAINTS The Franciscan tradition is filled with holy men and women, starting, of course, with Francis of Assisi.
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ach saint is a living Gospel. They have all, in some partial way, embodied—literally incarnated—the challenge of faith in their time and place, and so opened a path that others might follow. Here we’ll look at some of their lives. But among them all, undoubtedly, St. Francis of Assisi offers a special case, one that we’ll look at in some detail before speaking of his followers. For almost 800 years, St. Francis has been the world’s most popular saint—honored in every land, even by the secular-minded and people of other faiths. This reflects, in part, the winsome qualities of his story: the account of his preaching to the birds, his taming the wolf
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St. Francis of Assisi has inspired millions since the early 13th century.
of Gubbio, his exultant canticle to “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon.” But beneath all that, St. Francis stands as one who made the way of Jesus credible and concrete. He set out quite literally to pattern his life on the Gospel. And in doing so, for his countless followers, he offered a distinctive style of discipleship that would forever mark the Franciscan family. His teachings essentially consisted of the Sermon on the Mount. But it was the way he translated this teaching into a style of living that made an enduring impression on his contemporaries as well as successive generations. The very story of his conversion, which transpired in several steps, dramatized the meaning of S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
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“putting off the old person and putting on Christ.” There was first the moment when Francis encountered a poor leper on the road. After dismounting his horse, he offered the poor man some coins. But then, moved by some divine impulse, he leaned forward to kiss the leper’s ravaged hands. Francis had always been a fastidious person, with an abhorrence of squalor and illness. But in this gesture he was seemingly liberated from a whole identity based on status, security, and worldly success. His life began to take shape around an utterly new agenda, contrary to the values of his family and his world. There followed the moment when Francis’ father, a wealthy cloth merchant, dragged him before the town bishop, charging him with stealing from his warehouse to provide alms for the poor. Francis admitted his fault and restored his father’s money. But then, in an extraordinary gesture, he stripped off his rich garments and handed them also to his sorrowing father, saying, “Hitherto I have called you father on earth; but now I say, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven.’” Finally, there was the moment when he was praying before a crucifix in the dilapidated chapel of San Damiano and heard a voice speak to him: “Francis, repair my church, which has fallen into disrepair, as you can see.” At first inclined to take this assignment literally, he set about physically restoring the ruined building. Only later did he understand his mission in a wider, more spiritual sense. His vocation was to recall the Church to the radical simplicity of the Gospel, to the spirit of poverty, and to the image of Christ in the poor. The spectacle that Francis presented—the rich boy who now camped out in the open air, serving the sick, working with his hands, and bearing witness to the Gospel— attracted ridicule from the respectable citizens of Assisi. But gradually it held a subversive appeal. Before long, a dozen other young FranciscanMedia.org
men had joined him. Renouncing their property and their family ties, they flocked to Francis, becoming in time the nucleus of a new religious order, the Friars Minor. Still, the little community continued to expand. With the arrival of Clare of Assisi, a female branch was added to the growing Franciscan family. What was the appeal? Even his follower Brother Masseo asked this question, only half in jest: “Why you? Why does all the world seem to be running after you, and everyone
St. Bonaventure was a prominent Franciscan theologian and scholar. seems to want to see you and hear you and obey you? You are not a handsome man. You do not have great learning or wisdom. You are not a nobleman. So why is all the world running after you?” Francis, with characteristic humility, explained that God’s glory shone all the brighter for the weakness of such an obviously “miserable servant.” Nevertheless, at least part of the answer had to do with his evident authenticity. Those who encountered Francis could no longer maintain
that Christ’s teachings were wonderful in theory but impossible to put into practice. But there was more. The example of Francis was not simply edifying but also deeply appealing. He exuded a spirit of freedom and joy. People wanted to be near him, to discover for themselves the secret of his joy. Here was a man who had evidently discovered the way to heaven. Others were eager to follow.
Walking into the Unknown That attraction has continued ever since. For many men and women since the time of Francis, his particular example has offered a distinctive key to the Gospel—or, as Pope Francis might say, “a new way of seeing and interpreting reality.” Among the central features of this key: the vision of a Church that is “poor and for the poor”; a resolve to take seriously Jesus’ example of selfemptying love; a concern for peace and the good of the earth; a way of mercy and compassion; above all, a determination to proclaim the Gospel not only with words but also with one’s life. Francis’ first followers joined him in walking into the unknown, improvising as they went along. Later that path became more regularized and even institutionalized. Within years of the founder’s death, his order was buffeted between factions divided over how literally to adhere to the Poverello’s (“little poor man’s”) extreme ideal of poverty. There were those who leaned toward greater structure and discipline, while others favored Francis’ more spontaneous, charismatic style. Yet for all the diversity within the broad Franciscan movement, the figure of St. Francis remained the essential touchstone and guide. Even as Francis lived, the attraction of his way began to spread through Europe. With his authorization of a Third Order, he opened a way for laypeople to follow on the Franciscan path, and with the ferocity of a wildfire, Franciscan fever spread throughout Europe. O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 | 15
princess, who spurned marriage and the privileges of her station to become a Poor Clare. St. Clare herself wrote to her: “Though you, more than others, could have enjoyed the magnificence and honor and dignity of the world, and could have been married to the illustrious Caesar with splendor befitting you and his excellency, you have rejected all things and have chosen with your whole heart and soul a life of holy poverty and destitution. Thus you took a spouse of a more noble lineage.” The Franciscan saints have come in many forms. Some of them lived in organized religious communities, while others were immersed in the world of family, work, and secular life. They have included theologians like St. Bonaventure (d. 1274), renowned preachers like St. Anthony of Padua (d. 1231), penitents like St. Margaret of Cortona (d. 1297) and St. Roch (who was cured of plague by the ministrations of a dog), mystics like St. Angela of Foligno (d. 1309), hermits and vagabonds (St. Benedict Joseph Labre, d. 1783), poets (Blessed Jacopone de Todi, d. 1306, who composed the famous “Stabat Mater”), missionaries like St. Francis Solano (d. 1610) in South America or Venerable Antoni Margil (d. 1726), who founded the mission of San Antonio in Texas.
The Martyrs and the Incredible
St. Ignatius of Loyola, inspired by St. Francis, founded the Jesuits.
Poor and Rich A surprising number of the early Franciscan saints were princesses and other children of royalty. St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231), for example, was the child bride of the prince of Thuringia. Her natural instinct for poverty was magnified by the arrival of Franciscan missionaries in Germany. She was captivated by the story of Francis and Clare and put on the habit of a Franciscan tertiary. Though her husband supported her works of charity, his family disapproved, and following his death they drove her from the palace on a wintry night, carrying only her newborn child. There was St. Agnes of Bohemia (d. 1282), another 16 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
Of course there were also martyrs, beginning with St. Berard and his companions (d. 1220), who were killed while preaching in Morocco. (Of them, St. Francis observed: “Now I can truly say I have five Friars Minor.”) Among those who followed were Blessed John Baptist Bullaker, a Franciscan priest martyred in 1642 while carrying out his clandestine mission to England, and St. Maximilian Kolbe (d. 1941), a Polish priest who volunteered to take the place of a prisoner selected for execution in Auschwitz. Among the Franciscan saints there were many renowned for signs and wonders. St. Joseph of Cupertino (d. 1663), in the ecstasy of prayer, was observed to fly through the air. The Italian St. Pio of Pietrelcino (better known as Padre Pio), like St. Francis before him, bore the marks of the stigmata. Some underwent great adventures, such as Blessed Odoric of Pordenone, a 14th-century Italian friar who was inspired to undertake an extraordinary journey that took him from Italy to Baghdad, India, China, Tibet, and home again (at which point he was instructed in a vision of St. Francis to stay put). Venerable Maria of Jesus of Agreda, a 17th-century Spanish abbess, reported that she frequently made mystical flights to the New World, where she evangelized a tribe called the Jumanos. These men and women all lived in different times and places. And yet they are linked by a family resemblance that traces back to their holy founder. Among the notable features: evangelical zeal, humility and simplicity of life, closeness to the poor, a spirit of prayer, and a certain S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
freedom from the cares of a world preoccupied with greatness, power, and grandiose ambitions.
MODERN SAINTS
The Spirit of St. Francis The influence of St. Francis of Assisi extends beyond the company of his avowed followers. There are movements with no official Franciscan connection, yet which bear the spirit of Francis. One thinks of the Catholic Worker Movement, founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, which embraces a radical spirit of voluntary poverty, while engaging in the works of mercy and the witness for peace. The Community of Sant‘Egidio in Rome promotes the cause of reconciliation, engages in service to the homeless and those with AIDS, and campaigns against the death penalty. In those who promote the cause of interreligious dialogue, who practice nonviolence, who show care for creation, who remember the poor and respond with mercy and compassion, we can see the true spirit of St. Francis. No doubt, in his choice of a name, Pope Francis has embraced the vision evoked by St. Francis, and demonstrated anew the relevance of his witness for the renewal of the Catholic Church and care for a planet in peril. Among those inspired to follow this path, each has in one way or another been struck by the question that came to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, whose dramatic conversion was prompted by his meditation on the saints: “What if I should do as St. Francis did . . . ?” Another translation of that question might be: What if I were to live as if the Gospel were true? For many men and women over the past 800 years, it was the image of St. Francis of Assisi that made them believe this was possible. Robert Ellsberg is the publisher of Orbis Books and the author of several books on saints, including All Saints, Blessed Among Us, and, most recently, The Franciscan Saints (Franciscan Media). FranciscanMedia.org
St. Damien, from Belgium, came to work among the lepers of Hawaii and died of the contagious illness. St. Marianne Cope (right), a New York Franciscan nurse and 11th American saint, came to Hawaii to continue his work for more than 30 years.
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he age of Franciscan saints continues in our own time. Among those recently canonized is St. Marianne Cope (d. 1918), who worked with St. Damien among the lepers in Hawaii. Others on the path to sainthood include Venerable Matt Talbot (d. 1925), an Irish penitent and patron of those struggling with alcoholism; and Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian peasant and Third Order Franciscan who was beheaded by the Nazis in 1943 for refusing to serve in Hitler’s army. Solanus Casey (d. 1957), who will be beatified next month, was a Capuchin friar of St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit whose extraordinary spiritual gifts shone through his humble post as porter. St. John XXIII, canonized in 2014, was proud to recall his early days as a Third Order Franciscan. And, closer to home, there is Sister Thea Bowman (d. 1990), now proclaimed a Servant of God, who joyfully challenged the Church to make room for the gifts of African American Catholics.
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RON HALL’S
HOLLYWOOD REDEMPTION
PHOTO COURTESY RON HALL
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Ron Hall was a self-absorbed art dealer mired in sin until his wife and a homeless drifter led him to higher ground. 18 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
ne’s first impression of Ron Hall is that this Texas-born art-dealerturned-film-producer has a ready smile and seems always on the verge of laughter. It only takes a couple of minutes while visiting the set of the new film Same Kind of Different As Me in Jackson, Mississippi, to learn that Hall is willing to tell on himself. He jokingly explains to St. Anthony Messenger that it’s a miracle he’s alive. Hall was brought up poor in rural Texas. After starting college and completing a stint in the Army, he graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in business. He then married his college sweetheart, Deborah Short, in 1969, and met with success as a high-end art dealer. When he made his first big commission for an art sale, it was a
miracle he made it to the airport. “Instead of looking where I was going, I kept smiling at myself in the rearview mirror, so pleased with myself. I’m lucky I’m not dead,” Hall says. This new film is an adaptation of his 2006 best-selling book, Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together. Hall cowrote the book with Denver Moore to tell the story of how Deborah, “Miss Debbie” as Denver called her, did indeed bind them together in friendship, faith, and service.
An Unlikely Friendship In the film, Ron Hall (played by Greg Kinnear) and Deborah (Renée Zellweger) have S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
Producer Ron Hall lived a life of privilege—until a moral stumble shook his foundation. His story is the subject of a new film starring Greg Kinnear and Oscar-winner Renée Zellweger.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
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been married for almost 20 years and have two children, Carson (Austin Filson) and Regan (Olivia Holt). Ron’s business has grown by leaps and bounds, as has his pride and willingness to show off his wealth— traits that Deborah does not admire in her husband. They are a Christian family, but Ron’s dedication to his faith slips when he has an extramarital affair. Ron confesses his guilt, and Debbie agrees to forgive him if he comes every week with her to serve the homeless at the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas. Deborah also has a kind of gift to see people in her dreams and prayers. She’s stunned when she sees a homeless black man with a violent reputation (he walked around swinging a baseball bat as a warning not to approach FranciscanMedia.org
him) named Denver (played by Djimon Hounsou) near the mission. He is the man in her dream that she believes will save the city. But Ron doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. He agrees to help Deborah and is taken aback when he realizes that she’s been working at the mission for a long time and he didn’t know. Denver is a challenge for Deborah. One day, he throws a fit and scares people in the food line. Deborah zooms in on Denver and Ron. She sets up situations that put Ron and Denver together. A bond begins to develop between the two men. Denver was born on a sharecropper’s farm in Louisiana. He had a brother, sister, and grandmother who died in a fire. Denver didn’t go to school, but he did manage to
With a cast that boasts two Oscar winners, Same Kind of Different As Me tackles homelessness, family, and the grace that redeems us.
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Same Kind of Different As Me is based on the book of the same name, cowritten by Ron Hall.
get baptized in a bayou before he left for Texas looking for work. He developed a terrible temper and—after returning to Louisiana—committed armed robbery, earning him a stint at Angola Prison. When Deborah finds him, he is back in Texas, sleeping near dumpsters and sitting through sermons at the mission to get a meal. In their book, he and Hall trade off chapters telling their life stories until they meet and become unlikely friends, both loving Deborah through the 19 months of her illness and death in 2000. The amazing thing is that, afterward, Ron invites Denver to live with him in the family home until his own death 12 years later. He becomes a surrogate uncle to Carson’s and Regan’s children. His faith in Jesus and in the potential of people to love one another encourages him to become a motivational speaker.
A Story of Redemption
Above images: Renée Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, and Djimon Hounsou were honored to fill the shoes of these real-life characters. “It’s rare for an actor to be blessed with a role so soulful,” Hounsou says. 20 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
“There was no reason for me to be friends with Denver because my heart was not in the right place,” Hall tells St. Anthony Messenger. “It was through Deborah’s encouragement that I got involved in the mission and the people who came there to eat, find clothing, and use the services provided. This is a story about redemption. It’s hard to watch the arrogant, judgmental person I once was. And, yes, I think Greg Kinnear does a very
good job playing me.” “Working with an excellent cast and crew to help tell the story of Ron’s challenging journey was a creative joy,” Kinnear says about playing Hall. Hall is now remarried and says, “I never thought I could find a woman who could live with a man who spent all day talking about his deceased wife. But I found Beth, a woman who loved the story so much, she picked up Debbie’s torch and now runs the new Same Kind of Different As Me Foundation (SameKind ofDifferentasMeFoundation.org), which raises money, food, and services for the homeless.” They live and work in Dallas. Oscar-winner Jon Voight plays Hall’s estranged and bitter father, Earl, who was, as he describes him, a “racist and an alcoholic.” Hall praises Voight’s performance nonetheless: “Voight played my father so well I thought he had come back from the grave.” It was through the help of Denver that Hall could rebuild what was broken. “It was Denver who forced me to go back and repair that relationship with my father,” he says. “I carried a lifetime of bitterness and anger in me because of how my father had treated me. He was 90 when I began spending time with him, and I found out so much I had not known. He was so wounded and scarred from World War II. He had been S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
Sister Rose Pacatte, a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, is the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles and the longtime film critic for St. Anthony Messenger. FranciscanMedia.org
BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO STEVE DIETL/ © 2017 PARAMOUNT PICTURES
forced to kill so many people in battle in the Philippines. He came back with wounds you couldn’t see. Denver told me, ‘Mr. Ron, sometimes you just got to bless the hell out of people.’ So I blessed my father, and he reconciled with God before he died. I credit Denver with this. “Denver was more than a homeless man. Hopefully through Djimon Hounsou’s portrayal, he will be an inspiration to change many people. You never know whom God is going to send and place in your life who will bring you to salvation. This is who Denver was for me.” Renée Zellweger, also an Oscar winner, is thrilled to be a part of the story. “I’m honored to share in telling Debbie’s story and to be part of this beautiful effort to perpetuate the legacy of her work,” she says. Oscar-nominated actor Hounsou was homeless for a time in Paris, so the role of Denver resonated with him, according to Hall. “Djimon came on set three weeks before we needed him,” he explains. “He would walk the streets with me and get the feel of what it was like when Denver and I walked the streets together. He had to go to a dialect coach to overcome his French accent and learn to speak like Denver. He would fill his mouth with corks and right before he would go on set he would take them out. This exercise would relax his mouth. It was very impressive for me to see what he would do to be authentic in the role of Denver.” “It’s a rare opportunity for an actor to be blessed with a role so soulful. Denver’s spirit was at once an emotional challenge and an extreme privilege, learning the story of a man who came from so little and gave so much,” Hounsou says about the role. What does Hall hope people will get from the film? “That they will see Christ in Miss Debbie, who became the hope for glory for Denver. I also hope they see the Christ-like forgiveness that she showed me as her wayward husband who betrayed her. She became a servant to everyone she met. I want people to see the homeless with the eyes of God. I pray the film does this for everyone who sees it.”
Same Kind of Different As Me director Michael Carney (left) talks with cowriter Ron Hall on location.
On Location It’s always a treat for a film journalist to be invited to make a set visit during the filming of a movie, as I did for this film. Same Kind of Different As Me is a compelling story about redemption, forgiveness, and becoming a humble servant to those in need. And the filmmakers took these themes seriously. When they were scouting locations for the mission, the producers found the Central United Methodist Church Family Life Center in Jackson, Mississippi. The kitchen, dining room, and garden were in need of repair, and the gym could not be used because it needed new electrical wiring. As they negotiated with the pastor to use the facility, the filmmakers promised to leave it better than they had found it—and they did. “The vision for the commercial kitchen is to create a place where people can learn marketable skills while serving people in need, as well as to develop their spirituality,” pastor David McCoy says. “I came to the church after the film and the work at the center was completed. I saw the movie at a screening with the previous pastor, Reverend Stephen Tyrone Cook, and when I came out, I was so emotionally caught up with what God was asking of us: to lift up our brothers and sisters by giving them food, clothing, and sharing faith so that they can then reach out to others and become active members of the community. It’s a powerful film,” says McCoy. According to Ron Hall, they had to ask for the trust of the church elders and leaders because they had been promised assistance before and people didn’t keep their word. The work took about a year. One of the producers, who lived in Jackson—Stephen D. Johnson—followed the work to completion. “When Denver and I first walked the city streets together, I would ask with a disgusted tone, ‘Why is that guy so drunk? Why does he do that?’” Hall recalls. “Denver would answer, ‘What do you see down there, Mr. Ron? The courthouse. It’s filled with judges. We don’t need no more. We are all homeless, just workin’ our way home.’”
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Peace and joy
IN THEIR T WILI GHT YEARS
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A Gift of Hope Meet Nicholas, a Franciscan formation student in Africa. Nicholas and many young men like him are preparing to dedicate their lives in service to the poor - following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. In several developing countries, Franciscans have reduced formation programs due to lack of financial resources. We need your help. Your prayers and generous gifts will allow these future Franciscan friars to finish their education and prepare for their life’s work. With your gift...together, we deliver hope. Please donate today at: www.franciscanmissions.org and please use: Code 17Hope
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But it’s easy to make the mistake of thinking that God is present and revealed only in those sacraments or places. In truth, isn’t God everywhere, in everything and everyone? Wasn’t the psalmist right in asking, Finding Our Way “Where can I hide from your spirit” (Ps 139:7)? Think back on your childhood, Wendell Berry, a Kentucky when most of us were more author and sage, once wrote naturally open to spiritual realithat there “are no unsacred ties. Was there a special place, places; there are only sacred object, or activity that made places and desecrated places.” you feel especially close to God? Perhaps we will stop desecratOr are there children in your life ing our world—through polnow who can help you find new lution, poor land use, cruelty, gateways to heaven? war—when we begin to realize Every morning for six weeks, that “the gate of heaven is pray for help in sensing everywhere,” as Thomas God’s presence in the world. Merton observed. Although there is “no program Whether it is through a torii for this seeing,” you may be gate or through the kindsurprised at what is revealed to ness of a stranger, the world you, just by being open. constantly offers us a vision of God’s love, wherever we might What “desecrated places” are look—if only we have eyes to in your world? What can you see and hearts to care. do to call attention to their “I have no program for this sacredness? seeing,” Merton wrote. “It is only given.” We can’t manufacture or force it, for others or for ourselves. But we can prepare for it. We can spend time each day in prayer and contemplation. We can watch and wait and listen, opening our eyes and softening our hearts, so that when a gate presents itself, by grace, we may walk through.
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arlier this year, a Boy Scout troop from a nearby parish built a Japanese-style torii gate to mark the entrance of a new “Contemplative Nature Trail,” which we blazed through the wooded 21-acre property of the nonprofit, interfaith spirituality center I direct in Louisville. The gate is a striking vermilion color, with sturdy upright posts and two large lintels at the top. My spiritual senses aren’t all that highly tuned, but even I have felt something special when I’ve walked through the gate. Given that torii gates are traditionally used to mark a transition from profane to sacred space, I find it interesting that I have felt the change walking through the gate in both directions—into or out of the woods. Most religious traditions have a way of dividing up the world between us and them, sacred and profane, in terms of architecture, geography, belief, or behavior. In the Catholic tradition, we call this a sacramental vision: there are particular rituals and places—such as the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, or places of devotion, such as the shrine at Lourdes— that reveal God in a powerful way. We need these special signs and symbols as reminders of a deeper spiritual reality.
Kyle Kramer is the executive director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The torii gate is a symbol of transition between profane and sacred space, traditionally in Shinto temples. FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG
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EDITORIAL
Rolling Up Our Sleeves against Racism Racism isn’t simply going to disappear. We need to go back to the basics. We thought it was over, right? Some readers of this magazine will remember the riotous days of the 1960s, during the civil rights movement. Some 40 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, in 2011, we honored him as a national hero of the freedom movement, placing the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. But, honestly, many of us—maybe most of us—knew better, and we increasingly realize it’s not just about African Americans. Racism of all kinds seems written into the DNA of the United States. Yes, there are all sorts of positive, mainstream messages—we see multiracial advertising all the time now, and interracial couples pass without notice in our urban areas. But the influx of Latin Americans is a hot-button political issue, as is the presence of Muslim Americans, who can be from any racial group. Our nation’s discomfort with black Americans, too, has not moved as far from the mark as many of us may have thought. Worse, we see the emergence of racism into the public square, and its ambivalent protest from our president. It’s horrifying that the Ku Klux Klan is still out there. Its alliance with a resurgent, if small, Nazi movement—the “neo-fascists”—is almost unbelievable in a country that paid so dearly to overcome Nazism in Europe.
Recommitting Ourselves Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan who died in 1990, used to speak of our need to love one another, “black, red, yellow, and brown.” The fact that someone was mobilized to preach that message, not only in her home in the Mississippi Delta but also in places all over the country, is a big clue that we had a long way to go. Decades after some of us thought it was over, there still is a long way to go. Racism has to do with the way our social system is set up and supported—that’s a FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG
whopping problem. But it is undergirded by personal relations. Some might call it naive, but racism anywhere will be less tolerable for everyone when we have better personal relations. Our learning how to love one another across racial divisions will lead toward broader, more society-wide solutions to the problem. We will need to exploit every possible angle—personal and social—on this one. We’ll need to work with our neighbors, our broader communities, our Church, the social bodies that we allow to govern us. Our US bishops have appointed George V. Murry, SJ, bishop of Youngstown, Ohio, to recharge our Church’s antiracism efforts nationally. The bishops’ president, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, was quick to strike the tone of the bishops’ action, before announcing Bishop Murry’s appointment: “Marches by hate groups such as the KKK and neo-Nazis are outrageous to the sensible mind and directly challenge the dignity of human life. It is time for us to recommit ourselves to eradicating racism.” Bishop Murry told us what will be required, that first day of his appointment: listening, prayer, and meaningful collaboration. We will be challenged to do more of these as a Church. Are these challenges anything new? No, but our unwillingness to roll up our collective sleeves is disastrous. Prayer might seem the easiest to us, but prayer isn’t a private affair. Praying together might be a little harder. Listening will likely mean that we hear some things that we don’t want to. But praying together and listening to each other will yield fruit. This is beyond liberal and conservative, black, white, yellow, or brown, beyond Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, and more. It’s a call to become our deepest human selves. If racism is a sin, which it is, then antiracism is a blessing, one that we should waste no time in accepting. —J.F. O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 | 25
Revolution
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BY MUR R AY B OD O, OF M
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n a TED Talk in April 2017, Pope Francis called for a “revolution of tenderness,” a tenderness that is not weakness but strength, combined with humility, that reaches out to comfort the other. We can build a future of peace only by equality, solidarity, and tenderness toward the needy brothers and sisters who, in his words, “orbit around us.” Pope Francis compared this tenderness to the attitude of a father or mother toward a vulnerable child. It not only comforts but gives confidence and strength as well. Such an attitude of tenderness is, I believe, what makes the simplicity and goodness of St. Francis so attractive and is why his peacemaking was so effective. His tenderness radiated power and humility because it recognized the other not as an object, an “it,” but as a “you” who—in equality and solidarity with others—can become a “we.” And “we” standing together bring about a revolution that breaks down barriers and divisions. Such solidarity seems all but impossible today with the deep divides among people. And yet people like St. Francis and Pope Francis call us to solidarity and equality because, in the words of Hans Urs von Balthasar, “Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.”
Looking Deeply
St. Francis, of course, was not a philosopher or thinker. He was a seer, a poet. He spent his life trying to see rather than trying to reason everything out. He looked for signs of God in the world around him. He found God living among lepers, so he knew that one must look hard and long in order to see the hidden beneath appearances. And because of his deep presence to things and people, he was a contemplative. His first biographer, Brother Thomas of Celano, said: “St. Francis praised the Artist in every one of his works; whatever he found in things made, he referred to their Maker. . . . In beautiful things, he came to know Beauty itself. To him all things were good. They cried out to him, ‘He who made us is infinitely good.’” In order to trace God’s footprints, you have to look, and look deeply. And that is the first step toward a revolution of tenderness. The great Dutch scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, who died in 1723 at the age of 90, spent some 60 years of his life looking into a microscope at spawn gathered from pondweed. The little globules he saw in the microscope are what we now call globulin. He found that, no matter how they were subdivided, they
Tenderness Pope Francis and St. Francis teach us how to be peacemakers. 26 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
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During a 2014 visit to Albania, Pope Francis embraces Franciscan Father Ernest Simoni. The priest was imprisoned and tortured for 28 years because he refused to denounce the Catholic Church. Pope Francis wept as he listened to Father Simoni’s testimony.
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Butterfly Effect, by Howard Schroeder, OFS
St. Francis is not a medieval theologian, but rather a wisdom figure, a moshel meshalim, a teacher of wisdom who uses sayings, parables, and rituals to show us how we can allow God to transform our lives. In this, as in everything else, he is following in the footsteps of Jesus, who is the fullness of God among us. Here are seven key teachings of St. Francis: 1. Witness the fullness of the Incarnation of God. 2. The grace of evangelical poverty unites us to God. 3. We are called to live the Gospel in our time and place. 4. We are to repair God’s house. 5. We repair God’s house by making peace. 6. God’s house, God’s dwelling, is all of creation. 7. Joy comes from humble praise of God and service of God and of all our brothers and sisters, including all of God’s creatures, animate and inanimate.
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Wisdom from St. Francis
Pope Francis comforts an inmate at Cereso prison in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in February. Both the pope and St. Francis of Assisi call for us to ease the burdens of others in their brokenness and pain.
seemed to have multiple inner principles. He was satisfied to peer into these incredible dividings, looking in awe at how living matter could be so various. He seemed to be satisfied just to look in wonder at what he was seeing and describe it, rather than drawing conclusions about the building blocks of the phenomena of nature. People beat a path to his door to hear and see his reports. Even the philosopher Leibnitz came, saying, “I care more for a Leeuwenhoek, who tells me what he sees, than a Cartesian who tells me what he thinks.”
Heart Leads to Action That simple map for living is why St. Francis is still listened to and followed today in our fractious and divided world. What he teaches, if lived out, brings joy, which is the result of union with God, who lives with us and within all of creation. St. Francis’ teachings, then, become both a theology and a way of living. As St. Francis used to say to his brothers, “Let us begin to do good, for up to now we have done nothing.” Adapted from the forthcoming Franciscan Media book by Murray Bodo, OFM, The Seven Teachings of St. Francis (FranciscanMedia.org).
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St. Francis, too, looked intently, and he looked with reverence, with love. This kind of looking elicited an affective response, the response of compassion. He was moved. And it is that movement of the heart that leads to action. At the very least, it leads to praise; or if what is seen is broken or hurt, it leads to the need to help the other. And the need to help in St. Francis is not minimal. He pushes the envelope, for example, with the lepers. He doesn’t simply give them a coin or food. He goes and lives with them St. ANtHONY MeSSeNGer
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Poet, seer, and contemplative, St. Francis of Assisi is the model for Pope Francis’ “revolution of tenderness,” a way to break down barriers and division among people. We are called to look deep inside to find in our heart the way of peace and reconciliation.
and, in his own words, “works mercy with them.” It is a mutual exchange that St. Francis describes in his Testament: “For I, being in sin, thought it bitter to look at lepers, and the Lord himself led me among them, and I worked mercy with them. And when I left their company, I realized that what had seemed bitter to me had been turned into sweetness of soul and body.” That mutual giving and receiving is, I believe, the bedrock of all Franciscan peacemaking. By overcoming shame or fear, or whatever it is that is holding you back from reaching out to the poor and broken ones, you enter a startling world of sweetness of soul that is not merely self-serving. Rather, it accomplishes a profound reconciliation of opposites that makes it possible to know a new, unexpected bond with the other. And you want to stay there— not necessarily in that physical place, but in that spiritual and psychological space where the lion and the lamb lie down together. Nor is the bond something static. It only endures as long as you continue to overcome new barriers, to cross new and fearsome borders so that you yourself become the place of reconciliation and peace wherever you go. That kind of portable peacemaker was who St. Francis was. Pope Francis made such bonding concrete and tangible when he talked to priests about what it means to tend the sheep. You come back, he says, smelling like the sheep. That is the kind of action peacemaking involves. It is nitty-gritty hard work, but it also brings the sweet fragrance that we previously thought was a sour and ugly odor. Like van Leeuwenhoek looking into his microscope, we begin to see beneath the surface of things.
Becoming Peaceful People Crossing borders and overcoming barriers, if done with love, also bring a new vision of reality that enables us to have a tender reverence for everything that is. St. Francis’ followers said that he used to spare lamps, lights, and candles because of the Eternal Light they symbolized. That’s a bit over the top, but that is who St. Francis was, someone a bit over the top because of what his deep looking had led him to see. His vision of God radiated from God’s creatures, even though he himself, FrANcIScANMeDIA.OrG
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Peace, understanding, and tenderness won the day when St. Francis tamed the wolf of Gubbio, depicted in this statue in Porto Alegre, Brazil. 30 | O c t O b e r 2 0 1 7
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Who you become matters as to whether the future will be of peace or of war and division. drawn to participate in the TED Talk because of the theme “The Future You,” to look at the future through a “you.” Every person is a “you,” no matter how small and insignificant you may seem in your own eyes or in the eyes of others. Your own “you” matters. Who you become matters as to whether the future will be of peace or of war and division. Pope Francis and St. Francis call us to be “yous” of peace and good. Such a becoming, if done in solidarity and equality with others, will indeed be a revolution of tenderness. Murray Bodo, OFM, is a poet and awardwinning author of many books, including Francis: the Journey and the Dream. His latest book is Enter Assisi: An Invitation to Franciscan Spirituality (Franciscan Media).
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during his last years, was blind as a result of a disease he contracted in Egypt during the Fifth Crusade. He had gone to Egypt to try to bring peace between Christians and Muslims. The Crusaders laughed at him, but Sultan Malik al-Kamil listened to him, and they became friends, each of them apparently having embraced what he found foreign or even repulsive in the other. They were open to one another because both of them had come to value peace over war. Each of them must have done his own inner work. And that is what everyone must do if we are to have peace and effect a revolution of tenderness. We have to restructure our own lives, working daily to make ourselves peaceful people. The image that comes to mind is that of St. Francis taming the wolf of Gubbio. He could reach out and calm the wolf; he could bless the wolf because he himself had restructured his own life, going from the desire for knighthood and being caught up in the bloodlust of war, to the man who spoke tenderly to animals and birds, who blessed the violent city of Assisi where he was born and spent his childhood, who worked mercy with lepers and brought reconciliation between the quarreling mayor and the bishop of Assisi. These are images of peacemaking. Practically every gesture of his life after his conversion was a gesture of peace. And that happened because he was daily becoming a peaceful person. What he says to us today is what he said to his brothers at the end of his life: “I have done what was mine to do; may the Lord show you what is yours to do.”
In Cairo, Pope Francis embraces Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University, during a conference on international peace April 28. In the 13th century, Francis of Assisi traveled to Egypt during the Crusades; there he met and befriended Sultan Malik al-Kamil. Both Pope Francis and St. Francis embody peacemaking between Christians and Muslims.
The Difference Is You As Pope Francis said in his talk on the revolution of tenderness, he was FrANcIScANMeDIA.OrG
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500 The Reformation at
Disputes in the 16th century that rocked the Church are on their way to resolution.
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Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, ignited a firestorm of controversy and division by criticizing Church abuses in his 95 Theses.
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his Halloween marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, an event historian Diarmaid MacCulloch calls “an accidental revolution.” In publishing his 95 Theses, Augustinian monk Martin Luther ignited a firestorm that engulfed all of Christendom, even though, as MacCulloch says, “Probably Luther did not see what he was doing as particularly important.” In commemoration, Pope Francis and the general secretary of the World Lutheran Federation, the Rev. Dr. Martin Junge, conducted a joint prayer service at Lund, Sweden, October 31, 2016. That ceremony kicked off a yearlong series of events geared toward repairing one of history’s most enduring rifts. In a joint statement, the pope and Rev. Junge say, “We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed.” This emotional plea is echoed by many prelates, pastors, and theologians worldwide. The recent blossoming of religious dialogue is a far cry from the insults, recriminations, and even excommunications of previous centuries. The change owes a lot to the work of the Second Vatican Council, according to Dr. Susan K. Wood, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth (Kansas). She is a member of the task force that produced the “Declaration on the Way,” a 2015 document that establishes 32 points of theological agreement between Lutherans and Catholics. In an interview with St. Anthony Messenger, Dr. Wood describes the influence of Vatican II as “absolutely essential.” Ecumenism was one of the original purposes
of the council, she observes, pointed out in Pope St. John XXIII’s opening address and reiterated when Pope Paul VI reconvened the council after St. John’s death. One of the council’s documents, Lumen Gentium, says Dr. Wood, “made ecumenism possible with the statement ‘the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, but there are elements of the Church that exist outside the visible boundaries’—things we hold in common with other Christians.” Further, she says, the “Decree on Ecumenism” “affirms a real, though imperfect, union with other Christians,” and the “Declaration on Religious Freedom” supports the right of people to worship in accordance with their consciences. These statements had a real and positive effect on how Catholics relate to other Christian communities, according to Dr. Wood. “The World Council of Churches was founded in 1948, but the Catholic Church was not a part of it. We were still working with the ‘error has no rights’ mentality.”
Dialogue in the Modern Era The council-initiated dialogue went beyond Christians. In an interview for this publication, the Rev. Denis J. Madden, retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, adds the work of Pope St. John Paul II in dialogue with the Jewish community, and the popularity of Pope Francis with people of other faiths. “Some of the Muslims involved in our interfaith dialogue have even referred to him as ‘Francis, our pope,’” he says, S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
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adding the name of the local Lutheran bishop as well. There is a new energy around religious dialogue with this pope, he says: “You hear it all over.” Bishop Madden is cochair of the US Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue. He recalls with enthusiasm a joint gathering of Lutheran and Catholic bishops in Chicago in March of this year. “There are still real issues that divide us,” he says, “but there was such a good spirit in that chapel. We found that we could pray together.” The group used the same prayer service created for the meeting of Pope Francis with Rev. Junge in Lund, and read some of the statements from that meeting. “It was really a celebration of how far we’ve come.” The Lutheran bishops have been very generous and hospitable to their Catholic counterparts, Bishop Madden says. “We used to meet at a hotel in Chicago,” he recalls. Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), meeting at the same time, said, ‘Why do you pay all that money? Why not come to our place?’ They were wonderful to us.” When the latest changes in the Mass went into effect (in 2011), Bishop Madden says, “We didn’t say anything about the changes, but they found out, and they bought all new missals and prayer books for us at our next gathering.” Bishop William Gafkjen, chair of the ELCA conference of bishops, shares Bishop Madden’s excitement for the spring prayer service. “I think it was a manifestation of FranciscanMedia.org
the movement of the Spirit, especially over the last five decades when we’ve been in formal dialogue with each other,” he tells St. Anthony Messenger. “We focus on and identify the things that we share first, and then, out of that common commitment, we begin to talk about the things that we still have differences about.” Bishop Gafkjen takes a long historical view of the great divide: “Luther saw himself as a reformer. He wanted to remain Catholic. When people started calling themselves ‘Lutherans,’ he was not pleased. He wanted folks to identify as Christians and, as long as possible, to remain part of the Catholic Church, not to divide it.” Dr. Wood agrees. “Luther was very, very Catholic in much of his thought. But he was not a systematic theologian, so he’s not 100 percent consistent in his thought,” she clarifies. Still, “Luther rightly reacted to a Church that needed fixing. We have to acknowledge that there were abuses in the Catholic Church at the time. Otherwise, the Council of Trent [1545–1563] would not have been convened.” When it comes to the anniversary of the Reformation, Bishop Madden says, “We don’t really celebrate the anniversary, but we commemorate or remember it. The Lutherans sometimes say [about themselves], ‘We should do penance for the Reformation,’ but we Catholics also need to do penance, because of the state of the Church at that time.”
Pope Francis opened the 500-year commemoration of the Reformation with an ecumenical prayer service in Lund, Sweden.
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Among the strongest voices urging reconciliation is that of Pope Francis. His outreach toward Lutherans and other Christian denominations has paved the way toward unity.
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Sticking Points Despite the progress toward unity, Bishop Madden cautions, “We cannot simply ignore the differences or take Communion together, but we can pray together. We can celebrate what we can do together.” Several recent documents have helped to establish common ground among Christian communions. The “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” in 1999 was ratified by the Lutheran World Federation and, in 2006, the World Methodist Council. The “Declaration on the Way” was embraced with a 99 percent positive vote at the ELCA gathering in New Orleans in August 2016. “There was a time set aside for questions,” says Dr. Wood, “but we didn’t get a lot of questions. Instead we got lots of testimony about congregations that had worked together, of marriages between Lutherans and Catholics. There was an enormous groundswell of people expressing their hunger for unity.” In addition to her work on the “Declaration on the Way,” Dr. Wood and coauthor Timothy J. Wengert offer a thorough examination of the state of the dialogue in their book A Shared Spiritual Journey: Lutherans and Catholics Traveling Toward Unity. While the Reformation grew out of anger and jumbled theology, the path of dialogue is paved with patience and precision. The theologians who worked to craft these documents “help us to respect the teachings of both Churches,” according to Bishop Madden. “We need the encounter of dialogue,” he says, “to understand that the other person has something that’s of value for me to hear.”
Both Catholic and Lutheran practices have changed over the years, and both have more clearly articulated their theologies. “Luther wanted people to read the Scriptures,” Dr. Wood says, “but the Church was afraid of private interpretation. Luther wanted a married clergy; he wanted the faithful to receive the Eucharist with the bread and the cup [not the practice at the time for the laity]; he was opposed to some of the language of sacrifice we use around the Mass.” Some of these issues are no longer divisive—the Church promotes private reading of Scripture now, and reception of the Eucharist under both species is encouraged. But practices regarding married clergy, same-sex marriage, and the ordination of women—as well as some theological language—are still points of contention. “The ‘Declaration on the Way’ spelled out 32 statements we do agree on,” Bishop Madden says. “We’re closer together. We agree on more things than we disagree on.” Still, this ecumenical dialogue is not with just one group. “The Methodists have signed the Joint Declaration,” says Dr. Wood, “but the Reformed haven’t yet. And with the Baptists, there are issues around infant Baptism and Mariology. Every group is a little bit different. We need to keep those distinctions in mind.”
A New Relationship A lot of the work in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue begins with understanding our own faith and that of our neighbors. Dr. Wood quotes the wisdom of a theologian whose work was pivotal at Vatican II, Henri de Lubac, SJ: “‘It’s a pity to have to learn your catechism against someone.’ So often we’re contrastive,” says Dr. Wood. “We are what other people are not. We can’t do that ecumenically.” Many Catholics misunderstand the teachings of their own Church, she says. For example, in discussing the doctrine of justification, she says, “The Council of Trent was very clear that the first grace of justification is never merited.” And overly simplistic descriptions of Lutheran theology are not productive. “Some Catholics misunderstand the Lutheran doctrine of justification as ‘Just have faith and do what you want and get in free,’” Dr. Wood says. There are areas where the Lutheran and Catholic views are very close. “We’re S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
very close in terms of eucharistic theology. Lutherans believe the elements of the Eucharist become Christ, fully human, fully divine. They don’t use the term transubstantiation, but the belief is very similar,” says Dr. Wood. Many Catholics don’t understand how close the teachings of the two groups are. The “Declaration on the Way,” Wood says, is an important milestone. It is an expression, she says, of “We’ve managed to come this far. It’s not the whole journey, but let’s mark our progress.” Bishop Gafkjen is encouraged by the tone this dialogue has taken. “It’s very countercultural these days,” he says. “I see it as a profound witness to a troubled world that tends to shout at each other across great chasms, with accusation and innuendo and everything else. Here is a group of people who have deep and profound differences— and have for a long time—and they have been able to move beyond that kind of way of communicating. We try to speak to the best and look for the best in each other, rather than misrepresenting or accusing each other.” “What we share as Christians is so much more than what divides us,” says Dr. Wood. “That’s what we have to cling to.”
Moving toward Communion The dialogue among Christians is increasingly important, asserts Dr. Wood, because “The context of Christianity in the world is changing. In the United States and Western Europe, we’re increasingly living in a secular culture, which means that Christians can’t nurse their differences; we have to come together in witness.” Bishop Madden confirms the urgency of understanding the challenge of secularization. “All the mainline Christian Churches are going through the same challenges,” he says. “How can we persuade those not interested in religion to come and worship with people of faith who are not coming together or have terrible things to say about one another? It is a wake-up call, and we have to respond to it. “How can we talk about the love of Christ and yet remain separate or even hostile to each other? We sing the old song ‘All Are Welcome,’ but are they? Does everyone feel welcome? We might not agree on things that people say or do, but we can love each other. Pope Francis says the Church doesn’t FrANcIScANMeDIA.OrG
need teachers as much as it needs witnesses. I think that will have the greatest impact on the Churches, if we can model what was once said of us: ‘See how these Christians love one another.’” “There’s a yearning for reconciliation,” says Bishop Gafkjen. “At a time when our newsfeeds are filled with division, people are yearning for unity—if not structural unity, at least spiritual unity.” Perhaps no one is driving the conversation forward as energetically as Pope Francis. In the Lund statement, he affirmed with Rev. Junge, “Today, we hear God’s command to set aside all conflict. We recognize that we are freed by grace to move towards the communion to which God continually calls us.” That’s a sentiment we all can get behind— together. Kathleen M. Carroll is an assistant editor of this publication and editorial director of Franciscan Media. She has a BA in English literature from the University of Cincinnati. Her most recent book is St. Francis of Assisi: A Short Biography (Franciscan Media).
Justification What’s the Beef? At the time of the Reformation, a principal focus of disagreement was the doctrine of justification (righteousness). Much of the misunderstanding between Lutherans and Catholics was a matter of word choice and emphasis. Lutherans stressed that faith alone can save us, and Catholics insisted that we cooperate with grace by living good lives—often called the “faith vs. works” divide. The 1999 “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” clarified some of that muddled language and affirmed that we are saved by faith alone, but that good works are the natural result and sign of a living faith. That declaration was developed, then formally agreed upon, by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church (find it on the web at Vatican.va).
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The church tower in Orio Litta near Lido, Italy, beckons Sarah Wilson, the author’s wife, on their 1,000-mile pilgrimage from Germany to Rome.
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Here I Walk A Lutheran couple retraces Martin Luther’s 1,000-mile walk to Rome, promoting harmony among Protestants and Catholics. T E X T A ND PHOT OS BY AND R EW L. WI LS ON
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n the fallout of the ensuing schism, it’s easy to forget But more recent scholarship puts his journey a year later, that Martin Luther (1483–1546), soon-to-be-arch- when this conflict had already been resolved. His confesheretic, was once a pious monk. An earnest student of sors were wise counselors for their eager, earnest charge. the law and scion of Saxony’s nouveau riche, his life was Some afflictions can be cured only by picking up a staff abruptly altered when his family’s patron saint, St. Anne, and setting out on a long, long walk. delivered him from a frightful storm. He sold his things, changed faculties from law to theology, and settled in The Journey Begins Seeking to understand this younger Luther better, to see the Augustinian Cloister in Erfurt. Biographers have made much of this transition, lifting just what he saw—and much of what he didn’t—my wife up the violation of his father’s trust and pointing to a and I decided to retrace Luther’s steps to Rome. Ours was an ecumenical pilgrimage, youthful, defiant rigidity. framed by the conviction But there’s nothing left in that the Church that raised Erfurt to indicate anything Luther in the faith could particularly special about be brought closer to the this friar’s path. He was a one he left behind. And so, brilliant student, excelling in August of 2010, we set in theology, in languages, forth from the Augustinand particularly in his pasian cloister in Erfurt, Gersion for the Bible. To this, many, looking forward to his teachers pushed him, an enlightening 1,000-mile not only for his piety, but walk. because theirs was an age It was a full four days of renewed passion for the later—when we walked into knowledge of the ancient Veste Coburg Castle—that world and the Greek and we saw another place where Hebrew languages. Luther actually stayed. In If there is any sign of Relishing the warm sun after crossing the snowy Alps, Andrew Wilson intervening miles, we saw Luther’s later turmoil in strolls through the town of San Vittore in northern Italy. many monuments: Johann the cloister, it comes from his confessors. They urged a young Luther to trust in Sebastian Bach’s first church at Arnstadt, the Rennsteig God’s benevolent mercy, meditate on Christ’s suffering, path over the Thuringian Hills, the former Iron Curtain, let go his sins, and trust in God’s forbearing. But there its flimsy fence and razor wire surveilled by dormant was something missing in his care. He had an exceed- watchtowers. But any sign of Luther’s passage lay deep ingly scrupulous soul, yet he couldn’t seem to purge his beneath the subsequent layers of history. It was a pattern that would repeat itself. This early mind of the last judgment. As Luther imbibed his latemedieval piety, Christ was shrouded in heavenly glory, in his career, Luther had left hardly a trace. Of his trip unapproachable, hovering above the earth in impassable to Rome, there’s but a smattering of evidence, drawn mostly from his students’ notes of dinner conversations power and glory and frightening omniscience. It was while he suffered from these anfechtungen, or with their teacher. We saw the same mechanical clock “spiritual attacks,” that he was sent to Rome. Genera- he mentioned at Nuremberg; finished in 1509, it was tions believed that it was inter-Augustinian struggles that a famous marvel throughout Europe. Ulm’s mighty Münsent this up-and-coming brother to see his order’s vicar ster was less magnificent when he visited it than today: general, to argue for his priory’s very strict observance. the 530-foot-tall steeple we gawked at was only finished
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Opposite page, clockwise from top left: This stunning rococo basilica in Bavaria was not completed when Luther began his trek to Rome in 1511. Erfurt’s Augustinian Cloister, where Luther became a friar, was the Wilsons’ starting point. A decorative doorway seen on the walk through Switzerland. The Wilsons mused they were walking in Luther’s footsteps as they passed vestiges of his landscape in Lichtenstein. The author interpreted this fresco on a church in Allgäu as “Luther slept here,” since it truly announced the site was a “former Augustinian cloister.” The Rennsteig in Germany was one of the Wilsons’ first walking trails. The yellow-shell blazes marking the Camino de Santiago trail guided the Wilsons through much of Germany. Luther mentioned the Roman Forum was “two heights of a man” underground; it was not yet excavated in his time. 38 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
in 1890. Even well before the Reformation, though, Luther was not impressed by the Münster’s cavernous nave: “hardly good for preaching” was his only comment. Luther also notes the warm, hard-working people of Allgäu, in today’s Bavaria—a sentiment we can share. The Alps, for him and others of his age, were frightening and unattractive: “all rock and ice.” Our own crossing was interrupted by an early snowstorm. Luther mentions Florence, too, though nothing of its David or its Duomo. It was the orphanage that drew his praise, as it was a godsend for maidens in distress and salvation for children otherwise exposed or abandoned. The Northerner took lessons from the lemon tree, which fruits and flowers all at once. He and his traveling companion (for monks did not travel alone) both caught a fever, possibly malaria, among the marshy lowlands of the Po. He claims to have been healed by eating pomegranates, which we saw ripening across most of Italy. This was Luther’s longest, most exotic trip by far. If not much is known about his trip, much more evidence survives about his stay in Rome. He entered—as we did—via Monte Mario, saluting the city of the saints: “Blessed be thou, holy Rome, truly blessed because of the martyrs, dripping with their blood.” For it was because of their holiness— not that of popes—that Rome was the goal of pilgrims. Luther made his rounds among the churches, celebrating Mass and doing penance at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, and others. He climbed the Scala Sancta, the steps of Pilate’s palace brought back by St. Helena. It was here that Luther reported having doubts. Climbing Pilate’s steps won him a plenary indulgence for his grandfather. “Who knows if it is true?” was his thinking at the time. His fellow clergy were certainly a disappointment, rushing earnest Luther, his hands shaking with the gravity of the act, through the Masses. These glimmerings of later protest have been much magnified by history, and to confusing effect. Historians always seem to claim that his trip to Rome was the turning point toward the Reformation. It makes a kind of sense, but it’s just not true. If Luther’s troubled soul had qualms at the time, it was less in Rome’s ambiguous reputation than in the system of penance that had arisen to uphold it.
Looking for Clues Left Behind Throughout our pilgrimage to Rome, we kept alert for other things that Luther could have seen but didn’t mention. In Memmingen, a fresco on St. John’s Church declared the site to be “the former Augustinian cloister”—as good a sign as any that “Luther slept here.” An Augustinian monastery in Chiavenna suggested the same, although the current building dates only from the age of Napoleon. At Pavia, we saw the sepulchre of St. Augustine of Hippo, which Luther perhaps saw, as well. He would have paused upon Sienna’s Campo, as we did, and gazed at its magnificent black and white cathedral. Here and there, wooden beams advertised venerable dates. Luther may have seen them. But looking closely, it’s a stretch. Though any one foundation may be ancient, constant toil and maintenance are needed to keep anything standing. We see not what once was, but what posterity and love have deemed worthy to pass on. From time to time, we might have been atop Luther’s actual footsteps. We followed the route indicated by the Römerpilgerkarte— a map for pilgrims to Rome printed in 1500 in Nuremberg. But ancient roads get paved, and to avoid the freeways they became, we mostly wandered here and there between the fields, far from the historical highways. Every once in a while, our path descended into a deep rut, and I would speculate, “Luther walked here.” Our surest match with Luther’s steps came just before the end. There, the Roman Via Cassia, still nearly pristine after 2,200 years, lies on the surface. We trod with honorific steps the basalt pavers that had borne so many kings and armies through the years. Among this train of royalty and generals, Luther’s steps are silent and invisible.
A Different Landscape Five hundred years is a very long time. In Luther’s house in Wittenberg, there’s almost nothing left from his era; archaeologists were needed to identify his study. Rome itself is even more significantly altered. It housed 40,000 souls when Luther visited, maybe 50,000. This was a humiliating comedown from its peak in the classical era in excess of 1 million. Sheep grazed far within the Aurelian walls. The Forum, Luther comments, lay “two heights of man” beneath the dirt. We see much more of the classical S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
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inheritance today. Nineteenth-century revolutionaries— often anticlerical—dug up and displayed the ruins, reviving old Rome for new national myths. The buildings Luther saw are likewise altered. The old St. Paul’s Outside the Walls burned to the ground 200 years ago; most of St. John Lateran’s magnificence dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. As for today’s St. Peter’s, now so synonymous with the pope, the Vatican, and Catholicism, Luther saw but earthworks and foundations in 1511. Even the plants have changed. Many of today’s most common crops did not exist in Europe in Luther’s time: corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco came from America; rice from the East. Our constant, flowering companions, touch-me-nots, whose seeds leap from sprung pods when grazed against, are from the Himalayas. Geology itself, so solid by our human scale, has altered in the interim: many rivers Luther witnessed wild have been made into canals; the Po’s bank is 2 miles away from where Luther would have crossed.
Making Peace with Luther Unlike what we expected, we found signs of Luther more in people than in places. In Oettingen, a church organist invited us to stay the night; he gave us an impromptu Lutheran catechism and a lesson in appreciating Bach— accompanied by our own private concert! In Chiavenna, a Catholic family took us in. When they learned that Luther walked through their town, they were enthusiastic. They had just returned from a retreat where a local priest had delivered a primer in Luther’s theology and the struggles of the Reformation. In Florence, Friar Ivan at Santo Spirito assured us with a conspiratorial wink that “Luther was a good Augustinian.” Of course, these anecdotes have no authority by themselves. For 500 years, Protestants and Catholics have waged wars—both with words and with slashing swords. Princes and kings, mad for power and regime change, expropriated ecclesiastical lands and bishops’ palaces; incensed peasants defaced sacred statuary and images. Churches, in the rare case where there was cohabitation, such as in Strasbourg, were cut in two, a wall dividing Christian brother from Christian sister—hardly evangelical. Until quite recently, intermarriage between Protestants and Catholics was an outright scandal. The litany of attendant struggle is both tiresome and disheartening. But one thing that is persistent in these tales of strife is the lack of real conversation about theology. Insults and assertions flew here and there for centuries, all heat and little light. This shifted dramatically 50 Top: High in the Apennine range, the Via Francigena trail offered beautiful vistas en route to Rome. Middle left: In Nuremberg, the author and Luther gazed upon the same clock, although 500 years apart. Middle right: Like the author, Luther would have seen the distinctive zebra columns of Siena’s Duomo. Bottom: Andrew and Sarah Wilson rest on a glorious perch overlooking Lake Como in northern Italy. 40 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
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years ago with the Second Vatican Council’s “Decree on Ecumenism” (“Unitatis Redintegratio”), which opened doors for reconciliation and dialogue. The accomplishments have been slow but steady, and trust between theologians and Church leaders has grown. The biggest strides are less in absolute agreement than in understanding. Even on the infamously divisive topic of justification, Lutherans and Catholics can affirm that their divergence on this doctrine ought not be Churchdividing (see box on p. 35). On a local level, Catholics, Lutherans, and many other Churches are now in close fellowship and even share many ministries. Rome itself seems to have made peace with Luther. In 2015, at the behest of local Protestants and with the blessing of Pope Francis, the city officials inaugurated Piazza Martin Lutero. You can visit it today on the top of the Oppian Hill. Most encouraging of all, last October 31, on Reformation Day in Lund, Sweden, Argentinean Pope Francis stood side by side with the Chilean pastor and president of the Lutheran World Federation, Martin Junge. Both dressed in white albs and wore red stoles for the festive day. Pope Francis’ sermon was in Spanish, and good cheer was in the air. That’s quite a change from 50 years ago—not to mention 500. Andrew L. Wilson received his doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary. His pilgrimage to Rome was featured in the Wall Street Journal and on Rick Steves’ radio program. Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles on Foot to Rome with Martin Luther was recently awarded best religion book of the year by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. Find out more at HereIWalk.org.
Words of Dissent “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.” That famous utterance is attributed to Martin Luther, speaking before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at a meeting in Worms, Germany, in 1521, a few years after his protest that sparked the Protestant Reformation. But did he really say it? Baylor University historian Elesha Coffman wrote some years ago, in Christianity Today, that Dr. Scott Hendrix concluded the quote is probably a paraphrase, and was not given in the defiant tone that one might assume. Luther stood before a pile of his disputed books and calmly explained that he felt compelled by sacred Scripture to write down his thoughts. She reports Reformation scholar Heiko Oberman suggesting Luther’s words might well have been: “I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves. . . . My conscience is captive to the word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.” Dr. Hendrix noted, reported Coffman, that Luther’s words created a sensation and “traveled fast,” and thus might not have been exact. On the other hand, in a recent e-mail conversation, Dr. Coffman tells St. Anthony Messenger of another Reformation scholar pointing out that Luther’s later writings use “Here I stand. . . .” Strident or not, we can be sure that they capture his meaning. Says Coffman, “Who among us hasn’t thought of a pithy retort long after the moment in which it would have been useful?”—J.F.
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he full name of this mission is San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo. St. Junípero Serra founded it in 1771. Of the nine missions Serra established in California, this was his favorite. He is buried here, and since his canonization, the mission church is home to his shrine. The mission itself is glorious. An arch of beautifully carved stone draws you through the main doors and into the church. To one side, rising above the entrance is a bell tower crowned by a unique dome, shaped like an oval cut in half. The church is filled with works of art imported from Spain, Mexico, and Italy. On September 23, 2015, during his visit to Washington, DC, Pope Francis led a canonization ceremony and declared Serra a saint. A canonization is a joyful event, but in some quarters, controversy swirled around Serra. Some Native American activists and their supporters charge the Franciscan with flogging Native American converts who tried to leave the missions. He was also accused of damaging the ecosystem of California by introducing European livestock. Some see Serra as an agent of Spanish imperialism, abusing the Native
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Americans he converted to the Catholic faith. Furthermore, Native Americans who became part of the mission system eventually lost their culture and even forgot their tribe’s language. But if Father Serra has detractors, he also has defenders, who suggest that he was a missionary committed to his vocation and the Native Americans. In truth, the European conquest of America is fraught with both sadness and grace. The Church ultimately named Serra a saint. Carmel Mission is a lovely place to pray for all missionaries who leave their homes and sacrifice their lives to bring the Catholic faith and all the aid they can summon to people far away. Adapted from 101 Places to Pray Before You Die, by Thomas J. Craughwell (Franciscan Media).
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Novena
ew Orleans
People from all walks of life come together for the St. Jude novena. S T O R Y BY ALBER T HAAS E, OF M P HO T O GR A PHY CO U RTESY O F S AM P OC HE
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Good morning. How y’all doing? It’s great to be back to preach this, my fifth novena. For this 324th novena, I’ve chosen the theme ‘An Apple a Day Keeps the Devil Away.’ For the next nine days, we’re going to turn this church into an emergency room for hope and healing. We’re going to ask our wonderful nurse, St. Jude, to petition the chief medical officer to work holy wonder and divine miracles in our lives. . . .” The congregation erupts into applause. Some hands go up and wave back and forth. A few people shake their novena prayer books at me. One elderly woman waits for the congregation to go silent and then yells, “Now 44 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
let’s get down to business!” And there is a spontaneous “Amen!” proclaimed throughout the church. And so begins the autumn novena in honor of St. Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of hopeless cases, at the International Shrine of St. Jude, which is located in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in New Orleans. As one of the visiting novena preachers, I am amazed at this wonderful faith tradition.
The Church and the Shrine Our Lady of Guadalupe (locals pronounce it “Guadaloop”) Church sits just across the street from the west S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is home to the International Shrine to St. Jude on the edge of the French Quarter.
The colorful shrine to St. Jude is illuminated by thousands of candles, which actually heat up the narrow alcove throughout the nine-day novena. The shrine was built in 1976, but the quarterly novena tradition dates back to the 1930s.
boundary of the French Quarter, at the corner of North Rampart and Conti Streets. Completed in 1827, it is the oldest surviving church building in New Orleans. It was known as the Mortuary Chapel. Based upon the belief at the time that yellow fever was spread by exposure to dead bodies, the building served as the exclusive funeral Mass Church for yellow fever victims who were to be buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1,
located behind the church. The church would later become the spiritual home for returning Confederate soldiers, the parish for Italian-speaking immigrants, and still later the church for Spanish speakers. Temporarily closed and abandoned in the 1860s, 1870s, and 1915, it has been staffed by Capuchins, Jesuits, and Dominicans. Since 1918, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate have ministered at the shrine.
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Inside the church to the left of the main altar stands the shrine to St. Jude, which was built in 1976, although the quarterly novena tradition began in the 1930s. During the novena, this little alcove will literally heat up as some of the 3,500 candles bought every quarter in the small gift store, located adjacent to the church, burn their way through the nine days. Outside, on the west side of the O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 | 45
church and enclosed behind a concrete wall, is the Peace Garden. There, friends of St. Jude can pray in front of the largest statue of St. Jude in the world. Originally found in front of St. Jude Memorial Hospital in Kenner, Louisiana, this 17-foot statue was donated to the shrine when the hospital was sold and changed its name in 1985.
Before and after Hurricane Katrina
PHOTO BY ALBERT HAASE
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Devotion to St. Jude in New Orleans started in the 1930s, when a group of parishioners convinced their pastor, Father Jules A. Bornes, OMI, to request ecclesiastical permission for a public novena in honor of the apostle. On Sunday, January 6, 1935, the first novena started. It was held quarterly, a practice that has continued for 82 years. A different priest was invited to preach the five daily novena services each season. As the small church could not accommodate the increasingly large congregation for the novena, Mrs. Louise Carlson, owner of the local radio station WJBW, stepped forward and suggested a live broadcast from the little church. The first broadcast was in October 1946. By the late 1980s, the live radio broadcast was replaced with a prerecorded broadcast of the novena prayers. The preacher would be responsible for professionally recording his novena talks ahead of time and sending them to New Orleans, the “Crescent City,” in time for the quarterly novena. While the preacher gave his talks live in the church, the same talk was being aired on the radio. This practice continued until August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and submerged 80 percent of the city in floodwaters. “Katrina was a defining moment in the history of the city,” says Father Tony Rigoli, OMI, pastor and director During the novena, many pray at the statue of St. Jude in the Peace Garden. At 17 feet, it is the tallest statue of St. Jude in the world. S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
of the shrine. “People speak about ‘before Katrina’ and ‘after Katrina’ as a way of dating events in their lives. We were in a quandary here at the shrine. We considered canceling the fall novena traditionally held in late October. However, the police department begged us to keep the tradition alive, both as a sign of bringing a feeling of normalcy back to the city and as a way of offering hope to a city virtually destroyed. And so we opened the church doors and continued the novena. Only about 50 people attended that fall novena in 2005.” Since Katrina, the novena services have been reduced from five to three: 7 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. The radio broadcast has ceased. And the congregation, once consisting of over 2,000 people per quarter, has leveled off to about 500. Yet the congregation’s fervor, love, and enthusiasm for the Saint of Impossible Cases continues.
Pray for Us! Participants in the novena follow a typical ritual and purchase their novena prayer books in the small gift store. The 15 minutes of communal prayers ask the saint to “make use of that particular privilege accorded to you to bring visible and speedy help where we almost despair of help.” The litany reminds participants that St. Jude was called to be an apostle and was present at Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. Historically dubious, it proclaims that the apostle preached the Gospel in Persia, restored an idolatrous king to bodily and spiritual FranciscanMedia.org
health, and “foretold to a weak prince an honorable peace with his powerful enemy.” The litany concludes with mention of his martyrdom. The saint’s help is implored for priests and laity to obtain an ardent zeal in the faith. Prayers are offered for the pope, elected officials, and all who seek to do the Father’s will. A specific “plea for protection” is made to be “preserved from all evil thoughts.” The novena prayers conclude with a prayer “for lasting peace in our hearts, our homes, our nation, and our world.” There is also specific mention for those who will die today, the most forgotten, the poor, the sick, the hungry, the imprisoned, the mentally ill, the depressed, the unemployed, those in troubled marriages, and those suffering from life-threatening illnesses and enslaved by addiction. For the 80th anniversary of the novena in 2015, a new green cover replaced the red cover of the prayer book that had been used for years. Henrietta, who has been attending every quarterly novena for over 20 years, resisted the change. She approached me, as many do during the novena, to autograph her tattered, red-covered novena book. It read like a who’s who of past novena preachers. I noted my signature under the summer 2012 and winter 2014 sections. When I reminded her of the new 80th anniversary edition of the little prayer book, she raised her hand to stop me from speaking. “I don’t understand why Father Tony had to go messing with it,” she said. “The red
Above left: The Peace Garden outside the shrine provides a quiet place for contemplation. Above right: Father Tony Rigoli, pastor and shrine director, welcomes one of the participants to the quarterly novena.
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cover worked fine for years. St. Jude answered my prayers quickly. I’m not so certain about the green book’s power. It hasn’t been working for me this year, so I went back to my old red book.” Her comment made me aware once again of the fine line between faith and superstition in the Catholicism of my hometown.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AARON NEVILLE/SARAH A. FRIEDMAN
or the past 16 years, Father Tony Rigoli, OMI, has been a pastor and shrine director. A native of Buffalo, New York, he’s been an Oblate for 50 years and a priest for 43 years. “I’m always amazed by the people who attend the quarterly novena. They are African American, Creole, and white. They are rich and poor. And they are Catholics and Protestants,” he tells me, adding, “You know, when the novena rolls around, it seems that everyone becomes the saint’s fan.” He jokingly notes not to confuse that with “Saints’ fan” and continues, “This year, [the New Orleans Saints] are struggling to win football games. I hope they don’t become another unanswered petition for the Saint of the Impossible.” Pausing for a moment, he adds, “I am always humbled by the tremendous faith of the people who keep coming to the shrine year after year, summer, winter, spring, and fall. I know two medical doctors who fly in from Dallas every quarter and fast-track their nine-day novena by spending three days at the three daily services. People bring problems, burdens, and worries. They pray for health and employment, for family and friends.” The American R&B singer and musician Aaron Neville is perhaps St. Jude’s biggest fan. Neville wears a St. Jude medal as a left earring, and if he’s visiting his hometown during one of the novenas, he is known to show up at the little church and sing a song to the delight of the congregation and to express his continual devotion to the saint. “I pray to St. Jude every day,” Neville has been quoted as saying. “When I was depressed, down and out, he helped me Surprising the congregation, R&B great out of my hole.” The four-time Aaron Neville is known to sing during the Grammy winner credits St. Jude novena if he is in his hometown, showing with saving him from heroin his ardent devotion to St. Jude. addiction, chronic depression, and “slavery-style contracts.” Somewhere on every CD of his music, you’ll find a simple sentence: “Thank you, St. Jude.” Yet another grateful fan of the apostle is a woman named Angie, who approached me during the novena. “Father, I’m making this novena in gratitude and thanksgiving,” she tells me with a big, bright smile. “God answered my prayer through the intercession of St. Jude.” “And what was your petition?” I ask. “I was praying that Daphne would get pregnant. When she wasn’t having any success, I decided to give the job to St. Jude during the spring novena. And guess what? She not only got pregnant but had a healthy litter of five puppies. I’m so grateful.” I chuckled, gave her a hug, and suggested that next time, she might want to enlist the help of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.
St. Jude Community Center In addition to the spiritual wellbeing fostered during the novena, another beneficial outcome helps the community financially. The novena raises about $100,000 annually, and a portion of that is donated to the St. Jude Community Center, located directly across the street from the church. Originally built as a car dealership, it was given to the Archdiocese of New Orleans for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the mid-1970s. Renovated into a community center for the parish, it was used for religious education, senior citizen gatherings, a heart clinic, and a day care for children. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the center became temporary housing for homeless working women and a food bank. Two meals are served daily for the homeless, and direct aid services can be obtained through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. It offers basic adult education and helps people identify and secure employment. “Some of the petitions of the novena are answered at the center. The generosity of St. Jude’s friends S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
End-of-Life Guides Donations made during the novenas fund the social services and meals offered at the St. Jude Community Center. during the annual four novenas forms the financial backbone of the corporal works of mercy performed over there,” Father Rigoli says, pointing to the center across the street.
Popular Piety In all my travels across North America as a preacher of parish missions and retreats, I have never encountered anything like the St. Jude novena in New Orleans. It’s popular piety at its best. As Catholics, we have always expressed our belief in God’s tender care and voracious enthusiasm for us in ways that often have been misunderstood as magic by others. Whether it’s praying for our pets, our favorite football team, or the healing of a terminally ill friend, we believe God is invested in our lives. The novena tradition of nine deliberate, intensive days of petitionary prayer celebrates that fact—and the fact that with the saints of heaven, we and all creation are working together as one family before God. The traditional Catholic prayer goes, “St. Jude, hope of the helpless and help of the hopeless, pray for us!” Lord knows, we all could use the help. Albert Haase, OFM, is an itinerant preacher of parish missions and retreats for clergy and religious. He is the author of nine books on popular spirituality and the presenter on four DVDs. His website is AlbertOFM.org. FrANcIScANMeDIA.OrG
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O c t O b e r 2 0 1 7 | 49
ASK A FRANCISCAN
| B Y FAT H E R PAT M c C L O S K E Y, O F M
What Does Detachment Mean? Several friends and I are doing the devotion “33 Days to Morning Glory.” St. Louis de Montfort suggests that we detach ourselves from all things. What does he mean by that? From what? From whom? Detachment is about living more and more honestly before God, in one’s own eyes and with others. I think you will best understand it by considering its opposite: inordinate attachment to someone or something. I could be overly attached to someone if I described our relationship as much deeper than that individual sees it. We should seek not to avoid friendship but to ensure that my description of a relationship is recognizable by the other person. Otherwise, I could be starting down the path of obsession. If I am spending an inordinate
PHOTO BY ANTONIO DIAZ/FOTOSEARCH.COM
Social media can be a great benefit for people, but it can also be overdone. 50 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
amount of time using social media, then I need to start admitting this and weaning myself off it. In a society where people sometimes boast of their addictions while refusing to identify them as such, detachment is the path to greater honesty, to living out what I claim to be very important in my life. Every addiction disguises itself as a shortcut toward something good; the deeper a person gets into it, the more normal the addiction seems, and “it’s not hurting anybody” starts to become a mantra. A person could say that family life is her or his No. 1 priority and yet, in fact, not be very present to family members at crucial moments. When couples go for counseling, they may realize that one or both may be too attached to someone or something else that is interfering with their relationship. When a single person seeks counseling, he or she may identify some attachments that are constantly creating problems. Refusing any type of loyalty or self-sacrifice is not genuine detachment. It’s extreme selfishness. We should be attached to God, grateful for the gift of life and our ability to use our freedom wisely, lovingly, and generously. Unfortunately, dishonesty can creep into every part of life. Claiming a noble motivation can disguise a selfish reality. If someone said, for example, “I don’t believe in feeding the hungry because that only encourages them to act irresponsibly,” we can justifiably ask whether a noble motivation (helping people to be responsible) is the real explanation. Is it being used to hide a selfish and self-serving agenda in the name of detachment? Detachment reflects what I
consider normal. Honesty before God, oneself, and others will reveal which attachments may have become excessive and what steps are needed to tame them.
Jesus’ Crown of Thorns I understand that parts of Jesus’ crown of thorns are in Jerusalem, Paris, and Rome. Who found them? Are these really from Jesus’ crown? Is there a devotion to them? According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, this relic was venerated in Jerusalem until it was taken to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) in 1063. Emperor Baldwin II (1118–1131) sold it to St. Louis IX, king of France, who in 1248 built the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to house this relic, which is now in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Early in the fourth century, St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, organized excavations in Jerusalem on the site of a pagan temple intended to wipe out the memory of where Jesus was buried. Helena brought back to Rome several relics of Jesus’ passion, which were eventually housed in a chapel built as part of her palace, located on the site of the pagan temple to the Unconquered Sun. An 11thcentury church was renovated seven centuries later in the Baroque style and is now the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (not far from St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major). The relic chapel here may have two thorns from Christ’s crown of thorns. St. Helena also brought back steps thought to have been S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
part of Pilate’s residence in Jerusalem. These are the Holy Steps (Scala Sancta) next to St. John Lateran. I have not been able to find a reference to any part of this in Jerusalem itself. These relics remind us of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. Our faith is firmly rooted in the paschal mystery—whether or not all the thorns, pieces of the cross on which he died, the Shroud of Turin, and other relics are genuine. Answers about their authenticity will come at the Last Judgment.
Scheduling a Wedding We are a Catholic widow and widower eligible for a Catholic marriage. We would like to arrange this as soon as possible. What are the minimum requirements and steps we must take? Many parishes want to know six months beforehand, presuming that neither spouse has been married before and that the marriage preparation will take longer because of that. The marriage of a widow and widower should require less preparation time. Contact the pastor of the parish where you would like to celebrate your wedding. It will take some time to obtain official copies of baptismal records, wedding records, and spousal death records. These are needed in order to establish your freedom to marry. All the best!
Where Was God? If God was taking care of me when I was in the military and killing people, then why was God not taking care of them at the same time? Where is God when someone takes a life in self-defense? A just war presumes that soldiers on each side are acting in legitimate self-defense. Where was God when Cain FranciscanMedia.org
murdered his brother, Abel? When children are abused by family members, teachers, or members of the clergy? When elderly people are swindled out of their life’s savings? God’s providence does not guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to someone, but it does guarantee that no one ever falls off God’s radar. Sometimes people use their freedom generously and benefit others (St. Teresa of Kolkata), and all too often other people use their freedom very selfishly and do great harm (Adolf Hitler). Thornton Wilder’s excellent novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey examines what direct role God did or did not have in a bridge collapse that killed five people. God created us to share in the divine life of grace and freedom. For various reasons, not everyone does that because they implicitly fear that God’s grace may cramp their human freedom.
Funeral Mass Stipends How much does a funeral Mass cost? Does this vary from parish to parish? There is no standardized offering to the celebrant. Some funeral homes include a clergy fee, but others do not. A parish may, however, have a fee for the musician at a funeral Mass. A priest may have agreed with a diocese to turn over to the parish any stipends offered for Baptisms, weddings, or funerals. His yearly salary is adjusted with this in mind.
Father Pat welcomes your questions! Mail to: Ask a Franciscan 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 or E-mail: Ask@FranciscanMedia.org All questions sent by mail need to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
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O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 | 51
BOOK CORNER
| BY CAROL ANN MORROW
The St. Francis Holy Fool Prayer Book By Jon M. Sweeney Paraclete 160 pages • $16.99 Paperback/E-book Reviewed by KATHLEEN M. CARROLL, assistant editor of this publication and editorial director of Franciscan Media. She is the author of several books, including St. Francis: A Short Biography. This book, from veteran Franciscan scholar Jon Sweeney, is primarily a prayer book, but it is so much more. For those who may know of St. Francis as the birdbath saint,
W H AT I A M R E A D I N G •
Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty: An Intimate Portrait of My Grandmother by Kate Hennessey
•
Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen
•
At Play in The Lions’ Den: A Biography and Memoir of Daniel Berrigan by Jim Forest
•
Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity by James Martin, SJ
• The
Works of Mercy by Pope Francis
Robert Ellsberg is the publisher and editor in chief of Orbis Books. He has written numerous books on saints, including The Franciscan Saints, a new release from Franciscan Media.
52 | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
the patron of ecology, or even the humble Poverello, Sweeney shines a bright light on one of Francis’ most charming—and confounding—traits. The idea of holy foolishness is not new to Christianity. St. Paul described himself and the other early disciples as “fools for Christ,” for their willingness to live according to a way of life apart from, and often counter to, the values espoused by most socalled sensible people. After his conversion, Francis embraced the role of troubadour of the Great King. Sweeney recounts several episodes in the lives of Francis and Brother Juniper that best express this radical expression of the Gospel. Those familiar with the Francis story may remember the episode where he stripped himself naked in front of the bishop of Assisi (and the whole town), returning his rich clothes to a father who had appealed to the bishop, without success, to talk some sense into his son. But the early Franciscan tradition tells more stories of ill-clad friars willingly submitting themselves to ridicule and abuse in pursuit of the Christian ideal. Sweeney also retells four stories from the life of Brother Juniper, a man who exasperated his fellow friars by behaving in so foolish a way that they felt disgraced the order. The heart of the book is a program of prayer, laid out in seven days of morning and evening prayer. The structure will resonate with those comfortable with the Liturgy of the Hours. Each session has brief Scripture readings, a psalm, an early Franciscan saying, recommended periods of silence, and a suggestion for spiritual practice. Each day’s offering supplies a concentration in a different Franciscan theme—among them, folly, peace, and justice—and manages to be complete without being overly lengthy. This book would be a great way to invigorate a season of prayer focused on Francis and holy foolishness, both for those without a regular prayer practice and for those who want to inject some variety into their current routine.
ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER
BOOK BRIEFS
Fátima for the Family Our Lady’s Message to Three Shepherd Children and the World
Why the Reformation Still Matters By Michael Reeves and Tim Chester Crossway 212 pages • $16.99 Paperback/E-book Reviewed by JOYCE DURIGA, editor of The Chicago Catholic. She regularly covers interfaith and ecumenical news, including the anniversary of the Reformation. October 31, 2017, will mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church in Germany and will end the yearlong commemoration of the Protestant Reformation by Catholics and Lutherans alike. The year kicked off on October 31, 2016, with Pope Francis leading an ecumenical prayer service with Lutheran leaders in Sweden’s Lund Cathedral. As often happens with anniversaries like this, books by writers both Catholic and Protestant were published reflecting on the history and impact of the Reformation. One such book, by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester, sets its sights on the Catholic Church and all that is still wrong, in the authors’ eyes, with its beliefs. The authors go through Luther’s main arguments, such as justification by faith alone and sola Scriptura (the Bible as the supreme authority over Christians), and lay out the errors of Catholic teaching. Martin Luther had real grievances with the Catholic Church 500 years ago, especially with the shameful practice of selling indulgences. Catholics should know the history and understand Luther’s concerns for a Church he loved, but Why the Reformation Still Matters is not the place to start.
By Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Illustrated by Ann Engelhart Sophia Institute Press 240 pages • $14.95 Hardcover For middle readers new to the story of Fátima, this novelesque treatment will hold some interest. The vocabulary, along with frank discussions of hell and a chapter entitled “The Children Go to Jail,” will exclude this from consideration for younger or sensitive children.
Vision of Fátima By Father. Thomas McGlynn, OP Sophia Institute Press 216 pages • $17.95 Paperback/E-book This is a firsthand account of the creation of the Fátima statue, written by the Dominican priest who sculpted it. Based on personal direction from Sister Lúcia—the longest-lived witness to the 1917 apparitions, who died in 2005—it is filled with fascinating, little-known tales of the visionaries and the miracles in Portugal.
Mary and the Little Shepherds of Fátima Marlyn Monge, FSP, and Jaymie Stuart Wolfe Illustrated by Maria João Lopes Pauline Kids 32 pages • $14.95 Hardcover Designed for children ages 5 to 8, this storybook offers a factual yet friendly account of the mysterious events in Fátima 100 years ago. The illustrations are warm and colorful, making the book suitable for storytime for even younger children.—K.C. Books featured in Book Corner and Book Briefs can be ordered from
St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply 1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 • 800-233-3604 www.stmarysbookstore.com • stmarysbookstore@gmail.com Prices shown in Book Corner do not include shipping.
FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 | 53
A C AT H O L I C M O M S P E A K S
| BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER
You Will Be Found
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS
C
urrently, there is a wildly popular play on Broadway titled Dear Evan Hansen. The play tackles the subject of suicide and has become an excellent springboard for conversations about a topic that too often is avoided. As parents, we know there are tough topics that we need to talk about with our kids, such as drugs, drinking, sex, and, yes, suicide. A lot of times, we aren’t sure how to bring them up. Not long ago, my husband, Mark, and I heard about the suicide of a local husband and father. Our connection with him was slight—he was a relative of a friend—but once again it brought a terrible topic to light. I struggled with how to handle the situation. Do I bring it up to my kids, who were completely unaware of the situation? Or do I let it go because they had no connection with this man
54 | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7
or his family? Was this a teaching moment or was I pushing the issue? I wondered. Finally, I decided to bring it up, and here’s why. When I was a freshman in high school, a classmate of mine took her own life. To this day—27 years later—I clearly remember walking into school that morning and hearing the news. She and I weren’t close friends; we were merely classmates, acquaintances. Yet I still remember every single thing about that day at school and the following days. So I know the effects of suicide can be long-lasting and powerful. In the last year, suicide seems to have been a topic I have found myself facing more times than I care to. Earlier this year I sent my son, Alex, off to school in a shirt and tie for all the wrong reasons. A classmate had taken his own life and there would be an all-school Mass
in remembrance. The week before, a local grade school boy had decided to end his life. Suddenly I had to have conversations with my kids that I wish I never had to have and found myself hugging them a little more than usual and holding on a little tighter. And those are just a few stories. Unfortunately, there are even more I could cite because, last year, the suicide rate was the highest it had been in nearly 30 years.
Staggering Statistics When it comes to suicide, this much we know: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in 2015, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of more than 44,000 people. There were more than twice S t . A n t h o n y M e ss e n g e r
as many suicides (44,193) in the United States as there were homicides (17,793). On average, there are 121 suicides per day. And while the numbers are staggering, it’s the stories behind the numbers that really matter. The
question, though, is how do we go about reversing this trend?
More Work to Do There is also something else I have found to be true. When it comes to the topic of suicide, the Church is
IN SEARCH OF HELP If you know of someone who needs help, encourage that person to contact one of these organizations. Certainly, let him or her know that you will be there, but allow qualified professionals to deal with such difficult topics. Veterans Crisis Line: veteranscrisisline.net (In 2014, the latest year available, more than 7,400 veterans took their own lives.) National Institute of Mental Health: nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide/index.shtml American Society for Suicide Prevention: www.Afsp.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
dropping the ball. A search of the US bishops’ website (usccb.org) shows statements and articles on physician-assisted suicide, but few on the subject of suicide in general. Please, don’t get me wrong. They need to be addressing the issue of people taking their lives with the help of a physician. But considering the fact that two years ago suicide was the third leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 14, and the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34, I’d say the bishops are missing a much larger group of people in need of spiritual, as well as physical, outreach. In fact, if you Google “Catholic Church suicide,” most of the search results are about whether or not people who commit suicide are going to hell or if he or she can be given a Christian burial. That’s not OK. Suicide is a tough topic to address, but we need to—as parents, as a society, as a Church. And the time is now.
Do you have comments or suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed in this column? Mail to: A Catholic Mom Speaks 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 E-mail to: CatholicMom@FranciscanMedia.org
P E T E a n d R E P E AT These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two. So look and see if you can name ILLUSTRATION: TOM GREENE
Eight ways in which they’re not the same. (Answers on page 13)
FrANcIScANMeDIA.OrG
O c t O b e r 2 0 1 7 | 55
B AC K S T O R Y
Welcome, MC!
A
ctually, it’s welcome Mary Catherine Kozusko,“MC” for short. Our new art director has been on the job for a few months, learning the ropes from now-retired Jeanne Kortekamp. MC is preparing to take
those ropes to a new place. Mary Catherine comes to us from Texas, then Oregon, with deep expe-
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
rience in magazine design for a number of publications, some of them featuring celebrity profiles, others showcasing local culture and sports, life on the road, even life in the air! The folks at Southern Oregon Magazine, her latest employer, will surely miss her, as will Cessna magazine (for Cessna airplane lovers), Las Vegas Golf & Leisure, Cowboys & Indians magazine, a Shriners Hospital organization (annual golf tournament), and a stack of others. Her heart is in the deep Christian, Catholic values that drive this place—though now she’s into the Franciscan movement, an eye-opener for anyone. Her love of the outdoors, as well as her close relationship with her beloved dog, Quinn, will serve her well as she gleans revelation from God’s creation, one dimension of the Franciscan spirit. The deeper experience of Francis, Clare, and all of their followers, the no-frills intimacy with God and neighbor, will only be nurtured in the lively environment of Franciscan Media, a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, publisher of St. Anthony Messenger. When she moved to this area last summer, she hoped and prayed that she’d find truly meaningful work. At the same time, we were praying to find a replacement who could fill the large shoes left by Jeanne Kortekamp. It seems that all of our prayers have been answered—which means that you, loyal readers, are in for a real treat, now in development, to be unveiled in our January issue.
Editor in Chief JFeister@FranciscanMedia.org
MC poses with her beloved Quinn, who wears a St. Francis “Protect this Animal” medal (left) and seems interested in the Little Poor Man himself. 56 | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER
REFLECTION
One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures. ~ Pope Francis
PHOTO © TEDDY KELLEY/UNSPLASH
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